Christian Saints

St. Leander of Seville

        St. Leander of Seville, brother of St. Fulgentius, St. Florentina, and St. Isidore, was born at Carthage about 534 to a Roman family. Some historians claim that his father, Severian, was duke or governor of Carthage, but St. Isidore simply states that he was a citizen of that city. The family emigrated from Carthage about 554 and came to Seville. St. Leander and St. Isidore both became bishops of Seville; St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Carthagena, and St. Florentina, a nun, who directed forty convents and one thousand nuns.
        Leander became at first a Benedictine monk, and then in 579 Bishop of Seville. In the meantime be founded a celebrated school, which soon became a centre of learning and orthodoxy. His main efforts were directed to the convention of Spain. In his labor to save his country from Arianism, Leander showed himself an orthodox Christian and a far-sighted patriot. Exiled by Leovigild, he withdrew to Byzantium from 579 to 582. It is not known exactly when Leander returned from exile, it might happen between 582 and 589. After his return, Leander did most to ensure the religious unity, the fervent faith, and the broad culture on which was based Spain’s later greatness. St. Isidore wrote about his brother: "This man of suave eloquence and eminent talent shone as brightly by his virtues as by his doctrine. By his faith and zeal the Gothic people have been converted from Arianism to the Catholic faith". St. Leander died at Seville, 13 March, 600 or 601.
See: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. St. Leander, St. Leander and St. Bonaventura.

Recommended reading:
Lives of the Saints: From Mary and Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa by Richard McBrien (Author). Harper San Francisco, 2001.

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