Saint Christopher

According to these Memoirs, Christopher was a Canaanite by origin, a pagan by religion; he followed a military career and was part of the expedition against the Persians, under the orders of the young emperor Gordian. He converted to Christianity under the emperor Philip. Inflamed with the love of Jesus Christ, he left his country to announce the doctrine of our holy religion i n various places, province de Lycie Region of Asia Minor where the saint exercised his apostolate. and principally in the province of Lycia. His labors were so successful, accompanied by so many graces from heaven and so many miraculous works, that he converted no fewer than forty-eight thousand people. He was of tall stature and majestic bearing. He had a beautiful and pleasant face, radiant hair, and so much grace in everything he did and said that he easily won the affection of all who saw him. He usually walked leaning on a staff; and, one day, having thrust into the ground the one he was carrying, he miraculously made it turn green again and bear flowers and leaves: which was the cause of the conversion of many infidels.

The persecution of the Emperor De l'empereur Dèce Roman emperor responsible for the persecution of Christians in 250. cius was then ignited throughout the world, and Christians were being seized on all sides to be put to death; but especially those who, not content with being faithful, worked to increase the religion through new conquests. As Saint Christopher was of this number, the emperor, or some governor on his behalf, sent soldiers to take him. He had the kindness, in the hunger they suffered, to supernaturally multiply the little food they had, in order to sustain them. This miracle having opened the eyes of their souls to recognize the error in which they lived and the truth of one God, creator of heaven and earth, they renounced the worship of idols and entered the Church of Jesus Christ. This did not prevent the capture of Christopher, who, far from fleeing martyrdom, desired it with ardor and sought it with eagerness. The tyrant, having had him put in prison, sent there two debauched women to corrupt his faith by corrupting his purity: they were named Niceta and Aquilina; but he spoke to them with such z eal and Nicette Woman converted by Christopher and martyred. vig or that, Aquiline A woman converted by Christopher and martyred. instead of being perverted by their artifices, he converted them himself and made them chaste and faithful: shortly after, they generously endured martyrdom with the soldiers whom he had enlightened with the light of the faith, and several other noble and wealthy persons, who recognized him as their spiritual father.

The persecutor, seeing the invincible courage of Saint Christopher, had him tormented by several very cruel tortures. They covered his head with a red-hot helmet, and stretched him on an iron bench of the length and width of his body, under which they placed burning coals, while pouring boiling oil over his limbs. These torments did him no harm; at this sight, many pagans cried out that there was no other God than the one Christopher adored, nor any other religion than the one he professed. Then they tied him to a stake and shot a very large number of arrows at him for an entire day; but not one pierced his body, so that he appeared invulnerable. On the contrary, one of them struck the eye of one of the executioners and put it out: which provided the Saint with a fine opportunity to display his heroic charity; for, forgetting the evil deeds of this wretch, he restored his eye with drops of his blood which he advised him to apply to it. This blood, escaped from some wound of which his history does not speak, was so effective that it restored to this same executioner the light of the soul along with that of the body, and made him a Christian disposed to endure martyrdom. Finally, the judge condemned our Saint to have his head cut off. Before receiving the mortal blow, the martyr prayed to Our Lord with great insistence to be propitious to sinners and the sick who would implore His mercy through his intercession, and also to preserve from hail, fire, plague, and famine the place where his body would be buried. The Mozarabic hymn adds that ten thousand Christians, whom he had encouraged to martyrdom by his example, were executed with him: which gave him the glory of enriching the Church Triumphant, after having increased the Church Militant.

The memory of Saint Christopher is celebrated in all Latin churches on July 25, with the exception of that of Vale ncia, in Spain, whi Valence, en Espagne Place of Ismidon's early studies. ch now solemnizes it on the 10th of the same month, because on that day a synagogue of Jews, whom S aint Vincent Ferrer h saint Vincent Ferrier Dominican preacher who was the spiritual guide of Margaret. ad converted, and who asserted that Saint Christopher had often warned them, in a dream, to leave the superstition of Judaism and to ask for Baptism, was dedicated and consecrated, with ecclesiastical ceremonies, in honor of this invincible Martyr.

