January 30 - Feast of Saint John Chrysostom in the Eastern Churches
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
Mary's Divine Motherhood
    Monday Saints of 30 tertio kalendas Februarii 
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;
2023
22,600 lives saved since 2007

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

January 30 – Virgin of the Annunciation (Greece, 1823) - Saint John Chrysostom (in Eastern Churches)
Among the countless miracles obtained through the Virgin of the Annunciation was the liberation of Greece.
By all appearances, the icon had been buried for 850 years
In March 1821, at the monastery of Kechrovouni, on the Greek island of Tinos (in the Cyclades), Michel Polyzoes and Sister Pelagia saw the Virgin Mary three times in a vision. She was wearing a gold robe and was surrounded by a bright, heavenly light. The Virgin asked them to dig in a field outside a nearby village, in a place she referred to as "her home." The excavations revealed the ruins of an old church. On the same foundations a new edifice was erected, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and the Mother of God, Source of Life.

In 1823, construction workers unearthed an icon of the Annunciation, belonging to a Byzantine church that was destroyed by the Turks in the 10th century. By all appearances, it had been buried for 850 years... and was still intact.

The shrine was built out of marble from the temples of Neptune, relatively quickly—the construction took just 8 years—despite the war of independence waged by Greece against the Ottoman Empire. The church was completed in 1830. Among the countless miracles obtained through the Virgin of the Annunciation was the liberation of Greece.
The spirituality of this shrine resembles that of Lourdes:
penance, conversion, reconciliation, trust and hope in the intercession of the Mother of God.
www.mariedenazareth.com

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Acts of the Apostles

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

 January 30-Our Lady of the rose (Lucca, Italy)
The Name of Mary (II)
If the winds of temptations surge, if you run aground on the shoals of troubles, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If you are tossed by the winds of pride or ambition or detraction or jealousy, look to this star, call upon Mary!
If anger or greed or the allurements of the flesh dash against the boat of your mind, look to Mary!
And if you are troubled by the enormity of your sins, confused by the foulness of your conscience, terrified by the horror of the Judgment, so that you begin to be swallowed up by the pit of sadness, the abyss of despair, think of Mary!
In dangers, in straits, in perplexity, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be always in your mouth and in your heart, and, if you would ask for and obtain help of her prayers, do not forget the example of how she lived.
If you follow her, you will not go astray. If you pray to her, you will not despair. If you think of her, you will not be lost.
If you cling to her, you will not fall. If she protects you, you will not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is favorable to you, you will reach your goal. Thus you will experience personally how rightly it was spoken:
"And the virgin's name was Mary."
Excerpt from Bernard of Clairvaux, Super missus est 2, 17; PL 183, 70-71

  1084 3 Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian
and John Chrysostom
114 Barsimaeus 1/72 disciples sent by Jesus  third bishop of Edessa from Saint Jude
120 St. Matthias Bishop of Jerusalem Jewish heritage

180 St. Agrippinus 9th bishop of Alexandria after Saint Mark
1821 Feast of the Annunciation apparation of The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Innumerable miracles of healing and deliverance from danger continue

January 30 - Feast of Saint John Chrysostom in the Eastern Churches
  Loving Mary is more than a strong devotion
In the Holy Family of Nazareth, Joseph, the foster father, received his fatherhood from God the Father, to love and help his beloved Son grow up. And Mary, full of grace, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In this family, everything is experienced or done in an admirable way: the liturgy, life of prayer, work and charity, presence to others, time of rest, as well as joyful moments.
The Holy Family is not separated from Nazareth and what takes place there. Its life is filled with simplicity, meekness and humility. We should learn to love the Holy Family. Love Joseph, who should be for us the model of a father, educator, and worker. Love Mary…
Sometimes, people tell me: "I don't have a strong devotion for Mary." Loving Mary is more than a strong  devotion —it is an obligation. The more you pray Mary, the more you love Jesus; the more you pray Jesus, the more you love Mary. If you don't love Mary enough, it is because you do not love Jesus enough.
Father Emmanuel Gobilliard
http://www.cathedraledupuy.org/Homelie-du-Pere-Emmanuel-Gobilliard-pour-la-fete-de-la-sainte-Famille
 
1084 3 Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom

114 Barsimaeus 1/72 disciples sent by Jesus  third bishop of Edessa from Saint Jude
120 St. Matthias Bishop of Jerusalem Jewish heritage
180 St. Agrippinus 9th bishop of Alexandria after Saint Mark
228 St. Martina Virgin martyr of Rome 
250 St. Alexander Martyr third century
250 St. Barsimaeus Bishop of Edessa in Syria successful evangelist
269 St. Hippolytus Martyr of Antioch, Turkey
311 St. Savina Martyr model of holiness aid and comfort to the Christian prisoners & burials
379 Barses of Edessa banished to western Egypt frontiers of Libya
400 Saint Zeno soldier deliver the imperial edicts Antioch 40 yrs cave
      ascetic disciple of Saint Basil the Great
451 St. Armentarius Bishop of Pavia
       St. Tudy Welsh virgin

680 St. Bathildis Queen and foundress Benedictine convent at Chelles, St. Denis Monastery and Corbie
684 St. Aldegunais Virgin abess Mauberge, a noted Benedictine monastery
711 St. Armentarius Bishop of Antibes in Provence
784 The Holy Martyr Theophilus the New commander of the Greek armies senator martyred for not apostazing
967 Saint Peter, King of Bulgaria concluded advantageous peace with Byzantium extirpation of the Bogomil heresy
1043 Blessed Amnichad of Fulda lived rest of his life walled up as a anchorite
1084 Synaxis of the 3 Hierarchs: Basil the Great  Gregory the Theologian John Chrysostom
1100 Blessed Haberilla of Mehrerau virgin recluse a Black Benedictine monastery
1100 St. Aleaunie Abbot and soldier patron of Burgos  many miracles, one of them in favour of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.
        St. Felician African martyr with Philappian & 124 companions
14th v. Saint Zeno the Faster and Lover of Labor of the Far Caves of Kiev
1640 St. Hyacinth Franciscan  a model tertiary
1710 Blessed Sebastian Velfré Oratorians cheerfull sought out sinners
1784 The Holy New Martyr Theodore renounced Christ and accepted the Moslem religion soon repented a Moslem judge fiercely tortured strangled with rope cast into sea Christians buried Theodore in the church of St John the Forerunner
1821 Feast of the Annunciation apparation of The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Innumerable miracles of healing and deliverance from danger continue
1841 The Holy New Martyr Demetrius Bulgaria continuously refused to apostasize to moslem Kadi
1917 St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux Christian Brother praised model teacher art and music  


The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
114 Barsimaeus 1/72 disciples sent by Jesus  third bishop of Edessa from Saint Jude BM (RM)
(also known as Barsamja, Barsaumas) According to the Roman Martyrology, Saint Barsimaeus was the third bishop of Edessa from Saint Jude. He was said to have been one of the 72 disciples sent by Jesus to preach the coming of the Kingdom, who, after converting many to the faith, suffered under Emperor Trajan (98-117).


