St. Edward, called the Confessor, the last but one of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, reigned holily and happily for twenty-four years. On the throne he rivaled the saints by his untiring practice of austere virtue; his reign was one of almost unbroken peace; the country grew prosperous, ruined churches rose under his hand, the weak lived secure, and for long ages after, man spoke of the laws of “good King Edward”. He died January 5, 1066. The Saint”s body reposes in the shrine in Westminster Abbey, behind what used to be the High Altar.

(Source: The New Roman Missal, Rev. F. X. Lasance)