1st v Pancras of Taormina
Antiochene by birth Saint Peter consecrated bishop sent to Sicily BM (RM)
(also known as Pancratius) 1st century; also July 8. Saint Pancras is the
subject of a bizarre Greek legend. According to the story, he was an Antiochene
by birth, whom Saint Peter consecrated bishop and sent to Taormina (Tauromenium)
in Sicily, where he was stoned to death by brigands after a career of preaching
and miracle-working. Saint Pancras was immensely popular in Sicily, and his
cultus spread early to England and Georgia (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines,
Farmer).
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127 Sixtus I, Pope survived
as pope for about 10 years before being killed by the Roman authorities M
(RM)
Romæ natális beáti Xysti Primi, Papæ et Mártyris;
qui, tempóribus Hadriáni Imperatóris, summa cum laude
rexit Ecclésiam, ac demum, sub Antoníno Pio, ut sibi Christum
lucrifáceret, libénter mortem sustínuit temporálem.
At Rome, the birthday of blessed Pope Sixtus
the First, martyr, who ruled the Church with distinction during the reign
of Emperor Hadrian, and finally in the reign of Antoninus Pius he gladly
accepted temporal death in order to gain Christ for himself. (also
known as Xystus)
Born at Rome; After the death of Pope Alexander I, when the emperor Trajan
ruled the Roman Empire, it was virtually certain that anyone who succeeded
the pope would suffer martyrdom, for this was an age when Christians were
savagely persecuted. Sixtus I took the office c. 117 knowing this, and survived
as pope for about 10 years before being killed by the Roman authorities.
As well as displaying great bravery, Sixtus I must have been much concerned
with the liturgy of the church as the Liber Pontificalis details three ordinances.
It anachronistically says that at the Eucharist when the priests came to
the words 'Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth
are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest,' Sixtus decreed that all
the people in the church should join in as well. (Unfortunately, this cannot
be true because the Sanctus was not added to the liturgy until a much later
date: it was not included in the Mass of Hippolytus. Therefore, it is unclear
how accurate the balance of the entry is.) It relates that he issued a decree
that only the clergy should touch the sacred vessels and that bishops called
to Rome should not be received back by their diocese unless they present
Apostolic papers.
The Roman Martyrology says that Sixtus I was killed by the pagan Romans in
the year 127 under Antonius the Pious, but there are no acta (Attwater2,
Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
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Tauroménii, in
Sicília, sancti Pancrátii Epíscopi, qui Christi Evangélium,
quod a sancto Petro Apóstolo illuc missus prædicáverat,
martyrii sánguine consignávit.
At Taormina in Sicily, Bishop St. Pancras,
who sealed with a martyr's blood the Gospel of Christ that the apostle St.
Peter had sent him there to preach.
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304 St. Vulpian Syrian Martyr
firmly confessed Jesus as Lord before the judge Urbanus
Tyri, in Phœnícia, sancti Vulpiáni Mártyris, qui,
in persecutióne Maximiáni Galérii, cum áspide
et cane insútus cúleo, in mare demérsus fuit.
At Tyre, the martyr St. Vulpian, who was sewn
up in a sack with a serpent and a dog and drowned in the sea, during the
persecution of Maximian Galerius.
he was executed at Tyre, Lebanon, during the persecutions of
Emperor Diocletian (n 284-305). Custom declares that he was sewn into a leather
sack with a snake and a dog and hurled into the sea.
Vulpian of Tyre M (RM) (also known as Ulpian) Saint Vulpian was a Syrian
who was martyred in Tyre, Phoenicia. Because he firmly confessed Jesus as
Lord before the judge Urbanus, his joints were dislocated on the rack. Thereafter,
he was sewn into a leather sack with a dog and a wasp (or serpent), and drowned
in the sea, according to Eusebius (De Mart. Palest., ch. 5) (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
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Evagrius and Benignus
Martyrs at Tomi on the Black Sea MM (RM)
Tomis, in Scythia, natális sanctórum Mártyrum
Evágrii et Benígni. At Tomis
in Scythia, the birthday of the holy martyrs Evagrius and Benignus.
Date unknown. (Benedictines).
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304 St. Agape and her
sisters Chionia and Irene, Christians of Thessalonica, Macedonia were convicted of possessing texts of the Scriptures
Thessalonícæ pássio sanctárum Vírginum
Agapis et Chióniæ, Diocletiáno Imperatóre, sub
quo et sancta Virgo Iréne, eárum soror, póstmodum passúra
erat. Ambæ vero, cum Christum negáre nollent, primum in
cárcere macerátæ sunt, póstea in ignem missæ,
sed a flammis intáctæ, ibi, oratióne ad Dóminum
fusa, ánimas reddidérunt.
