Father Corapi's Biography

69-155 St. Polycarp of Smyrna Bishop of Smyrna
  Smyrnæ natális sancti Polycárpi, qui, beáti Joánnis Apóstoli discípulus, et ab eo ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopus ordinátus, totíus Asiæ Princeps fuit.  Póstea, sub Marco Antoníno et Lúcio Aurélio Cómmodo, sedénte Procónsule et univérso pópulo in theátro advérsus eum personánte, igni tráditus est; et, cum ab igne mínime læderétur, martyrii corónam, gládio confóssus, accépit.  Cum illo étiam álii duódecim, qui ex Philadelphía vénerant, in eádem Smyrnénsi urbe, martyrio consummáti sunt.  Ipsíus tamen Polycárpi festum séptimo Kaléndas Februárii celebrátur.
      At Smyrna, the birthday of St. Polycarp, a disciple of St. John the Apostle, by whom he was consecrated bishop of that city, and appointed primate of all Asia.  Under Marcus Antonius and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, when the proconsul and all those assembled in the amphitheatre cried out against him, he was delivered to the fire, but since it did not harm him, he received the crown of martyrdom by the sword.  With him, twelve others who came from Philadelphia met their death by martyrdom in the same city.  The feast of St. Polycarp is kept on the 26th of January.
Martyr, and one of the foremost leaders of the Church in the second century. Few details of his life are extant with any reliability beyond his famous martyrdom, which was recounted in the Martyrium Polycarpi.

He was, as was his friend St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the most important intermediary links between the apostolic and the patristic eras in the Church, especially in Christian Asia Minor. A defender of orthodoxy, he opposed such heretical groups as the Marcionites and Valentinians. He also authored a surviving epistle to the Philippians, exhorting them to remain strong in the faith. The letter is of great interest to scholars because it demonstrates the existence of New Testament texts, with quotes from Matthew and Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and the first letters of Peter and John. When Ignatius was being taken to Rome to be put to death, he wrote of Polycarp being clothed “with the garment of grace." Polycarp was himself arrested by Roman officials in Smyrna soon after returning from a trip to Rome to discuss the date for Easter. He refused to abjure the faith, telling his captain that he had served Christ for eighty six years. The Romans burned him alive with twelve companions. The year of his death has been put at 155 or 156, although Eusebius of Caesarea places the year at 167 or 168, meaning it would have fallen in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. If so, changes in the year of his birth would be necessary.

Polycarp, and the presbyters with him, to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi:
Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, be multiplied.

CHAPTER I.--PRAISE OF THE PHILIPPIANS.
I have greatly rejoiced with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because ye have followed the example of true love [as displayed by God], and have accompanied, as became you, those who were bound in chains, the fitting ornaments of saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the true elect of God and our Lord; and because the strong root of your faith, spoken of in days long gone by, endureth even until now, and bringeth forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death, [but] "whom God raised froth the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave." "In whom, though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; " into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that "by grace ye are saved, not of works," but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.

"Wherefore, girding up your loins," "serve the Lord in fear" and truth, as those who have forsaken the vain, empty talk and error of the multitude, and "believed in Him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory," and a throne at His right hand. To Him all things" in heaven and on earth are subject. Him every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead. His blood will God require of those who do not believe in Him. But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, falsewitness; "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing," or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: "Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again; and once more, "Blessed are the poor, and those that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God."

These things, brethren, I write to you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything upon myself, but because ye have invited me to do so. For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to the wisdom" of the blessed and glorified Paul. He, when among you, accurately and stedfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive. And when absent from you, he wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of building you up in that faith which has been given you, and which, being followed by hope, and preceded by love towards God, and Christ, and our neighbour, "is the mother of us all." For if any one be inwardly possessed of these graces, he hath fulfilled the command of righteousness, since he that hath love is far from all sin.

"But the love of money is the root of all evils." Knowing, therefore, that "as we brought nothing into the world, so we can carry nothing out," let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness; and let us teach, first of all, ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord. Next, [teach] your wives [to walk] in the faith given to them, and in love and purity tenderly loving their own husbands in all truth, and loving all [others] equally in all chastity; and to train up their children in the knowledge and fear of God. Teach the widows to be discreet as respects the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, love of money, and every kind of evil; knowing that they are the altar s of God, that He clearly perceives all things, and that nothing is hid from Him, neither reasonings, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of the heart.

Knowing, then, that "God is not mocked," we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and glory. In like manner should the deacons be blameless before the face of His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ, and not of men. They must not be slanderers, double-tongued, or lovers of money, but temperate in all things, compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who was the servant of all. If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, "we shall also reign together with Him," provided only we believe. In like manner, let the young men also be blameless in all things, being especially careful to preserve purity, and keeping themselves in, as with a bridle, from every kind of evil. For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since "every lust warreth against the spirit; " and "neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God," nor those who do things inconsistent and unbecoming. Wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto God and Christ. The virgins also must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.

And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always "providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and man ; " abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unjust judgment; keeping far off from . all covetousness, not quickly crediting [an evil re port] against any one, not severe in judgment, as knowing that we are all under a debt of sin. If then we entreat the Lord to forgive us, we ought also ourselves to forgive; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and "we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of himself." Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike taught us]. Let us be zealous in the pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from causes of offence, from false brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the Lord, and draw away vain men into error.

"For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist;" and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan. Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning; "watching unto prayer," and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God "not to lead us into temptation," as the Lord has said: "The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Let us then continually persevere in our hope, and the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, "who bore our sins in His own body on the tree," "who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," but endured all things for us, that we might live in Him. Let us then be imitators of His patience; and if we suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him. For He has set us this example s in Himself, and we have believed that such is the case.

I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, such as ye have seen [set] before your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. [This do] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.

Stand fast, therefore, in these things, and follow the example of the Lord, being firm and unchangeable in the faith, loving the brotherhood, and being attached to one another, joined together in the truth, exhibiting the meekness of the Lord in your intercourse with one another, and despising no one. When you can do good, defer it not, because "alms delivers from death."" Be all of you subject one to another? having your conduct blameless among the Gentiles," that ye may both receive praise for your good works, and the Lord may not be blasphemed through you. But woe to him by whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed! Teach, therefore, sobriety to all, and manifest it also in your own conduct.

I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church]. I exhort you, therefore, that ye abstain from covetousness, and that ye be chaste and truthful. "Abstain from every form of evil." For if a man cannot govern himself in such matters, how shall he enjoin them on others ? If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen. But who of us are ignorant of the judgment of the Lord ? "Do we not know that the saints shall judge the world ?" as Paul teaches. But I have neither seen nor heard of any such thing among you, in the midst of whom the blessed Paul laboured, and who are commended in the beginning of his Epistle. For he boasts of you in all those Churches which alone then knew the Lord; but we [of Smyrna] had not yet known Him. I am deeply grieved, therefore, brethren, for him (Valens) and his wife; to whom may the Lord grant true repentance! And be ye then moderate in regard to this matter, and "do not count such as enemies," but call them back as suffering and straying members, that ye may save your whole body. For by so acting ye shall edify yourselves.

For I trust that ye are well versed in the Sacred Scriptures, and that nothing is hid from you; but to me this privilege is not yet granted. It is declared then in these Scriptures, "Be ye angry, and sin not," and, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Happy is he who remembers this, which I believe to be the case with you. But may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself, who is the Son of God, and our everlasting High Priest, build you up in faith and truth, and in all meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, forbearance, and purity; and may He bestow on you a lot and portion among His saints, and on us with you, and on all that are under heaven, who shall believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in His Father, who "raised Him from the dead. Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings, and potentates, and princes, and for those that persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross, that your fruit may be manifest to all, and that ye may be perfect in Him.

