1st v. 95 St. Dionysius first bishop of Athens was baptized by the apostle by St. Paul.; converted in Athens, Greece, with a woman named Damaris,
Lutétiæ Parisiórum natális sanctórum Mártyrum Dionysii Areopagítæ Epíscopi, Rústici Presbyteri, et Eleuthérii Diáconi. Ex his Dionysius, ab Apóstolo Paulo baptizátus, primus Atheniénsium Epíscopus ordinátus est; deínde Romam venit, atque inde a beáto Cleménte, Románo Pontífice, in Gállias prædicándi grátia diréctus est, et ad præfátam urbem devénit; ibíque, cum per áliquot annos commíssum sibi opus fidéliter prosecútus esset, tandem, a Præfécto Fescénnio, post gravíssima tormentórum génera, una cum Sóciis, gládio animadvérsus, martyrium complévit.
At Paris, the birthday of the holy martyrs Denis the Areopagite, a bishop, Rusticus, a priest, and Eleutherius, a deacon. Denis was baptized by the apostle St. Paul, and consecrated first bishop of Athens. Then going to Rome, he was sent to France by the blessed Roman Pontiff Clement to preach the Gospel. He proceeded to Paris, and after having for some years faithfully filled the office entrusted to him, he was subjected to the severest kinds of torments by the prefect Fescennius, and at length was beheaded with his companions, thus completing his martyrdom.
Called “the Areopagite,” also called Denis. He was converted in Athens, Greece, with a woman named Damaris, by St. Paul. There he delivered his sermon to the Unknown God on the Hill of Mars, hence his name. Some records indicate that he became the first bishop of Athens. Other records state that he was martyred. “The Areopagite” was the first bishop of Athens. He was originally pagan, but when he heard St. Paul preach on the Areopage he converted to the Christian faith. He was killed for his faith. His icons are sometimes decorated with vine leaves, which has made some people connect him with his pagan namesake, the pagan god Dionysus.

ST DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE
WHILE St Paul, having had to leave Berea, was waiting at Athens for Silas and Timothy, “his spirit was stirred within him, seeing the city wholly given to idolatry”. He therefore went into the market place and the Jewish synagogue to talk with the people, and certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, hearing him, came to him and asked, “May we know what this new doctrine is, which thou speakest of?” Paul therefore went with them to the Areopagus, or Hill of Mars, the meeting-place of the Athenian council, where, says St Luke, “all the Athenians and strangers that were there employed themselves in nothing else but either in telling or in hearing some new thing”; or perhaps he was brought before the tribunal itself. Here he gave his famous discourse on the text of the Unknown God; and among those who believed and followed him was a woman named Damaris and a man named Dionysius, who, being a member of the council, which was called after the hill whereon it assembled, was distinguished as “the Areopagite” (Acts xvii 13—34).

That is all that is known with complete certainty of St Dionysius the Areopagite. Eusebius gives the testimony of St Dionysius of Corinth that he became first bishop of Athens, and St Sophronius of Jerusalem and others call him a martyr. The Menology of Basil adding that he was burned alive at Athens under Domitian.

In all ancient calendars the day of his feast is October 3, on which date it is still observed by the Byzantines and Syrians. Nowhere before the seventh century at the earliest is there any suggestion that St Dionysius the Areopagite ever left Greece, but afterwards his name is found connected with Cotrone in Calabria and Paris. His identification with St Dionysius (Denis) of France, referred to below, is still recorded in the Roman Martyrology and in the liturgy of the day;* * Alban Butler could not bring himself to admit this openly. In a footnote he says,

“Hilduin ... upon the authority of spurious and fabulous records, pretends that St Dionysius, the first bishop of Paris, is the same person with the Areopagite; of which mistake, some traces are found in certain other writings” (italics ours). Their identity was not questioned in the West from the ninth to the fifteenth century.

And the sixth lesson at Matins ends with the words “He wrote admirable and truly heavenly books on the Divine Names, on the Celestial and Ecclesiastical Hierarchies, on Mystical Theology, and divers others.” This is a reference to another error of the middle ages concerning St Dionysius the Areopagite, namely, that he was the author of four treatises and ten letters which, from the seventh until the fifteenth century, were among the most valued and admired theological and mystical writings, both in the East and West, and exercised an immense influence on the scholastics. The growing conviction that they were not the work of a disciple of St Paul, but written much later by one who falsely attributed them to the Areopagite, caused them to be long under a cloud; but in modern times their own intrinsic worth and the strong evidence produced that they are genuine works, but of unknown date, have to a certain extent restored them to the honour and use which their value demands.

In the Acta Sanctorum a long dissertation of more than one hundred and sixty folio pages is mainly devoted to proving that the Dionysius converted by St Paul was not the writer of the book on the Divine Names and of other treatises attributed to the same authorship. There can be no question, however, that Pseudo-Dionysius wished to be identified with the Dionysius of the Acts of the Apostles. In the very earliest known mention of these writings, we find them brought forward (at the conference held at Constantinople in AD. 533) as the work of Dionysius the Areopagite”, and rejected by Hypatius as forgeries. An immense literature has grown up around them, but that hardly concerns us here the true author has never been identified. The Pseudo-Dionysius claims that when at Heliopolis he witnessed the eclipse of the sun which occurred during the crucifixion of our Lord, and also that he was present at the death of the Blessed Virgin; this is pure invention. Cf. the article of P. Peeters in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxix (1910), pp. 302—322, who there draws inferences very unfavourable to the literary honesty of Hilduin, Abbot of Saint-Denis, the first Latin translator of Pseudo-Dionysius, though not, it now seems, the first to proclaim his identity with Dionysius, Bishop of Paris see G. Théry, Études dionysiennes (2 vols., 1932—37) and R. J. Loenertz in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxix (1951), pp. 218—237.

231 St. Demetrius Bishop of Alexandria 43 yrs; Demetrius promoted the famous Catechetical School of Alexandria; revered by his people and also feared, on account of the gift, which was his of reading men’s secret sins and thoughts
Egypt. Named to this post in 188, he ruled as patriarch there for forty-three years. Demetrius promoted the famous Catechetical School of Alexandria, appointing Origen director of the school in 203. Later he expelled Origen for being ordained without his permission.

231 ST DEMETRIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA; revered by his people and also feared, on account of the gift, which was his of reading men’s secret sins and thoughts

HE is said to have been the eleventh successor of St Mark, and is certainly the first bishop of Alexandria of whom anything is known, chiefly in his relations with Origen. When Clement withdrew from the direction of the catechetical school of Alexandria Origen was raised to that post by St Demetrius, with whom he was then on terms of close friendship; the bishop even defended him against those who had condemned the bodily mutilation to which he had voluntarily submitted himself. Later Origen went to Caesarea in Palestine and accepted an invitation to preach before the bishops there. St Demetrius protested, for Origen was yet a layman, and recalled him to Alexandria. Fifteen years later Origen set out for Athens, and on his way through Caesarea was ordained priest, without the leave of his own bishop. Thereupon Demetrius convened a synod that sentenced him on several counts and forbade him to teach.

St Demetrius is said to have set up the first three suffragan sees of Alexandria and is often credited, on the authority of St Jerome, with having sent St Pantaenus on his mission to Yemen and Ethiopia. But this probably took place before St Demetrius was bishop. He governed the see of Alexandria for forty-two years and died in the year 231, at the age of 105, revered by his people and also feared, on account of the gift, which was his of reading men’s secret sins and thoughts.

There is little to add to the data collected in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv. See also the articles on Demetrius and on Origen in DCB., and on the letters of Demetrius in DAC., vol. viii, cc. 2752—2753 and Abbot Chapman in the Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. iv.

258 Sts. Denis patron saint of France, Rusticus, and Eleutherius
This Saint Denis, bishop and martyr, is the patron of France. He was martyred together with his two deacons. Popular accounts of the life of St. Denis are confused because the lives of two other persons from different periods have been combined with his: Denis or Dionysius (a) the Areopagite of Acts 17:34, (b) the bishop martyr of Paris, and (c) the 5th c. Syrian writer now known as pseudo-Dionysius.
The Areopagite was the first bishop of Athens according to St. Dionysius of Corinth, a 3rd century writer. St. Basil's Menology says he was burned to death during Domitian's persecution about 95. His name has become so confused with that of St. Denis that his feast day has been transferred from October 3 to October 9. His cult developed in the 9th century. His supposed writings (four treatises and ten letters on mysticism, which were actually by the pseudo-Dionysius) were the basis for medieval mystic theology. The pseudo-Dionysius probably wrote c. 500 AD. Dionysius the Areopagite was converted in Athens by St. Paul (Acts 17).

The Martyrology of Jerome mentions St. Dionysius on October 9, together with Rusticus and Eleutherius, assumed by later writers to be Denis's priest and deacon. The Denis is presumed to be the bishop-martyr of Paris, one of the seven missionary bishops sent from Rome to convert Gaul. He was martyred between 250-258 AD.

