Our
Lady of the Rosary Pope St. Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose
was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto—a
victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the
feast to the universal Church in 1716.
Festum sacratíssimi Rosárii beátæ Maríæ
Vírginis; itémque sanctæ Maríæ de Victória
commemorátio, quam sanctus Pius Quintus, Póntifex Máximus,
ob insígnem victóriam a Christiánis bello naváli,
ejúsdem sanctíssimæ Dei Genitrícis auxílio,
hac ipsa die de Turcis reportátam, quotánnis fíeri instítuit.
The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the blessed Virgin
Mary, and the commemoration of St. Mary of Victory, which Pope Pius V instituted
to be kept yearly in memory of the great victory granted on this day in a
naval battle to the Christians over the Turks, by the help of the Mother
of God.
The development of the rosary has a long history. First, a practice developed
of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then there was
a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Soon a mystery of Jesus' life
was attached to each Hail Mary. Though Mary's giving the rosary to St. Dominic
is recognized as unhistorical, the development of this prayer form owes much
to the followers of St. Dominic. One of them, Alan de la Roche, was known
as “the apostle of the rosary.” He founded the first Confraternity of the
Rosary in the 15th century. In the 16th century the rosary was developed
to its present form—with the 15 mysteries (joyful, sorrowful and glorious).
In 2002, Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light to this devotion.
Comment: The purpose of the rosary
is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII
called it a compendium of the gospel. The main focus is on Jesus—his birth,
life, death and resurrection. The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus' Father
is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary
in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and
is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of his earthly and
heavenly existence. The Glorys remind us that the purpose of all life is
the glory of the Trinity.
The rosary appeals to many. It is simple. The constant repetition
of words helps create an atmosphere in which to contemplate the mysteries
of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows
of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of
Jesus and Mary forever.
Quote: “[The rosary] sets forth
the mystery of Christ in the very way in which it is seen by St. Paul in
the celebrated ‘hymn’ of the Epistle to the Philippians—kenosis [self-emptying],
death and exaltation (2:6-11).... By its nature the recitation of the rosary
calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to
meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as grasped by the heart of her
who was closer to the Lord than all others” (Paul VI, Devotion to the Blessed
Virgin Mary, 45, 47).
OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
THE rosary is a prayer, or series of prayers, in which, during the recitation
of the Lord’s Prayer and “Glory be to the Father”…fifteen times each, and
of the Angelical Salutation one hundred and fifty times, divided into ones
and tens, the faithful are taught to honour our divine Redeemer by meditating
on the fifteen principal mysteries of His life and of His Mother. It is therefore
an epitome of the gospel, a history of the life, sufferings and triumphant
victory of Jesus Christ, and an exposition of what He did in the flesh for
our salvation.
The principal object of the devotion of every Christian ought
to be always to bear in mind these mysteries, to return to God a perpetual
homage of love, praise and thanksgiving for them, to implore His mercy through
them, to make them the subject of meditation, and to mould his affections,
regulate his life and form his spirit by the impressions which they make
on his soul. The rosary as a method of doing this is easy in itself and adapted
to the slowest or feeblest capacity and at the same time sublime and faithful
in the exercise of all the highest acts of prayer, contemplation and interior
virtues. These are best comprised in the prayer which our Lord Himself vouchsafed
to teach us, which those who penetrate the spirit of each word can never
weary in repeating and as well as the “Our Father”, the “Hail Mary” is often
repeated in the rosary because, as it contains praise of the Incarnation,
it best suits a devotion instituted to honour that mystery. Though it be
addressed to the Mother of God, with an invocation of her intercession, it
is chiefly a praise and thanksgiving to the Son for the divine mercy therein.
As the Roman Martyrology today reminds us, Pope St Pius V in
1572 ordered an annual commemoration of our Lady of Victory to be made to
implore God’s mercy on His Church and all the faithful, and to thank Him
for His protection and numberless benefits, particularly for His having delivered
Christendom from the arms of the infidel Turks by the sea victory of Lepanto
in the previous year, a victory which seemed a direct answer to the prayers
and processions of the rosary confraternities at Rome made while the battle
was actually being fought. A year later Gregory XIII changed the name of
the observance to that of the Rosary, fixing it for the first Sunday in October
(the day of Lepanto). On August 5, the feast of the dedication of St Mary
Major, in the year 1716, again while Marian processions were taking place,
the Turks were again signally defeated, by Prince Eugene at Peterwardein
in Hungary. In thanksgiving therefor, Pope Clement XI decreed that the feast
of the Holy Rosary should be observed throughout the Western church. The
feast is now kept on the date of the battle of Lepanto, October 7 (except
by the Dominicans, who observe the original first Sunday of the month).
According to the tradition of the Order of Preachers, recognized
by many popes and accepted in the Roman Breviary, the rosary, just as we
know it, was devised by St Dominic himself, and used by him in his missionary
work among the Albigensians, in consequence of a vision in which our Lady
revealed it to him. No tradition of the kind has been more passionately supported
and few have been more devastatingly attacked. Its truth was first questioned
some two hundred years ago, and the resulting controversy has been carried
on at intervals ever since. It is well known that the use of beads or similar
objects as a device for aiding the memory and keeping count is not only pre-Dominican
but pre-Christian; and the monks of the Eastern church use a rosary of ancient
origin, having 100 or more beads, on a different plan from and entirely independent
of the Western devotion. Nor is it now disputed that the custom of saying
a number of Paters or Aves (often 150, corresponding to the number of the
psalms), and keeping count of them by means of a string of beads, etc., was
widespread in the West before the thirteenth century. The famous Lady Godiva
of Coventry, who died about 1075, left by will to a certain statue of our
Lady “the circlet of precious stones which she had threaded on a cord in
order that by fingering them one after another she might count her prayers
exactly” (William of Malmesbury). Moreover there seems to he no doubt that
such strings of beads were used for long only for the counting of Paters.