Both you and Ignatius wrote to me, that if any one went [from this] into Syria, he should carry your letter with him; which request I will attend to if I find a fitting opportunity, either personally, or through some other acting for me, that your desire may be fulfilled. The Epistles of Ignatius written by him to us, and all the rest [of his Epistles] which we have by us, we have sent to you, as you requested. They are subjoined to this Epistle, and by them ye may be greatly profited; for they treat of faith and patience, and all things that tend to edification in our Lord. Any more certain information you may have obtained respecting both Ignatius himself, and those that were with him, have the goodness to make known to us.

These things I have written to you by Crescens, whom up to the present time I have recommended unto you, and do now recommend. For he has acted blamelessly among us, and I believe also among you. Moreover, ye will hold his sister in esteem when she comes to you. Be ye safe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all. Amen. 

156 Saint Polycarp a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist
 Smyrnæ natális sancti Polycárpi, qui, beáti Joánnis Apóstoli discípulus, et ab eo ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopus ordinátus, totíus Asiæ Princeps fuit.  Póstea, sub Marco Antoníno et Lúcio Aurélio Cómmodo, sedénte Procónsule et univérso pópulo in theátro advérsus eum personánte, igni tráditus est; et, cum ab igne mínime læderétur, martyrii corónam, gládio confóssus, accépit.  Cum illo étiam álii duódecim, qui ex Philadelphía vénerant, in eádem Smyrnénsi urbe, martyrio consummáti sunt.  Ipsíus tamen Polycárpi festum séptimo Kaléndas Februárii celebrátur.
       At Smyrna, the birthday of St. Polycarp, a disciple of St. John the Apostle, by whom he was consecrated bishop of that city, and appointed primate of all Asia.  Under Marcus Antonius and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, when the proconsul and all those assembled in the amphitheatre cried out against him, he was delivered to the fire, but since it did not harm him, he received the crown of martyrdom by the sword.  With him, twelve others who came from Philadelphia met their death by martyrdom in the same city.  The feast of St. Polycarp is kept on the 26th of January.
Imagine being able to sit at the feet of the apostles and hear their stories of life with Jesus from their own lips. Imagine walking with those who had walked with Jesus, seen him, and touched him. That was what Polycarp was able to do as a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist.  Being part of the second generation of Church leaders had challenges the first generation could not teach about. What did you do when those eyewitnesses were gone? How do you carry on the correct teachings of Jesus? How do you answer new questions that never came up before?

Polycarp, as a holy man and bishop of Smyrna, found there was only one answer -- to be true to the life of Jesus and imitate that life. Saint Ignatius of Antioch told Polycarp "your mind is grounded in God as on an immovable rock."
When faced with heresy, he showed the "candid face" that Ignatius admired and that imitated Jesus' response to the Pharisees. Marcion, the leader of the Marcionites who followed a dualistic heresy, confronted Polycarp and demanded respect by saying, "Recognize us, Polycarp." Polycarp responded, "I recognize you, yes, I recognize the son of Satan."

The East, where Polycarp was from, celebrated the Passover as the Passion of Christ followed by a Eucharist on the following day. The West celebrated Easter on the Sunday of the week following Passover.
When Polycarp went to Rome to discuss the difference with Pope Anicetus, they could not agree on this issue. But they found no difference in their Christian beliefs.

Polycarp faced persecution the way Christ did. His own church admired him for following the "gospel model" -- not chasing after martyrdom as some did, but avoiding it until it was God's will as Jesus did. They considered it "a sign of love to desire not to save oneself alone, but to save also all the Christian brothers and sisters."
One day, during a bloody martyrdom when Christians were attacked by wild animals in the arena, the crowd became so mad that they demanded more blood by crying, "Down with the atheists; let Polycarp be found." (They considered Christians "atheists" because they didn't believe in their pantheon of gods.) Since Polycarp was not only known as a leader but as someone holy "even before his grey hair appeared", this was a horrible demand. Polycarp was calm but others persuaded him to leave the city and hide at a nearby farm. He spent his time in prayer for people he knew and for the Church. During his prayer he saw a vision of his pillow turned to fire and announced to his friends that the dream meant he would be burned alive.
As the search closed in, he moved to another farm, but the police discovered he was there by torturing two boys. He had a little warning since he was upstairs in the house but he decided to stay, saying, "God's will be done."
Then he went downstairs, talked to his captors and fed them a meal. All he asked of them was that they give him an hour to pray. He spent two hours praying for everyone he had every known and for the Church, "remembering all who had at any time come his way -- small folk and great folk, distinguished and undistinguished, and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world."
Many of his captors started to wonder why they were arresting this holy, eighty-six-year-old bishop.  But that didn't stop them from taking him into the arena on the Sabbath. As he entered the arena, the crowd roared like the animals they cheered. Those around Polycarp heard a voice from heaven above the crowd, "Be brave, Polycarp, and act like a man."
The proconsul begged the eighty-six-year-old bishop to give in because of his age. "Say 'Away with the atheists'" the proconsul urged. Polycarp calmly turned to the face the crowd, looked straight at them, and said, "Away with the atheists." The proconsul continued to plead with him. When he asked Polycarp to swear by Caesar to save himself, Polycarp answered, "If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar, you do not know who I am. Let me tell you plainly, I am a Christian." Finally, when all else failed the proconsul reminded Polycarp that he would be thrown to the wild animals unless he changed his mind. Polycarp answered, "Change of mind from better to worse is not a change allowed to us."

When he was tied up to be burned, Polycarp prayed, "Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers, of the whole creation and of the whole race of the righteous who live in your sight, I bless you, for having made me worthy of this day and hour, I bless you, because I may have a part, along with the martyrs, in the chalice of your Christ, to resurrection in eternal life, resurrection both of soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, among those who are in you presence, as you have prepared and foretold and fulfilled, God who is faithful and true. For this and for all benefits I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be to you with him and the Holy Spirit glory, now and for all the ages to come. Amen."
The fire was lit as Polycarp said Amen and then the eyewitnesses who reported said they saw a miracle. The fire burst up in an arch around Polycarp, the flames surrounding him like sails, and instead of being burned he seemed to glow like bread baking, or gold being melted in a furnace. When the captors saw he wasn't being burned, they stabbed him. The blood that flowed put the fire out.
The proconsul wouldn't let the Christians have the body because he was afraid they would worship Polycarp. The witnesses reported this with scorn for the lack of understanding of Christian faith: "They did not know that we can never abandon the innocent Christ who suffered on behalf of sinners for the salvation of those in this world." After the body was burned, they stole the bones in order to celebrate the memory of his martyrdom and prepare others for persecution. The date was about February 23, 156.
In His Footsteps:  When faced with challenges to your Christian life, try a version of Polycarp's prayer of martyrdom: "Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers, of the whole creation and of the whole race of the righteous who live in your sight, I bless you, for having made me worthy of this day and hour, I bless you, because I may have a part, along with the martyrs, in the chalice of your Christ, to resurrection in eternal life, resurrection both of soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. For this and for all benefits I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be to you with him and the Holy Spirit glory, now and for all the ages to come. Amen."
Prayer:  Saint Polycarp, sometimes Christ seems so far away from us. Centuries have passed since he and the apostles walk the earth. Help us to see that he is close to us always and that we can keep him near by imitating his life as you did. Amen

Polycarp of Smyrna BM (RM) Died 2:00 p.m., February 23, c. 156; feast day formerly January 26.

The earliest record of Christian martyrdom outside the Bible is that of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. It speaks of the sufferings of the Christians: "Who can fail to admire their nobleness of mind, and their patience, with that love towards their Lord which they displayed?-- who when they were so torn with scourges, that the frame of their bodies, even to the very inward veins and arteries, was laid open, still patiently endured, while even those that stood by pitied and bewailed them."
Polycarp had known those who had known Jesus and was a disciple of the beloved Apostle John the Divine, who had converted him about 80 AD. He taught, says his own pupil Irenaeus of Lyons, the things that he learned from the Apostles, which the Church hands down, which are true.

