Saint Mary Mother of Jesus
   Friday Saints of this Day May 1Quarto Idus Maii.  
  Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
May, the month of Mary 
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For the Son of man ... will repay every man for what he has done.

The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.



 We are the defenders of true freedom.
  May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan.
  Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com
Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world

It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa
 Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life.

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Acts of the Apostles

Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary  .

  100 St. Nereus and Achilleus Martyrs of the Roman military baptized by St. Peter
  103  St. Philip of Agirone first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily

  304 St. Dionysius Martyr died in prison uncle of St. Pancras
 304 Saint Pancras (Pancratius) 14  buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, later named after him

450 Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Cyprus ordained by St Epiphanius of Cyprus to the holy priesthood and successor to
475 Saint Polybius disciple of St Epiphanius of Cyprus gift of wonderworking

732 Germanus of Constantinople patriarch "When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood: we worship the  invisible God in spirit and in truth."B (RM)
1109 St. Dominic de la Calzada Hermit aided pilgrims to Compostela the famed shrine in Spain
1490 Blessed Jane of Portugal Despite the interruptions of plague, family cares, and state troubles, Joanna lived an interior and penitential life She died, as it says in an old chronicle, "with the detachment of a religious and the dignity of a queen," and with the religious community around her OP V (AC)
1633 St Dionysius of Radonezh  gift of miracles hospice for injured and those left homeless during the  Polish-  Lithuanian incursion
May 12 – Our Lady of the Abandoned (Manila, Philippines) 
 
The victory was Mary’s 
 “We rarely associate devotion to Mary with the social dimension of the Christian life, even though the words of Mary in the Magnificat mean a reversal of the social order for the kingdom of God. ... Devotion to Mary is seen in good works, and the good works we need today in the Philippines are works of justice and liberation from oppression.” (1)

The process that preceded the fall of the dictator Marcos (former President of the Philippines) was cadenced by the use of the Rosary of the Virgin Mary. When, in 1983, Benigno Aquino (the opposition leader) was murdered, he had just finished praying the Rosary. During the election campaign of his widow Corazon Aquino, many people would raise their Rosary as a sign of support.

During the decisive events of February 22-24, 1986, two million people gathered in Manila without any bloodshed. People came out on the streets with the statue of Mary—they sang and prayed the Rosary, giving flowers and food to the soldiers. The power of the people was the power of Mary, and the victory was hers. (2)

(1) Cf Bishops Conference of the Philippines: Excerpt from the pastoral letter of 1975, on the Virgin Mary
(2) Cf. Le Filippine e la rivoluzione del Rosario, in Madre di Dio, #2, February 1995



May 12 - Our Lady of the Abandoned (Manila, Philippines)
 
The month of Mary is the oldest of all consecrated months
 
Dedicating a month to a particular devotion is a quite recent form of popular piety,
not generally observed before the 18th century.
March, the month of Saint Joseph, originated in Viterbo, Italy, and was approved by Pope Pius IX on June 12, 1855.
October, the month of the Rosary, originated in Spain, and was approved the same pope on July 28, 1868, and later requested by Leo XIII (1883).
June, the month of the Sacred Heart, originated at the Parisian Convent des Oiseaux (birds in French) in 1833; at first encouraged by Archbishop de Quelen, it was approved by Pope Pius IX on May 8, 1873.
Some of us still remember the month of the Holy Name of Jesus, approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1902 (January), the month of the Precious Blood approved by Pius IX in 1850 (July), the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (August), the month of Our Lady of Sorrows approved by Pope Pius IX in 1857 (September), the month of the Souls in Purgatory approved by Leo XIII in 1888 (November), and the month of the Immaculate Conception (December).


The “month of Mary,” the oldest of all consecrated months, originated in Rome, probably at the Roman College of the Jesuits, from where it spread to the Pontifical States, then to the rest of Italy, and finally to the universal Church.
Much credit is to be given to the Jesuits for promoting the “month of Mary.”   missel.free.fr

 

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

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

May 12 - Humility of Our Lady     
  Marian Apparitions in France Recognized
Church of the Marian apparitions to Benôite (Benedicta) Rencurel between 1664 and 1718.
On Sunday, May 4, 2008, during a Mass celebrated in the town of Laus in the French Alps, Bishop Jean-Michel de Falco of Gap, accompanied by numerous cardinals and archbishops from around the world, and announced the official approval of the Church of the Marian apparitions to Benôite (Benedicta) Rencurel between 1664 and 1718.

During the Mass, attended by Roman Curia officials including Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, Bishop de Falco noted these are the first Marian apparitions to be approved in the 21st century by the Vatican and the Church in France. He called it the most singular event to take place in France since the apparitions of Lourdes in 1862.

“I recognize the supernatural origin of the apparitions and the events and words experienced and narrated by Benedicta Rencurel. I encourage all of the faithful to come and pray and seek spiritual renewal at this shrine. Nobody is obliged to believe in apparitions,” he continued, “even in those officially recognized, but if they help us in our faith and our daily lives, why should we reject them?” the bishop asked.

The shrine of Our Lady of Laus attracts some 120,000 pilgrims each year. The Catholic philosopher Jean Guitton called it “one of the most hidden and powerful shrines of Europe.”
See http://www.mariedenazareth.com/8112.0.html?&L=1
  100 St. Nereus and Achilleus Martyrs of the Roman military baptized by St. Peter
  103  St. Philip of Agirone first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily
2nd v. St. Flavia Domitilla 2nd century Martyr with Euphrosyna and Theodora
  304 St. Dionysius Martyr died in prison uncle of St. Pancras
 304 Saint Pancras (Pancratius) 14  buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, later named after him
 403 St.  Epiphanius of Salamis  “Oracle of Pal­estine’ bishop of Constantia Salamis Cyprus  authority on Mar,
and the gift of miracles, and taught the primacy of Peter among the Apostles; reputation for scholarship austerities mortifications spiritual wisdom and advice; authored many treatises
5th v. St. Diomma Patron saint of Kildimo County Limerick
450 Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Cyprus ordained by St Epiphanius of Cyprus to the holy priesthood and successor to
475 Saint Polybius disciple of St Epiphanius of Cyprus gift of wonderworking
 640 St. Modoaldus Bishop of Trier counselor of King Dagobert I Franks related by blood or friendship to most of the saints of the Merovingian period
688  St. Richrudis Benedictine abbess forty years wed St. Adalbald 4 children Eusebia, Clotsind, Adalsind, and Mauront all became saints
732 Germanus of Constantinople patriarch "When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood: we worship the  invisible God in spirit and in truth."B (RM)
  805 Saint Ethelhard of Canterbury archbishop B (AC)
1109 St. Dominic de la Calzada Hermit aided pilgrims to Compostela the famed shrine in Spain
1249 Gemma of Goriano shepherdess, was a recluse for 42 years at Goriano Sicoli B (AC)
1328 Bl. Francis Patrizzi Italian member of the Servite Order holiness remarkable ability to solve crises of various kinds through his personal mediation  famous as a missioner and preacher. His confessional was crowded; wonderful gift for preaching moving sermons with little or no preparation, and he was indefatigable in exercising it.
1333 Blessed Imelda Lambertini patron of first communicants died of love on her first Communion day Saint Agnes came in a vision she saw a brilliant light shining above Imelda's head, and a Host suspended in the light OP V AC
1429 BD GEMMA OF SOLMONA, VIRGIN
1490 Blessed Jane of Portugal Despite the interruptions of plague, family cares, and state troubles, Joanna lived an interior and penitential life She died, as it says in an old chronicle, "with the detachment of a religious and the dignity of a queen," and with the religious community around her OP V (AC)
           Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus miracle healer of the sick
1539? BD JOHN STONE, MARTYR an Austin friar, a doctor of theology,
1633 St Dionysius of Radonezh  gift of miracles hospice for injured and those left homeless during the  Polish- Lithuanian incursion
1662 Saint John of Oltenia  "I would rather die for Christ than become a Turk ..."

"When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood:
we worship the invisible God in spirit and in truth." 
Germanus of Constantinople 732
May 12 - Feast of Our Lady of the Abandoned (Manila, the Philippines)           Three Doves in Fatima
In 1946, two friends found themselves in a delirious crowd while the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried in procession from Bombarral to Lisbon, in the midst of ovations such as a prince had never received. Carlos, a believer in his youth, exclaimed jubilantly like everyone, but his friend, Fernando, on the contrary, had a mocking look on his face. “It’s hard to believe that such a thing can still be seen in the middle of the 20th century! Granted, I can basically accept Marian devotion, but this is only a statue. It’s almost idolatry! You must admit, Carlos, it’s really too much!”

Then they looked towards the sky and saw three doves hovering in the air. All at same time, the birds finally plunged and whirled around the statue, and then they landed one after the other at the base of the statue, near on the Madonna’s feet. The crowds acclaimed the feat with cries of joy - clapping their hands loud enough to wake the dead - but the birds were by no means frightened. A shower of flower petals fell upon them, but the doves still did not fly away. Far from it! They seemed content to lower their heads and cover themselves with their wings when the flowers became too heavy. Cooing softly, they just pressed themselves closer to the statue. There, they remained perched there for many days, motionless; letting the crowds feed them, without leaving their post.

