Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus since 1902;
2024
23,658  Lives Saved Since 2007

Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List
Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday   Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday
   Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday   Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War

Acts of the Apostles

Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here }
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.

Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart
From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?

Whereas in the Lord's Prayer, we are bidden to ask for 'our daily bread,' the Holy Fathers of the Church all but unanimously teach that by these words must be understood,
not so much that material bread which is the support of the body, as the Eucharistic bread,
which ought to be our daily food. -- Pope St. Pius X


150 St. Julian of Le Mans First bishop of Le Mans
3rd v. St. Julian of Sora  Martyr of Sora Campania
303 St. Devota Virgin martyr of Corsica France

<<407 Transfer incorrupt relics of St John Chrysostom condemned by Eudoxia

       St. Avitus Martyr of Africa apostle and first bishop in the Canary Islands
      St. Datius African martyr with Reatrus and 27 companions
555 St. Marius Abbot visions
584 St. Maurus, abbot and deacon; sent to France in 543 to propagate the order of St. Benedict; favored by God with the gift of miracles:  see also January 15 510 Saint Maurus was the first disciple of St. Benedict of Nursia
610 St. Lupus of Chalons Bishop cared for the sick and poor 



8th v.
St. Gamo Benedictine abbot of Bretigny monastic expansion near Noyon, France

8th v, St. Emerius Benedictine abbot of France founder
740 St. Natalis founder of monasticism in northern Ireland disciple of St. Columba {597 St. Columba}
798 St. Candida hermitess recluse near St. Stephen of Banoles
800 St. Gamelbert Parish priest of Michaelsbuch 50 years
1022 St. Theodoric of Orleans Benedictine bishop royal counselor
1077 St. Gilduin Canon of Dol in Brittany France, who refused a bishopric from Pope St. Gregory VII
1540 St. Angela Merici innovative approach to education Ursulines 1st teaching order of women Saint Ursula appeared levitation
1896 St. Enrique de Osso y Cervello Spain devotion to religious education

January 27 – Holy Mary of the Angels (Aix-en-Provence, France)
In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong

Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves.

Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for “bringing down the mighty from their thrones” and “sending the rich away empty” (Lk 1:52-53) is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice.
She is also the one who carefully keeps “all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).

Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, ("The Joy of the Gospel") § 288
 
January 27 - Our Lady of Life (Provence, France)
The Blessed Virgin of the Oak
In 1494, since people had noticed that doves often flew and lights shined around a certain oak tree,
Father James Buret placed a statuette of the Blessed Virgin in that oak tree. This is how the exterior shrine came to be.
One day in the chapel (built in 1515), an invalid from a nearby village was healed on the spot.
There have been many more healings in that chapel as well as spiritual enlightenment.
At Our Lady of the Oak, a large number of people have received their divine call to become priests, monks or nuns. Elisabeth de Quatrebarbes came to the chapel to seek guidance on her vocation. She clearly felt the presence of Saint Teresa of Avila behind her and perceived that she must enter the Carmel. This happened in 1617, and Saint Teresa had died in 1582.
A woman obtained the healing of her deformed child by coming to pray the Blessed Virgin in the chapel every day for a six-week period in 1621. This is an example of perseverance and faith through prayer and supplication.
It is also a sign of what Mary does: she prays for us and obtains our healing.
A Spiritual Center for the diocese of Le Mans was opened in 1978. In 1994, a new period of restoration of the site began in order to meet modern standards and requirements. Every year, around 70,000 pilgrims pass through the shrine of Our Lady of the Oak (Notre-Dame du Chene). Perhaps you will have the opportunity to visit the shrine yourself one day!
See: www.notredameduchene.com/prier/000_accueil_priere/english.pdf

January 27 – Holy Mary of the Angels (Aix-en-Provence, France)
Everything works for the good of those who seek God
 Raised in an Anglican family, M ... held onto the same prejudices that her community had against the devotion to Mary. She did not understand how Christians could pray to the Virgin Mary. But she loved to sing…

Here is her story in her own words:
"I had a beautiful voice and was taking lessons with an Italian master. One day he made me sing an Ave Maria of his own composition. It was a true prayer to the Virgin and I sang it with my heart. It touched my mind and my imagination as well. There is something so poetic and sweet about the devotion to the Virgin Mary.
In fact, it was the splendor of Catholic rites that attracted me to the Truth.


My uncle saw what was happening to me, and gave me a few books to read, chosen from those most hostile to the faith and especially those against the Blessed Virgin. One of them, entitled 'Virgin Worship’ contained horrible blasphemies against Mary.

But in another book, I found all the antiphons to the Blessed Virgin, which I found so beautiful that I made myself a kind of prayer book ... Since then, the Salve Regina has always been one of my favorite prayers."
 Mon Rosaire #486 – June 1978 Story told by Brother Albert Pfleger
In Fioretti de la Vierge Marie, Ephèse Diffusion

 
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.).
In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh,
was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).

Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.

Mary, Daughter of Both David and Aaron? (III) - Saint Mary of the Angels (Aix-en-Provence, France)
How should we interpret the silence of these two Evangelists about the Davidic ascendance of Jesus' mother?
Shouldn't we assume that Mary was also, at least partly, of the tribe of Levi, maybe even daughter of Aaron?

This is how several mystics, like Maria Valtorta, have seen the Mother of God: as the "heir of Joachim, David, Anne and Aaron" (The Gospel as it was Revealed to Me, vol. 1 # 20). In this case Jesus himself would have a Davidic and priestly ascendance through his mother. He would gather in his person the two lines of the Messianic hope:
both the priestly one and the royal one.

Jesus is indeed King and Priest at the same time, and this confirms a Jewish tradition represented by the Essenians, who used to expect not one, but indeed two separate Messiahs: the royal Messiah who was to come first as a descendant of David and as an eschatological war Commander, assuring peace for Israel by crushing the enemies of God; this royal Messiah would then step down after his mission of peace was fulfilled to make way for the priestly Messiah, son of Aaron, ultimately clothed with the primacy of power.

Certain Jewish writings, in an attempt to intertwine these two messianic lines, affirm that the unique Messiah will be both King and Priest, both from the tribe of Judah and from that of Levi. And this would materially be the case for Jesus if one accepts the hypothesis of Mary's double Davidic and Levitic ascendance.

If this is true, why not state it plainly? The silence of our two Evangelists about the ascendance of the Virgin probably holds a deeper spiritual significance. Take Saint Luke, for instance, who always likes to insist on the Jewish roots of the different protagonists of sacred history (Elizabeth daughter of Aaron, Joseph son of David, Anne daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asser, etc.), but who voluntarily omits several facts about the Blessed Virgin. Perhaps Luke is trying to suggest that Mary is not from any tribe in particular, because she is beyond all of them,
the Mother of all human beings?

It would seem quite natural for the Mother of all not to belong to either the house of David or to the house of Levi, because she is simply "of the house of God" (cf. Eph 2: 19). She needn't receive any particular blessing like each of the twelve tribes (cf. Genesis 49), because she is "blessed among all women"
and because by her fiat she represents not a tribe, but the whole human race.
Ferdinand and Isabella sent Columbus on his voyage in 1492 after they liberated Spain from occupying Muslim forces. Spain's policies then forced Jews to flee, first to Portugal, then to Amsterdam, where some sailed with Dutch merchants to South America. When Spain attacked there, they fled again and 23 refugees, on the French ship Sainte Catherine, became the first Jews to arrive in New Amsterdam in 1654. Governor Stuyvesant tried to evict them, not letting them worship outside their homes.
In 1664, New Amsterdam became New York, where the first synagogue was built in 1730.
Jewish population in colonial America grew to 2,000 in 7 synagogues from New York to Savannah.
Beginning in 1830, Ellis Island had 250,000 Jews immigrate from persecution in Bavaria.
Starting in 1881, over 2 million Jews fled Russia's pogroms to America.
 
By 2006, Jews comprised 2 percent of U.S. population. President Woodrow Wilson wrote:
"Whereas in countries engaged in war there are 9 million Jews, the majority of whom are destitute of food, shelter, and clothing;
driven from their homes without warning...causing starvation, disease and untold suffering-
Whereas the people of the U.S. have learned with sorrow of this terrible plight, I proclaim JANUARY 27, 1916,
a day to make contributions for the aid of the stricken Jewish people to the American Red Cross."
American Minute with Bill Federer http://www.amerisearch.net/ January 27

150 St. Julian of Le Mans First bishop of Le Mans

 Soræ sancti Juliáni Mártyris, qui, in persecutióne Antoníni, sub Flaviáno Præside, comprehénsus est, et, cum idolórum templum, dum ipse torquerétur, corruísset, martyrii corónam, truncáto cápite, accépit.       At Sora, St. Julian, martyr, who, being arrested in the persecution of Antoninus, was beheaded because a pagan temple had fallen to the ground while he was being tortured.
ST JULIAN, Bishop OF LE MANS   
IN Alban Butler’s time a relic was preserved at the cathedral of Le Mans which was believed to be the head of St Julian. He was certainly also honoured in England, for his name occurs on this day in the calen dar of the Eadwine Psalter of Trinity College, Cambridge (before 1170), and his feast was kept throughout the southern dioceses of England where the Sarum breviary use was followed. How many of the six ancient churches in this country which were dedicated to St Julian can be referred to the bishop of Le Mans is quite uncertain, for undoubtedly some of them were built in honour of the more or less mythical saint known as Julian the Hospitaller (February 12).
We know absolutely nothing that is certain about St Julian’s life. The lessons in the Sarum breviary describe him as a noble Roman who became the first bishop of Le Mans and the apostle of that part of France, and they also attribute to him some stupendous miracles. We can only say that there is evidence in the seventh century of a chapel called basilica St. Juliani episcopi, and that in the catalogues of the bishops of Le Mans, St Julian always heads the list. A quite extravagant later legend described him as one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord, and as identical with Simon the Leper. It is probable that the introduction of the cultus of St Julian into England was due to the fact that King Henry II, who was born at Le Mans, is said to have been baptized in the church of St Julian there and may have preserved some personal devotion to the Saint.

See Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, pp. 309, 323, 331; the Acta Sanctorum for January 27; Arnold Forster, Studies in Church Dedications, vol. i, pp. 435—436; and especially A. Ledru, Les premiers temps de l’Église du Mans (1953). 
Italy. He was a Dalmatian who was beheaded in the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius {138-161
3rd v.
St. Julian of Sora  Martyr of Sora Campania
 Apud Cenómanos, in Gállia, deposítio sancti Juliáni, ejúsdem urbis primi Epíscopi, quem sanctus Petrus illuc ad prædicándum Evangélium misit.
       At Le Mans in France, the death of St. Julian, the first bishop of that city, who was sent there by St. Peter to preach the Gospel.

First bishop of Le Mans, France. Tradition states that he was a noble Roman. Julian performed extravagant miracles and was honored during the Middle Ages as the patron of churches in England.
303 St. Devota Virgin martyr of Corsica France who was slain on the rack. Patroness of Corsica and Monaco, her relics are in Monaco on the Riviera di Ponente.
St. Avitus Martyr of Africa apostle and first bishop in the Canary Islands.  
 In Africa sancti Avíti Mártyris.       In Africa, St. Avitus, martyr.
possibly the St. Avitus venerated in the Canary Islands as an apostle and first bishop.
5th v. St. Datius African martyr with Reatrus and 27 companions.
 Ibídem sanctórum Mártyrum Dátii, Reátri et Sociórum, qui in persecutióne Wandálica passi sunt.       In the same country, the holy martyrs Datius, Reatrus, and their companions, who suffered in the persecution of the Vandals.
 Item sanctórum Datívi, Juliáni, Vincéntii atque aliórum vigínti septem Mártyrum.
       Also, the holy martyrs Dativus, Julian, Vincent, and twenty-seven others.
also a second Datius, with Julian, Vincent, and twenty-seven companions. They were slain by Arian Vandals {427 to 531}.
407 Transfer of the relics of St John Chrysostom condemned by Eudoxia  Feast day September 13
 Sancti Joánnis Chrysóstomi, Epíscopi Constantinopolitáni, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris, cæléstis Oratórum sacrórum Patróni; qui décimo octávo Kaléndas Octóbris obdormívit in Dómino.  Ejus sacrum corpus, sub Theodósio junióre, hac die Constantinópolim, inde póstea Romam translátum fuit, et in Basílica Príncipis Apostolórum cónditum.
       St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, confessor and doctor of the Church, and the heavenly patron of preachers, who fell asleep in the Lord on the 14th of September.  His holy body was brought to Constantinople on this day in the reign of Theodosius the younger; it was afterwards taken to Rome and placed in the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles.

407 St John Chrysostom, Archbishop Of Constantinople And Doctor Of The Church
This incomparable teacher, on account of the fluency and sweetness of his eloquence, obtained after his death the surname of Chrysostom, or Golden Mouth. But his piety and his undaunted courage are titles far more glorious, by which he may claim to be ranked among the greatest pastors of the Church. He was born about the year 347 at Antioch in Syria, the only son of Secundus, commander of the imperial troops. His mother, Anthusa, left a widow at twenty, divided her time between the care of her family and her exercises of devotion. Her example made such an impression on our saint’s master, a celebrated pagan sophist, that he could not forbear crying out, “What wonderful women are found among the Christians!”
Anthusa provided for her son the ablest masters that the empire at that time afforded. Eloquence was esteemed the highest accomplishment, and John studied that art under Libanius, the most famous orator of the age; and such was his proficiency that even in his youth he excelled his masters. Libanius being asked on his deathbed who ought to succeed him in his school, “John”, said he, “would have been my choice, had not the Christians stolen him from us.”
According to a common custom of those days young John was not baptized till he was over twenty years old, being at the time a law student. Soon after, together with his friends Basil, Theodore (afterwards bishop of Mopsuestia) and others, he attended a sort of school for monks, where they studied under Diodorus of Tarsus; and in 374 he joined one of the loosely knit communities of hermits among the mountains south of Antioch. He afterwards wrote a vivid account of their austerities and trials. He passed four years under the direction of a veteran Syrian monk, and afterwards two years in a cave as a solitary. The dampness of this abode brought on a dangerous illness, and for the recovery of his health he was obliged to return into the city in 381.
He was ordained deacon by St Meletius that very year, and received the priesthood from Bishop Flavian in 386, who at the same time constituted him his preacher, John being then about forty. He discharged the duties of the office for twelve years, supporting during that time a heavy load of responsibility as the aged bishop’s deputy. The instruction and care of the poor he regarded as the first obligation of all, and he never ceased in his sermons to recommend their cause and to impress on the people the duty of almsgiving.
    Antioch, he supposes, contained at that time one hundred thousand Christian souls and as many pagans; these he fed with the word of God, preaching several days in the week, and frequently several times on the same day.
The Emperor Theodosius I, finding himself obliged to levy a new tax on his subjects because of his war with Magnus Maximus, the Antiochenes rioted and vented their discontent on the emperor’s statue, and those of his father, Sons and late consort, breaking them to pieces. The magistrates were helpless. But as soon as the fury was over and they began to reflect on the probable consequences of their outburst, the people were seized with terror and their fears were heightened by the arrival of two officers from Constantinople to carry out the emperor’s orders for punishment. In spite of his age, Bishop Flavian set out in the worst weather of the year to implore the imperial clemency for his flock, and Theodosius was touched by his appeal an amnesty was accorded to the delinquent citizens of Antioch.
 Meanwhile St John had been delivering perhaps the most memorable series of sermons, which marked his oratorical career, the famous twenty-one homilies “On the Statutes”. They manifest in a wonderful way the sympathy between the preacher and his audience, and also his own consciousness of the power that he wielded for good. There can be no question that the Lent of 387, during which these discourses were delivered, marked a turning-point in Chrysostom’s career, and that from that time forward his oratory became, even politically, one of the great forces by which the Eastern empire was swayed. After the storm he continued his labours with unabated energy, but before very long God was pleased to call him to glorify His name upon a new stage, where He prepared for his virtue other trials and other crowns.

Nectarius, Archbishop of Constantinople, dying in 397, the Emperor Arcadius, at the suggestion of Eutropius, his chamberlain, resolved to procure the election of John to the see of that city. He therefore despatched an order to the count of the East, enjoining him to send John to Constantinople, but to do so without making the news public, lest his intended removal should cause sedition. The count repaired to Antioch, and desiring the saint to accompany him out of the city to the tombs of the martyrs, he there delivered him to an officer who, taking him into his chariot, conveyed him with all possible speed to the imperial city. Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, a man of proud and turbulent spirit, had come thither to recommend a nominee of his own for the vacancy; but he had to desist from his intrigues, and he consecrated John on February 26 in 398.

     When regulating his domestic concerns, the saint cut down the expenses which his predecessors had considered necessary to maintain their dignity, and these sums he applied to the relief of the poor and supported many hospitals.
     His own household being settled in good order, the next thing he took in hand was the reformation of his clergy.
This he forwarded by zealous exhortations and by disciplinary enactments, which, while very necessary, seem in their severity to have been lacking in tact. But to give these his endeavours their due force, he lived himself as an exact model of what he inculcated on others. The immodesty of women in their dress in that gay capital aroused him to indignation, and he showed how false and absurd was their excuse in saying that they meant no harm. Thus by his zeal and eloquence St John tamed many sinners, converting, moreover, many idolaters and heretics. His mildness towards sinners was censured by the Novatians; for he invited them to repentance with the compassion of a most tender father, and was accustomed to cry out, “If you have fallen a second time, or even a thousand times into sin, come to me, and you shall be healed”. But he was firm and severe in maintaining discipline, and to impenitent sinners he was inflexible.

