Mary Mother of GOD
Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
R.  Deo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary;
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CAUSES OF SAINTS April  2014

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Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday   Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday
   Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday   Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War

August 17 – Our Lady of Public Squares (Crozant, France, 1664)  
Une Minute avec Marie  Making Mary Known and Loved    
 
The young man had a Rosary on him
 On June 9, 1944, I was involved in the tragic hanging episode of Tulle (France). The order of the SS general was to execute 120 hostages by hanging. Nearly a hundred hostages had already been killed when, by divine inspiration,
I mustered enough courage to tell the lieutenant who was in charge of the Gestapo to stop the executions.
I pointed out that the general was no longer there, and that no one would count the bodies.
He thought about it for a moment, then took it upon himself to stop the hangings.
"But it is imperative that those who have left the building stay in the line," he said.
Among the last 10 prisoners standing in the line was a young man. The hostages were already walking to their death when a soldier passing by, who was not part of the execution squad, pulled the young man from the line and brought him to the lieutenant to ask for his reprieve, maybe because they were about the same age.
With a nod, the lieutenant agreed to it.
Thus there were not 100 but 99 hanged in Tulle on that day of June 1944.
I have since learned that this young man was carrying his Rosary. And he was the only one, because as I had to search the corpses of the hanged men to identify them and hand them to their families, I can attest to it.
 
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here }
     
          
                                                                           
We are the defenders of true freedom.
  May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan.
40 days for Life Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com , 
Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world

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

















Octáva sancti Lauréntii Mártyris.  The Octave of St. Lawrence, martyr.

The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.
Sancti Hyacínthi, ex Ordine Prædicatórum, Confessóris, qui décimo octávo Kaléndas Septémbris obdormívit in Dómino.
St. Hyacinth, confessor of the Order of Preachers, who fell asleep in the Lord on August 15.
 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Mary's Divine Motherhood
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.
 August 17 – Our Lady of City Squares (Crozant, France, 1664)
 “Ask, Mother, for I cannot refuse you anything”

When the War of 1870 broke out between France and Prussia (…), leading to the defeat of Sedan, the fall of the Second Empire, and the invasion of France, Father Guérin blessed thirty young men from Pontmain who were to join the Volunteers of the West raised in order to stop the enemy. He asked them to consecrate themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, promising them that they would all come back safely.

However, on the evening of January 17, 1871, this promise would seem like tragic nonsense, even to the most optimistic. Nothing could stop the Prussian advance, as they had just won a victory in Le Mans and were now encamped outside of Laval (…).

To his small, disheartened and despairing flock (…), he repeated what he never ceased to teach—Our Lady watches over us. “No, my brothers,” he said, “it is impossible that God would ever turn down her requests! Her divine Son gave his word. […] He placed his Mother on a throne of glory at his side and told her: 'Ask, Mother, for I cannot refuse you anything. I make you the dispenser of all my graces' (…).”

And at that very moment, when from a human standpoint all seemed irremediably lost, Father Guérin's contagious faith received its immense reward, greater than everything a humble man would have ever imagined: the Virgin Mary appeared in Pontmain, bearing an unparalleled message of hope:
“But pray, my children. My Son allows himself be touched.”
Anne Bernet (continued) Zenit.org, June 13 2013


Aug 17 - Our Lady of Squares (France, 1664)  Devotions to Mary Associated with Apparitions
There are three main Marian devotions closely associated with apparitions of the Blessed Virgin.
An especially great Marian devotion is the Rosary whose origin predates Saint Dominic (d. 1221),
but is the subject of many of the messages of the Virgin in various other apparitions,
such as Lourdes and Fatima where Our Lady called for an increase in the prayer of the Rosary,
declaring it one of the conditions needed for world peace and the conversion of Russia.

Another recommended devotion is wearing the Brown Scapular. There are many kinds of scapulars, all valuable,
but this one is eminent among them. There is a very ancient tradition that a great Carmelite monk,
Saint Simon Stock, Superior of the Carmelite Order in England in 1251, after imploring the help of Our Lady,
was favored with a vision in which she gave him the Brown Scapular, saying:
"This will be a privilege for you and for all Carmelites, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire."

The third important Marian devotion is the Miraculous Medal which originated with the apparitions at the Rue du Bac in Paris in 1830. The Blessed Virgin appeared three times in the chapel of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, to Saint Catherine Laboure, then a novice.
 Our Lady asked St Catherine to have a medal struck after a certain model and she promised abundant graces to all those who would wear the medal with confidence. The medal bears these words:
"O Mary Conceived Without Sin, Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee."

August 17: OUR LADY OF GRACES AND GIFTS  Two Loves Have Merged in One (II)
Nothing is stronger or more pressing than the natural love felt for a child or the love that grace gives to God. These two loves are two abysses, whose depth we cannot penetrate and whose breadth we cannot fathom.

But we can say here with the Psalmist: Abyssus abyssum invocat, "An abyss calls for another one," since to form the love of the Virgin, it was necessary to mix together all the most tender traits of nature, and the most effective traits of grace. Nature must have found itself, because this love was about embracing a son; grace must have acted in it, because this love was beholding a God: an abyss.
But what goes beyond our imagination is that nature and ordinary grace are not enough; it does not belong to nature to find a son in a God, and grace, at least of the ordinary kind, cannot find a God to love in a Son. The answer has to be found higher.  Jacques Bénigne Bossuet
First Homily for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, point one.
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.
August 17 - Our Lady of Squares (1664, Crozant, France) 
Mary’s Heavenly Abode
The Mother, whose virginity was preserved without a stain during childbirth,
must accordingly be entitled to having her body preserved without corruption, even after death.  The Mother, who had carried the Creator like a child in her womb, must accordingly remain in holy tabernacles.  The Spouse to whom the Father united Himself must accordingly be given a Heavenly abode.  The Mother, who stood next to her Son on the Cross, must accordingly escape the sword’s pain by giving birth to Him. She had carried Him in her womb and would be with Him again next to the Father.  The Mother of God must accordingly receive all that belongs to her Son and be  honored by all creatures as the Mother of God and His servant.
In some places, the Burial Service of the Theotokos is celebrated on August 17 using a special epitaphios with an icon depicting the Mother of God. Saint John Damascene (d. circa 787)  Homily on The Dormition
       St. Mamas Martyred shepherd at Caesarea, in Cappadocia
 250 St. Myron Bishop of Crete; wonder worker who lived for 100 years; called "the Wonder Worker" in the region.
 251 Thyrsus, Leucius, Coronatus, and their Companions Martyrs suffered in Bythnian Caesarea and Apollonia under emperor Decius (249-251).
 270 St. Paul and Juliana brother sister Martyred  at Ptolemais, in Palestine by Emperor Aurelian
 270 Patroclus The Martyr; native of Tricassinum city (Troyes in France); loved to pray, read Holy Scriptures, fast and charitable to the poor; Lord bestowed gift of wonderworking.
 275 St Mamas, Martyr; shepherd at Caesarea Cappadocia who seeking from childhood kingdom of God with whole heart; distinguished by fervour in the divine service
        Nicomedíæ sanctórum Mártyrum Stratónis, Philíppi et Eutychiáni; qui, damnáti ad béstias et nil læsi, per ignem martyrium consummárunt.
c. 300-311 Diomedes of Tarsus M (RM);  Born in Tarsus, Cilicia; died at Nicaea, Bithynia, . Physician by profession and zealous evangelist by advocation, Saint Diomedes arrested martyred for his faith under Diocletian (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
4th v. St. Theodulus Bishop of Valais
 310 St. Eusebius Pope martyr; apostates should not be forever debarred from ecclesiastical communion, readmitted only after doing proper penance (Eusebius miseros docuit sua crimina flere); exiled by Emperor Maxentius feast is yet celebrated on 26 September
400 Icon of the Mother of God of Sven August 17 (the day of the repose of St Alypius), who painted the icon
Diomedes of Tarsus M (RM)
 Born in Tarsus, Cilicia; died at Nicaea, Bithynia, c. 300-311. Physician by profession and zealous evangelist by advocation, Saint Diomedes was arrested and martyred for his faith under Diocletian (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
 483 St. Liberatus Martyr with Boniface, Maximus others; abbot of an African monastery near Capsa, Byzeceke by Arian ruler of Vandals, Hunneric, in Carthage
 553 St. Anastasius IX Hermit and bishop
  700 St. Drithelm experienced vision heaven hell purgatory
8th v  St. Amor of Amorbach Benedictine abbot
 769 St. James the Deacon 
 885 St. Hiero Irish martyred in Holland
1073 The Kiev Caves Icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the most ancient icons in the Russian Orthodox Church glorified by numerous miracles -- 1677, 1709 1812.
1094 St. John of Monte Marano Benedictine bishop
1114 Saint Alypius, one of the first and finest of Russian iconographers, disciple of St Nikon (March 23), from youth he lived a life of asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery.
1185 St. Hyacinth Dominican missionary called "the Apostle of Poland"
1198 St. Donatus Italy Patron saint of Ripacandida, where he was born. He became a Benedictine in 1194 at Petina
1257 St Hyacinth; (in Polish, Jacek, a form of John) was a Silesian; was extensive; north-east into Lithuania, east to Kiev, south-east to the Black Sea, south to the Danube and north-west to Scandinavia; miracles 
13th v. St. Tbeli Abuseridze Georgian hymnographer, astronomer, expert in sacred music, scholar of diverse interests
1308 St. Clare of Montefalco devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross found imprinted on her heart, incorrupt
1500 Saint Leucius of Volokolamsk founder of the Dormition monastery on the Ruza River
1571 Saint Theodoritus archimandrite; went to Solovki Monastery when 13;  tonsured placed under obedience to wise Fr Zosimas; next fifteen years grew in wisdom and virtue, ordained deacon by the Archbishop of Novgorod.
1627 Bl. Bartholomew Laurel martyr Nagasaki
1627 Bl. Thomas Vinyemon Japanese martyr A layman
1627 Bl. Caspar and Mary Vaz Martyrs of Japan
1627 St. Frances Bizzocca Martyr of Japan
1627 Bl. Francis Kuloi native Martyr of Japan
1627 Bl. Francis Kurobiove native Martyr of Japan
1627 Bl. Louis Someyon Martyr of Japan
         Bl. Martin Gomez Martyr of Japan native of Japan Portuguese descent
1627 Bl. Michael Kiraiemon Martyr of Japan and a Franciscan tertiary
1662 St Philip of Sukhona hermit on Mt. Yankov left bank of Sukhona River refusing no one his guidance, would not, in his humility, accept office of igumen
1736 St. Joan of the Cross; Anjou, France; a shabby old woman many dismissed as insane prompted St. Joan to dedicate her life to the poor; founded Congregation of St. Anne of Providence