Writing in the 6th century, St. Gregory of Tours tells the story of these three martyrs. Born in Italy, Denis was sent with six other bishops to Gaul in 250 as missionaries and became the first bishop of Paris. He was so effective in converting the inhabitants around Paris that he was arrested with his priest, St. Rusticus, and deacon, St. Eleutherius, and imprisoned. The three of them were beheaded on October 9 in Montmartre (Martyrs' Hill) near Paris during Decius's persecution. Their bodies were rescued from the River Seine, and a chapel built over their tomb later became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis (Delaney).

Roeder claims that the deacon Eleutherius was beheaded in 286 and is shown as a deacon carrying his head. He is invoked against headache, frenzy, and strife. Venerated in Salzburg and Paris (Roeder).

In 1215 Pope Innocent III translated the presumed relics of the Areopagite to the popular Basilica of St. Denis in Paris. This also added additional confusion to the stories of the three saints .

St. Denis was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (feast 8-8). During the Middle Ages, especially in France and Germany these saints were credited with particularly efficacious intercessory power. All had/have also individual feast days. Most are non-existent, or shadowy figures of early Christianity popularized by embroidered tales. Their special powers of intercession are connected with incidents in their stories. For example, St. Denis is shown with his head in his hands; therefore, he is invoked against diabolic possession, headache, rabies, frenzy, and strife.

For more information St. Denis and other confused, interesting stories, see Lancelot Sheppard's The Saints Who Never Were, Dayton, OH: Pflaum Press, 1969. Also, Dionysius the Areopagite, The Divine Names and Mystical Theology, tr. C. E. Rolt, London, 1920.

258 Sts. Denis patron saint of France, Rusticus, and Eleutherius
The first mention we have of these three martyrs who died around 258 A.D. comes in the sixth century in the writings of Saint Gregory of Tours.

Denis (or Dionysius as he is also called) is the most famous of the three. Born and raised in Italy, he was sent as a missionary to Gaul (now France) circa 250 A.D. by Pope St. Clement along with five other bishops. Denis made his base of missionary activity an island in the Seine near the city of Lutetia Parisorium -- what would become Paris. For this reason he is know as the first bishop of Paris and the Apostle of France. There he was captured by the Parisians along with Rusticus and Eleutherius. Later writers have referred to these as Denis' priest and deacon, or his deacon and subdeacon, but we have no further information on them.

After a long imprisonment and several aborted executions, the three martyrs were beheaded with a sword and their bodies were thrown into the river. Denis' body was retrieved from the Seine by his converts and buried. The chapel that was built over his tomb grew into the abbey of Saint-Denis.

In the ninth century, Denis' story and identity became fused and confused with Dionysius the Areopagite and Pseudo-Dionysius, but later scholarship has re-established his identity as a separate saint.
Denis is pictured as he was martyred -- headless (with a vine growing over the neck) and carrying his own mitred head.
Recognized since the time of St. Gregory as a special saint of Paris, Denis is the patron saint of France.

October 9, 2006 St. Denis and Companions (d. 258?)
This martyr and patron of France is traditionally held to have been the first bishop of Paris. His popularity is due to a series of legends, especially those connecting him with the great abbey church of St. Denis in Paris. He was for a time confused with the writer now called Pseudo-Dionysius.
The best hypothesis contends that Denis was sent to Gaul from Rome in the third century and beheaded in the persecution under Valerius in 258.

According to one of the legends, after he was martyred on Montmartre (literally, "mountain of martyrs") in Paris, he carried his head to a village northeast of the city. St. Genevieve built a basilica over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.

Comment: Again we have the case of a saint about whom almost nothing is known, yet one whose cult has been a vigorous part of the Church's history for centuries. We can only conclude that the deep impression the saint made on the people of his day must have resulted from a life of unusual holiness. In all such cases, there are two fundamental facts: A great man gave his life for Christ, and the Church has never forgotten him—a human symbol of God's eternal mindfulness.

Quote: "Martyrdom is part of the Church's nature since it manifests Christian death in its pure form, as the death of unrestrained faith, which is otherwise hidden in the ambivalence of all human events. Through martyrdom the Church's holiness, instead of remaining purely subjective, achieves by God's grace the visible expression it needs. As early as the second century one who accepted death for the sake of Christian faith or Christian morals was looked on and revered as a 'martus' (witness). The term is scriptural in that Jesus Christ is the 'faithful witness' absolutely (Revelations 1:5; 3:14)" (Karl Rahner, Theological Dictionary).

258 SS. DIONYSIUS, OR DENIS, BISHOP OF Paris, RUSTICUS AND ELEUTHERIUS, MARTYRS
ST GREGORY of Tours, writing in the sixth century, tells us that St Dionysius of Paris was born in Italy and sent in the year 250 with six other missionary bishops into Gaul, where he suffered martyrdom. The “Martyrology of Jerome” mentions St Dionysius on October 9, joining with him St Rusticus and St Eleutherius. Later writers make of these a bishop’s priest and deacon, who with him penetrated to Lutetia Parisiorum and established Christian worship on an island in the Seine. Their preaching was so effective that they were arrested and, after a long imprisonment, all three were beheaded. The bodies of the martyrs were thrown into the Seine, from which they were rescued and given honourable burial. A chapel was later built over their tomb, around which arose the great abbey of Saint-Denis. This monastery was founded by King Dagobert I (d. 638), and it is possible that some century or so later the identification of St Dionysius with Dionysius the Areopagite began to gain currency, or at least the idea that he was sent by Pope Clement I in the first century. But it was not everywhere or even widely accepted until the time of Hilduin, abbot of Saint-Denis. In the year 827 the Emperor Michael II sent as a present to the emperor of the West, Louis the Pious, copies of the writings ascribed to St Dionysius the Areopagite (see above). By an unfortunate coincidence they arrived in Paris and were taken to Saint-Denis on the eve of the feast of the patron of the abbey. Hilduin translated them into Latin, and when some years later Louis asked him for a life of St Dionysius of Paris, the abbot produced a work which persuaded Christendom for the next seven hundred years that Dionysius of Paris, Dionysius of Athens, and the author of the “Dionysian” writings were one and the same person. In his “Areopagitica” Abbot Hilduin made use of spurious and worthless materials, and it is difficult to believe in his complete good faith the life is a tissue of fables. The Areopagite comes to Rome where Pope St Clement I receives him and sends him to evangelize the Parisii. They try in vain to put him to death by wild beasts, fire and crucifixion then, together with Rusticus and Eleutherius, he is successfully beheaded on Montmartre. The dead body of St Dionysius rose on its feet and, led by an angel, walked the two miles from Montmartre to where the abbey church of Saint-Denis now stands, carrying its head in its hands and surrounded by singing angels, and so was there buried. Of which marvel the Roman Breviary makes mention.
The cultus of St Dionysius, better known, even in England, as Denis, was very strong during the middle ages already in the sixth century Fortunatus recognizes him as the saint of Paris par excellence (Carmina, viii, 3, 159), and he is popularly regarded as the patron saint of France.

Another long dissertation is devoted to St Dionysius, Bishop of Paris, in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv. The earliest passio, attributed of old, but erroneously, to Venantius Fortunatus, has been re-edited by B. Krusch, MGH., Auctores Antiq., vol. iv, Pt 2, Pp. 101-105. This ascribes the sending of Dionysius into Gaul as bishop of Paris to Pope St Clement in the first century, but it does not identify him with the Areopagite. See also what has been said about the Areopagite above and consult J. Havet, œuvres, vol. i, pp. 191-246 ; G. Kurth in Études Franques, vol. ii,. pp. 297-317 L. Levillain in the Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Chartes, vol. lxxxii (1921, pp. 5-116; vol. lxxxvi (1925), pp. 5-97, with others more recent; Leclercq in DAC., vol. iv, cc. 588-606 and E. Griffe, La Gaule chrétienne (1947), pp. 89-99. There is a good summary of the whole matter in Baudot and Chaussin, Vies des saints… vol. x (1952), pp. 270-288.

304 St. Domninus Martyr beheaded on the Via Claudia where his relics are held in great veneration now called the Borgo San Domino
Apud Júliam, in território Parménsi, via Cláudia, sancti Domníni Mártyris; qui, sub Maximiáno Imperatóre, cum vellet persecutiónis rábiem declináre, a persequéntibus est comprehénsus, et, gládio transverberátus, glorióse occúbuit.
At Julia, in the region of Parma, on the Via Claudia, St. Domninus, martyr. Under the Emperor Maximian, in the rage of persecution, he was taken by the persecutors and died gloriously by being pierced with a sword.
or Amelia, also called Domnino. He was a native of Parma, Italy, fleeing persecution. He was martyred at a site called Borgo San Domnino.
Donnino (Domninus) M (RM) Born in Parma; died near there in 304. During a persecution, Saint Donnino tried to escape, but was overtaken and beheaded on the Via Claudia or Aemilia, a few miles outside Parma. This place (where his relics are held in great veneration) is now called the Borgo San Donnino (Benedictines).

