St. Cyril of Jerusalem

St. Cyril was born in Jerusalem about 315, a generation after the peace of the Church. The holy city was filling with pilgrims and with new basilicas raised after St. Helena's work. Cyril was ordained priest and, around 350, became bishop of Jerusalem. He taught in the very places of the Passion: the Catechetical Lectures were given to those preparing for Baptism and to the newly baptized at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Those lectures remain a treasure of Catholic teaching. He explained the Creed article by article, the rites of Baptism and Chrism, the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ, and the moral life that must match the font. He spoke as a pastor in a shrine city, not as a professor far from the poor. Pilgrims heard him. Catechumens heard him. So did the controversies of the age.

The fourth century was torn by Arianism. Cyril suffered exile more than once. His language about the Trinity was sometimes judged too cautious by one party and too Nicene by another. He endured deposition and return. He took part in the First Council of Constantinople in 381, which confirmed the Faith of Nicaea. He died about 386. Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1883.

The Church commemorates him on March 18. He is the catechist of Jerusalem: a bishop who would not let the holy places become a museum while the Creed went untaught.

Liturgical Celebration

St. Cyril is celebrated on March 18, on the eve of St. Joseph. In 1883 Leo XIII named him Doctor of the Church, recognizing the Catechetical Lectures as a lasting gift to the universal Church.

Traditions and Customs

The day is well used in Lent if it falls there: reread a lecture of Cyril, or teach a catechumen the Creed more slowly. Pilgrims in Jerusalem remember him at the Holy Sepulchre, where his voice once prepared the city for the font.

Prayer and Devotion

Pray for catechists, RCIA teams, and bishops. Pair his memorial with St. Helena and St. Athanasius.