275 St. Mamas Martyred shepherd at Caesarea, in Cappadocia
Roman Martyrology identifies him as son of Sts. Theodotus and Rufina who died at advanced age.
An Eastern tradition states that he was a young boy stoned to death. Sts. Basil and Gregory Nazianzus wrote of him.
275 ST MAMAS, MARTYR
ST BASIL and St Gregory Nazianzen inform us that St Mamas was a shepherd at Caesarea in Cappadocia who, seeking from his childhood the kingdom of God with his whole heart, distinguished himself by his fervour in the divine service. Being apprehended by the persecutors, he suffered cruel torments with joy and attained the crown of martyrdom. According to Eastern tradition he suffered under Aurelian by stoning, while yet a boy; but the Roman Martyrology says that he underwent “a prolonged persecution from youth to old age”. We can be sure of little but his existence, occupation and the place of his martyrdom. Among the fables associated with the name of this authentic martyr is an approximation to Orpheus. Mamas went out from among the “wolves” of the city and lived peacefully among the animals of the countryside, feeding on milk and honey. When the persecutors exposed him to wild beasts the animals treated him like sheep their shepherd, “lying down at his feet, and showing their affection by fawning on him with their tails”. Later he was befriended by a “huge lion”, who licked his limbs, weary with bearing chains. Soldiers sent to fetch Mamas were picked up by this lion and deposited at his feet: when told by him to go away to his lair, the lion “wept and sobbed”—and obeyed.

The vogue enjoyed by St Mamas as an object of popular devotion was undoubtedly very great. One has to read the panegyric of St Basil and the allusions of St Gregory Nazianzen to appreciate the depth of feeling involved. See Delehaye, Origines du culte des martyrs, p. 174, and Passions des Martyrs et les genres littéraires, pp. 198—200; and Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lviii (1940), pp. 126—141, where an extravagant romance in the guise of a, passio is printed. Cf. too, in the same periodical, vol. lxx (1952), pp. 249—26 I, the legend of St Zosimus of Anazarbus.
250 St. Myron Bishop of Crete who lived for one hundred years. He is called "the Wonder Worker" in the region. In Achája sancti Myrónis, Presbyteri et Mártyris, qui, sub Décio Imperatóre et Antípatre Præside, Cyzici, post multa torménta, cápite truncátus est.
    In Achaia, St. Myron, priest and martyr, who was beheaded at Cyzicum after undergoing many torments, in the time of Emperor Decius and the governor Antipater.
The Holy Martyr Myron was a presbyter in Achaia (Greece), and lived during the third century. He suffered in the year 250 under the emperor Decius (249-251). The presbyter was gentle and kind to people, but he was also courageous in the defense of his spiritual children.

On the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy. The local governor Antipater came into the church with soldiers so as to arrest those praying there and to subject them to torture. St Myron began to plead for his flock, accusing the governor of cruelty, and for this the saint was delivered over to be tortured.

They took St Myron and struck his body with iron rods. They then threw the presbyter into a red-hot oven, but the Lord preserved the martyr, but about 150 men standing nearby were scorched by the fire. The governor then began to insist that the martyr worship idols. St Myron firmly refused to do this, so Antipater ordered the leather thongs to be cut from his skin. St Myron took one of the leather thongs and threw it in the face of his tormentor.

Falling into a rage, Antipater gave orders to strike St Myron all over his stripped body, and then to give the martyr to wild beasts to be eaten. The beasts would not touch him, however. Seeing himself defeated, Antipater in his blind rage committed suicide.
 They then took St Myron to the city of Cyzicus, where he was beheaded by the sword.
251 Thyrsus, Leucius, Coronatus, and their Companions Martyrs suffered in Bythnian Caesarea and Apollonia under the emperor Decius (249-251).
[It is possible that Coronatus is the same person as Cornutus, whose commemoration is on September 12].
270  St. Paul and Juliana brother sister Martyred  at Ptolemais, in Palestine by Emperor Aurelian
Ptolemáide, in Palæstína, pássio sanctórum Mártyrum Pauli, ejúsque soróris Juliánæ Vírginis; qui ambo, sub Aureliáno Imperatóre, cum in Christi confessióne permanérent immóbiles, jussi sunt váriis et diríssimis torméntis afflígi ac tandem cápite obtruncári.
    At Ptolemais in Palestine, the holy martyrs Paul and his sister Juliana, virgin, who suffered under Aurelian.  They were both punished with various cruel torments and were finally beheaded for their constancy in confessing the name of Christ.
According to legends, they were put to death at Ptolemais, in Palestine, during the persecution launched by Emperor Aurelian.

The Holy Martyr Paul and his sister Juliana were executed under the emperor Aurelian (270-275) in the Phoenician city of Ptolemais. The emperor happened to visit Ptolemais, and among those who met him was Paul, who made the Sign of the Cross. They arrested him and threw him in prison.

On the following day, when they brought him to trial, he openly and boldly confessed his faith in Christ, for which he was subjected to fierce tortures. Juliana, seeing the suffering of her brother, began to denounce the emperor for his injustice and cruelty, for which she was also subjected to torture.

They beat the martyrs, tore their bodies with iron hooks, burned them over red-hot grates, but they were not able to break the wondrous endurance of the Lord's confessors. Three soldiers torturing the saints were struck by the courageous spirit of the martyrs, and they in turn believed in ChriSt These newly chosen of God were named Quadratus, Acacius and Stratonicus, and they were immediately executed.

