
Have you ever heard someone sing the praises of crows? Probably not. We generally hear more about their ugly squawking, their ugly looks, their macabre aura, and how inferior they are to other, prettier, sweeter-voiced avian species.
But believe it or not, I always defend black-feathered cawing things from their detractors. I love these birds. They may not sing like warblers, but eagles don’t either. They might have a simple wardrobe, but some of the holiest people on earth wear the same color. They might eat pretty much anything, but wouldn’t you rather have those garden pests and that rotting carrion in a crow’s tummy instead of your yard? (Hat tip to that other underappreciated life form, the vulture, to whom we also owe a debt of gratitude for being Nature’s highly-effective Center for Disease Control).
And crows are incredibly smart. They have long memories, can remember human faces (for good or ill, depending on whether you’re a friend or foe), and have phenomenal problem-solving skills.
The Raven
A close relative of the crow is the raven, a bird that is not only cool as a crow but carries profound significance in the mythologies and symbols of various cultures. In Norse mythology, ravens were the messengers of the god Odin, the father-god who had given one of his eyes in exchange for the gift of wisdom. Hence, ravens in this tradition are connected to the ideas of divine communication and divine wisdom.
But the raven is not a purely pagan symbol. In our own Christian history, the raven also appears in the employ of the divine, gifted by God with celestial missions and beyond-natural insight. Specifically, these birds appear as the loyal guardians of those who are holy and under the particular protection of God.
Let’s take a look at the lives of a few of these saints whose stories feature the inimitable raven.
The Desert Fathers
Going back into the very early days of monasticism, we see the raven as the helpful friend of the first Desert Fathers—those who departed from the world and dwelt in the wilderness in order to draw closer to God. In the First Book of Kings, Chapter 17, we read about God assigning ravens the critical task of feeding the prophet Elijah in the desert: they obediently bring him bread and meat twice a day. The first desert-dweller of the Christian era—St. Paul the Hermit—similarly was sustained by bread brought to him by ravens.
St. Benedict
You might have seen images of St. Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism, with a raven close by at his feet. In the famous St. Benedict Medal, the raven appears on the right-hand side.
We can look to St. Gregory the Great for the story behind St. Benedict’s raven. He relates that St. Benedict was in the habit of feeding a raven that came to him daily. The raven returned the favor one day when an ill-intentioned priest tried to give the saint poisoned bread—St. Benedict, knowing the bread was poisoned, commanded the raven to take it “where no man may find it.” The raven made a fuss, but took the offending loaf and did as Benedict asked. Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas has a whole page on Monks & Ravens on their website!
I also think the black of the raven’s feathers is a providential tie-in to the all-black attire of the Benedictine Order.
The Church of the Raven
Another far-lesser-known saint associated with ravens is St. Vincent of Zaragoza, a Spanish deacon-martyr of the early 4th century who is primarily known for his superhuman grit in the face of grisly torture. We celebrate his feast day today.
The ravens enter the picture after this death near Valencia. When his mangled body was thrown into the woods as food for the forest beasts, they say that angels and ravens came and defended the holy corpse.
Later, his body made its way to a place on the Portuguese coast now called Cape St. Vincent, where a church was built to house his remains. Legend relates that ravens came and guarded it—an Arab cartographer of the Middle Ages supposedly notes the church and its raven-guardians in his writings, naming the place the “Church of the Raven.” The faithful ravens followed when St. Vincent was disinterred and taken to Lisbon, in the cathedral of which city he is enshrined today.
So now, the coat-of-arms of the city of Lisbon features a sailing ship with ravens—a tribute to their patron saint.
Art credit: Ssolbergj/CC BY-SA 4.0
Loyal, faithful, watchful, steadfast through thick and thin, wise beyond their species—these vigilant birds are everything you want in a friend!
As you can see, all that is gold does not glitter and not all those who caw are complaining. Next time you see or hear a crow—or a raven if you’re lucky enough to live in the territories they prefer (northern climes, deserts, and mountains)—remember St. Benedict, St. Vincent, and the wise and wonderful birds who befriended them.