He kissed the chains of Saint Ignatius of Antioch on his way to martyrdom in Rome. Saint Ignatius wrote a special letter to encourage Polycarp when he was a young bishop and asked him to watch over his church at Antioch and to write in his name to the churches of Asia that he could not attend himself. Polycarp was probably the leading Christian in Roman Asia in the second century and an important link between the apostolic age and the great Christian writers of the second century.
He had lived near Jerusalem and was proud of his early associations with the Apostles. "I can tell," he wrote, "the very place in which the blessed Saint Paul used to sit when he discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and the stamp of his life, and his bodily appearance, and the discourses which he held towards the congregation, and how he would describe his intercourse with those who had seen the Lord, and how he would relate their words."
Polycarp became bishop of Smyrna c. 96 and ruled the see for 70 years. He was a staunch defender of orthodoxy and an energetic opponent of heresy, especially Marcionism and Valentinianism (the most influential of the Gnostic sects). A letter to him from Saint John has survived, as has his Epistle to the Philippians, in which he quotes from 1 John 4:3 and warns the Philippians against the false teachings of Marcion, whom he once called "the first-born of Satan," and which was so esteemed that it was widely read in Asian churches even during Saint Jerome's lifetime, but was not included in the canon of Scripture.
Toward the end of his life he visited Pope Saint Anicetus in Rome, and when they could not agree on a date for Easter decided each would observe his own date. To testify his respect and ensure that the bonds of charity were unbroken, Anicetus invited Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in the papal chapel on this occasion.

The crowd cried out: "Away with the atheists [meaning the Christians who refused to worship the state gods]. Fetch Polycarp." And so, at age 90 (or 80 according to Eusebius), when the persecution under Marcus Aurelius was at its height and men marvelled at the incredible resistance of the Christians, he suffered grievously, despite his great age and feebleness, at the hands of the mob. He had refused to sacrifice to the gods and acknowledge the emperor's divinity.
He had been warned that they would arrest him, and had been persuaded to retire to a farm outside the city, where he was betrayed by one of his own household, who had been threatened with torture. The police came armed as against a robber, and when they saw him marvelled at his age and calmness. "Was so much effort needed," they said, "to capture such a venerable man?" It was the evening and Polycarp had retired to rest, but he came down and, with great courtesy and hospitality, offered them food and wine.

Seating him on an ass, they brought him to Smyrna, where the governor, on meeting him, took him into his own chariot, begging him to recant, and on his refusal cast him out upon the road so that he dislocated his leg. Lame and exhausted, he was dragged to the crowded arena and was met by the deafening tumult of the spectators, who, seeing before them the most eminent of the Christians, called upon him to blaspheme.
To this he replied: "For eighty and six years I have served Christ and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior now! If you require of me to swear by the genius of Caesar, as you call it, hear my free confession: I am a Christian; if you wish to learn the Christian doctrine, choose a day and hear me." The proconsul said, "Persuade the people." To which Polycarp joyfully and confidently answered, "I address myself to you; for we are taught to give due honor to princes, so far as it is consistent with religion. But before these people I cannot justify myself."

The proconsul admired his courage, but already the herald had thrice proclaimed in the stadium: "Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian," and the crowd called for him to be thrown to the lions, but the time of the games was already over. The Roman proconsul threatened to throw him into a fire. To which Polycarp responded, "You threaten me with a fire that will certainly die out. You know nothing of the eternal fire that is reserved for the wicked." So, as he had already foretold, Polycarp was ordered to be burned alive. He uttered a prayer of praise and glory to God, and offered up himself.
In 155 AD the Christians of Smyrna described the attempted execution of Saint Polycarp by burning. The funeral pyre was made ready, the multitude gathering wood and faggots, and the aged father of the Christians laid aside his garments; but when they were about to nail him to the stake he said: "It is unnecessary. He who gives me strength to endure in the flame will enable me to stand firm," and as the fire reached him he broke into praise and prayer.
Initially the fires failed to harm the bishop and witnesses later described how 'the flames made a sort of arch, like a ship's sail filled with the wind, and they were like a wall round the martyr's body; and he looked, not like burning flesh, but like bread in the oven or gold and silver being refined in a furnace.' They watched Polycarp surrounded by flames but unharmed and perceived 'such a fragrant smell, as if it were the wafted odor of frankincense or some other precious spice.
In the end the bishop was dispatched by an executioner with a dagger. It is said that a dove came forth as well as enough blood to quench the fire. His body was burned to ashes to prevent the Christians from taking it.
The Martyrium Polycarpi, written in the name of the church of Smyrna, addressed to the church of Philomelius in Pisidia, and evidently from eyewitness accounts of his arrest, trial, and martyrdom, is the oldest authentic example of the acta of a martyr (introductory note to the epistle). Twelve others of his flock were martyred with Polycarp. The translated narrative of his martyrdom can be found in Ancient Christian Writers series, no. 6 (1957). The date of his death is debated; it may have been 166 or 177; but the earlier date seems more likely.
The account of his martyrdom is precious evidence for the cultus of saints as early as the 2nd century; and his vita of the variation in the dates of Easter from an early period (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Harrison, Walsh, White).
In art, Saint Polycarp is represented as a bishop roasted inside a brazen bull. At times he may be shown refusing to sacrifice to an idol or roasted in an oven (Roeder). He may also be depicted trampling on a pagan; with a funeral pyre near him; stabbed and burned to death; or being burned in various ways (White). Polycarp is invoked against earache (Roeder).

St. Polycarp (d. 156) February 23, 2010
Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), disciple of St. John the Apostle and friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second century.  St. Ignatius, on his way to Rome to be martyred, visited Polycarp at Smyrna, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter celebration in Rome—quite a controversy in the early Church.
Only one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi, Macedonia.
At 86, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned. The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved, fully reliable account of a Christian m artyr’s death. He died in 156.

Romana of Todi V (RM) Died 324. A spurious legend reports that the virgin Saint Romana was baptized by Pope Saint Sylvester. She died at the age of 18 while living in seclusion in a cave on the banks of the Tiber (Benedictines, Encyclopedia). Sometimes Saint Romana is painted together with Pope Saint Sylvester (Roeder).

See the excellent article of J. Pargoire in DAC., vol. i, cc. 307—321 and also the Revue des questions historiques, January, 1899. A Latin version of the life is printed in the Acta Sanctorum for January 15 the Greek text was edited by E. De Stoop in 1911 in the Patrologia Orientalis, vol. vi, part 5. cf. also S. Vailhé in DHG., vol. i, cc. 274—282. For the laus perennis, cf. herein St Sigismund, May 5.

St Alexander is also commemorated on July 3.

St Polychronius asked God to send rain during a drought, and he filled up a stone vessel with oil for the needy.

530 St. Dositheus Convert monk at Gaza, Israel cared for the sick with incomparable vigilance, charity, and sweetness

530 St Dositheus
Dositheus was brought up a pagan, entirely ignorant of the doctrines of Christian­ity, but he used to hear much talk about Jerusalem, and was induced, out of curiosity, to visit it. He went to see the chief sights of the city including Geth­semane, where he was impressed by a painting representing the lost being tormented in Hell. He did not understand what he saw until a stranger, an elderly lady, explained the picture and told him about the last judgement, Heaven and Hell. Greatly impressed, he asked what he should do to avoid the terrible punishment and she replied that he must fast and pray. He set about following her advice, but his friends laughed at him and told him that he had better become a monk; so making his way to the monastery at Gaza ruled by the Abbot Seridos he asked to be admitted. At first the abbot hesitated on account of his youthful appearance, but the young man’s earnestness was reassuring and he accordingly accepted him with the approval of St Barsanuphius, committing him to the care of one of his monks called Dorotheus. This experienced ascetic, aware of the difficulty of passing from one extreme to another, and seeing that Dositheus was not robust, left him pretty much to his own devices at first, so far as the external practices of asceticism were concerned, but he taught him to discipline his tongue and to conquer irregular impulses. He impressed upon him the necessity of a perfect renunciation of his own will in everything, great or small, and then, as he found his strength would permit, he daily diminished his supply of food till the quantity of six pounds of bread a day, with which he had begun, became reduced to eight ounces.

