250 St. Florentius Martyr with Cyriacus, Faustinus, Julian, and Marcellinus. They were beheaded at Perugia, Italy
Perúsiæ sanctórum Mártyrum Floréntii, Juliáni, Cyríaci, Marcellíni et Faustíni, qui omnes, in persecutióne Décii Imperatóris, cápite cæsi sunt.
Florentius, Julian, Cyriacus, Marcellinus, and Faustinus At Perugia, the holy martyrs , who were beheaded in the persecution of Decius.

305-311 The Holy Martyrs Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechius, Apollonius, Leonidas, Arius, Gorgias, Pambo, and the women martyrs Selenia and Irene natives of Egypt angel appeared and healed their wounds

In Ægypto natális sanctórum Mártyrum Marciáni, Nicánoris, Apollónii et aliórum, qui, in persecutióne Galérii Maximiáni, illústre martyrium consummárunt.

In Egypt, the birthday of the holy martyrs Marcian, Nicanor, Apollonius, and others, who suffered a glorious martyrdom.

Suffered during the reign of Maximian (305-311). For their steadfast confession of faith in Christ they were subjected to a fierce scourging. They then threw the sufferers barely alive into prison, where an angel appeared to them and healed their wounds. The holy martyrs died in prison from hunger and thirst.

Nikandros, Georgios und Gefährten Orthodoxe Kirche: 05. Juni
10 Christen - Marcian, Nicander, Hyperechias, Apollonius, Leonides, Arias, Gorgias, Selinias, Ireneios und Pambonosin Ägypten wurden unter Kaiser Maximian (305-311) verhaftet und fast zu Tode gefoltert. Sie wurden dann in ein Gefängnis geworfen, wo sie verhungerten.

362 Dorotheus bishop of the Phoenician city of TyreThe Hieromartyr guided his flock more than 50 years, converted many pagans to Christianity martyred at 107 in Myzean city of Udum (present day Bulgarian Varna)
Tyri, in Phœnícia, sancti Doróthei Presbyteri, qui, sub Diocletiáno, multa passus est; et, usque ad Juliáni témpora supérstes, sub eo, annum agens séptimum supra centésimum, venerándam senéctam martyrio honestávit.
At Tyre, St. Dorotheus, a priest, who suffered greatly under Diocletian, but survived until the reign of Julian, under whom his venerable age of one hundred and seven years was crowned with martyrdom.

Orthodoxe und Katholische Kirche: 5. Juni

362? ST DOROTHEUS OF TYRE, MARTYR
THE martyr St Dorotheus, commemorated on June 5 in the Roman Martyrology, was a priest of Tyre, and, according to some authorities, bishop of the diocese. In the reign of Diocletian, after suffering much for the faith in his own city, he was driven into exile. A lull in the persecution enabled him to return to his flock and he attended the Council of Nicaea in 325.
A man of learning, well versed in Greek and Latin, he is reported to have been the author of several books. The accession of Julian the Apostate brought a renewal of persecution, and he withdrew once more to Odyssopolis in Thrace, the present Bulgarian port of Varna. Even there he was not left in peace. He was arrested and so cruelly beaten that he died of his injuries at the age, it is said, of 107. He is not to be identified with his namesake, Dorotheus, superintendent of the Tyrian dye-works, who was martyred during the reign of Diocletian, and whose feast falls, in the Roman Martyrology, on September 9.
As a matter of fact, Dorotheus was a common appellation, and the Greeks honour several holy men of the name, though they seem to have confused their history. Of these no less than three, besides the subject of the above memoir, discussed by the Bollandists, are assigned to June 5, though none of them seem to have any association with this date. Two of them, moreover, seem never to have had any cultus. These are Dorotheus the Theban, of whom Palladius gives an account in the second chapter of his Lausiac History; and the Archimandrite Dorotheus, a monk of Gaza (cf. St Dositheus, February 23), whose ascetical writings were so highly esteemed by Abbot de Rance that he had them translated into French for his Trappists. The fourth Dorotheus is noticed herein on January 5, the day on which he is celebrated by the Greeks.

This is the only Dorotheus commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology. Though his story is to be found in Theophanes, Chronographia, it would seem to be entirely apocryphal. It may possibly have been suggested to some fabricator by the references in Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., bk vii, ch. xxxii; bk viii, ch. vi) to a learned Dorotheus who was living in Syria in his time, and who had been made superintendent of the Tyrian dye-works. But the whole matter of identification is quite hopeless. Under the name of this supposed Dorotheus of Tyre, certain writings were current concerning the Prophets, Apostles, and the seventy-two Disciples. See DTC., vol. iv (1911), cc. 1786-1788; and T. Schermann, Propheten-und Apostellegenden. For the Theban, see Abbot Butler, Lausiac History (1904), vol. ii; and for the Archimandrite, Échos d'Orient, vol iv (1901), pp. 359-36J, and the Byzantinische Zeitschrift. vol. xiii (1904), pp. 423 seq.

During the time of the persecution against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Heeding the words of the Gospel (Mt.10:23), the saint withdrew from Tyre and hid from the persecutors. He returned to Tyre during the reign of St Constantine the Great (306-337, May 21), again occupying the bishop's throne he guided his flock for more than fifty years, and converted many of the pagans to Christianity. When the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) began openly to persecute Christians, St Dorotheus was already over 100 years old. He withdrew from Tyre to the Myzean city of Udum (present day Bulgarian Varna). Delegates of the emperor arrested him there for his refusal to offer sacrifice to idols. They began to torture the holy Elder, and under torture he surrendered his soul to the Lord (+ ca. 362) at the age of 107.

Some ascribe to St Dorotheus the compilation of a work, "The Synopsis", a collection of sayings, and including lives of the holy prophets and apostles.

Dorotheos von Tyre Orthodoxe und Katholische Kirche: 5. Juni
Dorotheos war während der Verfolgungen unter Diokletian Bischof von Tyre. Er konnte vor der Verhaftung fliehen und kehrte nach Tyre zurück, nachdem Konstantin Nachfolger Diokletians geworden war. Er soll dann über 50 Jahre Bischof von Tyre gewesen sein, bis unter Julian (361 - 363) erneut eine Christenverfolgung einsetzte. Dorotheos floh nach Udum bzw. Odyssopolis (heute Varna in Bulgarien - nach anderen Quellen floh er nach Edessa) , wo er 362 im Alter von 107 Jahren ergriffen und zu Tode gefoltert wurde.
Dorotheos schrieb mehrere Heiligenbiographien und Bibelauslegungen. Seine Werke werden in der orthodoxen Kirche auch heute beachtet. Die ihm zugeschriebenen Listen (z. B. der 70 Apostel oder der Bischöfe von Byzanz) sind allerdings vermutlich späteren Datums.

The Hieromartyr Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He was Bishop of Tyre from the time of Diocletian right up to the time of Julian the Apostate, under whom he was tortured and suffered for the Orthodox faith. He lived on earth to the age of 107, and, being pleasing to God, entered into eternal life in 361. He was a great scholar and wrote many learned books both in Greek and Latin.

Cæsaréæ, in Palæstína, pássio sanctárum Zenáidis, Cyriæ, Valériæ et Márciæ; quæ, per multa torménta, gaudéntes ad martyrium pervenérunt.
At Caesarea in Palestine, the martyrdom of the Saints Zenaides, Cyria, Valeria, and Marcia, who joyfully attained martyrdom through many torments.

4th v. Saint Anubius the Ascetic bravely endured tortures during the time of persecutions against Christians but remained alive and withdrew into the wilderness, where he dwelt until old age singing of angels who came to receive his soul; he often saw angels and the holy saints of God standing before the Lord also beheld Satan and his angels committed to the eternal flames
He founded a small skete, in which he lived with six monks, one of whom was his brother St Pimen the Great (August 27). Once robbers laid waste to the skete, and the monks had to hide themselves in the ruins of a pagan temple, while having given their word not to speak with each other for a week. In the morning all week long St Anubius threw a stone at the face of the statue of the pagan god, and in the evening he said to it, "I have sinned."
At the end of the week the brethren asked Abba Anubius what his actions signified, and the Elder explained that just as the statue did not get angry when he struck it, nor get flattered when he asked forgiveness of it, so the brethren ought to live.
Three days before his end St Anubius was visited by the desert-dwellers Cyrus, Isaiah, and Paul, who asked the Elder to tell them about his life for the edification of believers. The saint replied, "I do not recall that I did anything great or glorious." However, swayed by the entreaties of his questioners, in deep humility he related to them that during the time of persecutions he confessed the Name of Christ under torture, after this he had never defiled his lips with a lie, since after he had confessed Truth, he did not want to utter falsehood.
Three days later, St Anubius reposed in spiritual joy. The aforementioned Fathers said that they heard the singing of angels who came to receive his soul.
His heart was ever filled with a thirst for communion with the Lord, and he had often seen angels and the holy saints of God standing before the Lord. He also beheld Satan and his angels committed to the eternal flames. He is mentioned in the LAUSIAC HISTORYof Palladius, and his sayings can be found in the Paradise of the Fathers and in the Evergetinos.

