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Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
May, the month of Mary, is the oldest
and most well-known Marian month, officially since 1724;



From 2007 to 2021 18,040 lives saved

The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”,
showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.


 40 Days for Life  We are the defenders of true freedom.
  May our witness unveil the deception of the "pro-choice" slogan.
40 days for Life Campaign saves lives Shawn Carney Campaign Director www.40daysforlife.com
Please help save the unborn they are the future for the world

It is a great poverty that a child must die
so that you may live as you wish -- Mother Teresa

 Saving babies, healing moms and dads, 'The Gospel of Life.


Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary


"You will not harm the people of Orchomenos!"
 After the setbacks suffered by the Italian troops in Albania, Hitler decided to invade Greece.
The following is an excerpt from the magazine Historia of January 1967:
A column of tanks arrived at the village of Orchomenos, 120 km from Athens, on the morning of September 10, 1943. The population was in fear because a nearby village had been completely destroyed the day before. This is when a miracle occurred. The Virgin appeared in a dazzling light, blocking the German commander’s way who was leading the column of tanks, and ordered: "You will not harm the people of Orchomenos!"
The village was spared, and the column of enemy tanks continued on without any violence. The German officer later made the gift of a painting of his vision to the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Orchomenus…

Our Marist brothers in Athens visited the scene of these reported events to verify the facts.
They were able to talk with several local farmers, and everything they said corroborated the story.
Afterwards, a Pontifical Mass was celebrated in the church, one of the oldest in the world since it used to be a pagan temple. According to Historia, it is the oldest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

 
May 19 - Our Lady of Flines (Douay, 1279)
        Help Us Understand the Great Value of Silence
Mary, my good and holy Mother, help me, help us all understand the great value of silence wherein we can hear God. Teach me to be quiet and listen to the voice of Eternal Wisdom.
Help me to draw out from silence all that is admirable, supernatural and divine.
Give me the grace to transform what I found there into a perfect prayer, laced in faith, confidence and love.
Grant me the grace to pray in a vibrant, active and fruitful way so that I may glorify God and save souls! Amen. -- Marthe Robin

May 19 – Coptic Church: Feast of the entrance of the Holy Family in Egypt   
Idols were overthrown and demons fled
The Church celebrates the feast of the coming of Christ in Egypt on the 24th day of Bashans (the end of May in the Catholic calendar). The Holy Family went to the land of Egypt: Mary, the Virgin Mother, held the little child Jesus in her arms, while Joseph the carpenter walked beside her.
They had fled in order to escape Herod who was seeking to kill the child.


The archangel Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream and said to him: ‘‘Arise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will seek the child to destroy him.’’
Joseph got up, took the child and his mother at night, went to Egypt remained there until the death of Herod.


The scholars and historians of the Church believe that the Holy Family spent about four years in Egypt. As they approached the pagan statues of Egypt, the statues collapsed in the presence of the Lord, and demons fled.

Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis, Bithynia (now Turkey), historian of the Church of the 4th century, wrote an account of this, having witnessed the overthrown idols that crumbled in the presence of Christ.
  www.stmichel-stgeorges.fr
 
1750 --St. Crispin of Viterbo, taking the name, Crispin (after the patron of cobblers);  possessed an amazing ability to integrate a life of feverish activity, on the one hand, with a solid interior life. Without concern for his own well being, Crispin cared for those stricken during the epidemics at Farnese, Gallese and Bracciano. As questor, he begged for food not only on behalf of his Capuchin brothers, but also to provide for all the needy of his "big Orvietan family." For the friars, he would only beg for necessities, nothing more. OFM Cap 

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

Acts of the Apostles
Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?

Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary .

Mary's Divine Motherhood
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).

Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.


There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

Saints
May
20
19
18
17
16
Theophilus means "Friend of God"named in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:1
         (Luke 1:3 KJV, p.59).1 in the Greek language θεόφιλος
2nd v. Pudens Roman senator baptized by the Apostles father of the martyr Pudentiana M (RM) 2nd century
160 Pudentiana of Rome titulus Pudentis or ecclesia Pudentiana in Rome her father's palace considered most ancient in world
303 St. Philoterus nobleman of Nicomedia who was put to death
304 St. Calocerus & Parthenius Martyrs and brothers who supposedly served as eunuchs in the imperial court
307 St. Cyriaca & Companions Six Christian maidens who died at the stake in Nicomedia
5th v. Cyril of Trèves Bishop relics enshrined in the abbey church of Saint Matthias in Trier, Germany B (AC)
728 Hadulph of Saint-Vaast, OSB B (AC)
804 Bl. Alcuin Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York and in biblical commentaries; and as a liturgist—his work had a strong influence on the Roman liturgy as we have it to-day. But it was as an educator that his fame has been enduring, for he was the main channel between the English scholarship of St Bede’s era and the revival of western learning under Charlemagne he was “the schoolmaster of his age”; and like a good schoolmaster a primary activity was to spread enthusiasm for learning.
988 St. Dunstan Kyrie Rex splendens Cantuáriæ, in Anglia, sancti Dunstáni Epíscopi.  
1246 Blessed Humiliana de'Cerchi, OFM Tert. (AC)
1294 St. Celestine V Pope Born 1212 The birthday of St. Peter of Moroni who, while leading the life of an anchoret, was created Sovereign Pontiff and called Celestine V.  He later abdicated the pontificate, and led a religious life in solitude, where, renowned for virtues and miracles, he went to the Lord.
1303 Ivo Hélory, OFM Tert. (RM)
1308 Blessed John Duns Scotus 1308 Blessed John Duns Scotus one of the most important and influential Franciscan theologians. His major contributions included the founding of the Scotistic School in Theology and clarifying the theology of the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution. (AC)
1309 Blessed Augustine Novello, 1309 Blessed Augustine Novello, became prior general of the Augustinian
        friars, confessor to the pope, and legate. He spent the last nine years of his life as a hermit
OSA (AC)
1378-1397 Bl. Peter de Duenas Franciscan Martyr. Born at Palencia, Spain, he entered the Franciscans and set out in 1396 with Blessed John de Cetina to preach among the Moors of Granada. The following year both were seized and beheaded.
1651 Bl. Peter Wright  Jesuit (1629) martyr in England chaplain to the Royalist army; convert to Catholicism
given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome

1740 St. Theophilus of Corte Franciscan reformer. Born Biagio Arrighi at Corte, Corsica, Italy ordained at
Naples, taught at Civitella, and then embarked upon a mission to promote the faith in Corsica and Italy The influence exerted by his eloquent words was enhanced by the holiness of his life and by miracles. At Civitella, of which he became guardian, he won the love and veneration of the whole community
1750 --St. Crispin of Viterbo, taking the name, Crispin (after the patron of cobblers);  possessed an amazing ability to integrate a life of feverish activity, on the one hand, with a solid interior life. Without concern for his own well being, Crispin cared for those stricken during the epidemics at Farnese, Gallese and Bracciano. As questor, he begged for food not only on behalf of his Capuchin brothers, but also to provide for all the needy of his "big Orvietan family." For the friars, he would only beg for necessities, nothing more. OFM Cap
1854 Joaquina Vedruna de Mas, Widow Foundress founded the Institute of the Carmelites of Charity, whose
sisters are dedicated to tending the sick and teaching.
(AC)
1875 Blessed Francis Coll Guitart, OP After several years of parish ministry, he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret. He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the village where he preached (AC)

The Great Persecution of the Orthodox Church, which was started in 303 by the Emperor Diocletian,
was probably instigated by Galerius (293-311).

Born 1215 - D. 1296 St. Celestine V Pope
Natalis sancti Petri de Moróno, Confessóris, qui ex Anachoréta Summus Póntifex creátus, dictus est Cælestínus Quintus.  Sed Pontificátu se póstmodum abdicávit, et in solitúdine religiósam vitam agens, virtútibus et miráculis clarus, migrávit ad Dóminum.
    The birthday of St. Peter of Moroni who, while leading the life of an anchoret, was created Sovereign Pontiff and called Celestine V.  He later abdicated the pontificate, and led a religious life in solitude, where, renowned for virtues and miracles, he went to the Lord.

Benedict_XVI_Patriarch_Bartholomew
 "To withdraw into the desert is for Christians tantamount to associating themselves more intimately with Christ’s passion, and it enables them, in a very special way, to share in the paschal mystery and in the passage of Our Lord from this world to the heavenly homeland" (#1).
"The answers to many of life's questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious."  1913 Saint Barsanuphius of Optina
God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heaven.
The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.



Theophilus means "Friend of God"named in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:1 
(Luke 1:3 KJV, p.59).1 in the Greek language θεόφιλος
Many conjectures and traditions around his identity. It is a common name among both Romans and Jews of the era. His life would coincide with the writing of Luke and Acts, sometime between AD 40-85, depending on which tradition one subscribes to.
Conjectures to his identity and traditional beliefs include:  Coptic tradition asserts he was a Jew of Alexandria
Another tradition claims a converted Roman official, possibly Titus Flavius Sabinus II, a former Prefect of Rome and older brother of future Roman Emperor Vespasian, owing to the honorific, "most excellent" (Lk. 1:3). As Titus Flavius Sabinus, Theophilus is given a crucial role in the novel The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier, where he is given the dedication of the "Gospel of Luke" and "Acts of the Apostles" by Luke the Evangelist.
Another maintains Theophilus not a specific person, as "θεόφιλος" means "he who loves God", and thus the books could be addressed to anyone who fits that description.
Some also believed that Theophilus could have been Paul's lawyer during his trial period in Rome.
Some also identify Luke's Theophilus with Theophilus ben Ananus, High Priest of the Temple of Jerusalem from 37 to 42. In this tradition Theophilus would have been both a kohen and a Sadducee. It would thus appear that the Gospel of Luke was likely targeted at Sadducee readers. Theophilus would have been the son of Annas and the brother-in-law of Caiaphas, and would have grown up in the Jewish Temple. This identification explains many features of Luke. Luke begins the story with an account of Zacharias the righteous priest who had a vision of an angel at the Temple (1:5-25). He quickly moves on to an account of Mary's purification (niddah) and Jesus' redemption (pidyon ha-ben) rituals at the Temple (2:21-39) and then to the event of Jesus teaching at the Temple at the age of twelve (2:46). Luke makes no mention of Caiaphas' role in Jesus' crucifixion and emphasizes Jesus' literal resurrection (24:39). (Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.)

