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.
2023
22600 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 saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us that a life of Christian perfection is not impossible.


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 20 - Blessed Jacinta Marto, Visionary of Fatima (d. 1920)  
 Then the Virgin came and took Jacinta’s soul to Heaven  
 On February 20, 1920, around 6 o’clock pm, the young patient said she did not feel well and wanted to receive the last rites. So they called the priest from the parish church of the Angels, Father Pereira dos Reis (…). The priest thought that the child looked quite well and he refused to give her the sacrament (…). However, the little girl insisted on receiving Holy Communion, claiming that she was about to die. In fact, near 10:30 pm, little Jacinta died peacefully, all alone (…).
Then the Virgin came one last time to see the young patient of bed #60 (where she had been carried after the operation), and took Jacinta’s soul to Heaven, leaving behind only her mortal remains…
(…) During the first exhumation, someone took a photograph of the young shepherdess' face, and the Bishop of Leiria sent that photo to Lucia. In her letter to thank the Prelate, (…) the nun wrote, among other things: "(…) For my part, I owe the preservation of my innocence to her friendship. She understood amazingly well the spirit of prayer and sacrifice that the Blessed Virgin Mary recommended to us."  www.fatima.be
 
Be firm in your resolutions; stay in the ship in which I placed you and let the storm come. Long live Jesus. You will not perish.
Walk the way of the Lord in simplicity; do not torment your spirit. Say the truth, always the truth. -- Saint Pio of Pietrelcina


February 20 – Madonna dei Campiveri (Italy, 1862) - Jacinta Marto, seer of Fatima (d. 1920)
7th apparition of Banneux (Belgium)   
 
“I am not complaining anymore! Our Lady told me that she will come for me”
 
Jacinta Marto, one of the three young children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in Fatima (Portugal), had been ill since December 1918. She had surgery on February 10, 1920, and suffered a lot after that. The sharp pain came back every time the bandage was changed. Her groan was, "Ouch! ouch! ... O Our Lady!"
She said to Jesus, "You can convert many sinners, because I suffer so much!"

Some days later, the Virgin Mary came to the hospital, at the foot of her bed, to comfort the girl, telling her that soon she would come and take her to Heaven. From that moment, Jacinta no longer showed signs of suffering. She confided to Mother Godinho: "I am not complaining anymore! Our Lady said that she will come for me, and that she is already taking away all my sufferings. "

The doctor confirmed that the pain of his little patient had disappeared and that she could pass the time pleasantly by looking at holy pictures, including one of Our Lady of Sameiro, the famous shrine of the Immaculate Conception near Braga. The child said it was one that reminded her most of the Virgin who appeared to her.
On February 20, 1920, around 10:30 pm, little Jacinta died quietly, in the odor of sanctity.
 www.fatima.be


February 20 - Jacinta Marto, seer of Fatima (d. 1920)
- 5th Apparition in Lourdes (France, 1858) Saint Bernadette's Silence (III)
On February 20th, the group had grown larger. Thirty people witnessed Bernadette's silent ecstasy. As she returned to the village, she saw her aunt Basile in the street, who had been waiting impatiently for Bernadette's return.
Aunt Basile invited her inside her house and Bernadette's composure was peaceful and joyful.
But Basile had prepared her reprimand.
"People are talking too much about you, my girl! Don't go back there!" Bernadette replied, "Too bad for them.
Let the people talk." Then she added, "If you want to come with me tomorrow morning you can?..."
Aunt Basile hated to admit it, but she was longing to accompany her niece.
"What annoys me," she answered, "is the crowd. So let's go either earlier or later, when there is not so much of a crowd."

Adapted from Father René Laurentin, Bernadette vous parle (Bernadette Speaks), Mediaspaul, 1972, p. 53
1920 Blessed Jacinta & Francisco Marto
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds

 February 20 - Jacinta Marto, seer of Fatima (d. 1920) - 5th Apparition in Lourdes (France, 1858)
  Saint Bernadette's Silence (III)
 

Saint Maruthas, who wrote Sadoth's act
a
Ancient Chaldaic writers quoted by Assemani say that Simeon Barsabba'e was Sadoth's maternal uncle
Saint Maruthas, who wrote Sadoth's acta, meditated:
"A man that is guided by the Spirit fears not death. He loves God and goes to him with an incredible ardor
but he who lives according to the desires of the flesh, trembles, and is in despair at its approach:
he loves the world, and it is with grief that he leaves it."


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.

