Most Holy Name of Jesus THE_EPIPHANY_OF_OUR_LORD_JESUS_CHRIST
Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
R.  Deo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus since 1902;
2024
23,658  Lives Saved Since 2007

   The second day of the Forefeast of Theophany
January 3 – Epiphany Sunday –
Our Lady of the Wall (Italy)
The Bishop of Fatima asks Sister Lucia to write down the Third Secret of Fatima (Portugal, 1944) - Saint Genevieve 
 The great message of hope of Our Lady of Fatima
 On July 13, 1917, Sister Lucia received three secrets. The third was officially published on May 13, 2000, accompanied by this commentary that interprets it:
“To save souls” has emerged as the key word of the first and second parts of the “secret,” and the key word of this third part is the threefold cry: “Penance, Penance, Penance!” …
I would like finally to mention another key expression of the “secret” which has become justly famous: “my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Savior into the world…
The Evil One has power in this world… because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart… the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world”
(Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger  Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 13, 2000
 
CAUSES OF SAINTS

Acts of the Apostles

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

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

Saint John, Son of Mary (III) - The Bishop of Fatima Asks Sister Lucy for the Third Secret (1944)

January 3 - The Holy Name of Jesus -
January 3 – Our Lady of the Wall (Italy)

The Bishop of Fatima asks Sister Lucia to write down the Third Secret of Fatima (1944)
 
If I live, I will return to Fatima to consecrate the world
 On August 26, 1978, Cardinal Luciani became Pope and took the name John Paul I. It is a known fact that Bishop Luciani, as the Patriarch of Venice, met with Sister Lucia in Fatima.
The weekly newspaper Gente Veneta of July 23, 1977, published an article about Cardinal Luciani’s meeting with Sister Lucia, without mentioning the confidential exchange that follows. According to Ricardo de la Cieva y de Hoces, during this interview the nun predicted for him "the Crown of Christ," i.e the crown of martyrdom, and "the days of Christ" that turned out to be the number of days of his short pontificate.
The Crown of Christ and the days of Christ—this expression never left the mind of Mgr. Luciani, especially from August 26, 1978, the day when he was elected Pope. He confided to a friend theologian, Don Germano Pattaro:
"What Sister Lucia told me in the month of July 1977 had become a great burden on my heart ... too contrary to my whole being. It was unbelievable, yet Sister Lucia’s prediction has been proven true. I am the Pope.
 If I live, I will return to Fatima to consecrate the world and particularly the peoples of Russia to the Virgin Mary according to the indications that She gave to Sister Lucia."  The Mary of Nazareth Team
 
  "Oh! That’s the Virgin of the Marne!"
On January 3, 1915, a wounded German priest who had been taken prisoner during the battle of the Marne, died in a French ambulance, with some nuns at his side. Before he died, the priest told them:
“As a soldier, I should keep quiet about this, but as a priest, I think I should tell you what I saw. During the battle of the Marne, we were surprised to be pushed back because there were legions of us compared to the French. We were sure that we would reach Paris. But then we saw the Virgin Mary, all dressed in white with a blue belt, her head bowed towards Paris... She had her back to us, and with her right hand she seemed to be pushing us back... I saw this with my own eyes, and so did many others.”
At around the time that the German priest made this confession, two German officers, prisoners like him and also wounded, were put inside a French ambulance of the Red Cross. A German-speaking nurse was riding with them. When they entered a room that had a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, they looked at each other and said:
"Oh! That’s the Virgin of the Marne!"
The Mary of Nazareth Team
http://forumdeprieres.forumsactifs.com/t4742-le-miracle-de-la-tres-sainte-vierge-marie
   
  Pope Francis  PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR  January 2022

 For educators
We pray that educators may be credible witnesses, teaching fraternity rather than competition and helping the youngest and most vulnerable above all.


 January is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus since 1902;


Octava sancti Joánnis, Apóstoli et Evangelístæ.
      The Octave of St. John, apostle and evangelist.
We can reconstruct the chronology of John's life from what Scripture, Tradition and historical research give us today. John was probably born around the year 10 A.D.  Up to the age of 12 he grew up in Bethsaida, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee-one of the most beautiful places in the world.  We can picture the young John, in awe before the beauty of nature, wondering who may be the author of such wonders. His father, Zebedee, according to the Gospel, owned a small fishing business and had many employees.
The fish was caught and sold in Capernaum, or dried and transported to the Decapolis to be sold there, by Andrew and Phillip who spoke Greek, and by James and John in Jerusalem, where the good fish from Galilee was particularly appreciated.  When he was 12 or 13, he must have heard the impressive masters of the time: the famous Schammaï, the great Hillel, and his nephew Gamaliel, a renowned preacher.  The Gospel indicates that John knew the city very well, and was even known to the High Priest (Jn 18: 15-16). One day on the road to the Holy City that he regularly took, the teen-aged John met John the Baptist, someone he found more extraordinary and fascinating still.  John and James soon became John the Baptist's disciples, along with a few fishermen friends: Andrew and his brother Peter, Phillip and Nathanael.
From approximately 24 to 27, they all remained pupils and followers of John the Baptist, until the latter designated Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
 John was never to forget this message, which he placed at the center
of both his Gospel and Book of the Revelation.