2nd v. Pudens Roman senator baptized by the Apostles father of the martyr Pudentiana M (RM)
Ibídem sancti Pudéntis Senatóris, qui ejúsdem sanctæ Pudentiánæ Vírginis ac sanctæ item Praxédis Vírginis fuit pater; atque, ab Apostólicis Christo in baptísmo vestítus, innocéntem túnicam usque ad vitæ corónam immaculáte custodívit.
    In the same city, St. Pudens, senator, father of the virgins Pudentiana and Praxedes.  He was clothed with Christ in baptism by the apostles, and preserved the robe of innocence unsp

1st v.?  SS. PUDENTIANA AND PUDENS, MARTYRS
IN the Roman Martyrology for May 19 we read: “At Rome (the commemoration) of St Pudentiana, virgin, who after innumerable contests, after caring reverently for the burial of many of the martyrs, and distributing all her goods to the poor, at length passed from earth to heaven. In the same city of St Pudens, a senator, father of the aforesaid maiden, who was by the Apostles adorned for Christ in baptism, and guarded his vesture unspotted unto a crown of life.” Opinions are divided as to whether this Pudens is to be identified with the Pudens mentioned in 2 Tim. iv 21. But there can be no reasonable doubt that at an early date there was a Christian so named in Rome who gave a plot of ground with which was subsequently connected a church and “title”. It was first known as the ecclesia Pudentiana or titulus Pudentis hut by a later confusion people came to speak of the ecclesia Sanctae Pudentianae, and this supposed patroness was honoured as a martyr and a daughter of Pudens. Owing to a slurred pronunciation the name was also often written Potentiana. After the close of the eighth century a story was fabricated purporting to be the Acts of SS. Pudentiana and Praxedes, in which the two maidens were described as sisters (Pudentiana being only sixteen years old) and the daughters of Pudens. They were probably associated in the story because Praxedes and Pudentiana stand together first in the list of the virgins whose bodies were transferred from the catacombs to the church of Praxedes by Pope Paschal 1 (817—824).

The Acts of St Pudentiana are printed by the Bollandists in their fourth volume for May. A commission appointed by Pope Benedict XIV to revise the Breviary declared them to be fabulous and unworthy of credit. Many points connected with Pudens, Pudentiana and Praxedes still remain matters of controversy, but all the material issues are summed up by Fr Delehaye, in CMH., p. 263, where references are also given to other authorities. Add also Marucchi in the Nuovo Bullettino di arch. crist., vol. xiv (1908), pp. 5—125.

Some believe this saint to be the same Pudens mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21; a Roman senator baptized by the Apostles. Pudens' feast is mentioned in the Sacramentary of Saint Gregory. He is the father of the martyr Pudentiana (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Husenbeth).

160 Pudentiana of Rome titulus Pudentis or ecclesia Pudentiana in Rome her father's palaceconsidered most ancient in world VM (RM)
Romæ sanctæ Pudentiánæ Vírginis, quæ, post innúmeros agónes, post multórum Mártyrum venerabíliter exhíbitas sepultúras, post omnes facultátes suas pro Christo paupéribus erogátas, tandem de terris ad cælos migrávit.
    At Rome, the saintly virgin Pudentiana, who, after numberless tribulations, after burying with respect many martyrs, and distributing all her goods to the poor for Christ's sake, departed from this world to go to heaven.
Romæ sanctæ Pudentiánæ Vírginis, quæ, post innúmeros agónes, post multórum Mártyrum venerabíliter exhíbitas sepultúras, post omnes facultátes suas pro Christo paupéribus erogátas, tandem de terris ad cælos migrávit.
    At Rome, the saintly virgin Pudentiana, who, after numberless tribulations, after burying with respect many martyrs, and distributing all her goods to the poor for Christ's sake, departed from this world to go to heaven.

(also known as Potentiana). A lady of Rome, the daughter of Senator Saint Pudens and sister of Saint Praxedes, Pudentiana is said to have given her wealth to the poor and helped bury martyred Christians. While tradition relates that she died at the age of 16, nothing is known about her life with certainty. The titulus Pudentis or ecclesia Pudentiana in Rome, said to have been her father's palace, is considered the most ancient in the whole world.

It is likely that this name was assumed to be a dedication to Saint Pudentiana, wherein it may simply indicate the original owner, much as in the case of Saint Cecilia. In the early church, it was known as the church of the Pastor because Saint Peter lodged therein and celebrated the Mass there. In revising the Breviary, Pope Benedict XIV declared the acta of Saints Praxedes and Pudentiana unworthy of credence and the feast day was suppressed in the Roman calendar (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Delaney, Farmer, Husenbeth, Tabor). In art, Saint Pudentiana is generally portrayed with Saint Praxedis. She takes up the blood of martyrs with a sponge. She is venerated in Rome (Roeder).

303 St. Philoterus (harvester) nobleman of Nicomedia who was put to death in 303
Nicomedíæ sancti Philóteri Mártyris, qui Paciáni Procónsulis fílius éxstitit, et, sub Diocletiáno Imperatóre, multa passus, martyrii corónam accépit.
    At Nicomedia, the martyr St. Philoterus, son of the proconsul Pacian, who after suffering much under Emperor Diocletian, received the crown of martyrdom.
Martyr. Philoterus was a nobleman of Nicomedia who was put to death in 303 during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The details of his martyrdom, recorded in his Acts, are considered unreliable.

Philoterus of Nicomedia M (RM). Philoterus, a nobleman of Nicomedia, was martyred there under Diocletian. His supposed acta are unreliable (Benedictines)
.
304 St. Calocerus & Parthenius Martyrs and brothers who supposedly served as eunuchs in the imperial court and palace of Emperor Trajanus Decius.
Item Romæ, via Appia, natális sanctórum Calóceri et Parthénii eunuchórum; quorum prior, cum esset præpósitus cubículi uxóris Décii Imperatóris, postérior vero altérius múneris primicérius, et ambo nollent idólis sacrificáre, idcírco, ejúsdem Imperatóris jussu váriis ac diris sunt excruciáti supplíciis, ac tandem, cervícibus ardénti fuste contúsis, spíritum Deo tradidérunt.
    Also at Rome, on the Appian Way, the birthday of the Saints Calocerus and Parthenius, eunuchs.  The former was chamberlain of the wife of Emperor Decius, and the latter chief officer in another department.  Because they refused to offer sacrifice to idols they were tortured in many cruel ways, and finally when their necks were broken with cudgels, they gave up their souls to God.
304 SS. CALOCERUS AND PARTHENIUS, MARTYRS
THE two brothers Calocerus and Parthenius, whom the Church honours together on this day, are said to have been eunuchs occupying the post of praepositus cubiculi and primicerius in the household of Tryphonia, the wife of the Emperor Decius. They were professing Christians and, on the outbreak of persecution, they suffered martyrdom rather than offer sacrifice to the gods. According to their reputed acts, which are quite untrustworthy, they were Armenians who had come from the East with a consul called Aemilian. Their patron died, leaving them in charge of his daughter Callista or Anatolia as well as of his property, part of which was to be distributed to the poor. They were summoned before Decius on the double charge of being Christians and of dissipating the heritage of Anatolia. After making a bold defence and confession of faith they were condemned to be burnt alive. They emerged unscathed from the flames and were then beaten on the head with lighted stakes until they died. Their bodies were buried by Anatolia in the cemetery of Callistus.

Two texts of the supposed “acts” are known. One is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv, the other in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xvi (1897) pp. 240—241. De Rossi attaches some importance to this latter recension, and argues from it in favour of the date 150; but Delehaye has returned a very sufficient answer in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xlvi (1928), pp. 50—55, and see further his CMH., pp. 261—262.

Calocerus and Parthenius MM (RM)
Died 250 (or 304?). Calocerus and Parthenius were brothers, allegedly eunuchs in the palace of Tryphonia, wife of Emperor Decius. They were burned alive for their faith at Rome during her husband's persecution of Christians (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson).
307 St. Cyriaca & Companions Six Christian maidens who died at the stake in Nicomedia
Ibídem sanctárum sex Vírginum et Mártyrum, quarum præcípua erat Cyríaca, quæ, cum líbere Maximiánum impietátis objurgásset, diríssime cæsa et dilaniáta est, atque ad últimum, igne cremáta, martyrium consummávit.
    In the same city, six holy virgins and martyrs.  The principal one, named Cyriaca, having boldly reproved Maximian for his impiety, was severely scourged and lacerated, and then consumed by fire.

Cyriaca and Companions VV MM (RM). This group includes six Christian maidens who were martyred at the stake in Nicomedia under Maximinian Galerius {The Great Persecution of the Orthodox Church, which was started in 303 by the Emperor Diocletian, was probably instigated by Galerius.
 Because of the almost fatal illness that he contracted toward the end of 304, Diocletian, at Nicomedeia, and Maximianus Herculius, at Mediolanum, divested themselves of the purple on 1 May 305. Constantius and Galerius were appointed as Augusti, with Maximinus Daia and Severus as the new Caesars.
Constantius and Severus reigned in the West, whereas Galerius' and Daia's realm was the East. Although Constantius was nominally senior Augustus, the real power was in the hands of Galerius because both Caesars were his creatures.}(Benedictines).

Blessed Bellatanus & Savinus, OSB Cam. Hermits (AC)
 These two were Camaldolese hermits of Montacuto in the region of Perugia, Italy (Benedictines).

5th v. Cyril of Trèves Bishop relics enshrined in the abbey church of Saint Matthias in Trier, Germany B (AC)
The relics of Bishop Cyril are enshrined in the abbey church of Saint Matthias in Trier, Germany (Benedictines).

662 St. Hadulph Benedictine bishop of Arras Cambrai, France. he was revered as a scholar and patron of the growing arts.
728 Hadulph of Saint-Vaast, OSB B (AC)
Hadulph simultaneously held the offices of abbot of Saint-Vaast and bishop of Arras-Cambrai (Benedictines).

804 Bl. Alcuin Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York and in biblical commentaries; and as a liturgist—his work had a strong influence on the Roman liturgy as we have it to-day. But it was as an educator that his fame has been enduring, for he was the main channel between the English scholarship of St Bede’s era and the revival of western learning under Charlemagne he was “the schoolmaster of his age”; and like a good schoolmaster a primary activity was to spread enthusiasm for learning..
804 BD ALCUIN, ABBOT
Alcuin is often called Blessed and his name appears in the Benedictine Martyrology and in some old calendars; this cultus has never been officially confirmed, but so significant a figure requires notice, however short. He was born, probably at York about 730, into the noble family to which St Willibrord belonged, and in 767 succeeded to the direction of the cathedral school of that city, where he had himself been educated. He was not a man of great originating mind; rather was he a conserver and spreader of learning, and he attracted numerous students, outstanding among them being St Ludger, the apostle of Saxony. He was especially careful for the management and building-up of the library, and under him the York school entered into the company of those of Jarrow and Canterbury.
During this period Alcuin visited Rome three times, and in 781 accepted an invitation to take up his residence at the court of Charlemagne, whose educational and ecclesiastical adviser he became. After two visits to England, in 786 and 790, he settled permanently in France, finally in the abbey of St Martin at Tours, of which Charlemagne had made him abbot.
  It is not altogether certain, however, that Alcuin was ever a monk, nor was he ordained beyond the order of deacon; but royal favour made him a pluralist, for he also held the abbeys of Ferrières, Troyes and Cormery. As head of the palace school at Aachen and elsewhere, where he was joined by some of his English pupils, he did more than anyone else to make the Frankish court a centre of culture and to encourage Charlemagne’s educational enterprises throughout his realm; so too at Tours he made his monastery a home of learning famous all over western Europe. It was here that he died on May 19, 804.
Alcuin made his mark as a theologian, against the heresy of Adoptionism (that our Lord as man is only the adopted son of God) and in biblical commentaries; and as a liturgist—his work had a strong influence on the Roman liturgy as we have it to-day. But it was as an educator that his fame has been enduring, for he was the main channel between the English scholarship of St Bede’s era and the revival of western learning under Charlemagne he was “the schoolmaster of his age”; and like a good schoolmaster a primary activity was to spread enthusiasm for learning. Some of his works seem to have been intended for use as text-books (not very good ones). Of all his writings, however, the best-known now are his letters, some 300 of which have survived, many of them addressed to Charlemagne and to friends in England: they are valuable evidence of the simplicity and moderation of his own character as well as a source for contemporary history.
A life derived from information of Alcuin’s disciple Sigulf is printed in Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv, pp. 335—344, and elsewhere. Later works are numerous. Consult Stubbs in DCB., Vernet in DTC., W. Levison, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century (1946); see also A. T. Drane, Christian Schools and Scholars (1867); C. J. B. Gaskoin, Alcuin (1904); E. M. Wilmot-Buxton, Alcuin (1922); and E. S. Duckett, Alcuin (1904). His works are in Migne, PL, vols. c and ci; the best edition of the letters is in Monumenta Alcuiniana, ed. Jaffé et al. (1873).

