Mary the Mother of God

Ecumenical Council {Vatican Council II}

Here is the text of the prayer recommended by Pope John XXIII for daily use until the opening of the Ecumenical council Oct. 11: 1962

"Almighty and merciful God, through whose grace your faithful are able to serve you with dignity and joy, grant, we beseech you, that we may run without hindrance toward the attainment of your promises. “We, from all parts of the earth and from heaven, thus implore you. Through the merits of Jesus Christ. Master and Saviour of all. Amen."

Giovanni_Maria_Masta_-Ferretti_Pius_IX

(Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti,
Pius IX 1792-{1846--1878})
devotion to Mary led him to favor the Proclamation of the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1854)

The First Vatican Council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of June 29, 1868.

The first session was held in Saint Peter's Basilica on December 8, 1869. It was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic church. Nearly 800 church leaders attended. The pope's primary purpose was to obtain confirmation of the position he had taken in his Syllabus of Errors (1864), condemning a wide range of positions associated with rationalism, liberalism, and materialism.

The purpose of the council was, besides the condemnation, to define the doctrine concerning the church.

In the three sessions, there was discussion and approval of only two constitutions:

Dei Filius, the Dogmatic Constitution On The Catholic Faith (which defined, among other things, the sense in which Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by God) and
Pastor Aeternus, the First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ, dealing with the primacy and infallibility of the bishop of Rome when solemnly defining dogma.

The definition of papal infallibility was not on the original agenda of topics to be discussed (Pius IX felt it would be improper for him to introduce the topic) but was added soon after the council convened. It was controversial, not because many did not believe the pope to be infallible when defining dogma, but because many who did so believe did not think it prudent to define the doctrine formally. John Henry Newman, for instance, thought such a formal definition might push away potential converts. Some feared it might lead to renewed suspicion of Catholics as having a foreign allegiance.

Such a view was taken by two-thirds of the bishops from the United States and many from France and Germany.

About 60 members of the council effectively abstained by leaving Rome the day before the vote.

Archbishop (later canonized) Antonio Maria Claret y Clara, confessor to the Spanish royal court and founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretian Missionaries), strongly condemned the "blasphemies and heresies uttered on the floor of this Council," and was one of the strong defenders on the issue of papal infallibility and the primacy of the See of Rome.

He was the only member of the council to be canonized as saint (beatified in 1934 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950).

He later died in a Cistercian monastery in Fontroide, France, in October 24, 1870.

The discussion and approval of the constitution gave rise to serious controversies, which led to the withdrawal from the church of those who became known as Old Catholics.

The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War interrupted the council.

It was suspended following the entry of the Italian Army in Rome, the so-called capture of Rome, and never resumed.
Pope John XXIII did not officially close it until decades later in 1960, when it was formally brought to an end as part of the preparations for the Second Vatican Council.

The results of the First Vatican Council marked the triumph of the Ultramontanism movement,
which supported a central Vatican-based government of the Church.

An increasing awareness of their own identity among Roman Catholics worldwide was detected, and the numbers of converts to Catholicism as well as the numbers of vocations to the religious and priestly life increased, along with clearly pro-Catholic political activity of Catholics in their native countries.

Along with this, a stronger involvement of laymen in the outward working of the Catholic Church evolved, and the council would indirectly lead to the stimulation of the Liturgical Movement, which would particularly flourish under Pope Pius X.

All Saints Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated; Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.
Both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit. The Descent of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to rise above our fallen state and to attain sainthood, thereby fulfilling God's directive to "be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16, etc.). Therefore, it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

This feast may have originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of all martyrs, then it was broadened to include all men and women who had borne witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their blood for Him.
St Peter of Damascus, in his "Fourth Stage of Contemplation," mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and Monastic Saints (PHILOKALIA [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting from the OCTOECHOS, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first stichology.
St Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to St Peter's five categories. The list of St Nicodemus is found in his book THE FOURTEEN EPISTLES OF ST PAUL (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians 12:28.
The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories: "Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous…."

Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not appear in the above lists.

Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs, they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to being executed for their faith. St Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a saint.
The order of these six types of saints seems to be based on their importance to the Church. The Apostles are listed first, because they were the first to spread the Gospel throughout the world. The Martyrs come next because of their example of courage in professing their faith before the enemies and persecutors of the Church, which encouraged other Christians to remain faithful to Christ even unto death. Although they come first chronologically, the Prophets are listed after the Apostles and Martyrs. This is because the Old Testament Prophets saw only the shadows of things to come, whereas the Apostles and Martyrs experienced them firsthand. The New Testament also takes precedence over the Old Testament. The holy Hierarchs comprise the fourth category. They are the leaders of their flocks, teaching them by their word and their example.
The Monastic Saints are those who withdrew from this world to live in monasteries, or in seclusion. They did not do this out of hatred for the world, but in order to devote themselves to unceasing prayer, and to do battle against the power of the demons. Although some people erroneously believe that monks and nuns are useless and unproductive, St John Climacus had a high regard for them: "Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for all men" (LADDER, Step 26:31).

The last category, the Righteous, are those who attained holiness of life while living "in the world." Examples include Abraham and his wife Sarah, Job, Sts Joachim and Anna, St Joseph the Betrothed, St Juliana of Lazarevo, and others. The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). His wife, the Holy Empress Theophano (December 16) lived in the world, but was not attached to worldly things. She was a great benefactor to the poor, and was generous to the monasteries. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and orphans, and consoling the sorrowful. Even before the death of St Theophano in 893 or 894, her husband started to build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophano, but she forbade him to do so. It was this emperor who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be dedicated to All Saints.

Believing that his wife was one of the righteous, he knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was celebrated.

Lucian The Hieromartyr lived in Romes pagan name Lucius was converted to Christ by the Apostle Peter, and was baptized
After St Peter's death, St Lucian preached the Gospel in Italy. St Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3), a disciple of St Paul, arrived in Rome at this time. At the request of St Clement, Pope of Rome (November 25), he agreed to preach the Gospel in the West, and gathered companions and helpers for this task. St Clement consecrated St Lucian a bishop, then sent him off with St Dionysius, Sts Marcellinus and Saturninus, the Presbyter Maximian, and the Deacon Julian. The holy preachers sailed from Italy to Gaul (modern France).
St Marcellinus and those accompanying him continued on to Spain.
St Saturninus went to Gaul, and St Dionysius and the others went to the region of Paris.
From there St Lucian went to Belgium with Maximian and Julian.

St Lucian's preaching was very successful. By the power of his words and the example of his life, he converted a large number of pagans to Christianity. St Lucian was a strict ascetic, and all day long he ate only a morsel of bread and some water. Towards the converted he was kindly, always joyful and cheerful of face. Soon almost all the settlements of Belgium were converted to Christ.

During this period, the Roman emperor Dometian (81-96) initiated a second persecution against Christians (after that of Nero, 54-68), and he issued an edict prescribing torture and execution for anyone who refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Three officials were sent to Belgium to carry out the edict. The Lord revealed to St Lucian the ordeal facing him. He gathered the flock together, urging them not to fear threats, tortures or death, and then he gave thanks to God for granting him the possibility of joining the company of the holy martyrs.

After praying, St Lucian and the priest Maximian and Deacon Julian withdrew to the summit of a hill, where he continued to teach the people who came with him.

Here the soldiers of the emperor came upon the saints and led them away for trial. Sts Maximian and Julian were urged to renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to idols, but both refused and were beheaded. Then the judge began to interrogate St Lucian, accusing him of sorcery and disobedience to the emperor and Senate. The saint replied that he was not a sorcerer, but rather a servant of the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he refused to offer sacrifice to idols made by human hands.

The saint was subjected to fierce beatings, during which he repeated, "Never will I cease to praise Christ, the Son of God, in my heart, and with my lips." Then the holy martyr was beheaded. A heavenly light shone over his body, and the Voice of the Savior was heard, summoning the valiant sufferer into the heavenly Kingdom to receive the martyr's crown. By the power of God the saint stood up, picked up his severed head, and crossed over the river. Reaching the burial spot he had chosen, he lay down upon the ground and reposed in peace.

Because of this great miracle about 500 pagans were converted to Christ. Later, a church was built over St Lucian's grave, to which the relics of the martyrs Maximian and Julian were transferred.

270-275 Saint Lucillian pagan priest old age became persuaded falseness of pagan religion turned to faith in Christ the Savior; martyred with Claudius, Hypatius, Paul and Dionysius and later holy virgin Paula who cared for them
Constantinópoli sanctórum Mártyrum Lucilliáni et quátuor puerórum, scílicet Cláudii, Hypátii, Pauli et Dionysii. His cum púeris Lucilliánus, ex idolórum sacerdóte Christiánus factus, in fornácem, post vária torménta, injéctus est, sed, flamma imbre exstíncta, omnes illæsi evasérunt; dénique, ipse cruci affíxus, púeri autem gládio obtruncáti, sub Silváno Præside, consummáti sunt.
At Constantinople, the holy martyrs Lucillian and four boys, Claudius, Hypatius, Paul, and Denis. Lucillian, formerly a pagan priest, but now a Christian, was cast with them into a furnace after undergoing many torments, but the flames were extinguished by the rain and all escaped injury. Finally their lives were ended under the governor Silvanus, Lucillian by crucifixion, the children by beheading.
273 SS. LUCILLIAN AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
ACCORDING to the Menology of the Emperor Basil, St Lucillian was a Christian martyr who had been a pagan priest of Nicomedia before he was converted at an advanced age. He was arrested in the reign of the Emperor Aurelian, and was brought before the magistrate Silvanus. Because he refused to deny Christ his face was bruised with stones, he was beaten with whips, and he was hung up by the neck. In the prison to which he was afterwards committed, he found four Christian youths, Claudius, Hypatius, Paul and Dionysius, whom he strengthened in the faith so that when they came up again for trial they made a bold confession. St Lucillian was then shut up in a hot oven from which, however, he emerged unscathed. All five were finally sent in chains to Byzantium, where Lucillian was crucified and the others were decapitated.
Paula was a Christian woman who fed the martyrs in prison and tended their wounds. She also was apprehended, tortured, placed in the oven, and finally beheaded. The people of Constantinople had a great devotion to these saints, and several versions of their story survive. Thus we find St Lucillian represented as a Christian priest, as the husband of Paula, and as the father of his young fellow prisoners. Another legend makes them natives and martyrs of Egypt. As a matter of fact, it is most unlikely that St Lucillian and his companions were martyred at Byzantium at all. Their cultus at Constantinople is due to the fact that their relics were translated thither-perhaps from some other Thracian town, but more probably from Nicomedia, which may well have been the scene of their martyrdom.