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

When we must do something we dislike, let us say to God, "
 My God I offer You this in honor of the moment when You died for me." -- St. John Vianney
  168 St. Daniel Padua Martyr Jewish deacon
  236 ST ANTHERUS, POPE AND MARTYR; the Liber Pontificalis states that he was put to death for obtaining copies of the official proceedings against the martyrs with the view of preserving them in the episcopal archives
  284 St. Theopemptus bishop of Nicomedia/Theonas martyrs
  320 The Martyr Gordius centurion for confessing the Name of Christ the Savior
  303 St. Zosimus & Athanasius hermits tortured in Cilicia but survived
  311 ST PETER BALSAM, MARTYR
  320 St. Cyrinus Martyred soldier with Primus and Theogenes
        St. Florentius of Vienne Bishop and martyr of Vienne  France, who attended the Council of Valence in 374.
  512 St. Genevieve Paris averted Attila scourge by fasting/ prayer
6th v. St. Fintan Abbot and patron saint of Doon
6th v. St. Finlugh Irish abbot, the brother of St. Fintan
  660 St. Blitmund Monk of Bobbio disciple-St. Attalas companion-St. Valery 
        St. Wenog Saint of Wales
        St. Narses Martyred bishop of Persia
8th v. ST BERTILIA OF MAREUIL, WIDOW
1953 Saint Ekvtime (Euthymius) Taqaishvili, Georgia called the “Man of God,”; From beginning of career he began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia; including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history. Above all, St. Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work; after 10 years burial, his body, even his clothing and footwear remained incorrupt.

Last Holy Prophetic book Malachi means "my messenger':  probably anonymous
“The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....’
Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory” (Exposition of the Orthodox Faith).

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.
God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven
 
Last Holy Prophet Malachi "the seal of the prophets."
lived 400 years before the Birth of Christ, at the time of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity.
Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets, therefore the holy Fathers call him "the seal of the prophets."

Manifesting himself an image of spiritual goodness and piety, he astounded the nation and was called Malachi, i.e., an angel. His prophetic book is included in the Canon of the Old Testament. In it he upbraids the Jews, foretelling the coming of Jesus Christ and His Forerunner, and also the Last Judgment (Mal 3:1-5; 4:1-6).


  Last Holy Prophet Malachi "the seal of the prophets."
lived 400 years before the Birth of Christ, at the time of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity.
Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets, therefore the holy Fathers call him "the seal of the prophets."

Manifesting himself an image of spiritual goodness and piety, he astounded the nation and was called Malachi, i.e., an angel. His prophetic book is included in the Canon of the Old Testament. In it he upbraids the Jews, foretelling the coming of Jesus Christ and His Forerunner, and also the Last Judgment (Mal 3:1-5; 4:1-6).
Most Holy Name of Jesus
In a world of fiercely guarded corporate names and logos, it should be easy to understand this feast. The letters IHS are an abbreviation of Jesous, the Greek name for Jesus.
Although St. Paul might claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus “that name that is above every name” (see 2:9), this devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns but especially through the preaching of St. Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan.

Bernardine used devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus as a way of overcoming bitter and often bloody class struggles and family rivalries or vendettas in Italian city-states. The devotion grew, partly because of Franciscan and Dominican preachers. It spread even more widely after the Jesuits began promoting it in the 16th century.
In 1530, Pope Clement V approved an Office of the Holy Name for the Franciscans.
In 1721, Pope Innocent XIII extended this feast to the entire Church.
Comment: Jesus died and rose for the sake of all people. No one can trademark or copyright Jesus' name. Jesus is the Son of God and son of Mary. Everything that exists was created in and through the Son of God (see Colossians 1:15-20). The name of Jesus is debased if any Christian uses it as justification for berating non-Christians. Jesus reminds us that because we are all related to him we are, therefore, all related to one another.
Quote: “Glorious name, gracious name, name of love and of power! Through you sins are forgiven, through you enemies are vanquished, through you the sick are freed from their illness, through you those suffering in trials are made strong and cheerful. You bring honor to those who believe, you teach those who preach, you give strength to the toiler, you sustain the weary” (St. Bernardine of Siena).
The second day of the Forefeast of Theophany falls on January 3.
Today's hymns invite us to go in spirit to the Jordan River where the Creator comes to be baptized. He is the Light which shines in the darkness (John 1:5), and today He begins to overcome that darkness.
168 St. Daniel Padua Martyr Jewish deacon.
Italy, companion of St. Prosdocimus. Daniel was Jewish by descent and a deacon.
He served St. Prosdocimus, the first bishop of Padua, in missionary efforts.
Daniel’s body was discovered circa 1000 and was solemnly enshrined on January 3, 1064.
Saint Daniel of Padua (d. 168 AD) is venerated as the deacon of Saint Prosdocimus, the first bishop of Padua.
Said to have been of Jewish extraction, he aided Prosdocimus, who evangelized northeastern Nava. Daniel was later martyred.

