Today is the feast of Saint Adrian of Canterbury. He was a gentle scholar who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Saint Vitalian. He refused the honor but ended up working in Canterbury running schools and educating monks in Latin and Greek. He is said to have died around 710 A.D.

I had never heard of a Saint Adrian until I passed through Adrian, Minnesota on a car trip seven or eight years ago. The church of Saint Adrian has a lovely spire, visible for a long way and my companion and I were hot and tired. We stopped in the parking lot, rested for a bit and went inside. Okay. Angels with drums, castanets, and possibly a psaltery? Gorgeous.

Is this a didgeridoo? I have no idea where s-shaped trumpets come from but these angels are playing a lot of surprising instruments.

According to the website now, the Saint Adrian involved in this church is Saint Adrian the Warrior who was a 3rd century martyr, under Diocletian if his death truly happened in 306. When I looked years ago I didn’t find anything so it’s interesting that there’s more information now. This church is part of a cluster of four in western Minnesota. I’d love to see the others.

The header is also from Saint Adrian’s and is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady to the Temple.