He was born inYork, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abhot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so called Carolingian Renaissance

Blessed Alcuin of York, OSB Abbot (PC) (also known as Flaccus Albinus) Born in York, England, c. 735; died at Saint Martin's in Tours, France, May 19, 804. Alcuin studied under Saint Edbert at the York cathedral school, was ordained a deacon there, and, in 767, became its head. Under his direction it became a well-known center of learning.

Alcuin travelled to Rome to obtain the pallium for his bishop and at Parma met Charlemagne who immediately enlisted his services in the cause of education. He was invited by Charlemagne to set up a school at his court in Aachen, Germany, in 781, where Charlemagne himself became a pupil. Alcuin also became Charlemagne's adviser.

Alcuin was appointed abbot of Saint Martin's Abbey at Tours in 796 by Charlemagne. At Tours he restored the monastic observance with the help of Saint Benedict of Aniane. Later his was abbot of monasteries at Ferrières, Troyes, and Cormery. It is not certain if Alcuin was ever ordained beyond the diaconate, though some scholars believed he did become a priest in his later years.

Under his direction the school at Aachen became one of the greatest centers of learning in Europe. He was the moving force and spirit of Carolingian renaissance and made the Frankish court the center of European culture and scholarship. He fought illiteracy throughout the kingdom, instituted a system of elementary education, and established a higher educational system based on the study of the seven liberal arts, the trivium and the quadrivium, which was the basis of the curriculum for medieval Europe.

He encouraged the use of ancient texts, was an outstanding theologian and exegete. Using his skills he fought the heresy of Adoptionism, which was condemned at the Synod of Frankfurt in 794, and exerted an influence on the Roman liturgy that endured for centuries. He wrote biblical commentaries and verse and was the author of hundreds of letters, many still extant, and a widely used rhetoric text, Compendia.

He died at Saint Martin's in Tours, where he had developed one of his most famous schools. Though his cult has never been formally confirmed, many martyrologies list his name as beatus. He may also have been a Benedictine (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney).

988 St. Dunstan Kyrie Rex splendens
Cantuáriæ, in Anglia, sancti Dunstáni Epíscopi.   
At Canterbury in England, St. Dunstan, bishop.
Image of Saint Dunstan courtesy of Saint Charles Borromeo Church
His mother, Cynethryth, a woman of saintly life, was miraculously forewarned of the sanctity of the child within her. She was in the church of St. Mary on Candleday, when all the lights were suddenly extinguished. Then the candle held by Cynethryth was as suddenly relighted, and all present lit their candles at this miraculous flame, thus foreshadowing that the boy "would be the minister of eternal light" to the Church of England.
988 he was warned by a vision of angels that he had but three days to live. Patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers Born of a noble family at Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury, England, Dunstan was educated there by Irish monks and while still a youth, was sent to the court of King Athelstan.
988 ST DUNSTAN, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
ST DUNSTAN, the most famous of all the Anglo-Saxon saints, was born (c. A.D. 910) near Glastonbury (at Baltonsborough it is said) of a noble family closely allied to the ruling house. He received his early education from some Irish scholars and others at Glastonbury, and then, while still a lad, he was sent to the court of King Athelstan. There he incurred the ill-will of some: they accused him of practising incantations—he was a very studious youth—and obtained his expulsion. As he was leaving, they further vented their spite by throwing him into a pond of mire, which was probably a cesspool.
   He had already received the tonsure, and his uncle, St Alphege the Bald, Bishop of Winchester, to whom he now betook himself, urged him to embrace the religious life. Dunstan demurred for a time, but after his recovery from a skin trouble which he took to be leprosy he hesitated no longer, receiving the habit and subsequently holy orders at the hands of his saintly kinsman. Returning to Glastonbury, he is said to have built himself a small cell adjoining the old church. There he divided his time between prayer, study, and manual labour which took the form of making bells and sacred vessels for the church and of copying or illuminating books. He also played the harp, for he was very musical. Indeed we probably possess the actual music of one or more of St Dunstan’s compositions, as the late Abbot Cuthbert Butler contended in the article he wrote in 1886 in the Downside Review. The chant known as the Kyrie Rex splendens is especially famous.
Athelstan’s successor, Edmund, recalled St Dunstan to court and in 943 appointed him abbot of Glastonbury, in consequence of an escape from death while hunting at Cheddar, the king having previously listened to those who wanted Dunstan dismissed. This began the revival of monastic life in England, and has been called a turning point of our religious history. At once the new abbot set about reconstructing the monastic buildings and restoring the church of St Peter. By introducing monks amongst the clerks already in residence, he was able without too much friction to enforce regular discipline. Moreover, he made of the abbey a great school of learning. Other monasteries were revived from Glastonbury, and the work was carried on as well by St Ethelwold from Abingdon and St Oswald from Westbury.
 The murder of King Edmund after a reign of six and a half years was followed by the accession of his brother Edred. The new monarch made Dunstan practically his chief adviser. The policy which the saint then initiated and which continued to be his throughout his career was vigorous and far-seeing: he stood out for reform—especially in morals—for the spread of regular observance to counteract the laxity of the secular clergy, and for the unification of the country by conciliating the Danish element. He became the acknowledged leader of a party which found its chief support in East Anglia and in the north, but he made bitter enemies amongst those whose vices he opposed and amongst the mass of West Saxon nobles who were reactionary in their views.
   Edred died in 955 and was succeeded by his nephew Edwy, a boy of sixteen, who on the very day of his coronation left the royal banquet to seek the society of a girl called Elgiva and her mother, and was sternly rebuked by St Dunstan for his unseemly conduct. This reproof the young prince bitterly resented. With the support of the opposition party St Dunstan was disgraced, his property confiscated, and he was driven into exile. He found a refuge in Flanders, where he came into contact for the first time with continental monasticism, then in the fulness of its renewed vigour; it gave him a vision of Benedictine perfection which was to be an inspiration to him in all his after labours. His banishment, however, did not last long. A rebellion broke out in England, and the north and east, throwing off Edwy’s yoke, chose for their ruler his brother Edgar.
 The new monarch immediately recalled St Dunstan, upon whom he bestowed first the see of Worcester and afterwards that of London. Upon Edwy’s death in 959 the kingdom was reunited under Edgar, and St Dunstan became archbishop of Canterbury. Upon going to Rome to receive the pallium he was appointed by Pope John XII a legate of the Holy See. Armed with this authority the saint set himself energetically to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline, being powerfully protected by King Edgar and ably assisted by St Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and St Oswald, Bishop of Worcester and Archbishop of York. These three prelates restored most of the great monasteries which had been destroyed during the Danish incursions and founded new ones. They were no less zealous in reforming the clergy, many of whom were leading worldly or scandalous lives, openly disregarding the canonical law binding them to celibacy. Where the seculars proved recalcitrant they were ejected, their places being supplied by monks. Laymen in high places were also brought under discipline, for no motives of human respect ever daunted the saintly archbishop. Even King Edgar himself was subjected to a lengthy and humiliating penance for an atrocious crime. Throughout the sixteen years’ reign of Edgar, St Dunstan remained his chief adviser and he continued to direct the state during the short reign of the next king, Edward the Martyr. The death of the young prince was a grievous blow to his ecclesiastical prime minister, who when he crowned Edward’s half-brother Ethelred in 970 foretold the calamities which were to mark his reign.
The archbishop’s political career was now over. He took no further part in state matters, but retired to Canterbury. He had always been a great patron of education, and in his old age he loved to teach the scholars attached to his cathedral and to tell them stories. One of them, afterwards a priest, but only known to us by the initial of his name as “B”, became his first biographer. The saint’s memory did not readily fade, and long years after his death the boys used to invoke the aid of their “sweet Father Dunstan” to obtain a mitigation of the savage corporal punishment then in vogue. On the feast of the Ascension, 988, the archbishop, though ill, celebrated Mass and preached thrice to his people, to whom he announced his impending death. In the afternoon he went again to the cathedral and chose a place for his burial. Two days later he died peacefully.
   St Dunstan has always been honoured as the patron of goldsmiths, jewellers and locksmiths. His dexterity as a metal-worker seized upon the popular imagination and, in the eleventh century, gave rise to the popular legend that he once, with a pair of blacksmith’s pincers, seized the nose of the Devil who was trying to tempt him; a story which, as Dr Armitage Robinson used to say, has been “the ruin of Dunstan’s reputation”, for it has tended to make people forget he was “one of the makers of England”. His feast is kept in several English dioceses and by the English Benedictines.

The outstanding sources for the life of St Dunstan have been painstakingly edited by Bishop Stubbs in a volume of the Rolls Series, Memorials of St Dunstan (1874). (There is good reason, however, to believe that Stubbs was mistaken in assigning Dunstan’s birth to 924. See on this E. Bishop and L. Toke in The Bosworth Psalter (1908), pp. 126—143.) Consult further Dom D. Pontifex, “The First Life of Dunstan”, in The Downside Review, vol. 51 (1933), pp. 20—40 and 309—325, and Dean Armitage Robinson, The Times of St Dunstan (1923). Besides such obvious sources as the Acta Sanctorum, Lingard’s History of England, Stenton’s Anglo-Saxon England, etc., much useful information may be gathered from the series of articles on monastic observances published at intervals by Dom T. Symons in the Downside Review, from 1921. And see D. Knowles, The Monastic Order in England (1949), pp. 3156 and passim; and T. Symons, Regularis Concordia (1954). There is evidence from charters that Dunstan’s retirement, referred to above, did not take place or was not complete.

