EASTER SUNDAY +2021 The Resurrection of the Lord – Solemnity of Solemnities! __ Notre-Dame de Grace, Honfleur, Normandie / Our Lady of Grace, Normandy, France – 4 April:
Our Lady of Grace is one of the most ancient maritime Chapels of Normandy. This Sanctuary was built in consequence of a vow made by a Norman Duke, who was very devout to the Blessed Virgin. That Duke, Robert the Magnificent, was once caught in a terrible storm off the coast of Normandy and knew, that a shipwreck would surely cost him his life. He swore, in the midst of that tempest, that was even then overwhelming him, that if he could somehow survive, he would build a Shrine on the hill, which he could still see, through the rain and surf from his sinking ship ,in thanksgiving to God for his rescue. Robert was saved and so his harrowing experience ended, not in tragedy but instead, the duke kept his promise, which gave birth to a monument that millions of pilgrims STILL visit each year. The original Chapel he constructed was finished early in the 11th century, at a height 90 meters above sea level. That Chapel stood through the centuries until it was swept away by landslide in the 16th century. The present Chapel, the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Grace, replaces the original.
The site of this handsome Chapel of Our Lady of Grace, surrounded by large trees, in the midst of turf replete with flowers, is beautiful and calm, like the rich and fresh landscapes of the magnificent province of which it forms a part. Our Lady of Grace appears like the fortress of Honfleur; from the little mountain which it crowns, the mouth of the Seine is visible, and farther on, the ocean, with its long waves of dark green, which receives in its bosom, the river of blue waters. Two roads lead to the Chapel – the one rough and rocky, the other smooth and even. In other times the inhabitants of Honfleur took delight in pointing out Our Lady of Grace, in reducing its steepness, in covering it with small, fine sand, so that a gracious princess, who had made herself beloved in these parts by her generous bounty, might be able to ascend it without fatigue, when she went to offer her prayers and vows to the Blessed Virgin.
Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia / Our Lady of the Highest Grace, Higuey, Dominican Republic (1506) Patron of Dominicans- 2 April:
Before the Spaniards began their conquest of America, pilgrimages were already being made to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Highest Grace of Altagracia, in the town of Higuey in the Dominican Republic. Juan Ponce de Leon relates that he and his crew were saved from shipwreck through their prayers to this Virgin. Mary’s miracles have continued down to the present. A multimillion dollar ultra-modern Basilica erected at Higuey in Mary’s honour, where the image is still displayed, gives testimony of this.
Juan Ponce de Leon’s daughter, La Nina, also had a great devotion to the Mother of God. Our Lady appeared to Nina while she prayed before the Statue in their home Chapel and told her to request from her father a gift, a painting of Our Lady of Highest Grace. Juan Ponce de Leon was struck with amazement at the request, for he had never heard of Our Lady under that title. Juan Ponce de Leon, told his host of his daughter’s wish and added that the Bishop of Domingo had told him no such painting existed.
He asked Nina, “How could I identify this image?”
“By the white scapular over her robe,” Nina replied.
Juan Ponce de Leon searched and inquired everywhere, in order to fulfill his daughter’s request but without success. One day, while returning from a three-day trip, he asked for lodging at a small hut; his host granted this at the same time to an old man with a long white beard; the latter crouched against the walls, carefully guarding an apparent treasure in his saddle-bags.
Juan Ponce de Leon, forgetting the old man, told his host of his daughter’s wish and added that the Bishop of Domingo had told him no such painting existed. The old man hearing this, exclaimed, “The Virgin of Highest Grace does not exist? I have brought the painting with me.”
He then took from his saddle-bags a parchment, unrolled it and displayed a beautiful painting of Our Lady in simple tones of blue, white and red. Mary was depicted adoring the Christ Child, while Saint Joseph holding a lighted taper hovered in the background. Over the Virgin’s starred blue robe hung a white scapular. Juan Ponce de Leon offered all he possessed in exchange for the painting but the stranger waved aside the offer, saying, “Take it to La Nina.” The two men fell on their knees to give homage to the holy image. When they again looked up, the old bearded stranger had vanished. When Ponce de Leon arrived home, his daughter awaited him under an orange tree in the plaza, stretching out her hands she begged: “The painting, Papacito! Please, let me see it!” When it had been unwrapped, La Nina fell on her knees, covering Our Lady’s face with kisses. Then she cried: “This is exactly how our Mother of Highest Graces appeared to me!”
The painting of Our Lady of Highest Grace was placed in the Chapel where the townspeople came to venerate it. Not long afterward, La Nina died and was buried beneath the orange tree, which she loved, for it was there she had received the image. Later the painting of Our Lady of Highest Grace disappeared from the Chapel and was found in the branches of the orange tree. After this had happened three times, the people were convinced that Our Lady wished a Shrine erected on the spot. Countless miracles began to occur there.
Juan Ponce de León’s residence continues to stand in the southeastern town of San Rafael de Yuma, close to Higüey, where he lived before heading out into the seas. Today, it is a much visited Museum.
St Abundius of Como St Agnofleda of Maine St Appian of Caesarea St Bronach of Glen-Seichis St Constantine of Scotland St Ðaminh Tuoc Bl Diego Luis de San Vitores-Alonso St Ebbe the Younger St Eustace of Luxeuil St Gregory of Nicomedia St John Payne Bl Leopold of Gaiche St Lonochilus of Maine St Musa of Rome Bl Mykolai Charnetsky St Nicetius of Lyon St Pedro Calungsod (1654–1672) Martyr His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-st-pedro-calungsod-1654-1672-martyr/
Nostra Signora delle Lacrime / Our Lady of Tears, Sicily (1953) – 1 April:
Also known as the Weeping Madonna of Syracuse, this plaster hanging wall plaque depicts the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the style of the 1950’s. Like many others just like it, it was mass-produced in a factory in Tuscany and shipped to various locations throughout the world.
This particular plaque of Our Lady of Tears was purchased for a wedding gift for a couple who wed on 21 March 1953. The couple, Angelo and Antonian Iannuso, would later admit, that they were not devout but they liked the plaque and placed it on the wall over their bed. Antonian soon became pregnant but the happy couple learned, that the pregnancy caused Antonian to suffer from toxemia that resulted frequent convulsions and even temporary blindness.adly On the morning of 29 August, 1953, Antonian awoke to find that her sight had been restored. “I opened my eyes and stared at the image of the Madonna above the bedhead. To my great amazement, I saw that the effigy was weeping. I called my sister-in-law, Grazie and my aunt, Antonian Sgarlata, who came to my side, showing them the tears. At first they thought it was an hallucination due to my illness but when I insisted, they went close to the plaque and could esily see ,that tears were really falling from the eyes of the Madonna and, that some tears ran down her cheeks onto the bedhead. Taken by fright, they took it out the front door, calling the neighbours and they too confirmed the phenomenon…” The plaque of Our Lady of Tears was publicly displayed, convincing even the skeptics of the prodigy as many of the sick were miraculously healed of their ailments. Some of the tears were collected for scientific examination and the findings were as follows:
“…the liquid examined is shown to be made up of a watery solution of sodium chloride in which traces of protein and nuclei of a silver composition of excretiary, substances of the quanternary type, the same as found in the human secretions, used as a comparison during the analysis. “The appearance, the alkalinity and the composition, induce one to consider the liquid examined analogous to human tears.”
The tears stopped four days later at 11:40 am. On 17 October 1954, Pope Pius XII stated the following during a radio broadcast: “…we acknowledge the unanimous declaration of the Episcopal Conference held in Sicily, on the reality of that event. Will men understand the mysterious language of those tears?”
A vintage postcard of the miraculous Weeping Madonna of Syracuse, Sicily.
Blessed Abraham of Bulgaria Blessed Alexander of Sicily Saint Anastasio Blessed Antonius of Noto Saint Berhard of Amiens Blessed Bernhardin of Noto Saint Celsus of Armagh Saint Dodolinus of Vienne Blessed Gerard of Sassoferrato Saint Gilbert de Moray Blessed Giuseppe Girotti Blessed Hugh of Bonnevaux Saint Hugh of Grenoble Saint Jacoba of Rome Blessed John Bretton Saint Leucone of Troyes Saint Lodovico Pavoni FMI (1784-1849) His Lifestory: https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/01/saint-of-the-day-1-april-saint-lodovico-pavoni-fmi-1784-1849/
Blessed Marcelle Saint Mary of Egypt (c 344-c 421) Desert Mother, Penitent Saint Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/01/saint-of-the-day-1-april-st-melito-died-c-180/ Blessed Nicolò of Noto Saint Prudentius of Atina Saint Tewdrig ap Teithfallt Saint Theodora of Rome Saint Valery of Leucone Saint Venantius of Spalato Blessed Vinebault Blessed Zofia Czeska-Maciejowska — Apostles of Picardy: Saint Caidoc Saint Fricor
Martyrs of Dalmatia and Istria – 9 saints: A group of Christians martyrs who died at various locations in Dalamtia and Istria (in modern Croatia, whose relics were later taken to Rome, Italy, and who are remembered together. We know the names Anastasio, Antiochiano, Asterius, Gaiano, Mauro, Paoliniano, Septimius, Telio and Venantius. Died • on the Adriatic coast of modern Croatia • relics translated to Rome, Italy
Martyrs of Thessalonica – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred. We know nothing about them but the names Alexander, Dionysius, Ingenianus, Panterus, Parthenius and Saturninus. Died Thessalonica, Greece, date unknown
Martyred Sisters of Thessalonica: Saint Agape Saint Chionia
Martyred in Alexandria: Saint Stephen Saint Victor
Martyred in Armenia: Saint Irenaeus Saint Quintian
Martyred in Heraclea: Saint Castus Saint Victor
Martyred in the Mexican Revolution Blessed Anacleto González Flores Blessed Jorge Vargas González Blessed Luis Padilla Gómez Blessed Ramón Vargas González
Our Lady of the Holy Cross, Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome – 31 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Holy Cross, at Jerusalem, where is kept a part of Our Lady’s veil, given by Saint Helena.”
The Roman Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, or Basilica de Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Italian, is one of the seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The Church dates to about the year 320, when Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, modified one of her rooms in the imperial palace to house the relics of the Passion of Christ which she had brought back to Rome from the Holy Land. Even though the Church is located in Rome, it is said to be “at Jerusalem” due to the fact that the floor was covered with earth that had also been brought back from Jerusalem, meaning, that the Church was built upon the soil of Jerusalem. Saint Helena travelled to the Holy Land in the year 326, founding Churches at the places where Christ was born in Bethlehem and from where He ascended into heaven. It shouldn’t seem so remarkable that Helena was able to find the holy places such as the Cenacle, for many of the buildings still stood. Then, as now, the buildings were constructed of stone and so they could not burn, as wood would only be found in furniture, doors and windows. It was also under Helena’s direction that the Cenacle was purified, consecrated, and Mass said there once again. The Cenacle became the seat of the Archbishop until the year 636 when the Arabs came with fire and sword.