Quote: Pope Paul VI’s 1969 Instruction on the Contemplative Life includes this passage:
"To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1). 
      Pothmius and Nemesius martyrs in Cyprus MM (RM) 
302-310 Marytrs of Tyre wild animals couldn't approach the Christians: beheaded instead
310 Eleutherius of Byzantium bishop BM (RM)
     St. Valerius The first bishop of Conserans, France 
345 St. Sadoth Martyr with 128 fellow Christians in Persia 
Sadoth {meaning friend of the king in Persian);
480 St. Bolcan Bishop disciple of St. Patrick & Baptized by
512 Falco of Maastricht Bishop of Maastricht from 495 until his death B (AC)
532 St. Eleutherius of Tournai Bishop of Tournai, Belgium martyred by Arian heretics
703 Leo of Catania 'il Maraviglioso' ('the Wonder- Worker') in Sicily B (RM)
743 ST. EUCHERIUS, Bishop Charles Martel reproved encroachments miracles.
787 St. Leo of Catania Bishop of Catania, Sicily  
796 St. Colgan Abbot of Clanmacroise “the Wise”, in Offaly, Ireland 
1154 + St. Wulfric  hermit Many miracles were attributed to his intercession, both in this life and after his death
        numerous between 1185 to 1235
1250 St. Amata Poor Clare niece of St. Clare of Assisi
1304 Blessed Peter of Treja early Franciscans associated with Blessed Conrad of Offida in his apostolate
1468 Blessed Elisabeth Bartholomea Picenardi, OSM V (AC)  many miracles were said worked at her tomb
1920 Blessed Jacinta & Francisco Marto Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds

Christ said his coming would bring not peace but a sword (see Matthew 10:34).  The Gospels offer no support for us if we fantasize about a sunlit holiness that knows no problems. Christ did not escape at the last moment, though he did live happily ever after—after a life of controversy, problems, pain and frustration.
"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)

Pothmius and Nemesius martyrs in Cyprus MM (RM)
 In Cypro sanctórum Mártyrum Potámii et Nemésii.  In island of Cyprus, the holy martyrs Pothamius and Nemesius.
302-310 Marytrs of Tyre wild animals could not approach the Christians: beheaded instead; unknown number martyrs suffered in Tyre modern Lebanon

Tyri, in Phœnícia, commemorátio beatórum Mártyrum, quorum númerum solíus sciéntia Dei cólligit.  Hi omnes, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre, a Vetúrio, mílitum magístro, multis tormentórum genéribus, sibi ínvicem succedéntibus, occísi sunt; nam, primo quidem flagris toto córpore dilaniáti, inde divérsis bestiárum genéribus tráditi, sed ab illis divína virtúte nil læsi, post, áddita feritáte ignis ac ferri, martyrium consummárunt.  Eórum vero gloriósam multitúdinem ad victóriam incitábant Epíscopi Tyránnio, Silvánus, Péleus et Nilus, ac Presbyter Zenóbius, qui, felíci agóne, una cum illis, martyrii palmam adépti sunt.
       At Tyre in Phoenicia, the commemoration of many blessed martyrs, whose number is known to God alone.  Under Emperor Diocletian, they were put to death after a long and varied series of torments by the military commander Veturius.  They first had their bodies torn with scourges, then delivered to several different kinds of beasts.  Providence prevented their injury throughout all this, but their martyrdom was granted by means of fire and the sword.  Tyrannio, Sylvanus, Peleus, and Nilus, all bishops, and Zenobius, a priest, urged the gloriously assembled multitude to victory, and they all endured the test successfully to win the palm of martyrdom.
304 AND 310 SS. TYRANNIO, ZENOBIUS AND OTHER MARTYRS
EUSEBJUS, an eyewitness of what he relates concerning these martyrs, gives the following account of them: “Several Christians of Egypt, some of whom had settled in Palestine, others at Tyre, gave astonishing proofs of their patience and constancy in the faith. After innumerable stripes and blows, which they cheerfully endured, they were exposed to wild beasts such as leopards, wild bears, boars and bulls. I myself was present when these savage beasts, accustomed to human blood, were let out upon them, and, instead of devouring them or tearing them to pieces as might naturally be expected, they stood off, refusing to touch or approach them, but turned on their keepers and any that came in their way. It was only the soldiers of Christ that they refused to attack, although these martyrs, in obedience to an order given them, tossed about their arms—which was thought to be a sure way of provoking the beasts against them. Sometimes indeed the animals were seen to rush towards them with their usual impetuosity, but they suddenly withdrew, held back by a divine power: this happened several times, to the wonder of all the onlookers. This happened in the year 304, and the Church on this day commemorates also the bishop of Tyre, St Tyrannio, who had been present at the triumph of the earlier martyrs and had encouraged them in their conflict. He had not the comfort of following them till six years later, when he was arrested, conducted from Tyre to Antioch in the company of St Zenobius, a priest and physician of Sidon, and, after suffering many torments, was thrown into the river Orontes.
Zenobius died on the rack. Some time after, under Maximinus, St Silvanus, Bishop of Emesa, in Phoenicia, was devoured by wild beasts in his own city, together with two companions. Peleus and Nilus, two Egyptian priests in Palestine, were consumed by fire with several others. St Silvanus, Bishop of Gaza, was condemned to the copper mines of Phaenon near Petra in Arabia, and afterwards beheaded there with thirty-nine companions.
Whilst St Tyrannio is commemorated on this day with those who perished at Tyre in 304, St Zenobius, who suffered with him, is assigned to October 29, St Silvanus of Emesa to February 6 and St Silvanus of Gaza to May 29.

Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., bk viii, cap. ij, is the principal authority, but the Acta Sanctorum and Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, supply some further discussion of geographical details, etc.

The first relay having done no execution, a second and a third was loosed upon them, but all in vain. Meanwhile the martyrs stood there unshaken, although some of them were very young. Amongst them was a youth not yet twenty who remained quite still in one position, undaunted and not trembling, with his eyes uplifted to heaven and his arms extended in the form of a cross, whilst the bears and leopards with wide-open jaws threatening immediate death seemed on the point of tearing him to pieces: but by a miracle, not being suffered to touch him, they withdrew. Others were exposed to a furious bull which had already gored and tossed into the air several infidels who had ventured too near and had left them half dead. It was only the martyrs that he could not approach: he would stop and stand scraping the dust with his hoofs, though endeavouring to rush forward, he would butt with his horns in all directions and paw the ground whilst he was being urged on by red-hot goads, but it was all in vain. After repeated trials with other wild beasts with no better success, the saints were slain by the sword and their bodies cast into the sea. Others who refused to sacrifice were beaten to death or burned or executed in some other way.”

Martyrs of Tyre (RM). The historian Eusebius relates: "Several Christians of Egypt, whereof some had settled in Palestine, others at Tyre, gave astonishing proofs of their patience and constancy in the faith. After innumerable blows, which they cheerfully underwent, they were exposed to wild beasts, such as leopards, wild bears, boars, and bulls. I myself was present when these savage creatures, accustomed to human blood, being let out upon them, instead of devouring them or tearing them to pieces, as it was natural to expect, stood off, refusing even to touch or approach them, at the same time that they fell foul on their keepers, and others that came in their way.
"The soldiers of Christ were the only persons they refused, though these martyrs, pursuant to the order given them, tossed about their arms, which was thought a ready way to provoke the beasts, and stir them up against them.
Sometimes, indeed, they were perceived to rush towards them with their usual impetuosity, but, withheld by a divine power, they suddenly withdrew; and this many times to the great admiration of all present.

"The first having done no execution, others were a second and a third time let out upon them, but in vain; the martyrs standing all the while unshaken, though many of them very young. Among them was a youth not yet twenty, who had his eyes lifted up to heaven, and his arms extended in the form of a cross, not in the least daunted, nor trembling, nor shifting his place, while the bears and leopards, with their jaws wide open, threatening immediate death, seemed most ready to tear him to pieces; but, by a miracle, not being suffered to touch him, they speedily withdrew.

"Others were exposed to a furious bull, which had already gored and tossed into the air several infidels who had ventured too near, and left them half dead: only the martyrs he could not approach; he stopped, and stood scraping the dust with his feet, and though he seemed to endeavor it with his utmost might, butting with his horns on every side, and pawing the ground with his feet, being also urged on by red-hot iron goads, it was all to no purpose.

"After repeated trials of this kind with other wild beasts, with as little success as the former, the saints were slain by the sword, and their bodies cast into the sea. Others who refused to sacrifice were beaten to death, or burned, or executed diverse other ways." This happened in 304 under Veturius, a Roman general, in the reign of Diocletian. Other martyrs from Tyre include Tyrannio et al. (Husenbeth).
310 Eleutherius of Byzantium bishop BM (RM)
 Constantinópoli sancti Eleuthérii, Epíscopi et Mártyris.       At Constantinople, St. Eleutherius, bishop and martyr
Eleutherius is said to have been bishop of Byzantium and a martyr. Most writers, following the lead of the Bollandists, identify him with the Saint Eleutherius commemorated on August 4 (Benedictines).
St. Valerius The first bishop of Conserans, France.
He was mentioned in the writings of St. Gregory of Tours.

Pothmius and Nemesius martyrs in Cyprus MM (RM)
(also known as Potamius) Date unknown. Potamius and Nemesius was martyrs in Cyprus. Nothing else is known of them. Eusebius attaches them to the Church of Alexandria (Benedictines).

345 St. Sadoth {meaning friend of the king in Persian); Martyr with 128 fellow Christians in Persia
In Pérside natális sancti Sadoth Epíscopi, et aliórum centum vigínti octo; qui, sub Rege Persárum Sápore, cum Solem adoráre renuíssent, crudéli nece præcláras sibi corónas comparárunt.
In Persia, in the time of King Sapor, the birthday of St. Sadoth, bishop, and one hundred and twenty-eight others who refused to adore the sun, but who by a cruel death purchased shining crowns.

