Hesia and Susanna The Holy Women were disciples of the PriestMartyr Pankratios, Bishop of Tauromeneia (Comm. 9 July), a disciple of the Apostle Peter.

304 Potamioena the Younger A young girl martyred at Alexandria VM (AC) under Diocletian (Benedictines).

3rd v. Theodotus The Holy Martyr lived in Ancyra of Galatia distinguished by his kindliness and concern
At the height of the persecution under Diocletian (284-305) he provided Christians with everything they needed, and gave them shelter in his home. There they secretly celebrated church services.
Theodotus_Bishop_of_Ancyra.
St Theodotus visited the Christian captives in prison, paid their bail, and reverently buried the bodies of martyrs who had been thrown to the wild beasts. Once he buried the bodies of seven holy women martyrs, who were drowned in the sea (May 18). They reported this to the governor.

After refusing to offer sacrifice to idols, and denouncing the folly of paganism, St Theodotus confessed Christ as God, for which they subjected him to terrible tortures and beheaded him with a sword. They wanted to burn the holy martyr's body, but could not do so because of a storm which had arisen, so they gave his holy relics to a certain Christian for burial. St Theodotus is also commemorated on May 18.

3rd v. Hieromartyr Marcellinus Bishop of Rome Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus with him 17,000 men the Holy Martyrs .
St Marcellinus was Bishop of Rome during the height of the persecution against Christians under Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), when 17,000 men were martyred a single month. During this time St Marcellinus was also arrested. Afaid of the fierce tortures, he burned incense and offered sacrifice to idols. The emperor called him his friend and clothed him in splendid robes. Although he had encouraged others to undergo torture for Christ, he gave in to cowardice. He wept bitterly, filled with remorse.
During this time, a Synod of 180 bishops and presbyters met at the city of Sinuessa (in Campania). St Marcellinus appeared at the assembly in penitential sackcloth, his head sprinkled with ashes. He confessed his sin before the delegates and asked them to judge him. The Fathers of the Council said, "Judge yourself! From your lips this sin came forth, from your lips let judgment be pronounced. We know that even St Peter denied Christ out of fear, but he wept bitterly for his sin, and received forgiveness from the Lord."
Then Marcellinus pronounced sentence upon himself, "I strip myself of the priestly dignity, of which I am unworthy. After death, do not bury my body, but instead throw it to the dogs. Cursed be the one who dares to bury it."

Upon his return to Rome Marcellinus went to the emperor, threw down the fine clothing given him, and said that he regretted his renunciation of Christ. The enraged emperor had him tortured, and sentenced him to death.
St Marcellinus prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who mercifully receives sinners who repent, then willingly placed his head beneath the sword. The holy martyrs Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus were beheaded with him.
The body of St Marcellinus lay for thirty-six days along the wayside. Appearing in a vision to the new bishop Marcellus, the holy Apostle Peter said,
"Why have you not buried the body of Marcellinus?"
"I fear his curse," replied St Marcellus.
"Perhaps you do not remember," said the Apostle Peter, "that it is written: 'He that humbles himself shall be exalted.' Therefore, go bury his body with reverence."
Fulfilling the command of the Apostle Peter, St Marcellus buried the body of St Marcellinus in a crypt, built for the burial of the bodies of martyrs by the illustrious Priscilla, along the Via Salaria.

3rd v. St Sisinius deacon suffered at Rome along with hieromartyr Marcellus, Bishop of Rome, holy deacon Cyriacus; also Smaragdus, Largus, Apronian, Saturninus, Crescentian, Papias and Maurus and the holy women martyrs Priscilla, Lucy and the Emperor's daughter Artemia
during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian (284-305) and their successors, Galerius (305-311) and Maxentius (305-312).
The emperor Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire, deprived all Christians of military rank and sent them into penal servitude.
Priscilla_of_Rome
A certain rich Christian, Thrason, sent food and clothing to the prisoners through the Christians Sisinius, Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus. Marcellus thanked Thrason for his generosity, and ordained Sisinius and Cyriacus as deacons. While rendering aid to the captives, Sisinius and Cyriacus also were arrested and condemned to harsh labor. They fulfilled not only their own work quota, but worked also for the dying captive Saturninus. Therefore, Maximian sent Sisinius to Laodicius, the governor of the district. They locked the saint in prison. The head of the prison, Apronian, summoned Sisinius for interrogation but, seeing his face shine with a heavenly light, he believed in Christ and was baptized. Later, he went with Sisinius to Marcellus and received Chrismation. Marcellus served the Liturgy, and they partook of the Holy Mysteries.

On June 7, Sts Sisinius and Saturninus were brought before Laodicius in the company of Apronian. Apronian confessed that he was a Christian, and was beheaded. Sts Sisinius and Saturninus were thrown into prison. Then Laodicius gave orders to bring them to a pagan temple to offer sacrifice. Saturninus said,
"If only the Lord would turn the pagan idols into dust!"

At that very moment the tripods, on which incense burned before the idols, melted. Seeing this miracle, the soldiers Papias and Maurus confessed Christ. After prolonged tortures Sisinius and Saturninus were beheaded, and Papias and Maurus were locked up in prison, where they prayed to receive illumination by holy Baptism. The Lord fulfilled their desire. Leaving the prison without being noticed, they received Baptism from Marcellus and returned to the prison.

At the trial they again confessed themselves Christians and died under terrible tortures. Their holy bodies were buried by the priest John and Thrason. Sts Cyriacus, Smaragdus, Largus and other Christian prisoners continued to languish at hard labor.

Diocletian's daughter Artemia suffered from demonic oppression.
Having learned that the prisoner Cyriacus could heal infirmities and cast out devils, the emperor summoned him to the sick girl. In gratitude for the healing of his daughter, the emperor freed Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus. Soon the emperor sent Cyriacus to Persia to heal the daughter of the Persian emperor.

Upon his return to Rome, Cyriacus was arrested on orders of the emperor Galerius, the son-in-law of Diocletian, who had abdicated and retired as emperor. Galerius was very annoyed at his predecessor because his daughter Artemia had converted to Christianity. He gave orders to drag Cyriacus behind his chariot stripped, bloodied, and in chains, to be shamed and ridiculed by the crowds.

310 Marcellus hieromartyr Marcellus, Bishop of Rome denounced the emperor openly before everyone for his cruelty toward innocent Christians
The emperor ordered the holy bishop to be beaten with rods, and dealt severely with him. Sts Cyriacus, Smaragdus, Largus, and another prisoner, Crescentian, died under torture.

And at this time the emperor's daughter Artemia and another twenty-one prisoners were also executed with Cyriacus.

Marcellus was secretly freed by Roman clergy. Exhuming the bodies of the holy martyrs Cyriacus, Smaragdus and Largus, they reburied them on the estates of two Christian women, Priscilla and Lucy, on the outskirts of Rome, after they had transformed Lucy's house into a church.

Ascending the throne, Maxentius gave orders to destroy the church and turn it into a stockyard, and he sentenced the holy bishop to herd the cattle. Exhausted by hunger and cold, and wearied by the tortures of the soldiers, Marcellus became ill and died in the year 310.
Kyriake_Caesarea_Palestine

3rd v. Kyriake, Kaleria (Valeria), and Mary the holy women martyrs lived in Palestinian Caesarea abandoned

paganism, settled in a solitary place and spent their lives in prayer, beseeching the Lord that the persecution against Christians would come to an end, and that the Faith of Christ would shine throughout all the world

Caleria_Caesarea_Palestine

During persecution under Diocletian (284-305). Having received instruction in the Christian Faith, they abandoned paganism, settled in a solitary place and spent their lives in prayer, beseeching the Lord that the persecution against Christians would come to an end, and that the Faith of Christ would shine throughout all the world.

The governor tried to force them to worship idols, but they bravely confessed their faith in Christ. For this reason, they were tortured and received the crown of martyrdom.