Saint Helena’s Chapel is partly underground, and here soil from Calvary was spread on the floor. The Chapel was soon made into a Basilica, which was then later restored by Pope Gregory II and again by Pope Lucius II. There are many significant relics kept at the Church, including pieces of the Cross upon which Jesus suffered His Passion and death, two thorns from the Crown of Thorns, a piece of one of the nails that held Our Lord to the Cross. Other relics include a piece of the cross of the Good Thief, a bone from the finger of Saint Thomas that he had placed into the wound of Christ after His Resurrection and fragments of the Pillar , to which Christ was tied, the Crib Jesus had used as a Baby and, of course, a fragment of the Blessed Virgin’s veil and other fragments from the grotto where He had been born in Bethlehem. These relics can still be seen today. The image below shows some of these relics, unfortunately, I don’t know which is which, besides the first – a relic of the True Cross and the middle image, which shows 2 thorns from the Crown.
__ St Abda St Acacius Agathangelos of Melitene St Agigulf St Aldo of Hasnon St Balbina of Rome St Benjamin the Deacon (Died c 424) Deaco and Martyr
Re-establishment of Chapel of Our Lady, Boulogne-sur-mer, by Bishop Dormy – Basilica of Notre-Dame de Boulogne-sur-mer: – 30 March:
The Basilica of Our Lady of Boulogne, also known as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is a minor Basilica in Boulogne-Sur-Mer in northern France. The Basilica is a prominent landmark of the city and was built upon the medieval Cathedral of the same name.
It was in the year 633 that an unmanned boat was seen carrying a luminous Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the estuary at Boulogne. Saint Omer, (also known as Audomare) was the Bishop and the Statue was carried to the Church where miracles soon began to occur. This Statue, known as Notre-Dame de la Mer (Our Lady of the Sea) became a popular object of pilgrimage between the 13th and 16th centuries. In about 1100 a new Church was constructed at the site that underwent many changes over the centuries, including the addition of a choir. It was in this Church that King Edward II was married to Isabella of France. The Church flourished until the advent of the French Revolution, with its liberal principles that overthrew the Catholic Nonarchy, instigated violence, turmoil and anarchy, destroyed the men who set it in motion and, eventually, culminated not in liberty, fraternity and equality among Frenchmen but instead in a cruel dictatorship under Napoleon. The Church of Notre-Dame of Boulogne was seized and worship was prohibited. The structure was used as a military warehouse until it was sold to traders from outside the City, who began demolishing the Church in stages. Finally, in 1793, the miraculous Statue of Our Lady of the Sea was burned, leaving only a small portion of the hand. Only the Crypt of the medieval structure survived and this is the longest Crypt in France. (There is a wonderful article regarding the Basilica and especially, the Crypt here: https://thegoodlifefrance.com/the-crypt-of-notre-dame-cathedral-boulogne-sur-mer/ )
A local Priest, Benoit Haffreingue, vowed to rebuild the Cathedral. He was a self-taught architect, with a strong desire to restore the honour of Our Lady of the Sea and return the Bishop to their City. He led a campaign to garner the support he would need for the work and by his enthusiasm, the public rallied to support the project. Once work was begun, Fr Haffreingue discovered a huge Crypt about 128 meters long. It had been there unknown for centuries, perhaps having been filled in during the time of the siege of Boulogne in 1544 by King Henry VIII of England. The Romanesque style columns were crafted in the 11th century. There were also the foundations of a Roman temple dedicated to Mars and cannonballs used during the 1544 siege. See the Crypt below. The fact that Fr Haffreingue was self-taught, may be the reason that the nave’s slender arches collapsed in the year 1921. During the time the repairs were being made, the whole structure was reinforced with concrete, which many feel made it possible to survive the bombing the City received, during World War II.
__ Blessed Amadeus of Savoy (1435-1472) IXth Duke of Savoy St Clinius of Pontecorvo St Cronan Mochua St Damiano St Domnino of Thessalonica St Fergus of Downpatrick St Irene of Rome Bl Joachim of Fiore St John Climacus (c 525-606) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/30/saint-of-the-day-st-john-climacus-c-525-606/
St Julio Álvarez Mendoza St Leonard Murialdo St Ludovico of Casoria St Mamertinus of Auxerre St Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy MEP (1818-1866) Bishop Martyr His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/30/saint-of-the-day-30-march-saint-marie-nicolas-antoine-daveluy-mep-1818-1866-bishop-martyr/ Bl Maria Restituta Kafka St Osburga of Coventry St Pastor of Orléans St Patto of Werden St Quirinus the Jailer St Regulus of Scotland St Regulus of Senlis St Secundus of Asti St Tola St Zozimus of Syracuse — Martyrs of Constantinople: ourth-century Christians who were exiled, branded on the forehead, imprisoned, tortured, impoverished and murdered during the multi-year persecutions of the Arian Emperor Constantius. They were martyred between 351 and 359 in Constantinople.
Martyrs of Korea: Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy Iosephus Chang Chu-gi Lucas Hwang Sok-tu Martin-Luc Huin Pierre Aumaître
Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonitus (7th Century) – 29 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Apparition of Our Lady to Saint Bonet, Bishop of Clermont, in Auvergne, whom she ordered to say Mass one night when he had remained in the Church to pray. The Saint, leaning against a pillar as if to hide himself, the stone became soft and made the place for him, which is seen to this day. But the Blessed Virgin, having obliged him to officiate, the ceremony being finished, she left him the Chasuble which had been brought him by angels to celebrate in. The heavenly present is still to be seen at Clermont, where it is preserved with great care.”
Saint Bonitus, or Saint Bonet, was the Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, serving for ten years. He was known to be greatly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to tradition, he actually saw the Blessed Virgin Mary while he was praying by himself in Church. On that day he was interrupted from his prayers when he heard angelic voices singing in heavenly harmonies. He lifted his head to see a multitude of Angels entering the Church, their light filling the entire area. With them were many of the Saints, who processed along behind the angels. They were followed by the Queen of Heaven, who was seated upon a magnificent throne that was held aloft by the Seraphim. When the heavenly procession stopped before the main Altar, Saint Bonitus heard some of the Saints ask who was to say Mass. The Blessed Virgin herself turn to Saint Bonitus and said:
“Here is Bonitus, my faithful servant and excellent Bishop. He is worthy of fulfilling this holy function.”
Some of the blessed Saints then detached themselves from the others and approached the holy Bishop, who was startled and trembling as they raised him to his feet. Taking him by the hand, they accompanied him to the choir where they clothed him in a Chasuble of marvellous workmanship, which the Blessed Virgin had brought for him. The Saints and Angels assisted the Bishop as Acolytes. When the Mass was ended, the Blessed Virgin, the Saints and Angels left the Bishop alone again. Two years later, Saint Bonitus retired and went to the Abbey of Manlieu, where he remained until he died in the year 710. The Chasub,e that was the gift of the Blessed Virgin, was kept at Clermont until the year 1793, when it was burned with many other sacred relics by the broad minded insurrectionists of the French Revolution. __ St Acacia of Antioch St Archmimus of Africa St Armogastes of Africa St Barachasius Blessed Bertold of Mount Carmel (Died 1195) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-blessed-bertold-of-mount-carmel-died-1195/ St Constantine of Monte Cassino St Eustachio of Naples St Firminus of Viviers St Gladys (Sixth Century) Queen and Hermit St Gwynllyw Bl Hugh of Vaucelles Bl John Hambley St Jonas of Hubaham St Lasar St Ludolf of Ratzeburg O.Praem. (Died 1250) Martyr Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-st-ludolf-of-ratzeburg-o-praem-died-1250-martyr/ St Mark of Arethusa St Masculas of Africa St Pastor of Nicomedia St Saturus of Africa St Simplicius of Monte Cassino St Victorinus of Nicomedia St William Tempier
Nuestra Senora de Castelbruedo / Our Lady of Castelbruedo, Catalonia, Spain – 28 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote of this feast day: “It is related, that every year, on the day of the Annunciation, three lights were seen of a blue colour, which shone through the glass windows of this Church at Olion in Catalonia, lighted the lamps and wax candles and immediately disappeared.”
There is a legend that at Olion, in Catalonia, Spain, Our Lady was once venerated under the title of Our Lady of Castelbruedo, or Nuestra Senora de Castelbruedo. The lamps and the wax candles of the Church were likewise lit by invisible hands on the Solemniy of the Annunciation and all disappeared three days after the feast, on the twenty-eighth of March. Despite all subsequent investigations, the lights and their extinguishing, could not be accounted for but it was universally believed, that all this was all to honour Our Lady and the great feast of the announcement of Our Lord’s incarnation. The Church at Olion referred to by the good Abbot, must be one that was once located in Oliana, Spain and not Olion, as it appears. For there is no longer any such City in Spain. Oliana is in Catalonia and is a very small municipality of a few hundred inhabitants in the Sergre valley just below the Oliana reservoir. There is no Catholic Church there any longer, however and the only Church anywhere nearby, is the Church of St Clement near Coll de Nargo, which appears to be about 6 miles away. It dates from the 11th century but looks as if it is little more than an abandoned structure in our day. The region is popular now with those involved in rock-climbing. I can find no further information about this site. If anyone has any information on this Marian title, please forward it to me for inclusion on this website and for the edification of all Catholics. __ St Alkelda of Middleham Blessed Antonio Patrizi OSA (c 1280-1311) Priest St Castor of Tarsus Bl Christopher Wharton Blessed Conon of Naso (1139-1236) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/28/saint-of-the-day-28-march-blessed-conon-of-naso-1139-1236/ St Cyril the Deacon Bl Dedë Maçaj St Donal O’NeylaC St Dorotheus of Tarsus St Gundelindis of Niedermünster St Guntramnus St Hesychius of Jerusalem St Hilarion of Pelecete Bl Jean-Baptiste Malo Bl Jeanne Marie de Maille St Proterius of Alexandria Bl Renée-Marie Feillatreau épouse Dumont St Rogatus the Martyr St Successus the Martyr St Tutilo of Saint-Gall Blessed Venturino of Bergamo OP (1304-1346) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/28/saint-of-the-day-28-march-blessed-venturino-of-bergamo-op-1304-1346/
Our Morning Offering – 27 March – Saturday of Passion Week or the Fifth Week of Lent
Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who endured a martyrdom of love and grief, beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption by thy innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father, His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by my sins and that, persevering till death in His grace, I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen
Mother of Love, of Sorrows and of Mercy, pray for us!
