29 October

. . . .is in some old martyrologies the day of St. Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem. He would be a good patron for some bishop who might be slandered, such as the heroic Australian Archbishop Pell. St. Narcissus’ story can be found here.

In England the old lists give this as the day of St. Aelfleda, who was, according to Engelbert, “daughter of Oswy, king of the Northumbrians, and granddaughter of St. Edwin, succeeding St. Hilda as abbess of Whitby in 680; her own mother came and placed herself under her guidance (d. 575).” St. Aelfeda is mentioned in passing in the Catholic Encyclopaedia article on the Abbey of Whitby.

Some Anglican churches celebrate on this day the martyrdom of James Hannington, an Anglican missionary bishop in Uganda who was murdered by King Mwanga in 1885. It was the rebuke of King Mwanga by some of his Catholic and Anglican subjects because of this murder that precipitated the martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and companions. St. Charles’ feast is kept in the reformed Catholic calendar on June 3d.

In the Irish diocese of Kilmacduagh this is the patronal feast of St. Colman mac Duach. St. Colman died about the year 632. Some stories about St. Colman can be found here.