370 ST PUBLIA, WIDOW; a woman of good family in Antioch who was left a widow. She gathered together in her house a number of consecrated virgins and widows who wished to live a common life of devotion and charity.
Antiochíæ sanctæ Públiæ Abbatíssæ, quæ, transeúnte Juliáno Apóstata, Davídicum illud cum suis Virgínibus canens: « Simulácra Géntium argéntum et aurum », et « Símiles illis fiant qui fáciunt ea », Imperatóris jussu, álapis cæsa est, et gráviter objurgáta.
At Antioch, St. Publia, abbess. While Julian the Apostate was passing by, she and her religious sang these words of David: "The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold," and "Let them that make them be like unto them." By the command of the emperor, she was struck on the face and severely rebuked.
ST PUBLIA, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology today as an “abbess”, is referred to by the historian Theodoret as a woman of good family in Antioch who was left a widow. She gathered together in her house a number of consecrated virgins and widows who wished to live a common life of devotion and charity.
In the year 362 Julian the Apostate came to Antioch to prepare for his campaign against the Persians, and as he was passing by the house of Publia one day he stopped to listen to the inmates, who were singing the praises of God in their oratory. It so happened that they were singing the 115th psalm, and the emperor distinguished the words, “The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men: they have mouths and speak not”, and so on to the verse, “Let them that make them become like unto them, and all such as trust in them”. He was furious at what he took to be a personal insult, and bade the women be silent, then and in the future. They replied by singing, at the word of Publia, psalm 67:
“Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered,” Thereupon Julian ordered her to be brought before him, and in spite of her sex and venerable appearance allowed her to be struck by his guards. Not thus could the choral prayer of the Christians be silenced, and it is said that the emperor intended to have put them all to death when he came back from Persia. But he was destined never to return alive and St Publia and her companions finished their course in peace.

See the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv, where Theodoret’s account (Hist. Eccles., iii, 19) is quoted.

5th v. St. Sabinus became a famed hermit; one of the apostles of the Lavedan, in the Pyrenees; preached to peasants of the neighbourhood by mouth and by example of his kindly and penitential spirit, many and remarkable miracles
Also Savin, hermit and the one of the apostles of the Lavedan, in the Pyrenees. According to tradition, he was bom in Barcelona, Spain, received an education at Poitiers, and then entered a monastery at Liguge. Later, he departed the monastic community and became a famed hermit.
5th v. ST Savin (Sabinus) preached to peasants of the neighbourhood by mouth and by example of his kindly and penitential spirit, many and remarkable miracles;
This saint is venerated as the apostle of the Lavedan, that district of the Pyrenees at one end of which is situated the town of Lourdes. According to his legend he was born at Barcelona and brought up by his widowed mother, who when he became a young man sent him to the care of his uncle Eutilius at Poitiers. Being appointed tutor to his young cousin, Savin (Sabinus) so impressed him by his religious example and inspiring words that the youth secretly left home and went to the great monastery at Ligugé. Eutilius and his wife besought Savin to use his influence with their son to induce him to return home. But he refused, quoting the words of our Lord that He must be loved even more than father and mother, and furthermore announced his intention of becoming a monk at Ligugé himself.
St Savin eventually left there with the object of becoming a solitary. He walked to Tarbes and from thence made his way to the place in the Lavedan then called Palatium Aemilianum, where there was a monastery. The abbot, Fronimius, showed him a place a little way off in the mountains well suited to his design. Here St Savin built himself a cell, which he afterwards exchanged for a pit in the ground, saying that everyone should expiate his sins in the way and the measure that seems to himself called for. This in reply to Fronimius, who on one of his frequent visits to the hermit expressed the opinion that his austerities were becoming exaggerated. Savin preached to the peasants of the neighbourhood by his mouth and by the example of his kindly and penitential spirit, and many and remarkable was the miracles with which they credited him. For example, a farmer having roughly stopped him from crossing his land to reach a spring, he struck water from the rocks with his staff; and one night, having no dry tinder, he lit his candle by the flames from his own heart! He wore only one garment, summer and winter, and that lasted him for thirteen years.
St Savin was forewarned of his death and sent a message to the monastery, and he was surrounded by clergy, monks and devoted people when his peaceful end came. His body was enshrined in the abbey church, which was afterwards called St Savin’s, and the name extended to the adjacent village, Saint-Savin-de-Tarbes.

No reliance can be placed upon the short text of uncertain date printed in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv (cf. Mabillon, Annales Benedictini, vol. i, p.575); even the century in which the hermit lived is a matter of pure conjecture the above time-heading follows A. Poncelet. It is characteristic of the methods of a certain type of hagiographer that out of these scanty materials a writer in the so-called Petits Bollandistes has evolved a biography of seven closely printed pages (over 4,500 words) in which he speaks with the same detail and definiteness of statement as he might have used in providing a summary of the career of Napoleon I.

5th v. St. Andronicus relative of St. Paul
Hierosólymis sanctórum Androníci et Athanásiæ cónjugis.    At Jerusalem, Saints Andronicus and his wife Athanasia.
Hermit who had a remarkable experience with his wife, Athanasia. Andronicus was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and became a silversmith. Marrying Athanasia, he went to Antioch, where they lost their two children, possibly in a local plague. Both Andronicus and Athanasia returned to Egypt, where they became hermits in the desert. Athanasia, who was dressed as a man, lived in a separate hermitage. After twelve years, a monk named Athanasius came to visit Andronicus. The two went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and then joined a monastery near Alexandria. When Athanasius died, a note was found identifying her as Athanasia, Andronicus' wife. Andronicus who died soon after, was buried with Athanasia.
The Holy Apostle Andronicus Scriptural Reference(s) * Rom. 16:7 Family Ties * A relative of St. Paul * one of the seventy Apostles
Items of Interest
    * St. Andronicus was appointed bishop of Pannonia, but instead of staying in one place he preached all over Pannonia
    * St. Junia was his helper
    * by faith they converted many pagans to Christ, destroyed many idolatrous temples, drove out demons, worked miracles and healed every type of disease and illness
    * both were martyred; their relics were discovered in the region of Eugneius
    * St. Andronicus is remembered by the Church on May 17.

5th v, SS. ANDRONICUS AND ATHANASIA
Andronicus was a native of Alexandria who settled in Antioch to carry on the business of a silversmith. He was happily married to a young woman named Athanasia, they had two children, John and Mary, and their trade flourished; but when they had been married twelve years both their children suddenly died on the same day.
Athanasia thereafter spent much of her time weeping at their grave and praying in a neighbouring church. She was here one day when suddenly a stranger stood before her, who assured her that John and Mary were happy in Heaven. Then he disappeared, and Athanasia knew that she had seen a vision of St Julian, the martyr in whose memory the church was dedicated. She went home rejoicing to her husband, and suggested to him that the time had come for them to renounce the world. Andronicus agreed; and as they left their home, leaving the door standing open, St Athanasia called down the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sara upon herself and her husband, beseeching Him that, “as we leave this house door open for love of thee, so open to us the gates of thy kingdom”. They made their way into their native Egypt, where they sought out St Daniel, known as “of Many Miracles”, among the solitaries of Skete. He sent St Andronicus to the monastery of Tabenna, and St Athanasia to be an anchoress in the wilderness, dressed in the habit of a man. And so they lived for twelve years.
   At the end of that time St Andronicus fell in with a beardless old monk, who said that his name was Athanasius and that he was going to Jerusalem. They travelled together, made their religious exercises together, and returned once more to the place where they had met. Then they realized that they had a great regard and affection one for another and were unwilling to be parted; so they both went to the monastery called Eighteen, because it was so many miles from Alexandria, and a cell was found there for Father Athanasius near to that of Andronicus.
   When the time came for Athanasius to die it was seen that he was weeping, and a monk asked him why he wept when he was about to go to God. “I am grieved for my father Andronicus”, was the reply, “for he will miss me. But when I am gone, give him the writing that you will find under my pillow.” After he was dead the writing was found, and when he read it St Andronicus knew—what the other had known since they met on the way to Jerusalem—that Athanasius was his wife Athanasia. Then the monks came, dressed in white and carrying branches of palm and tamarisk, and bore the body of St Athanasia to burial. A monk stopped with St Andronicus until they had celebrated the seventh day of Athanasia, and then tried to persuade the old man to come away with him; and he would not. So the monk departed alone, but he had not gone a day’s journey when a messenger overtook him, saying that Father Andronicus was at the point of death. He hurried back, summoning the other monks, and St Andronicus died peacefully amid the prayers of his brethren. They buried him beside his wife.

The Copts, Ethiops and some Byzantine churches commemorate “Our holy father Andronicus and his wife Athanasia”, and they were entered in the Roman Martyrology (with the place of death given as Jerusalem) by Cardinal Baronius.

Although a Greek version of this story is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. iv, from the Menaion, the saints in question do not seem to have enjoyed any great popularity in Byzantine churches. There is only the barest mention of them in the Synax. Const. (see Delehaye’s edition, c. 501, under March 2). On the other hand the whole story is told at length in the lectionaries of Abyssinia, and may be read in Budge’s translation, The Ethiopic Synaxarium, p. 1167. “Est ea pia fabella, plurimum lecta, saepius descripta et retractata (BHG.. 120; BHO., 59), nee vera nee veri similes”, say the Bollandists.