Notre-Dame de Soissons / Our Lady of Soissons, France (1128) In the Abbey, one of Our Lady’s slippers is kept – 26 March:
In the year 1128, a Plague afflicted the City of Soissons. For six consecutive days the victims went to the Shrine of Our Lady and called out to her for help. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them, accompanied by heavenly hosts of Angels. Immediately the people, who witnessed the miracle and believed, were cured. The Bishop asked all who were cured to celebrate a Novena of thanksgiving and to kiss the slipper of the Holy Virgin kept in the Church.
A rustic , a servant of one of the Knights of Soissons, a man named Boso, came to the Church for the festival which was to follow the Novena. While his companions gave gifts and talked of the slipper of Our Lady, he gave nothing and scoffed at the idea, muttering, “You are very foolish to believe this to be the Virgin’s slipper. It would have rotted long ago.” At these words Boso’s blasphemous mouth was drawn toward his ear with such sharp pain that his eyes seemed to slip out of his head. A tumour appeared and covered his face, making it unfit for human use. Roaring and writhing, he threw himself before the Altar of Mary, begging for help, as he had offended the Mother of God and he knew there was no-one else who could heal him. The Abbess, a woman named Mathilda, took the slipper and made the Sign of the Cross over the victim. Immediately he began to heal. The punished scoffer repented and gave himself up to the service of the Church of Soissons. Many – the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the paralytics, were healed at the Shrine. The Abbey was once the largest in France, famous for its rich collection of relics, including the “Lady Slipper” but all that remains today of the Abbey is a ruined wall with two arches, as the rest was methodically razed by the eager hands of the devotees of the French Revolution.
Martyrs of Rome – 5 saints: A group of Christians martyred together. The only details to survive are the names – Cassian, Jovinus, Marcian, Peter and Thecla. Rome, Italy, date unknown.
A tradition, which has come down from the apostolic ages, tells us that the great mystery of the Incarnation, was achieved on the twenty-fifth day of March. It was at the hour of midnight, when the most holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in prayer, that the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her and asked her, in the name of the Blessed Trinity, to consent to become the Mother of God. Let us assist, in spirit, at this wonderful interview between the angel and the Virgin: and, at the same time, let us think of that other interview which took place between Eve and the serpent. A holy Bishop and Martyr of the second century, Saint Irenaeus, who had received the tradition from the very disciples of the Apostles, shows us that Nazareth, is the counterpart of Eden.
In the garden of delights there is a virgin and an angel and a conversation takes place-between them. At Nazareth a virgin is also addressed by an angel and she answers him but the angel of the earthly paradise, is a spirit of darkness and he of Nazareth, is a spirit of light. In both instances, it is the angel that has the first word. ‘Why,’ said the serpent to Eve, ‘hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?’ His question implies impatience and a solicitation to evil, he has contempt for the frail creature to whom he addresses it but he hates the image of God, which is upon her.
See, on the other hand, the angel of light; see with what composure and peacefulness he approaches the Virgin of Nazareth, the new Eve and how respectfully he bows himself down before her: ‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women!’ Such language is evidently of heaven, none but an angel could speak thus to Mary.
Scarcely has the wicked spirit finished speaking than Eve casts a longing look at the forbidden fruit, she is impatient to enjoy the independence it is to bring her. She rashly stretches forth her hand, she plucks the fruit, she eats it and death takes possession of her: death of the soul, for sin extinguishes the light of life; and death of the body, which being separated from the source of immortality, becomes an object of shame and horror and finally, crumbles into dust.
But let us turn away our eyes from this sad spectacle and fix them on Nazareth. Mary has heard the angel’s explanation of the mystery, the will of heaven is made known to her and how grand an honour it is to bring upon her! She, the humble maid of Nazareth, is to have the ineffable happiness of becoming the Mother of God and yet, the treasure of her virginity is to be left to her! Mary bows down before this sovereign will and says to the heavenly messenger: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me, according to thy word.’
Thus, as the great St Irenaeus and so many of the holy fathers remark, the obedience of the second Eve, repaired the disobedience of the first, for no sooner does the Virgin of Nazareth speak her fiat, ‘be it done,’ than the eternal Son of God (who, according to the divine decree, awaited this word) is present, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in the chaste womb of Mary and there, He begins His human life. A Virgin is a Mother and Mother of God and it is this Virgin’s consenting to the divine will, that has made her conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost. This sublime mystery puts between the eternal Word and a mere woman, the relations of Son and Mother, it gives to the almighty God, a means whereby He may, in a manner worthy of His majesty, triumph over satan, who hitherto seemed to have prevailed against the divine plan.
Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat than that which this day befell satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises and crushes his proud head. Eve conquers in Mary. God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance, the humiliation of satan would not have been great enough and, therefore, she who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected to give battle to the enemy. The result of so glorious a triumph is, that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels but to the whole human race, yea, to all the angels of heaven. Seated on her exalted throne, she, the Mother of God, is to be the Queen of all creation. Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged her and, in heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary and deem themselves honoured, when she smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of her wishes, for she is the Mother of their God.
Therefore is it that we, the children of Adam, who have been snatched by Mary’s obedience from the power of hell, solemnise this day of the Annunciation. Well may we say of Mary, those words of Debbora, when she sang her song of victory over the enemies of God’s people: ‘The valiant men ceased and rested in Israel, until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars and He Himself, overthrew the gates of the enemies.’ Let us also refer to the holy Mother of Jesus, these words of Judith, who by her victory over the enemy was another type of Mary: ‘Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him. And by me, His handmaid, He hath fulfilled His mercy, which He promised to the house of Israel and He hath killed the enemy of His people, by my hand this night. . . . The almighty Lord hath struck him and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman and hath slain him.’
Our Lady of Betania: The name Betania means Bethany in Spanish. It was originally given this name by Maria Esperanza and was the site of their farm, in Venezuela. Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported and eventually a small Chapel was built there and the faithful began to gather, especially on Feast Days but throughout the year.
St Alfwold of Sherborne St Barontius of Pistoia St Desiderius of Pistoia St Dismas (Crucified with Jesus) “The Good Thief”
Bl Everard of Nellenburg Bl Herman of Zahringen St Hermenland St Humbert of Pelagius Bl James Bird Bl Josaphata Mykhailyna Hordashevska St Kennocha of Fife St Lucia Filippini St Marie-Alphonsine/Mariam Sultaneh Danil Ghattas (1843-1927) About St Marie-Alphonusine: https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-st-marie-alphonsine-danil-ghattas-1843-1927/ St Matrona of Barcelona St Matrona of Thessaloniki St Mona of Milan St Ndre Zadeja Bl Pawel Januszewski St Pelagius of Laodicea Bl Placido Riccardi St Procopius St Quirinus of Rome Bl Tommaso of Costacciaro — 262 Martyrs of Rome: A group 262 Christians martyred together in Rome. We know nothing else about them, not even their names.
Notre-Dame de L’épine Fleurie / Our Lady of the Flowering Thorn, France – 24 March:
From the infancy of the Church, images of our Blessed Lady have been in use among the faithful to enkindle and keep alive in their hearts a tender devotion to the Mother of God. When the barbarians overran the Roman Empire, the Christians, fearful of profanation, hid these paintings and Statues of the Blessed Virgin, in the most secret recesses of caves and forests. The Huns and vandals spared neither age nor sex and when the tumult of war had subsided, oftentimes, few or none remained to withdraw those images from their hiding places and they rested, until the providence of God, allowed them to be discovered and often, in a miraculous manner. “Our Lady of the Flowering Thorn” was one of these and the marvellous circumstances of the discovery, are thus related by a chronicler of the olden time:
“On the western side of the Jura, France, there once stood an old baronial residence. Its noble owner had heard the voice of St Bernard calling through the length and breadth of the land, to the rescue of Jerusalem and of the Holy Sepulchre. He had listened to the thrilling words, “Hail to thee, holy City, City of the Son of God, chosen and sanctified to be the source of salvation to man. Sovereign of nations, capital of empires, metropolis of patriarchs, mother of prophets and apostles, hail to thee.” The infidel had taken possession of her, and Christendom rose to the rescue. Who has not heard of what the world calls the fatal ending of St Bernard’s crusade! Yet surely not fatal to those devoted souls, whom the love of God inspired to fight for the land where Jesus suffered and died for them and who fell on the battlefield, to rise and grasp the crown of glory. Among those heroes of the Cross fell the Lord of our castle on the Jura, leaving a widow to mourn her loss while she rejoiced in his gain. “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Their names have been lost in the lapse of ages, he is only remembered as the crusader, she as the saint. It was on one of those days when winter, about to leave the earth, seems to cast himself into the bosom of spring, that our saint was walking along the avenue of her castle, her mind full of pious meditation. She had reached the termination of the avenue, when her eye was attracted toward a thorny bush, and there she saw an arbutus laden with the richest blossoms of spring. She hastened towards it, doubtful whether the flakes of snow had not deceived her but no, she found it crowned with a multitude of little white stars shaded with crimson rays and she carefully broke off a branch to hang up in her oratory, over an image of the Blessed Virgin which she had venerated from childhood. She joyfully returned towards the castle, carrying her innocent offering. Whether this little tribute was really agreeable to the Mother of Jesus, or whether it was only that pleasure, which the heart feels at the slightest effusion of tenderness, towards a beloved object, the soul of the lady was that evening filled with the most ineffable sweetness. She promised herself a great deal of pleasure in going every day to gather a fresh garland to adorn the statue of her Mother Mary, and she was faithful to her resolution. Now it happened that one day, being very busy in relieving the wants of the poor who came to her for alms and kind words, she could not go to gather her garland before the shades of evening had covered the earth and as she approached the thicket, an uneasy feeling came over her, occasioned by the increasing darkness. S he was thinking that it would be difficult to gather the flowers, when a calm clear light seemed to overspread the bushes. Startled at the sight, and fearing that robbers might be lurking there, she paused for a moment, but remembering she had never once omitted to bring her offering, she boldly ventured forward, though it was with a trembling hand she plucked the branch, that seemed as if it bent towards her. During that night and all the next day, the lady reflected on what she had seen, without being able to account for it and her heart, being penetrated with the mystery, she went the following evening to the thicket, accompanied by a faithful servant and her old Chaplain. The soft light was seen as they approached, becoming every instant brighter and more vivid. They stopped and fell upon their knees, for it seemed to them, that this light came from heaven . Then the good old Priest arose and moved with reverential steps toward the thicket, chanting a hymn of the Church; he put aside the branches which appeared to open of their own accord, and there, a little image of the Blessed Virgin, rudely carved by unskilled though pious hands, was descried in the midst of the bushes and it was from this Statue that the light emanated. “Hail Mary, full of grace,” said the Priest, kneeling before the image, “and at that moment a melodious murmur was heard through the surrounding woods, as if the chant had been taken up by the choirs of angels.” He then recited those admirable litanies in which faith speaks the language of the most sublime ecstasy and after repeated acts of veneration, he took the Statue in his hands to carry it to the castle, where it would rest in a sanctuary more worthy of it. The lady and her servant followed with hands joined and bowed heads, repeating the responses of the solemn litany. It is needless to tell of the elegance and rich decorations of the niche where the holy image was placed, surrounded with blazing lights and rich perfumes, while the lady and her household knelt in prayer until morning advanced—but lo! when the beams of the orb of day arose upon the earth, the image was nowhere to be seen. Why had the heavenly Virgin deserted the widowed saint? What new dwelling had she chosen? The blessed Mother of the lowly Jesus had preferred the modest shelter of her flowery thorns, to the splendour of a worldly dwelling; she had returned to the freshness of the woods, to taste the peace of solitude and the sweet exultations of the flowers. All the inhabitants of the castle proceeded at evening to the wood and found it more resplendent than ever. They knelt in respectful silence. “Queen of angels, Queen of all saints,” said the Chaplain, “it is here thou art pleased to dwell, be it as thou wilt.” And soon a Chapel was raised on the spot, embellished with all the architectural beauties those ages of faith and poetic sentiment could inspire. The rich adorned it with gifts, and kings lavished it with jewels and gold. The renown of the miracles wrought there, drew large crowds of pilgrims and ere long, a convent reared its head, of which the saint became the superior. She died full of years and good works and our Lady of the Flowering Thorn received her pure soul and carried her in her maternal arms to the blissful bowers of paradise, where thornless flowers bloom forever, around the Throne of God. Still, each spring, till Time is no more, the thorn trees bloom and white petals testify to those who will listen, to the tale that no scientist would believe, the story of Our Lady of the Flowering Thorn. If you wish to check on the details, you might go yourself to the forgotten valley, near the highest peak of the Jura and walk among the ruins there. As you kneel on the grassy stone that once formed the arch above the Chapel window, say a prayer to Our Lady for the one from whom I heard the tale, for me and for all lovers and devotees of Mary. Amen.”