350 St. Paul of Bishop of Constantinople during the period of bitter controversy in the Church over the Arian heresy
Constantinópoli natális sancti Pauli, ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopi, qui sæpe ab Ariánis ob fidem cathólicam pulsus, et a sancto Júlio Primo, Románo Pontífice, restitútus est; ac demum, ab Ariáno Imperatóre Constántio relegátus ad Cucúsum, Cappadóciæ oppídulum, ibídem, Arianórum insídiis crudéliter strangulátus, ad cæléstia regna migrávit. Ipsíus autem corpus, Theodósio Imperatóre, Constantinópolim summo honóre, translátum fuit.
At Constantinople, the birthday of St. Paul, bishop of that city. For the Catholic faith, he was often driven out of his see by the Arians, but restored to it by the Roman Pontiff, St. Julius I. Finally the Arian emperor Constantius banished him to Cucusum, a small town of Cappadocia. There, by the intrigue of the Arians, he was barbarously strangled, and thus departed for the heavenly kingdom. His body was taken to Constantinople with the greatest honour during the reign of Emperor Theodosius.
350 OR 351 ST PAUL I, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
PAUL was a native of Thessalonica, but from his boyhood he had been secretary to Bishop Alexander by whom he was afterwards promoted to be a deacon in the church of Constantinople. When the aged hierarch lay on his death-bed-apparently in the year 336-he recommended St Paul as his successor and the electors endorsed his choice. Paul was accordingly consecrated by several orthodox bishops, and practically all that is known of himself and his life is the record of an episcopate made stormy by the heretical Arians, who had supported the candidature of an older deacon called Macedonius.
At their instigation the Emperor Constantius summoned a council of Arian bishops, by whom Paul was deposed and banished. The vacant see was bestowed, not upon Macedonius, but upon the neighbouring metropolitan Eusebius of Nicomedia. St Paul took shelter in the west, and could not regain possession of the see until after the death of his powerful antagonist, which, however, took place soon afterwards. He was then reinstated amid popular rejoicings. The Arians, who stilI refused to acknowledge him, set up a rival bishop in the person of Macedonius, and soon the opposing factions came into open conflict and the city became a prey to violence and tumult. Constantius therefore ordered his general Hermogenes to eject Paul from Constantinople. But the populace, infuriated at the prospect of losing their bishop, set fire to the general's house, killed him, and dragged his body through the streets. This outrage brought Constantius himself to Constantinople. He pardoned the people, but he sent St Paul into exile. On the other hand he refused to confirm the election of Macedonius which, like that of his rival, had taken place without the imperial sanction.
We find St Paul once more at Constantinople in 344, and Constantius then consented to re-establish him for fear of incurring the hostility of his brother Constans, who with Pope St Julius I supported Paul. But on the death of the Western emperor in 350 Constantius sent the praetorian prefect Philip to Constantinople with instructions to expel Paul and to instal Macedonius in his place. Too astute to risk incurring the fate of Hermogenes, Philip had recourse to a stratagem. He invited St Paul to meet him at the public baths of Zeuxippus and, whilst the people, suspicious of his designs, were gathered outside, he hustled Paul out of a side window and got him away by sea. The unfortunate bishop was exiled to Singara, in Mesopotamia, and from thence was removed to Emesa in Syria and finally to Cucusus in Armenia.[*Fifty-four years later another bishop of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom, was banished to the same place.] There he was left for six days and nights without food in a gloomy dungeon, and then strangled. This, at any rate, was the account given by Philagrius, an official who was stationed at Cucusus at the time.

The career of St Paul I of Constantinople belongs to general ecclesiastical history, and such works as Hefele-Leclercq, Histoire des Conciles, L. Duchesne, History of the Early Church, and Fliche and Martin, Histoire de l'Eglise, must be consulted to view the incidents in their proper setting. Of St Paul's private life as a man or as a pastor of souls we know little or nothing, though there are two late Greek biographies printed in Migne, PG (see BHG., nos. 1472, 1473). The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii, have gathered up such references as could be found in early Christian literature. They give him, it may be noticed, the title Martyr, which is not explicitly conferred in the Roman Martyrology; but in the Oriental churches he is honoured as a martyr, his feast among the Greeks and Armenians being kept on November 6, among the Copts on October 5. It is remarkable that St Paul is commemorated in the Hieronymianum, and his name has passed from thence into the Félire of Oengus. See also DCB., vol. iv, pp. 256-257; and also vol. iii, pp. 775-777, under Macedonius.

Elected in 336 to succeed Alexander of Constantinople, the following year he was exiled to Pontus by Emperor Constantius II. Because of his staunch position against Arianism, Paul was replaced by the heretical bishop Macedonius. Allowed to return in 338, Paul was again exiled by the Arians, who had the support of many in the imperial government, but returned about 340. Once more he was seized and, at the order of Emperor Constantius, he was exiled to Mesopotamia. Brought back in 344, he was sent yet again into exile, this time to Cucusus, in Armenia. Here he was deliberately starved and finally strangled by Arian supporters. He is considered a martyr for the orthodox cause and was a close friend St. Athanasius.
Paul of Constantinople BM (RM)
Died c. 350. Patriarch Saint Paul spent most of his episcopate in exile. He was elected in 336; exiled to Pontus 337-338; exiled to Trèves by an Arian synod until 340; and, in 342, he was sent in chains to Mesopotamia by Emperor Constantius. Recalled in 344, he was banished for the last time to Kukusus, Armenia, where he was left without food for six days and then strangled (Benedictines). In art, Saint Paul is depicted as a bishop with a stole in his hand or as strangled with his own stole (Roeder).

610 Colman (Mocholmoc) of Dromore first abbot of Muckmore, County Antrim many miracles to the bishop teacher of Saint Finnian of Clonard B (AC)
6th v. ST COLMAN OF DROMORE, BISHOP
THE first bishop of Dromore (Druim Mór), in County Down, was this St Colman, who founded a monastery there, probably about the year 514. He was venerated from early times in Scotland as well as in Ireland, and under the date of June 7 we find him mentioned in several of the ancient calendars of both countries- sometimes as Mocholmoc, or Mocholmog-"my dear little Colum". The Felire of Oengus describes him as "the great descendant of Artae", but nothing is actually known of his parentage and of his career, the manuscripts of a much later date which profess to relate his life being full of anachronisms and extravagant stories. As there are over two hundred Irish saints of the name of Colman, it is scarcely to be wondered at if their histories have become confused.
According to tradition, St Colman of Dromore was born in Dalriada (Argyllshire). After receiving his early training at Nendrum, or Mahee Island, from St Coelan, he became a disciple of St Ailbe of Emly. Amongst his friends was St Macanisius, whose advice he sought as to his future career. "It is the will of God that you erect a monastery within the bounds of Coba plain", was the answer he received. He accordingly set to work and established his community by the river Lagan which passes through Dromore. The most famous of his pupils was St Finnian of Moville. St Colman seems to have died about the middle of the sixth century or rather earlier, and was probably interred at Dromore, though the Breviary of Aberdeen gives Inchmacome as his place of burial. His feast is kept in all dioceses of Ireland.

There is a Latin life of St Colman, mutilated at the end, which has been printed by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii, from the Codex Salmanticensis. Besides this, we have only the lessons in the Aberdeen Breviary. Some references to the same saint occur in Fr J. Ryan's Irish Monasticism. See also Forbes, KSS., pp. 304-305.

Born at Argyll, c. 516; cultus approved in 1903; he has a second feast on October 27. If you are confused by the many saints named Colman, join the club: there are 126 Irish saints bearing that illustrious name. Today's saint was the first abbot of Muckmore, County Antrim, then chosen as the abbot-founder and bishop of Dromore in County Down. He is said to have been the teacher of Saint Finnian of Clonard. Jocelin, in his life of Saint Patrick, tells us that Colman's virtue was foretold by Patrick. His legend ascribes many miracles to the bishop.
This Colman is titular saint of at least one church in Scotland, Inis Mo-Cholmaig, and one in Wales, Llangolman (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth, Montague).

643 St. Vulphy Hermit and miracle worker also called Vulfiafius
643 ST VULFLAGIUS, OR WULPHY
IN his early youth, St Vulflagius married and settled down in his native town of Rue, a little place near Abbeville. There he led so exemplary a life with his wife and three daughters that his fellow citizens upon the death of their priest elected him to be their pastor. Accordingly, with the consent of his wife, Vulflagius received ordination from St Richarius (Riquier). After a time, however, acting against his conscience, he resumed relations with his wife, to whom he was greatly attached. [* It must be remembered that at this date celibacy in the priesthood, though recommended, was not of general obligation.]
This he soon regretted and as part of his expiation undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. When he returned he still regarded himself as unworthy to act as a shepherd to others. Accordingly he withdrew to a lonely place where he lived as a hermit. He was greatly tempted to abandon his solitude, but stood firm and was rewarded by the gifts of wisdom and of miracles. Men resorted to him from near and far to profit by his instructions and to be healed of their diseases. He died probably about 643. His relics were translated in the ninth century to Montreuil-sur-Mer and are still venerated there.