As the procession entered the Cathedral of Lisbon, the doves still did not move. During high mass on December 6, 1946, one of the doves flew up and settled on the Madonna’s crown, thus symbolizing the Holy Spirit. During the distribution of the Holy Communion to four thousand worshippers, the dove turned towards the altar by extending its wings and remaining in this attitude of worship until the end of mass. The crowd watched the bird in astonishment, seized with wonder and admiration. Fernando was watching too, he was there holding a small girl on his shoulders so she could get a better look at the Madonna, while blowing loving kisses to the statue.   Maria Siegt #5 1976 Marian Collection (Recueil Marial) 1978 by Brother Albert Pfleger, Marist

It Makes No Sense Not To Believe In GOD
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel

100 St. Nereus and Achilleus Martyrs of the Roman military baptized by St. Peter
Romæ, via Ardeatína, sanctórum Mártyrum Nérei et Achíllei fratrum, qui primo cum Flávia Domitílla, cujus erant eunúchi, in ínsula Póntia longum pro Christo duxérunt exsílium; póstmodum gravíssimis verbéribus attrectáti sunt; deínde, cum a Minútio Rufo, viro Consulári, equúleo et flammis ad immolándum compelleréntur, diceréntque se, a beáto Petro Apóstolo baptizátos, nulla ratióne posse idólis immoláre, cápite cæsi sunt.  Horum sacræ relíquiæ, simúlque Fláviæ Domitíllæ, ex Diaconía sancti Hadriáni in antíquum eórum Títulum, ubi asservabántur olim recónditæ, dénuo restaurátum, solémniter translátæ sunt prídie hujus diéi, jussu Cleméntis Papæ Octávi; qui exínde hodiérna celebrándum die indíxit étiam festum ipsíus beátæ Domitíllæ Vírginis, cujus pássio Nonis hujus mensis recensétur.
     At Rome, on the Ardeatine Way, the holy martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, brothers, who underwent a long exile for Christ in the island of Pontia with Flavia Domitilla, whose chamberlains they were.  Afterwards they endured a most severe scourging.  Finally, as the judge, Minutius Rufus, endeavoured by using the rack and fire to force them to offer sacrifices, they said that having been baptized by the blessed apostle Peter, they could by no means sacrifice to idols.  They were beheaded, and their revered remains, with those of Flavia Domitilla, were, by order of Pope Clement VIII, solemnly transferred the day before this, from the sacristy of St. Adrian to the church in which they had been kept in the first place, and which was now repaired.  He also ordered today's observance of the feast of St. Domitilla, the virgin, whose martyrdom was mentioned on the 7th of May.

Members of the elite Praetorian Guard, they were reputedly baptized by St. Peter, exiled from Rome with St. Flavia Domitilla, and eventually beheaded.

1st v. ss. NEREUS, ACHILLEUS AND DOMITILLA, MARTYRS (FIRST CENTURY?)
THE cultus of SS. Nereus and Achilleus is very ancient, going back, we may say with certainty, to the fourth century. It was on the occasion of their festival, which was observed with some solemnity in Rome two hundred years later, that St Gregory the Great delivered his twenty-eighth homily. “These saints, before whom we are assembled”, he says, “despised the world and trampled it under their feet when peace, riches and health gave it charms.” The church in which he spoke was built over their tomb in the cemetery of Domitilla, on the Via Ardeatina. A new church was built by Leo III about the year 800 and this lay in ruins when Baronius, who derived from it his title as cardinal, rebuilt it and restored to it the relics of SS. Nereus and Achilleus which had been removed to the church of St Adrian.
Nereus and Achilleus were pretorian soldiers—as we know from the inscription Pope St Damasus placed on their tomb—but their legendary “acts” suppose them to have been attached as eunuchs to the household of Flavia Domitilla and to have shared her banishment. Of this lady, who was the great-niece of the Emperor Domitian, * [* The opinion now more generally accepted holds that there were two Christian women who bore the name of Flavia Domitilla. The elder was the daughter of a sister of Domitian and Titus, and she, as the wife of Flavius Clemens, was banished to the island of Pandatania. We learn this from Dion Cassius. The second Domitilla was a niece by marriage of the first, and it is she who was banished to Ponza, a fate which St Jerome seems to regard as equivalent to martyrdom.]
Eusebius writes: “In the fifteenth year of Domitian, for professing Christ, Flavia Domitilla, the niece of Flavius Clemens, one of the consuls of Rome at that time, was transported with many others to the island of Pontia”, i.e. Ponza. St Jerome describes her banishment as one long martyrdom. Nerva and Trajan were perhaps unwilling to restore the relations of Domitian when they recalled the other exiles. The “acts” report that Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla were removed to the island of Terracina, where the first two were beheaded during the reign of Trajan, whilst Domitilla was burnt because she refused to sacrifice to idols. This story probably found its starting-point in the fact that the bodies of the two former martyrs were buried in a family vault, which burying-place later became known as the cemetery of Domitilla. The excavations of de Rossi in that catacomb in 1874 resulted in the discovery of their empty tomb in the underground church constructed by Pope St Siricius in 390.
All, therefore, that we can with any confidence affirm regarding SS. Nereus and Achilleus is what we can gather from the inscription which Pope Damasus wrote in their honour towards the close of the fourth century. The text is known from the reports of travellers who read it when the slab was still entire, but the broken fragments which de Rossi found in his excavation of the cemetery of Domitilla in the last century are sufficient to identify it beyond possible doubt. Its terms run as follows, in English: “The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready through the constraint of fear to obey his will. 0 miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armour and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.”

The legendary story of Nereus and Achilleus, and the discovery of the cemetery of Domitilla with which it is connected, have given rise to a considerable literature. The “acts”, printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii, have been since edited or commented upon by such scholars as Wirth (1890); Achelis, in Texte und Untersuchungen, vol. xi, pt. 2 (1892); Schaefer, in the Römische Quartalschrift, vol. viii (1894), pp. 89—559; P. Franchi de’ Cavalieri, in Note Agiografiche, no. 3 (5909), etc. Cf. also J. P. Kirsch, Die römischen Titelkirchen (1958), pp. 90—94; Huelsen, Le Chiese di Roma nel medio eva, pp. 388—389, etc., and CMH., p. 249. Abundant references to the archaeological literature devoted to the cemetery of Domitilla will be found in Leclercq’s article in DAC., vol. iv (1921), cc. 1409—1443.

Nereus & Achilles (Achilleus) MM (RM) Died c. 100. According to Pope Saint Damasus, Nereus and Achilles were soldiers in the praetorian guard, who became Christians--baptized by Saint Peter, it is said--and decided that they must give up fighting. They escaped from the guard, but were discovered and sent into exile first to the island of Pontia with Saint Flavia Domitilla and then to Terracina. There in the reign of Emperor Trajan both saints were beheaded. Their unreliable Acta, however, state that they were servants in the household of Flavia Domitilla and were exiled with her.

Sts Domitilla Nereus and Achilleus
The vault in which these martyrs were buried later became the cemetery of Domitilla, situated on the Via Ardeatina. Later Christians erected a church over the spot, and towards the end of the 4th century, Pope Saint Damasus inscribed a tombstone in honor of the saints. It read:
"Nereus and Achilleus the martyrs joined the army and carried out the cruel orders of the tyrant, obeying his will continually out of fear. Then came a miracle of faith.
They suddenly gave up their savagery, they were converted, they fled the camp of their evil leader, throwing away their shields, armor, and bloody spears.
Professing the faith of Christ, they are happy to witness to its triumph.
From these words of Damasus understand what great deeds can be brought about by Christ's glory"
(Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley).

In art, Nereus, Achilles and Pancras (below) are presented as three richly dressed boys holding palms. At other times they may be holding swords, or, when pictured with Flavia Domitilla (today), as soldiers (Roeder). Sometimes just these two are shown together without Pancras.
103 Saint Philip of Agira (also Aggira, Agirone, Agirya or Argira) was an early Christian confessor.
There are two parallel stories of this saint which give to possible dates in which this saint lived. Traditionally, thorugh the writings of St. Athanasius, it is maintained that Philip of Agira is a saint of the 1st Century, born in the year 40 AD in Cappadocia (modern Turkey) and died on the 12th of May, 103 AD.

Another recent study says to have been born of a Syrian father in Thrace on an unknown date in the 5th century whose elder brothers drowned whilst fishing. Philip was known as the "Apostle of the Sicilians", as he was the first Christian missionary to visit that island. Nothing else can be certainly stated about him.

His feast day is May 12 and he is, naturally, patron saint of the city of Agira, Sicily and of the city of Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta.
Philip is one of the patron saints of the United States Army Special Forces.
St. Philip of Agirone first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily
Argyrii, in Sicília, sancti Philíppi Presbyteri, qui, a Románo Pontífice ad eándem Sicíliam ínsulam missus, magnam illíus partem convértit ad Christum.  Ipsíus vero sánctitas in
St. Philip of Agirone first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily
Argyrii, in Sicília, sancti Philíppi Presbyteri, qui, a Románo Pontífice ad eándem Sicíliam ínsulam missus, magnam illíus partem convértit ad Christum.  Ipsíus vero sánctitas in liberándis energúmenis máxime declarátur.
    At Agirone in Sicily, St. Philip, a priest who was sent to that island by the Roman Pontiff, and converted to Christ a great portion of it.  His sanctity is particularly manifested by the deliverance of persons possessed.


 Supposedly the first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily Although almost certainly a legendary figure, he is venerated in the hill town of Agirone, Sicily.

Philip of Agirone (RM). Saint Philip is venerated in the little hill town of Agirone as the first missionary sent to Sicily by the Holy See. His story abounds in contradictory and improbable details (Benedictines). liberándis energúmenis máxime declarátur.
    At Agirone in Sicily, St. Philip, a priest who was sent to that island by the Roman Pontiff, and converted to Christ a great portion of it.  His sanctity is particularly manifested by the deliverance of persons possessed.


 Supposedly the first Christian missionary to preach in Sicily Although almost certainly a legendary figure, he is venerated in the hill town of Agirone, Sicily.

Philip of Agirone (RM). Saint Philip is venerated in the little hill town of Agirone as the first missionary sent to Sicily by the Holy See. His story abounds in contradictory and improbable details (Benedictines).
2nd v. St. Flavia Domitilla 2nd century Martyr with Euphrosyna and Theodora

She was related to Emperors Domitian and Titus and was a great-niece of St. Flavius Clemens. She was martyred with her two foster sisters. This cult was suppressed in 1969.

Flavia Domitilla M (RM) 1st century. Flavia Domitilla was the wife of Titus Flavius Clemens, a Roman consul, and daughter of Emperor Domitian's sister. She was converted to Christianity and was banished to the island of Pandatania (Pandateria) in the Tyrrhenian Sea for her faith after her husband was martyred in 96 AD. A niece my marriage, also called Domitilla, was banished to the island of Ponza for her faith and may have been burned to death when she refused to sacrifice to the gods (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney).

In art, Flavia Domitilla is portrayed as a noblewoman holding a palm, crowned by angels, with SS. Achilleus and Nereus
(Roeder).
304 St. Dionysius Martyr died in prison uncle of St. Pancras
Romæ sancti Dionysii, qui éxstitit pátruus sancti Pancrátii Mártyris.
    At Rome, St. Denis, uncle of the martyr St. Pancras.

