Feast day: May 18
St. Eric of Sweden
A king of Sweden who codified its laws, defended the poor, and led a mission to Finland, and who was cut down by rivals as he left Mass on the feast of the Ascension.
Eric — King Eric IX of Sweden, often called Eric the Holy — reigned in the middle of the twelfth century and is honoured as the patron saint of his country, though the historical record of his life is thin and much of his story comes through later tradition.
As king he is remembered for three things above all: for codifying the laws of his realm in a body known as 'King Eric's Law'; for his personal piety and care for the poor and the sick, whom he is said to have served with his own hands; and for his efforts to strengthen and spread the Christian faith in Sweden.
Tradition credits him with leading a crusade into still-pagan Finland, accompanied by the English-born bishop St. Henry of Uppsala, who remained to evangelize the Finns and was himself martyred there. Eric thus became linked with the Christianizing of Sweden's eastern neighbour.
In 1160, according to the accounts, Eric was attacked by political enemies as he left Mass on the feast of the Ascension and was killed — slain, like several northern kings, at the very threshold of worship. Venerated at once as a martyr, he became the patron of Sweden, and his image still appears on the arms of Stockholm.
Attacked as he came out of church, he is honored as the patron saint of Sweden, his image still on the arms of Stockholm.
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/14347a.htm
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