403 commemoration of the Relocation of the Body of St. Epiphanius Many miracles appeared from his body
On this day of the year 403 A.D., the body of St. Epiphanius (His biography is under the 17th. of Bashans), arrived to the island of Cyprus. The boat that carried his body arrived to Cyprus from Constantinople on the 28th. day of Bashans. The priests and the people came with crosses, gospels, candles and incense and carried his body to the church. When they started to dig his tomb, two deacons did not allow them. They were excommunicated by the saints for their bad reputation. The body remained in the church for four days without a change or a stench. His body looked as if he was asleep. A saintly deacon came near the body and said: "I know of your relationship with God, and that you can restrain these evil opponents." He then took an ax and hit the ground with it. The two opposing deacons fell on their faces immediately, and they were carried to their homes and died on the third day.

The body of the Saint was anointed and wrapped, they buried him in a marble sarcophagus in he church. Many miracles appeared from his body.

May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen.

5th v. Our Holy Father Anoub gifted with discernment
June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net One of the great Egyptian monks, he suffered greatly for the true Faith. When, at the time of his death, three old hermits visited him, he, gifted with discernment, revealed to them all the secrets of their hearts. He died peacefully some time in the second half of the 5th century.

The Monk Anubios, Egyptian Wilderness-Dweller, bravely endured tortures during the time of persecutions against Christians in the IV Century, but he remained alive and withdrew into the wilderness, where he dwelt into old age. He founded a small skete-monastery, in which he lived together with six monks, one of whom was his brother Pimen (Comm. of Monk Pimen the Great is 27 August). One time robbers laid waste to the skete, and the monks had to hide themselves in the ruins of a pagan temple, while having given their word not to speak with each other over the course of a week. In the morning all week long the Monk Anubios threw a stone at the face of the statue of the pagan god, and in the evening he said to it: "I have sinned". At the end of the week the brethren asked Abba Anubios, what his actions signified, and the elder explained, that just as the statue did not get angry when he struck it, nor get flattered when he asked forgiveness of it, so also ought the brethren to live. Three days before his end the Monk Anubios was visited by the wilderness-dwellers Cyrus, Isaiah and Paul, who asked the elder that he tell them about his life for the edification of believers. The saint replied: "I do not remember, that I did anything great or glorious". But swayed by the entreaties of his questioners, in deep humility he related to them that during the time of persecutions having confessed under torture the Name of Christ, after this he had never defiled his lips with an unrighteous word, since once having confessed Truth, he did not want to utter falsehood. His heart was ever filled with a thirst for communion with the Lord, and often he had contemplated angels and the holy saints of God, standing before the Lord; he beheld also Satan and his angels, committed to the eternal flames; shown also to him were the righteous, inheriting eternal bliss. At the passing of the third day the Monk Anubios in spiritual joy expired to the Lord. When his soul lifted up to Heaven, in the air was heard Angelic song.

583 Saint Theodore the Wonderworker In his youth he left the world, embraced monasticism and withdrew into the Jordanian wilderness. He received from God the gift of wonderworking. Thus, while journeying on a ship to Constantinople, St Theodore besought the Lord that water drawn from the sea be made fresh to quench the thirst of his companions. To those thanking him for this the monk said that God had worked such a miracle out of pity for the intense thirst of mankind, rather than by his.
Theodore the Hermit Our Holy Father, the Wonderworker June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He purified his heart by long asceticism in the Jordan wilderness and received from God the gift of wonderworking. When he was at one time travelling by ship from Constantinople, his ship went off course and there was no drinking water left in her. When all the travellers were close to death from thirst, Theodore raised his arms to heaven, prayed to God and made the sign of the Cross over the sea. He then told the sailors to draw water from the sea and drink it; and, when they did so, they found the water fresh. They all began to pay homage to Theodore, but he begged them to thank, not him, but the Lord God, who had performed that wonder out of His love for mankind. He died peacefully in 583.

6th v. Dorotheus The Holy Abba disciple of St John the Prophet in the Palestinian monastery of Abba Seridus
In his youth he had zealously studied secular science. "When I sought worldly knowledge," wrote the abba, "it was very difficult at first. When I would come to take a book, I was like a man about to touch a wild beast. When I forced myself to study, then God helped me, and diligence became such a habit that I did not know what I ate, what I drank, whether I had slept, nor whether I was warm or not. I was oblivious to all this while reading. I could not be dragged away by my friends for meals, nor would I even talk with them while I was absorbed in reading. When the philosopher let us go, I went home and washed, and ate whatever was prepared for me. After Vespers, I lit a lamp and continued reading until midnight." So absorbed was Abba Dorotheus in his studies at that time.

He devoted himself to monastic activity with an even greater zeal. Upon entering the monastery, he says in his tenth Instruction, he decided that his study of virtue ought to be more fervent than his occupation with secular science had been.

One of the first obediences of Abba Dorotheus was to greet and to see to pilgrims arriving at the monastery. It gave him opportunity to converse with people from various different positions in life, bearing all sorts of burdens and tribulations, and contending against manifold temptations. With the means of a certain brother St Dorotheus built an infirmary, in which also he served. The holy abba himself described his obedience, "At the time I had only just recovered from a serious illness. Travellers would arrive in the evening, and I spent the evening with them. Then camel drivers would come, and I saw to their needs. It often happened that once I had fallen asleep, other things arose requiring my attention. Then it would be time for Vigil." St Dorotheus asked one of the brethren to wake him up for for Vigil, and another to prevent him from dozing during the service. "Believe me," said the holy abba, "I revered and honored them as though my salvation depended upon them."

For ten years Abba Dorotheus was cell-attendant for St John the Prophet (Feb. 6). He was happy to serve the Elder in this obedience, even kissing the door to his cell with the same feeling as another might bow down before the holy Cross. Distressed that he was not fulfilling the word of St Paul that one must enter the Kingdom of Heaven through many tribulations (Acts 14:22), Abba Dorotheus revealed this thought to the Elder. St John replied, "Do not be sad, and do not allow this to distress you. You are in obedience to the Fathers, and this is a fitting delight to the carefree and calm." Besides the Fathers at the monastery of Abba Seridus, St Dorotheus visited and listened to the counsels of other great ascetics of his time, among whom was Abba Zosima.

After the death of St John the Prophet, when Abba Barsanuphius took upon himself complete silence, St Dorotheus left the monastery of Abba Seridus and founded another monastery, the monks of which he guided until his own death.

Abba Dorotheus wrote 21 Discourses, several Letters, and 87 Questions with written Answers by Sts Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet. In manuscript form are 30 Talks on Asceticism, and written counsels of Abba Zosima. The works of Abba Dorotheus are imbued with a deep spiritual wisdom, distinguished by a clear and insightful style, but with a plain and comprehensible expression. The Discourses deal with the inner Christian life, gradually rising up in measure of growth in Christ. The saint resorted often to the advice of the great hierarchs, Sts Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Gregory of Nyssa. Obedience and humility, the combining of deep love for God with love for neighbor, are virtues without which spiritual life is impossible. This thought pervades all the writings of Abba Dorotheus.

In his writings the personal experience of Abba Dorotheus is felt everywhere. His disciple, St Dositheus (February 19), says of him, "Towards the brethren laboring with him he responded with modesty, with humility, and was gracious without arrogance or audacity. He was good-natured and direct, he would engage in a dispute, but always preserved the principle of respect, of good will, and that which is sweeter than honey, oneness of soul, the mother of all virtues."

The Discourses of Abba Dorotheus are preliminary books for entering upon the path of spiritual action. The simple advice, how to proceed in this or that instance, together with a most subtle analysis of thoughts and stirrings of soul provide guidance for anyone who resolves to read the works of Abba Dorotheus. Monks who begin to read this book, will never part from it throughout their life.

The works of Abba Dorotheus are to be found in every monastery library and are constantly reprinted. In Russia, his soul-profiting Instruction, together with the Replies of the Monks Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet, were extensively copied, together with The Ladder of Divine Ascent of St John Climacus and the works of St Ephraim the Syrian. St Cyril of White Lake (June 9), despite his many duties as igumen, with his own hand transcribed the Discourses of Abba Dorotheus, as he did also the Ladder of Divine Ascent.

The Discourses of Abba Dorotheus pertain not only to monks, but this book should be read by anyone who aspires to fulfill the commands of Christ.

6th v. St. Tudno Welsh saint after whom Llandudno in Gwynedd, Wales, is named. He figures in various Welsh Christian legends.

754 St. Boniface {Winfrith } of Mainz missionary bishop; Pope Gregory II talked to Winfrith all winter long before finally sending him on a test mission to Thuringia in Germany known as the Apostle of Germany He not only brought the Christian faith but Roman Christian civilization to this portion of Europe
In Frísia sancti Bonifátii, Epíscopi Moguntíni et Mártyris. Hic de Anglia Romam venit, índeque a beáto Gregório Papa Secúndo in Germániam missus est ut Christi fidem illis géntibus evangelizáret, et, cum máximum ibi multitúdinem, præsértim Frísonum, Christiánæ religióni subjugásset, Germanórum Apóstolus méruit appellári; novíssime in Frísia, a furéntibus Gentílibus gládio perémptus, una cum Eóbano Coepíscopo et quibúsdam áliis servis Dei, martyrium consummávit.
In Friesland, St. Boniface, bishop of Mainz, and martyr. He went from England to Rome, and was then sent by Pope Gregory II to Germany to preach the faith of Christ to the people of that country. After converting large multitudes to the Christian religion, especially in Friesland, he merited the title Apostle of the Germans. His martyrdom was fulfilled by being put to the sword by the furious heathens, along with his fellow bishop Eobanus and some other servants of God.