The 29th “Day of Missionary Martyrs” + 2021 “In Love and Alive” A day of prayer and fasting in memory of the missionary Martyrs of the Faith.
St Pigmenius of Rome St Romulus of North Africa St Secundus of North Africa St Seleucus of Syria St Severo of Catania St Timothy of Rome — Martyrs of Africa – 9 saints: A group of Christians murdered for their faith in Africa, date unknown. The only details about their that survive are the names – Aprilis, Autus, Catula, Coliondola, Joseph, Rogatus, Salitor, Saturninus and Victorinus. .
Martyrs of Caesarea – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little else but six of their names – Agapius, Alexander, Dionysius, Pausis, Romulus and Timolaus. They were martyred by beheading in 303 at Caesarea, Palestine.
Madonna della Vittoria di Lepanto / Our Lady of Victory of Lepanto and Hungary, (1716) – 23 March:
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place between the ships of the Catholic Holy League under Don Juan of Austria and the navy of the Ottoman Empire under Ali Pasha, supported by a large fleet of corsairs. The Ottoman Empire was far too powerful for any one Christian kingdom to stand against it and, although all of Western Europe was threatened, only Spain, the Papal States, the Duchy of Savoy, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa and the Knights of Saint John, took a stand against them. Altogether they still had only 212 ships against no less than 278 ships. For hundreds of years the Ottoman Empire had been making advances into Europe, while also making lightning raids along the coastlines to pillage and take slaves. They intended to eventually overwhelm all of Europe and at that time, Catholics stood almost alone against them, as no Protestant force would do anything to oppose the invasion. The advantage in this contest went strongly to the Turks and so, Pope Pius V implored all of Christendom, to pray the Rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to obtain her intercession before the throne of God, for their victory. Admiral Andrea Doria sailed to meet the Turks with an image of the Blessed Virgin prominently displayed in his flagship’s state room. The Venetian forces on Cyprus, had been under siege by the Turks, during the time that the Catholic forces were preparing to meet them. On 1 August they surrendered, after being assured, that they could leave the island unopposed. The Ottoman commander broke his solemn oath, however, taking the Venetians captive and flaying their captain while he was yet alive. Once he had completed this unspeakable torture, the captain’s dead body was hung from a spar on Mustafa’s flagship alongside the heads of all the Venetian commanders. This was the type of barbarism the Catholic forces sailed to oppose. The engagement took place on the 7th of October 1571, only 6 years after the Knights of Saint John defeated a powerful Ottoman army at Malta. Don Juan of Austria encouraged his men by telling them that “There is no paradise for cowards.” If they should lose the engagement, the Mediterranean Sea would be opened up to assist future Ottoman invasions. Victory would mean at least a brief reprieve. The Ottoman Turks had not lost any significant naval engagements in the memory of any living man, yet they were defeated. It was widely recognised, that the battle was won through the power of Mary, Our Lady of Victory. The Turks had come up like fire from the East, plundering, raping, enslaving, threatening to master the whole of Christendom but had been defeated at Lepanto through the power of the Rosary. The Turks had lost nearly 9 of every 10 ships and 30,000 men went to a watery grave. The Holy League lost only 17 galleys and 7,500 men. Many historians rank Lepanto as the most decisive naval engagement since the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, proving to the Christians, that the Turks could be beaten. Although the Turks soon rebuilt their fleet, many of their best soldiers and sailors were already dead at Malta and Lepanto and they could not be easily replaced.
This feast also celebrates another Christian victory, as in 1716, Mary, Queen of Victory, was chosen to protect her children again, at Petenwardein. This battle was fought on 5 August 1716, between the Austrian army of Prince Eugene and the Turks at Peterwardein in Hungary and, it was also won through the power of Mary Most Holy. To help equip the Christian army against the Turks, Pope Clement XI emptied the Papal treasury. The two armies met on the morning of the feast of Our Lady of the Snows; the Christian army was outnumbered ten to three; the enemy had the advantage of position but the Christian strength lay in the right of their cause and in Mary, who watched over them. The battle was long but, behind the lines in the Churches of Europe, Catholics prayed – their prayers were heard. That evening the sun set on a free Hungary. Mary’s men had won the day; Mary’s banner floated victoriously over a Christian land. The news filled the Christian world with joy but nowhere more than at Rome. In thanksgiving to the Mother of God for her help, glorious, solemn, pontifical ceremonies of gratitude were held in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. After Lepanto, Pius V instituted the feast of the Holy Rosary in Rome and Clement XI extended it to the whole world. Today, other more sinister errors eat at the heart of Christian culture. Against the errors of our time, we must appeal to Mary; she is our Advocate, our Queen of Victories and of Peace. For her and for her blessed Son, we struggle and in her powerful intercession with the Prince of Peace, we place our trust. We struggle today to preserve our birthright as sons of God.
St Theodolus of Antioch St Victorian of Hadrumetum St Walter of Pontoise OSB (c 1030-c 1099) A very reluctant Abbot — Daughters of Feradhach: They are mentioned in early calendars and martyrologies, but no information about them has survived.
Martyrs of Caesarea – 5 saints: A group of five Christians who protested public games which were dedicated to pagan gods. Martyred in the persecutions Julian the Apostate. The only details we know about them are their names – Aquila, Domitius, Eparchius, Pelagia and Theodosia. They were martyred in 361 in Caesarea, Palestine.
Notre-Dame-de-Citeaux / Our Lady of Citeaux, France built by St Robert (1098) – 22 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “On Palm Sunday, in the year 1098, Saint Robert, Abbot of Moleme, retired with twenty-one of his Monks to the Diocese of Chalops-sur-Saone, where he built, in honour of Our Lady, the celebrated Monastery of Citeaux, the head house of the order.”
The Notre-Dame de Citeaux Abbey is the first Abbey of the Order of Citeaux, or the Cistercian Order. The original Abbey dates back to 1098, where in the Duchy of Burgundy, Robert of Molesme, Abbot of the Abbey of Our Lady of Molesme, founded the Church. Constructed in the Gothic style, which was current in the 11th century, it was dedicated to Mary, Mother of God and placed under the protection of the Dukes of Burgundy. Having left the Abbey of Our Lady of Molesme, a small group of twenty-one Monks, led by Robert of Molesme, went to Citeaux to apply the Gregorian reform and live in the spirit of prayer and poverty of the rule of St. Benedict. The low country was a land sparsely populated, well forested but also an unwelcoming and hostile place. The beginning was very difficult, for what was required to develop the land was beyond what they possessed. The disciples of Robert suffered from extreme poverty but Pope Pascal II, in the year 1100, gave his protection to the new Monastery and the Duke of Burgundy provided the Monks with what they needed for construction and supplied funding for food and the overall maintenance of the religious.
Our Lady and St Robert
Difficulties with the water supply at the original site required Aubry, successor of Robert after 1099, to settle the new community two kilometers further south. New buildings were constructed, including a Chapel, which was built of stone and dedicated to Our Lady. After the death of Abbot Aubry in 1109, Stephen was elected as the third Abbot. He faced great problems, for their voluntary poverty appeared so strict, that they had a reputation for too much austerity and there were few vocations. The community was shrinking and some appeared at the gates of despair because they feared to have no successors. Depending directly on the Papal States by pontifical right, the Cistercian Order was officially approved in 1119 by Pope Calixte II, with the purpose that it spread and enforce the Gregorian reform throughout the Christian West. The Abbey of Citeaux, thus became the founding mother of more than two thousand Monasteries from the Kingdom of France and throughout the Christian West to Transylvania in the East, during the 12th century. The Abbey of Citeaux, whose founding was so difficult, became a major spiritual center which profoundly influenced the spiritual, economic and social life of men in the Middle Ages. It was from this place, that new Cistercian Abbeys sprung up all over Europe for the benefit of all mankind. The Christian West returned to a more rigorous respect for the rule of St Benedict and none of this, is to even begin to mention, the influence of the great Saint and Monk, Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). The famous Saint Bernard actually left Citeaux to found his Monastery at Clairvaux in the year 1115. The Monastery at Citeaux suffered pillaging several times throughout the Hundred Year’s War and the Monks were often forced to take refuge elsewhere during those perilous times. It was not until the 16th century, that the community once again numbered over 200 Monks but then, with the Wars of Religion, the number of Monks began to decrease again. Finally, in 1791, the Abbey was struck by the French Revolution. The property was illegally seized and sold as national property by the government. In 1898, twenty Cistercians returned to occupy the Abbey, although the Church had been completely destroyed. Still, it is one of the few sites that has regained at least something of its spiritual tradition. The Church has been rebuilt and there are currently about 30 brothers living there. The Abbey of Citeaux was classified as an historical monument in 1978.