The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum (June, vol. i) printed the Greek text of a panegyric of Lucillian, written by a certain Photius. Delehaye in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxxi (1912), has edited a Greek passio of the same martyrs; see pp. 187-192, and the editor's comments, pp. 232-235. The story cannot be regarded as anything better than a pious romance.

During the reign of the Roman emperor Aurelian (270-275). In his old age he became persuaded of the falseness of the pagan religion, and with all his heart he turned to the faith in Christ the Savior, and was baptized.
Under the influence of his preaching many pagans were converted to Christianity. Then certain Jews, seeing that he was spreading faith in Christ Whom they crucified, reported Lucillian to the Nicomedia prefect Silvanus, who urged the old man to return to idol-worship. When he refused, they smashed the saint's jawbone, beat him with rods and suspended him head downward, and then they locked him in prison. Here he met four youths who were confessors of Christianity, Claudius, Hypatius, Paul and Dionysius. St Lucillian urged them to stand firm in the Faith, and to fear neither tortures nor death. After a while they brought them to trial and then threw them into a red-hot furnace. Suddenly, rain fell and extinguished the flames, and the martyrs remained unharmed. The governor sentenced them to death, sending them to Byzantium to be executed. The holy youths were beheaded by the sword, and the holy martyr Lucillian was nailed to a cross with many nails.

The holy virgin Paula witnessed the contest of the holy martyrs. She had dedicated herself to the service of those suffering for Christ. She provided food to Christian prisoners, washed their wounds, brought medications, and also buried the bodies of martyrs. After the death of St Lucillian and the four young men, she returned to Nicomedia and continued with her holy service.

The holy virgin was arrested and cast into a furnace, but by the power of God she remained unharmed. Then they sent her off to Byzantium, where the holy martyr was beheaded.

Constantinópoli sanctæ Paulæ, Vírginis et Mártyris, quæ, cum prædictórum Mártyrum Lucilliáni ac Sociórum sánguinem collígeret, ídeo, comprehénsa, virgis percússa, et in ignem conjécta sed liberáta, demum et ipsa eódem loco, ubi sanctus Lucilliánus crucifíxus fúerat, decolláta est.
At Constantinople, St. Paula, virgin and martyr, who was arrested while gathering the blood of the martyrs just mentioned. She was beaten with rods and thrown into the fire, but was delivered from it. She was at length beheaded in the same place where St. Lucillian had been crucified.

3rd v. Cecilius priest of Carthage brought Saint Cyprian to faith in Christ (RM)
Carthágine sancti Cæcílii Presbyteri, qui sanctum Cypriánum ad Christi fidem perdúxit.
At Carthage, St. Caecilius, the priest who converted St. Cyprian to the faith of Christ.

(also known as Caecilius, Caecilian). Caecilius, a priest of Carthage, brought Saint Cyprian to faith in Christ. Saint Cyprian for his part never ceased to revere Caecilius's name, adding it to his own. On Caecilius's death, Cyprian took charge of the wife and children of the deceased saint.
248? ST CECILIUS
N the Roman Martyrology St Cecilius is commemorated on this day as "a priest of Carthage who brought St Cyprian to the faith of Christ". Nearly ten pages are devoted to the saint by Alban Butler, but he proceeds upon the very questionable assumption that this Cecilius is identical with the Cecilius whose conversion to Christianity is described by Minucius Felix in the apologetical treatise which is known to us as the Octavius. In this book a discussion about the Christian religion is carried on in dialogue form, the interlocutors being Minucius himself, his friend Octavius, and the still pagan Cecilius. The argument ends happily by convincing the last-named of the truth of Christianity. That this Cecilius Natalis may have been a historical personage who was chief magistrate of Cirta in Africa in A.D. 210 is probable enough, but there are reasons which would prevent us from identifying him with the Cecilius who was instrumental in bringing about the conversion of St Cyprian.
Despite the form adopted in the Roman Martyrology, which is borrowed from De Viris Illustribus of St Jerome, there is good evidence, drawn from the best manuscripts of the biography of St Cyprian by his deacon Pontius, that Cecilianus, and not Cecilius, was the name of the Christian teacher who won over Cyprian by his argument and example. It seems certain that he was a man advanced in years, and that St Cyprian, who had probably lived in his house for some time after his conversion, reverenced him greatly as "the father of his new life". On the other hand, Pontius tells us that when Cecilianus was dying he commended his wife and children to the pious care of his beloved convert. Alban Butler, though probably mistaken in his view that the Octavius of Minucius Felix had anything to do with the subject of this notice, concludes his account with some reflections which deserve the very careful consideration of all who engage in controversy.
It is a great proof of sincere virtue, he says, a great but rare victory over pride, for a learned man to own himself vanquished by truth in a disputation. Pride recoils at opposition, and however much the understanding may be convinced, the will is thereby apt to become more averse and more obstinately fixed in error. On this account he who would bring another over to the truth ought to be careful not to alarm or awaken so dangerous an enemy, but to insinuate virtue by such indirect means that the opponent may almost seem to be his own instructor. Our three disputants [in the Octavius] all vanquished because they were all armed with docility, charity and humility; not like those vain combatants in the schools who love opinions, not for the sake of truth, but because, as St Augustine complains, the opinions are their own. In this happy company, though all could boast of a conquest, yet none had reason to prize his victory higher than Cecilius. He, overcoming both pride and errors, had achieved a triumph beyond compare. According to the maxim of a great man, "It is then we vanquish when we consent to welcome the truth".

See the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i; and DCB., vol. i, pp. 366-367 (cf. ibid., vol. iii, p. 924). Consult also the article of Dessau in Hermes, 1880, p. 471.

Baronius and other historians believe that this Caecilius is to be identified with the one who was a friend of two other Africans, Octavius, a philosopher, and Marcus Minutius Felix, a lawyer. Both were Africans of the same period and profession, and Saint Cyprian borrows many things from the dialogue below, which he probably received from Cecilius.
Caecilius, Octavius, and Marcus Minutius Felix were all learned men and close friends. In his old age Octavius converted to Christianity and turned his back on worldly preferences. He did all within his power to bring the other two to faith in Christ. First, Marcus joined in his joy. Finally, after much resistance and many prayers, Caecilius, too, embraced Christianity.

This last happened while the three were vacationing together at the sea. As they walked together through the town, Caecilius venerated a statue of the god Serapis by touching his hand to his lips and kissing it. The two Christians were appalled at this act of idolatry and ashamed that they had not already won their friend over to Christ but had allowed him to remain in ignorance. Of course, Caecilius bristled at being accused of ignorance and challenged Octavius to debate the subject.

Immediately the three sat down on the nearby rocks that provided shelter for the baths. Marcus was to take the role of arbitrator. Among Caecilius's arguments against Christianity were that its followers were the poor, the ignorant, and slaves who were subject to the "idolators" who ruled the prosperous empire. He noted that Christians suffer with seeming pleasure; a most content, pitiful, ragged tribe, who skulk about in holes without a word to say for themselves, and only cant in corners about a resurrection, and the joys another world. He railed against the resurrection of the body: which was a great stumbling-block to the ancient philosophers, as appears from the writings of Athenagoras, Tertullian, Origen, and other Christian apologists. Caecilius felt that his arguments were persuasive.

He then moved on to the calumnies often repeated. He loudly objected to the nocturnal assemblies of Christians, their solemn fasts, inhuman banquets and crimes perpetrated under the name of religion. Caecilius charged: "I hear that they adore the head of an ass, the knees of their bishop or priest, and a man who was punished for his crimes, and the cursed wood of the cross." He ridiculed Christians for despising ornaments and ostentation, for abstaining from lawful pleasures (public shows, pomp, banquets), and for reserving perfumes for their dead.

In response Octavius pointed to the divine providence governing human affairs as evident in the order, beauty, and design of nature. He argued: "Should you chance to come into a house and see all the rooms exquisitely furnished, and kept in great order, you would make no dispute but such a house is under the care and inspection of a master who is preferable to all the furniture. Thus, when you cast your eyes upon heaven and earth, and behold the admirable order and economy of things, can you question whether there is a Lord of the universe, and that he is more glorious than the stars, and more to be admired than all the works of his hands?"

From providence Octavius proceeded to prove the unity and eternity of God, the absurdity of polytheism, and the folly of the oracles. "Most of you know very well that the demons are forced to confess against themselves, as often as we rack them into confession by bare words only, and force them out of the bodies they possess, by such tormenting speeches as they cannot bear. You may well be assured they would never frame lies to their own shame, especially in the presence of you who adore them. Take their word then, and believe them to be devils, when you have it from their own mouths. For when we abjure them by the one living God, the wretches tremble, and either depart forthwith from the bodies they possess, or vanish by degrees, according to the faith of the patient, or the grace of the physician."

