Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
February is dedicated to the Holy Family since the 17th century and by Copts from early times.
2024
23,658  Lives Saved Since 2007
http://www.haitian-childrens-fund.org/

For the Son of man ... will repay every man for what he has done.

The Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) Last Sermon

Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Mary's Divine Motherhood

Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List
Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday   Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday
   Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday   Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War

Acts of the Apostles

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

February 9 – Our Lady of the Castle (Fiorano, Italy, 1558) 
Rebecca is a figure of the Virgin Mary 
Some Christians do not believe that it is possible to pray to the Virgin Mary, or that she can pray for us.
Since the Scriptures are the best means of helping them, let us turn to the Scriptures.

Do you recall the story of Jacob and Esau? Esau had sold his birthright for some lentil soup.
When Isaac had grown old Rebecca wanted to obtain for her son Jacob his father's blessing. Isaac had become blind.
 Rebecca clothed her son Jacob in his brother's garments and Jacob obtained his father's blessing.
Rebecca is a figure of the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin Mary, who loves each of us as Rebecca loved Jacob, clothes us in garments of her son, Jesus Christ.
The Virgin Mary is not the source of God's grace, but her immaculate heart, burning with love of God, wholly united with the heart of Christ, desires our salvation and implores her Son Jesus Christ to clothe us with the "garment of salvation," the grace of God. That is why, like Saint John, we can make a place for Mary in our homes.
She will be an even better mother to us than Rebecca was to Jacob.
 Hervé Marie Catta Taken from www.1000questions.net


February 9 - Octave of the Purification of Mary  Prayer for Women after Childbirth
Almighty and merciful God, Who didst lay upon our mother Eve the fit punishment for her disobedience that she should bear children in sorrow, I offer to Thee all the pains of my child-bearing in propitiation for my sins;
and I thank Thee that, through Thy help, the fruit of my womb has been safely brought forth into the world,
and reborn in Baptism.
According to the example of the Mother of Thy only-begotten Son, I also offer to Thee my child for Thy holy service, and will earnestly strive to bring it up to Thy honor. To this end give me, through the intercession of the most blessed Virgin, Thy grace; bless me and my child, and grant that we may live according to Thy will here,
and hereafter may obtain everlasting happiness.  Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.  Amen.

O God, seeing you are so infinitely lovable, why have you given us but one heart to love you,
and this so little and so narrow? -- St. Philip Neri

Goffine's Devout Instructions of the Epistles and Gospels, Nihil Ostat, Thomas L. Kinkead, 1896,
submitted by Father Hoerstman, Saint Ignatius Church, November 1915


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.


Ashura marks two historical events: the day Nun (Noah) left the Ark,
and the day that Musa (Moses) was saved from the Egyptians by Allah
Hieromartyrs Marcellus, Philagrius and Pancratius -- disciples of the holy Apostle Peter
      Sancti Cyrílli, Epíscopi Alexandríni, Confessóris et Ecclésiæ Doctóris; cujus dies natális quinto Kaléndas Februárii recensétur.  
<cyril_alexandria.jpg
       St. Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, confessor and doctor of the Church.  His birthday was mentioned on the
Jan 28th
249 St. Apollonia martyr patron of dental diseases
elderly virgin and deaconess of Alexandria
      St. Ammon Martyr with Emilian, Lassa, and companions
260 St. Nicephorus Martyr  ready to die in place of Sapricius
362 Primus and Donatus  slain by Donatists  
       St. Alexander Martyr with St. Ammonius and thirty-eight other Christians
444 ST CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
566 Bishop Sabinus of Canosa (Canusium) in Apulia  
576 Brachio 
580 St. Teilo Welsh bishop successful as a preacher founder
590 St. Eingan Welsh prince hermit   
695 St. Ansbert Bishop chancellor serving King Clotaire III 
700 St. Cuaran An Irish bishop became a hermit on Iona
8th v. St. Cronan the Wise bishop of Ireland
760 St. Alto Hermit missionary recorded as an Irishmen 
       St. Nebridius A bishop who served at Egara, near Barcelona, Spain. That see no longer exists.
1088 Blessed Marianus Scotus extraordinarily gifted at producing manuscripts
1094 Blessed Erizzo 4th general of Vallumbrosans
1222 St. Raynald of Nocera  Benedictine bishop Born in Umbria 
1430 Bl. Alvarez of Córdoba Dominican Confessor preacher born in Cordoba
15th v Saint Nicephorus of Vazhe Lake came to St Alexander of Svir (April 17) in the year 1510
1516 Saint Gennadius of Vazhe Lake
1537 St. Jerome Emiliani b. 1481? n 1928 Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.
1805 Saint Innocent of Irkutsk body commemorate the uncovering of his relics in 1805 discovered incorrupt  in 1764
1910 St. Michael Cordero Ecuadorian de La Salle Brother first native vocation there

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him" (Psalm 21:28)
  Mary Mother of GOD

Testify to 10 Miracles; 10 Cases of Heroic Virtue; 1 Martyrdom
“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory” Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

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.



The Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) Last Sermon
This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' (in Mecca).
After praising, and thanking Allah he said:
"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds. ALLAH has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived...
Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

Hieromartyrs Marcellus, Philagrius and Pancratius were disciples of the holy Apostle Peter
and were made bishops by him: St Marcellus, of Sicily; Philagrius, of Cyprus, and Pancratius, of Taormina.
They were put to death for spreading the faith of Christ among the pagans.

St Marcellus, of Sicily; Philagrius, of Cyprus, and Pancratius, of Taormina. They were put to death for spreading the faith of Christ among the pagans.


The Leavetaking of the Meeting of the Lord usually falls on February 9, but may be moved if the Feast falls during the period of the Triodion. In that case, the Typikon must be consulted for information on the Leavetaking.
Usually, the entire office of the Feast is repeated except for the Entrance, festal readings, and Litya at Vespers, and the Polyeleos and festal Gospel at Matins.
The festal Antiphons are not sung at Liturgy, and the Epistle and Gospel of the day are read.

249 Saint Apollonia elderly virgin and deaconess of Alexandria
 Alexandríæ natális sanctæ Apollóniæ, Vírginis et Mártyris, cui persecutóres, sub Décio, dentes omnes primum excussérunt.  Deínde, constrúcto ac succénso rogo, iídem commináti sunt, nisi cum eis ímpia verba proférret, vivam se eam incensúros; at illa, cum páululum intra semetípsam deliberásset, repénte se de mánibus impiórum prorípuit, et in ignem, quem paráverant, majóre Sancti Spíritus flamma intus æstuans, sponte ita prosilívit, ut perterreréntur étiam ipsi crudelitátis auctóres, quod prómptior invénta esset ad mortem fémina quam persecútor ad pœnam.
       At Alexandria, in the reign of Decius, the birthday of St. Apollonia, virgin, who had all her teeth broken out by the persecutors; then, having constructed and lighted a pyre, they threatened to burn her alive unless she uttered with them certain impious words.  Deliberating a while within herself, she suddenly slipped from their grasp, and prompted by the greater fire of the Holy Ghost within her, she rushed voluntarily into the fire which they had prepared.  Those responsible for her death were struck with terror at the sight of a woman who was more willing to die than they to kill her.

  249 ST APOLLONIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR        
    ST Dionysius of Alexandria wrote to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, an account of the persecution of the Christians by the heathen populace of Alexandria in the last year of the reign of the Emperor Philip. The first victim of their rage was a venerable old man named Metras or Metrius, whom they tried to compel to utter blasphemies against God. When he refused, they beat him, thrust splinters of reeds into his eyes, and stoned him to death. The next person they seized was a Christian woman, called Quinta, whom they carried to one of their temples to force her to worship the idol. She addressed their false god with words of scorn which so exasperated the people that they dragged her by the heels over the cobbles, scourged and then stoned her. By this time the rioters were at the height of their fury.
         The Christians offered no resistance but betook themselves to flight, abandoning their goods without complaint because their hearts had no ties upon earth. Their constancy was so general that St Dionysius knew of none who had renounced Christ. Apollonia, an aged deaconess, was seized. With blows in the face they knocked out all her teeth, and then, kindling a great fire outside the city, they threatened to cast her into it unless she uttered certain impious words. She begged for a moment’s delay as if to consider the proposal then, to convince her persecutors that her sacrifice was perfectly voluntary, she no sooner found herself free than she leaped into the flames of her own accord. They next wreaked their fury on a holy man named Serapion and tortured him in his own house then they threw him headlong from the roof.
           We meet with churches and altars dedicated in honour of St Apollonia in most parts of the Western church, but she is not venerated in any Oriental church, though she suffered in Alexandria. To account for her action in thus anticipating her death St Augustine supposes that she acted by a particular direction of the Holy Ghost, since it would not otherwise be lawful for anyone to hasten his own end.
         She is invoked against toothache and all dental diseases, and her more common attributes in art are a pair of pincers holding a tooth, or else a golden tooth suspended on her necklace.
           The statement of St Dionysius of Alexandria is incorporated by Eusebius in his history
         (vi, ix). See also Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. ii; Kü
nstle, Ikonographie, pp. 90—93,
         where an excellent bibliography will be found dealing mainly with the representations of
         St Apollonia in art and Il martirio di S. Apollonia (1934), by G. B. Poletti, a dental surgeon.
         Cf. also an article by H. Nux in the Revue d’odontologie, vol. iii (1947), pp. 113 seq., and
         Fr M. Coens in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxx (1952), pp. 138—159, where some recent
         bibliographical references are given. There is a dentists’ periodical in Boston, U.S.A.,
         called The Apollonian.


