Stained glass window depicting Botolph at St Botolph's Church, Cambridge
Saint Botolf
(+ 655)
ou Botulphe.
Originaire de Maestricht, il fut converti alors que
son pays était encore païen. Il passa alors en Belgique, puis en Angleterre,
pour trouver un lieu désertique et mieux se consacrer à Dieu. Les invasions
danoises détruisirent son ermitage. Il fut très honoré en Angleterre, jusqu'au
jour où celle-ci quitta l'Église romaine.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6074/Saint-Botolf.html
St Botolph's Church, the earliest
church in Boston, Lincolnshire
.jpg)
St Botolph's Church, the earliest
church in Boston, Lincolnshire. The nave and chancel
Also
known as
Botulph of Ikenhoe
Botolph
Botulf
Botwulf
1
December (translation of relics)
Profile
Born to a Christian Saxon
noble family. Brother of Saint Adolph
of Utrecht. Educated with
his brother at the monastery of
Cnobersburg (Burgh Castle), Suffolk under the direction of its founder, Saint Fursey.
When Mercian forces under King Penda
invaded the region, the boys were
sent to study at the monastery at
Bosanham, Sussex. He became a Benedictine monk at
Farmoutiere-en-Brie, Gaul (modern
northeastern France),
and was sent back to the British Isles in 647 to
establish the Benedictine
Order there.
With the support of Saint Syre, Saint Aubierge,
and their brother, King Anna
of East
Anglia, Botulph founded the monastery of
Ikanhoe in East
Anglia, declining the offer of a part of the royal estate, and settling for
a wild, barren site that was removed from people, reported to be haunted
by demons,
and which would require endless work to sustain the monks.
For many years it was believed that the area that grew up around it came to be
called Botulph’s Town, contracted to Botulphston, and later
contracted to Boston in Lincolnshire, but recent reasearch has shown
that the original site is another location. The Saxon Chronicle indicates
that by 654 Botulph
had attracted enough brother monks and hermits that
work begain on the monastery.
Through hard work and faith, the monastery grew
in population; the monks built
several structures, turned large areas of marsh and scrub into productive
farming and grazing lands, and dispelled the people’s fears of demons.
Botulph served as
spiritual director for Saint Ceolfrith,
and worked as a travelling missionary through
rough, bandit-plagued areas of East
Anglia, Kent and Sussex. His legacy continued for centuries in the strength
of the Benedictine movement
in the Isles, and in the dozens of churches named for him, many of them built
at city gates to serve as safe-haven for travellers in
times when robbers roamed the roads, and many in port or river towns.
Born
c.610 in East
Anglia (part of modern England)
17 June 680 of
natural causes following a lengthy illness
he died while
being carried to chapel for compline services
buried at
Ikanhoe
relics moved
in 870 to
keep them from being destroyed by invading Danes
relics transferred
to Grundisburgh in 983
relics later
distributed to monasteries at
Thornery, Westminster,
and Edmundsburg, Suffolk
tradition says that for
safety the cask of relics destined
for Edmundsburg were taken there in the middle of the night, but the travellers were
guided by a light that hovered above the relics‘
new shrine
processions of the relics through
Edmundsburgh has ended droughts there
in England
Bossal,
Yorkshire
Boston,
Lincolnshire
Botesdale,
Suffolk
Botolph
Bridge, Huntingdonshire
Botolph’s
Bridge, Kent
Botolphs,
Sussex
Boston,
Massachusetts
abbot holding
a church in
his hand
abbot holding
a monastery in
his hand
blue field with
undulating silver lines superimposed with an inverted gold chevron with a gold
cross at its point (his coat of arms)
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Resources for Worship
with Saint Botulph, edited by The Reverend Timothy L’Estrange, 2002
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
The Story of Botulph,
compiled by The Reverend Canon Lucius P Smith, 1950;
revised by The Reverend Timothy L’Estrange, 2001
other
sites in english
Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America
audio
video
fonti
in italiano
Readings
The wearied man of God looked
about him everywhere, till at last he found, by the mercy of God, such a
desert spot which was just the God-forsaken, devil-possessed place he was in
search of. – unknown ancient writer describing Botulph’s selection of
sites for his monastery
The evil spirits who
people the place were disturbed at his coming. A noxious vapour was exhaled
from the ground, and the daemons gave vent to terrifying groans. They had dwelt
there, they said, for a long time, and had thought to do so for ever. They had no
other place to go to. Why could not Saint Botolph seek some other spot, since
the whole world was singing his praises? He was acting unkindly in disturbing
them. – unknown ancient writer describing the problems Botulph caused evil
spirits that inhabited the site of his Ikanhoe monastery
Saint Botulph sought a
desert spot
And found a lonely mound,
He opened there a house of prayer
And made it holy ground.