Daniel's relics, translated on January 3, 1064, lie in the church of Santa Sofia, in Padua.
236 ST ANTHERUS, POPE AND MARTYR; the Liber Pontificalis states that he was put to death for obtaining copies of the official proceedings against the martyrs with the view of preserving them in the episcopal archives
 Romæ, via Appia, natális sancti Anthéri, Papæ et Mártyris; qui sub Júlio Maximíno passus est, et in cœmetério Callísti sepúltus.
       At Rome, on the Appian Way, the birthday of Pope St. Anterus, who suffered under Julius Maximinus, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus.
 THE name of St Antherus occurs in the list of popes after that of St Pontian. He is believed to have been elected November 21, 235, and to have died January 3, 236, thus reigning only forty-three days. Nothing certain is known regarding his martyrdom, though the Liber Pontificalis states that he was put to death for obtaining copies of the official proceedings against the martyrs with the view of preserving them in the episcopal archives. He was buried in the “papal crypt” in the catacombs (Cemetery of St Callistus), and De Rossi discovered the site in 1854, together with the fragments of a Greek inscription.
See Allard, Hist. des Persecutions, vol. ii, p. 212; G. B. de Rossi, Roma Sotteranea, vol. ii, pp. 55 seq. and 180 seq.; and the Liber Pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne (1886—1892), vol. i, p. 547.
284 St. Theopemptus bishop of Nicomedia/Theonas martyrs
 Item sanctórum Theopémpti et Theónæ, qui, in persecutióne Diocletiáni, illústre martyrium obiérunt.
      Also, the Saints Theopemptus and Theonas, who suffered a glorious martyrdom in the persecution of Diocletian.
considered synonymous with the martyrs Synesius and Heopompus.
Theopemptus, also called Theopompus, was the who, along with Theonas, a magician whom he had converted, was martyred during the first days of the reign of Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305).
While it is certain that both saints lived, their Acts are considered untrustworthy.
303 St. Zosimus & Athanasius hermits tortured in Cilicia but survived
 In Cilícia sanctórum Mártyrum Zósimi, et Athanásii Commentariénsis.
       In Cilicia, the holy martyrs Zosimus and the notary Athanasius.
Zosimus and Athanasius (d.303) + Martyrs in Cilicia (modern Turkey).
They were executed during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305).
According to one account, Zosimus was tortured and Athanasius, a witness, was so moved that he converted to the faith.
Both were then tortured but survived and died in peace after being released. They became hermits.
311 ST PETER BALSAM, MARTYR
There can be little doubt that Peter Balsam is to be identified with the martyr Peter Abselamus, whom Eusebius (De Martyribus Palest., x, 2—3) describes as having been burnt to death at Caesarea. For this and other reasons very different opinions have been held as to the trustworthiness of the narrative given above. Ruinart, and even Bardenhewer (Geschichte der altkirchl. Literatur, vol. ii, p. 640), treat the acts as authentic. P. Allard (Hist. des persecutions, vol. v, p. 640) and H. Leclercq (Les Martyrs, vol. ii, p. 323) believe them to have been compiled inaccurately; Father Delehaye more logically (Légendes Hagio­graphiques, p. 114) considers that the narrative must be regarded as a historical romance founded on a basis of genuine fact. See also Harnack Chronol. Altchrist. Lit., vol. ii, p. 474.
 Apud civitátem Aulánam, in Palæstína, pássio sancti Petri, qui crucis supplício interémptus est.
       In the city of Aulona in Palestine, the crucifixion of St. Peter.
There can be little doubt that Peter Balsam is to be identified with the martyr Peter Abselamus, whom Eusebius (De Martyribus Palest., x, 2—3) describes as having been burnt to death at Caesarea. For this and other reasons very different opinions have been held as to the trustworthiness of the narrative given above. Ruinart, and even Bardenhewer (Geschichte der altkirchl. Literatur, vol. ii, p. 640), treat the acts as authentic. P. Allard (Hist. des persecutions, vol. v, p. 640) and H. Leclercq (Les Martyrs, vol. ii, p. 323) believe them to have been compiled inaccurately; Father Delehaye more logically (Légendes Hagio­graphiques, p. 114) considers that the narrative must be regarded as a historical romance founded on a basis of genuine fact. See also Harnack Chronol. Altchrist. Lit., vol. ii, p. 474.
PETER BALSAM, to follow the narrative of his published “acts”, was a native of the territory of Eleutheropolis in Palestine, who was apprehended at Aulana in the persecution of Maximinus. Being brought before Severus, governor of the province, the interrogatory began by asking him his name.
Peter answered, “Balsam is the name of my family; but I received that of Peter in baptism.”
SEVERUS:    “Of what family and of what country are you?”
PETER:    “ I am a Christian.”
SEVERUS:    “What is your employment?”
PETER:    “What employment can I have more honourable, or what better thing can I do in the world, than to live as a Christian?”
SEVERUS:    “Do you know the imperial edicts?”
PETER:    “I know the laws of God, the sovereign of the universe.”
SEVERUS:    “You shall quickly know that there is an edict of the most clement emperors, commanding all to sacrifice to the gods, or be put to death.”
PETER:    “You will also know one day that there is a law of the eternal King, proclaiming that everyone shall perish who offers sacrifice to devils. Which do you counsel me to obey, and which, think you, ought I to choose—to die by your sword, or to be condemned to everlasting misery by the sentence of the great King, the true God?”
SEVERUS:    “Since you ask my advice, it is that you obey the edict, and sacrifice to the gods.”
PETER:    “I can never be prevailed upon to sacrifice to gods of wood and stone, as those are which you worship.”
SEVERUS:    “I would have you know that it is in my power to avenge these affronts by putting you to death.”
PETER:    “I had no intention of affronting you. I only expressed what is written in the divine law.”
SEVERUS:    “Have compassion on yourself, and sacrifice.”
PETER:    “ If I am truly compassionate to myself, I ought not to sacrifice.”
SEVERUS:    “I want to be lenient; I therefore still allow you time to reflect, that you may save your life.”
PETER:    “This delay will be to no purpose for I shall not alter my mind; do now what you will be obliged to do soon, and complete the work which the devil, your father, has begun; for I will never do what Jesus Christ forbids me.”
Severus, on hearing these words, ordered him to be stretched upon the rack, and whilst he was suspended said to him scoflingly, “What say you now, Peter; do you begin to know what the rack is? Are you yet willing to sacrifice?“ Peter answered, “Tear me with hooks, and talk not of my sacrificing to your devils:  I have already told you, that I will sacrifice only to that God for whom I suffer.” Hereupon the governor commanded his tortures to be redoubled. The martyr, far from any complaint, sung with alacrity those verses of the royal prophet, “One thing I have asked of the Lord; this will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. I will take the chalice of salvation, and will call upon the name of the Lord.” The spectators, seeing the martyr’s blood run down in streams, cried out to him, “Obey the emperors! Sacrifice, and rescue yourself from these torments!” Peter replied, “Do you call these torments? I feel no pain: but this I know, that if I be not faithful to my God I must expect real pain, such as cannot be conceived.” The judge also said, “Sacrifice, Peter Balsam, or you will repent it.”
PETER:    “Neither will I sacrifice, nor shall I repent it.”
SEVERUS:    “I am on the point of pronouncing sentence.”
PETER:    “It is what I most earnestly desire.” Severus then dictated the sentence in this manner: “It is our order that Peter Balsam, for having refused to obey the edict of the invincible emperors, and obstinately defending the law of a crucified man, be himself nailed to a cross.” Thus it was that this glorious martyr finished his triumph, at Aulana, on January 11; but he is honoured in the Roman Martyrology on January 3.

