sancti Zacharíæ Prophetæ In Palæstina , qui, de Chaldæa senex in pátriam revérsus, ibique defunctus, juxta Aggæum Prophétam conditus jacet.
In Palestine, the prophet Zachary, who returned in his old age from Chaldea to his own country, and lies buried near the prophet Aggeus.

1st v. Archangel Michael at Colossus, later called Chone The miracle performed by

The Miracle of the Holy Chief Commander Archangel Michael at Colossae. In Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Cheretopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, built over a miraculous spring.

This church was built by a certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicia in gratitude to God for healing his mute daughter. The holy Chief Commander Michael appeared to this man in a dream and revealed to him that his daughter would receive the gift of speech after drinking from the water of the spring. The girl actually did receive healing and began to speak. After this miracle, the father and his daughter and all their family were baptized. In fervent gratitude, the father built the church in honor of the holy Chief Commander Michael. Not only did Christians begin to come to the spring for healing, but also pagans. In so doing, many of the pagans turned from their idols and were converted to the faith in Christ.

At this church of the holy Chief Commander Michael, a certain pious man by the name of Archippus served for sixty years as church custodian. By his preaching and by the example of his saintly life he brought many pagans to faith in Christ. With the general malice of that time towards Christians, and especially against Archippus, the pagans thought to destroy the church in order to prevent people from coming to that holy place of healing, and at the same time kill Archippus.

Toward this end they made a confluence of the Lykokaperos and Kufos Rivers and directed its combined flow against the church. St Archippus prayed fervently to the Chief Commander Michael to ward off the danger. Through his prayer the Archangel Michael appeared at the temple, and with a blow of his staff, opened a wide fissure in a rock and commanded the rushing torrents of water to flow into it. The temple remained unharmed. Seeing such an awesome miracle, the pagans fled in terror. Archippus and the Christians gathered in church glorified God and gave thanks to the holy Archangel Michael for the help. The place where the rivers plunged into the fissure received the name "Chonae", which means "plunging."

The Chudov ("of the Miracle") monastery in Moscow is named for this Feast.

6 September - The miracle is the springs which St. Michael is said to have drawn from the rock at Colossae (later called Chonae, the present Khonas, on the Lycus). The pagans directed a stream against the sanctuary of St. Michael to destroy it, but the archangel split the rock by lightning to give a new bed to the stream, and sanctified forever the waters which came from the gorge.
The Greeks claim that this apparition took place about the middle of the first century and celebrate a feast in commemoration of it. {MELKITE}
Troparion of the Angels (tone 4) Captains and Leaders of the armies of heaven, unworthy as we are, we beseech you without cease to surround us with your intercessions and cover us beneath the shelter of the glory of your ethereal wings. We bend our knees and cry out with perseverance, "Deliver us from danger, O Princes of the Powers on high!"
Exapostilarion of the Holy Archangel Michael Radiantly reflecting illuminations of great brightness of the Trinity, O Archangel, you pass like lightning across the whole creation,fulfilling the divine commands, and guarding, preserving and protecting those who joyfully sing your praises. Pray that St Michael and all angels will intercede with God for our protection and salvation.

Verklärung des Herrn Calixtus III. hat 1457 den 6. August für die ganze römische Kirche festgelegt.
Alle Kirchen: 6. August
Die Verklärung Jesu (Mark. 9, 2 ff./Mattth. 17, 1 ff./Luk. 8, 28 ff) dient schon im 2. Petrusbrief (1, 16 ff.) als Begründung des Apostelamtes. Der Ort der Verklärung wird in der Bibel nicht genannt. Petrus spricht vom heiligen Berg, so dass sich schon um 35o die Auffassung durchsetzt, es könne sich nur um den Berg Tabor in Galiläa gehandelt haben. Auf dem Tabor standen schon vor der Landnahme durch Israel kanaanäische Heiligtümer.

Im 6. Jahrhundert wurde auf dem Tabor eine große Basilika gebaut. Unter den Kreuzfahrern wurde das Bergplateau in einen griechischen und einen lateinischen Bereich aufgeteilt. Auch heute stehen nach der Zerstörung der alten Kirchen auf dem Tabor eine orthodoxe und eine katholische Kirche. Der Tag der Verklärung wurde in der Ostkirche schon im 4. Jahrhundert am 6. August begangen. In Spanien wurde das Datum im 9. Jahrhundert übernommen. Calixtus III. hat 1457 den 6. August für die ganze römische Kirche festgelegt .

St. Eutychus The Departure of ; disciple of St. John the Evangelist; St. Paul raised him with his prayers. (Acts 20:9) {COPTIC}
On this day, St. Eutychus, the disciple of St. John the Evangelist, departed. After he spent some time with the apostle, Eutychus asked for his permission to go to St. Paul, the Apostle, and St. John allowed him. He went to St. Paul and preached the Name of Christ with him, and returned many of the Jews and the pagans to the Lord Christ and baptized them. He converted temples of idols to churches, and he endured tribulations, imprisonment, and beatings for many days. He was cast in the fire, but he was not harmed, and was cast to the lions, which did not harm him but rather became friendly towards him. He went to Sebastia and preached there, and the angel of the Lord was with him and strengthened him.

It was said, that this saint was the young man who sat in a window and "was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead," and St. Paul raised him with his prayers. (Acts 20:9) May his blessings be with us. Amen .