He lived a humble, quiet
life,
From crowded scenes apart;
Yet others often sought him out
To share his joy of heart.
– from a hymn by Jane
Dansie, Castle Methodist Church, Colchester, England
MLA
Citation
“Saint Botulph of
Ikanhoe“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 February 2024. Web. 21 April 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-botulph-of-ikanhoe/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-botulph-of-ikanhoe/
Article
(Saint) Abbot. (June 17)
(7th century) He and his brother, Saint Adulph, were Anglo-Saxons, but entered
a monastery in Belgium. Saint Adulph became Bishop of Utrecht, and Saint
Botulph returned to England and founded a Benedictine Abbey at Icanhoe in Lincolnshire
(A.D. 654), which was destroyed by the Danes in the ninth century. Saint
Botulph died about the year 700, and his relics were removed to Thorney by
Saint Ethelwald. Boston in Lincolnshire is an abbreviated form of Botulph’s
Town, and several churches were dedicated to him, among them four at the gates
of the City of London.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Botulph”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 6
September 2012.
Web. 21 April 2026. <http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-botulph/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-botulph/
St. Botulph
Feastday: June 17
Patron: of the patron saint of travellers and farming
Death: 680
Sts. Botulph and Adulph
were two noble English brothers, who opened their eyes to the light of faith in
the first dawning of the day of the gospel upon our ancestors. Astonished at
the great truths which they had learned, and penetrated with the most profound
sentiments which religion inspires,
they traveled into the Belgic Gaul, there to find some religious houses
and schools of
virtue, which were then scarce in England. Such was the progress of these holy
men that they soon were judged fit to be themselves masters. Nor was it long
before Adulph was advanced to the bishopric of Maestricht, which he
administered in so holy a manner, that he is honored in France among
the saints on the 17th of June. St. Botulph returned
to England to bring to his own country the treasure he had found. Addressing
himself to king Ethelmund, he begged some barren spot of ground to found a
monastery. The king gave him the wilderness of Ikanho where he built an abbey,
and taught the brethren whom he assembled there the rules of Christian perfection,
and the institutes of the holy fathers. He was beloved by everyone, being
humble, mild, and affable. All his discourse was on things which tended to
edification, and his example was still far more efficacious to instill the
true spirit of
every virtue. When he was oppressed with any sickness he never ceased thanking
and praising God with
holy Job. Thus he persevered to a good old
age. He was purified by a long illness before his happy death, which happened
in the same year with that of St. Hilda, 655. His monastery having been
destroyed by the Danes, his relics were
part carried to the monastery of Ely, and part to that of Thorney. St. Edward
the Confessor afterwards
bestowed some portion of them on his own abbey of
Westminster. Few English saints have been more honored by our ancestors. Four
parishes in London, and innumerable others throughout the country, bear his
name. Botulph's town, now Boston, in Lincolnshire and Botulph's bridge, now
Bottle-bride, in Huntingdonshire, are so called from him. Leland and Bale will have
his monastery of Ikanho to have been in one of those two places; Hickes says at
Boston; others think it was towards Sussex; for Ethelmund seems to have been
king of the South -Saxons. Thorney abbey was
situated in Cambridgeshire, and was one of those whose abbots sat in
parliament. It was founded in 972, in honor of St. Mary and
St. Botulph. In its church lay interred St. Botulph, St. Athulf, St. Huna, St.