680 St. Ghislain founding abbot of a monastery; his intercession is sought to ward off convulsions from children
In Hannónia sancti Gisléni, Epíscopi et Confessóris; qui, relícto Episcopátu, Mónachi vitam in monastério a se constrúcto exércuit, et multis virtútibus cláruit.
    In Hainault, St. Gislenus, bishop and confessor, who resigning his bishopric, led the monastic life in a monastery built by himself, and was distinguished by many virtues.
He was a Frank who became a hermit in Hainault and was founding abbot of a monastery there called The Cell (now St. Ghislain) near Mons. He encouraged St. Waldetrudis to found a convent at Castrilocus (Mons) and St. Aldegundus to found a convent at Mauberge. An apophrycal legend has him a native of Attica who became bishop of Athens, resign his See, went to Rome and was sent to Hainault, where he became a hermit.
Confessor and anchorite in Belgium; b. in the first half of the seventh century; d. at Saint-Ghislain (Ursidongus), 9 October, c. 680.
   He was probably of German origin. Ghislain lived in the province of Hainault (Belgium) in the time of St. Amand (d. 679) and Saints Waudru, Aldegonde, and Madelberte. With two unknown disciples he made a clearing in the vicinity of Castrilocus (now Mons, in Hainault), taking up later his abode at a place called Ursidongus, where he built an oratory or chapel dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Aubert, Bishop of Cambrai, summoned him to the episcopal presence in order to sound the intentions of this almost unknown hermit, but he afterwards accorded him efficient protection. During his visit to Cambrai Ghislain spent some time in the villa of Roisin and received as a gift the estates of Celles and Hornu.
   He soon entered into relations with St. Waudru, who was induced by him to build a monastery at Castrilocus, his former place of refuge. It is probable that Ghislain influenced the religious vocation of St. Aldegonde, Abbess of Maubeuge, also of St. Madelberte and St. Aldetrude, of whom the first was the sister and the last two the daughters of St. Waudru.
   One day Aldegonde in her monastery of Maubeuge, had a vision in which, according to her biographer, the death of St. Amand, Bishop of Tongres, was revealed to her. Ghislain visited the saint in her villa of Mairieu, near Mabeuge, and explained to her that the vision was an announcement of her own approaching death.
The intercourse between Ghislain and Aldegonde brought about a perfect understanding between Maubeuge and the monastery founded at Ursidongus under Ghislain's direction. St. Waudru rewarded her counsellor with a portion of the villa of Frameries and of the oratory of St Quentin, comprised within the boundaries of the villa of Quaregnon.
   Ghislain died at Ursidongus, and the monastery which he had founded took his name. The relics of the saint were first disinterred c. 929. They were transferred to Grandlieu, near Quaregnon, about the end of the tenth century or the begining of the eleventh, and in 1025 Gerard I, Bishop of Cambrai, removed them to Cateau-Cambresis. They were visited several times in the course of the Middle Ages by the Bishops of Cambrai. In 1647 they were removed to St Ghislain of which place our saint is patron.
   His feast is celebrated 9 October and his intercession is sought to ward off convulsions from children. In iconography he is frequently represented with a bear or bear's cub beside him. This is an allusion to the popular legend which relates that a bear, pursued in the chase by King Dagobert, sought refuge with Ghislain and later showed him the place where he should establish a monastery. Moreover, the site of the saint's cella was called Ursidongus, "bear's den".

680 St Gislenus, Or Ghislain, Abbot
Having led for some time an eremitical life in a forest in Hainault this Frankish saint founded there a monastery in honour of SS. Peter and Paul. He governed it with great sanctity and prudence; the abbey was long known as The Cell (now Saint-Ghislain, near Mons), but the original name of the place was Ursidongus, that is, “the bear’s den”, whence arose the legend that a bear, hunted by King Dagobert I, took refuge with Gislenus and showed him the site of his future monastery.
   St Gislenus is said to have had great influence on St Vincent Madelgarius and his wife St Waldetrudis and their family; with his encouragement Waldetrudis founded the convent at Castrilocus (Mons), where Gislenus had had his first hermitage, and St Aldegundis the convent of Maubeuge. With the last-named he was united in a very close friendship, and when they were both too old conveniently to make the journey to one another’s monasteries, they built an oratory in between and would there meet to converse of God and matters connected with their respective communities.
   The Roman Martyrology says that St Gislenus resigned a bishopric before becoming a hermit. This refers to the quite apocryphal legend that he was born in Attica, became a monk there, and was raised to the see of Athens. In consequence of a vision he resigned this office, went on pilgrimage to Rome with other Greek monks, and while there, received divine direction to go on into Hainault, which he did with two companions. There he met St Amandus, and was encouraged by him to settle by the river Haine. The legend also, explains why the eldest sons of a certain family at Roisin were all called Baldericus (Baudry). When the mysterious Greek stranger was on his way to give an account of himself to the bishop St Aubert at Cambrai, he received hospitality at Roisin, and during the night his host’s wife was overtaken by a difficult labour. The husband appealed for his prayers to Gislenus, who handed him his belt, saying, “Put this round your wife like a baldric (baudrei), and she will safely give birth to a son”. The saint’s promise was verified, and the grateful parents gave him two estates for the endowment of his monastery.

There is no very satisfactory account of the career of St Gislenus. An anonymous life is printed by Mabillon and the Bollandists; and another, by Rainerus, a monk of Saint Ghislain in the eleventh century, has been edited by Poncelet in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. v (1857), pp. 212—239, with a third document, pp. 257—290. See also Van der Essen, Etude critique sur les saints ,merovingiens, pp. 249—260; U. Berlière, Monasticon Beige, vol. i, pp. 24.4—246; and Berlière in Revue liturgique et, monastique, vol. xiv (1929), pp. 438 seq. The story, as told in the early biographies, is very improbable.

680 St. Lambert & Valerius; Benedictine disciples of St. Gislenus and workers in his mission.

815 St. Geminus Patron saint of San Gemini, Umbria; Itlay. He is claimed by both the Baslians and Benedictines as a patron.

836 St. Deusdedit Benedictine abbot of Monte Cassino; died of hunger and abuse
Apud Cassínum sancti Deúsdedit Abbátis, qui, a Sicárdo tyránno in cárcerem trusus, illic, fame et ærúmnis conféctus, réddidit spíritum.
At Monte Cassino, St. Deusdedit, abbot, who was cast into prison by the tyrant Sicardus, and being there consumed with hunger and misery, yielded up his soul.
Italy, elected around 830. A local noble, Sicard of Benevento, imprisoned him to gain monastery funds. Deusdedit died of hunger and abuse and is venerated as a martyr.

1010 Bl. Gunther revered for holiness austerity eloquent preaching, his gift of infused knowledge

Gunther was a nobleman related to Emperor St. Henry. He led a worldly life until he was fifty when he was convinced by St. Gothard, then reforming Hersfeld monastery, to make up for his sinful life by becoming a monk there. He gave most of his wealth to endow Hersfeld, went on a pilgrimage to Rome, and then became a monk at Niederaltaich, Bavaria, of which Gothard was abbot.
Meanwhile, at the time he had endowed Hersfeld, he also endowed and owned the abbey of Gollingen in Thuringia, and he now insisted on being its abbot. He was an unsuccessful abbot and incurred the enmity of the monks there. He was persuaded to resign and return to Niederaltaich by Gothard. In 1008, he became a hermit in Lalling Forrest, attracted disciples, and then built a hermitage near Rinchnac, Bavaria, which developed into a monastery. He died at Hartmanice, Bohemia, on October 9th. He is revered for his holiness and austerity, his eloquent preaching, and his gift of infused knowledge.

1045 BD GUNTHER
The first part of the life of Gunther, cousin of St Stephen of Hungary and related to the Emperor St Henry, was by no means inspired by the holiness of his relatives, for until his fiftieth year he was a worldly and ambitious nobleman, and none too scrupulous at that. He then came under the influence of St Gothard of Hildesheim, at that time abbot of Niederaltaich and engaged in reforming the monastery of Hersfeld. This prelate succeeded also in reforming Gunther, who made up his mind to expiate his sins by becoming a monk. He devoted all his property to the endowment of Hersfeld, with the exception of an endowment for the abbey of Göllingen in Thuringia, of which house he retained the ownership inspite of the protests of St Gothard. Gunther then went on pilgrimage to Rome, very great results, for they were animated with charity and breathed a spirit of and on his return entered Niederaltaich as a monk. But his conversion had not sincere religion and humility. In 1007 a pestilence raged in Valencia and the saint been complete, his humble position did not satisfy his ambition, and he insisted on being allowed to be made abbot of Göllingen. The experiment was not successful: there was friction between him and his monks, and the monastery began seriously to suffer. Aided perhaps by an illness which overtook Gunther, St Gothard succeeded by persuasion and rebuke in inducing him to resign his abbacy, and he returned to Niederaltaich. His turning to God was at last wholehearted, and whereas formerly the status of a simple monk had been too modest for him he now wished for an even more humble and retired life. Accordingly in 1008 he went to live as a hermit in the forest of Lalling, where a reputation of sanctity soon brought him disciples. Later he moved with them to the neighbourhood of Rinchnach on the Regen in Bavaria, where cells were built and a church this foundation developed into a regular monastery.