One Good Friday many Christians went to the races, and on Holy Saturday crowded to the games in the stadium. The good bishop was pierced to the quick, and on Easter Sunday he preached an impassioned sermon, “Against the Games and Shows of the Theatre and Circus”. Indignation made him not so much as mention the paschal solemnity, and his exordium was a most moving appeal.

A large number of Chrysostom’s sermons still exist, and they amply support the view of many that he was the greatest preacher who ever lived.
    But it must be admitted that his language was at times, especially in his later years, excessively violent and provocative.
As has been observed, he “sometimes almost shrieks at his delinquent empresses”; and one has a painful feeling that his invective in face of undoubted provocation from many Jews must have been partly responsible for the frequent bloody collisions between them and Christians in Antioch.
    Not all Chrysostom’s opponents were blameworthy men: there were undoubtedly good and earnest Christians amongst those who disagreed with him—he who became St Cyril of Alexandria among them.
Another good work, which absorbed a large share of the archbishop’s activities, was the founding of new and fervent communities of devout women. Among the holy widows who placed themselves under the direction of this great master of saints, the most illustrious, perhaps, was the truly noble St Olympias. Neither was his pastoral care confined to his own flock; he extended it to remote countries. He sent a bishop to instruct the wandering Scythians; another, an admirable man, to the Goths. Palestine, Persia and many other distant provinces felt the beneficent influence of his zeal. He was himself remarkable for an eminent spirit of prayer, and he was particularly earnest in inculcating this duty. He even exhorted the laity to rise for the midnight office together with the clergy. “Many artisans”, said he, “get up at night to labour, and soldiers keep vigil as sentries; cannot you do as much to praise God?
 Great also was the tenderness with which he discoursed on the divine love which is displayed in the holy Eucharist, and exhorted the faithful to the frequent use of that heavenly sacrament. The public concerns of the state often claimed a share in the interest and intervention of St Chrysostom, as when the chamberlain and ex-slave Eutropius fell from power in 399, on which occasion he preached a famous sermon while the hated Eutropius cowered in sanctuary beneath the altar in full view of the congregation. The bishop entreated the people to forgive a culprit whom the emperor, the chief person injured, was desirous to forgive; he asked them how they could beg of God the forgiveness of their own sins if they did not forgive one who stood in need of mercy and time for repentance.
It remained for St Chrysostom to glorify God by his sufferings, as he had already done by his labours, and, if we contemplate the mystery of the Cross with the eyes of faith, we shall find him greater in the persecutions he sustained than in all the other occurrences of his life.

His principal ecclesiastical adversary was Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria, already mentioned, who had several grievances against his brother of Constantinople. A no less dangerous enemy was the empress Eudoxia. John was accused of referring to her as “Jezebel”, and when he had preached a sermon against the profligacy and vanity of so many women it was represented by some as an attack levelled at the empress. Knowing the sense of grievance entertained by Theophilus, Eudoxia, to be revenged for the supposed affront to herself, conspired with him to bring about Chrysostom’s deposition. Theophilus landed at Constantinople in June 403, with several Egyptian bishops; he refused to see or lodge with John; and got together a cabal of thirty-six bishops in a house at Chalcedon called The Oak. The main articles in the impeachment were: that John had deposed a deacon for beating a servant; that he had called several of his clergy reprobates; had deposed bishops outside his own province; had sold things belonging to the church; that nobody knew what became of his revenues; that he ate alone; and that he gave holy communion to persons who were not fasting—all which accusations were either false or frivolous. John held a legal council of forty bishops in the city at the same time, and refused to appear before that at The Oak. So the cabal proceeded to a sentence of deposition against him, which they sent to the Emperor Arcadius, accusing him at the same time of treason, apparently in having called the empress “Jezebel
. Thereupon the emperor issued an order for his banishment.
For three days Constantinople was in an uproar, and Chrysostom delivered a vigorous manifesto from his pulpit.
Violent storms encompass me on all sides:  yet I am without fear, because I stand upon a rock. Though the sea roar and the waves rise high, they cannot overwhelm the ship of Jesus Christ. I fear not death, which is my gain; nor banishment, for the whole earth is the Lord’s; nor the loss of goods, for I came naked into the world, and I can carry nothing out of it.
He declared that he was ready to lay down his life for his flock, and that if he suffered now, it was only because he had neglected nothing that would help towards the salvation of their souls. Then he surrendered himself, unknown to the people, and an official conducted him to Praenetum in Bithynia. But his first exile was short. The city was slightly shaken by an earthquake. This terrified the superstitious Eudoxia, and she implored Arcadius to recall John; she got leave to send a letter the same day, asking him to return and protesting her own innocence of his banishment. All the city went out to meet him, and the Bosphorus blazed with torches. Theophilus and his party fled by night.
But the fair weather did not last long. A silver statue of the empress having been erected before the great church of the Holy Wisdom, the dedication of it was celebrated with public games which, besides disturbing the liturgy, were an occasion of disorder, impropriety and superstition. St Chrysostom had often preached against licentious shows, and the very place rendered these the more inexcusable. And so, fearing lest his silence should be construed as an approbation of the abuse, he with his usual freedom and courage spoke loudly against it. The vanity of the Empress Eudoxia made her take the affront to herself, and his enemies were invited back. Theophilus dared not come, but he sent three deputies. This second cabal appealed to certain canons of an Arian council of Antioch, made to exclude St Athanasius, by which it was ordained that no bishop who had been deposed by a synod should return to his see till he was restored by another synod. Arcadius sent John an order to withdraw. He refused to forsake a church committed to him by God unless forcibly compelled to leave it. The emperor sent troops to drive the people out of the churches on Holy Saturday, and they were polluted with blood and all manner of outrages. The saint wrote to Pope St Innocent I, begging him to invalidate all that had been done, for the miscarriage of justice had been notorious. He also wrote to beg the concurrence of other bishops of the West. The pope wrote to Theophilus exhorting him to appear before a council, where sentence should be given according to the canons of Nicaea. He also addressed letters to Chrysostom, to his flock and several of his friends, in the hope of redressing these evils by a new council, as did also the Western emperor, Honorius. But Arcadius and Eudoxia found means to prevent any such assembly, the mere prospect of which filled Theophilus and other ringleaders of his faction with alarm.

Chrysostom was suffered to remain at Constantinople two months after Easter. On Thursday in Whit-week the emperor sent an order for his banishment. The holy man bade adieu to the faithful bishops, and took his leave of St Olympias and the other deaconesses, who were overwhelmed with grief. He then left the church by stealth to prevent sedition, and was conducted into Bithynia, arriving at Nicaea on June 20, 404. After his departure a fire broke out and burnt down the great church and the senate house. The cause of the conflagration was unknown, and many of the saint’s supporters were put to the torture on this account, but no discovery was ever made. The Emperor Arcadius chose Cucusus, a little place in the Taurus Mountains of Armenia, for St John’s exile. He set out from Nicaea in July, and suffered very great hardships from the heat, fatigue and the brutality of his guards. After a seventy days’ journey he arrived at Cucusus, where the good bishop of the place vied with his people in showing him every mark of kindness and respect. Some of the letters, which Chrysostom addressed from exile to St Olympias and others, have survived, and it was to her that he wrote his treatise on the theme “That no one can hurt him who does not hurt himself”.
Meanwhile Pope Innocent and the Emperor Honorius sent five bishops to Constantinople to arrange for a council, requiring that in the meantime Chrysostom should be restored to his see. But the deputies were cast into prison in Thrace, for the party of Theophilus (Eudoxia had died in childbed in October) saw that if a council were held they would inevitably be condemned. They also got an order from Arcadius that John should be taken farther away, to Pityus at the eastern end of the Black Sea, and two officers were sent to convey him thither. One of these was not altogether destitute of humanity, but the other was a ruffian who would not give his prisoner so much as a civil word. They often travelled in scorching heat, from which the now aged Chrysostom suffered intensely; and in the wettest weather they forced him out of doors and on his way.
When they reached Comana in Cappadocia he was very ill, yet he was hurried a further five or six miles to the chapel of St Basiliscus. During the night there this martyr seemed to appear to John and said to him, “Courage, brother! To-morrow we shall be together.” The next day, exhausted and ill, John begged that he might stay there a little longer. No attention was paid; but when they had gone four miles, seeing that he seemed to be dying, they brought him back to the chapel. There the clergy changed his clothes, putting white garments on him, and he received the Holy Mysteries. A few hours later St John Chrysostom uttered his last words, “Glory be to God for all things”, and gave up his soul to God. It was Holy Cross day, September 14, 407.
St John’s body was taken back to Constantinople in the year 438, the Emperor Theodosius II and his sister St Pulcheria accompanying the archbishop St Proclus in the procession, begging forgiveness of the sins of their parents who had so blindly persecuted the servant of God. It was laid in the church of the Apostles on January 27, on which day Chrysostom is honoured in the West, but in the East his festival is observed principally on November 13, but also on other dates.

In the Byzantine church he is the third of the Three Holy Hierarchs and Universal Teachers, the other two being St Basil and St Gregory Nazianzen, to whom the Western church adds St Athanasius to make the four great Greek doctors; and in 1909 St Pius X declared him to be the heavenly patron of preachers of the word of God. He is commemorated in the Byzantine, Syrian, Chaldean and Maronite eucharistic liturgies, in the great intercession or elsewhere.
Our principal sources for the story of St John’s life are the Dialogue of Palladius (whom Abbot Cuthbert Butler, with the assent of nearly all recent scholars, considers to be identical with the author of the Lausiac History), the autobiographical details which may be gleaned from the homilies and letters of the saint himself, the ecclesiastical histories of Socrates and Sozomen, and the panegyric attributed to a certain Martyrius. The literature of the subject is, of course, vast. No better general account can be recommended, especially in view of its admirable setting in a background which does justice to the circumstances of the times, than that provided by Mgr Duchesne in his Histoire ancienne de l’Eglise (English trans.), vols. ii and iii; but the definitive biography is by Dom C. Baur, Der hl. Johannes Chrysostomus und seine Zeit (2 vols., 1929—1930). An English translation of the Dialogue of Palladius was published in 1925, and the Greek text, ed. P. R. Coleman-Norton, in 1928. In English at the general level mention may be made of lives by W. R. W. Stephens (1883) and D. Attwater (1939), and Dr A. Fortescue’s lively sketch in The Greek Fathers (1908). A good intro­duction to the works is (Greek) Selections from St John Chrysostom (1940), ed. Cardinal D’Alton. See also Puech, St John Chrysostom (English trans.) in the series “Les Saints” the volume of essays brought out at Rome in 1908, under the title XpveoTroaLKd, in honour of the fifteenth centenary; the article by Canon E. Venables in DCB., vol. i, pp. 518—535 and that by G. Bardy in DTC., vol viii, cc. 66o seq., where a full bibliography will be found. 
This great ecumenical teacher and hierarch died in the city of Comana in the year 407 on his way to a place of exile. He had been condemned by the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia because of his daring denunciation of the vices ruling over Constantinople. The transfer of his venerable relics was made in the year 438, thirty years after the death of the saint during the reign of Eudoxia's son emperor Theodosius II (408-450).

St John Chrysostom had the warm love and deep respect of the people, and grief over his untimely death lived on in the hearts of Christians. St John's disciple, St Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (434-447), during services in the Church of Hagia Sophia, preached a sermon praising St John. He said, "O John, your life was filled with sorrow, but your death was glorious. Your grave is blessed and reward is great, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus ChriSt O graced one, having conquered the bounds of time and place! Love has conquered space, unforgetting memory has annihilated the limits, and place does not hinder the miracles of the saint."

Those who were present in church, deeply touched by the words of St Proclus, did not allow him even to finish his sermon. With one accord they began to entreat the Patriarch to intercede with the emperor, so that the relics of St John might be brought back to Constantinople.

The emperor, overwhelmed by St Proclus, gave his consent and gave the order to transfer the relics of St John. But those he sent were unable to lift the holy relics until the emperor realized that he had sent men to take the saint's relics from Comana with an edict, instead of with a prayer. He wrote a letter to St John, humbly asking him to forgive his audacity, and to return to Constantinople. After the message was read at the grave of St John, they easily took up the relics, carried them onto a ship and arrived at Constantinople.

The coffin with the relics was placed in the Church of Holy Peace (Hagia Eirene). When Patriarch Proclus opened the coffin, the body of St John was found to be incorrupt. The emperor approached the coffin with tears, asking forgiveness for his mother, who had banished St John. All day and night people did not leave the coffin.

In the morning the coffin was brought to the Church of the Holy Apostles. The people cried out, "Father, take up your throne." Then Patriarch Proclus and the clergy standing by the relics saw St John open his mouth and say, "Peace be to all." Many of the sick were healed at his tomb.
The celebration of the transfer of the relics of St John Chrysostom was established in the ninth century.
555 St. Marius Abbot visions

555 ST MARIUS, OR MAY, ABBOT
We have no very certain information concerning St Marius, who in the Roman Martyrology appears as Maurus, while Bobacum is given as the name of the monastery which he governed. Both these designations seem to be erroneous. 

Dynamius, patrician of the Gauls who is mentioned by St.
Gregory of Tours, (l. 6, c. 11,) and who was for some time steward of the patrimony of the Roman church in Gaul, in the time of St. Gregory the Great, as appears by a letter of that pope to him, (in which he mentions that he sent him in a reliquary some of the filings of the chains of St. Peter, and of the gridiron of St. Laurence,) was the author of the lives of St. Marius and of St. Maximus of Ries.
From the fragments of the former in Bollandus, we learn that he was born at Orleans, became a monk, and after some time was chosen abbot at La-Val-Benois, in the diocese of Sisteron, in the reign of Gondebald, king of Burgundy, who died in 509.

St. Marius made a pilgrimage to St. Martin's, at Tours, and another to the tomb of St. Dionysius, near Paris, where, falling sick, he dreamed that he was restored to health by an apparition of St. Dionysius, and awaking, found himself perfectly recovered. St. Marius, according to a custom received in many monasteries before the rule of St. Bennet, in imitation of the retreat of our divine Redeemer, made it a rule to live a recluse in a forest during the forty days of Lent.
In one of these retreats, he foresaw, in a vision, the desolation which barbarians would soon after spread in Italy, and the destruction of his own monastery, which he foretold before his death, in 555.

The abbey of La-Val-Benois *being demolished, the body of the saint was translated to Forcalquier, where it is kept with honor in a famous collegiate church which bears his name, and takes the title of Concathedral with Sisteron. St. Marius is called in French St. May, or St. Mary, in Spain, St. Mere, and St. Maire, and in some places, by mistake, St. Maurus. See fragments of his life compiled by Dynamius, extant in Bollandus, with ten preliminary observations.

584 St. Maurus, abbot and deacon; sent to France in 543 to propagate the order of St. Benedict; favored by God with the gift of miracles
Son of Equitius, a nobleman of Rome, was born about the year 510 and died in 584.
When he was about twelve years old, his father placed him under the care of St. Benedict at Subiaco, to be educated in piety and learning. When he had grown up, St. Benedict chose him as his coadjutor in the government of the monastery. He was a model of perfection to all his brethren, but especially in the virtue of obedience.

St. Placid, one of his fellow disciples, the son of the senator Tertullus, going one day to draw water, fell into the lake, and was at once carried away by the current. St. Benedict saw this in spirit in his cell and bade Maurus run and draw him out.
Having asked and received the holy Father's blessing,
 Maurus hastened down to the lake, walked upon the waters, thinking he was on dry land, and dragged Placid out by the hair, without sinking in the least himself. He attributed the miracle to the command and prayers of St. Benedict; but the holy abbot, to the obedience of the disciple.


St. Maurus was sent to France in 543 to propagate the order of St. Benedict in that country. He founded the famous abbey of Glanfeuil, over which he ruled as abbot for thirty-eight years. In 581 he resigned the abbacy, built for himself a small cell near the church of St. Martin, so that in solitude and prayer he might prepare himself for his passage into eternity. After two years he fell sick sof a fever: he received the sacraments of the Church, lying on sackcloth before the altar of St. Martin, and in that posture expired on January 15, 584.

Gift of Miracles
St. Maurus was favored by God with the gift of miracles. To show in what high degree the Saint possessed the gift of miracles, it will be sufficient to cite a few examples of how he miraculously cured the sick and restored to health those who were stricken with a grievous affliction. It has already been stated, according to the testimony of Pope St. Gregory the Great, in the Second Book of his Dialogues, how when a youth, St.Maurus rescued St. Placid from drowning.

A few more examples of miracles wrought by the Saint, as related by the monk St. Faustus (Bollandists, Vol. 2), who accompanied St. Maurus to France and later wrote his life, will be given here. They were invariably wrought by means of the sign of the Cross, and the relic of the true Cross, which he had taken along to France.

When St. Maurus, at that time prior of the abbey of Monte Cassino, was returning with the brethren from gathering the harvest in the fields, he met a boy who was mute and crippled, accompanied by his parents. When the father and mother of the boy cast themselves at the feet of the Saint and implored him to cure their child of his maladies, St. Maurus, having for some time given himself to prayer, imposed upon the head of the boy his levitical stole, for he was a deacon, and made the sign of the Cross over him, saying to him: "In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity, and supported by the merits of the-most holy Father Benedict, I bid you to rise, stand upon your feet and be cured." And forthwith the boy arose, walked about, and with a loud voice praised and glorified God.