 It is believed that he may have been Barsamja, successor to Palut, a bishop of Edessa in the middle of the 3rd century (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Husenbeth).
120 St. Matthias Bishop of Jerusalem Jewish heritage
He governed that see in a troubled era of oppression by the Roman government and political upheaval in Palestine owing to the severe Jewish uprising against Roman occupation.
180 St. Agrippinus 9th bishop of Alexandria after Saint Mark B (AC)  
He was the ninth bishop of Alexandria after Saint Mark (Benedictines).
228 St. Martina Virgin martyr of Rome
 A basilica was erected in her honor at the Roman Forum. Her remains were discovered there in 1634. There is considerable doubt about her recorded sufferings. Her cult is now confined to her Roman basilica.
 ST MARTINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
IN the general calendar of the Western church this day is kept as the feast of St Martina, and accordingly her name stands first today in the Roman Martyrology and in the fuller notice which appears there on January 1, we are told that at Rome under the Emperor Alexander (Severus, 222-235) she was subjected to many kinds of torment and at length perished by the sword. Alban Butler informs us correctly that there was a chapel in Rome consecrated to her memory which was frequented with great devotion in the seventh century. We also may learn from him that her relics were discovered in a vault in the ruins of her old church, and translated in the year 1634 under Pope Urban VIII, who built. a new church in her honour and himself composed the hymns used in her office in the Roman Breviary. He adds further that the city of Rome ranks her amongst its particular patrons.

Despite these attestations, the very existence of St Martina remains doubtful. Though she is represented as suffering in the City itself, there is no early Roman tradition regarding her. The “acts” of her martyrdom are full of preposter­ous miracles—for example, when she is wounded, milk flows from her body in place of blood—and are extravagant to the last degree. The one thing certain about them is that they bear the closest resemblance, as was long ago pointed out, both to those attributed to St Tatiana and those of St Prisca. Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri has shown with considerable probability that of these three sets, all apocryphal, those belonging to St Tatiana have formed the model for the others.

See Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri in the Romische Quartalschrift, vol. xvii (1903), pp. 222—236, and Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiii (1904), pp. 344—345, The Acts of St Martina are printed by the Bollandists under January 1. Cf. also Marucchi, Le Forum Romain et le Palatin (1925), pp. 246—248.

Martina of Rome VM (RM) (also known as Prisca, Tatiana) Died ; feast day was formerly January 20; Martina was removed from the general Roman Calendar in 1969, but not from local ones. In 1634, Pope Urban VIII decided to rebuild an ancient church in honor of Saint Martina that stood under the Capitoline Hill in Rome, overlooking the Forum. The workmen discovered a Christian tomb containing the bones of a Roman lady and her two brothers. These were believed to be the remains of Saints Martina, Concordius, and Epiphanius. Bernini created a magnificent bronze shrine for these relics and today, in the church of Santi Luca e Martino, Rome, lamps burn continually around the shrine. In 1558, Pope Sixtus V added Saint Luke the Evangelist as co-titular of the church, when he gave it and the neighboring building to the Accademia di San Luca.

Although we know little about her, she remains one of the patron saints of the city of Rome itself. Her fabulous acta, which can be traced to the 7th century, closely resemble those of Saints Prisca and Tatiana--they may all be the same person. According to this story, the virgin Martina, born of an illustrious family, was orphaned at an early age. She is said to have been a Roman martyr under Alexander Severus (222-235 AD). It is said that at her martyrdom, milk flowed from her body rather than blood. There is no evidence for an early cultus of a Tatiana or Martina in Rome, and Prisca is difficult to identify (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Coulson, Sheppard).

Saint Martina is pictured as a maiden with a lion. She may be shown beheaded by a sword or martyred with a two-pronged hook, receiving the palm and lily from the Virgin and Child (Roeder).
269 St. Hippolytus Censorinus Sabinus Martyrs of Antioch, Turkey  one of the last Western Fathers to write in Greek
His Acts are considered too confused to be reliable.

The Hieromartyr Hippolytus, and the Martyrs Censorinus, Sabinus, Chryse the Virgin and 20 Others suffered during the third century.

When St Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, learned of the suffering of the martyrs, he appeared before the governor despite his advanced years and rebuked the torturers for their inhumanity. The enraged governor sentenced the holy bishop to be tortured. After long torments, they tied him hand and foot and threw him into the sea.

St Censorinus was a high-ranking magistrate during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius II (268-270). He was arrested and thrown into prison for his faith in Christ. By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ he raised up a dead man. As a result, twenty soldiers and prison guards were converted to Christ. They were beheaded with St Censorinus. Then the virgin Chryse was brought for interrogation. She bravely confessed herself a Christian and was subjected to torture. After horrible torments, she was drowned in the sea.

Saint Sabinus had heavy rocks tied around his neck, and then they hung his body on a tree and burned his sides with torches. In his torments, he gave up his holy soul to the Lord.

Saint Chryse
With St Chryse suffered the martyrs Ares, Felix, Maximus, Herculianus, Venerius, Stiracius, Mennas, Commodus, Hermes, Maurus, Eusebius, Rusticus, Monagrius, Amandinus, Olympius, Cyprus, Theodore the Tribune, Maximus the Presbyter, Archelaus the Deacon, and Cyriacus the Bishop.

All these Roman martyrs suffered in the year 269. The relics of the Hieromartyr Hippolytus were put in the church of the holy Martyrs Laurence and Pope Damasus at Rome. St Hippolytus was a disciple of St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lugdunum (Lyons in France), and he is also renowned as a Christian theologian who wrote many treatises against the heretics.

St Hyppolitus compiled a Paschal Canon, the famous Apostolic Tradition, "On Christ", and a "Treatise on the Antichrist."

St Hippolytus also wrote many commentaries on Holy Scripture, on the Biblical Books: Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, and on the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John, and on the Prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, on the Psalms of David and on the Apocalyse.

Part of his works are preserved only in fragments. His discourses, devoted to the Theophany and the Prophet Daniel, are preserved in full.