The account of the life of St. Apollonia was written by St. Dionysius of Alexandria (October 5) to Fabian, Bishop of Antioch in one of his letters.
Apollonia was an old woman, a deaconess, but she was brave as the other Christians. Her bishop, Saint Dionysius, who witnessed her death, described it in a letter to Fabius and preserved by Eusebius, bishop of Antioch:
When Decius became emperor in 249, he launched the greatest attack upon Christianity up to that time, becoming the first emperor to call for its total exterminaion. St Dionysius says that the persecution started at Alexandria a year before it began in other places, incited by a certain "prophet and poet of evil," who stirred up the people against the Christians.

Backed by the power of the government, the pagans massacred Christians, believing that they were serving their false gods by doing so. The "aged and excellent virgin Apollonia" was seized and struck in the face until all her teeth were knocked out. The mob built a fire outside the city and threatened to burn her alive unless she agreed to worship the idols and sacrifice to the emperor's genius.

St Apollonia asked the pagans to let go of her for a moment so that she could pray. As soon as they did, she leaped into the flames and was consumed, receiving a double crown of martyrdom and virginity. Because of the nature of her torments, she is sometimes depicted with a golden tooth hanging from a necklace, or holding a tooth in a pair of pincers.
She is invoked by those suffering from toothache.
It can never be lawful for a person by any action willfully to concur to, or hasten his own death, though many martyrs, out of a desire to lay down their lives for God, anticipated the executioners in completing their sacrifice. Rather it was a monstrous belief among the ancient Greeks and Romans that it was honorable, even heroic, to commit suicide in distress, as a remedy against temporal miseries. As Christians we believe that our lives are not our own, they belong to God. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Our lives are the greatest gift God has bestowed upon us. Whatever befalls us in this life, it takes more courage and greatness of spirit to endure sufferings patiently than to take our own lives. We see the example of Job in the Old Testament, and trust in God.

After the deaths of these four martyrs in ancient Alexandria, the rioters were in the height of their fury. Alexandria seemed like a city taken by storm. The Christians made no opposition, but betook themselves to flight, and beheld the loss of their goods with joy; for their hearts had no ties on earth. Their constancy was equal to their disinterestedness; for of all who fell into their hands, Saint Dionysius knew of none that renounced Christ. A civil war put an end to the fury of the populace, but the edict of Decius renewed it in 250. In this true story, we see the damage that can be caused by rumor.

Although altars and churches were soon dedicated to her in the West, Apollonia appears to have had no cultus in the East. Perhaps this was because she was soon confused with another Saint Apollonia who was martyred by Julian the Apostate. Of course, later artists and writers turned her into a beautiful young girl, daughter of a king, sometimes tortured by her own father by having her teeth extracted by pincers. Sometimes the story ends with the repentance of her father who vows to help those who suffer from toothache.

A quarterly publication for dentists out of Boston, Massachusetts, is called, appropriately, The Apollonian. Her feast is now celebrated only by those parishes of which she is the patroness (Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, Tabor, White).

With good reason, Saint Apollonia is pictured holding a tooth (sometimes gold) with a pair of pincers. She may be shown after her teeth were pulled out or simply with a book and pincers. She is invoked against toothache (Roeder). If she does not have the pincers, she usually wears a necklace made of her own teeth (Bentley). She is the patron of dentists (White). There is a frescoe of her by Luini at Saronno (Tabor).
260 St. Nicephorus Martyr  ready to die in place of Sapricius Father Delehaye is absolutely right in characterizing the narrative summarized as nothing better than a pious romance.
 Antiochíæ sancti Nicéphori Mártyris, qui sub Valeriáno Imperatóre, cápite cæsus, martyrii corónam accépit.
       At Antioch, under Emperor Valerian, St. Nicephorus, martyr, who was beheaded and thus received the crown of martyrdom.
He was supposedly put to death during the persecutions under Emperor Valenan, although there is serious question about his historical existence. Tradition states that Nicephorus’ martyrdom involved a priest named Sapricius, who apostatized, which brought about Nicephorus’ death.

Nicephorus of Antioch M (RM) Died 260. Saint Nicephorus was martyred in Antioch under Valerian. The known acta may be pious fiction designed to teach the need to forgive injuries.


            ST NICEPHORUS, MARTYR (No DATE)
         THERE dwelt in Antioch a priest called Sapricius and a layman named Nicephorus, who were close friends of many years, but dissension having arisen their friendship was succeeded by bitter hatred. This continued for a time until Nicephorus, realizing the sinfulness of such animosity, resolved to seek a reconciliation. Twice he deputed some of his friends to go to Sapricius to ask his forgiveness. The priest, however, refused to be placated. Nicephorus sent a third time—but still to no purpose, Sapricius having closed his ears even to Christ who commands us to forgive as we would be forgiven. Nicephorus now went in person to his house and, owning his fault, humbly begged for pardon; but this succeeded no better.
     It was the year 260, when the persecution against the Christians suddenly began to rage under Valerian and Gallienus.  Sapricius soon after was apprehended and brought before the governor, who asked him his name. ‘‘Sapricius”, he answered. “Of what profession inquired the governor.”  I am a Christian.” Then he was asked if he was of the clergy.  “ I have the honour to be a priest”, replied Sapricius, adding, “We Christians acknowledge one Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who is God the only and true God, who created heaven and earth. The gods of the pagans are devils.”
   The president, exasperated, gave orders for him to be tortured on the rack. This did not shake the constancy of Sapricius, who said to his tormentors, “My body is in your power, but you cannot touch my soul of which my Saviour Jesus Christ is master”. The president, seeing him so resolute, pronounced sentence : “ Sapricius, the Christian priest, who is so ridiculously certain that he will rise again, shall be delivered over to the public executioner to be beheaded, because he has condemned the edict of the emperors Sapricius seemed to receive this sentence cheerfully, and was in haste to arrive at the place of execution. Nicephorus ran to meet him and, casting himself at his feet, said, “Martyr of Jesus Christ, forgive me my offence.” Sapricius made no answer. Nicephorus waited for him in another street and again besought forgiveness, but the heart of Sapricius was more and more hardened and he would not even look at him. The soldiers jeered at Nicephorus for being so anxious for the pardon of a criminal about to die. At the place of execution, Nicephorus renewed his supplications, but all in vain. The executioner ordered Sapricius to kneel down that they might cut off his head. Sapricius asked, “Upon what account ?”—Because you will not sacrifice to the gods or obey the emperors.” The wretched man exclaimed, “Stay, friends ! Do not put me to death. I will do as you desire I am ready to sacrifice.” Nicephorus, distressed at his apostasy, exclaimed, “Brother, what are you doing? Do not renounce our master, Jesus Christ I Do not forfeit a crown you have gained by your sufferings!” But as Sapricius would pay no attention to his words, Nicephorus, weeping bitterly, said to the executioners, “I am a Christian, and believe in Jesus Christ whom this miserable man has denied: behold, I am ready to die in his stead.” All were greatly astonished, and the officers dispatched a lictor to the governor, asking what they should do. The governor replied that if Nicephorus persisted in refusing to sacrifice to the gods, he should perish; and he was accordingly executed. Thus, Nicephorus received three immortal crowns, of faith, of humility and of charity.
Although St Nicephorus is commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology, and though the acts have been included by Ruinart in his collection of authentic stories of martyrdoms, there can be little doubt that Father Delehaye is absolutely right in characterizing the narrative summarized above as nothing better than a pious romance. Ruinart has not in fact been quite candid in his treatment of the text which he prints. The older Greek text contains many citations from Scripture and other comments which to the discerning eye betray the purpose of edification which the author had dominantly in view. These Ruinart, following a later recension, has omitted. The whole object of the Nicephorus narrative, as Delehaye (Les passions des martyrs et les genres litéraires, 1925, p. 220) points out, is to teach the moral lesson of the forgiveness of injuries. He holds that these acts constitute a typical specimen of the “romance of the imagination”, the hero of which never existed (see Les légendes hagiographiques, 1927, pp. 109 and 113). It is true that Nicephorus has been adopted as a local saint in Istria (ib., p. 56), but he certainly did not belong there.  See the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. ii; BHL., nn. 6085, 6086 BHG., nn. 1331—1334 Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi (1897), p. 299.   
They tell us that Nicephorus had a long- time, close friend, a priest named Sapricius. The two had a falling out, which turned friendship into hatred. After a long time, Nicephorus reflected upon the grievousness of the sin of hatred, and resolved to seek a reconciliation. Because Sapricius would not talk to him, he asked some mutual friends to go to Sapricius to beg his pardon and promise him satisfaction for the injury done him.

The priest refused to forgive him. Again, Nicephorus tried a second and a third time to forge a reconciliation. Sapricius was inflexible. He had shut his heart to Christ's command to forgive others in order that the Father might forgive us. Finally, to no avail, Nicephorus himself went to his former friend, cast himself at Sapricius's feet, and begged forgiveness.

At that time, 260 AD, another persecution of Christians was raging. Sapricius was arrested, examined, and tortured in an attempt to make him apostatize. The words of Sapricius were commendable. Sapricius received the sentence of beheading with seeming cheerfulness. On his way to the place of execution, he was met by Nicephorus, who caste himself at the priest's feet: "Martyr of Jesus Christ, forgive me my offense." But Sapricius would not answer.

Nicephorus waited for him in another street which he was to pass through, and as soon as he saw him coming up, broke through the crowd, and falling again at his feet, begged pardon for the injury caused by frailty rather than design. This he begged by the glorious confession he had made of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Sapricius's heart was more and more hardened, and now he would not so much as look on him. The soldiers laughed at Nicephorus, saying: "I've never seen a greater fool than you who are so solicitous for the pardon of a man on the verge of execution." At the place of execution, Nicephorus redoubled his humble entreaties and supplications, but all in vain; for Sapricius continued as obstinate as ever, in refusing to forgive. At the same time the devil was working in other ways. Sapricius apostatized at the last moment. Nicephorus, taken aback, demurred, "Brother, what are you doing? Don't renounce Jesus Christ our good Master! Don't forfeit the crown you have already won by your sufferings!" But Sapricius paid no attention.