A certain Vicar, Ardenard, had been sent by Innocent, the Bishop of Mans, to Monte Cassino, in order to petition St. Benedict to send some monks to France. Arriving at a place called Vercella, the Vicar fell down headlong from a high stairway in the place where he was lodging. His body was so crushed by the fall that his life was despaired of. His right shoulder, arm and hand had so swelled with inflammation, that amputation of the arm was deemed necessary. Recourse was then had to their companion, St. Maurus, who was engaged in prayer in the oratory. Moved by the earnest supplications of his brethren, and the misery of the sick man, the Saint cast himself prostrate at the foot of the altar, pouring forth his soul in fervent prayer. Having finished praying, he took from the altar the case of relics which had been sent him by his master, St. Benedict, and went to the bedside of the sick man. Having exposed the relic of the Cross, he made the sign of the Cross over every part of the arm from the shoulder to the fingers, saying:

"O God, the Creator of all things, You ordained that Your only Son should take flesh of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit for the restoration of your people, and You deigned to heal the wounds and infirmities of our souls by the redemption accomplished upon the sacred and glorious wood of the life-giving Cross: do You also vouchsafe through this powerful sign to restore health to Your servant."

His prayer being ended, all the poisoned blood, by which the Vicar's arm had beer inflamed, began to flow off from three different places in his arm, and his arm was cured.

While continuing their journey and reaching the Alps, one of the servants, Sergius, riding on horseback, fell from his horse and struck his leg against a huge rock, and so crushed it that it was but one bruised mass. Whereupon St. Maurus went up to the unfortunate man, seized his crushed leg with his left hand, and with his right made the sign of the Cross over it, saying: "In the name of almighty God, arise and be cured," and immediately, to the joy of all, his crushed leg became whole and sound.

When St. Maurus and his little band came to the church of the holy martyrs Sts. Maurice and his companions, they entered it to pray. At the entrance of the church sat a certain man who was born blind, begging alms from those who entered and left the edifice. He had learned that Maurus, the disciple of the holy man Benedict, had arrived, the fame of his sanctity having already preceded him. When Maurus and his companions had finished their prayers and left the church, they found the blind man lying prostrate on the ground, begging and imploring the Saint to obtain for him by his prayers the light of his eyes. Maurus commanded him to rise, and pressing the fingers of his right hand upon his eyes, he imprinted on them the sign of our redemption. Thereupon the blind man instantly obtained his eyesight.

Blessing of St. Maurus
Since St. Maurus miraculously freed many persons from their bodily afflictions through the sign of the Cross and the relic of the true Cross of Christ, in many monasteries of the Order of St. Benedict from time immemorial, after the example of this miracle-worker, the custom of blessing the sick with the relic of the true Cross, has prevailed, in order to restore their health. But until recent years, there was no uniform and approved formula of blessing of the Church. There existed a number of old and new formulas, which were essentially the same, but differed from each other in many details. Some formulas were exceedingly lengthy. In the face of these facts, the Rt. Rev. Dom Maurus Wolter OSB, President of the Beuronese Congregation, petitioned Rome for an approved and authentic formula. A carefully prepared and much abbreviated formula was therefore presented to the Sacred Congregation of Rites for its approval.

This formula was approved by the Sacred Congregation for all priests and deacons, secular as well as regular clerics, to impart the blessing, provided the formula approved by the Sacred Congregation is used.

610 St. Lupus of Chalons Bishop cared for the sick and poor.
of Chalons-sur-Saone France. Pope St. Gregory the Great corresponded with him.
Lupus was a model of charity and cared for the sick and poor.

740 St. Natalis founder of monasticism in northern Ireland
and a disciple of St. Columba {597 St. Columba}, also called Naal. He served as abbot of the monasteries of Naile, Daunhinis, and Cill.
A well in that region honors his memory.

8th v, St. Emerius Benedictine abbot of France founder.  
also called Emerus. He founded St. Stephen of Banoles Abbey in Catalonia, Spain.
His mother, St. Candida, lived in a hermitage near the abbey.

798 St. Candida hermitess recluse near St. Stephen of Banoles
Mother of St. Memerius and hermitess. A Spaniard, Candida was a recluse near St. Stephen of Banoles, an abbey close to Garona, Spain.

8th v. St. Gamo Benedictine abbot of Bretigny monastic expansion near Noyon, France.  
near Noyon, France. He aided the monastic expansion of the era and was a staunch patron of the arts.

800 St. Gamelbert Parish priest of Michaelsbuch 50 years
Germany. He went on a pilgrimage to Rome, was ordained, and served more than fifty years as a pastor. His cult was approved in 1909. 

1022 St. Theodoric of Orleans Benedictine bishop royal counselor
also listed as Theodoric II. Originally a monk in the monastery of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, at Sens, France, he was named bishop of Orleans after a distinguished period as a royal counselor.

1077 St. Gilduin Canon of Dol in Brittany France, who refused a bishopric from Pope St. Gregory VII.
After going to Rome to decline the honor, Gilduin died on his way home. His tomb became a popular pilgrimage destination.

1540 St. Angela Merici innovative approach to education the Ursulines first teaching order of women Saint Ursula appeared to her levitated
 Bríxiæ natális sanctæ Angelæ Meríci Vírginis, ex tértio Ordine sancti Francísci, quæ Societátem Vírginum sanctæ Ursulæ instítuit, quarum præcípuum munus esset dirígere adolescéntulas in vias Dómini.  Ejus tamen festívitas Kaléndis Júnii celebrátur.
      At Brescia, the birthday of St. Angela Merici, virgin, who belonged to the Third Order of St. Francis, and who founded the Order of the Nuns of St. Ursula, whose principal aim is to direct young girls in the ways of the Lord.  Her feast is celebrated on the 1st of June.

 St. Angela Merici (1470?-1540) 
Angela has the double distinction of founding the first teaching congregation of women in the Church and what is now called a “secular institute” of religious women.

As a young woman she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (now known as the Secular Franciscan Order), and lived a life of great austerity, wishing, like St. Francis, to own nothing, not even a bed. Early in life she was appalled at the ignorance among poorer children, whose parents could not or would not teach them the elements of religion. Angela’s charming manner and good looks complemented her natural qualities of leadership. Others joined her in giving regular instruction to the little girls of their neighborhood.

She was invited to live with a family in Brescia (where, she had been told in a vision, she would one day found a religious community). Her work continued and became well known.
She became the center of a group of people with similar ideals.

She eagerly took the opportunity for a trip to the Holy Land. When they had gotten as far as Crete, she was struck with blindness. Her friends wanted to return home, but she insisted on going through with the pilgrimage, and visited the sacred shrines with as much devotion and enthusiasm as if she had her sight. On the way back, while praying before a crucifix, her sight was restored at the same place where it had been lost.

At 57, she organized a group of 12 girls to help her in catechetical work. Four years later the group had increased to 28. She formed them into the Company of St. Ursula (patroness of medieval universities and venerated as a leader of women) for the purpose of re-Christianizing family life through solid Christian education of future wives and mothers. The members continued to live at home, had no special habit and took no formal vows, though the early Rule prescribed the practice of virginity, poverty and obedience. The idea of a teaching congregation of women was new and took time to develop. The community thus existed as a “secular institute” until some years after Angela’s death.

Comment:  As with so many saints, history is mostly concerned with their activities. But we must always presume deep Christian faith and love in one whose courage lasts a lifetime, and who can take bold new steps when human need demands.  Quote:  In a time when change is problematic to many, it may be helpful to recall a statement this great leader made to her sisters:
 “If according to times and needs you should be obliged to make fresh rules and change certain things,
do it with prudence and good advice.”
When she was 56, Angela Merici said "No" to the Pope. She was aware that Clement VII was offering her a great honor and a great opportunity to serve when he asked her to take charge of a religious order of nursing sisters. But Angela knew that nursing was not what God had called her to do with her life.

She had just returned from a trip to the Holy Land. On the way there she had fallen ill and become blind. Nevertheless, she insisted on continuing her pilgrimage and toured the holy sites with the devotion of her heart rather than her eyes. On the way back she had recovered her sight. But this must have been a reminder to her not to shut her eyes to the needs she saw around her, not to shut her heart to God's call.

All around her hometown she saw poor girls with no education and no hope.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth century that Angela lived in, education for women was for the rich or for nuns. Angela herself had learned everything on her own. Her parents had died when she was ten and she had gone to live with an uncle. She was deeply disturbed when her sister died without receiving the sacraments. A vision reassured her that her sister was safe in God's care -- and also prompted her to dedicate her life to God.

When her uncle died, she returned to her hometown and began to notice how little education the girls had. But who would teach them? Times were much different then. Women weren't allowed to be teachers and unmarried women were not supposed to go out by themselves -- even to serve others. Nuns were the best educated women but they weren't allowed to leave their cloisters.
 There were no teaching orders of sisters like we have today.
But in the meantime, these girls grew up without education in religion or anything at all.

These girls weren't being helped by the old ways, so Angela invented a new way.
She brought together a group of unmarried women, fellow Franciscan tertiaries and other friends, who went out into the streets to gather up the girls they saw and teach them. These women had little money and no power, but were bound together by their dedication to education and commitment to Christ. Living in their own homes, they met for prayer and classes where Angela reminded them, " Reflect that in reality you have a greater need to serve [the poor] than they have of your service." They were so successful in their service that Angela was asked to bring her innovative approach to education to other cities, and impressed many people, including the pope.

Though she turned him down, perhaps the pope's request gave her the inspiration or the push to make her little group more formal. Although it was never a religious order in her lifetime, Angela's Company of Saint Ursula, or the Ursulines, was the first group of women religious to work outside the cloister and the first teaching order of women.

It took many years of frustration before Angela's radical ideas of education for all and unmarried women in service were accepted. They are commonplace to us now because people like Angela wanted to help others no matter what the cost. Angela reminds us of her approach to change: "Beware of trying to accomplish anything by force, for God has given every single person free will and desires to constrain none; he merely shows them the way, invites them and counsels them."

Saint Angela Merici reassured her Sisters who were afraid to lose her in death: "I shall continue to be more alive than I was in this life, and I shall see you better and shall love more the good deeds which I shall see you doing continually, and I shall be able to help you more." She died in 1540, at about seventy years old.
In Her Footsteps:

Take a look around you. Instead of just driving or walking without paying attention today, open your eyes to the needs you see along the way. What people do you notice who need help but who are not being helped? What are their true needs? Make a commitment to help them in some way.
Prayer: Saint Angela, you were not afraid of change. You did not let stereotypes keep you from serving. Help us to overcome our fear of change in order to follow God's call and allow others to follow theirs. Amen
Copyright (c) 1996-2000 by Terry Matz. All Rights Reserved.

1474-1540)
     In our times, many orders of sisters have engaged in teaching. Before 1535, however, there was no religious order engaged in educational work. Nuns there were aplenty; but their role was seen as contemplative - cloistered away from the world and even from any active apostolate.
     St. Angela Merici was responsible for changing all that, by organizing the Ursuline Sisters in 1535 for the education of women. Even in colonial times this order crossed the Atlantic. St. Marie of the Incarnation brought it to Quebec, Canada, in 1639. Another French group set up a convent in New Orleans in 1727 - the first convent of nuns in the present U.S.A. It was Ursulines who established the first Catholic women's college in New York State: the College of New Rochelle (1904).
Thus we owe to St. Ursula the whole tradition of educational orders that has been so important to the American Church.

     And who was this pioneer teaching sister?
     Angela Merici was a native of Desenzano in sub-Alpine Italy. The Merici parents trained her and her sister and brother in Christian living. Unfortunately, both parents died when Angela was only ten, so she and her sister were raised by an uncle who lived at Salo.
     At thirteen, Angela had a great emotional crisis. Her sister died suddenly without the last sacraments, and Angela worried greatly about the girl's salvation. Finally, however, she was reassured in a vision - the first of many she would receive - that her sister had been saved. In her relief and gratitude, Angela now determined to dedicate her life to God's service. She joined the Third Order of Franciscans and started to live a life of great austerity, in keeping with the old tradition of the saints.
     Her uncle died when she was 22, so she returned to Desenzano. Here she became aware that many of the children were not receiving proper instruction in religion (as is so true in our own generation!). She gathered a few other women teachers and set up a school for girls. Under her capable direction, the group became successful and progressive teachers. Soon she was asked to open another school at Brescia. By now, she was not only training youngsters, but inspiring a number of prominent men and women of that worldly era to lead more Christian lives.
     Angela's own devotional life continued to develop. She was much given, for instance, to pilgrimages - that ancient and symbolic Catholic practice. She even made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land - a long, hard trip in those days. Furthermore, she became blind at Crete while en route. She spent all her time in Palestine without sight, but she was cured of her blindness on the return trip at the same place where she had lost it, on the island of Crete.
Then in 1525, since it was a Holy Year of Jubilee, Angela went as a pilgrim to Rome to gain the great jubilee indulgence. When she had an audience with the Pope Clement VII, he tried to persuade her to stay at Rome and head a congregation of nursing sisters. But she was still convinced of her calling to education work. In fact, years before, she had experienced a vision in which she saw a group of young women ascending to heaven on a ladder of light. A voice had then said:
“Take heed, Angela; before you die you will found at Brescia a company of maidens similar to those you have just seen.
     It was April 1533 that she made this prophecy come true. She chose a group of her companions for this work, and on November 25, 1535, they officially became the first Ursulines. Because they had to be an active order, they originally had no cloister, no special habit, no convents (they lived at home), and no formal vows; just a rule of poverty, chastity and obedience. In other words, they were organized much like today's “secular institutes.”
     After Angela's death, their rule was somewhat altered. But she had brought into being one of the most innovative and effective organizations of the Catholic Reformation. While the Protestant reformers were destroying the Catholic faith of many adult Christians, Angela and her imitators were already raising in firm and knowing faith the girls that would mother the next generation of Catholics.
     --Father Robert F. McNamara

Angela de'Merici, OSU V (RM)(also known as Angela of Brescia) Born in Desenzano (near Lake Garda and Brescia), Lombardy, Italy, March 21, 1470 or 1474; died in Brescia, Italy, January 27, 1540; canonized 1807; feast day formerly on May 31.

"If any person, because of his state in life, cannot do without wealth and position, let him at least keep his heart empty of the love of them." --Saint Angela Merici.
As is often the case, it was the number of burdens which Angela Merici had to endure that brought her ever closer to God and moved her to order her existemce. Recalling her life, we should thank God for every hardship He permits us and the strength He gives us to endure them. Each trial is an opportunity to trust in God, to realize His power and His movement within and around us.
Orphaned at age 10, Angela and her sister and brother were raised by their wealthy uncle, Biancozi, at Salo. In Angela's first ecstatic experience, the Blessed Mother appeared with Angela's elder sister. Thus put her mind at rest regarding the salvation of her sister, who had died suddenly without receiving the sacraments. Angela became a Franciscan tertiary at 13 and lived austerely, sometimes eating only bread, water, and vegetables once a week. From this time onward, she wished to possess nothing, not even a bed (because the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head).

On the death of her uncle, the 20-year-old Angela returned to her hometown and began giving catechism lessons to the poor children in Desenzano. She discussed her horror at the ignorance so many children had of their religion with her friends, who were mostly tertiaries. They were eager to help if Angela could show them how. Although Angela was small of stature, she had a great spirit, charm, and beauty capable of attracting and leading others. She and her friends began to regularly and systematically teach their young, female neighbors. Angela's own success in teaching the catechism in Desenzano led to the invitation from a wealthy couple, whom she had once helped, to begin a school in Brescia.

Angela had the special gift of being able to remember everything she read. She spoke Latin well and knew the meaning of some of the hardest passages of Scripture, which led to her being sought out for counsel. In Brescia she was brought in touch with the leading families and became the center of a circle of devout men and women whom she inspired with her great ideals.

On a trip to the Holy Land, she suddenly lost her sight in Crete. She continued her trip with devotion, and on the return trip, regained her sight at the very spot where she'd lost it.

During a visit to Rome for the Holy Year 1525, Pope Clement VII asked her to take charge of a group of nursing sisters in Rome, but she declined. She told him of a vision she had experienced years before of maidens ascending to heaven on a ladder of light, which was what led her to gather young women into an informal novitiate. In the vision the holy virgins were accompanied up and down the ladder by glorious angels who played sweet music on golden harps. All wore beautiful crowns decorated with precious jewels. After a time the music stopped and the Savior Himself called her by name to create a society of women. The Holy Father gave her permission to form a community.

Shortly, thereafter, Saint Ursula appeared to her, which is why she became the community's patron. Assisting at Mass one day, Angela fell into ecstasy and was said to have levitated.

Soon after her return to Brescia, she was forced to withdraw to Cremona because war had broken out, and when Charles V was on the point of making himself master of Brescia it was essential that non-combatants leave the city. When peace again prevailed, Angela's return to Brescia was greeted with joy by the citizens who already venerated her as a prophetess and saint.

In Saint Afra's Church at Brescia on November 25, 1535, Angela and 28 younger companions bound themselves before God to devote the rest of their lives to his service, especially by the education of girls. Angela placed herself and the novices under the protection of Saint Ursula, the patroness of medieval universities and venerated as a leader of women. This was the beginning of the Company of Saint Ursula (Ursuline nuns), the first teaching order of women--a novel idea that needed time before it was accepted.