Tancred, St. Tothred, St. Hereferth, St. Cissa, St. Bennet, St. Tova, or Towa,
to whose memory a
fair chapel called
Thoueham, half a mile off in the wood, was consecrated. Thorney was anciently
called Ancarig, that is, the Isle of Anchorets. Part of the relics of St. Botulph was
kept at Medesham, afterwards called Peterburgh. See Dr. Brown Willis, on
mitered Abbeys, t. 1, p. 187, and the life of St. Botulph publisher!
by Mabillon, Act. Ben. t. 3, p. 1, and by Papebroke, t. 3, Junij, p. 398. The
anonymous author of this piece declares he had received some things which he
relates from the disciples of the saint who had lived under his direction.
There is also in the Cottonian library, n. l l l, a MS. life of
Saint Botulph compiled by Folcard, first a monk of
St. Bertin's at St. Omer, afterwards made by the conqueror abbot of
Thorney in 1068. See also Narratio de Sanctis qui in Anglia quiescunt,
translated from the English-Saxon into Latin by Francis Junius, and published
by Dr. Hickes, Diss. Epist. pp. 118, l l 9. Thesauri, t. 1.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=569
Botulph, OSB Abbot (AC)
(also known as Botulf,
Botolph)
Died c. 680; feast of his
translation is December 1. Botulph and his brother, Saint Adulph, were two
noble English brothers at the dawn of Christianity on that island. They were
probably born in East Anglia. At some point they traveled into Belgian Gaul to
learn more about Christian discipline in a monastery because they were then
scarce in England. They progressed in the spiritual life to the point that
Adulph is said to have been raised to the episcopate, though this is
questioned. Botulph is said to have been chaplain to the convent where two of
his king's sisters lived, possibly at Chelles. (Liobsynde, the first abbess of
Wenlock (Salop), was from Chelles and Wenlock was initially dependent on Ikanhoe.)
Botulph returned to
England with the treasure he had found and begged King Ethelmund of the South
Saxons for land on which to set it. The king gave him the wilderness of Ikanhoe
(Icanhoh), formerly thought to be near Boston (Botulf's stone) in Lincolnshire
but now believed to be Iken in Suffolk. (Others relate that the land was
provided by the king of East Anglia, either Ethelhere, 654, or more likely
Ethelwold, 654-64.) There he built an abbey and taught the assembled brethren
the rules of Christian perfection and the institutes of the holy fathers. He
became one of the foremost missionaries of the 7th century.
Everyone loved Botulph:
He was humble, mild, and affable. He always practiced what he preached, finding
an upright example far more important than sermons. Nevertheless, Saint
Ceolfrid travelled all the way from Wearmouth to converse with this man
"of remarkable life and learning" before joining Saint Benedict
Biscop at Wearmouth. Botulph thanked God in good times and in bad, knowing that
God works all things to the good of those who love Him. He lived to a venerable
age and was purified by a long illness before his happy death
Although his monastery
was destroyed by the Danes, his relics were carried to Ely (the head) and
Thorney Abbeys. It is said that when Ethelwold sent his disciple Ulfkitel to
collect the relics of Botulph for Thorney Abbey, he found that he could not
move them without also taking those of Adulph as well. Saint Edward the
Confessor gave some of them to Westminster and others are at Bury Saint
Edmunds. More than 70 English churches were dedicated to Saint Botulph,
including four parishes in London. Name other place names also recall his
sanctity including the town of Boston in Lincolnshire and Botulph's bridge, now
Bottle-bride, in Huntingdonshire (Attwater, Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth).