Bonifatius Alle Kirchen: 5. Juni

June 5, 2009 St. Boniface (672?-754)
754 ST BONIFACE, ARCHBISHOP OF MAINZ, MARTYR
THE title of Apostle of Germany belongs pre-eminently to St Boniface, for although the Rhineland and Bavaria had accepted the Christian faith before his time and isolated missionaries had penetrated into other parts of the country, especially into Thuringia, to him belongs the credit of systematically evangelizing and civilizing the great regions of central Germany, of founding an organized church and of creating a hierarchy under the direct commission of the Holy See. Second only in importance, though, less generally recognized, was the saint's other great achievement-the regeneration of the Frankish church.
   Boniface, or Winfrid-to give him his baptismal name-was born about the year 680, probably at Crediton in Devonshire. At the age of five, after listening to the conversation of some monastic visitors to his home, he determined to be a monk, and when he was seven he was sent to school to a monastery near Exeter. Some seven years later he went to the abbey of Nursling, in the diocese of Winchester. There he became the apt pupil of its learned abbot, Winbert, and after completing his own studies, he was made director of the school. His skill in teaching and his personal popularity attracted many scholars, for whose benefit he wrote the first Latin grammar known to have been compiled in England. His pupils were not confined to the schools; notes taken at his classes were copied, circulated and eagerly studied. At the age of thirty he was ordained to the priesthood, and found further scope for his talents in sermons and instructions-all based on the Bible, which was his study and delight throughout life.
Teaching and preaching, however, did not exhaust his activities, and when high preferment in his native land seemed assured, God revealed to him that his vocation was to the foreign mission-field. The whole of north and the greater part of central Europe lay still in heathen darkness, and in Friesland St Willibrord had long been striving against great odds to bring the truths of the Gospel home to the people. Here seemed to Winfrid the place to which he was specially called. Having wrung a reluctant consent from his abbot, he set forth and landed with two companions at Duurstede in the spring of 716. The time was, however, inauspicious, and Winfrid, realizing that it was useless to stay, returned to England in the autumn. His brethren at Nursling, delighted to welcome him back, tried to retain him by electing him abbot upon the death of Winbert, but he was not to be deflected from his call. His first attempt had convinced him that if he was to succeed he must have a direct commission from the Pope; and in 718 he presented himself before St Gregory II in Rome. The pontiff in due course despatched him with a general commission to preach the word of God to the heathen. He also changed his name Winfrid to that of Boniface. Without loss of time, the saint took the road to Germany, crossed the lower AIps, and travelled through Bavaria into Hesse.
   Scarcely had he embarked upon his new work when he was informed of the death of the pagan ruler Radbod, and of the hopeful prospect opened up through the accession of a friendly successor. In obedience to what appeared like a recall to his original mission, St Boniface returned to Friesland, where for three years he laboured energetically under St Willibrord. But when St WiIIibrord, now a very old man, would have made him his coadjutor and successor, St Boniface declined, alleging that his commission had been a general one, not confined to anyone diocese. Then, fearing lest he might be forced to consent, he returned to Hesse. The dialects of the various Teutonic tribes of north-western Europe so closely resembled the language spoken in England at this period that Boniface seems to have experienced no difficulty in making himself understood, and in spite of many difficulties the mission made wonderful progress. Boniface was able to make such a satisfactory report to the Holy See that the pope summoned him to Rome with a view to raising him to the episcopate.
   Accordingly, on St Andrew's day, 722, he was consecrated a regionary bishop with a general jurisdiction over Germany; and Gregory gave him a special letter to the powerful Charles Martel. This letter, which the newly ordained bishop presented in person on his way back to Germany obtained for him the valuable concession of a sealed pledge of protection. Armed in this way with authority from church and state, Boniface, on his return to Hesse, made a bold attempt to strike at the root of the pagan superstitions which constituted the chief hindrance to the progress of the Gospel as well as to the stability of the recent converts. On a day which had been publicly announced, and in the midst of an awestruck crowd, he attacked with an axe one of the chief objects of popular veneration, Donar's sacred oak, which stood on the summit of Mount Gudenberg at Geismar, near Fritzlar. Almost as the first blows fell upon it, the huge tree crashed, splitting into four parts, and the people who had expected a judgement to descend upon the perpetrators of such an outrage acknowledged that their gods were powerless to protect their own sanctuaries. From that time the work of evangelization advanced steadily, but success in one field only spurred St Boniface to further efforts, and as soon as he felt that he could safely leave his Hessian converts for a time, he passed on into Thuringia.
Here he found a sprinkling of Christians, including a few Celtic and Frankish priests, but they tended to be more of a hindrance than a help. At Ohrdruf, near Gotha, he established his second monastery, to serve as a missionary centre for Thuringia. Everywhere he found the people ready to listen; it was the teachers who were lacking. To obtain them he applied to the English monasteries, with which he had continued to keep up a regular correspondence. The lapse of time had not dulled their keen interest in his work. Throughout his life he seems to have been able to fire others with some of his own enthusiasm, but the response to this appeal must have surpassed his most ardent hopes. For several years in succession parties of monks and nuns-the noblest representatives of the religious houses of Wessex-continued to cross the sea and to place themselves at his disposal to assist in preaching the Gospel to the heathen. The two existing monasteries were enlarged, and many new ones founded.
Foremost among the English missionaries were St Lull, who was to succeed St Boniface at Mainz, St Eoban, who was to share his martyrdom, St Burchard and St Wigbert; whilst the women included St Thecla, St Walburga, and Boniface's beautiful and learned young cousin, St Lioba.
   In 731 Pope Gregory II died, and his successor, Gregory III, to whom St Boniface had written, sent him the pallium and constituted him metropolitan of Germany beyond the Rhine, with authority to found bishoprics wherever he thought fit. Several years later the saint went to Rome for the third time, in order to confer about the churches he had founded. He was then appointed legate of the Apostolic See; and at Monte Cassino he obtained another missionary for Germany in the person of St Walburga's brother, St Willibald.
In his capacity of legate he then went to Bavaria, where he organized its hierarchy, besides deposing unworthy priests and remedying abuses. From Bavaria he returned to his mission-fields. There he proceeded to found other bishoprics-Erfurt for Thuringia, Buraburg for Hesse, and Würzburg for Franconia. At a later date he established an episcopal seat also in the Nordgau-at Eichstätt. In charge of each diocese he placed one of his English disciples. To the year 741 belongs the commencement of the abbey of Fulda, of which he and his young disciple, St Sturmi, are reckoned as the joint founders. It was destined in after days to become-what St Boniface must surely have intended it to be-the German Monte Cassino.
Whilst the evangelization of Germany was thus proceeding apace, the condition of the Church in France under its last Merovingian kings was going from bad to worse. Ecclesiastical offices were kept vacant or sold to the highest bidder, the clergy were not only ignorant, but also often heretical or evil-living, and no church council had been held for eighty-four years. The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, regarded himself as the champion of the Church, yet he persistently plundered it to obtain funds for his wars and did nothing to help on reform.
His death, however, in 741, and the accession of his sons, Pepin and Carloman, provided an opportunity which St Boniface was not slow to seize. Carloman was earnestly devout; it was, therefore, a comparatively easy matter for St Boniface, whom he greatly venerated, to persuade him to call a synod to deal with abuses. The first assembly was followed by a second in 743. Not to be outdone, Pepin, the next year, summoned a synod for Gaul, which was succeeded in 745 by a general council for the two provinces. St Boniface presided over them all, and succeeded in carrying all the reforms he had most at heart. Fresh vigour was infused into the Church, and as the result of five years' work Boniface had restored the Church of Gaul to her former greatness. The date of the fifth Frankish council, 747, was in other respects a memorable one for Boniface. Until then he had held a general commission; the time had come for him to have a fixed metropolitan see. Mainz was chosen, and Pope St Zachary created him primate of Germany as well as apostolic legate for Germany and Gaul.
No sooner had this matter been arranged than Boniface lost his ally Carloman, who decided to retire into a monastery. However, Pepin, who then united France under one rule, though a man of very different calibre, continued to give him the general support he still needed. "Without the patronage of the Frankish chiefs", he wrote to one of his English correspondents, "I cannot govern the people or exercise discipline over the clergy and monks, or check the practices of paganism." As papal legate it was he who crowned Pepin at Soissons; but there is absolutely no evidence to support the theory that Pepin's assumption of the nominal as well as of the virtual sovereignty was in any way prompted by him.
Boniface was now growing old, and he realized that the administration of his vast fold required the vigour of a younger man. He obtained the appointment of his disciple Lull to be his successor; but in laying down his office he had no thought of taking rest. The missionary zeal burned within him as ardently as ever, and he was resolved to spend his last years amongst his first converts, the Frieslanders, who since the death of St Willibrord were relapsing once more into paganism. Now a man of about seventy-three, he embarked with some companions to sail down the Rhine. At Utrecht they were joined by Bishop Eoban. At first they worked to reclaim the lapsed in that part of the country which had been previously evangelized, but in early spring of the following year they crossed the lake which then divided Friesland into two parts, and bore their message to the wholly unevangelized tribes of north-east Friesland. Their efforts seemed crowned with success and large numbers were baptized. St Boniface arranged to hold a confirmation on Whitsun eve in the open fields on the plain of Dokkum, near the banks of the little river Borne.
He was quietly reading in his tent while awaiting the arrival of the new converts, when a hostile band suddenly descended upon the encampment. The attendants would have defended the saint, but he would not allow them. As he was exhorting them to trust in God and to welcome the prospect of dying for the faith, they were attacked-St Boniface being one of the first to fall. His companions shared his fate. The body of Boniface was taken finally to Fulda, where it still rests. There also is treasured the book the saint had been reading, and which he is said to have raised above his head to save it when he was being attacked. It is dented with sword-cuts, and on its wooden cover are marks reputed to be stains of the martyr's blood.
Christopher Dawson's judgement that Boniface "had a deeper influence on the history of Europe than any Englishman who has ever lived" (The Making of Europe, 194-6, p. 166) is hard to gainsay. And to his outstanding holiness, to his tremendous power and foresight as missionary and reformer, to his glory as a martyr must be added the personal loveableness and simplicity to which his letters in particular bear witness. Already his contemporary, Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury, could write that, "We in England lovingly count him one of the best and greatest teachers of the true faith", and add that his feast is to be celebrated every year as England's patron equally with St Gregory the Great and St Austin.

