Saint Christopher

We don't know a lot about the life of Saint Christopher, but as the legend goes, St. Christopher was a man of large stature.  He sought to serve the greatest king he could.  He offered his serves to his local king and quickly learned that he worshipped the devil, a practice that St. Christopher also picked up.

After encountering thieves whose leader referred to himself as the Devil, he noticed that the leader avoided a Christian cross out of fear. St. Christopher learned there was someone even more powerful than the Devil.  St. Christopher continued to search and found a hermit who taught him about Jesus, the King of Kings.  Upon the recommendation of the hermit to spend his life in prayer and fasting, St. Christopher refused, and the hermit suggested he find something else he could do to please Christ. 

St. Christopher took up a post at the river, offering to help those who were weaker and smaller across the river. One day, a child approached St. Christopher by the river and asked to be helped across. As he entered midstream, the river rose and the child's weight grew and became extremely heavy. It wasn't easy, but St. Christopher safely delivered the child to the other side.

When St. Christopher asked the child why he was so heavy, the child explained that He was the Christ and when St. Christopher carried Him, he also carried the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. The child then vanished.

St. Christopher was eventually martyred for refusing to offer sacrifice to the emperor in Lycia.  

St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers and of children.

His feast day is July 25.

Find more information about St. Christopher HERE