There is very little serious evidence for the story of St Wulphy (whose name is written in many different ways), but there can be no question that a vigorous cult was paid to him at Montreuil. The old legend will be found recounted in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii. See Braquehay, Le Culte de S. Wulphy (1896), and Corblet, Hagiographie d'Amiens (1874), vol. iv, pp. 96-106. Wulphy seems to be identical with, or to have been confused with, St Walfroy. See Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvii (1898), p. 307, and xxi, p. 43.

Originally from Rue, near Abbeville, France. Vulphy was married but received his wife's permission to become a priest. He gave up an active life after a pilgrimage to become a hermit. Vulflagius of Abbeville, Hermit (AC) (also known as Vulphy, Wulfalgius, Wulphy) Died c. 643. Though married, Vulflagius was chosen to be priest of a parish at Rue, near Abbeville. He later made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and ended his life as a hermit. His memory is greatly venerated at Montreuil-sur-Mer (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

688 Meriadoc of Vannes came to Cornwall and founded several churches, one of which at Camborne was once dedicated to him a life of abstinence and love for the poor B (AC) (also known as Meriadec, Meriasek)
"Poverty is a remover of cares and the mother of holiness." -- Saint Meriadoc.
6th v. ST MERIADOC, BISHOP
ST MERIADOC, or Meriadec, is venerated in Brittany, and was formerly honoured also in Cornwall, where the parish church of Camborne was originally dedicated in his honour. His legend in Cornish, Beunans Meriasek, is the only complete miracle-play founded on the story of a saint and written in the vernacular in our own country which has survived to this day. No reliance can be placed on the popular biographies or other accounts of the saint (e.g. the breviary lessons used in the diocese of Vannes); all are based on a life compiled in the twelfth century, one object of which was to glorify the Rohan family by inventing a descent from the "royal" family of St Meriadoc.
Nothing is actually known of Meriadoc's history, but a conjectural outline of his career based on topographical data was suggested in a very learned investigation by Canon G. H. Doble.[ *In Wales, Cornwall and Brittany" it is not the Lives of the Saints that tell us most about the existence of the saints and the national organization of religion, but the names of places" (Joseph Loth). "Place-names", says M. Largilliere, "are documents of indisputable truthfulness."]
The point that the name is Welsh confirms the assumption that Meriadoc was a Welshman. From Wales he seems to have passed first to Cornwall, where he founded one or more churches, and then to Brittany. The circumstance that the parish of Camborne, with which he is associated, is adjacent to that of Gwinear, coupled with the fact that St Meriadoc and St Gwinear are both venerated in the Breton parish of Pluvigny, i.e. St Gwinear, suggests the hypothesis that the two holy men, both of whom have Welsh names, were companions who went together to Cornwall and Brittany. He may have been a regionary bishop, but he never was bishop of Vannes, although his name appears in the official list.

Canon Doble's contribution is no. 34 in his Cornish Saints series (1935). A text and translation of Beunans Meriasek was published by Whitley Stokes (1872); and an extract in handy form, by R. Morton Nance and A. S. D. Smith, was printed at Camborne in 1949. Little profit can be derived from the legendary materials accumulated by Albert Le Grand and Andre du Saussay, to which the Bollandists in 1698 were forced to have recourse for want of better sources. See, however, Duine, Memento, p. 71.

Meriadoc, though venerated especially in Cornwall and northern France (Brittany), was probably a Welshman who lived in the 5th or 6th century. He came to Cornwall and founded several churches, one of which at Camborne was once dedicated to him. He became renowned in these parts and a miracle play in Cornish still survives, recounting his legendary exploits. He then crossed over into Brittany, where his memory is still strong. In the 16th-century church at Plougasnou is a reliquary containing what may well be part of Meriadoc's skull. At Stival is preserved what purports to be his bell. Placed on the heads of the deaf and those suffering migraine, it is said to heal them. Some documents state that Meriadoc even became bishop of Vannes at a time when it was one of the most important cities of Brittany.

Meriadoc had been a rich man. Before becoming a hermit he gave all his money to poor clerics, distributing his lands to the needy. So great became his reputation for sanctity that he feared he would become vain and retired even further from the world. Instead of the silks and purple that he once wore, Meriadoc new dressed in rags, eating simple food, living in complete poverty. When his relatives tried to make him leave his new life and return to the world, he told the viscount of Rohan who had come with these relatives that he would be better engaged extirpating the thieves and robbers of the neighborhood. The viscount took the saint at his word, and a great evil was removed from Brittany.
Although Meriadoc was unanimously elected bishop of Vannes, he took the bishopric reluctantly. After his consecration he continued a life of abstinence and love for the poor. He died kissing his brethren and crying, "Into your hands, Lord, I commend my Spirit" (Bentley).

732 Aventinus of Bagnères hermit in the Larboush Valley, where the Saracens discovered him and put him to death M (AC)
Born at Bagnères in the Pyrenees; died 732. Aventinus was a hermit in the Larboush Valley, where the Saracens discovered him and put him to death (Benedictines).

786 St. Willibald Bishop and missionary native of Wessex England brother of Sts. Winebald and Walburga related to St. Boniface; Willibald was the first recorded English pilgrim to the Holy Land, and his vita the earliest travel book by an English writer; honoured with many miracles.
786 ST WILLIBALD, BISHOP OF Eichstätt

WILLIBALD was born about the year 700, in the kingdom of the West Saxons, the son of St Richard (February 7) and so brother of SS. Winebald and Walburga.
When he was three years old his life was despaired of in a violent sickness. When all natural remedies proved unsuccessful, his parents laid him at the foot of a great cross which was erected in a public place near their house. There they made a promise to God that if the child recovered they would consecrate him to the divine service, and he was immediately restored to health. Richard put him under the abbot of the monastery of Waltham in Hampshire. Willibald left here about the year 720 to accompany his father and brother on a pilgrimage, as is narrated in the life of St Richard on February 7.
After staying for a time in Rome, where he suffered from malaria, Willibald set out with two companions to visit the holy places which Christ had sanctified by His presence on earth. They sailed first to Cyprus and thence into Syria. At Emesa (Homs) St Willibald was taken by the Saracens for a spy, and was imprisoned with his companions, but after a short time they were released. When first the prisoners were arraigned, the magistrate said, "I have often seen men of the parts of the earth whence these come travelling hither. They mean no harm, wishing but to fulfil their law." They then went to Damascus, Nazareth, Cana, Mount Tabor, Tiberias. Magdala, Capharnaum, the source of the Jordan (where Willibald noticed that the cattle differed from those of Wessex, having "a long back, short legs, large upright horns, and all of one colour"), the desert of the Temptation, Galgal, Jericho, and so to Jerusalem. Here he spent some time, worshipping Christ in the places where He wrought so many great mysteries, and seeing marvels that are still shown to the pious pilgrim to-day. He likewise visited famous monasteries, lauras and hermitages in that country, with a desire of learning and imitating the practices of the religious life, and whatever might seem most conducive to the sanctification of his soul. After visiting Bethlehem and the south, the coast towns, Samaria and Damascus, and Jerusalem several times again, he eventually took ship at Tyre and, after a long stay in Constantinople, reached Italy before the end of the year 730. Willibald was the first recorded English pilgrim to the Holy Land, and his vita the earliest travel book by an English writer.

The celebrated monastery of Monte Cassino having been lately repaired by Pope St Gregory II, Willibald chose that house for his residence, and his example contributed to settle it in the primitive spirit of its holy rule during the ten years that he lived there: indeed he seems to have had an important part in the restoration of observance there. At the end of that time. coming on a visit to Rome, he was received by Pope St Gregory III, who, being interested in his travels and attracted by his character, eventually instructed Willibald to go into Germany and join the mission of his kinsman Boniface. Accordingly he set out for Thuringia, where St Boniface then was, by whom he was ordained priest. His labours in the country about Eichstätt, in Franconia, were crowned with great success, and he was no less powerful in words than in works.

