The FEA ST of ST ALBAN PRO TO M ARTYR of B R I T A I N The Cardiff Oratory 20 Jun e 2021 The Life of Saint Alban aint Alban (L atin , A lban us), th e protom artyr, or "rst m artyr, o f B ritain , w as a R om an citizen w ho lived at Verulam ium (m odern Saint A lban’s in H ertfordshire), S a few m iles northw est of L ondon, during a tim e of persecution. A ccording to trad itio n , h e w as a R o m an so ld ier statio n ed in B ritain . The chief magistrate of the city had orders to arrest all Christian clergy. One of th em , a priest n am ed A m ph ib alu s, /ed to A lb an ’s h o m e in ord er to h id e fro m th e so ld iers who wished to kill him. Alban was impressed by the priest’s constant prayer and vigil, and moved by the Holy Eucharist when the priest celebrated Mass secretly. Alban questioned Am phibalus about his beliefs. As a result, Alban came to believe in Christ and asked to be baptised. Eventually, Am phibalus was forced to move on, and Alban changed clothes with him so that he could get away. The soldiers heard there was a priest hiding in Alban’s house, so they cam e to search it. Seeing Alban dressed in the priest’s clothes, they arrested him and brought him before the judge. The magistrate was o3ering sacri"ce to idols when Saint Alban appeared before him. After questioning him, he discovered how Alban and the priest had switched cloth es. Furious because A lban had allow ed a fugitive to escape, th e m agistrate th reaten ed him with death unless he returned to paganism and revealed where Am phibalus had gone. Saint Alban replied, “I am also a C h ristian, an d I worship the true G od.” After having the saint beaten and tortured, the magistrate threatened him with execution . Saint A lban rejoiced an d glori"ed G od. T h e m agistrate ordered th e soldiers to take Saint A lban to the H olm hurst H ill to be beheaded. W hen they cam e to the R iver Ver, they saw that the bridge was crowded with people who had com e to witness Alban’s martyrdom. Since they could not proceed because of the multitude of people, Saint Alban prayed and m ade the Sign of the C ross over the river. At once, the waters parted so that th ey w ere ab le to cro ss o ver to th e o th er sid e. T h e ex ecu tio n er w as so asto n ish ed b y th e miracle that he threw down his sword and refused to behead the saint. He was arrested, an d another m an was foun d to beh ead them both. There is a tradition that Saint Alban became thirsty while climbing the hill and asked for w ater. A sm all spring gushed forth near the top of the hill, an d he w as able to drink from it. Pilgrim s used to com e and drink from Saint Alban’s well. The date of Saint Alban’s martyrdom is uncertain, but it is believed that it took place during the reign of D ecius (ca. 251), Valerian (ca. 257), or D iocletian (ca. 295). The eigh teen th cen tury T urin m an uscript (w h ich m ay be based on a "fth cen tury source) suggests that Saint A lban m ay have been executed as early as 209, w hen the em peror Septim us Severus and his tw o son s w ere in Britain. Th e nam e of the execution er w h o w as con verted has not been preserved. Th e priest A m ph ibalus was ultim ately caugh t an d put to death at a place called Redbourn, four m iles from Verulam ium , he, too, is venerated as a martyr for Christ. When people began to cry out against the magistrate, he put an end to the persecution. In later years, the King O 3a of M ercia built a cathedral on the site of the martyrdom, and the relics of Saint Alban, the priest and martyr, Saint Amphibalus, and perhaps even the executioner were enshrined within. Saint Bede the Venerable reports tells us that m iracles frequently took place at Saint Alban’s tom b. W hen the D anes invaded England in 860, the relics were rem oved for safekeeping, then later returned. In th e ten th cen tu ry, a n u m b er o f larg er relics o f Sain t A lb an w ere g iven to th e Church of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne, Germany, which was a Benedictine Church