The order had no habit (members usually wore a simple black dress), took no vows, and pursued neither an enclosed nor a communal life; they worked to oversee the religious education of girls, especially among the poorer classes, and to care for the sick. The Ursulines were formally recognized by Pope Paul III four years after Angela's death (1544) and were organized into a Congregation in 1565. At the start much of the teaching was done in the children's homes: but in her conception of an uncloistered, flexible society of women Saint Angela was before her time.
She survived to direct the society for only four years.

During that time Angela was noted for her patience to her sisters and kindness in her many acts of mercy to the poor, sick, and ignorant. Soon there were 150 sisters to whom Angela addressed her wise sayings in her Counsels. As her sisters surrounded her in prayer at the hour of her death, a beautiful ray of light shone upon the saint--a sign that God was welcoming her to her eternal home. Angela died with the name of Jesus on her lips.

In 1568, Saint Charles Borromeo called the Ursulines to Milan and persuaded them to assume a cloistered communal life. In a provincial synod he explained to his suffragan bishops that he knew of no better means for the reform of their dioceses than to introduce the Ursulines into populous communities.
Later in France strict enclosure was adopted and the teaching of young girls was made the chief concern of the order. The Ursulines flourish today (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Caraman, Delaney, Farmer, Schamoni, Walsh, White).
In art Saint Angela is represented by the image of virgins ascending a ladder; or with Saint Ursula and companions appearing to her (White).
1896 St. Enrique de Osso y Cervello devotion to religious education (1840-1896).  
When Pope John Paul II made his pastoral visit to Spain in June 1993, he canonized a Spanish priest noted for his devotion to religious education: St. Enrique de Osso y Cervello.
Enrique was a native of Tarragona in Spain's Catalonia, the youngest of the three children of Jaime de Osso and Micaela Cervello, a couple very Christian and very Catalan.
When little Henry was eleven, his father sent him to Barcelona to become an apprentice to his uncle and learn a trade. Unfortunately, the lad soon fell gravely ill, and his first holy communion was administered to him as Viaticum. He did get well and returned home, detouring by the famous shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar to offer thanks for his recovery. Later he was sent to Reus, and apprenticed there to another businessman.
But a business career did not seem to be in God's plans. As Henry increased in knowledge and wisdom, he became more deeply spiritual. The death of his mother proved especially soul-searing. It moved him to make a retreat at the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona. There he concluded that he was called to the diocesan priesthood.
After studies in the seminary at Tortosa, and later at that of Barcelona, he was called back to the Tortosa seminary and assigned to its faculty. This was even before his ordination to the priesthood in 1867. From the outset, he was resolved to love Jesus more each day, and to make better known to all the love of God the Father.
Assigned to catechetical work in the city of Tortosa, St. Enrique applied himself to it diligently. In those days religion was under attack in Spain by anticlericals. He confronted their attacks positively by broadening religious instruction among seminarians, children and families.
It was a demanding undertaking, one that could not be accomplished without help. So in 1873 Father de Osso founded a lay catechetical organization, the Association of Young Catholic
Daughters of Mary and St. Teresa of Jesus.
In 1876 he founded the Josephine Sisterhood, the "Little Flock of the Child Jesus", and the Society of St. Teresa of Jesus, which was dedicated to Christian education for all. Christian education, he said, is the only thing that can transform society, drawing it to Christ. The Society of St. Teresa of Jesus grew rapidly, spreading into Portugal and Latin America. Unfortunately, in 1895 a misunderstanding arose between himself and the superior general of the Society of St. Teresa of Jesus. He thereupon went to Gilet, near Valencia, Spain where the Franciscan friary gave him a home. He died there on January 27, 1896.
At the outdoor Mass of canonization in Madrid, Pope John Paul told the immense crowd that he was giving to Spain and the whole world, a saint for all to imitate. St. Enrique, like Christ himself, he said, directed his apostolate of Christian instruction to people of all ages and conditions: particularly to women, for, as the saint used to say, "The world has always been what women have made it." Furthermore, the future of humanity passes by way of the family, the Pope continued. It is therefore necessary "to present authentically the ideal of the, Christian family, based on unity and fidelity in marriage, open to children, guided by love." To the young people in the audience, said John Paul, "Do not be afraid to be saints!"
The Holy Father, in conclusion, recalled that 1992 marked the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage and the apostolate to the new world. Today, again, he said, "there is a pressing need for the new evangelization in order to renew the wealth and vitality of the Christian values in a society that shows signs of disorientation and discouragement."
The primary objective of the new evangelization, the Pope stated, is "to renew the ideal of holiness among the faithful. A holiness that is manifested in bearing witness to one's own faith, in boundless charity, in a love lived and practiced in everyday activities."
In a day in which Catholics are showing themselves increasingly ignorant about their faith, it is understandable that the Pope is mounting a campaign for a "second evangelization". And it is understandable that he should consider St. Enrique a fitting model for catechists of the 21st century. --Father Robert F. McNamara



JANUARY 01

  178 St. Concordius Martyred subdeacon
2nd v. St. Elvan & Mydwyn
Apud Spolétum sancti Concórdii, Presbyteri et Mártyris; qui, tempóribus Antoníni Imperatóris, primo cæsus fústibus, dehinc equúleo suspénsus, ac póstea macerátus in cárcere, ibíque Angélica visitatióne confortátus, demum gládio vitam finívit.
At Spoleto, in the time of Emperor Antoninus, St. Concordius, priest and martyr, who was beaten with clubs, then stretched on the rack, and after long confinement in prison, where he was visited by an angel, lost his life by the sword.
3rd v. St. Martina, virgin
Item Romæ, via Appia, corónæ sanctórum mílitum trigínta Mártyrum, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre.
In the same city, on the Appian Way, the crowning with martyrdom of thirty holy soldiers under Emperor Diocletian.
Eódem die sancti Magni Mártyris. The same day, St. Magnus, martyr.

5th v. ST EUPHROSYNE, VIRGIN; The Greeks call St Euphrosyne “Our Mother”, and pay her great honour, but we have no authentic accounts of her life. Her so-called history is nothing but a replica of the story of St Pelagia, as narrated for Western readers in the Vitae Patrum or in the Golden Legend, a tale which struck the popular fancy and which, with slight variations, adapted as an embellishment to the lives of St Marina, St Apollinaris, St Theodora, etc.
379 St. Basil the Great, bishop, confessor, and doctor of the Church
  400 St. Telemachus an Eastern ascetic; martyred seperating gladiators; he caused abolishing of contests
  475 St. Basil Bishop of Aix, in Provence
  510 St. Eugendus 4th abbot of Condat, near Geneva Switzerland. Also called Oyand, Eugendus never ordained, but he was a noted Scripture scholar.
  533 St. Fulgentius Bishop of Ruspe, Tunisia friend of St. Augustine; “A person may be endowed with the gift of miracles, and yet may lose his soul. Miracles insure not salvation; they may indeed procure esteem and applause; but what will it avail a man to be esteemed on earth and afterwards be delivered up to torments?”
 540 St. Justin of Chieti; A patron of Chieti, Italy
 580 St. FELIX, BISHOP OF BOURGES; orthodox patriarchate; numerous cures are said obtained by those who drank water in which some of the dust of the old crumbling tomb slab had been mingled
 585 St. Fanchea lrish abbess foundress of a convent of St. Ends
 590 St. Connat The abbess of St. Brigid’s convent at Kildare, Ireland
6th v. St. Cuan Irish abbot founded many churches and monasteries
  660 ST CLARUS, ABBOT; many marvellous stories of the miracles he worked, *{* It is perhaps desirable to remind the reader once for all that only Almighty God can do miracles. The use of the above and similar expressions is permissible by custom, but in fact God does the miracle through the agency or at the intercession of the saint concerned.}  patron of tailors
837 St Peter of Atroa, Abbot; numerous miracles; undertook restoration of St Zachary’s and reorganization of 2 other monasteries he established, his own residence hermitage at Atroa; Iconoclast troubles began again and, the local bishop being an opponent of images, Peter judged it wise once more to disperse his monks to more remote houses; ninth-century Byzantine hagiography and for what it tells of monastic life during the Iconoclast troubles; moines de l’Olympe  scanty ruins of St Peter’s monastery of St Zachary, and of numerous others, can still be seen.
1031 St William of Saint Benignus, Abbot; character was great zeal and firmness joined with tender affection for his subjects;  did not hesitate to oppose, both by action and writings, the most powerful rulers of his time, like Emperor St Henry, Robert, King of France, and Pope John XIX, when he felt the cause of justice was at stake; In interests of the Cluniac reform he was constantly active, making many journeys and travelling as far as Rome.
1048 St. Odilo monk at Cluny 5th abbot ecstacies great austerities inaugurated All Souls' Day
1125 Saint Bonfilius one of the founders of the Servite Order
1252 Bl. Berka Zdislava founded Dominican priory of St. Laurence Communion daily
        St. Maelrhys Welsh saint, probably a Breton
        St. Magnus Martyr noted in the Roman Martyrology
1260 BD HUGOLINO OF GUALDO; entered the Order of the Hermits of St Augustine, and that somewhere about the year 1258 he took over a monastery in his native place, Gualdo in Umbria
1261 St. Bonfilius, confessor, one of the seven founders of the Order of the Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1713 St. Joseph Mary Tomasi;  Cardinal confessor of Pope Clement XI {1649 1721}; He answered that the days of actual physical martyrdom are over, and that we are now in the days of hidden martyrdom, seen only by God; the lesson of it all being trust in God; Even before his death the sick were healed through touching his clothing, and when the end had come cures multiplied round his bier. Bd Joseph Tommasi was beatified in 1803.


JANUARY 02
THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
3rd-4th v. St. Artaxus Martyr with Acutus & companions
304
Lichfield Martyrs in England during the persecution of Diocletian 
 
305 commemoration of many holy martyrs, who preferred maryterdom to giving up Códices
3rd v. St. Isidore of Antioch bishop, martyred
  320 St. Argeus martyr soldiers with brothers Narcissus and Marcellus at Tomi 
  379 St. Basil the Great  vast learning and constant activity, genuine eloquence and immense charity Patron of hospital administrators
      St. Martinian Bishop of Milan Council of Ephesus foe of Nestorianism
4th v. Nítriæ, in Ægypto, beáti Isidóri, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
4th v. The PriestMartyr Theogenes was bishop of the Asia Minor city of Pareia at the beginning of the IV Century.
  394 ST MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA
  560 St. Aspasius Bishop in Councils of Orleans, in 533, 541, and 549
7th v. St. Munchin Patron of Limerick or “little monk.”
 672? ST VINCENTIAN; There is nothing even to show that such a person as St Vincentian ever existed.
  630 St. Blidulf Monk at Bobbio reformed the court and the area
730 Vincentian, Hermit (AC) (also known as Viance, Viants)
     A disciple of Saint Menelaus, who became a hermit in the diocese of Tulle (Auvergne) (Benedictines).

 827 St. Adelard monk Charles Martel grandson King Pepin nephew Charlemagne 1st cousin
1146? BD AYRALD, Bishop of MAURIENNE; “Here lies Ayrald, a man of noble blood, monk of Portes, glory of pontiffs, a light of the Church, stay of the unfortunate, shining with goodness and unnumbered miracles.”
1530 BD STEPHANA QUINZANI, VIRGIN; third order of St Dominic, she spent her time in nursing the sick and relieving the poor until she was able herself to found a convent at Soncino;  performed many miracles of healing and to have multiplied food and money;
1604 Saint Juliana of Lazarevo (or Juliana of Murom)
1833 St. Seraphim of Sarov Russian monk/mystic high honorific title of starets Vision from Mary
1836 St. Caspar del Bufalo Various miracles many graces were obtained by his intercession
1. The Martyrdom of St. Ignatius, Patriarch of Antioch.  COPTIC
2. The Departure of St. Philogonus, Patriarch of Antioch.COPTIC
3. The Birth of St. Takla Haymanot, the Ethiopian.COPTIC


JANUARY 03
168 St. Daniel Padua Martyr Jewish deacon
  236 ST ANTHERUS, POPE AND MARTYR; the Liber Pontificalis states that he was put to death for obtaining copies of the official proceedings against the martyrs with the view of preserving them in the episcopal archives
  284 St. Theopemptus bishop of Nicomedia/Theonas martyrs
  320 The Martyr Gordius centurion for confessing the Name of Christ the Savior
  303 St. Zosimus & Athanasius hermits tortured in Cilicia but survived
  311 ST PETER BALSAM, MARTYR
  320 St. Cyrinus Martyred soldier with Primus and Theogenes
        St. Florentius of Vienne Bishop and martyr of Vienne  France, who attended the Council of Valence in 374.
 
512 St. Genevieve Paris averted Attila scourge by fasting/ prayer
6th v. St. Fintan Abbot and patron saint of Doon
6th v. St. Finlugh Irish abbot, the brother of St. Fintan
  660 St. Blitmund Monk of Bobbio disciple-St. Attalas companion-St. Valery 
        St. Wenog Saint of Wales
        St. Narses Martyred bishop of Persia

8th v. ST BERTILIA OF MAREUIL, WIDOW
1953 Saint Ekvtime (Euthymius) Taqaishvili, Georgia called the “Man of God,”; From beginning of career he began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia; including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history. Above all, St. Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work; after 10 years burial, his body, even his clothing and footwear remained incorrupt.

Last Holy Prophetic book Malachi means "my messenger':  probably anonymous
  “The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’
Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory” (Exposition of the Orthodox Faith).


JANUARY 04
1st v. Synaxis der Siebzig Apostel; Orthodoxe Kirche: 4. Januar - Katholische Kirche: 15. Juli 
1st v. birthday of St. Titus, consecrated bishop of Crete by the apostle St. Paul; In the Christian New Testament, Saint Titus, (a common Roman first name) was a companion of Paul of Tarsus, mentioned in several of Paul's epistles, including the Epistle to Titus. Titus was with Paul and Barnabas at Antioch and accompanied them to the Council of Jerusalem, although his name nowhere occurs in the Acts of the Apostles.
   211 St. Mavilus, martyr, who, being condemned by the very cruel governor Scapula to be devoured by wild beast received the crown of martyrdom.
   300  Saints Hermes, Aggaeus, and Caius, martyrs, who suffered under Emperor Maximian
4th v.  Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum Prisci Presbyteri, et Priscilliáni Clérici, ac Benedíctæ, religiósæ féminæ; qui, témpore impiíssimi Juliáni, gládio martyrium complevérunt.
At Rome, in the reign of the impious Julian, the holy martyrs Priscus, a priest, Priscillian, a cleric; and Benedicta, a religious woman, whose martyrdom was ended by the sword.
   340 St. Anastasia Martyrdom of; Coptic  -- visit those imprisoned for their faith ministered to them, comforted them, offered them whatever they needed; her husband shut her up in house placed guards over her; distributed wealth among poor and those in prison, confessors and strivers, for sake of the faith Commemoration of St. Juliana the Martyr.  On this day also is the commemoration of St. Juliana the martyr.
   484 St. Aquilinus Martyr with Sts. Geminus & companions
         St. Dafrosa Martyred mother of St. Bibiana
  539 ST GREGORY, Bishop of Langres miracles recorded after death; he seemed preference to captives arrested by the officers of human justice
  745 St. Rigobert Benedictine archbishop of Reims; patient acceptance of all trials, love of retirement and prayer, miraculous cures attributed to him, gained him the repute of high sanctity.
  740 St. Pharaildis A Flemish maiden a miracle worker
800 Theoktistos gründete im 8, Jahrhundert ein Kloster in Cucuma (Sizilien) und war auch dessen Leiter. In dem Kloster lebten vor allem griechische Mönche, die vor dem Bildersturm geflohen waren. Theoktistos starb 800.Orthodoxe Kirche: 4. January
1160 BD ROGER OF ELLANT
sick and the suffering were the object of his particular care
1309 Bl. Angela of Foligno Franciscan tertiary and mystic Many miracles

1310 BD ORINGA, VIRGIN
The Augustinians keep her feast on January 4
1570 Bl. Thomas Plumtree English martyr
1821 St. ELIZABETH ANN SET0N (née Bayley). Born in New York City, 1774; married William Seton, 1794; widowed in 1803; received into the Catholic Church in 1805; made religious vows, 1809; died at Emmetsburg in Maryland, 4 January 1821. Mother Seton founded the American Sisters of Charity and was the first native-born American citizen to be beatified, in 1963.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton; At the suggestion of the president of St. Mary's College in Baltimore, Maryland, Elizabeth started a school in that city. She and two other young women, who helped her in her work, began plans for a Sisterhood. They established the first free Catholic school in America.
1897 Birthday of Thérèse de Lisieux (2 January 1873 Alençon, France – 30 September 1897).
1946 Fritz von Bodelschwingh; When Bodelschwingh got to know in May, 1940 from the euthanasia actions, he exerted himself vehement with the highest places against these people-despising measures, however, reached only to be stamped as a public enemy.