There are a number of more or less early lives of St Boniface, the most important being that by Willibald; most of them are accessible in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i, but a better critical text is available in MGH., and especially in the volume edited by W. Levison, Vitae sancti Bonifacii epis. Moguntini (Eng. trans., Harvard, 1916). A very considerable literature, mostly of German origin, centres round St Boniface, too big to be discussed here. A source of supreme importance are the letters of Boniface himself; they have been best edited by Tangl, in MGH., Epistolae Selectae, vol. i, and translated into English by E. Emerton (New York, 1940); English Correspondence, translated by E. Kylie (1924). The best German biographies are those by G. Schnürer (1909) and J. J. Laux (1922); and there is an excellent book on his mission work by F. Flaskamp (1929). An admirable study in French is that by G. Kurth (Eng. trans., Milwaukee, 1935), and there is a good life by the Anglican Bishop G. F. Browne, Boniface of Crediton (1910). See also W. Levison, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century (1946); E. S. Duckett, Anglo-Saxon Saints and Scholars (1947). There is a translation of the life by Willibald in C. H. Talbot's Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany (1954); the writer was not Willibald the saint.

Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.
How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions he found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordination was questionable. These are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.

In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control. During a final mission to the Frisians, he and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for Confirmation. In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, he had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great num ber of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent. He introduced Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.

Comment: Boniface bears out the Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless, bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious to heal the household of the faith.

Winfrith expected to return to England from Friesland (in what is now Holland) in triumph. He had left the land where he was a respected scholar, teacher, and priest because he was convinced he was called to missionary work. He had argued and pestered his abbot into letting him go because he would gain greater success for God in foreign lands. He had abandoned a successful, safe life in his mid-forties to win souls for God. But from the moment he stepped off the ship, his trip to Friesland to join the famous missionary Willibrord had been a disaster. Winfrith and his companions had landed to discover that the ruler of Friesland, Radbod, had declared war on Christians, destroying churches and monasteries, driving Willibrord into exile, and sending what was left of the Church into hiding. Winfrith tried in vain to convince Radbod to let him and his companions preach. Finally, he had no choice but to return to England a few short months later in defeat.
It would have been easy to give up missionary work at this point. Almost anyone would have looked at this fiasco and said that God was trying to tell him that he was called to stay and serve in England. Winfrith agreed that God had given him a message and he agreed that he had been mistaken. But his mistake had not been in the call but how he followed it. He had believed all he needed to ensure the mission's success was an enthusiastic response to God's call.

It's surprising that Winfrith ever would have believed this since so much of his previous life had depended on training and organization. Born about 675, he had convinced his parents to send him to a monastery for schooling because he admired the monks who had visited his home. Through diligent study he rapidly learned all that this local monastery could teach him and was transfered to the monastery at Nursling for further schooling. There he became such a well-known teacher that students circulated notes from his classes.

Back in England he started planning for his second missionary journey. He kept his enthusiasm but directed his zeal into organization and preparation for the journey. He would go to the pagan lands ... but first he would travel to Rome. When he had traveled to Friesland he had had no authority to back him up. No one had sent him there, no one would stand up for him if he needed support or help. Now he went to the pope asking for an official mission and the backing of the Church. Pope Gregory II was intrigued but uncertain and talked to Winfrith all winter long before finally sending him on a test mission to Thuringia in Germany. In the pope's commission on May 15, 1719, we have the first record of Winfrith's new name, Boniface. The pope apparently gave him this new name because the previous day had been the feast of a martyr by that name. From then on he was known as Boniface to all who knew him.

Missionaries had come to Thuringia before but the Church there was in bad shape, isolated and subject to superstition and heresy.
Boniface saw that he was going to get no help from the local clergy and monks, but he had learned in Friesland he could not spread God's word alone. He was about to send for help when he heard that Radbod had died and the missionary Willibrord was back in Friesland. Boniface immediately took off for Friesland, the site of his former humiliation. Perhaps he returned in hopes of redeeming his earlier disaster. It seems more likely, however, that he was following through on the lesson he had learned at that time and was going to get training from the expert in missions: Willibrord.

In the three years he spent with Willibrord, Boniface gave as much as he gained. So helpful was he that Willibrord, who was in his sixties, wanted to make Boniface his successor. But with his training over, Boniface felt the pull of the German missionary work he'd left behind, and, despite Willibrord's pleas, went to Hesse. Unlike Thuringia or Friesland, Hesse had never been evangelized. Boniface had to start from scratch. Needing even more authority in dealing with chieftains who were his first goal for converts, he appealed to the pope again. During a trip to Rome, the pope consecrated Boniface bishop.

Boniface returned to find that his problems had worsened. People were attracted by Christianity but unable to give up their old religion and superstitions, perhaps out of fear of being different or of how their old "gods" would react. Knowing that the people needed a reason to let go, Boniface called the tribes to a display of power. As the people watched, Boniface approached the giant oak of Geismar, a sacred tree dedicated to Thor, with an axe. Some of the people must have trembled with each stroke of his axe, but nothing happened. Finally with a crack, the tree split in four parts that we, are told, fell to the ground in the shape of a cross. There stood Boniface, axe in hand, unharmed by their old gods, strong in the power of the one God.

After his success in Hesse, he returned to Thuringia to confront the old problem of the decadent remnants of the Church there.
Unable to get help from the suspect clergy in Thuringia, he called to England for help. Nuns and monks responded to his call enthusiastically for many years. We still have many of Boniface's letters, including correspondence with his helpers in England. Reforming the Church was the biggest challenge in Thuringia and he had many thorny questions to answer. When a rite of baptism had been defective was it valid? What should he do about immoral clergy? Still remembering his first lesson, he appealed to Rome for answers from the pope. All his appeals to Rome helped him -- but it also helped forge a much stronger bond between Rome and Europe.

Boniface was called upon to lend his own support to Frankish Church which was also sadly in need of reform. He set up councils and syonds and instituted reforms which revitalized the Church there.
Few saints retire, and Boniface was no exception. At 73, a time when most are thinking of rest and relaxation, Boniface headed back to Friesland on a new mission. One day in 754 while he was awaiting some confirmands, an enemy band attacked his camp. Although his companions wanted to fight, Boniface told them to trust in God and to welcome death for the faith. All of them were martyred.

Boniface is known as the Apostle of Germany. He not only brought the Christian faith but Roman Christian civilization to this portion of Europe.

In His Footsteps: When have you jumped into something without thinking you needed preparation? What was the result? Is there something you feel called to do but don't feel that you know enough or would be able to handle it? Who can you go to for training or support? Talk to one of these people this week.

Prayer: Saint Boniface, you faced discouragement and failure and learned from them. Help us to hear God's message in our moments of failure and to use what we learn to serve God better. Amen

Bonifatius Alle Kirchen: 5. Juni
Bonifatius, der Apostel Deutschlands wurde 675 als Winfried (Wynfrieth) in Südengland (Devonshire) geboren. Er wurde in einem Kloster ausgebildet, wurde Benediktinermönch und ging 716 erstmals nach Friesland, kehrte aber erfolglos zurück. 717 (oder 719) schickte ihn Willibrord nach Rom. Papst Gregor II. (Gedenktag 11.2.) beauftragte ihn mit der Mission in Deutschland. Bei der Weihe erhielt Winfried den Namen Bonifatius (nach Bonifatius von Tarsus).
Er zog dann mit Willibrord durch Friesland und Thüringen. 722 wurde er in Rom zum Missionsbischof geweiht und erhielt die Aufgabe, die Kirche in Germanien zu ordnen und insbesondere die arianischen und iroschottischen Gemeinden in die römische Kirche einzugliedern. 724 fällte er die Donarseiche bei Geismar und besiegte damit das Heidentum. Aus dem Holz der Eiche baute er eine Kapelle, aus der dann das Kloster Fritzlar entstand.
732 wurde Bonifatius von Gregor III. (Gedenktag 28.11.) zum Erzbischof ernannt. 737 begann er seine Missionstätigkeit in Bayern und Sachsen. Her gründete er mehrere Bistümer. Bonifatius initiierte auch die Gründung des Klosters Fulda 744 durch Sturmius. 747 wurde er Erzbischof von Mainz.
753 brach Bonifatius noch einmal zu einer Missionsreise zu den Friesen auf. Am Morgen eines Tauffestes Pfingsten 754 bei Dokkum wurde er von heidnischen Friesen erschlagen. Seine organisatorische Arbeit bildete die Grundlage der deutschen Kirche und den Grundstock für das mittelalterliche deutsche Reich, das Karl der Große dann errichtete. Besonders unterstützt wurde er von seinen Mitarbeitern und Gefährten Gregor, Lullus (Gedenktag 16.10.), Sturmius, Wigbert (Gedenktag 13.8.) und Willibald.

