Nicholas

Deus, qui beátum Nicoláum Pontíficem ínnúmeris decorásti miráculis: tríbue quæsumus; ut ejus méritis et précibus, a gehénnæ incéndìis liberémur. Per Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.

O God, Who didst adorn blessed Nicholas, the bishop, with miracles unnumbered, grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and prayers we may be delivered from the fires of hell. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever.

Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Asia Minor, from the childlike innocence of his own life and his devout care for the young, is looked upon as the patron of children. He died in the middle of the Fourth Century, and seven hundred years later his holy relics were translated to Bari in Italy. Because of the power he exercised over flames, we pray that through his intercession we may be preserved from the flames of hell. He is remembered for the money which he threw in a window that three young girls might have a dowry for their marriage.