The tormentor tried to seduce St Juliana with a promise to marry her, if she were to renounce Christ, but the saint refused the offer and remained steadfast. By order of the emperor they sent her to a brothel to be defiled. The Lord also preserved her there, and anyone who tried to touch the saint lost his sight. Then the enraged emperor commanded that they again burn the bodies of the saints. Those who saw the suffering of the saints began to murmur loudly, and Aurelian gave orders to behead the martyrs. With gladdened face the brother and sister went to execution singing, "For Thou hast saved us from those who afflicted us and hast shamed those who hated us" (Ps. 43/44:7).
270 Patroclus The Martyr; native of Tricassinum city (Troyes in France); loved to pray, read Holy Scriptures, fast and charitable to the poor; Lord bestowed gift of wonderworking.
He lived during the third century under the emperor Aurelian (270-275). He was a native of the city of Tricassinum (now the city of Troyes in France) and led a pious Christian life: he loved to pray, to read the Holy Scriptures, to fast and to be charitable to the poor. For this the Lord bestowed upon him the gift of wonderworking.

The emperor Aurelian summoned St Patroclus to himself and commanded him to worship idols, promising for this great honors and riches. The saint disdained idol worship saying that the emperor himself was a beggar.

"How can you call me, the emperor, a beggar?" asked Aurelian. The saint answered: "You possess many earthly treasures, but you do not have heavenly treasures. Since you do not believe in Christ and in the future life, you shall not receive the blessedness of Paradise. Therefore, you are poor."

Aurelian sentenced him to beheading by the sword. Soldiers led him to the banks of the River Sequanum (now the Seine), but suddenly their eyes were clouded, and St Patroclus at this time went across the river on the water and began to pray on a hill on the other shore. Coming to themselves, some of the soldiers were astounded at the disappearance of the martyr and they glorified God, but others attributed the miracle to magic.

A pagan woman pointed out to the soldiers that St Patroclus was on the other bank of the river. Crossing over there, the soldiers killed the martyr. His body was buried by night by the priest Eusebius and deacon Liberius.
Nicomedíæ sanctórum Mártyrum Stratónis, Philíppi et Eutychiáni; qui, damnáti ad béstias et nil læsi, per ignem martyrium consummárunt.
    At Nicomedia, the holy martyrs Straton, Philip, and Eutychian, who were condemned to the beasts, but being uninjured by them, ended their martyrdom by fire.
The Martyrs Straton, Philip, Eutychian and Cyprian suffered at Nicomedia. Visiting the circus, they taught people to abandon their idol-worship, and they converted many pagans to Christ. The governor, observing that the people were leaving the circus, summoned to himself the martyrs, who firmly confessed their faith in Christ. For this they were given over to wild beasts to be eaten. The beasts did not touch them, and the martyrs were then tortured and thrown into a fire.
310 St. Eusebius Pope martyr; apostates should not be forever debarred from ecclesiastical communion, readmitted only after doing proper penance (Eusebius miseros docuit sua crimina flere); exiled by Emperor Maxentius feast is yet celebrated on 26 September
Romæ sancti Eusébii Papæ.      At Rome, Pope St. Eusebius.
Successor of Marcellus, 309 or 310. His reign was short. The Liberian Catalogue gives its duration as only four months, from 18 April to 17 August, 309 or 310. We learn some details of his career from an epitaph for his tomb which Pope Damasus ordered. This epitaph had come down to us through ancient transcripts. A few fragments of the original, together with a sixth-century marble copy made to replace the original, after its destruction were found by De Rossi in the Papal Chapel, in the catacombs of Callistus. It appears from this epitaph that the grave internal dissentions caused in the Roman Church by the readmittance of the apostates (lapsi) during the persecution of Diocletian, and which had already arisen under Marcellus, continued under Eusebius. The latter maintained the attitude of the Roman Church, adopted after the Decian persecutions (250-51), that the apostates should not be forever debarred from ecclesiastical communion, but on the other hand, should be readmitted only after doing proper penance (Eusebius miseros docuit sua crimina flere).

This view was opposed by a faction of Christians in Rome under the leadership of one Heraclius. Whether the latter and his partisans advocated a more rigorous (Novationist) or a more lenient interpretation of the law has not been ascertained. The latter, however, is by far more probable in the hypothesis that Heraclius was the chief of a party made up of apostates and their followers, who demanded immediate restoration to the body of the Church. Damasus characterizes in very strong terms the conflict which ensued (seditcio, cœdes, bellum, discordia, lites). It is likely that Heraclius and his supporters sought to compel by force their admittance to divine worship, which was resented by the faithful gathered in Rome about Eusebius. In consequence both Eusebius and Heraclius were exiled by Emperor Maxentius. Eusebius, in particular, was deported to Sicily, where he died soon after. Miltiades ascended the papal throne, 2 July, 311. The body of his predecessor was brought back to Rome, probably in 311, and 26 September (according to the "Depositio Episcoporum" in the chronographer of 354) was placed in a separate cubiculum of the Catacomb of Callistus.
   His firm defense of ecclesiastical discipline and the banishment which he suffered therefor caused him to be venerated as a martyr, and in his epitaph Pope Damasus honours Eusebius with this title. His feast is yet celebrated on 26 September.
 310 ST EUSEBIUS, POPE
EUSEBIUS was a Greek by birth, the son of a physician, and was elected in succession to Pope St Marcellus, whom he survived by only a few months. During the episcopate of his predecessor serious trouble had been caused in the Roman church by the question of the treatment which was to be accorded to those who had lapsed from the faith during the persecution of Diocletian. A party led by a certain Heraclius opposed itself to the pope; probably Heraclius represented a number of lapsi who wanted immediate restoration to communion without further penance. It is recorded in an inscription put by Pope St Damasus over the tomb of St Eusebius in the cemetery of Callistus that this dispute was prolonged into his pontificate and caused disorder and bitter strife in the Church at Rome: probably the repentant lapsi tried to force their way into the assemblies of the faithful. So great was the uproar that the Emperor Maxentius banished both Pope Eusebius and Heraclius from the city. The pope went to Sicily where he died almost at once, and this exile following on his determined upholding of the canons caused him for a time to be venerated as a martyr, a title which St Damasus accords him.

See the Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. vii; the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne), vol. i, p. 167; and J. Carini, I lapsi e la deportazione in Sicilia del Papa S. Eusebio (1886).
4th v. St. Theodulus Bishop of Valais.
He was very popular during the Middle Ages in the regions of Switzerland and the Savoy region of France. He is sometimes called Theodore of Grammont.
400 Icon of the Mother of God of Sven August 17 (the day of the repose of St Alypius), who painted the icon

The Sven Icon of the Mother of God of the Caves has two festal celebrations: May 3 (the day of the reopse of St Theodosius of the Caves), and August 17 (the day of the repose of St Alypius), who painted the icon. The August 17 celebration was established in the year 1815 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the city of Briansk (around which the icon appeared in 1288) from invasion during the 1812 Napoleonic War.

