Saint Onuphrius
Also known as
- Onuphrius of Egypt
- Onuphrius the Great
- Humphrey…
- Onofre…
- Onofrio…
- Onophry…
- Onouphrius…
Profile
Hermit for 70 years in the desert near Thebais, Upper Egypt. He sought to imitate the solitude and privations of Saint John the Baptist, and lived on the the fruits of a date tree and a palm-tree that grew near his cell. Popular in the Middle Ages, initially with monks and then in general, he became associated with weavers because he was depicted “dressed only in his own abundant hair, and a loin-cloth of leaves”.
- c.400
- buried by Saint Paphnutius who had come to him to learn if the hermit‘s life was for him
- Paphnutius buried Onuphrius in a hole in the mountainside; the hole immediately disappeared
- old hermit dressed only in long hair and a loincloth of leaves
- hermit with an angel bringing him the Eucharist or bread
- hermit with a crown at his feet
- hermit being buried by two lions (his story was sometimes confused with Saint Jerome‘s)
- crown
- sceptre
- skull
MLA Citation
- “Saint Onuphrius“. CatholicSaints.Info. 8 March 2024. Web. 19 April 2024. <>