St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622) Known as “The Poor Man’s Lawyer” (Optional Memorial)
Our Lady of Bonaria: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the form of a statue of Mary and the Christ Child that was washed up at a Mercedarian monastery near Cagliari, Italy on 25 April 1370, apparently from a shipwreck the night before. Legend says that the locals tried to open the crate it was in, but only one of the Mercedarian monks could get the it open. Patron of Sardinia, Italy.
Our Lady of Luján in Buenos Aires: Virgin of Luján, Patroness of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary. Tradition holds that a settler ordered the terracotta image of the Immaculate Conception in 1630 because he intended to create a shrine in her honour to help reinvigorate the Catholic faith in Santiago del Estero, his region. After embarking from the port of Buenos Aires, the caravan carrying the image stopped at the residence of Don Rosendo Oramas, located in the present town of Zelaya. When the caravan wanted to resume the journey, the oxen refused to move. Once the crate containing the image was removed, the animals started to move again. Given the evidence of a miracle, people believed the Virgin wished to remain there. The image was venerated in a primitive chapel for 40 years. Then the image was acquired by Ana de Matos and carried to Luján, where it currently resides.
Among the Popes who have honoured Our Lady of Luján are Clement XI, Clement XIV, Pius VI, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI, Venerable Pius XII, and St John Paul II. In 1824, Fr John Mastai Ferretti visited the shrine on his way to Chile. He later became Pope Pius IX and defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1854.
Because of the reputation of the shrine, Pope Leo XIII decided in 1886 to honour the miraculous statue with a Canonical Coronation. On 30 September of that year, he blessed the crown, which was made of pure gold and set with 365 diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires, 132 pearls and a number of enamels depicting the emblems of the Archbishop and the Argentine Republic. The papal coronation of Our Lady of Luján took place on 8 May 1887. The celebrant chosen by the Pope for this event was Archbishop Federico León Aneiros who at that time made a pilgrimage in thanksgiving to Our Lady for sparing his archdiocese from the scourge of cholera. On 8 September 1930, Pope Pius XI formally declared Our Lady of Luján. as the Patroness of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The Papal document was signed by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Venerable Pope Pius XII.
In 1982, during the Falklands War, St Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit Our Lady of Luján. During this visit the Pope celebrated an outdoor Mass in the square of the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján and bestowed upon her the Golden Rose. Both in his homily of June 11 and his Angelus back in Rome reflecting on the trip, he commented on Our Lady’s never failing maternal solicitude for the faithful in times of distress. Sixteen years later in Rome, St John Paul II gave a replica of the image to the Argentine National Parish during his pastoral visit there.
The Golden Rose is a gift from the Pope to nations, cities, basilicas, sanctuaries or images. It is blessed by him on the fourth Sunday of Lent, anointed with the Holy Chrism and dusted with incense. This Rose consists of a golden rose stem with flowers, buds and leaves, placed in a silver vase lined on the inside with a bronze case bearing the Papal shield. Pope Leo IX is considered as the originator of this tradition in the year 1049.
In the Americas, the Rose has been given to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, to Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil, to St Joseph’s Oratory in Canada, to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the United States, to the Cathedral Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Valle in Argentina and to the Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre in Cuba. On 11 June 1982, St John Paul II personally bestowed a Golden Rose on Our Lady of Luján.
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St Alexander of Lyon
St Anthimos of Nicomedia
St Authairius of La Ferté
St Benedetto Menni
St Bova of Rheims
St Deodatus of Blois
St Diarmaid of Armagh
St Doda of Rheims
St Dyfnan of Anglesey
St Egbert of Rathemigisi
St Eusebius of Lydda
St Gregory of Elvira
St Honorius of Brescia
St Ivo of Huntingdonshire
St Leontius of Lydda
St Longinus of Lydda
St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)
St Mary of Cleophas
St Mary Salome
St Mellitus of Canterbury
St Neon of Lydda
St Sabas the Goth of Rome
St Tiberio of Pinerolo
St William Firmatus
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Mercedarian Martyrs of Paris: No info yet.
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