St. Pishay (Abshai), the Antiochian Martyrdom of {COPTIC}

On this day also, St. Pishay (Abshai), the brother of St. Bahor (Abba Hor - St. Hour), was martyred. He was from the city of Antioch, and because of his piety and knowledge, he was ordained a priest. When his brother, Abba Hour, and his mother went to Alexandria, they were martyred on the 29th day of Baounah. This saint gave all his possessions to the poor and the needy, and came to Alexandria to be blessed by their bodies. When he saw the two bodies, he wept much, then went to the governor and confessed the Lord Christ before him. The governor tortured him much until he delivered up his pure soul. The governor ordered his body burned along with the bodies of his brother and his mother, and the bodies of other martyrs, eighty-eight in number.
Certain believers came and took the bodies of Sts. Pishay, Abba Hour, their mother, and the bodies of Sts. Tabamoun (Damon), of the city of Danbak (Debkeya), Abimachus (Bimakos), from the city of El-Baramon, and Barashenoufah (Wursunufa), of the city of Teliah (Tuluya), and carried them to the city of Ansabashy (Ablasi), where the believers received them with great reverence.

May their prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen .

Arapet {"Arabian"} Theotokos Icon appeared while Apostle Thomas evangelizing Ethiopia, Arabia, and India.
The Arapet, or "Arabian" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared while the holy Apostle Thomas (October 6) was evangelizing Ethiopia, Arabia, and India.

Instead of the usual three stars (signifying the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God), the outer garment of the Theotokos has three circles with the head of an angel inside each one. In this feature, it resembles the icons "In Giving Birth you Preserved your Virginity" ("A Virgin Before and After Giving Birth") (October 17) and "O All-Hymned Mother" (October 6) .

1st v. Saint Archippus (Greek for "master of the horse") the saint at Colossae, son of devout Christians from the city of Hieropolis; He persuaded many pagans who came to the holy spring to accept holy Baptism, to forsake pagan impiety, and to turn to the One True God and Savior Jesus Christ
At age ten went to pray in the church of the holy Chief Commander Michael and he remained at this temple to serve as church caretaker.

He led a strict and ascetic manner of life, constantly at fasting and prayer.

He persuaded many pagans who came to the holy spring to accept holy Baptism, to forsake pagan impiety, and turn to the One True God and Savior Jesus Christ. Tenacious pagans headed by idolous priests repeatedly tried to kill St Archippus, but each time the Lord delivered him out of their hands.
Finally, the pagans devised a plan to destroy the church and at the same time kill also Archippus by flooding the spot where both the church and the curative spring stood. Seeing the preparations for this wicked deed, St Archippus firmly resolved not to abandon the holy place, and he prayed to God and to the Archangel Michael to preserve the church and the spring. The Lord heard his prayer, and the saint witnessed the great Miracle of the Chief Commander Michael at Colossae. Miraculously delivered from death, St Archippus lived at the church into his old age, and he died peacefully at the age of 70. Christians buried the saint at Colossae, at the place of his deeds.

81 St. Onesiphorus, disciple of the apostles Martyr with Porphyrius St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy
In Hellespónto sancti Onesíphori, Apostolórum discípuli, cujus méminit sanctus Paulus ad Timótheum scribens. Ipse autem Onesíphorus ibídem, una cum sancto Porphyrio, jussu Hadriáni Procónsulis ácriter verberátus et a ferócibus raptátus equis, spíritum Deo réddidit.
In the Hellespont, St. Onesiphorus, disciple of the apostles, of whom St. Paul speaks in his Letter to Timothy. He was severely scourged with St. Porphyry, by order of the proconsul Adrian, and being dragged by wild horses, gave up his soul unto God.
Onesiphorus was mentioned in St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. According to tradition, they went to Spain in the footsteps of St. Paul and then suffered martyrdom on the Hellespont, under Emperor Domitian. They were tied to wild horses and torn to pieces. Porphyrius was said to be a member of Onesiphorus’ household.

98-117 Romulus reproached the emperor for his impiety and the sheer folly to diminish the army's strength during a time of war
He lived during the reign of the emperor Trajan (98-117) and was a confidant of the emperor by virtue of his office of military commander. While the emperor was waging war in the East to put down the uprisings of various peoples against the Romans, the Iberians, the Sarmatians, the Arabs.

In the year 107, and again a second time in 115, the emperor conducted a review of the military strength of his army, and found in his troops upwards of 11,000 Christians. Trajan immediately sent these Christians into exile in Armenia in disgrace. St Romulus, in view of this, reproached the emperor for his impiety and the sheer folly to diminish the army's strength during a time of war. St Romulus, moreover, acknowledged that he himself was a Christian. The enraged Trajan had the holy martyr subjected to a merciless beating, after which St Romulus was beheaded.
The Christian soldiers sent into exile in Armenia were killed by various forms of execution .

St. Cottidus, Eugene deacon, & Companions Cappadocian martyr
In Cappadócia sanctórum Mártyrum Cóttidi Diáconi, Eugénii et Sociórum.
In Cappadocia, the holy martyrs Cottidus, deacon, Eugene, and their companions.
Cottidus is described as a deacon. Nothing else other than his martyrdom is known.
Cottidus, Eugene and Companions MM (RM). Saint Cottidus, a deacon, and some companions were martyred in Cappadocia, however little is known about them because their acta have been lost (Benedictines).

Eve M "Patron of the town of Dreux, she was martyred"
(Encyclopedia).

250 St. Faustus, a priest, Macarius, and ten companions, who received the martyr's crown by being beheaded for the name of Christ.
Alexandríæ pássio sanctórum Mártyrum Fausti Presbyteri, Macárii et Sociórum decem; qui, sub Décio Imperatóre et Valério Præside, pro Christi nómine, abscíssis cervícibus, martyrium complevérunt.
At Alexandria, in the time of Emperor Decius and the governor Valerius, the holy martyrs Faustus, a priest, Macarius, and ten companions, who received the martyr's crown by being beheaded for the name of Christ.
The Martyrs Cyriacus, Faustus the Presbyter, (Habib) Abibas the Deacon, and eleven other martyrs suffered martyrdom for Christ at Alexandria under the emperor Decius (249-251). During the persecution, they all steadfastly confessed themselves as Christians before the governor Valerius. They were beheaded by the sword, about the year 250. Their bodies were buried by Christians in Alexandria.

beheaded at Macarius, with ten other martyrs. They suffered in Alexandria, Egypt.
Faustus, Macarius and Companions MM (RM). Twelve martyrs beheaded at Alexandria, Egypt, under Decius (Benedictines) .