Mit Bonifatius begann gewissermaßen die Geschichte des Christentums in Eurem Land. Viele sagen, diese Geschichte neige sich jetzt ihrem Ende zu. Ich sage Euch: Diese Geschichte des Christentums in Eurem Land soll jetzt neu beginnen, und zwar durch Euch,durch Euer im Geist des heiligen Bonifatius geformtes Zeugnis!" Papst Johannes Paul II. Am 18.11.1980 auf dem Domplatz Fulda

755 St. Adalar Priest monk and martyr served as a companion of St. Boniface in his missionary labors. He was martyred at Dokkum in Frisia with Boniface, also called Adalher.
A monk, Adalar served as a companion of St. Boniface in his missionary labors. He was martyred at Dokkum in Frisia with Boniface.
755 St. Waccar Benedictine monk-companion of St. Boniface with Elleher, Hathawulf, Haduiph, and Gundekar. They were all martyred with St. Boniface, four of the fifty-two monks who died with the great missionary at the hands of pagans.They share the same feast day as martyrs of the Benedictine Order.
754 St. Eoban Benedictine monk and martyr of Irish descent, a companion of Sts. Willibrord and Boniface. Eoban was martyred with Boniface at Dokkum, Holland.
Benedictine monk-companion of St. Boniface with Elleher, Hathawulf, Haduiph, and Gundekar. They were all martyred with St. Boniface, four of the fifty-two monks who died with the great missionary at the hands of pagans.They share the same feast day as martyrs of the Benedictine Order.

790 St. Felix of Fritzlar Benedictine monk of Fritzlar, Germany. He was believed to have been slain by pagan Saxons
Felix von Fritzlar
Orthodoxe und Katholische Kirche: 05. Juni
Felix war Mönch im Benediktinerkloster Fritzlar. Er wurde vermutlich bei seiner Missionstätigkeit unter den Sachsen um 790 erschlagen.

851 St. Sanctinus Also Sancho, a martyr. He was born in Albi, France, but was captured as a child by the Moors and sold into slavery at Cordoba, Spain. Raised and educated at the court of the emir of Cordoba, he served in the palace guard until tortured and executed for professing the Christian faith and refusing to embrace Islam.
851 SANCTIUS, OR SANCHO, MARTYR
St SANCTIUS, or Sancho, was born at Albi in the south of France, but was captured as a boy by the Moors and conveyed by them as a prisoner of war to Cordova. There he was enrolled amongst the young cadets who were trained to arms as doncellos, or janissaries. Fired, as it seems, by the example of St Isaac, Sanctius openly declared himself to be a Christian and refused the prophet Mohammed. He was tried and condemned to death. Several other Christians suffered at the same time and for the same cause, but Sanctius alone appears to have undergone the terrible ordeal of being extended on the ground and impaled while still alive this torment being doubtless meant as a warning to those who had been his comrades. His corpse, like that of St Isaac, was afterwards exposed for several days. It was then burnt to ashes which were scattered in the river.

Here, again, as in the case of St Isaac on June 3, all our information is derived from Eulogius. See the bibliographical note there. Other martyrs of this persecution are commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 7, 13, 14 and 28 of this month.

1036 BD MEINWERK, BISHOP OF PADERBORN
ALTHOUGH his cultus appears never to have been formally confirmed, Bd Meinwerk was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most high-minded churchmen of his age. Of noble Saxon birth, he was educated for the priesthood, first at Halberstadt and afterwards in the cathedral school of Hildesheim, where he formed what was to prove a life-long friendship with his kinsman, the future sainted Emperor Henry II. Upon the death of Ratherius, bishop of Paderborn, Meinwerk was appointed to succeed him and was consecrated by St Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, on March 13, 1009. He did so much for his episcopal city that he has been called the second founder of Paderborn. He rebuilt the cathedral which had been destroyed by fire, he erected an episcopal residence, he founded a monastery for Cluniac monks at Abdinghof, and another religious house in Paderborn, he constructed the city walls, strengthened the fortifications and restored dilapidated buildings in all parts of his diocese. A great patron of art and learning, he made the cathedral school of Paderborn famous all over Germany. The discipline was stern-even for those days. According to a letter written in 1050 by his nephew Bishop Imad, a former pupil, the boys lived in the school like little monks and might never speak in private even to their own fathers, because, as he had often heard his "dear uncle, Dominus Meinwerk", say, children and boys ought to be strictly kept down-pampering only made them forward and rude.
The good bishop's enterprises were costly, and when he had exhausted his own resources (which were considerable) he did not scruple to importune his wealthy friends, especially the emperor. So frequent, indeed, and sometimes unreasonable, were his visits for this purpose that the monarch would resort to stratagem to elude him. On the other hand St Henry well knew that he had no truer friend or more reliable adviser: he summoned him to all his councils and took him with him on his journeys. These expeditions enabled the bishop to satisfy a passion for relic collecting, in which he found Pope Benedict VIII specially generous.
In 1015 the new cathedral was consecrated, and in 1024- St Henry died, to the great grief of his faithful friend. The accession of a new emperor, however, in no way affected Meinwerk's status at court. Indeed it was said that Conrad II could refuse him nothing. With Conrad he paid his last visit to Italy in 1031, and from Aquileia he brought back to Abdinghof the relics of a St Felix. His last work was the building of a church after the pattern of the church of the Holy Sepulchre, to contain relics which an abbot called Wino had brought from Jerusalem. Its completion was hurried on because Bd Meinwerk felt that his life was drawing to an end. The basilica was dedicated in 1036, and later that same year, at Whitsuntide, its founder passed away.

A twelfth-century life, written by a monk of Abdinghof, has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. The best text is that edited by F. Tenckhoff (1921). A good German life was published by F. X. Schrader in 1895, but many special points have been discussed since. See, especially, F. Tenckhoff, Vita Meinwerci (1921); J. Bauermann, in Westfal. Lebensbilder, vol. i (1930), pp. 18-31 ; H. Deppe, in Westfal. Zeitschrift, vol xc (1934), pp. 171-192. See also A. Stonner, Heilige der deutschen Frühzeit (1935), vol. ii.

1150 Saint Igor, Great Prince of Kiev The Transfer of Relics of The Kievan Great Prince Igor Ol'govich The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles.
In holy Baptism George (September 19), in the year 1146 suffered defeat and was taken captive by prince Izyaslav, who imprisoned him in one of the monasteries of Russian or Southern Pereyaslavl' (now

Pereyaslavl'-Khmel'nitsk). Far removed from the vanities of this world, and grievously ill, he began to repent of his sins and asked permission to be tonsured a monk. On January 5, 1147 Bishop Euthymius of Pereyaslavl' tonsured him into monasticism with the name Gabriel. Soon he recovered his health and transferred to the Kiev Theodorov monastery, where he became a schemamonk with the name Ignatius, and devoted himself entirely to monastic efforts.

But a storm of fratricidal hatred raged over Kiev. The Chernigov princes, cousins of Igor, plotted to entice Izyaslav of Kiev into a joint campaign with the aim of capturing, or even killing him. The plot was uncovered when the prince was already on the way to Chernigov. The Kievans were in an uproar in learning of the ruse of the Chernigovichi, and they stormed into the place where the innocent St Igor was. St Igor was brutally murdered on September 19, 1147.

The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles. With the blessing of Metropolitan Clement Smolyatich, Igumen Ananias of the Theodorov monastery buried the

passion-bearer in the church of the Kiev Simonov monastery. On June 5, 1150, when the Kiev throne had become occupied by Yuri Dolgoruky, his confederate and the murdered Igor's brother, the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Ol'govich, solemnly transferred the holy relics of St Igor to Chernigov his native region, where they were placed into a reliquary in the Savior cathedral church. Then also the Feastday in memory of the saint was established.

The Igor Icon of the Mother of God.

The holy Passion-Bearer and Great Prince of Kiev Igor Ol'govich (September 19, 1147), prayed before this icon during the last moments of his life. It was in the chapel of St John the Theologian in the Dormition cathedral of the Kiev Caves Lavra. This icon was of old Greek origin, and had an inscription saying that it belonged to St Igor.

