SAINTS FOR FEBRUARY 21

 SAINTS FOR FEBRUARY 21

St. Severian, Roman Catholic Bishop and martyr. The bishop of Scythopolis in Galilee. He attended the Council of Chalcedon (451) and took part in the complete triumph of the orthodox Christian cause against the heretics of the era. On his return home he was assassinated by a group of heretics at the command of Emperor Theodosius II. Feastday Feb. 21

Saint Robert Southwell , English Martyr, Jesuit priest, poet., In 1592 he was arrested by Richard Topcliffe, a professional priest-hunter who had already tortured, raped and killed a number of recusants. For several weeks he was tortured at Topcliffe's house in Westminster. He was then locked away in the Tower for three years. Finally in 1595 he was put on trial where even the judge expressed shock at the ordeal he had been subjected to by Topcliffe. The sentence however, was inevitable. Robert was hung drawn and quartered at Tyburn, together with a notorious highwayman, in front of a huge crowd. After praying for the country and the Queen he said: "whether we live or die we belong to the Lord... All you angels and saints assist me." St Robert was the last Catholic to be executed in this way at Tyburn. His reputation went far beyond Catholic circles and his writing and his death helped to work a profound change in the moral climate of England. He was beatified in 1929 and canonised as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales in 1970. Feb. 21

Bl. John the Saxon, 895 A.D. Monk and martyr. A monk in a monastery in France, he was invited to go to England by King Alfred the Great and to assist in the restoration of the Christian faith in the wake of the severe and destructive invasions by the Danes. Appointed abbot of Athelingay by Alfred, John served with vigor and distinction until his murder one night by two French monks under his care.  

ST PETER DAMIAN, BISHOP OF OSTIA AND CARDINAL, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, CAMALDOLESE-St Peter Damian is among the saints we meet in “Paradise”, in Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. A reformer and Doctor of the Church, he fought the simony and corruption that was spreading among the clergy of his time. His feast-day is celebrated on February 21st.  

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/02/21/st-peter-damian--bishop-of-ostia-and-cardinal--doctor-of-the-chu.html

St. Elwin, 6th century. Companion of St. Breaca from Ireland to Cornwall, England, also called Elvis or Allen.  

Bl. Pepin of Landen, Roman Catholic Frankish mayor of the palace, duke of Brabant, and the chief political figure during the reigns of the Frankish kings Clotaire II, Dagobert I, and Sigebert II .The husband of Blessed Ita, he was a close ally of Bishop Arnulf of Metz with whom he overthrew Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. He was soon appointed mayor of the palace for his role. Following an incident in which he reprimanded King Dagobert I for his adulterous life, he was exiled from the court and went into retirement near Aquitaine. Recalled to serve as tutor to Dagobert's three year old son, Pepin once more became the chief figure of the kingdom until his death. Pepin earned a reputation for defending the interests of the Church, promoting the spread of Christianity, and working to have only truly worthy bishops appointed to Frankish sees. While never canonized, he is listed as a saint in some old martyrologies. He was an ancestor of Charlemagne; his grandson,  Pepin of Heristal, founded the Carolingian dynasty. Feastday Feb.21