with a Shrine dedicated to Saint Alban . A new chapel and shrine were built for the relics in the early fourteenth century. Two hundred years later, during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, the marble shrine was destroyed, and the Church was lost to Catholic communion. Much later, th e fragm en ts of th e sh rin e w ere reassem bled on its form er site. In th e 1950s, th e auth orities at Sain t Pan taleon , w h ich h ad preserved th e sain ts' relics intact since the Tenth Century, gave the thigh of the protomartyr – the largest remaining intact relic still known – to the Benedictine Monks at St. Michael’s Abbey, in Farnborough, Ham pshire. In 2021, the R t. R ev. A bbot of Farnborough loaned this relic to the O ratory Church of Saint Alban-on-the-Moors, in Cardi3, Wales, where it is venerated by the Christian faithful in the beautiful Shrine of Saint Alban constructed to receive it. The Shorter Litany of Saint Alban ord have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Protector of persecuted Christians, * Christ have mercy. Christ, have Sure support of those /eeing persecution , * m er cy . Devout presence at Holy Mass, * L Silen t adorer of the Blessed Sacram en t, * Lord have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ hear us. Christ graciously hear ⇠. Unfeigned in the face of the mob, * God the Father of Heaven, Defender of the Catholic Priesthood, * h a v e m er cy o n ⇠. Soldier of C h rist, * God the Son, Redeemer of the word, Lamb of God You take away the sins of the have mercy on ⇠. world, Spare ⇠ O Lord. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on ⇠. Lamb of God You take away the sins of the Holy Mary, *Pray for ⇠. world, Graciously hear ⇠ O Lord. Holy Michael the Archangel, * Lamb of God You take away the sins of the Saint Alban , * world, First Martyr of these shores, * Have mercy on ⇠. Friend of Travellers, * Pray for us, Saint Alban. That we may be m a d e w o rth y o " th e p ro m is# o " C h r ist. Let us pray. Saint Alban , m y glorious patron, w hose life is a hym n of praise to the M ost Holy and Undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, help me to live this day like you as a true soldier of Jesus C h rist, ready to lay dow n m y life for th e M ass Oan d Catholic Priesthood, we ask this through C h rist O ur Lord. Amen. Plen ary Ind u lgen ce available to d ay P len a r y In d u lg en c e – under the usual conditions of Prayer for the Pope's intentions, w orthy reception of H oly C om m union, and receiving the Sacram ent A of Penance & Reconciliation (Confession) – is conceded to the Christian faith fu l w h o visit a P arish C h u rch o n th e So lem n ity o f its T itle an d th ere p io u sly recite th e O ur Fath er an d th e A postles C reed (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum , n o . 33, § 1, 5). ———————————————————— The ORDER of the SOLEMN PROCESSION of the RELICS of SAINT ALBAN Before the Mass, the Relics are brought into the Church in Solemn Procession. Meanwhile, the Choir sing THE ANTIPHON This is a saint who, for the law of his God, strove even unto death and feared nothing from the words of the impious, for he was founded on a sure Rock. THE LITANY OF THE SAINTS Fili Redemptor Mundi, Deus, * miserere nobis. Etc. Sancta Maria, * ora pro nobis. Etc. (Plural: orate pro nobis). Omnes Sancti et Sanctæ Dei, * intercedite pro nobis. Ab omni peccato, * libera nos, Domine. Etc. Ut nobis parcas, * te rogamus, audi nos. Etc. The Abbot intones the Pater Noster and the Choir join him for THE VERSICLES & RESPONSES Confundantur, et revereantur, * qui quaerunt animam meam. Avertantur retrorsum, et erubescant, * qui volunt mihi mala. Avertantur statim erubescentes, * qui dicunt mihi: Euge, euge! Exsultent et laetentur in te omnes qui quærunt te; * et dicant semper: Magnificetur Dominus, qui diligunt salutare tuum. Ego vero egenus et pauper sum; * Deus, adjuva me. Adjutor meus et liberator meus es tu; * Domine, ne moreris. Gloria Patri, et Filio, * Et Spiritui Sancto.