Happy St. Andrew's Day!

I took these pictures of St. Andrew's foot in the church of Saint-Saveur in Aix-en-Provence, France. This foot climbed into the boat with Jesus! This foot climbed out of the boat to follow Him when He said, "Come, I will make you fishers of men."



And this is a hunk of the cross on which St. Andrew was martyred. I photographed it in the Abbey of St. Victor in Marseilles, France.



The Telegraph UK reports:

"Today is St Andrew's Day (or in Scottish Gaelic 'Là Naomh Anndrais'), marking the country's patron saint.... 

"Who was St Andrew? St Andrew, according to Christianity's teachings, was one of Jesus Christ's apostles, the twelve followers chosen by him....He was revered in Scotland from around 1,000 AD but didn't become its official patron saint until the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

"Like Jesus, Andrew died a martyr, and was crucified in Greece on an X-shaped cross in 60 AD, rather than the 'T' shape cross that Jesus was crucified on. This type of cross is also known as a saltire - the symbol that makes up the Scottish flag.

"St Andrew's links with Scotland come from the Pictish King Oengus I, who built a monastery in what is now the town of St Andrews - where the Scottish university now stands - after the relics of the saint were brought to the town in the eighth century.

"But he was made the patron saint of Scotland after the king's descendant, Oengus II, prayed to St. Andrew on the eve of a crucial battle against English warriors from Northumberland, around 20 miles east of Edinburgh.

"Legend has it that, heavily outnumbered, Oengus II told St. Andrew that he would become the patron saint of Scotland if he were granted victory. On the day of the battle, clouds are said to have formed a saltire in the sky, and Oengus's army of Picts and Scots were victorious....

"The Saltire flag - a white cross on a blue background - is said to have come from this divine intervention and has been used to represent Scotland since 1385."

This story (in quotes) is credited to Telegraph Reporters. The entire story is published here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/st-andrews-day-patron-saint-scotland-day-celebrated-today/.