After a time Dositheus was entrusted with the care of the sick—an office that he discharged to the satisfaction of all: he was so kind and cheerful that the sick loved his presence. At first, when they were unreasonable, he would sometimes lose patience and speak crossly. Then, overcome with remorse, he would run to his cell and throw himself on the ground weeping bitterly until his master came to comfort him and to assure him of God’s forgiveness. After a time physical symptoms seem to have developed, and he suffered constant haemorrhages from the lungs, but he continued to the last to deny his own will. Unable to do anything but pray, he continually asked the direction of his master and followed it in all that he attempted. Dorotheus said, “Be instant in prayer—lose not hold of that”, and Dositheus replied, “Master, it is well—pray for me”. When he grew weaker he murmured, “Forgive me, master, but I cannot continue”. “Give up the effort, then, my son but keep God in mind as ever present beside thee.” He asked Dorotheus to pray that God would soon take him, and was assured that the end was near: “Depart in peace; thou shalt appear in joy before the Holy Trinity, and there pray for us”.

Some of the other monks murmured at Dorotheus for promising Dositheus Heaven, and for asking the intercession of one who had done nothing in the way of fasting and had moreover performed no miracles, but Dorotheus replied, “He did not fast, it is true, but he completely surrendered his own will”.

Shortly after the death of Dositheus, there came to the monastery a very holy old man who greatly desired that God would show him those departed monks of the house who had entered into glory. His wish was granted, and he saw in a vision a number of aged saints forming a choir and amongst them there was one quite young man. Relating the vision afterwards he asked who the young man could be, and described him so exactly that none could doubt that it was Dositheus. He has been described as a forerunner of St John Berchmans and St Stanislaus Kostka.

See the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. iii. Dositheus has never been officially recognized as a saint in either the East or the West, but there is a seemingly contemporary life that the Bollandists have translated and he is spoken of by Dorotheus the Archimandrite in the first of his “Twenty-four Discourses”. See also P. M. Brun, “La vie de St Dosithée”, in Orientalia Christiana, vol. xxvi (1932), pp. 89—523, text and translation.

Dositheus of Gaza, Monk (AC) Dositheus, who had spent his youth in worldly pursuits and gross ignorance of spiritual matters, went to Jerusalem out of curiosity because he had heard it mentioned so often in discourse. In Jerusalem he became so strongly affected by the sight of a picture representing hell, and by the exposition given to him about it, that he immediately forsook the world and entered a monastery at Gaza.  The abbot Seridon gave him the monastic habit and commended him to the care of a monk named Dorotheus, an experienced director. Dorotheus understood the difficulty of extreme swings of fervor and left Dositheus to his own devices regarding food, but was careful to instill in him the necessity of perfect renunciation of his own will in all things great and small.
Dositheus went from eating six pounds of bread daily to eight ounces. Thus Dorotheus proceeded with his pupil in other monastic duties and by a constant and unreserved denial of his own will, and a perfect submission to his director, he surpassed in virtue the greatest fasters of the monastery. All his actions seemed to have nothing of choice, nothing of his own will in any circumstances; the will of God alone reigned in his heart.

The sick were comforted by the very sight of him. Dositheus himself became sick with a lung disease (spitting up blood, possibly consumption), but continued to the end to deny his own will and was extremely vigilant to prevent any of its suggestions taking place in his heart, unlike most of us who when sick think we should be allowed everything.

Dositheus's poor health prevented him from fasting, and moreover he did not work any miracles; these facts scandalized his fellow monks. Nevertheless, his abbot considered him a saint, since he had completely given up his own will. Unable to do anything but pray, he asked continually, and followed, in all his devotions, the directions of his master; and when he could no longer perform his long exercises of prayer, he declared this with his ordinary simplicity to Saint Dorotheus, who said to him, "Be not uneasy, only have Jesus Christ always present in your heart."

Dositheus begged Dorotheus to pray for an early release from his sufferings. Dorotheus answered, "Have a little patience. God's mercy is near." Soon after he said to him, "Depart in peace and appear in joy before the blessed Trinity, and pray for us." After Dositheus's death, Dorotheus declared that he had surpassed the rest in virtue without the practice of any extraordinary austerity (Benedictines, Husenbeth).

A relative of King Anna . He is honored as a confessor, and his relics were enshrined at Bury St. Edmunds.

 Bríxiæ sancti Felícis Epíscopi.       At Brescia, St. Felix, bishop.

Our chief authority is Bede, who speaks of St Boisil both in his Ecclesiastical History and in his Life of St Cuthbert. Saint Boswell’s, Roxburghshire, takes its name from him and a church at Lessuden in the same county is dedicated to him. See also the Acta Sanctorum, January, vol. iii. It is by no means clear why Butler notices St Boisil on this day. The Bollandists treat of him on January 23 and March 20. From certain late Durham calendars he would seem to have been commemorated there on July 7 or 8, as Stanton, Menology, points out, pp. 318, 658, and September 9 is also said to have been his date.  

715 St. Milburga Benedictine abbess veil from St. Theodore of Canterbury miracles performed gift of levitation
 In Anglia sanctæ Milbúrgis Vírginis, fíliæ Regis Merciórum.
       In England, St. Milburga, virgin, the daughter of the king of Mercia.

700 St Milburga, Abbess of Wenlock, Virgin
St Milburga was St Mildred’s elder sister, and she founded the nunnery of Wen­lock in Shropshire—now known as Much Wenlock. Her father Merewald and her uncle Wulfhere, King of Mercia, assisted her greatly and endowed the house. Archbishop St Theodore consecrated her abbess and the monastery is said to have flourished like a paradise under her rule. She was remarkable for her humility, but the more she humbled herself the more did God favour her with wonderful graces. She was endowed with the gift of healing, and is said to have restored sight to the blind. She had also great spiritual power and brought numerous sinners to repentance by her exhortations.

Many stories are told of her: one tells how one night she remained so long in prayer that she fell asleep and did not awake until next morning when the rays of the sun roused her. She started up so quickly that her veil fell from her head, but before it could touch the ground it was caught by a sunbeam which kept it poised in the air until she could compose herself and resume it. On another occasion we are told that a widow came to her, bringing a dead child whom she entreated the saint to restore to life. Although Milburga reproved her, the woman refused to go. Then Milburga threw herself down in prayer beside the child, and was immediately surrounded by fire from Heaven. One of the sisters who entered the room at that moment cried out to her to fly, but even as she spoke the fire disap­peared, and the saint, rising from the ground, gave the child alive into its mother’s arms. After a life of holiness and good works, St Milburga was attacked by a painful and lingering disease that she bore with complete serenity. Her last words were, “Blessed are the pure in heart: blessed are the peacemakers”.

Her tomb was long venerated, but the Danes destroyed the abbey, and it was almost forgotten till the Norman conquest when Cluniac monks built a monastery on the spot. Whilst the building was going on, two boys at play there found themselves sinking into the ground, and when the monks started excavation they discovered the bones of St Milburga. The beautiful ruins at Much Wenlock are those of the later house. St Milburga was credited with having power over the birds of the air, and was invoked for the protection of the crops against their ravages. Her feast is still observed in the diocese ol Shrewsbury. Of the third sister of this family, St Mildgytha, all that is recorded is that she was a nun, at whose tomb in Northumbria “miraculous powers were often exhibited”.

