Saint of the Week -- Alphege

Saint Alphege was an Archbishop of Canterbury, back at the turn of the first millennium. He wanted to be an anchorite, a monk who lived alone and devoted himself to prayer. But he was elected abbot of Bath Abbey, then became the Archbishop in 1006.

He was captured by Viking raiders in 1011 and held for seven months for ransom. Alphege refused to allow a ransom to be paid and the Vikings killed him on April 19, 1012, in Greenwich, just outside of London.

In this time of global terrorism, Alphege witnesses to us how to face the threat of danger and assault ... with love, with peacefulness and with clarity about right and wrong.