Patron Saint of Rabbits

[LittlePuffyTail]

Not sure if any BB members are Catholic or not but I still think this is interesting. I recently found out that rabbits have their own Patron Saint. I was raised Catholic as a kid and always thought the stories of the saints were neat. Most of the pictures of her have a rabbit in them.

St. Melangell- Her story:

In the early 7th Century, Melangell, the daughter of an Irish king, fled to a beautiful spot at the head of the Tanat Valley in Wales, where she lived a peaceful solitary life until the Prince of Powys went hunting, and a frightened hare took refuge under Melangell’s cloak. The Prince’s dogs were subdued and, deeply impressed, he gave her the valley to create a sanctuary. Ever since, Pennant Melangell has been a place of pilgrimage, and Melangell remains the patron saint of hares, rabbits, small animals, and the natural environment.

                             

 

 

 

[Sarita]

Interesting…I never knew this either. I do know St. Francis (but I suspect most people do) is the patron saint of animals but didn’t know there was a special one for bunnies :~)

[Michelle&Lolli]

This is interesting. I’m not catholic so I know very little about the saints. I did know about St Francis though.

[LBJ10]

And Saint Peter actually WAS a rabbit. Hehehehe!

Sorry, South Park moment.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

 LBJ, this is for you!

[LittlePuffyTail]

lol @ Frankie!!!

[peppypoo]

LOL digmenow and LBJ! That’s what I thought when I saw this too

[LBJ10]

LOL! I love it!

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Hippitus Hoppitis.

I call him Pope Bunedict in these ones

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Hippitus Hoppitis.

I call him Pope Bunedict in these ones

[lashkay]

Thanks, LittlePuffyTail, this is very interesting. Again, I had only known about St. Francis, and St. Anthony, the Saint of Lost Things. When I can’t find something, right away I say Dear St. Anthony, please help me find this! Sooner or later, usually sooner, it always turns up. Maybe, I’ll pray to St. Melangell to watch over my two buns. Couldn’t hurt. Her story is interesting too. Anyway, Frankie in the pope’s hat is a riot!

[lashkay]

To those interested in St. Melangell, the Patron Saint of Rabbits, small animals and the natural environment, I found this on google, it goes into a little more detail:

LIFE OF ST. MELANGELL

MELANGELL was a daughter of Cyfwlch, the son of Tudwal, according to some accounts, but of Tudwal according to others, and was descended from the Emperor Maximus and his British wife Elen. Her mother was an Irish-woman.

The story goes that her father desired to marry her to a chieftain under him, but either she disliked the man or the thought of marriage, and determined to run away. Accordingly she found an opportunity to escape, and secreted herself at
Pennant, one of the most lonely and lovely spots in Montgomeryshire, at the head of the Tanat. Her story is represented on the frieze of the carved oak screen of the church there.

In this spot, sleeping on bare rock, she remained for fifteen years. One day Brochwel Ysgythrog, Prince of Powys, was hunting and in pursuit of a hare, when it escaped into a thicket, and took refuge under the robe of a virgin of great beauty, whom the huntsman discovered. She faced and drove back the hounds. The huntsman then put his horn to his lips, and there it stuck as if glued. Upon this up came the prince, and he at once granted a parcel of land to the saint, to serve as a sanctuary, and bade her found there a convent. This she did, and she lived in a cell which still remains, though somewhat altered, at the east end of the church. She was buried in the church, after her called Pennant Melangell, and fragments of a very beautiful shrine remain built into the walls, but sufficient to allow of its reconstruction.

The cell of Saint Melangell is, as said, to the east of the church, and has no communication with it. It goes by the name of Cell y Bedd, or Cell of the Grave, and it has a door and a window. In this originally stood the shrine. Her gwely, or bed, lies on the opposite side of the valley, a quarter of a mile south of the church.

Melangell is considered the patroness of hares, which are termed her lambs. Until last century so strong a superstition prevailed that no person would kill a bare in the parish; and even later, when a hare was pursued by dogs, it was believed that if any one cried “God and Melangell be with thee,” it would surely escape.

In the Welsh calendars she is commemorated on January 31 and on May 4

[cactuspancake]

OMG Frankie lol reminds me of the south park episode where the pope was a bunny

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks for the info Lashkay.

There is also St. Martin de Porres. He is always pictured with a broom, a cat and a dog. He was from Peru and devoted his life to help the sick and poor, including animals. He set up an animal hospital in his house which was absolutely unheard of during his time. He is, among other things, the Patron Saint of Animal Shelters.

[lashkay]

LittlePuffyTail, Very interesting about St. Martin de Porres, thank you!
– lashkay

[RabbitPam]

That is so cool.

I like that she is Welch, don’t ask me why. Just seems right that bunnies are protected in the Irish isles.

If it gets around that she lay on a rock for 15 years and still looked beautiful, we’ll be seeing some strange new beauty regimes.

[bunnytowne]

Very interesting.   Good info.   I need another rabbit to name megln oh ohh I forgot how to spell it.    lol..  If I forgot how to spell it how am I going to remember the name   lol

Megalin ?

no it is melangel

And Frankie bunny that is hilarious.   Pope St. Frankie the 1st

[Author]

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