342 ST SADOTH, BISHOP OF SELEUCIA-CTESIPHON, MARTYR

ST SADOTH (Shadost, Sadosh, Shiadustes) appears to have acted as deacon to the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, whom he represented at the Council of Nicaea in 325. When the bishop St Simeon Barsabae suffered martyrdom during the terrible persecution by Sapor II, Sadoth was chosen to succeed him in the see, the most important in the Persian kingdom but the most exposed to the storm. This grew more violent, and for a short time Sadoth and some of his clergy took refuge in a hiding-place from which they could give assistance and encouragement to their distressed flock. During this period St Sadoth had a vision which seemed to indicate that the time had come for him to seal his faith with his blood. He described the dream to his assembled priests and deacons: “I saw in my sleep a ladder surrounded with light and stretching from the earth to heaven. At the top stood the holy Simeon in great glory. He beheld me at the bottom and said with a smile, ‘Climb up, Sadoth: do not be afraid. I mounted yesterday and it is your turn to-day.’ This means that as he was slain last year, I am to follow him this year.”

King Sapor having come to Seleucia, St Sadoth was apprehended with many clergy and others, 128 persons in all. They were cast into dungeons, where for five months they suffered incredible misery and torments. Three times they were put to the rack: their legs were bound with cords which were drawn with so much force that their breaking bones were heard to crack like sticks in a faggot. In the midst of these tortures the officers cried out to them, “Worship the sun and obey the king if you would save your lives”. Sadoth answered in the name of all that the sun was but a creature, the work of God, made for mankind, and that they would worship none but the Creator. The officers said, “Obey or death is certain and immediate.” The martyrs cried with one voice, “We shall not die but live and reign eternally with God and His Son, Jesus Christ”. They were chained in couples and led out of the city, singing joyfully as they went, and their prayer and praise did not cease till the death of the last of the blessed company. St Sadoth himself, however, was separated from his flock and taken to Bait-Lapat, where he was beheaded after being bishop for less than a year.

See Assemani, Bibliotheca orientalis, vol. i, p. 188 and vol. iii, pp. 399, 613 Gregory Barhebraeus, Chronicon, ii, 38 and Le Quien, Oriens christianus, vol. ii, p. 1108.
Also called Schadost. Sadoth was the metropolitan of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, Persia, and he attended the Council of Nicaea in 325. He headed the Christian community during the severe persecution of the Church in Persia under the Sassanid Persian ruler Shapur II.   Arrested with many other believers, Sadoth and eight of his flock were cruelly imprisoned at Bei-Lapat and tortured prior to execution; Sadoth was beheaded.
Sadoth BM & Comp. MM (RM) (also known as Shahdost, Schadost, Schiadustes) Died c. 342. Sadoth, meaning friend of the king in Persian, succeeded Saint Simeon Barsabba'e as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the two main cities of Persia situated on the Tigris River. A new persecution of Christians by King Shapur II began soon after his election. Sadoth and his clergy hid, although they remained in close contact with their flock.
During this time, Sadoth had a vision the God was calling him to shed his blood. He called his clergy together to relate the message: "I saw in my sleep, a ladder environed with light and reaching from earth to the heavens. Saint Simeon was at the top of it, and in great glory. He beheld me at the bottom, and said to me, with a smiling countenance: 'Mount up, Sadoth, fear not. I mounted yesterday, and it is your turn today': which means, that as he was slain last year, so I am to follow him this." He urged them to serve God with increased zeal to ensure they were ready to take possession of their inheritance.
They did not seek death be were ready to embrace it.

Saint Maruthas, who wrote Sadoth's acta, meditated: "A man that is guided by the Spirit, fears not death. He loves God, and goes to him with an incredible ardor; but he who lives according to the desires of the flesh, trembles, and is in despair at its approach: he loves the world, and it is with grief that he leaves it."
During the second year of the persecution, Sadoth and 128 others were arrested.
Most of these were martyred immediately after their arrest, but Sadoth and eight others were detained for five months in a filthy dungeon at Bei-Lapat and tortured before being executed. Three times they were racked and questioned. Amid the sound of bones being broken and urgings to apostatize, Sadoth answered in the name of all, that the sun was but a creature, the work of God, made for the good of mankind; that they would pay supreme adoration to none but the Creator of heaven and earth, and never be unfaithful to him; that it was indeed in their power to take away their lives, but that this would be the greatest favor they could do them. And the soldiers urged them to renounce Christ
As with one voice the martyrs cried: "We shall not die, but live and reign eternally with God and his Son Jesus Christ. Kill us as soon as you please; for we repeat it to you that we will not adore the sun." The king sentenced them to death. The martyrs thanked God and encouraged one another. They were chained two and two together, and led out of the city to execution, singing psalms and canticles of joy as they went. At the place of their martyrdom they sang louder and even more joyfully, giving thanks to God for his mercy, and begging for the grace of perseverance and that by this baptism of their blood they might enter into his glory.
These prayers and praises of God did not cease but until the last of this blessed company was beheaded.