What we know of St Milburga comes to us mainly through the not very satisfactory channels of John of Tynemouth, Capgrave, William of Malmesbury and William Thorn. It is curious, however, that while many native saints of more historical importance are little noticed in our English calendars, Milburga’s name appears in quite a number of them, beginning with the Bosworth Psalter, written c. 950. See also the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. iii and Stanton, Menology, pp. 81—82.

She was the daughter of a king of Mercia and sister of Sts. Mildred of Thanet and Mildgytha. Milburga was abbess of Wenlock Abbey in Salop, Shropshire, England. Her father and her uncle, King Wulfhere, provided funds for the abbey. Among the remarkable abilities she evidenced were levitation and power over birds.
Milburga of Wenlock, OSB Abbess (RM)
(also known as Milburgh)
Died c. 700 or 722; feast of the translation of her relics, June 25. The ruins of Wenlock Abbey in Shropshire, dating from the 11th century, remind us of Saint Milburga, whose name still lingers in that area. She was one of a family of eminent saints and belonged to the royal house of Mercia.

How often a good mother is blessed in her children! Her mother Domneva (Domna Ebba or Ermenburga), princess of Kent, had three daughters: Milburga, Mildred, and Mildgytha, each of whom grew up to follow the pattern of her mother's faith, and each, after a life wholly devoted to Christ, was canonized as a saint.

Those were the days when the daughters of kings were proud and eager to dedicate their wealth and talents in Christian leadership and to pour out their youth and strength in the service of the Church. They founded and ruled great abbeys, taught the young, cared for the sick, and relieved the poor.

Milburga, like her mother before her, surrendered her high estate, forsook the luxury and comfort of her home, and counted it her highest privilege to serve God in a consecrated Christian life. Helped by her father, Merewald, an Anglian chieftain, and her uncle Wulfhere, king of Mercia, she founded the monastery of Wenlock, which was placed under the direction of Saint Botulf of East Anglia. Its first abbess was Liobsynde, a French nun from Chelles. Its second was Milburga, who was consecrated abbess by Archbishop Saint Theodore. It was no ordinary monastery; everything about it reflected the grace and fragrance of her own pure spirit. The gardens were full of the choicest flowers, the orchards bore the sweetest fruits, and within its walls was found, we are told, the very peace of heaven.

By her sheer goodness Milburga converted many to the Christian faith, and this in a dark and primitive age when, outside the monastery walls, the countryside was wild and remote, and full of unknown dangers. One day, for example, on one of her errands of mercy, she was terrified by a neighboring princeling who, wishing to marry her, intercepted her with a band of soldiers, but she providentially escaped. In her flight she crossed a small stream called the Corve, and he, following, found when he reached it that the waters had risen and his plan was thwarted. The place where it happened it called to this day Stoke Saint Milburgh.

She loved flowers, birds (over which she had a mysterious power), country life, and country people, to sit and work in the sun and tend the herbs in her garden, and to visit in the villages around. People came to her with their troubles and ailments and even ascribed to her miraculous cures. Milburga was venerated for her humility, holiness, the miracles she performed, and for the gift of levitation she is said to have possessed.

According to Boniface, the famous Vision of the Monk of Wenlock occurred during Milburga's abbacy. Goscelin also preserved her testament, which is a long, apparently authentic list of lands that belonged to her at her death.

When she was on her deathbed, she said to her followers, "I have been mother to you. I have watched over you like a mother, with pious care. And in mercy, I go the way of all flesh. A higher call invites me." One by one they said farewell, gave her the sacraments, and after her death buried her body near the altar of the abbey.

Her tomb was long venerated but its site was unknown when the Cluniac monks from La-Charité-sur-Loire refounded Wenlock in 1079. The church had a silver casket that contained her relics and documents describing the site of her grave, near an altar then unknown. Apparently, the church was destroyed by the Danes.

After consulting Saint Anselm, the monks excavated an old, disused church. Thus, centuries later, two boys who were playing among its ruins fell through the pavement by the broken altar, as a result of which her tomb was rediscovered. When opened, according to legend, there came from it a heavenly sweetness, and the lost garden of the monastery seemed filled again with the fragrance of the flowers she had planted. Details of this discovery and of cures in 1101 were described by Cardinal-Bishop Otto of Ostia the following year.

Among the miracles documented were the healing of lepers and the blinds, and, the vomiting of a worm that had caused a wasting disease. The approval of so distinguished a personage, ensured the revival of Milburga's cultus. Goscelin wrote her vita in the late 11th century. Her feast was common in English calendars from the Bosworth Psalter (c. 1000) onwards (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth).

In art, Saint Milburgh holds the abbey of Wenlock. There may be geese near her. She is venerated at Stoke (Roeder).

 He defended sacred images against the Iconoclasts.

1011 St. Willigis Bishop missionaries to Scandinavia, founded churches chaplain to Emperor Otto II (r. 973-983)
Born at Schoningen, Germany, he was the son of a wheelwright. After studying and receiving ordination, he was named a canon at Hildesheim and then received appointment as a chaplain to Emperor Otto II. The ruler made Willigis chancellor of Germany in 971 and then archbishop of Mainz in 973. About the same time, Pope Benedict VII  (r. 974-983) named him vicar apostolic for Germany. In 983, he crowned the infant emperor Otto III (r. 996-1002) at Aachen and was one of the chief figures in the regency with Otto's mother, Empress Theophano (d. 991) and then Empress Adelaide (d. 999). Following Otto's death in 1002, Willigis was instrumental in securing the election of Henry (r. king, 1002-1024, emperor, 1014-1024) of Bavaria, whom he consecrated as Henry II. A brilliant statesman, he always strove first to a be Church man. He sent missionaries to Scandinavia, founded churches, was careful in the prelates that he appointed to the sees of Germany, and rebuilt the cathedral of Mainz.

1011 St Willigis, Archbishop Of Mainz
St Willigis a great statesman and one of the most eminent churchmen of his age, was born of humble parents in the little town of Schöningen. Quite early he showed remarkable ability and was educated for the priesthood. He was a canon of Hildesheim when the Emperor Otto II appointed him first of all his chaplain-in-chief and then chancellor of Germany in 971. His outstanding qualities caused Otto to nominate him archbishop of Mainz and chancellor, as just mentioned, in spite of great opposition from those who resented his humble origin. Willigis was indefatigable in his energy. It was to him that Otto III, a minor, owed the crown which the archbishop placed on his head at Aachen in 983, and it was he who, after the death of the Empress Theophano, carried on the government with the Empress Adelaide. When the promising young emperor died without issue at the age of twenty-one, it was Willigis who contrived to get his cousin Henry of Bavaria elected as his successor—a most judicious choice, for Henry is numbered among the saints. These early emperors protected Germany from the anarchy that prevailed elsewhere in central Europe: as heads of the Holy Roman Empire they represented the unity of western Christendom, and much of their success they owed directly to St Willigis.

Absorbed as he might seem to be in politics, the saint never lost sight of his ecclesiastical duties. He helped on the spread of Christianity in Schleswig, Holstein, Denmark and Sweden, and at all times he was careful that none but worthy men should be appointed bishops. He consecrated the great church of Halberstadt, established the collegiate churches of St Stephen and St Victor and entirely rebuilt the cathedral in Mainz; when it was burnt down on the very day of consecration, he patiently accepted the trial and immediately set about re-erecting it, though it was not completed until the reign of his successor. Several great bishops were consecrated by him—notably St Adalbert of Prague, Rathgar of Paderborn, St Bernward of Hildesheim, Bd Burchard of Worms, and Eberhard, first bishop of Bamberg. In the midst of worldly cares and successes, Willigis maintained a simple and childlike fear of God and an extraordinary humility. A contemporary and one who knew him wrote: “His countenance remained ever unruffled, but even more remarkable was his inward peace. He spoke little, but his few words carried more weight than many oaths from other people.” All he did was performed punctually and carefully. He so arranged his recital of the offices that they occupied him until noon, after which he transacted business, and if any time of leisure were left over he would spend it happily in studying the Holy

Scriptures. Every day his steward had to provide food and drink for thirty poor persons and thirteen others were fed from his own table and given a present in money.