Passion Sunday or the Fifth Suday of Lent +2021 __ Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Bruges / Our Lady of Bruges, Flanders (1150), where a lock of Our Lady’s hair is preserved – 21 March:
At a Shrine in Flanders, dedicated to Mary, it is reported that a lock of Our Lady’s hair is preserved, given by a Syrian Bishop, named Mocca. This Shrine is likewise said to have its famous relic of the Holy Blood, which is the centre of much pilgrimage. The precious relic was brought from Palestine by Thierry of Alsace on his return from the second crusade. From 1150 this relic has been venerated with much devotion. The annual pilgrimage attended by the nobility in their quaint robes takes place on the Monday following the first Sunday in May. Not only the Flemish nobility take part, but also thousands of pilgrims from all over Christendom. Every Friday the relic is less solemnly exposed for the veneration of the Faithful. As mentioned above, the Shrine is dedicated to Mary, for it was she who gave her own blood to her Divine Son, the God-Man. As at all the Marian Shrines, miracles take place through the intercession of the Mother of God. The present Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Bruges was built in 1225 and is famous for its 400 foot tall brick tower. Inside, however, is where the real treasures are kept. Among those relics already mentioned, there is also a Madonna of Bruges, a marble sculpture of the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child sculpted by Michelangelo.
The features of the Blessed Virgin depicted in the Madonna of Bruges are very similar in appearance to the famous Pieta, which Michelangelo was said to have completed just prior to this sculpture. It is the only one of his works that left Italy during Michelangelo’s lifetime and was purchased and brought to Bruges by a wealthy merchant. In 1794 the inhabitants of Bruges were forced by the French Revolutionaries to ship the Madonna of Bruges to Paris. It was fortunate that the Statue was not destroyed, as so many Catholic works of art were during the French Revolution. TheSstatue did not remain long in Paris, as it was returned to Bruges after the defeat of Emperor Napoleon. It was taken again in 1944 when the German’s retreated from Belgium, but it was discovered two years later in Germany and returned once again to Bruges. As a precaution, after a bomb was set before the Statue of the Pieta in Saint Peter’s Basilica in 1972, the Madonna of Bruges was placed behind bulletproof glass, so that the public can now only admire the sculpture from several feet away.
Bl Thomas Pilcher Bl William Pike — Martyrs of Alexandria: A large but unknown number of Catholics massacred in several churches during Good Friday services in Alexandria, Egypt by Arian heretics during the persecutions of Constantius and Philagrio. They were martyred on Good Friday in 342 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Our Lady of Calevourt, near Brussels, Belgium (1454) – 20 March:
The Abbot Mathieu Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Calevoirt, at Uckelen, near Brussels. This image began to work miracles in the year 1454, which led to the determination to build a magnificent Chapel in honour of Our Blessed Lady, in the year 1623, which the Infanta of Spain, Isabella Clara Eugenia, devoutly visited in the same year.”
The image of Our Lady is known under various titles, due to the fact, that Mary gives aid, even miraculous aid, when called upon for help. Our Lady of Calevourt is perhaps better known as Our Lady of Good Success, or Our Lady of Aberdeen. We are told that during the Protestant “Reformation,” the figure was taken to Flanders and hidden away by a Catholic family to protect it from profanation. In due course, it fell into the hands of Protestants but this family, received numerous graces and blessing,s which they attributed to the presence of the holy image in their house. They were reconciled to the Church as a result. In 1623 a Spanish captain was given the Statue, with instructions to place it into the hands of Archduchess Isabella. The arrival of the Statue in Brussels is related under several incidents. The same day the ship arrived, the Infanta Isabella won a battle against the Hollanders. The Princess sent the Statue back to Brussles, providing the necessary funds for a Sanctuary she intended to be called Our Lady of Aberdeen. The townspeople greeted the Statue enthusiastically with a procession and placed it in the Chapel but when the victory became known, the name of the Sanctuary was changed and dedicated instead to Our Lady of Good Success. From that time on, Mary travelled from place to place but always her image was saved. During the Terrors of the French Revolution, the Statue was given to an English Catholic who kept it safe until 1805, when it was restored to Belgium. A few years later, the Protestants forced the image to be transferred to a Parish Church in Finistere, where the image now reigns peacefully over her beloved people. The Statue of the Blessed Mother stands with her Divine Child reclining on her right arm, His feet supported by the lift hand of His Mother.
__ Bl Ambrose Sansedoni of Siena Anastasius XVI Archippus of Colossi St Benignus of Flay St Cathcan of Rath-derthaighe St Clement of Ireland St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne Bl Francis Palau y Quer St Guillermo de Peñacorada St Herbert of Derwenwater Bl Hippolytus Galantini Bl Jeanne Veron Bl John Baptist Spagnuolo St John Nepomucene St John Sergius St Jósef Bilczewski (1860-1923) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/20/saint-of-the-day-20-march-st-josef-bilczewski-1860-1923/
St Nicetas of Apollonias St Remigius of Strasbourg St Tertricus of Langres St Urbitius of Metz St Wulfram of Sens (c 640-c 703) Bishop — Martyrs of Amisus – 8 saints: A group of Christian women martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details we have are eight of their names – Alexandra, Caldia, Derphuta, Euphemia, Euphrasia, Juliana, Matrona and Theodosia. They were burned to death c 300 in Amisus, Paphlagonia (modern Samsun, Turkey).
Martyrs of Rome – 9+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Nero. We know nothing else about them but the names Anatolius, Cyriaca, Joseph, Parasceve, Photis, Photius, Sebastian and Victor.
Martyrs of San Saba – 20 saints: Twenty monks who were martyred together in their monastery by invading Saracens. They were martyred in 797 when they were burned inside the San Sabas monastery in Palestine.
Martyrs of Syria – 3+ saints: A group of Christians who were martyred together in Syria. We know nothing else about them but the names Cyril, Eugene and Paul.
Nostra Signora della Misericordia/Our Lady of Mercy, Patron of Savona, Italy (1536) – 18 March:
About seven kilometers from the centre of Savona stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, built following the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the farmer Antonio Botta, on 18 March 1536.
During the apparition, the Madonna dressed in white and wrapped in a dazzling light, told Antonio to go to his confessor and ask him to announce to the people, a fast for three Saturdays and a procession to the site where she appeared, to honour God and His Mother. She then asked him to return on the fourth Saturday.
On the fourth Saturday after the event, corresponding to 8 April 1536 and on the eve of Palm Sunday, Antonio Botta returned to the place of the apparition. There the Virgin appeared to him again, asking for three more fast Saturdays and a new procession of the people, especially the disciplinary Confraternities, praising their work and recommending that they announce to everyone, repentance of their vices and sins, to live the Creed and then she disappeared after saying: “Mercy, my son, not justice.”
This teaching of the Madonna was accepted with faith and dedication by the City of Savona, which was going through a difficult period, after the defeat suffered in 1528 by the Republic of Genoa.
Since then, on 18 March of each year, to commemorate the event of the apparition, a procession led by the Bishop is made, with the Confraternities of the Diocese and the faithful, departing from the Cathedral square of Savona and arriving at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy which was built to honour the apparitions to Antonio Botta.
The construction of the architectural complex of the Sanctuary was started in the same year in which the Marian apparition took place, i.e. in 1536. The whole today includes the Basilica with the square, the Pallavicino and Tursi palaces, the large late-sixteenth-century palace of the New Hospice and other buildings. The Basilica collects masterpieces by prestigious artists, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Orazio Borgianni, Bernardo Castello, Domenichino and is also a very honoured place of worship.
Since the Confraternities are remembered and praised in the message to Blessed Botta, this place of worship was proclaimed National Shrine of the Confraternities of Italy, on March 18, 2009, by the Bishop of the Diocese of Savona-Noli.
Pope Pius VII was exiled to Savona by Napoleon from 1809-1812. During those years, he vowed that if he were released, he would crown the Statue of Our Lady of Mercy. The Pope was released and kept his promise, placing a royal diadem on the Statue on 10 May 1815.
__ St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) (Optional Memorial) Father and Doctor of the Church Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/03/18/saint-of-the-day-18-march-st-cyril-of-jerusalem/ — Bl Aimée-Adèle le Bouteiller St Alexander of Jerusalem (Died 251) Bishop and Martyr St Anselm of Lucca the Younger (1036-1086) About this St Anselm: https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/18/saint-of-the-day-18-march-saint-anselm-of-lucca-the-younger-1036-1086/ St Braulio of Saragossa Bl Celestine of the Mother of God Bl Christian O’Conarchy St Edward the Martyr St Egbert of Ripon St Eucarpius of Nicomedia St Felix of Gerona St Finan of Aberdeen St Frigidian of Lucca Bl John Thules St Leobard of Tours St Narcissus of Gerona Bl Roger Wrenno St Salvator of Horta St Trophimus of Nicomedia — Martyrs of Nicomedia – Commemorates the Christians who were martyred anonymously, either singly and in small groups, by local pagans in the area of Nicomedia prior to the year 300 and who may have been over-looked in the waves of Diocletian persecutions that resulted in the deaths of thousands.