PEREYASLAVL, a town of Russia, in the government of Poltava, 26 m. S.E. of the city of Kiev, at the confluence of the Trubezh and the Alta, which reach the Dnieper 5 m. lower down at the town's port, the village of Andrushi. Pop. 14,609. Besides the town proper there are three considerable suburbs. Though founded in 993 by Vladimir the Great of Moscow in memory of his signal success over the Turkish Pechenegs, Pereyaslavl has now few remains of antiquity. The town has a trade in grain, salt, cattle and horses, and some manufactures - tallow, wax, tobacco, candles and shoes.

From 1054 Pereyaslavl was the chief town of a separate principality. As a southern outpost it often figures in the 11th, 2th and 13th centuries, and was plundered by the Mongols in 1239. In later times it was one of the centres of the Cossack movement; and in 1628 the neighbourhood of the town was the scene of the extermination of the Polish forces known as "Tara's Night." It was by the Treaty of Pereyaslavl that in 1654 the Cossack chieftain Bogdan Chmielnicki acknowledged the supremacy of Tsar Alexis of Russia.

Blessed Igor, Prince of Chernigov and Kiev June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
Persecuted by his kinsfolk, he left the world and became a monk. The citizens of Kiev, disgusted with the Olgovitch dynasty, determined to exterminate it. They hurried to the monastery, seized the young and innocent schema-monk and killed him. For this evil-doing, much misfortune fell on the inhabitants of Kiev, but candles were several times seen to light of themselves on the grave of this blessed monk, and a fiery column appeared over the church were he was buried. This was in 1147.

Blessed Constantine, Metropolitan of Kiev June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
In the days of the blessed Prince Igor, when there was great unrest and intrigue among the princes of Russia, there was also disorder in the Church and frequent changes of hierarch. Thus, after the death of Metropolitan Michael of Kiev, Prince Izyaslav took a learned monk, Klim, as Metropolitan, not seeking the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople as had been the custom from the earli-est times. The Patriarch sent this Metropolitan Constantine to investigate the matter, and Constantine deposed Klim and exiled all the priests whom he had ordained. This led to a division among the people, some upholding Klim and some Constantine. Then, at the request of the princes, the Patriarch sent a third, Theodore, and both Klim and Constantine were removed. When Constantine died, in 1159, his will was opened. In it he had written that he was not to be buried, but cast out for the dogs to eat, for he saw himself as guilty of having sown discord in the Church. Not daring to go against his wishes, but with great fear notwithstanding, they took his body and threw it outside, where it lay for three days. During these three days, there was terrible thunder over Kiev; lightning flashed, thunderbolts dropped and there were earth tremors. Eight people were killed by lightning, and three fiery columns were seen above Constantine's body. Seeing all this, the Prince of Kiev ordered that his body be taken and buried in the church in which Igor's tomb was situated, and the natural world immediately became calm. Thus God justified His humble servant.

1233 Theodore of Novgorod Holy Prince the elder brother of St Alexander Nevsky In 1614 the Swedes pillaged the monastery, broke open the tomb of the prince finding him whole and incorrupt
Born in the year 1218. His princely service to his native land began at a very early age. In 1229 both brothers had been left in Novgorod by their father Yaroslav Vsevolodovich as his representatives. But not even a year passed before the young princes had to quit Novgorod. The turbulent Novgorod people in their "veche" ("government council") decided to invite another prince. But in the very next year, 1230, during a time of famine and epidemic, the Novgorodians again invited Yaroslav to rule them. On December 30, 1230 he sat as prince in Novgorod for the fourth time, but he remained in the city for only two weeks, when he installed his sons there and went off to Pereyaslavl-Zalessk.

In 1232 the fourteen-year-old Theodore was already summoned to serve God not only in prayer, but also by the sword. He took part in a campaign of the Russian troops against the pagan Mordovian princes.

In the year 1233 at the wish of his father he was obliged to enter into marriage with Theodoulia, the daughter of the holy Prince Michael of Chernigov. When the guests had already gathered at the wedding feast, the bridegroom suddenly died.
After the unexpected death of her groom, the princess left the world and was tonsured in one of the Suzdal monasteries, famed in her monastic efforts as St Euphrosyne of Suzdal (September 25).

St Theodore was buried in the Yuriev monastery in Novgorod. In the year 1614 the Swedes, having pillaged the monastery, broke open the tomb of the prince and finding him whole and incorrupt, they mocked the holy relics, and finally abandoned the body in the churchyard. Years later, Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod transferred the relics to Novgorod's cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) , placing them in the chapel of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John. There they remained until 1919, when they were removed by the Bolsheviks.

The service to St Theodore was compiled in the year 1787 by Metropolitan Gabriel of Petersburg and Novgorod (+ 1801).

1275 Saint Peter of Korisha meek and humble child he and sister St Helena sold family possessions distributed the money to the poor entered

monastery Archangel Michael appeared to him and drove away demons the Lord consoled him with a vision of the Uncreated Light which lasted several days Many icons of St Peter proved to be miracle working
Peter_of_Korish_coffin_cave_church

Born in 1211 in the village of Unjimir between the city of Pech and the Field of Kosovo. As a child, he was meek and humble, and seldom participated in children's games. At an early age, he and his younger sister Helena devoted themselves to prayer and fasting. When he was ten years old, the future saint told his parents that he wished to serve God by becoming a monk.

St Peter's father died when the boy was fourteen, so he put off his plans to enter the monastery in order to care for his mother and sister. At the same time, he increased his ascetical efforts. When St Peter was sixteen, his beloved mother reposed. Determined to enter a monastery, he asked his sister whether she intended to be married, for his conscience would not allow him to abandon her unless he had provided for her. Helena said that it was her wish to preserve her virginity and become a nun.
She said she would share his life of prayer and asceticism if only he would take her with him. Peter rejoiced and replied,
"May the Lord's will be done."
They sold their family possessions and distributed the money to the poor. Traveling to Pec, they reached the Monastery of Sts Peter and Paul. Peter remained here, while Helena entered a nearby women's monastery. After several years, both were granted permission to live in solitude. Peter built two cells, one for himself and one for his sister, near the monastery. They spent their time in continual prayer and fasting, freeing themselves from worldly attachments, subduing the flesh, and struggled on the path of salvation.
These two spiritual lamps could not remain hidden for very long. People started coming to them for spiritual counsel and healing. St Peter and his sister agreed to avoid the snare of vainglory by moving to a more remote area. They went to Crna Reka (the town of Black River) on the Ibar River.

crna_reka.jpg Hieromonk Joachim, Protection of the Theotokos Skete Copyright Protection of the Theotokos Skete http://www.kosovo.net/miracle.html

St Peter wished to move even farther into the woods for a life of even greater asceticism, but was reluctant to leave his sister. On the other hand, he was concerned that she might risk her physical and spiritual health if she were to come with him, so he decided to slip away and leave her in order to live alone on a mountain. He did not get very far before she noticed he was gone. She caught up to him and they traveled together to a mountain near the town of Prizren. On top of the mountain was a town called Korisha (modern Kabash), where they stopped to rest. Helena went to sleep there in the grass. St Peter wept and made the Sign of the Cross over her, then went off into the forest. When she awoke and found him gone, she wept and called his name. Finally, she went down from the mountain and lived in Prizren for the rest of her life. St Helena is also commemorated on June 5 with her brother, St Peter.

The monastery in the rocks

The holy ascetic lived in a cave near Korisha, where he continued his spiritual struggles in the heat of summer and in the cold of winter. He withstood the temptations and attacks of the demons which assailed him. When this happened, he sang Psalms and hymns all night until the sun came up in the morning. He fervently prayed for God to help and comfort him in his struggles. The Archangel Michael appeared to him and drove away the demons, promising St Peter that they would never enter his cell again. The Archangel warned him to be vigilant and to persevere, for the Devil wished to destroy him. After advising the saint to call upon the name of the Lord whenever he was attacked by the forces of evil, the holy Archangel vanished.

St Peter still endured temptations, but was victorious against all of them. Realizing his own weakness, he turned to Christ, Who strengthened him and sustained him. After these victories, the Lord consoled him with a vision of the Uncreated Light which lasted several days. From that time forward, St Peter was illumined by the grace of God, so no demon ever dared to approach him again.

Before St Peter's death, many monks were sent to him by God, and he guided all of them.

He blessed them and tonsured them, and permitted them to live in the caves below his cave. Forseeing the approach of death, he dug out a tomb for himself in the wall of his cell. Acceding to the wish of his disciples, he told them the story of his life.
Then he and his disciples received the Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ. After bidding each brother farewell, he surrendered his soul to God on June 5, 1275.

On the night of his blessed repose, a heavenly light was seen in his cave, and the singing of angels was heard by the other monks. In the morning, St Peter's face shone with radiance, and a sweet fragrance came from his body. After the saint's burial, many of those who came to his tomb were healed of their physical and spiritual infirmities.
Seventy years later, King Dushan built a church at Korisha over St Peter's relics, and dedicated it to the God-bearing ascetic.

The holy relics of St Peter were later transferred to the Black River monastery, then to the church of the Archangel Michael in the city of Kalashin.

Many of the icons of St Peter proved to be miracle working. The inscription reads: "St Peter of Korisha, desert-dweller and wonder-worker."