He became a Benedictine monk about 934 and was ordained by his uncle, St. Alphege, Bishop of Winchester, about 939. After a time as a hermit at Glastonbury, Dunstan was recalled to the royal court by King Edmund, who appointed him abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in 943. He developed the Abbey into a great center of learning while revitalizing other monasteries in the area. He became advisor to King Edred on his accession to the throne when Edmund was murdered, and began a far-reaching reform of all the monasteries in Edred's realm. Dunstan also became deeply involved in secular politics and incurred the enmity of the West Saxon nobles for denouncing their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes. When Edwy succeeded his uncle Edred as king in 955, he became Dunstan's bitter enemy for the Abbot's strong censure of his scandalous lifestyle. Edwy confiscated his property and banished him from his kingdom. Dunstan went to Ghent in Flanders but soon returned when a rebellion replaced Edwy with his brother Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Bishop of Worcester and London in 957. When Edwy died in 959, the civil strife ended and the country was reunited under Edgar, who appointed Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury.
The king and archbishop then planned a thorough reform of Church and state. Dunstan was appointed legate by Pope John XII, and with St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald, restored ecclesiastical discipline, rebuilt many of the monasteries destroyed by the Danish invaders, replaced inept secular priests with monks, and enforced the widespread reforms they put into effect. Dunstan served as Edgar's chief advisor for sixteen years and did not hesitate to reprimand him when he thought it deserved. When Edgar died, Dunstan helped elect Edward the martyr king and then his half brother Ethelred, when Edward died soon after his election. Under Ethelred, Dunstan's influence began to wane and he retired from politics to Canterbury to teach at the Cathedral school and died there. Dunstan has been called the reviver of monasticism in England. He was a noted musician, played the harp, composed several hymns, notably Kyrie Rex splendens, was a skilled metal worker, and illuminated manuscripts. He is the patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers.

Dunstan of Canterbury, OSB B (RM) Born at Baltonsborough near Glastonbury, England, c. 909; died 988.
Dunstan, born of a noble Anglo-Saxon family with connections to the ruling house of Wessex, was one of the great figures in English history. He received his early education from the Irish monks at Glastonbury. While still young, he was sent as a page to the court of Athelstan.

He had already received the tonsure, and his uncle, Bishop Saint Alphege the Bald of Winchester, encouraged him to join the religious life. Dunstan hesitated for some time and nearly got married, but after recovering from a skin condition he believed to be leprosy, he received the habit (in 934) and holy orders from his uncle the same day as Saint Ethelwold circa 939.
St. Dunstan returned to Glastonbury and is thought to have built a small cell next to the old church, where he engaged in prayer, study, and manual labor that included making bells and sacred vessels for the church and copying or illuminating books. He is said to have excelled as a painter, embroiderer, harpist, bell-founder, and metal worker. As Dunstan would play the harp and sing to the nuns of the abbey as they embroidered his designs. Once, it is said, when he hung up his harp on the wall and left the room for a while, the harp continued to play of its own accord, caused, no doubt, by a current of air vibrating the strings. But the residents of the abbey took it to be an omen of Dunstan's future greatness.
Dunstan also loved the music of the human voice: when he sang at the altar, wrote a contemporary, "he seemed to be talking with the Lord face to face." As one skilled in the arts, Dunstan stimulated the revival of church art.

Athelstan's successor, Edmund, called him to court to act as a royal counselor and treasurer. In 943, King Edmund I narrowly escaped death while hunting, he appointed Dunstan abbot of Glastonbury with the commission to restore monastic life there and richly endowed the monastery. According to the old Saxon chronicle, Dunstan was only 18 when he became abbot of Glastonbury.

Dunstan restored the monastery buildings and the Church of Saint Peter. By introducing monks among the priests already in residence, he enforced regular discipline without making waves. He made the abbey into a great center of learning. Dunstan also revitalized other monasteries in Glastonbury.

The murder of King Edmund was followed by the accession of his brother Edred, who made Dunstan one of his top advisors. Dunstan became deeply embroiled in secular politics and incurred the wrath of the West Saxon nobles for denouncing their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes.

In 955, Edred died and was succeeded by his 16-year-old nephew Edwy. On the day of his coronation, Edwy left the royal banquet to see a girl named Elgiva and her mother. For this he was sternly rebuked by Dunstan, and the prince deeply resented the chastisement. With the support of the opposing party, Dunstan was disgraced, his property confiscated, and he was exiled.

He spent a year then in Ghent, Flanders, and there he came into contact with reformed continental monasticism. This experience fueled his vision of Benedictine perfection that would inspire his work from then on.

A rebellion broke out in England; the north and east deposed Edwy and put his brother Edgar the Peaceful on the throne. Edgar recalled Dunstan and appointed him chief adviser, in 957 bishop of Worcester, and bishop of London in 958. On Edwy's death in 959, the kingdom was reunited under Edgar, who appointed Dunstan archbishop of Canterbury in 961. Together the two initiated a policy of reform to solidify both the Church and the country. At Canterbury, Dunstan founded an abbey east of the city and three churches: Saint Mary, SS. Peter and Paul, and Saint Pancras.

In 961, Dunstan went to Rome to receive the pallium and was appointed by Pope John XII a legate of the Holy See. With this authority, he set about re-establishing ecclesiastical discipline, under the protection of King Edgar and assisted by Saint Ethelwold, the bishop of Winchester, and Saint Oswald, the bishop of Worcester and the archbishop of York. In those days, English monastic life had almost vanished as a result of the Danish invasions. They restored most of the great monasteries, such as Abingdon, that had been destroyed during the Danish incursions and founded new ones.

Dunstan founded monasteries at Bath, Exeter, Westminster, Malmesbury, and other places. He drew up rules for each to instill good order. Recalcitrant secular priests were ejected and replaced by monks in Winchester, Chertsey, Surrey, and Dorset. About 970 a conference of bishops, abbots, and abbesses drew up a national code of monastic observance, the Regularis Concordia. It was in line with continental custom and the Rule of Saint Benedict but had its own features: the monasteries were to be integrated into the life of the people, and their influence was not to be confined within the monastery walls.

Clergy who had been living scandalous lives or boldly disregarding canonical laws of celibacy were reformed. Dunstan remained firm in his moral standards, even to deferring Edgar's coronation for 14 years--likely due to a disapproval of Edgar's scandalous behavior. He modified the coronation rite, and some of his modifications devised for Edgar's coronation in Bath in 973 survive to this day.

Through 16 years of Edgar's reign, Dunstan acted as his chief adviser, criticizing him freely. One on occasion when the king had been guilty of immorality, Dunstan withstood him to his face, refusing to take his outstretched hand and turned abruptly from him with the words: "I am no friend of the enemy of Christ." Later he imposed a penance that for seven years the king was not to wear his crown.

Dunstan continued to direct the state during the short reign of the succeeding king, Edward the Martyr, Dunstan's protege. The death of the young king, connected with the antimonastic reaction following Edgar's death, grieved Dunstan terribly. His political career now over, he returned to Canterbury to teach at the cathedral school, where visions, prophecies, and miracles were attributed to him. He was especially devoted to the Canterbury saints, whose tombs he visited at night.

On the feast of the Ascension in 988 the archbishop was ill but celebrated Mass and preached three times to his people, to whom he declared that he would soon die. Two days later he died peacefully in his Cathedral of Christ Church, where he is buried. He is considered the reviver of monasticism in England. It has been said that the 10th century gave shape to English history, and that Dunstan gave shape to the 10th century. He composed several hymns, notably Kyrie Rex spendens (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Duckett, Fisher, Gill, White).

In art, he is shown as a bishop holding the devil (or his nose) with a pair of pincers; or with a crucifix speaking to him (White). He might also be shown (1) holding the tongs; (2) working as a goldsmith; (3) playing a harp; (4) with a host of angels near him; (5) with a dove; or (6) as a monk prostrate at the feet of Christ (in a drawing said to be his own) (Roeder).

He is the patron saint of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, jewelers (Delaney, White), blacksmiths, musicians, and the blind (Roeder).
1246 Blessed Humiliana de'Cerchi, OFM Tert. (AC)

Born in Florence, Italy, in 1220; cultus approved by Pope Innocent XII. Humiliana married at the age of 16. After the early death of her husband, she became the first cloistered Franciscan tertiary at Florence (Benedictines).

