Saint Saint Christopher

Saint Saint Christopher

300–251 · Early Church

Feast day: May 22

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Biography

Saint Christopher (Greek: Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, romanized: Hágios Christóphoros, lit. 'Christ-bearer'; Latin: Sanctus Christophorus) is a legendary figure venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr and saint. According to these traditions, he was killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (r. 249–251), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia (r. 308–313). A church was dedicated to the saint in Chalcedon (near present-day Istanbul) as early as 452. His veneration spread not only in the East but also to the West, where he is counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Of the numerous legendary motifs, the one relating to his name — that of the Christ-bearer carrying the divine child across the river — is the best known today. The most famous legend connected to the saint recounts that after converting to Christianity, he devoted his life to carrying travelers across a river. One day he carried an unknown young boy across a river after which the boy revealed himself as Christ. Because of his help to travelers, he became the patron saint of travelers. In the iconography of the Western Church, the saint is often depicted as a giant with a staff carrying the infant Jesus across a river on his shoulders. Small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles. The Eastern Church tradition depicts the saint as a cynocephalus ('dog-headed creature') in a literal interpretation of its legendary tradition. There is no evidence for the historicity of the saint. Legends about the life and death of Saint Christopher first appeared in Greece in the 6th century and had spread to France by the 9th century. The 11th-century bishop and poet Walter of Speyer wrote a version of the legend. The most popular legendary accounts originate from the 13th-century Golden Legend. According to the legendary account of his life, Christopher was initially called Reprobus.

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Prayers

  • Intercessory Prayer

    intercession

    Saint Saint Christopher, patron of travelers, pray for those who seek your intercession. Lead us closer to Christ, our Lord. Amen.

    — Original composition (intercessory formula)

  • Novena in Honor of Saint Christopher

    novena

    Preparatory Prayer. Almighty and eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son. Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen. Prayer in Honor of St. Christophorus. O God, who didst make St. Christophorus a true Christ-bearer, who converted multitudes to the Christian faith, and who didst give him the grace to suffer for Thy sake the most cruel torments; through the intercession of this saint we implore Thee to protect us from sin, the only real evil. Preserve us, also, against harmful elementary forces, such as earthquake, lightning, fire, and flood. Amen. Invocation of St. Christophorus. Great St. Christophorus, seeking the strongest and mightiest master thou didst find him in Jesus Christ, the almighty God of heaven and earth, and didst faithfully serve Him with all thy power to the end of thy life, gaining for Him countless souls and finally shedding thy blood for Him; obtain for me the grace to bear Christ always in my heart, as thou didst once bear Him on thy shoulder, so that I thereby may be strengthened to overcome victoriously all temptations and resist all enticements of the world, the devil, and the flesh, and that the powers of darkness may not prevail against me. Amen. Concluding Prayer. My Lord and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena. Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.

    — Mary, Help of Christians, and the Fourteen Saints Invoked as Holy Helpers (Bonaventure Hammer), 1909 edition, p. 226 (Novena in Honor of St. Christophorus)

Patronages

Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 (1) · Catholic Encyclopedia 1913; Wikipedia; universal (1) · Wikipedia; modern attribution (1) · Wikipedia (1). Wikipedia content used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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