Then with tears of bitter anguish for Sapricius, Nicephorus confessed that he was a Christian and was ready to die in place of Sapricius. Everyone there was astonished. At first the officers of justice were uncertain how to proceed. Nicephorus was executed by the sword and won for himself three immortal crowns, namely, of faith, humility, and charity (Benedictines, Husenbeth).
Saint Nicephorus is usually portrayed at his martyrdom: He is either in a tub or a barrel and pierced through (Roeder).
St. Alexander Martyr with St. Ammonius and thirty-eight other Christians
 Romæ pássio sanctórum Mártyrum Alexándri et aliórum trigínta octo coronatórum.
      At Rome, the passion of the holy martyrs Alexander and thirty-eight others crowned with him.
There is some debate concerning this martyrdom, similar to one in Soli on Cyprus.

362 Primus and Donatus  slain by Donatists MM, Deacons (RM)
 In castéllo Lemelénsi, in Africa, sanctórum Mártyrum Primi et Donáti Diaconórum, qui, cum altáre in Ecclésia tutaréntur, a Donatístis occísi sunt.
       In the village of Lamelum in Africa, the holy martyrs Primus and Donatus, deacons, who were killed by the Donatists as they guarded the altar in the church.

Deacons Primus and Donatus were slain by Donatists during a struggle for control of the Church at Lavallum in northwest Africa (Benedictines).

444 ST CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH  
            ST CYRIL
has been called the Doctor of the Incarnation, as St Augustine was styled the Doctor of Divine Grace in the great intercession of the Syrian and Maronite Mass he is commemorated as “a tower of truth and interpreter of the Word of God made flesh”.

Throughout his life he made it a rule never to advance any doctrine which he had not learnt from the ancient fathers, but his books against Julian the Apostate show that he had also read the profane writers. He often said himself that he neglected human eloquence, and it is certainly to be regretted that he did not cultivate a clearer style and write purer Greek.
Upon the death of his uncle Theophilus in 412, he was raised to the see of Alexandria. He began to exert his authority by causing the churches of the Novatians to be closed and their sacred vessels to be seized—an action condemned by the church historian Socrates, but we do not know his reasons and the grounds upon which he acted. He next drove out the Jews, who were numerous and who had enjoyed privileges in the city since the time of Alexander the Great. Their generally seditious attitude and several acts of violence committed by them decided him to take this step, which incensed Orestes the governor, although it was approved by the Emperor Theodosius. This unhappy disagreement with Orestes led to grievous results. Hypatia, a pagan woman of noble character, was the most influential teacher of philosophy at that time in Alexandria, and her reputation was so great that disciples flocked to her from all parts. Among these was the great Bishop Synesius, who submitted his works to her criticism. She was much respected by the governor, who used to consult her even on matters of civil administration.
  Nowhere was the populace more unruly or more prone to lawless acts of violence than in Alexandria. Acting upon a suspicion that Hypatia had incensed the governor against their bishop, the mob in 417 attacked her in the streets, pulled her out of her chariot, and tore her body in pieces—to the great grief and scandal of all good men, and especially, it may be believed, of St Cyril. Only one other fact is known to us concerning this earlier period of his episcopate. He had imbibed certain prejudices against St John Chrysostom, having been with Theophilus at the Synod of The Oak; Cyril had something of his uncle’s obstinacy, and it was no easy matter to induce him to insert Chrysostom’s name in the diptychs of the Alexandrian church.
           In the year 428 Nestorius, a priest-monk of Antioch, was made archbishop of Constantinople ; and he there taught with some of his clergy that there were two distinct persons in Christ, that of God and that of man, joined only by a moral union whereby, according to them, the Godhead dwelt in the manhood merely as its temple. Consequently he denied the Incarnation, that God was made man. He also said that the Blessed Virgin ought not to be styled the mother of God, but only of the man Christ, whose humanity was but the temple of the divinity and not a nature hypostatically assumed by the divine Person. His homilies gave great offence, and protests arose from all sides against the errors they contained. St Cyril sent him a mild expostulation, but was answered with.haughtiness and contempt. Both parties appealed to Pope St Celestine I who, after examining the doctrine in a council at Rome, condemned it and pronounced a sentence of excommunication and deposition against Nestorius unless, within ten days of receiving notice of the sentence, he publicly retracted his errors. St Cyril, who was appointed to see the sentence carried out, sent Nestorius, with his third and last summons, twelve propositions with anathemas to be signed by him as a proof of his orthodoxy.
         Nestorius, however, showed himself more obstinate than ever.*   *  It is debatable whether Nestorius in fact held all the opinions attributed to him in  any case he was hardly the originator of the heresy that bears his name.

           This occasioned the summoning of the third general council which was held at Ephesus in 431, attended by two hundred bishops with St Cyril at their head as senior bishop and Pope Celestine’s representative. Nestorius was present in the town, but refused to appear; so after his sermons had been read and other evidence received against him, his doctrines were condemned, and a sentence of excommunication and deposition was pronounced. Six days later there arrived at Ephesus Archbishop John of Antioch, with forty-one bishops who had not been able to reach Ephesus in time. They were in favour of Nestorius, although they did not share his errors, of which indeed they deemed him innocent. Instead of associating themselves with the council, they assembled by themselves and presumed to depose St Cyril, accusing him in turn of heresy. Both sides appealed to the emperor, by whose order St Cyril and Nestorius were both arrested and kept in confinement.
         When three legates arrived from Pope Celestine, the matter took another turn. After a careful consideration of what had been done, the legates confirmed the condemnation of Nestorius, approved Cyril’s conduct, and declared the sentence pronounced against him null and void. Thus he was vindicated with honour and, though the bishops of the Antiochene province continued their schism for a while, they made peace with St Cyril in 433, when they condemned Nestorius and gave a clear and orthodox declaration of their own faith. Nestorius retired to his old monastery at Antioch, but later was exiled to the Egyptian desert.
     St Cyril, who had thus triumphed over heresy by his intrepidity and courage, spent the rest of his life in maintaining the faith of the Church and in the labours of his see, until his death in 444.  The Alexandrians gave him the title of Teacher of the World, whilst Pope Celestine described him as “the generous defender of the Catholic faith” and “an apostolic man”. He was a man of strong and impulsive character, brave but sometimes over-vehement, indeed violent. Abbot Chapman has suggested that more patience and diplomacy on his part might have prevented the rise of the Nestorian Church which was for so long a power in the East. But we have to thank him for the firm and uncompromising stand he took with regard to the dogma of the Incarnation—an attitude which led to the clear statements of the great council over which he presided. Although since his day Nestorianism and Pelagianism have, from time to time and under different names, tried to rear their heads in various quarters of the world, they have never again been a real menace to the Catholic Church as a whole. We ought indeed to be grateful that we, in our generation, are left in no doubt as to what we should believe with regard to that holy mystery upon which we base our faith as Christians.

He was declared a doctor of the Universal Church in 1882  and at the fifteenth centenary of his death in 1944 Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical letter, “Orientalis ecclesiae”, on “this light of Christian wisdom and valiant hero of the apostolate
.
    The great devotion of this saint to the Blessed Sacrament is manifest from the frequency with which he emphasizes the effects it produces upon those who receive it worthily. Indeed, he says that by holy communion we are made concorporeal with Christ. And it must surely be difficult for those who profess to hold the same faith as that defined in the first six general councils to shut their eyes to the vigour and conviction with which St Cyril before the year 431 affirmed his Eucharistic doctrine. In a letter to Nestorius, which received the general and formal assent of the fathers at Ephesus, he had written
        
              Proclaiming the death according to the flesh of the only begotten Son of
            God, that is, Jesus Christ, and confessing His resurrection from the dead and
            ascent into Heaven, we celebrate the bloodless sacrifice in our churches and
            thus approach the mystic blessings, and are sanctified by partaking of the holy
            flesh and the precious blood of Christ the Saviour of us all. And we receive
            it, not as common flesh (God forbid), nor as the flesh of a man sanctified and
            associated with the Word according to the unity of merit, or as having a divine
            indwelling, but as really the life-giving and very flesh of the Word Himself
            (Migne, PG., lxxvii, xii).
            And he wrote to Calosyrius, Bishop of Arsinoë:
              I hear that they say that the sacramental consecration does not avail for
            hallowing if a portion of it be kept to another day. In saying so they are crazy.
            For Christ is not altered, nor will His holy body be changed; but the power
            of the consecration and the life-giving grace still remain in it (Migne, PG.,
            lxxvi, 1073).
        
           Our knowledge of St Cyril is derived principally from his own writings and from the church historians Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. The view of his life and work presented by Butler is the traditional view, and we are not here directly concerned with the discussions which, owing mainly to the discovery of the work known as The Bazaar of Heracleides, have since been devoted to the character of Nestorius and his teaching.
   
      Literature connected with St Cyril is very copious. A sufficient account will be found in
         the two articles in DTC., 
Cyrille d’Alexandrie  and “Ephèse, Concile de—as well as
         in Bardenhewer’s Patrology. See also Duchesne, Histoire ancienne de l’É
glise, vol. iii (Eng.
         trans.) Abbot Chapman in the Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. iv, pp. 592—595 and A.
         Fortescue, The Greek Fathers (1908).


Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, a distinguished champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church, came from an illustrious and pious Christian family. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the truths of the Christian Faith. In his youth Cyril entered the monastery of Macarius in the Nitreia hills, where he stayed for six years. Theophilus (385-412), the Patriarch of Alexandria, ordained him as a deacon, numbered him among the clergy and entrusted him to preach.

