Saint of the day July 27: Saint Pantaleón. Catholic Saints

Every July 27, the Church celebrates Saint Pantaleón, martyr, doctor born at the end of the 3rd century in Nicomedia (present-day Turkey). Today his devotees go to the Monastery of the Encarnación in Madrid to witness the miracle of the liquefaction of his blood.

One of the fourteen helpers

Saint Pantaleón (275-305) is one of the “fourteen holy helpers”; That is, he is part of the group of saints to whom the faithful can turn whenever certain situations arise, such as illnesses or illnesses.

In the case of Pantaleón, he is the intercessor every time you suffer from things as common – and as painful – as a headache (headache or migraine) or a disease such as tuberculosis.

The name ‘Pantaleón’ is copied from Greek and has a beautiful meaning: “He who has compassion on all” (Παντελεήμων, Panteleímon), something that the saint knew how to capture through medicine. Every good doctor must “sympathize,” that is, “suffer with” his patients. This is equivalent to getting closer to the pain of the sufferer. Precisely since pain is not indifferent to pain, the doctor must find the best way to relieve or cure the patient.

Christ, doctor and medicine

Thanks to an ancient manuscript from the 4th century – today preserved in the British Museum (London, England) – we can learn important data about the life and death of Saint Pantaleón.

The doctor was born around the year 275 in Nicomedia. He was the son of a Christian mother, but he did not feel particularly touched by the faith. As soon as he became old enough, he began to live like another pagan and rejected Christianity. However, his hunger for knowledge and desire to help others motivated him to become a doctor, just like his father.

As such, he enjoyed great reputation and fame, serving the emperor Galerius Maximian (305 – 311). His life seemed to go by without major worries, until he met Hermolaus, a Christian priest. This encouraged him to learn about another type of “medicine.”

This is how Pantaleón came into contact again with some members of the Church. Little by little, the prestigious doctor discovered that his knowledge about human nature could take on a higher and fuller meaning, far beyond his initial calculations: whoever suffers from an illness also suffers in the soul, not only in the body. body. In that sense, Christ expanded his understanding of pain, illness, and death. That experience prompted Pantaleón to experience more closely the pain of the sick and dying and, thus, for the first time, open himself to hope in a life that does not know the end, eternal life.

Pantaleón came to understand in this way that illness and suffering do not destroy everything. Death does not have the last word: “Where is your victory, O death? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15, 55).

Christ is in the one who suffers

In the process of Pantaleón’s conversion, Hermolaus was decisive. The friendship between the two opened a door through which Christ entered: “Look, I am at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

As a consequence of that personal “encounter” with Jesus, Pantaleón began to serve him in the suffering, in the prostrate and vulnerable. Christ himself is in them.

Sentenced to death

When the persecution of Diocletian Augustus (284-305) spread to Nicomedia, Pantaleón gave everything he had to the needy and began a life in hiding like many other Christians. Unfortunately, some doctors who were envious of him reported him to the authorities. Later he would be arrested along with a group of Christians, among whom was Hermolaus.

When the news of his capture reached the ears of the emperor, he secretly wanted to save him. He told him that he granted him the chance to live, as long as he renounced his religion. Pantaleón refused to accept such a condition. Then, as if to leave no doubt about the power of his faith, he miraculously healed a paralytic in front of his enemies.

This procedure was immediately considered another affront against the emperor, so the saint was sentenced to be tortured to death. His executioners subdued him in different ways, but Pantaleón remained alive. So his beheading was ordered, as well as that of his companions.

Tradition records the failed attempts to take his life: first, he was thrown into the fire; Then, they poured molten lead on his chest; After that, they tried to drown him, threw stones at him and tied him to the “wheel” (lathe). Finally, they wanted to pierce his body with a sword. As he managed to survive, according to Roman custom, they proceeded to have his throat cut.

The same tradition also includes an extraordinary fact regarding the torture of Saint Pantaleón. To torture him, his body had been tied by his executioners to a dry tree. This one, being stained with his blood, revived a few days later.

Saint Pantaleón and his friends received the crown of martyrdom on July 27, 305. Pantaleón was 29 years old.

The miracle of blood

His relics, which include samples of his blood, are preserved in different places: they are distributed between Constantinople (Turkey), Ravello (Italy) and the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation in Madrid (Spain) under the custody of the Augustinian Recollects.

It is in that monastery where a sample of the blood of Saint Pantaleón is preserved, which remains in a solid state all year round, with the exception of July 27. On this date, the day of his liturgical feast, the miracle of ‘liquefaction’ occurs (the blood of Saint Pantaleón becomes liquid). Every time the miracle takes place, the nuns of the monastery open the doors of the premises to the public so that the devotees can appreciate the event.

…

If you want to know a little more about Saint Pantaleón, we recommend the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Pantalefrom the.

More information: