: :  PATRON  AGAINST  PROCRASTINATION  : :

April 19 th

FEAST DAY OF
SAINT EXPEDITE

SAINT  EXPEDITE  HISTORY

Saint Expedite is the patron of those who hope for rapid solutions to problems,
who wish to avoid or put an end to delays, and who want general financial success.
His aid is also sought by those who wish to overcome procrastination as a personal
bad habit.

Expedite is typically depicted as a young Roman centurion holding aloft a cross marked HODIE ("today" in Latin) and squashing a crow beneath his right foot. Out of the dying crow's mouth issues a word-ribbon, CRAS ("tomorrow" in Latin). Thus Expedite destroys a vague tomorrow in favour of a definite today.

There is a cute pun in what the crow says: CRAS CRAS CRAS is how Romans imitated the sound of crows, thus crows and ravens are said to always be croaking about "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow." Expedite, by stomping the crow, destroys the vice of procrastination (pro-CRAS-tination means putting things off until tomorrow).

When Latin was a common language, Saint Expedite saw service as a mnemonic aid in adjuring people to convert to Christianity. Priests indicated the image of the saint with his cross and crow to warn pagans not to put off until tomorrow the religious conversion that could be accomplished today, because they might not live until tomorrow and thus would die unshriven.

Saint Expedite is well-known in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Latin America. In the United States, he is greatly revered in New Orleans, whence he came by way of Spain. (Most people think of New Orleans as French, but for forty years, from 1763 to 1803, it was a Spanish colony.)



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