In the thirteenth century and throughout the middle ages such articles were
called “paternosters”; their makers were “paternosterers”; and in London
they worked in the street we still call Paternoster Row.
A learned Dominican bishop, Thomas Esser, maintained that meditation
while reciting numerous Aves was first practised by certain Carthusians in
the fourteenth century. None of the stories about the origin of the rosary
current before the fifteenth century mention St Dominic, and for another
hundred years there was no uniformity in the way it was said, even among
the Friars, Preachers themselves. None of the early accounts of St Dominic
make any mention of the rosary, either in referring to his methods of, prayer
or to anything else; the early constitutions of his order are quite silent
about it; and there is little trace of a rosary in early Dominican iconography,
from Fra Angelico’s paintings down to St Dominic’s sumptuous tomb at Bologna
(finished in 1532).
Under stress of the facts just summarized recent opinion regarding
the origin of the rosary has diverged considerably from the views that prevailed
at the close of the sixteenth century. Writing in 1922, Dom Louis Gougaud
states that
“the various elements which enter
into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the rosary
are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St Dominic’s
time, which continued without his having any share in it and which only attained
its final shape several centuries after his death”.
Father Getino, O.P., considers that St Dominic was the originator
of the devotion on the ground that he presumably popularized the practice
of reciting multiplied Aves, without, however, any special direction as to
the number of repetitions or the systematic insertion of Paters. Father Bede
Jarrett, O.P., on the other hand, considers that St Dominic’s special contribution
was the breaking up of the Aves into groups of ten by the insertion of Paters;
while Father Mortier, O.P., asserts with all the emphasis of italics that
the rosary as conceived by St Dominic was not properly speaking a devotion,
a formula of prayer; it was a method of preaching. Father Petitot, O.P.,
regards the story of the vision of our Lady as true symbolically but not historically.
If it be necessary to abandon the idea of its invention and even the propagation
of its use by St Dominic himself, the Western rosary is none the less properly
distinguished as the Dominican rosary; the friars of his order gave it the
form it now has and for centuries have zealously spread its use throughout
the world, bringing thereby unnumbered blessings to countless souls and sending
up a ceaseless paean of worship before God.
No Christian is too simple or unlettered to make use of the rosary;
it may be the vehicle of high contemplation as well as of the simplest petition
or aspiration; as a form of private prayer it comes only after the biblical
psalms and those prayers with which the Church as Church praises almighty
God and His Christ. The idea is familiar to us that so great a means of good
should be publicly celebrated in her liturgy; nevertheless, such was the
over-crowding of the calendar even in those days, this was one of the feasts
that Pope Benedict XIV’s commission wished to dispense with.
As to the
origin of this feast consult Benedict XIV, De festis, bk
ii, ch. 12, n. 16 and Esser, Unseres
Lieben Frauen Rosenkranz, p. 354. The case against the claim made for
St Dominic in the matter of the institution of the rosary will be
found most fully presented in the Acta Sanctorum, August,
vol. i, pp. 422 seq. in
The Month, October 1900 to April 1901 (by
Fr Thurston; summarized by him in the Catholic Encyclopedia,
vol. xiii) and in Father Holzapfel, S. Dominikus und
der Rosenkranz (1903). There have, of course, been many attempted vindications
of the Dominican tradition, but it is instructive to contrast the uncompromising
tone of such books as that of Father Mézard, O.P., Étude
sur les Origines du Rosaire (1912), or that of Father W. Lescher, O.P., St Dominic and the Rosary (1902), with the
attitude of Father Mortier, O.P., Histoire des Maïtres Genéraux
O.P., vol. i (1903), pp. 15—16 and vol. vii, p.
189 n., or of Father Bede Jarrett, O.P., Life of St Dominic (1924),
p. 110. See also The Month, October 1924; L. Gougaud in La vie et les arts liturgiques, October 1922, and July 1924
J. Guiraud in his Life of St Dominic, p.
11, and his Cartulaire de Prouille, pp. 328—330 F. M. Willam,
The Rosary, its History and Meaning (1953); and Y. Gourdel in vol. ii of Maria:
Etude sur La Ste Vierge (1951).
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1st v. St. Apuleius
Martyr w/Sts. Marcellus, Sergius, Bacchus; The
emperor commanded that they be sent to the governor of the eastern part
of Syria, Antiochus, a fierce hater of Christians. Antiochus had received
his position with the help of Sergius and Bacchus. “My fathers and benefactors!” he said. “Have pity on yourselves, and also on me. I do
not want to condemn my benefactors to cruel tortures.” The holy martyrs replied, “For us life is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum Marcélli et Apuléji,
qui prius quidem Simóni mago adhæsérunt; sed, vidéntes
mirabília quæ per Apóstolum Petrum Dóminus operabátur,
ambo, relícto Simóne, se doctrínæ Apostólicæ
tradidérunt, ac, post passiónem Apostolórum, sub Aureliáno
Consulári, corónam martyrii reportárunt, sepultíque
sunt non longe ab Urbe.
At Rome, the holy martyrs Marcellus and Apulcius, who
at first were followers of Simon Magus, but seeing the wonders which the
Lord performed through the apostle Peter, they abandoned Simon and embraced
the apostolic doctrine. After the death of the apostles, under the
proconsul Aurelian, they won the crown of martyrdom and were buried near
the city.