Shapur II ordered that Sadoth be separated from his flock and sent into the province of the Huzites, where he was beheaded and rejoined his happy flock in the kingdom of glory. Ancient Chaldaic writers quoted by Assemani say that Simeon Barsabba'e was Sadoth's maternal uncle (Attwater, Benedictines, Husenbeth). In art, Saint Simeon appears on a ladder and invites Sadoth to ascend to heaven (Roeder).
480 St. Bolcan Bishop disciple of St. Patrick & Baptized by
also called Olcan of Kilmayle. Baptized by St. Patrick, Bolcan was sent to France for priestly studies and ordained. St. Patrick then named him the bishop of Derban in northern Ireland. He built a fine school there.
Bolcan of Derken B (AC) (also known as Olcan) Died after 480. Bolcan was baptized by Saint Patrick, who sent him to study in Gaul. Patrick later consecrated him bishop of Derkan in northern Ireland. Bolcan's school there was one of the best equipped in the island. Another Saint Bolcan (Olcan of Kilmoyle) is venerated in the diocese of Elphin (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

512 Falco of Maastricht Bishop of Maastricht from 495 until his death B (AC) (Benedictines).
532 St. Eleutherius of Tournai Bishop of Tournai, Belgium martyred by Arian heretics
532 ST ELEUTHERIUS, BISHOP OF TOURNAI
A GREAT fire which destroyed Tournai Cathedral in 1092 is responsible for the loss of the relics of its first bishop, St Eleutherius, and of all the most ancient records of his life. Very little is known about him, although many legends grew up about his life and death. He is said to have been born at Tournai of Christian parents whose family had been converted by St Fiat one hundred and fifty years before; and to have been made bishop in 486, ten years before the baptism of King Clovis at Rheims. He appears to have been a zealous preacher and to have converted to Christianity a great part of the Franks in his diocese. He also vigorously opposed certain heretics who denied the mystery of the Incarnation, and was attacked by some of them as he was leaving the church one day after Mass. He was so severely wounded in the head that he died five weeks later. The legend of the raising to life of the governor’s daughter is recounted in the ninth-century biography of the saint. According to this extravagant fiction, the girl fell in love with the youthful bishop, and, finding him at prayer, revealed her passion. He fled from her presence and she fell lifeless to the ground. Eleutherius undertook to restore her life if her father would become a Christian. He promised, but without meaning to fulfil his promises, and the saint’s prayers were unavailing. On the third day the governor was moved to contrition, and Eleutherius was then able to raise the girl from the tomb, and he then baptized her. The governor, however, would not keep his promise, and even withdrew the girt from the hands of the Christians, until so terrible a plague broke out that he was humbled, sought instruction and was himself baptized.

See the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. iii. A long list of quasi-biographical materials is given in BHL, nn. 2455-2470, but they are none of them reliable. The châsse of St Eleutherius is archaeologically interesting and has often been discussed from the point of view of medieval art.
Born in Tournai, France or Belgium, he became the bishop in 486. A group of Arians enraged by his preaching beat him severely He died some weeks later.
703 Leo of Catania 'il Maraviglioso' ('the Wonder- Worker') in Sicily B (RM).
Born in Ravenna, Italy, in ; died in Catania, Sicily, 787. Saint Leo is known as 'il Maraviglioso' ('the Wonder- Worker') in Sicily, where he was bishop in Catania and highly esteemed for his learning. His Vita has been embellished with many delightful, though unreliable, fioretti' (Benedictines).
743 ST. EUCHERIUS, Bishop Charles Martel reproved encroachments; miracles.
 Eódem die sancti Euchérii, Aurelianénsis Epíscopi, qui eo magis miráculis cláruit, pro plúribus invidórum calúmniis fuit oppréssus.
       The same day, St. Eucherius, bishop of Orleans, who, the more he was oppressed by the calumnies of the envious, the more he impressed them with his miracles.

THIS Saint was born at Orleans, of a very illustrious family. At his birth his parents dedicated him to God, and set him to study when he was but seven years old, resolving to omit nothing that could be done toward cultivating his mind or forming his heart His improvement in virtue kept pace with his progress in learning: he meditated assiduously on the sacred writings, especially on St. Paul's manner of speaking on the world and its enjoyments as mere empty shadows that deceive us and vanish away. These reflections at length sank so deep into his mind that he resolved to quit the world. To put this design in execution, about the year 714 he retired to the abbey of Jumiége in Normandy, where he spent six or seven years in the practice of penitential austerities and obedience. Suavaric, his uncle, Bishop of Orleans, having died, the senate and people, with the clergy of that city, begged permission to elect Eucherius to the vacant see. The Saint entreated his monks to screen him from the dangers that threatened him; but they preferred the public good to their private inclinations, and resigned him for that important charge. He was consecrated with universal applause in 721.