Bd Gunther in the meanwhile continued his eremitical existence, going from place to place to beg alms for the poor, and encouraging his cousin Stephen in the christianization of his realm. It is said that Gunther received the gift of infused knowledge and became a powerful preacher though deficient in ordinary ecclesiastical learning: he could probably neither read nor write. He atoned for the excesses of his earlier years by severe mortification, and he exercised a rigid discipline over his followers, to the extent of rationing the amount of water which each of his monks might have at disposal. Bd Gunther died at about the age of ninety, on October 9, 1045, at Hartmanice in Bohemia. He was buried at Brevnov, near Prague, and the reputation of the last thirty-five years of his life together with the wonders that were reported at his tomb led to a popular cultus it is recognized liturgically at Passau and elsewhere.

The main facts in the Latin biography printed both by Mabillon and the Bollandists are probably reliable. This compilation seems to be based, at least in part, upon statements taken from the writings of Wolfher, a canon of Hildesheim, who was a contemporary. See also Grauert, in the Historisches Jahrbuch, vol. xix (1898), pp. 249—287 Oswald, Das Kloster Rinchnach (1902) MGH., Scriptores, vol. vi, p. 672, vol. xi, pp. 276—279 and the early lives of St Stephen of Hungary.

1085 St. Alfanus Benedictine archbishop; He was a monk at Monte Cassino until appointed the archbishop of Salerno, Italy. Alfanus assisted Pope St. Gregory VII on his deathbed.

1165 St. Goswin Benedictine abbot; He became a Benedictine at Anchin, where he was made abbot.

1572 St. Theodoric of Emden A Dutch Franciscan Gorkum martyr.
Confessor to the nuns of Gorkum, the Netherlands, he was murdered with the other Gorkum martyrs.

1581 St. Louis Bertrand Dominican South America gift of tongues
Valéntiæ, in Hispánia Tarraconénsi, sancti Ludovíci Bertrándi, ex Ordine Prædicatórum, Confessóris; qui, apostólico spíritu clarus, Evangélium quod Americánis prædicáverat, vitæ innocéntia multísque éditis miráculis confirmávit.
At Valencia in Spain, St. Louis Bertrand, of the Order of Preachers. Being filled with the apostolic spirit, he confirmed by the innocency of his life and the working of many miracles the Gospel which he had preached in America.
Louis was born in Valencia Spain, in a family of nine children. His good parents brought him up well, and he became a Dominican priest. He was very severe as a master of the novices, but even though he did not have a good sense of humor, he taught the novices to give themselves completely to God. When first he began to preach, it did not seem as though he would be very successful, but his deep love for souls brought great results. At the age of thirty-six, St. Louis left for South America. He stayed in the New World only about six years, but in that short time, this great apostle baptized thousands of persons. Although he knew only Spanish, God gave him the gift of tongues, so that when he spoke, all the different tribes of Indians understood him. Yet his apostolate was not without dangers. A tribe called the Caribs of the Leeward Islands even tried to poison the saint when he visited them to preach the gospel of Our Lord. Once he was called back to Spain, St. Louis trained other preachers, teaching them to prepare themselves by fervent prayer, first of all. The last two years of his life were full of painful sufferings, but still he kept preaching. Finally he was carried from the pulpit to his bed, and he never left it again, for he died eighteen months later.

1581 ST LOUIS BERTRAND
Louis BERTRAN was born at Valencia in Spain in 1526. He was related through his father to St Vincent Ferrer and was baptized at the same font as that saint had been a hundred and seventy-five years before. Louis from his childhood seemed by his teachable disposition and humility of soul to have inherited the spirit of St Vincent: wanting to join the Dominicans, the celebrated Father John Mico, who had been brought up a shepherd in the mountains, gave the habit to young Bertrand when he was eighteen. Sacerdotal ordination was given to him by the archbishop of Valencia, St Thomas of Villanova, in 1547.
Louis was made master of novices five years after profession, and discharged that office for periods which totalled thirty years. He was very severe and strict, but both by his example and words taught them sincerely and perfectly to renounce the world and to unite their souls to God. St Louis Bertrand was not particularly learned, though a painstaking student, and he was lacking in humour, a characteristic not uncommon among Spaniards. Nor did his talents at first appear promising for the pulpit; nevertheless he overcame all difficulties and his discourses produced very great results, for they were animated with great charity and breathed a spirit of sincere religion and humility. In 1557 a pestilence raged in Valenca and the saint knew no danger and spared no pains in comforting and assisting the sick. He about this time made the acquaintance of St Teresa, who wrote and asked his advice about her projected convent of reformed Carmelites. St Louis replied:

“The matter about which you ask my advice is of such great importance to our Lord’s service that I wished to recommend it to Him in my poor prayers and at the Holy Sacrifice: that is why I have been so long in replying. Now I bid you, in the name of the same Lord, arm yourself with courage to undertake so great an enterprise. He will help and support you in it and I assure you, as from Him, that before fifty years are out your order will be one of the most famous in the Church, who keeps you in her holy protection.”

In 1562 St Louis left Spain to preach the gospel to the savages in America, and landed at Cartagena in New Granada (Colombia). He spoke only Spanish and had to use an interpreter, but the gifts of tongues, of prophecy and of miracles were conferred by Heaven on this apostle, the bull of his canonization tells us. In the Isthmus of Panama and the province of Cartagena, in the space of three years, he converted to Christ many thousand souls. The baptismal registers of Tubera, in St Louis’s own handwriting, show that all the inhabitants of that place were converted, and he had a like success at Cipacoa. The people of Paluato were more difficult, but in his next mission, among the inhabitants of the mountains of Santa Marta, he is said to have baptized about fifteen thousand persons; and also a tribe of fifteen hundred Indians who, having changed their minds, had followed him thither from Paluato.*[* These wholesale baptisms of Indians who could not possibly have an adequate idea of the faith and its obligations are tributes to the apostolic zeal rather than to the prudence of such great saints as St Louis Bertrand and St Francis Solano. They were often a source of embarrassment to their successors. When Father de Victoria, o.p., took over the vast diocese of Tucuman in 1581 he found there five secular priests and a few regulars, not one of whom could speak any of the local languages.]

He visited the Caribs of the Leeward Islands (whom Alban Butler considers “the most brutal, barbarous, and unteachable people of the human race”—they tried to poison St Louis), San Thomé in the Virgin Islands, and San Vincente in the Windwards, and then returned to Colombia. He was pierced to the quick to see the avarice and cruelty of the Spanish adventurers in the Indies and not to be able to find any means of putting a stop to those evils. He was desirous to seek redress in Spain, and about that time he was recalled thither, thus ending a marvellous mission of six years.

St Louis arrived at Seville in 1569, whence he returned to Valencia. He trained up many excellent preachers, who succeeded him in the ministry of the word. The first lesson he gave them was that humble and fervent prayer must always be the principal preparation of the preacher for words without works never have power to touch or change hearts. The two last years of his life he was afflicted with painful illness; in 1580 he went to preach in the cathedral at Valencia, where he was carried from the pulpit to his bed, from which he never rose again, dying eighteen months later on October 9, 1581, being fifty-five years old. St Louis Bertrand, who is the principal patron of Colombia, was canonized in 1671.

A very full and devout Life of St Louis Bertrand was published by Fr Bertrand Wilberforce in 1882 the book has been translated into German and French, and seemingly also into Spanish. His narrative is founded on the biography of the saint, printed in 1582—83, almost immediately after his death, by Fr V. J. Antist, his intimate friend and disciple. A Latin version of this, made from the Spanish original, is included in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. v, and it is there supplemented by a still longer biography which was compiled and published in 1623 by Fr B. Aviñone who was familiar with the evidence given in the process of beatification and had come to Rome as procurator of the cause. There were several other lives printed in Spain and Italy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it does not seem that any new material of notable importance has so far been brought to light. Immense enthusiasm was aroused in Valencia when the decree of beatification was issued in 1608 a book describing these Fiestas was compiled by G. de Aguilar in 1608 and a modern edition of it was brought out in 1914. Another small work, by V. Gomez, dealing with the Sermones y Fiestas which marked the same occasion, appeared in 1609. Copies of both are in the British Museum.

1526-1581)
     Luis Bertrand was a Spaniard, born in Valencia. On his father's side he was related to the famous saint, Vincent Ferrer. Docile and devout, he early chose to enter the same religious order, and he was ordained a priest in 1547. Five years after his solemn profession as a Dominican friar, he was appointed master of novices for his community. Though he belonged to an order famous for its educational standards, Friar Luis was more a hardworking than a brilliant student. But of his holiness there was no doubt. He showed it in his sweet, gentle attitude towards all; in the courage with which he took care of the sick when the plague struck Valencia in 1557; in his skill as a preacher, which enabled him to hold vast crowds spell-bound; in his gift of miracles and prophecy.
     These were the days when Spaniards were conquering and settling Latin America. Fra Luis had long dreamed of going on the American mission. His dream was fulfilled in 1562, when his superiors sent him across the Atlantic to Cartagena, in the present Colombia, South America.
     During the next seven years, this dedicated Dominican missionary had great success as a preacher among the Indians. Although he spoke only Spanish and normally had to use an interpreter, the bull of his canonization tells us that he also had, at least on occasion, the gift of tongues. After converting literally thousands of aborigines around Cartagena and the Isthmus of Panama, he went on to Tubera on the coast. His own entries in the baptismal records there show that he brought all the local natives into the Church. While the people of a place called Paluato were less tractable, he converted thousands at Cipacoa and Santa Marta. Nevertheless, while he was at Santa Marta, 1500 Indians from Paluato, who had changed their minds since his departure, came to petition baptism. Many of the natives baptized in those pioneer days were given only basic instruction. In this case, however, it is said that those whom he received were adequately instructed, and continued steadfast in the Catholic faith.

