St. Cadoc 

    Also known as:              Patronage
               Cadoc                                against cramps
               Cadocus                            against deafness
               Cadvael                             against scrofula
               Cathmael                           deaf people              
               Catrwg Ddoeth                 against glandular disorders
                Cattwg the Wise          
               Docus

Memorial
    25 September
    formerly 24 January
    formerly 23 January

Profile
    Son of Saint Gwynllyw, a king in Wales , a robber chieftain who led a band of 300; his mother, Saint Gladys, had been stolen in a raid on a neighboring chief; brother of Saint Gluvias. Raised by an Irish monk; Cadoc's father had stolen the monk's cow, and when he came to demand its return, the king decided it was a sign. He studied in Wales and Ireland .

    Once chased through a wood by an armed swineherd from an enemy tribe. His hiding place spooked an old, grey, wild boar that made three great leaps at him - then disappeared; Cadoc took this as a sign, and the location became the site of the great church and monastery at Llancarvan.

    Legend says he once saved his brother monks in a famine by tying a white thread to the foot of a (well-fed) mouse; he then followed the thread to an abandoned, well-stocked, underground granary. Another time he and his brothers went out to meet a band of thieves, chanting and playing harps; it surprised the highwaymen so much, they turned and left.

    He lived as a hermit with Saint Gildas on the Island of Flatholmes off Vannes , Brittany . He established a monastery on a small island just off Brittany , joined by a stone bridge so local children could walk out for school. He returned to Britain to evangelize, and work with Christian survivors of Saxon raids.

Born
    6th century Welsh

Died
    martyred by Saxons c.580 while serving at Mass near Weedon, Northamptonshire, England