Octavius next dealt with the calumnies, which he showed were gross misunderstandings of Christian doctrines or practices. As to the old calumny of Christians' worshipping an ass's head--a prejudice formerly imputed to the Jews as evidenced by Josephus in his books against Appion--Octavius contented himself with denying the groundless a charge. He explained the senseless slander the Christians adored the knees of the bishop by explaining that they knelt before him to receive his absolution or blessing.

He confuted the charge of incest by pointing to the purity of Christian morals and the many who vow chastity. He pointed to the immorality of pagan worship that placed Priapus among her divinities, offered sacrifice to Venus the prostitute, and celebrated the festivals of Bona Dea and others with abominations and lewdness. He reminded Caecilius that Christians would not even see men justly put to death, or assist at public executions, and that they refrained from eating blood--which is far from the calumny that they feed on the flesh of children.

He continued by highlighting the sacredness of Christian marriage, the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead. In answer to the charge that Christians embrace poverty and simplicity, Octavius said: "Who can be said to be poor who finds himself in no want? He rather is the poor wretch who is necessitous in the midst of plenty. Here no man can be poorer than he came into the world. The Christian art of possessing all things is, by desiring nothing. As a traveler, the lighter he is, the easier he finds himself; so in this journey of life, he is happier who is lightened by poverty, than he who groans under a load of riches. Did we conclude riches necessary, we should ask them of God. Innocence is the top of our desire; and patience the thing we beg for. Calamity is the school of virtue. How beautiful a spectacle in the sight of God is a Christian entering the lists with affliction, and with a noble constancy menaces, racks, and tortures! When, like a conqueror, he triumphs over the judge that condemns him! For he is certainly victorious who obtains what he fights for."

Octavius concluded by stating the Christianity consists in practice, not in pompous words.

"We do not look big, nor do we talk great things, but we live in them."

When Octavius had finished speaking, Cecilius cried out, "I congratulate both my Octavius and myself exceedingly: we are both conquerors. Octavius triumphs over me, and I triumph over error. But the chief victory and gain are mine, who, by being conquered, find the crown of truth."

Though this summarizes the celebrated conference, the train of thoughts and the beauty of the discourse are only to be understood from the original recorded by Marcus Minucius Felix in Octavius. If this excellent dialogue seems to have any fault, it is that it appears too short and leaves the reader looking for more. At the end of the book the three company promised another meeting to initiate Caecilius and instruct him in the discipline of Christianity. Unfortunately, the record of the second conference has been lost. In his apology (The seven books of Arnobius against the heathens, Arnobius seems to have been thinking of Octavius and Marcus when he tells his heathen readers that orators and lawyers of the first rank had embraced the faith.

Pontius assures us that the priest Cecilius was a just man, venerable for his age, and worthy of eternal memory and praise; adding, that Saint Cyprian ever respected him as his own father, and paid him all possible honor, deference, and gratitude (Benedictines, Husenbeth).

Arétii, in Túscia, sanctórum Mártyrum Pergentíni et Laurentíni fratrum, qui, in persecutióne Décii, sub Tibúrtio Præside, cum essent púeri, ibídem, post dira supplícia toleráta et magna mirácula osténsa, gládio cæsi sunt.
At Arezzo in Tuscany, during the persecution of Decius, under Governor Tiburtius, the holy martyrs Pergentinus and Laurentinus, brothers, who being as yet children, were put to the sword after they had endured cruel torments and performed many miracles.

251 SS. PERGENTINUS AND LAURENTINUS, MARTYRS
THE persecution which arose in the middle of the third century was the greatest and most general attack Christianity had yet had to face, for the Emperor Decius had come to the throne determined to extirpate it. Amongst a number of victims who are said to have perished at Arezzo in Umbria, the brothers Pergentinus and Laurentinus are specially venerated to this day as patrons of the city. According to the legend they were of noble birth and were still students attending the schools when they were arrested and brought before the consul Tiburtius on the charge of being Christians and of proselytizing. Although they pleaded guilty the magistrate dismissed them on the score of their noble lineage-perhaps also of their youth. He bade them relinquish their faith and threatened to have them tortured if he heard further complaints against them. Far from being daunted the two young men redoubled their activities. The passio speaks of numerous conversions caused by their preaching and miracles. Apprehended once more, they refused to sacrifice and were beheaded. The “acts” of these martyrs are a compilation from older hagiographical fictions and can claim no historical value of any kind. They contain many improbable details and the existence of any such martyrs is quite uncertain.

The one fragment of anything like evidence of early cultus consists of an entry in the Hieronymianum, "apud Arecium civitatem Tusciae Laurenti diaconi". Delehaye and others think that the whole has grown out of the dedication on this day at Arezzo of a church in honour of St Laurence, the deacon martyr, the name Laurentius having been misread as Laurentinus, and Pergentinus having been supplied by an "Expergenti", whose name occurs next day. See CMH., p. 300, and also Mgr Lanzoni, Diocesi d' Italia, pp. 567-568 ; H. Quentin, Les Martyrologes historiques, p. 273, and Dufourcq, Etude sur les Gesta Martyrum, romains, vol. iii, pp. 172-175. The text of the short passio will be found in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i.

Córdubæ, in Hispánia, beáti Isaac Mónachi, qui, pro Christi fide, gládio necátus est.
At Cordova in Spain, blessed Isaac, a monk who was slain by the sword for the faith of Christ.

In território Aurelianénsi santi Liphárdi, Presbyteri et Confessóris. In the diocese of Orleans, St. Lifard, priest and confessor.

Lucæ, in Túscia, sancti Davíni Confessóris. At Lucca in Tuscany, St. Davinus, confessor.

Anágniæ sanctæ Olívæ Vírginis. At Anagni, St. Olive, virgin.

545 Clotilda of France Queen Widow At her passing, a dazzling light and heavenly incense filled the room Clothilde built the Church of the Apostles, later called Saint Geneviève, in Paris, where Clothilde was later buried. (Amazingly, her relics survived the French Revolution and can now be found at the church of Saint-Leu, Paris.) (RM)
Lutétiæ Parisiórum sanctæ Clotíldis Regínæ, cujus précibus vir ejus Clodovéus, Rex Francórum, Christi fidem suscépit.
At Paris, St. Clotilde, queen, by whose prayers her husband, King Clovis, was converted to the faith of Christ.

(also known as Clotilde, Clothilde) Born at Lyons, France, c. 474; died at Tours in 545.
545 ST CLOTILDA, WIDOW
ST CLOTILDA, a Burgundian, was the wife of Clovis, king of the Salian Franks, who at the time of their marriage, in 492 or 493, was still a heathen. From the outset Clotilda exercised great influence over her husband and made earnest efforts to win him to Christ's religion. "You have heard from your grandmother, Clotilda of happy memory," wrote St Nicetius of Trier to the French princess Clodoswind, "how she drew to the faith her royal husband and how he, a man of keen intelligence, would not yield until he was convinced of the truth." He permitted the baptism of their first-born son, who died in infancy, and of their second boy, Clodomir, but he still hesitated to declare himself a Christian. His decision was made in the heat of battle. He was fighting the Alemanni, and his troops were yielding to the enemy when he appealed for help to "Clotilda's God", vowing that if he was granted victory he would accept the Christian faith. He won the day, and on Christmas morning, 496, he was baptized by St Remigius in Rheims cathedral. History has little more to tell us about St Clotilda's further married life; together they founded in Paris the church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, which was afterwards renamed St Genevieve. There she buried Clovis, who died in 511.
Clotilda's after life was saddened by the family feuds and fratricidal struggles in which her three sons, Clodomir, Childebert and Clotaire, became involved, and by the misfortunes of her daughter (who bore her own name), so cruelly treated by her Visigothic husband Amalaric. Clodomir attacked his cousin St Sigismund, captured him and put him to death with his wife and children, but was himself overcome and slain by Sigismund's brother. Queen Clotilda then adopted Clodomir's three little sons, intending to bring them up as her own children. Childebert and Clotaire, however, were determined to remain in undisputed possession of Clodomir's inheritance. They induced their mother to send the children to them and Clotaire with his own hand killed his two elder nephews, aged ten and seven. Clodoald, the youngest, was saved and afterwards became a monk in the monastery of Nogent, near Paris, which was afterwards renamed St Cloud in his honour.
Broken-hearted, St Clotilda left Paris and took up her abode at Tours, where she spent the rest of her life in relieving the poor and suffering. There she learnt that her two surviving sons had turned their arms against each other and were actually on the verge of battle. In her anguish she spent the whole night in prayer before St Martin's shrine entreating God to put an end to this unnatural conflict. The answer, St Gregory of Tours tells us, was not long delayed. The very next day, as the armies were about to engage, there arose so terrible a tempest that all military operations had to be abandoned.
But Clotilda's trials were at an end. She died a month later, after having been a widow for thirty-four years, and her sons, who had caused her so much suffering, buried her beside her husband and elder children. Recent historical research has relegated to the realm of fiction many picturesque incidents in connection with St Clotilda, which successive generations of chroniclers have been content to accept unquestioningly from the uncritical pages of St Gregory of Tours and similar sources, and in so doing it has vindicated the queen from charges of ferocity and vindictiveness, little in keeping with her saintly character. In these legends she plays the part of a fury, goading her husband and sons to avenge on her uncle Gundebald and his son, St Sigismund, the murder by the former of her two parents.
It is now established with reasonable certainty that Gundebald, far from causing Chilperic's death, sincerely lamented his loss and that Caretana did not perish in the Seine with a stone tied round her neck, but survived her husband for many years and died a peaceful, natural death in 506.