There can be little doubt that Peter Balsam is to be identified with the martyr Peter Abselamus, whom Eusebius (De Martyribus Palest., x, 2—3) describes as having been burnt to death at Caesarea. For this and other reasons very different opinions have been held as to the trustworthiness of the narrative given above. Ruinart, and even Bardenhewer (Geschichte der altkirchl. Literatur, vol. ii, p. 640), treat the acts as authentic. P. Allard (Hist. des persecutions, vol. v, p. 640) and H. Leclercq (Les Martyrs, vol. ii, p. 323) believe them to have been compiled inaccurately; Father Delehaye more logically (Légendes Hagio­graphiques, p. 114) considers that the narrative must be regarded as a historical romance founded on a basis of genuine fact. See also Harnack Chronol. Altchrist. Lit., vol. ii, p. 474.
320 The Martyr Gordius centurion suffered for confessing the Name of Christ the Savior
 Cæsaréæ, in Cappadócia, sancti Górdii Centuriónis, Mártyris; de cujus láudibus exstat præclára Basilíi Magni orátio, in ejus die festo hábita.
      At Caesarea in Cappadocia, St. Gordius, centurion, in whose praise is extant a celebrated discourse delivered by St. Basil the Great on the day of his festival.
Born at the end of the third century in the city of Caesarea of Cappadocia into a Christian family. When he came of age, he entered military service. Because of his valor and military skill, he was made a centurion. During the persecution of Christians at the beginning of the fourth century, he left the world and settled in the Sinai desert to prepare himself for the good deed of confessing the Name of Christ the Savior.

In the year 320, Gordius openly appeared before the prefect of a city where pagan games were being held, and identified himself as a Christian. He was arrested, suffered terrible torments, then was beheaded.
320 St. Cyrinus Martyred soldier with Primus and Theogenes.  
 In Hellespónto sanctórum Mártyrum Cyríni, Primi et Theógenis.
       In the Hellespont, the holy martyrs Cyrinus, Primus, and Theogenes.
Members of the Roman army, they were martyred at Cyzicus, on the Hellespont.
St. Florentius of Vienne Bishop and martyr of Vienne France, who attended the Council of Valence in 374.
 Viénnæ, in Gállia, sancti Floréntii Epíscopi, qui, témpore Galliéni Imperatóris, in exsílium relegátus, illic martyrium  consummávit.
       At Vienne in France, St. Florentius, bishop, who was sent into exile and who was martyred in the time of Emperor Gallienus.
6th v. St. Finlugh Irish abbot, the brother of St. Fintan.
He trained in Scotland as a disciple of St. Columba and returned to Ireland to become abbot of a monastery in County Deify.
6th v. St. Fintan Abbot and patron saint of Doon.
in Limerick, Ireland. He was a disciple of St. Comgall, and a well in Limerick is revered in his name.
512 St. Genevieve Paris averted Attila scourge by fasting and prayer
 Lutétiæ Parisiórum sanctæ Genovéfæ Vírginis, quæ, a beáto Germáno, Antisiodorénsi Epíscopo, Christo dicáta, admirándis virtútibus et miráculis cláruit.       At Paris, St. Genevieve, virgin, who was consecrated to Christ by St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and who became famous for her admirable virtues and miracles.
500 ST GENEVIEVE, or GENOVEFA, VIRGIN
GENEVIEVE’S father’s name was Severus, and her mother’s Gerontia; she was born about the year 422 at Nanterre, a small village four miles from Paris, near Mont Valérien. When St Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, went with St Lupus into Britain to oppose the Pelagian heresy, he spent a night at Nanterre on his way. The inhabitants flocked about them to receive their blessing, and St Germanus gave an address, during which he took particular notice of Genevieve, though she was only seven. After his sermon he inquired for her parents, and foretold their daughter’s future sanctity. He then asked Genevieve whether it was not her desire to serve God only and to be naught else but a spouse of Jesus Christ. She answered that this was what she desired, and begged that by his blessing she might be from that moment consecrated to God. The holy prelate went to the church, followed by the people, and during the long singing of psalms and prayers, says Constantius—that is during the recital of None and Vespers, as one text of the Life of St Genevieve expresses it—he laid his hand upon the maiden’s head. After he had supped he dismissed her, telling her parents to bring her again to him the next morning. The father obeyed, and St Germanus asked the child whether she remembered the promise she had made to God. She said she did, and declared that she hoped to keep her word. The bishop gave her a medal or coin, on which a cross was engraved, to wear about her neck, in memory of the consecration she had received the day before; and he charged her never to wear bracelets or jewels or other trinkets. The author of her life tells us that the child, begging one day that she might go to church, her mother struck her on the face, but in punishment lost her sight; she only recovered it two months after, by washing her eyes with water which her daughter fetched from the well and over which she had made the sign of the cross. Hence the people look upon the well at Nanterre as having been blessed by the saint.
When she was about fifteen, Genevieve was presented to the bishop of Paris to receive the religious veil, together with two other girls. Though she was the youngest of the three, the bishop gave her the first place, saying that Heaven had already sanctified her, by which he seems to have alluded to her promise of consecrating herself to God. From that time she frequently ate only twice in the week, on Sundays and Thursdays, and her food was barley bread with a few beans. After the death of her parents she left Nanterre; and settled with her godmother in Paris, but sometimes undertook journeys for motives of charity. The cities of Meaux, Laon, Tours, Orleans and all other places she visited bore witness to her miracles and remarkable predictions. God permitted her to meet with some a severe trials ; for at a certain time everybody seemed to be against her, and perse­cuted her under the opprobrious names of visionary, hypocrite and the like.