Upon the death of Patriarch Theophilus, Cyril was unanimously chosen to the patriarchal throne of the Alexandrian Church. He led the struggle against the spread of the Novatian heresy in Alexandria, which taught that any Christian who had fallen away from the Church during a time of persecution, could not be received back into it.

Cyril, seeing the futility of admonishing the heretics, sought their expulsion from Alexandria. The Jews appeared a greater danger for the Church, repeatedly causing riots, accompanied by the brutal killing of Christians. The saint long contended with them. In order to wipe out the remnants of paganism, the saint cast out devils from an ancient pagan temple and built a church on the spot, and the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John were transferred into it. A more difficult struggle awaited the saint with the emergence of the Nestorian heresy.

Nestorius, a presbyter of the Antiochian Church, was chosen in 428 to the see of Constantinople and there he was able to spread his heretical teaching against the dogma about the uncommingled union of two natures in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nestorius called the Mother of God not the Theotokos, but rather Christotokos or “Birth-giver of Christ,” implying that she gave birth not to God, but only to the man Christ. The holy Patriarch Cyril repeatedly wrote to Nestorius and pointed out his error, but Nestorius continued to persevere in it. Then the saint sent out epistles against Nestorianism to the clergy of Constantinople and to the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), denuncing the heresy. Cyril wrote also to other Churches, to Pope Celestine and to the other Patriarchs, and even to monks of several monasteries, warning of the emergence of a dangerous heresy.

Nestorius started an open persecution against the Orthodox. In his presence one of his partisans, Bishop Dorotheus, pronounced an anathema against anyone who would call the Most Holy Virgin Mary the Theotokos.

Nestorius hated Cyril and brought out against him every kind of slander and fabrication, calling him a heretic. The saint continued to defend Orthodoxy with all his powers. The situation became so aggravated, that it became necessary to call an Ecumenical Council, which convened in the city of Ephesus in the year 431. At the Council 200 bishops arrived from all the Christian Churches. Nestorius, awaiting the arrival of Bishop John of Antioch and other Syrian bishops, did not agree to the opening of the Council. But the Fathers of the Council began the sessions with Cyril presiding. Having examined the teaching of Nestorius, the Council condemned him as a heretic. Nestorius did not submit to the Council, and Bishop John opened a “robber council”, which decreed Cyril a heretic. The unrest increased. By order of the emperor, Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria and Archbishop Memnon of Ephesus were locked in prison, and Nestorius was deposed.

Soon Sts Cyril and Memnon were freed, and the sessions of the Council continued. Nestorius, not submitting himself to the determinations of the Council, was deprived of priestly rank. By order of the emperor he was sent to the faraway place Sasim in the Libyan wilderness, where he died in grievous torments. His tongue, having blasphemed the Mother of God, was overtaken by punishment -- in it there developed worms. Even Bishop John of Antioch and the remaining Syrian bishops signed the decrees of the Council of Ephesus.

Cyril guided the Alexandrian Church for 32 years, and towards the end of his life the flock was cleansed of heretics. Gently and cautiously Cyril approached anyone, who by their own simpleness and lack of knowledge, fell into false wisdom. There was a certain Elder, an ascetic of profound life, who incorrectly considered the Old Testament Priest Melchizedek to be the Son of God. Cyril prayed for the Lord to reveal to the Elder the correct way to view the righteous one. After three days the Elder came to Cyril and said that the Lord had revealed to him that Melchizedek was a mere man.

Cyril learned to overcome his prejudice against the memory of the great John Chrysostom (November 13). Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and uncle of Cyril, was an antagonist of John, and presided in a council in judgment of him. Cyril thus found himself in a circle antagonistic to John Chrysostom, and involuntarily acquired a prejudice against him. Isidore of Pelusium (February 4) repeatedly wrote to Cyril and urged him to include the name of the great Father of the Church into the diptychs of the saints, but Cyril would not agree.

Once in a dream he saw a wondrous temple, in which the Mother of God was surrounded by a host of angels and saints, in whose number was John Chrysostom. When Cyril wanted to approach the All-Holy Lady and venerate her, John Chrysostom would not let him. The Theotokos asked John to forgive Cyril for having sinned against him through ignorance. Seeing that John hesitated, the Mother of God said, “Forgive him for my sake, since he has labored much for my honor, and has glorified me among the people calling me Theotokos.” John answered, “By your intercession, Lady, I do forgive him,” and then he embraced Cyril with love.


Cyril repented that he had maintained anger against the great saint of God. Having convened all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn feast in honor of John Chrysostom.

Cyril died in the year 444, leaving behind many works. In particular, the following ought to be mentioned: commentaries On the Gospel of Luke, On the Gospel of John, On the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and to the Hebrews; also an Apologia in Defense of Christianity against the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Of vast significance are his Five Books against Nestorius; a work on the Most Holy Trinity under the title Thesaurus, written against Arius and Eunomios. Also two dogmatic compositions on the Most Holy Trinity, distinguished by a precise exposition of the Orthodox teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Cyril wrote Against Anthropomorphism for several Egyptians, who through ignorance depicted God in human form. Among Cyril’s works are also The Discussions, among which is the moving and edifying Discourse on the Exodus of the Soul, inserted in the Slavonic “Following Psalter”.

Today we commemorate the repose of this great Father of the Church. He is also remembered on January 18, the date of his flight from Alexandria.

566 Bishop Sabinus of Canosa (Canusium) in Apulia B (RM)
 Canúsii, in Apúlia, sancti Sabíni, Epíscopi et Confessóris; qui (ut beátus Gregórius Papa refert), prophetíæ spíritu ac miraculórum dono præditus, sibi jam cæco exhíbitum a fámulo, præmiis corrúpto, venéni póculum divino agnóvit instínctu, sed, prænuntiáta mox a Deo suménda de corruptóre vindícta signóque Crucis facto, venénum secúrus ebíbit ac nullum ex eo nocuméntum accépit.
      At Canossa in Apulia, St. Sabinus, bishop and confessor.  Blessed Pope Gregory tells that he was endowed with the spirit of prophecy and the power of miracles.  After he had become blind, when a cup of poison was offered to him by a servant who was bribed, he knew it by divine instinct.  He, however, declared that God would punish the one who had bribed the servant, and, making the sign of the cross, he drank the poison without anxiety and without harmful effect.
Bishop Sabinus of the now-destroyed city of Canosa (Canusium) in Apulia was a friend of Saint Benedict. Pope Saint Agapitus I entrusted him with an embassy to Emperor Justinian (535-536). He is the patron saint of Bari, where his relics are now enshrined (Benedictines).

566 ST SABINUS BISHOP OF CANOSA   
   THE history of St Sabinus is rather difficult to disentangle, not only because it has been overlaid with legend, but also because there are two other saints of the same name inscribed in the Acta Sanctorum on February 9 and some points in their lives are so similar that it seems as though they had been confused.
One of them was a bishop who assisted at the consecration of St Michael’s sanctuary on Monte Gargano in 493 and was buried at Atripaldo, but our saint lived later and his body was interred elsewhere. He was born at Canosa* in Apulia. * Canosa in Apulia (Canusium) is quite a different place from Canossa, not far from Parma, famous in the life of Pope St Gregory VII.


From his youth he only desired the things of God and cared nothing for money, except as a means of helping the poor which he did most generously. He became bishop of Canosa, and was on friendly terms with the most prominent men of his time, including St Benedict himself, who appears to have foretold to him that Rome would not be destroyed by Totila and the Goths.

Pope St Agapitus I sent him to the court of the Emperor Justinian to support the newly-appointed patriarch, St Mennas, against the heretic Anthimus, and he attended the council presided over by Mennas in the year 536. On his way back through Lycia, he visited the tomb of St Nicholas at Myra and saw the saint in a vision.
   In old age Sabinus lost his sight, but was endowed with great inward light and with the gift of prophecy. It is related that Totila, wishing to test it, persuaded the bishop’s cupbearer to let him proffer the drinking-cup to the blind saint. No sooner had Sabinus grasped the cup than he exclaimed, “Long live that hand
; and from thenceforth Totila and his courtiers held him to be indeed a prophet.
     Another occasion on which he displayed this power was when his archdeacon, Vindimus, who was eager to obtain the bishopric, wishing to hasten his death induced the cupbearer to put poison in the old man’s cup. St Sabinus said to the youth, “Drink it yourself!  I know what it contains”. Then, as the cupbearer started back in terror, the saint took the goblet and drained it, saying, “I will drink this, but the instigator of this crime will never be a bishop”. The poison did him no harm, but his would-be successor died that same hour, in his own house three miles away.

St Sabinus died in his fifty-second year, and his body was eventually translated to Bari, where it seems to have been forgotten for a time and rediscovered in 1901. In 1562, the marble altar under which his relics lay was overlaid with silver and an inscription engraved upon it, recording the saint’s chief actions.
           See the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. ii; the Dialogues of St Gregory, bk ii, ch. 15,
           and bk iii, ch. 5 and Ughelli-Coletus, Italia Sacra, vol. x (1722), p. 37.