The only unedifying episode in the life of St Willigis was a dispute he had with the bishop of Hildesheim, St Bernward, over the nunnery and church of Ganders­heim which stood on the boundary between their dioceses. The contention, which was caused by the mischief-making of a nun called Sophia, a sister of the emperor, caused grave scandal, and was eventually settled in favour of Hildesheim. At once the archbishop withdrew his claim, and did not hesitate to do so openly. “Brother and fellow bishop”, he said, “I resign all pretensions regarding the church and I hand over to you this staff as a token that neither I myself nor any of my successors will ever revive the claim.”

That he spoke and acted in good faith can be seen from the words of his opponent’s biographer, who, speaking of the death of Willigis, remarks that he passed to the Lord full of years and of good works. He was honoured as a saint immediately after his death, and in the church of St Stephen a special Mass is offered on the anniversary of his death. Some of his Mass vestments are preserved, but the so-called chalice of St Willigis which was formerly used on his feast does not date from his time. The saint is chiefly known in England through the old tradition which the Rev. S. Baring-Gould popularized in his poem, “The Arms of Mayence”. It describes how the archbishop at his investment and enthronization, perceiving the empty escutcheon for his arms and having none of his own, asked that he might be allowed to choose a wheel—as a reminder of his father’s trade—and it goes on to relate how the burgesses, who had sneered at him for his plebeian origin, decided after his death to adopt a wheel as the emblem of the city in thanksgiving for his peaceful and glorious reign. But the story is quite anachronistic.

No ancient biography of St Willigis is known to exist, although a brief summary of his life, corresponding to what may usually be found in the Breviary lessons, has been printed by G. Waitz in MGH., Scriptores, vol. xv, pp. 743—745. Abundant material concerning him may, however, be found in the chroniclers of the time, all which F. Falk has turned to good account in a series of articles in the periodical Der Katholik of Mainz for 1869, 1871 and 1881. There are modern biographies by H. Böhmer (1895) and J. Schmidt, the latter of which appeared as articles in Der Katholik for 1911 and 1952, and deals particularly with the attitude of St Willigis to the Holy See. See also H. K. Mann, Lives of the Popes, vols. iv and v.

Willigis of Mainz B (AC) Born at Schöningen, Brunswick; died at Mainz, Germany, in 1011. Saint Willigis was a man of humble origin, son of a wheelwright, who by 975 was imperial chancellor to Otto II, and archbishop of Mainz. As a canon of Hildesheim (near Hanover), Willigis attracted the attention of Otto II through Otto's precentor Wolkold, who became archbishop of Meissen in 969. Willigis also served Otto III as chaplain and chancellor, and left his mark as a capable and conscientious ecclesiastical statesman.

Through his efforts Christianity increased in Schleswig-Holstein and southern Scandinavia; he consecrated a succession of excellent bishops, provided for the building of several great churches and other public works, and established or restored collegiate churches in Mainz and Halberstadt. His personal life included daily study of the Scriptures and the organized relief of the poor. Willigis was a notable patron of the arts; his motto was "by art to the knowledge and service of God."

On the death of Otto, Willigis became one of the most important and influential people in the empire. Confirmed by Benedict VII in the right to coronate emperors, Willigis crowned Otto III and later influenced him in favor of abandoning Italy and concentrating his resources north of the Alps. Otto III died young in 1002. The succession was disputed but ended with Willigis crowning Saint Henry II and his wife Saint Cunegund at Paderborn. He then served his third monarch faithfully.

Unhappily Willigis had a long disagreement with Saint Bernward of Hildesheim about jurisdiction over the convent of Gandersheim, a quarrel apparently provoked by one of the nuns, a sister of Otto III. At long last Willigis admitted he was in the wrong and gracefully withdrew his claims. This seems to have been the only blot on a vigorous and beneficent episcopate.

After he died of old age, Willigis's body was buried in St. Stephen's Church in Mainz. His cultus arose immediately and spontaneously. It is claimed that some of his Mass vestments have survived (Attwater, Benedictines, Farmer).

Saint Willigis is represented in art as a bishop with a wheel, which he chose as his insignia to symbolize his father's trade (Roeder). He is the patron of carters and wheelwrights, who is venerated at Hildesheim and Schoeningen (Roeder). 

1072 St. Peter Damian stern figure to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways
Favéntiæ, in Æmília, natális sancti Petri Damiáni, Cardinális atque Epíscopi Ostiénsis et Confessóris, ex Ordine Camaldulénsi, doctrína et sanctitáte célebris, quem Leo Papa Duodécimus Doctórem universális Ecclésiæ declarávit.  Ipsíus autem festum sequénti die celebrátur.
 Sancti Petri Damiáni, ex Ordine Camaldulénsi, Cardinális et Epíscopi  Ostiénsis, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, qui evolávit in cælum prídie hujus diéi.       St. Peter Damian, a Camaldolese monk, cardinal bishop of Ostia, confessor and doctor of the Church, who died on the 22nd of February.

ST   PETER DAMIAN, CARDINAL-BISHOP OF Ostia, Doctor OF THE CHURCH (A D. 1072)
ST PETER DAM IAN is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St John Baptist, to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways and to bring them back into the narrow path of virtue. He was born at Ravenna and, having lost his parents when very young, he was left in the charge of a brother in whose house he was treated more like a slave than a kinsman. As soon as he was old enough he was sent to tend swine. Another brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took pity on the neglected lad and undertook to have him educated. Having found a father in this brother, Peter appears to have adopted from him the surname of Damian. Damian sent the boy to school, first at Faenza and then at Parma. He proved an apt pupil and became in time a master and a professor of great ability. He had early begun to inure himself to fasting, watching and prayer, and wore a hair shirt under his clothes to arm himself against the allurements of pleasure and the wiles of the Devil. Not only did he give away much in alms, but he was seldom without some poor persons at his table, and took pleasure in serving them with his own hands.

Pope Benedict XVI dedicated the catechesis of his general audience, held this morning in the Paul VI Hall, to St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), "a monk, lover of solitude and, overall, an intrepid man of the Church who played a leading role in the reforms undertaken by the Popes of his time".
  Peter Damian, who lost both his parents while still very young and was raised by his siblings, received a superlative education in jurisprudence and Greek and Latin culture. As a young man he dedicated himself to teaching and authored a number of literary works, but he soon felt the call to become a monk and entered the monastery of Fonte Avellana.
  The monastery "was dedicated to the Holy Cross, and of all the Christian mysteries the Cross would be the one that most fascinated Peter Damian", explained Pope Benedict, expressing the hope that the saint's example "may encourage us too always to look to the Cross as God's supreme act of love towards man".
  As an aid to monastic life Peter Damian "wrote a Rule in which he placed great emphasis upon the 'rigour of the hermitage'. ... For him hermitic life is the apex of Christian life. It is 'the highest state of life' because the monk, free from the ties of the world and of his own self, receives 'the pledge of the Holy Spirit and his soul felicitously unites with the heavenly Bridegroom'. Today too, even if we are not monks, it is important to know how to create silence within ourselves in order to listen to the voice of God. ... Learning the Word of God in prayer and meditation is the path of life".
  For this saint, who was also an accomplished theologian, "communion with Christ creates a unity of love among Christians. ... Peter Damian developed a profound theology of the Church as communion. ... Thus, service to the individual becomes an 'expression of universality'.
  In order to combat this situation, in 1057 he left the monastery to accept appointment as a cardinal. "Thus he came to collaborate fully with Popes in the difficult task of reforming the Church", in which context "he courageously undertook many journeys and missions". Ten years later he returned to monastic life, but continued to serve the papacy. He died in 1072 on his return from a mission to re-establish peace with the archbishop of Ravenna.

