April 5th.

St. Derfel.

A 6th century Welsh saint, also known by the name Cadarn=the mighty, who turned from the soldier’s life to that of the hermit and spiritual advisor, later monk and abbot of Bardsey.  At Llanderfel in the county of Gwynedd, a place founded by him, there was for long a wooden statue of him, riding a horse and holding a staff.  At the Reformation, Thomas Cromwell’s agent for the Diocese of St. Asaph sought instructions about it “for the people have so much trust in him that they come daily on pilgrimage to him with cows or horses or money.  The common saying was that whoever offered anything to this saint would be delivered out of hell by him”.  The response was an order to send the statue to London, and this was done despite the locals paying Ł40 to try to bribe the agents to leave it alone.  At Smithfield on May 22 1538 this “huge and great image” was brought to the gallows and there cut up, followed by the burning of a Franciscan friar from Greenwich, John Forest, Catherine of Aragon’s confessor.  A Welsh saying had it that the image could “set a whole forest afire”, and now, in a play on words, this was seen to be done.  In fact some parts of the image were rescued from the dismantling and returned to Llanderfel, where they survive.