At Thessalonica, the martyrdom of the holy virgins
Agape and Chionia, under Emperor Diocletian. Because they would not
deny Christ, they were first detained in prison, then cast into the fire
where, untouched by the flames, they gave up their souls to their Creator
while praying. Their sister Irene had been imprisoned with them, but
was to die later.
despite a decree issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian naming such possessions
a crime punishable by death. When they further refused to sacrifice to pagan
gods, the governor, Dulcitius, had Agape and Chionia burned alive. When Irene
still refused to recant, Dulcitius ordered her sent to a house of prostitution.
There she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was put
to death either by burning or by an arrow through her throat.
Agape, Chionia (Chione) & Irene VV MM (RM) Died at Thessalonica,
Macedonia, April 3, 304. The martyrdom of these three sisters is related
in a document that is a somewhat more amplified version of genuine records.
In 303, Emperor Diocletian issued a decree making it an offense punishable
by death to possess any portion of sacred Christian writings. Irene and her
sisters, Agape and Chionia, daughters of pagan parents living in Salonika,
owned several volumes of Holy Scriptures, which they hid. This made the girls
very unhappy because they could not read them at all hours as was their wont.
The sisters were arrested on another charge--that of refusing to eat food
that had been offered to the gods--and taken before the governor, Dulcetius
(Dulcitius). He asked each in turn why they had refused and if they would
still refuse. Agape answered: "I believe in the living God, and will not
by an evil action lose all the merit of my past life." Some of the transcript
follows:
Dulcetius: "Why didn't you obey the most pious command of our emperors and
Caesars?"
Irene: "For fear of offending God." Dulcetius: "But what say you, Casia?"
Casia: "I desire to save my soul."
Dulcetius: "Will not you partake of the sacred offerings?" Casia: "By no
means." Dulcetius: "But you, Philippa, what do you say?" Philippa: "I say
the same thing." Dulcetius: "What is that?"
Philippa: "That I had rather die than eat of your sacrifices."
Dulcetius: "And you, Eutychia, what do you say?" Eutychia: "I say the same
thing: that I had rather die than do what you command." Dulcetius: "Are you
married?" Eutychia: "My husband has been dead almost seven months."
Dulcetius: "By whom are you with child?"
Eutychia: "By him whom God gave me for my husband." Dulcetius: "I advise
you, Eutychia, to leave this folly, and resume a reasonable way of thinking;
what do you say? will you obey the imperial edict?" Eutychia: "No: for I
am a Christian, and serve the Almighty God."
Dulcetius: "Eutychia being big with child, let her be kept in prison. Agape,
what is your resolution? will you do as we do, who are obedient and dutiful
to the emperors?" Agape: "It is not proper to obey Satan; my soul is not
to be overcome by these discourses." Dulcetius: "And you, Chionia, what is
your final answer?" Chionia: "Nothing can change me." Dulcetius: "Have you
not some books, papers, or other writings, relating to the religion of the
impious Christians?" Chionia: "We have none: the emperors now reigning have
taken them all from us."
Dulcetius: "Who drew you into this persuasion?" Chionia: "Almighty God."
Dulcetius: "Who induced you to embrace this folly?" Chionia: "Almighty God,
and his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ."
Dulcetius: "You are all bound to obey our most puissant emperors and Caesars.
But because you have so long obstinately despised their just commands, and
so many edicts, admonitions, and threats, and have had the boldness and rashness
to despise our orders, retaining the impious name of Christians; and since
to this very time you have not obeyed the stationers and officers who solicited
you to renounce Jesus Christ in writing, you shall receive the punishment
you deserve.
"I condemn Agape and Chionia to be burnt alive. for having out of malice
and obstinacy acted in contradiction to the divine edicts of our lords the
emperors and Caesars, and who at present profess the rash and false religion
of Christians, which all pious persons abhor. As for the other four, let
them be confined in close prison during my pleasure."
Thus, Chionia and Agape were condemned to be burned alive, but, because of
her youth, Irene was to be imprisoned. After the execution of her older sisters,
their house had been searched and the forbidden volumes discovered. Irene
was examined again:
Dulcetius: "Your madness is plain, since you have kept to this day so many
books, parchments, codicils, and papers of the scriptures of the impious
Christians. You were forced to acknowledge them when they were produced before
you, though you had before denied you had any. You will not take warning
from the punishment of your sisters, neither have you the fear of death before
your eyes your punishment therefore is unavoidable. In the mean time I do
not refuse even now to make some condescension in your behalf. Notwithstanding
your crime, you may find pardon and be freed from punishment, if you will
yet worship the gods. What say you then? Will you obey the orders of the
emperors? Are you ready to sacrifice to the gods, and eat of the victims?"
