Saint Felix

Father Mateo (76776.306@compuserve.com)
20 Mar 96 23:50:09 EST

To: cinaskf@catinfo.cts.com
960310.01
> Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 21:28:05 -0600
> To: 76776.306@compuserve.com
> From: Enrico Hsu <enricoh@netzone.com>
> Subject: Gratias Multas
>
> Dear Father,
> I couldn't believe my ears when I heard your pronouncing
> your name. How would I deserve your calling me long
> distance to answer a question of mine. Whether or not you
> get the research result or not is irrelevant now. The fact
> that you have spent time and went out of your way to call me
> moves me tremendously. You take the matter so seriously. I
> was born in China many moons ago. Naturally I know Rev.
> Mateo Ricci well (not personally, or course). Therefore, I
> had a preconceived idea that you, Fr. Mateo, (for the name
> sake) must be an old old priest with long white beard. But
> your voice sounds so young. Or you ARE young, particularly
> as compared to the average resident of Sun City West
> (average age here must be 70+).
>
> I discovered your list in middle December last year. I
> enjoyed and appreciate your answers so much that I
> systematically stored your message in a separate directory.
>
> Now that I am writing, may I ask you another question. When
> my third son was born on January 14, 1960, I named him
> Felix, because according to the Catholic calendar (at least
> in Taiwan then), that day was the feast of St. Felix.
> Recently, I had an idea of giving my son more information on
> his patron saint. The first thing I discovered that St.
> Felix is no longer on the calendar. I checked the
> encyclopedia and found several St. Felix (popes). I have no
> way of determining which St. Felix I've chosen for my son.
> Could you help? This time, there is no time limit. Since I
> waited 36 years, I can wait another year to find something
> useful for my son. Thank you very much.
>
> Sincerely yours, Enrico Hsu (after St. Henry, King of
> Bavaria)

Dear Enrico,

Perhaps I would fit right into your population there in Sun City
West. Here is what David Hugh Farmer's "Oxford Dictionary of
Saints" has to say about various saints named Felix:

"FELIX OF DUNWICH (d. 647), bishop of the East Angles. A
Burgundian by birth and education, Felix was consecrated at
Dunwich at an unknown date and came to Honorius, archbishop of
Canterbury, with the intention of building up the Church among
the Angles. In 630 the Christian King Sigebert returned from
exile to rule the East Angles, so Honorius sent Felix to
evangelize his people. How long Felix had been a bishop, how
long he had stayed at Canterbury, and whether or not he had
known Sigebert in Gaul before coming to England are alike
uncertain. In East Anglia he made Dunwich the centre of his see
and established a school on the Gaulish model with teachers from
Canterbury. During his episcopate the Irish monk *Fursey
founded a monastery at Burgh Castle; there is no record of any
conflict between the two. Felix is a good example of the
Gaulish contribution to the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons; his
fruitful episcopate of seventeen years in close collaboration
both with the king of East Anglia and with the see of
Canterbury resulted in the stability of his see. He also
founded the monastery of Soham where he was buried, and from
where his relics were translated to Ramsey abbey. The oldest
surviving calendar evidence for his cult dates from c. 1000, at
Bury, Croyland, and Ely. Six ancient English churches are
dedicated to Felix; he has given his name and patronage to
Felixstowe (Suffolk) and possibly, but less likely to Felixkirk
(North Yorkshire). Feast: 8 March.

FELIX OF NOLA (d. 260), confessor. As his compatriot Paulinus
relates, he was tortured but not killed in time of persecution,
after afterwards enjoyed a fruitful apostolate, notable for
conversions and miracles. Bede wrote a summary of this work.
His cult is witnessed by the Martyrologies of Jerome and of
Carthage and by many ancient sacramentaries. His church at
Nola, decorated by murals of Old Testament subjects, was a
notable pilgrimage centre from the 4th century. The
hagiographers, however, confused the issue by either making
several Felixes out of one, or else identifying several
separate ones. It seems most likely that the basilica of Felix
on the Pincian Hill, Rome, was built to honour the martyr Felix
on the Via Portuensis. There are 66 saints of the name of Felix
listed in the Roman Martyrology alone. Felix of Nola occurs in
the Sarum calendar and in 15 English Benedictine calendars.
Feast: 14 January.

FELIX AND ADAUCTUS (d. c. 304), martyrs of Rome. Buried in the
cemetery of Commodilla on the Ostian Way, they must be among
the most solidly attested of all Roman martyrs, with feasts in
the early Roman Sacramentaries, inscriptions from the
pontificates of Siricius and Damasus, and a church built over
their tomb, uncovered in 1905. Felix, a Roman priest, suffered
in the beginning of Diocletian's persecution. On his way to
execution he was joined by a stranger, who also confessed that
he was a Christian and suffered with Felix. As his name was
not known he was called Adauctus (=the one added). Feast:
30 August.

Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo

- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -

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