Born 1215 - D. 1296 St. Celestine V Pope; renowned for virtues and miracles, he went to the Lord.
Natalis sancti Petri de Moróno, Confessóris, qui ex Anachoréta Summus Póntifex creátus, dictus est Cælestínus Quintus.  Sed Pontificátu se póstmodum abdicávit, et in solitúdine religiósam vitam agens, virtútibus et miráculis clarus, migrávit ad Dóminum.
    The birthday of St. Peter of Moroni who, while leading the life of an anchoret, was created Sovereign Pontiff and called Celestine V.  He later abdicated the pontificate, and led a religious life in solitude, where, renowned for virtues and miracles, he went to the Lord.
When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother brought up her twelve children well, even though they were very poor. "Oh, if I could only have the joy of seeing one of you become a saint!" she use to say. Once when she asked as usual, "which one of you is going to become a saint?" little Peter (who was to become Pope Celestine) answered with all his heart, "Me, mama! I'll become a saint!" And he did.
1296 ST CELESTINE V. Pope
 IN all papal history no figure is more pathetic than that of Peter di Morone, the aged hermit who, after a pontificate of five short months, voluntarily abdicated, and died virtually a prisoner in the hands of his successor. His unprecedented act of resignation has been variously judged: it has been lauded by some as a proof of humility, while it has been severely condemned by others— notably by Dante, who placed the pathetic old man in the vestibule of his Inferno for having basely made “the great refusal” [* L’Inferno, iii, 58—61. But it is not certain that this refers to Celestine.]
The Church of Christ has judged differently: she canonized him in 1313, and his feast is kept in all the Western church.
Peter, who was the eleventh of twelve children, was born of peasant parents about the year 1210 at Isernia, in the Abruzzi. Because he showed unusual promise, his mother, though she was early left a widow, sent him to school—against  the advice of her relations. Even as a boy Peter was “different”, and when he was twenty he left the world to live as a hermit on a solitary mountain where he made himself a cell so circumscribed that he could scarcely stand upright or lie down in it. In spite of his desire to remain hidden, he had occasional visitors, some of whom persuaded him to seek holy orders. He accordingly went to Rome and was ordained priest, but in 1246 he returned to the Abruzzi. On the way back he received the Benedictine habit from the Abbot of Faizola, by whom he was permitted to resume his solitary life.
   For five years he dwelt on Mount Morone, near Sulmona, but in 1251 the wood was cut on the mountain, and Peter, finding his privacy too much invaded, took refuge with two companions in the fastnesses of Monte Majella. His disciples, however, tracked him thither. So, after two further ineffectual attempts to live in solitude, he resigned himself to the inevitable and, returning to Monte Morone, became the head of a community of hermits who lived at first in scattered cells, but afterwards in a monastery. He gave his disciples a strict rule based on that of St Benedict and in 1274 he obtained from Pope Gregory X the approbation of his order, the members of which were afterwards known as Celestines.* [* Not to be confused with the “Celestine” Franciscans. The congregation of hermit monks spread in Europe, and in France came to an end only at the Revolution.]
After the death of Nicholas IV, the chair of St Peter remained vacant for over two years owing to the rivalry between two parties, neither of which would give way. To the cardinals assembled at Perugia came a message, it is said, from the hermit of Monte Morone threatening them with the wrath of God if they continued to delay. In any case, to bring the deadlock to an end, the conclave chose the hermit himself to become Christ’s vicar upon earth. The five envoys who climbed the steeps of Morone to bear the official notification found the old man (he was eighty-four) red-eyed with weeping and appalled at the tidings of his election which had already reached him. Boundless enthusiasm prevailed at the choice of a pope so holy and so unworldly, while to many it seemed an inauguration of the new era foretold by Joachim del Fiore—the reign of the Holy Ghost, when the religious orders would rule the world in peace and love. Two hundred thousand persons are said to have been assembled in Aquila to acclaim the new pope as he rode to the cathedral on a donkey, its bridle held on the one side by the King of Hungary and on the other by Charles of Anjou, King of Naples.
Scarcely, however, were the consecration and coronation over than it became evident that Celestine V, as he was now called, was quite unequal to the task of ruling the Church. In his utter simplicity he became unwittingly a tool in the hands of King Charles, who used him for the furtherance of his schemes and induced him to live in Naples. He gave great offence to the Italian cardinals by refusing to go to Rome and by creating thirteen new cardinals, nearly all in the Franco Neapolitan interest. Knowing little Latin and no canon law, his want of experience led him into mistakes of all kinds. To the rigorist Spirituali movement he was a pope sent direct from Heaven; to the place-hunters and the ruck he was a windfall: he gave to anybody anything they asked, and in his innocence would grant the same benefice several times over. Everything fell into hopeless confusion.
Miserable and frightened in these bewildering surroundings, he asked for himself only that a cell should be made in the palace, to which as Advent approached he proposed withdrawing into complete solitude and silence, leaving three cardinals to govern in his place; but he was warned that by so doing he was practically creating three rival popes. Conscious of failure, discouraged, and utterly weary, Celestine began to consider how he might lay down a burden he felt unable to bear. It was an unprecedented thing for a pope to abdicate; but Cardinal Gaetani and other learned men whom he consulted decided that it was permissible, and even advisable in certain circumstances. Although the King of Naples and others strongly opposed, nevertheless on December 13, 1294, at a consistory of cardinals held in Naples, St Celestine read a solemn declaration of abdication, in which he pleaded his age, his ignorance, his incapacity, and his rough manners and speech. He then laid aside his pontifical robes and resumed a religious habit; and he cast himself at the feet of the assembly, begging pardon for his many errors and exhorting the cardinals to repair them as well as they could by choosing a worthy successor to St Peter. The assembly, deeply moved, accepted his resignation, and the old man joyfully returned to a house of his monks at Sulmona.
He was not, however, destined to remain there in peace. Cardinal Gaétani, who as Boniface VIII had been chosen pope in his place, found himself opposed by a bitterly hostile party and requested the King of Naples to send his too popular predecessor back to Rome, lest he should be used by his opponents. Celestine, duly warned, hoped to escape across the Adriatic; but after several months of wandering among the woods and mountains he was captured. Boniface shut him up in a small room in the castle of Fumone, near Anagni, and there after ten months of hardship he died, on May 19, 1296. “I wanted nothing in the world but a cell”, he said, “and a cell they have given me.”
The body of Pope St Celestine V rests in the church of Santa Maria del Colle at Aquila in the Abruzzi, the place where he was consecrated to the episcopate and the papacy.
So excellent an acount of St Celestine’s whole history has been given by Mgr Mann in vol. xvii of his Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages, pp. 247—341, that other references seem hardly necessary. Mgr Mann points out that apart from a rather slender collection of papal documents——the official Registrum is lost—Cardinal James Gaetani de’ Stefaneschi, in his Opus Metricum, and the biographical materials printed by the modern Bollandists in their Analecta Bollandiana, vols. ix, x, xvi and xviii, must be regarded as our principal authorities. See also F. X. Seppelt, Monumenta Celestiniana (1921) B. Cantera, S. Pier Celestino (1892) G. Celidonio, Vita di S. Pietro del Morrone (1896); and B. Hollnsteiner, “Die Autobio­graphic Celestins V” in the Römische Quartalschrift, vol. xxxi (1923), pp. 29-40. The novel San Celestino, by John Ayscough (Mgr Bickerstaffe-Drew) is a sensitive study of the unfortunate pope.

When he was twenty, Peter became a hermit and spent his days praying and reading the Holy Bible. If he was not praying or reading, he would copy books or do some hard work so that the devil would not find him doing nothing, and tempt him. Because other hermits kept coming to him and begging him to guide them, he started a new Order.

Peter was an old monk, eighty-four years of age when he was made Pope. It came about in a very unusual way. For two years, there had been no Pope, because the Cardinals could not decide whom to choose. St. Peter sent them a message to decide quickly, for God was not pleased at the long delay. Then and there, they chose the holy old hermit himself! Poor Peter wept when he heard the news, but he sorrowfully accepted and took the name Celestine V.

He was Pope only about five months. Because he was so humble and simple, everyone took advantage of him. He could not say "no" to anyone, and soon matters were in great confusion. At last, the Saint decided that he had better give up his position as Pope. He did so and then threw himself at the feet of the Cardinals for not having been capable of governing the Church. What an impression his humility made on all of them!

St. Celestine hoped to live in one of his monasteries in peace. But the new Pope thought it would be safer to keep him where wicked people could not take advantage of him. The saint was put in a cell and died there. Yet he was cheerful and close to God. "You wanted a cell, Peter," he would repeat to himself, "and a cell you have."

Peter Morrone, Pope, Hermit (RM) (also known as Peter Celestine V) Born at Isernia in the Abruzzi, Italy, c. 1210-1214; died near Anagni, on May 19, 1296; canonized in 1313 by Pope Clement V. Peter was the 11th of 12 children of a peasant family. He became a hermit at age 20, but left his cell to study for the priesthood and was ordained in Rome. Later he professed himself as a Benedictine monk at Faizola in 1246.

Then, in 1251, he was permitted to return to the solitary life on Monte Morrone in the Abruzzi hills near Sulmona. His holiness attracted large crowds around him. After five years, he retired with two companions to Monte Majella in quest of greater solitude but was persuaded to go back to Monte Morrone, where he lived for many years as the head of a group of hermits that he organized first into a community and later into a monastery with a strict rule. In 1274, he received approval of his order of monks, the Celestines. In 1287, Morone began the construction of Santa Maria di Collemaggio Basilica in Aquila.

After the death of Pope Nicholas IV over two years passed without any agreement on a successor, until on July 5, 1294, the cardinals gathered in Perugia despairingly sought to end the deadlock by electing a 'stop-gap': their choice fell on the 84-year-old Peter of Morrone. (One source says that Peter reputedly threatened the cardinals with the wrath of God if they did not elect a new pope at once.)

Peter was shocked by the cardinals' choice. Despite his grave misgivings he submitted, taking the name of Celestine, and was consecrated bishop of Rome at Aquila on August 29, 1294. The results were disastrous because Celestine was unfitted for the papal office in every respect except his holiness.

In his simplicity, otherworldliness, and naivete he made the most elementary blunders; he became the innocent tool of the politics of King Charles II of Naples. Heartbroken at his failure, miserable in his new surroundings, and overwhelmed by the burden of the office he had not sought and was incapable of filling, he abdicated his office before a consistory of cardinals at Naples on December 13 the same year. He had been pope for less than five months.

A few days later the stern and rigid Cardinal Gaetani was elected as Boniface VIII in his place. Boniface feared that the popularity of his holy predecessor might lead some plotters to attempt to use Celestine for their own ends, put him back on the papal throne, and cause a further split in Christendom. The old man tried to slip away to the mountains or across the seas, but he was found and at Boniface's orders shut up in narrow quarters at the castle of Fumone, near Anagni. Saint Celestine said, "I wanted nothing in the world but a cell, and a cell they have given me." Ten months later he died, and was buried at Aquila, the most pathetic figure in the history of the papacy (Attwater, Ayscough, Benedictines, Delaney).

In art, Saint Peter Celestine is depicted as a pope with a dove at his ear and the devil trying to disturb him. He is the patron of bookbinders (Roeder).

Pope St. Celestine V (PIETRO DI MURRONE.)
Born 1215, in the Neapolitan province of Moline; elected at Perugia 5 July, 1294; consecrated and crowned at Aquila, 29 August; abdicated at Naples, 13 Dec., 1294; died in the castle of Fumone, 19 May, 1296. He was of humble parentage, became a Benedictine at the age of seventeen, and was eventually ordained priest at Rome. His love of solitude led him first into the wilderness of Monte Morone in the Abruzzi, whence his surname, and later into the wilder recesses of Mt. Majella. He took for his model the Baptist. His hair-cloth was roughened with knots; a chain of iron encompassed his emaciated frame; he fasted every day except Sunday; each year he kept four Lents, passing three of them on bread and water; the entire day and a great part of the night he consecrated to prayer and labour. As generally happens in the case of saintly anchorites, Peter's desire for solitude was not destined to be gratified. Many kindred spirits gathered about him eager to imitate his rule of life, and before his death there were thirty- six monasteries, numbering 600 religious, bearing his papal name (Celestini). The order was approved, as a branch of the Benedictines, by Urban IV, in 1264. This congregation of (Benedictine) Celestines must not be confounded with other (Franciscan) Celestines, extreme Spirituals whom Pope Celestine permitted (1294) to live as hermits according to the Rule of St. Francis, but were pendent of the Franciscan superiors. In gratitude they called themselves after the pope (Pauperes eremitæ Domini Celestine), but were dissolved and dispersed (1302) by Boniface VIII, whose legitimacy the Spirituals contested [Heimbucher, Orden und Kongregationen (2nd ed. Paderborn, 1907); I, 280; II, 360]. In 1284, Pietro, weary of the cares of government, appointed a certain Robert as his vicar and plunged again into the depths of the wilderness. It would be well if some Catholic scholar would devote some time to a thorough investigation of his relations to the extreme spiritual party of that age; for though it is certain that the pious hermit did not approve of the heretical tenets held by the leaders, it is equally true that the fanatics, during his life and after his death, made copious use of his name.

In July, 1294, his pious exercises were suddently interrupted by a scene unparalleled in ecclesiastical history. Three eminent dignitaries, accompanied by an immense multitude of monks and laymen, ascended the mountain, announced that Pietro had been chosen pope by unanimous vote of the Sacred College and humbly begged him to accept the honour. Two years and three months had elapsed since the death of Nicholas IV (4 Apr., 1292) without much prospect that the conclave at Perugia would unite upon a candidate. Of the twelve Cardinals who composed the Sacred College six were Romans, four Italians and two French. The factious spirit of Guelph and Ghibelline, which was then epidemic in Italy, divided the conclave, as well as the city of Rome, into two hostile parties of the Orsini and the Colonna, neither of which could outvote the other. A personal visit to Perugia, in the spring of 1294, of Charles II of Naples, who needed the papal authority in order to regain Sicily, only exasperated the affair, hot words being exchanged betrween the Angevin monarch and Cardinal Gaetani, at that time the intellectual leader of the Colonna, later, as Pope Boniface VIII, their bitter enemy. When the situation seemed hopeless, Cardinal Latino Orsini admonished the fathers that God had revealed to a saintly hermit that if the cardinals did not perform their duty within four months, He would visit the Church with severe chastisement. All knew that he referred to Pietro di Murrone. The proposition was seized upon by the exhausted conclave and the election was made unanimous. Pietro heard of his elevation with tears; but, after a brief prayer, obeyed what seemed the clear voice of God, commanding him to sacrifice his personal inclination on the altar of the public welfare. Flight was impossible, even if he contemplated it; for no sooner did the news of this extraordinary event spread abroad than multitudes (numbered at 200,000) flocked about him. His elevation was particularly welcome to the Spirituals, who saw in it the realization of current prophecies that the reign of the Holy Spirit ruling through the monks was at hand; and they proclaimed him the first legitimate pope since Constantine's donation of wealth and worldly power to "the first rich father" (Inferno, Canto XIX). King Charles of Naples, hearing of the election of his subject, hastened with his son Charles Martel, titular King of Hungary, ostensibly to present his homage to the new pope, in reality to take the simple old man into honourable custody. Had Charles known how to preserve moderation in exploiting his good luck, this windfall might have brought him incalculable benefits; as it was, he ruined everything by excessive greed.

