Saint Elasmus the Passerine

February 2nd is the Feast Day of Saint Elasmus the Passerine, a large, rather angry bird, which came to inhabit the cathedral of Saint Marcus in the year 1574. Elasmus was most likely a mockingbird or a brown thrasher, though there are many theories, including that he was a blue jay with unusually drab markings. The saint wandered into the cathedral through an open door and resisted all attempts to remove him. Eventually parishioners began to feed him, citing the words of Saint Francis to the sparrows. Even this would perhaps not qualify for sainthood, but during a particularly unfortunate schism in The Church, Elasmus attacked a bishop, diving at his head and squawking loudly. The bishop was later excommunicated for heresy, and the bird canonized for having recognized the threat.

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• Episode for 2018-02-02