JANUARY 05
       The fourth day of the Forefeast of Theophany falls on January 5.
 126 ST TELESPHORUS Pope in the time of Antoninus Pius, St. Telesphorus, pope, who, after many sufferings for the confession of Christ, underwent a glorious martyrdom.
  303 Ss Theopemptus bishop in Nicomedia and Theonas Holy Martyrs; Theopemptus Speaking against idolatry, defended the faith in Christ  became first victims of the Diocletian persecution.
 305 Thebais In Egypt commemoration of many holy martyrs
 400 St. Syncletica consecrated her virginity to God

 459 ST SIMEON THE STYLITE; By invincible patience bore all afflictions and rebukes without a word of complaint; sincerely looked upon himself as outcast of the world; spoke to all with the most engaging sweetness and charity.
 470 Saint Apollinaria was a daughter of Anthemias, a former proconsul of the Byzantine Empire during the minority of Theodosius the Younger (408-450).
 550 St. Emiliana Mystic aunt of Pope St. Gregory the Great
6th v. Saint Menas lived in asceticism 50 years in Sinai monastery; Myrrh flowed from his holy relics. St John Climacus speaks of this wonderful man in THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT (Step 4:34).
 592 St  Simeon Stylites The Younger
 593 St. Lomer Hermit founder of Corbion Monastery
        St. Cera An Irish abbess
7th v. Saint Phosterius the Hermit led an ascetical life on a lofty mountain, where he was fed by an angel. He brought many back to the Church from the heresy of Iconoclasm by his miracles and saintly life.
 820 Saint Gregory of Akrita (Sea of Marmora) led a life of piety on Seleukia; 12 years persecuted by Jews in Jerusalem; accomplished great ascetic deeds
 868 St. Convoyon Benedictine abbot exiled by Norseman in Brittany
1004 St. Gaudentius Benedictine bishop friend of St. Adalbert
11th v. ST DOROTHEUS THE YOUNGER, Abbot; Among many miracles credited multiplied corn, saved from shipwreck a vessel far away out at sea and on another occasion by invoking the Holy Trinity to have caused a huge stone which crashed down during the building operations to rise unassisted and resume its proper place
1066 In England, St. Edward, king and confessor, illustrious by the virtue of chastity and the gift of miracles
1170 St. Gerlac Dutch soldier/sailor Hermit correspondent with St. Hildegard
1236 St. Roger  da Todi  received the habit from St. Francis of Assisi
1368 St. Paula Camaldolese  peaceful resolution to the feud between Florence and Pisa
1694 St. Romanus of Karpenisi Martyr monk on Mt. Athos; suffered for Christ at Constantinople, beheaded Turks
1860  St. Bd John Nepomucen Neumann. Born in Bohemia, 1811; he was ordained priest in New York City in 1836 and joined the Redemptorist congregation; consecrated fourth bishop of Philadelphia in 1852; he died there on 5 January 1860  Bd John NEPOMUCEN NEUMANN. Born in Bohemia, 1811; he was ordained priest in New York City in 1836 and joined the Redemptorist congregation; consecrated fourth bishop of Philadelphia in 1852; he died there on 5 January 1860. Bishop Neumann, a naturalized American citizen, organized Catholic schools into a diocesan system. He was beatified in 1963.
        St. Talida Abbess head of convents in Egypt
        St. Charles of Sezze a lay brother at Naziano
 1893 Fr. Charles of St. Andrew; the saint of Mount Argus; received by Blessed Dominic Barberi, Passionist; Due to his poor mastery of the English language, he was never a formal preacher and he never preached missions. Rather he very successfully dedicated himself to spiritual direction, especially through the sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). The fame of his virtue was such that great crowds of people would gather at the monastery to seek his blessing. There are also numerous testimonies to the outstanding miraculous cures that he worked to the extent that even during his lifetime he was known as a miracle worker.

JANUARY 06
210 In Africa commemorátio plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum     
 287 St. Macra Virgin martyr of Reims France

4th v. St. Anastasius VIII Martyr at Syrmium 
        St. Nilammon, anchoret
 390 St. Gregory Nazianzen “the Theologian.”
 511 St. Melani a monk helped draw up the canons of the Council of Orleans in 511
 516 St. Hywyn Welsh founder patron of churches-western England
 535 St. Melanius bishop of Rennes France when Franks invaded Gaul
 607 St. Peter of Canterbury  Benedictine 1st abbot monastery Sts. Peter/Paul - Canterbury
6th v. St. Merinus Titular patron of churches in Wales /Brittany
6th v. St. Schotin hermit disciple of St. David of Wales
6th v. St. Edeyrn hermit patron of a church in Brittany, France 
6th v. St. Eigrad Founder of a church in Anglesey Wales
 658 St. Diman Abbot-bishop Connor Ireland 
 986 St. Wiltrudis Widow Benedictine nun wife of Duke Berthold - Bavaria 
1121 St. Erminold Benedictine abbot A large number of miracles are recorded at his tomb after death.
1150 ST GUARINUS, OR GUÉRIN, BISHOP of SI0N esteemed by St Bernard
1275 St Raymond of Pennafort canon of Barcelona Dominican, Archbishop
1358 BD GERTRUDE OF DELFT, VIRGIN stigmata knowledge of people’s thoughts, distant and future events
1373 St. Andrew Corsini regarded as a prophet and a thaumaturgus miracles were so multiplied at his death that Eugenius IV permitted a public cult immediately; Feast kept on February 04
1611  St. John de Ribera Archbishop Vice-roy of Valencia deported Moors Many miracles attributed his intercession
1925 BD RAPHAELA MARY, VIRGIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE HANDMAIDS OF THE SACRED HEART  her answer to misery was, I see clearly that God wants me to submit to all that happens to me as if I saw Him there commanding it.”
                           Bd Raphaela Mary

1937  Blessed André Bessette (b. 1845) expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to St. Joseph.


JANUARY 07
St. Felix & Januarius Martyrs of Heraclea
300 St. Clerus A Syrian deacon martyred at Antioch Turkey.
312 St. Lucian of Antioch Theologian scholar martyr praised by Sts. John Chrysostom and Jerome
St. Crispins 1/ Pavia Lombardy 30 yrs 2/bishop w Pope St. Leo I Great.
4th v. St. Theodore of Egypt; Monk, disciple of St. Ammonius.
335-414 St. Nicetas of Remesiana Bishop Te Deum missionary friend of St. Paulinus of Nola who made fierce and barbarous nations humane and meek by preaching the Gospel to them.
470 St. Valentine Abbot missionary bishop in Rhaetia; a fairly long medieval biography of him is printed in the Acta Sanctorum; but this, as all are agreed, is historically worthless
7th v/ St. Cronan Beg bishop of Aendrum, County Down Ireland. He is mentioned in connection with controversy 640.
680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad
Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints. 
702 St. Tillo Benedictine monk; ransomed and baptized by St Eligius. That fervent apostle sent him to his abbey of Solignac, in the Limousin; was honoured with miracles
734 St. Kentigerna Widowed hermitess mother St. Coellan daughter of Kelly the prince of Leinster, Ireland.
767 St. Emilian Benedictine Recluse of Bordeaux, France also called Aemilio. He was native of Vannes and a Benedictine.
856 St. Aidric Bishop court diplomat Charlemagne and son/successor Louis Raised at Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany, the royal residence of Charlemagne.
960? St. Reinold  Benedictine monk martyred by stonemasons; patron of stone masons sometimes listed as Rainold  or Reynold.
977 St. Anastasius XVIII Archbishop Sens. He served the archdiocese from 968-977, started the cathedral, and promoted the monks of Saint-Pierre-le-Vin. His relics are in the monastic church.
1131 St. Canute Lavard Martyred nephew of St. Canute son of King Eric the Good.  In Dánia sancti Canúti, Regis et Mártyris.  In Denmark, St. Canute, king and martyr.
1225 St. Raymond of Peñafort Dominican Marian; sailed on water w/cloak; Patron of Canonists taught philosophy at 20-gratis. The brave religious of this Order devoted themselves to saving poor Christians captured by the Moors.
St. Brannock Welsh monk famed for holiness and zeal who migrated to Devon, England. He founded a monastery at Braunton.
1593 Bl. Edward Waterson English convert; martyred He was born in London, England, and ordained in Reims, France. In 1592, he was returned to England to serve hidden Catholics. Edward was arrested the following year and executed at Newcastle. He was beatified in 1929.


JANUARY 08
The second day of the Afterfeast of Theophany.
175 St. Apollinaris appologist bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia
290 St. Lucian Martyred missionary with companions, Julian, /Maximian; relics were famous for miracles.
304 St. Carterius Priest martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
400+? Saint Domnica came from Carthage to Constantinople By her miracles the saint moved inhabitants of the capital towards concerns about life eternal and the soul
491 St. Patiens Archbishop of Lyons, Gaul best known for his immense efforts at charitable work. He constantly gave aid and comfort to the poor, devoting the resources of the diocese to feed those left starving by the Gothic and Germanic invasions and to rebuilding and repairing burned and looted churches
425 St. Atticus Bishop converted opponent of St. John Chrysostom then called a "true successor of Chrysostom" by Pope St. Celestine I.
482 St. Severinus Monk hermit founded Danube monasteries comfort to refugees /victims of Attila many miracles
5th v. St. Ergnad Irish nun who received the veil from St. Patrick. She followed the monastic tradition of performing prayer and penance in seclusion.
511 St. Maximus Bishop of Pavia, Italy. attended the councils of Rome convened by Pope Symmachus.
550 ST SEVERINUS, legend BISHOP OF SEPTEMPEDA
7v Saint George the Chozebite example in fasting, vigil and physical efforts lived as angel on the earth, died in peace Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius In Libya, the holy martyrs
673 St. Frodobert Benedictine abbot-founder monk, trained by St. Waldebert. a monk at Luxeuil, France. He founded MoutierlaCelle Abbey near Troyes.
686 St.  Erhard Irish Bishop missionary to Bavaria baptized St Odilia, who, though born blind, recovered her sight on receiving the sacrament.
712 St. Gudula Patroness of Brussels, Belgium daughter of St. Amalberga, educated by St. Gertrude of Nivelles was known for her great charity.
719 ST PEGA, VIRGIN; Ordericus Vitalis says her relics were honoured with miracles, and kept in a church which bore her name at Rome, but this church is not now known
762 St. Garibaldus Benedictine bishop of Regensburg ordained by St. Boniface He was also a noted scholar.
800 St. Albert Patron saint of Cashel English in Ireland and Bavaria
923 St. Athelm Benedictine Archbishop of Canterbury uncle of St. Dunstan
1002 St. Wulsin Benedictine bishop monk St. Dunstan disciple abbot of Westminster
1285 St. Thorfinn miracles reported at his tomb 50 yrs after death
        St. Theophilus deacon & Helladius a layman martyrs  in Libya
1309 Blessed Angela of Foligno dedicated to prayer and works of charity; her Book of Visions and Instructions Angela the title "Teacher of Theologians." She was beatified in 1693. 
1456 St. Lawrence Justinian first Patriarch of Venice the death of; Eminent for learning, and abundantly filled with the heavenly gifts of divine wisdom the 5th of September, on which day he ascended the pontifical throne.


JANUARY 09
  
 303 St. Marciana Virgin martyr in Caesarea amphitheater in Mauretania
       St. Paschasia virgin martyr in the area of modern Dijon, France 
 250 St.  Epicharis bishop Martyr of Africa with 7 companions
3rd v. Saint Polyeuctus first martyr in the Armenian city of Meletine; soldier
 302  St. Julian Basilissa & Companions Martyr with Anastasius 
        St. Vitalicus bishop martyrs at Smyrna Revocatus Fortunatus deacons
 391 ST PETER, Bishop OF SEBASTEA; In this family three brothers were at the same time eminently holy bishops, St Basil, St Gregory of Nyssa and St Peter of Sebastea; their eldest sister, St Macrina, was the spiritual mother of many saints and excellent doctors; and their father and mother, St Basil the Elder and St Emmelia, were banished for their faith in the reign of the Emperor Galerius Maximian, and fled into the deserts of Pontus.  Finally, the grandmother was the celebrated St Macrina the Elder, who was instructed in the science of salvation by St Gregory Thaumaturgus.
 683 St. Waningus Benedictine abbot entered a monastery founded Holy Trinity Church and Convent of Fecamp
 700 St. Maurontus Benedictine abbot founder of Saint-Florentle-Vieil in Anjou
 710 St. Adrian, African Abbot near Naples tomb famous for miracles 
 731 St. Brithwald Benedictine Archbishop of Canterbury from 692 until 37 years;  friendly relations with St Aldhelm, St Boniface and other prominent and holy ecclesiastics; letter written to Berhtwald by Waldhere, Bishop of London, is the first extant letter from one Englishman to another
8th v. St. Foellan Irishman with his mother to Scotland became monk; missionary
1569 Saint Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow
1622 Bl. Alix Le Clercq nun founded Augustinian Canonesses Congregation of Our Lady from Rome
1975 St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer God showed him his specific mission: he was to found Opus Dei.

JANUARY 10

The fourth day of the Afterfeast of Theophany;  The fourth day of the Afterfeast of Theophany falls on January 10. Some of the hymns of this period compare the streams of the Jordan to the life-giving waters of Baptism.


      St. Nicanor Early martyr 1/7 deacons of Jerusalem
       St. Paul, the first hermit who lived alone in the desert from the sixteenth to the one hundred and thirteenth year of his age.  His soul was seen by St. Anthony carried by angels among the choirs of apostles and prophets.  His feast is kept on the 15th of this month.
385 Saint Theosebia the Deaconess; virgin served the Holy Church caring for the sick, distributing food to vagrants, raising orphans and preparing women for holy Baptism; sister of Sts Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter, Bishop of Sebaste
395 St. Gregory of Nyssa  {lower Armenia where Nathaniel was martyred}
      
January 10 (Eastern Christianity, Lutheranism)  Catholic, March 9
463 St. Petronius Monk bishop of Die
471 St. Marcian Confessor hymnist - Constantinople famous for miracles; received gift of wonderworking, St Marcian healed the sick and cast out devils
6th v. St. Dermot Abbot monastery founder
601 Saint Dometian, Bishop of Melitene Armenia miracles glorified by God
660 St. Saethryth  Benedictine abbess
660 St. Thomian Armagh Archbishop
660 St. John Camillus the Good Bishop of Milan
681  Pope St. Agatho  678-681 a holy death, concluded a life remarkable for sanctity and learning.
987 St. Peter Orsini Venetian Admiral Benedictine hermit  
1209 St. William of Bourges canon monk Cistercian many miracles deaf, dumb, blind, the mentally ill became sound.
The stone of his tomb in the Cathedral Church of Bourges cured mortal wounds and illnesses and delivered possessed persons; the deaf and dumb, the blind, the mentally ill became sound. So many miracles occurred there that the monks could not record them all, and he was canonized nine years after his death, in 1218, by Pope Honorius III.
1276 Teobaldo Visconti Pope St. Gregory X 1210-1276; Arriving in Rome in March, he was first ordained priest, then consecrated bishop, and crowned on the 27th  of the same month, in 1272. He took the name of Gregory X, and to procure the most effectual succour for the Holy Land he called a general council to meet at Lyons. This fourteenth general council, the second of Lyons, was opened in May 1274. Among those assembled were St Albert the Great and St Philip Benizi; St Thomas Aquinas died on his way thither, and St Bonaventure died at the council. In the fourth session the Greek legates on behalf of the Eastern emperor and patriarch restored communion between the Byzantine church and the Holy See.;  miraculous cures performed by him
1429 Saint Paul of Obnora famed disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh; spent years as a hermit; His final words were, "Brethren, have love one for another and keep to the rule of the monastic community."; died at 112;
15th v. Saint Macarius of Pisma and Kostroma A fellow ascetic of St Paul of Obnora. In the second half of the 15th century, he founded the Makariev Transfiguration monastery at the River Pisma on the outskirts of Kostroma.
1882 Saint Antipas of Romania; came to Valaam Monastery from Mt Athos 1865; spent rest of life in the skete at Valaam, living like a hermit.  Blessed with the gift of clairvoyance
1884 Alphonse Ratisbonne With Theodore elder brother Theodore, he founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Zion.
 January 10 - Our Lady of the Guides (Constantinople, 1570)
            The Incarnation of the Human Values Necessary to My Life
A German Catholic priest told that one day he saw a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary hanging in place of honor in the cabinet of Field Marshal Hindenburg. As the priest did not hide his surprise, Hindenburg (who was a Lutheran) said, "I see in the Blessed Virgin the incarnation of the human values necessary to my life."

It is possible to dream of a better definition of what Mary has brought to the world? To a world completely abandoned to proud egoism, Mary teaches the humility of Bethlehem. To a world dominated by money and greed, she recalls the poverty of Nazareth. To a twisted, dishonest world, she brings truth and simplicity. To a world that gets more and more hardened by hatred every day, she repeats her lessons of gentleness. To an impure and vain world,
she offers the testimony of her fertile virginity. To an aged world, she brings her eternal youth.  
H. Engelmann 
Excerpt from his book I Lost the Faith (J’ai perdu la foi, p.91) 



JANUARY 11
The fifth day of the Afterfeast of Theophany

Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China { article here }

137-140 St. Hyginus, Pope Greek confront Gnostic heresy
180 St. Leucius Bishop of Brindisi a missionary from Alexandria
St. Salvius martyr in Roman Africa
St. Alexander Bishop of Fermo
250 St. Alexander "The charcoal burner" Bishop of Comana, in Pontus martyr
269 St. Theodosius martyred With fifty soldiers
 Item Romæ natális sancti Melchíadis, Papæ et Mártyris; qui multa, in persecutióne Maximiáni,  passus est, atque, réddita Ecclésiæ pace, quiévit in Dómino.  Ipsíus autem festívitas quarto Idus Decémbris celebrátur.
      Also at Rome, the birthday of St. Melchiades, who, having suffered much in the persecution of Maximian, went to his rest in the Lord after peace returned to the Church.  His feast day is on the 10th of December.