In reply to the request of the cardinals, that he should come to Perugia to be crowned, Pietro, at the instigation of Charles, summoned the Sacred College to meet him at Aquila, a frontier town of the Kingdom of Naples. Reluctantly they came, and one by one, Gaetani being the last to appear. Seated on an humble ass, the rope held by two monarchs, the new pontiff proceeded to Aquila, and, although only three of the cardinals had arrived, the king ordered him to be crowned, a ceremony which had to be repeated in traditional form some days later, the only instance of a double papal coronation. Cardinal Latino was so grief-stricken at the course which affairs were evidently taking that he fell sick and died. Pietro took the name of Celestine V. Urged by the cardinals to cross over into the States of the Church, Celestine, again at the behest of the king, ordered the entire Curia to repair to Naples. It is wonderful how many serious mistakes the simple old man crowded into five short months. We have no full register of them, because his official acts were annulled by his successor. On the 18th of September he created twelve new cardinals, seven of whom were French, and the rest, with one possible exception, Neapolitans, thus paving the road to Avignon and the Great Schism. Ten days later he embittered the cardinals by renewing the rigorous law of Gregory X, regulating the conclave, which Adrian V had suspended. He is said to have appointed a young son of Charles to the important See of Lyons, but no trace of such appointment appears in Gams or Eubel. At Monte Cassino on his way to Naples, he strove to force the Celestine hermit-rule on the monks; they humoured him while he was with them. At Benevento he created the bishop of the city a cardinal, without observing any of the traditional forms. Meanwhile he scattered privileges and offices with a lavish hand. Refusing no one, he was found to have granted the same place or benefice to three or four rival suitors; he also granted favours in blank. In consequence, the affairs of the Curia fell into extreme disorder. Arrived in Naples, he took up his abode in a single apartment of the Castel Nuovo, and on the approach of Advent had a little cell built on the model of his beloved hut in the Abruzzi. But he was ill at ease. Affairs of State took up time that ought to be devoted to exercises of piety. He feared that his soul was in danger. The thought of abdication seems to have occurred simultaneously to the pope and to his discontented cardinals, whom he rarely consulted.

That the idea originated with Cardinal Gaetani the latter vigorously denied, and maintained that he originally opposed it. But the serious canonical doubt arose: Can a pope resign? As he has no superior on earth, who is authorized to accept his resignation? The solution of the question was reserved to the trained canonist, Cardinal Gaetani, who, basing his conclusion on common sense and the Church's right to self-preservation, decided affirmatively.

It is interesting to notice how curtly, when he became Boniface VIII, he dispatches the delicate subject on which the validity of his claim to the papacy depended. In the "Liber Sextus" I, vii, 1, he issued the following decree: "Whereas some curious persons, arguing on things of no great expediency, and rashly seeking, against the teaching of the Apostle, to know more than it is meet to know, have seemed, with little forethought, to raise an anxious doubt, whether the Roman Pontiff, especially when he recognizes himself incapable of ruling the Universal Church and of bearing the burden of the Supreme Pontificate, can validly renounce the papacy, and its burden and honour: Pope Celestine V, Our predecessor, whilst still presiding over the government of the aforesaid Church, wishing to cut off all the matter for hesitation on the subject, having deliberated with his brethren, the Cardinals of the Roman Church, of whom We were one, with the concordant counsel and assent of Us and of them all, by Apostolic authority established and decreed, that the Roman Pontiff may freely resign. We, therefore, lest it should happen that in course of time this enactment should fall into oblivion, and the aforesaid doubt should revive the discussion, have placed it among other constitutions ad perpetuam rei memoriam by the advice of our brethren."

When the report spread that Celestine contemplated resigning, the excitement in Naples was intense. King Charles, whose arbitrary course had brought things to this crisis, organized a determined opposition. A huge procession of the clergy and monks surrounded the castle, and with tears and prayers implored the pope to continue his rule. Celestine, whose mind was not yet clear on the subject, returned an evasive answer, whereupon the multitude chanted the Te Deum and withdrew. A week later (13 December) Celestine's resolution was irrevocably fixed; summoning the cardinals on that day, he read the constitution mentioned by Boniface in the "Liber Sextus", announced his resignation, and proclaimed the cardinals free to proceed to a new election. After the lapse of the nine days enjoined by the legislation of Gregory X, the cardinals entered the conclave, and the next day Benedetto Gaetani was proclaimed Pope as Boniface VIII. After revoking many of the provisions made by Celestine, Boniface brought his predecessor, now in the dress of a humble hermit, with him on the road to Rome. He was forced to retain him in custody, lest an inimical use should be made of the simple old man. Celestine yearned for his cell in the Abruzzi, managed to effect his escape at San Germano, and to the great joy of his monks reappeared among them at Majella. Boniface ordered his arrest; but Celestine evaded his pursuers for several months by wandering through the woods and mountains. Finally, he attempted to cross the Adriatic to Greece; but, driven back by a tempest, and captured at the foot of Mt. Gargano, he was delivered into the hands of Boniface, who confined him closely in a narrow room in the tower of the castle of Fumone near Anagni (Analecta Bollandiana, 1897, XVI, 429-30). Here, after nine months passed in fasting and prayer, closely watched but attended by two of his own religious, though rudely treated by the guards, he ended his extraordinary career in his eighty-first year. That Boniface treated him harshly, and finally cruelly murdered him, is a calumny. Some years after his canonization by Clement V in 1313, his remains were transferred from Ferentino to the church of his order at Aquila, where they are still the object of great veneration. His feast is celebrated on 19 May.
1303 Ivo Hélory, OFM Tert. (RM)
Lohanéti, in Británnia minóre, sancti Ivónis Presbyteri et Confessóris; qui, pro Christi amóre, causas pupillórum, viduárum ac páuperum defendébat.
    At Louannée in Brittany, St. Ives, priest and confessor, who for the love of Christ, defended the interests of orphans, widows and the poor.

(also known as Ives, Ybus, Yvo of Kermartin) Born at Kermartin near Tréguier, Brittany, 1253; died at Lovannec, Brittany, on May 19, 1303; canonized in 1347.

1303 ST IVO OF KERMARTIN
THE patron of lawyers, St Ivo Hélory, was born near Tréguier in Brittany at Kermartin, where his father was lord of the manor. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Paris, and before the end of a ten years’ stay in its famous schools he had gained great distinction in philosophy, theology and canon law. He then passed on to Orleans to study civil law under the celebrated jurist Peter de la Chapelle. In his student days he began to practise austerities which he continued and increased throughout his life. He wore a hair shirt, abstained from meat and wine, fasted during Advent and Lent (as well as at other times) on bread and water, and took his rest—which was always short—lying on a straw mat with a book or a stone by way of a pillow. Upon his return to Brittany after the completion of his education, he was appointed by the archdeacon of Rennes diocesan “official”, in other words, judge of the cases that came before the ecclesiastical court. In this capacity he protected orphans, defended the poor and administered justice with an impartiality and kindliness which gained him the goodwill even of the losing side.
   Before very long, however, his own diocesan claimed him, and he returned to his native district as official to Alan de Bruc, Bishop of Tréguier. Here his championship of the downtrodden won for him the name of  the poor man’s advocate”.
Not content with dealing out justice to the helpless in his own court, he would personally plead for them in other courts, often paying their expenses, and visiting them when they were in prison. Never would he accept the presents or bribes which had become so customary as to be regarded as a lawyer’s perquisite. He always strove if possible to reconcile people who were at enmity, and to induce them to settle their quarrels out of court. In this manner he prevented many of those who came to him from embarking on costly and unnecessary lawsuits.* [*Hence the verse Sanctus Ivo erat Unto, Advocatus, et non latro, Res miranda populo. “St Ivo was a Breton and a lawyer, but not dishonest—an astonishing thing in people’s eyes!” Lawyers have opportunities for dishonesty denied to other men it would be hard to prove that those opportunities are taken advantage of disproportionately.]

St Ivo had received minor orders when he was made official at Rennes, and in 1284 he was ordained priest and given the living of Trédrez. Three years later he resigned his legal office and devoted the last fifteen years of his life to his parishioners—first at Trédrez, and afterwards in the larger parish of Lovannec.
St Ivo built a hospital in which he tended the sick with his own hands. He would often give the clothes off his back to beggars, and once, when he discovered that a tramp had passed the night on his doorstep, he made the man occupy his bed the following night, whilst he himself slept on the doorstep. He was as solicitous about the spiritual welfare of the people as about their temporal needs, losing no opportunity of instructing them. In great demand as a preacher, he would deliver sermons in other churches besides his own, giving his addresses sometimes in Latin, sometimes in French, and sometimes in Breton. All differences were referred to him, and his arbitration was nearly always accepted. He used to distribute his corn, or the value of it, to the poor directly after the harvest. When it was suggested that he should keep it for a time so as to obtain a better price for it, he replied, “I cannot count upon being alive then to have the disposal of it”.
From the beginning of Lent, 1303, his health failed visibly, but he would not abate his accustomed austerities. On Ascension eve he preached and celebrated Mass, although he was so weak that he had to be supported. He then lay down on his bed, which was a hurdle, and received the last sacraments. He died on May 19, 1303, in the fiftieth year of his age, and was canonized in 1347.

We are particularly well informed regarding the life of St Ivo Hélory. In the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv, the Bollandists have reprinted a great part of the documents collected twenty-eight years after his death for the process of canonization. These have been edited again with supplementary matter by A. de La Borderie, Monuments Originaux de l’Hististoire de S. Yves (1887). Some further biographical material will be found in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. ii and vol. viii. For details see BHG., nn. 4625—4637. There are a number of small popular lives, notably that by C. de La Roncière (1925) in the series “Les Saints” See A. Masseron, S. Yves d’après Les témoins de sa vie (1952).

Ivo was the son of a Breton lord. At age 14 he went to Paris for a 10-year course of studies, and gained a great reputation for his proficiency in philosophy, theology, and canon law. He began an austere regime of life, wearing a hair shirt, sleeping for short hours on a straw mat with a book or stone for a pillow, and abstaining from meat and wine. He went on to Orléans to study civil law under the famous jurist Peter de la Chapelle.

After returning to Brittany, Ivo was made a judge of the ecclesiastical court by the archdeacon of Rennes. He also received minor orders. He dispensed justice with such care and kindness that he was esteemed even by the losing sides. In time, he became official to Alan de Bruc, the bishop of Tréguier.

