October 26 Celebration of Saints

October 26 Celebration of Saints

Saint Alfred the Great

Saint Alfred the Great was an English king who was born sometime between the years 847 and 849.

Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, and he served as king of Wessex from 871 to 886. He was also King of the Anglo Saxons from 886 to 899.

Alfred is known for fighting Danish invasions of England. He made a pact with the Vikings in 878 that created Danelaw in the North of England, and supervised the conversion of the Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity.

Although Alfred suffered from illness most of his life he was a well-educated man who exhibited mercy and grace. He encouraged the development of public education in the English language (instead of Latin), improved the quality of life for his subjects and overhauled his country’s military structure.

In addition, Alfred issued a new code of laws, many of which were based on religious texts.

Saint Alfred the Great died on October 26, 899 at the age of 50 or 51.

Other Saints for Today

Other saints for this day include:

Saint Albinus, Saint Bean, Saint Cedd, Saint Cuthbert of Canterbury, Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Saint Eadfrid, Saint Eata, Saint Evaristus, Saint Fulk of Pavia, Saint Gibitrudis, Saint Lucian, Saint Quadragesimus, Saint Quodvultdeus, Saint Rogatian and Saint Rusticus of Narbonne.