The Saints Go Marching Out

Not since Pope Paul's birth-control encyclical has a Vatican announcement caused more fuss. A new universal liturgical calendar issued by the Vatican last week dropped or downgraded more than 200 saints--among them such popular figures as St. Christopher, St. Valentine, St. Nicholas, St. George and St. Patrick. Christopher--the giant of a man who, according to legend, earned his way to heaven by carrying the Child Jesus across a raging stream and thus became the patron saint of travelers--met a most ignominious fate. Though his image, emblazoned on medals, statuettes and key rings, has traveled literally billions of miles with Catholics, Protestants, Jews and even agnostics, he was one of 46 saints who were dropped from the calendar because there is no proof that they ever existed. Though they are still considered saints, the hierarchy can no longer officially require observance of their former feast days.

Other saints--like the Roman martyr Valentine, Bishop Nicholas of Myra (the original Santa Claus), England's patron St. George and Ireland's redoubtable St. Patrick--may still have mandatory feast days on national calendars but are now "optional" on the universal church calendar. Now mandatory on this worldwide calendar, however, are the feasts of such pointedly non-Caucasian saints as Paul Miki of Japan and the Martyrs of Uganda.

Indignant Catholics in many countries responded so angrily to the announcement that the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano called it all an "incredible misunderstanding" and assured the faithful that even the doubtful saints could still be venerated locally or privately. Actress Gina Lollobrigida made her own point by buying a new St. Christopher statuette for her Rolls-Royce and posing with it in St. Peter's Square.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.