Martyrs: Saint Christopher the Dog-headed Giant

08/13/24 • 49 min

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Episode eight in Saint Podcast's Martyrs season is about a saint who was a monstrous giant, standing over 12 feet/3.5 metres tall! He’s the patron saint of athletics, travellers, journeys and transportation in general, epilepsy, the city of Havana in Cuba, and of bachelors. His legend inspired a fashion craze in the late 1950s, and he's famously known for carrying an unbelievably heavy child across a wide river who turns out to be Jesus in disguise. Most unusually, this saint was originally depicted with a dog’s head. Join us to explore the legend of a dog-headed giant who was transformed into a jock and the patron saint of surfers.

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Martyrs: Saint Barbara the Disney Princess

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Episode 4 is about Saint Barbara, a maiden who was locked in a tower by her father - and one of the many legendary inspirations behind the fairytale Rapunzel. She's the patron saint of firefighters, Lebanon, lightning, mathematicians, and numerous military artillery units. Find out why Saint Barbara is the patron of explosions. Discover the pre-holiday festivals celebrated in her honour. Tune in to this episode to hear about Saint Barbara's guise as powerful male Afro-Caribbean god of thunder - and also her guise a Disney Princess.

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Mystics: Saint Peter of Verona the Exorcist

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The second episode in Saint Podcast's Mystics series is about a 13th-century Dominican friar and inquisitor. His rulings against Cathar heretics made him many enemies, including a cabal of nobles in Milan who sent an assassin to kill him. Although not strictly speaking a mystic, many miracles are attributed to this saint. He’s a divine healer of sickness. He’s brought the dead back to life. He controls the weather. And it’s said that he cast out numerous demons from the bodies of the possessed. This is the story of Saint Peter of Verona the Exorcist – and a history of exorcism in the Catholic Church.