304? ST PANCRAS, Martyr
WE have no reliable information concerning St Pancras, whose martyrdom is celebrated on this day. The story, as it is usually told, is based upon his so-called “acts” which were fabricated long after his death and contain serious anachronisms. He is supposed to have been a Syrian or Phrygian orphan who was brought by an uncle to Rome, where both were converted to Christianity. Pancras was, it is said, in his fourteenth year when he was beheaded for the faith under Diocletian. He was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius, which afterwards took his name, and about the year 500 a basilica was built or rebuilt over his tomb by Pope Symmachus. St Augustine dedicated in his honour the first church he erected in Canterbury and some fifty years later Pope St Vitalian sent to Oswy, king of Northumberland, a portion of the martyr’s relics, the distribution of which seems to have propagated his cultus in England. St Gregory of Tours, who called St Pancras “the avenger of perjuries”, asserted that God, by a perpetual miracle, visibly punished false oaths made in the presence of his relics.
Pancras’s tomb in Rome was near the second milestone along the Via Auralia, and the church of Pope Symmachus was very handsomely restored by Pope Honorius (625—638); the inscription commemorating the fact is known to us. Pope St Gregory the Great had previously built a monastery for Benedictines under his invocation, and it seems likely that the dedication of the church erected by St Augustine at Canterbury may have been suggested by a remembrance of the Roman community in which he had lived. Another well-known cemetery that bore his name was that in London, where many penal-times Catholics were buried; its church gave its name to the district and so to the railway station.
The “acts”, which exist both in Latin and in Greek and in more than one recension, may be read in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. They are discussed with the Greek text by P. Franchi de’ Cavalieri in Studi e Testi, vol. xix, pp. 77—120. See also Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lx, Pp. 258—261.

An Asiatic by birth, Dionysius brought St. Pancras to Rome, where they became Christians. Dionysius died in a Roman prison.
Dionysius of Asia M (RM). Saint Dionysius was the uncle of the youthful martyr Saint Pancras, whose guardian he was.
They came together to Rome, were converted to the faith, and martyred under Diocletian. Dionysius died in prison (Benedictines).
304 Saint Pancras (Pancratius) 14  buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, which was later named after him
Item Romæ, via Aurélia, sancti Pancrátii Mártyris, qui, cum esset annórum quatuórdecim, sub Diocletiáno, cápitis obtruncatióne martyrium complévit.
    In the same place, on the Aurelian Way, the holy martyr Pancras who at fourteen years of age endured martyrdom by being beheaded under Diocletian.


The holy martyr Pancratius is especially venerated by the Western Church, where he is known as St Pancras.
The Holy Martyr Pancratius was a native of Phrygia, but lived in Rome with his uncle Dionysius after his parents died. They heard Bishop Cornelius preach, and were later baptized.
The fourteen-year-old youth suffered martyrdom at Rome during the persecution under Diocletian (284-305). He was buried on the Via Aurelia, and a church was built over his grave. The Aurelian gate is known today as the Porta St Pancrazio.
St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) venerated St Pancratius, who was beheaded near the site of his monastery, and had a silver reliquary made for the martyr's head.
 After St Gregory became bishop, the reliquary was placed in his cathedral on the Lateran hill.
 The reliquary was returned to the church of St Pancratius in the twentieth century.

When St Augustine of Canterbury (May 26) arrived in Britain, he transformed a pagan temple into a Christian church, dedicating it to St Pancratius.
St Augustine built another church in honor of St Pancratius outside London.
This church, which contains an old altar stone, is now called "Old St Pancras."


Legend tells us he was born at the end of the third century and brought up by an uncle in Rome after the death of his parents. Both he and his uncle became Christians. Pancras was beheaded in 304 during Diocletian's persecution. He was only 14 years old.
Pancras is especially venerated in England because Augustine of Canterbury dedicated his first church to Pancras and his relics were presented as a gift to the king of Northumberland. A district in London is named St. Pancras after him. In His Footsteps:
What do you know about the faith of teenagers? Whatever age you are, check into your parish youth group or a youth service organization to find out more and perhaps join or help out. Prayer:
St. Pancras, pray for all teenagers that their faith may be as strong as yours, strong enough to lead them through all the trials of their life.

Pancras M (RM) (also known as Pancratius) Born in Syria or Phrygia; died in Rome, Italy, c. 304. Saint Pancras was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way, which was later named after him. According to tradition recorded in Cardinal Wiseman's Fabiola, St Pancras was orphaned and brought to Rome by an uncle, where both were converted to Christianity. As a boy of fourteen, he was beheaded in Rome for his faith during the reign of Diocletian.

Pope Saint Symmachus, c. 500, built a church to mark his grave. As in the church of Saint Felix of Nola, oaths taken in Saint Pancras's church at Rome, were esteemed to have a special sacredness. In the 7th century, Pope Saint Vitalian sent some of his relics to England, where they are enshrined in his titular church in London, which gave his name to the borough and the railway station. Another church in Canterbury was dedicated in his honor by Saint Augustine of Canterbury (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Hoagland).

When Saint Pancras is not pictured with SS. Achilleus and Nereus (today), he is portrayed as a very young knight with a palm and pennant and having a cross on his lance. He may also be shown as a young, unarmed Christian martyr or with a Saracen under his feet. Pancras is invoked against cramp, false witness, headache, and perjury (Roeder).
403 St.  Epiphanius of Salamis  “Oracle of Pal­estine’ bishop of Constantia Salamis Cyprus  authority on Mary and taught the primacy of Peter among the Apostles; and the gift of miracles, reputation for scholarship austerities mortifications spiritual wisdom and advice authored many treatises.
Salamínæ, in Cypro, sancti Epiphánii Epíscopi, qui, multíplici eruditióne et sacrárum sciéntia litterárum excéllens, vitæ quoque sanctitáte, zelo cathólicæ fídei, munificéntia in páuperes et virtúte miraculórum éxstitit admirándus.
    At Salamis in Cyprus, St. Epiphanius, a bishop of great erudition, with a profound knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.  He is to be admired for the sanctity of his life, his zeal for the Catholic faith, his charity to the poor, and the gift of miracles.
403 ST EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF SALAMIS
ST EPIPHANIUS was born at Besanduk, a village near Eleutheropolis in Palestine, about the year 350. In order to qualify himself for the study of the Holy Scriptures he acquired in his youth a knowledge of Hebrew, Coptic, Syriac, Greek and Latin.

Frequent interviews with solitaries, whom he used to visit, gave him a strong inclination to the religious life, which he embraced very young. Even if, as one of his biographers asserts, he made his first essay of monasticism in Palestine, it is certain that he soon went to Egypt to perfect himself in ascetical discipline by staying with one or more of the desert communities. He returned to Palestine about the year 333, was ordained priest and built at Eleutheropolis a monastery, of which he became superior. The mortifications he practised seemed to some of his disciples to overtax his strength, but in answer to their expostulations he would say, “God gives not the kingdom of Heaven except on condition that we labour: and all we can do bears no proportion to the crown we are striving fo”. To his bodily austerities he added an indefatigable application to prayer and study, and most of the books then current passed through his hands. In the course of his reading he was shocked by the errors he detected in the writings of Origen. His reaction was violent, and he ever afterwards regarded Origen as the fountain-head of all the heresies that were afflicting the Church.

Epiphanius in his monastery came to be regarded as the oracle of Palestine and the neighbouring countries; it was asserted that no one ever visited him without receiving spiritual comfort. Indeed, his reputation spread to more distant lands, and in the year 367 he was chosen bishop of Salamis, or Constantia as it was then called, in Cyprus. He continued, however, to govern his community at Eleuther­opolis which he visited from time to time. His charity to the poor is described as boundless and many persons made him the dispenser of their alms. The widow St Olympias bestowed upon him a valuable gift of land and money for that purpose. The veneration which all men had for his sanctity exempted him from the perse­cution of the Arian Emperor Valens; and he was almost the only orthodox bishop on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean who was not molested during that reign. In 376 he undertook a journey to Antioch in a vain endeavour to convert Vitalis, the Apollinarist bishop; and six years later he accompanied St Paulinus of Antioch to Rome, where they attended a council summoned by Pope Damasus. They stayed in the house of St Jerome’s friend, the widow St Paula, whom St Epiphanius was able to entertain in Cyprus three years afterwards, when she was on her way to Palestine to rejoin her spiritual father.

Saint though he was, the bishop was a violent partisan and his prejudices led him, as an old man, to take action in ways which were—to say the least—regrettable. Thus, after having stayed as an honoured guest with John, bishop of Jerusalem, he had the bad taste to preach a sermon in the metropolitan church, attacking his host, whom he suspected of sympathy with Origenism. Then, having withdrawn to Bethlehem, he proceeded to commit the ecclesiastical offence of ordaining, in a diocese not his own, Paulinian, the brother of St Jerome. The complaints of the bishop and the scandal caused obliged him to take the newly-ordained priest back with him to exercise his ministry in Cyprus. On another occasion, being incensed at the sight of a picture of our Lord or of a saint on the curtain over the door of a village church, he tore it to pieces, recommending that it should be used as a shroud. It is true that he subsequently replaced the curtain by another, but we are not told what the villagers thought of the exchange. Finally, he allowed himself to be used as a tool by the unscrupulous Theophilus of Alexandria, and to appear in his stead at Constantinople to impeach the four “Tall Brothers”, who had escaped from the persecution of Theophilus and had appealed to the emperor. Epiphanius, on his arrival, refused the proffered hospitality of St John Chrysostom because he had protected the fugitive monks, but when he was brought face to face with the Tall Brothers and asked to state his charges against them, he was obliged to make the humiliating admission that “he had read none of their books and knew nothing whatever of their doctrines!” In a somewhat chastened spirit he set out shortly afterwards to return to Salamis, but he died on the voyage home.