They were followers
of Simon Magus, the Roman magician who tried to confront St. Peter
and to overthrow Christianity. St. Peter converted Apuleius and his companions.
They are believed to have been martyred in Rome shortly after St. Peter.
They are venerated as martyrs in Capua, Italy.
The Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus in Syria were appointed to high
positions in the army by the emperor Maximian (284-305), who did not know
that they were Christians. Envious people informed Maximian that his two
trusted counsellors did not honor the pagan gods. This was considered to
be a crime against the state. The emperor, wanting to convince himself of
the truth of the accusation, ordered Sergius and Bacchus to offer sacrifice
to the idols, but they replied that they honored the One God and worshiped
only Him.
Maximian commanded that the martyrs be stripped of the insignia of military
rank (their belts, gold pendants, and rings), and then dressed them in feminine
clothing. They were led through the city with an iron chains around their
necks, and the people mocked them. Then he summoned Sergius and Bacchus to
him again and in a friendly manner advised them not to be swayed by Christian
fables, but to return to the Roman gods. The saints refuted the emperor's
words, and demonstrated the folly of worshiping the pagan gods.
The emperor commanded that they be sent to the governor of the eastern part
of Syria, Antiochus, a fierce hater of Christians. Antiochus had received
his position with the help of Sergius and Bacchus. “My fathers and benefactors!”
he said. “Have pity on yourselves, and also on me. I do not want to condemn
my benefactors to cruel tortures.” The
holy martyrs replied, “For us life is Christ, and to die is gain.” The enraged
Antiochus ordered Bacchus to be mercilessly beaten, and the holy martyr surrendered
his soul to the Lord. They shod Sergius with iron sandals with nails in their
soles and sent him to another city, where he was beheaded with the sword.
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1st v. Julian the Presbyter
The Martyr suffered martyrdom for Christ with St Caesarius
the Deacon at Terracina, Italy in the first century. St Caesarius was
thrown into prison for insulting the pagan gods. They later took him in bonds
to the temple of Apollo, but before they got him near the pagan temple it
collapsed, killing the pagan priests and many of the people.
About the same time the idolators arrested the Christian priest
Julian. At the empreor's orders, the holy martyrs were cast into the sea,
but their bodies floated to the surface, and Christians buried the sufferers.
The relics of St Caesarius are kept in Rome.
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St.
Justina of Padua
All that is known of Justina of Padua is from an apparent twelfth-century
forgery that says she was baptized by St. Prosdocimus, a disciple of St. Peter and reputed
first bishop of Padua, and was then martyred for her faith.
ST JUSTINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
ST VENANTIUS FORTUNATUS, bishop of Poitiers early in the seventh
century, ranks this Justina among the most illustrious virgins whose sanctity
and triumph have adorned the Church, saying that her name makes Padua famous,
as Euphemia does Chalcedon and Eulalia the city of Mérida. And in
his poem on the life of St Martin he bids those who visit Padua kiss the
sacred sepulchre of the blessed Justina. A church was built at Padua in her
honour early in the sixth century, and herein in 1117 her alleged relics
were found. About the same time appeared a clumsily forged account of her
passion, which pretends that St Justina was baptized by St Prosdocimus, “a
disciple of the blessed Peter”, who gave this information to the writer.
This Prosdocimus, we are told, was the first bishop of Padua and a martyr
under Nero, and St Justina was slain by the sword for her faithfulness to
Christ, with a number of particulars for the truth of which there is no evidence.
The fifteenth-century Benedictine “reform” of St Justina (now
the Italian Cassinese congregation) took its name from the abbey of this
name at Padua, where it was inaugurated.
See the Acta Sanctorum,, October, vol. iii, but there is an older text
of the Passio printed in the Analecta Bollandiana,
vol. x (1891), pp. 467—470; and ibid., vol. xi
(1892), pp. 354— 358, an account of the alleged discovery of her relics in
1117. See also Allard, Histoire des persecutions,
vol. iv, pp. 430 seq., and
Trifone’s three articles in the Rivista Stories Benedettina,
1910 and 1911. As for Prosdocimus, of whom the first indication
of cultus is in 860, his spurious twelfth-century biography
has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum (November, vol.
iii) with all necessary comments and cautions. See also Lanzoni, Le diocesi d’Italia, vol. ii, pp. 911—915, and Leclercq in DAC., vol. xiii, cc. 238—239.
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3rd v. Saint Pelagia
Martyr of Tarsus in Cilicia (southeastern Asia Minor); St Pelagia, by the grace of God, met Bishop Linus.
Pelagia immediately recognized the bishop who had appeared to her in a dream.
She fell at his feet, requesting Baptism. At the bishop's prayer a spring
of water flowed from the ground; Bishop
Linus made the Sign of the Cross over St Pelagia, and during the Mystery
of Baptism, angels appeared and covered the chosen one of God with a bright
mantle. After giving the pious virgin Holy Communion, Bishop Linus offered
a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord with her, and then sent her to continue
her journey. She then 
exchanged her expensive clothing
for a simple white garment, and distributed her possessions to the poor.
Returning to her servants, St Pelagia told them about Christ, and many of
them were converted and believed.
She lived in the third century, during the reign of Diocletian
(284-305), daughter of illustrious pagans. When she heard about Jesus Christ
from her Christian friends, she believed in Him and desired to preserve her
virginity, dedicating her whole life to the Lord. Emperor Diocletian's
heir (a boy he adopted), saw the maiden Pelagia, was captivated by her beauty
and wanted her to be his wife. The holy virgin told the youth that she was
betrothed to Christ the Immortal Bridegroom, and had renounced earthly marriage.
