MEMORIAL OF SAINT GATIAN OF TOURS, BISHOP AND SAINT WINEBALD, PRIEST – FEAST DAY ~ DECEMBER 18TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Gatian of Tours, Bishop and Saint Winebald, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints, we humbly pray for God’s grace and mercy as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ during this season of Advent. Praying for hope, faith, love, joy and peace in our world today, as we face these incredibly challenging times. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the safety and well-being of all those traveling during this season of Christmas. We pray for the sick and dying, especially sick children, those who are mentality and physically ill, strokes, heart diseases, those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and we pray for all widows and widowers. We pray for torture victims, the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for all parents and children, for peace, love, justice and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for all the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world… Amen🙏
SAINT GATIAN OF TOURS, BISHOP: St. Gatian also known as St. Gatianus of Tours, was a disciple of the Apostles and the first bishop of Tours. He was one of the “seven apostles of Gaul” commissioned by Pope Fabian to evangelize in the region. He was sent to that city at the same time as Saint Dionysius to Paris, Saint Trophimus to Arles, Saint Martial to Limoges, Saint Saturninus to Toulouse, Saint Sergius Paulus to Narbonne, and Saint Austremoine into Auvergne. He came from Rome with St. Dionysius of Paris, about the middle of the 3rd century, and brought Christianity to Tours, France. He founded the diocese and served as its first bishop. He preached the Faith, principally at Tours in Gaul, where he fixed his episcopal See. In that portion of Gaul idolatry was strong, but the perseverance of St. Gatian gained a number of converts. He presented to them the faith of the Gospel and the true God. He showed them the necessity of the Redemption and spoke of the Second Coming of the Saviour as Judge, when He will reward the virtue of those who have done good, and exile evildoers to a lamentable eternity.
St. Gatian was often interrupted in his instructions by harassers, and when denounced to the magistrates, was mistreated and threatened with death; but no contradictions or sufferings were able to discourage or daunt this apostle. By his perseverance he gained several to Christ. He left the city, however, and established a sort of headquarters in a rude grotto surrounded by thorn bushes. There he celebrated the divine mysteries. His splendid virtues, until then unknown to this untaught populace, won many to recognition of the truth of the religion he taught. He traveled in the area, accompanied by his faithful disciples, to preach and to exercise mercy. There were, it seems, no illnesses which he did not cure, nor demons which he did not drive away with the sign of the Cross. The pagan altars began to be abandoned, and it was permitted to establish small oratories where the faithful could assemble. The people learned to sing the praises of the true God, and clerics were formed to officiate. Saint Gatian established outside the city, a cemetery for the burial of Christians. He continued his labors amid many dangers for nearly fifty years.
The holy bishop Gatian died at an advanced age, having seen Our Lord Jesus Christ come to him during his last illness to awake him from sleep and give him Holy Communion in Viaticum; he died seven days later. He died in peace at the end of the 3rd century. The Cathedral of Tours still possesses a few fragments of his relics, which Saint Martin had placed in that principal church, but which wars and persecutions scattered and destroyed in large part. He’s the Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Tours, France and the city of Tours, France.
PRAYER: God, You made St. Gatian an outstanding exemplar of the Divine love and the Faith that conquers the world, and added him to the roll of saintly Pastors. Grant by his intercession that we may persevere in Faith and love and become sharers of his glory. Amen🙏
SAINT WINEBALD, PRIEST: St. Winebald (701-761 A.D.) was a Saxon prince born into a holy and royal family in England. His father, St. Richard the King, and his mother, St. Wunna of Wessex, are both saints, as well as his brother, St. Willibald, his sister, St. Walburga, and his uncle, St. Boniface. After making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his father and brother, and then spending many years in Rome, Winebald was recruited by his uncle, Boniface, to join him in evangelizing Germany. St. Winebald was ordained a priest and worked as a missionary across Germany, Holland, France, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, leaving behind many flourishing churches and monasteries under the Rule of St. Benedict.
St. Winebald was an important figure in laying the foundations of Christianity across much of Europe. After his death, his tomb became a pilgrimage shrine. His feast day is December 18th.
Saint Winebald, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