   The arrival of St Germanus at Paris, probably on his second journey to Britain, for some time silenced her calumniators; but it was not long before the storm broke out anew. Her enemies were fully determined to discredit and even to drown her, when the archdeacon of Auxerre arrived with eulogiae, blessed bread, sent her by St Germanus as a testimony of his particular esteem and a token of communion. This seems to have happened whilst Germanus was absent in Italy in 448. The tribute thus paid her converted the prejudices of her calumniators into veneration for the remainder of her life.

The Franks had at this time gained possession of the better part of Gaul, and Childeric, their king, took Paris. During the long blockade of that city, the citizens being reduced to extremities by famine, St Genevieve, as the author of her life relates, went out at the head of a company who were sent to procure provisions, and brought back from Arcis-sur-Aube and Troyes several boats laden with corn. Childeric, when he had made himself master of Paris, though always a pagan, respected St Genevieve, and upon her intercession spared the lives of many prisoners and did other generous acts. She also awakened the zeal of many persons to build a church in honour of St Dionysius of Paris, which King Dagobert I afterwards rebuilt with a monastery in 629. St Genevieve likewise undertook many pilgrimages, in company with other maidens, to the shrine of St Martin at Tours, and the reputation of her holiness is said to have been so great that her fame even reached St Simeon Stylites in Syria.

   King Clovis, who embraced the faith in 496, often listened with deference to St Genevieve, and more than once granted liberty to captives at her request. Upon the report of the march of Attila with his army of Huns the Parisians were preparing to abandon their city, but St Genevieve, like a Christian Judith or Esther, encouraged them to avert the scourge by fasting and prayer. Many of her own sex passed whole days with her in prayer in the bap­tistery; from whence the particular devotion to St Genevieve, formerly practised at S.-Jean-le-Rond, the ancient public baptistery of the church of Paris, seems to have taken rise. She assured the people of the protection of Heaven, and though she was treated by many as an impostor, the event verified the prediction, for the barbarous invader suddenly changed the course of his march.

   Our author attributes to St Genevieve the first suggestion of the church, which Clovis began to build in honour of SS. Peter and Paul, in deference to the wishes of his wife, St Clotilda, in which church the body of St Genevieve herself was enshrined after her death about the year 500.

The miracles which were performed there from the time of her burial rendered this church famous over all France, so that at length it began to be known by her name. The fabric, however, fell into decay, and a new church was begun in 1764. This has long been secularized and, under the name of the Pantheon, is now used as a national mausoleum.

The city of Paris has frequently received sensible proofs of the divine protection, through St Genevieve’s intercession. The most famous instance is that called the miracle des Ardents, or of the burning fever. In 1129 a disease, apparently poisoning by ergot, swept off in a short time many thousand persons, nor could the art of physicians afford any relief. Stephen, Bishop of Paris, with the clergy and people, implored the divine mercy by fasting and sup­plications. Yet the epidemic did not abate till the shrine of St Genevieve was carried in a solemn procession to the cathedral. Many sick persons were cured by touching the shrine, and of all who then were suffering from the disease in the whole town only three died, and no others fell ill.

1130 Pope Innocent II, coming to Paris the year following, after due investigation ordered an annual festival in commemoration of the miracle on November 26, which is still kept in Paris. It was formerly the custom, in extraordinary public calamities, to carry the shrine of St Genevieve in procession to the cathedral. The greater part of the relics of the saint were destroyed or pillaged at the French Revolution.