Pelagia's reply greatly angered the young man, but he decided to leave her
in peace for awhile, hoping that she would change her mind. At the same time,
Pelagia convinced her mother to let her visit the nurse who had raised her
in childhood. She secretly hoped to find Bishop Linus of Tarsus, who had
fled to a mountain during a persecution against Christians, and to be baptized
by him. She had seen the face of Bishop Linus in a dream, which made a profound
impression upon her. The holy bishop told her to be baptized. St Pelagia
traveled in a chariot to visit her nurse, dressed in rich clothes and accompanied
by a whole retinue of servants, as her mother wished.
Along the way St Pelagia, by the grace of God, met Bishop Linus. Pelagia
immediately recognized the bishop who had appeared to her in the dream. She
fell at his feet, requesting Baptism. At the bishop's prayer a spring of
water flowed from the ground.
Bishop Linus made the Sign of the Cross over St Pelagia, and during the Mystery
of Baptism, angels appeared and covered the chosen one of God with a bright
mantle. After giving the pious virgin Holy Communion, Bishop Linus offered
a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord with her, and then sent her to continue
her journey. She then exchanged her expensive clothing for a simple white
garment, and distributed her possessions to the poor. Returning to her servants,
St Pelagia told them about Christ, and many of them were converted and believed.
She tried to convert her own mother to Christ, but the obdurate woman sent
a message to Diocletian's son that Pelagia was a Christian and did not wish
to be his wife. The youth realized that Pelagia was lost to him, and he fell
upon his sword in his despair. Pelagia's mother feared the emperor's wrath,
so she tied her daughter up and led her to Diocletian's court as a Christian
who was also responsible for the death of the heir to the throne. The emperor
was captivated by the unusual beauty of the virgin and tried to turn her
from her faith in Christ, promising her every earthly blessing if she would
become his wife.
The holy virgin refused the emperor's offer with contempt and said, “You
are insane, Emperor, saying such things to me. I will not do your bidding,
and I loathe your vile marriage, since I have Christ, the King of Heaven,
as my Bridegroom. I do not desire your worldly crowns which last only a short
while. The Lord in His heavenly Kingdom has prepared three imperishable crowns
for me. The first is for faith, since I have believed in the true God with
all my heart; the second is for purity, because I have dedicated my virginity
to Him; the third is for martyrdom, since I want to accept every suffering
for Him and offer up my soul because of my love for Him.”
Diocletian sentenced Pelagia to be burned in a red-hot bronze bull. Not permitting
the executioners to touch her body, the holy martyr signed herself with the
Sign of the Cross, and went into the brazen bull and her flesh melted like
myrrh, filling the whole city with fragrance. St Pelagia's bones remained
unharmed and were removed by the pagans to a place outside the city. Four
lions then came out of the wilderness and sat around the bones letting neither
bird nor wild beast get at them. The lions protected the relics of the saint
until Bishop Linus came to that place. He gathered them up and buried them
with honor. Later, a church was built over her holy relics.
The Service to the holy Virgin Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus says that she was
“deemed worthy of most strange and divine visions.” She is also commemorated
on May 4.
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336 Pope St
Mark successor to St. Sylvester I; elected January 18, 336. He was the son of Priscus
and a priest of Rome. During his pontificate he erected two basilicas on
land donated by Emperor Constantine I. He died in Rome on October 7 after
only eight months.
Romæ, via Ardeatína, sancti Marci, Papæ et Confessóris.
At Rome, on the Ardeatine Way, the death of St. Mark,
pope and confessor.
His cult is now confined to local calendars.
336 ST MARK, POPE
ST MARK was by birth a Roman and served God among the clergy of that church.
He was the first pope to be elected after the freeing of Christianity by
Constantine. He did not let the new conditions relax his watchfulness,
but endeavoured rather to redouble his zeal during the peace of the Church;
knowing that, if men cease openly to persecute the faithful, the Devil never
allows them any truce. The saint contributed to advance the service of God
during the pontificate of St Silvester after whose death he was himself placed
in the apostolic chair on January 18, 336. He held the dignity only eight
months and twenty days, dying on October 7 following. St Mark perhaps founded
the church that bears his name and built another at the cemetery of Balbina,
and he possibly granted or confirmed the right of the bishop of Ostia to
consecrate the bishop of Rome. A fragmentary poem on St Mark by Pope St Damasus
is referred to this pope by some: it extols Mark’s disinterestedness and
spirit of prayer.
In the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iii, will be found what little
is known of St Mark. See also the Liber Pontificalis (ed.
Duchesne), vol. i, pp. 202—204.
336 Pope St. Mark; Constantine the Great's letter, which summoned
a conference of bishops for the investigation of the Donatist dispute, is
directed to Pope Miltiades and one Mark (Eusebius, Church History X.5). This
Mark was evidently a member of the Roman clergy, either priest or first deacon,
and is perhaps identical with the pope. The date of Mark's election (18 Jan.,
336) is given in the Liberian Catalogue of popes (Duchesne, “Liber Pontificalis”,
I, 9), and is historically certain; so is the day of his death (7 Oct.),
which is specified in the same way in the “Depositio episcoporum” of Philocalus's
“Chronography”, the first edition of which appeared also in 336.
Date of birth unknown; consecrated 18 Jan., 336; d. 7 Oct., 336.
After the death of Pope Sylvester, Mark was raised to the Roman episcopal
chair as his successor. The “Liber Pontificalis” says that he was a Roman,
and that his father's name was Priscus. Constantine the Great's letter, which
summoned a conference of bishops for the investigation of the Donatist dispute,
is directed to Pope Miltiades and one Mark (Eusebius, Church History X.5).