The fame of St Epiphanius rests chiefly upon his writings, the principal of which are the Anchoratus, a treatise designed to confirm unsettled minds in the true faith the Panarium, or medicine-chest against all heresies; the Book of Weights and Measures, which depicts many ancient Jewish customs and measures; and an essay on the precious stones set in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest. These works, which were formerly much esteemed, show the writer to have amassed a vast amount of information, but today he seems to be regrettably lacking in judgement and the gift of clear exposition. Well might St Jerome describe him as “a last relic of ancient piety!”
The so-called biography of St Epiphanius attributed to a supposed Bishop Polybius is historically worthless and has not been printed in the account given of the saint in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. For our knowledge of his life we have to go to the church historians, such as Sozomen, and the controversialists who occupied themselves with the writings of Origen and with the history of St John Chrysostom. A critical edition of the works of Epiphanius, for which the Prussian Academy of Sciences took the responsibility, makes but slow progress. For more detailed information regarding the saint’s life and writings, see DTC., vol. v (1913), cc. 363—365 Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, vol. iii, pp. 293—302 and P. Maas in the Byzantinische Zeitschrift, vol. 30 (1930), pp. 279—286. There is an excellent article in DCB., vol. ii, pp. 149—156, by R. A. Lipsius.

Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, "a last relic of ancient piety," as St. Jerome calls him.
He lived during the fourth century in Phoenicia. The Roman empress Honoria was his sister. He was of Jewish descent, and in his youth he received a fine education. He was converted to Christianity after seeing how a certain monk named Lucian gave away his clothing to a poor person. Struck by the monk's compassion, Epiphanius asked to be instructed in Christianity.

He was baptized and became a disciple of St. Hilarion the Great (October 21). Entering the monastery, he progressed in the monastic life under the guidance of the experienced Elder Hilarion, and he occupied himself with copying Greek books.

Because of his ascetic struggles and virtues, St. Epiphanius was granted the gift of wonderworking. In order to avoid human glory, he left the monastery and went into the Spanidrion desert. Robbers caught him there and held him captive for three months. By speaking of repentance, the saint brought one of the robbers to faith in the true God. When they released the holy ascetic, the robber also went with him. St. Epiphanius took him to his monastery and baptized him with the name John. From that time, he became a faithful disciple of St. Epiphanius, and he carefully documented the life and miracles of his instructor.

Reports of the righteous life of St. Epiphanius spread far beyond the monastery. The saint went a second time into the desert with his disciple John. Even in the wilderness disciples started to come to him, so he established a new monastery for them.

After a certain time, St. Epiphanius made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to venerate its holy shrines, and then returned to the Spanidrion monastery. The people of Lycia sent the monk Polybios to St. Epiphanius asking him to take the place of their dead archpastor. When he learned of this intention, the clairvoyant ascetic secretly went into the Pathysian desert to the great ascetic St. Hilarion (October 21), under whose guidance he had learned asceticism in his youth.

The saints spent two months in prayer, and then Hilarion sent St. Epiphanius to Salamis. Bishops were gathered there to choose a new archpastor to replace one who recently died. The Lord revealed to the eldest of them, Bishop Papius, that St. Epiphanius should be chosen bishop. When Epiphanius arrived, St. Papius led him into the church, where in obedience to the will of the participants of the Council, Epiphanius agreed to be their bishop. St. Epiphanius was consecrated as Bishop of Salamis in 367.

St. Epiphanius won renown because of his great zeal for the Faith, his love and charity toward the poor, and his simplicity of character. He suffered much from the slander and enmity of some of his clergy. Because of the purity of his life, St. Epiphanius was permitted to see the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts at Divine Liturgy. Once, when the saint was celebrating the Mystery, he did not see this vision. He then became suspicious of one of the clergy and quietly said to him, "Depart, my son, for you are unworthy to participate in the celebration of the Mystery today."

At this point, the writings of his disciple John break off, because he became sick and died. The further record of the life of St. Epiphanius was continued by another of his disciples, Polybios (afterwards bishop of city of Rinocyreia).

Through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and the Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria, towards the end of his life St. Epiphanius was summoned to Constantinople to participate in the Synod of the Oak, which was convened to judge the great saint, John Chrysostom (September 14 and November 13). Once he realized that he was being manipulated by Chrysostom's enemies, St. Epiphanius left Constantinople, unwilling to take part in an unlawful council.

As he was sailing home on a ship, the saint sensed the approach of death, and he gave his disciples final instructions: to keep the commandments of God, and to preserve the mind from impure thoughts. He died two days later. The people of Salamis met the body of their archpastor with carriages, and on May 12, 403 they buried him in a new church which he himself had built.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council named St. Epiphanius as a Father and Teacher of the Church. In the writings of St. Epiphanius, the PANARIUM and the ANCHORATUS are refutations of Arianism and other heresies. In his other works are found valuable church traditions, and directives for the Greek translation of the Bible.

In his zeal to preserve the purity of the Orthodox Faith, St. Epiphanius could sometimes be rash and tactless. In spite of any impetuous mistakes he may have made, we must admire St. Epiphanius for his dedication in defending Orthodoxy against false teachings. After all, one of the bishop's primary responsibilities is to protect his flock from those who might lead them astray.

We also honor St. Epiphanius for his deep spirituality, and for his almsgiving. No one surpassed him in his tenderness and charity to the poor, and he gave vast sums of money to those in need.

He was born in Besanduk, Palestine, in 315, and he became an expert in scriptural languages. He spent time as a monk and as a hermit. In 333, he was ordained and made the abbot of a monastery at Eleutheropolis. He became the bishop of Cyprus in 367, a foe of the Arians. After a series of dis­putes, Epiphanius concentrated on writing. He was an authority on Mary and taught the primacy of Peter among the Apostles. He is considered an outstanding Church defender.  Salamis Cyprus

Epiphanius of Salamis B (RM) Born at Besanduk, Palestine, c. 315; died at sea in 403. Born into a Hellenized Jewish family, Epiphanius became an expert in the languages needed to understand Scripture. From his earliest youth he was a monk in Palestine. Later he went to Egypt and stayed at several desert communities. He returned to Palestine about 333, was ordained, and became superior of a monastery at Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), which he had built in his youth and which he directed for 30 years.

He achieved a widespread reputation for his scholarship, austerities, mortifications, spiritual wisdom, and advice. Called "the Oracle of Palestine," he became bishop of Constantia (Salamis), Cyprus, and metropolitan of Cyprus in 367, although still continuing as superior of his monastery. His reputation was such that he was one of the few orthodox bishops not harassed by Arian Emperor Valens, though Epiphanius preached vigorously against Arianism.

He supported Bishop Paulinus in 376 at Antioch against the claims of Metetius and the Eastern bishops, and attended a council in Rome summoned by Pope Saint Damasus in 382. Late in his life Epiphanius was embroiled in several unpleasant episodes with fellow prelates. First, he ordained a priest in another bishop's diocese.
He also denounced his host, Bishop John of Jerusalem, in John's cathedral in 394 for John's softness to Origenism (he believed Origen responsible for many of the heresies of the times). This won for Epiphanius the friendship of Saint Jerome (Born c. 304; died in Rome in 384), who was a bitter opponent of Origen. (It is said that there was a test of wills between Jerome and Origen; the winner of the crown was the one who outlived the other, Jerome.)
Like Saint Jerome, Epiphanius was too immoderate in his zeal and unable to use tact and discretion in his polemics.

When Epiphanius was nearly 80, in 402, at the behest of Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria, the saint went to Constantinople to support Theophilus in his campaign against Saint John Chrysostom, and the four "Tall Brothers" and then admitted he knew nothing of their teachings. Yes, even a saint can be headstrong or ornery at times.  When he realized he was being used as a tool by Theophilus against Saint John Chrysostom, who had given refuge to the monks persecuted by Theophilus and who were appealing to the emperor, and Epiphanius started back to Salamis, only to die on the way home.

He wrote numerous theological treatises, among them Ancoratus, on the Trinity and the Resurrection; Panarion (The Medicine Box) on some 80 heresies--real and imagined--and their refutations. The number 80 was chosen to correspond with the 'fourscore concubines' of the Song of Songs (6:8). He also authored De mensuribus et ponderibus, on ancient Jewish customs and measures. He was an authority on devotion to Mary and taught the primacy of Peter among the Apostles (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney).
5th v. St. Diomma Patron saint of Kildimo County Limerick 5th century
in Ireland. He taught St. Declan of Ardmore ( baptized by and disciple of Saint Colman.

He appears to have been an Irish evangelist before the arrival of Saint Patrick.and other Irish evangelists.)

Diomma of Kildimo (AC) 5th century. Irish Saint Diomma taught the road to holiness to Saint Declan and other saints. He is now venerated as patron of Kildimo, County Limerick, Ireland (Benedictines).
450 Saint Sabinus, Bishop of Cyprus ordained by St Epiphanius of Cyprus to the holy priesthood and successor to
Born in the Phoenician city of Lycia. Hearing of the renowned ascetic, St Epiphanius of Cyprus, Sabinus went to him and received monastic tonsure. For five years he lived in asceticism with St Epiphanius in the wilderness. Afterwards, he wrote about the life and deeds of St Epiphanius.

When St Epiphanius was elevated to the See of Cyprus, he ordained St Sabinus to the holy priesthood. After the death of his bishop and spiritual guide, St Sabinus became his successor.
The wise archpastor zealously defended the Church from heretics. He died in the mid-fifth century.
475 Saint Polybius disciple of St Epiphanius of Cyprus gift of wonderworking
He accompanied him on all his journeys and he wrote about the life and miracles of his teacher.

St Polybius accompanied St Epiphanius when he was returning from Constantinople, unwilling to take part in the council condemning St John Chrysostom. As he was dying, St Epiphanius told St Polybius, "Go to Egypt, and after my death I shall concern myself about you."
St Polybius obeyed his teacher's order with humility and, not waiting for the burial of the body,
 he went to Egypt, where he was made bishop of the city of Rinocyria.