Irene: "By no means: for those that renounce Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
are threatened with eternal fire."
Dulcetius: "Who persuaded you to conceal those books and papers so long?"
Irene: "Almighty God, who has commanded us to love Him even unto death; on
which account we dare not betray Him, but rather choose to be burnt alive,
or suffer any thing whatsoever than discover such writings."
Dulcetius: "Who knew that those writings were in the house?"
Irene: "Nobody but the Almighty, from Whom nothing is hid: for we concealed
them even from our own domestics, lest they should accuse us."
During the questioning Irene told him that when the emperor's decree against
Christians was published, she and others fled to the mountains without her
father's knowledge. She avoided implicating those who had helped them, and
declared that nobody but themselves know they had the books:
Dulcetius: "Where did you hide yourselves last year, when the pious edict
of our emperors was first published?"
Irene: "Where it pleased God, in the mountains." Dulcetius: "With whom did
you live?
Irene: "We were in the open air, sometimes on one mountain, sometimes on
another."
Dulcetius: "Who supplied you with bread?" Irene: "God, Who gives food to
all flesh."
Dulcetius: "Was your father privy to it? Irene: "No; he had not the least
knowledge of it."
Dulcetius: "Which of your neighbors knew it?" Irene: "Inquire in the neighborhood,
and make your search."
Dulcetius: "After you returned from the mountains, as you say, did you read
those books to anybody?"
Irene: "They were hid at our own house, and we dared not produce them; and
we were in great trouble, because we could not read them night and day, as
we had been accustomed to do."
Dulcetius: "Your sisters have already suffered the punishments to which they
were condemned. As for you, Irene, though you were condemned to death before
your flight for having hid these writings, I will not have you die so suddenly,
but I order that you be exposed naked in a brothel, and be allowed one loaf
a day, to be sent you from the palace; and that the guards do not suffer
you to stir out of it one moment, under pain of death to them."
Irene was sent to a soldiers' brothel, where she was stripped and chained.
There she was miraculously protected from molestation. So, after again refusing
a last chance to conform, she was sentenced to death. She died either by
being forced to throw herself into flames or, more likely, by being shot
in the throat with an arrow. The books, including the Sacred Scripture, were
publicly burned.
The one expanded version of the story relates that Irene was taken to a rising
ground, where she mounted a large, lighted pile. While signing psalms and
celebrating the glory of the Lord, she threw herself on the pile and was
consumed.
Three other women (Casia, Philippa, Eutychia) and a man (Agatho) were tried
with these martyrs. Eutychia was remanded because she was pregnant. It is
not recorded what happened to the others. Agape and Chionia died on April
3; Irene on April 5, which is her actual feast day (Attwater, Attwater2,
Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, White).
In art, this trio is represented generally as three maidens carrying pitchers,
though they may be shown being burned at the stake (Roeder). They are venerated
in Salonika (Roeder).
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In monastério
Medícii, in Bithynia, deposítio sancti Nicétæ
Abbátis, qui ob cultum sanctárum Imáginum, sub Leóne
Arméno, multa passus est, ac tandem, juxta Constantinópolim,
Conféssor quiévit in pace.
In the monastery of Medicion in Bithynia,
Abbot St. Nicetas, who suffered a great deal for the veneration of sacred
images in the time of Leo the Armenian, and then died in peace as a confessor
near Constantinople.
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695 St. Fara Burgundofara
(Fara) convent Abbess 37 yrs Many English princess-nuns and nun-saints were
trained under her, including Saints Gibitrudis,
Sethrida, Ethelburga, Ercongotha, Hildelid, Sisetrudis, Hercantrudis, and
others miracles after death:
Eboríaci, in território Meldénsi, sanctæ
Burgundofáræ, étiam Faræ nómine appellátæ,
Abbatíssæ et Vírginis.
At Faremoutiers, in the
district of Meaux, St. Burgundofara, also known as St. Fara, abbess and virgin.
restoration of sight to Dame Charlotte le Bret
Daughter of Count Agneric, courtier of King Theodebert II. She
refused her father's demands that she marry, and became Abbess of a convent
she convinced him to build, and ruled for thirty-seven years. Named Evoriacum,
the convent was renamed for her after her death, and in time became the famous
Benedictine Abbey of Faremoutiers. She is also known as Fare.
Burgundofara, OSB Abbess V (RM) (also known as Fare, Fara) Born near Meaux;
died at Faremoutiers in Brie, France, on April 3, c. 655-657. Sister of Saint Cagnoald, Saint Faro, and Saint Agnetrudis, Fare had been blessed
by Saint Columbanus in her infancy
during his stay with the family on his way into exile from Luxeuil. Some
chroniclers say she was 10 or 15 at the time Columbanus consecrated her to
God in a particular manner.