Very shortly afterwards he was consecrated bishop by Boniface and given charge of a new diocese of which Eichstätt was made the see. The cultivation of so rough a vineyard was a laborious and painful task; but his patience and energy overcame all difficulties. He set about founding, at Heidenheim, a double monastery, whose discipline was that of Monte Cassino, wherein his brother, St Winebald, ruled the monks, and his sister, St Walburga, the nuns. From this monastery the care and evangelization of his diocese was organized and conducted, and in it the bishop found a congenial refuge from the cares of his office. But his love of solitude did not diminish his pastoral solicitude for his flock. He was attentive to all their spiritual necessities, he often visited every part of his charge, and instructed his people with indefatigable zeal and charity, so that "the field which had been so arid and barren soon flourished as a very vineyard of the Lord". Willibald outlived both his brother and sister and shepherded his flock for some forty-five years before God called him to Himself. He was honoured with many miracles and his body enshrined in his cathedral, where it still lies. St Willibald's feast is kept in the diocese of Plymouth on this day, but the Roman Martyrology names him on July 7.

The materials for St Willibald's life are unusually abundant and reliable. We have in particular the account of his early history and travels (the "Hodoeporicon") taken down by a nun of Heidenheim, Hugeburc, an Englishwoman by birth and a relative of the saint. The best text is in Pertz, MGH., Scriptores, vol. xv. Besides this there are several minor biographies and references in letters, etc. All that is most important will be found both in Mabillon, vol. iii, and in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. ii. For English readers a translation of the "Hodoeporicon" will be found in C. H. Talbot, Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany (1954), and in the publications of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society (1891). There has been much debate over obscure questions of chronology. See also Hauck, Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, vol. i; H. Timerding, Die christliche Frühzeit Deutschlands, part ii (1929); Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlix (1931), pp. 353-397; Abbot Chapman in Revue Benedictine, vol. xxi (1904), pp. 74-80, and St Benedict and the Sixth Century (1929), p. 131; and W. Levison, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century (1946).

After studying in a monastery in Waitham, in Hampshire, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome (c. 722) with his father, who died on the way at Lucca, Italy. Willibald continued on to Rome and then to Jerusalem. Captured by Saracens who thought him a spy, he was eventually released and continued on to all of the holy places and then to Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), where he visited numerous lauras, monasteries, and hermitages. Upon his return to Italy, he went to Monte Cassino where he stayed for ten years, serving as sacrist, dean, and porter. While on a visit to Rome, he met Pope St. Gregory III (r. 731-741), who sent him to Germany to assist his cousin St. Boniface in his important missionary endeavors. Boniface ordained him in 741 and soon appointed him bishop of Eichstatt, in Franconia. the Site of Willibald's most successful efforts as a missionary. With his brother Winebald, he founded a double monastery at Heidenheim, naming Winebald abbot and his sister Walburga abbess. Willibald served as bishop for some four decades. His Vita is included in the Hodoeporicon (the earliest known English travel book). An account of his journeys in the Holy Land was written by a relative of Willibald and a nun of Heidenheim.

Willibald (Willebald) of Eichstätt B (RM) Born in Wessex, October 21, c. 700; died on July 7, 786; canonized 938 by Pope Leo VII; feast day formerly on July 7.
The life of Saint Willibald had been despaired of as a child and he had been cured, so it was believed, by being placed at the foot of a market cross where his royal parents had prayed and made a vow that if his life were spared it should be dedicated to the service of God. As a result, when five years old, he was placed for education in Waltham Monastery in Hampshire.

In 721, he accompanied his father, King Saint Richard of the West Saxons, and brother, Saint Winebald, to Rome and the Holy Land. Richard died at Lucca in Italy. At some point Willibald was arrested at Emessa as a spy and imprisoned at Constantinople for two years. After an absence of six years, during which he visited many lauras, monasteries, and hermitages, Willibald settled in the great monastery of Monte Cassino, where he assisted Saint Petronax in its restoration. During his ten years there, Willibald was appointed sacristan, dean and, for eight years, porter.
While on a visit to Rome in 740, he met Pope Saint Gregory III, who sent him to Germany to join his uncle (or cousin) Saint Boniface in his missionary labors. Soon after his arrival, Boniface ordained him priest (741) and then consecrated him bishop of Eichstätt in Franconia (742). It was a hard and rough task in a barbarous land, for it was pioneering work demanding great qualities of energy and evangelism.

During that period he lived in the Heidenheim Abbey ruled by his brother, Saint Winebald, and afterwards by his sister, Saint Walburga. There he found a welcome retreat from the cares of his work, but was no less diligent in his pastoral oversight. "The field which had been so arid and barren soon flourished as a very vineyard of the Lord."
For over 50 years he labored for God in a foreign land and no story of missionary enterprise is more exhilarating than that of this faithful prince, who, whether as porter of a monastery or bishop of a diocese, served the needs of men and to the glory of God. And thus these three children of the good Saxon King Richard came to be numbered among the saints.

Willibald was the first known Englishman to visit the Holy Land. The account of his wanderings, Hodoeporicon, is the earliest known English travelogue. It was dictated from his memories and recorded by a nun at Heidesheim (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Gill).

Saint Willibald is depicted in art holding two arrows. Sometimes he may be shown (1) with a crown at his feet as he talks to a woodsman who fells a tree; (2) in infancy as he is dedicated by his parents at the foot of the cross; (3) as a pilgrim with his father and brother; (4) receiving the mitre from the pope; (5) with the words fides, spes, charitas on his cloak or arm; (6) with a broken glass; or (7) directing the building of a church (Roeder).

847 St. Deochar Hermit; Blessed Charlemagne founded Benedictine abbey of Herriedon; appointed Deochar first abbot: Deochar translated relics of St. Boniface to Fulda

Deochar, OSB Abbot (AC) (also known as Deocarus, Theutger, Gottlief). Saint Deochar was a hermit living in the wilds of Franconia until Blessed Charlemagne founded the Benedictine abbey of Herriedon and appointed Deochar its first abbot. In 802, he was appointed missus regius. In 819, he participated in the translation of Saint Boniface's relics to Fulda (Benedictines, Roeder). In art, Saint Deochar is portrayed before an open tomb (possibly that of Saint Boniface) that exhales a sweet odor or enthroned under Christ among the apostles with a mitre, crozier, and book (Roeder).
He was a hermit in Franconia. Emperor Charlemagne founded the abbey of Herriedon under the Benedictine rule, naming Deochar abbot. In some lists he is called Gottlieb or Theutger.

851 St. Peter Spanish martyr with Wallabonsus, Sabinian, Wistremundus, Habentius, and Jeremias martyred in Cordoba at the order of Emir Abd al-Rahman II for preaching against Muhammad
Córdubæ, in Hispánia, sanctórum Monachórum et Mártyrum Petri Presbyteri, Wallabónsi Diáconi, Sabiniáni, Wistremúndi, Habéntii et Jeremíæ, qui pro Christo, in persecutióne Arábica, sunt juguláti.
At Cordova in Spain, the holy martyrs Peter, a priest, Wallabonsus, a deacon, Sabinianus, Wistremund, Habentius, and Jeremias, all of whom were monks. Their throats were cut at the time of the Arab persecution because they had confessed Christ.

Peter, Wallabonso, Sabinianus, & Companions MM (RM) Died 851. This sextet was martyred at Cordova, Spain, by the Moorish Abderrahman II. Peter was a priest; Wallabonso, a deacon; Sabinianus and Wistremundus, monks of Saint Zoilus; Habentius, a monk of Saint Christopher's; and Jeremias, a very old man who had founded the nearby monastery of Tábanos. Jeremias was scourged to death; the others were beheaded or burned (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

886 St. Meriadoc went to Cornwall and then to Brittany where he became a hermit and was elected bishop of Vannes, in Brittany
Sometimes listed as Meriadoc or Meriasec, he was probably born in Wales. He went to Cornwall and then to Brittany where he became a hermit, and was elected bishop of Vannes, in Brittany. He is depicted in the Cornish miracle play, Beunans Meriosec. He shares his feast day with Meriadoc of Vannes.

967 Blessed Odo of Massy, Benedictine abbot (935-967) of the Cluniac house of Massay (Benedictines). OSB Abbot (AC)

1066 St. Gottschalk Martyr Prince of the Wends collected scattered tribes of the Slavs into one kingdom, and to
make that Christian established monasteries at Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Ratzeburg, Lubeck, and Lenzen
1066 ST GOTTSCHALK, MARTYR a Wendish prince sought to convert his people, introducing Saxon missionaries and establishing monasteries.