For his virtuous ascetic life, St Polybius was granted the gift of wonderworking. Once, through his prayer, the Lord sent rain during a drought and provided an abundant harvest in the fields. St Polybius reposed in the fifth century at an advanced age.
640 St. Modoaldus Bishop of Trier counselor of King Dagobert I Franks related by blood or friendship to most of the saints of the Merovingian period
Tréviris sancti Modoáldi Epíscopi.   At Treves, St. Modoaldus, bishop.
640 ST MODOALDUS, Bishop OF TRIER
AQUITAINE was the birthplace of the holy bishop St Modoaldus, who is also known as Modowaldus and Romoaldus. He seems to have belonged to a family of high rank which was prolific in saints, for one of his sisters was the abbess St Severa and the other was Bd Iduberga, wife of Pepin of Landen and mother of St Gertrude of Nivelles.
   Modoaldus came to be frequently received at the court of King Dagobert, where he met St Arnulf of Metz and St Cunibert of Cologne, with whom he formed a close friendship.
   Dagobert esteemed the young ecclesiastic so highly that he nominated him to the see of Trier (Trèves), but this mark of favour did not prevent the saint from constantly remonstrating with his royal patron for his personal licentiousness and the loose morals of his court. In the course of time his strictures touched the king’s heart: he became sincerely penitent and tried to make amends for the past. Not only did he take St Modoaldus as his spiritual father and adviser, but he also gave him grants of land and money with which to make religious foundations.
   Few incidents in the life of St Modoaldus have come down to us, and even the dates of his consecration and death are doubtful. However, he was certainly present at the Council of Rheims in 625. He ordained the martyr St Germanus of Grandval, whom he had brought up, and gave hospitality to St Desiderius of Cahors, as may be gathered from the letter of thanks afterwards written to him by his guest. St Modoaldus died after an episcopate which the Bollandists conjecture to have extended approximately from 622 to 640.

The very sketchy biography of St Modoaldus, written more than 400 years after his death by Abbot Stephen of Liege, is of no particular historical value. It is printed with the usual introduction and commentary in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii.
Known also as Romoaldus, he was born in Aquitaine, France, to a noble family. Appointed bishop in 628, he attended the Council of Reims and was so vociferous in his complaints about the immorality then rampant in the royal court that he spurred Dagobert to a personal conversion.

Modoald(us) of Trèves B (RM) Born in Gascony; died in Trier, Germany, 640. Saint Modoald was related by blood or friendship to most of the saints of the Merovingian period. He began his public life as advisor to King Dagobert I. In 622, he was consecrated bishop of Trier (Treves), which he governed successfully until his death (Benedictines).
688  St. Richrudis Benedictine abbess forty years wed St. Adalbald 4 children Eusebia, Clotsind, Adalsind, and Mauront all became saints
688 ST RICTRUDIS, WIDOW
THE family of St Rictrudis was one of the most illustrious in Gascony, and her parents were devout as well as wealthy.

In her father’s house when she was a young girl Rictrudis met one who was to be her director for a great part of her life. This was St Amandus, then an exile from the territory of King Dagobert, whose licentious conduct he had condemned; the prelate was evangelizing the Gascons, many of whom were still pagans. Later on there arrived another distinguished visitor in the person of St Adalbald, a young French nobleman in great favour with King Clovis. He obtained from his hosts the hand of Rictrudis in spite of the opposition of relations who viewed with disfavour any alliance with a Frank. The home to which Adalbald took his bride was Ostrevant in Flanders, and there four children were born to them— Mauront, Eusebia, Clotsind and Adalsind, all of whom, like their parents, were destined to be honoured in later times as saints.

After his return from exile St Amandus would come now and then to stay with this remarkable family, whose holy and happy life is described in glowing terms by the tenth-century compiler of the life of St Rictrudis. She had been married sixteen years when Adalbald, on a visit to Gascony, was murdered by some of her relations who had never forgiven him for his successful wooing. The blow was a terrible one to St Rictrudis. She told St Amandus that she wished to retire into a convent, but he advised her to wait until her son was old enough to take up his residence at court. This delay entailed on her a severe trial in later years, when King Clovis II suddenly made up his mind to give her in marriage to one of his favourites, for she was still attractive and very wealthy. The king’s commands in such cases were law, and Rictrudis pleaded with him in vain. Eventually, however, St Amandus persuaded the monarch to allow her to follow her vocation, and Rictrudis joyfully set out for Marchiennes, where she had founded a double monastery, for men and women. There she received the veil from St Amandus. Her two younger daughters, Adalsind and Clotsind, accompanied her, but Eusebia remained with her paternal grandmother, St Gertrude, at Hamage. After a few years at court Mauront decided that he too wished to abandon the world and it was at Marchiennes, in his mother’s presence, that he received the tonsure. Adalsind died young, but Clotsind lived to become abbess of Marchiennes when St Rictrudis passed to her reward at the age of seventy-six.
The life of St Rictrudis, which was written by Hucbald of Elnone in 907, seems to represent a sincere attempt to arrive at historical truth, however greatly the biographer was hampered by the lack of materials, most of which are said to have perished when Marchiennes was raided and burnt by the Normans in 881. See the admirable discussion of the subject by L. Van der Essen in the Revue d’Histoire ecclésiastique, vol. xix (1923), especially pp. 543—550; and in the same author’s Etude critique . . . des Saints mérovingiens (1907), pp. 260—267. Hucbald’s life, with other materials, may be read in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. W. Levison, in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. vi, has only re-edited the prologue. St Rictrudis is sometimes confused with St Rotrudis, a saint venerated at Saint-Bertin and Saint-Omer, about whose life nothing at all is known.
A member of a noble family from Gascony, France, she wed the Frankish nobleman St. Adalbald despite family objections, and the couple had four children — Eusebia, Clotsind, Adalsind, and Mauront — all of whom became saints.

After Adalbald was murdered by relatives in Gascony, she refused royal pressure to remarry and instead, with the help of St. Amandus, she became a nun at Marchiennes, Flanders, Belgium, a double monastery that she had founded. Rictrudis served as abbess for some forty years until her death. Adalsind and Clotsind joined her, and Mauront became a monk there too.

Rictrudis of Marchiennes, OSB Widow (AC) Born in Gascony; died 688. Saint Rictrudis was born into a noble Gascon family. She married Saint Adalbald, a Frankish nobleman serving king Clovis II, despite some opposition from her family. The couple had four children, all of whom are counted among the saints: SS Adalsindis, Clotsindis, Eusebia, and Maurontius.

After 16 year of a happy married life at Ostrevant, Flanders, Adalbald was murdered while visiting in Gascony by relatives of Rictrudis who disapproved of the match. After several years, King Clovis ordered her to marry, but with the aid of her old friend and spiritual advisor, Saint Amandus, Clovis relented and permitted her to become a nun at Marchiennes, Flanders--a double monastery that she had founded. Adalsindis and Clotsindis joined her, and sometime later Maurontius, on the point of marrying, left the court and became a monk there, too. Rictrudis ruled Marchiennes as abbess for 40 years (Benedictines, Delaney).
In art, Rictrudis holds a church in her hand. She may also be pictured with her children (Roeder).

732 Germanus of Constantinople patriarch "When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood: we worship the invisible God in spirit and in truth."B (RM)
Constantinópoli sancti Germáni Epíscopi, doctrína et virtútibus insígnis, qui Leónem Isáuricum, edíctum advérsus sacras Imágines promulgántem, magna fidúcia redárguit.
    At Constantinople, St. Germanus, a bishop distinguished by his virtues and learning, who faithfully opposed Leo the Isaurian for publishing an edict against sacred images.
732 ST GERMANUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
ST GERMANUS was the son of a senator of Constantinople, was educated for the priesthood, and was for some time attached to the metropolitan church; but after his father’s death, at a date which is not recorded, he was appointed bishop of Cyzicus. Nicephorus and Theophanes assert that he countenanced the attempts made by the Emperor Philippicus to spread the monothelite heresy; this, however, seems inconsistent with the bishop’s subsequent unflinching defence of orthodoxy, and the encomium passed upon him by the second oecumenical Council of Nicaea in 787.
   Under Anastasius II Germanus was translated from Cyzicus to the see of Constantinople. Within a year of his accession he called a synod of 200 bishops at which the true doctrine of the Church was asserted against the monothelite heresy.
After L
eo the Isaurian had ascended the imperial throne in 717, St Germanus crowned him in the church of the Holy Wisdom, and the emperor solemnly swore to preserve the Catholic faith. Ten years later, when Leo declared himself in sympathy with the iconoclasts and set himself against the veneration of images, St Germanus reminded him of the vow he had made. In spite of this remonstrance, the emperor issued an edict prohibiting the outward display of reverence to religious statues and pictures, all of which were to be raised to a height which precluded the public from kissing them. A later and still more drastic decree ordered the general destruction of sacred images and the whitewashing of church walls. The patriarch, though a very old man, spoke out fearlessly in defence of images and wrote letters upholding the Catholic tradition to bishops inclined to favour the iconoclasts. In one of these, to Thomas of Claudiopolis, he says: “Pictures are history in figure and tend to the sole glory of the heavenly Father. When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ we do not worship the colours laid upon the wood:  we are venerating the invisible God who is in the bosom of the Father: Him we worship in spirit and in truth.” In reply to an epistle he addressed to Pope St Gregory II, St Germanus received an answer, still preserved to us, in which the pope expresses his deep appreciation of the patriarch’s vindication of Catholic doctrine and tradition.
Over and over again did Leo attempt to win over the aged prelate, but finally, in 730, realizing that his efforts remained fruitless, he practically compelled St Germanus to relinquish his office. The saint then retired to his paternal home, where he spent the remainder of his life in monastic seclusion, preparing for his death which took place when he was over ninety. Of his writings, the greater part of which have perished, the best known was an apology for St Gregory of Nyssa against the Origenists; Baronius described them as having kindled a beacon which illuminated the whole Catholic Church.

A medieval life of St Germanus in Greek was edited by A. Papadopoulos Kerameus in 1881, but it is of little value. The statement, for example, that the patriarch, to escape from the resentment of the Emperor Leo, took refuge in a convent of nuns at Cyzicus, and wearing their habit was quite unrecognizable because he already looked like a wizened old woman, can hardly be credited, especially in view of the oriental insistence on episcopal beards. Our surest source of information is to be found in such letters of the period as have been preserved, and in the proceedings of the councils. There is an excellent article on St Germanus in DTC., vol. vi (1920), CC. 1300—1309; to this a full bibliography is appended, as also in Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, vol. v, pp. 48—5 I. See also Hefele-Leclercq, Histoire des Conciles, vol. iii, pp. 599 seq.

