THE FEAST of the FINDING OF THE HOLY CROSS
Virgen de la Carrasca / Our Lady of Carrasca, Bordón, Teruel, Aragón, Spain (1212) – 3 May, Commemorated on First Monday of May:
In 1212, a herder found an image of the Virgin in a holm oak (carrasca) in the rocky countryside of Aragón in Spaon. There are several stories about what happened then, all of them ending with a Shrine in Bordón. Templars carried the Statue to Castellote, 12 miles north but the next day the image was back in the oak, the Virgin made those carrying her to Castellote keep turning toward Bordón and springs arose at each turn.
In the place where it was found, a hermitage was built to house it, which would later be replaced by the building that today is the Parish Church of Bordón, built in 1306 by the Templar Order (The Order was dissolved by Pope Clement V in 1312 ).
Although its exterior hardly stands out, its interior is magical and fascinating, a place full of mystery. In one of the Chapels inside, the Templar novices who previously made a pilgrimage on foot from Castellote, capital of the Templar Commandery, performed initiation rites to become Knights of the Order.
In the 18th century, the interior of the Church was covered with marvellous frescoes, which have been recently restored. Unfortunately, the venerated carving of the Black Virgin of the Carrasca was lost during the Civil War, along with another very famous Romanesque carving with a reputation for miraculously calming storms, the Virgin of the Spider, only a series of photographs being preserved, which allowed the making a replica.
On the first Monday in May, the faithful from the three towns to the south—Tronchón, Olocau del Rey and Mirambel—conduct a processional pilgrimage to the Virgin de la Carrasca. They have done this “from time immemorial,” according to a document of 1390 in the Parish archives of Tronchón.
St Adalsindis of Bèze
Bl Adam of Cantalupo in Sabina
St Ahmed the Calligrapher
St Aldwine of Peartney
St Pope Alexander I
St Alexander of Constantinople
Bl Alexander of Foigny
St Alexander of Rome
Bl Alexander Vincioli
St Ansfrid of Utrecht (c 940-1010) Bishop, Count of Huy and the sword-bearer and Knight for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/03/saint-of-the-day-3-may-saint-ansfrid-of-utrecht-c-940-1010/
St Antonina of Constantinople
St Diodorus the Deacon
Blessed Edoardo Giuseppe Rosaz TOSF (1877-1903) Bishop of Susa from 1877 until his death, Founder of Franciscan Mission Sisters of Susa, Third Order Franciscan.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/03/saint-of-the-day-3-may-blessed-edoardo-giuseppe-rosaz-tosf-1877-1903/
St Ethelwin of Lindsey
St Eventius of Rome
St Fumac
St Gabriel Gowdel
St Juvenal of Narni
Bl Maria Leonia Paradis
St Maura of Antinoe
St Peter of Argos
St Philip of Zell
Bl Ramon Oromí Sullà
St Rhodopianus the Deacon
St Scannal of Cell-Coleraine
Bl Sostenaeus
St Stanislas Kazimierczyk CRL (1433–1489) Priest of the Canons Regular of the Lateran – Apostle of the Holy Eucharist and of the poor, of Confession, famed Preacher, Ascetic, Mystic.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/05/03/saint-of-the-day-3-may-saint-stanislaw-kazimierczyk-crl-1433-1489/
St Theodolus of Rome
St Timothy of Antinoe
Bl Uguccio
Bl Zechariah
Martyrs of Antinoe:
Maura
Timothy
Martyrs of Rome:
Alexander
Eventius
Theodolus
AnaStpaul 