After a time Peter resolved to leave the world entirely and embrace a monastic life away from his own country. Whilst his mind was full of these thoughts, two religious of St Benedict, belonging to Fonte Avellana of the reform of St Romuald, happened to call at the house where he lived, and he was able to learn much from them about their rule and mode of life. This decided him, and he joined their hermitage, which was then in the greatest repute. The hermits, who dwelt in pairs in separate cells, occupied themselves chiefly in prayer and reading, and lived a life of great austerity. Peter’s excessive watchings brought on a severe insomnia which was cured with difficulty, but which taught him to use more discretion. Acting upon this experience, he now devoted considerable time to sacred studies, and became as well versed in the Holy Scriptures as he formerly had been in profane literature. By the unanimous consent of the hermits he was ordered to take upon himself the government of the community in the event of the superior’s death. Peter’s extreme reluctance obliged the abbot to make it a matter of obedience. Accordingly after the abbot’s decease about the year 1043, Peter assumed the direction of that holy family, which he governed with great wisdom and piety. He also founded five other hermitages in which he placed priors under his own general direction. His chief care was to foster in his disciples the spirit of solitude, charity and humility. Many of them became great lights of the Church, including St Dominic Loricatus, and St John of Lodi, his successor in the priory of the Holy Cross, who wrote St Peter’s life and at the end of his days became bishop of Gubbio. For years Peter Damian was much employed in the service of the Church by successive popes, and in 1057 Stephen IX prevailed upon him to quit his desert and made him cardinal-bishop of Ostia. Peter constantly solicited Nicholas II to grant him leave to resign his bishopric and return to his solitude, but the pope had always refused.

His successor, Alexander II, out of affection for the holy man, was prevailed upon with difficulty to consent, but reserved the power to employ him in church matters of importance, as he might hereafter have need of his help. The saint from that time considered himself dispensed not only from the responsibility of governing his see, but from the supervision of the various religious settlements he had controlled, and reduced himself to the condition of a simple monk.

In this retirement he edified the Church by his humility, penance and com­punction, and laboured in his writings to enforce the observance of morality and discipline. His style is vehement, and his strictness appears in all his works— especially when he treats of the duties of the clergy and of monks. He severely rebuked the bishop of Florence for playing a game of chess. That prelate acknowledged his amusement to be unworthy, and received the holy man’s reproof meekly, submitting to do penance by reciting the psalter three times and by washing the feet of twelve poor men and giving them each a piece of money.

Peter wrote a treatise to the bishop of Besançon in which he inveighed against the custom by which the canons of that church sang the Divine Office seated in choir, though he allowed all to sit for the lessons. He recommended the use of the discipline as a substitute for long penitential fasts. He wrote most severely on the obligations of monks and protested against their wandering abroad, seeing that the spirit of retirement is an essential condition of their state. He complained bitterly of certain evasions whereby many palliated real infractions of their vow of poverty. He justly observed, “We can never restore primitive discipline when once it is decayed; and if we, by negligence, suffer any diminution in what remains established, future ages will never be able to repair the breach. Let us not draw upon ourselves so foul a reproach; but let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers.”

St Peter Damian fought simony with very great vigour, and equally vigorously upheld clerical celibacy; and as he supported a severely ascetical, semi-eremitical life for monks, so he was an encour­ager of common life for the secular clergy. He was a man of great vehemence in all he said and did; it has been said of him, “his genius was to exhort and impel to the heroic, to praise striking achievements and to record edifying examples an extraordinary moral force burns in all that he wrote”.

In spite of his severity, St Peter Damian could treat penitents with mildness and indulgence where charity and prudence required it. Henry IV, the young king of Germany, had married Bertha, daughter of Otto, Marquis of the Marches of Italy, but two years later he sought a divorce under the pretence that the marriage had never been consummated. By promises and threats he won over the arch­bishop of Mainz, who summoned a council for the purpose of sanctioning the annulment of the marriage; but Pope Alexander II forbade him to consent to such an injustice and chose Peter Damian as his legate to preside over the synod. The aged legate met the king and bishops at Frankfurt, laid before them the order and instructions of the Holy See, and entreated the king to pay due regard to the law of God, the canons of the Church and his own reputation, and also to reflect seriously on the public scandal which so pernicious an example would give. The nobles likewise entreated the monarch not to stain his honour by conduct so un­worthy. Henry, unable to resist this strong opposition, dropped his project of a divorce, but remained the same at heart, only hating the queen more bitterly than ever.

Peter hastened back to his desert of Fonte Avellana. Whatever austerities he prescribed for others, he practised himself, remitting none of them even in his old age. He used to make wooden spoons and other little useful things that his hands might not be idle during the time he was not at work or at prayer. When Henry, Archbishop of Ravenna, had been excommunicated for grievous enormities, Peter was again sent by Alexander II as legate to settle the troubles. Upon his arrival at Ravenna he found that the prelate had just died, but he brought the accomplices of his crimes to a sense of their guilt and imposed on them suitable penance. This was Damian’s last undertaking for the Church. As he was returning towards Rome he was arrested by an acute attack of fever in a monastery outside Faenza, and died on the eighth day of this illness, whilst the monks were reciting Matins round about him, on February 22, 1072.

St Peter Damian was one of the chief forerunners of the Hildebrandine reform in the Church. His preaching was most eloquent and his writing voluminous, and he was declared a doctor of the Church in 1828.

At Faenza in Emília, the birthday of St. Peter Damian, cardinal bishop of Ostia and confessor.  He was a Camaldolese monk, famous for his learning and sanctity, whom Pope Leo XII declared a doctor of the universal Church. St. Peter Damian is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St. John Baptist, to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways and to bring them back into the narrow path of virtue.
He was born at Ravenna and, having lost his parents when very young, he was left in the charge of a brother in whose house he was treated more like a slave than a kinsman. As soon as he was old enough he was sent to tend swine. Another brother, who was archpriest of Ravenna, took pity on the neglected lad and undertook to have him educated. Having found a father in this brother, Peter appears to have adopted from him the surname of Damian. Damian sent the boy to school, first at Faenza and then at Parma. He proved an apt pupil and became in time a master and a professor of great ability. He had early begun to inure himself to fasting, watching and prayer, and wore a hairshirt under his clothes to arm himself against the alurements of pleasure and the wiles of the devil. Not only did he give away much in alms, but he was seldom without some poor persons at his table, and took pleasure in serving them with his own hands.

While his mind was full of these thoughts, two religious of St. Benedict, belonging to Fonte Avellana of the Reform of St. Romuald, happened to call at the house where he lived, and he was able to learn much from them about their Rule and mode of life. This decided him and he joined their hermitage, which was then in the greatest repute. The hermits, who dwelled in pairs in separate cells, occupied themselves chiefly in prayer and reading, and lived a life of great austerity. Peter's excessive watchings brought on a severe insomnia which was cured with difficulty, but which taught him to use more discretion. Acting upon this experience, he now devoted considerable time to Sacred studies, and became as well versed in the Holy Scriptures as he formerly had been in profane literature. By the unanimous consent of the hermits he was ordered to take upon himself the government of the Community in the event of the superior's death. Peter's extreme reluctance obliged the abbot to make it a matter of obedience.

