-
Today, July 25, is the former Feast of Saint Christopher, whose feast was removed from the Church’s Universal Calendar in 1969. He wasn’t alone—there were 92 others, including some who are as well-known as he, including Saints George, Valentine and Ursula. It was explained then that very little was known about the lives of these early saints, whose biographies were mixed with legend.
Most of what we know about Saint Christopher comes to us from “The Golden Legend,” a medieval collection of hagiographies (embroidered biographies of the Saints). Written in Latin in the 13th century, and eventually translated into many other languages, it was the most widely-read book after the Bible for centuries. A long story of Saint Christopher is contained herein, as well as appearing 500 years later in the celebrated “Butler’s Lives of the Saints,” published in 1756. As the story goes, a man named Reprobus, who lived in third-century Palestine, was baptized and given the name Christopher, meaning “Christ-bearer.” The Legend accounts for his name in that he bore Christ in four manners: he bore Christ on his shoulders by conveying and leading, he bore Him in his body by making it lean, he bore Him in mind by devotion, and in his mouth by his profession of faith and his preaching.
The best-known story has Christopher, a man of great height and strength, working as a human ferry, carrying people across the Jordan River. One day the Christ Child appeared and asked to be carried across the water. The Saint carried his Savior without knowing that it was He, and felt that he was carrying the weight of the world upon his shoulders. But he didn’t falter, and deposited the Child safely onto the far shore. As such, he was named Patron Saint of travelers, and was invoked against perils from water, tempests and plagues; and in recent years has found a revived popularity as the patron of motorists.
Why this interest in this deposed saint? Because I chose Saint Christopher as my Patron when I was Confirmed back in 1963. Suffering from wanderlust at the age of ten, mostly from gazing at photos in my Geography book, and imagining myself traveling to many exotic locations, I wanted this patron of travelers at my side. Through the years, I never prepared a “bucket list” of destinations, I have simply traveled where and when the opportunities arose. I’ve found that Saint Christopher is very popular in Europe, especially in the Alpine regions, protecting mountain wayfarers who gaze upon his image in many roadside shrines, such as the Tyrolean shrine you see as you exit our parking lot. He is also popular in the Christian sections of Israel, where he is regarded as an early Martyr for the Faith. I have a statue of him above my bed, along with Saints Thomas and Lawrence, my other name-saints.
This being a time of year for much travel, it would be a good idea to call upon this Patron of Travelers, as you embark on your summer vacation, or in the Fall as you send your offspring off to college. You may wish to offer the following prayer:
“Dear Saint Christopher, protect me today in all my travels along the road’s way. Give me a warning sign if danger is near so that I may stop while the path is clear. Carry me safely to my destination, as you carried Christ in your close embrace. Amen."