Strepa, James, Bl.
STREPA, JAMES, BL.
Franciscan missionary and archbishop; b. Poland, c. 1350; d. c. 1409–11. The facts of Strepa's early life, other than his noble Polish parentage, are uncertain. As a Franciscan he preached to the pagan Lithuanians, Walachians, and dissident Russians, was guardian of the friary in Lvóv, and was vicar of the Societas pro Christo Peregrinantium, a band of itinerant Dominicans and Franciscans founded to make contact with the Orthodox Russians. When appointed to the see of Halicz (1391) in Galicia, he built churches in remote areas and secured pastors from Poland; set up religious houses, schools, and hospitals; and governed his large and difficult diocese with prudence and zeal. pius vi confirmed his cult in 1791; in 1795 his remains were transferred from Halicz to the cathedral of Lvóv, which had become (1414) the metropolitan see.
Feast: Oct. 21 (formerly June 1).
Bibliography: o. halecki, Collectanea Theologica 8 (1937) 477–532. lÉon de clary, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis, 4 v. (Taunton, Eng. 1885–87). a. but ler, The Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 4:172. g. fussenegger, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiberg 1957–65) 5:847–848.
[m. f. laughlin]