Feast Day - September 21
By one of his greatest miracles, that of bringing back to life the king's daughter, he converted the king and his wife together with the whole country to the faith of Christ. When the king died, his successor Hirtacus wished to marry Iphigenia, the daughter of the former king; but she had vowed her virginity to God, and she persevered in her holy determination. Since the vow had been taken through Matthew's influence, Hirtacus had Matthew killed at the altar while celebrating Mass. It was on the 21st of September that Matthew's apostolic work was crowned with the glory of martyrdom. His body was taken to Salerno, and later, under Pope Gregory VII, it was transferred to the church dedicated to St. Matthew. There it is honored devoutly by a great number of persons. St. Matthew Pray For Us!
Happy Patron Saint Day to all those named Matthew,
esp. my nephew Matthew DeStefano
livingwatercommunity.com for this and other information on saints.
Nanette, thanks for sharing this! I don't always know it when a Feast Day comes along (there are SO MANY) and I'm glad you reminded us in time. And I didn't know about all that background on Matthew. This is so informative!
ReplyDeleteMargo: You're welcome. It's always a pleasure to hear from you. N
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