GOTTSCHALK was a Wendish prince who repudiated Christianity when his father was murdered by a Christian Saxon. He fought in the service of Canute of Denmark, came to England with Sweyn, whose daughter he married, and returned to Christianity. Later he recovered his own territories, and sought to convert his people, introducing Saxon missionaries and establishing monasteries. But in 1066 his brother-in-law raised an anti-Christian and anti-Saxon revolt, in which many were killed. Gottschalk himself was one of the first, being attacked and slain at Lenzen on the Elbe.
In the past there seems to have been a sporadic cultus of Gottschalk, but no solid reason appears for regarding him as either a saint or a martyr.

There is no medieval life of Gottschalk, and his history has to be gathered, as in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii, pp. 39 seq., from the chroniclers, notably Adam of Bremen. For his services to the Church, see E. Kreusch, Kirchengeschichte der Wendenlande (1902), pp. 28 seq., and A. Hauck's Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, vol. iii, p. 654, with the Cambridge Medieval History, vol. iii, pp. 305-306.

(GODESCALCUS).
Martyr Prince of the Wends; died at Lenzen on the Elbe, 7 June 1066. His feast is noted for 7 June in the additions of the Carthusians at Brussels to the martyrology of Usuardus. He was the son of Udo, Prince of the Abrodites who remained a Christian, though a poor one ("male christianus", says Adam of Bremen, Mon. Germ. SS., VII, 329), after his father Mistiwoi had renounced the faith. He was sent to the monastery of St. Michael at Lenzen for his education. Udo, for some act of cruelty, was slain by a Saxon. At the news Gottschalk cast aside all Christian principles thinking only of revenge, he escaped from the monastery, crossed the Elbe, and gathered an army from his own and the other Slavic tribes who then lived on the northern and eastern boundaries of Germany. It is said that thousands of Saxons were slaughtered before they were aware of the approach of an army. But his forces were not able to withstand those of Duke Bernard II. Gottschalk was taken prisoner and his lands were given to Ratibor. After some years he was released, and went to Denmark with many of his people. Canute of Denmark employed them in his wars in Norway, and afterwards sent them to England with his new Sweyn. In these expeditions Gottschalk was very successful. He had now returned to practice of his faith, and married Sigrith, a daughter, some say, Canute, others of King Magnus of Norway.
After the death of Ratibor and his sons he returned to his home, and by his courage and prudence regained his princely position. Adam of Bremen calls him a pious and god-fearing rnan. But he was more; he was an organizer and an apostle. His object in life seems to have been to collect the scattered tribes of the Slavs into one kingdom, and to make that Christian. In the former he succeeded well. To effect the latter purpose he obtained priests from Germany. He would accompany the missionaries from place to place and would inculcate their words by his own explanations and instructions. He established monasteries at Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Ratzeburg, Lubeck, and Lenzen; the first three he had erected into dioceses. He also contributed most generously to the building of churches and the support of the clergy. In all this he was ably seconded by Adalbert, Archbishop of Hamburg, and numerous conversions were the result of their efforts. But a reaction set in. Some of the tribes refused to adopt Christianty, and rose in rebellion; Gottschalk and many of the clergy and laity fell victims to the hatred of Christianity.

Gottschalk (Gotteschalk) M (AC). There is a long and a short version of this story about a man whom many doubt should be considered a martyr or a saint. The short version is that Gottschalk was murdered with 29 fellow missionaries in Lenzen, Pomerania, by assassins hired by his brother-in-law. The longer version requires weaving the details of the politics leading up to their deaths.

The Germanic tribes of the Winuli, Slavi, and Vandals were kept from overrunning Christendom only by fear of the arms of King Canute of Denmark and Duke Bernard of Saxony. These tribes were led respectively by Gneus and Anatrog, pagans, and Uto, a lapsed Christian and the father of Gottschalk--all of whom were vassals of Emperor Henry the Salic.

When Uto was murdered by a Christian Saxon for his extreme cruelty, Gottschalk, who had been educated in Lumburg Abbey by Bishop Gottschalk, renounced his faith. He joined in the vengeful plans of Gneus and Anatrog, harassing Saxony until he was captured by Bernard. When he was finally freed, he found that Ratibor had taken possession of his territories among the Slavi. So he went to Denmark with an army of his people. King Canute employed his troops against Norway and later sent Gottschalk with his nephew, Sweyn, on an expedition to England. Having acquitted himself well in England, Canute gave Sweyn's daughter to him in marriage. At some point Gottschalk returned to the faith.

Upon the death of Canute and his children, Gottschalk returned from England, subdued the whole country of the Slavi, and compelled part of the Saxons to pay him a yearly tribute to acknowledge their subjection. He reigned in peace for many years as one of the most powerful Slavi princes ever. His apostasy was replaced by zeal and piety that expressed itself in his efforts to convert his people. All the parts of his dominions, throughout northern Germany from the Elbe to Mecklenburg, he filled with churches and priests. He founded monasteries at Lübeck, Aldenburg, Lenz, Ratzeburg, Magdeburg, and elsewhere. He supported missionaries throughout his territories. Gottschalk himself often interpreted to the people in the Sclavonian tongue the sermons and instructions of the priests in the church.

During the reign of Emperor Saint Henry II, the Slavi, Bohemians, and Hungarians lived in peace and in subjection to his empire. But when his son, a child only eight years old, succeeded him, various rebellions arose. Duke Bernard, who had governed Saxony forty years, died soon after Saint Henry. His dominions were divided between his two sons Ordulf and Herman. Ordulf, who took the title of duke of Saxony, was not a military leader. With little now to hold them in check, within five years after Bernard's death the pagan Vandals or Slavi, led by Gottschalk's brother-in-law, revolted, and began their sedition by murdering Gottschalk and a priest named Ebbo, whom they stabbed upon the altar. The only reason for their demise was hatred of Christianity (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).

1159 Robert of Newminster described as "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgment," studied in Paris OSB Cist. Abbot (RM)

Born at Gargrave, Yorkshire, England, in 1100; died at Newminster in 1159.

1159 ST ROBERT, ABBOT OF NEWMINSTER
GARGRAVE, in the Craven district of Yorkshire, was the birthplace of St Robert, and the name by which he is known to us comes not from his native town but from the abbey over which he ruled. Ordained to the priesthood, he ministered for a time as rector of Gargrave and then took the Benedictine habit at Whitby. Afterwards he obtained his abbot's permission to join a band of monks from St Mary's abbey, York, who, with the sanction of Archbishop Thurston and on land granted by him, proposed to revive the strict Benedictine rule. Making a beginning in the depth of winter under conditions of extreme poverty, they had settled in the desert valley of Skeldale, and founded the celebrated monastery which was known as Fountains Abbey on account of certain springs within its precincts. At their own request the monks were affiliated to the Cistercian reform, and Fountains became one of the most fervent houses of the order. The spirit of holy joy pervaded their life of devotional exercises, alternating with hard manual work. Pre-eminent amongst them stood St Robert by reason of his sanctity, his austerity, and the sweetness of his disposition. "He was modest of demeanour", says the Fountains Chronicle, "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgement and exemplary in his holy conversation."
Ralph de Merly, lord of Morpeth, who visited the abbey five years after its foundation, in 1138, was so impressed by the brethren that he decided to build a Cistercian monastery on his own territory. To people the house, which became known as the abbey of Newminster, he obtained from Fountains twelve monks over whom St Robert was appointed abbot. He retained that office until his death and made the abbey so flourishing that he was able to establish a second house at Pipewell in Northamptonshire in 1143, and two others later on at Sawley and Roche.
A great man of prayer, Robert wrote a commentary on the psalms, which has not survived. He was endowed with supernatural gifts and had power over evil spirits. A story illustrates his spirit of mortification. He fasted so rigorously during Lent that when Easter came one year he had entirely lost his appetite. "Oh, father! why will you not eat?" asked the refectory brother in distress. "I think I could eat some buttered oatcake", replied the abbot. But when it was brought he was afraid of yielding to what he regarded as greediness, and ordered the food to be given to the poor. A beautiful young stranger at the gate received it and then disappeared-dish and all. When the brother was relating the loss of the platter, the dish suddenly reappeared on the table in front of the abbot. The stranger, it was believed, must surely have been an angel. We are told that St Robert in his youth had studied at Paris, and there is record of a second journey of his across the seas when, being slandered by some of his monks, upon some false report of maladministration of his abbey, he went to St Bernard to give an account of himself; but Bernard knew his man and decided that no defence was needed to meet the charge which had been made. This visit must have taken place in 1147 or 1148, for Robert had an interview with Pope Eugenius III before he returned. The abbot of Newminster often visited the hermit St Godric, to whom he was much attached, and the night St Robert died his friend saw his soul ascending to Heaven like a ball of fire. This was on June 7, 1159. His feast is kept in the diocese of Hexham.