In art, Saint Adulph,
bishop, and Saint Botulf, abbot, hold the Abbey of Ikanhoe, Suffolk, England.
The four gates of the City of London are dedicated to them (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0617.shtml
St. Botulph
(Or BOTOLPH.)
Abbot, date of
birth unknown; died c. 680. St. Botulph, the saint whose
name is perpetuated in that of the American city of Boston,
Massachusetts, was certainly an historical personage, though the story of
his life is very confused and unsatisfactory. What information we possess about
him is mainly derived from a short biography by Folcard, monk of St.
Bertin and Abbot of
Thorney, who wrote in the eleventh century (Hardy, Catalogue of Brit. Hist., I,
373). According to him Botulph was born of noble Saxon parents who
were Christians,
and was sent with his brother Adulph to the Continent for the purpose of study.
Adulph remained abroad, where he is stated to have become Bishop of Utrecht,
though his name does not occur in any of the ancient lists. Botulph, returning
to England,
found favour with a certain Ethelmund, "King of the southern Angles",
whose sisters he had known in Germany,
and was by him permitted to choose a tract of desolate land upon which to build
a monastery.
This place, surrounded by water and called Icanhoe (Ox-island), is commonly
identified with the town of Boston in
Lincolnshire, mainly on account of its name (Boston=Botulph's town). There is,
however, something to suggest that the true spot
may be the village of Iken in Suffolk which of old was almost encircled by the
little river Alde, and in which the church is also dedicated to St. Botulph. In
favour of Lincolnshire must be reckoned the fact that St. Botulph was
much honoured in
the North and in Scotland.
Thus his feast was entered in the York calendar but not in that of Sarum.
Moreover, even Folcard speaks of the Scots as Botulph's neighbours (vicini). In
favour of Suffolk, on the other hand, may be quoted the tradition that St.
Botulph, who is also called "bishop", was first buried at
Grundisburgh, a village near Woodbridge, and afterwards translated to Bury St.
Edmunds. This, however, may be another person,
since he is always closely associated with a certain St. Jurmin (Arnold,
Memorials of Bury, I, 352). That Botulph really did build a monastery at
Icanhoe is attested by an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the year
654: Botulf ongan thæt mynster timbrian æt Yceanho, i.e. Botulph began to
build the minster at Icanhoe. That the saint must
have lived somewhere in the Eastern counties is proved by
the indisputable evidence of the "Historia Abbatum" (Plummer's Bede,
I, 389), where we learn that Ceolfrid, Bede's beloved
master at Wearmouth,
"journied to the East Angles in order that he might see the foundation of
Abbot Botulphus, whom fame had proclaimed far and wide to be a man of
remarkable life and learning, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit", and
the account goes on to say that Ceolfrid "having been abundantly
instructed, so far as was possible in a short time, returned home so well
equipped that no one could be found more learned than he either in ecclesiastical or
monastic traditions". Folcard represents St. Botulph as living and dying
at Icanhoe in spite of the molestations of the evil
spirits to which he was exposed at his first coming. Later accounts,
e.g. the lessons of the Schleswig Breviary,
suppose him to have changed his habitation more than once and to have built at
one time a monastery upon
the bank of the Thames in honour of
St. Martin. His relics are
said after the incursions of the Danes to have been recovered and divided by
St. Aethelwold between Ely, Thorney Abbey, and King Edgar's private chapel.
What is more certain is that St. Botulph was honoured by
many dedications of churches, over fifty in all, especially in East Anglia and
in the North. His name is perpetuated not only by the little town of Boston in
Lincolnshire with its American homonym, but also by Bossal in Yorkshire,
Botesdale in Suffolk, Botolph Bridge in Huntingdonshire, and Botolph in Sussex.
