Saint Patrick

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. His life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false,  years of exaggerated story telling .It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. His father was a Christian deacon,  there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They took him  to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity. After escaping , he return as a missionary.

St. Patrick taught the Irish about the doctrine,  the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock ( the National flower of Ireland),  using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God.

One of the three relics of Saint Patrick was a bell is described as "The Bell of the Testament". The other two are described as Patrick's goblet and "The Angels Gospel". 

 He is said to have been buried in Ulster, County Down, Ireland.For more than 1,000 years, the Irish have observed St. Patrick's Day as a religious holiday

 

 

 

 

closer of statue

St Patrick's Statue

St Patrick's Bell of Testament  ( via Wikipedia)



St Patrick's Grave

engraving on stone

 

 Until next time I leave you with:

 

 

Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.

 

 

St . Valentine

 

 

I need to apologize to you all for not post for a long time. I have moved to a new state. Now that I am settled I will be more proactive. But In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would do a post on St. Valentine.  No one knows for sure when he was born, but he died around 269. He is a widely recognized third-century Roman Saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love. Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name .But the "Martyr Valentinus who died on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia in Rome. According to the official biography of the Diocese of Terni, Bishop Valentine was born and lived in Interamna but was imprisoned and tortured in Rome on February 14, 273, while on a temporary stay there. His body was buried in a hurry at a cemetery and a few nights later his disciples came and carried him home.

 Another popular biography describes Saint Valentine as the former Bishop of Terni, a city in what is now Italy.. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus was discussing the validity of Jesus. The judge put him to the test and brought to him the judge's adopted blind daughter. If he could restore the girl's sight, Asterius would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Immediately humbled, the judge asked him what he should do. He replied that all of the idols around the judge's house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo baptism. The judge obeyed and freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized. He was later arrested again for continuing to serve Jesus and was sent to Rome, to the emperor Claudius himself. Claudius took a liking to him until he tried to lead Claudius to Jesus, whereupon Claudius refused and condemned him to death. The choice was he either renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs, and beheaded. He refused and he was executed outside the Flaminian Gate. Whatever the truth is behind the legends, St Valentine's Day has since became most connect to love romance and friendship.

The details about his deposition, in 1835, an Irish preacher, Dr. John Spratt, was visiting Rome was invited to Gesu to preach . People liked him so much that he received lots of testimonials even from the Elite of Rome. The Pope, Gregory XVI, found his own way to thank Father John Spratt by suggesting to rebury Saint Valentine’s relic in Dublin. The problem was that by the beginning of the ХIX century, having changed several places of deposition, Saint Valentine’s relics were waiting for a new home. It’s quite understandable, that during one and a half thousand years even a stone can be destroyed More than one and a half thousand years had gone by since the decapitation of Saint Valentine. After all formalities the Archbishop of Dublin, Myrray, received Saint Valentine’s relic. This was on 12th of November, 1836 on Whitefriar Street, Carmelite Church. After the death of Father Spratt, Saint Valentine’s story was slightly forgotten. When they reconstructed of the church in the middle of the ХХ century, a special wing with  an altar and statue  was made for St Valentine relics .They were placed under glass in a glass sarcophagus. To dispel doubts about identity of the relic, the Vatican issued a special letter where they note that the relics did indeed belong to the Holy Martyr Valentine. 

 

 

 

 

 

His burial:

Whitefriars Street Church
Dublin
County Dublin, Ireland

 

 

 

( photos by John Griffin)

 

Stone tablet

 

 

 

I leave you with this:

Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.

  

 

 

Arlington National Cemetery

Today I am sharing the most known National Cemetery in The USA. It is so big , that if you get to go, I recommend make it more than a day trip. Take the tour, but then walk around to see more of it.
Lots of history surrounding this cemetery also.

Welcome

 

 

Gates into Cemetery

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of history here , I will start with the first person to be buried here:

Mary Randolph .  She is known for writing The Virginia House-Wife (1824), one of the most influential housekeeping and cook books of the nineteenth century.