The only ancient biography of St Clotilda is of no great value as a historical source, for it was not compiled before the tenth century. It has been edited by Bruno Krusch in the second volume of MGH., Scriptores Merov., but it is largely dependent upon the document known as the Gesta regum Francorum, or Liber Historiae, which was written by a monk of Saint-Denis, a couple of centuries earlier. The story of St Clotilda has to be pieced together from such authors as Gregory of Tours, Fredegarius, and certain lives of saints. By far the most reliable account of this sadly tried mother is that furnished by Godefroid Kurth, in his book Clovis, or more concisely in the little volume, Sainte Clotilde (Eng. trans., 1898), contributed by him to the series “Les Saints". See also the bibliography appended to the notice of St Remigius, October 1. There are French lives by Archbishop Darboy, V. de Soucy, G. Rouquette, and others, but most of them, being earlier in date than Kurth's critical discussion of the subject, are unsatisfactory.

Clothilde was matriarch to a family of saints and horrid sinners. Her granddaughter Bertha married Saint Ethelbert of Kent and prepared his heart for conversion. Their daughter Saint Ethelburga brought her husband King Saint Edwin to the Faith. Clothilde's other granddaughter Clotsinde married Albion, king of Arian Lombards, and converted him. Her grandson Clodoaldus, saved from his scheming uncle by his grandmother, became a priest and monk.

Clothilde, the daughter of King Chilperic of Burgundy, was born about the time of the fall of Rome. Western Europe was overcome by barbarians. Cathedrals and monasteries were the only civilizing influence.
Image of Saint Clothilde Courtesy of Miniature Stories of the Saints

The Franks invaded and had to choose between pagan beliefs and Christianity. About 492, Clothilde married Clovis, king of the Salian Franks who was attracted by her beauty and wisdom. According to Saint Gregory of Tours, she became the means of leading her husband to embrace Christianity. She had their first son baptized, but he died soon after. Her husband connected the child's baptism and death. The next child, Clodomir, became ill after baptism, but survived, as did two other sons and a daughter. Clovis was finally convinced of the truth of Christianity when he won a battle against the Alemanni that was seemingly lost after praying to "Clotilde's God" and promising that he would be baptized if the victory was his. After Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 496 by Bishop Saint Remigius of Rheims, the Roman Church turned its eyes west and north.

Later, Clovis and Clothilde together built the Church of the Apostles, later called Saint Geneviève, in Paris, where Clothilde was later buried. (Amazingly, her relics survived the French Revolution and can now be found at the church of Saint-Leu, Paris.)

Clothilde, after Clovis's death (511) retained enormous wealth, but could not control her children, who had become boy-kings. Visigoth Amalaric (an Arian) demanded her only daughter Clothilde II in marriage, in exchange for which, he might permit peace. Wars broke out among royal kinsfolk. Clodomir was killed and Clothilde took his three sons in her care. Anguished at the murder of two of Clodimir's sons by their uncle Clotaire, she placed the youngest (Saint Cloud or Clodoaldus, aged five) in the monastery at Versailles and retired to Saint Martin's at Tours. There she spent the rest of her life helping the sick and the poor, building churches and monasteries, and praying for her country. Churches at Laon, Andelys, and Rouen claim to have been built by her.

Amalaric treated her daughter cruelly, her brother Childebert killed her husband. But Clothilde II dies on the way home. Clothilde I prayed and did penance for her two assassin sons. Queen Clothilde died on June 3, 545, in the presence of these two sons. At her passing, a dazzling light and heavenly incense filled the room (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer Martindale). In art, Saint Clotilda is dressed in royal robes with an angel near her bearing a shield with fleur-de-lys (Roeder). She is often shown at the baptism of Clovis or as a suppliant at the shrine of Saint Martin. If you go through the images at Clothilde at Prayer, you will find most of her story in pictures. In Normandy, she was the patroness of the lame and invoked against death and iniquitous husbands (Farmer).

6th v. SS. LIPHARDUS AND URBICIUS, ABBOTS
ST LIFARD, Liéfard, or Liphardus, was a lawyer with a great reputation for probity who was occupying one of the highest judicial posts at Orleans when, at the age of forty, he decided to take the habit of a monk. He may have been (as some writers have maintained) brother to St Maximin, abbot of Micy, and nephew to St Euspicius, who founded that monastery, or he may have been the brother of St Leonard of Vandoeuvre, but he was certainly not the brother of St Leonard of Limoges, as is sometimes stated. From Orleans St Lifard went first to visit the abbey of St Mesmin at Micy. Before long, however, the desire for greater solitude led him to retire with one companion, St Urbicius, to an unfrequented place where, in the ruins of an old castle, they built themselves huts. Their food was a little barley bread, their drink water, taken every third day. Very soon disciples began to gather round them, and the bishop of Orleans, who had a great regard for Lifard, not only gave him permission to form a religious community, but ordained him priest and built him a church. A flourishing monastery arose on a site now covered by the town of Meung-sur-Loire. St Lifard died about the year 550 at the age of seventy-three, after having nominated St Urbicius as his successor.

In the very valuable article of A. Poncelet, "Les Saints de Micy" (Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxiv, 1905, pp. 1-97), he points out that the whole group of biographies connected with Micy are extremely unreliable. That of St Lifard is no exception, and cannot have been composed before the ninth century. It has been printed by Mabillon, and in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i. On the other hand, the fact that there was an almost contemporary cultus of St Lifard in his abbey of Meung-sur-Loire is attested by the inclusion of his name on this day in the Hieronymianum.

Saint David of Gareji was Syrian by birth disciple of St. John of Zedazeni and journeyed with him to Georgia David’s holy relics have worked

many miracles
St. David and his spiritual son Lucian settled on a mountain above Tbilisi, the capital of Kartli.

At that time Kartli was constantly under threat of the Persian fire-worshippers. St. David would spend entire days in prayer, beseeching the Lord for forgiveness of the sins of those who dwelt in the city. When he was finished praying for the day, he would stand on the mountain and bless the whole city. Once a week Sts. David and Lucian would go down into the city to preach. A church dedicated to St. David was later built on the mountain where he labored.

St. David’s authority and popularity alarmed the fire-worshippers, and they accused him of adultery, in an attempt to discredit him in the eyes of the people. As a “witness” they summoned a certain expectant prostitute, who accused him of being the child’s father. Hoping in God, the holy father touched his staff to the prostitute’s womb and ordered the unborn child to declare the truth. From out of the womb the infant uttered the name of his true father.

Outraged at this slander, the bystanders savagely stoned the woman to death. St. David pleaded with them to stop, but he was unable to placate the furious crowd. Deeply disturbed by these events, St. David departed the region with his disciple Lucian.
The holy fathers settled in a small cave in the wilderness and began to spend all their time in prayer. They ate nothing but herbs and the bark of trees. When the herbs withered from the summer heat, the Lord sent them deer. Lucian milked them and brought the milk to St. David, and when the elder made the sign of the Cross over the milk it was miraculously transformed into cheese.

Shaken by the holy father’s miracle, Lucian told him, “Even if my body rots and wastes away from hunger and thirst, I will not permit myself to fret over the things of this temporal life.”

The fathers kept a strict fast on Wednesdays and Fridays—they ate nothing, and even the deer did not come to them on those days.
A frightful serpent inhabited a cave not far from where they lived and attacked all the animals around it. But at St. David’s command the serpent deserted that place.
Once local hunters were tracking the fathers’ deer, and they caught sight of Lucian milking them as they stood there quietly, as though they were sheep. The hunters paid great respect to St. David and, having returned to their homes, reported what they had seen.
Soon the Gareji wilderness filled with people who longed to draw nearer to Christ. A monastery was founded there, and for centuries it stood fast as a center and cornerstone of faith and learning in Georgia.

After some time St. David set off on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He entrusted Lucian to fulfill his responsibilities at the monastery and took some of the other brothers with him. When the pilgrims were approaching the place called the “Ridge of Grace,” from which the holy city of Jerusalem becomes visible, St. David fell to his knees and glorified God with tears. Judging himself unworthy to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, he was satisfied to gaze upon the city from afar.

Then he stood at the city gates and prayed fervently while his companions entered the Holy City and venerated the holy places. Returning, St. David took with him three stones from the “Ridge of Grace.” That night an angel appeared to the patriarch of Jerusalem and informed him that a certain pious man named David, who was visiting from afar, had taken with him all the holiness of Jerusalem. The angel proceeded to tell him that the venerable one had marched through the city of Nablus, clothed in tatters and bearing on his shoulders an old sack in which he carried the three holy stones. The patriarch sent messengers after the stranger with a request that he return two of the stones and take only one for himself. St. David returned the two stones, but he declined the patriarch’s invitation to visit him. He took the third stone back with him to the monastery, and to this day it has been full of the grace of miraculous healing.

After St. David brought the miraculous stone from Jerusalem, the number of brothers at the monastery doubled. The venerable father ministered to all of them and encouraged them. He also visited the cells of the elder hermits to offer his solace. In accordance with his will, a monastery in the name of St. John the Baptist was founded in the place called “Mravalmta” (the Rolling Mountains).

The Lord God informed St. David of his imminent departure to the Kingdom of Heaven. Then he gathered the fathers of the wilderness and instructed them for the last time not to fall into confusion, but to be firm and ceaselessly entreat the Lord for the salvation of their souls.
He received Holy Communion, lifted up his hands to the Lord, and gave up his spirit.
St. David’s holy relics have worked many miracles: approaching them, those blind from birth have received their sight. To this day, believers have been healed of every spiritual and bodily affliction at his grave.