430 St. Alipius Bishop companion of St. Augustine baptized with Augustine in 387 or 394 by St. Ambrose
Tagáste, in Africa, sancti Alípii Epíscopi, qui beáti Augustíni olim discípulus, póstea in conversióne sócius, in múnere pastoráli colléga, et in certamínibus advérsus hæréticos commílito strénuus, ac demum in cælésti glória consors fuit.
    At Tagaste in Africa, St. Alipius, bishop, who was the disciple of blessed Augustine, and the companion of his conversion, his colleague in the pastoral charge, his valiant fellow-soldier in disputing heretics, and finally his partner in the glory of heaven.
He was born in Tagaste, North Africa, and was raised as a friend of St. Augustine. He went to Rome to study law and became a magistrate there. When Augustine arrived in Rome, Alipius resigned his post and accompanied him to Milan. There he was baptized with Augustine in 387 or 394 by St. Ambrose. The two were ordained in Hippo, North Africa, and Alipius became the bishop of Tagaste, serving in that capacity for thirty years. Alipius' name was placed in the Roman Martyrology by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584. The evidence of Alipius' sanctity was clearly stated by Augustine's account of his life.
St. Alypius
The bosom friend of St. Augustine, though younger than he, was, after studying under Augustine at Milan, conspicuous at first as a magistrate in Rome. He abandoned that honour to follow his master into the Church. It is noteworthy that there is no mention of him as a saint in the ancient catalogues. His name was placed in the Roman Martyrology by Gregory XIII, in 1584, the evidence of his sanctity being sufficiently clear from the account of his life by St. Augustine. His conversion began when Augustine was still a Manichaean, and occurred in consequence of a discussion about the folly of those who give way to sensual indulgence. A relapse occurred subsequently, when he was dragged by some friends to witness the savage games of the arena; but the final step was taken when, in company with Augustine, in obedience to the voice, Tolle, lege, he read the text of St. Paul, Non in commessationibus, etc. They were both baptized by St. Ambrose, at Milan. After living for some time with Augustine, in the monastery of Hippo, he was made Bishop of Tagaste. This was in the year 394, and took place after his return from the Holy Land, where he had seen St. Jerome. Under his guidance Tagaste reproduced the sanctity, learning, monastic exactness, and orthodoxy of Hippo. The exact date of his death is not known, but his festival is kept on 15 August.
483 St. Liberatus Martyr with Boniface, Maximus others; abbot of an African monastery near Capsa, Byzeceke by Arian ruler of Vandals, Hunneric, in Carthage
Carthágine sanctórum Mártyrum Liberáti abbátis, Bonifátii Diáconi, Servi et Rústici Subdiaconórum, Rogáti et Séptimi Monachórum, et Máximi púeri; qui, in persecutióne Wandálica, sub Hunneríco Rege, pro confessióne cathólicæ fídei et pro ínici Baptísmatis defensióne, váriis et inaudítis supplíciis exagitáti, demum super ligna, quibus concremándi erant, clavis confíxi, et, cum ignis sæpius accénsus fuísset ac divínitus semper exstínctus, Regis jussu remórum véctibus percússi, et, comminútis cérebris, enecáti, speciósum cursum certáminis sui, coronánte Dómino, perfecérunt.
    At Carthage in Africa, the holy martyrs Liberatus, abbot, Boniface, a deacon, Servus and Rusticus, subdeacons, Rogatus and Septimus, monks, and Maximus, a young child.  In the persecution of the Vandals, under King Hunneric, they were subjected to various and unheard-of torments for the confession of the Catholic faith and the defence of one baptism.  Finally, being nailed to the wood with which they were to be burned, as the fire was always miraculously extinguished whenever kindled, they were struck with iron bars by order of the tyrant until their brains were dashed out.  Thus they ended the glorious series of their combats, and were crowned by our Lord.
Rogatus, Rusticus, Septimus, and Servus. Liberatus was abbot of an African monastery near Capsa, Byzeceke. He and the others were martyred by the Arian ruler of the Vandals, Hunneric, in Carthage. Maximus was a young child.
484 SS. LIBERATUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
HUNERIC, the Arian Vandal king in Africa, in the seventh year of his reign published fresh edicts against the Catholics and ordered their monasteries to be everywhere demolished. Seven monks who lived near Capsa, in the province of Byzacene, were summoned to Carthage. Their names were Liberatus the abbot, Boniface deacon, Servus and Rusticus subdeacons, Rogatus, Septimus and Maximus, monks. They were first tempted with promises to conform to Arianism, but they answered with one accord, “We confess one Lord, one faith and one baptism. As to our bodies, do with them what you please, and keep those riches which you promise us, which will surely perish.” They were put in irons and thrown into a dungeon. The faithful having bribed the guards, visited them day and night. The king being informed of this, he commanded them to be more closely confined, and after a time condemned them to be burnt. Particular endeavours were used by the persecutors to gain Maximus, who was very young, indeed, a boy, who was being educated by the monks. But God, who makes the tongues of children to praise His name, gave him strength to withstand all their efforts, and he boldly told them that they would never be able to separate him from his abbot and brethren. An old vessel was filled with sticks, the seven martyrs were put on board, and it was set adrift; fire was put to it several times, but it would not kindle, and all their attempts to get the ship burning failed. Huneric therefore ordered that they should be brought back to land, and there the martyrs’ brains were brutally dashed out with oars.
All our information comes from a passio formerly, but as it would seem wrongly, ascribed to Victor of Vita. The passio with comments is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. iii.
553 St. Anastasius IX Hermit and bishop
Interámnæ sancti Anastásii, Epíscopi et Confessóris.
    At Teramo, St. Anastasius, bishop and confessor
Hermit and bishop of Ter in Italy. Anastasius is believed a Syr who became a hermit near Perugia, Italy. Records indicate he was made bishop as well, although there may be some confusion about his identity. Entered the Roman Martyrology in 1518.
700 St. Drithelm died, experienced vision heaven hell purgatory
A wealthy man of Northumbria, England, who supposedly died, experienced a powerful vision of heaven, hell, and purgatory, and then was found to be alive. He divided his possessions among his wife and children and made benefices for the poor before becoming a monk at Melrose Abbey. He lived as a hermit there with great austerities. St. Bede gives an account of his life.
8th v.  St. Amor of Amorbach Benedictine abbot
Companion of St. Pirmin in German missionary labors founded Amorbach monastery in Franconia - France .
769  St. James the Deacon Italian monk in England
and deacon. A companion of St. Paulinus in the missionary effort in Northumbria, he was so dedicated to the evangelizing cause that he remained in the region despite the constant dangers of the severe pagan reaction.
885 St. Hiero Irish martyred in Holland
Also called Iero. He was an Irish missionary to Holland, where he was martyred.
1073 The Kiev Caves Icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the most ancient icons in the Russian Orthodox Church glorified by numerous miracles -- 1677, 1709 1812.
The Mother of God entrusted it to four Byzantine architects, who in 1073 brought the icon to Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. The architects arrived at the monks' cave and asked, "Where do you want to build the church?" The saints answered, "Go, the Lord will point out the place.  How is it that you, who are about to die, have still not designated the place?" the architects wondered. "And they gave us much gold."

Then the monks summoned all the brethren and they began to question the Greeks, saying, "Tell us the truth. Who sent you, and how did you end up here?"
The architects answered, "One day, when each of us was asleep in his own home, handsome youths came to us at sunrise, and said, 'The Queen summons you to Blachernae.' We all arrived at the same time and, questioning one another we learned that each of us had heard this command of the Queen, and that the youths had come to each of us. Finally, we beheld the Queen of Heaven with a multitude of warriors. We bowed down to Her, and She said, 'I want to build Myself a Church in Rus, at Kiev, and so I ask you to do this. Take enough gold for three years.'"
"We bowed down and asked, 'Lady Queen! You are sending us to a foreign land. To whom are we sent?'
She answered, 'I send you to the monks Anthony and Theodosius.'"
"We wondered, 'Why then, Lady, do You give us gold for three years? Tell us that which concerns us, what we shall eat and what we shall drink, and tell us also what You know about it.'"

"The Queen replied, 'Anthony will merely give the blessing, then depart from this world to eternal repose. The other one, Theodosius, will follow him after two years. Therefore, take enough gold. Moreover, no one can do what I shall do to honor you. I shall give you what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor.2:9). I, Myself, shall come to look upon the church and I shall dwell within it.'"

"She also gave us relics of the holy martyrs Menignus, Polyeuctus, Leontius, Acacius, Arethas, James, and Theodore, saying, 'Place these within the foundation.' We took more than enough gold, and She said, 'Come out and see the resplendant church.' We went out and saw a church in the air. Coming inside again, we bowed down and said, 'Lady Queen, what will be the name of the church?'"

"She answered, 'I wish to call it by My own name.' We did not dare to ask what Her name was, but She said again, 'It will be the church of the Mother of God.'
After giving us this icon, She said,
'This will be placed within.'
We bowed down to Her and went to our own homes, taking with us the icon we received from the hands of the Queen."

