St. Adrian

The Martyrdom of Saint Adrian by Adrien Sacquespee (1659, Oil on Canvas)

In addition to the Nativity of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, September 8th is the Commemoration of St. Adrian (also known as St. Hadrian). Around the year 303 AD, St. Adrian, a military officer at the imperial court, was executed at Nicomedia for his fidelity to Christ. And his feast has been celebrated since ancient times. The New Liturgical Movement, in writing about the Nativity of our Lady, shows that this day was celebrated in honor of St. Adrian for centuries:

The precise origin of the feast [of Mary's Nativity] is a matter of speculation, and the reason for the choice of date is unknown. It was celebrated at Constantinople by the 530s, when St Romanus the Melodist composed a hymn for it; by the seventh century, it had passed to the West, and Pope St Sergius I (687-701) decreed that it be should celebrated with a procession from the church of St Adrian (who shares his feast day with the Birth of the Virgin) to St Mary Major.

The following account of his life is taken from Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73)'s The Lives of the Saints, Volume IX: September. Published in 1866:

This saint was an officer in the Roman army, who, having persecuted the Christians in the reign of Maximian Galerius, was so moved by their constancy and patience, that he embraced their faith, and suffered many torments and a glorious martyrdom for the same at Nicomedia, about the year 306, in the tenth or last general persecution. His relics were conveyed to Constantinople, thence to Rome, afterwards into Flanders, where they were deposited in the Benedictin abbey of Decline, dedicated in honour of St. Peter, in the time of the first abbot, Severald. Baldwin VI., earl of Flanders, surnamed of Mons, because he married the heiress of that county, bought of a rich lord, named Gerard, the village of Hundelghem, in which stood a famous chapel of our Lady. The count founded there, in 1088, the town now called Geersbergen or Gerard’s Mount, on which, by a famous charter, he bestowed great privileges. Besides many pious donations made to that place, he removed this abbey of St. Peter, which has since taken the name of St. Adrian, whose relics, which it possesses, have been rendered famous by many miracles. Geersberg, called in French Grammont, stands upon the Dender, in Flanders, near the borders of Brabant and Hainault. St. Adrian is commemorated in the Martyrologies which bear the name of St. Jerom, and in the Roman, on the 4th of March, and chiefly on the 8th of September, which was the day of the translation of his relics to Rome, where a very ancient church bears his name.

Collect:

O Almighty God, grant that we who celebrate the birthday of Your blessed martyr Adrian may be made stronger in our love of You through his intercession. Through our Lord . . .