The account, borrowed from Capgrave's Nova Legenda Angliae, which the Bollandists printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii, is itself a summary of a longer life preserved in Lansdowne MS. 436, at the British Museum. Dalgairns, when compiling a life of St Robert for the series of English Saints edited by Newman, used this manuscript, and was able to add details to pre-existing accounts. The manuscript was printed, with notes by Fr P. Grosjean, in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lvi (1938), pp. 334-360. For a summary, see W. Williams in the Downside Review, vol. lvii (1939), pp. 137-149.

Saint Robert, described as "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgment," studied in Paris and wrote a commentary--since lost--on the Psalms. After being ordained and serving as a parish priest in his native place, he was made rector of Gargrave. He then became a Benedictine at Whitby and joined a band of monks from Saint Mary's Abbey, York, to establish a monastery in which the strict Benedictine Rule would be revived. They settled, in the middle of winter in 1132, in the valley of Skeldale on land given to them by Archbishop Thurston.

The monastery became known at Fountains Abbey due to the presence of springs within its borders. The group became affiliated with the Cistercian reform, and the house became famous for the holiness and austerity of its members and its way of life. Robert was one of its most devout monks. The abbey became one of the centers of the White Monks in north England.

Impressed by the establishment, Ralph de Merly, Lord of Morpeth, built a Cistercian monastery on his own land, the Abbey of Newminster. In 1137 he brought 12 monks from Fountains Abbey and appointed Robert abbot. The monastery flourished under Robert's rule, and he established a house at Pipewell in Northamptonshire in 1143, one at Sawley and another at Roche in the West Riding.

He is said to have had supernatural gifts, and visions and encounters with demons have been attributed to him. He fasted so rigorously during Lent that a brother asked him in concern why he would not eat. He responded that he might eat some buttered oatcake, but once it was placed before him, fearing gluttony, he asked that it be given to the poor. A beautiful stranger at the gate took it--and the dish. While a brother was explaining the loss, the dish suddenly appeared on the table before the abbot. It was thought that the stranger was an angel.

Robert travelled to France again to see Saint Bernard, after he was slandered by some monks about his relations with a pious woman. Saint Bernard appears to have decided that the accusations were false. As a symbol of his belief in Robert's innocence, he gave him a girdle, which was kept at Newminster for performing cures.
Before he returned home, Robert had an interview with Pope Eugenius III, who asked the bishop of Durham to give Robert some land at Wolsingham. Robert frequently visited his close friend the hermit Saint Godric. The night Robert died, Godric is said to have seen his soul ascending to Heaven like a ball of fire.

His relics were translated to the church at Newminster. Miracles were reported at his tomb, including one in which a monk is said to have fallen unhurt from a ladder while whitewashing the dormitory. His tomb became a center of pilgrimage. He is depicted in art holding a church (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White).

1134 St. Landulf of Yariglia Benedictine bishop of Asti, Italy. He was a monk at San Michele, in Ciel d’Oro, Pavia.

Landulf Variglia, OSB B (AC) Born at Asti, Piedmont, Italy, in 1070; died 1134. Landulf was a Benedictine at San Michele in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia, Italy, who was chosen as bishop of Asti in 1103 (Benedictines).

1159 St. Robert of Newminster priest from North Yorkshire who took the Benedictine habit at Whitby obtained permission to join monks of York became Cistercian

In Anglia sancti Robérti Abbátis, ex Ordine Cisterciénsi. In England, St. Robert, an abbot of the Cistercian Order.

Robert Of Newminster, Saint, Abbot, (Benedictine) Cistercians (1100-1159) A priest from North Yorkshire who took the Benedictine habit at Whitby and obtained permission to join some monks of York who were attempting to live according to a new interpretation of the Benedictine rule at Fountains abbey (1132). Fountains soon became Cistercian and one of the centres of the White Monks in Northumberland England.
Newminster abbey in Northumberland was founded from it in 1137, and Robert became its first abbot. He is described as gentle and merciful in judgement.

1302 St. Meriadoc native of Brittany ordained then embraced the life of a hermit then Bishop of Vannes s most conspicuous in his labors on behalf of the poor
Sometimes called Meriadoc. A native of Brittany, he was ordained but then embraced the life of a hermit. Owing to his popularity and the fame of his holiness, he was elected bishop of Vannes, probably against his will because it forced him to give up his hermitage. As bishop, he was most conspicuous in his labors on behalf of the poor.
Meriadoc (Meriadec) II of Vannes B (AC)
Born in Brittany; Meriadoc was known for his charity when he lived in the world. After stripping himself of his estates, he became a priest and then retired to live a hermit's life in Rohan, Brittany. Against his will he was elected bishop of Vannes by its canons. The bishops of the province seconded that election and forced him to fill the episcopal seat. It did offer him an advantage: He had far greater resources as bishop to give to the poor. Under his episcopal finery he wore a rough hair shirt, and had no better to bring to his bed than sackcloth. The old breviaries of Nantes and Vannes contain an office in his honor on this day. He is titular saint of the chapel of the castle of Pontivi, and of several others in Brittany (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).

1527 BD BAPTISTA VARANI, VIRGIN; Poor Clare; mystical revelations on the Passion-revelations which under obedience she embodied in a book entitled The Sufferings of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus; she drew up a series of instructions upon how to attain perfection. They exhibit that shrewd common sense not unmixed with humour which characterizes some of the great mystics. Though written for a fifteenth-century monk, they would form an excellent rule of life for any devout twentieth-century Catholic.
LITTLE Camilla Varani, only daughter of the lord of Camerino, was eight or ten years old when she was taken to hear Bd Mark of Montegallo preach. Writing to him many years later, she says it will surprise him to learn that his sermon that day was the foundation of her whole spiritual life. He had preached on the Passion, and concluded by entreating his congregation to meditate every Friday on our Lord's sufferings, or at any rate to bewail them. Soon afterwards the little girl made a vow to shed at least one tear every Friday out of love for our Saviour, and that vow she kept, although she sometimes found it exceedingly difficult. Her father, who anticipated that she would make a brilliant marriage, gave her an excellent education which included general literature and the Latin language as well as more frivolous accomplishments. While she was growing up she endeavoured to lead a devout and even, spasmodically, a penitential life, but once she had made her entry into society she became wholly absorbed in pleasure. “Except for the time I gave to meditation on the Passion", she writes, “all my life was spent in music, dancing, driving, dress and other worldly amusements: I felt a great repugnance to piety, and my aversion from monks and nuns was such that I could not bear the sight of them." This phase lasted for three years. She was then roused to a sense of her danger and overwhelmed with shame by a sermon preached by another Franciscan on the text: "Fear God". She made a general confession and abandoned her former frivolities.

Gradually she began to realize that God was calling her to the religious life.