This Mark was evidently a member of the Roman clergy, either priest or first
deacon, and is perhaps identical with the pope. The date of Mark's election
(18 Jan., 336) is given in the Liberian Catalogue of popes (Duchesne, "Liber
Pontificalis", I, 9), and is historically certain; so is the day of his death
(7 Oct.), which is specified in the same way in the “Depositio episcoporum”
of Philocalus's “Chronography”, the first edition of which appeared also
in 336. Concerning an interposition of the pope in the Arian troubles, which
were then so actively affecting the Church in the East, nothing has been
handed down. An alleged letter of his to St. Athanasius is a later forgery.
Two constitutions are attributed to Mark by the author of the “Liber Pontificalis”
(ed. Duchesne, I, 20). According to the one, he invested the Bishop of Ostia
with the pallium, and ordained that this bishop was to consecrate the Bishop
of Rome. It is certain that, towards the end of the fourth century, the Bishop
of Ostia did bestow the episcopal consecration upon the newly-elected pope;
Augustine expressly bears witness to this (Breviarium Collationis, III, 16).
It is indeed possible that Mark had confirmed this privilege by a constitution,
which does not preclude the fact that the Bishop of Ostia before this time
usually consecrated the new pope. As for the bestowal of the pallium, the
account cannot be established from sources of the fourth century, since the
oldest memorials which show this badge, belong to the fifth and sixth centuries,
and the oldest written mention of a pope bestowing the pallium dates from
the sixth century (cf. Grisar, “Das römische Pallium und die altesten
liturgischen Schärpen”, in “Festschrift des deutschen Campo Santo in
Rom”, Freiburg im Br., 1897, 83-114).
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4th v. Polychronius the Presbyter Martyr; For his fine work the saint received much money,
with which he built a church; ordained to the priesthood; participated in
1st. Ecumenical Council; martyred by Arian heretics at the altar of the church
Son of a landowner, raised with a love for work and in Christian
piety. Reaching maturity, Polychronius left his parents' home for Constantinople
and began to work for one of the rich vineyard owners.
The vineyard owner was amazed at the youth's love for toil and the ascetic
life. For his fine work the saint received much money, with which he built
a church. Soon he was ordained to the priesthood. According to Tradition,
St Polychronius participated in the First Ecumenical Council. He was martyred
by Arian heretics at the altar of the church (4th Century).
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6th v. St. Augustus Abbot of Bourges, in France friend of St. Germanus of Paris.
Apud Bitúricas, in Aquitánia, sancti Augústi, Presbyteri
et Confessóris.
At Bourges, St. Augustus, priest and confessor.
Also called Aout, Augustus discovered the remains of St. Ursinus.
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Sts. Sergius &
Bacchus martyrs in the Roman army under Maximian
In Província quæ nuncupátur Augústa Euphratésia,
sanctórum Mártyrum Sérgii et Bacchi, nobílium
Romanórum, sub Maximiáno Imperatóre. Ex his Bacchus
támdiu nervis crudis cæsus est, quoadúsque, toto córpore
discíssus, in Christi confessióne emítteret spíritum;
Sérgius vero clavátis cothúrnis pedes indútus,
et, cum in fide fixus manéret, data senténtia, jussus est decollári.
Beáti autem Sérgii nómine locus ubi quiéscit,
Sergiópolis appellátus est, et, ob præclára mirácula,
frequénti Christianórum concúrsu honorátur.
In the province of the Euphrates, the holy martyrs Sergius
and Bacchus, noble Romans, in the time of Emperor Maximian. Bacchus
was scourged with rough sinews until his body was completely mangled, and
breathed his last in the confession of Christ. Sergius had his feet
forced into shoes full of sharp-pointed nails, but, remaining unshaken in
the faith, he was sentenced to be beheaded. The place where he rests
is called after him Sergiopolis, and, on account of the frequent miracles
wrought there, is honoured by large gatherings of Christians
This legend has Sergius an officer in the Roman army and Bacchus,
an officer under him, and both were friends of Emperor Maximian. When they did
not enter a temple of Jupiter with the Emperor, he ordered them to do so.
When they further refused his order that they sacrifice to pagan gods, they
were humiliated by being led through the streets of Arabissus in women's
garb and then sent to Rosafa, Mesopotamia, where they were scourged so terribly
that Bacchus died of the scourging; Sergius was then tortured further and
beheaded.
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492 St. Canog
Martyr and eldest son of the local king of Brecknock
in Wales. He was slain by
barbarians at Merthyr-Cynog. In Brittany, France, he is called St Cenneur.
Several churches in Wales honor him.
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6th century St. Helanus Irish
hermit who went to France with six brothers and three sisters. They settled
in Reims, where Helanus became a priest.
In
pago Rheménsi sancti Heláni Presbyteri.
In the diocese
of Rheims, St. Helanus, priest.
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513 St. Dubtach The arch-bishop of Armagh Ireland, from 497 until his death.
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590 St. Palladius
Bishop of Saintes from 570
His sainthood is questionable.
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675 St. Osyth Martyred nun
Also called Osith and Sytha. Known mainly through legends, she was supposedly
the daughter of a chieftain of the Mercians in England and Wilburga, daughter
of the powerful pagan king Penda of Mercia. Raised in a convent, Osyth desired
to become a nun but was married against her will to King Sighere of Essex,
by whom she had a son. Eventually, she won his permission to enter a convent,
and she established a monastery on land at Chich, Essex, donated by Sighere,
where she served as an abbess. She was reputedly slain by Danish raiders and
is thus depicted in art as carrying her own head. There are historical
difficulties associated with her existence, especially as no mention is made
of her by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History.
