Profile
Crispin was a member of the imperial Roman nobility. He was the brother of Saint Crispian with whom he evangelized Gaul in the middle 3rd century. They worked from Soissons, France, and preached in the streets by day, made shoes by night. Their charity, piety, and contempt of material things impressed the locals, and many converted in the years of their ministry. He was martyred under emperor Maximian Herculeus, being tried by Rictus Varus, governor of Belgic Gaul and an enemy of Christianity. A great church was built at Soissons in the 6th century in their honor; Saint Eligius ornamented their shrine.
Because of his association with shoes, shoe-making, etc. a shoeshine kit is called a “Saint-Crispin”; an awl is “Saint Crispin’s lance”; and if your shoes are too tight, you are “in Saint Crispin’s prison.”
Died
- tortured and beheaded c.286 at Rome, Italy
Canonized
- Pre-Congregation
Patronage
- cobblers
- glove makers
- lace makers
- lace workers
- leather workers
- saddle makers
- saddlers
- shoemakers
- tanners
- weavers
- Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
Representation
- cobbler‘s last
- leather awl
- shoe
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-crispin/