325 St. Palaemon Egyptian hermit development of monasticism
412 St. Theodosius of Antioch Monk founder Cilicia monastery  healings
miracles
      St. Ethenea and Fidelmia 2/of 1st converts- St. Patrick
500 St. Honorata Nun at Pavia ransomed by brother St. Epiphanus  
529 St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch Abbot founder various nationalities of monks
570 St. Anastasius X Benedictine abbot angel summoned him and monks to heaven
625 St. Vitalis of Gaza Monk reforming prostitutes and scandalous women
625 St Salvius, Or Sauve, Bishop Of Amiens
       St. Peter, Severus and Leucius Martyrs confessors Alexandria
5th v, St. Brandan Irish monk confronted the Pelagian heretics
        St. Boadin Benedictine monk from Ireland
8th v. St. Paldo, Tato, and Taso Benedictine monastery founders
1392 Saint Theodosius, Metropolitan of Trebizond
1453 Blessed Michael of Klops
1546 Ernst der Bekenner; studierte ab 1512 in Wittenberg und wurde hier von Luther geprägt;
1584 Blessed William Carter; arrest for "printing lewd [i.e., Catholic] pamphlets" as well as possessing books upholding Catholicism; hanged, drawn and quartered
1915 Mary Slessor; Missionarin nach Westafrika ging. Sie kam nach Nigeria, lernte die Stammessprache (Efik) und lebte wie die Einheimischen; weitere Missionare aus Schottland kamen

JANUARY 12


JANUARY 13
Octáva Epiphaníæ Domini.
The Octave of the Epiphany of our Lord.
160+ Martyr Potitus at Naples In Sardinia, by the power of God he worked wondrous miracles; who, having suffered much under Emperor Antoninus and the governor Gelasius, was at last put to death by the sword. July 1 Orthodox.
235 St. Andrew of Trier bishop possible martyr
253-268? Romæ, via Lavicána, corónæ sanctórum mílitum quadragínta, quas ipsi, sub Galliéno Imperatóre, pro veræ fídei confessióne percípere meruérunt.
315 St. Hermylus Martyr with Stratonicus drowned-Danube Belgrade Serbia
335 St. Agrecius Bishop missionary trusted associate of St. Helena  According to the life of the saint, a docu­ment which is certainly not older than the eleventh century, and which modern scholars pronounce to be entirely fabulous
324 St. Glaphyra persecuted slave owned by Empress Constantia

337 St. Leontius of Cuesaren Bishop of Caesarea Nicaea
Council participant
368 St. Hilary gentle courteous devoted writing great theology on Trinity

5th v. St. Elian ap Erbin known only through local Welsh liturgical calendars
5th v. St.  Erbin Saint of the Comish and Devonshire regions England
6th v. St. Elian Perhaps a Breton missionary
530  St. Remigius or Remi, Bishop of Rheims extraordinary gift of miracles
603 St. Kentigern Mungo {"dear one"} First bishop of Strathclyde Britons in 325
       ‘Angel of Peace”
631 St. Enogatus Bishop of Aleth Brittany France

852 St. Gumesindus priest Spanish martyr with Servus Dei a monk
927 Berno of Cluny 1st abbot of renowned of Cluny
monastery OSB, Abbot

1127 BD GODFREY OF KAPPENBERG belongs to the category of those youthful saints who spent the few years of their life on earth in making preparation for Heaven.
1228 BD JUTTA OF HUY, Widow an extraordinary power of reading the thoughts of others, and apparently a knowledge of distant events; she also displayed the greatest charity in directing and helping the many souls who came to consult her in her anchorage.
1228 Bl. Yvette not canonized considered a saint extraordinary charisms

1497
Blessed Veronica of Binasco (b. 1445) known as a great contemplative who also gave loving care to sick sisters in her community and ministered to the people of Milan. She had the gifts of prophecy, discernment and miracles.


JANUARY 14

Hodegitria.jpg
The Virgin Mary of Nazareth
January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus since 1902;
The First Moment of Christian Tradition Began in Mary's Heart (III)
When faith is strong it works wonders ( Mk 16:17 ). 
Mary's heart is not a document, it's a source. "She stored up all these things in her heart"
(Lk 2:19 & 51), and that was the Word of God.
Excerpt from "Follow the Lamb" (Suivre l'Agneau)  Father Marie-Dominique Philippe Saint Paul Ed. 2005

THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
      In Judæa sancti Malachíæ Prophétæ.       In Judea, St. Malachy, prophet.
 255 St. Felix of Nola Bishop distributed inheritance to the poor assistant to St. Maximus of Nola tomb famous for miracles
 340 St. Macrina the Elder Grandmother of Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa
 309 Martyrs Monks of Mount Sinai slain by Bedouins
       Saint Moses was one of the Holy Monastic Fathers Slain at Sinai and Raithu.
 335 Saint Nino, Enlightener of Georgia and Equal of the Apostles
 346 St. Barbasymas bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon Martyr of Persia with 16 companions
 
368  Sancti Hilárii, Epíscopi Pictaviénsis, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris; qui prídie hujus diéi evolávit in cælum.
 400 Saint Theodulus son of St Nilus the Faster Lord saved boy through prayers of his father
 552 St. Datius Bishop of Milan, Italy , exiled by the Arian Ostrogoths
 610 Saint Kentigern (meaning "head chief") of Glasgow "Mungo" meaning "dear one"
 664 St. Deusdedit first Anglo-Saxon primate of England Benedictine archbishop of Canterbury
8th v. Saint Stephen great ascetics glorious departure into Heaven with the angels
       St. Felix A Roman priest of whom nothing is known
       St. Euphrasius A bishop martyred by the Vandals
1180 Saint Lawrence O'Toole descendant of Irish petty kings
1200 BD ODO OF NOVARA He worked many miracles both during life and after death, but it horrified him to think that people should attribute to him any supernatural power.
1225 St. Sava patron of Serbia monk founded monasteries translated religious works into Serbian
1237 BD ROGER OF TODI received the habit of the Friars Minor from the hands of the Seraphic Father himself in 1216, that he was appointed by St Francis to act as spiritual director to the community founded and governed by Bd Philippa Mareri at Rieti in Umbria under the rule of St Clare, that he assisted Philippa on her deathbed in 1236, and that he died himself at Todi shortly afterwards on January 5, 1237.
1331 BD ODORIC OF PORDENONE IT would not be easy to find in secular literature a more adventurous career than that of the Franciscan Friar Odoric of Pordenone. Miracle worker
        Marytrs of Raithu Forty-three hermits in the Raithu Sinai Desert
1501 Servant of God John the Gardener; " as John insisted, forgiveness is the loveliest thing in God’s eyes."
1518 BD GILES OF LORENZANA his ecstatic prayer miracles, and gift of prophecy were renowned far and wide. In particular he is said to have been frequently seen raised from the ground and physically assaulted by the Evil One.
1811 St. Joseph Pignatelli, Pius XI said, served "chief link between Society of Jesus that had been and Society to be."
1833 Seraphim von Sarow
1892 ST ANTONY PUCCI a member of a religious order, the Servants of Mary, spent most of his life and achieved holiness as a parish priest and miracles of healing took place at his grave.


JANUARY 15
In Judæa sanctórum Hábacuc et Michǽæ Prophetárum, quorum corpora, sub Theodósio senióre, divína revelatióne sunt repérta.
       In Judea, the holy prophets Habakkuk and Micah, whose bodies were found by divine revelation in the days of Theodosius the Elder.






THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
    250 St. Secundina Martyred virgin
 
250 St. Maximus of Nola Bishop suffered greatly
  303 St. Ephysius martyr revered on Sardinia
        St. Sawl Welsh chieftain and the father of St. Asaph
 342 St. Paul the Hermit
4th v. St. Maura & Britta Virgins
       St. Macarius the Great Egyptian hermit enemy of Arianism
  404 ST ISIDORE OF ALEXANDRIA governor of the great hospital at Alexandria
  450 St. John Calabytes Hermit (at 12) lived unknown in a small hut famous for prayers penances He sanctified his soul by wonderful patience, meekness and prayer.  The legend of Calybites has either originated from, or been confused with, those of St Alexis, St Onesimus, and one or two others in which the same idea recurs of a disguise long persisted in.
 510 Saint Maurus was the first disciple of St. Benedict of Nursia
 511 St. Eugyppius African priest of Rome companion of St. Severinus of Noricum
6th v. St. Liewellyn & Gwrnerth Welsh monks of Welshpool and Bardsey, Wales
 570 St. Ita virgin founded a community of women dedicated to God extravagant miracles attributed

6th v. St. Lleudadd Welsh abbot, companion of St. Cadfan to Brittany
 600 St. Tarsicia Virgin hermit granddaughter of the Frankish king Clotaire I
 700 St. Bonitus resigned the See Bishop of Clermont in 689 doubts of election
 710 St. Emebert bishop of Cambrai, in Flander
 764 St. Ceolwulf King of Northumbria patron of St. Bede

7th V
St. Malard Bishop of Chartres, in France
 823 St. Blaithmaic Irish abbot who sought martyrdom among the Danes
1208 Bl. Peter of Castelnau Martyred Cistercian papal legate and inquisitor
        St. Teath may also be St. Ita
1648 Bl. Frances de Capillas The Proto martyr of China Dominican missionary
1909 Bl. Arnold Jansen Founder of the Society of the Divine Word



JANUARY 16

42 The Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praised Apostle Peter
98 ST PRISCILLA, MATRON the mother of the senator St Pudens, and through him, the ancestress of SS. Praxedis and Pudentiana. St Peter, the apostle, is believed to have used a villa belonging to St Priscilla on the Via Salaria, beneath which the catacomb was afterwards excav­ated, as the seat of his activities in Rome
309 Marcellus I, Pope M (RM) reorganized Church in Rome 
 Romæ sanctæ Priscíllæ, quæ se súaque pio Mártyrum obséquio mancipávit.
       At Rome, St. Priscilla, who devoted herself and her goods to the service of the martyrs.
385 St. Melas Bishop of Rhinocolura, near the boundary between Egypt and Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea.  He was cruelly abused and imprisoned by the Arian heretics.
429 James of Tarentaise B (AC)
429 Honoratus of Arles archbishop blessedly joyful B (RM)
5th v. St. Liberata Virgin sister of St. Honorata and St. Epiphanius of Pavia, Italy.
453 St. Valerius Hermit bishop reputation for goodness and wisdom 
550 St. Triverius Hermit native of Neustria Gaul
 
6th v. St. Honoratus of Fondi abbot-founder (RM)
 
633 St. Fulgentius Bishop in Spain brother of Sts'. Isidore St. Leander and St. Florentina
 
648 St. Fursey Irish monastic founder brother of Sts. Foillan and Ulan intense ecstasies
 
650 St. Titian Bishop 30 yrs in outlying regions near Venice  
670 St. Ferreolus bishop of Grenoble BM
           Karantoc same as Saint Carantog (Carantoc) (Benedictines).
988 St. Dunchaid O'Braoin Abbot on Clanmocnoise 
1105 Blessed Jane of Bagno Camaldolese lay-sister OSB Cam. V (AC)
 
1127 St. Henry of Cocket Danish hermit gifts of prophecy telekinesis read souls

1145 Blessed Conrad martyred abbot of Mondsee
1220 ST HENRY OF COCKET THE Danes were indebted in part for the light of faith, under God, to the example and labours of English missionaries. Henry was born in that country, and from his youth gave himself to the divine service with his whole heart.

1220 Berard, Peter, Otto, first martyrs of Franciscan order 
1259 Blessed Gundisalvus of Amarante miracles appears 40 yrs after death  

JANUARY 17
155? SS. SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS AND MELEUSIPPUS, MARTYRS
 Romæ Invéntio sanctórum Mártyrum Diodóri Presbyteri, Mariáni Diáconi, et Sociórum; qui, sancto Stéphano Papa Ecclésiam Dei regénte, martyrium Kaléndis Decémbris sunt assecúti.
       At Rome, the finding of the holy martyrs Diodorus, priest, and Marian, deacon, and their companions.  They suffered martyrdom on the 1st of December during the pontificate of Pope St. Stephen.

356 St. Anthony the Abbot miraculous healings Faith comes from God rhetoric from humans
 377 ST JULIAN SABAS “In the district of Edessa, in Mesopotamia (the commemoration) of St Julian, the hermit, called Sabas, who, when the Catholic faith at Antioch had almost died out in the time of the Emperor Valens, restored it again by the power of his miracles”.
4 th v. St. Achillas Hermit in Egypt with Amoes "the Flowers of the Desert" by the Greek Church
       Blessed Gonzalo de Amarante Dominican priest
 
395  St. Pior Hermit disciple of St. Anthony in Egypt
 420 Sabinus of Piacenza B (RM); feast day formerly December 11. Bishop Saint Sabinus of Piacenza was a close friend of Saint Ambrose, who used to send him his writings for editing.
 624 St. Sulpicius Bishop of Bourges in austerities holiness devoted to the poor
715 ST RICHIMIR, ABBOT selected a place called later Saint-Rigomer-des-Bois. There he built a church in honour of the Apostles, and founded a monastery over which he ruled as abbot till his death
6th v. St. Nennius 1 of the 12 Apostles of Ireland disciple of St. Finian
 676 St. Mildgytha Benedictine nun, daughter of St. Ermenburga
1220 St. Berard and Companions prompted Anthony of Padua a young Augustinian canon to join the Franciscans
1329 BD ROSELINE, VIRGIN holy Carthusian nun frequent visions and ecstasies, and possessed an extraordinary gift of reading the hearts of all who came to her. Her body was indescribably beautiful after death, and no sign of rigidity or corruption appeared in it. Five years afterwards it was still perfectly preserved, and the ecclesiastic who presided at the them enucleated and kept in a reliquary apart. The body was still quite entire a hundred years later, and the eyes had neither shrivelled nor decayed as late as 1644.

JANUARY 18
Saints_Athanasius_and_Cyril.jpg
ST PETER’S CHAIR AT ROME
 250 St. Ammonius and a fellow soldier Moseus Martyrs
 Ibídem sancti Athenógenis, antíqui Theólogi, qui, per ignem consummatúrus martyrium, hymnum lætus cécinit, quem et discípulis scriptum relíquit.       In the same country, St. Athenogenes, an aged divine, who, on the point of being martyred by fire, joyfully sang a hymn, which he left in writing to his disciples.
  270  St Prisca of Rome ST PRISCA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
  293 St. Archelais and Companions Martyr with Thecla and Susanna
 373 Saints Athanasius and Cyril were Archbishops of Alexandria
 388 Saint Marcian of Cyrrhus gift of wonderworking many other miracles on behalf of the brethren
 496 St. Volusian Bishop of Tours France A senator
 625 Deicolus, Abbot known for the peace and joy radiated from his soul miracles spring
       St Diarmis, Abbot founder spiritual director and teacher of Saint Kieran
 593 St. Leobard Hermit disciple of St. Gregory of Tours
 580 Sts Faustina and Liberata sisters founded convent of Santa Margarita in Como
        Paul & 36 Christian Soldiers evangelized Egypt
1028 St. Ulfrid Missionary martyr from England great learning and virtue
1270 St. Margaret, virgin, from the royal family of Arpad, and a nun of the Order of St. Dominic
1272 St Fazzio of Verona goldsmith founded charitable society in Cremona Order of the Holy Spirit
1262 Blessed Beatrix II of Este founded Benedictine convent of Saint Antony at Ferrara
1337 Saint Cyril and his wife Maria
1516 Saint Maximus the New life of great spiritual endeavors
1543 Blessed Christina Ciccarelli extraordinary humility and love of the poor
1550 Saint Athanasius of Synadem and Vologda incorrupt relics
       St. Day (Dye), Abbot Cornish church is dedicated
16th v. Righteous Athanasius of Navolotsk
1670 St. Charles of Sezze Franciscan Pope Clement IX called Charles to his bedside for a blessing
1890 St. Vincenza Mary Lopez y Vicuna Foundress of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate
1937 St Jaime Hilario Barbal, religious Brother teaching the poor executed during the Spanish Civil War: "The day you learn to surrender yourself totally to God, you will discover a new world, just as I am experiencing. You will enjoy a peace and a calm unknown, surpassing even the happiest days of your life."   “To die for Christ, my young friends, is to live.”