The ancient life of St Geneviève from which most of the above account is derived, and which purports to have been written by a contemporary eighteen years after the saint’s death, has been the subject of keen controversy. There are three principal recensions of it, known respectively as the A, B and C texts. Text A has been edited by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. iii (1896). Text B is printed in the very valuable essay of C. Kohler, Ètude critique sur le texte de la vie latine de Sainte Geneviève (1881), and Text C may be found in the Teubner edition of the Vita Sanctae Genovefae, edited by C. Künstle in 1910. Al­though Text C has in its favour the authority of the oldest manuscripts (eighth century), the priority of that recension is by no means generally admitted. But the more important controversy is that regarding the authenticity of the life itself. Bruno Krusch declares it to be a forgery, and that the author, instead of being a contemporary as he pretends, did not compile the life until more than 250 years later, towards the close of the eighth century. It is impossible here to do more than mention the acrimonious discussion to which Krusch’s pronouncement has given rise. It must be sufficient to say that his views have by no means carried with them the support of the majority of competent critics. Such scholars as Mgr Duchesne, Prof. G. Kurth, C. Künstle and A. Poncelet strenuously maintain that the life was really written by a contemporary, and that, so far as regards the substance of its contents, it is trustworthy. Readers will find an excellent summary of all that is really known about St Genevieve in H. Lesêtre, Ste Geneviève (in the series “Les Saints”), and in the essay of E. Vacandard, Études de critique, vol. iv, pp. 67—124, and 255—266. For a charming popular account of the saint, see M. Reynès-Monlaur, Ste Geneviève (1924). A story in the life tells how the devil, when St Geneviève went to pray in the church at night, blew out her candle to frighten her. She is, therefore, often represented in art with a candle. Sometimes the devil and a pair of bellows are also depicted beside her.  

When Attila was reported to be marching on Paris, the inhabitants of the city prepared to evacuate, but St. Genevieve persuaded them to avert the scourge by fasting and prayer, assuring them of the protection of Heaven. The event verified the prediction, for the barbarian suddenly changed the course of his march.
The life of St. Genevieve was one of great austerity, constant prayer, and works of charity. She died in the year 512. Her feast day is January 3rd.
She dressed in a long flowing gown with a mantle covering her shoulders, similar to the type of garments the Blessed Mother wore. One of the symbols of this saint is a loaf of bread because she was so generous to those in need.

Saint Genevieve was born of wealthy parents in Gaul (modern France) in the village of Nanterre, near Paris, around 422. Her father's name was Severus, and her mother was called Gerontia. According to the custom of the time, she often tended her father's flocks on Mt. Valerien.

When she was about seven years old, St Germanus of Auxerre (July 31) noticed her as he was passing through Nanterre. The bishop kissed her on the head and told her parents that she would become great in the sight of God, and would lead many to salvation. After Genevieve told him that she wished to dedicate herself to Christ, he gave her a brass medal with the image of the Cross upon it. She promised to wear it around her neck, and to avoid wearing any other ornaments around her neck or on her fingers.

When it was reported that Attila the Hun was approaching Paris, Genevieve and the other nuns prayed and fasted, entreating God to spare the city. Suddenly, the barbarians turned away from Paris and went off in another direction.

Years later, when she was fifteen, Genevieve was taken to Paris to enter the monastic life. Through fasting, vigil and prayer, she progressed in monasticism, and received from God the gifts of clairvoyance and of working miracles. Gradually, the people of Paris and the surrounding area regarded Genevieve as a holy vessel (2 Tim. 2:21).

St Genevieve considered the Saturday night Vigil service to be very important, since it symbolizes how our whole life should be. "We must keep vigil in prayer and fasting so that the Lord will find us ready when He comes," she said. She was on her way to church with her nuns one stormy Saturday night when the wind blew out her lantern. The nuns could not find their way without a light, since it was dark and stormy, and the road was rough and muddy. St Genevieve made the Sign of the Cross over the lantern, and the candle within was lit with a bright flame. In this manner they were able to make their way to the church for the service.

There is a tradition that the church which St Genevieve suggested that King Clovis build in honor of Sts Peter and Paul became her own resting place when she fell asleep in the Lord around 512 at the age of eighty-nine. Her holy relics were later transferred to the church of St Etienne du Mont in Paris. Most of her relics, and those of other saints, were destroyed during the French Revolution.
In the Middle Ages, St Genevieve was regarded as the patron saint of wine makers.
660 St.Blitmund Monk of Bobbio disciple-St. Attalas companion-St. Valery.Italy; a disciple of St. Attalas and companion of St. Valery. Blitmund went to France with St. Valery, and founded an abbey at Leucone. He became the abbot there.
St. Narses Martyred bishop of Persia
He was the bishop of Subagord, in modem Iran, and was executed with a disciple, Joseph.
St. Wenog Saint of Wales who is mentioned in several liturgical calendars. No other details of his life are extant.
 Patávii sancti Daniélis Mártyris.  
       At Padua, St. Daniel, martyr.

8th v. ST BERTILIA OF MAREUIL, WIDOW.  

THE life of St Bertilia was an uneventful one. Born of noble parents, she spent her youth in exercises of charity. In due time she married a noble youth, and they spent their lives helping the poor and sick. On the death of her husband she lived the life of a solitary at Mareuil in the diocese of Arras, where she built a church that adjoined her cell. She died early in the eighth century, and must be distinguished from her contemporary St Bertila of Chelles.

See Acta Sanctorum, January 3; Parenty, Histoire de Ste Bertilie (1847); Destombes, Vies des saints des dioceses de Cambrai et d’Arras, vol. i, pp. 37 seq.; and P. Bertin, Ste Bertille de Mareuil (1943). W. Levison has produced a critical edition of the text of the life, with a valuable introduction, in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. vi, pp. 95—109.

 687 St. Bertilia Foundress noble virgin
She and her bridegroom took vows of chastity and remained virgins. When her husband died, Bertilia lived as a hermitess near the church that she had founded at Maroeuil, France.

