September 22: St. Maurice and Companions

St. Maurice and Companions, September 22

Leader of the Theban Legion, recruited in Egypt, Maurice refused with his soldiers to kill fellow Christians or sacrifice to the gods. They were executed at Agaunum, in today’s Swiss canton of Valais, around 290. The abbey of Saint-Maurice, founded on their tomb in 515, has been home to a community ever since.

September 22 has no celebration on the General Roman Calendar, so this page follows the Roman Martyrology, which remembers Saint Maurice and Companions, martyrs on this date.

Other saints on September 22

• St. Thomas of Villanova, archbishop of Valencia (1555)

Name days on September 22

In countries that keep name days, September 22 is the day for people named Maurice.

September 22 on the calendar

September 22 is the 265th day of the year (the 266th in a leap year), with 100 days left until December 31. Here is the day of the week it falls on in the coming years:

Keeping September 22

September 22 falls in summer. Since the general calendar has no celebration that day, the Mass is usually that of the weekday of the season, and the saint may be remembered in local calendars or in personal prayer. Families who keep name days often mark the day with a card, a candle or a favorite meal, and parishes named after the saint may hold a festival. If you know someone named Maurice, it is a good day to send a note.

Saints of the week around September 22

The day before, September 21, is the day of St. Matthew. The day after, September 23, belongs to St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Looking for a name? Try the name day calendar or go back to today’s saint.