The next three inspiring stories of solitaries comes from different cultural backgrounds: an Irishman in the 7th century, an Englishwoman in the 15th century, and an Egyptian in the 4th century. Each biography is one-of-a-kind. What is common among these three solitaries is the story of their love for God and the life of prayer for others and solitude.
St. Fiacre, Hermit (d. ca. 670 A.D.)
Also known as Fiachra, St. Fiacre was born in Ireland. He became a hermit at Kilfiachra, Ireland, before he travelled to France. Upon reaching France, he was received by St. Faro, the bishop of Meaux. St. Faro provided Fiacre with a plot of land where Fiacre lived in solitude as he had lived in Ireland. When people in Meaux heard of Fiacre's piety, they flocked to him because of his knowledge of the Christian faith. St. Fiacre took responsibility for these people and built a hospice for them. He also tilled the soil to grow corn and vegetables for their food. St. Fiacre's reputation for charity and spiritual wisdom continued to grow. His miracles of healing became legendary. The Catholic Church made him the patron saint of gardeners and cabdrivers. The reason is found in relation to the Hotel Saint-Fiacre in Paris and vehicles called "fiacres". Pilgrims make the first stop of their spiritual journey to St. Fiacre's shrine by staying at a hotel and riding a vehicle both named after the Saint. The Church in Ireland and France celebrate the feast of St. Fiacre
every September 1.
Blessed Juliana of Norwich (c. 1342-1423 A.D.)
Juliana became an anchoress outside the walls of St. Julian's Church in Norwich, England. Nothing much is known about her early life. In 1373 A.D., she experienced a series of 16 revelations of Christ's passion and the Trinity. She was at the point of death before this spiritual experience, but the revelations restored her back to health. She then spent the next twenty years meditating on these revelations and the suffering she had endured prior to the revelations. The result of these meditations is a core of writings that produced the Revelations of Divine Love - messages on the love of God, the Incarnation, redemption, sin, penance, and divine consolation (her favorite theme and topic). Blessed Juliana's message is very much rooted in the writings of St. Paul on the themes of sin, grace, redemption in Jesus, and the notion of man's solidarity in Christ. At the time of her death, Blessed Juliana had a far-reaching reputation for sanctity - attracting visitors from all over Europe to her cell. Tradition gave her the title of Blessed. And the Church traditionally celebrates her feast every 13th of May.
St. Paul the Hermit (ca. 229-342 A.D.)
Also known as Paul of Thebes, Paul was born in lower Thebaïd, Egypt. He was orphaned when he was fifteen, but his parents had given him not only a good education and a fair-sized estate, but a strong background in Christianity. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Decius in 250 A.D., Paul hid himself in the house of a friend. He then learned that his brother-in-law wanted Paul's estate and was planning to report Paul as a Christian to the authorities. Paul therefore fled to the desert. He chose a cave near a palm tree and a spring, and was determined to serve God in the desert until the persecution would end.
As time went on, St. Paul realized that his state of life suited him. So he resolved to stay in the desert. He was then visited by St. Anthony of Egypt (who also sought God in the desert after he and his sister were orphaned). Another story reports that St. Jerome also visited Paul in his old age and found the holy hermit an exemplar of what a saint should be. St. Jerome was said to have buried St. Paul when the old man died at the age of 113. Of all these 113 years, more than 90 of them were spent as a hermit.
St. Jerome wrote on the life of Paul and is the only source for biographical details of this famous hermit. Although the Church traditionally celebrates his feast on January 15 and then later on put it in the General Roman Calendar in 1969, the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches and the Coptic and Armenian rites continue to celebrate his feast on this day.
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