Our Holy Father Peter of Koriga June 5 SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
He was born in the village of Koriga, in sight of the monastery of St Mark near Prizren (others suggest a village near Pec). As a young man, he ploughed with a one-eyed ox. He was unusually meek and mild of temper. With his sister Helena, he early began ascetic practices, and lived long in strict asceticism. He showed himself the victor in difficult struggles with diabolical temptations. Many monks gathered round him, and he was guide to them all. Fleeing the praise of men, he hid for a time by the Black River, where St Janik of Devi6 later lived in asceticism. He entered into rest in old age in his cave at Kori"sa. The night of his death, the light of many candles was seen in his cave, and an angelic choir was heard. King Dugan built a church over his wonderworking relics, which became a dependency of Hilandar. In more recent times, St Peter's relics were taken to the Black River, where they are preserved to this day.

"QUICK, HURRY and get changed. Abbot Theodosy is going to Black River Monastery, and you are to go with him!"

Crna Reka Monastery
Crna Reka monastery is a hermitage in the midst of the south Serbian mountains situated in the gorge of the Black River. It is surrounded by high rocks and lush vegetation. It dates from 13th century when a small church dedicated to the Holy Archangel Michael was built in a big cave. Soon the monks hermits built their cells around the church and erected a small draw bridge over the dry bed of the Black River. By a great blessing og God the river disappears underground just in front of the monastery and reappears after several hundred meters of its underground flow and thus spares the monastery from the noise. The greatest treasure of the monastery are the holy and incorruptible relics of St. Peter of Korisha, a famous Serbian ascetic from the 13th century. Even today numerous pilgrims come to the monastery to seek healing and spiritual consolation from this great miracle-worker. In the 15th century Crna Reka was home for a time to a famous hesychast St. Ioanichios, who with his monks later moved to the area of today's Devic monastery. Crna Reka was deserted for a long time. It was only in 1979 that Fr. Artemy came to live there and gathered around himself a young brotherhood. After his election as bishop he took several monks and renewed other monasteries of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. Today there are 18 brethren in the monastery who occupy themselves with prayer, icon painting and wood carving.

It was Tuesday, Januaiy 25, 1994. The message was brought to me as I helped wash the dishes after lunch in the Decani Monastery kitchen. "You will need to wear plenty of warm clothes because it is very cold up there in the mountains."
As an Australian Orthodox visitor to Serbia, I was glad of the opportunity to visit another monastery. Obediently I left the dishes and went to rug myself as best I could against the bitter cold of the Serbian winter. Black River Monastery (Manastir Crna Reka) was hidden high in the inhospitable and rugged mountains of northwest Kosovo near the borders with Montenegro and Albania, and the monks there were often isolated by heavy snowstoms which confined them to their monastery.

The journey took three hours. After passing through Kosovo Mitrovica we began the gradual climb back into the mountain range. The road hugged the River Ibar to the village of Ribarici. It is hard to imagine that not fifteen years ago Archimandrite Atremy, having left his teaching position with the Theological College in Prizren had been ferried across this very river on a barge with all his belongings and books packed onto the back of a little donkey which he led up a shepherd's trail to the half-ruined hermitage of the Black River Monastery there he began living the coenobitic monastic life after the patristic principles taught him by his spiritual father, the Blessed Archimandrite Justin Popovic (+ 1979). God blessed his spiritual struggles and a brotherhood gradually formed from those men God sent to him.

Called from his lonely but by now overcrowded monastery in 1991 to be the bishop of Raska-Prizren, Vladika Artemy is currently leading a monastic renewal in this corner of Serbia, staffing four monasteries in his diocese with the monks he trained at Black River. And still young Serbian Orthodox men are coming to place themselves under his spiritual direction to the amazement, constemation and even envy of those within and without the Church.
We crossed that same river now on a modern bridge that replaced the ferry only eight years ago. The rough dirt road climbed steeply up a narrow valley beside the rushing water of the small but lively Black River. We soon reached the snowline.

Our Combi-van could go no further, the track was covered with a layer of thick, slick ice. The cold was piercing as we began the slow and careful walk up the mountain, avoiding the ice and making sure we walked in the footsteps of the one before us. The Black River was too busy tumbling through the rough black rocks and boulders for the winter temperatures to interrupt it. An icy breeze blew in our faces. Breath condensed and matted our beards.

We trudged on. The valley narrowed dramatically, with the road falling on the right in a sheer drop to the river beneath. We climbed higher, and then the monastery came into view. On the few places level and wide enough were two modern but modest buildings containing a winter chapel, cells for the monks, storerooms, workshops' trapeza and kitchen. And there, on the right side of the valley, reached by a covered footbridge that spanned the gorge beneath, was the ancient cave monastery, Manastir Crna Reka. Built in the thirteenth century, the monastery has been home to monks and hermits almost continuously for nearly seven hundred years. The gray skies, glowering clouds and our late afternoon arrival just before dusk impressed upon me its isolation.
We were warmly greeted by the Abbot, Father Nicolai, who at once led us across the footbridge into the ancient building fitted snug against the sheer cliff face. I felt awe at the podvig and spiritual struggles of those generations of holy monks who had lived, prayed and suffered in this ancient place. We were led along a corridor, up some steps and in through a doorway. Before us was the entrance to the cave church of the Holy Archangel Michael, built in the fifteenth century.

Father Nicolai began to tell the group the history of the monastery and the church and the spiritual exploits of the holy monks of past ages. The sound of running water caught our ears. Behind us a small stream issued from the hidden depths of the great mountain that covered us. This stream had supplied the needs of those early monks and is now considered to be a source of grace, healing and blessing to pilgrims in these last days, who drink of it. A little concrete channel had been built into the floor in an attempt to control its Dow. Moisture dripped from the ceiling and walls, our breath misted in in front of us. The cold was chilling, it was no warmer inside the cave monastery than it was outside.

We entered the little church which was only three metres wide and six metres long, its walls covered with faded fifteenth century frescoes of holy saints. Carpets and rugs had been laid on the floor of living rock but the perpetual dampness of the cave made them squelch beneath our feet.
Monks and visitors venerated the holy icon of Saint Michael. Near the right wall of the church, I noticed a large kivot (reliquaiy). I suddenly realised that we were in the presence of the relics of one of God's saints, though who I did not know. In turn, we venerated the holy remains. As I prostrated on the wet floor, water oozing from the carpet into my gloves, I noticed beneath the reliquary a small bed. I was intrigued. I rose, kissed the reliquary and the holy cross that lay upon it and venerated the icon of this unknown saint, a venerable white-haired schema-monk. I asked for his prayers and blessing, thanking God for the holiness of His saints and the faithfulness of those many generations of Black River monks.

As Father Nicolai continued his talk, I stood quietly with my own thoughts and prayers, my heart aflame with the holiness of this isolated hermitage and in awe of those who had lived in such harsh conditions out of love for God and for the salvation of their souls.

My meditations were interrupted when I heard Father Theodosy call my name. What was happening! I caught the Serbian word for "headache", the name "Sveti Petar" and from gestures I understood that I was to lie down on that small bed beneath the reliquary, and try to sleep! The holy one, Sveti Petar - Saint Peter, would help me. And help I needed For over six years I had suffered from severe tension headaches and racking migraines that kept me bedridden and in severe pain for up to three days at a time. Medication helped sometimes but I often needed to recuperate from the after-effects of the drugs prescribed.

It all happened so quickly. Before I knew it, I was being helped to lie down on that narrow bed raised only a few centimetres above the wet floor and covered with blankets against the cold. Directly above me about 40 centimetres was the base of the kivot and the fringe of the velvet cloth which covered it The monks and visitors soon left. I was alone with the holy saint, the vigil lamp burning brightly in the damp and frigid atmosphere.

My mind was in turmoil I tried to pray, to calm myself. I didn't feel a bit sleepy. I felt hope - Oh how I wanted to get rid of those headaches. I felt fear - what if nothing happened' what if I wasn't worthy enough to receive a healing? "Lord," I prayed, "I do not know what is happening. I pray through the intercession of your holy saint that I may be healed of the headaches which cause me so much pain and distress. I accept whatever you want for me. If it is Your will for me not to be healed at this time, and to live with the pain, I accept that May Your will be done, not mine." I tried to concentrate my thoughts and pray. I tried to relax. Outside a bell rang for Vespers. I did not know how long I lay there, but eventually I dozed off praying for God's mercy. Even though the temperature was well below freezing, I did not feel cold but warm and protected. How long I slept I do not know. As I dozed I could hear things happening in my head, as if taut wires were being moved and loosened.

Finding the right words to explain is difficult. But I do know that something happened inside my head.

I was awakened sometime later by one of the monks. At first I did not feel any different. I venerated the holy relics and left the church, returning over the footbridge to the trapeza where the monks and our party were being served coffee. One of the monks who spoke some English told me the name of the saint whose help I had sought - Saint Peter of Korisha. In the following months I was to learn as much as I could about this wonderworker. Soon we said our goodbyes, received Abbot Nicolai's blessing and began the cold and slippery walk down the mountain in the dark towards our vehicle. I noticed during the long drive home that an incipient headache that had developed on the journey to Black River had completely gone. I gave thanks to God and Saint Peter.
During the following week I experienced the full blessings of Saint Peter. Think of a pot of boiling water covered by a heavy lid that prevents the steam and bubbling water from escaping. That is how my head felt. I know that I was experiencing enormous headaches, but it felt as if my head was somehow enveloped by "something" which prevented any pain from being felt. Only once did this series of major headaches succeed in beginning to manifest the usual physical symptoms, and when I called on the name of Saint Peter, it immediately vanished. I was filled with wonder, joy and thankfulness and I still thank God and Saint Peter for this mercy granted to me, a sinner and unworthy one.