617 Saint Cronan the Tanner disciple of Saint Kevin (AC)
Saint Cronan was a disciple of Saint Kevin (Benedictines).

618 St. Kevin baptized by St. Cronan educated by St. Petroc priest hermit founder Many extravagant miracles
618 ? ST KEVIN, OR COEMGEN, ABBOT OF GLENDALOUGH
IN the forefront of the great company of saints who made Ireland glorious in the sixth century stands St Kevin, one of the principal patrons of Dublin. He it was who founded the celebrated abbey of Glendalough, which became one of the four principal pilgrimage-places of Ireland, seven visits to Glendalough being reckoned as equivalent to one pilgrimage to Rome. St Kevin's traditional history is to be found in several Latin and Irish versions, none of them ancient; how much of real fact underlies the picturesque legends and curious folk-lore they embody can only be conjectured. The saint, we are told, was of royal descent and was born in Leinster at the Fort of the White Fountain. At his baptism by St Cronan he received the name of Coemgen, anglicized as Kevin, “the Well-begotten”. When he was seven his parents sent him to be educated by monks, under whose care he remained until he was grown up. After his ordination he was moved to withdraw into solitude, and an angel led him to the upper reaches of Glendalough, the Valley of the Two Lakes. In that wild lovely district he lived for seven years, clad in skins, sleeping on the stones by the water-side and nourished only by the nettles and sorrel, which for his sake remained green all the year round.
While he was living so austerely, “the branches and leaves of the trees sometimes sang sweet songs to him, and heavenly music alleviated the severity of his life”. At last he was discovered in a cave by a cattle-farmer called Dima, who persuaded him to leave his solitude. The good man and his children “out of respect and honour” made a litter upon which they bore the saint through the thick wood. The trees lay down to make a pathway for them, and when the litter had passed they all rose up again. At Disert-Coemgen, where Refert church now stands, St Kevin made a settlement for the disciples who gathered round him. For a long time-says the legend-a kindly otter brought a salmon every day to supply them with nourishment. But one day “it occurred to Cellach”, son of Dima, “that a fine splendid glove might be made of the otter's skin. The otter, though a brute beast, understood his thought and from that time ceased to perform his service to the monks." Perhaps in consequence of a shortage of food, St Kevin removed his community farther up the glen to the place "where two sparkling rivers meet". Here at Glendalough he made his permanent foundation, to which numerous disciples soon flocked. To beg a blessing on himself and on them he made (we are told) a pilgrimage to Rome, and “because of the holy relics and mould which he brought back, no single saint in Erin ever obtained more from God than Coemgen, save Patrick only”.
King Colman of Ui Faelain sent his infant son to be fostered by St Kevin, after all his other sons had been "destroyed by the bright people of the fairy courts". As there were "no cows or boolies in the glen". ["Boolies" is a word recognized by the O.E.D. It is of Irish derivation and hardly known outside Ireland. It seems to mean a particular kind of enclosure for keeping cattle in the open.] The saint commanded a doe he saw with her fawn to give half her milk to his foster-child .. "But a wolf came to the doe and killed her fawn. Then Coemgen wrought great miracles. He commanded the wild wolf to take the place of the fawn with the doe," and the beast obeyed him. "In this way was Faelain nourished by the wonderful works of God and Coemgen." In the Félire of Oengus, Kevin is referred to in a quatrain as “A soldier of Christ into the land of Ireland, a high name over the sea's wave: Coemgen the pure, bright warrior, in the glen of the two broad lakes.”
The holy abbot was on intimate terms with St Kieran of Clonmacnois, and went to visit him on his death-bed. St Kieran was actually dead or unconscious when St Kevin arrived, but he came back to life for sufficiently long to hold sweet converse with his soul-friend, to whom he presented his bell as a parting gift. In his old age he contemplated making another pilgrimage, but was dissuaded by a wise man whom he consulted: “Birds do not hatch their eggs when they are on the wing”, said his adviser, and St Kevin remained at home. He is said to have died at the age of 120. His feast is kept in all Ireland.

There are five versions of the life of St Coemgen: three in Irish (for which, see C. Plummer's edition in his Bethada Náem nÉrenn, vol. i, pp. 125-167, with the preface and translation); and two in Latin. The more important of these last was also edited by Plummer in VSH., vol. i, pp. 234-257, and the other is in the Codex Salmanticensis, which was printed by Fr De Smedt in 1888. It would seem that, even to the most ancient of these, no earlier date can be assigned than the tenth or eleventh century. "The texts", says Dr J. F. Kenney (The Sources for the Early History of Ireland, i, p. 404), "have little historical value ... they illustrate the development of extreme ideas in asceticism, if not in the 6th and 7th, then in the 10th and later centuries". See also Gougaud, Christianity in Celtic Lands, passim; and Ryan, Irish Monasticism, p. 130.

Known in Ireland as Coemgen as well as Kevin, according to tradition he was born at the Fort of the White Fountain in Leinster, Ireland, of royal descent. He was baptized by St. Cronan and educated by St. Petroc. He was ordained, and became a hermit at the Valley of the Two Lakes in Glendalough. After seven years there, he was persuaded to give up his solitary life. He went to Disert-Coemgen, where he founded a monastery for the disciples he attracted, and later moved to Glendalough. He made a pilgrimage to Rome, bringing back many relics for his permanent foundation at Glendalough. He was a friend of St. Kieran of Clonmacnois, and was entrusted with the raising of the son of King Colman of Ui Faelain, by the king.

Many extravagant miracles were attributed to Kevin, and he was reputed to be 120 years old at his death.

7th v. Glunshallaich Saint Kevin preached the Gospel and the Holy Spirit led the heart of the Irish Saint Glunshallaich to conversion. He became penitent for the balance of his life (AC)
7th century. Saint Kevin preached the Gospel and the Holy Spirit led the heart of the Irish Saint Glunshallaich to conversion. He became penitent for the balance of his life.

He was buried at Glendalough in the same grave as his evangelist (Benedictines).

662 Saint Genesius (Genet) of Clermont austere charity to the poor knew no bounds learned, benevolent, surpassingly good B (AC)
660 ST GENESIUS, BISHOP OF CLERMONT
THE twenty-first bishop of Clermont (or Auvergne) was St Genesius, better known in France as Genet and Genès. He was born at Clermont, of a senatorial family, and became archdeacon. Learned, virtuous and benevolent, he was beloved by young and old, rich and poor. When the bishopric fell vacant at the death of St Proculus he was chosen unanimously by clergy and people to fill the see, but he would only accept office after a three-days' delay had proved that they would elect no one else. Five years later, on the hope of obtaining leave to lay down his charge and retire into solitude, he went as a pilgrim to Rome, but his people sent after him and he was obliged to return. As he drew near to Clermont, the population came to meet him, headed by the clergy carrying candles and singing; the sick were also brought out into the street for him to heal. The rest of his episcopate seems to have been uneventful and prosperous. He ruled his people like a wise father, built a church dedicated to St Symphorian in a suburb of Clermont, a hospice near one of the city gates, and a monastery called Manlieu, or Grandlieu. Amongst his trusted advisers was a priest destined eventually to occupy the same see, viz. St Praejectus (Prix) who had been committed to his charge as a child. St Genesius died c. 660, and was buried in his church of St Symphorian, which afterwards bore his name.

There is a short medieval life, which has been printed in the Acta Sanctorum (June, vol. i), and some further details are furnished by the lives of St Praejectus on January 25. See also the Gallia Christiana, vol. ii, p. 245; Duchesne, Fastes Épiscopaux, vol. ii, p. 37; and DCB, vol. ii, p. 627.

Genesius gave up worldly honors, to which he was entitled by his birth into a distinguished family, in order to serve God in the lowest rank of the clergy in the diocese of Auvergne. Against his inclinations, he was promoted to archdeacon, where he was to spur the clergy into imitating his spirit of perfection in Christian virtue. He treated his own body austerely while his charity to the poor knew no bounds. The reverence with which he fulfilled his sacred functions inspired his assistants, including the future Saint Praejectus (Prix), with awe and the desire to strive for perfection themselves.
In 656, Genesius succeeded Proculus as bishop of Clermont at the insistence of the other bishops of the province. His episcopate was peaceful and successful in stamping out the heresy of Novatian and Jovinian and instilling in his flock the love of virtue. He built a church in honor of Saint Symphorian (later renamed Saint Genesius), Grandlieu (Magnus Locus) Abbey, and a hospital. The beloved bishop, described as learned, benevolent, surpassingly good, was buried in the church he had built. He is liturgically honored in the diocese of Clermont. Two ancient English churches have been named after him (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth).

852 ST ISAAC OF CORDOVA, MARTYR
AMONGST the martyrs of Cordova, the foremost place is given in the old Spanish martyrologies to St Isaac, who, although he was a devout Christian, had made himself so proficient in Arabic that he obtained an appointment as a notary under the Moorish government. He did not occupy it for long, but withdrew to a refuge monastery where he lived for some years with his relative Abbot Martin. He was then moved to go back to the city and to challenge the chief magistrate to a religious discussion. The invitation was accepted, but during the course of the debate a panegyric upon Mohammed drew from Isaac an outspoken denunciation of the false prophet. His opponents, roused to fury, arrested him. He was tried, tortured and sentenced to death. After his execution he was impaled, and the stake with his body head downwards was set up in a conspicuous position on the far side of the river Guadalquivir.

Almost all we know of St Isaac is derived from the Memoriale Sanctorum of St Eulogius, who was his fellow citizen and a contemporary. The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i, have extracted all that Eulogius has left on record concerning the martyr. See also Sanchez de Feria, Santos de Córdoba, vol. ii, pp. 1-24; and cf. F. J. Simonet, Historia de los Mozdrabes de España; and J. Perez de Urbel, San Eulogio de Córdoba (1928).

984 Blessed Gausmarus of Savigny abbot of Saint Martin OSB Abbot (AC)
Gausmarus was the abbot of Saint Martin (Savigny) from 954 until his death (Benedictines).

1051 Davinus (Dalidus) of Lucca native Armenian died on a pilgrimage to Rome (RM)
Died at Lucca, Italy, 1051. Davinus was a native of Armenia who set out on a pilgrimage to Rome and Compostella. On his way he stopped at Lucca, where he succumbed to a fatal malady (Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In art, Saint Davinus is a pilgrim upon whose grave a vine grows. He may also be portrayed (1) as a pilgrim with long hair and beads, a conical Oriental cap on his head; (2) with a cross on his shoulder; or (3) at his funeral (Roeder). He is venerated at Lucca (Roeder).