580 St. Teilo Welsh bishop successful as a preacher founder
also called Eliud, Issell, Teillo, Teilou, Dub, and Theliau.
ST TEILO, BISHOP     (SIXTH CENTURY)
         THERE is ample evidence from the manuscript Book of St Chad, church-dedications and the like that St Teilo was a very important man in South Wales in his time, but there are no extant writings about his life till some five hundred years after his death.
   Around the year 1130 Geoffrey (Galfridus), a priest of Llandaff, composed a life of Teilo in the form of a sermon and what seems to be a longer version of this life, altered to add glory to the see of Llandaff, is contained in the Liber Landavensis.
   Stripped of obvious accretions and borrowings from the lives of other saints, we are told that Teilo was born near Penally, hard by Tenby in Pembrokeshire, and the earlier form of his name was Eliud. He was the pupil first of St Dubricius and then of one Paulinus (possibly St Paul Aurelian is meant), with whom he met St David. Teilo is then made to accompany David on his mythical visit to Jerusalem. During the yellow plague, so called “because it made everyone it attacked yellow and bloodless”, Teilo with others went abroad, the Book of Llandaff says to Brittany, where he stayed with St Samson at Dol; and they “planted a big orchard of fruit-trees, three miles long, reaching from Dol to Cai, which is still called after their names.”
      After seven years St Teilo returned to Wales, and died eventually at Llandeilo Fawr in Carmarthenshire, where (and not at Llandaff) was certainly his chief monastery and the centre of his ministry. A dispute concerning the custody of his body arose between Llandeilo, Llandaff and Penally, “on the ground of the burial-place of his fathers being there and of his hereditary rights in the place”; we need not believe the story that this was settled by the miraculous multiplication of his body to satisfy the three claims.

There is attributed to Teilo a reply to a question put by St Cadoc,
“The greatest wisdom in a man is to refrain from injuring another when it is in his power to do so.”
   In speaking of charters granted to the see of Llandaff, the Liber Landavensis mentions three in what is now Monmouthshire which are of interest. The first is the grant to Teilo by Iddon ab Ynyr, “king” of Gwent, of his house, formerly belonging to St Dubricius, at Llangarth (Llanarth), * “ with all its territory and sanctuary”. *

Llanarth is one of the few districts in Wales where the Catholic faith has never died out since the Protestant Reformation.

The second is the not far distant Lann Maur, now Llandeilo Pertholey.
The third is also close by. Here Iddon was faced by a force of marauding Saxons. He asked the aid of Teilo, who was then at Llanarth. The saint accompanied him to a hill at Cressinych by the river Trothy, where he stood and prayed to Almighty God “for His people who had been despoiled, and God gave them the victory”. In gratitude Iddon granted the place to Teilo; it is now called Llandeilo Crossenny.
   Traces of the cultus of St Teilo in place-names and church-dedications are abundant all over South Wales, and are also found in Brittany, especially at Landeleau in the diocese of Quimper. His feast is still observed in the archdiocese of Cardiff and on Caldey island.
     Teilo is one of the four saints in whose honour the cathedral of Llandaff is dedicated: the others were Peter the Apostle, Dubricius and Oudoceus. Nothing certain is known about the last named, who is reputed to have been Teilo’s nephew and successor.
The text of the Book of  Llan Dâv was reproduced and commented on in detail by J. G. Evans in 1893, and the life of St Teilo therein critically edited by J. Loth in Annales de Bretagne, t. ix and x (1593). The best summary is Canon Doble’s St Teilo (1942). See also LBS, vol. iv, pp. 226—242, and Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xiv, pp. 445 seq. For St Oudoceus (Euddogwy), see Doble’s pamphlet.
A native of Penally, Pembrokshire, Wales, he studied under Sts. Dyfrig and Dubricius. He accompanied the famed St. David of Wales to Jerusalem and was a friend and assistant to St. Samson in Brittany, France, for seven years. Returning to Wales in 554, he was quite successful as a preacher and founded and served as abbot-bishop of Llandaff monastery in Dyfed, Wales. He was buried in Llandaff Cathedral.

Teilo of Llandaff B (AC) (also known as Teilio, Teilus, Thelian, Teilan, Teilou, Dillo, Dillon, Elidius, Eliud)
Born near Penally by Tenby, Pembrokeshire; died c. 580. There is plenty of evidence, both documentary and from place names and dedications, that Saint Teilo was widely venerated in southern Wales and Brittany. (His name may be spelled Teilio, Teilus, Thelian, Teilan, Teilou, Teliou, Dillo, or Dillon.) He was undoubtedly an influential churchman, whose principal monastic foundation and center of ministry was Llandeilo Fawr in Carmarthenshire; but available information on his life is late, confused, and contradictory.

Some facts are fairly certain. Teilo was educated under Saint Dyfrig (Dubricius) and a Paulinus, possibly Paul Aurelian through whom he met Saint David (Dewi).
We are told among other things that Teilo went with Saint David and Saint Paternus on David's mythical pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is also related that during the 'yellow plague,' so called "because it made everyone it attacked yellow and bloodless," he went to Brittany and stayed with Saint Samson at Dol. There they "planted a big orchard of fruit-trees, three miles long, reaching from Dol to Cai, which is still called after their names." After seven years Teilo went back to Wales, dying at or near Llandeilo Fawr in Carmarthenshire, the site of his chief monastery and the center of his ministry.

One of the interesting, though probably fictional, elements of his story is that his sister Anaumed went over to Armorica in 490, and upon her arrival was married to Budic, king of the Armorican Britons. Before she left her own country she promised her brother that she would consecrate her first child in a particular manner to God.

It is said that Llandeilo, Penally, and Llandaff disputed which should have his relics. Miraculously his body multiplied into three overnight so that each should have it. This is the explanation given for the three different sets of relics for Teilo.

Much of the writing about Saint Teilo was composed in the interests of the medieval see of Llandaff, which claimed him as its second bishop. About 1130, Geoffrey (Galfridus), a priest of Llandaff, composed a vita of Teilo in the form of a sermon. A longer version of this life, altered to add importance to the diocese of Llandaff, can be found in the Liber Landavensis. Teilo is co-titular of the Llandaff cathedral with Saints Peter, Dubricius, and Oudoceus (Euddogwy). The last-named was claimed as Teilo's nephew and successor at Llandaff, but it is possible that he was a fictitious character, made up from legends about other people.

The Gospels of Saint Chad (written in southwestern Mercia about 700 AD) became the property of a church of Saint Teilo; marginal notes show that in the 9th century Teilo was venerated in southern Wales as the founder of a monastery called the Familia Teliavi. The book itself was regarded as belonging to Teilo; the curse of God and the saint is invoked on those who break the agreements contained in it.

The tomb of Saint Teilo, on which oaths are taken, is in Llandaff Cathedral. It was opened in 1850. Inside it was a record of another opening in 1736: "the parson buried appear'd to be a bishop by his Pastorall Staffe and Crotcher." The staff disintegrated but the pewter crozier remained. Outside of Wales, Teilo's name is especially venerated in Landeleau (diocese of Quimper), Brittany. His feast is still observed in the archdiocese of Cardiff and on Caldey Island (Attwater, Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth, Walsh).
576 Brachio
"Hunter who got caught in the trap of a hermit" (Encyclopedia).

590 St. Eingan Welsh prince hermit  6th century
also called Anianus, Einon, and Eneon. He came from Cumberland, in Wales, the son of a chieftain. Eingan had a hermitage built at Llanengan, near Bangor

Eingan of Llanengan, Hermit (AC) (also known as Einganor Eneon, Einion, Eneon, Anianus)
6th century (died c. 590); feast day sometimes shown as April 21. The British (or Scotus) prince Saint Eingan or Eneon Bhrenin, left Cumberland for Wales, where he ended his days as a hermit at Llanengan near Bangor. He is said to have been a son of the chieftain Cunedda, whose family claims no less than 50 saints (Benedictines).

695 St. Ansbert Bishop chancellor serving King Clotaire III of France.
 In monastério Fontanéllæ, in Gállia, sancti Ansbérti, Rotomagénsis Epíscopi.
       In the monastery of Fontanelle in France, St. Ansbert, bishop of Rouen.

695 ST ANSBERT, BISHOP OF ROUEN
    ANSBERT of Chaussy was chancellor to King Clotaire III, and in that position combined the recollection of a monk with the duties of a married man and of a statesman (he was at one time engaged to St Angadrisma; cf. her on October 14).
   Later he took the monastic habit at Fontenelle under St Wandregisilus and, when that holy founder’s immediate successor, St Lambert, was made bishop of Lyons, Ansbert was appointed abbot of the famous monastery. He was confessor to King Theodoric III, with whose consent he was chosen bishop of Rouen upon the death of St Ouen in 684. By his care, good order, learning and piety flourished in his diocese; nevertheless Pepin, mayor of the palace, seemingly for some political motive, banished him upon a false accusation to the monastery of Hautmont, on the Sambre in Hainault, where he died.
A good deal of controversy has arisen over the Life of St Ansbert, the best text of which
is that edited by W. Levison in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. v, pp. 613—643. Levison
considers that the life is not what it claims to be, the work of Aigradus, a contemporary,
but that its composition must be assigned to the end of the eighth century or the beginning
of the ninth. With this verdict, as against Vacandard (Revue des Quest. Histor., vol. lxvii,
1900, pp. 600—612), the modern Bollandists agree.
See also Legris in  Analecta  Bollandianna vol. xvii (1898), Pp. 265—306;
and Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, pp. 207—208.
A noted courtier, Ansbert was named the abbot of Fontenelle in Rouen, France. There he served as confessor to one of the kings of the Ostrogoths. In 684, Ansbert succeeded St. Quen as bishop of Rouen, but was caught up in the political upheavals of his time. After a time, Ansbert was exiled to Hautmont Monastery by Pepin, the mayor of the royal palace. Ansbert died in the monastery.