His discourses demonstrate his masterful style of preaching. He was one of the last Western Fathers to write in Greek.
250 St. Alexander Martyr third century in the persecution conducted by Emperor Decius (250) . Alexander was reportedly at an advanced age when he suffered. He is thought by some scholars to be Alexander of Jerusalem.
In art Saint Alexander is a venerable early Christian who was crucified. He may be shown trampling upon a pagan altar before the emperor or overthrowing an idol (Roeder).
250 St. Barsimaeus Bishop of Edessa in Syria successful evangelist.  it is consequently possible that the whole narrative is a fiction;  once believed to have been martyred but now credited with being a successful evangelist only. He was noted for converting many in his era.
250? ST BARSIMAEUS, Bishop Of EDESSA
IN the Roman Martyrology on this day we read: “At Edessa in Syria, the com­memoration of St Barsimaeus the Bishop, who after converting many gentiles to the faith and sending them to their crowns before him, followed them with the palm of martyrdom. under Trajan.” Alban Butler in his short notice tells us further that Barsimaeus was the third bishop of Edessa from St Thaddeus, one of the seventy-two disciples, and also that the martyrdom took place at Edessa under Lysias, when Trajan, having passed the Euphrates, made the conquest of Mesopotamia in 114. All this has been completely exploded by Rubens Duval in a study of the Syriac Acts of Sharbil and Barsamja, which he published in the Journal Asiatique for 1889. He shows that the narrative, while professing to embody the most authentic documents, is vitiated by irreconcilable anachronisms. Some data will only fit the years 106 and 112 in the reign of Trajan, who is expressly mentioned, others could only be verified in the pontificate of Pope Fabian (250), who is equally mentioned. Moreover, Barsamja, according to the acts, though sentenced, was not actually put to death, and since he was a successor of Palut who was consecrated by Serapion (c. 209), he certainly did not live in the second century. Duval further shows that the narrative seems to be based on the Acts of Habib (St Abibus), a fourth-century martyr, and that it is consequently possible that the whole narrative is a fiction.
The Syriac acts were first printed by Cureton in his Ancient Syriac Documents, pp. 41—72, and subsequently by Bedjan. But see especially Rubens Duval in Journal Asiatique, 8th series, vol. xiv, pp. 40—58, and cf. ibid., vol. xviii (1891), pp. 384—386.
311 St. Savina Martyr model of holiness aid and comfort to the Christian prisoners & burials
A woman from Mediolanum (Milan), she was noted during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian for giving aid and comfort to the Christian prisoners in the jails of the city.
She also assisted in giving them decent burials after their executions. She died while praying at the tomb of Sts. Nabor and Felix. Feast day: January 30.
379 Barses of Edessa banished to western Egypt on the frontiers of Libya B (RM)
(also known as Barso, Barsas) Bishop Barses of Edessa, Syria, died in exile after being banished to western Egypt on the frontiers of Libya by the Arian emperor Valens (364-65) (Benedictines).
400 Saint Zeno soldier deliver the imperial edicts Antioch 40 yrs cave ascetic disciple of Saint Basil the Great
born in the city of Pontus into a rich family. He served at the court of the emperor Valens (364-378), among the soldiers who were sent out to deliver the imperial edicts.

After the death of Valens, St Zeno left the world and settled in a cave near the city of Antioch. For forty years he lived in this cave, and he lived an austere life in complete solitude, cleansing his soul, and meditating on God.  St Zeno went to church each Sunday and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In his cell he had neither bed, nor fireplace, nor lamp. The ascetic wore old rags, and ate only bread and water, for which he had to make a tedious journey into the city to the well.

St Zeno was particularly fond of holy books, which he borrowed from those who came to him for spiritual counsel.
Through his deep humility the blessed ascetic, filled with the gifts of grace, considered himself poor in spirit. St Zeno died at the beginning of the fifth century.
451 St. Armentarius Bishop of Pavia
Italy. During his episcopacy, the see of Pavia was directly attached to the Roman Church. Armentarius of Antibes B (AC)
5th v. St. Tudy Welsh virgin
Also called Tybie, Uda, or Tudelyd, she is honored by a church in Dyfed, Wales.
680 St. Bathildis Queen and foundress Benedictine convent at Chelles, St. Denis Monastery and Corbie
She was born in England, where she was enslaved and taken to Neustria, which was part of the Frankish kingdom. In time, Bathildis became a trusted member of King Clovis II's court and married him in 649. She bore him three sons: Clotaire III, Childeric II, and Thierry III, all of whom became kings. When Clovis died in 657, Bathildis served as regent for Clotaire III.
She had founded a Benedictine convent at Chelles, as well as St. Denis Monastery and Corbie. When Clotaire III assumed the throne, Bathildis retired to Chelles, where she died on January 30.

680 ST BATHILDIS, WIDOW
St BATHILDIS was an English girl, who at an early age was carried over into France and sold cheaply as a slave into the household of the mayor of the palace under King Clovis II. Here she attained a position of responsibility and attracted the notice of the king, who in 649 married her. She bore him three sons, who all successively wore the crown, Clotaire III, Childeric II and Thierry III. Clovis dying in 657, when the eldest was only five, Bathildis became regent and apparently showed herself very capable at a difficult time when Merovingian power was declining in the face of the Frankish aristocracy. She seconded the zeal of St Ouen, St Leger and other holy bishops, redeemed many captives, especially of her own people, and did all in her power to promote religion. She was a benefactress of many monasteries, including Saint-Denis, Saint-Martin at Tours and Saint ­Medard at Soissons, founded the great abbey of Corbie, and endowed the truly royal nunnery of Chelles.

To this last Bathildis herself retired about 665, which she is said to have long desired to do; the notorious Ebroin and other nobles were apparently no less anxious to have her out of the way. We are told that she had no sooner taken the veil than she seemed to forget entirely her former dignity, and was only to be distinguished from the rest by her humility, serving them in the lowest offices, and obeying the abbess St Bertila as the last among the sisters. In the life of St Eligius, attributed, though unwarrantably, to St Ouen, many instances are mentioned of the veneration which St Bathildis felt for that holy prelate. Thus we learn that Eligius after his death, in a vision by night, ordered a certain courtier to reprove the queen for wearing jewels and costly apparel in her widowhood, though in so doing she had acted, not out of pride, but because she thought it due to her position whilst she was regent of the kingdom. Upon this admonition she laid them aside, distributed a part to the poor, and with the richest jewels made a beautiful cross, which she placed at the head of the tomb of St Eligius. During a long illness which preceded her death she suffered intense bodily pain which she bore resignedly, dying on January 30, 680.

In the account of St Bathildis given by Alban Butler no mention is made of a very serious charge brought against her by Eddius, the biographer of St Wilfrid, who calls her a cruel Jezebel and attributes to her the assassination of ten French bishops, among them the bishop of Lyons, whom he calls Dalfinus. That there is much confusion here is certain, because the name of the murdered bishop was Annemund, who was the brother of Count Dalfinus. Consequently, although Eddius has been copied by William of Malmesbury, and in part even by Bede, it is quite improbable, for a variety of reasons, that his information was in any way accurate. Such unprejudiced authorities as Bruno Krusch, Charles Plummer and the Dictionary of National Biography entirely exonerate St Bathildis in this matter, and Plummer suggests that there may have been some confusion between her and Queen Brunhilda who died long before, in 653. Butler in a footnote reports from Le Boeuf and others that “six nuns were cured of inveterate distempers, attended with frequent fits of convulsions, by touching the relics of St Bathildis, when her shrine was opened on July 13, 1631.”

The text of the Life of St Bathildis, which is a genuinely Merovingian document and was written by a contemporary, has been critically edited by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. ii, pp. 475—508. There are also frequent references to St Bathildis in the Vita S. Eligii, which, though not the work of St Ouen, may preserve some authentic materials, see MGH., Merov., vol. iv, pp. 634—761. See further M. J. Couturier, Ste Bathilde, Reine des Francs (1909); E. Vacandard, Vie de St Ouen (1902), pp. 254—263; BHL., nn. 905—911 and CMH., pp. 68—69.
She made a good queen and ruled wisely. Unlike many who rise suddenly to high place and fortune, she never forgot that she had been a slave, and did all within her power to relieve those in captivity. We are told that "Queen Bathild was the holiest and most devout of women; her pious munificence knew no bounds; remembering her own bondage, she set apart vast sums for the redemption of captives." Bathild helped promote Christianity by seconding the zeal of Saint Ouen, Saint Leodegardius, and many other bishops.

