St. Alexander of the Neva

Joyous feast! I hadn't really heard of St. Alexander before I lived in Russia, but he was practically everything I went in Russia. When we arrived in St. Petersburg I venerated half of his relics at his lavra there, when we visited Vladimir I venerated the other half of his relics in the city's main cathedral, and while I lived in Nizhniy Novgorod I went to the cathedral dedicated to him there (the third largest in Russia, soon to be the fourth) for confession and communion. Since then I've found him everywhere I've gone and often found his relics embedded in his icons. He's a favorite of mine not only because I run into him so much, but because he lived in the world and then died a monk (he's also known by his name in monasticism, Alexis), bringing together the earthly and the heavenly in his service to God and his country. More on his life here. May his protection and prayers be with us all!