She developed a religious vocation early in spite of the fierce opposition
of her father, Count Agneric, one of the principal courtiers of King Theodebert
II. He arranged an honorable match for his daughter, which so upset her that
she became mortally ill. Still Agneric demanded that she marry.
When Saint Eustace was returning
to the court with her brother Cagnoald from his embassy to Columbanus, he
stayed in the home of Agneric. Fare disclosed to him her vocation. Eustace
told her father that Fare was deathly ill because he opposed her pious inclinations.
The saintly man prostrated himself for a time in prayer, rose, and made the
sign of the cross upon Fare's eyes. Immediately her health was restored.
Eustace asked her mother, Leodegonda, to prepare Fare to receive the veil
when he returned to court. As soon as the saint left, Agneric again began
to harass his daughter. She sought sanctuary in the church when he threatened
to kill her if she did not comply with this wishes. Eustace returned and
reconciled father and daughter. He then arranged for Fare to be professed
before Bishop Gondoald of Meaux in 614.
A year or two later, Fare convinced her father to build her a double monastery,
originally named Brige (Brie, which is Celtic for "bridge") or Evoriacum,
now called Faremoutiers (Fare's monastery). The chronicler Jonas, a monk
in that abbey, wrote about many of the holy people he knew there, including
Saint Cagnoald and Saint Walbert.
Although Fare was still very young, she was appointed its first abbess and
governed the monastery under the Rule of Saint Columbanus for 37 years. The
rule was severe. The use of wine and milk was forbidden (at least during
penitential seasons). The inhabitants confessed three times each day to encourage
a habitual watchfulness for the attainment of purity of heart. Masses were
said daily in the monastery for 30 days for the soul of those religious who
died.
Fare was apparently an excellent directress of souls. Many English princess-nuns
and nun-saints were trained under her, including Saints Gibitrudis, Sethrida, Ethelburga, Ercongotha,
Hildelid, Sisetrudis, Hercantrudis, and others. Once when her younger
brother, Saint Faro, was visiting, he was so moved by her heavenly discourses
that he resigned the great offices which he held at court, persuaded his
fiancé to become a nun, and took the clerical tonsure. After he succeeded
Gondoald as bishop, Faro supported his sister against attempts to mitigate
the severity of the Rule.
A reference is made to Fare by Bede led long afterwards to the mistaken idea
that she died in England; however, she died at Faremoutiers after a painful,
lingering illness. Her will bequeathed some of her lands to her siblings,
but the rest to the monastery, includng her lands at Champeaux on which a
monastery was later erected.
Fare's relics were enshrined in 695 and many miracles were attributed to
her intercession. Among them is the restoration of sight to Dame Charlotte le Bret,
daughter to the first president and treasurer-general of finance in the district
of Paris. At the age of seven (1602), her left eye was put out. She became
a nun at Faremoutiers in 1609 and lost the sight in her remaining eye in
1617 due to an irreversible eye disease. Because she suffered terrible pain
in her eyes and the adjacent nerves, remedies were applied to destroy all
feeling in the area. In 1622, she kissed one of the exposed bones of Saint
Fare and touched it to both eyes. She had feeling again. Upon repeating the
action, her sight was restored--instantly and perfectly. Physicians and witnesses
testified in writing to her state before and after this miracle, which was
certified as such be Bishop John de Vieupont of Meaux on December 9, 1622.
The affidavit of the abbess, Frances de la Chastre, and the community also
mentioned two other miraculous cures of palsy and rheumatism. Other miracles
wrought at the intercession of Saint Fare are recorded by Carcat and du Plessis
(Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Saint Burgundofara is depicted in art as an abbess with an ear of corn. Sometimes
she may be shown in the scene where Saint Columbanus blesses a child (Roeder).
She is honored especially in France and Sicily (Husenbeth).
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800 Saint Attala monk
and of a monastery at Taormina abbot , Sicily Benedictine , OSB Abbot (AC)
(also known as Attalus) The Saint Attala was monk and abbot of a monastery
at Taormina, Sicily (Benedictines).
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The Monk Illyrikos the Wonderworker
asceticised on Mount Marsion in the Peloponessus. His date of life
and deeds are unknown.
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824 St. Nicetas Abbot
From Caesarea Bithynia modern Turkey opposed the Iconoclast policies of Emperor
Leo V the Armenian
he was raised in a monastery after his mother died and his father entered
the religious life. Eventually becoming a monk in the monastery of Medikion,
at the base of Mount Olympus in Bithynia, he received ordination in 790 and
was elected abbot. When he and other abbots opposed the Iconoclast policies
of Emperor Leo V the Armenian and the appointment of Theodotus as patriarch
to replace the deposed St. Nicephorus, Nicetas was exiled to Anatolia where
he suffered torments from his captors. Brought to Constantinople, he finally
recognized Theodotus as patriarch and was restored to his monastery. However,
within a short time he recanted his acceptance, and in 813 was exiled to
the island of Glyceria. Upon Leo’s death in 820, Nicetas was returned and
lived as a hermit near Constantinople until his death.