JANUARY 19
Saint_Macarius_the_Great_of_Egypt
1st v.  Marius wife Martha, their sons Audifax and Habbakuk, noble Persians, who came to Rome through devotion in the time of Emperor Claudius
St. Paul, Gerontius and Companions martyrs of Africa  
156 St. Germanicus Martyr of Smyrna

169 St. Pontianus martyred at Spoleto 
250 St. Fabian  Roman layman a dove settled on his head
251 St. Messalina Virgin martyr disciple of St. Felician 

260 SS. MARIUS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX, and ABACHUM, MARTYRS
257 or 288 St. Sebastian; Nothing is historically certain about St. Sebastian except that he was a Roman martyr, was venerated in Milan even in the time of St. Ambrose and was buried on the Appian Way, probably near the present Basilica of St. Sebastian. Devotion to him spread rapidly, and he is mentioned in several martyrologies as early as a.d. 350.
303 The Holy Virgin Martyr Euphrasia refused offer sacrifice to idols
395 Saint Macarius of Alexandria great ascetic and monastic head, worked many miracles

400 Saint Macarius the Great of Egypt worked many healings Abba Anthony received him
       with love, and Macarius became his devoted disciple and follower

Saint_Macarius_of_Alexandria >.jpg
413 St. Bassian Bishop of Lodi in Lombardy, Italy 
510 St. Contentius bishop of Bayeux
6th v. St. Branwallader Bishop of Jersey
7th v? ST ALBERT OF CASHEL, BISHOP (SEVENTH CENTURY?) But the whole story is fabulous
678 St. Nathalan Hermit bishop of Tullicht, best known for his miracles 
772  St. Remigius Bishop of Rouen introduction Roman rite into Gallic {French Church}
8th 9th v.  St. Arcontius Bishop and martyr of Viviers
       St. Catellus Bishop of Castellamore
8th v. ST FILLAN, OR FOELAM, ABBOT (EIGHTH CENTURY) extravagant incidents  
959 St. Arsenius 1st bishop of Corfu convert from Judaism 

       St. Firminus Third bishop of Gabales, in France  
 
1095 St. Wulfstan Bishop reformer died while daily ritual wash feet of 12 poor men

1086 St. Canute IV Martyred king of Denmark
1157 St. Henry of Sweden an Englishman Bishop of Uppsala residing at Rome miracles at tomb 
        St. Fillan monk hermit abbot reknowned for his most extravagant miracles 
1392 Blessed Theodore of Novgorod possessed gift of clairvoyance; spend his time in unceasing prayer
1457 Saint Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus admired and honored by all
1652 Saint Sava of Storozhev and Zvenigorod Today we commemorate opening of incorrupt relics of
1485 BD ANDREW OF PESCHIERA Some miracles attributed are of a rather extravagant character
        Saint Macarius the Faster of the Near Caves of Kiev was a deacon
1667 BD BERNARD OF CORLEON extraordinary graces levitations, and of prophecies and miracles innumerable.
1670 ST CHARLES OF SEZZE extreme simplicity, company was sought by cardinals and other eminent ecclesiastics
1700 BD MARGARET BOURGEOYS, VIRGIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF NOTRE DAME OF MONTREAL
1924 Saint Joseph Sebastian Pelczar; Bishop of Przemysl in 1900 until his death in 1924. He made frequent visits to the parishes, supported the religious orders, conducted three synods, and worked for the education and religious formation of his priests. He encouraged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic devotions, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. He built and restored churches, built nurseries, kitchens, homeless shelters, schools for the poor, and gave tuition assistance to poor seminarians. He worked for the implentation of the social doctrine described in the writings of Pope Leo XIII. He left behind a large body of work including books, pastoral letters, sermons, addresses, prayers and other writings. 


JANUARY 20
477 St. Euthymius monk bishop sixty-six years in the desert 
   Inna, Pinna and Rimma Holy Martyrs disciples of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
250 St. Fabian layperson dove descended this stranger was elected Pope able built Church of Rome
250 St Fabian, Pope M (RM)  succeeded Saint
  Antheros as pope and governed as bishop of
  Rome for 14 peaceful years

286 St. Sebastian an officer in imperial bodyguard
  secretly done many acts of love and charity for
  brethren in the Faith.

 303 Bassus, Eusebius, Eutychius and Basilides
 
Holy Martyrs witnessed Bishop Theopemptus of
  Nicomedia
 310 St. Neophytus Martyr martyr at 15 in Nicaea
   Schemamonk Euthymius of the Kiev Caves
   St Laurence incorrupt relics lie in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.

1465 Saint Euthymius of Syanzhemsk and Vologda igumen Ascension monastery
  477 St. Euthymius monk bishop sixty-six years in the desert
  655 St. Molagga Abbot-founder disciple of St. David of Wales
 665 St. Fechin founding Abbot of Fobhar died of plague devastating Ireland
  946 St. Maurus Benedictine bishop of Cesena   
1107 Blessed Benedict Ricasoli hermit
1194 Blessed Didier 33rd bishop of Thérouanne founder of the Cistercian abbey
1232 Blessed Daniel of Cambron Cistercian abbot 
1468 St. Eustochium Calafato Foundress and Poor Clare  love of Jesus in poverty and penance was outstanding
1670 St. Charles of Sezze 17th-century successor to Brother Juniper
1782 The Holy New Martyr Zachariah Peloponnesos in Greece


JANUARY 21
112 Publius of Malta prefect host to Saint Paul BM (RM).
   Zacchaeus the tax-collector he "sought to see who Jesus was" (Luke 19:3).
  258 The holy Virgin Martyr Agnes Many miracles occurred at the grave relics rest in the church built in her honor,
along the Via Nomentana
born at Rome during the third century.
    Holy_Martyr_Eugene & others 284-311
  Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia 1236-1325  Sultan-Ul-Mashaikh Hazrat Khwaja Syed Nizamuddin Aulia, affectionately
  known as Mehboob-i Elahi or "Beloved of God".

  Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki  renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles in the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disciple and spiritual successor (khalifa) Moinuddin Chishti as head of the Chishti Order. His most famous disciple and spiritual successor was Fariduddin Ganjshakar. More Here
   Baba Sheikh Farid Ji was a great Sufi saint  On the banks of the river Sutlej at a place called Pak Pattan,
  tamerlane horses suddenly stopped. The horsement whipped their animals. The stallions started bleeding but
  refused to move further voice came from somewhere and called, "Baba Farid, the King of Kings" More Here

 259 Fructuosus B bishop Augurius & Eulogius deacons the heavens open and the saints carried up with crowns on
        their head
s MM (RM)
 279 Patroclus of Troyes invoked against demons and fever M (RM)
 284-305 The Holy Martyr Neophytus red-hot oven holy martyr remained unharmed 3 days and 3 nights in it
 284 311 The Holy Martyrs Eugene, Candidus, Valerian and Aquila suffered for their faith in Christ red-hot oven
   emerged from it unharmed
reign of Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (305-311), under regimental commander Lycius.
 497 Epiphanius of Pavia reputation for sanctity, charity to the poor; bishop and confessor. B (RM)
 6th v. Vimin Scottish bishop his many miracles
 6th v St. Brigid also known as Briga 6th century
 6th century Lawdog titular patron of four churches in the diocese of Saint David's in Wales (AC)
 662 Saint Maximus the Confessor 3 candles burned miraculously over the grave proving his fight against the
       Monothelite heresy

 662 The Holy Martyr Anastasius disciple of St Maximus the Confessor
 861 St. Meinrad martyr hermit founder of the Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln
       Blessed Inez practiced severe austerities prophesies Augustinian hermitesses at Beniganim taking the name Sister
       Josepha Maria of St. Agnes.

 978 Maccallin of Waulsort hermit founded Saint Michael's monastery at Thiérache OSB, Abbot (AC)
1556 Saint Maximus the Greek translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic translated St John Chrysostom's
       Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John

1586 Blessed Edward Stransham priest five years martyred at Tyburn M (AC)
1642 St. Alban Bartholomew Roe Missionary martyr 1/40 of England and Wales
1642 Blessed Thomas Reynolds priest for nearly 50 years  M (AC)
1696 Blessed Inés de Beniganim barefoot Augustinian hermits OSA Disc., V (AC)
  St. Maccalin Benedictine abbot of St. Michael's at Thierache 


JANUARY 22
93 St_Timothy_disciple_of_St_Paul was from the Lycaonian city of Lystra in Asia Minor.
St Timothy was converted to Christ in the year 52 by the holy Apostle Paul (June 29). When the Apostles Paul and Barnabas first visited the cities of Lycaonia, St Paul healed one crippled from birth. Many of the inhabitants of Lystra then believed in Christ, and among them was the future St Timothy, his mother Eunice and grandmother Loida (Lois) (Acts 14:6-12; 2 Tim. 1:5).  The seed of faith, planted in St Timothy's soul by the Apostle Paul, brought forth abundant fruit. He became St Paul's disciple, and later his constant companion and co-worker in the preaching of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul loved St Timothy and in his Epistles called him his beloved son, remembering his devotion and fidelity with gratitude.
He wrote to Timothy: "You have followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, and patience" (2 Tim. 3:10-11). The Apostle Paul appointed St Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus, where the saint remained for fifteen years. Finally, when St Paul was in prison and awaiting martyrdom, summoned his faithful friend, St Timothy, for a last farewell (2 Tim. 4:9).
St Timothy ended his life as a martyr.
The pagans of Ephesus celebrated a festival in honor of their idols, and used to carry them through the city, accompanied by impious ceremonies and songs. St Timothy, zealous for the glory of God, attempted to halt the procession and reason with the spiritually blind idol-worshipping people, by preaching the true faith in Christ.  The pagans angrily fell upon the holy apostle, they beat him, dragged him along the ground, and finally, they stoned him. St Timothy's martyrdom occurred in the year 93. In the fourth century the holy relics of St Timothy were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the church of the Holy Apostles near the tombs of St Andrew (November 30) and St Luke (October 18). The Church honors St Timothy as one of the Apostles of the Seventy.
In Russian practice, the back of a priest's cross is often inscribed with St Paul's words to St Timothy: "Be an example to the believers in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim. 4:12)

304 St. Vincent the Deacon martyr would not surrender the holy books
305 St. Vincent, Orontius, & Victor 3 martyrs of the Pyrenees
312 St. Paschasius  Bishop of Vienne, France
380 St. Vincent of Digne Bishop of Digne France from Africa
383 St. Blaesilla Widow of Rome;
St. Blaesilla herself began to study Hebrew, and it was at her request that St. Jerome began his translation of the book of Ecclesiasts.
      Monk Martyr Anastasius, Deacon of the Kiev Caves
      Holy martyrs of Christ one of 377 Christians captured in Thrace by Bulgars
410 Saint Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia from 387 successor of the writer on heresies, St. Philastrius
 628 St. Anastasius XIV Martyr a Persian called Magundat monk in Jerusalem
 680 Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad
1031 St. Dominic of Sora Benedictine abbot founder
1045 St. Brithwald Benedictine bishop monk at Glastonbury visions a prophet
1592 Bl. William Patensona priest English martyr converted six other prisoners
1623 Saint Macarius of Zhabyn Wonderworker of Belev incorrupt relics appeared to the participants
1745 St. Francis Gil de Frederich Dominican martyr Tonkin, China, & Vietnam
1745 St. Matthew Alonso Leziniana Dominican martyr of Vietnam
1850 St. Vincent Pallotti Priest spent huge sums for the poor/underprivileged Founder of The Society of Catholic Apostolate the motto of founder St. Vincent Pallotti, “The Love of Christ urges us on!” St Vincent foresaw all Catholic Action, even its name, said Pius XI; and Cardinal Pellegrinetti added,
“He did all that he could; as for what he couldn’t do—well, he did that too.”

JANUARY 23
  98 St. Parmenas  1/7 deacons appointed by Apostles minister to Hellenized Jews of Jerusalem
 287 St. Asclas Martyr concerning Arrian governor of Egypt
 304 St. Emerentiana Martyr of Rome
 309 St. Agathangelus Martyr baptized by St. Clement of Ancyra died with him
4th v. St. Eusebius Syrian hermit
 356 St. Amasius Bishop of Teano exile involved in the Arian persecution of his era 
6th v. Martyrius of Valeria hermit -- Gregory the Great extols in his Dialogues (Dial. I, II)
6th v. St. Ormond French abbot
  616 St. John Almoner Patriarch of Alexandria generosity to the poor family died entered religious life known holiness
 667 St. Ildephonsus Archbishop Blessed Virgin devotion Our Lady's appearance present him with a chalice; prolific writer
 702 St. Colman of Lismore Abbot bishop monastery of Lismore
 841 St. Barnard Benedictine archbishop founder member of the court of Charlemagne 
 850  St. Lufthildis of Cologne she lived as an anchorite
 880 Maimbod martyr  miracles occur at his tomb blind Bishop Berengarius received sight from relics
       St. Severian & Aquila martyrs
1266 Baba Sheikh Farid Ji  On the banks of the river Sutlej at a place called Pak Pattan (Province Punjab, also known as the city of saints), tamerlane horses (1398) suddenly stopped. The horsement whipped their animals. The stallions started bleeding but refused to move further voice came from somewhere and called, "Baba Farid, the King of Kings"
1275 ST RAYMUND OF Peñafort.
1366 St. Henry Suso, Blessed Famed German Dominican mystic
        St. Maimbod Irish martyr
1505 Blessed Margaret of Ravenna patience and humility
1918 Blessed Mother Marianne Cope of Molokai  faced everything with unflinching courage smiling sweetly through all


JANUARY 24
  97 ST TIMOTHY, BISHOP AND MARTYR
Apud Ephesum sancti Timóthei, qui fuit discípulus beáti Pauli Apóstoli; atque, ab eódem Ephesi ordinátus Epíscopus, ibi, post multos pro Christo agónes, cum Diánæ immolántes argúeret, lapídibus óbrutus est, ac paulo post obdormívit in Dómino.
       At Ephesus, St. Timothy, disciple of the apostle St. Paul, who ordained him bishop of that city.  After many labours for Christ, he was stoned for rebuking those who offered sacrifices to Diana, and shortly after went peacefully to his rest in the Lord.     
       St. Thyrsus & Projectus Martyrs of an unknown year
       St. Macedonius Hermit of Syria, called Kriptophagus “the barley eater,” miracles of healing
       St. Mardonius Martyr of Asia Minor
 250 St. Babylas Martyred Antioch bishop w/companions refused Emperor Philip the Arab
 
254 ST FELICIAN, Bishop OF FOLIGNO, MARTYR is also regarded as the original apostle of Umbria; the earliest trace of the use of the pallium is met with in the account of the episcopal consecration of this saint
 268 St. Zama 1st recorded bishop of Bologna
4th v. St. Guasacht Bishop of Longford or Granard
 396 St. Artemius Bishop imperial legate
 430 ST MACEDONIUS; Theodoret relates many miraculous cures of sick persons, and of his own mother among them, wrought by water over which Macedonius had made the sign of the cross. He adds that his own birth was the effect of the anchoret’s prayers after his mother had lived childless in marriage thirteen years
5th v. St. Exuperantius Bishop of Cingoli
 580 St. Cadoc Welsh bishop martyr founded Llancarfan Monastery
 580 Saint Suranus, Abbot of the Sora Monastery;  
7th v. St. Bertrand Benedictine abbot of Saint-Quentin
1397 BD MARCOLINO OF FORLI; qualities most remarked were exact observance of rule, love of poverty and obedience, especially a spirit of great humility, supreme contentment undertaking lowliest and most menial offices; practised rigorous bodily penance; lover of the poor and little children; favoured with continual ecstasies
1622  St. Francis de Sales converted 40,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism 
1622 St Francis De Sales, Bishop Of Geneva And Doctor Of The Church, Co-Founder Of The Order Of The Visitation
1679 Bl. William Ireland Jesuit English martyr for supposed complicity in the Popish Plot
1697 Bl. John Grove English martyr alleged in the Titus Oates plot


JANUARY 25
Transfer of the Shroud of the Virgin to Constantinople (452)
 What happened to the funeral clothes of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
 In the mid-fifth century, the rulers of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), asked the Archbishop of Jerusalem to send them the holy coffin containing the funerary clothes of the Virgin Mary.
Having received the coffin, they laid it in the church of Blachernae in Constantinople, built in honor of the Holy Theotokos. This church preserved the relics of Mary's mantle until the sacking of the city by the Crusaders in the year 1204.
The church of Chalcoprateia (Constantinople) had the relics of Mary’s belt until the arrival of the Turks in the year 1453. There were other relics of the Virgin in Constantinople as well. This is how, long before the city fell into the hands of the Ottomans, Charlemagne had received three relics of Mary’s veil from the Eastern Emperor, and kept them safe in Aachen.
Unfortunately, his grandson Charles the Bald scattered them—a veil remained in Aachen and is still venerated there; another veil, made of silk, was given in the year 876 to the Cathedral of Chartres, but was then cut up and dispersed in the year 1793. Still another veil was given in the year 876 to the Abbey of Saint Cornelius in Compiegne. This linen veil is visible there today.
Conversion of St. Paul;  Convérsio sancti Pauli Apóstoli, quæ fuit anno secúndo ab Ascensióne Domini.
       The conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, which occurred in the second year after the Ascension of our Lord.

