Collect · Feb 23, 2006 · SESSIUNCULA, WDTPRS
23 Feb: St. Polycarp of Smyrna, martyr
Novus OrdoSaint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr — Feb 23, 2027, Feb 23, 2028
Deus universae creaturae, qui beatum Polycarpum episcopum in numero martyrum dignatus es aggregare, eius nobis intercessione concede, ut, cum illo partem calicis Christi capientes, in vitam resurgamus aeternam.Fr. Z’s literal rendering
O God of all of creation, who deigned to join blessed Polycarp the bishop to the number of the flock of martyrs, by his intercession grant to us that, grasping with him a share in the chalice of Christ, we shall rise again unto life eternal.
St. Polycarp (+156) was Bishop in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey). When young he was a disciple of the elderly St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. He knew St. Ignatius of Antioch. When Ignatius was being conveyed to Rome for his exectuion, he met Polycarp at Smyrna and later, when Ignatius was in Troas wrote Polycarp a letter which has survived.…