Chad of Mercia
Archbishop of York; Bishop of Lichfield
Feast: 2 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Chad, brother of St Cedd, was educated at Lindisfarne under St Aidan and in Ireland under St Ecgberht, and succeeded Cedd as Abbot of Lastingham in 664. King Oswiu then had him made Bishop of York.
As bishop he visited his diocese on foot. When St Theodore of Canterbury ruled that he must give York up to St Wilfrid and questioned his consecration, he answered that he would willingly lay down an office he had never thought himself worthy of. Theodore made good his consecration, and in 669 called him to be Bishop of the Mercians; he built a church and monastery at Lichfield. He died in 672.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A humble bishop who walked his diocese on foot and gave way without complaint.
Connected on this site
- Aidan of Lindisfarne Saint Teacher
- Cedd Saint Brother or sister
- Cynibil Saint“The others were Chad of Mercia, Cedd and Caelin.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Chad
- Wikidata Q742311 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Chad of Mercia (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.