     After laboring on the mainland, Father Louis sailed through the Caribbean Islands, approaching even the Carib Indians of the Lesser Antilles. The Caribs had a reputation for fierceness; indeed, one of their medicine men gave him a poisoned drink. Miraculously, it seems, he was not harmed by the poison. Among the Caribbean islands he visited were St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, now an American possession. At some period of this missionary career he also ministered at Teneriffe in the Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa.
     Wherever he went, St. Luis was recognized by all as a most admirable man. While on the Latin American mission, he was appalled by the avarice and greed manifested by the Spanish conquistadors. Unfortunately he could find no way of combating it.
     Called back to Spain in 1569, Fra Luis was never again to return to the New World. But he held positions of importance in his order, and was even consulted on affairs of state. He was also able to train many of his younger confreres in skills or preaching so that they might carry on the task of spreading the Word of God. The first lesson he always gave them was that the preacher must pray ardently before he preaches. He told them that it is not our words but our prayers and good works that change human hearts. This he himself exemplified to the last. In 1580, though ill, he ascended the pulpit in the cathedral of Valencia, but had to be carried away to a sickbed. He never again rose, but passed his last months in patient suffering. Valencia rejoiced when Saint Louis was canonized in 1671. The Republic of Colombia adopted him as its principal patron.
     We are told that Luis Bertrand had almost no sense of humor. Sometimes intense people are inclined that way. But if he was not gifted with the wit of a St. Thomas More or a St. Teresa of Avila, he still possessed what is the essence of a sense of humor: an awareness of one's own absurd inadequacy without the grace of God. --Father Robert F. McNamara.

1609 St. John Leonardi miracles and religious fervor founder
Romæ sancti Joánnis Leonárdi, Confessóris, Fundatóris Congregatiónis Clericórum Regulárium a Matre Dei, labóribus et miráculis clari, cujus ópera Missiónes a Propagánda Fide institútæ sunt.
At Rome, St. John Leonard, confessor, founder of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, renowned for his labours and miracles, and by whose zeal were begun missions for the propagation of the faith.

John Leonardi was born at Diecimo, Italy. He became a pharmacist's assistant at Lucca, studied for the priesthood, and was ordained in 1572. He gathered a group of laymen about him to work in hospitals and prisons, became interested in the reforms proposed by the Council of Trent, and proposed a new congregation of secular priests. Great opposition to his proposal developed, but in 1583, his association (formally designated Clerks Regular of the Mother of God in 1621) was recognized by the bishop of Lucca with the approval of Pope Gregory XIII.
John was aided by St. Philip Neri and St. Joseph Calasanctius, and in 1595, the congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement VIII, who appointed John to reform the monks of Vallombrosa and Monte Vergine. He died in Rome on October 9th of plague contracted while he was ministering to the stricken. He was venerated for his miracles and religious fervor and is considered one of the founders of the College for the Propagation of the Faith. He was canonized in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.

1609 St John Leonardi, Founder of The Clerks Regular of The Mother Of God

John Leonardi was a young assistant to an apothecary in the city of Lucca in the middle of the sixteenth century. He was of a religious disposition, became a member of a confraternity founded by Bd John Colombini, and after a time began to study privately with the object of receiving holy orders. After he had been ordained he was very active in the works of the ministry, especially in hospitals and prisons, and he attracted several young laymen to assist him. Their headquarters was at the church of St Mary Della Rosa in Lucca, and they lived in common in a house near by.
    It was a time when the Council of Trent and the ravages of Protestantism had filled serious Catholics with a passion for reform, and John Leonardi and his followers, several of whom were studying for the priesthood, soon projected a new congregation of secular priests. When this scheme was spread abroad it at once provoked powerful opposition in the Lucchesan republic. This opposition was political, and rather difficult to understand, but was formidable enough to keep the founder an exile from Lucca for practically the rest of his life except when he was able to visit there under special papal protection.
   In 1580 he secretly acquired the church of Santa Maria Cortelandini (or Nera) for the use of his followers, who three years later were recognized officially by the bishop of Lucca, with the approval of Pope Gregory XIII, as an association of secular priests with simple vows (they were granted their present name and solemn vows in 1621). St John received the encouragement and, help of St Philip Neri, who gave up to him his premises at San Girolamo della Carità, together with the care of his cat; and of St Joseph Calasanctius, with whose congregation his own was fused for a short time.
    Father Leonardi and his priests became so great a power for good in Italy that Clement VIII confirmed their congregation in 1595. This pope had a very great regard for the character and capabilities of St John, and appointed him commissary apostolic to superintend the reform of the monks of Vallumbrosa and Monte Vergine. He obtained from Clement the church of Santa Maria in Portico, and Cardinal Baronius was made cardinal protector of the congregation.

St John’s miracles and his zeal for the spread of the faith are referred to by the Roman Martyrology, but the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God have had only one house outside of Italy. By the deliberate policy of their founder they never had more than fifteen churches, and they form today only a very small congregation. The saint was associated with Mgr J. B. Vives in the first planning of a seminary for foreign missions, instituted by Pope Urban VIII in 1627 as the College de Propaganda Fide.
   John Leonardi died on October 9, 1609, from disease caught when tending the plague-stricken. He was canonized in 1938, and his feast was added to the general calendar in 1941.

More than one life of this saint has been published. See, for example, L. Marracci, Vita del P. Giovanni Leonardi, Lucehese (1673) A. Bianchini, Vita del B. Giovanni Leonardi (1861); and two works by F. Ferraironi (1938), on St John as a founder and in connection with the Urban College. His cause is frequently referred to by Prosper Lambertini (Benedict XIV) in bk ii of his great work, De beatificatione.

On St. John Leonardi "To Oppose the Weeds He Chose to be Good Wheat"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters!
The day after tomorrow, Oct. 9, will be the 400th anniversary of the death of St. John Leonardi, founder of the religious order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, canonized on April 17, 1938, and chosen patron of pharmacists on Aug. 8, 2006. He is also remembered for his great missionary zeal.

Together with Monsignor Juan Bautista Vives and Jesuit Martin de Funes, he planned and contributed to the establishment of a specific Congregation of the Holy See for the missions, that of Propoganda Fide, and to the future birth of the Pontifical Urbanian Athenaeum "De Propoganda Fide," which in the course of centuries has forged thousands of priests, many of them martyrs, to evangelize peoples. We are speaking, therefore, of a luminous priestly figure, which I am pleased to point out as an example to all presbyters in this Year for Priests. He died in 1609 from influenza contracted while he was giving himself to the care of all those who had been stricken by the epidemic in the Roman quarter of Campitelli.

John Leonardi was born in 1541 in Diecimo, in the province of Lucca. The last of seven siblings, his adolescence was sprinkled with rhythms of faith lived in a healthy and industrious family group, as well as the assiduous frequenting of a shop of herbs and medicines in his native town. At age 17 his father enrolled him in a regular course in pharmacy in Lucca, with the aim of making him a future pharmacist, that is, an apothecary, as they were called then. For close to a decade young John Leonardi was vigilant and diligent in following this, but when, according to the norms established by the former Republic of Lucca, he acquired the official recognition that would have allowed him to open his own shop, he began to think if perhaps the moment had not arrived to fulfill a plan that he had always had in his heart.

After mature reflection he decided to direct himself toward the priesthood. And thus, having left the apothecary's pharmacy, and acquired an appropriate theological formation, he was ordained a priest and celebrated his first Mass on the feast of Epiphany of 1572. However, he did not abandon his passion for pharmaceutics because he felt that professional mediation as a pharmacist would allow him to realize fully his vocation of transmitting to men, through a holy life, "the medicine of God," which is Jesus Christ crucified and risen, "measure of all things."

Animated by the conviction that, more than any other thing, all human beings need such medicine, St. John Leonardi tried to make the personal encounter with Jesus Christ the fundamental reason of his existence. It is necessary to "start anew from Christ," he liked to repeat very often.

The primacy of Christ over everything became for him the concrete criterion of judgment and action and the generating principle of his priestly activity, which he exercised while a vast and widespread movement of spiritual renewal was under way in the Church, thanks to the flowering of new religious institutes and the luminous witness of saints such as Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri, Ignatius of Loyola, Joseph Calasanzius, Camillus of Lellis and Aloysius Gonzaga.

