Angelus of Jerusalem

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Saint Angelus
An anonymous (15th century) portrait of Saint Angelus
Martyr
Born	1185, Jerusalem
Died	1222, Leocata, Sicily
Major shrine	Leocata
Feast	May 5
Attributes	knife, sword, book, palm, three crowns, lillies, roses
Saints Portal

Saint Angelus (1185 - 1222), a Palestinian saint and martyr, was born in Jerusalem to a Jewish family. His mother, however, converted to Christianity, and Angelus, along with his twin brother, John, were baptised when she converted. His parents died while he was young, and he and his brother entered the Carmelite Order. Around his twenty-sixth year, Angelus was ordained in Jerusalem, and he traveled through Palestine performing miraculous cures. His acta states that he sought to avoid fame, and when he was becoming known for his miracles, he withdrew from society to a hermitage. He remained a hermit until he received a vision from God instructing him to leave for Italy.

He went to Sicily, and his fame as a miracle-worker caused crowds to come to him. He wanted to convert a vicious and scandalous knight named Berenger, but this soldier became enraged and killed or had him killed in front of the Church of St. James. Pope Honorius II canonized Angelus as a martyr. His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is May 5.