Ansbert of Fontenelle, OSB B (RM) (also known as Aubert) Died c. 695-700. Saint Ansbert was the chancellor of the court of Clotaire III. Apparently, he was both a married man (widowed?) and a statesman, yet he was called by God to another life. He left the court for the Fontenelle Abbey where he placed himself under its founder, Saint Wandrille. When Wandrille's successor, Saint Lambert, was raised to the see of Lyons in 678, Ansbert was chosen to be its third abbot. He governed Fontenelle and was the confessor to King Theodoric III, until he was consecrated bishop of Rouen upon the death of Saint Ouen in 684. Although piety flourished in his see with his care, wisdom, and learning, Pepin of Heristal, mayor of the palace, banished him upon a false accusation to the monastery of Hautmont at Hainault on the Sambre, where he died (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).

In art, Saint Ansbert is a bishop with a chalice and the abbey of Fontenelle is behind him. He might have a scourge in his hands (Roeder).

8th v. St. Cronan the Wise bishop of Ireland.
possibly identified with St. Roman He systematized canon law in Ireland.

St. Nebridius A bishop who served at Egara, near Barcelona, Spain. That see no longer exists.
St. Ammon Martyr with Emilian, Lassa, and companions unknown
 members of the forty-four Christians who were slain in Membressa, Africa.

700 St. Cuaran An Irish bishop became a hermit on Iona
also called Curvinus or Cronan. He became a hermit on Iona, Scotland, after retiring as bishop, hoping to conceal his identity. St. Columba, however, recognized Cuaran.

760 St. Alto Hermit missionary recorded as an Irishmen or possibly an Anglo-Saxon.
ST ALTO, ABBOT (c. A.D. 760)
         This saint was a monk, probably an Irishman, who found his way into Germany, and about the year 743 established himself as a hermit in a wood near Augsburg. The fame of his holiness and missionary labours reached King Pepin, who made him a grant of land where he was living, and on which he founded a monastery at the place now known as Altomünster, in Bavaria. Its church was dedicated by St Boniface about the year 750. The abbey followed the Irish mode of life, and St Boniface wanted entirely to interdict the approach of women to its precincts and church in accordance with the strict Celtic custom. To this St Alto would not agree, though he included the well blessed by Boniface within the monks’ enclosure. After Alto’s time the monastery fell on evil days, but was restored in 1000 as a Benedictine house, and still exists as an abbey of Bridgettine nuns. Nothing further is known of St Alto; but in the midst of a barbarous nation, at that time overrun with ignorance, vice and superstition, his humility and devotion infused into many the perfect spirit of religion, and his single life was a sensible demonstration of the power of divine grace in raising vessels of weakness and corruption to a state of sanctity.
The Life of St Alto, written by Abbot Othionus in the middle of the eleventh century, is printed in the Acta Sanctorum under February 9, but the text has been re-edited in Pertz, MGH., Scriptores, vol. xv, pp. 843—846. See also M. Huber in Wissenschaft Festgabe zum Jubilaeum des hl. Korbinian (1924), pp. 14—44; and Gougaud, Gaelic Pioneers of Christianity, p. 21
He lived near Augsburg, Germany, arriving in the region circa 743. Living in a simple hut in wild lands, Alto soon achieved a reputation for holiness and austerity. Word of his good works reached King Pepin, who gave him a parcel of land near Altmunster, in modern Friesling Diocese in Bavaria. Alto cleared the land and founded an abbey. St. Boniface came in 750 to dedicate the abbey church. The monastery was ravaged by the Huns but was restored in 1000 and made a Benedictine house.The Brigittines took it over in the fifteenth century.

Alto of Altomünster, OSB, Abbot (AC) Died c. 760. Alto was an Irish monk, who crossed over into Germany about 743 and settled as a hermit in a forest near Augsburg. King Pepin, hearing of Alto's holiness, gave him the land there on which Alto founded the monastery of Altomünster in Upper Bavaria. Saint Boniface dedicated its church in 750. In 1000 AD, according to tradition, Alto appeared in a vision to the king of Bavaria and asked him to restore the abbey, which the king did. Altomünster, which has been a Brigittine abbey for five centuries, still survives (Benedictines, Montague).

Saint Alto is represented as a bishop with the Christ-child and a chalice. At times he is shown with Saint Virgilius of Salzburg or Saint Bridget (Roeder).

Raynald of Nocera, OSB B (AC) Born near Nocera, Umbria, Italy; died 1225. Saint Raynald, son of German parents, became a Benedictine monk at Fontavellana. After being promoted to the see of Nocera in 1222, he was known as the corrector of sinners, protector of the poor and sick, and friend of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is now venerated as the chief patron of Nocera (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

In art, Saint Raynald is shown as a bishop, sometimes in episcopal vestments, waylaid by robbers, with whom he prays (Roeder).

1088 Blessed Marianus Scotus extraordinarily gifted at producing manuscripts , OSB Abbot (AC)
(also known as Muirdach MacRobartaigh or Muiredach MacGroarty)

BD MARIANUS SCOTUS  (A.D.1088)
         THE actual name of Marianus Scotus was Muiredach mac Robartaigh, and he appears to have been born in Donegal. As a boy he was remarkable for his personal beauty and great strength, as well as for his piety and for the charming simplicity of his manners. His parents destined him for the priesthood and he early assumed some sort of monastic habit, but without joining any community. With several companions he set out from Ireland in the year 1067, apparently with the intention of ultimately reaching Rome. At Bamberg they were kindly received by Bishop Otto of Regensburg, and under his direction they practised the strictest conventual rule, though still seculars. After a year the bishop, convinced of their vocation, advised them to enter a religious house and they were admitted to the Benedictine monastery of Michelsburg. Though they were very cordially received by the monks, they elected, as they could not speak German, to live apart from the rest, and accordingly a cell at the foot of the mountain was made over to them. There they remained for some time, but they had not forgotten their original intention of making a pilgrimage to Rome. They told the abbot, who, knowing that it was a devout practice very popular with Irishmen, gave them his blessing and a licence to continue on their way.
    Upon arrival at Regensburg they were hospitably entertained at the convent of the Upper Monastery and here Marianus, who was a most skilful and industrious scribe, was able to make himself extremely useful to the Abbess Emma by transcribing books for her. His biographer, after speaking of the rapidity with which he wrote, adds Among all the acts which Divine Providence deigned to perform through the same person, I deem this the most worthy of praise and admiration that the holy man wrote, from beginning to end, with his own hand, the Old and New Testaments, with explanatory comments on the same books, and this he did not once or twice but repeatedly, with a view to the eternal reward—all the while clad in sorry garb, living on slender diet, attended and aided by his brethren, both in the Upper and Lower Monasteries.”

From the Upper Monastery he moved to the Lower, where a cell was made over to him and to his brethren, who used to prepare the vellum while he was writing. A remarkable incident was related about Marianus at this period. It was usual to prepare lights for him, as he did much of his work at night. One evening the woman whose duty it was to provide the lights forgot all about them. After she had gone to bed she suddenly remembered her omission and, calling some of her companions, she started to fulfil her duty.
   They came to the holy man’s cell, walking on tiptoes, and then peeped through the chinks of the door. There they saw Marianus busily writing with his right hand whilst from three fingers of his uplifted left hand there proceeded three jets of light which gave an illumination more brilliant than that of many lamps. They told the abbess, and the fame of it spread far and wide. Nevertheless, as the chronicler remarks, Marianus-—like Moses—was ever the meekest and humblest of men.
   After remaining some time in Regensburg he proposed to resume his journey to Rome, but he first asked the Holy Spirit to make it clear to him whether it was the will of God that he should go or that he should remain where he was. His prayer was answered by a dream, in which he was told to start on his journey but to remain wherever he should first see the sun rise. He therefore got up very early and went to the church of St Peter outside the walls of the town to ask God’s blessing, and, as he emerged from the building, the sun rose and he knew that he was to stay in Regensburg. Here he settled down to a life which suited his tastes and talents. He was specially remarkable for his devotion to sacred literature, and not only was he a theologian but he was also a poet. It would not be possible to give a list of all the books he transcribed or wrote probably no record was kept of the smaller books and manual psalters which, we are told, he often wrote and gave away to poor clerics and distressed widows. Early copies of at least two of his codices are still extant, and the great library in Vienna possesses a manuscript containing the Epistles of St Paul (and the apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans) which is quite clearly an autograph production of his. It is written in small delicate letters and has a full marginal commentary with extracts from the fathers and other theological writers—all penned in the same handwriting—and, at the end, Marianus signs, in his mother tongue, his native Christian and family names.
Father Denis, s.j., who was librarian at the close of the eighteenth century, has given an interesting description of this document.
The abbess granted to Marianus the church of St Peter and a plot of land adjoining it, and here he built a house for himself and those of his fellow-countrymen who wished to live under his direction. In 1078 a burgher named Bezelin built for the Irish, at his own expense, a monastery with a cloister. The fame of Bd Marianus soon reached his native country, and relations and friends came over to join him in fact, it was not long before his renown had spread to all parts of Ireland and disciples flocked over from every district, although the six abbots who succeeded him all hailed from the province of Ulster. This was the origin of the Scottish or Irish monasteries of the south of Germany, some of which afterwards became so celebrated.
See the Life of Marianus in the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. ii Rader, Bavaria Sancta, vol. ii, pp.227—225 and Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. vii, pp. 290 seq.
Born in Donegal, Ireland. The noble MacRobartaigh family is related to the O'Donnels, who were the hereditary keepers of the Cathach (Battle Book of Colmcille). In 1067, Muirdach set out with some companions on a pilgrimage to Rome.
En route he was induced to become a Benedictine at Michelsberg Abbey (near Bamberg), Germany. The pilgrims stopped to rest at a hostel maintained by the local convent. Its abbess, Emma, learned that Muirdach was extraordinarily gifted at producing manuscripts. Using the seemingly irresistible powers of persuasion that all nuns seem to have, he took up her suggestion and migrated to Upper Minster at Regensburg to create the literary treasures of Saint Peter's Church in Regensburg. The most famous of these are the Pauline Epistles that now reside in the Imperial Library at Vienna, Austria. The quality and quantity of his artful productions, which appear inspired by the Holy Spirit gained for him a reputation for sanctity.

