St. Maurice
Feast 09-22
Patron of
About
Maurice was the commander of the Theban Legion, a unit of Christian soldiers from Egypt serving in the Roman army. Around 287 the emperor Maximian ordered the legion to offer sacrifice to the gods before a campaign and to persecute local Christians.
Maurice and his men refused, declaring that they would obey the emperor in all lawful things but could not deny their faith. When the legion persisted in its refusal, Maximian ordered the soldiers decimated, and finally the entire legion was executed at Agaunum, in present-day Switzerland.
Maurice and his companions were venerated from the earliest centuries, and the abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune became a great pilgrimage center. He is the patron of soldiers, infantrymen, and swordsmiths, and is honored as a model of fidelity to conscience.
Suggested prayer
O God, who gave St. Maurice and his Theban Legion courage to choose death rather than deny Christ, grant through his intercession that soldiers and all who must obey authority may obey you first. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
