Saints are just ordinary men and women whose lives are pleasing to God. This story is about some saints and martyrs who followed Jesus’ teaching “there is no greater gift than to lay down one’s life for a friend.”

In the fifth century, a large abbey or monastery (where holy monks live in prayer and poverty) was built on an island off the coast of Provence, in France.

In the year 732 over five hundred people lived in the Abbey of Lerins. Some were monks, some students and some were workers with their families.

The Abbot (priest) was a wise and gentle man named Porcarius. One night Porcarius had a dream in which an angel told him that the monastery was going to be attacked from the sea by barbarians.

St. Porcarius was able to get a room on a ship for all the students and as many of the younger monks as could fit and he sent them off to safety.

Because there were no more boats, he gathered the remainder of the monks around him and they prayed together for courage. Nobody complained about being left behind but asked the Lord for the gift to forgive their enemies.

Soon the barbarians landed their ships and attacked the monks. They killed all the monks including St. Porcarius. Only four, they kept alive, put them in chains and took them away as slaves.

St. Porcarius and his companions died happy deaths as martyrs for Jesus.