Today, 24 July, we remember the English martyrs Saint Wulfhade and Saint Rufin. 🏴
According to ancient tradition, the two princes of Mercia secretly embraced the Christian faith and were baptised by Saint Chad, despite their father's pagan beliefs.
When King Wulfhere discovered their conversion, he ordered them to be put to death. They chose faithfulness to Christ over their own lives and were honoured as martyrs by the early English Church.
Stricken with remorse, Wulfhere later repented and founded a monastery at Stone in Staffordshire, where the brothers were buried and venerated for centuries.
Their story reminds us that the Christian faith in England was built by men and women who counted Christ as worth more than comfort, status, or even life itself.
Saint Wulfhade and Saint Rufin, remembered 24 July. ✝ 🏴
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his daughter Mary Churchill walking in the garden of their residence during the Potsdam Conference, Germany, 23 July 1945; note British Scots Guards regiment honor guard