Having heard this account, everyone glorified God, and St Anthony said,
"My children, we never left this place. Those handsome youths summoning you were holy angels, and the Queen in Blachernae was the Most Holy Theotokos. As for those who appeared to be us, and the gold they gave you, the Lord only knows how He deigned to do this with His servants. Blessed be your arrival! You are in good company: the venerable icon of the Lady."
For three days St Anthony prayed that the Lord would show him the place for the church.
After the first night there was a dew throughout all the land, but it was dry on the holy spot. On the second morning throughout all the land it was dry, but on the holy spot it was wet with dew. On the third morning, they prayed and blessed the place, and measured the width and length of the church with a golden sash. (This sash had been brought long ago by the Varangian Shimon, who had a vision about the building of a church.) A bolt of lightning, falling from heaven by the prayer of St Anthony, indicated that this spot was pleasing to God. So the foundation of the church was laid.
The icon of the Mother of God was glorified by numerous miracles.
Two friends, John and Sergius, sealed their friendship before it. After many years John fell mortally ill. He gave part of his wealth to the the Caves monastery, and he gave Sergius the portion for his five-year-old son for safekeeping. He also entrusted his son Zachariah to his guardianship. When Zachariah turned fifteen, he asked for his inheritance, but Sergius persisted in saying that John had distributed everything to the poor. He even went into the Dormition church and swore before the wonderworking icon that he had taken nothing.

When he attempted to kiss the icon, he was not able to come near it. He went to the doors and suddenly shouted, "Sts Anthony and Theodosius! Let me not be struck down for my dishonesty. Entreat the Most Holy Theotokos to drive away the multitude of demons which torment me. Let the gold and silver be taken away. It is sealed up in my granary." Zachariah gave away all his inheritance to the Caves monastery, where he also himself was tonsured a monk. From that time, no one would take oaths before the wonderworking icon (March 24).

More than once the icon defended the land from enemy invasion. In 1677, when the Turks laid siege to Chigirin and danger threatened Kiev, they carried the icon around the city for almost the entire day of August 27. The Mother of God blessed Russian armies going to the Battle of Poltava (1709). In 1812 they carried the icon around Kiev again. The icon is commemorated twice during the year: May 3 and August 15.
1094 St. John of Monte Marano Benedictine bishop \
Appointed by Pope St. Gregory VII in 1074. He is the patron saint of Monte Marano, Italy.
1114 Saint Alypius, one of the first and finest of Russian iconographers, was a disciple of St Nikon (March 23), and from his youth he lived a life of asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery. known for working miracles even in his lifetime.
He studied the iconography of the Greek masters, and from the year 1083 beautified the Caves monastery church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

If he learned that in some church the icons had become worn, he took them with him and restored them without charge. If people happened to pay him for his work, he set aside one third to purchase supplies for painting icons, one third as alms for the poor, and the remainder for his own needs.

St Alypius was never famous, and he painted icons only to serve God. He was ordained a hieromonk, and was known for working miracles even in his lifetime. St Alypius healed a Kievan man suffering from leprosy and decay of the body by anointing the wounds of the sick man with the paints he used for the painting of icons. Many of his icons were glorified by miracles, and sometimes angels helped him in the holy task of painting icons.

A certain man of Kiev who had built a church, once gave two monks of the Caves a commission to have icons painted for it. The monks concealed the money and said nothing to St Alypius about it. After waiting a long time for the work to be completed, the man went to the igumen to complain about St Alypius. Only then did they discover that he had not been told of the commission. When they brought the boards provided by the customer, it turned out that beautiful icons had already been painted on them.

When the church was consumed by fire, all of the icons remained unharmed. One of these icons (the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos), known as the Vladimir-Rostov Icon (August 15), was taken by Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to a church he had built at Rostov.

Another time, when St Alypius lay deathly ill, an angel painted an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos for him. On August 17 (around the year 1114), an angel came to receive the soul of St Alypius, and he was buried in the Near Caves. The first three fingers of St Alypius's right hand were positioned together, and the last two were bent to the palm. It seems that he died while signing himself with the Sign of the Cross.

One of the icons painted by St Alypius survives from the time of Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, and is now preserved in the State Tretyakov Gallery. This is the Sven Icon (May 3 and August 17).

A twentieth century icon in the church of the Pskov Caves Monastery of the Dormition depicts St Alypius holding a copy of the "Assuage My Sorrows" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (January 25 and October 9).
1185-1257 St. Hyacinth  Dominican missionary called "the Apostle of Poland"
Cracóviæ, in Polónia, natális sancti Hyacínthi, ex Ordine Prædicatórum, Confessóris, quem Clemens Octávus, Póntifex Máximus, in Sanctórum númerum rétulit.  Ipsíus autem festum sextodécimo Kaléndas Septémbris celebrátur.
    At Cracow in Poland, St. Hyacinth, confessor of the Order of Preachers, whom Pope Clement VIII placed in the number of the saints.  His feast is observed on the 17th of August.

St Hyacinth (in Polish, Jacek, a form of John) was a Silesian, born in 1185, in the district called Oppein, between Breslau and Cracow. He is venerated as an apostle of Poland, and was undoubtedly a great missionary but the particulars of the achievements commonly attributed to him unfortunately depend on biographies that are of very little historical value. 
  He became a Dominican, perhaps in Rome, in 1217 or 18, and came with other Dominicans to Cracow, where they were given the church of the Holy Trinity by the bishop, Ivo Odrowaz. Hyacinth is recorded as being at this priory again in 1228, and ten years later was preaching a crusade against the heathen Prussians.  The field of his labours was doubtless extensive; but his biographers take him north-east into Lithuania, east to Kiev, south-east to the Black Sea, south to the Danube and north-west to Scandinavia, leaving Silesia, Pomerania and Bohemia to his fellow Dominican, Bd Ceslaus, who was said to be also his brother in the flesh. The miracles with which Hyacinth was credited are no less sensational, some of them being apparently suggested by what had been related of other holy ones in Poland and in his order. During his time the Friars Preachers did penetrate down the Vistula to Danzig and towards Russia and the Balkans, and a number of priories were founded; but much damage was done to their missions after the Mongols crossed the Volga in 1238, in the repairing of which no doubt St Hyacinth was active. He died on the feast of the Assumption 1257, after exhorting his brethren to esteem poverty as men that had renounced all earthly things, "For this is the testament, the sealed deed, by which we claim eternal life ". He was canonized in 1594.
What commonly passes current as the life of St Hyacinth partakes more of the nature of a saga than of a sober historical record. This is pointed out both by Knopfler in the Kirchenlexikon and by the modern Bollandists (e.g., in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlv, 1927, pp. 202-203).  The earliest and practically the only source of information down to quite recent times was the account of St Hyacinth's life and miracles, written by Fr Stanislaus of Cracow a hundred years after the saint's death. It is printed in the Monuments Poloniae Historica, vol. iv, pp. 841-894. Later biographers only embroidered this account with further extravagances, and consequently even such lives as that by the Comtesse de Flavigny, S. Hyacinths et ses compagnous (1899), must be read with great caution. The most valuable contribution which has so far been made to the perplexed history of St Hyacinth is that of B. Altaner, Die Dominikanermissionen des 13 Jahrhunderts (1924), pp. 196-214. For the traditional account see Mortier, Histoire des maîtres généraux O.P., vol. i, pp. 215-218 and 377-388; Procter, Lives of Dominican Saints, pp. 229-232; and for a fuller bibliography Taurisano, p. 16.
Born in Oppeln, Poland, he received the Dominican habit in 1217 or 1218 from St. Dominic. Hyacinth preached in Poland, Pomerania, Denmark, Prussia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Russia, China, and Tibet. He died in Cracow, Poland, on August 15. Hyacinth was canonized in 1594. His feast is now confined to local calendars .
1198 St. Donatus Italy
Patron saint of Ripacandida, where he was born. He became a Benedictine in 1194 at Petina.
13th v. St. Tbeli Abuseridze Georgian hymnographer, astronomer, expert in sacred music, and a scholar of diverse interests

The holy Father lived and labored in the 13th century. His father John, the archduke of Upper Atchara, perished in a battle with the Turks. After Tbeli’s mother was widowed, she was tonsured a nun and given the name Katherine. Tbeli’s brothers, Abuseri and Bardan, were also well-known figures in their time.

St. Tbeli received an education befitting his noble rank and succeeded in fully developing his natural abilities.

St. Tbeli left an indelible mark on the history of Georgian culture as a hymnographer, an astronomer, an expert in sacred music, and a scholar of diverse interests. We know from his works that he built a church in honor of St. George in the village of Khikhani (in upper Atchara), and it has been suggested that he composed most of his works, including a chronicle of his own ancestry, in that village. He had seven children whom he brought there, and at the end of his chronicle he left a second testament, commanding that his family’s future generations be brought there as well.