In England his
feast was kept on 17 June, in Scotland on
25 June.
Sources
STANTON, Menology,
271; Acta SS., June, III, 402; MABILLON, Acta SS. Benedict., III, 1;
STUBBS in Dict. Christ. Biog.; GRANT, in Dict. Nat. Biog.;
FORBES, Calendars of Scottish Saints (Edinburgh, 1872), 283; and
especially ARNOLD-FORSTER, Church Dedications (London, 1899), II,
52-56.
Thurston, Herbert.
"St. Botulph." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1907. 17 Jun. 2015
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02709a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Steve Fanning.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Copyright © 2026 by New Advent LLC.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02709a.htm
June 17
St. Botulph, Abbot
SS. BOTULPH and ADULPH
were two noble English brothers who opened their eyes to the light of faith in
the first dawning of the day of the gospel upon our ancestors. Astonished at
the great truths which they had learned and penetrated with the most profound
sentiments which religion inspires, they travelled into the Belgic Gaul there
to find some religious houses and schools of virtue, which were then scarce in
England. Such was the progress of these holy men that they soon were judged fit
to be themselves masters. Nor was it long before Adulph was advanced to the
bishopric of Maestricht, which he administered in so holy a manner, that he is
honoured in France among the saints on the 17th of June. St. Botulph returned
to England to bring to his own country the treasure he had found. Addressing
himself to king Ethelmund he begged some barren spot of ground to found a
monastery. The king gave him the wilderness of Ikanho, where he built an abbey,
and taught the brethren whom he assembled there the rules of Christian
perfection, and the institutes of the holy fathers. He was beloved by every
one, being humble, mild and affable. All his discourse was on things which
tended to edification, and his example was still far more efficacious to instil
the true spirit of every virtue. When he was oppressed with any sickness he
never ceased thanking and praising God with holy Job. Thus he persevered to a
good old age. He was purified by a long illness before his happy death, which
happened in the same year with that of St. Hilda, 655. His monastery having
been destroyed by the Danes, his relics were carried, part to the monastery of
Ely, and part to that of Thorney. St. Edward the Confessor afterwards bestowed
some portion of them on his own abbey of Westminster. Few English saints have
been more honoured by our ancestors. Four parishes in London, and innumerable
others throughout the country bear his name. Botulph’s town, now Boston, in
Lincolnshire, and Botulph’s bridge, now Bottle-bridge, in Huntingdonshire, are
so called from him. Leland and Bale will have his monastery of Ikanho to have
been in one of those two places; Hickes says at Boston; others think it was
towards Sussex; for Ethelmund seems to have been king of the South-Saxons.
Thorney abbey was situated in Cambridgeshire, and was one of those whose abbots
sat in parliament. It was founded in 972 in honour of St. Mary and St. Botulph.
In its church lay interred St. Botulph, St. Athulf, St. Huna, St. Tancred, St.
Tothred, St. Hereferth, St. Cissa, St. Bennet, St. Tova or Towa, to whose
memory a fair chapel called Thoueham, half a mile off in the wood, was
consecrated. Thorney was anciently called Ancarig, that is, the Isle of
Anchorets. Part of the relics of St. Botulph was kept at Medesham, afterwards
called Peterburgh. See Dr. Brown Willis, on mitred Abbeys, t. 1, p. 187, and
the life of St. Botulph published by Mabillon, Act. Ben. t. 3, p. 1, and by
Papebroke, t. 3, Junij, p. 398. The anonymous author of this piece declares he
had received some things which he relates from the disciples of the saint who
had lived under his direction. There is also in the Cottonian library, n. 111,
a MS. life of St. Botulph compiled by Folcard, first a monk of St. Bertin’s at
St. Omer, afterwards made by the Conqueror abbot of Thorney in 1068. See also
Narratio de Sanctis qui in Anglia quiescunt, translated from the English-Saxon
into Latin by Francis Junius, and published by Dr. Hickes, Diss. Epist.
pp. 118, 119. Thesauri, t. 1.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume VI: June. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/6/172.html
Saint Botulph
Botulph is a popular
medieval saint whose name has been honoured in the dedication of many East
Anglian churches. Owen Spencer-Thomas tells the story of this Saxon saint.