After a hard struggle she surrendered herself to the divine will, and, to use her own words, God then gave her three lilies-a hatred of the world, a sense of her own unworthiness, and so ardent a craving for suffering that if God had permitted her to attain to Heaven without pain she would not herself have wished it. An infirmity which attacked her about that time and which lasted for many years she regarded as a fulfilment of her desire. By that time she had overcome herself; it remained for her to overcome her father's opposition, and it took her over two years to do it.
On November 14, 1481, she received the habit at the convent of Poor Clares in Urbino, assuming the name of Baptista. Immediately afterwards she began to have mystical revelations on the Passion-revelations which under obedience she embodied in a book entitled The Sufferings of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. “During the two years I spent at Urbino", she writes, “a wonderful grace of the Holy Spirit led me into the depths of the heart of Jesus-an unfathomable sea of bitterness in which I should have been drowned had not God supported me." It was made known to her that meditation on our Lord's interior sufferings was even more profitable than contemplation of His physical torments. After her profession she was obliged to leave Urbino, for her father, determined to have her near him, built at Camerino a convent for Poor Clares to which he succeeded in having her transferred, together with several other nuns of the Varani family.
Bd Peter of Mogliano now became her director, and for three years she was the recipient of extraordinary favours. For a fortnight she rejoiced in the constant presence of St Clare: for two months she remained in spirit at the foot of the Cross, and for three months she seemed as though consumed with the fire of seraphic love. Her soul was drawn to contemplate in a vast sea of light God's love for His creatures, and she had great interior peace. This period of spiritual joy was followed by a long series of trials. At first they took the form of delusive apparitions: afterwards came assaults from the unseen powers of darkness, with spiritual desolation which she had to endure almost without assistance. Bd Peter, her former director, was no longer at hand, and although in 1490, to her great joy, he was reappointed minister provincial of the Marches, he died within a few months of his return to Camerino. Shortly afterwards she was moved to write the history of her spiritual life in the form of a letter which she sent to Bd Mark of Montegallo. Eight years later, for the benefit of a Spanish priest who regarded her as his spiritual mother, she drew up a series of instructions upon how to attain perfection. They exhibit that shrewd common sense not unmixed with humour which characterizes some of the great mystics. Though written for a fifteenth-century monk, they would form an excellent rule of life for any devout twentieth-century Catholic.
History has little more to tell us about Bd Baptista, although she survived till 1527. She had the grief of losing her father and three elder brothers under tragic circumstances, for they were murdered in an insurrection of their subjects provoked by Caesar Borgia. Camerino was afterwards restored to her only surviving brother by Pope Julius II. The same pontiff commissioned Baptista to establish a new house of her order at Fermo. She remained there a year, and then returned to the convent at Camerino, which she continued to rule until her death. During her life she had insisted on maintaining herself and her community in proper poverty, but after she was dead her brother accorded her a most magnificent funeral. Her cultus was formally approved in 1843.

Most of our information concerning Bd Baptista is derived from her own writings. The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vii, print much of these in a Latin translation, as also a translation of considerable portions of the Italian life by Fr Pascucci, which appeared in 1680. A large number of biographies or studies of the spirit of Bd Baptista have seen the light since then. It will be sufficient to mention that of the Countess de Rambuteau in French (1906); and those of Marini (1882), Puliti (1915), Jörgensen (1919), and Aringoli (1928). Her works have been edited in the original Italian by Santoni, Le opere spirituali delta ba. Battista Varani (1894); and by Venanzio della Vergiliana, Beata Battista Varani (1926). Among her writings special interest attaches to that headed I Dolori mentali di Gesu, for it directs attention very explicitly to the interior sufferings of the heart of Jesus. It was written in 1488, published in 1490, and repeatedly afterwards, often as an appendix to that widely-popular book, the Spiritual Combat of Scupoli. The general diffusion of this little tractate must have contributed much to pave the way for an explicit recognition of devotion to the Sacred Heart. See on this, J. Heerinck, Devotio SS. Cordis in scriptis B. Baptistae Varani in the periodical Antonianum, 1935, January to April. There is a full account also of Bd Baptista in Leon, Aureole Seraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. ii, pp. 315-348.

1592 The Monk Antonii of Kensk (Kozheezersk), with schema-monk name Avramii disciple and successor of the Monk Serapion (Comm. 27 June) in the guiding of the Kozheezersk ("Leather-tanning Lake") monastery
He reposed peacefully to the Lord on 27 June 1592. © 1998 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

1626 Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew shepherdess the first to join Saint Teresa of Ávila's reformed order sent to France introduce the reform there appointed prioress of the convents at Pontoise and Tours; founded convent at Antwerp for English refugees; regarded as a saint and was known to be a prophet and a wonder-worker. OCD V (AC) (also known as Anne García)
1626 BD ANNE OF ST BARTHOLOMEW, VIRGIN
IN the writings of St Teresa of Avila we find various allusions to a young lay-sister, Anne-of-St-Bartholomew, whom she made her special companion and whom she once described as a great servant of God. Anne was the child of Ferdinand Garcia and Catherine Mançanas, peasants living at Almendral, four miles from Avila. Until the age of twenty she was employed as a shepherdess, but she then obtained admission to the Carmelite convent of St Joseph at Avila. During the last seven years of her life St Teresa took Anne on nearly all her journeys, declaring that in her work of foundations and reforms she found her more useful than anyone else. Several times she proposed that Anne should receive the black veil, but Anne always refused, preferring to remain a lay-sister. Anne has left a graphic description of their journey from Medina to Alba and of the saint's death, pathetically recording the consolation she herself derived from being able to gratify the holy Mother's love of neatness up to the very end. “The day she died she could not speak. I changed all her linen, headdress and sleeves. She looked at herself quite satisfied to see herself so clean: then, turning her eyes on me, she looked at me smilingly and showed her gratitude by signs." It was in Anne's arms that St Teresa breathed her last.
For six years more Anne remained on quietly at Avila, and then a great change came into her life. Important personages in Paris-notably Madame Acarie and Peter de Bérulle-had for some time been anxious to introduce the Barefooted Carmelites into France. They now applied for some Spanish nuns to help in making a foundation, and Teresa's successor, Anne-of-Jesus, set out with five nuns, of whom Bd Anne-of-St-Bartholomew was one. Upon their arrival in Paris, whilst the rest were being welcomed by Princess de Longueville and ladies of the court, Anne slipped into the kitchen to prepare a meal for the community. Her superiors, however, had decided that St Teresa's chosen companion was fitted for higher work, and shortly afterwards Anne unwillingly found herself promoted to be a choir sister. She had signed her own profession with a simple cross, but according to the best authorities she had acted long before this as secretary to St Teresa: according to others, she now found herself miraculously able to write. It may be that the gift of letters was bestowed upon her with other wisdom when she was about to be faced with new responsibilities. Difficulties of various kinds attended the establishment of Carmel in France, and five of the six Spanish nuns went to the Netherlands. Anne, who remained in France, was appointed prioress at Pontoise and then at Tours. The prospect of being set to govern others at first distressed her greatly, and in fervent prayer she pleaded her incompetence, comparing herself to a weak straw. The answer she received reassured her: "It is with straws I light my fire", our Lord had replied.
A few years later Carmelite houses were opened in the Netherlands. Bd Anne was sent to Mons, where she remained a year. In 1612 she made a foundation of her own at Antwerp. It was soon filled with the daughters of the noblest families in the Low Countries,[* Among them was Anne Worsley (Anne-of-the-Ascension), the first English Teresian Carmelite. It was she who in 1619 established the English community at Antwerp, now at Lanherne in Cornwall. See Sr A. Hardman, English Carmelites in Penal Times (1936).] all eager to tread the path of perfection under the guidance of one who already in her lifetime was regarded as a saint and was known to be a prophet and a wonder-worker. On two occasions, when Antwerp was besieged by the Prince of Orange and was on the point of capture, Anne prayed all night; the city was saved, and she was acclaimed the protectress and defender of Antwerp. Her death in 1626 was the occasion for extraordinary demonstrations, when twenty thousand persons touched her body with rosaries and other things as it lay exposed before burial. For many years afterwards the city continued to venerate her memory by an annual procession in which the members of the municipality, candle in hand, led the way to her convent. Bd Anne was beatified in 1917.

The apostolic letter pronouncing the decree of beatification is printed in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. ix (1917), pp. 257-261, and it contains the usual biographical summary. Bd Anne wrote an autobiography at the command of her superiors; the account is carried down to the first years of her residence in Antwerp, and the original document is preserved in the Carmelite convent there. An incomplete French translation was published in 1646, and Fr Bouix makes limited use of the autobiography in his life, "purement édifiante", of the beata (1872); see also Fr Bruno's La belle Acarie (1942). C. Henriquez published a life in Spanish in 1632, and a modern account in the same language, by Florencio del Niño Jesus, appeared in 1917: this was adapted into French by Abbe L. Aubert (1918). See also H. Bremond, Histoire littéraire..., t. ii, pp. 299-319 (there is an English translation of this volume).