At that time the poorer inhabitants of France were often obliged to sell their children as slaves to meet the crushing taxes imposed upon them. Bathild reduced this taxation, forbade the purchase of Christian slaves and the sale of French subjects, and declared that any slave who set foot in France would from that moment be free. Thus, this enlightened women earned the love of her people and was a pioneer in the abolition of slavery.

A contemporary English writer, Eddius (the biographer of Saint Wilfrid), asserts that Queen Bathild was responsible for the political assassination of Bishop Saint Annemund (Dalfinus) of Lyons and nine other bishops. What actually happened is obscure, and it is unlikely that Bathild was guilty of the crime.

She also founded many abbeys, such as Corbie, Saint-Denis, and Chelles, which became civilized settlements in wild and remote areas inhabited only by prowling wolves and other wild beasts. Under her guidance forests and waste land were reclaimed, cornland and pasture took their place, and agriculture flourished. She built hospitals and sold her jewelry to supply the needy. Finally, when Clotaire came of age, she retired to her own royal abbey of Chelles, near Paris, where she served the other nuns with humility and obeyed the abbess like the least of the sisters.

She died at Chelles before she had reached her 50th birthday. Death touched her with a gentle hand; as she died, she said she saw a ladder reaching from the altar to heaven, and up this she climbed in the company of angels.
Her life was written by a contemporary. Chelles convent had many contacts with Anglo-Saxon England, which led to the spread of her cultus to the British Isles (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Butler, Coulson, Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth, White).
Saint Bathildis is generally pictured as a crowned queen or nun before the altar of the Virgin, two angels support a child on a ladder (the ladder implies the pun échelle-Chelles) and also the vision she is said to have had at her death. She might also be shown: (1) holding a broom; (2) giving alms or bread; (3) seeing a vision of the crucified Christ before her; or (4) holding Chelles Abbey, which she founded (Roeder, White). She is the patroness of children (Roeder).
684 St. Aldegunais Virgin abess Mauberge, a noted Benedictine monastery
also known as Adelgundis, Aldegonde, or Orgonne. She was a member of the royal family of the Merovingians and was raised by two saints: St. Walbert and St. Bertila, her parents. The family resided in the Hainault region of Flanders, a region of the Low Countries. Endowed with the gift of prayer, Aldegund looked upon the slanders and persecutions she endured as favors from God in His mercy that allowed her to suffer for His sake (Matthew 5:10). She died from breast cancer and, we are told, "in an ecstasy of serene joy."

 684 ST ALDEGUNDIS, VIRGIN
St ALDEGUNDIS was the daughter of Walbert and Bertilia, both venerated as saints, and was born in Hainault about 635. Refusing the marriage proposed by her parents she went to live near her sister St Waldeturdis (Waudru), foundress of a convent at Mons. Then she retired to a hermitage, from which grew up the great double monastery of Maubeuge. We are told that she was a disciple of St Amand and that she had a number of supernatural visions. St Aldegundis developed cancer of the breast, and she bore this agonizing malady—and the cauteries and incisions of the surgeons—with the greatest patience and trust in God till her death on January 30, 684.

The Life of St Aldegund, or at least the more historical portion, has been critically edited by W. Levison in MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. vi, pp. 79—90. He pronounces, on what seems quite satisfactory evidence, that the author is not, as the vita claims, a contemporary. On the other hand it cannot be later than the ninth century, for it is quoted by Rabanus Maurus. See also Van der Essen, Etude critique sur les saints merovingiens, pp. 219—231 and cf. the Acta Sanctorum for January 30.
Aldegundis refused offers of marriage from other nobles and received the veil from St. Amandius, the bishop of Maastricht. She followed this ceremony of acceptance into the religious life with the foundation of a convent near the Sambre River, at a desert site called Malbode. Her sister, St. Waldetrudis, founded a convent at Mons. Aldegundis' foundation became Mauberge, a noted Benedictine monastery, later taken over by canonesses. Aldegundis is reported to have died of cancer at the age of fifty-four.

In art, Saint Aldegund is a Benedictine abbess, crowned. There is generally a dove with veil near her. Sometimes she may be shown (1) receiving the veil from the Holy Spirit; (2) as a princess fleeing from her parents' house; (3) walking with an angel; or (4) walking on water (Roeder). She is invoked against eye troubles, cancer, diseases of children, fever, demoniac possession, wounds, and sudden death (Roeder).
711 St. Armentarius Bishop of Antibes in Provence
France. He is honored by a church in Draguignan. During the episcopate of Armentarius, his see of Pavia was withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the metropolitan see of Milan and directly attached to the Roman Church (Benedictines).
784 The Holy Martyr Theophilus the New commander of the Greek armies senator martyred for not apostazing
born and raised in Constantinople. He was a commander of the Greek armies and a senator.
During a time of war with enemies of the Byzantine Empire, St Theophilus was taken captive.
The Arabs demanded he renounce Christ, but he remained faithful to Orthodoxy.
St Theophilus was imprisoned on Cyprus, where he spent four years, after which he was beheaded in the year 784.
967 Saint Peter, King of Bulgaria concluded advantageous peace with Byzantium extirpation of the Bogomil heresy
the son of the militant Bulgarian prince Simeon.

St Peter was distinguished for his Christian piety, and he often turned to St John of Rila (August 18, October 19), asking his prayers, spiritual guidance and advice. 
King Peter concluded peace with Byzantium on terms advantageous for Bulgaria.
He also gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople for the autonomy of the Bulgarian Church, and the affirmation of a Patriarchal throne in Bulgaria, benefiting all the Bulgarian Church.
St Peter aided in the successful extirpation of the Bogomil heresy in his lands. He died in the year 967, at fifty-six years of age.
1043 Blessed Amnichad of Fulda lived rest of his life walled up as anchorite, OSB, Hermit (AC)
(also known as Anmchadh, Amnuchad)
Amnichad may have been born either in Ireland or Scotland. It is said that he travelled to Germany after having been banished by Corcoran from the monastery of Iniscaltra on the Shannon because he broke the abbey's rule by once providing additional refreshments to visitors between meals. Thereafter Amnichad wandered through Europe until he settled himself as a monk at Fulda in Germany, where he had himself walled up in a cell to live the rest of his life as a anchorite. Sixteen years after his death, Blessed Marianus Scotus joined Fulda. He records that daily for ten years he celebrated Mass over the tomb of Amnichad, around which a supernatural light was often seen and a heavenly psalmody was heard (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Gougaud, Kenney, O'Hanlon, Tommasini).
1084 Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom
During the eleventh century, disputes raged in Constantinople about which of the three hierarchs was the greatest. Some preferred St Basil (January 1), others honored St Gregory the Theologian (January 25), while a third group exalted St John Chrysostom (November 13).