St. Tbeli contributed immensely to the life of Gelati Academy. Historians believe it was there that he received the broad education that allowed him to express himself in so many different fields. St. Tbeli’s collection of hymns to St. John the Baptist, St. John the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom reveals his true piety and talent as a writer of the Church. The profound theological ideas, the symbolic and mystical comprehension of phenomena, the “knowledge of the visible” and “comprehension of the invisible” evident in this work paint St. Tbeli as one equally endowed as both a scholar and a theologian.

St. Tbeli was fascinated by the science of chronology, and he compiled a work called Chronicles: Complete Commentaries and Rules to address some of the problems related to chronology. Combining a solid understanding of astronomy and history, this work conveys the cosmic meaning of the Julian calendar and Christian eschatology. St. Tbeli’s famous hagiographical work The New Miracle of Great-martyr George contains valuable historical information about the Abuseridze family’s efforts to revive Georgian culture during the ancient feudal epoch.

While pursuing his literary and scholarly interests, St. Tbeli also labored as a holy and God-fearing pastor. (Scholars believe that the saint was a bishop of Tbeti, from which he received his appellation Tbeli.) The Georgian Apostolic Church has numbered our Holy Father Tbeli Abuseridze among the saints in recognition of the countless good deeds he performed on behalf of the Church and its people.
1308 St. Clare of Montefalco particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross found imprinted on her heart, incorrupt
In Monte Falco, in Umbria, sanctæ Claræ, Moniális ex Ordine Eremitárum sancti Augustíni, Vírginis; in cujus viscéribus renováta Domínicæ passiónis mystéria fidéles, máxima cum devotióne, venerántur.  Eam Leo Décimus tértius, Summus Póntifex, sanctárum Vírginum albo adscrípsit.
    At Montefalco in Umbria, St. Clare, a nun of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, virgin.  In her flesh were renewed the mysteries of the Lord's passion, which the faithful honour with great devotion.  Pope Leo XIII solemnly inscribed her in the list of the holy virgins.
Clare was born at Montefalco, Italy, around 1268. As a young woman she joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries. This group established Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290, adopting the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare's sister Joan was the abbess of this community, but at her death Clare succeeded her. She led an austere life, being particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross. When Clare died in 1308, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart, and her body remained incorrupt. Whe was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.
The life of St. Clare reminds us that we are all called to a life of prayer and dedication. Still, we must not expect or anticipate special favors. We are to be satisfied with the simple relationship we establish with God.
1308    ST CLARE OF MONTEFALCO, VIRGIN
THERE has been much discussion between the Franciscans and the Augustinians as to whether this holy nun belonged to one order or the other; the solution of the difficulty which appears to satisfy both parties is that the community of pious young women, living penitentially in hermitages under the direction of her sister Joan, to which Clare belonged for fifteen years, consisted of secular tertiaries of St Francis: but that when they wished to adopt a regular conventual life the bishop of Spoleto gave them the Augustinian rule. Their convent, of the Holy Cross, was erected in 1290 and, her sister dying, St Clare much against her will was elected abbess. Her life was already notable for its austerities and they were now increased:

for a breach of silence she stood barefoot in snow while she said the Lord’s Prayer a hundred times. Her words and example kept alive in her community a great desire of perfection, and the union of her heart with God gave them a model of recollection. A number of miracles were attributed to her, frequent ecstasies, and supernatural gifts, which she utilized for the good of those outside her convent as well as those within. St Clare had a very great devotion to the passion of our Lord. She once said to a sister, “If you seek the cross of Christ, take my heart; there you will find the suffering Lord”. These words were taken literally, and when her heart was examined after death in 1308 an image of the cross was said to have been found imprinted on it.

Apart from her faithful observance and the austerity of her penance, St Clare is alleged to have been honoured by three divine favours of exceptional interest. First, the marvellous incorruption of her remains. See on this John Addington Symonds in the Cornhill Magazine, October 1881, p. 446, who describes what he himself had seen at Montefalco: “Only her hands and the exquisitely beautiful pale outline of her face (forehead, nose, mouth and chin, modelled in purest outline, as though the injury of death had never touched her) were visible. Her closed eyes seemed to sleep.” Secondly, the cross and other instruments of the Passion formed solidly within her heart in some fibrous tissue, just referred to. The evidence for this strange phenomenon is certainly not contemptible. Thirdly, the alleged liquefaction and ebullition of her blood. St Clare of Montefalco was canonized in 1881.

The Bollandists, having been refused access to the original sources preserved at Monte­falco, had to be content with reprinting (Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. iii) the life of St Clare by Masconio (1601), which is of no great value. But in presenting the case for the canonization of the saint, the more reliable documents came in the last century to be better known and are now generally accessible in print. The most important is the life, said to have been compiled in 1309 by Berengarius, vicar general of Spoleto. It may be read in Faloci Pulignani, Vita di santa Chiara da Montefalco (1884). As to modern literature, see L. Tardi, Vita della b. Chiara da Montefalco (Eng. trans., 1884); T. de Töth, Vita (1908); A. N. Merlin, Ste Claire de Ia Croix (1930) ; Faloci Pulignani, Miscellanea Francescana, vol. xiv (1913), pp. 129—152. There is a biography in English by E. A. Foran, St Clare of the Cross (1935). For the blood phenomenon, consult Ian Grant, The Testimony of Blood (1929), pp. 79—122; and see Douleur et stigmatisation in the series “Études carmélitaines” (1936 pp. 36-41).
1500 Saint Leucius of Volokolamsk was the founder of the Dormition monastery on the Ruza River
(the monastery was located 32 versts from the city of Volokolamsk and 2 versts from the village of Seredo-Stratilatsk).

St Leucius was a disciple of St Paphnutius of Borov (May 1) and an associate of St Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9). The time of the founding of the monastery by St Leucius might perhaps be determined from the remnants of the Life of St Daniel of Pereyaslavl (April 7). St Daniel upon his arrival at the Borov monastery in the year 1466 was entrusted by St Paphnutius to the Elder Leucius as an experienced ascetic in the spiritual life.

After ten years, i.e. in 1476, the Elder and his disciple settled in the Volokolamsk region, where they dwelt together for another two years in founding the monastery. After this St Daniel went to Pereyaslavl. It is conjectured that St Leucius was 62 years of age at the founding of the monastery. Having raised up a monastery, he became known throughout the surrounding region for his ascetic life. According to Tradition, St Leucius died in extreme old age at the end of the fifteenth century. He was buried in the monastery he founded.

In the manuals of iconography the monk is listed under July 27: "He was greyed, and a beard like St Sergius, his hair uncovered, a schema on his shoulders, in his hands a staff, and monastic garb."

Commemoration of St Leucius is observed both on December 14 and on August 17, on the Feast of the Holy Martyr Leucius.
1571 Saint Theodoritus archimandrite; left home and went to the Solovki Monastery when he was only thirteen years old. The following year he was tonsured and placed under obedience to the wise Fr Zosimas. For the next fifteen years he grew in wisdom and virtue, then was ordained a deacon by the Archbishop of Novgorod.

St Theodoritus spent one more year with his Elder, then asked for permission to visit other monasteries. At each place he spoke with experienced ascetics, deriving much spiritual profit from their conversation. After two years at the White Lake Monastery, St Theodoritus lived alone in the forest around the monastery. During his four years in the forest, he came into contact with other ascetics, from whom he learned many useful things.

Fr Zosimas at Solovki, sensing that he would die soon, wrote to St Theodoritus asking him to return to him. He served his Elder for about a year, taking care of him during his final illness.

St Theodoritus then traveled to the mouth of the Kola River and undertook missionary labors among the Lapps with the Elder Metrophanes. The Lapps worshiped idols and did not live in towns or cities. The monks learned their language so they could teach them about Christ, and also translated prayers for them.

St Theodoritus labored among the Lapps for twenty years. He was ordained to the holy priesthood in Novgorod, and later returned to the Lapps and established a monastery. He then spent two years in the Novgorod area as igumen of a monastery. Later, he was raised to the rank of archimandrite and became the igumen of the Savior-St Euthymius Monastery at Suzdal for five years.