675 ST OSYTH, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
According to her legend St Osyth was the daughter of a Mercian chief, Frithwald,
and his wife Wilburga, said to have been a daughter of Penda of Mercia. She
was brought up in a nunnery, perhaps at Aylesbury, and wished herself to
become a nun; but her parents affianced her to Sighere, king of the East
Saxons. If this be the Sighere mentioned by St Bede, he apostatized from
the faith during a pestilence about 665, but was, presumably, reconciled
by the bishop Jaruman. This man had a passion for hunting, and when after
the wedding he attempted to embrace his wife, against her will, his attention
was distracted to a stray stag he went off in pursuit, and on his return
he found his bride had gone. She made her way to the East Anglian bishops,
Acca of Dunwich and Bedwin of Elmham, and Sighere, realizing that it was
better to have no wife than an unwilling one, let them clothe her with the
religious habit. He himself gave to St Osyth some land at a place called
Chich, on a creek of the Collie between Brightlingsea and Clacton, and here
she established her monastery. She governed it for some years with prudence
and holiness, but it was situated in a dangerous place and disaster soon
overtook it. In a piratical raid the marauders tried to carry St Osyth off,
and when she fiercely resisted they smote off her head.
The body of St Osyth was taken to Aylesbury, but afterwards brought back
to Chich, where a priory of Austin canons under her invocation was established
in the twelfth century. Near it grew up the present village of Saint Osyth,
and the memory of the martyred abbess is preserved in several other local
place-names, St Osyth Creek, St Osyth Marsh, St Osyth Wick, and St Osyth’s
Well. Saint Osyth is locally pronounced “Toosey”.
There is a
notice in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iii, but the
difficulties of the case are more clearly presented in Stanton, Menology, pp. 477 and 673, and in DNB., vol. xlii, p. 337.
The calendars collated by Edmund Bishop, which are noted in Stanton, point
to the conclusion that there was a definite
cultus in East Anglia. This, however, was of
late growth, for there seems to be little or no trace of it before the Norman
Conquest. In calendars and other references the name of this saint is frequently
disguised under the form “Sythe” or some equivalent spelling.
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850 St. Adalgis
Bishop and influential churchman also served Emperor Lothair I of the Franks
From 830 to circa 850, Adalgis served the diocese of Novara, Italy. He also
served Emperor Lothair I of the Franks.
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1101-1206 St. Artaldus;
cultus of St. Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians, was confirmed
for the diocese of Belley in 1834; like his master St. Bruno, he was
consulted by the Pope, and when he was well over eighty, he was called from
his monastery to be bishop of Belley, in spite of his vehement and reasonable
protest. However, after less than two years of episcopate, his resignation
was accepted, and he thankfully returned to Arvières, where he lived
in peace for the rest of his days. During his last years, he was visited
by St. Hugh of Lincoln, who had come into France, and who, while he was prior
of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become a benefactor
of Arvieres.
Artaldus (also called Arthaud) was born in the castle of Sothonod
in Savoy. At the age of eighteen, he went to the court of Duke Amadeus III,
but a year or two after, he became a Carthusian at Portes. After many years,
being a priest and an experienced and holy religious, he was sent by the
prior of the Grande Chartreuse to found a charterhouse near his home, in
a valley in the Valromey significantly called "the cemetery". Here Artaldus
established himself with six of his brethren from Portes. The community was
no sooner well settled down, than there buildings were destroyed by fire,
and St. Artaldus had to begin all over again. He chose a fresh site on the
Arvieres River, and his second foundation was soon built and occupied.
But a Carthusian cell could not contain the ever-increasing
reputation of Artaldus: like his
master St. Bruno, he was consulted by the Pope, and when
he was well over eighty, he was called from his monastery to be bishop of
Belley, in spite of his vehement and reasonable protest. However, after less
than two years of episcopate, his resignation was accepted, and he thankfully
returned to Arvieres, where he lived in peace for the rest of his days. During
his last years, he was visited
by St. Hugh of Lincoln, who
had come into France, and who, while
he was prior of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become
a benefactor of Arvieres. The Magna vita of St. Hugh records a gentle rebuke
administered by Hugh when Artaldus asked him for political news in the presence
of the community who had turned their backs upon the world to give themselves
entirely to God. The cultus of St.
Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians,
was confirmed for the diocese of Belley in 1834. He was 105 years old when
he died and his feast day is October 7th.
1206 ST ARTALDUS, OR ARTHAUD, Bishop OF BELLEY
ARTALDTUS was born in the castle of Sothonod in Savoy. At the age of eighteen
he went to the court of Duke Amadeus III, but a year or two after he became
a Carthusian at Fortes. After many years, being a priest and an experienced
and holy religious, he was sent by the prior of the Grande Chartreuse to
found a charterhouse near his home, in a valley in the Valromey significantly
called “The Cemetery”; here Artaldus established himself with six of his
brethren from Fortes. The community was no sooner well settled down than
their buildings were destroyed by fire, and St Artaldus had to begin all
over again. He chose a fresh site, on the Arvières River, and his
second foundation was soon built and occupied. But a Carthusian cell could
not contain the ever-increasing reputation of Artaldus: like his master St
Bruno, he was consulted by the pope, and when he was well over eighty he
was called from his monastery to be bishop of Belley, in spite of his vehement
and reasonable protests. However, after less than two years of episcopate
his resignation was accepted, and he thankfully returned to Arvières,
where he lived in peace for the rest of his days. During his last years he
was visited by St Hugh of Lincoln, who had come into France, and who, while
he was prior of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become
a benefactor of Arvières. The Magna vita of St Hugh records a gentle
rebuke administered by Hugh when Artaldus asked him for political news in
the presence of a community who had turned their backs upon the world to give
themselves entirely to God. The cultus
of St Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians, was
confirmed for the diocese of Belley in 1834. He was 105 years old when he
died.
