St George’s Day is coming up on Tuesday, 23 April. Does anybody care? Those that do, and mark the day with Morris dancing or the St George’s Cross, are celebrating pride in being English, rather than pride in the saint. After all, there is the embarrassing fact that Paul VI removed George from the calendar of saints in 1969, because his story is so legendary. John Paul II was untroubled by such niceties, and put him back again.
18 April 2024, The Tablet
St Edmund the Martyr, the lost king of England
It’s time for a ninth-century Christian ruler who gave his life for the faith to be restored as national patron saint.
St Edmund the Martyr King of England depicted by Luc-Olivier Merson in 1871.
Alamy / Artgen
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