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Hilarion was born to pagan parents near Gaza around the year of Our Lord 291. He studied and was baptized in Alexandria. After hearing of the great St. Anthony the Abbot, Hilarion went into the desert to learn from the famed hermit, and quickly decided to adopt the eremitical life himself. He gave away his possessions to the poor and retired to a small hut in the desert near Gaza. There Hilarion was frequently assailed by temptations from the devil, but persevered through strict fasting, prayer, and the chanting of psalms. Word spread of his miracles, exorcisms, and conversions, and eventually Hilarion was surrounded by so many disciples and visitors that he struggled to fulfill his daily obligations. Finally the hermit left Gaza, returning to Egypt to visit Anthony’s tomb. From then on Hilarion traveled frequently, continuing to help others but striving for solitude. He escaped an arrest order from Emperor Julian the Apostate, and visited Sicily and Dalmatia, among other places, before settling in Cyprus, welcomed by a former disciple, Bishop St. Epiphanius. Hilarion died in Cyprus in the year of Our Lord 371, in the company of another faithful disciple, St. Hesychius.
IN Cyprus, the birthday [into heaven] of the holy abbot Hilarion. His life, full of virtues and miracles, was written by St. Jerome.
At Cologne, the birthday [into heaven] of the Saints Ursula and her companions, who gained the martyrs’ crown by being massacred by the Huns for the Christian religion and their constancy in keeping their virginity. Many of their bodies were deposited at Cologne.
At Ostia, St. Asterius, priest and martyr, who suffered under the emperor Alexander, as we read in the Acts of the blessed pope Callistus.
At Nicomedia, the birthday [into heaven] of the Saints Dasius, Zoticus, Caius, and twelve other soldiers, who, after suffering various torments, were submerged in the sea.
At Maronia, near Antioch, in Syria, St. Malchus, monk.
At Lyons, St. Viator, deacon of blessed Justus, bishop of that city.
At Laon, St. Cilinia, mother of blessed Remigius, bishop of Rheims.
℣. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
℟. Thanks be to God.