273 Augustine, Sanctian, and Beata martyred at Sens and where they are still venerated MM (AC)
This trio of saints fled from their home in Spain during a persecution to Gaul, where they were martyred at Sens and where they are still venerated (Benedictines).

Eudoxius a military commander in the imperial armies, Zeno friend, house steward Macarius and their Companions received a martyric death for Christ
under the emperor Maximian Galerius, the successor of the emperor Diocletian.

St Eudoxius held the high position of a military commander in the imperial armies. He was a Christian, as were his friend Zeno and his house steward Macarius. After the emperor Diocletian issued an edict that Christians who refused to offer sacrifice to idols were to be put to death, many people fled to various lands with their families to avoid torture and death. At this time St Eudoxius resigned his high position, and with his wife St Basilissa and all their family abandoned their property and went into hiding in the region of Armenian Melitene.

The governor of Melitene sent soldiers to search for Eudoxius. When they found Eudoxius, he was attired in white garb. Not recognising him, the soldiers began to question whether a certain military commander Eudoxius had come into these parts. Not revealing who he was, the saint invited the soldiers into his home, fed them and gave them lodging for the night. St Eudoxius considered his encounter with the soldiers as a sign from the Lord of his impending death by martyrdom. In the morning, he disclosed to his guests that he was the one whom they were seeking. In gratitude for the hospitality, the soldiers offered to conceal from the authorities that they had found St Eudoxius. However, the saint would not consent to this. Setting his affairs in order, he told his wife not to weep for him, but on the contrary to celebrate the day of his martyric death. Donning his military garb, he went with the soldiers to the governor. St Basilissa and his friends Sts Zeno and Macarius followed after St Eudoxius.

The governor tried to persuade St Eudoxius to offer sacrifice to the idols and by this safeguard his life, exalted rank and property. St Eudoxius firmly refused, denouncing the folly of anyone who would worship soulless idols. He removed his soldier's belt, the emblem of his authority, and threw it in the governor's face. Soldiers present at this, secret Christians, did the same thing, and they numbered more than a thousand men. The embarrassed governor asked the emperor what he should do. He was ordered to try the ringleaders and set the others free. After prolonged tortures, they led St Eudoxius forth to execution. Following after her husband, St Basilissa wept, and his friend St Zeno also wept for the martyr. St Eudoxius again urged his wife not to mourn him, but rather to rejoice that he was worthy of the crown of martyrdom. He asked that she bury his body in a place called Amimos.

To his weeping friend St Zeno St Eudoxius predicted that they would enter the Kingdom of Heaven at the same time. Emboldened by these words, Zeno loudly declared himself a Christian, for which he was immediately sentenced to death.
Later, St Basilissa took her husband's body without hindrance, and buried it in the place where he had requested. After this, they arrested the saint and led her before the governor. Desiring to share the fate of her husband, she fearlessly denounced both the governor and his false gods, the idols. The governor, however, saw her intent and would not torture her, but instead sent her away. As she left, the saint said to him that God would see her intention to suffer for her faith and would accept this intent as an accomplished deed.

Seven days later, St Eudoxius appeared to his wife in a vision and bade her to inform his friend and house steward Macarius, that both he and St Zeno awaited the arrival of Macarius. Macarius immediately went to the governor and declared himself a Christian, for which he was sentenced to death and beheaded. Many Christians also suffered martyrdom during this time.

284-305 Cyril, Bishop of Gortyna One night the saint heard a voice commanding him to go to Rome; In the morning the doors of the prison were open, and the idols overthrown and destroyed. On the road to Rome St Cyril had a vision: St Philoxenos appeared and said that he would receive two crowns, one of a hierarch and the other of a martyr; a vision and received a command not to neglect Crete.

St Cyril is commemorated on June 14 on the Greek calendar.

The Hieromartyr lived during the time of the emperor Diocletian and his co-emperor Maximian (284-305). As a Christian he was brought to trial before the governor Agrippina and after interrogation he was thrown into prison. One night the saint heard a voice commanding him to go to Rome. In the morning the doors of the prison were open, and the idols overthrown and destroyed. On the road to Rome St Cyril had a vision: St Philoxenos appeared and said that he would receive two crowns, one of a hierarch and the other of a martyr.
At Rome, St Cyril rendered great help to the Church by his preaching. When a persecution against Christians started up, St Cyril went to Jerusalem to encourage the Christians living there. Along the way he had a vision and received a command not to neglect Crete.
When he arrived there, St Cyril was chosen bishop of the city of Gortyna. He was then 60. Still on the episcopal throne of Gortyna at 95, St Cyril was brought to trial at the start of a new persecution against Christians and sentenced to death. He was beheaded with the sword in the vicinity of Raukos at the beginning of the fourth century.

450 Verónæ sancti Petrónii, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
Verónæ sancti Petrónii, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
At Verona, St. Peronius, bishop and confessor.
He was especially known for his care of the poor.

460 St. Arator The fourth bishop of Verdun, France

484 St. Donatian Martyr with Fusculus, Germanus, Laetus
In Africa sanctórum Episcopórum Donatiáni, Præsidii, Mansuéti, Germáni et Fúsculi; qui, in persecutióne Wandálica, jussu Ariáni Regis Hunneríci, pro assertióne cathólicæ veritátis, fústibus diríssime cæsi et exsílio elimináti sunt. Inter eos étiam erat Epíscopus, nómine Lætus, strénuus atque doctíssimus vir, qui, post diutúrnos cárceris squalóres, incéndio concremátus est.
In Africa, in the persecution of the Vandals, the holy bishops Donatian, Praesidius, Mansuetus, Germanus, and Fusculus, who were most cruelly scourged and sent into exile by order of the Arian king Hunneric, because they proclaimed the Catholic truth. Among them was one named Laetus, also a bishop, a courageous and very learned man, who was burned alive after a long imprisonment in a loathsome dungeon.