He also founded five other hermitages in which he place Priors under his own general direction. His chief care was to foster in his disciples the spirit of solitude, charity, and humility. Many of them became great lights of the Church, including St. Dominic Loricatus, and St. John of Lodi, his successor in the priory of the Holy Cross, who wrote St. Peter's life and at the end of his days became Bishop of Gubbio.

For years Peter Damian was much employed in the service of the Church by successive Popes, and in 1057 Stephen IX prevailed upon him to quit his desert and made him Cardinal-bishop of Ostia. Peter constantly solicited Nicholas II to grant him leave to resign his bishopric and return to the solitude, but the Pope had always refused. His successor, Alexander II, out of affection for the holy man, was prevailed upon with difficulty to consent, but reserved the power to employ him in Church matters of importance, as he might hereafter have need of his help.

The saint from that time considered himself dispensed not only from the responsibility of governing his See, but from the supervision of the various religious settlements he had controlled, and reduced himself to the condition of a simple monk. In this retirement he edified the Church by his humility, penance and compunction, and labored in his writings to enforce the observance of morality and discipline.

He severely rebuked the Bishop of Florence for playing a game of chess. That prelate acknowledged his amusement to be unworthy, and received the holy man's reproof meekly, submitting to do penance by reciting the psalter three times and by washing the feet of twelve poor men and giving them each a piece of money.
Peter wrote a treatise to the Bishop of Besancon in which he inveighed against the custom by which the Canons of that Church sang the Divine Office seated in choir, though he allowed all to sit for the lessons. He recommended the use of the discipline as a substitute for long penitential fasts. He wrote most severely on the obligation of monks and protested against their wandering abroad, seeing that the spirit of retirement is an essential condition of their state. He complained bitterly of certain evasions whereby many palliated real infractions of their vow of poverty. He justly observed, "We can never restore primitive discipline when once it is decayed; and if we, by negligence, suffer any diminution in what remains established, future ages will never be able to repair the breach. Let us not draw upon ourselves so foul a reproach; but let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers."
St. Peter Damian fought simony with great vigor, and equally vigorously upheld clerical celibacy; and as he supported a severely ascetical, semi-eremitical life for monks, so he was an encourager of common life for the secular clergy. He was a man of great vehemence in all he said and did; it has been said of him that "his genius was to exhort and impel to the heroic, to praise striking achievements and to record edifying examples...an extraordinary force burns in all that he wrote". 

Henry IV, the young king of Germany, had married Bertha, daughter of Otto, Marquee of the Marches of Italy, but two years later he sought a divorce under the pretense that the marriage had never been consummated. By promises and threats he won over the archbishop of Mainz, who summoned a council for the purpose of sanctioning the annulment of the marriage; but Pope Alexander II forbade him to consent to such an injustice and chose Peter Damian as his legate to preside over the synod. The aged legate met the king and bishops at Frankfurt, laid before them the order and instructions of the Holy See, and entreated the king to pay due regard to the law of God, the Canons of the Church and his own reputation, and also to reflect seriously on the public scandal which so pernicious an example would give. The nobles likewise entreated the monarch not to stain his honor by conduct so unworthy. Henry, unable to resist this strong opposition, dropped his project of a divorce, but remained the same at heart, only hating the queen more bitterly than ever.

Peter hastened back to his desert of Fonte Avellana. Whatever austerities he prescribed for others, he practiced himself, remitting none of them even in his old age. He use to make wooden spoons and other little useful things that his hands might not be idle during the time he was not at work or at prayer. When Henry, Archbishop of Ravenna, had been excommunicated for grievous enormities, Peter was again sent by Alexander II as legate to settle the troubles. Upon his arrival at Ravenna he found that the prelate had just died, but he brought the accomplices of his crimes to a sense of their guilt and imposed on them suitable penance. This was Damian's last undertaking for the Church.
As he was returning towards Rome he was arrested by an acute attack of fever in a monastery outside Faenza, and died on the eighth day of this illness, while the monks were reciting Matins round about him, on February 22, 1072. St. Peter was one of the chief forerunners of the Hildebrandine reform in the Church.

His preaching was most eloquent and his writing voluminous, and he was declared a doctor of the Church in 1828.

1771 St. Marguerite d'Youville Catholic Canadians long honored as a saint this native daughter who allowed no obstacle to stand in the way of her helping others.
Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais, born near Montreal in 1701, came from a notable French-Canadian family.  After two years of convent schooling, she returned home to help her widowed mother raise the five younger children.  At 20, Marguerite married François d'Youville, a confidential agent of the Governor.  She bore him six children.  But it was a sad marriage.  Four of the children died young.  Furthermore, her husband treated her with cool indifference.  Meanwhile, he was incurring the hatred of French-Canadians and Indians by his unethical business practices.  He died young, but Marguerite fell heir only to his debts.  She had to open a small shop to earn enough money to discharge the debts and to educate her two surviving sons who were eventually ordained priests.

As a widow she devoted ever more time to the corporal works of mercy.  She gave alms to the poor but of her own meager funds, and mended their threadbare clothing.  She visited the sick and jailed, and begged money for the burial of criminals.  Three other laywomen, impressed by her good deeds, asked to join her in this labor of love.  In 1737 all four made a profession to serve the needy.  A year later they began to live together, and welcomed several homeless persons as permanent guests.  But they remained laypersons. At the outset, these "ladies of charity" were unpopular, mostly because the avarice of François d'Youville was all too well remembered and his innocent wife was considered tarred by his misdeeds.  They were shouted at and stoned in the streets, and sometimes priests even denied them Holy Communion.  But the Widow d'Youville would not let her companions grow discouraged.

King Louis XV confirmed the appointment.  Her duty involved paying off the whole great debt of the institution, and this she achieved.  Then she opened the hospital not only to whites and Indians but to epileptics, the mentally ill, lepers, the blind, the victims of contagious diseases, foundlings and the aged. In 1766, fire destroyed the hospital and all she had made it, but she accepted the disaster with resignation to God's will, and instead of complaining, led her associates in the recitation of a Te Deum in praise of God.  Then they started all over again.

In 1754, Mme. d'Youville took the now inevitable step of forming her women auxiliaries into a new religious order.

Their official title was "The Sisters of Charity of the General Hospital." For their religious habit she chose a grey material.  One reason for the choice was rather witty.  In their early years their enemies had sometimes called these women "les soeurs grises," which meant, "the drunken sisters." But it can also mean "the grey sisters." So ever since its foundation, Mother d'Youville's large congregation, today divided into several distinct communities, has been called by the nickname she adopted, the "Grey Sisters."
They rapidly expanded throughout Canada, always welcome because they were ready to undertake not only all the corporal works of mercy but also the spiritual works of mercy, including school teaching at all levels.  This comprehensive order eventually branched out into both Americas, Africa, and the Far East. (They made a foundation in Buffalo in 1857.  Out of this came D'Youville College.) From the start, the Grey Nuns were mission-minded.  In 1755, when the Indians of the Quebec Province were suffering a severe smallpox epidemic, Mother d'Youville and all 12 of her sisters volunteered to go nurse the Indian victims, willing to risk their own lives by so doing.  The Indians were touched by this devotion.
     These same Native Americans had earlier complained to the Governor about François d'Youville, who was disobediently selling them liquor.  "We cannot pray God because d'Youville made us drink every day.  If you don't expel him from this island, we don't want to go there again." Thus did Mother d'Youville make reparation for the sins of her husband.  Her nuns continued this restitution by becoming pioneer missionaries among the natives of Canada's West and Northwest. One cannot know St. Marguerite d'Youville without admiring her.  She was one of the most remarkable Catholic women in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   --Father Robert F. McNamara

St Damian received the crown of martyrdom on February 23, 1568.