1st v St. Ananias II the birthday of Missionary; martyr; Feb 25 feast day; patron of St. Paul;
 363 St. Juventius & Maximus Martyred imperial guards to Emperor Julian the Apostate
 380 St. Bretannion Bishop of Tomi Romania Black Sea
 380 ST PUBLIUS, ABBOT; sold his estate and goods for benefit of poor; he added every day something to his exercises of penance and devotion; remarkably earnest in avoiding sloth, being sensible of inestimable value of time.
 395 St. Apollo Egyptian hermit founder miracle worker
4th v. St. Bretannio, bishop At Tomis in Scythia; wondrous sanctity and zealous devotion to the Catholic faith;
6th v. St. Maurus With Placid, Benedictines, disciples of St. Benedict
 660 St. Racho  First Bishop of Autun, France
 676 St. Amarinus  bishop of Clermont Benedictine martyr
 676 ST PRAEJECTUS, or PRIX, BISHOP OF CLERMONT, MARTYR; many miracles immediately afterwards recorded at his tomb
 697 St.  Eochod The Apostle of the Picts of Galloway
       St. Artemas teenage Martyr of Pozzuoli
       St. Donatus Martyr with Sabinus and Agape
1048 ST POPPO, ABBOT; visited Jerusalem holy places brought many relics, enriched church of our Lady at Deynze;
       St. Dwynwen she is A Welsh saint “Nothing wins hearts like cheerfulness.”
1366 St. Peter Thomas Carmelite Latin patriarch and papal legat



JANUARY 26
       St. Timothy Born at Lystra, Lycaenia son of a Greek father and Eunice a converted Jewess 
  96
St. Titus disciple companion of St. Paul "my true child in our common faith"
69-155 St. Polycarp of Smyrna Bishop of Smyrna  Feast day February 25th
       Sts. Timothy and Titus
 262 St. Theogenes Bishop of Hippo Regius in Africa 255 until 262 He attended the Synod of Carthage; defended the
             Unity of Baptism

 404 St. Paula patroness of widows children Toxotius Blesilla Paulina Eustochium and Rufina
 648 St. Conan bishop of Ireland taught St. Fiacre
 690 St. Theofrid Abbot Benedictine bishop of Corbie
 700 St. Thordgith Benedictine nun at the abbey of Barking
 925 St. Ansurius Bishop Benedictine monk founder

1109 St. Alberic Hermit co-founder of the great Cistercian Order  more familiarly known as the Trappists 
1159 St. Robert of Newminster Cistercian abbot
helped found Newminster Abbey, Northumberland, its first abbot.
1188  St. Eystein Erlandsson B (RM)
1270 St Margaret Of Hungary Virgin Dominican novice at twelve shortened her life by austerities 
        St. Athanasius Bishop honored in Sorrento


JANUARY 27
Whereas in the Lord's Prayer, we are bidden to ask for 'our daily bread,' the Holy Fathers of the Church all but unanimously teach that by these words must be understood,
not so much that material bread which is the support of the body, as the Eucharistic bread,
which ought to be our daily food. -- Pope St. Pius X


150 St. Julian of Le Mans First bishop of Le Mans
3rd v. St. Julian of Sora  Martyr of Sora Campania
303 St. Devota Virgin martyr of Corsica France

<<407 Transfer incorrupt relics of St John Chrysostom condemned by Eudoxia

       St. Avitus Martyr of Africa apostle and first bishop in the Canary Islands
      St. Datius African martyr with Reatrus and 27 companions
555 St. Marius Abbot visions
584 St. Maurus, abbot and deacon; sent to France in 543 to propagate the order of St. Benedict; favored by God with the gift of miracles:  see also January 15 510 Saint Maurus was the first disciple of St. Benedict of Nursia
610 St. Lupus of Chalons Bishop cared for the sick and poor 



8th v.
St. Gamo Benedictine abbot of Bretigny monastic expansion near Noyon, France

8th v, St. Emerius Benedictine abbot of France founder
740 St. Natalis founder of monasticism in northern Ireland disciple of St. Columba {597 St. Columba}
798 St. Candida hermitess recluse near St. Stephen of Banoles
800 St. Gamelbert Parish priest of Michaelsbuch 50 years
1022 St. Theodoric of Orleans Benedictine bishop royal counselor
1077 St. Gilduin Canon of Dol in Brittany France, who refused a bishopric from Pope St. Gregory VII
1540 St. Angela Merici innovative approach to education Ursulines 1st teaching order of women Saint Ursula appeared levitation
1896 St. Enrique de Osso y Cervello Spain devotion to religious education




THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 249

All ye nations, clap your hands: sing in jubilee to the glorious Virgin.

For she is the gate of life, the door of salvation, and the way of our reconciliation.

The hope of the penitent: the comfort of those that weep: the blessed peace of hearts, and their salvation.

Have mercy on me, O Lady, have mercy on me: for thou art the light and the hope of all who trust in thee.

By thy salutary fecundity let it please thee: that pardon of my sins may be granted unto me.


Let every spirit praise Our Lady

For thy spirit is kind: thy grace fills the whole world.

Thunder, ye heavens, from above, and give praise to her: glorify her, ye earth, with all the dwellers therein.


Rejoice, ye Heavens, and be glad, O Earth: because Mary will console her servants and will have mercy on her poor.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning and will always be.


God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea. 
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences. 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

Patron_Saints.html  Widowed_Saints htmIndulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines  
India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes 1858  China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine  Loreto, Italy  Marian Apparitions (over 2000Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
 
Links to Related MarianWebsites  Angels and Archangels  Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BLay Saints  Miraculous_IconMiraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 
1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints

The great psalm of the Passion, Chapter 22, whose first verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus pronounced on the cross, ended with the vision: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him
For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here} 2000 years of the Catholic Church in China
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness
1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion. 2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, if a half hour is not possible.  4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament; toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour, 6.  Conclude the day with evening prayer & an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7.  Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month & imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena that is nine days of devotion. 10. Try to begin & end every activity with a Hail Mary

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee.  I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I beg the conversion of poor sinners,  Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
   These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.

Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.

O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
 
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.
The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)
1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.
Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).
In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).
In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

Under Roman domination martyrs suffered at Edessa: Sts. Scharbîl and Barsamya, under Decius; Sts. Gûrja, Schâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian.
 
In the meanwhile Christian priests from Edessa evangelized Eastern Mesopotamia and Persia, established the first Churches in the kingdom of the Sassanides.  Atillâtiâ, Bishop of Edessa, assisted at the Council of Nicæa (325). The “Peregrinatio Silviæ” (or Etheriæ) (ed. Gamurrini, Rome, 1887, 62 sqq.) gives an account of the many sanctuaries at Edessa about 388.
Although Hebrew had been the language of the ancient Israelite kingdom, after their return from Exile the Jews turned more and more to Aramaic, using it for parts of the books of Ezra and Daniel in the Bible. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the main language of Palestine, and quite a number of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are also written in Aramaic.
Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.
After Arab conquests of the seventh century, Arabic quickly replaced Aramaic as the main language of those who converted to Islam, although in out of the way places, Aramaic continued as a vernacular language of Muslims.
Aramaic, however, enjoyed its greatest success in Christianity. Although the New Testament wins written in Greek, Christianity had come into existence in an Aramaic-speaking milieu, and it was the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac, that became the literary language of a large number of Christians living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire, further east. Over the course of the centuries the influence of the Syriac Churches spread eastwards to China (in Xian, in western China, a Chinese-Syriac inscription dated 781 is still to be seen); to southern India where the state of Kerala can boast more Christians of Syriac liturgical tradition than anywhere else in the world.

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints.  Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine.  The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches.  The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice."  According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates.  Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor.  Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.
Meeting of the Saints  walis (saints of Allah)
Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.
So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life.  But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA)
1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life.
801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions.  Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq.  She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186).  Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186).  She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching.  As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director.  She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222).  A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid.  The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind.  She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca:  "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God.  She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker.  Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219).  During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?'  I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them.  I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me?  Is it not God Who wills it?  When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will?  It is not  well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic.  It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187).  She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world.  A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill.  Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?"  (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold.  She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him.  And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance.  She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did.  For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself.  The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other.  When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from.  "From that other world," she said.  "And where are you going?" she was asked.  "To that other world," she replied (219).  She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end.  Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love.  In this quest, logic and reason were powerless.  Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition.  Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved.  Through this communion, she could discover His will for her.  Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul."  [224]

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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey  Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament
Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited. 
In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez - brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass.  After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her.  Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy:  “Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” 

Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about
The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 14 years Lover of the poor; A very Holy Man of God.
Monsignor Reardon Protonotarius Apostolicus
 
Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis MN
America's First Basilica Largest Nave in the World
August 7, 1907-ground broke for the foundation
by Archbishop Ireland-laying cornerstone May 31, 1908
James M. Reardon Publication History of Basilica of Saint Mary 1600-1932
James M. Reardon Publication  History of the Basilica of Saint Mary 1955 {update}

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement
1362-1950 (1952);

The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;
  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and Indulgence Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here.  Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary
spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the
life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon
Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.

The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}.
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
 
It Makes No Sense
Not To Believe In GOD
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress—a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God—total collapse, economic, social, and national. The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death—unwanted, unborn children.

No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.

As we watch the spectacle of the world seeming to self-destruct before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened and even frightened by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic proportions displayed in living color on our television screens.  These are not ordinary times and this is not business as usual. We are at a crossroads in human history and the time for Catholics and all Christians to act is now. All evil can ultimately be traced to its origin, which is moral evil. All of the political action, peace talks, international peacekeeping forces, etc. will avail nothing if the underlying sickness is not addressed. This is sin. One person at a time hearts and minds must be moved from evil to good, from lies to truth, from violence to peace.
Islam, an Arabic word that has often been defined as “to make peace,” seems like a living contradiction today. Islam is a religion of peace.  As we celebrate the birthday of Our Lady, I am proposing that each one of us pray the Rosary for peace. Prayer is what must precede all other activity if that activity is to have any chance of success. Pray for peace, pray the Rosary every day without fail.  There is a great love for Mary among Muslim people. It is not a coincidence that a little village named Fatima is where God chose to have His Mother appear in the twentieth century. Our Lady’s name appears no less than thirty times in the Koran. No other woman’s name is mentioned, not even that of Mohammed’s daughter, Fatima. In the Koran Our Lady is described as “Virgin, ever Virgin.”

Archbishop Fulton Sheen prophetically spoke of the resurgence of Islam in our day. He said it would be through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Islam would be converted. We must pray for this to happen quickly if we are to avert a horrible time of suffering for this poor, sinful world. Turn to our Mother in this time of great peril. Pray the Rosary every day. Then, and only then will there be peace, when the hearts and minds of men are changed from the inside.
Talk is weak. Prayer is strong. Pray!  God bless you, Father John Corapi

Father Corapi's Biography

Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God's Name is Mercy!

Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain.

Father John Corapi goes to the heart of the contemporary world's many woes and wars, whether the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, or the Congo, or the natural disasters that seem to be increasing every year, the moral and spiritual war is at the basis of everything. “Our battle is not against human forces,” St. Paul asserts, “but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness...” (Ephesians 6:12). 
The “War to end all wars” is the moral and spiritual combat that rages in the hearts and minds of human beings. The outcome of that  unseen fight largely determines how the battle in the realm of the seen unfolds.  The title talk, “With the Moon Under Her Feet,” is taken from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and deals with the current threat to the world from radical Islam, and the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in the ultimate victory that will result in the conversion of Islam. Few Catholics are aware of the connection between Islam, Fatima, and Guadalupe. Presented in Father Corapi's straight-forward style, you will be both inspired and educated by him.

About Father John Corapi.
Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .
The pillars of father's preaching are basically:
Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary 
Leading a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ
Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

8 Martyrs Move Closer to Sainthood 8 July, 2016
Posted by ZENIT Staff on 8 July, 2016

The angel appears to Saint Monica
This morning, Pope Francis received Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato. During the audience, he authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

***
MIRACLES:
Miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Luis Antonio Rosa Ormières, priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Guardian Angel; born July 4, 1809 and died on Jan. 16, 1890
MARTYRDOM:
Servants of God Antonio Arribas Hortigüela and 6 Companions, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; killed in hatred of the Faith, Sept. 29, 1936
Servant of God Josef Mayr-Nusser, a layman; killed in hatred of the Faith, Feb. 24, 1945
HEROIC VIRTUE:

Servant of God Alfonse Gallegos of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Titular Bishop of Sasabe, auxiliary of Sacramento; born Feb. 20, 1931 and died Oct. 6, 1991
Servant of God Rafael Sánchez García, diocesan priest; born June 14, 1911 and died on Aug. 8, 1973
Servant of God Andrés García Acosta, professed layman of the Order of Friars Minor; born Jan. 10, 1800 and died Jan. 14, 1853
Servant of God Joseph Marchetti, professed priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles; born Oct. 3, 1869 and died Dec. 14, 1896
Servant of God Giacomo Viale, professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, pastor of Bordighera; born Feb. 28, 1830 and died April 16, 1912
Servant of God Maria Pia of the Cross (née Maddalena Notari), foundress of the Congregation of Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist; born Dec. 2, 1847 and died on July 1, 1919
Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

On the List Are Lay Founder of a Hospital and Eastern Catholic Religious
VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2014 (Zenit.org) - Today, the Vatican announced that during the celebration of the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonization of the following six blesseds, who include a lay founder of a hospital for the poor, founders of religious orders, and two members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See:
-Giovanni Antonio Farina (1803-1888), an Italian bishop who founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
-Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871), a Syro-Malabar priest in India who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
-Ludovico of Casoria (1814-1885), an Italian Franciscan priest who founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth
-Nicola Saggio (Nicola da Longobardi, 1650-1709), an Italian oblate of the Order of Minims
-Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952), an Indian Carmelite of the Syro-Malabar Church
-Amato Ronconi (1238-1304), an Italian, Third Order Franciscan who founded a hospital for poor pilgrims

CAUSES OF SAINTS July 2015.
Pope Recognizes Heroic Virtues of Ukrainian Archbishop
Recognition Brings Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Closer to Beatification
By Junno Arocho Esteves Rome, July 17, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father met this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Pope also recognized the heroic virtues of several religious/lay men and women from Italy, Spain, France & Mexico.
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky is considered to be one of the most influential 20th century figures in the history of the Ukrainian Church.
Enthroned as Metropolitan of Lviv in 1901, Archbishop Sheptytsky was arrested shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914 by the Russians. After his imprisonment in several prisons in Russia and the Ukraine, the Archbishop was released in 1918.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate was also an ardent supporter of the Jewish community in Ukraine, going so far as to learn Hebrew to better communicate with them. He also was a vocal protestor against atrocities committed by the Nazis, evidenced in his pastoral letter, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." He was also known to harbor thousands of Jews in his residence and in Greek Catholic monasteries.
Following his death in 1944, his cause for canonization was opened in 1958.
* * *
The Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees regarding the heroic virtues of:
- Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., major archbishop of Leopolis of the Ukrainians, metropolitan of Halyc (1865-1944);
- Servant of God Giuseppe Carraro, Bishop of Verona, Italy (1899-1980);
- Servant of God Agustin Ramirez Barba, Mexican diocesan priest and founder of the Servants of the Lord of Mercy (1881-1967);
- Servant of God Simpliciano della Nativita (ne Aniello Francesco Saverio Maresca), Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1827-1898);
- Servant of God Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres del Cancino, Mexican founder of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1866-1937);
- Servant of God Marie-Charlotte Dupouy Bordes (Marie-Teresa), French professed religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1873-1953);
- Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Italian founder of the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1904-1976);
- Servant of God Isabel Mendez Herrero (Isabel of Mary Immaculate), Spanish professed nun of the Servants of St. Joseph (1924-1953)
October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Valentin Palencia Marquina, Spanish diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith in Suances, Spain in 1937;

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).
March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

– Blessed Manuel González García, bishop of Palencia, Spain, founder of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth (1877-1940);
– Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity (née Elisabeth Catez), French professed religious of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1880-1906);
– Venerable Servant of God Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus (né Henri Grialou), French professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, founder of the Secular Institute “Notre-Dame de Vie” (1894-1967);
– Venerable Servant of God María Antonia of St. Joseph (née María Antonio de Paz y Figueroa), Argentine founder of the Beaterio of the Spiritual Exercise of Buenos Aires (1730-1799);
HEROIC VIRTUE

– Servant of God Stefano Ferrando, Italian professed priest of the Salesians, bishop of Shillong, India, founder of the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1895-1978);
– Servant of God Enrico Battista Stanislao Verjus, Italian professed priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, coadjutor of the apostolic vicariate of New Guinea (1860-1892);
– Servant of God Giovanni Battista Quilici, Italian diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Crucified (1791-1844);
– Servant of God Bernardo Mattio, Italian diocesan priest (1845-1914);
– Servant of God Quirico Pignalberi, Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1891-1982);
– Servant of God Teodora Campostrini, Italian founder of the Minim Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Sorrows (1788-1860);
– Servant of God Bianca Piccolomini Clementini, Italian founder of the Company of St. Angela Merici di Siena (1875-1959);
– Servant of God María Nieves of the Holy Family (née María Nieves Sánchez y Fernández), Spanish professed religious of the Daughters of Mary of the Pious Schools (1900-1978).

April 26 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Here is the full list of decrees approved by the Pope:

MIRACLES
– Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist (1839-1910);
– Venerable Servant of God John Sullivan, professed priest of the Society of Jesus (1861-1933);
MARTYRDOM
– Servants of God Nikolle Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., archbishop of Durres, Albania, and 37 companions killed between 1945 and 1974;
– Servants of God José Antón Gómez and three companions of the Benedictines of Madrid, Spain, killed 1936;
HEROIC VIRTUES
– Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, diocesan priest (1821-1861);
– Servant of God Sosio Del Prete (né Vincenzo), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Christ the King (1885-1952);
– Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec (né Jósef), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1889-1921);
– Servant of God Maria Consiglia of the Holy Spirity (née Emilia Paqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).
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