Our Lady, Queen of Ireland, or the Madonna of Ireland (1697) – 17 March:
During the difficult times of Oliver Cromwell, one of the bishops who was forced to leave Ireland, was Bishop Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert. He travelled about Europe and finally came to Hungary in 1654. He was kindly received by Bishop John Pusky, Bishop of Gyer and eventually became auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Gyer. Ten years later Bishop Lynch planned to return to his native land. Almighty God prevented this; during his dying hours he gave to the Bishop of Gyer, his only material treasure – the picture of the Madonna of Ireland. Soon after, as a memory of the Irish Bishop, the painting of Our Lady was hung on the wall of the Cathedral at Gyer. Years passed. On the Feast of Saint Patrick, while large numbers of the faithful were present in the Cathedral, an awe-inspiring event took place. A bloody sweat was observed to come over the figure of the Blessed Lady in the picture. Drops of blood fell onto the Infant Jesus; as the bleeding continued for three hours. Linen towels, which are still retained under glass at her Shrine, were used to wipe the blood from the blood-perspiring face. In the archives of the Cathedral of Gyer, there is a document written in 1697 on parchment, relating this event. It is signed, not only by the clergy and the laity who were present at the Mass but by the mayor and the councilmen, by the governor, Lutheran and Calvanist preachers, a Rabbi – over one hundred signatures represent eye-witnesses to the miracle. In 1874, Pope Pius IX granted a plenary indulgence on the feasts of Saint Patrick and the Assumption, before which Feasts public novenas are held. Below is the Shrine in Gyer Cathedral.
In 1913 Archbishop Schrembs of Toledo, visited Gyer in Hungary. He saw the beautiful painting and was deeply moved when told of the wonderful event. He requested a copy for the many Irish Catholics in his Diocese who would be happy to learn the history and to possess the picture of Our Lady of Ireland. The copy was placed face to face with the original and then given to Bishop Schrembs. On 23 August 1914, Archbishop Schrembs dedicated the new St Stephen’s Church in Toledo, Ohio. The Hungarian people had paid about 2/3 of the expenses of the building. The Bishop presented the Madonna to this church, saying:
“I am convinced that the picture will be treasured in a Hungarian Church just as much as it would be in an Irish one.”
Both Hungarians and Irish were thrilled. The image depicts Mary crowned as Queen, Our Lady of Ireland, and before her, lying on several circular pillows, is the Infant, also crowned as the Little King and covered with royal robes. __ St Patrick (c 386-461) (Optional Memorial) About dearly loved St Patrick: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/saint-of-the-day-17-march-st-patrick/
Martyrs of Alexandria – Also known as Martyrs of Serapis: An unknown number of Christians who were martyred together by a mob of worshippers of the Graeco-Egyptian sun god Serapis. They were Martyred in c 392 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Our Lady of the Fountain, Constantinople (460) – 16 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Fountain, at Constantinople, built, by the Emperor Leo, in the year 460, in thanksgiving for the Blessed Virgin’s having appeared to him on the margin of a spring, to which he was charitably leading a blind man, when he was no more than a common soldier and foretold to him, that he would become the emperor.”
Emperor Leo I, also known as Leo I the Thracian, Leo the Great, and even to some, Leo the Butcher, was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empir,e from the year 457 until 474. Leo had begun with a career in the military, eventually rising to the rank of tribune in 457. When the Emperor then reigning died, Leo was acclaimed the new Emperor. It is interesting to note, that he is a Saint in the Orthodox Church. In a certain manner, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Fountain still exists. Instead of the title the Abbot had given it, the Shrine is now known as, the Mother of God of the Life-Giving Spring. the story surrounding it is as follows. the man who would later become Emperor Leo I of the Byzantine Empire, was a good and pious man long before he became Emperor. One day in his travels, he had come upon a blind man, who, being tormented with thirst, begged Leo to find water to quench his thirst. Feeling compassion for this man, Leo went in search of a source of water but found none. As he was about to cease his search, he heard a voice telling him: “Leo, you do not need to tire yourself for there is water nearby.” Leo looked again but still found no water. Then he heard the voice again, this time telling him: “Emperor Leo, enter into the deepest part of the woods and you will find a lake; draw some cloudy water from it with your hands and give it to the blind man to quench his thirst, then anoint his darkened eyes with the clay and you will immediately know who I am, for I have dwelt in this place for a long time. Build a Church here that all who come here, will find answers to their petitions.” Leo found the lake and did as he was instructed. As soon as the blind man’s eyes were anointed, he received his sight. Leo became Emperor a short time later and built a large and beautiful Church in honour of the Blessed Virgin at that place, just outside the Golden Gate near the Seven Towers district. Many miracles began to occur there, including resurrections from the dead, through the intercession of the Mother of God. When this Church was damaged by earthquakes, it was rebuilt by subsequent Emperors who also experienced miraculous cures and the answer to their petitions.
In the year 1453, the Church was razed to the ground when Constantinople fell to the Turks. The material that remained was taken to be used to construct the mosque of the Sultan Beyazid. Even then, people continued to come to the place seeking relief, for the spring remained intact beneath the ruins. The Shrine had twenty-five steps going down to it, and a window in the roof above from which it received a little light. In 1821 the Shrine was destroyed during the Greek War of Independence. In 1833 the Sultan Mahmud allowed the Orthodox Christians to rebuild the Shrine. Later, on the night of 6 September 1955, the Turks killed the Abbot, who was hung and the Shrine was desecrated and burned to the ground. The Shrine has since been restored yet again but appears nothing like it once had in the distant past. Still, it is said, that the water from the spring continues to have miraculous properties.
Procession of Our Lady of the Fountain, 1959
__ St Abban of Kill-Abban St Abraham Kidunaia St Agapitus of Ravenna St Aninus of Syria St Benedicta of Assisi St Dionysius of Aquileia St Dentlin of Hainault Bl Eriberto of Namur St Eusebia of Hamage St Felix of Aquileia St Finian Lobhar, surnamed “the Luminous Leper” (Died c 560) Bishop, Abbot
Notre Dame de Sous-Terre/ Our Lady of the Underground, Chartres, France (911) – 15 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “In the year 911, the City of Chartres was miraculously delivered from the siege laid to it by Rollo or Raoul, Duke of the Normans; for as he was on the point of taking the City, Gaucelin, the forty-seventh Bishop of Chartres, mounted on the top of the ramparts, holding a relic of Our Lady as an ensign, which struck such terror in the camp, that all retreated in disorder; in memory of this fact, the meadows of the gate of Drouaise, are called, to this day, the meadows of the fugitives (des Recules).”
The Statue is kept in the Crypt of Chartres Cathedral, hence the name.
Due to the circumstances of its geographic location, the City of Chartres was subject to Viking raids during the 9th and 10th centuries. In the year 858, the City was sacked and burned. Early in the 10th century, a Viking chieftain (later known as Normans, having founded Normandy) named Rollo came to power and he led an army of a few thousand Vikings, against Chartres in the spring of the year 911. Chartres was surrounded by a strong wall, which held the Vikings in check, so the Vikings were forced to lay siege to the City, his men spoiling the surrounding countryside as the days progressed. Eventually Duke Robert and Duke Richard, assembled an army south of Chartres to oppose the fierce Vikings. The relieving force was made up, mainly of Burgundians and Franks and they hoped they were strong enough to attack and drive off the Vikings, as the inhabitants of Chartres continued to resist. They finally attacked the Vikings on 20 July 20 911, before the walls of Chartres. When the Franks and Burgundians advanced, Rollo had his army drawn up in a concave pattern which pressed hard against the centre of the opposing army. Huge, berserk Vikings smote the French line and Duke Richard, under great pressure, began to slowly give ground, which would mean the collapse of his army. Rollo was fighting valiantly, certain he was about to vanquish his enemy, when suddenly Bishop Gaucelin, who led the defence of Chartres, sallied forth from the gates of Chartres surrounded by the steel clad defenders of the City. Unmistakable in his Episcopal mitre, holding aloft the Tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Relic then kept at Chartres, the defenders of the city fell upon the Vikings with sword and spear. The Vikings, caught between the enemy forces, retreated in defeat.
Dudo, the Norman historian of Saint Quentin, wrote:
“Rollo, mighty and powerful and vigorous and most fierce in arms, do not feel ashamed if you now are considered a runaway. No Frankish or Burgundian assembly, of manifold nations and host,s puts you to flight, fells you, but the nourishing Tunic of the Virgin Mother of God and likewise amulets and relics and the reverend Cross Which the Reverend Prelate carries in his worthy hands.”
In Chartres amongst the famous windows is the one below, honouring Our Lady of the Underground who saved the City in 911.
St Eoghan of Concullen St Eusebius II Bl Francis of Fermo Blessed Jan Adalbert Balicki (1869-1948) About Blessed Jan: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/15/saint-of-the-day-blessed-jan-adalbert-balicki-1869-1948/ St Leocritia of Córdoba St Longinus the Centurian Bl Ludovico de la Pena St Mancius of Evora St Matrona of Capua St Matrona of Thessaloniki St Menignus of Parium Bl Monaldus of Ancona St Nicander of Alexandria St Peter Pasquale St Pío Conde y Conde St Sisebuto St Speciosus St Vicenta of Coria Bl Walter of Quesnoy Bl William Hart St Pope Zachary (Died 752) – Papal Ascension 5 December 741- 752
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) +2021 __ Notre Dame de la Breche, Our Lady of the Breach, Chartres, France (1568) – 14 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady de la Breche, at Chartres, where a procession takes place every year, in thanksgiving for Our Lady’s having delivered the City, when besieged by heretics, in the year 1568. It was during this siege that the image of Our Lady, placed upon the Drouaise gate, could not be injured by the cannon and musket balls, which the besiegers fired at it and the marks of which, are still seen at two or three inches from the image.”
“I shall place enmity between thee and the Woman. She shall crush thy head…” is indeed verified at the Shrine of la Breche. The procession mentioned by the good Abbot was a custom that took place annually in commemoration of the miracle, until the time of the French Revolution. The Mayor, or on occasion some other important personage, who happened to be the guest of the town, at the time, traditionally lit the first candle before the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady de la Breche. Thereafter, the procession began, winding its way from the Cathedral down the steep curves of the Rue Muret towards the Porte Drouaise. Those who took part, could read the inscription engraved on the ramparts, which recorded the events of the siege in Latin, for the instruction and example of posterity. Pursuing their way up the Rue de la Breche, the procession would next arrive at the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Breche. Inside, there was a Statue of the Blessed Virgin which stood on the keystone of the old Chapel that was erected in 1599, in memory of this even, and near the site of the famous breach. About the Altar, are there were numerous cannon-balls of stone, which were relics of the siege. Entering the large annex on the right, the visitor would see a still more curious relic of the siege – the fourteenth or fifteenth-century Statue of Notre-Dame-de-la-Breche, whose name was graven on the keystone, mentioned above. And, if he should inquire, how that name was earned, he would be told, that this was the very Statue which had been set over the Porte Drouaise and, by a miraculous intervention, had saved the Town.