Botulph was one of the
most popular British saints of the early Middle Ages. He was a nobleman who
went to the Continent to become a Benedictine monk and returned to England to
found a monastery in East Anglia. Although the life story of this humble
affable man is sketchy, records show that he did exist in history and his story
is more fact than legend.
Born into a Christian
Saxon family in the early seventh century, Botulph and his brother Adulph were
educated by Saint Fursey in Cnobersburg monastery, located at Burgh Castle near
Great Yarmouth. When Mercian forces invaded the region, the boys were sent to
Europe and became Benedictines. Botulph was sent back to England in 647 to
establish the Benedictine Order, while Adulph remained in Europe and became a
bishop.
On his return, Botulph
approached the little known King of the southern Angles, Ethelmund, whose
sisters he had known in Germany. The King offered Botulph part of the royal
estate upon which to build a monastery. Instead he settled for a desolate,
barren site, reported to be haunted by demons.
With the support of Saint
Syre, Saint Aubierge, and their brother, King Anna of East Anglia, Botulph
founded the monastery of Ikanhoe (Ox-island), which according to the Saxon
Chronicle, was established in 654 AD as a Benedictine abbey.
The site was surrounded
by water and endless work was needed to make this austere place viable. But
Botulph attracted enough brother monks and hermits and soon, through their hard
work and faith, the monastery grew. The monks built several structures, turned
large areas of marsh and scrub into productive grazing and farm land, and
dispelled the local people's fear of demons.
No one knows for sure
where Ikanhoe was - the two modern contenders are Iken in Suffolk and Boston in
Lincolnshire. For many years local historians believed that the developing area
around the monastery came to be called Botulph's Town, then Botulphston, with
the name finally contracted to Boston.
However, more recent
research suggests that the actual spot may be the village of Iken, near Snape
in east Suffolk which, centuries ago, was almost encircled by the River Alde.
The church there is also dedicated to St. Botulph.
During his time at the
monastary, Botulph also worked as a travelling missionary through rough,
bandit-plagued areas of East Anglia, Kent and Sussex.
It is believed he died
after a long illness while being carried to chapel for a compline service on 17
June 680 – the date his feast is commemorated. He was buried there at
Ikanhoe.
A couple of centuries
later his relics were removed to prevent them from being destroyed by invading
Danes. It is believed they were transferred to Grundisburgh, a village near
Woodbridge and later for safety distributed to the monasteries at Ely, Thorney
and Bury St. Edmunds. According to legend, the relics destined for Bury were
taken by night and the travellers were guided by a light that shone above the
site of the new shrine. In the 11th century, a portion of Botulph’s relics were
also taken to the Abbey of Westminster after it was rebuilt by Edward the
Confessor.
Although there is some
uncertainty as to where Botulph’s relics lie, what is not in doubt is that he
was honoured by many churches dedicated to his name - well over fifty, chiefly
in East Anglia. They bear witness to his untiring work which strengthened the
Benedictine movement for many centuries after his lifetime.
Some of these churches
were built at the ancient city gates to serve as safe-havens for travellers in
times when robbers and footpads lurked along the roadways. Botolph is regarded
as the patron saint for travellers and itinerants, and also farmers and
agricultural workers.
His name is perpetuated
not only at Boston in Lincolnshire but also by the New World city of Boston in
Massachusetts. He gave his name to several English villages including
Bottlebridge near Peterborough. Originally called Botulph’s Bridge, the village
lost its identity when it became part of Orton Longueville parish in 1762.
SOURCE : http://ely.anglican.org/about/good_and_great/botulph.html
Saint Botolph
Saint Botolph was an
English abbot who died in around the year 680. His feast day is on 17 June.