Ivo's free defense of the poor earned him the title "Advocate of the Poor." In addition to acting as judge in his own court, he pleaded for the helpless in other courts; he frequently paid their expenses and visited them in prison. Although it was the custom of the age that lawyers accept 'gifts' as a matter of course, he refused these bribes. He worked to reconcile differences out of court, in order to save the parties the cost of unnecessary litigation.

In 1284, Saint Ivo was ordained to the priesthood. From 1287, when he resigned his legal office, he devoted his time to his parishioners first at Tredrez and then at Lovannec. He was in demand as a preacher, even outside his own parish. He was frequently called upon as an arbitrator. His legal knowledge was always at the disposal of his parishioners, as were his time and goods. Ivo's countrymen have always had a great regard for Saint Ivo, "an attorney who was an honest man."

He built a hospital, nursed the sick, and distributed his harvests or their revenues to the poor. He was known to give the clothes off his back to beggars; once he gave a beggar his bed while he slept on the doorstep. His austerities became more rigorous with time, despite his failing health. He died after preaching Mass on Ascension Eve (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, White).

In art, Saint Ivo is a lawyer enthroned between rich and poor litigants, inclining towards the poor. He may also be portrayed as surrounded by suppliants, holding a parchment and pointing upwards, or in a lawyer's gown, holding a book, with an angel near his head and a lion at his feet (Roeder).

He is the patron saint of lawyers, advocates, canon lawyers, judges, and notaries, of abandoned children and orphans, and Brittany, where Yves is a favorite baptismal name (White).

1308 Blessed John Duns Scotus one of the most important and influential Franciscan theologians. His major contributions included the founding of the Scotistic School in Theology and clarifying the theology of the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution. (AC)

Born in Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, c. 1265; cultus confirmed by John Paul II on March 20, 1992.
Immediately after his birth, Blessed John was baptized. His early Christian formation was in the home of his pious parents, the parish priest, and the monks of the Cistercian Abbey of Melrose, where he received his catechetical instruction. At the monastery he developed an ardent love for the Mother of God, the patrimony of Saint Bernard to the Cistercians.

Unfortunately, John suffered some learning disability. His mind was unable to grasp the truths of the faith and he had difficulty learning to read and write. His faith saved him; through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, Seat of Wisdom, he was healed. She appeared to him during prayer and granted his request. His sudden change from dunce to scholar astonished his teachers and classmates. From that time he resolved to use his heaven-bestowed gift of intelligence to glorify the Mother of God.

He entered the Franciscan novitiate at Dumfries, Scotland, at the age of 15, where he made steady progress in his studies and in virtue. The following year he was professed and sent to study theology at various schools. On March 17, 1291, John was ordained priest by Bishop Oliver Sutton of Lincoln at the church of St. Andrew of the Monks of Cluny. Thereafter he began a series of travels between England and France to pursue advanced philosophical and theological studies.

On Christmas Eve in 1299 at the Oxford Convent, the Blessed Mother appeared to John as his contemplated the mystery of the Incarnation. She placed the Child Jesus in his arms to receive the sweet kisses of the Word Incarnate. Perhaps this incident inspired John to write so profoundly about the Incarnation as God's supreme demonstration of His love for man.

1309 Blessed Augustine Novello, became prior general of the Augustinian friars, confessor to the pope, and legate. He spent the last nine years of his life as a hermit OSA (AC)
Hermitage_of_Rosia.jpg
1309 BD AUGUSTINE NOVELLO was the name adopted in religion by Matthew of Termini; Order of Hermits: Novello accompanied Bd Clement of Osimo to Rome, where they drew up together the new constitutions of their order. Pope Nicholas IV appointed him penitentiary to the papal court, and Boniface VIII sent him as legate to Siena
AUGUSTINE NOVELLO was the name adopted in religion by Matthew of Termini, otherwise Taormina, in Sicily. After a brilliant career at Bologna where he studied and taught law, he became chancellor to King Manfred.
Wounded and abandoned for dead at the battle of Benevento in which his royal master perished, Matthew vowed that if he recovered, he would devote himself to God’s service. In accomplishment of this promise he entered the Order of the Hermits of St Augustine as a lay-brother, concealing his identity. It is said that Blessed Augustine Novello, a well-known friar in nearby Sienna, lived here for a while. He entered the Order after a career as a lawyer in the court of King Manfred in Sicily. After Manfred's death on the battlefield, he fled Sicily and became an Augustinian lay brother, keeping his real identity and talents hidden. The prior of Rosia discovered who he was and passed the news to Rome.

When the community found itself involved in a very complicated lawsuit, Bd Augustine offered to set forth their case, and produced a statement so clear, terse and convincing, that the advocate of the opposition is said to have exclaimed: “This must be the work of an angel or of the Devil—or of Matthew de Termini—but he perished at Benevento.” Confronted at his own request with the author of the statement, the lawyer recognized him at once and congratulated the superior upon possessing among his subjects so great a legal luminary.
Augustine Novello accompanied Bd Clement of Osimo to Rome, where they drew up together the new constitutions of their order. Pope Nicholas IV appointed him penitentiary to the papal court, and Boniface VIII sent him as legate to Siena. In 1298 Bd Augustine was elected prior general, but he resigned the office two years later to retire into the hermitage of St Leonard which he had built near Siena. He died there on May 19, 1309.

A short life which purports to have been written by a contemporary is in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iv. See also the Analecta Augustiniana, vol. iv (1908), pp. 326 seq., and vol. iv (1910), pp. 120—133. There are a number also of short popular lives, e.g. that of P. Sanfilippo (1833).

(also known as Matthew of Taormina) Born in Taormina, Sicily; cultus confirmed in 1759. After receiving his doctorate in law at Bologna, Matthew of Taormina was appointed chancellor to King Manfred of Sicily. At one point he was left for dead on the battlefield at Benevenuto. After his recovery he joined the Augustinian friars as a lay brother and took the name Augustine Novello. His gifts were soon discovered and he was commanded to receive priestly ordination. Augustine helped to draft new constitutions for the order. Eventually, he became prior general of the Augustinian friars, confessor to the pope, and legate. He spent the last nine years of his life as a hermit (Attwater2, Benedictines, Roeder).

In art, Augustine is an Augustinian friar with a book listening to an angel who whispers to him. He may also be shown performing various miracles (Roeder).

1378-1397 Bl. Peter de Duenas Franciscan Martyr. Born at Palencia, Spain, he entered the Franciscans and set out in 1396 with Blessed John de Cetina to preach among the Moors of Granada. The following year both were seized and beheaded.
1651 Bl. Peter Wright  Jesuit (1629) martyr in England chaplain to the Royalist army; converted to Catholicism and was given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome
1651 BD PETER WRIGHT, MARTYR
THE parents of Bd Peter Wright were Catholics who lived at Slipton in Northamptonshire. Obliged by poverty to enter service when very young, Peter, in Protestant surroundings, temporarily lost his faith, but on reaching manhood he recovered it, and went over to Liege, where he was reconciled to the Church by the English Jesuit fathers in that city. He entered the Society of Jesus, and was sent on a mission to the English soldiers in Flanders—a congenial task which he accomplished with conspicuous success. So greatly did he endear himself to their colonel, Sir Henry Gage, that he made the priest his constant companion in the Netherlands and in England. After Sir Henry had died fighting for the King in 1644, Bd Peter lived mainly with the Marquis of Winchester, upon the roof of whose house he was arrested by priest-catchers, on Candlemas day, 1650. At his trial before the Lord Chief Justice, he was condemned mainly on the testimony of an apostate, Sir Henry Gage’s younger brother. After being strung up he was allowed to hang until he was dead, and his friends were suffered to carry away his head and other parts of his body when the usual horrible butchery had been consummated. Father Wright’s deportment on the scaffold profoundly impressed many of the spectators and led to several conversions.
See Challoner, MMP, pp. 499—504; and Foley, REPSJ., vol. ii, pp. 506—566.

Bl. Peter Wright  Jesuit martyr in England. Born in Slipton, Northamptonshire, England, Peter converted to Catholicism and was given preparation for the priesthood in Ghent and Rome. Entering the Jesuits in 1629, he ministered to English soldiers in Flanders and accompanied Sir Henry Gage back to England. He also served as a chaplain to the Royalist army during the English Civil War. After the war, he was arrested at the home of the Marquis of Winchester during the oppression of Catholicism by Oliver Cromwell and was put to death at Tyburnd.

Blessed Peter Wright, SJ M (AC) Born at Slipton, Northamptonshire, England; died at Tyburn in 1651; beatified in 1929. Peter was a convert to Catholicism, who studied for the priesthood at Ghent and Rome. In 1629, he joined the Jesuits and was a chaplain to the royalist army during the English civil war. He was condemned to death for his priesthood and executed at Tyburn (Attwater2, Benedictines).
1740 St. Theophilus of Corte Franciscan reformer. Born Biagio Arrighi at Corte, Corsica, Italy ordained at Naples, taught at Civitella, and then embarked upon a mission to promote the faith in Corsica and Italy
Ficécli, in Etrúria, sancti Theóphili a Curte, Confessóris, Sacerdótis Ordinis Fratrum Minórum, sacrórum recéssum propagatóris, quem Pius Papa Undécimus inter Sanctos rétulit.
    At Fucecchio in Etruria, St. Theophilus of Curte, confessor and priest of the Order of Friars Minor, who was canonized by Pope Pius XI.

1740 ST THEOPHILUS OF CORTE The influence exerted by his eloquent words was enhanced by the holiness of his life and by miracles. At Civitella, of which he became guardian, he won the love and veneration of the whole community

THE little town of Corte in Corsica was the birthplace of this Theophilus, or, to give him his baptismal and family names, Blasius de’ Signori. He was the only child of aristocratic parents who fostered, up to a certain point, the boy’s early piety. They encouraged him to invite his schoolfellows on Sundays to his home, where he would say prayers with them and repeat the morning’s sermon. But when, at the age of fifteen, he ran away to enter a Capuchin monastery, he was not permitted to remain there. Nevertheless, as he continued to show a marked vocation for the religious life, his father and mother allowed him two years later to take the Fran­ciscan habit in his native town.
After studying philosophy and theology at Cope, in Rome and at Naples he was ordained in 1700. In the retreat-house of Civitella, to which he was appointed lector in theology, he formed an intimate friendship with Bd Thomas of Cori (Jan 19) in 1705, while still at Civitella, he was chosen for mission preaching and, overcoming a natural shrinking from publicity, he went forth as an evangelist among the people.

At once it became evident that St Theophilus had great oratorical gifts, which enabled him to touch the hearts not only of careless Christians but also of hardened sinners. The influence exerted by his eloquent words was enhanced by the holiness of his life and by miracles. At Civitella, of which he became guardian, he won the love and veneration of the whole community. In 1730 his superiors sent him back to Corsica in order that he might form one or more houses there on the lines of Civitella. He found himself confronted by many difficulties, but he succeeded in establishing a retreat at Luani, where the rule of Civitella was followed in all its poverty and austerity. Four years later he was recalled to Italy to do similar work in Tuscany, and at Fucecchio, some twenty English miles from Florence, he made his second foundation. That same year he was summoned to Rome to give evidence for the beatification of Thomas of Cori. So great was the impression he then made upon the bishop of Nicotera, who was in charge of the case, that the prelate afterwards exclaimed, “I have been questioning one saint about another saint”.