Dissension among Christians increased. Some called themselves Basilians, others referred to themselves as Gregorians, and others as Johnites.

By the will of God, the three hierarchs appeared to St John the Bishop of Euchaita (June 14) in the year 1084, and said that they were equal before God. "There are no divisions among us, and no opposition to one another."

They ordered that the disputes should stop, and that their common commemoration should be celebrated on a single day. Bishop John chose January 30 for their joint Feast, thus ending the controversy and restoring peace.
1100 St. Aleaunie Abbot and soldier; patron of Burgos; credited with many miracles, one of them in favour of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.
born in Laudun, Poitou, France, also called Adelelmus and Lesmes.
1100 ST ADELELMUS, OR ALEAUME, ABBOT
THIS holy Benedictine, a Frenchman by birth, after following a career of arms, was moved to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome. On his way he came under the influence of St Robert, abbot of the monastery of Chaise-Dieu, and determined to become a monk himself. He completed his pilgrimage, and then returned to Chaise-Dieu, where he took the religious habit, and may later on have been chosen abbot. However, at the instance of Constance of Burgundy, Queen of Castile, who had heard much of his holiness and miracles, he was induced to come to Burgos, where her husband eventually built a monastery for him. Adelelmus took an active part in the war against the Moors, and was credited with many miracles, one of them in favour of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.
We have a Latin life of St. Adelelmus written shortly after his death by a French monk Rodulph, who went to Burgos for the purpose of compiling it. It has been printed by Florez, España Sagrada, vol. xxvii, pp. 841—866 (and cf. pp. 554 seq.), and there is an abridgement which will be found in Mabillon, vol. vi, Pt, 2, PP. 896—902. St Adelelmus’s feast is kept in the diocese of Burgos, of which he is a patron; his name in Spain is Lesmes.
Aleaunie chose a military career, going on duty before making a pilgrimage to Rome. During this journey he met St. Robert and was converted to the religious life, becoming a Benedictine. Queen Constance of Castile, impressed with his holiness, invited Aleaunie to Burgos, Spain. There King Alfonso IV built him a monastery. Aleaunie became abbot of the new foundation, but when the Moors fought against the king, Aleaunie used his prior skills and joined in the war. After his death, Aleaunie, called Lesmes in Spain, became a patron of the city of Burgos.
1100 Blessed Haberilla of Mehrerau virgin recluse a Black Benedictine monastery, OSB (AC)
(also known as Habrilia)  Haberilla was a virgin who became a recluse under the obedience of the abbot of Mehrerau (in Switzerland), which was a Black Benedictine monastery at that time (Benedictines).
St. Felician African martyr with Philappian & 124 companions
and one hundred and twenty four companions. Other details of this saint and his fellow martyrs no longer exist.
14th v. Saint Zeno the Faster and Lover of Labor of the Far Caves of Kiev lived in the fourteenth century.
In the Third Ode of the Canon to the Monks of the Far Caves, he is described as "resplendant in fasting."
His memory is also celebrated on August 28 and the second Sunday of Great Lent.
1640 St. Hyacinth Franciscan  a model tertiary
who was placed in a monastic life because of her troublesome nature. Born in Viterbo, Italy, she was so scandalous that she was forced to become a religious. She rebelled there as well, but after twenty four years, she became a model tertiary. She was canonized in 1807.
1640 ST HYACINTHA MARISCOTTI, VIRGIN
THE story of St Hyacintha is in some respects almost unique among the records of holy lives, in the case of many saints we read at some stage of their career of a momentous change of purpose and practice, which they themselves describe as their “conversion”. Sometimes, as with St Augustine, this represents a turning to God from a life of sin in the world. Sometimes, as with St Teresa, the previous state was only reprehensible in contrast to the spiritual enlightenment which came later. Very rare is the case of one who, having pledged himself to a life of religious perfection, begins by being scandalously unfaithful to rule, is converted to better thoughts, relapses again, and so far recovers, in response to a new grace, as to attain in the end to the highest ideal of virtue.

Clarice Mariscotti, born of a noble family at Vignarello, was educated in the Franciscan convent at Viterbo, where one of her sisters was already a nun. She is said in her childhood to have shown little inclination for piety, and when a marriage was arranged between her youngest sister and the Marquis Cassizucchi, she herself being passed over, her pique and morose ill-humour seem to have made her almost unendurable in the family circle. As a result they, according to the evil custom of the times, practically forced her to enter a convent. She went back to the Franciscans, a community of the third order regular, at Viterbo, where she became Sister Hyacintha (Giacinta) and was admitted in due course to profession. At the same time she let it be known that though she wore the habit of a nun she intended to claim every indulgence which she could secure for herself in virtue of her rank and the wealth of her family. For ten years she scandalized the com­munity by leading a life in which she confined herself without disguise to conformity with certain external observances, while disregarding altogether the spirit of the religious rule. At last, when she was suffering from some slight indisposition, a worthy Franciscan priest came to hear her confession in her cell, who, seeing the comforts she had accumulated around her, spoke to her severely on the subject of her tepidity and the danger she ran. Hyacintha seems to have taken the rebuke to heart and to have set about a reform with almost exaggerated fervour. This sudden conversion however showed every sign of breaking down, and she was beginning to slip back into the bad old ways, when God sent her a much more serious illness. This grace was effectual, and from that date she gave herself to a life in which cruel disciplines, constant fasts, deprivation of sleep and long hours of prayer all played their part.

What was perhaps most remarkable in such a character as hers was the fact that, becoming in time mistress of novices, she seems to have shown the most healthy common sense in the guidance of others, restraining their devotional and penitential excesses and giving very practical advice to the many who wrote to seek her counsel. For example, when asked her opinion about someone unnamed who had a great reputation for union with God and a notable gift of tears, she replied:  “First of all I should like to know how far she is detached from creatures, humble and free from self-will, even in good and holy things, and then I should be more ready to believe that the delight which she experiences in her devotions comes from God. The sort of people who most appeal to me are those who are despised, who are devoid of self-love and who have little sensible consolation. The cross, to suffer, to persevere bravely in spite of the lack of all sweetness and relish in prayer this is the true sign of the spirit of God.”

Hyacintha’s charity was also remarkable, and it was not limited to those of her own community. Through her influence two confraternities were established in Viterbo which devoted themselves to the relief of the sick, the aged, decayed gentry and the poor, Hyacintha herself helping largely to provide the necessary funds by her own begging. She died at the age of fifty-five, on January 30, 1640, and was canonized in 1807. The bull of canon­ization states that “her mortifications were such that the prolongation of her life was a continued miracle”, and also that “through her apostolate of charity she won more souls to God than many preachers of her time

See Flaminio da Latera, Vita della V. S. Giacinta Mariscotti (1805) Leon, L’Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. i, pp. 517—126; Kirchenlexikon, vol. vi, pp. 514—516.