1092 St. Albert of Como Hermit monk bishop
Also called Aribert. A Benedictine, Albert started his monastic life as a hermit. He later became a monk and then abbot in the Italian Benedictine Monastery of San Carpofero. At the end of his life he was appointed bishop of Como, Italy.
Albert (Aribert) of Como, OSB B (AC) Although Albert died as bishop of Como, at first he was a hermit at Rho, then monk and abbot at San Carpofero (Benedictines).

1115 ST MORAND; His sanctity and eloquence were enhanced by his reputation as a wonder-worker
THE parents of St Morand appear to have been nobles living in the Rhine valley near Worms, and he was educated in the cathedral school of that city. After his ordination to the priesthood, he undertook a pilgrimage to Compostela. On the way there he stayed at Cluny where he was so deeply impressed by the life of the monks that on his return he took the habit at the hands of St Hugh; he continued to advance in the path of perfection until he had outstripped most of his brethren in sanctity and in fidelity to the rule. His earlier years as a religious were spent in one or other of the Cluniac houses in Auvergne, but he was not destined to remain in France. At the opening of the twelfth century Count Frederick Pferz, the principal magnate of the Sundgau, or lower Alsace, rebuilt or restored on a larger scale the church of St Christopher which his ancestors had built close to the site upon which stands the present town of Altkirch. He then applied to St Hugh for some of his sons to serve the church and the neighbourhood. Several monks were sent, but their abbot Constantius almost immediately realized that a knowledge of German was essential if they were to do missionary work. In answer to his representations Morand was despatched, as being equally proficient in French and in German.
The choice proved an excellent one, for Morand had the true missionary spirit and the people heard him gladly. Regardless of snow or rain he would travel about the countryside, bareheaded and with a pilgrim's staff in his hand, to search out sinners and bring them to repentance. His sanctity and eloquence were enhanced by his reputation as a wonder-worker. Count Frederick, after having been cured by him of facial paralysis, would do nothing without consulting him. With the sign of the cross he extinguished a fire which threatened to destroy the monastery, and restored many sick persons to health. Every Friday he visited the shrine of our Lady at Gildwiller-said to be the oldest sanctuary in Alsace and the country people gave his name to a spring, beside which he used to rest after his weekly pilgrimage. He died about the year 1115. Perhaps on account of the tradition that he fasted throughout one Lent with only a bunch of grapes to sustain him, St Morand is regarded as the patron of vine-growers.

The medieval life of St Morand, which is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i, is an altogether favourable specimen of its class. It must have been written less than half a century after the death of the saint. Popular devotion to him has by no means died out in Alsace. There is a considerable literature concerning both the devotional and archaeological aspects of his cultus. See especially J. Clauss, Historisch-topographisches Wörterbuch des Elsass, pp. 974 seq.; and the same writer's smaller work, Die Heiligen des Elsass ... (1935). Consult also J. Levy, Wallfahrten der Heiligen in Elsass (1926), pp. 203-210; Grandidier-Ingold, Alsatia Sacra, vol. i (1899), pp. 325-335; and F. Fues, Vie de S. Morand (1840). The representations in art are discussed by Künstle, Ikonographie, vol. ii, p. 455; the folklore aspects in Archives Suisses des Traditions populaires, vol. viii (1904), p. 220 seq.

1200 Saint Conus of Lucania Benedictine monk of Cardossa OSB (AC)
Born in Diano, Italy; The relics of Conus, a Benedictine monk of Cardossa in Lucania, were enshrined in the neighboring village of Diano in 1261 (Benedictines).

1264 Blessed Andrew Caccioli 1/original 72 followers of Saint Francis, OFM (AC)
1254 BD ANDREW OF SPELLO
BD ANDREW CACCIOLl was a man of means who in his early manhood served as a priest in the diocese of Spoleto. At the age of about twenty-nine, after the death of his mother and sister, he gave his property to the Church and to the poor, resigned his living, and took the habit at the hands of St Francis of Assisi. He was one of the seventy-two disciples of the Seraphic Father, and Bd Andrew was privileged to watch by his death-bed and receive his last blessing. He was in Spain in 1223 when he was summoned to a special chapter in Italy. The country was then suffering from a prolonged drought which threatened to ruin the crops. Bd Andrew from the pulpit appealed to his brethren and to his other hearers to join him in fervent prayers for deliverance from famine. In response to their petition rain fell in such abundance that the harvest was saved and proved to be an exceptionally good one. The people in their gratitude called him Andrew of the Waters.
After his return to Italy the holy friar laboured with great success as a missioner in various parts of Lombardy. At a later date he was involved in the struggle carried on by the “Spirituals” to maintain the strict rule of St Francis. He was subjected in consequence to much persecution, including imprisonment on two occasions. Having been charged with the direction of the Poor Clares of Spello, he was instrumental in obtaining for them as abbess Bd Pacifica Guelfoccio, St Clare's aunt, who inspired them with such devotion that they became one of the order's most fervent communities.
Towards the close of his life, Bd Andrew made a long stay at the friary of the Carceri, near Assisi, where he spent much time in contemplation. One day our Lord appeared to him in the form of a child and talked with him; and in the midst of their discourse the bell rang for Vespers. Bd Andrew in obedience to the rule immediately repaired to the chapel. On returning to his cell he found himself once more in the presence of his Divine Guest, who greeted him, saying, "You did well in thus obeying the first summons. If you had not gone, I should not have stayed. But now I will reward you shortly." He in fact died that same year. His body was buried in the convent at Spello which he had himself founded, and his relics are preserved there to this day.

The account printed in the Acta Sanctorum (June, vol. i), which includes a valuable summary made from an early life of Bd Andrew once preserved at Spello, corrects several errors into which Wadding, through lack of materials, had inadvertently fallen. See also Analecta Franciscana, vol. iii, pp. 210 seq. In Léon, Auréole Séraphique (Eng. trans.), vol. ii, pp. 349-351, some of Wadding's errors are still repeated. The cultus was approved by Pope Benedict XIV.

Born at Spello near Assisi, Italy; died there; cultus confirmed by Clement XII. Andrew was ordained, then gave away his considerable wealth to the poor before becoming one of the original 72 followers of Saint Francis. Andrew favored a strict interpretation of the Franciscan Rule, against the innovations of Brother Elias. For this reason, he was persecuted and imprisoned (Benedictines).

1591 Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow The Tsarevich St Demetrius numerous miracles of healing from the holy relics
Murdered on May 15, 1591, was glorified in the year 1606. The reason for this was the desire, in the expression of Tsar Basil Shuisky, "to stop lying lips and blind unbelieving eyes from saying that the Tsarevich had escaped alive from the hands of the murderers." This was because of the appearance of a pretender, who declared himself to be the Tsarevich Demetrius.

The holy relics were solemnly transferred and placed in the Arkhangelsk cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, "in the side altar of John the Forerunner, where his father and his brothers were buried."

After numerous miracles of healing from the holy relics,"three feastdays for the Tsarevich Demetrius were established during this same year of 1606, his birthday (October 19), his murder (May 15), and the transfer of his relics to Moscow (June 3)."

1600 BD JOHN "THE SINNER" His active life did not prevent him from attaining to great spiritual heights. Often he was rapt in ecstasy-sometimes when he was on his errands of mercy caring for prisoners, the sick and destitute.
JOHN GRANDE was born at the little Andalusian town of Carmona in 1546. His father having died when he was fifteen, he was sent to Seville to a relation engaged in the linen trade, and afterwards was set up in business at Carmona. The things of this world, however, had no attraction for him. At the age of twenty-two he distributed his possessions to the poor and retired into a hermitage near Marcena. Although he had led an irreproachable life from childhood, he regarded himself as the basest of men. Partly from a sense of his own unworthiness, partly because he fancied that he was regarded as a hypocrite, he substituted for his surname Grande the nickname EI Grande Pecador, and it is as Bd John the Sinner that he is now honoured in Andalusia. One day he saw two sick tramps lying by the roadside. Filled with pity he carried them to his hut, nursed them and solicited alms on their behalf. Soon other similar cases presented themselves, and it was revealed to him that he was called to serve God, not in solitude, but in ministering to Him in the persons of the afflicted and destitute. Abandoning his retreat he went to Xeres, where he obtained leave to serve the prisoners. For three years he lived and laboured under dreadful conditions amongst the dregs of humanity, assisting them, nursing them, begging on their behalf and trying to soften the hearts of hardened criminals.

With wonderful patience he bore with insults, ingratitude and even ill-treatment.

He then transferred his services to the hospital. There he had to undergo persecution from officials and menials who resented his devotion to the sick as a standing reproach to themselves for their negligence and harshness. Unprejudiced observers, however, were attracted and impressed; so much so that a wealthy couple founded a hospital which they entrusted to his care. It promptly filled with patients, and there gathered round him a band of young men, fired by his example and eager to assist him. To ensure the continuance of his work he affiliated the hospital to, and was himself enrolled in, the Order of Hospitallers the founder of which, St John of God, had died at Seville when he-John Grandé-was a child of four.
Although the sick were his primary care, his help and sympathy were extended to all in distress. He would gather neglected waifs around him and would provide them with nourishment for their bodies and guidance for their souls; he would also collect money to give marriage-portions to poor girls. He never lost interest in prisoners, and when, after the storming of Cadiz by the English, three hundred fugitive Spanish soldiers came to Xeres, he cared for them, nursed the wounded, and provided them all with food and clothing-miraculously as it seemed to the men themselves. His active life did not prevent him from attaining to great spiritual heights. Often he was rapt in ecstasy-sometimes when he was on his errands of mercy. If on regaining consciousness he found himself surrounded by strangers who jeered at him or upbraided him as a drunken fool, he would beg their pardon and proceed on his way with bowed head. He was also a prophet of whom it is recorded that he foretold the destruction of the Spanish Armada. It was from plague contracted while nursing the sick during a. terrible epidemic in Xeres that John Grande died in the year 1600, at the age of fifty-four. He was beatified in 1853.