Born c. 634; died at Platonium c. 732. Germanus, a churchman of senatorial rank, was promoted from bishop of Cyzicus to be patriarch of Constantinople in 715. Ten years later Emperor Leo III, the Isaurian, published the first edict against the public veneration of sacred images, an enactment prompted by political as well as religious considerations. It is for his firm opposition to the emperor that Saint Germanus is chiefly remembered. In a letter he wrote "When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood: we worship the invisible God in spirit and in truth."

In 730, Germanus was in effect deposed, and soon after died in exile at a very old age. A few of his writings have survived, among them six homilies on the Virgin Mary and some hymns, including the one translated as "A great and mighty wonder,/A full and holy cure!" (Attwater, Benedictines).

Saint Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, was born at Constantinople in the seventh century. His father, a prominent senator, was killed by order of the emperor Constantine Pogonatos (668-685). The young Germanus was emasculated and sent to a monastery, where he studied Holy Scripture.

Because of the sanctity of his life, Germanus was made bishop in the city of Cyzicus. St Germanus rose up in defense of the Orthodox Faith against the iconoclast heretics. He was later made Patriarch of Constantinople. St Germanus continued to stand up against the iconoclasts and to their spokesman, the heretical emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741), but the contest was unequal. He was forced to put his omophorion upon the altar table in the sanctuary, and to resign the archpastoral throne. Then the enraged emperor, who accused the Patriarch of heresy the day before, sent soldiers, who beat the saint and threw him out of the patriarchal residence. St Germanus was Patriarch for fourteen years and five months.

He went to a monastery, where he spent the remaining days of his life. The holy Patriarch Germanus died in the year 740, at age ninety-five, and was buried in the Chora monastery in Constantinople. Afterwards, his relics were transferred to France.

At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), the name of Patriarch Germanus was included in the diptychs of the saints. He wrote a "Meditation on Church Matters or Commentary on the Liturgy;" also an explanation of the difficult passages of Holy Scripture, and another work on the rewards of the righteous after death.

His important work on the various heresies that had arisen since apostolic times, and on the church councils that took place during the reign of the emperor Leo the Iconoclast, provides a wealth of historical information. There are also three letters from the Patriarch about the veneration of icons, which were read at the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

His other works include hymns in praise of the saints, discourses on the Feasts of the Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation and the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the restoration of the church in honor of the Placing of the Venerable Zone of the Most Holy Theotokos.
805 Saint Ethelhard of Canterbury archbishop B (AC)
(also known as Æthilheard) Died at Canterbury, England, c. 803-805. Some sources state that Saint Ethelhard was abbot of Louth in Lincolnshire and a bishop of Winchester, England, before he was elevated to archbishop of Canterbury; however, Farmer says that he was not bishop of Winchester. His elevation to Canterbury's episcopal throne occurred just after King Offa and the pope divided the see to establish that of Lichfield. At first Ethelhard was unacceptable to his Kentish flock because it had just fallen under the domination of Mercia.

In 796, Offa died, Kent revolted, and Ethelhard was forced to flee. Through the intervention of Blessed Alcuin (Born in York, England, c. 735; died at Saint Martin's in Tours, France, May 19, 804. Alcuin studied under Saint Edbert at the York cathedral school, was ordained a deacon there, and, in 767), Ethelhard was restored to Canterbury the following year. In 802, Pope Leo III re-established Canterbury to its former status, put aside the idea of moving the metropolitan see to London, and abolished the see of Lichfield.

Ethelhard convened the synod of Clovesho in 803, which mandated that each newly elected bishop make a written profession of orthodoxy and pledge obedience to his metropolitan bishop.

At his death Ethelhard was buried in Canterbury's cathedral, where he is venerated primarily for having overseen the restoration of the see. His was one of the Anglo-Saxon cults suppressed by Lanfranc because there were no written documents of his life. When no later writer picked up the challenge, Ethelhard's cultus seems to have died. There are, however, extant letters from Alcuin and Pope Leo to Saint Ethelhard (Benedictines, Farmer).
1109 St. Dominic de la Calzada Hermit aided pilgrims to Compostela the famed shrine in Spain; his grave, which he had made himself, became famous for miracles.
In civitáte Calciaténsi, in Hispánia, sancti Domínici Confessóris.
    In the city of Calzada in Spain, St. Dominic, confessor.
1109 ST DOMINIC OF THE CAUSEWAY
ST DOMINIC DE LA CALZADA, “of the Causeway”, was so called from the road which he made for pilgrims on their way to Compostela. He was a native of Villoria in the Spanish Basque country, and as a young man had made several unsuccessful attempts to become a Benedictine, his uncouth appearance and his ignorance causing him to be rejected wherever he applied. He then went to live as a solitary in a hermitage of his own construction, surrounded by a garden which he cultivated. When St Gregory of Ostia came to preach in north-eastern Spain, Dominic attached himself to him, and remained with him until St Gregory’s death. Bereft of his master, Dominic was again cast upon his own resources. Not far from his former hermitage lay the wilderness of Bureba through which many of the pilgrims had to pass to reach the shrine of St James. It was virgin forest and was dangerous not only because no proper road traversed it, but also because the undergrowth and trees afforded a lurking place for bandits. Here Dominic took up his abode. Having built himself a cabin and an oratory, he set about felling trees and building a good road. So successful were his efforts that settlers began to gather round him; with their help he was able to construct also a hospice and a bridge. He died about the year 1109, and his grave, which he had made himself, became famous for miracles. The town of S. Domingo de la Calzada which grew up round his shrine was at one time important enough to he the seat of a bishopric, now transferred to Calahorra.
The account in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii, is derived mainly from a set of breviary lessons and from a life compiled by Louis de Ia Vega in 1606. See also the Encyclopedia Europeo-Americana, vol. xviii, p. 1846.

He was born in Biscay and became a hermit in Rioja. Dominic devoted his time to creating a causeway for pilgrim travelers. The site of his hermitage, La Calzada, became a shrine.

Dominic of the Causeway, Hermit (RM) (also known as Dominic de la Calzada) Born at Victoria, Biscay. The Benedictines turned Saint Dominic, a Basque, away when he repeatedly tried to join the order at Valvanera. All the saint could achieve in following his vocation to live as a monk was to become a hermit near Rioja. He later moved his hermitage to one of the routes taken by pilgrims visiting the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. There he had the simple, extremely useful notion of building a road (calzada or causeway), a bridge, and a hospice, solely to ease their journey.
The spot where he lived is now called La Calzada and itself has become a great pilgrimage shrine (Benedictines, Bentley).
1249 Gemma of Goriano shepherdess, was a recluse for 42 years at Goriano Sicoli B (AC)
cultus approved in 1890.
Gemma, a shepherdess, was a recluse for 42 years at Goriano Sicoli in the diocese of Sulmona in the Abruzzi (Benedictines).
1328 Bl. Francis Patrizzi; Italian member of the Servite Order, holiness, remarkable ability to solve crises of various kinds through his personal mediation; also called Patrizi.
1328 BD FRANCIS PATRIZZI
famous as a missioner and preacher. His confessional was crowded; wonderful gift for preaching moving sermons with little or no preparation, and he was indefatigable in exercising it.
Among the holy men who have shed lustre on the Servite Order not the least notable was Bd Francis Arrighetto, descended from a branch of a noble Sienese family, the Patrizzi, by which last name he is more commonly known. He was drawn to God while still a boy on listening to a sermon preached by the Dominican Bd Ambrose Sansedoni. Francis had a great desire to hide himself in some desert place, but he knew that duty required him to remain with his mother, who was a widow and blind. After her death he, at the age of twenty-two, was received into the Order of Servants of Mary by St Philip Benizi, and became in a short time famous as a missioner and preacher.
   His confessional was crowded, and popularity seems to have caused some jealousy and criticism amongst his brethren. Sensitive and perplexed, for fear he was giving scandal, he besought the guidance of our Blessed Lady, and was thereupon afflicted with sudden deafness. This infirmity was not permanent, but he took it as a sign that it was by the use of his tongue and not of his ears that God wished to be served.
   He had a wonderful gift for preaching moving sermons with little or no preparation, and he was indefatigable in exercising it.   Though relentless in inflicting pain upon his body by taking the discipline and in other ways, he held that it was a mistake to starve himself: he needed all his strength to do the work committed to him. He foresaw that he would die on the feast of the Ascension, 1328, but he went out to preach on that day as he had been asked to do; he collapsed by the roadside as he went. The touching story of his end is told by his biographer in great detail.
His whole life was spent in Siena, where he is still venerated. The cultus was approved in 1743.
All that is likely to be known concerning Bd Francis may be read in the text and annotations of the life edited in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiv (1895), pp. 167—197, by Father Soulier, O.S.M. The author of this biography was Father Christopher de Palma, a contemporary.

Born in Siena, he joined the Servites after listening to a moving sermon delivered by Blessed Ambrose Sansedoni(Born in Siena, Italy, in 1220; died 1287), whose eloquence was the final inspiration for Francis to enter the religious life. St. Philip Benizi (Born 15 August (Feast of the Assumption) 1233 at district of Oltrarno, Florence, Italy  Died  22 August (Octave of the Assumption) 1285 at Todi, Italy; buried in Todi) himself received Francis into the Servites. As a Servite. Francis distinguished himself with his holiness and his remarkable ability to solve crises of various kinds through his personal mediation.

Blessed Francis (Tarlati) Patrizi, OSM (AC) Born in Siena, Italy; died there in 1328; cultus approved in 1743. Francis was converted by a sermon of the Servite friar Blessed Ambrose Sansedoni , and was himself received into the Servite Order by Saint Philip Benizi. Francis had the great gift of being able to reconcile enemies (Benedictines).
Francis is portrayed as a Servite with a lily growing out of his mouth or holding a lily and a book. His relics rest at Santa Maria dei Servi in Siena, Italy. Francis is invoked to bring about reconciliation (Roeder)
.
1333 Blessed Imelda Lambertini; patron of first communicants, died of love on her first Communion day; Saint Agnes came in a vision, she saw a brilliant light shining above Imelda's head, and a Host suspended in the light OP V (AC)

1429 BD GEMMA OF SOLMONA, VIRGIN
SOLMONA in the Abruzzi, which was Ovid’s native place, has also given birth to a very different type of character in the person of Bd Gemma, a holy recluse who lived and died there, whose relics are still venerated in the church of St John.
   Gemma’s parents were peasants who encouraged their little girl’s precocious piety and set her to mind the sheep—an occupation which gave her ample leisure for prayer and contemplation. According to tradition, when she was twelve years old, her beauty attracted the notice of a local count called Roger, who sent his servants to kidnap her. Brought into his presence, God lent a marvellous power to her words, and she succeeded in so greatly impressing him that he undertook to build her a hermitage. Whatever truth there may be in that story, it is clearly established that she lived a holy life for forty-two years in a cell adjoining the church. The cultus which continued uninterrupted after her death was formally approved in 1890.