Regarding his portrait, which is represented of such prodigious size, carrying the Child Jesus on his shoulders, and crossing a river with a green tree in his hands, Baronius testifies that he does not know the cause for certain; but he indicates enough, by the verses he reports from the Mozarabic hymn, that he recognizes in it something historical and something singular and symbolic. The history is that Saint Christopher was tall, and, as he usually went with a staff, he made it turn green and bloom for the conversion of the idolaters; but the symbol is that he had a great, generous, and invincible soul, that labors did not astonish him, and that he walked with giant strides, not only in the exercise of virtue, but also in that of the preaching of the Gospel; that he carried Jesus Christ into infidel lands whose approach was very difficult because of the storms and tempests that the emperors and magistrates excited there on all sides; that he crossed rivers of afflictions and sufferings, without being able to be submerged in them, because of the strength of his spirit and the height of his courage, which placed him above all the persecutions of men; finally that his constancy and firmness, represented by his staff, have always been flourishing and have never lost their vigor. He is also represented in elevated places, to signify the power he has over the meteors of the air, such as thunder, hail, impetuous winds, and storms against which his name is invoked. It would be difficult to mark the origin of these mysterious representations. Baronius speaks of it on April 23, regarding Saint George. It is likely that that of Saint Christopher came from the East, and that one began to represent him in the manner we have described, as soon as Constantine gave the power to build churches in honor of the Martyrs.

A large part of the relics of Saint Christopher are in Spain; the church of Tole do pos Tolède City of origin of Casilda and seat of her father's kingdom. sesses some bones, which Tamayo says were brought there as early as the year 258, that is to say, four years after his death. The church of Valencia has more: but it received them from Toledo when that city was ruined in the year 828. An arm is shown at Compostela and a jawbone at Astorga. All these limbs are of extraordinary size. We have in Paris a parish of his name, which is very ancient and among the first of the city. The Benedictines, who possessed very considerable establishments in the ancient diocese of Toul, appear to have brought there several relics of Saint Christopher, some of which still remain. The church of Sénones, in the diocese of Saint-Dié, possesses a considerable fragment of a bone from an arm of Saint Christopher, coming from the ancient abbey; that of Moyen-Moutier, in the same valley, possesses the articular extremity of a large bone, probably the humerus; the church of Lay-Saint-Christophe, in the diocese of N Lay-Saint-Christophe Commune in Meurthe-et-Moselle possessing a bone fragment of the saint. ancy, possesses a bone fragment.

*Etymology of his name.* — Christopher, before his baptism, was calle d Reprob Reprouvé Third-century martyr, traditionally depicted as a giant carrying Christ. us; but, subsequently, he was called Christopher (Christophorus), that is to say, Christ-bearer, because he bore Christ in four ways: on his shoulders, by carrying him across; in his body, by maceration; in his soul, by devotion; in his mouth, by preaching.

*His life.* — Christopher, a Canaanite by nation, was of gigantic stature and terrible aspect, and he was twelve cubits high. Finding himself, as one reads in a history, near a Canaanite king, it occurred to him to seek the greatest prince in the world and to come and dwell near him. He therefore went to a very powerful king whom fame everywhere declared to be the greatest prince in the world. As soon as he saw him, the king received him willingly and had him stay in his palace. Now, one time, a certain jongleur was singing a song in which he often named the devil. Now, as the king had the faith of Jesus Christ, each time he heard the devil named, he immediately imprinted the sign of the cross on his forehead. Seeing this, Christopher was very astonished as to why the king did this, and what this sign meant. As he questioned the king on this subject, and the latter did not want to reveal it to him, Christopher said to him: "If you do not tell me, I will not stay with you henceforth." That is why the king, forced, said to him: "Each time I hear the devil named, I arm myself with this sign, fearing that he might take some power over me and harm me." Whereupon Christopher: "You fear that the devil might harm you! It is clear that he is greater and more powerful than you, since you admit that you dread him so much, and I am frustrated in my hope, I who thought I had found the greatest and most powerful lord in the world. Farewell then! For I want to go and seek the devil, in order to take him for my lord and to become his servant."