He dedicated himself with enthusiasm to the apostolate among youth through the Company of Christian Doctrine, gathering around himself a group of young men with whom, on Sept. 1, 1574, he founded the Congregation of Reformed Priests of the Blessed Virgin, subsequently called the Order of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. He recommended to his disciples to have "before the mind's eye only the honor, service and glory of Christ Jesus Crucified," and, like a good pharmacist, accustomed to giving out potions according to careful measurements, he would add: "Raise your hearts to God a bit more and measure things with him."

Moved by apostolic zeal, in May 1605 he sent newly elected Pope Paul V a report in which he suggested the criteria for a genuine renewal of the Church. Observing how it is "necessary that those who aspire to the reform of men's practices must seek especially, and firstly, the glory of God," he added that they should stand out "for their integrity of life and excellence of customs thus, rather than constraining, they gently draw one to reform." Moreover, he observed that "whoever wishes to carry out a serious moral and religious reform must make first of all, like a good doctor, a careful diagnosis of the evils that beset the Church so as to be able to prescribe for each of them the most appropriate remedy." And he noted that "the renewal of the Church must be confirmed as much in leaders as in followers, high and low. It must begin from those who command and be extended to the subjects."

It was because of this that, while soliciting the Pope to promote a "universal reform of the Church," he was concerned with the Christian formation of the people, especially of the young, educating them "from their early years ... in the purity of the Christian faith and in holy practices."

Dear brothers and sisters, the luminous figure of this saint invites priests, in the first place, and all Christians, to tend constantly to the "high measure of the Christian life," which is sanctity -- each, of course, according to his own state. In fact, only from fidelity to Christ can genuine ecclesial renewal spring.

In those years, in the cultural and social passage between the 16th and 17th century, the premises of the future contemporary culture began to be delineated, characterized by an undue separation of faith and reason. This has produced among its negative effects the marginalization of God, with the illusion of a possible and total autonomy of man who chooses to live "as if God did not exist." This is the crisis of modern thought, which many times I have had the opportunity to point out and which often leads to a form of relativism.

John Leonardi intuited what the real medicine was for these spiritual evils and he synthesized it in the expression: "Christ first of all," Christ in the center of the heart, in the center of history and of the cosmos. And humanity -- he affirmed forcefully -- needs Christ intensely, because he is our "measure." There is no realm that cannot be touched by his strength; there is no evil that cannot find remedy in him, there is no problem that cannot be solved in him. "Either Christ or nothing!" Here is his prescription for every type of spiritual and social reform.

There is another aspect of the spirituality of St. John Leonardi that I would like to highlight. In many circumstances he had to confirm that a living encounter with Christ is realized in his Church: holy but fragile, rooted in history and in a sometimes dark future, where wheat and weeds grow together (cf. Matthew 13:30), but, nevertheless, always the sacrament of salvation. Having a clear awareness that the Church is the field of God (cf. Matthew 13:24), he was not scandalized by her human weaknesses. To oppose the weeds he chose to be good wheat: He decided, that is, to love Christ in the Church and to contribute to render her an ever more transparent sign of him.

He saw the Church with great realism, her human frailty, but also her being "God's field," the instrument of God for the salvation of humanity. And not only this. For love of Christ he worked with alacrity to purify the Church, to render her more beautiful and holy. He understood that every reform is made within the Church and never against the Church.

In this, St. John Leonardi was truly extraordinary and his example is always timely. Every reform certainly involves structures, but in the first place it must be engraved in the hearts of believers. Only the saints, men and women who allow themselves to be guided by the divine Spirit, ready to carry out radical and courageous choices in the light of the Gospel, renew the Church and contribute, in a decisive way, to building a better world.

Dear brothers and sisters, St. John Leonardi's existence was always enlightened by the splendor of the "Holy Face" of Jesus, kept and venerated in the Cathedral Church of Lucca, becoming the eloquent symbol and the indisputable synthesis of the faith that animated him. Conquered by Christ like the Apostle Paul, he pointed out to his disciples, and continues to point out to all of us, the Christocentric ideal for which "it is necessary to divest oneself of every self interest and only look to the service of God," having "before the mind's eye only the honor, service and glory of Christ Jesus Crucified."

Along with the face of Christ, he fixed his gaze on the maternal face of Mary. She whom he chose patroness of his order, was for him teacher, sister and mother, and he felt her constant protection. May the example and intercession of this "fascinating man of God" be, particularly in this Year for Priests, a call and encouragement for priests and for all Christians to live their own vocations with passion and enthusiasm. [Translation by ZENIT]

[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This week marks the four hundreth anniversary of the death of Saint John Leonardi, the founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God and a priest whose missionary zeal found expression in the establishment of the congregation of Propoganda Fide. Saint John was born near Lucca, and after training as a pharmacist, became a priest committed to offering "the medicine of God" to the men and women of his time. At a period of great reform and renewal in the life of the Church, he made the crucified Christ the centre of his preaching and the criterion of all his activity. John understood that all true reform is born of fidelity to Christ and love for the Church. It was love for Christ which inspired his efforts to catechize the young, to promote missionary activity and to renew Christian life and practice. Saint John was convinced that Christ is the true measure of man, and so he worked with great realism and zeal to promote holiness and the reform of society. During this Year for Priests, may the figure of this great missionary inspire priests and laity alike to "start anew from Christ" and embrace their vocation with passionate enthusiasm.

I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors at today’s Audience, including the Sisters and friends of the Congregation of Jesus and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of their foundation by Mary Ward. My particular greetings go to the groups of faithful from Iraq, from the Archdiocese of Samoa-Apia, and to the Diaconate ordination candidates from the Pontifical North American College accompanied by their families and friends. Upon all of you I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace! © Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vatican

Pontiff Notes Saint's Light in Trying Times VATICAN CITY, OCT. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).-
Cardinal, Clerks Regular Remember Giovanni Leonardi
St. Giovanni Leonardi made the light of Christ shine in difficult times, Benedict XVI said in a message read today at a Mass to mark the 400th anniversary of the founder's death. The Mass today in St. Peter's Basilica was celebrated by Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

St. Giovanni Leonardi founded the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. He is also the patron of pharmacists. The Pope reflected on his teaching and role during the general audience two weeks ago. The papal message was addressed to Father Francesco Petrillo, rector general of the order.

“St. Giovanni Leonardi shines in the firmament of the saints like a beacon of generous fidelity to Christ,” the Pontiff wrote, according to a Vatican Radio report. The message noted that in a society that was “convulsed” like that at the turn of the 17th century, the saint “struggled so that the light of Christ would shine again among his contemporaries and they would feel the warmth of God’s merciful love.”

Cardinal Dias repeated this point in his homily, saying that Leonardi, “with his luminous life, brought God back to men.”

“His whole life,” the prelate said, “has the seal of the uncontainable and untiring love for the glory of Christ. His missionary zeal was not merely geographic […] but had to be capable of transforming every gesture, every effort, every bit of time and energy into something missionary, and for one single and supreme interest: Christ and Christ crucified.”

St. Giovanni Leonardi, the cardinal said as the Church marks today's World Mission Sunday, wanted an entirely missionary Church, “without the interference of political or administrative patronage,” but intimately directed toward man.

At the close of his customary Sunday recitation of the Angelus, the Pope greeted the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, who had come for the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of St. Giovanni Leonardi’s death, along with the students of the Colleges of the Propaganda Fidei and representatives of pharmacists, who have the saint as their patron, calling on them “to follow him on the path of holiness and to imitate his missionary zeal.”

Saturday, October 08, 2011 St. John Leonardi
(1541?-1609)
"I am only one person! Why should I do anything? What good would it do?" Today, as in any age, people seem plagued with the dilemma of getting involved. In his own way John Leonardi answered these questions. He chose to become a priest.
After his ordination, he became very active in the works of the ministry, especially in hospitals and prisons. The example and dedication of his work attracted several young laymen who began to assist him. They later became priests themselves.

John lived after the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. He and his followers projected a new congregation of diocesan priests. For some reason the plan, which was ultimately approved, provoked great political opposition. John was exiled from his home town of Lucca, Italy, for almost the entire remainder of his life. He received encouragement and help from St. Philip Neri [whose feast is May 26], who gave him his lodgings—along with the care of his cat!

In 1579, John formed the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and published a compendium of Christian doctrine that remained in use until the 19th century. Father Leonardi and his priests became a great power for good in Italy, and their congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement in 1595. He died at the age of 68 from a disease caught when tending those stricken by the plague. By the deliberate policy of the founder, the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God have never had more than 15 churches and today form only a very small congregation.

Comment: What can one person do? If you ever glanced through a Christopher Notes pamphlet you know—plenty! In the life of each saint one thing stands clear: God and one person are a majority! What one individual, following God's will and plan for his or her life, can do is more than our mind could ever hope for or imagine. Each of us, like John Leonardi, has a mission to fulfill in God's plan for the world. Each one of us is unique and has been given talent to use for the service of our brothers and sisters for the building up of God's kingdom.
Quote: "Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy" (Luke 12:32-33).

