St. Apollonius

A shepherd who stayed with his people through hard times.

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July 7 · Bishop

St. Apollonius

St. Apollonius

A shepherd who stayed with his people through hard times.

Traditional feast

July 7
1914 / pre-1969 calendar, per Baring-Gould (1897)

Current feast

April 18 (also listed: July 23)
Secondary source · Wikipedia

Represents

Bishop

Early life

The book says little or nothing about early life. This is how the account begins.

Thin entry · the 1897 book gives only 127 words. We have not filled the gap with invented detail.

And now, as the hour of midnight was passed, Apollonius desired to celebrate the Divine mysteries and communicate all whom he had baptized. But there was no altar. Therefore he prayed, and lo ! there came down out of heaven a white altar-linen (sindon) stretched out as though on an altar, and in the middle was a chalice full of the Blood of the Lord, and above shone four burning lights.

What they represent

How they teach us to live

Drawn from themes in the original account

Share your faith, in words and by example. Preaching and conversion are central here.

Pray a little every day. Prayer runs all through this account.

Learn from the kind of life it was. A shepherd who stayed with his people through hard times.

Read more

The full original · 127 words

Read Baring-Gould’s full account

Baring-Gould’s sources: Roman Martyrology, inserted by Baronins, following Galesinius. S. Apollonius was unknown to all ancient martyrologists. Baronins refers in his notes as his authority to the "tables and ancient annals of the city of Brescia." But no such authorities for the existence of S. Apollonius exist, and the only authority for there having been such a person is the apocryphal acts of SS. Faustinus and Jovitta; see Feb. 15th. J VINT APOLLONIUS is said in the apocryphal acts of SS. Faustinus and Jovitta to have been bishop of Brescia, and to have remained in concealment during the persecution of Hadrian. He was brought from his place of retreat into Brescia to ordain Faustinus priest and Jovitta deacon; for which purpose seven angels came down out of heaven, and opening the prison doors led forth Faustinus and Jovitta from the dungeon where they had been immured. There were great multitudes of the Brescians assembled; twelve thousand at once professed their faith in the Trinity, and were baptized in the self-same hour.

And now, as the hour of midnight was passed, Apollonius desired to celebrate the Divine mysteries and communicate all whom he had baptized. But there was no altar. Therefore he prayed, and lo ! there came down out of heaven a white altar-linen (sindon) stretched out as though on an altar, and in the middle was a chalice full of the Blood of the Lord, and above shone four burning lights. Then Apollonius stood before the white sheet, and communicated therefrom all that great multitude. 1 From this fanciful story the value of the acts of SS. Faustinus and Jovitta, and of their evidence in favour of the existence of S. Apollonius, may be estimated. The relics [the bodily remains of a saint, or objects they used, kept with honor] of S. Apollonius are shown in the cathedral at Brescia.

Feast days

Feast: April 18
Traditional: July 7

Nine days · Free

Pray the novena
with us.

One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from St. Apollonius's story, and a nudge to keep going.

Also on July 7
P

Sts. Peregrinus

July 7 · Martyrs
P

St. Pantcenus

July 7 · Confessor
C

Sts. Claudius

July 7 · Feast
← All 1726 saints in the library
Sources & notes

Feast-day sources

Sources

Credits

Image: Philemon and Apollonius of Antinoe (Menologion of Basil II).jpg · Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators[1]: Pantoleon with G · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain.

Image: Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators[1]: Pantoleon with G, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

From Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints, new edition in 16 vols. (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897–98); text from the Internet Archive scan (OCR, lightly cleaned; errors possible). Public domain in the United States. Reproduced unedited, except for short bracketed notes in grey that we added to explain names and terms (“S.” is the old abbreviation for Saint). Some history and judgments reflect 19th-century scholarship.