743 ST EUCHERIUS, BISHOP OF ORLEANS

ACCORDING to his biographer, apparently a contemporary, St Eucherius led a holy life from earliest childhood. He was born at Orleans, and entered the Benedictine abbey of Jumièges about the year 714. After he had spent six or seven years there, Soavaric, Bishop of Orleans, who was his uncle, died, and the senate and people with the clergy of the city sent a deputation to Charles Martel, mayor of the palace, to ask his permission to elect Eucherius to fill the vacant see. Charles consented, and charged one of his officers of state to conduct the young monk from his monas­tery to Orleans. The saint was filled with dismay and entreated the monks to save him from the dangers that threatened him in the world. In spite of their reluctance they urged him to depart, setting the public good above their own desires. He was consecrated in 721. Unwilling as he had been to take office, he proved himself an exemplary pastor and devoted himself entirely to the care of his people, who loved and venerated him.

Eucherius did not, however, retain the favour of Charles Martel. To defray the expenses of his wars and other undertakings, and to recompense those who served him, it was the practice of that prince to seize the revenues of churches and he encouraged others to do the same. It would appear that St Eucherius strenu­ously opposed these confiscations, and certain persons represented this to Charles as an insult offered to his person. In the year 737, when he was returning to Paris after having defeated the Saracens in Aquitaine, Charles took Orleans on the way and ordered Eucherius to follow him to Verneuil-sur-Oise, and then exiled him to Cologne. Here the saint became so popular on account of his piety and charming character that Charles ordered him to be transferred to a fortified place near Liege, where he would be under the observation of the governor of the district. Here again the bishop won all hearts, and the governor made him distributor of alms and allowed him to retire to the monastery of Saint-Trond near Maestricht, where he spent the rest of his life in prayer and contempla­tion.

The legend that St Eucherius saw Charles Martel burning in hell is an interpolation which does not belong to the primitive biography, but it is worth mentioning because the incident is sometimes depicted in representations of the saint in art.

The biography is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. iii, and in Mabillon. See also Duchesse (Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, p. 458), who points out that whereas the author of the life makes Eucherius the immediate successor of Soavaric, the episcopal lists of Orleans mention two or three bishops as intervening. There are also other difficulties about the chronology of the life which suggest serious doubts as to its being the work of a contemporary. See “Saints de Saint-Trond” in Analecta Bollandiana. vol. lxxii (1954).
   Charles Martel, to defray the expenses of his wars and other undertakings, often stripped the churches of their revenues. St. Eucherius reproved these encroachments with so much zeal that, in the year 737, Charles banished him to Cologne. The extraordinary esteem which his virtue procured him in that city moved Charles to order him to be conveyed thence to a strong place in the territory of Liege. Robert, the governor of that country, was so charmed with his virtue that he made him the distributor of his large alms, and allowed him to retire to the monastery of Sarchinium, or St. Tron's. Here prayer and contemplation were his whole employment till the year 743, in which he died, on the 20th of February.

Reflection.—Nothing softens the soul and weakens piety so much as frivolous indulgence. God has revealed what high store He sets by "retirement" in these words: "I will lead her into solitude, and I will speak to her heart."

787 St. Leo of Catania Bishop of Catania, Sicily
called ii Maravigloso, “the Wonder-Worker.” He was revered for his holiness and learning.
 Cátanæ, in Sicília, sancti Leónis Epíscopi, qui virtútibus atque miráculis coruscávit.
      At Catania in Sicily, St. Leo, bishop, illustrious for virtues and miracles.

796 St. Colgan Abbot of Clanmacroise “the Wise”, in Offaly, Ireland
A friend of Blessed Alcuin, Colgan was called “the Wise” and “ the Chief Scribe of the Scots.”
Colgan of Clonmacnoise, Abbot (AC) (also known as Colchu, Colgu). Colgan, surnamed 'the Wise' and 'the Chief Scribe of the Scots,' was abbot of Clonmacnoise in Offaly.
He was a friend and teacher of the Blessed Alcuin. Colgan is noted for the influence he exerted on the imperial schools in France, through his students (Benedictines, Montague).
1154 + St. Wulfric hermit; Many miracles were attributed to his intercession in this life and after death gift of prophecy numerous between 1185 to 1235
Born at Compton Martin, near Bristol, England, he became a priest and was excessively materialistic and worldly. After meeting with a beggar, he underwent a personal conversion and became a hermit at Haselbury; Somerset, England. For his remaining years, he devoted himself to rigorous austerities and was known for his miracles and prophecies. While he was never formally canonized, Wulfric was a very popular saint during the Middle Ages, and his tomb was visited by many pilgrims.
1154 ST WULFRIC
THE burial-place of St Wulfric at Haselbury Plucknett was a popular place of pilgrimage in the middle ages. Born at Compton Martin, eight miles from Bristol, and trained for the priesthood, Wulfric lived a careless life even after his ordination, being engrossed with hawking and hunting. But while priest at Deverill, near Warminster, he was suddenly touched by divine grace, and his conversion was popularly attributed to a chance interview he had with a beggar. The man asked him if he had any of the new coins which had recently been minted and were still rare. Wulfric replied that he did not know: he would see. “You have two and a half”, said the stranger, and sure enough, when the saint opened his purse, there they lay. He gave them to him as an alms, and the beggar said, “

God reward thee for thy charity I tell thee that soon thou shalt depart from here to go to a place where at last thou shalt find rest, If thou wilt persevere, thou shalt ere long be admitted to the fellowship of the saints.”