In 1554 St Theodoritus was slandered and confined for two years at the White Lake Monastery. Upon his release, he went to live in a monastery at Yaroslav. Tsar Ivan the Terrible sent him to Constantinople in 1558 to discuss his coronation with the Patriarch.
St Theodoritus returned to Russia with the Patriarch's reply, and the Tsar gave him twenty-five silver coins and a sable coat. Not wishing to acquire material possessions, the saint sold the coat and gave the money away to the poor.
Searching for peace, he went to the monastery at Priluki in Vologda. From there, St Theodoritus made two visits to the Lapps whom he had converted. He departed to the Lord on August 17, 1571 at the Solovki Monastery where he had been tonsured.
1627 Bl. Caspar and Mary Vaz Martyrs of Japan
Husband and wife and tertiaries of St. Francis. Both martyred in Nagasaki. Caspar was burned alive, and Mary was beheaded.
1627 Bl. Thomas Vinyemon Japanese martyr A layman
He was beheaded at Nagasaki after being condemned for giving aid and shelter to missionaries.
1627 Bl. Bartholomew Laurel martyr Nagasaki
Born at Mexico City he joined the Franciscans as a lay brother and was sent to the Philippines in 1609. He studied medicine at Manila and in 1622 was sent to Japan where he suffered for his faith by being burned to death at Nagasaki. Beatified in 1867.
1627 St. Frances Bizzocca Martyr of Japan
A Third Order Dominican, the wife of Blessed Leo Bizzocca, Frances sheltered missionaries in her home, an act that brought about her arrest. She was burned alive in Nagasaki, Japan. Frances was beatified in 1867.
1627 Bl. Francis Kuloi native Martyr of Japan
A Japanese, he was a Franciscan tertiary who sheltered missionaries. He was beheaded beatified in 1867.
1627 Bl. Francis Kurobiove native Martyr of Japan
A Dominican tertiary and a Japanese, Francis was burned alive at Nagasaki, Japan. He was beatified in 1867
1627 Bl. Louis Someyon Martyr of Japan
He was a Franciscan tertiary who was beheaded at Nagasaki, Japan. He was beatified in 1867.
Bl. Martin Gomez Martyr of Japan native of Japan Portuguese descent
He was a Franciscan tertiary, was arrested for his faith and beheaded at Nagasaki. Martin was beatified in 1867.
1627 Bl. Michael Kiraiemon Martyr of Japan and a Franciscan tertiary
Michael was beheaded at Nagasaki and was beatified in 1867 by Pope Pius IX.
1662 St Philip of Sukhona hermit on Mt. Yankov left bank of Sukhona River refusing no one his guidance, would not, in his humility, accept office of igumen

Saint Philip of Sukhona was a hermit on Mt. Yankov, on the left bank of the Sukhona River, two versts from the city of Ustiug. The Ustiug inhabitants built a monastery at the place of his ascetic deeds, so as to learn monastic life under his guidance.

In the year 1654, they built a church in honor of the Mother of God "Of the Sign," with a chapel in the name of St Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow. Brethren soon gathered. St Philip, while refusing no one his guidance, would not, in his humility, accept the office of igumen. He died at the monastery as a simple monk on August 17, 1662.
1736 St. Joan of the Cross Anjou, France; a shabby old woman many dismissed as insane prompted St. Joan to dedicate her life to the poor; founded Congregation of St. Anne of Providence
(1666-1736) 
An encounter with a shabby old woman many dismissed as insane prompted St. Joan to dedicate her life to the poor. For Joan, who had a reputation as a businesswoman intent on monetary success, this was a significant conversion.

Born in 1666, Joan worked in the family business—a small shop near a religious shrine—from an early age. After her parents’ death she took over the shop herself. She quickly became known for her greediness and insensitivity to the beggars who often came seeking help.  That was until she was touched by the strange woman who claimed she was on intimate terms with the deity. Joan, who had always been devout, even scrupulous, became a new person. She began caring for needy children. Then the poor, elderly and sick came to her. Over time she closed the family business so she could devote herself fully to good works and penance.

She went on to found what came to be known as the Congregation of St. Anne of Providence. It was then she took the religious name of Joan of the Cross. By the time of her death in 1736 she had founded 12 religious houses, hospices and schools.
Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1982.

Comment:  The downtown areas of most major cities hold a population of “street people.” Well-dressed folks usually avoid making eye contact, probably for fear of being asked for a handout. That was Joan’s attitude until the day one of them touched her heart. Most people thought the old woman was crazy, but she put Joan on the road to sainthood. Who knows what the next beggar we meet might do for us?

1736 Bd Joan Delanoue, Virgin, Foundress Of The Sisters Of St Anne Of The Providence Of Saumur
CHRISTIAN history is full of penitents, of people who by co-operating with the grace given by God are enabled to turn their backs on a life of sin and shame, and not seldom to climb to the very heights of godliness. The earlier lives of many penitents have a sort of paradoxical impressiveness in the very enormity of their wickedness, the depth of their depravity; but Bd Joan Delanoue was one who freed herself, not from the thrall of some “picturesque” iniquity, but from the morass of petty worldliness and selfishness, from the graspingness and avarice of petit-bourgeois materialism. Her father was a draper at Saumur in Anjou, who also dealt in crockery, bloaters and those goods purveyed in what in England are curiously called “Catholic repositories”—these last particularly for the benefit of pilgrims to the near-by shrine of our Lady “des Ardilliers”. The Delanoues did a brisk trade; but they were not well off for they had twelve children to support, of whom Joan, the youngest, was born in 1666.

Twenty-five years later her long-widowed mother died, and Joan’s share of the estate was the house and shop, with a stock that was small and a capital even smaller. She at once took into partnership her seventeen-year-old niece, also called Joan Delanoue, who resembled her aunt in more than name. For one thing, both of them were interested in making money, and the neighbours soon began to see a difference. Old Mother Delanoue had been a generous soul, kind to beggars; now they were told, “I have nothing to give you.” Now too the shop was open on Sundays and feast-days; a scandalous thing that, for not only was it a contempt of the Third Commandment but it was taking an unfair advantage of the other shopkeepers. Space was found to accommodate pilgrims, for payment, at the back of the house, in the holes of the cliff whence its building-stone had been quarried. In a word, Joan Delanoue became immersed in money-grubbing, and without seeing that it was involving her in all sorts of little sins and dishonest subterfuges. As a young girl she had been devout and almost over-scrupulous in her behaviour; but the religious atmosphere about her was arid and formalized: the love of God too often took the form only of set devotional observances, the doing of His will was a matter simply of rules and regulations. And now she was grown-up and in a responsible position the uselessness of the letter without the spirit was only too apparent: every one of her neighbours knew that Joan Delanoue sent her niece to buy food only just as they were about to sit down to a meal—so that she could with a clear conscience tell beggars that there was no food in the house.

It was on the eve of the Epiphany in 1693 that a strange old woman first appeared in Saumur, who for several years was to play a curious and rather undefined part in the life of Joan Delanoue. Frances Souchet was a widow, from Rennes, who spent her time going from shrine to shrine; opinions differed as to whether she was mentally disordered, a genuine visionary, or “just a bit simple”, for she would relate what she claimed to be heavenly communications in terms that were always oracular and often unintelligible, prefacing them with the statement, “He (scil., God) told me”. In a moment of kindness Joan gave this old woman lodgings in the house almost for nothing; but the only thing at all noticeable that Mrs Souchet said on this occasion was, “God sent me this first time to learn the way”. However, for the duration of her visit Joan seems to have been specially unhappy and upset, and during the following Lent wandered from church to church, listening disconsolately to the various preachers in hope of help and consolation. Eventually she opened her heart to the Abbé Geneteau, chaplain to the municipal hospital and a man of spiritual perception. The first fruit of his advice was that she ceased to open her shop on Sundays; within a few weeks reality and fervour had begun to return to her religion, and she undertook voluntarily to fast three days a week but the spirit of avarice was still stubborn within her.

