Saint Simeon Stylites
Also known as
- Simeon Stylites the Elder
- 27 July
- 5 January on some calendars
- 1 September on some calendars
Profile
Son of a poor shepherd, and worked as a shepherd as a child. A would-be monk at age 13, he was turned away from monasteries because his severe self-imposed penances. Tired of the gossip and arguments from fellow religious, he lived as a hermit on top of a column, occasionally preaching to those who gathered to watch and pray with him, and starting a movement of pillar-living among Eastern hermits.
Born
- c.459 of natural causes
Readings
Lord God of virtues, Guide of the wayward, Who sits above the Cherubim and searches the foundations of the abyss, Who knew Adam before he was; Who has promised the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven to those who love Thee; Who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush; Who blessed Abraham, our Father; Who brings to Paradise the souls of the just and sinks the souls of the ungodly in perdition; Who humbled the lions before Daniel and mitigated for the three Children the strong fire of the Chaldees; Who nourished Elijah by the ravens which brought him food and restored to life Lazarus on the fourth day, receive my mother’s soul in peace, and put her in the place of the holy fathers, for Thine is the power for ever and ever. Amen. – Saint Simon’s prayer for his mother; text from Prayers of the Saints
MLA Citation
- “Saint Simeon Stylites“. CatholicSaints.Info. 2 December 2023. Web. 16 May 2024. <>