St Wulfric was casting about for a solitary spot in which he might devote himself entirely to the service of God when a knight offered him a cell adjoining the church at Haselbury in Somerset. Here he gave himself up to great austerities, and by fasting and scourging reduced himself to skin and bone. He wore chain-mail next his skin, and a curious miracle is recounted in detail of the cutting of the iron links with an ordinary pair of scissors or shears as if they were so much linen. The reason why Wulfric wanted his cuirass shortened was that it prevented him from making the innumerable prostrations which formed, perhaps as a survival of Celtic influences, so favourite a type of penitential exercise at that period. It was practised especially by St Thomas of Canterbury and by St Gilbert of Sempringham, to take two prominent English examples.

We are told that sometimes Wulfric would at night, summer or winter, strip and get into a tub of cold water, remaining there till he had recited the whole psalter at other times he would spend the night in prayer in the church, where he offered Mass daily and was served by a boy named Osbern, afterwards parson of Haselbury, to whom we owe valuable information about the anchoret. One Easter eve Wulfric was troubled in sleep by a sensual illusion; he was so distressed thereby that the next day he made open confession of it before the whole congregation in church. When a certain cleric from Cirencester tried to tempt him to avarice with the offer of two silver pennies, Wulfric pointed to the window-sill: “Put them there”, he said, “Somebody will come and take them.” And so it happened, to the confusion of the tempter. Wulfric employed himself in the copying of books (he sometimes had a secretary to help him), which he bound himself, and it looks as if he also made things for the church. The many wonders attributed to Wulfric show the veneration in which he was held, but it seems that it was for prophecy more than anything else that he was famous, even to far parts of the land: among his visitors were King Henry I and King Stephen.

St Wulfric (there is no reason to suppose that he was ever canonized) died on February no, 1154, and was buried in the cell in which he had lived: the vestry of the present church at Haselbury stands on its site. Later the body was moved for safety to an unmarked grave, where it probably still rests. Wulfric had a great regard for the Cistercian Order, but the idea that he belonged to it is now rejected.

St Wulfric ought to be better known than he is, for what we read of him comes to us upon the authority of contemporaries. There is an excellent work by Dom M. Bell, Wulfric of Haselbury (1933) which gives the text of the life by Abbot John of Ford, with apparatus criticus, introduction and notes. Fr Bell adds the text of the first life in English, by Jerome Porter, printed at Douay in 1642 in the rare Flowers of the Lives of the . . . Saints of the three Kingdoms. See also the Acta Sanctorum, February, vol. iii and R. M. Clay, Hermits and Anchorites of England (1914). Wulfric’s name is spelt in several ways.
Wulfric of Haselbury, Hermit (AC) (also known as Ulfrick, Ulric) Born at Compton Martin (near Bristol), England; died at Haselbury, Somerset, England, in February 20, 1154. Saint Wulfric was an ordained priest, but not because he felt a religious vocation. He like to hunt and eat and party with the lords of the manors near Deverill, Wiltshire, England. He performed all the functions of a priest, but he did not have his heart in them.
Legend reports that, one day in the early 1120's while he was a priest at Deverill, near Warminster, he was suddenly touched by divine grace. Some say that he had underwent a metanoia during a chance encounter with a beggar. Other say that Wulfric was converted to a life of penance one day upon recitation of the Lavabo verse: "I will wash my hands among the innocent." It was as if all the easy ways of his past rose up at once to torment him, and he fled immediately to a place in search of solitude.

We don't know how long he remained a hermit, but there are seemingly endless reports of his austerities and arduous mortifications: going down in the icy waters to recite the Psalms, flagellations, prostrations, mail-shirts. When Wulfric finally returned to his flock, he was a new man. He ministered to his flock until 1125.

A knight offered him a cell adjoining a church at Haselbury- Plunkett (Plucknett) near Exeter in Somerset. He had no official episcopal authorization, but was supported by the neighboring Cluniac monks of Montacute. There he lived the remainder of his life, starving himself until his body was skin and bones. He was famous for his gift of prophecy and for his priestly care of all who sought his counsel, including Kings Henry I and Stephen. In 1130, Henry and Queen Adela obtained through his intercession the healing of the knight Drogo de Munci from paralysis. In 1133, Wulfric prophesied the death of the king which occurred in 1135. Stephen visited him with his brother, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, when Wulfric greeted him as king even before his disputed accession. On another occasion, Wulfric reproached him for misgovernment.