Nicetas of Medikion, Abbot (RM) Born
in Caesarea, Bithynia; died at Constantinople on April 3, 824.
The father of Saint Nicetas entered a monastery a few years after his mother
died when he was just a week old, and he was raised in the monastery. He
became a monk at Medikion Monastery at the foot of Mount Olympus, Bithynia,
was ordained in 790 by Saint Tarasius, and in time became abbot.
When Nicetas and a group of other abbots refused the demand of the iconoclastic
Emperor Leo the Armenian that they recognize the intruded Theodotus as patriarch
of Constantinople, who Leo had appointed to replace the exiled Patriarch
Nicephorus, Nicetas was exiled to Anatolia (Turkey), where he was subjected
to ill treatment.
The Monk Nikita (Nicetas) the Confessor, hegumen of the Mydicia monastery,
was born in Bithynian Caesarea (northwest Asia Minor) of a pious family.
His mother died 8 days after his birth, and his father -- named Philaret,
was tonsured into monasticism. The infant remained in the care of his grandmother,
who raised him in a true Christian spirit. From his youthful years Saint
Nikita attended in church and was an obedient of the hermit Stephanos. With
his blessing Saint Nikita set off to the Mydicia monastery, where the hegumen
then was Saint Nicephoros (Comm. 13 March).
After seven years of virtuous life at the monastery, famed for its strict
ustav (monastic rule), the Monk Nikita was ordained presbyter. And the Monk
Nicephoros, knowing the holy life of the young monk, entrusted to him the
guidance of the monastery when he himself became grievously ill.
Not wanting power, the Monk Nikita began to concern himself about the enlightening
and welfare of the monastery. He guided the brethren by his own personal
example of strict monastic life. Soon the fame of the lofty life of its inhabitants
of the monastery attracted there many, seeking after salvation. And after
several years the number of monks had increased to 100 men.
When the Monk Nicephoros expired to the Lord in his extreme old age, the
brethren unanimously chose the Monk Nikita as hegumen.
The Lord vouchsafed Saint Nikita the gift of wonderworking. Through his prayer
a deaf-mute lad was restored the gift of speech; two demon-possessed women
received healing; he restored reason to one who had lost his mind, and many
others of the sick were healed of their infirmities.
During these years under the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), the Iconoclast
heresy resumed and the oppression over holy icons intensified. Orthodox bishops
were deposed and banished. At Constantinople in 815 a council of heretics
was convened, at which they dethroned the holy Patriarch Nicephoros (806-815,
+ 828), and in his place they chose the heretical layman Theodotos. In place
of exiled and imprisoned Orthodox bishops they likewise installed heretics.
The emperor summoned before him all the heads of the monasteries and tried
to draw them over to the Iconoclast heresy. Among those summoned was also
the Monk Nikita, who stood firmly for the Orthodox confession. On his example
all the hegumens remained faithful to the veneration of holy icons. For this
they threw him in prison. The Monk Nikita bravely underwent all the tribulations
and encouraged firmness of spirit in the other prisoners.
Then the emperor and the false-patriarch Theodotos to trick with cunning
those that persisted. They explained to them, that the emperor would give
them all their freedom and permit the veneration to the icons on one condition:
if they would take Communion from the pseudo-patriarch Theodotos. For a long
time the monk had doubts, whether he should enter into church communion with
an heretic, but others of the prisoners besought him to partake together
with them. Acceding to their entreaties, the Monk Nikita went into the church,
where for the deception of the confessors icons were set out, and he accepted
Communion. But when he returned to his monastery and saw, that the persecution
against icons was continuing, he then repented of his deed, returned to Constantinople
and began fearlessly to denounce the Iconoclast heresy. All threats from
the emperor were ignored by him. The Monk Nikita was again locked up in prison,
where he spent six years, until the death of the emperor Leo the Armenian.
And there, enduring hunger and travail, the Monk Nikita by the power of his
prayers worked miracles: through his prayer the Phrygian ruler released two
captives without ransom; three men for whom the Monk Nikita prayed, who had
suffered shipwreck, were thrown up on shore by the waves. In the year 824
under the new emperor Michael (820-829), the Monk Nikita expired to the Lord.
The body of the monk was buried at the monastery with reverence. Afterwards,
his relics became a source of healing for those coming to venerate the holy
confessor.
