St. Daniel

There are several saints named Daniel, including an Egyptian martyr, a Welsh bishop, and a Franciscan martyred in Morocco. The prophet Daniel from the Old Testament book of that name is pictured with lions, because he was rescued from the lion’s den unharmed after being thrown there at the instigation of his enemies. Daniel, an exile in Babylon, had ignored a prohibition against public prayer and prayed to God three times a day with his face toward Jerusalem. This incident happened in the prophet’s later years; in his early years, he and three companions had been thrown into a furnace for refusing to violate the laws of God and were miraculously preserved. The prophet Daniel is honored in the Roman Martyrology with his feast on July 21.