Since that day I have had no migraine headache. The tension headaches have continued, but as I daily pray to Saint Peter they have been diminishing in frequency and force. I no longer need to take any medication. For the first time in years my head feels clear and pain-free, my mind and thinking free of the fog of pain and constant tension. An icon of Saint Peter now hangs above my bed and each night I pray to him to continue the healing mercies he began when I slept beneath his holy relics.

In my search to know more about my spiritual benefactor, I was told that Saint Peter is a miracle-worker who helps those who pray to him and come to his shrine, especially if they rest beneath his relics as I did. He is particularly helpful to those suffering problems of the head, migraines headaches, epilepsy, etc.

Shortly after my return home to Australia in early December 1994 I found myself recounting the stay of my healing to a friend, Susan Menis. Her husband, then Melbourne based Greek Orthodox priest Father Stelios Menis, had for many years been afflicted with a major migraine complaint. With the onset of an attack he would take double doses of drugs such as Panadeine Forte and Mersyndol. Often this initial treatment proved futile and the pain would incapacitate him. His physician would need to be called to administer shots of Pethidine to relieve the pain and doses of Stemetil to combat the nausea. The medication would bring relief from the excruciating head pain but leave him debilitated and in need of recuperation for three or four days after each attack.

I gave Susan some oil I had brought with me from the vigil lamp which hangs above the relics of Saint Peter at Black River Monastery. She took this to her husband who began to anoint himself at the onslaught of a migraine headache and pray to Saint Peter for help.

Father Stelios testifies that when he applied the oil of Saint Peter and prayed the migraines would go away. Since using the oil the violent migraine attacks have completely stopped, and he no longer has need of prescription drugs. He still experiences tension headaches, but they are lesser in violence and frequency and nothing in comparison to the pain he endured during those long years as migraine sufferer. The Menis family gives grateful thanks to God and Saint Peter for this healing and deliverance from pain.

Glory be to God for all things, Who in these last days manifests His wonderworking healing mercies through the relics and intercession of His glorified ones, the holy Orthodox saints. Holy Saint Peter of Korisha pray for us, and all who call on you in faith. Amen.

1443 BD FERDINAND OF PORTUGAL
IT is as the hero of one of the finest plays of the great Spanish dramatist Calderon that Prince Ferdinand the Constant is best known to the world to-day.
He was born at Santarem on September 29, 1402. His father was King John I of Portugal, and his mother was Philippa, daughter of John of Gaunt; he was therefore a great-grandson of King Edward III of England. Even as a child he was devout, and although he was delicate and often prostrated by illness, he always led an austere disciplined life. From the age of fourteen, he regularly recited the canonical hours, according to the Use of Sarum-a practice he must have learnt from his English mother-and he was untouched by the temptations and dissipations of court life.
The death of his father left him so ill-provided that his eldest brother Edward (Duarte) conferred on him the grand-mastership of the Knights of Aviz, an order which had originally been formed under the name of the New Militia to fight the Moors. The pope had granted a dispensation to the Portuguese princes allowing them, though laymen, to occupy the post, but the office was primarily an ecclesiastical one, and Ferdinand only accepted it with reluctance. At one time he wanted to settle in England where he was assured of a welcome from his Lancastrian cousins; King Edward, however, refused to allow his brother to leave Portugal. Soon afterwards Pope Eugenius IV sent a legate to offer the prince the cardinal's hat, but again Ferdinand's scruples stood in the way, and he declined the honour, on the plea that he could not take that burden upon his conscience.
It was perhaps largely at Ferdinand's persuasion and in opposition to the advice both of their brother, Dom Pedro, and of Pope Eugenius, that King Edward determined to send an expedition against the Moors in Africa under the leadership of his two brothers, Henry the Navigator and Ferdinand. Although the latter was ill when they embarked, he made light of it for fear of delay. They arrived at Ceuta with less than half the forces the king had ordered, but they would not wait for reinforcements. Their object was to take Tangier, and they attacked with reckless courage. The result was disastrous. The Portuguese could only save themselves by accepting humiliating terms, leaving Ferdinand as a hostage in the hands of the enemy with twelve others, one of whom was his secretary and future biographer
Alvarez, he was conveyed to Arzilla where he was laid low by illness for seven months. At first he does not appear to have been very badly treated. When, however, it became known that the Portuguese would not ratify the treaty which required the surrender of Ceuta, the Moors vented their indignation upon their hostage.
In May, 1438, he was removed from Arzilla and taken to Fez, where his lot became a pitiable one. Loaded with chains and constantly threatened with death, he spent his days doing heavy menial work in stables and gardens, and his nights in a verminous prison. Yet he never complained, nor did he ever speak a harsh word against the Moors. He was far more concerned for his followers than for himself, and refused to attempt escape because it would mean leaving them and rendering them liable to worse treatment. Great efforts were made by his brothers to ransom him, but the Moors refused to release him except in exchange for Ceuta.
During the last fifteen months of his life he had still harder trials to face. He was separated from his attendants and thrown into a bare and airless dungeon. Towards the sixth year of his captivity, it became evident that he had not long to live. He was still kept in prison, but a doctor, a priest, and a few other Christians were allowed, one at a time, to visit him. Shortly before his death he was strengthened by a vision of our Lady, the Archangel Michael and St John the Evangelist. He passed from prison darkness to everlasting light on June 5, 1443. After his death his body was exposed head downwards on the city wall. When Alvarez, in 1451, regained his freedom, he carried his master's heart back to Portugal, and in 1463 the prince's bones were also brought to his native land, where they were deposited in the church of our Lady at Batalha, in the diocese of Leira. Bd Ferdinand's cultus was allowed by the Holy See in 1470.

There is a Portuguese life by his devoted follower, John Alvarez: Chronica dos feitos, vida e morte do Iffante D. Fernando (Lisboa, 1577): a Latin translation is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. See also the biography by M. Gloning (1916); and A. Sanchez Moguel, in the Boletin de la real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, vol. xx (1892), pp. 332 seq. Some further information may be gleaned from the lives of Prince Henry the Navigator, e.g.. those by R. H. Major (1868), and J. P. Oliveira Martins (Eng. trans., 1914).

1561 Sts Bassian and Jonah were monks of the Solovki Transfiguration monastery and disciples of Igumen Philip, who later became Metropolitan of Moscow (January 9).
These holy monks were glorified by the Lord after their death in 1561.
Fishermen and sailors came to pray in the chapel, built in 1599 over their grave by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery Elder Mamant. There in 1623 the hieromonk James founded a monastery, called Pertominsk.

1840 St. Luke Loan Martyr of Vietnam native ordained a priest and then served the Catholic community until his arrest by anti-Christian forces. He was beheaded. His canonization took place in 1988.

1900 Bl. Franciscan Martyrs of China 29 Franciscans and Franciscan tertiaries who became victims of the Boxer Rebellion. They represent more than 100,000 Christians of China who were martyred in the reign of Empress Tz’u hsi. These martyrs are recorded as being slain in the palace of the viceroy of Taiyuan-fu of Xian-fu Province.
The martyrs are: Bishop Gregory Grassie, Bishop Francis Fognolla, Father Elias Facchini, Father Theodore Balat, Father Franco Benedictine hermit. He was born in Castel Regni, in Abruzzi, Italy. Entering the Benedictine monastery at Colimento, he lived as a hermit there for twenty years. He spent the last decade and a half of his life at Asserigo.

St. Marcian
Martyr of Egypt with Apollonius, Nicanor, and companions. There is doubt about Marcian and Nicanor, who may have been called Nicander. Some scholars believe that they were Roman soldiers martyred in Bulgaria or Romania.

To Save A Life is Earthly; To Save A Soul is Eternal

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 35

Incline thine ear, O Lady, to hear my prayers: and turn not away from me the beauty of thy face.

Turn our mourning into rejoicing: and our tribulation into joy.

May our enemies fall down at our feet: by thy power may their heads be crushed.

Let every tongue praise thee: and let all flesh bless thy holy name.

For thy spirit is sweet above honey: and thy inheritance above the honey and the honeycomb.

Let every spirit praise Our Lady

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 heaven: only 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 html Indulgences 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 2000) Quang 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 Uniates Chalcedon

Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BC Lay Saints Miraculous_Icons Miraculous_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.

Join us on CatholicVote.org. Be part of a new movement committed to using powerful media projects to create a Culture of Life. We can help shape the movement and have a voice in its future. Check it out at www.CatholicVote.org

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 Nizamuddi n 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

Index to Part I and Part II 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 Indulgences 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}.

Saints Simon (saw), Bartholomew (knife), James the Lesser (book), John (eagle), Andrew (transverse cross), Peter keys), Paul (sword), James the Greater (staff), Thomas (carpenter's square), Philip (serpent), Matthew (book), and Jude sword

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:

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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 Pasqualina 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).

LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000) India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related Marian Websites Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates, PSALTER BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 35 2022