Saint of the Day – 3 May – Blessed Zachariah (Died c1249) OFM Friar of the Friars Minor of St Francis. Zachary was highly revered for his virtues and miracles, Also known as Zachary.
Zachariah had been welcomed into the Order by Saint Francis himself and had been sent to Spain to preach among the Moors.
His fame for sanctity grew rapidly, so much so that Queen Sancha and the Portuguese people venerated him and drew inspiration from his example to live a more modest life.
His remains, initially buried in the main Chapel of the Convent of Santa Caterina in Alemquer, were later placed under the Altar of the same Chapel and, in 1562, enshrined to the right of the Altar, visible through a gilded grate.
His memory is commemorated in the Franciscan Martyrology on 3 May with the approximate date of death being 1249.
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.
The original Statue
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.
Replica Statue
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 St Alexander Vincioli
AnaStpaul 
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