Vergine di Montesanto / Our Lady of the Holy Mountain, Rome, Italy (1659) – 3 December:
On the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, there used to be a small Church run by Carmelite Friars, called St Mary of the Holy Mountain after Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The Church housed a miraculous Madonna and Child, believed to have been painted by a young aspiring female painter, Plautilla Bricci, with supernatural help.
It is said that Plautilla Bricci, a Roman painter but also to become the first female architect, had some difficulties in shading Mary’s face and, at a certain point, decided to put down her brush and rest – upon awakening from sleep, she found the face of the Virgin finished to perfection!
After the painting was canonically crowned on 3 December 1659, Cardinal Gerolamo Gastaldi decided to build the Madonna a more splended Sanctuary. It was the work of three great architects. Gian Lorenzo Bernini modified Carlo Rainaldi’s original plan to give the building an oval shape more in keeping with its site and Carlo Fontana supervised its completion in 1679. Around the same time the “twin” Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built next door. The painting, hard to date but typical of the 1500s, occupies a large columned Altarpiece with stucco angels by Filippo Carcani.
In 1953, Pope Pius XII designated the Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto the official Church for artists, who still come before the Virgin seeking divine help.
St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552) (Memorial) Priest, Missionary, co-Founder with St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) and St Peter Faber (1506-1546) of the Society of Jesus. One of the Greatest Missionaries since St Paul. His body is incorrupt.
St Abbo of Auxerre
St Abran
St Agapius
St Agricola of Pannonia
St Alvaro González López
St Anthemius of Poitiers
St Attalia of Strasbourg
Bl Bernard of Toulouse OP Martyr
St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650) Bishop, “Apostle to the West Saxons,”
St Cassian of Tangiers
St Claudius of Africa
St Claudius the Martyr
St Crispin of Africa
St Edward Coleman
St Eloque of Lagny
St Emma of Bremen (c 975–1038) Married Laywoman, Princess, Mother and Widow, Apostle of the poor, founder of Churches.
About St Emma:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/03/saint-of-the-day-3-december-saint-emma-of-bremen-c-975-1038/
St Ethernan
St Francisco Delgado González
St Francisco Fernández Escosura
St Hilaria the Martyr
St Jason the Martyr
Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer (1777-1860) Bishop of Trent from 1834 until his death, Professor, Apostle of Charity, Reformer, Founder of numerous schools, Seminaries and Churches, negotiator in peace settlements, Writer.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/03/saint-of-the-day-3-december-blessed-johann-nepomuk-von-tschiderer-1777-1860/
St John of Africa
St Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis
St Julián Heredia Zubia
St Lucius
St Lucy the Chaste
St Magina of Africa
St Mamas
St Manuel Santiago y Santiago
St Marcos García Rodríguez
St Maurus the Martyr
St Seleucus
St Stephen of Africa
St Theodore of Alexandria
St Theodulus of Edessa
St Valeriano Rodríguez García
St Veranus
Zephaniah the Prophet
Martyrs of Nicomedia: Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ambicus, Julius and Victor. c 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Alvaro González López
• Blessed Francisco Delgado González
• Blessed Francisco Fernández Escosura
• Blessed Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis
• Blessed Julián Heredia Zubia
• Blessed Manuel Santiago y Santiago
• Blessed Marcos García Rodríguez
• Blessed Valeriano Rodríguez García
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