St. Edward lived from about 1003 to 1066. He was an Anglo-Saxon king from 1042 to 1066. As a king, he is said to have been resourceful and sometimes ruthless, but historians call to question some the the more disreputable accounts of his actions since a Norman invasion left some of his reputation tarnished. He is widely nicknamed Edward the Confessor. Confessor is typically the name given to someone who lived the life of a saint but wasn’t martyred.
St. Edward is the Patron Saint of difficult marriages and separated spouses. He is usually depicted on medals as wearing a crown on his head. His piousness is well-known and he is once said to have taken a ring off his finger and handed it to a poor beggar. A famous painting hangs in the church that memorializes the gift of St. Edward. Today his name is called upon when marriages are struggling to survive in a world where to many marriage is treated as less than sacred.
