St. Olaf II

  Posted on August 22, 2024  by admin  No comments

Born: 995

Died: killed in battle at Stiklestadt on 29 July 1030 while trying to recover his throne, buried at the Trondheim Cathedral, miracles reported at his tomb, and it became a noted place of pilgrimage for Scandanavians

Canonized: 1164 by Pope Alexander III

Patronage: carvers, difficult marriages, kings, Norway.

Also known as Heilag-Olav, Holy Olaf, Olaf Haraldson, Olaf Haraldsson, Olaf of Norway, Olaf the Fat, Olaf the Holy, Olaf the Thick, Olaus, Olavs, Tola, óláfr

Additional Memorials 16 October (conversion of Saint Olaf), 3 August (translation of relics) Profile Son of Harald Grenske King of Norway and Åsta Gudbrandsdatter. Viking pirate. Convert to Christianity, baptised in 1010. Helped Ethelred of England against pagan Danish invaders. King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Brought missionaries, including Blessed Theodgar of Vestervig, to Norway to evangelize his people. Olaf tried to force Christianity on them, but they revolted in 1029, and drove him first to Sweden and then to Kiev (in modern Russia). There he gathered his forces, and in 1030 tried to re-take his throne. He was killed in battle, and regarded by Norwegians as the great champion of national independence and a martyr.