Monday, July 20, 2009

St. Clark of Kent - a "Little Known" Saint

Bio on St. Clark of Kent (as told by Boo - private communication):
Saint Clark of Kent began life early in the Kentish countryside. Because his parents were unknown -- er -- unwealthy, he was apprenticed to the local abbot, and taught to read and write. He became a clerk at the local monastery store (Clerk = Clark, as the Brits say it).
One day, a band of brigands (two, actually) held the store up at gunpoint (difficult, as guns hadn't yet been invented, but after all, the guy's a saint!). Brother Clark, the clerk, threw himself over the collection plate (which served as a cash register back in the day) and was, as they say, "blown away."
This disappearance cum levitation was adjudged a miracle very quickly, and the abbot, no fool he, started organizing pilgrimages to see the very spot where Brother Clark took wing! The patron saint of newspaper men (and women, I suppose) and pilots, it is open to question whether or not he was martyred or just leapt the tallest building at a single, and terminal, bound.
Vestments at the discretion of the celebrant. Some choose red and blue, with a large gold "S" on the chest. Others, especially news people, choose grey with a white pinstripe.

PS -- John Milton, no mean scribe himself, dedicated his "Areopagitica," the essay on freedom of the press, to St. Clark (little known fact). Feast day is movable, but tends to fall on the 29th of February.

This blog supports Little Known Saints.  If you know of one, please feel free to leave the bio in a comment here!  

It's such a shame to waste a saint....

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