There is a
short medieval life in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iii, but a fuller account is obtainable
from Dom Le Couteulx, Annales Ordinis Cartusiensis, vols.
ii and iii.
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1373 In Suécia Translátio
córporis sanctæ Birgíttæ Víduæ.
In Sweden, the translation of the body of St. Bridget,
widow.
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1412 Saint Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves, was a Greek who began his monastic life on Mount Athos. Later,
he came to Russia and settled in the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity
under the guidance of St Sergius of Radonezh (July 5) and (September 25).
After several years, with the blessing of the igumen, St Sergius went into
the Vologda forests and settled at the bank of the River Nurma. There he
set up a cross and built a chapel with a cell, in which he lived an ascetical
life in deep silence, "going forth in angelic life," and patiently enduring
temptation from demons and malevolent people.
It pleased the Lord to summon the saint from his solitude, so that in his
wisdom and spiritual experience he should serve for the salvation of others.
From various places forty men gathered around him, thirsting for the spiritual
life. By their common efforts, the brethren built a large church in honor
of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Life-Creating Cross of the
Lord (August 1). The monastic cells were built around the church.
St Paul of Obnora (January 10) led an ascetical life about three miles from
the Nurma monastery, and St Sergius often visited him for soul-profiting
conversation. When it was time for St Sergius to go back to his monastery,
St Paul would accompany him for two-thirds of the way. Later, a chapel was
built to mark the place where they parted. St Sergius died on October 7,
1412. Since 1546, the Church has venerated him for his saintly life.
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1412 Saint Sergius of Nurma was originally from Greece,
and traveled from Mt. Athos in order to converse with St Sergius of Radonezh
(September 25) and to ask his advice on spiritual matters, even though he
himself was already an experienced Elder.
After spending some time with the great man, St Sergius went to the Vologda
region near the river Nurma, a tributary of the river Obnora in order to
live in solitude. Soon, monks and laymen came to join him, attracted by the
holiness of his life. In time, about forty ascetics joined St Sergius in
the wilderness. He established a monastery and built a church dedicated to
the Transfiguration of the Lord.
One day, St Sergius encountered St Paul of Obnora (January 10) near his monastery,
feeding birds from his hands. All creatures obeyed St Paul, just as they
obeyed Adam in Paradise.
The two saints became very close and counseled one another in their spiritual
endeavors. St Paul had St Sergius, who had been ordained to the holy priesthood
on Mt. Athos, as his spiritual Father. St Paul would confess his thoughts
to Sergius, and also received Holy Communion from him. When St Sergius would
leave for his own home three miles away, St Paul walked with him two thirds
of the way. A chapel was later built on the spot where the two saints parted.
St Paul told St Sergius that he heard church bells ringing one night while
he was in the forest by the river Nurma, and that he had also seen a bright
light. St Sergius predicted that a monastery would be founded there one day.
He urged St Paul to build a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
St Sergius was twice attacked by bands of thieves. The first time they almost
beat him to death. The second time they were driven off by the power of his
prayers.
St Sergius fell asleep in the
Lord on October 7, 1412 at an advanced age.
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1455 Saint Martinian
of White Lake; with blessing of St
Cyril, he occupied himself copying of books; ordained deacon then hieromonk;
After death St Cyril (+ 1427), Martinian withdrew to deserted island on Lake
Vozha; Several monks gradually gathered; St Martinian established for them
church of the Transfiguration of the Lord introduced a general Rule for the
inhabitants. consented to become igumen of the monastery and brought it into
an improved condition.
In the world Michael, was born in the year 1370 in the village
of Berezniko, not far from the Cyrilov monastery. At age thirteen he left
his parents and went secretly to St Cyril of White Lake (June 9), whom many
described as a great ascetic.
The young Martinian began zealously to imitate his teacher, with whom he
dwelt in complete obedience. At the monastery he studied reading and writing,
and with the blessing of St Cyril, he occupied himself with the copying of
books. In time Martinian was ordained deacon and then hieromonk.
After the death of St Cyril (+ 1427), Martinian withdrew to a deserted island
on Lake Vozha. Several monks gradually gathered around him. St Martinian
established for them the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and introduced
a general Rule for the inhabitants. Yielding to the persistent requests of
the brethren of Therapon monastery, he consented to become igumen of the
monastery and brought it into an improved condition.
St Martinian gave spiritual support to Great Prince Basil in the difficulties
of his time, when his first-cousin Demetrius Shemyaka illicitly sought the
Moscow throne. He was always an advocate of truth and justice. Afterwards,
upon the entreaty of the Great Prince, the saint accepted the governance
of the monastery of St Sergius of Radonezh.
In 1455, St Martinian returned to the Therapon monastery. In his last years
he was grievously ill and not able to walk, so the brethren carried him to
church. He died at age 85. His relics were uncovered in the year 1514, and
this event is celebrated on October 7.