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1253 St. Richard of Wyche
Ph.D. Priest a missionary bishop denounced nepotism, insisted on strict
clerical discipline, and was ever generous to the poor and the needy Many
miracles of healing were recorded during his lifetime, and many more after
his death. Richard was deep in the hearts of his people, the sort of saint
that anyone can recognize by his simplicity, holiness, and endless charity
to the poor
In Anglia sancti Richárdii, Epíscopi Cicestrénsis,
sanctitáte et miraculórum glória conspícui.
In England, St. Richard, bishop of Chichester, celebrated
for his sanctity and glorious miracles.
Richard of Wyche, also known as Richard of Chichester, was born
at Wyche (Droitwich), Worcestershire, England. He was orphaned when he was
quite young. He retrieved the fortunes of the mismanaged estate he inherited
when he took it over, and then turned it over to his brother Robert. Richard
refused marriage and went to Oxford, where he studied under Grosseteste and
met and began a lifelong friendship with Saint Edmund Rich.
Richard von Chichester Katholische
Kirche: 3. April und 16. Juni Anglikanische Kirche: 16. Juni
Richard wurde 1197 oder 1198 bei
Worchester in England geboren. Er studierte in Oxford, Paris und Bologna
Rechtswissenschaften und Geisteswissenschaften. 1236 wurde er Kanzler der
Universität Oxford und Kanzler des Erzischofs Edmund von Abingdon. Nach
dem Tod seines Bischofs studierte Richard Theologie und wurde nach seiner
Priesterweihe 1244 Bischof von Chichester. Er wirkte vor allem als Kreuzzusprediger.
Richard starb am 3.4.1253 in Dover.
Richard pursued his studies at Paris, received his M.A. from Oxford, and
then continued his studies at Bologna, where he received his doctorate in
Canon Law.
After seven years at Bologna, he returned to Oxford, was appointed chancellor
of the university in 1235, and then became chancellor to Edmund Rich, now
archbishop of Canterbury, whom he accompanied to the Cistercian monastery
at Pontigny when the archbishop retired there. After Rich died at Pontigny,
Richard taught at the Dominican House of Studies at Orleans and was ordained
there in 1243.
After a time as a parish priest at Deal, he became chancellor of Boniface
of Savoy, the new archbishop of Canterbury, and when King Henry III named
Ralph Neville bishop of Chichester in 1244, Boniface declared his selection
invalid and named Richard to the See. Eventually, the matter was brought
to Rome and in 1245, Pope Innocent IV declared in Richard's favor and consecrated
him. When he returned to England, he was still opposed by Henry and was refused
admittance to the bishop's palace; eventually Henry gave in when threatened
with excommunication by the Pope. The remaining eight years of Richard's life
were spend in ministering to his flock.
He denounced nepotism, insisted on strict clerical discipline, and was ever
generous to the poor and the needy. He died at a house for poor priests in
Dover, England, while preaching a crusade, and was canonized in 1262.
Richard Backedine B (RM) (also known as Richard of Wyche, of Droitwich, of
Chichester, of Burford)
Born at Droitwich (formerly called Wyche), Worchestershire, England, in 1197;
died at Dover, England, 1253; canonized 1262.
"Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ For all the benefits Thou hast given
me, For all the pains and insults Which Thou has borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly, Day by day. Amen."
--Saint Richard of Chichester.
Richard's surname was Backedine, but he is better known as Richard Wyche
or 'of Wich.' He was born into a family who held property and were counted
among the minor nobility. Even as a toddler Richard haunted holy Mass. At
five, standing on a chair, he was already preaching sermons: "Be good; if
you are good, God will love you; if you are not good, God will not love you."
A little simplistic but what do you expect of a five-year old? His knowledge
of Latin amazed the pastor and the fervor of his prayers confounded his mother.
His parents decided that the fruits of the earth would go to the eldest son,
but those of heaven would go to the youngest--he would belong to the Church.
Richard's parents died while he was still small, and the heavily mortgaged
family estate was left to his elder brother, who had no gift for management.
The brother allowed the land to fall into ruin. When Richard was old enough,
he served his brother out of kindness as a laborer to help rebuild the estate.
He actually tilled the land for a time, and directed the replanting of the
ruined gardens.
In time his management paid off, and the property was restored to its former
value. His brother wanted to give it to Richard, but Richard only wanted
to spend time with his books. Abandoning the estates and the possibility
of a marriage to a wealthy bride, Richard went off to the newly opened Oxford
University to finish his studies. At Oxford he became acquainted with the
Dominicans who had arrived in 1221, Franciscans such as Grosseteste, and
Saint Edmund Rich, who was
then chancellor of the university and became one of Richard's lifelong friends.