A Vie abrégée du B. Jean Grandé was published at the time of the beatification, and another anonymous life in Italian, Vita del Ven. Fra Giovanni Peccatore, appeared at Milan in 1727. See also Seeböck, Die Herrlichkeit der Kat. Kirche (1900), and the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. vol. xxiii (1931), pp. 18-19.

1885 St. Charles Lwanga and Companions Martyrs of Uganda When the White Fathers were expelled from the country, the new Christians carried on their work, translating and printing the catechism into their natively language and giving secret instruction on the faith. Without priests, liturgy, and sacraments their faith, intelligence, courage, and wisdom kept the Catholic Church alive and growing in Uganda. When the White Fathers returned after King Mwanga's death, they found five hundred Christians and one thousand catchumens waiting for them. The twenty-two Catholic martyrs of the Uganda persecution were canonized.

1886 SS. Charles Lwanga, Joseph Mkasa And Their Companions, The Martyrs Of Uganda
THE story of the martyrs of Uganda is one which may well give encouragement to all Christian hearts, revealing as it does the power of God's grace and that the miracles of constancy which stagger us when we read of them in the first ages of persecution have been renewed in our own time among the uncultured peoples of the interior of central Africa, where the first Catholic missions were established by Cardinal Lavigerie's White Fathers in 1879. In Uganda some progress was made under the not -unfriendly local ruler, Mtesa; but his successor, Mwanga, determined to root out Christianity among his people, especially after a Catholic subject, St JOSEPH MKASA, reproached him for his debauchery and for his massacre of the Protestant missionary James Hannington and his caravan. Mwanga was addicted to unnatural vice (a crime introduced among these relatively decent Africans by the Arabs), and in what followed his anger against Christianity, already kindled by ambitious officers who played on his fears, was kept alight by the refusal of Christian boys in his service to minister to his wickedness.
Joseph Mkasa himself was the first victim: Mwanga seized on a trifling pretext and on November 15, 1885, had him beheaded. To the chieftain's astonishment the Christians were not cowed by this sudden outrage, and in May of the following year the storm burst. When he called for a young “page” called Mwafu, Mwanga learned that he had been receiving religious instruction from another page, St DENIS SEBUGGWAWO; Denis was sent for, and the king thrust a spear through his throat. That night guards were posted round the royal residence to prevent anyone from escaping, sorcerers were summoned, and war-drums beat to assemble the numerous professional executioners. Meanwhile in a room secretly St CHARLES LWANGA, who had succeeded Joseph Mkasa in charge of the “pages”, baptized four of them who were catechumens; among them ST KIZITO, a boy of thirteen whom Lwanga had repeatedly saved from the designs of the king. Next morning the pages were all drawn up before Mwanga, and Christians were ordered to separate themselves from the rest: led by Lwanga and Kizito, the oldest and youngest, they did so-fifteen young men, all under twenty-five years of age. They were joined by two others already under arrest and by two soldiers. Mwanga asked them if they intended to remain Christians. “Till death!” came the response. “Then put them to death!”
The appointed place of execution, Namugongo, was thirty-seven miles away, and the convoy set out at once. “The heroic little band passed within a few feet of me”, wrote Father Lourdel, W.F., the superior of the mission. “Little Kizito was laughing and chattering .... I was so overcome that I had to support myself against the palisade ..”. I was not allowed to say a word to them and had to content myself with seeing on their faces the resignation, happiness and courage of their hearts”. Three of the youths were killed on the road; the others underwent a cruel imprisonment of seven days at Namugongo while a huge pyre was prepared. Then on Ascension day, June 3, 1886, they were brought out, stripped of their clothing, bound, and each wrapped in a mat of reed : the living faggots were laid on the pyre (one boy, ST MBAGA, was first killed by a blow on the neck by order of his father who was the chief executioner), and it was set alight. Above the ritual chants of the executioners were heard the voices of the burnt-offerings, calling on the name of Jesus. [We are reminded of what Julius Caesar records of the human sacrifices of the Gauls, who enclosed their victims in baskets of osier before burning them (Gallic War, vi).]
The persecution spread and Protestants as well as Catholics gave their lives rather than deny Christ. A leader among the confessors was St MATTHIAS MURUMBA, who was put to death with revolting cruelty; he was a middle-aged man, assistant judge to the provincial chief, who first heard of Jesus Christ from Protestant missionaries and later was baptized by Father Livinhac, W.F. Another older victim, who was beheaded, was St ANDREW KAGWA, chief of Kigowa, who had been the instrument of his wife's conversion and had gathered a large body of catechumens round him. This Andrew together with Charles Lwanga and Matthias Murumba and nineteen others (seventeen of the total being young royal servants) were solemnly beatified in 1920. Once again the often quoted words of the African Tertullian, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians”, were exemplified: within a year of the death of St Charles Lwanga and his fellows the number of baptized among the Baganda had risen from barely two hundred to over five hundred, and of catechumens from eight hundred to three thousand. These martyrs were canonized in 1964.

The apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XV, which includes a detailed statement of the names and of the more outrageous barbarities of which the martyrs were victims, may be read in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xii (1920), pp. 272-281. See Mgr C. Salotti, I martiri dell' Uganda (1921); M. Hallfell, Uganda, eine Edelfrucht ... (1921); Mgr H. Streicher, The Blessed Martyrs of Uganda (1928); J. P. Thoonen, Black Martyrs (1941); and A. E. Howell, The Fires of Namugongo (1948); and J. F. Faupel, African Holocaust (1962).

For those of us who think that the faith and zeal of the early Christians died out as the Church grew more safe and powerful through the centuries, the martyrs of Uganda are a reminder that persecution of Christians continues in modern times, even to the present day. The Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) had only been in Uganda for 6 years and yet they had built up a community of converts whose faith would outshine their own. The earliest converts were soon instructing and leading new converts that the White Fathers couldn't reach. Many of these converts lived and taught at King Mwanga's court.

King Mwanga was a violent ruler and pedophile who forced himself on the young boys and men who served him as pages and attendants. The Christians at Mwanga's court who tried to protect the pages from King Mwanga. The leader of the small community of 200 Christians, was the chief steward of Mwanga's court, a twenty-five-year-old Catholic named Joseph Mkasa (or Mukasa).

When Mwanga killed a Protestant missionary and his companions, Joseph Mkasa confronted Mwanga and condemned his action. Mwanga had always liked Joseph but when Joseph dared to demand that Mwanga change his lifestyle, Mwanga forgot their long friendship. After striking Joseph with a spear, Mwanga ordered him killed. When the executioners tried to tie Joseph's hands, he told them, "A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die." He forgave Mwanga with all his heart but made one final plea for his repentance before he was beheaded and then burned on November 15, 1885.

Charles Lwanga took over the instruction and leadership of the Christian community at court -- and the charge of keeping the young boys and men out of Mwanga's hands. Perhaps Joseph's plea for repentance had had some affect on Mwanga because the persecution died down for six months. Anger and suspicion must have been simmering in Mwanga, however. In May 1886 he called one of his pages named Mwafu and asked what the page had been doing that kept him away from Mwanga. When the page replied that he had been receiving religious instruction from Denis Sebuggwawo, Mwanga's temper boiled over. He had Denis brought to him and killed him himself by thrusting a spear through his throat.

He then ordered that the royal compound be sealed and guarded so that no one could escape and summoned the country's executioners. Knowing what was coming, Charles Lwanga baptized four catechumens that night, including a thirteen-year-old named Kizito. The next morning Mwanga brought his whole court before him and separated the Christians from the rest by saying, "Those who do not pray stand by me, those who do pray stand over there." He demanded of the fifteen boys and young men (all under 25) if they were Christians and intended to remain Christians. When they answered "Yes" with strength and courage Mwanga condemned them to death.
He commanded that the group be taken on a 37 mile trek to the place of execution at Namugongo. The chief executioner begged one of the boys, his own son, Mabaga, to escape and hide but Mbaga refused. The cruelly-bound prisoners passed the home of the White Fathers on their way to execution. Father Lourdel remembered thirteen-year-old Kizito laughing and chattering. Lourdel almost fainted at the courage and joy these condemned converts, his friends, showed on their way to martyrdom. Three of these faithful were killed on road.

A Christian soldier named James Buzabaliawo was brought before the king. When Mwanga ordered him to be killed with the rest, James said, "Goodbye, then. I am going to Heaven, and I will pray to God for you." When a griefstricken Father Lourdel raised his hand in absolution as James passed, James lifted his own tied hands and pointed up to show that he knew he was going to heaven and would meet Father Lourdel there. With a smile he said to Lourdel, "Why are you so sad? This nothing to the joys you have taught us to look forward to."
Also condemned were Andrew Kagwa, a Kigowa chief, who had converted his wife and several others, and Matthias Murumba (or Kalemba) an assistant judge. The chief counsellor was so furious with Andrew that he proclaimed he wouldn't eat until he knew Andrew was dead. When the executioners hesitated Andrew egged them on by saying, "Don't keep your counsellor hungry -- kill me." When the same counsellor described what he was going to do with Matthias, he added, "No doubt his god will rescue him." "Yes," Matthias replied, "God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body." Matthias was cut up on the road and left to die -- it took him at least three days.

The original caravan reached Namugongo and the survivors were kept imprisoned for seven days. On June 3, they were brought out, wrapped in reed mats, and placed on the pyre. Mbaga was killed first by order of his father, the chief executioner, who had tried one last time to change his son's mind. The rest were burned to death. Thirteen Catholics and eleven Protestants died. They died calling on the name of Jesus and proclaiming, "You can burn our bodies, but you cannot harm our souls."