A short notice of this beata will be found in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. The decree, which amounts to an equivalent beatification, may be read in the Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. xxiii (1890), p. 48. A little book about Gemma was published by B. Silvestri at Prato in 1896.
Born in Bologna, Italy, in 1322; died there on the Feast of the Ascension, May 13, 1333; cultus confirmed in 1826; named patron of first communicants by Pope Pius X.
One of the most charming legends in Dominican hagiography is that of little Imelda, who died of love on her first Communion day, and who is, by this happy circumstance, patroness of all first communicants.
Tradition says that Imelda was the daughter of Count Egano Lambertini of Bologna. Her family was famous for its many religious, including a Dominican preacher, a Franciscan mother foundress, and an aunt of Imelda's who had founded a convent of strict observance in Bologna.
Imelda was a delicate child, petted and favored by her family, and it was no surprise that she should be religious by nature. She learned to read from the Psalter, and early devoted herself to attending Mass and Compline at the Dominican church. Her mother taught her to sew and cook for the poor, and went with her on errands of charity. When Imelda was nine, she asked to be allowed to go to the Dominicans at Val di Pietra. She was the only child of a couple old enough not to hope for any more children; it was a wrench to let her go. However, they took her to the convent and gave her to God with willing, if sorrowing, hearts.
Imelda's status in the convent is hard to discern. She wore the habit, followed the exercises of the house as much as she was allowed to, and longed for the day when she would be old enough to join them in the two things she envied most--the midnight Office and the reception of Holy Eucharist. Her age barred her from both. She picked up the Divine Office from hearing the sisters chant, and meditated as well as she could.
It was a lonely life for the little girl of nine, and, like many another lonely child, she imagined playmates for herself--with this one difference--her playmates were saints. She was especially fond of Saint Agnes, the martyr, who was little older than Imelda herself. Often she read about her from the large illuminated books in the library, and one day Agnes came in a vision to see her{(Died c. 304. St. Agnes (purity) 1/7 women in the canon of the Mass with Cecilia (married but continent), Felicity (happiness) (married), Perpetua (steadfastness) (married), Agatha (goodness) (widowed), Lucy (light) (virgin), and Anastasia (resurrection) }. Imelda was delighted. Shut away from participation in adult devotions, she had found a contemporary who could tell her about the things she most wanted to know. Agnes came often after this, and they talked of heavenly things .

Her first Christmas in the convent brought only sorrow to Imelda. She had been hoping that the sisters would relent and allow her to receive Communion with them, but on the great day, when everyone except her could go receive Jesus in the Eucharist, Imelda remained in her place, gazing through tears at the waxen figure in the creche. Imelda began to pray even more earnestly that she might receive Communion.
When her prayer was answered, spring had come to Bologna, and the world was preparing for the Feast of the Ascension. No one paid much attention to the little girl as she knelt in prayer while the sisters prepared for the Mass. Even when she asked to remain in the chapel in vigil on the eve of the feast, it caused no comment; she was a devout child. The sisters did not know how insistently she was knocking at heaven's gate, reciting to herself, for assurance, the prayer that appeared in the Communion verse for the Rogation Days: "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you."
The door was opened for Imelda on the morning of the Vigil of the Ascension. She had asked once more for the great privilege of receiving Communion, and, because of her persistence, the chaplain was called in on the case. He refused flatly; Imelda must wait until she was older. She went to her place in the chapel, giving no outward sign that she intended to take heaven by storm, and watched quietly enough while the other sister went to Communion.
After Mass, Imelda remained in her place in the choir. The sacristan busied herself putting out candles and removing the Mass vestments. A sound caused her to turn and look into the choir, and she saw a brilliant light shining above Imelda's head, and a Host suspended in the light. The sacristan hurried to get the chaplain.
The chaplain now had no choice; God had indicated that He wanted to be communicated to Imelda. Reverently, the chaplain took the Host and gave it to the rapt child, who knelt like a shining statue, unconscious of the nuns crowding into the chapel, or the laypeople pushing against the chapel grille to see what might be happening there.
After an interval for thanksgiving, the prioress went to call the little novice for breakfast. She found her still kneeling. There was a smile on her face, but she was dead.
The legend of Blessed Imelda is firmly entrenched in Dominican hearts, though it is difficult now to find records to substantiate it. She may have been eleven, rather than ten when she died. The convent where she lived has been gone for centuries and its records with it.

Several miracles have been worked through her intercession, and her cause for canonization has been under consideration for many years. As recently as 1928 a major cure was reported of a Spanish sister who was dying of meningitis. Other miracles are under consideration. The day may yet come when the lovable little patroness of first communicants can be enrolled in the calendar of the saints (Benedictines, Dominicans, Dorcy).
In art, Imelda is a very young Dominican novice, kneeling before the altar with a sacred Host appearing above her. She is venerated at Bologna and Valdipietra (Roeder) .
1490 Blessed Jane of Portugal Despite the interruptions of plague, family cares, and state troubles, Joanna lived an interior and penitential life She died, as it says in an old chronicle, "with the detachment of a religious and the dignity of a queen," and with the religious community around her OP V (AC)
(also known as Joanna)  Born in Lisbon, Portugal, 1452; died at Aveiro, Portugal, in 1490; cultus approved in 1693.
1490 BD JANE OF PORTUGAL, VIRGIN
BD JANE OF PORTUGAL came into the world heiress to the throne of her father, Alphonsus V, and although a brother was born three years later the boy’s delicacy, and the untimely death of the children’s mother, Elizabeth of Coimbra, made it seem not unlikely that the young princess would eventually become queen; and no pains were spared to fit her for the high position she might be called on to fill.
Nevertheless, from childhood Jane took little pleasure in earthly things, caring only for what concerned the service of God. Unknown to all but two or three members of her suite, she wore a hair-shirt, used the discipline and spent hours of the night in prayer. When, at the age of sixteen, she found that her father was making plans for her marriage she asked him to permit her to embrace the religious life, but was met by a point-blank refusal. Alphonsus did not, however, for the moment, press her to marry and allowed her to lead a secluded life in the palace.
In 1471 King Alphonsus and Prince John started on a punitive expedition against the African Moors, leaving Jane, then nineteen years of age, as regent. The campaign was successful: and in the midst of the public rejoicings which followed their return, the princess again asked permission to retire into a convent. She obtained from her father a conditional consent, and, though it was for a time suspended owing to the objections of Prince John, Bd Jane, the moment she felt secure, took prompt action. She distributed her personal effects and set out for the Bernardine convent of Odivellas, on her way to her ultimate objective, the Dominican priory of Aveiro. Jane entered the priory on August 4, 1472, but she was not allowed by her family to take vows, or to give up control of her property. For a long time she did not even dare to receive the habit. Nevertheless, as far as she could, she led the life of a simple sister, always seeking to perform the most lowly tasks. Her income she devoted to charity, especially to redeeming captives. Her peace was repeatedly disturbed by her relations, who could never resign themselves to her refusing the marriages which continued to be suggested for her:  Maximilian, king of the Romans, and Richard III, king of England, are said to  have been amongst the suitors. Moreover, Jane’s family seem to have been genuinely concerned about her health, and they insisted upon making her leave Aveiro—never a salubrious place—when the plague was raging there. She died at the age of thirty-eight, of a fever supposed to have been contracted from contaminated or poisoned water given to her on her way home after a visit to court, by a woman of position whom she had banished from the town of Aveiro because of her scandalous life. The cultus of Bd Jane was authorized in 1693.

The most authentic account of the life of Bd Jane is that by Margaret Pineria, who had been one of her ladies-in-waiting. It was written in Portuguese, but in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vii, it is accessible in a Latin translation. See also a popular French life, by de Belloc, with a number of engravings (1897); M. C. de Ganay, Les Bienheureuses Dominicaines (1913), pp. 279—304 and a brief sketch in J. Procter, Lives of Dominican Saints, pp. 122--126.

Joanna, a child of many prayers, was born heiress to the throne of her father, King Alphonsus V, at a time when Spain and Portugal had divided the colonial wealth of the earth between them. Her sickly brother Juan was born three years later, and soon after this their mother, Queen Elizabeth of Coimbra, died. Joanna was left to the care of a wise and pious nurse, who cultivated the child's natural piety. By age five the little princess had exceeded her teacher in penitential practices. She fasted and prayed, rose at night to take the discipline, and wore a hairshirt under her glittering court apparel.

Although Joanna would not inherit the throne of Portugal while her brother was alive, a wise marriage would do much to increase her father's power. Accordingly, he began early to arrange for her marriage. Joanna, whose knowledge of court intrigue was as good as his own, skillfully escaped several proposed matches. She had treasured the desire to enter the convent, but, in view of her father's plans, her desires met with violent opposition. She was flatly refused for a long time; finally, her father gave his reluctant consent, but he withdrew it again at her brother's insistence.

She was regent of Portugal when her father and brother went to war against the Moors, and when they defeated the Moors in 1471, her father, in the first flush of victory, granted her request to take the veil. Joanna and one of her ladies-in-waiting had long planned to enter the Dominican cloister at Aveiro, which was noted for its strict observance. But when her father finally gave consent for her to enter religion, he did not allow her to enter that Dominican convent. She had to go to the nearby royal abbey of the Benedictines at Odivellas. Here she was besieged by weeping and worldly relatives who had only their own interests at heart. After two months of this mental torture, she returned to the court.

The rest of Joanna's life is a story of obedience and trials. Her obligations of obedience varied. She was required to bend her will to a wavering father, who never seemed able to make a decision and abide by it; to bishops, swayed by political causes, who forced her to sign a paper that she would never take her solemn vows; and to doctors, who prescribed remedies that were worse than the maladies they tried to cure. The trials came from a jealous brother, from ambitious and interfering relatives, from illness, and from cares of state.

