St. Canute Lavard
Feast 01-07
Patron of
About
Canute Lavard was a Danish prince of the early twelfth century, a man born to power who wore it lightly. He became the first Duke of Schleswig, serving as both a Danish and a German vassal, a delicate border position that shaped the future of Southern Jutland. Pious and just, he governed with a care for his people that won him widespread affection. His cousin Magnus the Strong, seeing Canute as a rival for the Danish throne, ambushed and killed him in 1131. The faithful soon venerated him as a martyr for justice. Canonized in 1170, Canute Lavard is remembered as a noble who chose conscience over ambition, and whose blood watered the soil of a Christian Denmark.
Suggested prayer
O God, who crowned St. Canute Lavard with the palm of martyrdom though he was born to a throne, grant through his intercession that we may seek justice over ambition and serve You with a clean heart. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
