August 17 | Saint Hyacinth

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine this. Your city is under full-scale attack. Invading armies have breached the walls. People are screaming, buildings are burning, and total chaos has taken over the streets. But inside the local church, it is completely silent.

A priest is peacefully finishing up mass, completely unaware that an army is literally tearing his city apart. When he finally realizes what is happening, he doesn't just run for his life. He prepares to do the impossible, walk on water. This is the story of Saint Hyacinth of Poland, the Apostle of the North. Saint Hyacinth is actually the patron saint of people in danger of drowning and weightlifting. You heard that right. Let's find out why.

Saint Hyacinth was born way back in the year 1185 into a royal family in Silesia, Poland. His parents were super protective of him and made sure he got the absolute best education possible. He was brilliant. In fact, he earned a doctorate in canon law and divinity.

But he wasn't just going to sit in a library his whole life. After finishing his education, he took a road trip to Rome with his uncle. While there, he met Saint Dominic. Hyacinth was so incredibly moved by Dominic's mission that he felt a deep conviction to join his newly formed order. In fact, Hyacinth was one of the very first Dominicans, and actually received his monk's habit directly from Saint Dominic himself.

After that, he was sent back to Poland to preach, save souls, and build monasteries All over the country. But the craziest moment of his life happened in the city of Kiev. The city was suddenly besieged by the fierce Tartar army. Remember that scene from the intro? Hyacinth was celebrating mass when the brutal siege began. He was so focused on the sacrament that he had absolutely no idea the city was falling until the mass had ended.

When he finally learned about the danger, he knew he had to flee, but he wasn't going to leave Jesus behind. Still wearing his priestly vestments, he grabbed the ciborium, the sacred vessel holding the Eucharist, and began to run. But on his way out, he ran past a heavy alabaster statue of the Virgin Mary. Alabaster is a type of dense stone, meaning this statue was incredibly heavy. Suddenly, he heard a voice. Mary spoke directly to him, saying, Hyacinth, my son, why dost thou leave me behind?

Take me with thee, and leave me not to mine enemies. Without hesitating, he grabbed the unbelievably heavy stone statue in one arm, holding the ciborium in the other, and fled the city. Talk about spiritual and physical weightlifting! He ran toward the river with the townspeople following him, desperate to escape. But how do you cross a rushing river while carrying a massive stone statue and the Eucharist? Well, if you're Saint Hyacinth, you just step out onto the water. It is recorded that Hyacinth and the people followed him across the waters on foot.

They stayed completely dry and escaped the invaders to safety. The miracle was so incredible that witnesses said you could actually see the footprints of the saint on the water for centuries afterward. St. Hyacinth spent the rest of his life traveling, preaching, and setting up Dominican monasteries.

Eventually, his health began to fail, and he caught a severe fever right before the Feast of the Assumption. He was anointed at Mass and died on that very feast day, August 15, 1257. Centuries later, in 1594, Pope Clement VIII officially declared him a saint.

So, what does an incredibly strong, water-walking Polish saint from the 1200s have to do with your life today? Think about what Hayanth did when everything around him was falling apart. He didn't panic and run away empty-handed. He grabbed what was most important to him, Jesus and Mary, and he carried them with him, even though it was heavy.

This week, practice some spiritual weightlifting. Sometimes, carrying your faith with you in middle school or high school can feel really heavy. Maybe it means standing up for someone who is getting picked on, choosing not to gossip, or making time to pray when you have a ton of chores to do. It's not always easy. But just like St. Hyacinth, if you refuse to leave Jesus and Mary behind in the stressful moments of your life, They will carry you through the danger. You might not literally walk on water, but they will help you do the impossible. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.