Hyacintha accepted God’s standards somewhat late in life. Born of a noble family near Viterbo, she entered a local convent of sisters who followed the Third Order Rule. However, she supplied herself with enough food, clothing and other goods to live a very comfortable life amid these sisters pledged to mortification.
A serious illness required that Hyacintha’s confessor bring Holy Communion to her room. Scandalized on seeing how soft a life she had provided for herself, the confessor advised her to live more humbly. Hyacintha disposed of her fine clothes and special foods. She eventually became very penitential in food and clothing; she was ready to do the most humble work in the convent. She developed a special devotion to the sufferings of Christ and by her penances became an inspiration to the sisters in her convent. She was canonized in 1807.
Comment:  How differently might Hyacintha’s life have ended if her confessor had been afraid to question her pursuit of a soft life! Or what if she had refused to accept any challenge to her comfortable pattern of life? Francis of Assisi expected give and take in fraternal correction among his followers. Humility is required both of the one giving it and of the one receiving the correction; their roles could easily be reversed in the future. Such correction is really an act of charity and should be viewed that way by all concerned.
Quote:  Francis told his friars: "Blessed is the servant who would accept correction, accusation, and blame from another as patiently as he would from himself. Blessed is the servant who when he is rebuked quietly agrees, respectfully submits, humbly admits his fault, and willingly makes amends" (Admonition XXII).

Hyacintha Mariscotti, OFM Tert., V (RM) (also known as Giacinta or Clarice Mariscotti)
Born in Vignarello (near Viterbo), Italy, in 1585; died January 30, 1640; canonized in 1807. Clarice (later Hyacintha) Mariscotti is exceptional among saints in that she experienced not one conversion but two in her life. As a young religious, she was notoriously unfaithful to the rule. She repented and reformed herself, relapsed again into infidelity and then repented again and rose to the level of heroic virtue. The life of Saint Hyacintha demonstrates the way our sufferings can be transformed into blessings by God.

Clarice was born into a noble family and was educated in the Franciscan convent of Viterbo, where one of her blood sisters was a nun. In her youth, unlike many saints, Clarice showed no predisposition to piety.
At age 20, Hyacintha was passed over by the Marquis Cassizucchi in favor of her younger sister, whom he married. Thereafter, Hyacintha became so ill-tempered and made home-life so unendurable that her family nearly forced her into the convent of Franciscan tertiaries at Viterbo. She escaped but eventually returned to the convent and, in due course, was admitted and professed. Nevertheless, petulant Hyacintha used every possible opportunity to scandalize her community for a period of ten years during which she disregarded the spirit of the religious rule. She claimed every privilege to which her rank and wealth entitled her.

Her first 'conversion' came when her confessor, attending her when she was sick, expressed astonishment at the furniture and decor of her room; he told her she was in the convent merely to help the devil and the shock of such a remark snapped her out of her spiritual lethargy; she set about reforming her life with exaggerated fervor.

Hyacintha said her 'yes' and took a long step toward the Lord, but soon fell back into her old ways. Once again sickness, this time more serious, and once again reform that brought her back to her appointed ways. She became a model of heroic patience, penance, prayer, untiring goodness, sweetness, and promptness in serving all.
From that time she gave herself to a life in which cruel disciplines, constant fasts,
deprivation of sleep, and long hours of prayer all played their part.
It is remarkable that such a character could become a model novice mistress. Hyacintha seems to have shown healthy common sense in the guidance of others, restraining their devotional and penitential excesses and giving very practical advice to the many who wrote to seek her counsel. Hyacintha's charity was also outstanding, and it was not limited to those of her community. Through her influence two confraternities were established in Viterbo that devoted themselves to the relief of the sick, the aged, and the disadvantaged. Hyacintha herself helping to provide the necessary funds by her own begging.

Hyacintha's faith was now living, and when she surveyed the zigzag path she had followed, it all seemed to her like a miracle: indeed it is probably the greatest miracle of all, this conversion in the life of a saint (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Walsh).
1710 Blessed Sebastian Velfré Oratorians cheerfull sought out sinners, Orat. (AC)
(also known as Sebastian Valfré) Born at Verduno, Alba, Italy, in 1629; died in Turin, Italy, 1710; beatified in 1834.
1710 BD SEBASTIAN VALFRÉ
SEBASTIAN VALFRÉ was born at Verduno in Piedmont in 1629. His parents were poor and had a large family to support. From his childhood he determined to become a priest, and all through his years of study he maintained himself by copying books, costing his father nothing. We are told that all his parents were ever able to give him was a cart-load of wine when he first left home. He was accepted by the Fathers of the Oratory at Turin, and joined the congregation on St Philip’s day, 1651. He received the priesthood a year later, and for his parents’ consolation offered his first Mass at Verduno. He gave himself up at once and unreservedly to his priestly duties, and it was noted that from the time of his joining it, the Turin Oratory, which had previously had much to contend with, began to make many friends and to prosper exceedingly. Sebastian’s first office was that of prefect of the Little Oratory, a confraternity of laymen who meet together for devotional exercises. This charge he retained for many years with abundant fruit, and his wonderful gift for inspiring enthusiasm in the young seems to have led a little later to his being appointed master of novices. In 1661, almost immediately after he had reached the required age of forty years, he was elected superior in spite of his own earnest remonstrances. We are told that his government was a perfect copy of that of St Philip, enforcing exact observance in every detail, but showing great tenderness to the sick, for whom nothing was thought too good.

During all this time Bd Sebastian’s fame as a director of souls was constantly growing. He spent long hours in the confessional, being scrupulous in the regu­larity of his attendance, a matter upon which he laid much stress in his exhortations to his own community. All classes came to him, and he was prepared to bestow endless trouble on those whom he saw in need of help or earnest to make progress. On the other hand, aided probably by a supernatural insight, or by some strange telepathic faculty, he was ruthless in exposing insincerity and affectation. Amongst his penitents was the Duke Victor Amadeus II, afterwards king of Sardinia, who endeavoured in 1690, with Pope Alexander VIII’S ready consent, to induce Father Sebastian to accept the archbishopric of Turin, but all to no purpose. He preached sometimes as many as three sermons in one day. He also went on long missionary expeditions in the surrounding country, penetrating occasionally into Switzerland, and wonderful were the conversions which followed. Besides this, much time was devoted to instructing the young and the ignorant. He gathered together the beggars who came to the Oratory for alms, and provided food for their souls as well as for their bodies. He was indefatigable in visiting hospitals and prisons, dis­playing, moreover, a special affection for soldiers, whose peculiar temptations he understood and compassionated.

Like St Philip, Bd Sebastian was always cheerful, so that men judged him to be light-hearted and free from care. This was the more wonderful because we read a terrible story of his own spiritual desolation and interior trials. He was haunted by temptations to think that he was forsaken of God, that he had lost his faith, and that nothing but Hell awaited him; yet all the while, even when he was close upon eighty, he never relaxed his apostolic work for souls, preaching out of doors in the bitter cold of January to any company of waifs and outcasts whom he could gather round him. We find him at times fearless in visiting even haunts of vice when he felt that God called him to interfere. Strange to say, his intervention on these rare occasions seems to have been wonderfully blessed, and the most brutal ruffians felt the power of his holiness, remaining abashed and dumbfounded when he denounced them in no measured terms. His life was, in fact, the model of that which ought to be led by a zealous pastor in a city where misery and evil abound, and it is in no way wonderful that he was regarded by all his contemporaries as a saint. Instances of his supernatural insight and of the fulfilment of his predictions were many. Amongst other such cases which are on record, it seems clear that he knew, some months beforehand, the time of his own death. This occurred on January 30, 1710, when he was close upon eighty-one years of age. He was beatified in 1834.

