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Sant'Erasmo Martire, ora pro nobis
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June 2nd is the Feast of Sant’Erasmo (also Sant’Elmo or Saint Erasmus of Formia), Bishop and Martyr. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Sant’Erasmo is invoked to help women in labor and those suffering from abdominal pain and intestinal ailments. Protector of Gaeta and Formia,* he is also the patron saint of sailors. Saint Elmo’s Fire, a corona discharge in the air caused by atmospheric electricity, is named after the saint and is considered a good omen by his devotees.
In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to St. Erasmus. The accompanying photo of the saint was taken at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The picture below of the Castel Sant’Elmo (originally a church dedicated to Sant’Erasmo)
atop the Vomero Hill was taken during my 2010 visit to Napoli. Evviva Sant'Erasmo Martire!Prayer to St. Erasmus
O God, grant us through the intercession of Your dauntless bishop and martyr Erasmus, who so valiantly confessed the Faith, that we may learn the doctrine of the Faith, practice its precepts, and by this be made worthy to attain its promises. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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| Castel Sant'Elmo overlooking Napoli |
* Originally part of the Terra di Lavoro Province of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Gaeta and Formia are now part of present day Provincia di Latina, Lazio
