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Saint Thorlac: Devoted Patron of Iceland
Our meditations on the life of St. Thorlac would be remiss if we did not acknowledge his official title, the Patron Saint of Iceland. Even a quick glance through the recorded accounts of miracles in the 12th and 13th centuries would validate this title firmly. No plea by any Icelander seemed too great or too trivial for St. Thorlac’s help.
We have already considered that St. Thorlac had the opportunity to leave Iceland when he studied abroad, but he returned home out of love for his family and a sense of duty to his country. He knew the needs of the people of Iceland, whether believers or non-believers, and studied long enough to learn what he wished to learn so that he could return home and apply his newfound wisdom to his vocation there. We also know how greatly he loved the common folk in his lifetime, and certainly too, after his death, as his miracles attest.
On January 14, 1984, Pope St. John Paul II made St. Thorlac’s status as Iceland’s patron official, although that title had already been formalized in the hearts of Icelanders for almost 800 years. It is hard to dispute that St. Thorlac was a holy man and would likely have been a saint in any territory into which he was born. As it happened, God saw fit to bring this splendid soul to the people brave enough to weather life on the remote volcanic island just below the Arctic Circle.
Let us now join St. Thorlac in praying specifically for the perpetuation of the Catholic faith in Iceland. The church buildings of his lifetime are long gone, but the One True Church is very much alive in Iceland… and, rather like its patron, is a quiet, steadfast invitation to all Icelanders to come and encounter the Living Christ in the tabernacles therein. Thank you, St. Thorlac, for all of your labor for the Catholic Church: in Iceland, and the world.
St. Thorlac, Devoted Patron of Iceland: Pray For Us!