In 1078, he founded and became the abbot of the abbey of Saint Peter in Regensburg. Having successfully taken charge of the church and abbey attached to it for the task of copying manuscripts, other Irish monks were attracted to the mission. The abbey expanded to the point that, within 10 years, plans were made for another such monastery. In this way, Muirdach originated the congregation of 12 "Scottish," that is, Irish monasteries in southern Germany. (The reason for the term "Scottish" is that it was used from the time of the Romans for the Irish. Even 200 years after the establishment of the Scottish monarchy, the term was commonly used for things Irish. Although Scottish monks pressured Pope Leo XIII, who did permit them in 1515 to take possession of Saint James in Regensburg and the abbeys at Constanz and Erfurt. In Germany, the 12 are still known as the Schottenklöster. )

Saint James Abbey, like the ones to follow, was established with funds sent from Ireland. They retained the character and enjoyed privileges normally granted to Irish monasteries. In the 12th century, the emperor granted to the abbot of Saint James, considered the motherhouse, the privilege of using the half-eagle on his coat of arms, the right to the title of prince, and the status of independent statehood for the entire congregation of monasteries, which included the two at Regensburg, two in Vienna, and foundations at Würzburg, Nuremberg, Constanz, Memmingen, Erfurt, Kelheim, Oels, and Schottenburg (Silesia) (Benedictines, Montague).

1094 Blessed Erizzo 4th general of Vallumbrosans, OSB Vall. Abbot (AC)
Born in Florence, Italy; cultus confirmed in 1600.
Erizzo was Saint John Gualbert's first disciple. He later became the fourth general of the Vallumbrosans (Benedictines).

1222 St. Raynald of Nocera  Benedictine bishop Born in Umbria
Italy, to parents of German stock, he entered the Benedictines and served the order in various capacities until receiving appointment as bishop of Nocera in 1222.
Owing to the excellence of his service as bishop, he is considered the patron saint of that city.

1430 Bl. Alvarez of Córdoba Dominican Confessor preacher born in Cordoba Spain.
He became a Dominican in Córdoba in 1368. There he began a career of preaching, becoming famous throughout Spain and Italy for his preaching and holiness. He was also confessor to Queen Catherine and tutor of King John II in his youth. His influence at the court was a powerful force for good until he retired to an area near Córdoba where he founded a monastery, called Esalacele, or "The Ladder of Heaven."

When the antipope Benedict XIII came on the scene in 1394-1423, Alvarez opposed him successfully. Alvarez died about 1430.

Blessed Alvarez of Cordova, OP (AC)
(also known as Albaro)
Died c. 1430; cultus confirmed in 1741. Blessed Alvarez is claimed by both Spain and Portugal. He received the habit in the convent of Saint Paul in Cordova in 1368, and had been preaching there for some time in Castile and Andalusia when Saint Vincent Ferrer began preaching in Catalonia.

Having gone to Italy and the Holy Land on a pilgrimage, Alvarez returned to Castile and preached the crusade against the infidels. He was spiritual advisor to the queen-mother of Spain, Catherine daughter of John of Gaunt, and tutor to her son John II. Alvarez had the work of preparing the people spiritually for the desperate effort to banish the Moors from Spain. He also opposed the Avignon pope Peter de Luna.

Blessed Alvarez is probably best remembered as a builder of churches and convents, an activity which was symbolic of the work he did in the souls of those among whom he preached. He founded, in one place, a convent to shelter a famous image of Our Lady, which had been discovered in a miraculous manner. Near Cordova he built the famous convent of Scala Coeli, a haven of regular observance. It had great influence for many years. His building enterprises were often aided by the angels, who, during the night, carried wood and stones to spots convenient for the workmen.

The austerities of Alvarez were all the more remarkable in that they were not performed by a hermit, but by a man of action. He spent the night in prayer, as Saint Dominic had done; he wore a hairshirt and a penitential chain; and he begged alms in the streets of Cordova for the building of his churches, despite the fact that he had great favor at court and could have obtained all the money he needed from the queen. He had a deep devotion to the Passion, and had scenes of the Lord's sufferings made into small oratories in the garden of Scala Coeli.

On one occasion, when there was no food for the community but one head of lettuce left from the night before, Blessed Alvarez called the community together in the refectory, said the customary prayers, and sent the porter to the gate. There the astonished brother found a stranger, leading a mule; the mule was loaded with bread, fish, wine, and all things needed for a good meal. The porter turned to thank the benefactor and found that he had disappeared.

At another time, Blessed Alvarez was overcome with pity at a dying man who lay untended in the street. Wrapping the man in his mantle, he started home with the sufferer, and one of the brothers asked what he was carrying. "A poor sick man," replied Alvarez. But when they opened the mantle, there was only a large crucifix in his arms. This crucifix is still preserved at Scala Coeli.

Blessed Alvarez died and was buried at Scala Coeli. An attempt wads made later to remove the relics to Cordova, but it could not be done, because violent storms began each time the journey was resumed, and stopped when the body was returned to its original resting place.

A bell in the chapel of Blessed Alvarez, in the convent of Cordova, rings of itself when anyone in the convent, or of special not in the order, is about to die (Benedictines, Dorcy).
Saint Nicephorus of Vazhe Lake came to St Alexander of Svir (April 17) in the year 1510
and was warmly received by him. In 1518 he made a visit, with the blessing of his mentor, to St Cyril of New Lake (February 4).
When Nicephorus approached New Lake, he was fatigued by his long journey and lay down in the darkness and fell asleep.
St Cyril through hastened by boat to row across the lake and awoke him. St Nicephorus spent eight days in spiritual conversation with the saint. Nicephorus then journeyed to Kiev to venerate the relics of the saints of the Caves.

Upon his return, and with the blessing of St Alexander, he settled at Vazhe Lake, where St Gennadius pursued asceticism. St Nicephorus built the Church of the Transfiguration and a monastery, where he lived until his own death.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, in the Zadne-Nikiforov wilderness, a church was built and dedicated to Sts Nicephorus and Gennadius of Vazhe Lake.
The relics of the saints were put to rest in a hidden place in the monastery they founded.
1516 Saint Gennadius of Vazhe Lake
the son of rich parents but, giving away everything, he became a disciple of St Alexander of Svir and lived with him in asceticism as a hermit by the river Svira.
Afterwards, with blessing of St Alexander, he went to Vazhe Lake, twelve versts from the Svir monastery. And here, having built a cell, he spent his solitary ascetic life with two of his disciples.

Before his death, St Gennadius told his disciple, "Here at this place shall be a church and a monastery." The holy ascetic reposed on January 8, 1516
.
1537 St. Jerome Emiliani b. 1481? n 1928 Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.
1537 St. Jerome Emiliani devoted himself to poor and suffering special call to help orphans founded orphanages shelter for prostitutes
 Somáschæ, in território Bergoménsi, natális sancti Hierónymi Æmiliáni Confessóris, qui Congregatiónis Somáschæ Fundátor éxstitit; atque, plúribus in vita et post mortem miráculis illústris, a Cleménte Décimo tértio, Pontífice Máximo, Sanctórum fastis adscríptus est, et a Pio Papa Undécimo universális orphanórum ac derelíctæ juventútis Patrónus apud Deum eléctus et declarátus.  Ejus tamen festívitas tertiodécimo Kaléndas Augústi recólitur.
       At Somascha, in the district of Bergamo, the birthday of St. Jerome Emilian, confessor, who was the founder of the Congregation of Somascha.  Illustrious both during his life and after death for many miracles, he was inscribed in the roll of the saints by Pope Clement XIII.  Pope Pius XI chose and declared him to be the heavenly patron of orphans and abandoned children.  His feast is celebrated on the 20th of July.
  b: 1481
Jerome Emiliani lay chained in the dark dirty dungeon. Only a short time before he had been a military commander for Venice in charge of a fortress. He didn't care much about God because he didn't need him -- he had his own strength and the strength of his soldiers and weapons. When Venice's enemies, the League of Cambrai, captured the fortress, he was dragged off and imprisoned. There in the dungeon, Jerome decided to get rid of the chains that bound him. He let go of his worldly attachments and embraced God.

When he finally was able to escape, he hung his metal chains in the nearby church of Treviso -- in gratitude not only for being freed from physical prison but from his spiritual dungeon as well.

After a short time as mayor of Treviso he returned his home in Venice where he studied for the priesthood. The war may have been over but it was followed by the famine and plague war's devastation often brought. Thousands suffered in his beloved city. Jerome devoted himself to service again -- this time, not to the military but the poor and suffering around him. He felt a special call to help the orphans who had no one to care for them. All the loved ones who would have protected them and comforted them had been taken by sickness or starvation. He would become their parent, their family.

Using his own money, he rented a house for the orphans, fed them, clothed them, and educated them. Part of his education was to give them the first known catechetical teaching by question and answer. But his constant devotion to the suffering put him in danger too and he fell ill from the plague himself. When he recovered, he had the ideal excuse to back away, but instead his illness seemed to take the last links of the chain from his soul.
Once again he interpreted his suffering to be a sign of how little the ambitions of the world mattered.

He committed his whole life and all he owned to helping others. He founded orphanages in other cities, a hospital, and a shelter for prostitutes. This grew into a congregation of priests and brothers that was named after the place where they had a house: the Clerks Regular of Somascha. Although they spent time educating other young people, their primary work was always Jerome's first love -- helping orphans.

His final chains fell away when he again fell ill while taking care of the sick. He died in 1537 at the age of 56.

