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Wigstan
Mercian king and saint
SaintResearchedKingdom of MerciaPre-congregation
Feast: 1 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
849
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
In the countryside of Lichester in England, Saint Wigstan, martyr, who, of the line of the kings of Mercia, having opposed the incestuous marriage of his mother the regent, was run through with the sword of the tyrant.
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
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 1 June as a Mercian prince killed for opposing his mother's incestuous marriage.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 1 June (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q2251747 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Wigstan (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.