At Whitsun Mrs Souchet was back again, and after Mass she began to talk to Joan. “He says this.” “He says that.” What He said or what He meant seemed more and more incomprehensible, but Joan listened attentively; and it began to dawn on her, not only that God was using this shabby old woman to tell her something, but also what that something was: and it was in effect, “I was hungry, and you did not give me food, thirsty, and you did not give me drink; I was a stranger, and you brought me not home, naked, and you clothed me not, sick, and you did not care for me...” And then Joan Delanoue saw in a flash that her vocation was not “business” after all but the service of the poor, that she was not to take but give—and to give without distinction. She went to her wardrobe and took out her best dress. “This”, she said, “is for Mrs So-and-so. I know she doesn’t need it. But our Lord says I’ve got to give it to her.”

This remarkable conversion was as it were confirmed a fortnight later, when Joan was found by her niece standing motionless and senseless in the shop, hearing, seeing and feeling nothing of what went on around her. That ecstasy, of whatever nature it may have been, lasted three whole days and nights; and during it Joan saw in figurative form that she was to give herself to the service of the most abandoned, that others would join her in a most difficult and trying work, that the Abbé Geneteau would be her adviser, and the Mother of God her heavenly guide. All of which was in due course fulfilled.

But whereabouts were these poor creatures who were so urgently needing her attention? Frances Souchet supplied the answer. “He told me that you are to go to Saint-Florent and look after six poor children in a stable there.” So she went, and there sure enough in a dirty stable found six miserable little wretches and their parents, all ill, all cold, all famished. She filled a cart with food, blankets and clothing, and worked for this family two or three days a week for the next two months. That was the beginning. Other cases of need were soon brought to her notice; and in 1698 Joan Delanoue shut up her shop—her business was giving, not taking.

Within three years she was looking after a dozen orphans in her small house with its cavernous annexe. People called it Providence House, and wondered where the money came from. Mrs Souchet knew the answer: “The king of France won’t give you his purse; but the King of kings will always keep His open for you.” Critics shook their heads, and their incredulity seemed justified when, early one morning in the autumn of 1702, the cliff at the back gave way, burying and destroying the house, and killing one of the children. “So much for Miss Delanoue and her Providence!” Even the more sympathetic spoke more in the tones of Job’s comforters than of Jesus. At first she found shelter for her flock in the stables of the house occupied by the Oratorian fathers; but the stream of beggars and rapscallions that followed her was too much for their peace and quiet­ness, and after three months the procurator gave Joan notice to quit. For the next three years and more they were crowded into a house of three rooms and a kitchen, with another cave annexe.

During this time Joan and her niece were joined by two other young women, Joan Bruneau and Anne Mary Tenneguin, and eventually she opened her heart to them: our Lord, she said, had revealed to her that she would found a congregation of religious women, who would wear a certain dress and devote themselves to the poor and sick. She had a simple eloquence, more effective, said the Abbé Cever, than the periods of the most moving preacher, and the three agreed to follow her. The Abbé Geneteau had already been consulted, and on July 26, 1704 they were clothed with the religious habit. It was the feast of St Anne, and thence they took the name, Sisters of St Anne.

For want of room Sister Joan had continually to refuse orphans and old people who needed a home and care, and for years she had dreamed of her little Providence House becoming Great Providence House, that the mockers should be proved to have spoken more wisely than they knew, “like Balaam’s she-ass”, as Mgr Trochu observes. In 1706 then she took her courage in both hands and asked the Oratorians to lease her their big Fountain House. They agreed to do so; and in consideration of the fact that the new tenants were likely to be less quiet and clean than their predecessors, the procurator raised the rent by 150 per cent. In that same year Saumur was visited by St Louis Grignion de Montfort, who was to be canonized in the same year, 1947, that Joan Delanoue was beatified. Sister Joan decided to consult him about her life and vocation. At first he repulsed her, declaring that pride was making her overdo her mortifications: but his final verdict, given before all the sisters, was, “Go on in the way you have begun. God’s spirit is with you; it is He who is leading you in this penitential way. Follow His voice, and fear no more.”

The next ten years was a period of trials and consolations, of ups and downs. The bishop of Angers, Mgr Poncet de la Rivière, gave his canonical approbation to the rule of the growing community, and the first vows were made, Sister Joan taking the name of Joan-of-the-Cross. On the other hand, there were difficulties with their Oratorian landlords, who wanted to take over the direction of the sisters and their works. Jansenism was at work among these priests, and they looked with strong disapproval on such things as Sister Joan’s daily communion, which had been allowed her by the Abbé Geneteau long since. It is an unresolved problem where the money came from to support the institution at this time. In the famine year of 1709 there were more than a hundred persons in the Providence; two years later scurvy threatened to wipe out sisters and charges. Then, when things were looking at their worst, a benefactor appeared, Henry de Vallière, governor of Annecy in Savoy, who did much to put the community on a firm footing. He bought new and larger premises, Three Angels House, to which three other benefactors added adjoining buildings and paid for repairs and enlargements. By the time it was finished a guide was needed to find one’s way about in it—there was now room to shelter the aged as well as orphans, the sick as well as the aged. By 1717 Providence House had become Great Providence House.

Before taking possession of The Three Angels, Sister Joan made a ten-day retreat, which was marked by striking spiritual experiences. About this time the Abbé Geneteau retired, and was succeeded by the Abbé de Tigné, who directed her and her work no less wisely, sympathetically and generously. He too had somewhat to restrain her mortifications, which Pope Pius XI two hundred years later qualified as “unbelievable”; practically from the time of her conversion she did not sleep in a bed but sitting in a chair, or curled up on a chest with a stone for pillow. Even in her lifetime miracles of healing were attributed to her, while she herself suffered atrociously from tooth and ear ache, as well as from pain in hands and feet that seems to have had a less physical origin.

From 1721 the Sisters of St Anne began to make foundations elsewhere, in half a dozen and more places in France, but Bd Joan never felt she had done enough. At last, in September, 1735, her health gave way in a violent fever, which was followed by four months of great spiritual suffering. Then tranquillity of soul returned, but not strength of body; and she died very peacefully on August 17, 1736. She was seventy years old. “That little shopkeeper did more for the poor of Saumur than all the town councillors put together. The king told them to build an almshouse for a hundred old people and pay for it out of the rates. It wasn’t done. Joan Delanoue built one for three hundred with money that she begged. What a woman! And what a saint!” So spoke the citizens of Saumur. And that holiness was proclaimed throughout the Church when Joan Delanoue was beatified in 1947.

The principal source for the personal life of Bd Joan Delanoue is the memories of Sister Mary Laigle, who was a member of the Saumur Providence from the early years of the eighteenth century. Her first biographer was the Abbé Cever, in his Discours, but the standard life is that of Mgr F. Trochu (1938). Of this a summary version was issued at the time of the beatification in 1947. The Sisters of St Anne of the Providence of Saumur must be distinguished from the congregation of the same name but of Turin.


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 37

Sing to Our Lady a new song: for she hath done wonderful things.

In the sight of nations she hath revealed her mercy: her name is heard even to the ends of the earth.

Be mindful, O Lady, of the poor and the wretched: and support them by the help of thy holy refreshment.

For thou, O Lady, art sweet and true: exceedingly patient and full of compassion.

Tread upon the enemies of our souls: and crush with thy holy arm their contumacy.

 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 Nizamuddin Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA) 1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life.
801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions.  Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq.  She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186).  Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186).  She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching.  As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director.  She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222).  A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid.  The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind.  She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca:  "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God.  She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker.  Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219).  During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?'  I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them.  I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me?  Is it not God Who wills it?  When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will?  It is not  well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic.  It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187).  She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world.  A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill.  Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?"  (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold.  She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him.  And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance.  She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did.  For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself.  The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other.  When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from.  "From that other world," she said.  "And where are you going?" she was asked.  "To that other world," she replied (219).  She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end.  Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love.  In this quest, logic and reason were powerless.  Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition.  Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved.  Through this communion, she could discover His will for her.  Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul."  [224]
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Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey  Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament
Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited. 
In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez - brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass.  After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her.  Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy:  “Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” 

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

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement 1362-1950 (1952);
The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and 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}.
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, PSALTER  BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 37 2023