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Swithun
English Roman Catholic bishop of Winchester and saint
SaintResearchedKingdom of WessexBenedictinesDate unknown
Feast: 15 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
800
Died
2 July 862
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not on record
Who they were
Swithun was a trusted counsellor of King Egbert of Wessex and probably tutor to his son; he became Bishop of Winchester in 852.
On his deathbed he asked to be buried outside the cathedral where passers-by would walk over his grave and rain would fall on it. When his body was moved into the church more than a century later, many miraculous cures followed. He died on 2 July 862.
The miracles
He was canonised by popular acclamation; there was never a formal cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A humble bishop who asked to be buried where all could tread.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Swithin
- Wikidata Q464363 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Swithun (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.