He is the patron saint of abandoned children and orphans.
In His Footsteps:  Become a foster parent. Millions of children need the love and care of a foster family. Contact your local Family Services agency or Catholic Charities to find out how you can help.
Prayer:  Saint Jerome Emiliani, watch over all children who are abandoned or unloved. Give us the courage to show them God's love through our care. Help us to lose the chains that keep us from living the life God intended for us. Amen

In 1531, Jerome resolved to give himself and all that he owned to God's service. He established orphanages in six Italian towns (Venice, Brescia, Bergamo, Como, and two others), a hospital in Verona, and a home for repentant prostitutes.
About 1532 with two other priests, he founded the Congregation of Somaschi (from the town of Somasca in Lombardy where they started), a society of clerks regular devoted primarily to the care and instruction of orphans, although it also instructed young children. At Somaschi he founded a seminary for those entering his congregation. Jerome is said to have been the first to teach children Christian doctrine with a question and answer technique. The society gained papal approval in 1540.

His attentive care to the poor of Somascha led them to attribute to him the gift of healing. He tried to share their lives, even working with them in the fields while talking to them of God. He continued to care for the sick, regardless of his own health, until he succumbed a second time to the plague, which killed him (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Sandoval, Schamoni, Walsh, White).

In art Saint Jerome's emblem is a ball and chain which are always near him. At times the chain may be in his hand, a child near him, and the Virgin and Child appearing to him, or he may be shown tending sick children or delivering a possessed child (Roeder, White). He is venerated in Somasca, Lombardy (Roeder).

A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.

In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital.

Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caugh t while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius XI named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.

Comment:Very often in our lives it seems to take some kind of “imprisonment” to free us from the shackles of our self-centeredness. When we’re “caught” in some situation we don’t want to be in, we finally come to know the liberating power of Another. Only then can we become another for “the imprisoned” and “the orphaned” all around us.
Quote:  “‘The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity; only rebels remain in the parched land’ (Psalm 68).... We should not forget the growing number of persons who are often abandoned by their families and by the community: the old, orphans, the sick and all kinds of people who are rejected…. We must be prepared to take on new functions and new duties in every sector of human activity and espe cially in the sector of world society, if justice is really to be put into practice. Our action is to be directed above all at those men and nations which, because of various forms of oppression and because of the present character of our society, are silent, indeed voiceless, victims of injustice” (Justice in the World, 1971 World Synod of Bishops).

1805 Saint Innocent of Irkutsk body commemorate the uncovering of his relics in 1805 discovered incorrupt  in 1764
during restoration work on the Ascension monastery's Tikhvin church.
Many miracles occurred not only at Irkutsk, but also in remote places of Siberia, for those who flocked to the saint with prayer.
This moved the Most Holy Synod to uncover the relics and to glorify the saint in the year 1800.

In 1804, a feastday was established to celebrate his memory throughout all Russia on November 26, since the Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" is commemorated on the actual day of his repose (November 27). Today we commemorate the uncovering of his relics in 1805.
1910 St. Michael Cordero Ecuadorian de Ia Salle Brother first native vocation there
A teacher, he was honored with membership in the great Academie Francaise. Michael died near Barcelona in Spain after teaching for many years and serving as a model of prayer and charity. In 1936, his intact body was returned to Ecuador. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1984.

Michael of Ecuador (RM) (also known as Miguel of Ecuador and Miguel or Francisco Febres Cordero Muñoz)
Born at Cuenca, Ecuador, on November 7, 1854; died near Barcelona, Spain, on February 9, 1910; beatified with fellow Christian Brother Mutien-Marie by Pope Paul VI on October 30, 1977; canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 7, 1984 (the feast of the order's founder).
  "The heart is rich when it is content, and it is always content when its desires are set upon God." --Saint Miguel of Ecuador.

Miguel, baptized Francisco, is first person from Ecuador to be canonized. He was the grandson of León Febres Cordero, a famous general who fought for Ecuador's independence from Spain, and son of Francisco Febres Cordero Montoya, who was influential in the political affairs of the country. Francisco senior was a cultured man of charm, who was fluent in five languages and, in fact, was teaching English and French at the seminary in Cuenca at the time of the saint's birth. Undoubtedly, the son's vocation was influenced by his mother Ana Muñoz and her pious family. She was one of 19 children, five of whom became nuns and one a Jesuit priest. God established the perfect family for the cultivation of a scholar saint.

At the age of nine, Francisco became one of the first students at the school opened in Cuenca by the Christian Brothers (De LaSalle Brothers) in 1863. He could scarcely walk because of a deformity of his feet but he became a brilliant scholar.

Francisco loved the intellectual life he discovered at the school and the humble lifestyle of the brothers. Later wanted to join the order. In fact, he later wrote: "From the moment I entered the school of the Brothers, God gave me a burning desire one day to be clothed in the holy habit of the Institute. I always enjoyed being among the Brothers. . . ."

But his parents objected. They would be proud to have a priest in the family, but could not understand his desire to be a lay brother. Knowing that he had a calling to the religious life and not wishing to disappoint his parents, Francisco entered the seminary. Within a few months he fell gravely ill and was forced to return home. His mother finally agreed that he should try his vocation as a brother.

On March 24, 1868, Francisco became Miguel when he took the black and white habit of the De LaSalle Brothers at Cuenca. He taught languages (Spanish, French, and English) at his alma mater and a year later was assigned to the Beaterio at Quito. The six-year-old school had 250 pupils when he arrived and six years later had over 1,000. During this period Brother Miguel published his first of many books.

But writing and teaching secular subjects was not his primary joy-- his first love was preparing children for their first Communion. And it appears that his joy translated into learning: he was a very popular teacher. Brother Miguel saw his teaching as an apostolic vocation. He wrote: "In the miserable state of modern society, my divine Savior calls me to conquer souls, without really needing my help or without considering my absolute incapacity for any good. Can I be deaf to His voice? Can I be afraid of disappointment when He promises to be with me? Can I be so bold as to refuse this demonstration of love and gratitude? I must engage in all the works that I undertake with a spirit of love, of gratitude for the divine goodness which has been gracious enough to employ me for His glory and the salvation of souls."

Official recognition of Miguel's talents as an educator first came in the form of the appointment as a public examiner and inspector of Quito's schools. In the midst of these duties, teaching, and monastic obligations, Brother Miguel found the time to continue to be a scholar. He wrote textbooks, a catechism, poetry, and works of Christian spirituality. He gained special renown for his studies of Castilian Spanish, some of which became required texts for all schools in Ecuador. Eventually he was elected a member of the National Academy of Ecuador (1892; which included membership in the Royal Academy of Spain), the Académie Française (1900), and the Academy of Venezuela (1906).

In March 1907, he was summoned to Europe to translate more textbooks and other documents from French. The aura of civil and religious unrest in France made it urgent to translate the documents of the De LaSalle Institute into Spanish in order to ensure the continuance of the order's work outside France. Miguel fell ill soon after his arrival in April. Upon his recovery, he worked at the house on the rue de Sèvres in Paris. From Paris he wrote, "I have my room, some books, and a nearby chapel. That is complete happiness."

In July he was transferred to the motherhouse at Lembecq-lez-Hal near Brussels to continue his work and attend the generalate of his congregation in Belgium. He was allowed to stay in Europe so that he would have more time to write. When Miguel became sick in Belgium, he was sent to the institute's junior novitiate at Paremi  de Mar near Barcelona, Spain, where he taught Spanish for a few months. The outbreak of civil unrest in Barcelona on July 26, 1909, led to attacks on religious and the destruction of Church property, which caused stress for all the brothers. It resulted in Brother Miguel catching a cold in January 1910, but his condition deteriorated rapidly until he died in the presence of his religious brothers on February 9, 1910.

Brother Miguel's reputation as a teacher and scholar was matched by the renown of his holiness. A popular cultus arose shortly after his death, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. From his earliest years he had such a strong personal devotion to Jesus and the Blessed Mother that they were living presences to him. He conversed with them as easily as with his brothers.

His first biographer wrote: "Our beloved Ecuadorian Brother was certainly not gifted by heaven with that sort of plastic beauty which so easily fades with years. Although rather tall in stature, his posture became stooped quite early in his life. His countenance was dark and somewhat emaciated, prematurely furrowed with wrinkles that came from his sufferings and his practices of mortification. Even so, his facial expression reflected in some indefinable way the beauty of his soul and the interior illumination of divine grace. This reverberated through his whole being which overflowed with a certain gentleness that came from his peaceful and kindly nature. His very thin lips always bore the glimmer of a continual and gracious smile. His eyes, limpid and transparent as those of the most innocent child, sparkled with the joy and serenity that could only be due to that indescribable peace of which Scripture speaks. In sum, the serene expression in all his features gave the impression that underneath there was a calm and imperturbable spirit."

His relics were returned to Ecuador during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and received a triumphant welcome upon their arrival in Ecuador on February 5, 1937. Within a short time, his tomb at Quito became a pilgrimage center. The government issued postage stamps in his honor and erected a monument in the public park of Quito for the centenary of his birth. At the dedication of the bronze and marble statue on June 4, 1955, 30,000 school children participated in a huge parade (Bentley, Walsh, The Scholar Saint).


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 259

O God, thou hast cast us off because of our sins: thou hast had mercy on us by the Virgin Mary.

Intercede for us, O saving Mother of God: who hast brought forth salvation for men and angels.

For thou infusest joy into the sad: and joy and sweetness into the mourners.

Rejoice us by the sweet sounds of thy speech: and pour thy balm of roses forth into our hearts.

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


Let every spirit praise Our Lady

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

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


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

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


God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea. 
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences. 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

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

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

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


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


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

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

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

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

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