13th December
1.saint Judoc was born in 668 and was the son of the Breton king Juthael. He was ordained to the priesthood in 636 at Ponthieu. After a pilgrimage to Rome, he became a hermit at Runiacum near the mouth of the Canche, where he died. His hair, beard, and nails continued to grow after his death. Charlemagne gave Judoc’s hermitage at Saint-Josse-sur-Mer to Blessed Alcuin to use as a hospice for cross-Channel travelers. His cultus spread north to Flanders, Germany, Austria, Alsace, and Switzerland following the discovery of a rival set of relics at Saint-Josse in 977. The popularity of the saint in England is evidenced by the frequency of the Christian name ‘Joyce’ for both men and women. (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Walsh).
2. Saint Judoc, was a nobleman who gave up his wealth and power to become a pilgrim and a hermit. He is often depicted with the symbols of his former and current life: cockleshells, staff and wallet for his pilgrimage, and a crown at his feet for his renunciation. Sometimes he is also shown with a fountain, a book, a sceptre, and animals such as birds and fish that represent his miracles and virtues. One of his miracles was that he made a spring of water gush out of the ground with his staff, which healed many people of their diseases. Another miracle was that he fed a large crowd of people with only two loaves of bread and two fishes, which multiplied in his hands. Saint Judoc is honoured in various places, especially in Brittany, Franconia, and Winchester. He is the patron saint of protection against fire, fever, and storms. (Roeder)
celticsaints.org. (n.d.). Celtic and Old English Saints – 13 December. [online] Available at: https://celticsaints.org/2023/1213a.html [Accessed 13 Dec. 2023].
Image attribution By Master of Messkirch – Eingescannt aus: Anna Moraht-Fromm und Hans Westhoff: Der Meister von Meßkirch – Forschungen zur südwestdeutschen Malerei des 16. Jahrhunderts, Ulm, 1997, S. 178, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1689694