He separated from the king, and he hastened to seek the devil. Now, as he was walking through a wilderness, he saw a great crowd of soldiers, from whom a fierce and terrible soldier came to him and asked him where he was going. Christopher replied: "I am going to seek the lord devil, so that I may take him for my lord." To which the other: "I am the one you are seeking."

Christopher, joyful, attached himself to him forever as a servant and took him for his lord. As they were both walking, they encountered a cross erected on a road. As soon as the devil perceived this cross, he fled terrified, and, leaving the road, he led Christopher through a harsh wilderness and then brought him back onto the road. Seeing this, Christopher, astonished, asked him why he had, so trembling, abandoned the main road, and, making such a great detour, had passed through a harsh wilderness. As the devil did not want to explain it to him, Christopher said: "If you do not explain it to me, I will leave you at once." That is why the devil, pushed to the limit, said to him: "A man, Jesus Christ, was attached to this cross; when I see the sign of this cross, I have great fear and I tremble all over." Whereupon, Christopher: "He is therefore greater than you, this Christ whose sign you dread so much: I have therefore labored in vain, and I have not yet found the greatest prince in the world. Farewell then! For I want to leave you and seek Christ."

Now, when he had sought someone who would make Christ known to him, he finally came to a hermit, who preached Christ to him, and instructed him diligently in the faith; but the hermit said to Christopher: "This king, whom you desire to serve, asks of you this service, that you will have to fast frequently." — "Let him ask for another service, because I cannot do that at all." — "You will have to offer him many prayers." — "I do not know what that is; I cannot therefore fulfill this office yet." — "Do you not know this river, where most of those who cross it run great dangers and perish?" — "I know it." — "As you are of great stature, robust, if you were to station yourself near this river, and if you were to carry everyone across, that would be very pleasing to the King Christ, whom you desire to serve, and I hope that he would manifest himself to you himself." — "Yes, I can fulfill this office, and I abandon myself to him for this service."

He therefore came to the said river, he built a dwelling for himself; and, carrying in his hand a pole by way of a staff, with which he supported himself in the water, he carried everyone across without respite.

Many days having passed, as he was resting in his dwelling, he heard the voice of a child who was calling him and saying: "Christopher, come outside and carry me across." Awakened, he went outside, but he found no one, and, returning to the hut of which we have spoken, he heard a voice calling him again; he ran outside again, but he found no one. A third time, called as before by the same person, he went out and found a child on the bank of the river, who begged Christopher earnestly to carry him across. The latter, therefore taking the child on his shoulders, and arming himself with his staff, entered the river to cross it, and behold, the water of the river swelled little by little and the child weighed like the heaviest lead. The more he advanced, the more the water rose, the more the child crushed the shoulders of Christopher with an intolerable weight, to the point that he found himself in serious trouble and feared running the greatest dangers. But when he had come out, and had touched the bank, he set the child down and said to him: "You have put me, my child, in great danger, and you have weighed so much, that, if I had had the whole world on my shoulders, I would have scarcely felt a heavier burden." The child replied to him: "Do not be astonished at it, Christopher, for you have had upon you, not only the whole world, but also Him who created the world; for I am Christ, your king, whom you serve in this office; and, so that you may have proof that I speak the truth, when you have crossed, plant your staff in the earth, near your house, you will see tomorrow that it will have blossomed." And immediately he vanished from his eyes.

Coming then, Christopher thrust his staff into the ground and, rising in the morning, he found it like a palm tree, covered with leaves and laden with dates. Now, after this, he came to Samos, a city of Lycia, where, not understanding the language of the country, he prayed to God to give him the understanding of it. Now, as he was in prayer, the judges, believing him to be mad, left him.

Christopher having obtained what he asked for, his face covered, he came to the place of combat, and he strengthened in the Lord the Christians who were being tormented. Then one of the judges struck him in the face. Christopher said to him, covering his face with a disk: "If I were not a Christian, I would have soon avenged this injury."