When the White Fathers were expelled from the country, the new Christians carried on their work, translating and printing the catechism into their natively language and giving secret instruction on the faith. Without priests, liturgy, and sacraments their faith, intelligence, courage, and wisdom kept the Catholic Church alive and growing in Uganda. When the White Fathers returned after King Mwanga's death, they found five hundred Christians and one thousand catchumens waiting for them. The twenty-two Catholic martyrs of the Uganda persecution were canonized.

Prayer: Martyrs of Uganda, pray for the faith where it is danger and for Christians who must suffer because of their faith. Give them the same courage, zeal, and joy you showed. And help those of us who live in places where Christianity is accepted to remain aware of the persecution in other parts of the world. Amen

Charles Lwanga and Companions MM (RM) (also known as Ugandan Martyrs) Died at Namugongo, Uganda, 1885-1887; beatified in 1920; canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964; feast added to the Roman Calendar in 1969; declared the protomartyrs of Black Africa. Twenty-two Catholic men, including seventeen young pages between the ages of 13 and 30, plus some Protestants, were martyred by King Mwanga of Uganda. Their heroic courage rivalled that of the early martyrs.

Catholic Christianity began to take root in Uganda after Cardinal Lavigerie's White Fathers established missions in central Africa in 1879. Progress was made under the rule of the not unfriendly local chieftain named Mtesa; however, his successor, Mwanga detested the faith that would accuse him of debauchery.

King Mwanga of Uganda took as chief steward a young Christian named Joseph Msaka Balikuddembe. Joseph detested the king's debauched ways, especially his attempts to corrupt other young men of Uganda, whom the steward tried to protect. Mwanga distrusted foreign visitors, fearing they might report his evil ways to the British government, which had given him his power.

In October 1885, Mwanga ordered his followers to kill an Anglican missionary, Bishop James Hannington. The Catholic steward Joseph protested at the murder of a fellow Christian. The following month, Mwanga had him beheaded. "A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die," Joseph proclaimed. "Mwanga has condemned me without cause; but tell him I forgive him from my heart." To the king's astonishment, the Christians were not cowed by his sudden outrage.

Six months later Mwanga's savagery was even worse. He discovered that a 14-year-old page, Mwafu, had been receiving instruction in the Catholic faith. He called for Denis Sebuggwago, who had been teaching the page, and killed him by thrusting a butcher's cleaver or spear through his throat. That night Charles Lwanga, the new master of the pages, baptized five of them including Kizito, who he had repeatedly rescued from Mwanga's pederasty.

The next day the baptisms were discovered. Enraged, Mwanga assembled all the pages and ordered the Christians to separate themselves from the others. Fifteen, all under the age of 25, did so at once and were later joined by two others who were already under arrest and by two soldiers. They were asked if they wished to remain Christian and each replied, "Until death." The king then ordered every Protestant and Catholic living in the royal enclosure to be put to death.

Thirty-two Catholics and Protestants were led 37 miles away to a place called Namugongo to be burned to death in a literal holocaust. Three were killed on the way. One of these, a district judge named Matthias Kalemba, declared, "God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body." He was cut into pieces and left to die slowly by the roadside.
The rest of the martyrs were taken to Namugongo. They were imprisoned there for seven days while a huge pyre was prepared. At the appointed time on Ascension Day, they were forced to lie down on reed mats. Wrapped up in the mats and tightly bound, they were laid side by side. Fuel was poured on them, and they were set afire. As their executioners sang barbarously, the martyrs died confidently praying to their Savior.
The persecution spread. A leader among the confessors was Matthias Murumba, who was killed with revolting cruelty. During the reign of Mwanga about 100 Christians of various denominations were martyred.
Andrew Kagwa (Kaggwa, d. 1886) was a native chief of Kigowa and the royal bandmaster of King Mwanga. He was baptized in 1881, converted his wife, and became active in missionary work. He had gathered a large body of catechumens around him. Condemned to death for the faith, he right arm was severed from his body before he was beheaded.
Charles Lwanga (d. 1886) was a servant of the king, who was baptized in November 1885 and martyred the following June. He succeeded Joseph Mkasa as master of the pages and continued his predecessor's censure of the king's homosexual practices and corruption of the young pages. This intensified King Mwanga's hatred of Catholics.
Denis (Dionysius) Sebuggwago (Sebuggwawo) (d. 1885) was a servant of the King. He killed with a butcher's cleaver by the king himself because he was taught teaching the catechism. He was the first victim of the persecution.
John Maria Muzeyi (d. 1886) practiced the corporal works of mercy until his martyrdom.
Joseph Mikasa (Mkasa, Musaka) Balikuddembe (d. 1885), was the Christian steward in charge of the pages, at the court of King Mwanga of Uganda. He was beheaded on November 15, when he denounced the king's notorious immoralities and his murder of Joseph Harrington, a Protestant missionary, and his group.
Kizito (d. 1886), 13-year old boy, who went to his death "laughing and chattering," was saved from the king's pedophilic tendencies by Charles Lwanga, who baptized the child.
Mbanga (Mbaga) Tuzinde (d. 1886) was a page to the king and the adopted son of the chief executioner. He had to resist the pleas of his family up until the moment of he was thrown on the pyre at Namuyongo. At the last moment his father killed him with a blow to the neck to prevent him from suffering the agony of burning.
Matthias Kalemba (d. 1886) was a Membo judge, who was tortured to death.
Matthias Murumba, an Islamic assistant judge who converted, first to Protestantism, then to the Catholic faith. He was baptized by Fr. Livinhac, then martyred on Kumpala Hill.

Pontain Ngondwe (d. 1886), a soldier in the Royal Guard (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Farmer, Faupel, Gill, Thoonen, Walsh, White).

Charles Lwanga is the patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action (White).

1886 St. Achilleus Kewanuka One of the Martyrs of Uganda, with Charles Lwanga
Achilleus served King Mwanga of Uganda. A convert to the faith who was taught by the White Fathers, Achilleus was martyred in June 1886--he was burned alive with his companions. These martyrs were canonized in 1964.

1963 Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli ordination 1904 Secular Franciscan; canon law studies; worked as his bishop’s secretary; Church history teacher in the seminary; publisher of the diocesan paper; stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I; 1921 national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith; taught patristics at Eternal City seminary; 1925 papal diplomat, first in Bulgaria, then Turkey finally in France (1944-53). During World War II, became well acquainted with Orthodox Church leaders with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save 24,000 Jewish people.
In 1921 made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith; taught patristics in the Eternal City seminary; cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, finally residential bishop; elected pope at 78, taking the name John, his father’s name and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran; encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Closed Vatican Council I and At his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” Pope John XXIII set a tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed... errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”

Blessed John XXIII
b. 1881 Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” seems one of his most remarkable qualities. The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. In Bergamo’s diocesan seminary, he joined the Secular Franciscan Order. After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher in the seminary and as publisher of the diocesan paper. His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a firsthand knowledge of war. In 1921 he was made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith; he found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal City; cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop; deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis; enlarged College of Cardinals membership made it more international. Closed the first Vatican Council one day before he opened the Second Vatican Council; he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” set the tone for the Council saying, “The Church has always opposed... errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”

In 1925 he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey and finally in France (1944-53). During World War II, he became well acquainted with Orthodox Church leaders and with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people; elected pope at 78, taking the name John, his father’s name and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran; Named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop. A month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope, taking the name John, his father’s name and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran. He took his work very seriously but not himself. His wit soon became proverbial and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. In 1962 he was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis.

His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international. At his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” Pope John XXIII set a tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed... errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”

On his deathbed he said: “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.”
Pope John Paul II beatified him on September 3, 2000, and assigned as his feast day October 11, the day that Vatican II’s first session opened.

Comment: Throughout his life, Angelo Roncalli cooperated with God’s grace, believing that the job at hand was worthy of his best efforts. His sense of God’s providence made him the ideal person to promote a new dialogue with Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as with Jews and Muslims. In the sometimes noisy crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, many people become silent on seeing the simple tomb of Pope John XXIII, grateful for the gift of his life and holiness. After the beatification, his tomb was moved into the basilica itself.

Quote: In 1903, young Angelo wrote in his spiritual journal: “From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents of their virtues. I am not St. Aloysius, nor must I seek holiness in his particular way, but according to the requirements of my own nature, my own character and the different conditions of my life. I must not be the dry, bloodless reproduction of a model, however perfect. God desires us to follow the examples of the saints by absorbing the vital sap of their virtues and turning it into our own life-blood, adapting it to our own individual capacities and particular circumstances.

If St. Aloysius had been as I am, he would have become holy in a different way” (Journal of a Soul).

To Save A Life is Earthly; To Save A Soul is Eternal

THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 34

Unless our Lady was in us: many dangers would have overtaken us.

O Virgin, be our defender: and a propitious advocate before God.

Show us, O Lady, thy mercy: and strengthen us in thy holy service.

Let the holy angels bless thee in Heaven: let all men bless thee upon earth.

Give not up to the beasts the souls of them that trust in thee: let not the mouths of them that sing to thee be closed.

Let every spirit praise Our Lady

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
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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 Nizamuddi n 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

Index to Part I and Part II 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}.

Saints Simon (saw), Bartholomew (knife), James the Lesser (book), John (eagle), Andrew (transverse cross), Peter keys), Paul (sword), James the Greater (staff), Thomas (carpenter's square), Philip (serpent), Matthew (book), and Jude sword

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 Pasqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).

LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000) India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858
China Marian shrines May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
Links to Related Marian Websites Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles Roman Catholic Popes Purgatory Uniates, PSALTER BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 34 2023