Roger Niger (died 1241) was a thirteenth-century cleric who became

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

. He is also known as Saint Roger of Beeleigh.

Life

In 1192 Niger was named a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London, and he held the

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

of Ealdland in the

diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

. In 1218 he was promoted to Archdeacon of Colchester.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London: Archdeacons: Colchester
' He was elected Bishop of London in 1228, and was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

on 10 June 1229.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 258Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London: Bishops
' Niger died on 29 September 1241 or on 2 October 1241 and during his burial in

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul ...

, there was an

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

of the sun. There was a tomb memorial to him in the quire there. His heart was taken to Beeleigh Abbey near

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

in Essex. Both sites became places of pilgrimage and he was referred to as a saint, although no formal canonisation has been located. He was, however, called a saint by at least one Pope. In 1391,

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX (; ; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death, in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope during the Western Schism.Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of t ...

granted relaxation to penitents visiting and giving alms to Beeleigh Abbey on the anniversary of his death.Page and Round (ed.)
House of Premonstratensian Canons: Abbey of Beeleigh by Maldon
''History of the County of Essex: Volume 2''

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Life

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Further reading