484 Donatian, Laetus and Others, Bishops And Martyrs
In the year 484 the Arian king of the Vandals, Huneric, ordered that all the Catholic churches of Africa were to be closed and the goods of the clergy to be taken from them and given to the Arian clergy; the bishops, in particular, who had assembled at the royal command were turned out of the city. Outside of the gates Huneric met a party of them, who appealed against his injustice and cruelty. "Ride them down!" he said to his mounted followers, and that was all the answer he gave. St Donatian with four others, all bishops in the province of Byzacene, were cruelly beaten, and then driven into the desert, and died of hunger, thirst and exposure.
St Laetus, Bishop of Leptis Minor, whom the Roman Martyrology calls "a zealous and very learned man", had made himself particularly obnoxious to Huneric by his opposition to Arianism. He was thrown into a filthy dungeon, from which he only emerged to be burnt alive, one of the first martyrs of the persecution.

The feast of these martyrs, with St Laetus in chief, is kept by the Canons Regular of the Lateran.

See the Acta Sanctorum September, vol. ii, where we are referred to the Historia pesecutionis provinciae Africana by Victor of Vita, but it is difficult to identify the particular names set down in the martyrology.

Mansuetus, and Praesidius, all bishops of northern Africa. They all opposed the closing of churches by Arian King Hunneric of Vandals. After torture, these bishops were abandoned in a desert, where they died of exposure. Laetus was burned to death

5th v. Donatian, Laetus, and Companions driven from North Africa by the Arian King Huneric of the Vandals BM (RM)
In Africa sanctórum Episcopórum Donatiáni, Præsidii, Mansuéti, Germáni et Fúsculi; qui, in persecutióne Wandálica, jussu Ariáni Regis Hunneríci, pro assertióne cathólicæ veritátis, fústibus diríssime cæsi et exsílio elimináti sunt. Inter eos étiam erat Epíscopus, nómine Lætus, strénuus atque doctíssimus vir, qui, post diutúrnos cárceris squalóres, incéndio concremátus est.
In Africa, in the persecution of the Vandals, the holy bishops Donatian, Praesidius, Mansuetus, Germanus, and Fusculus, who were most cruelly scourged and sent into exile by order of the Arian king Hunneric, because they proclaimed the Catholic truth. Among them was one named Laetus, also a bishop, a courageous and very learned man, who was burned alive after a long imprisonment in a loathsome dungeon.
Donatian, Praesidius, Mansuetus, Germanus, Fusculus and Laetus were among the more prominent Catholics driven from North Africa by the Arian King Huneric of the Vandals. Victor of Utica gives an account of them in his history of the persecution. It is said that 5,000 Catholics were exiled in a single year (Benedictines).

497 Maccallin of Lusk B (AC)
(also known as Maccallan, Macculin, Macoulmdus)
The Irish Calendar commemorates Saint Maccallin, bishop of Lusk, who is also venerated in Scotland which he once visited (Benedictines, Husenbeth).

585-590 Eleutherius of Spoleto, OSB Abbot one favored by God with the gift of miracles (RM)
Romæ sancti Eleuthérii Abbátis, qui Dei servus fuit, atque (ut sanctus Gregórius Papa scribit) oratióne et lácrimis mórtuum suscitávit.
At Rome, the holy abbot Eleutherius, a servant of God, who, according to the testimony of Pope St. Gregory, raised a dead man to life by his prayers and tears.
Died in Rome, Italy. The Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great tell us of the wonderful simplicity of this holy man, who was abbot of Saint Mark's near Spoleto and well-known as one favored by God with the gift of miracles. When Eleutherius proudly rebuked the devil, after delivering a child from possession and educating him at Saint Mark's: "Since the child, is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him," the devil again tormented the boy. Eleutherius confessed his vanity and ordered the whole community to fast and pray until the child was again freed.

Later Saint Eleutherius resigned his abbacy and migrated to Saint Andrew's abbey founded by Saint Gregory in Rome, where he lived for many years as a simple monk. One Easter Eve Saint Gregory was unable to fast due to illness. He engaged Eleutherius to go with him to the church of Saint Andrew's and offer prayers to God for his health, that he might join the faithful in that solemn practice of penance. Eleutherius prayed with many tears, and the pope coming out of the church, found himself so strengthened that he was able to fast as he desired. Saint Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. He died in Saint Andrew's monastery in Rome, but his body was translated to Spoleto (Benedictines, Husenbeth) .

6^th v. ST ELEUTHERLUS, ABBOT
“THE holy man, old father Eleutherius”, is spoken of several times in the Dialogues of St Gregory, wherein are chronicled certain miracles reported of him by his monks. He was abbot of the monastery of St Mark, near Spoleto, and once when lodging at a convent of nuns he was asked to take over the care of a boy who was nightly troubled by an evil spirit. St Eleutherius did so, and for long nothing untoward happened to the boy, so that the abbot said, “The Devil is having a game with those sisters; but now that he has to deal with the servants of God he daren’t come near the child”. As if in rebuke of a speech that certainly savoured of boasting, the boy was at once afflicted by his former trouble. Eleutherius was conscious-stricken, and said to the brethren that stood by, “None of us shall eat food to-day until this boy is dispossessed”. All felt to prayer, and did not cease until the child was cured.

One Holy Saturday St Gregory was ill and could not fast, whereat, he tells us, he was considerably disturbed. “When I found on this sacred vigil, when not only adults but even children fast, that I could not refrain from eating, I was more grieved thereby than troubled by my illness.” So he asked Eleutherius to pray for him that he might join the people in their penance, and soon by virtue of that prayer Gregory found himself enabled to abstain from food. St Eleutherius lived for many years in Gregory’s monastery at Rome, and died there.