Theophilus died at Fucecchio on May 20, 1740. As his body lay awaiting burial in the church, immense crowds gathered round to venerate it.  They kissed his hands and feet and tore so many pieces from his clothing that it became necessary to dress the body in a new habit. St Theophilus was canonized in 1930.

The brief of beatification, which includes a biographical summary, may be read in the Analecta Ecclesiastica. vol. iv (1806) no. 57. There is an excellent account in French by the Abbé Abeau, Vie du B. Théophile de Cone (1896)—it runs to more than 400 pages—and an almost equally lengthy Italian life, in which the archives of the Franciscans of the Obser­vance have been utilized, by Father Dominichelli, Vita del B. Teofilo do Corte (1896). Another full life in Italian is by A. M. Paiotti (1930), and there is a shorter account by M. P. Anglade, Une page d’histoire franciscaine (1931).
May 19, 2010 St. Theophilus of Corte (1676-1740) 
If we expect saints to do marvelous things continually and to leave us many memorable quotes, we are bound to be disappointed with St. Theophilus. The mystery of God's grace in a person's life, however, has a beauty all its own.

Theophilus was born in Corsica of rich and noble parents. As a young man he entered the Franciscans and soon showed his love for solitude and prayer. After admirably completing his studies, he was ordained and assigned to a retreat house near Subiaco. Inspired by the austere life of the Franciscans there, he founded other such houses in Corsica and Tuscany. Over the years, he became famous for his preaching as well as his missionary efforts.

Though he was always somewhat sickly, Theophilus generously served the needs of God's people in the confessional, in the sickroom and at the graveside. Worn out by his labors, he died on June 17, 1740. He was canonized in 1930.

Comment: There is a certain dynamism in all the saints that prompts them to find ever more selfless ways of responding to God's grace. As time went on, Theophilus gave more and more singlehearted service to God and to God's sons and daughters. Honoring the saints will make no sense unless we are thus drawn to live as generously as they did. Their holiness can never substitute for our own. 
Quote: Francis used to say, "Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up to now we have made little or no progress" (1 Celano, #193).

He entered the Franciscans and took the name Theophilus in 1693. He was ordained at Naples, taught at Civitella, and then embarked upon a mission to promote the faith in Corsica and Italy while encouraging his fellow Franciscans to observe with zeal the rules of the order. He was canonized in 1930.
1750 --St. Crispin of Viterbo, taking the name, Crispin (after the patron of cobblers);  possessed an amazing ability to integrate a life of feverish activity, on the one hand, with a solid interior life. Without concern for his own wellbeing, Crispin cared for those stricken during the epidemics at Farnese, Gallese and Bracciano. As questor, he begged for food not only on behalf of his Capuchin brothers, but also to provide for all the needy of his "big Orvietan family." For the friars, he would only beg for necessities, nothing more. OFM Cap

His feast is celebrated on May 19th. Peter Fioretti was born at Viterbo, Italy, on November 13, 1668. His father, Ubald, died when Peter was very young. The raising of the boy and his stepsister was left in the hands of his mother, Marsha, who had already been widowed once when she married Ubald. When Peter was five years old, his mother dedicated him to the Virgin Mary at the shrine of Our Lady of the Oaks near Viterbo. "Look," she told her son, "this is also your mother. I have made you a gift to her." Peter never forgot that experience, and throughout his life referred to Mary as his "momma." Since his mother could not afford to educate him, Peter's paternal uncle, Francis, provided for his schooling. After working as a cobbler for his uncle, the frail, lean 25-year-old Peter asked to join the Capuchins, desiring to imitate Felix of Cantalice.
The provincial minister, Angelo of Rieti, immediately accepted him for the novitiate. However, Peter met with opposition from his family, especially from his mother. Reminding her that she had already given him to the Virgin Mary, she consented to his going to "serve the Madonna." Having gotten to the novitiate, Peter also met with resistance from the novice director who, seeing how frail Peter appeared, advised him to return home. The novice director allowed him to remain as a guest while awaiting a decision from the provincial minister.

The provincial minister reminded the novice director that it was the provincial minister's prerogative to accept novices and the director's responsibility to discern the vocation of those accepted. Peter was received into the Roman Capuchin province on July 22, 1693, taking the name, Crispin (after the patron of cobblers). Despite his prior training as a cobbler, in all his 57 years as a Capuchin, Crispin was never assigned as cobbler for the friars. After professing vows on July 22, 1694, he was assigned to Tolfa as cook for three years and then passed through a series of assignments: infirmarian at Rome, cook at Albano, orchard keeper at Monterotondo, and finally, questor at Orvieto for 38 years. Crispin knew everyone and everyone knew him, considering him a close personal friend. He possessed an amazing ability to integrate a life of feverish activity, on the one hand, with a solid interior life. Without concern for his own wellbeing, Crispin cared for those stricken during the epidemics at Farnese, Gallese and Bracciano. As questor, he begged for food not only on behalf of his Capuchin brothers, but also to provide for all the needy of his "big Orvietan family." For the friars, he would only beg for necessities, nothing more.

Crispin accomplished a remarkable amount of good in the area of social and spiritual assistance, energetically ministering among the sick, the imprisoned, sinners, unwed mothers, families experiencing hardship, and those on the brink of despair. He was a skilled peacemaker both within his own Capuchin community and with others. Before beginning any task, Crispin always prayed first to Mary, his mother. He possessed a contagious joviality and his ministry was marked by a profound sense of joy. Nothing escaped his notice, particularly in discerning what people really needed. Daily he visited the sick and local prisoners, pleading their cause, urging the guards to respect their human dignity, bringing them bread, chestnuts and tobacco, and arranging for families to take turns providing the prisoners with good, homecooked meals. Babies were often abandoned on the doorstep of the friary and then placed in the care of Our Lady of the Star Shelter. Crispin took a personal interest in these foundlings, arranging for their being apprenticed in one or the other trade, and keeping in touch with many of them well into their adult lives. Crispin was filled with intuition and insight which prompted many learned people to seek his counsel.

Crispin was convinced that much of human misery, both material and spiritual, was due to injustice. He therefore set about to confront social injustice by admonishing merchants, reminding people of workers' rights, and asking forgiveness of debts whenever possible. He used his sense of humor to lighten people's burdens. Every little occurrence found its way quickly to Crispin's ears. Without hesitation, he would offer himself as a mediator, friend, and counselor. Nonetheless, he was not without his critics and crosses, both within and outside the friary. Some called him opinionated and aggressive; others, a hypocrite. Some friars expected Felix to make their life easier. When their expectations were not met, they became embittered.

Besides many letters, Crispin left a treasury of maxims, among them, "One doesn't get to heaven in a taxi."

During the winter of 1747-48, Crispin fell gravely ill and was transferred to the provincial infirmary at Rome. Recovery was but temporary, and on May 19, 1750, the 82-year-old Crispin died of pneumonia at the friary of the Immaculate Conception located near the Piazza Barberini on Rome's famous via Veneto. Among the many sayings attributed to him was the exhortation, "Let us love God who deserves it!"

Beatified by Pius VII on September 7, 1806, Crispin was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 20, 1982.
Source: Capuchin Order, San Francisco, California.

1854 Joaquina Vedruna de Mas, Widow Foundress founded the Institute of the Carmelites of Charity, whose sisters are dedicated to tending the sick and teaching. (AC) (also known as Joachima)

Born in Barcelona, Spain, 1783; died at Barcelona, 1854; beatified 1940; canonized in 1959.
Joaquina married the Spanish nobleman Theodore de Mas with whom she had eight children. In 1816, Theodore was killed in the Napoleonic wars. Ten years later, after ensuring that her children were provided for, the 42-year-old Joaquina retired to Vich, where she founded the Institute of the Carmelites of Charity, whose sisters are dedicated to tending the sick and teaching. In spite of serious challenges posed by civil war and secular opposition, the institute soon spread into Catalonia. Thereafter communities were established throughout Spain and South America.
Although she actually died during a cholera epidemic, she was slowly dying of paralysis for four years. Nevertheless, Joaquina exhibited the highest level of trust in God, selflessness, and prayer (Attwater2, Benedictines).

1875 Blessed Francis Coll Guitart, OP After several years of parish ministry, he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret. He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the village where he preached (AC)

Born at Gombreny, Catalon, in 1812; died at Vich, April 2, 1875. After studying at the diocesan seminary at Vich, Francis entered the Dominican Order at the priory of Gerona in 1830. In 1835, the anticlerical government closed the house of studies at Gerona and dispersed the Dominican students. From that day until his death, Francis maintained a heroic fidelity to his Dominican vocation without the support offered by community life.

Eventually he was ordained at the diocesan seminary at Vich in 1836. After several years of parish ministry, he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret (Oct 24). He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the village where he preached. In December 1869, Blessed Francis suffered a stroke which left him completely blind (Dominicans).



THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 139

Deliver me, O Lady, from all evil: and from the infernal enemy defend me.

Against me he hath drawn his bow: and in his craftiness he hath laid snares for me.

Restrain his evil power: and powerfully crush his craft.

Turn back his iniquity on his own head: and let him speedily fall into the pit which he hath made.

But we will rejoice in thy service: and we will glory in thy praise.


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 heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

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

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Father Corapi's Biography

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

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

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

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


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 Martyrs Move Closer to Sainthood 8 July, 2016
Posted by ZENIT Staff on 8 July, 2016

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

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

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

On the List Are Lay Founder of a Hospital and Eastern Catholic Religious
VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2014 (Zenit.org) - Today, the Vatican announced that during the celebration of the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonization of the following six blesseds, who include a lay founder of a hospital for the poor, founders of religious orders, and two members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See:
-Giovanni Antonio Farina (1803-1888), an Italian bishop who founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
-Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871), a Syro-Malabar priest in India who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
-Ludovico of Casoria (1814-1885), an Italian Franciscan priest who founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth
-Nicola Saggio (Nicola da Longobardi, 1650-1709), an Italian oblate of the Order of Minims
-Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952), an Indian Carmelite of the Syro-Malabar Church
-Amato Ronconi (1238-1304), an Italian, Third Order Franciscan who founded a hospital for poor pilgrims

CAUSES OF SAINTS July 2015.
Pope Recognizes Heroic Virtues of Ukrainian Archbishop
Recognition Brings Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Closer to Beatification
By Junno Arocho Esteves Rome, July 17, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father met this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MIRACLES
– Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist (1839-1910);
– Venerable Servant of God John Sullivan, professed priest of the Society of Jesus (1861-1933);
MARTYRDOM
– Servants of God Nikolle Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., archbishop of Durres, Albania, and 37 companions killed between 1945 and 1974;
– Servants of God José Antón Gómez and three companions of the Benedictines of Madrid, Spain, killed 1936;
HEROIC VIRTUES
– Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, diocesan priest (1821-1861);
– Servant of God Sosio Del Prete (né Vincenzo), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Christ the King (1885-1952);
– Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec (né Jósef), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1889-1921);
– Servant of God Maria Consiglia of the Holy Spirity (née Emilia 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 139 2021