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1470 BD MATTHEW OF MANTUA;
OP successful preacher, preparing himself
for that ministry by long periods of recollection, and an upholder of strict
observance in his order; pirates set
free the friar but when he saw that
among the other prisoners were a woman and her young daughter, he went back
to the pirate captain and offered himself in their place. The ruffian was
so astonished at the request that he let all three of them go; Bd Matthew died (after having asked his prior’s
permission to do so)
John Francis Carreri was a native of Mantua and received the name
Matthew when he joined the Order of Preachers. He was a successful preacher,
preparing himself for that ministry by long periods of recollection, and
an upholder of strict observance in his order, but very few facts of external
interest are recorded of his life, except the incident of his capture by
pirates. This happened while on a voyage from Genoa to Pisa. The friar was
set free, but when he saw that among the other prisoners were a woman and
her young daughter, he went back to the pirate captain and offered himself
in their place. The ruffian was so astonished at the request that he let
all three of them go. Bd Matthew met Bd Stephana Quinzani, while she was
still a child, and it is said that he promised her that she should be his
heiress. Nobody knew what a mendicant friar could mean by this remark, but
after Matthew’s death she began regularly every Friday to have pain in her
bosom, in exactly the same way as he had formerly done as a testimony of
his devotion to the Passion. Bd Matthew died (after having asked his prior’s
permission so to do) at Vigevana on October 5, 1470, and twelve years later
Pope Sixtus IV allowed his solemn translation and a liturgical commemoration.
An account
of this beatus is furnished in the Acta Sanctorum,
October, vol. iii; but see further the Monumenta O.P.
Historica, vol. xiv, pp. 115 seq. A brief sketch in English
will be found in Procter, Dominican Saints, pp. 281—283.
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1763 St. Joseph of Khevi attained the heights of clairvoyance
and miracle-working; Little is known
about his life; a native of Khevi (in
northern Georgia) and served as a priest in that village. In addition to
being great warriors, the people of Khevi have throughout history been remarkably
steadfast in the Christian Faith. The churches and monasteries in Khevi are
extraordinary in both beauty and inaccessibility. They were deliberately
built in mountainous places, as if reaching them should demand the greatest
of zeal.
The Church is certain only that he was a native of Khevi (in northern
Georgia) and served as a priest in that village. In addition to being great
warriors, the people of Khevi have throughout history been remarkably steadfast
in the Christian Faith. The churches and monasteries in Khevi are extraordinary
in both beauty and inaccessibility. They were deliberately built in mountainous
places, as if reaching them should demand the greatest of zeal.
The most important ornament and symbol of Khevi is the ice that perpetually
caps the peak of Mt. Kazbegi. On the slope of this mountain stands Trinity
Monastery, where at one time St. Nino’s cross was preserved (it is presently
kept in Tbilisi, in the northern section of the iconostasis at Sioni Cathedral).
Located above Trinity Monastery, on the ice-covered, vertical cliff of Mt.
Kazbegi, is a cave hermitage at 13,450 feet, known as the Bethlehem Cave.
It is possible to reach this hermitage only by climbing chains let down from
its height. According to the chronicle Life of Kartli, this cave has throughout
history been used to store sacred objects and treasures of the Church.
The historian David Batonishvili records that St. Joseph was especially known
for his love of holy objects, for keeping the strictest of fasts, and for
his outstanding virtues. He climbed to the Bethlehem Hermitage and returned
with a piece of the tent of the patriarch Abraham, (Georgian tradition relates
that both the tent of the Patriarch Abraham and the manger of Christ were
kept in the Bethlehem Cave for many centuries.) which he presented to King
Erekle.
Having attained the heights of
clairvoyance and miracle-working, St. Joseph reposed peacefully in the year
1763.
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These 99 martyrs were from
Crete.
The most prominent among them was called John, and he was known as a wonderworker.
He knelt so much in prayer that he was not able to walk, and had to move
about on his knees.
One day a woodsman saw him going about in this way. Thinking that it was
some wild animal, he shot the saint with an arrow. It is said that the other
ninety-eight Fathers also died on that same day.
It is not known when these holy ascetics lived.
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1812 The October 7 Feast of the "Tenderness" Icon
(May 21) was established in memory of the deliverance of Pskov from the invasion
of Napoleon in 1812.
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Mary
the Mother of Jesus 
Saints
of this Day October 07 Nonis Octóbris
At Padua, St. Justina, virgin and martyr, who was baptized
by blessed Prosdocimus, a disciple of St. Peter. Because she remained
firm in the faith of Christ, she was put to the sword by order of the governor
Maximus, and thus went to God.
1412 Saint Sergius
the Obedient of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, was a Greek who began his
monastic life on Mount Athos. Later, he came to Russia and settled in the
monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity under the guidance of St Sergius of
Radonezh (July 5) and (September 25). After several years, with the 
blessing of the igumen,
St Sergius went into the Vologda forests and settled at the bank of the River
Nurma. There he set up a cross and built a chapel with a cell, in which he
lived an ascetical life in deep silence, “going forth in angelic life,” and
patiently enduring temptation from demons and malevolent people.
335 St. S
1700 1721 
Sweden, who before he became
of age enrolled him in her exclusive Accademia. With equal ardour and success,
he applied himself to the profounder branches, theology and law, and was
created doctor of canon and civil law. So brilliant an intellect, joined
with stainless morals and piety, secured for him a rapid advancement at the
papal court. At the age of twenty-eight he was made a prelate, and governed
successively Rieti, Sabina, and Orvieto, everywhere acceptable on account
of his reputation for justice and prudence. Recalled to Rome, he was appointed
Vicar of St. Peter's, and on the death of Cardinal Slusio succeeded to the
important position of Secretary of Papal Briefs, which he held for thirteen
years, and for which his command of classical latinity singularly fitted
him. On 13 February, 1690, he was created cardinal-deacon and later Cardinal-Priest
of the Title of San Silvestro, and was ordained to the priesthood.
Quote:
Pope Paul VI’s 1969 
Benedict
XVI met with Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia,
the highest authority of the Orthodox
Church. The Pope
remembered the martyrs of the Armenian Church
and the Armenian genocide, without explicitly
mentioning it, and denounced the persecution
of Christians in modern times. Benedict
XVI
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.