Skip to main content

St. Olaf

St. Olaf

St. Olaf

Feastday: July 29

Olaf was the son of Harold Grenske, a lord in Norway. Olaf Haraldsson, often called "the Fat", spent his youth as a pirate. He was baptized in Rouen, and in 1013, went to England to aid King Ethelred against the Danes. He returned to Norway in 1015, captured most of Norway back from the Danes and Swedes, defeated Earl Sweyn at the battle of Nesjar in 1016, and became king. He set about unifying and Christianizing his realm, but the harshness of his rule precipitated a revolt of the nobles in 1029, and aided by Canute of Denmark, they defeated him and forced him to flee to Russia. He returned in 1030 and attempted to recover his kingdom, but was slain at the Battle of Stiklestad in Norway on July 29th. Though not too popular during his lifetime, miracles were reported at his shrine, and a chapel was built, which became the cathedral of Trondheim; it became a great pilgrimage center for all Scandinavia. He is one of the great heroes of Norway for his efforts to unify and Christianize Norway, of which he is patron. He was canonized in 1164 and his feast day is July 29th.

 

Previous Saint
< St. Olaf of Norway



Saint of the Day  

Learn about the lives of the saints and other saint resources, including a calendar, over 5,000 saint biographies, our most popular saints, and a list of patron saints. 7 days / week. See Sample

E-mail:       Zip Code:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z


Find Saint: Products | Books | Prayers | Saint of the Day


Search Saints:

Rate This Saint

Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

1 - 1 of 1 Comments

  1. Bob
    2 years ago

    What a Legend. xxxx :)

Leave a Comment

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment

Previous Saint
< St. Olaf of Norway

Next Saint
St. Jón Ögmundsson >




Find Saints

Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.

Browse Saints
by Alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Patron Saints
by Alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Newsletter Sign Up

Daily Readings

Reading 1, Sirach 6:5-17
A kindly turn of speech attracts new friends, a courteous ... Read More

Psalm, Psalms 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34, 35
Blessed are you, Yahweh, teach me your will! Read More

Gospel, Mark 10:1-12
After leaving there, he came into the territory of Judaea and ... Read More

Saint of the Day

May 24 Saint of the Day

St. David I of Scotland
May 24: David, the youngest son of Scotland’s virtuous queen, (Saint) ... Read More




Marketplace

Click Here

Favorite Prayers To Our Lady
This inspiring prayer book contains the most beautiful Marian prayers ... Read More


Click Here

Baptism Gifts - Christening Gowns - Godparent Gifts Read More