The contemporary chronicler, Duparc, informs us that for all that the men of the Huguenot army were esteemed the greatest soldiers in Europe, yet they miraculously blinded by a manifest miracle. And the miracle was in this way. The defenders of Chartres, placed the Statue above the gate of Drouaise against which, the enemy fired many cannon shots but without being able to ever hit it. And to demonstrate how many shots were fired at the gate, on which was the said image, the bridge of that gate was broken and cut in two by the cannon-balls and all round the image, up to a few inches of it, the marks of many bullets may still be seen. Through it all, the Statue remained whole and intact; in spite of the efforts of the enemy to destroy it, but it was never struck by a single shot.
The siege of Chartres
I know well, Duparc adds, that the heretics and some others, will scoff at this but Herod also mocked at Christ, when he beheld Him. There is another, even more wonderful story told by historians. As the Huguenots approached a breach in the walls they had made, on 9 March, a “grand lady” stood before them, carrying a child in her arms. Rather than trying to avoid the woman and child, they turned their guns directly on her. Having decided to attack her with murderous intent, they became enraged to see that although they fired dozens of rounds, they seemed to be missing their target, for the woman and child remained before them, standing silently in the breach. Screaming foul threats, the Huguenots fired, reloaded, and fired again but the woman seemed to be catching their bullets and collecting them in her apron. The Catholics recognised that it was the Mother of God herself, holding Our Lord in her arms and that they had personally taken up the defence of the City. The enemy raged and fired at them to no effect. Encouraged to see what they could never have even dared to hope for, the ecclesiastics and women began to pray anew, as the men picked up their weapons and returned to the fight, vigorously repelling the invaders. The Huguenots were forced to retreat full of spite and confusion, for they had counted on looting the City and the Church, whose treasury was one of the richest in Christendom. The Prince of Conde had sold, in advance, much of the treasure he expected to plunder from the Cathedral, to which the Canon Souchet said he would never deliver, for the glorious Virgin defended the City, which she recognised as her own, against the hate of those heretical fanatics who showed such malice for her Son. Mothers in particular come to invoke the Virgin of the Breach and also the Virgin of the door Drouaise, for the protection of their sons, exposed to the perils of war. The Chapel mentioned above, was destroyed during the French Revolution. The first stone of the new Chapel was laid by M Lecomte, General Vicar, on 7 April 1843.
St Maximilian Bl Pauline of Thuringia St Peter of Africa St Philip of Turin St Talmach Bl Thomas Vives — 47 Martyrs of Rome – Forty-seven people who were baptised into the faith in Rome, Italy by Saint Peter the Apostle, and were later martyred together during the persecutions of Nero. Martyred c.67 in Rome, Italy
Martyrs of Valeria – Two monks martyred by Lombards in Valeria, Italy who were never identified. After the monks were dead, their killers could still hear them singing psalms. They were hanged on a tree in Valeria, Italy.
“The Salus Populi Romani” / Our Lady of the Empress, Rome (593) – 13 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “A tradition records that this image spoke to Saint Gregory the Great, in the year 593.”
Salus Populi Romani means literally health or salvation, or Protectress, of the Roman People. The title of Salus Populi Romani reverts to Emperor Constantine the Great and the Edict of Milan when, after Christians were no longer persecuted, the phrase became another of many Marian titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. The icon Salus Populi Romani, or Our Lady of the Empress, is one of many images believed to have been painted by Saint Luke. When the Blessed Virgin lived with St John, after her Son had ascended into heave, she had few personal belongings but among them was a table built by Christ Himself when He was working in the carpenter shop with his foster father, the good Saint Joseph. Saint Luke, yielding to the repeated requests of pious virgins, painted a portrait of Mary using the tabletop as his canvas. As the portrait was being painted, Saint Luke listened carefully as the Queen of Heaven spoke of her Son’s life, facts that Saint Luke recorded in what became his Gospel. The image is surprisingly large, being five feet high by three and 3/4 but if one considers that a tabletop was used, then this size seems appropriate. Modern examiners admit the painting was made on a thick cedar board. The Virgin Mary holds a map in her right hand, which is an imperial symbol meant to depict the bearer as “Queen,” or in Roman times, “Empress.” The icon came to Rome from Crete in 590 when Pope Gregory the Great was the Holy Father and according to tradition, he went out upon the Tiber in his own vessel to greet the icon. Three years later, Pope Gregory I had the icon carried throughout Rome in solemn procession, as all prayed to the Mother of God for an end to the Black Plague that had been devastating the people of Rome. Pope Gregory’s predecessor, Pope Pelagius, had himself died of the same plague. When the icon of Salus Populi Romani, with the prayerful entourage following alongside the Tiber River, neared Hadrian’s Mausoleum, a choir of angels could suddenly be heard singing the joyous Resurrection hymn as Pope Saint Gregory looked up to see the heavens open. Then, just above Hadrian’s Mausoleum, an angel believed to be Saint Michael appeared. He was holding a sword of vengeance over the City and above him, the Pope saw the Blessed Virgin, seated upon a throne above the angels.
“Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia; Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia; Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.”
“Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia; for he whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia; has risen as He said, alleluia; pray for us to God, alleluia.”
The scent of a heavenly perfume filled the air and without hesitation, the holy Pontiff concluded the Regina Coeli:
“Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia! Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia! Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia. “Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.”
Pray for us to God, alleluia! Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia! For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia!
At that, the Pope, St Gregory, watched as Saint Michael sheathed his sword. To the great relief of the people of Rome, the Black Plague was ended, at that moment. Since the year 1613, the icon Salus Populi Romani has been kept in the Altar Sanctuary of the Cappella Paolina that was created for it, known in English as the Lady Chapel. The Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where it can be seen. St Mary Major is one of the four ancient Churches of Rome and the Marian Shrine is under the special patronage of the Popes.
St Mochoemoc St Nicephorus of Constantinople Bl Peter II of La Cava St Pientius of Poitiers St Ramirus of Leon St Roderick of Córdoba.(Died 857) Priest and Martyr St Sabinus of Egypt St Sancha of Portugal — Martyrs of Cordoba: Roderick, Salomon,
Martyrs of Nicaea: Arabia Horres Marcus Nymphora Theodora Theusitas Martyrs of Nicomedia Eufrasia Macedonius Modesta Patricia Urpasian
Notre-Dames-des-Miracles / Our Lady of Miracles, St Maur des Fosses, France (1328) – 12 March;
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of Miracles, in the cloister of Saint Maur des Fosses, near Paris. It is said that this image was found made, when the sculptor, named Rumold, was going to work at it in 1328.”
Saint-Maur-des-Fosses is a city that may be considered to be a suburb of Paris, France. There is a miraculous Statue of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Miracles, located in the Church of Saint Nicholas in the city. The Town owes its name to an Abbey that was founded by Queen Nanthild in the year 638 at Les Fosses, which means ‘the moats’ in French. The Abbey was called Sanctus Petrus Fossatensis and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as saints Peter and Paul. When the Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil in western France fled from the Vikings in the year 868, Holy Roman Emperor, King Charles the Bald, asked them to settle at Sanctus Petrus Fossatensis. They did so, bringing with them their relic of Saint Maurus and introducing the rule of Saint Benedict to France in the 6th century. The Abbey, located in a loop of the Marne just before it joined the Seine, became an important pilgrimage site when the relics of Saint Maurus were found to be effective in curing those who suffered from gout and epilepsy. Due to this sudden popularity and, in recognition of it, the name of the Abbey was changed to, Saint-Maur-des-Fosses, or St Maurus of the Moats. In the drought year of 1137, all of Western Europe was without rain. The Monks of the Abbey led a procession of the relics of St. Maurus and, at the conclusion of Mass, there was a violent thunderstorm which brought rain to the region. As should not be surprising, the Abbey was seized during the French Revolution by the enthusiastic proponents of liberty, equality, and brotherhood. Anything of value was looted and the property then sold to speculators. After they were stripped of everything of value, the buildings that remained were demolished and the material used in other building projects, so that today nothing remains but a few vestiges that were collected for display in a museum. Fortunately, the Statue of Our Lady of Miracles miraculously survived. The Statue had been venerated since 1328 because of the miraculous circumstances of its creation and was saved by a locksmith named Hazar. It is now kept at the Church of Saint Nicholas (see below) in Saint Maur-des-Fosses.
St Maximilian of Thebeste St Mura McFeredach St Paul Aurelian St Peter the Deacon St Seraphina (1238-1253) Virgin St Theophanes the Chronographer — Martyrs of Nicomedia – 8 saints: Eleven Christians who were martyred in succession in a single incident during the persecutions of Diocletian. First there were the eight imprisoned Christians, Domna, Esmaragdus, Eugene, Hilary, Mardonius, Maximus, Mígdonus and Peter, about whom we know little more than their names. Each day for eight days one of them would be strangled to death in view of the others so that they would spend the night in dread, not knowing if they were next. Peter was the chamberlain or butler in the palace of Diocletian. When he was overheard complaining about this cruelty, he was exposed as a Christian, arrested, tortured and executed by having the flesh torn from his bones, salt and vinegar poured on the wounds and then being roasted to death over a slow fire. Gorgonio was an army officer and member of the staff in the house of emperor Diocletian, Doroteo was a staff clerk. They were each exposed as Christians when they were overhead objecting to the torture and murder of Peter. This led to their own arrest, torture and executions. Died in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) Additional Memorial – 28 December as part of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia.
Nossa Senhora das Florestas,/Our Lady of the Forests, Porto, Portugal (12th Century) – 11 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “This image was found again in a forest, where it had been hidden by Queen Matilda, wife of Alphonsus I.”
