St Christopher

His legend is preserved in Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend. The story states that Christopher was a sort of Canaanite giant or ogre, said to be who lived during the third century. He was twelve cubits (about eighteen feet) tall, and had a most fearsome countenance. His name originally was "Offero" or "Reprobus." Such was his pride, that he vowed that he would serve only a master who was more fearsome than himself. After research, Christopher determined that the Devil was a likely candidate. He therefore pledged himself to the Devil's service, only to abandon the Devil when he learned that the Devil, in turn, was afraid of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Christopher then vowed instead to serve Jesus instead, and became a Christian. He sought out a Christian hermit[?] to inquire as to how he could better serve Jesus. The hermit directed him to a dangerous ford in a swift river, and suggested that Christopher's great size and strength made him a good candidate to assist people in crossing. Christopher began ferrying people across the river on his broad back.

One day a small child approached the river and asked to be carried across. Christopher began to comply, only to learn that the small boy was far heavier than any other passenger he had taken. The child revealed that he was in fact Jesus Christ, and that his unusual weight was due to the fact that he bore the sins of he world. The boy then baptised Christopher in the river. Christopher then acquired his new name, which is Greek for "Christ-carrier" (christo-phoros).

The child then told Christopher to plant his staff in the ground. The staff miraculously bloomed into a fruit-bearing tree. This miracle converted many. Enraged at these conversions, a local king had Christopher imprisoned, where after cruel tortures he died as a martyr.

The veneration of this improbable figure was sharply criticised by Erasmus in his Praise of Folly[?]. Christopher's feast day formerly was July 25; it was downgraded by the Vatican to a purely local commemoration in 1969. Christopher was formerly one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and the patron saint of travellers. Despite his demotion, devotion to St Christopher remains popular among Roman Catholics, due largely to the medallions[?] issued in his name, which are thought to be amulets that confer safety when travelling.

External links:

• Historia de Sancto Christophoro (http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/vorag.chris) by Jacobus de Voragine (Latin)
• The Legend of St Christopher (http://www.paintedchurch.org/caxchris.htm) from Caxton's edition of the Golden Legend (Middle English}