Saint of the Day

April 26: Saint Richarius

If you enjoy this daily blog of lesser-known saints, see my book, which contains short biographies of saints for every day of the year.

Saint Richarius (d. c. 645, sometimes called Radbertus) was a pagan living in France when two Irish priests came to his hometown to preach the Gospel. When his pagan neighbors threatened the missionaries with violence, Richarius protected them. He learned about the faith from them, converted, and traveled to England to become a priest and to become better educated about his newfound faith.

Richarius brought many people into the Church through his zealous preaching, confronted his own king, Dagobert, with the dangers of relying on the vanities of this world, and established an abbey. At the end of his life, he withdrew to live in a hermitage with a single companion.

Saint Richarius, help me to be open to the truth of the Good News.