We know practically nothing more about St Eleutherius than St Gregory tells us in his Dialogues, notably in bk 3 , ch. 33 but the story is discussed by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. ii.

Saint David of Egypt monk, former robber; received from God the power to perform miracles. He healed many of the sick and cast out evil spirits
Before his entry into a monastery was the leader of a band of bandits in Egypt, in the desert of Hermopolis. He had committed many murders and other wicked deeds. As he grew older, he contemplated his life and was filled with fear because of his past crimes. Leaving his gang of bandits, he went to the monastery intending to repent of his wickedness.

He begged the igumen to accept him as one of the brethren, but the igumen refused. He explained to David that their monastic life was very severe and would be beyond his strength. David persisted and finally, he revealed to the igumen, that he was the notorious robber David. He said that if they did not accept him, he would return to his former life, then come back and plunder the monastery and kill the monks.

Then the igumen allowed him into the monastery, and to the surprise of all, David became an excellent monk. By his severe efforts David surpassed all the monks. After a certain time the Lord sent the Archangel Gabriel to David to say that the Lord had forgiven him. St David, in his great humility, could not believe that the Lord would forgive such a great sinner as he was, in such a short time. The Archangel then said to him, that because of his doubt David would become speechless. David asked that he should be permitted to say his prayers, monastic rule and share in the church services. This was granted him, but the rest of the time he remained speechless. Towards the end of his life, St David received from God the power to perform miracles. He healed many of the sick and cast out evil spirits. Having lived in such manner for many years, he fell asleep in the Lord .

635 Bishop of Leon, France companion of St. Columban
also known as Chainoaldus and Cagnou. He was the brother of St. Faro and St. Burgundofara. Cagnoald became a monk after meeting with St. Columban. In time he became the bishop of Laon and attended the Council of Reims in 630.

633 Chainoaldus B of Laon after death of Columbanus resumed his bishopric (AC)
(also known as Cagnoald, Cagnou)

St Chainoaldus, or Cagnoald, Bishop of Laon
This saint, commonly called Cagnoald or Cagnou in France, is of interest chiefly on account of his association with St Columban, who stayed at the house of his father near Meaux, and made a deep impression on Chainoaldus and on his brother and sister, Faro and Burgundofara, who followed him in holiness. He became a monk at Luxeuil, and when St Columban was banished followed his master in all his wanderings and helped him in his preaching and ministry. The strife going on at the time between Theodebert JI of Austrasia and his brother Theoderic gave Columban an occasion to read a lesson in charity to his disciple. He dreamed one day that he saw the two brothers fighting together, and when he awoke told Chainoaldus sadly of what he had seen. "Pray then, father, that Theodebert may beat our enemy Theoderic", observed Chainoaldus, whose father was at the Austrasian court. "Not at all", replied Columban. "Such prayer would not be pleasing to God, for He tells us to pray for our enemies." Chainoaldus became bishop of Laon, was present at the Council of Rheims of the year 630, and signed the charter of the abbey of Solignac, which was founded by St Eligius while he was still a layman.

Though there is no proper life of this saint, his activities and cultus are discussed at some length in the Acta Sanctorum, September,. vol. ii. See also Duchesne, Fastes Episcopaux, vol iii, p. 139.

Saint Columbanus's monastery at Luxeuil was such a source of holiness that by the mid-seventh century it was the most important one in France. It produced a stream of saints who led the clergy and people to new height of spiritual awareness. Two of these men were brothers, Saints Faro and Cagnoald, sons of King Dagobert's chancellor. Faro became bishop of Meaux, while Cagnoald was bishop of Laon (their sister, Saint Burgundofara (April 3) founded the convent of Faremoûtiers).
When Columbanus angered King Theodoric II by criticizing his immoral life, he was banished from his realms in 610. Saint Cagnoald left his see, followed Columbanus, and worked with him as a missionary near Lake Constance. When Theodoric gained control of that area, too, they were again banished.
Yet the saints remained charitable, even to such a determined enemy. King Theodebert II of Neustria had given them refuge during the time of their missionary activities around Lake Constance. Columbanus's anxieties caused him once to dream that he saw Theodebert and Theodoric fighting. He awoke and told Cagnoald his dream. "Let us pray, then, that Theodebert may defeat our enemy Theodoric," said Cagnoald. Columbanus responded, "Certainly not. In no way would such a prayer please God. He has ordered us to pray for our enemies."
So the two men travelled on to Italy, where Saint Columbanus founded the famous Bobbio monastery. Cagnoald had not personally been banned from France, but followed his friend out of love. He returned to France after the death of Columbanus and resumed his bishopric (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley).

633 St. Chainaldus Bishop of Laon, France, and brother of Sts. Faro and Burgundofaro. Chainaldus was converted to the religious life by St. Columban in Meux, and became a monk at Luxeuil. He was St. Columban’s missionary companion, going with him into exile at Bobbio, Italy. Chainaldus became the bishop of Laon and attended the Council of Reims, France, in 630.