Then he thrust his staff into the ground, and prayed to God that it might bloom for the conversion of the people. This having immediately happened, eight thousand men were converted. Now, the king sent two hundred soldiers to bring him to him; and they, having found him in prayer, feared to signify this order to him. The king sent as many again; and having also found him in prayer, they prayed with him. Now, Christopher rising, said to them: "What do you seek, my dear children?" Seeing his face, they said to him: "The king has sent us, so that we may bring you to him bound." Christopher said to them: "If I did not wish it, you could not take me either free or bound." They said to him: "If you do not wish it, go in freedom wherever you please, and we will say to the king: We have not found him." — "No," said he, "but I will go with you."

Now, he converted them to the faith, and he had them bind his hands behind his back and had himself presented bound to the king. The king, seeing him, was terrified and fell from his throne; then, raised by his servants, he questioned Christopher about his name and his country. Christopher answered him: "Before my baptism I was called Reprobate; but, now, I am called Christopher; before my baptism I was a Canaanite, but now I am a Christian."

The king said to him: "You have imposed a foolish name upon yourself, by taking that of Christ, who was crucified and who could do nothing for himself nor for you; wicked Canaanite, why do you not sacrifice to our gods?" Christopher sai d to Dagus King mentioned in the Golden Legend as the persecutor of Christopher. him: "One is right to call you Dagus: for you are the death of the world, the companion of the devil. As for your gods, they are the work of the hands of men." The king said to him: "You have been raised among wild beasts, you only know how to speak wild words unknown to men; now therefore, if you wish to sacrifice, you will obtain from me the greatest honors; otherwise, you will die in the most terrible tortures."

Christopher not wishing to sacrifice, he ordered him to be put in prison and to behead the soldiers who had been sent to arrest him. Then he had two very beautiful young girls locked in the same prison, one of whom was called Nicea and the other Aquilina, promising them great rewards if they enticed Christopher to sin with them. Seeing this, Christopher gave himself to prayer; but as the young girls pressed him with caresses and cajoleries, he rose and said: "What do you want and why have you been brought here?" But they, frightened by the radiance of his face, said: "Have pity on us, servant of Jesus Christ, so that we may believe in the God whom you preach." The king having learned this, he had them brought to him and said to them: "So you too have been seduced! I swear by the gods, if you do not sacrifice, you will die the most cruel death." They replied: "If you want us to sacrifice, order the streets to be cleaned and the people to go to the temple."

When this was done and the people were in the temple, they passed their sacred belt around the necks of the gods, and, dragging them to the ground, they reduced them to dust and said to those present: "Go, call the doctors, so that they may heal your gods!"

Then, by the order of the king, Aquilina is suspended; a heavy stone is tied to her feet; all her limbs are torn. When she has rendered her soul to the Lord, her sister Nicea is thrown into the flames; but she comes out without any harm, and immediately she is beheaded. And after that Christopher is presented to the king, who orders him to be beaten with iron rods, and to put on his head a helmet of reddened iron. He then orders a seat of iron to be made, that Christopher be bound to it, and that pitch be thrown into the fire to burn him; but the seat melts like wax and Christopher comes out without any harm. Then the king orders him to be tied to a post and that four hundred soldiers pierce him with their arrows. But the arrows all remained suspended in the air, and none could pierce him. Now the king, believing that he was pierced, began to mock him, and immediately one of the arrows came from the heights of the air and, turning against the king, pierced him in the eye and he became blind. Christopher said: "Tomorrow I will be consumed. Then therefore, tyrant, you will mix mud with my blood, you will put it on your eye and you will be healed." Then, by the order of the king, he was taken away to be beheaded. And there, having poured himself out in prayer, he was beheaded. Now, the king, taking a little of his blood and putting it on his eye, said: "In the name of God and of Saint Christopher!" and immediately he was healed. Then the king believed, and he ordered that those who blasphemed the God of Christopher would perish immediately by the sword.

Excerpt from the Legends of the Saints by Jacobus de Voragine, commonly called t he Golden Leg Légende dorée Work by Jacobus de Voragine containing the legendary life of the saint. end, Cologne edition, 1476. We have had the pleasure of making our almost literal translation, on this monument, so rare today, of nascent printing.