June 27th - St. Cyril of Alexandria By: Jeff Joyal

St Cyril was born in the late 300’s in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a nephew of the city’s patriarch, and at a young age received a classical and theological education in the great city. In 412, St Cyril succeeded his uncle as the new patriarch of the city. He attacked the pagan churches of the Novations in the area.   Throughout his life, St Cyril worked to combat the false truths that were being spread by other religious leaders, such as Nestorianism, which claimed that Mary wasn’t the mother of Jesus because Jesus was divine. For the rest of his life, St Cyril wrote treatises and documents that explicitly described the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ to make sure that untruths didn’t sully the faith of the Catholic Church during that time. He is known for being a brilliant theologian and preserving the Alexandrian Catholic culture.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER 
O God, who made the Bishop Saint Cyril of Alexandria an invincible champion of the divine motherhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, that we, who believe she is truly the Mother of God, may be saved through the Incarnation of Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.