 

 

 

close of stone

James Parks, was a freed slave who  is the only person buried there who was born on the grounds.

He was born a slave but was later freed by his owner and continued to work at the cemetery as a grave digger. He died at Freedman's Village ( more on this in another post) and was granted special permission to be buried at Arlington by the Secretary of War.

 

 

 

The most visited grave here is President John F Kennedy, and his wife , Jackie, two children, and his brothers. All though Ted died after I took pictures, Robert's I did get.



John, on his right Jackie and daughter Arabella ( Aug 1956),
on his left son, Patrick Bouvier , ( Aug 1963)



John F. Kennedy  

 

 

 

Jackie Kennedy Onassis




The Eterna Flame , designed by Clayton B. Lyle.  Mrs. Kennedy took a burning taper from her military escort. When she touched the lamp, the flame leaped up.

 

 

His brother Roberts:

 



Closer of Headstone



Others that rest here :



 

Robert Todd Lincoln
son of President Abraham Lincoln
 



closer of tomb





Front of Memorial



Memorial to the Space Shuttle 2003

 

Lee Marvin ( the Actor), also a Veteran





Joe Lewis the Boxer

Thurgood Marshall , Supreme Court  Associate Justice

 

 

 

War Heroes:

 

 

 

 

 

close up of Inscription

 

 

 

 

Medal of Honor Recipient

 

Ira Hamilton Hayes was a Pima Native American and a United States Marine corporal who was one of the six flag raisers immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II.

 

 

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was a United States Marine Corps officer who was an American fighter ace during World War II. For his heroic actions, he was awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.

TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep , was made for his heroics.

 

 

Medgar Evers , a Veteran and Civil Rights Leader

 

 

 

 

 

And the best for Last :

The Tomb of the Unknown Solider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Old Guard keeps vigil 365 days a year. The Changing of the Guard, Ceremony is one the best things to see.

Their are remains here from World War 1 , World War 2, Korean War, and  Vietnam. The remains of the Vietnam Vet, were identified  as 1st Lt. Michael Blassie . He was interred in the National Cemetery in Missouri.

 

That concludes this portion of  Arlington, I will be doing another in depth post on a specific section .

 

Until Then, I leave you with :

 

 

 

 

Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed Tand very dear. - Anonymous

 

 

 

 

 

Savannah's Yellow Fever & The Colonial Cemetery

As promised , part two of the historic Colonial Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia .There is a section that has over 700 graves of the Yellow Fever outbreak of 1820. As I walked thru this section looking at tombstones mounted on  the brick wall, thinking of all the people that suffered from black vomit and high fevers,  the hysteria that the town must have felt during this period. It caused merchants to shut down their businesses, and people left the city to avoid catching it. What a scary time it must have been.

 

To the east of Forsyth Park is the Candler Hospital, many ghost tour companies still tell the stories about the death and dying which took place there. During one of the last Yellow Fever outbreaks in Savannah, as the story is told, there were a great number of people who died in the Candler Hospital from Yellow Fever. So many in fact, that tunnels were dug and secret burials were made throughout the entire area.  One of the secret burial grounds was a tunnel that ran underneath Forsyth Park. This tunnel didn’t have an exit. It was simply a place to put the bodies of the dead without bringing them to the surface. Founded in 1808, Savannah’s Old Candler Hospital has served as a Union hospital and an insane asylum, and thousands of patients, including those afflicted with Yellow Fever, died on the premises. A morgue tunnel once existed under the property, and some speculate the passageway was also the site of clandestine medical experiments. Though the building hasn’t been open to the public in over two decades, passerby report seeing lights and shadows in front of the windows. While on one of the many tours I was on, I was told that a mass grave was dug and bodies dumped under what is now Forsyth Park. Now whether it is true or not , I do not know.

windows where ghosts are supposed to be seen

beautiful iron work on fence next to hospital

Morgue Tunnel



The fountain at the park

There are many things in Savannah worth seeing , so if you get the chance to go, you won't be disappointed. so until next time I leave you with this:


Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear. - Anonymous