Saint Walstan of Bawburgh

Also known as

• Walston of Norfolk

Memorial

• 30 May

Profile

Son of a prince, Walstan left home at an early age to live as a mendicant pilgrim and itinerant farm worker. One of his employers liked him so much that he wanted to make Walstan an heir, but the young man declined, asking only for a pregnant cow. Legend says that the cow had twins, and when Walstan died while working in the fields, the calves carried his body to Bawburgh church, passing through solid walls to leave the body at the altar.

Born

• 965 at Bawburgh, Norfolk, England

Died

• 1016 of natural causes

Patronage

• agricultural workers
• farm workers
• farmers
• field hands
• husbandmen

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Representation

• man wearing a crown and holding a scythe
• man holding a sceptre and scythe
• man with two calves

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson

MLA Citation

• “Saint Walstan of Bawburgh”. Saints.SQPN.com. 19 March 2010. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-walstan-of-bawburgh/>