Born at Almendral (diocese of Ávila), Spain, in 1549; died 1626; beatified in 1917. Anne was a shepherdess, the daughter of poor shepherds, who was the first to join Saint Teresa of Ávila's reformed order. She became Teresa's secretary and travelled throughout Spain with the foundress. In 1606, she was sent to France to introduce the reform there. Eventually, she was appointed prioress of the convents at Pontoise and Tours. She founded a convent at Antwerp for English refugees. Interestingly enough, though one would expect a shepherdess to be illiterate, Anne has left us some delightful religious verse (Benedictines).

1846 St. Anthony Mary Gianelli Bishop of Bobbio, Italy founded a congregation of missionaries and a congregation of teaching sisters
Placéntiæ sancti Antónii Maríæ Gianélli, Bobiénsis Epíscopi, Fundatóris Congregatiónis Filiárum Maríæ sanctíssimæ ab Horto nuncupatárum, quem Pius Papa Duodécimus inter sanctos Cælites adnumerávit.
At Placentia, St. Anthony Mary Gianelli, bishop of Bobbio, and founder of the Congregation of Sisters of our Lady of the Garden. Pope Pius XII numbered him among the saints of heaven.
1846 ST ANTONY GIANELLI, BISHOP OF BOBBIO, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONERS OF ST ALPHONSUS AND THE SISTERS OF ST MARY DELL' ORTO
ANTONY GIANELLI was born in the diocese of Genoa in 1789 of a middle-class family. As a youth he was conspicuous for his gentle docility and industry and for the promise of more than ordinary intellectual gifts. A generous benefactress made it possible for him to pursue his studies at Genoa, and there, entering the ecclesiastical seminary, he so distinguished himself that when still only a subdeacon he was allowed to preach and attracted great crowds by his eloquence. By special dispensation he was ordained priest in 1812 before he had reached the canonical age.
Though employed in important educational work he still found time to deliver sermons and give missions resulting in a great harvest of souls, as well as to discharge the functions of an ordinary parish priest, his confessional being at all times besieged by penitents. Before he was forty he had organized two religious congregations, the one of priests who were known as the Missioners of St Alphonsus Liguori, the other of women living under rule whose activities in teaching poor children and nursing the sick were dedicated in honour of Santa Maria dell' Orto ("of the Garden"). These sisters are now well known in Italy and they have houses in other parts of Europe as well as in America and Asia. Meanwhile, in the year (1838, St Antony was appointed bishop of Bobbio, and in that office he gave an extraordinary example of virtue, prudence and firm government. He died, all too soon, in 1846, and he was canonized in 1951.

There are Italian biographies by L. Bodino (1924) and L. Sanguinetti (1925); this last is an illustrated volume of nearly six hundred pages. The decree of beatification is printed in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xvii (1925), pp. 176-179. The saint's canonization was the occasion of further biographies.

As a youth Antony was conspicuous for his gentle docility, industry, and intelligence. A generous benefactress made it possible for this middle-class boy to study in Genoa. He so distinguished himself in his seminary studies that he was allowed to preach while he was still only a subdeacon. Even then his eloquence drew crowds. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1812 by special dispensation because he was not of canonical age for ordination. He engaged in pastoral and educational work as a parish priest, gave numerous missions, and became known for his preaching and as a confessor besieged by penitents. He became archpriest of Chiavari in 1826. Before he was 40, he had founded a congregation of priests (in 1827), Missioners of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, and one of women (in 1829), Sisters of Santa Maria dell'Orto ('of the Garden'), who were devoted to teaching poor children and caring for the sick. These sisters spread to the United States and Asia. In 1838, he was appointed bishop of Bobbio, where he ruled wisely until his death. Because he was a man of extraordinary virtue and prudence, he gained the support of his priests. He also restored the cultus of Saint Columbanus (Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Walsh). Antony Mary Gianelli B (RM) Born at Cereta (near Genoa), Liguori, Italy, in 1789; died June 8, 1846; beatified in 1925; canonized in 1951.

St. Lycarion A martyr of Egypt Virgin - martyrs: Martha with Mary and their brother Lycarion, in Egypt
Hermópoli, in Ægypto, sancti Lycariónis Mártyris, qui laniátus, virgis férreis ignítis cæsus, áliaque sævíssima passus est, ac demum, gládio percússus, martyrium consummávit.
At Hermopolis in Egypt, St. Licarion, martyr, who had his body lacerated, was scourged with heated iron rods, and endured other horrible torments, after which his martyrdom was completed by beheading.

1928 Servant of God Franciscan Joseph Perez "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church," said Tertullian in the third century. Joseph Perez carried on that tradition body was later brought in procession to Salvatierra, it was buried there amid cries of "Viva, Cristo Rey!"
Joseph was born 1890 in Coroneo, Mexico, and joined the Franciscans when he was 17. Because of Mexico’s civil unrest at that time (the forces of Pancho Villa had crossed into New Mexico on a raid the previous year), he was forced to take his philosophy and theology studies in California.

After ordination at Mission Santa Barbara, he returned to Mexico and served at Jerecuaro from 1922 on. The persecution under the presidency of Plutarco Calles (1924-28) forced Joseph to wear various disguises as he traveled around to visit the Catholics. In 1927 Church property was nationalized, Catholic schools were closed, and foreign priests and nuns were deported.

One day Joseph and several others were captured while returning from a secretly held Mass. Father Perez was stabbed to death by soldiers a few miles from Celaya on June 2, 1928. When Joseph’s body was later brought in procession to Salvatierra, it was buried there amid cries of "Viva, Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King!).

Comment: The Catholic Church in Mexico today is much freer than it was in the 1920’s. Catholicism is very much alive in Mexico today, nurtured in part by martyrs like Father Perez.
Quote: Father Joseph’s memorial card includes these words: "May almighty God grant that our prayer, which is supported by the bloody sacrifice of this martyr, may graciously appear in his sight and bring salvation to us and redemption to our country" (Marion A. Habig, O.F.M., The Franciscan Book of Saints, p. 412).

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

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 39

O my Lady, in thee have I hoped: from my enemies deliver me.

Shut thou the mouth of the lion and his teeth: restrain the lips of those that persecute me.

For thy name's sake delay not to accomplish thy mercy in us.

May the brightness of thy countenance shine upon us: that the Most High may keep remembrance of us.

If the enemy should persecute my soul, O Lady, may I be strengthened by thy help: lest his sword should strike me.

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.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos Practical Guide to Holiness

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

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not

O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I beg the conversion of poor sinners, Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace

The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.

THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.

These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.

God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.

As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.
Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.

Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.

The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means. 5. The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. 11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12. I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14. All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.

Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac

The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.

Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).

In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).

In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

Under Roman domination martyrs suffered at Edessa: Sts. Scharbîl and Barsamya, under Decius; Sts. Gûrja, Schâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian.

In the meanwhile Christian priests from Edessa evangelized Eastern Mesopotamia and Persia, established the first Churches in the kingdom of the Sassanides. Atillâtiâ, Bishop of Edessa, assisted at the Council of Nicæa (325). The “Peregrinatio Silviæ” (or Etheriæ) (ed. Gamurrini, Rome, 1887, 62 sqq.) gives an account of the many sanctuaries at Edessa about 388.

Although Hebrew had been the language of the ancient Israelite kingdom, after their return from Exile the Jews turned more and more to Aramaic, using it for parts of the books of Ezra and Daniel in the Bible. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the main language of Palestine, and quite a number of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are also written in Aramaic.

Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.

After Arab conquests of the seventh century, Arabic quickly replaced Aramaic as the main language of those who converted to Islam, although in out of the way places, Aramaic continued as a vernacular language of Muslims.

Aramaic, however, enjoyed its greatest success in Christianity. Although the New Testament wins written in Greek, Christianity had come into existence in an Aramaic-speaking milieu, and it was the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac, that became the literary language of a large number of Christians living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire, further east. Over the course of the centuries the influence of the Syriac Churches spread eastwards to China (in Xian, in western China, a Chinese-Syriac inscription dated 781 is still to be seen); to southern India where the state of Kerala can boast more Christians of Syriac liturgical tradition than anywhere else in the world.

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints. Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine. The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches. The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice." According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates. Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor. Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.

Meeting of the Saints walis (saints of Allah)

Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.

So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life. But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat 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]

To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:

Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Irondale, AL 35210 USA
Catholic Television Network Supported entirely by donations from viewers help spread the Eternal Word, online Here

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:

***
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 39 2023