1953 Saint Ekvtime (Euthymius) Taqaishvili, called the “Man of God,”; From beginning of career he began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia; including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history.

Above all, St. Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work; after 10 years burial, his body, even his clothing and footwear remained incorrupt

Born January 3, 1863, in the village of Likhauri, in the Ozurgeti district of Guria, to the noble family of Svimeon Taqaishvili and Gituli Nakashidze. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by his uncle; a great passion for learning;

From early childhood St. Ekvtime demonstrated a great passion for learning. Having completed his studies at the village grammar school, he enrolled at Kutaisi Classical High School. In 1883 he graduated with a silver medal and moved to St. Petersburg to continue his studies in the department of history-philology at St. Petersburg University. In 1887, having successfully completed his studies and earned a degree in history, St. Ekvtime returned to Georgia and began working in the field of academia. His profound faith and love for God and his motherland determined his every step in this demanding and admirable profession.

In 1895 Ekvtime married Nino Poltoratskaya, daughter of the famous Tbilisi attorney Ivan Poltoratsky, who was himself a brother in-law and close friend of St. Ilia Chavchavadze the Righteous.
From the very beginning of his career St. Ekvtime began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia. His sphere of scholarly interests was broad, including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history. Above all, St. Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work.

In 1889 St. Ekvtime established the Exarchate Museum of Georgia, in which were preserved ancient manuscripts, sacred objects, theological books, and copies of many important frescoes that had been removed from ancient churches. This museum played a major role in rediscovering the history of the Georgian Church.

In 1907 St. Ekvtime founded the Society for Georgian History and Ethnography. Of the many expeditions organized by this society, the journey through Muslim (southwestern) Georgia was one of the most meaningful. Having witnessed firsthand the aftermath of the forced isolation and Islamization of this region, St. Ekvtime and his fellow pilgrims acquired a greater love for the Faith of their forefathers and became more firmly established in their national identity. Though they no longer spoke the Georgian language, the residents of this region received the venerable Ekvtime with great respect, having sensed from his greeting and kindness that he had come from their far-off motherland.

There was not a single patriotic, social or cultural movement in Georgia during the first quarter of the 20th century in which St. Ekvtime did not actively take part. Among his other important achievements, he was one of the nine professors who founded Tbilisi University in 1918. St. Ekvtime also vigorously advocated the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

On March 11, 1921, the Georgian government went into exile in France.
The government archives and the nation’s spiritual and cultural treasures were also flown to France for protection from the Bolshevik danger. St. Ekvtime was personally entrusted to keep the treasures safe, and he and his wife accompanied them on their flight to France. St. Ekvtime bore the hardships of an emigrant’s life and the horrors of World War II with heroism, while boldly resisting the onslaught of European and American scholars and collectors and the claims of other Georgian emigrants to their “family relics.”

In 1931 St. Ekvtime’s wife, Nino, his faithful friend and companion, died of starvation. The elderly widower himself often drew near to the brink of death from hunger, cold, and stress, but he never faltered in his duty before God and his motherland—he faithfully protected his nation’s treasures.

The perils were great for St. Ekvtime and the treasures he protected: British and American museums sought to purchase the Georgian national artifacts; a certain Salome Dadiani, the widow of Count Okholevsky, declared herself the sole heir of the Georgian national treasure; during World War II the Nazis searched St. Ekvtime’s apartment; even the French government claimed ownership of the Georgian treasures.

Finally, the Soviet victory over fascist Germany created conditions favorable for the return of the national treasures to Georgia. According to an agreement between Stalin and De Gaulle, the treasures and their faithful protector were loaded onto an American warplane and flown back to their motherland on April 11, 1945. When he finally stepped off the plane and set foot on Georgian soil, St. Ekvtime bowed deeply and kissed the earth where he stood. Georgia greeted its long-lost son with great honor. The people overwhelmed St. Ekvtime with attention and care, restored his university professorship, and recognized him as an active member of the Academy of Sciences. They healed the wounds that had been inflicted on his heart.

Exhausted by the separation from his motherland and the woes of emigration, St. Ekvtime rejoined society with the last of his strength. But mankind’s enemy became envious of the victory of good over evil and rose up against St. Ekvtime’s unshakable spirit. In 1951 the Chekists arrested his stepdaughter, Lydia Poltoratskaya. St. Ekvtime, who by that time was seriously ill, was now left without his caregiver. In 1952, without any reasonable explanation, St. Ekvtime was forbidden to lecture at the university he himself had helped to found, and he was secretly placed under house arrest. The people who had reverently greeted him upon his return now trembled in fear of his persecution and imminent death. Many tried to visit and support St. Ekvtime, but they were forbidden. On February 21, 1953, St. Ekvtime died of a heart attack, and three days later a group of approximately forty mourners accompanied the virtuous prince to his eternal resting place.

On February 10, 1963, the centennial of St. Ekvtime’s birth, his body was reburied at the Didube Pantheon in Tbilisi. When his grave was uncovered, it was revealed that not only his body, but even his clothing and footwear had remained incorrupt. St. Ekvtime’s relics were moved once again, to the Pantheon at the Church of St. Davit of Gareji on Mtatsminda, where they remain today.
The body of Nino Poltoratskaya-Taqaishvili was brought from Leville (France) and buried next to St. Ekvtime on February 22, 1987.
The Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church canonized St. Ekvtime on October 17, 2002, and joyously proclaimed him a “Man of God.”


