Yep, definitely a saint!The saint you are thinking of is St. Vincent Martyr, aka St. Vincent of Saragossa.
'The more his body was mangled, the more did the divine presence cherish and comfort his soul, and spread a greater joy on his countenance. The judge, seeing the streams of blood which flowed from all the parts of his body, and the frightful condition to which it was reduced, was obliged to confess with astonishment, that the courage of the young nobleman had vanquished him, and his rage seemed somewhat abated. Hereupon he ordered a cessation of his torments, begging of the saint, for his own sake, that if he could not be prevailed upon to offer sacrifice to the gods, he would at least give up the sacred books to be burnt, according to the order of the late edicts. The martyr answered, that he feared his torments less than that false compassion which he testified.
Dacian, more incensed than ever, condemned him to the most cruel of tortures, that of fire upon a kind of gridiron, called by the Acts, the legal torture. The saint walked with joy to the frightful engine, so as almost to get the start of his executioners^ such was his desire to suffer. He mounted cheerfully the iron bed, in which the bars were framed like scythes, full of sharp spikes made red hot by the fire underneath. On this dreadful gridiron the martyr was stretched our at length, and bound fast down. He was not only scourged thereon, but, while one part of his body was broiling next the fire, the other was tortured by the application of red-hot plates of iron. His wounds were rubbed with salt, which the activity of the fire forced the deeper into his flesh and bowels. All the parts of his body were tormented in this manner, one after the other, and each several times over.
The melted fat dropping from the flesh nourished and increased the flames; which, instead of tormenting, seemed, as St Austin says, to give the martyr new vigour and courage; for the more he suffered, the greater seemed to be the inward joy and consolation of his soul. The rage and confusion of the tyrant exceeded all bounds: he appeared not able to contain himself, and was continually inquiring what Vincent did and what he said; but was always answered, that he suffered with joy in his countenance, and seemed every moment to acquire new strength and resolution. He lay unmoved, his eyes turned towards heaven, his mind calm, and his heart fixed on God in continual prayer.
At last, by the command of the proconsul, he was thrown into a dungeon, and his wounded body laid on the floor strewed with broken pot-shreds, which opened afresh his ghastly wounds, and cut his bare flesh. His legs were set in wooden stocks, stretched very wide, and strict orders were given that he should be left without provisions, and’ that no one should be admitted to see or speak to him. But God sent his angels to comfort him, with whom he sung the praises of his protector.
The jailor observing through the chinks the prison filled with light, and the saint walking and praising God, was converted upon the spot to the christian faith, and afterwards baptized. At this news Dacian chafed, and even wept through rage, but ordered some repose should be allowed the prisoner. The faithful were then permitted to see him, and coming in troops wiped and kissed his wounds, and dipped cloths in his blood, which they kept as an assured protection for themselves and their posterity.
After this a soft bed was prepared for him, on which he-was no sooner laid but he expired, the happy moment he had not ceased to pray for, ever since his torments, and his first call to martyrdom. Dacian commanded his body to be thrown on a marshy field among rushes; but a crow defended it from wild-beasts and birds of prey.
The acts in Ruinart and Bollandus, and the sermon attributed to St Leo, add, that it was then tied to a great stone, and cast into the sea in a sack, but miraculously carried to the shore, and revealed to two Christians. They laid it in a little chapel out of the walls’ of Valentia, where God honoured these relics with many miracles, as the Acts and St Austin witness. Prudentius informs us, that the iron on which he lay, and other instruments of his passion,were likewise preserved with veneration. . .’
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And more can be read of this in ‘The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints’…
Thank you much for that inspiring story. All I knew was about the bird.The saint you are thinking of is St. Vincent Martyr, aka St. Vincent of Saragossa.
'The more his body was mangled, the more did the divine presence cherish and comfort his soul, and spread a greater joy on his countenance. The judge, seeing the streams of blood which flowed from all the parts of his body, and the frightful condition to which it was reduced, was obliged to confess with astonishment, that the courage of the young nobleman had vanquished him, and his rage seemed somewhat abated. Hereupon he ordered a cessation of his torments, begging of the saint, for his own sake, that if he could not be prevailed upon to offer sacrifice to the gods, he would at least give up the sacred books to be burnt, according to the order of the late edicts. The martyr answered, that he feared his torments less than that false compassion which he testified.
Dacian, more incensed than ever, condemned him to the most cruel of tortures, that of fire upon a kind of gridiron, called by the Acts, the legal torture. The saint walked with joy to the frightful engine, so as almost to get the start of his executioners^ such was his desire to suffer. He mounted cheerfully the iron bed, in which the bars were framed like scythes, full of sharp spikes made red hot by the fire underneath. On this dreadful gridiron the martyr was stretched our at length, and bound fast down. He was not only scourged thereon, but, while one part of his body was broiling next the fire, the other was tortured by the application of red-hot plates of iron. His wounds were rubbed with salt, which the activity of the fire forced the deeper into his flesh and bowels. All the parts of his body were tormented in this manner, one after the other, and each several times over.
The melted fat dropping from the flesh nourished and increased the flames; which, instead of tormenting, seemed, as St Austin says, to give the martyr new vigour and courage; for the more he suffered, the greater seemed to be the inward joy and consolation of his soul. The rage and confusion of the tyrant exceeded all bounds: he appeared not able to contain himself, and was continually inquiring what Vincent did and what he said; but was always answered, that he suffered with joy in his countenance, and seemed every moment to acquire new strength and resolution. He lay unmoved, his eyes turned towards heaven, his mind calm, and his heart fixed on God in continual prayer.
At last, by the command of the proconsul, he was thrown into a dungeon, and his wounded body laid on the floor strewed with broken pot-shreds, which opened afresh his ghastly wounds, and cut his bare flesh. His legs were set in wooden stocks, stretched very wide, and strict orders were given that he should be left without provisions, and’ that no one should be admitted to see or speak to him. But God sent his angels to comfort him, with whom he sung the praises of his protector.
The jailor observing through the chinks the prison filled with light, and the saint walking and praising God, was converted upon the spot to the christian faith, and afterwards baptized. At this news Dacian chafed, and even wept through rage, but ordered some repose should be allowed the prisoner. The faithful were then permitted to see him, and coming in troops wiped and kissed his wounds, and dipped cloths in his blood, which they kept as an assured protection for themselves and their posterity.
After this a soft bed was prepared for him, on which he-was no sooner laid but he expired, the happy moment he had not ceased to pray for, ever since his torments, and his first call to martyrdom. Dacian commanded his body to be thrown on a marshy field among rushes; but a crow defended it from wild-beasts and birds of prey.
The acts in Ruinart and Bollandus, and the sermon attributed to St Leo, add, that it was then tied to a great stone, and cast into the sea in a sack, but miraculously carried to the shore, and revealed to two Christians. They laid it in a little chapel out of the walls’ of Valentia, where God honoured these relics with many miracles, as the Acts and St Austin witness. Prudentius informs us, that the iron on which he lay, and other instruments of his passion,were likewise preserved with veneration. . .’
…
And more can be read of this in ‘The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints’…