06/17/2026
Beloved, this Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 10:00 A.M., we celebrate with Fr. Jay, the Feast Day of St. Alban. Who was this guy? Please read:
Alban was a Roman citizen of Brittania who lived in the village of Verulamium in the third century. As a Roman citizen, he was required to follow the Roman religion, worshipping gods and goddesses. Christians suffered persecution at the time. One night, Alban answered a knock at his door. It was a Christian priest fleeing Roman soldiers. Alban provided shelter to him for several days. Observing the priest’s piety and devotion, Alban, incredibly moved, converted to Christianity.
When Roman authorities arrived in the town and searched for the priest, Alban changed clothes with the priest, allowing him to escape. Soldiers brought Alban before a Roman magistrate, who ordered him to renounce Christianity and abide by the Roman pagan rites. Alban refused and professed, “I am called Alban, and I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things.”
He endured severe torture and received a death sentence by beheading.
On June 22, Roman soldiers led Alban away to a nearby hill for his ex*****on. Spectators clogged a bridge on the road that led to the ex*****on site, blocking all traffic. Legend recounts that Alban miraculously caused the river below to divide, allowing him and his captors to cross. Amazed, one of the ex*****oners fell at Alban’s feet. He asked that he could either take Alban’s place or die alongside him. When they reached the hillside, which was covered with wildflowers, his fellow soldiers beheaded the new convert alongside Alban. In dying for his refusal to reject the gospel, Alban became England’s first recorded Christian martyr. Also unfortunate for the priest that converted Alban, he was captured a few days later and was himself, stoned to death. The St. Alban’s Cathedral was finished in 1115, directly on top of the ex*****on site. It was destroyed in 1539. In 1553, the people of St. Alban’s village bought the building for their own use, but the upkeep was expensive and the building fell into disrepair. It was renovated and in 1877, what was a parish church became a Cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of St. Alban’s. Today, the Cathedral is very much a living church and continues to grow. Alban is the patron saint of converts, refugees and victims of torture.