Later, he went to Paris as a student of theology, and was so poor that he
shared a room with two others. They lived on bread and porridge, and having
only one good coat between them, they could only go one at a time to lectures,
wearing it in turn, while the others remained at home. After taking his degree
in Paris and finishing his master's degree at Oxford, he studied Roman and
canon law at Bologna for seven years. There he received his doctorate and
the esteem of many.
When one of his tutors offered to make Richard his heir and give him his
daughter in marriage, Richard, who felt called to a celibate life, made a
courteous excuse and returned to Oxford at age 38. In 1235, he was appointed
chancellor of the university and then of the diocese of Oxford by Saint Edmund,
who had become archbishop of Canterbury.
Richard remained in close contact with Saint Edmund during the long years
of Edmund's conflict with the English king and, in fact, followed him into
exile in France and nursed him until Edmund's death in 1240 at the Cistercian
monastery of Pontigny. After Edmund died, he taught at the Dominican house
of studies in Orléans for two years, where he was ordained a priest
in 1242 and lived in the Dominican community until his return to England
in 1243. At which time he served briefly as a parish priest at Charing and
at Deal.
Those were the days when Henry III created great difficulties for the Church
by encroaching on her liberties, seizing her revenues, and appointing to
ecclesiastical vacancies his own relatives and followers. Crowned at the
age of nine, when the barons had made an impetuous attack on his power, the
Church had come to the aid of the frail child because God establishes all
authority. Henry had acknowledged this service until he reached manhood.
Then the king forgot his debt to the Church. He surrounded himself with favorites
from the Continent: Bretons, Provençals, Savoyards, and natives of
Poitou to "protect himself from the felony of his own subjects."
In 1244, Ralph Neville, bishop of Chichester died. Thus it came about that
the king nominated a courtier, Robert Passelewe, to the bishopric of Chichester
and pressured the canons to elect him. However, the new archbishop, Blessed
Boniface of Savoy, refused to confirm appointment and called a chapter of
his suffragans, who declared the election invalid. Instead they chose Richard
Backedine, who had been chancellor to archbishops Edmund Rich and Boniface
of Savoy and who was the primate's nominee, to fill the vacant see.
This roused the anger of the king, who retaliated by confiscating the cathedral
revenues. It was a case in which retreat would be pure cowardice, so Richard
accepted the unwelcome office and set about doing his best with it. At first
he was almost starved out of office because the king, who already had the
church revenues, forbade anyone to give Richard food or shelter. No bishop
dared to consecrate him and, after a year of mendicant existence, he went
to receive episcopal consecration from Pope Innocent IV, who was presiding
over the Council of Lyons, on March 5, 1245.
But Richard, receiving the powerful support of the pope, though deprived
of the use both of the cathedral and the bishop's palace, took up his residence
at Chichester, and on a borrowed horse travelled through his diocese. He
was given shelter in a country rectory by Father Simon of Tarring, and from
this modest center Bishop Richard worked for two years like a missionary
bishop, visiting fisherfolk and peasants, and cultivating figs in his spare
time.
He called many synods during his travels, and drew up what are known as the
Constitutions of Saint Richard, statutes that address the various abuses
that he noticed in his travels. The sacraments were to be administered without
payment, Mass celebrated with dignity, and the clergy to remain celibate,
practice residence, and wear clerical garb. The laity were obliged to attend
Mass on Sundays and Holy Days and to memorize the Hail Mary, Our Father,
and Creed. With great charity and humility he carried on his work until the
king reluctantly yielded to a peremptory order of the pope to restore the
revenues of the bishopric.
With his temporalities restored, Richard had the means to become a great
alms-giver. "It will never do," he said, "to eat out of gold and silver plates
and bowls, while Christ is suffering in the person of His poor," and he ate
and drank always out of common crockery. His early poverty and recent experiences
made him eschew riches. Whenever he heard of any fire or damage to his property,
Saint Richard would say to his stewards, "Do not grieve. This is a lesson
to us. God is teaching us that we do not give enough away to the poor. Let
us increase our almsgiving."
Nor would he allow any quarrels over money or privilege to stand in the way
of fellowship and charity. When an enemy came to see him, he received him
in the friendliest manner and invited him to his table, but in matters of
scandal and corruption he was stern and unyielding. "Never," he said of one
of his priests who was immoral, "shall a ribald exercise any cure of souls
in my diocese of Chichester."
And always he rose early, long before his clergy were awake, passing through
their dormitory to say his morning office by himself. He encouraged the Dominicans
and Franciscans in his diocese, who aided him in reforming it.
His final task was a commission from the pope to undertake a preaching mission
for the Crusade throughout the kingdom. He saw this as a call to a new life,
which would also reopen the Holy Land to pilgrims, not as a political expedition.