See Lady Annabel Kerr, Life of Bd Sebastian Valfré (1896); G. Calleri, Vita del b. Sebastiano Valfré (Eng. trans., 1849); P. Capello, Vita del b. Sebastiano Valfré (2 vols.,1872).

Sebastian joined the Oratorians at Turin after his ordination to the priesthood. He became prefect of the Oratory and was much demanded as a spiritual director because of the endless care he gave to each who came to him for help. But he did not just wait for sinners to come to him, he sought them out and converted many. Sebastian acquired in full measure the spirit of Saint Philip Neri, whose cheerfulness he imitated through even the most grieous spiritual trials (Attwater2, Benedictines).
1784 The Holy New Martyr Theodore renounced Christ and accepted the Moslem religion soon repented a Moslem judge fiercely tortured strangled with rope cast into sea Christians buried  Theodore in the church of St John the Forerunner
born in the city of Mytilene, where he married and raised children in Orthodox piety.

He renounced Christ and accepted the Moslem religion, but soon repented of his sin, left his family and went to Mt. Athos. But even in the monastery St Theodore was deeply anguished by his denial of Christ.

The Lord blessed the saint to confess the Orthodox Faith before a Moslem judge in the year 1784. The enraged judge gave orders to fiercely torture the holy martyr, and then they strangled him with a rope and cast him into the sea. Christians buried the body of the holy Martyr Theodore in the church of St John the Forerunner.
1821 Feast of the Annunciation apparation of The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos; Innumerable miracles of healing and deliverance from danger have not ceased since the time the icon was found
This highly-venerated icon of the Annunciation was discovered in the ruins of the ancient church of St John the Baptist on January 30, 1823.

An elderly man, Michael Polyzoes, had a dream shortly before the Feast of the Annunciation in 1821, in which the Mother of God appeared to him in shining white garments. She instructed him to dig in the field of Anthony Doxaras outside the city, where he would find her icon.
She also told him to build a church on the site, since there had once been one there.
The Queen of Heaven also promised to help him accomplish these tasks.
Upon awakening, he crossed himself and tried to go back to sleep, believing that his dream had been a temptation from the devil. Before falling asleep, Michael saw the Theotokos once again, and noticed that the room was flooded by a gentle white light. Her head was surrounded by divine light, and her face displayed ineffable grace and sweetness. Speaking to the old man she said,
"Why are you afraid? Your fear comes from unbelief. Listen! I am Panagia (the all-holy one).
I want you to dig in the field of Anthony Doxaras where my icon is buried. I ask you to do this as a favor, old man. You will build a church there and I will help you." Then she disappeared.

The next morning, Michael went into the village and told the priest what had happened to him during the night. The priest also thought the dream was a temptation, so he urged Michael to come for Confession and Communion.
The old man was not convinced that his visions were mere dreams or demonic temptations. He told the inhabitants of the village of his experience. Some laughed at him, but only two believed his words.

The two men went with him to the field one night and dug in many places, but they found nothing. Then they dug in another place and found the remains of an old wall. Finding nothing but bricks, they had to give up their search in the morning so the Turks would not find out what they were doing.

Anthony Doxaras, the owner of the field, found the bricks and tried to use them to build an oven. The mortar would not adhere to the bricks, so whenever they tried to build one section of the oven, it collapsed. The workers were convinced that God was showing them that the bricks from the ancient church were not to be used for an oven.

St Pelagia (July 23), an eighty-year-old nun, had several dreams in June of 1822 in which the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her.

St Pelagia was living in the women's monastery of the Dormition on Mt. Kechrovounios, about an hour's journey from the village. She had lived in the monastery from a young age, and was known for her great virtue and piety.  The Theotokos appeared to her in a dream and ordered her to go to Stamatelos Kangades (a prominent man of the village), and tell him to uncover the church of St John the Baptist in the field of Anthony Doxaras.   Terrified by the vision, Pelagia attributed the dream to her imagination, and she began to pray. She was afraid to tell anyone about her dream, but the following week, the Theotokos appeared to her again, reminding her of her instructions. Still, the nun remained silent and told no one of her vision.
The Theotokos appeared a third time, this time with a severe manner. She chastised the nun for her unbelief, saying,
"Go and do as I told you. Be obedient."
St Pelagia woke up in fear and trembling. As she opened her eyes, she saw the same mysterious Woman she had seen while asleep. With a great effort she asked, "Who are you, Lady? Why are you angry with me, and why do you order me to do these things?" The Woman raised her hand and said, "Proclaim, O earth, glad tidings of great joy" (Megalynarion of the Ninth Ode of the Canon for Matins of the Annunciation).
Understanding at last, the aged nun joyfully exclaimed, "Praise, O heavens, the glory of God" (The next line of the Megalynarion).

At once, she informed the Abbess of her visions, and she also told Stamatelos Kangades. Mr. Kangades, who had been designated by the Theotokos to carry out the excavation of the church, informed Bishop Gabriel of these events. The bishop had already heard of the dream of Michael Polyzoes, and realized that the account of the nun Pelagia agreed with his vision.
Bishop Gabriel wrote to all the churches on the island of Tinos, urging them to cooperate in finding the church and the icon.

Excavations began in September of 1822 under the supervision of Mr. Kangades. The foundations of the church of St John, destroyed by Arabs in 1200, were uncovered. An old well was found near the church, but not the holy icon. The money ran out, and so the effort was abandoned.
Once again the Mother of God appeared to St Pelagia, urging that the excavations continue.
Bishop Gabriel sent out an appeal for donations to build a new church on the foundations of the old church of St John the Baptist. The new church was built, and was dedicated to St John and to the Life-Giving Fountain.

On January 30, 1823 workers were leveling the ground inside the church in preparation for laying a new stone floor. About noon one of the workers, Emmanuel Matsos, struck a piece of wood with his pickaxe, splitting it down the middle. He looked at one piece of the board and saw that it was burned on one side, while the other side showed traces of paint. As he brushed off the dirt with his hand, he saw that it was an icon. Joining the two pieces of wood together, he crossed himself and venerated the icon.
He called the other workers, who also came and venerated the icon. When the icon was cleaned, it was shown to be an icon of the Annunciation. The split was in the middle of the icon, between the Theotokos and the Archangel Gabriel. Neither figure was damaged, and this was regarded as a miracle.
That same day, the icon was given to Bishop Gabriel, who kissed it and cried out, "Great art Thou, O Lord, and wondrous are Thy works."