7th v. Bega (Bee) V received the veil from Saint Aidan s venerated in Northumbria (AC)
probably identical with the Saint Bega celebrated on October 31.
St Bega, or Bee, Virgin
In the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical History St Bede the Venerable refers to St Heiu, who, he says, was regarded as the first woman in Northumbria to become a nun and who founded a monastery at Hartlepool. This was taken over by St Hilda and Heiu went to live at Tadcaster. A little further on he makes mention of St Begu who, after being a religious for over thirty years, had in the nunnery at Hackness a vision of the departing of the soul of its foundress Hilda. St Bega (Begh, Bee) has been identified with either or both of these holy women, as was done by Leland and the Bollandists; the identification has not been confirmed but rather seems to have been disproved. She is the heroine of a legend which makes her the daughter of an Irish king, sought in marriage by a son of the king of Norway. She had, however, vowed herself a virgin to Christ, and had been given by an angel a bracelet marked with a cross as a token of her heavenly betrothal. The day before she was to be given to the prince, while her suitor and her father were revelling in the hall, she escaped with the help of this bracelet and, seated on a clod of earth, was navigated across the sea and landed safely on the coast of Cumberland. For a time she lived as an anchoress, and the sea-gulls, guillemots and gannets brought food for her sustenance but human marauders were less kind, and she was advised by the king of Northumbria, St Oswald, to become a nun. She therefore received the veil from St Aidan (Bede says it was he who consecrated Heiu) and established a monastery at St Fees (Copeland) which afterwards became a cell of the Benedictine abbey of St Mary at York.
Whatever background of truth there may be in the legend of St Bega, there seems no doubt that she existed and was venerated in Northumbria. The promontory on which she lived is named after her St Bee's Head, and she was the patroness of the people of the neighbourhood, ground down between the exactions of their lords and the raids of the border Scots. They claimed even to possess her miraculous bracelet, and treasured equally the stories of how St Bega in her earthly life had been devoted to the poor and oppressed and had cooked, washed and mended for the workmen who built her monastery. St Bega was venerated in Scotland and Norway, and she may be the same as the "Becga, daughter of Gabhran, virgin", who is named in the Martyrology of Tallaght on February 10. Her feast is observed in the diocese of Lancaster.

It is very difficult to establish the truth where we have no sort of guarantee of the reliability of our sources. The legend of St Bega in its fuller form rests entirely upon one manuscript (Cotton, Faust. B. iv), which Hardy in his Descriptive Catalogue, i, p. 223, dates twelfth century. The story is supported by the lessons in the Aberdeen Breviary: see KSS,, p. 278, and the Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. ii. C. Plummer, a very careful scholar, familiar with Irish as well as Anglo-Saxon sources, says quite positively that the Begu of Bede (bk iv, ch. 23) "is not to be confounded, as is often done, with Heiu, or with the very mythical Irish saint Bega whose name is preserved in St Bees". In the Lives of the English Saints, Faber recounted in graceful terms the legend of St Bega, and cited in an appendix Wordsworth's "Stanza" on the headland of St Bee's. The Latin text of the Cotton manuscript was first printed and translated by G. C. Tomlinson in the Carlisle Historical Tracts.

According to legend, Saint Bega was an Irish princess, whom a Norwegian prince sought in marriage. She, however, had already pledged herself and her virginity to Jesus and been given a bracelet by an angel marked with a cross as a token of her heavenly betrothal. On the eve of her wedding, as her father and her groom were celebrating in the hall, she escaped with the help of the bracelet. Seated on a clod of earth, she was taken across the sea to the coast of Cumberland.
There she lived as an anchoress, who was fed by the wild birds and, if left in peace, would have continued in this fashion. After being attacked by marauders, King Saint Oswald of Northumbria advised her to enter a convent. She therefore received the veil from Saint Aidan and established a monastery at Saint Bees (Copeland near Carlisle) which later became a cell of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Mary at York.
While the details may be legend, Saint Bega was venerated in Northumbria. The promontory on which she lived is named Saint Bee's Head, and she is the patroness of the local people who were injured by the exactions of their lords and the invasions of the neighboring Scots. In her hermitage at Saint Bees (Cumbria) was kept what is presumed to be her miraculous bracelet, which has the Old English name beag that so closely resembled her that it may have given rise to her cultus. The people treasured equally the stories of how Saint Bega in her earthly life had been devoted to the poor and oppressed and had cooked, washed and mended for the workmen who built her monastery. There is also a place in Scotland called Kilbees, named after this saint (Benedictines, Farmer, Delaney, Husenbeth, Walsh).

7th v. St. Felix and Augebert 2 martyred English who were captured and sold into slavery in France. Ransomed by Pope St. Gregory I the Great, Felix became a priest and Augebert a deacon. While preparing to return to England as missionaries, they were slain by pagans in Champagne, France.
Felix and Augebert MM (AC) 7th century. Saints Felix and Augebert were Englishmen sold into slavery in France and ransomed by Saint Gregory the Great. They were among the many redeemed by the pope to be trained to become missionaries in their homeland. The holy father's plan began to take shape when Felix was ordained to the priesthood and Augebert to the diaconate. Unfortunately, they were martyred by pagans at Champagne, France, before they could fulfill his dream (Benedictines).

666 Magnus of Füssen, Abbot fellow missionary with Saints Columbanus and Gall (AC)
(also known as Magne, Magnoaldus, Maginold, Mang)
Saint Magnus was a fellow missionary with Saints Columbanus and Gall. He founded and became the abbot of a transalpine cloister at Füssen, in Bavaria, which served pilgrims (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

607 Faustus of Syracuse, Abbot taught future Bishop Saint Zosimus (AC)
As abbot of Santa Lucia monastery in Syracuse, Saint Faustus taught the future Bishop Saint Zosimus (Benedictines).