After 12 years of praying and hoping, Joanna finally received the Dominican habit at Aveiro in 1485. Once, she was deprived of it by an angry delegation of bishops and nobles, and, at another time, her brother tore the veil from her head. Despite the interruptions of plague, family cares, and state troubles, Joanna lived an interior and penitential life. She became an expert at spinning and weaving the fine linens for the altar, and busied herself with lowly tasks for the love of God. She used all her income to help the poor and to redeem captives.

Her special devotion was to the Crown of Thorns, and, in early childhood, she had embroidered this device on her crest. To the end of her life she was plagued by the ambition of her brother, who again and again attempted to arrange a marriage for her, and continually disturbed her hard-won peace by calling her back to the court for state business.

On one of these trips to court, Joanna was poisoned by a woman--a person she had rebuked for leading an evil life. The princess lived several months in fearful pain, enduring all her sufferings heroically. She died, as it says in an old chronicle, "with the detachment of a religious and the dignity of a queen," and with the religious community around her (Benedictines, Delaney, Dorcy).
1539? BD JOHN STONE, MARTYR an Austin friar, a doctor of theology,
JOHN STONE’S portrait and name are found in the old engravings representing the English martyrs as formerly depicted on the walls of the church of St Thomas in the English College at Rome; but beyond the fact that he was an Austin friar, a doctor of theology, and that he died a martyr little is known about him. It was in all probability to him that Bishop Ingworth, the king’s sequestrator, referred in a letter to Cromwell in December 1538, when he complained of the insolence of one of the Austin friars at Canterbury, who “still held and still desired to die for it, that the King may not be head of the Church of England”. In his Dialogi sex …(1566) Nicholas Harpsfield, archdeacon of Canterbury, states that Stone, after he had prayed and fasted for three days in prison, “heard a voice, though he saw nobody, which addressed him by name, and admonished him to be brave of heart and not to hesitate with constancy to suffer death for that belief which he had professed”. “These things I learned from a serious and trustworthy man, who is even now living, to whom Stone himself related them.”
It was formerly supposed that Bd John suffered on May 12, 1538, and on this date the Augustinian friars keep his feast; but both Ingworth’s letter and the account-book of the city chamberlain of Canterbury seem to imply that he was still alive at December 14, 1538. The account-book notes the expenses of “fryer Stone’s” execution, fifteen items, including “for a Halter to hang hyrn . . . id.”

In the Catholic Record Society’s publications, vol. 45 (1950), Fr L. E. Whatmore prints a translation of the passage from Harpsfield, a corrected transcription from the Canterbury account-book, and other things bearing on John Stone, with references and comments
Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus miracle healer of the sick
Glorified on May 12, 1913.  The memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a holy martyr was passed on from generation to generation for three centuries, and people increasingly regarded him as an intercessor and supplicant for the Russian land before the Throne of the Almighty.

During terrible years of national hardship, the nation turned to the memory of the heroic Patriarch. The Russian people came to his tomb with their personal tribulations, sicknesses and infirmities, reverently asking the help of St Hermogenes, and the All-Merciful Lord rewarded their faith.  Believers from all ends of Russia began to flock to Moscow for the glorification of the hieromartyr Hermogenes 300 years after his death. Pilgrims hastened to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, where panikhidas were served almost without interruption.  On the eve of the glorification there was a procession with an icon of St Hermogenes, and after it a grave cover, on which the saint was depicted full-length in mantiya and holding a staff. Beside the icon of the Patriarch they carried an icon of St Dionysius of Radonezh, his fellow-struggler in spiritual and patriotic deeds for the liberation of the Russian land from Polish-Lithuanian usurpers.

On the bell tower of Ivan the Great hung a tremendous banner, "Rejoice, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Great Intercessor of the Russian land." A hundred thousand candles blazed in the hands of believers. At the end of the procession, they began to chant the Paschal Canon and a Canon to St Hermogenes, at the shrine where the relics of the Patriarch rested.   The all-night Vigil took place under the open skies at all the Kremlin squares. On this night a number of healings occurred through the prayers of St Hermogenes. For example, a certain sick person came to the Dormition Cathedral on crutches, and was healed as he approached the shrine with the relics of the saint. Another sick person was healed, who had suffered from terrible crippling disease. They brought him to the reliquary of the hieromartyr Hermogenes on a stretcher, where he was completely cured. These and other similar healings, witnessed by a multitude of the faithful, were remarkable proofs of the holiness of the new Russian wonderworker.

On Sunday May 12, Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral.
Presiding at the celebration of the solemn glorification of the new saint was His Beatitude Gregorios, Patriarch of Antioch. At the finish of Liturgy in all the churches of Moscow, Moliebens were served to St Hermogenes and a procession made to the Moscow Kremlin, in which more than twenty hierarchs took part. They accompanied the procession singing, "O Holy Hierarch Father Hermogenes, pray unto God for us." From this day the liturgical veneration of St Hermogenes began. Thus, the wish of the faithful Russian people was fulfilled. Through their prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received a heavenly patron.

The Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the commemoration of the hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus for February 17, the day of his repose (his life and works are found under this day), and May 12, the day of his glorification.

Great is the national significance of St Hermogenes, a tireless struggler for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian land. His ecclesial and civil activity during several centuries serves as an outstanding example of his ardent faith and love for the Russian people.

The ecclesial activity of the archpastor is characterized by an attentive and strict regard for church services. Under him were published a GOSPEL, a MENAION for September (1607), October (1609), November (1610), and for the first twelve days of December. The "Great Primary Rule" was printed in 1610. St Hermogenes did not merely give his blessing for this book, but carefully oversaw the accuracy of the text. With the blessing of St Hermogenes the Service to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30) also was translated from Greek into the Russian language, and his Feast began to be celebrated in the Dormition Cathedral.

          Under the supervision of the Archpastor, new presses were made for printing service books, and a new print shop was built. This was damaged during the 1611 conflagration, when Moscow was burned by the Poles. Concerned about the order of divine services, St Hermogenes compiled a "Letter to all the People, Especially Priests and Deacons, on the Improvement of Church Singing." The "Letter" chastizes the clergy for performing Church services not according to the Typikon, for unnecessary talking, and lay people for their irreverent attitude toward the divine services.

The literary activity of the first hierarch of the Russian Church is widely known. He wrote "An Account of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the Service to this Icon (1594);" "A Letter to Patriarch Job, Containing an Account of the Kazan Martyrs" (1591), a collection of articles in which questions about divine services (1598) are examined; there are patriotic documents and appeals, directed to the Russian nation (1606-1613), and other works.

His contemporaries speak of Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of outstanding intellect and erudition, "a Master of great reason and thought," "very remarkable," "very accomplished in wisdom and refined in learning," "ever concerning himself about divine literature, and all the books about the Old Law and the New Grace, and pursuing to the end various Church rules and principles of law." St Hermogenes spent a lot of time in monastery libraries, especially in the library of the Moscow Chudov monastery, where he copied precious historical accounts from ancient manuscripts.

In the seventeenth century they called the Chronicle by His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes the "Resurrection Chronicle." In the collected works of the saint and his archpastoral documents there are many quotations from Holy Scripture, and examples taken from history, which testify to his profound knowledge of the Word of God and his familiarity with the Church literature of his time.

Patriarch Hermogenes incorporated his research in his preaching and teaching. The saint's contemporaries regard the Archpastor as "a man of reverence," "purity of life," "a true shepherd of the flock of Christ," and "a sincere upholder of the Christian faith".

These qualities of St Hermogenes were quite especially apparent during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land was overwhelmed by internal chaos, and worsened by Polish-Lithuanian intrigue. During this dark period, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly protected the Russian realm, by word and by deed defending the Orthodox Faith from Latinism, and also national unity from internal and external enemies.
In saving his native land, St Hermogenes won the crown of a martyrdom, becoming a heavenly intercessor for Russia before the Throne of the Holy Trinity.
1633 St Dionysius of Radonezh; gift of miracles hospice for injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion
in the world David Zobninovsky, was born about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the foremost helper of St Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow.

From 1611, St Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles.
He also wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people, urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow.
His monastic training helped St Dionysius to maintain his own inner light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles.
He carefully concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm from a superficial knowledge of it.
"Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life," said St Dionysius,
 "since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal such secrets to laymen.
 It is written that what is done in secret should not be known, even by your own left hand.
We must hide ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown,
lest the devil lead us into all manner of negligence and indolence."

We can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when circumstances compelled St Dionysius to take an active part in the life of the world around him.
One such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the service books. In 1616 St Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts and various Greek editions.
During their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused St Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618.

Deposed from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in 1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him.

St Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of St Dionysius when he was correcting the service books.
St Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.
1662 Saint John of Oltenia  "I would rather die for Christ than become a Turk ..."
Born into a poor family in Oltenia during the time of Prince Matthew Basarab.

In 1659, when he was fifteen years old, a band of Turks was attacking the Olt Valley from Ardeal and seizing many young people as slaves, including St John. The Turks sorted the slaves once they had crossed the Danube, and St John became the property of an evil soldier. The captives endured hunger, thirst, beatings, and fell prey to the unclean desires of their masters.
One day the soldier who owned him tried to force John into a loathsome act, but he resisted. The young man struck the soldier, killing him. Other soldiers bound St John with chains and brought him to Constantinople. The journey took several months, and the Turks subjected him to torture along the way.
St John was given to the wife of the Turk he had killed to be her slave. The woman was attracted to John and tried to seduce him. She also pressured him to abandon Christ and convert to Islam.
The courageous youth told her, "I would rather die for Christ than become a Turk and marry you."
St John was thrown into prison and suffered horrible tortures, but he remained firm and unwavering in his confession of Christ. He was hanged on May 12, 1662, thereby receiving the crown of martyrdom.


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 3

Behold how good and how pleasant, O Mary, it is: to love thy name.

Thy name is as oil poured out, and as an aromatic fragrance: to those who love it.

How great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lady: which thou hast prepared for those who love and hope in thee.

Be a refuge to the poor in tribulation: because thou art a staff to the poor and wretched.

Let them, I beseech thee, find grace with God: who invoke thy help in their needs.

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 heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

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

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

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


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
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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
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May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
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Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates, PSALTER  BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 3 2022