After the finding of the icon, the inabitants of Tinos were filled with zeal to build a magnificent church in honor of the Theotokos. People offered their money and their own labor to help build the church of the Evangelistria (She who received the Good News).  The new church was completed in 1823, and was consecrated by Bishop Gabriel. St Pelagia of Tinos fell asleep in the Lord on April 28, 1834. Her Feast Day, however, is on July 23.
The Tinos Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos continues to be venerated as one of Greece's holiest treasures.
Innumerable miracles of healing and deliverance from danger have not ceased since the time the icon was found.
1841 The Holy New Martyr Demetrius Bulgaria refused to apostasize to moslem Kadi
born on October 9, 1818 in Sliven, Bulgaria.

His parents had no children for the first eight years of their marriage. Their prayers to God were answered, and their sons Stephen and Demetrius were born.  Demetrius was the younger son, and was brought up in a pious manner. He did not go to school, but he attended church frequently and memorized many prayers and services.
After their parents died, Stephen left home and went to Wallachia. Demetrius remained in the family home, which soon collapsed because of its age. The Moslems used this excuse to seize the surrounding property, and Demetrius became a servant to one of them. The family tried to convert him to their religion, but Demetrius resisted such attempts.
"Our Orthodox Christian religion was given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ,"
he said, "while yours was given to you by Mohammed, a mere man."
They threw Demetrius out of the house when they heard this, and he later became a baker. Even while selling his bread in the marketplace, Demetrius proclaimed the Orthodox Faith and pointed out the deficiencies of Islam. Naturally, this outraged the Moslems, and they began to plan their revenge.

A new kadi came to Sliven, and Demetrius was chosen to prepare the food. The local beys chose him because they knew he had insulted Islam. The kadi offered him tobacco and liquor, but Demetrius said that he did not smoke or drink. When he tried to leave, the kadi said, "Let me make you a Moslem. You see what a good life we have. If you convert, I will tell your master to give you his daughter in marriage, and half of his riches."  Demetrius answered sarcastically, "Oh, sure."
Mistaking this for a serious reply, one of the Moslems began wrapping cloth around the young man's head in the form of a turban. Demetrius threw the turban to the ground and ran from the house. Some of the Hagarenes chased him, but were unable to catch him. For three days he hid in the village of Ichera without food or water.  Demetrius went to a bishop and told him his story. The bishop encouraged him to remain Orthodox, then sent him away with a gold coin and a wooden cross.

Exchanging the coin for change, Demetrius gave half the money to the poor. Then he went up to a Moslem guard and said that he was the one they were seeking. He was escorted back to Sliven with his hands tied behind him. When he met an Orthodox Christian Demetrius said,
"Forgive me, brethren. I gave myself up to these ungodly people for the glory of our Faith."
When St Demetrius was thrown into prison, he asked for the priest Stephen to visit him. His request was refused, but Fr Stephen learned that Demetrius was incarcerated and tried to have him freed. The kadi ordered Demetrius to be brought to him while he was dining with other officials.  The kadi asked Demetrius if he was willing to accept Islam. Christ's holy martyr informed him that he had never promised to become a Moslem, and he had no intention of doing so.
"If you took my irony for truth, I am sorry for you."
He went on to call Mohammed a false prophet, and his followers sons of Satan.
The kadi told Demetrius that if he did not become a Moslem, he would be put to death. Then he sent him back to prison for three days to consider this. When he was brought before the kadi again, Demetrius refused to convert. Then he was ordered to be executed.  When the other Christians heard of Demetrius's fearless confession of faith and his impending death, they brought Father Stephen to him. Demetrius told the priest he was afraid that he would not be able to endure the tortures. Fr Stephen urged him to remain strong and bear witness to Christ.

St Demetrius remained in prison for a whole year. His tortures continued, and no one was able to help him. At the beginning of the year, many Moslems gathered and shouted for the kadi to execute Demetrius. Therefore, he summoned Demetrius before him. The fearless martyr remained unshaken in his resolve, and mocked their faith.

For the last time Demetrius was offered the choice of converting to Islam or being put to death. He said he would remain a Christian whatever they did to him. Father Stephen came to the prison to hear the saint's confession and give him Communion.

On the morning of January 30, 1841 Demetrius was brought to the place of execution. He asked forgiveness of the Christians he met, entreating them to pray for him. Then they ordered him to kneel on the ground for beheading. The first stroke did not sever his head, and he remained motionless. With the second stroke, the martyr's head fell to the ground. The Christians soaked cloths in his blood, and Fr Stephen collected some of the blood-soaked earth in a box.

The holy relics remained unburied all night. The kadi ordered the body to be thrown into the river the next day, because Moslems believe that the bodies of those who insult Mohammed should not be received by the earth. After a sufficient bribe had been paid, the kadi released the body for burial in the garden of the monastery. St Demetrius now lives in the heavenly Kingdom, glorifying most holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit throughout all ages.
1917 St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux Christian Brother praised model teacher art and music
He was born the son of a blacksmith in Mellet, Belgium, in 1841. Entering the Christian Brothers, he changed his baptismal name, Louis, to Mutien. In 1859 he was assigned to St. Bertuin’s School in Maloone, where he taught for fifty-eight years. Mutien specialized in art and music. He was canonized in 1989 by Pope John Paul II.

Mucian Mary Wiaux (RM) Born at Mellet, Belgium, on March 20, 1841; died Malonne, Belgium, on January 30, 1917; canonized by John Paul II on December 10, 1989.

Louis Joseph Wiaux was the son of a deeply devout blacksmith and his equally fervent wife, who was an innkeeper. He became a Christian Brother at Namur in 1856 (age 15) and took the name of an obscure Roman martyr of unknown date, Mucian, who was killed with an unknown boy and another named Mark. After short times at Chimay and then Brussels, in 1858, Mucian Mary was moved to the college at Malonne, where he remained the balance of his life.

It must have been difficult for Brother Mucian: He found himself in a teaching order but had little talent for it. Thus, he was given marginal subjects and assigned to those tasks that required no special teaching skills. Although he was no success in passing on book knowledge, Brother Mucian had that much prized skill of "bringing even the least gifted to the limit of their abilities." What a wonderful present God placed in the lives who knew Mucian! Here was a man who could lead others to share the charisms with which God had endowed them. Of course, the ability to bring out the best in those around him, made Brother Mucian much loved. His gentleness and holiness of life also served as a model to those who saw "the brother who is always praying."
Visits to his tomb began immediately after his death. In Belgium he is known as a great intercessor before God, which led to his cause being open in 1936, less than 20 years after his death. At Mucian Mary's canonization, Pope John Paul II called him "the light of Belgium and the glory of his congregation." The Belgian bishops wrote that Mucian Mary "left no theological or spiritual treatise, nothing to bring his name out of the shadows. . . . [he] accomplished nothing out of the ordinary. . . . He was a man of prayer, an apostle among the students and went about his daily tasks with holiness. . . . hurting none and forgiving all" (Walsh).


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 250

Have mercy on me, O Lady: for thou art called the Mother of Mercy.

And according to thy mercy: cleanse me from all my iniquities.

Pour forth thy grace upon me: and withdraw not from me thine accustomed clemency.

For I will confess my sins to thee: and I will accuse myself of all my crimes before thee.

Reconcile me to the Fruit of thy womb: and make peace for me with Him who has created me.

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).
LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858 
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
Links to Related Marian Websites  Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates, 250 2023