Who Was St. George?

By Raphael c. 1506 - Public Domain

The veneration of Saint George began as early as the fourth century at Lydda in Palestine, where a church was built in his honor.  Tradition tells us that he was martyred in Palestine before AD 300, but no actual details of his life are known.

In a sermon, Saint Peter Damian, Bishop, tells us:

Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another; he gave up the rank or Tribune (in the Roman Legions) to enlist as a soldier of Christ.  Eager to encounter the enemy, he first stripped away his worldly wealth by giving all he had to the poor.  Then, free and unencumbered, bearing the shield of faith, he plunged into the thick of battle, an ardent soldier of Christ.

Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson; if we are afraid to strip ourselves of our worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith.  As for Saint George, who was consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, armed with the invincible standard of the cross, he did battle with an evil king and acquitted himself so well that, in vanquishing the king, he overcame the prince of all wicked spirits (the dragon) and encouraged other soldiers of Christ to perform brave deeds in His cause.

The legend that Saint George saved a Libyan princess by killing a dragon arose in the 12th century.  It possibly grew from the myth of Andromeda and Perseus who slew a sea monster near the site of Saint George's martyrdom.

In addition to our church, Saint George is also the patron saint of Portugal, Aragon, Catalonia, and Lithuania.  In England his status as patron saint most likely originated with the foundation of the military "Order of the Garter" in his name in 1347.  His feast day is celebrated on April 23.

It is significant that in naming him the patron of the Catholic Church of Washington Crossing, New Jersey, the people of the parish along with the Most Reverent Thomas J. Walsh, Bishop of Trenton, connected the historical importance of the site, the role of George Washington, and the religious tradition of Saint George, soldier and martyr.