Patron saint of vergers

[Valerie]

Hello,
a member of our congregation writes beautiful icons. He would like to
write one for me and asked who the patron saint of vergers is. Any
ideas?

Valerie Tutton
St. Andrew's
Port Angeles, WA

[John Dieter]

Valerie,

 

I am not aware of a specific patron saint for vergers. However, St. Vincent of Saragossa is the patron saint of the Order of St. Vincent which is the Anglican/Episcopal society for all lay ministers including vergers. You can find out more about him and the society at;

 

http://www.orderstvincent.org/

 

John

 

 

 

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Dr. John Dieter

Verger, Liturgical Congregation  

Rose Barracks Chapel

Vilseck, Germany

[dut...@comcast.net]

I have always believed the St. Gumby is the patron saint of Verger. Reminding us always be flexible. In the vesting room at the National Cathedral there is St. Gumby wearing a vergers chimere and carrying a verge.

Claude "Duke" DuTeil
Head Verger
Washington National Cathedral

[John Dieter]

Very amusing Duke - would love to see a photo of St. Gumby posted!

[Bill Rhines]

Friends...

As it happens, our associate, Marcia Lauzon, and I recently had some
correspondence about this matter for the exact same reason - someone
inquiring about writing an icon. I did a bit of cursory research into the
matter, and have copied my findings below. Since then, I've looked into it
a bit further, and came up empty.

For your amusement.....

Hi, Marcia....

An interesting question. I couldn't find a patron saint for vergers,
although my cynical side says that we should all be nominated for sainthood.

I did find a patron saint for Sacristans - Theodore the Sacristan (December
24) who, allegedly, frequently saw angels (getting into the Christmas egg
nog a bit early?)

I also came across someone by the name of John Berchmans (Roman Catholic
patron of altar servers). Berchmans was not noted for extraordinary feats
of holiness or austerity, nor did he found orders or churches or work flashy
miracles. He made kindness, courtesy, and constant fidelity an important
part of his holiness. Perhaps the path to holiness can lie in the ordinary
rather than the extraordinary - a lesson for all of us.

I met Julian the poor (patron saint of hospitality). As penance (for
killing his parents), he and his wife travelled to Rome as pilgrims, seeking
absolution. On his way home, to continue his penance, he built a hospice
beside a river, cared for the poor and sick, and rowed travellers across the
river for free. Once, Julian gave his own bed to a pilgrim leper who had
nearly frozen to death. When they had him safely settled, the man revealed
himself to be an angel. The visitor announced that Christ had accepted
Julian's penance; the angel then disappeared. A nice story - except for
the killing the parents part.

I suppose that, in a pinch, we could fall back on our buddy St. Vincent, as
the patron of acolytes in the broader "servant" context. Icons of St.
Vinny typically show him holding a thurible (a symbol of his being a
Deacon), and a cross (a symbol of his martyrdom).

Bill Rhines

----- Original Message -----
From: "Valerie" <vtu...@gmail.com>
To: "The Vergers' Guild of the Episcopal Church V-List"
<vl...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 3:24 PM
Subject: [V-List] Patron saint of vergers

[Marcia Lauzon]

As I mentioned to Bill Rhines and Valerie Tutton, I Googled something
like "Saint + verger" and got a link to a town in France called "St.
Quentin le Verger." But even on the tourism website for the region,
there is no info on who this particular Quentin the verger was and why
he was a saint. Couldn't find him in a list of saints anywhere,
either. Anybody?

At least some verger, somewhere, ascended to sainthood. I take that as
a hopeful sign.

Marcia Lauzon, Verger
Church of the Incarnation
Great Falls, MT