1230 Blessed Bertrand of Garrigue ardent opponent of Albigensianism closest friend and travelling companion of Saint Dominic credited many miracles during life and after death OP (AC)
Born at Garrigue, diocese of Nîmes, France, c. 1195; died near there; cultus confirmed by Leo XIII.
Bd Bertrand of Garrigues
   At the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries the south of France was ravaged by heresy and civil war. Albigensianism, supported by the nobles and appealing to the people by offering a life of virtuous austerity to the few and of licence to the many, had almost complete control ; the Catholics, rendered impotent by indifference and ill-living, took up arms against the heretics, and the challenge was accepted. Bd Bertrand was born at Garrigues in the diocese of Nimes and brought up in the midst of these disturbances; but he was taught the true faith, and learned the dangers of the heresy that flourished all around. In the year 1200 the Albigensian Raymund VI of Toulouse marched through Languedoc, harrying the orthodox monasteries, especially those of the Cistercians, who were the official missionaries against the heretics. It is said that the convent at Bouchet was saved from destruction by the prompt action of a bee-master, who overturned his rows of hives in the faces of the soldiers. Bertrand himself became a priest and joined himself as a preacher to the Cistercian mission. In 1208 the Cistercian legate, Peter of Castelnau, was murdered, the crusade of Simon de Montfort was let loose, and soon after this time probably Bd Bertrand first met St Dominic, who was trying to remedy by prayer and preaching some of the harm that his friend Simon was doing by the sword.
   In 1215 Bertrand was one of the group of six preachers gathered round Dominic from which sprang the great order of Friars Preachers; by the following year they had increased to sixteen, "all in fact and in name excellent preachers", when they met at Prouille to choose a rule and plan the life of their new society.
   After a year of community life at the priory in Toulouse, the founder made his famous bold stroke of dispersing his religious, and Bd Bertrand was sent to Paris with Friar Matthew of France and five others. There they made a foundation near the university. Bertrand did not stay long in Paris. He was called by St Dominic to Rome and sent with Friar John of Navarre to establish the order in Bologna. Though Bd Reginald of Orleans was the friend who influenced him most, early Dominican writers speak of Bd Bertrand as a beloved companion of St Dominic, the dearest associate in his work, the sharer of his journeys, his prayers and his holiness.
In 1219 he accompanied him on the only visit St Dominic made to Paris; they went from Toulouse by way of the sanctuary of Rocamadour, and the journey has been surrounded with wonders, such as that they understood German without having learnt it and were not wetted by heavy rain.

At the second general chapter held at Bologna in 1221 the Dominican order was divided into eight provinces, and Bertrand was appointed prior provincial of Provence. The remaining nine years of his life were spent in energetic preaching throughout the south of France, where he greatly extended the activities of his order and founded the great priory of Marseilles. There is a story told that on one occasion a Friar Benedict questioned Bd Bertrand because he rarely celebrated a requiem Mass. "We are certain of the salvation of the holy souls", was the reply, "but of the end of ourselves and other sinners we are not certain". "Well, but", persisted Friar Benedict, "suppose there are two beggars, one strong and well, the other disabled. Which would you be the more sorry for?" "The one who can do least for himself." "Very well then. Such certainly are the dead. They have neither mouths wherewith to confess nor hands wherewith to work, but living sinners have both and can take care of themselves."
Bertrand was not at all convinced by this argument, and the fact that he afterwards celebrated Mass more frequently for the dead was attributed to his having had enlightenment in the form of a nightmare of a departed soul, which much distressed him. Bd Bertrand died at the abbey of Bouchet, near Orange, about the year 1230; his cultus was confirmed in 1881. "By his watchings, his fasts, and his other penances", wrote Friar Bernard Guidonis, "he succeeded in making himself so like his beloved Father that one might have said of him as he passed by: Of a truth the disciple is like the master; there goes the very image of the blessed Dominic."

A very full account of Bd Bertrand is given by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xiii, pp. 136-145 and 919-921. Though there was no separate early biography which they could utilize, they at first drew largely from the Vitae Fratrum of Gerard de Fracheto and other Dominican chronicles, but in a suppjement to their first account they have added many details from documents submitted to the Congregation of Rites in the procesa for the confirmatio cultus. See also a series of papers by J. P. Isnard in the Bulletin de Ia Societe archeol. de la Drome, 1870 to 1872 and Procter, Dominican Saints, pp. 253-256. A fuller bibliography is provided by Taurisano, Catalogus hagiographicus OP., p. 9.

Bertrand was a secular priest under the Cistercians, missioner, and ardent opponent of Albigensianism when he first met Saint Dominic in the party of Bishop Diego. Bertrand may have been the one to recruit Dominic in the battle against the French heretics because they worked closely together in this mission for the rest of their lives.
Bertrand joined the first Dominican friars by receiving the habit at Toulouse in 1216. Dominic left him in charge of the community when he travelled to Rome to seek papal approval of the order. Bertrand's zeal and experience played an important role in the founding of the Friar Preachers. When the brothers were sent out in little groups on missions, Bertrand was left in Paris with Matthew of France, where he helped to form the Dominican tradition of learning and governed the first foundation at Paris.
While Bertrand's advice and prayers helped to establish the order, he is best remembered as the closest friend and travelling companion of Saint Dominic, until he was appointed as provincial of Provence. He witnessed the miracles and heavenly favors bestowed upon his friend and provided us with insightful testimony about the heart and mind of the founder.
Bertrand himself was credited with many miracles, both during his life and after his death. Others considered him a "second Dominic" in austerity and holiness, but he humbly overlooked his own claims to sanctity in his loving insistence on those of his friend.
Bertrand was preaching a mission to the Cistercian sisters of Saint Mary of the Woods near Garrigue, when he fell sick and died. He was buried in the sisters' cemetery until the frequency of miracles suggested that he should be given a more suitable shrine. His relics were lost and shrine destroyed during the religious wars, but pilgrimages were still made to "Saint Bertrand's Cemetery" until the time of the French Revolution (Benedictines, Dorcy).

1240 Bd Peregrine of Falerone; a lay-brother; In this humble condition he persevered to the end. Both before and after death he was famous for miracles.
Peregrine was a young man of good family who was studying with great success at Bologna when St Francis came to preach there in 1220. Both he and a fellow student, Bd Rizzerio, were deeply impressed, and desired to join the friars. St Francis accepted them, but told Peregrine that, in spite of his learing, it was God's will that he should serve as a lay-brother. In this humble condition he persevered to the end. Both before and after death he was famous for miracles. The Friars Minor join this beatus in one feast with Bd Liberatus (below) and Bd SANTES of MONTE FABRI who, having killed a man in defending himself, became a lay-brother in the order. After a most holy life he died in 1290 and miracles were wrought at his grave.