A curious story is recounted in detail that he cut the iron links of his mail-shirt with ordinary scissors as if they were only linen in order to shorten it to permit the numerous prostrations that were a part of the penitential exercises of that era. He said Mass daily with the assistance of a boy named Osbern, who later became a priest and who recorded Wulfric's vita. The near- contemporary life of Wulfric by Abbot John of Ford is accurate and informative.
The saint employed himself primarily in copying books, which he bound himself.  He also made elements for the celebration of Mass.

Many miracles were attributed to his intercession, both in this life and after his death. (Although the first miracle at his tomb is not recorded to have occurred until 1169; they were numerous 1185 to 1235.
The Cistercians lay claim to Wulfric, as did the monks of Montacute, but he was unaffiliated with an religious order.
Wulfric's cultus was slow to develop.

He was mentioned favorably by Henry of Huntingdon, Roger of Wendover, and Matthew Paris. William Worcestre and John Leland also mention his tomb. In 1633, John Gerard recorded that his cell was still standing as was his memory. A 16th-century martyrology and a French menology include Saint Wulfric. He is venerated at Haselbury, where he is buried in the cell in which he lived, which is now the site of the church's vestry (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, Walsh).
1250 St. Amata Poor Clare; niece of St. Clare of Assisi
Amata was miraculously cured of an illness by St. Clare. She entered a Poor Clare monastery as a result.
Amata of Assisi, OP Poor Clare V (PC) Died c. 1250; feast day formerly June 9.
Amata was sister to Blessed Diana and Cecilia in the community of Saint Agnes at Bologna, a niece of Saint Clare, and a good friend of Saint Dominic. Saint Clare healed Amata of a disease and thereby converted her heart to the life of the cloister. According to legend, Dominic give her the moniker "Amata," meaning 'beloved,' and very probably sent her to the convent. There is a Sister Amata from whom Saint Dominic is said to have cast out seven devils, but it is probably not this one. This is all that is known of her. Amata is in the Franciscan martyrologies (Benedictines, Dorcy, Encyclopedia).
1304 Blessed Peter of Treja early Franciscans associated with Blessed Conrad of Offida in his apostolate, OFM (AC)
Died at Sirolo, Piceno, Italy, cultus approved 1793. Peter was one of the early Franciscans associated with Blessed Conrad of Offida in his apostolate. They preached with great success throughout Italy (Benedictines).

1468 Blessed Elisabeth Bartholomea Picenardi, many miracles were said worked at her tomb; OSM V (AC) 
Born in Mantua, Italy, in 1428; beatified in 1804. After her mother's death, Elisabeth joined the Third Order of Servites. Several young noblewomen of Mantua banded together to live in community under Elisabeth's direction (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

1468 BD ELIZABETH OF MANTUA, VIRGIN

VERY little incident marks the career of Bd Elizabeth Picenardi. Her parents were people of consideration in Mantua, and she received a very religious education. Her father taught her Latin so that she was able to read daily the Little Office of our Lady, and her mother encouraged her in the practice of meditation. She would not contemplate the idea of marriage, and after her mother’s death both she and one of her sisters obtained permission to enter the third order of the Servites. We are told, but the authority for the statement does not seem very reliable, that Elizabeth made a practice of confessing and communicating daily, a thing almost unheard of in the fifteenth century. The example of her humility and gentleness, together with the supernatural gifts with which she was credited, made a deep impression upon several young girls of her own age, and they banded themselves together to form a community of the Servite third order under Elizabeth’s direction. She is said to have prophesied her own death a year before it happened. At the age of forty, worn out by a painful internal complaint, “she rested in the Lord so the Servite Martyrology states, “while sweetly contemplating Jesus and his Mother amid the choirs of angels”. Extraordinary crowds attended her funeral and many miracles were said to have been worked at her tomb. She was beatified in 1804.

See Bianchi, Memorie storiche intorno alla Vita di Elizabetta Picenardi (1803) and J. E. Stadler, Heiligen-Lexikon.

1920 Blessed Jacinta & Francisco Marto Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds
(1910-1920; 1908-1919)  Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious organizations soon after.
At the first appearance, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months. She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism. Up to 90,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on October 13, 1917.

Less than two years later, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1952. Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1951. Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000. Sister Lucia died in February 2005 at the age of 97. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year.
Comment:  The Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Prayer for sinners, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.
Quote:  In his homily at their beatification, Pope John Paul II recalled that shortly before Francisco died, Jacinta said to him, “Give my greetings to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I am enduring everything they want for the conversion of sinners.”


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 270

In thee, O Lady, have I hoped: let me never be confounded: in thy mercy deliver me and free me.

Because of the multitude of my iniquities: I am vehemently oppressed.

Mine enemies have acted above my head: they have mocked me and derided me day by day.

See, O Lady, how I am troubled: stretch forth thy hands, and succor him who perishes.

Delay not, for the sake of the grace of thy name: and thou shalt become unto me joy and salvation.


Have mercy on thy servants, upon whom thy name is invoked !
and do not permit them to be straitened in their temptations.


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
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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]

To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:
Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Irondale, AL 35210  USA
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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).
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