Feast day of St Onuphrius - Humphrey of Egypt

Humphrey Bogart, Hubert H Humphrey and Barry Humphries – all have a name derived from this hermit saint (Humphrey; Onofre; Onofrio; Onophry; Onouphrius; Onuphrius of Egypt; Onuphrius the Great). Onuphrius was a hermit Christian monk who lived in a cave near Thebes in Egypt and wore only a loincloth of leaves, subsisting merely on dates.

Onuphrius died c. 400. At his death, an abbot named Paphnutius buried him in a hole in the mountainside, and the site immediately disappeared, as if to tell the abbot that Onuphrius was not to remain there. Or, so it is said.

Traditionally, Greeks do not harvest today because the saint, who they nickname Rufnis, will eat anything they harvest. Girls in Catalonia traditionally pray to St Onuphrius to help them find a rich husband ...

Categories: saint, folklore, legend, christianity