ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 9, St. Sanctan, St. Gorfor, Bl. Thomas Pickering

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 9 St. Beatus, 112 A.D. A monk and hermit called Beatus of Lungern and earlier designated as the Apostle of Switzerland. Baptized in England by St. Barnabas and ordained by St. Peter, Beatus went to Switzerland. He lived and died on Mount Beatenburg above Lake Thun. The cave became a popular pilgrim's destination, the famed site of Beatus' fight with a dragon. St. Sanctan, 6th century. Irish bishop. He governed two sees, at Kill-da-Les and Kill-na-Sanctan (modern Dublin). It is possible that he was British by birth. St. Gorfor. A saint of Wales, patron of Llanover, in Gwent, Wales. Bl. Thomas Pickering, 1679 A.D. Benedictine martyr. Born in Westmoreland, England, he entered the Benedictines as a lay brother at Douai, France, and there took his vows in 1660. Going home to England, he became attached to the Benedictines in the service of the Chapel Royal of Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II (r. 1660-1685). Arrested as part of the "Popish Plot," he was condemned and hanged at Tyburn.