Little is known of the saint, other than, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle under 654, ‘Botulf ongan thoet mynster timbrian oet Yceanho’,
‘Botolph founded an abbey at Icanhoe’, meaning Ox-island. Some claim the abbey
was at Iken in Essex, others in Lincolnshire, where Boston is a contraction of
‘Botolph’s town’.
As the patron saint of travellers, four churches at the gates of the city took
his name, our neighbour St
Botolph without Bishopsgate, St Botolph without Aldersgate at the other end
of the City and St Botolph without Billingsgate, which was destroyed in the
Great Fire of London in 1666. On their way to and from the City people would
stop and pray and give thanks for travelling mercies.
O God, by whose grace the
blessed Abbot Botolph,
enkindled with the fire
of your love,
became a burning and a
shining light in your church;
grant that we may be
inflamed
with the same spirit of
discipline and love,
and ever walk before you
as children of the light,
through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Amen.
SOURCE : http://www.stbotolphs.org.uk/who-was-st-botolph
St
Botolph's Church, Iken, Suffolk
San Botulfo Abate
in Inghilterra
Festa: 17 giugno
VII sec.
Nato in Inghilterra
all'inizio del VII secolo da nobile famiglia sassone convertita al
cristianesimo, Botulfo, spinto da ideali ascetici, lasciò la patria per
abbracciare la vita monastica. La sua fama di santità raggiunse ben presto il
re di una regione europea non meglio precisata, che lo nominò vescovo (sebbene
la nomina non sia confermata dalle fonti). Richiamato in Inghilterra da due
monache sorelle del re meridionale, Botulfo ottenne dal sovrano il permesso di
fondare un monastero. Nel 654 scelse l'eremo di Icanno (oggi Iken o Boston),
dove eresse un'abbazia e ne divenne abate. Morì il 17 giugno 680, venerato per
i suoi miracoli, e fu sepolto nel suo monastero accanto al fratello Adolfo. Le
loro reliquie furono in seguito divise tra le abbazie di Thorney, Ely e
Westminster.
Santi BOTULFO, abate in
INGHILTERRA, e ADOLFO, vescovo di MAASTRICHT, fratelli.
Nati all'inizio del secolo VII da una di quelle nobili famiglie sassoni che
avevano conquistata l'Inghilterra e si erano fatte cristiane, o, secondo
un'altra tradizione, dall'illustre prosapia dei re di Scozia, furono spinti dal
desiderio di perfezione ad abbandonare il loro paese e a passare il mare. Non
si sa in qual luogo si fermassero, se nel Belgio o in Germania, ma è certo che,
dopo qualche tempo, essi vestirono l'abito monastico. Secondo la loro Vita, da
considerarsi però piuttosto favolosa, la fama della santità di Adolfo non tardò
a giungere agli orecchi del re della regione in cui si trovava, che,
consentendo alla volontà popolare, lo avrebbe nominato vescovo di Maastricht (o
di Utrecht): si noti, tuttavia, che il suo nome non figura nelle liste
episcopali delle due città.
Botulfo invece, rispondendo alla chiamata di due monache sorelle del re dell'Inghilterra meridionale, che lo consideravano loro guida spirituale, fece ritorno in patria, dove ebbe dal sovrano il permesso di costruire un monastero nel luogo che più gli piacesse. Nel 654, il santo scelse dunque un eremo chiamato Icanno (Ikanhoe, corrispondente, secondo alcuni a Boston, nella contea di Lincoln, secondo altri a Iken nel Suffolk) e, fondatovi un monastero, ne fu saggio abate. Morì, illustre per miracoli, il 17 giugno del 680 e fu sepolto nel suo monastero insieme col fratello Adolfo: in seguito, le loro reliquie furono divise fra i monasteri di Thorney, di Ely e di Westminster.
Oggi in Inghilterra esistono settanta chiese dedicate a Botulfo che, sempre insieme col fratello, viene festeggiato il 17 giugno.
Autore: Pietro Burchi
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