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 225

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof: but thou, O most holy Mother, reignest with Him forever.

Thou art clothed with glory and beauty: every precious stone is thy covering and thy clothing.

The brightness of the sun is upon thy head: the beauty of the moon is beneath thy feet.

Shining orbs adorn thy throne: the morning stars glorify thee forever.

Be mindful of us, O Lady, in thy good pleasure: and make us worthy to glorify thy name.

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 heaven:  only saints are allowed into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources
Patron_Saints.html  Widowed_Saints html  Indulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines   India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes 1858  China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine  Loreto, Italy  Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
  Links to Related MarianWebsites  Angels and Archangels  Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell
Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates  Chalcedon
Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BC  Lay Saints  Miraculous_Icons  Miraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints

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

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Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness
1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion. 2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, if a half hour is not possible.  4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament; toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour, 6.  Conclude the day with evening prayer & an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7.  Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month & imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena that is nine days of devotion. 10. Try to begin & end every activity with a Hail Mary
My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee.  I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I beg the conversion of poor sinners,  Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
   These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.
Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
 Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
 Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.
The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)
1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.
Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).
In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).
In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

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

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

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

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement 1362-1950 (1952);
The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and Indulgences  Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here.  Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon
Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.
The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}.
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
 It Makes No Sense Not To Believe In GOD
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi. 
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi. 
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain.
Father John Corapi goes to the heart of the contemporary world's many woes and wars, whether the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, or the Congo, or the natural disasters that seem to be increasing every year, the moral and spiritual war is at the basis of everything. “Our battle is not against human forces,” St. Paul asserts, “but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness...” (Ephesians 6:12). 
The “War to end all wars” is the moral and spiritual combat that rages in the hearts and minds of human beings. The outcome of that  unseen fight largely determines how the battle in the realm of the seen unfolds.  The title talk, “With the Moon Under Her Feet,” is taken from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and deals with the current threat to the world from radical Islam, and the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in the ultimate victory that will result in the conversion of Islam. Few Catholics are aware of the connection between Islam, Fatima, and Guadalupe. Presented in Father Corapi's straight-forward style, you will be both inspired and educated by him.

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

God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

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

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

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

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

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

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

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

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

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.
8 Martyrs Move Closer to Sainthood 8 July, 2016
Posted by ZENIT Staff on 8 July, 2016

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

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

Servant of God Alfonse Gallegos of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Titular Bishop of Sasabe, auxiliary of Sacramento; born Feb. 20, 1931 and died Oct. 6, 1991
Servant of God Rafael Sánchez García, diocesan priest; born June 14, 1911 and died on Aug. 8, 1973
Servant of God Andrés García Acosta, professed layman of the Order of Friars Minor; born Jan. 10, 1800 and died Jan. 14, 1853
Servant of God Joseph Marchetti, professed priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles; born Oct. 3, 1869 and died Dec. 14, 1896
Servant of God Giacomo Viale, professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, pastor of Bordighera; born Feb. 28, 1830 and died April 16, 1912
Servant of God Maria Pia of the Cross (née Maddalena Notari), foundress of the Congregation of Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist; born Dec. 2, 1847 and died on July 1, 1919
Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

On the List Are Lay Founder of a Hospital and Eastern Catholic Religious
VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2014 (Zenit.org) - Today, the Vatican announced that during the celebration of the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonization of the following six blesseds, who include a lay founder of a hospital for the poor, founders of religious orders, and two members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See:
-Giovanni Antonio Farina (1803-1888), an Italian bishop who founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
-Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871), a Syro-Malabar priest in India who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
-Ludovico of Casoria (1814-1885), an Italian Franciscan priest who founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth
-Nicola Saggio (Nicola da Longobardi, 1650-1709), an Italian oblate of the Order of Minims
-Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952), an Indian Carmelite of the Syro-Malabar Church
-Amato Ronconi (1238-1304), an Italian, Third Order Franciscan who founded a hospital for poor pilgrims
CAUSES OF SAINTS July 2015.
Pope Recognizes Heroic Virtues of Ukrainian Archbishop
Recognition Brings Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Closer to Beatification
By Junno Arocho Esteves Rome, July 17, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father met this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate was also an ardent supporter of the Jewish community in Ukraine, going so far as to learn Hebrew to better communicate with them. He also was a vocal protestor against atrocities committed by the Nazis, evidenced in his pastoral letter, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." He was also known to harbor thousands of Jews in his residence and in Greek Catholic monasteries.
Following his death in 1944, his cause for canonization was opened in 1958.
* * *
The Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees regarding the heroic virtues of:
- Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., major archbishop of Leopolis of the Ukrainians, metropolitan of Halyc (1865-1944);
- Servant of God Giuseppe Carraro, Bishop of Verona, Italy (1899-1980);
- Servant of God Agustin Ramirez Barba, Mexican diocesan priest and founder of the Servants of the Lord of Mercy (1881-1967);
- Servant of God Simpliciano della Nativita (ne Aniello Francesco Saverio Maresca), Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1827-1898);
- Servant of God Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres del Cancino, Mexican founder of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1866-1937);
- Servant of God Marie-Charlotte Dupouy Bordes (Marie-Teresa), French professed religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1873-1953);
- Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Italian founder of the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1904-1976);
- Servant of God Isabel Mendez Herrero (Isabel of Mary Immaculate), Spanish professed nun of the Servants of St. Joseph (1924-1953)
October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

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

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).
March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

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

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

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

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