He began preaching the Crusade in his own church at Chichester and proceeded
as far as Dover, where, after he had dedicated a church to his friend Saint Edmund and sung matins, he was taken
ill, and died at the Maison- Dieu, a house of poor priests and pilgrims,
in his 56th year. Among his last words, as he turned his face, lit up with
peace, to an old friend, were: "I was glad when they said to me, We will
go into the house of the Lord."
If Richard was a thorn in the side of an avaricious king, he was a saint
to his flock, whose affection he won during his eight-year episcopate. Many
miracles of healing were recorded during his lifetime, and many more after
his death. Richard was deep in the hearts of his people, the sort of saint
that anyone can recognize by his simplicity, holiness, and endless charity
to the poor.
Richard built a magnificent tomb for his friend, Saint Edmund, and was himself
buried there after his death. In 1276, his body was translated to a separate
tomb that erected for him behind the high altar of Chichester cathedral,
which became one of the most popular pilgrimage places in England. It was
utterly destroyed in 1538 by the Reformers, and his body was buried secretly.
Legend says that Richard Backedine was a third order Dominican, though there
is no positive proof. One tradition says that he was actually on his way
to join the Dominican house in Orléans, when the letters came appointing
him bishop. In the early days of the Order of Preachers, the name of Saint
Richard was inserted as a saint to be commemorated among their feasts, a
fact that offers strong evidence that Richard himself was a member of the
order. His biography was written by one of his clergy, Ralph Bocking (Attwater,
Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Capes, Delaney, Dorcy, Encyclopedia, Farmer,
Gill, Walsh).
In art, Saint Richard is portrayed as a bishop blessing his people with a
chalice by him, because he once dropped the chalice during a Mass, which
remained unspilt. He may be shown (1) with the chalice at his feet; (2) kneeling
with the chalice before him; (3) ploughing his brother's fields; or (4) blessing
(Roeder). Unexpectedly, he is the patron of the coachmen's guild in Milan,
Italy, presumably because he drove carts on his family farm (Farmer). His
feast is observed in the dioceses of Southwark, Westminster, and Birmingham
(Attwater2).
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1260 Blessed Gandulphus of
Binasco Franciscan while Saint Francis was still alive preaching in Sicily
hermit OFM (AC)
(also known as Gandulf) Born in Binasco (near Milan), Lombardy, Italy; Gandulphus
became a member of the Franciscan Order while Saint Francis was still alive
and spent his life praying and preaching in Sicily. Later in life, he left
the friary at Palermo to become a hermit. He is highly venerated in Sicily
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
|
1271 Blessed John of Penna
priest founding several Franciscan houses visions gift of prophecy
afflicted with extended periods of spiritual aridity OFM (AC)
Born at Penna San Giovanni (near Fermo), Ancona, Italy, c. 1193; died at
Recanati, Italy, April 3, 1271; cultus approved 1806 by Pope Pius VII. Blessed
John joined the Franciscans at Recanati about 1213, was ordained a priest,
and was sent to France, where he worked for about 25 years in Provence, founding
several Franciscan houses. About 1242, he returned to Italy, where he spent
his last 30 years mainly in retirement, although he did serve as guardian
several times. He experienced visions and had the gift of prophecy, but was
also afflicted with extended periods of spiritual aridity. His life is described
in chapter 45 of The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (Attwater2, Benedictines,
Delaney).
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1458 Blessed Alexandrina
di Letto nun abbess founder Poor Clare initiated a new Franciscan reform
(PC)
Born at Sulmona, Italy in 1385; At age 15, Alexandrina joined the Poor Clares.
After 23 years as a nun she founded a convent of her order at Foligno of
which she became its first abbess. Here she initiated a new Franciscan reform,
which was blessed and encouraged by Pope Martin V (Benedictines).
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1492 The Monk Nektarii of
Bezhetsk a monastic of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery
In the mid XV Century he settled in a dense forest in the upper part of the
Bezhetsk region, where he built himself a cell. The deeds and the spiritual
wisdom of the monk attracted to him many, that wanted to live under his guidance.
In a short while the monks built a church in honour of the Vvedenie-Entry
into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God, and they enclosed it about
with a fence. The new monastery was one of the poorest, and which in the
expression of the chronicler, was built "with tears, fasting and vigil".
By common accord of all the brethren
of the monastery, its founder the Monk Nektarii was chosen as hegumen. The
Monk Nektarii died on 3 April 1492.
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Saint of the Day April 03 2006 Tértio Nonas Aprílis. Luna...
The Third Day of April. The... Day
of the Moon.
1st v Pancras
of Taormina Antiochene
by birth Saint Peter consecrated bishop sent to Sicily BM (RM)
Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 Instruction
on the Contemplative Life includes this passage: Benedict_XVI_Patriarch_Bartholomew