The story of Peregrine is told in the documents which Sabatier calls the Speculum Vitae and the Actus b. Francisci et sociorum ejus (cap. 36). See also Gentili, Saggio sopra l'ordine serafico, p. 27 seq. and Léon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. i, pp. 527-529. For Bd Santes, see Wadding, Annales Ord Minorum, vol. ix, pp. 94-96, and Léon, vol. iii.

1258 Liberatus of Loro, OFM introduced the initial austerity of the Friars Minor with the help of Blesseds Humilis and Pacificus (AC)
Bd Liberatus Of Loro
The cultus of this beato was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1868, but his history is involved in a good deal of obscurity. He is said to have belonged to the noble family of Brunforte, to have joined the Order of Friars Minor, but to have led the life of a contemplative and a hermit. He is also supposed to have been associated with Bd Humilis and Bd Pacificus in a project of stricter observance; but the attempt to identify him with the unnamed friar of Soffiano who had a vision of our Blessed Lady (see the Fioretti, chs. 46 and 47) is not free from difficulty.

Bd Liberatus is discussed, with Humilis and Pacificus, in the Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. v. See also Salvi, Cenni storici sul b. Liberato do LoroAnalecta Bollandiana, vol. xvii (1898), p. 381. There is also an account in Léon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. iii, pp. 431-432; and an interesting comment by Paul Sabatier, Actus beati Francisci et sociorum ejus (1902), p. 195, and p. 215, note.

Born at San Liberato, Piceno, Italy; cultus forbidden in 1730, restored in 1731, and again approved in 1868. Saint Liberatus was born into the Brumforti family. He joined the Franciscans and later introduced the initial austerity of the Friars Minor with the help of Blesseds Humilis and Pacificus. It is difficult to know why his cultus was suppressed (Benedictines) (1896).

1627 Bl. Thomas Tsughi Japanese martyr native educated by Jesuits
Entered the Society of Jesus in 1589. Forced to leave Japan, he went to Macao but then returned to Japan in disguise. Giving in to temptation, he left the Jesuits for one dark day but then repented and gave himself utterly to the Christian cause in the islands. Seized by authorities, he was burned alive at Nagasaki with several companions after refusing to allow his family to buy his freedom.

1654 Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God; The icon is described in the records of church property of the Kiev-Bratsk monastery, made in the year 1807
Was at first in the church of Sts Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), where it miraculously appeared in the year 1654. In 1662, when Russia was at war with Poland (1659-1667), the city was dealt heavy losses by the Crimean Tatars fighting on the side of the Polish. The temple of the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was destroyed and defiled. But the Providence of God preserved the holy wonderworking icon of the Mother of God, which was taken out of the church beforehand and set off along the Dniepr. The relics of the saints were hidden beneath a crypt.

The river carried the icon to the Podol section of Kiev, where it was joyfully taken up by the Orthodox and with due reverence transferred to the Bratsk (Brotherhood) monastery. The icon is described in the records of church property of the Kiev-Bratsk monastery, made in the year 1807.

There existed a "Song about the Wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God", compiled soon after the year 1692. The Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated four times during the year: September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. All these days are dedicated to the miraculous appearance of the holy icon in 1654. The original icon has not been preserved. The copy was painted from it "measure for measure," and is at present located in the Kiev monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God .

1997 Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Albania now Skopje, Macedonia Ottoman
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the Order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.
Speaking in a strained, weary voice at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II declared her blessed, prompting waves of applause before the 300,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, read by an aide for the aging pope, the Holy Father called Mother Teresa “one of the most relevant personalities of our age” and “an icon of the Good Samaritan.” Her life, he said, was “a bold proclamation of the gospel.”
Mother Teresa's beatification, just over six years after her death, was part of an expedited process put into effect by Pope John Paul II. Like so many others around the world, he found her love for the Eucharist, for prayer and for the poor a model for all to emulate.
Born 1910 to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.
During her years in public school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.
In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.
The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Other helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people.
For the next four decades Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

1947 Blessed Claudio Granzotto Friars Minor sculptur
Born in 1900 Santa Lucia del Piave near Venice, Claudio was the youngest of nine children and was accustomed to hard work in the fields. At the age of nine he lost his father. Six years later he was drafted into the Italian army, where he served more than three years.
His artistic abilities, especially in sculpture, led to studies at Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts, which awarded him a diploma with the highest marks in 1929. Even then he was especially interested in religious art. When Claudio entered the Friars Minor four years later, his parish priest wrote, "The Order is receiving not only an artist but a saint." Prayer, charity to the poor and artistic work characterized his life, which was cut short by a brain tumor. He died on the feast of the Assumption and was beatified in 1994.
Comment: Claudio developed into such an excellent sculptor that his work still turns people toward God. No stranger to adversity, he met every obstacle courageously, reflecting the generosity, faith and joy that he learned from Francis of Assisi.
Quote: In the beatification homily, Pope John Paul II said that Claudio made his sculpture "the privileged instrument" of his apostolate and evangelization. "His holiness was especially radiant in his acceptance of suffering and death in union with Christ’s Cross. Thus by consecrating himself totally to the Lord’s love, he became a model for religious, for artists in their search for God’s beauty and for the sick in his loving devotion to the Crucified" (L’Osservatore Romano, Vol. 47, No. 1, 1994).

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

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 58

Praise ye our Lady, all ye nations: glorify her, all ye peoples.

For her grace and her mercy are confirmed upon us: and her truth remaineth forever.

He who shall worthily have venerated her, will be justified:
but he who shall have neglected her, will die in his sins.

The lips of angels shall relate her wisdom: and all the citizens of Paradise will sing her praises.

Those who approach her with a good soul: will not be seized by the devastating angel.

Let thy grace ever protect me: let thy presence give light to my end.

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, 58 2023