Saint of the day - August 12

The monastery on the island of Lerins in the Province district of France was one of the famous ancient Benedictine monasteries. Lerins Monastery has donated many saints to the Church, and Porcarius was its abbot.

By the 8th century, the monastic community at Lerins is thought to have numbered around five hundred people, including monks and nuns as well as young aspiring monks.

In 732, the abbot Porcarius had a vision of savage barbarians planning to attack the monastery. Soon Porcarius sent his students and about thirty-six young monks in a boat to safety.

As there was no other vessel there, he kept all the others together with him. No one complained that they were not saved in that boat. Instead, they prayed together to God to give them courage.

Soon the barbarians, the Saracens, landed their ships on that coast. As Porcarius, the abbot of the monastery, had predicted, they attacked the monks. Those monks who were filled with faith, prayed and encouraged each other to sacrifice their lives for Jesus.

The assailants, who were merciless savages, pounced on their victims and killed all but four of the monks and carried off those four as slaves. This is how Saint Porcarius and other monks of Lerins Monastery became brave martyrs for Jesus.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Michael My
2. Saint Anthony Peter
3. Saint Cassian of Benevento
4. Saint Eusebius of Milan
5. Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

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