1934 Blessed Cyril Bertrand Tejedor and seven other Brothers
Spain in the 1930s produced not only many an anti-Christian villain but many a Christian hero. Among the latter were' Blessed Cyril Bertrand Tejedor and seven other Brothers of the Christian Schools and with them their chaplain, Fr. Innocencio Amau, a Passionist priest: all were martyred at Turon in northern Spain in 1934.
Brother Cyril Bertrand was a native of Lerma born in the Spanish diocese of Burgos, in March 1888. Baptized Jose Sanz Tejedor, he took the religious name of Brother Cyril Bertrand in 1907 when he entered the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the well-known teaching brotherhood founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle.
At the end of his training, Cyril was appointed to teach in a very difficult school. Observing the counsels given by de la Salle in his book The Conduct of Schools, Br. Cyril achieved by patience and fortitude a genuine skill in the classroom. That skill he took with him to a number of other schools, and when these schools were closed by the civil authorities because operated by religious, he was appointed superior of the Brothers' school at Santander. During the six years he spent at Santander, the school achieved such a good reputation that many pupils in other schools transferred there, hoping that Brother Cyril might become their teacher.
In 1933 Brother Cyril Bertrand's abilities were given the acid test. He was invited to take over a school at Turon in the Asturias region. The Brothers conducted 14 schools in the Asturias. That at Turon was attended largely by the sons of local miners who, like the industrialists of the area, were in those days highly politicized. Within a few months after his arrival at Turon, Tejedor made a 30-days retreat, in which he placed himself totally in God's hands.
He had good reason to commit himself totally to God. In 1931, when the Spanish monarchy was replaced by the Second Republic, there had been an upsurge of political and social unrest in the Asturias. Several left-wing parties supporting the Republic had combined to introduce anticlerical legislation, intent particularly on wresting from the Church its control of education. In the elections of 1933, however, rightist parties won out. Would the monarchy now be restored? Not so swore the leftists. They launched a local rebellion on October 4, 1934. The revolt lasted only 15 days, but it took heavy military force to suppress, and during that fortnight over a thousand people were killed and thousands more wounded.
It was on the second hectic day of this rebellion, October 5, a First Friday, that the anticlerical insurgents arrested Brother Cyril and the seven others, along with their Passionist chaplain. They were jailed along with other religious, with local priests, and a number of civic leaders. On October 9, early in the morning, the eight Brothers and the chaplain and two officers of the government forces were led out to the cemetery and told that they were to die. A large pit had been opened in the middle of the graveyard. The victims were lined up on its edge and shot to death; their bodies fell into this common grave.
The rebel leader who ordered the execution, long afterward recalled, "The Brothers and the priest quietly listened to the sentence and then walked to the center of the cemetery at a leisurely yet firm pace. They knew where they were going and went like lambs to the slaughter. It was so impressive that I, hardened as I am, could not help being moved.... I think that while walking, and while waiting at the gate, they prayed in a subdued voice."
The seven Brothers who died with Cyril were young men. Marciano Jose was a non-teaching brother, owing to deafness and health problems;. Vittoriano Pio, an able musician, had been at Turon only 20 days; Julian Alfredo had been assigned there because of his known strength of character; Benjamino Julian, because of his good judgment and his sense of joy. Oldest of the men was the Passionist Fr. Innocencio. He just happened to be at the house on the day of the arrest because he had come there on October 4 to hear the Brothers' confessions for First Friday.
The Passionist and the eight teaching brothers were not the only victims of this anticlerical revolt. There were also ton diocesan priests, two other Passionists, three Vincentians, two Jesuits, a Carmelite, and six seminarians. They, too, had not known the day nor the hour when they would be tested for their faith. But the Brothers of the Christian Schools were appropriately beatified in a special group in 1990.--Father Robert F. McNamara.

1890 Blessed John Henry Newman; Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman on September 19, 2010, at Crofton Park (near Birmingham). The pope noted Newman's emphasis on the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society but also praised his pastoral zeal for the sick, the poor, the bereaved and those in prison.
(1801-1890)
John Henry Newman, the 19th century's most important English-speaking Roman Catholic theologian, spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. He was a priest, popular preacher, writer and eminent theologian in both Churches. Born in London, England, he studied at Oxford's Trinity College, was a tutor at Oriel College and for 17 years was vicar of the university church, St. Mary the Virgin. He eventually published eight volumes of Parochial and Plain Sermons as well as two novels. His poem, "Dream of Gerontius," was set to music by Sir Edward Elgar.

After 1833, Newman was a prominent member of the Oxford Movement, which emphasized the Church's debt to the Church Fathers and challenged any tendency to consider truth as completely subjective.

Historical research made Newman suspect that the Roman Catholic Church was in closest continuity with the Church that Jesus established. In 1845, he was received into full communion as a Catholic. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome and joined the Congregation of the Oratory, founded three centuries earlier by St. Philip Neri. Returning to England, Newman founded Oratory houses in Birmingham and London and for seven years served as rector of the Catholic University of Ireland.

Before Newman, Catholic theology tended to ignore history, preferring instead to draw deductions from first principles—much as plane geometry does. After Newman, the lived experience of believers was recognized as a key part of theological reflection.

Newman eventually wrote 40 books and 21,000 letters that survive. Most famous are his book-length Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine, Apologia Pro Vita Sua (his spiritual autobiography up to 1864) and Essay on the Grammar of Assent. He accepted Vatican I's teaching on papal infallibility while noting its limits, which many people who favored that definition were reluctant to do.
When Newman was named a cardinal in 1879, he took as his motto "Cor ad cor loquitur" (Heart speaks to heart). He was buried in Rednal (near Birmingham) 11 years later. After his grave was exhumed in 2008, a new tomb was prepared at the Oratory church in Birmingham. Three years after Newman died, a Newman Club for Catholic students began at the University of Pittsburgh. In time, his name was linked to ministry centers at many public and private colleges and universities in the United States.

Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman on September 19, 2010, at Crofton Park (near Birmingham). The pope noted Newman's emphasis on the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society but also praised his pastoral zeal for the sick, the poor, the bereaved and those in prison.

Comment: John Henry Newman has been called the "absent Father of Vatican II" because his writings on conscience, religious liberty, Scripture, the vocation of lay people, the relation of Church and State, and other topics were extremely influential in the shaping of the Council's documents. Although Newman was not always understood or appreciated, he steadfastly preached the Good News by word and example. Quote: Newman composed this prayer: "God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.

"I have a mission; I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons; He has not created me for naught.
"I shall do good—I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace while not intending it if I do but keep his commandments. Therefore, I will trust him."

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

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 90

Deliver me, O Lady, from all evil: and from the infernal enemy defend me.

Against me he hath drawn his bow: and in his craftiness he hath laid snares for me.

Restrain his evil power: and powerfully crush his craft.

Turn back his iniquity on his own head: and let him speedily fall into the pit which he hath made.

But we will rejoice in thy service: and we will glory in thy praise.

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

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

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

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

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

There are over 10,000 named saints beati from history
and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Patron_Saints.html Widowed_Saints html Indulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East Lourdes 1858 China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine Loreto, Italy Marian Apparitions (over 2000) Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related MarianWebsites Angels and Archangels Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell
Widowed Saints html
Doctors_of_the_Church Acts_Of_The_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates Chalcedon

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

The great psalm of the Passion, Chapter 22, whose first verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus pronounced on the cross, ended with the vision: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him” For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here} 2000 years of the Catholic Church in China
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos Practical Guide to Holiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meeting of the Saints walis (saints of Allah)

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

So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life. But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat Nizamuddi n Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA) 1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life.

801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions. Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq. She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186). Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186). She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching. As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director. She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222). A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid. The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind. She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca: "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God. She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker. Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219). During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?' I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them. I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me? Is it not God Who wills it? When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will? It is not well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic. It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187). She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world. A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill. Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?" (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold. She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him. And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance. She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did. For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself. The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other. When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from. "From that other world," she said. "And where are you going?" she was asked. "To that other world," she replied (219). She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end. Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love. In this quest, logic and reason were powerless. Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition. Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved. Through this communion, she could discover His will for her. Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul." [224]

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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey

Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament

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

Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 14 years Lover of the poor; “A very Holy Man of God.”

Monsignor Reardon Protonotarius Apostolicus
Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis MN

America's First Basilica Largest Nave in the World

August 7, 1907-ground broke for the foundation

by Archbishop Ireland-laying cornerstone May 31, 1908

James M. Reardon Publication History of Basilica of Saint Mary 1600-1932

Index to Part I and Part II 1932

James M. Reardon Publication History of the Basilica of Saint Mary 1955 {update}

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement 1362-1950 (1952);
The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922; (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;

James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872; Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;

Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.

Affiliations and Indulgences Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here. Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon

Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.

The only replicas ever made: in order from west to east {1932}.

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

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

THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi.

June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.

By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi.

June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.

By Father John Corapi

Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

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

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

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

Talk is weak. Prayer is strong. Pray! God bless you, Father John Corapi

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

About Father John Corapi.

Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .

The pillars of father's preaching are basically:

Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary
Leading a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ
Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church

God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi

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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.

Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”

Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.

Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.

Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.

Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.

Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.

Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”

Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.

Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.

Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.

Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.

Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

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

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

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

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

Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

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

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

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

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

October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

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

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).

March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

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

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

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

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

LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000) India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related Marian Websites Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates, 90 2023