In searching for information about this title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I could find no specific reference to Our Lady of the Forests. There are a great number of Catholic Churches and Cathedrals in Porto, Portugal but none of them, seem to speak of an image once known as Our Lady of the Forests. Porto, Portugal, is a City second only to Lisbon in size. Checking with the Diocese, there does not appear to be a Church by the name of Our Lady of the Forests and I could find no mention of such an image. Alphonsus I was the first King of Portugal. His wife, Queen Matilda, better known as Mafalda of Savoy (1125-1158), married him in the year 1146. She was the daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy, Count of the Holy Roman German Empire and her sister was Blessed Umberto. Matilda died young, long before Alphonsus was King – yet her life still had great significance. Alphonsus I was almost constantly at war with the Moors of Andalusia and Portugal did not become formally recognised as an independent Kingdom, until 1179, when Alphonsus I was recognised as King by the Pope. Perhaps there was a crisis during these years of upheaval, when Queen Matilda was forced to hide, in a forest, with a cherished image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and although this seems not unlikely, I can find no story relating to such an event. Although little is known of Queen Matilda, it is believed that she built a small Abbey Chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin on the outskirts of Fatima, in a place called the Rock of Fatima. There was also an attached Monastery at this site, that was built by the Cistercians, although nothing remains of that Monastery now and its foundations have become the floor for the Parish Church at Fatima. Built in the 18th century, it was originally called Our Lady of the Rosary. One of Queen Matilda’s descendants was Blessed Margaret of Savoy, who founded a Convent for women. On 16 October 1454, Blessed Margaret was present, when her dying cousin, Sister Filipina, spoke aloud the names of the Saints who came to assist her on her way to heaven. Sister Filipina revealed during that last ecstasy, that in the future, there would be terrible wars and that there would be a monster who would rise in the East as a scourge of all mankind. He would eventually be slain by Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fatima. She said: “The Most Holy Virgin will speak about very grave future events, for Satan will wage a terrible war. But he will lose because the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God and of the Most Holy Rosary of Fatima, more terrible than an army in battle array, will defeat him forever.” After saying this, Sister Filipina died in the arms of the holy Foundress, Blessed Margaret. The documents attesting to these events surfaced in the year 2000 but keep in mind. that this revelation was nearly 500 years before the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima at the Cova da Ira!
St Firmian the Abbot St Firmus the Martyr St Gorgonius the Martyr St Heraclius of Carthage Bl John Kearney Bl John Righi of Fabriano St Marcus Chong Ui-Bae St Peter the Spaniard St Pionius St Piperion the Martyr St Rosina of Wenglingen St Sophronius of Jerusalem St Thalus the Martyr Bl Thomas Atkinson St Trophimus the Martyr St Vigilius of Auxerre St Vincent of Leon St Vindician of Cambrai (c 632-c 712) Bishop St Zosimus of Carthage — Martyrs of Antioch: A group of Christians martyred together by Emperor Maximian Galerius. Martyred in c 300 in Antioch, Syria.
Santa Maria della Querce /Our Lady of the Oak, Tuscany, Italy (1467) – 10 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Our Lady of the Vine, Tuscany, Italy. A fine Church, located near Viterbo, occupied at present by Dominicans.” The city of Viterbo is located at the foot of Mount Cimino in the province of Rome. Viterbo itself currently has 34 separate Parishes, with 8 religious houses for men and 18 houses for sisters. I can find no reference to Our Lady of the Vine, or Madonna della Vito, anywhere in the entire region of Tuscany. I found two references to Dominican convents. The first was Our Lady of the Oak, or Madonna della Quercia, which also has a Dominican convent attached. The second was Santa Maria dei Gradi, of which only the Church still remains. It was one of the earliest Dominican convents, although it is now used mainly as a retreat house. The Heavenly Mother, like all mothers, does not discriminate between children, for her help is for everyone. We now continue with Our Lady of the Oak, which is almost surely the place referred to be the good Abbot as Our Lady of the Vine. At one time in Viterbo there was a certain man named Mastro Baptist Magnano Iuzzante, who was a very God-fearing devotee of the glorious Virgin Mary. He hired a painter named Monetto in the year 1417 to paint an image on a tile of the most glorious Virgin Mary, holding her Son in her arms. Mastro Baptist then lovingly laid the tile on an oak tree that stood at the edge of his vineyard, near the road leading to Bagnaia and along which robbers often awaited to attack unwary travellers. The image remained there for about 50 years under cover of the oak’s branches and after a while, only a few women who passed by ever stopped to say a prayer and to admire the beauty of a natural tabernacle that a wild vine, which had embraced the oak, had created.
During this period a hermit of Siena, Pier Domenico Alberti, whose hermitage was at the foot of Palanzana, went around the countryside and the nearby towns of Viterbo, saying, “Among Bagnaia and Viterbo there is a treasure.” Many people, driven by greed, started digging there but found nothing and asked for an explanation from the hermit. Domenico then brought them under the oak tree chosen by the Virgin and pointed to the real treasure, the Madonna. He told them of the day he had decided to take away the sacred image to his hermitage and of how it had returned to the oak. Dominico was not alone in this experience. A devout woman named Bartolomea often walked past the oak tree and stopped each time to pray to the Blessed Virgin. One day she also decided to take the tile to her home. After saying her evening prayers, Bartolomea went to bed but woke up in the morning to find the image missing. She at first thought that her family had taken it to place it somewhere else but upon learning that this was not so, she ran to the oak tree and saw what she had already guessed – the tile had miraculously returned to its place amid the tendrils of the vine. Bartolomea tried again but always the sacred image returned to the tree. At first she did not say anything to anyone, to avoid being regarded as lying or insane. Then, in 1467, during the month of August, the whole region was struck by the greatest scourge of those times: the plague. Everywhere there were the bodies of the dead lying in the deserted streets and there was everywhere, great weeping and mourning. Some then remembered the image painted on the humble tile, and, as if driven by an inexplicable force, went to kneel beneath the oak. Nicholas of Tuccia, an historian, said that on one day 30,000 people were there to beg for mercy. A few days later the plague ceased and then 40,000 of the faithful came back to thank the Virgin Mary. The people of Viterbo were headed by their Bishop Pietro Gennari and there were many, from other regions. In early September of the same year another extraordinary event happened. A good knight of Viterbo had many enemies, as will often happen to a follower of Christ. One day he was surprised by his enemies outside the walls of Viterbo. Alone and unarmed and having no way to deal with the mortal danger, he fled into the nearby woods. Fatigued and desperate to reach his destination, the knight heard the cries of the enemy draw nearer and nearer. Eventually he arrived at the oak with the sacred image of Mary, where he fell at her feet with great faith and embraced the trunk of the tree, putting his life into the hands of his Heavenly Mother. The knight’s enemies reached the oak but were surprised that they could no longer see the knight. They began to look behind every tree and bush but not one could see him since he had disappeared before their very eyes. Failing to find him after a long time spent in searching, they gave up in disgust. Then the knight, after thanking the Virgin Mary, returned to Viterbo and told everyone what had happened. Bartolomea heard his tale and encouraged by his words, she described the miracles to which she had been a witness. They told everyone what had happened to them with so much enthusiasm and devotion. The stories spread like wildfire and many people, coming from the most diverse regions of Italy, flocked to the feet of the oak to implore help from the Blessed Virgin.
It was decided to build an Altar and then a Chapel of planks before Pope Paul II gave the necessary permission to build a small Church in 1467. Many Popes and Saints have been devotees of the image, including St Charles Borromeo, St Paul of the Cross, St Ignatius Loyola, Saint Crispin of Viterbo and St Maximilian Kolbe, among many others. On 20 January 1944, during the bombing of Viterbo, a squadron of 12 bombers headed for the oak but upon arriving at their destination, inexplicably veered to the right and the bombs dropped, did not destroying anything outside of the Church, which was empty. The remains of the bombs, 3 large chunks, are kept behind the Altar of the Madonna. In 1986, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Our Lady of the Oak, Patroness of the new Diocese of Viterbo, formed from the union of those of Viterbo, Tuscania, Montefiascone, Acquapendente and Bagnoregio. Even today the Virgin protects her devotees and the devotion to the Blessed Virgin of the Oak is very strong. Every year on the second Sunday of September, the faithful commemorate the “Benefits from the Sacred Image of Our Lady of the Oak.” Many cities and towns, with their brotherhoods, participate in the procession of thanksgiving, called the “Covenant of Love “ The Mayor of Viterbo, on behalf of all participants, renews the Consecration made of old by the whole region, back in 1467.
__ St Alexander of Apema St Anastasia the Patrician St Andrew of Strumi St Attalas of Bobbio St Blanchard of Nesle-la-Réposte St Caius of Apema St Cordratus of Nicomedië St Droctoveus of Paris Bl Elias del Socorro Nieves St Emilian of Lagny St Failbhe the Little St Gustav the Hermit St Himelin Bl Jean-Marie Joseph Lataste St John Ogilvie SJ (1579-1615 died aged 36) MARTYR Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/saint-of-the-day-10-march-st-john-ogilvie/ St John Ogilvie, his Rosary and the Baron: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/st-john- ogilvie-sj-10-march/
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, Armenia (Died 320) – Forty Christian soldiers of the Thunderstruck Legion of the Imperial Roman army who were tortured and murdered for their faith during the persecutions of Emperor Licinius. They were exposed naked on a frozen pond to freeze to death at Sebaste, Armenia in 320 and their bodies afterward were burned.
Notre-Dame de Savigny /Our Lady of Savigny, France (1112) – 9 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Foundation of Savigny, in the Diocese of Avranches, in Normandy, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, about the year 1112, by the blessed Vitalis, hermit, who was its first Abbot.” About the year 1112, in the Diocese of Avranches, the Blessed Vitalis (Vital de Mortain) established the foundation of the Abbey of Savigny (Abbaye de Savigny) in honour of the Blessed Mother. This day commemorates the event. The Abbey was founded near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux in the north of France and Blessed Vitalis became the first Abbot. It was initially Benedictine but soon was given over to Cistercian Monks. Within only thirty years it had over thirty daughter houses. Initially, Vitalis had gone into the forest of Savigny to become a hermit. His fame for sanctity, however, drew disciples to him. These disciples needed shelter from the elements and soon Vitalis found those crude structures had become a kind of Monastery requiring a rule of life. When the Lord of Fougeres granted the land to Vital, the Monastery was founded, and the hermit became the reluctant Abbot. In 1119 Pope Celestine II took the Abbey under his protection. Serlo, also known as Serlon, was the third Abbot of Savigny. During his period of office, one of the monks was known to have a deep and tender devotion to the Blessed Mother and while he was saying Mass in honour of Our Lady, he beheld the Virgin’s hand making the Sign of the Cross over the Chalice at the consecration of the wine. At the same time, a deliciously sweet odour surrounded the Monk. Thereafter, as often as he recalled this, he was refreshed by the sweetness of the scent which had encompassed him at the time. Mary’s presence was frequently experienced at this Shrine, particularly during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and numerous miracles were wrought, prayers answered and graces bestowed for the asking. During the 16th century the Abbey was pillaged and burned by Calvinists but it was not until the French Revolution that the Abbey was reduced to a pile of ruins.
Unlike the Abbey, the Church Our Lady of Savigny, still stands. According to an inscription on one of the capitals in the choir, the Church was dedicated to our Lady in 1128 and it is believed, that there is no Church in the district, that is older. It was restored in the year 1869 and serves the surrounding areas to this day..
Nossa Senhora das Virtudes / Our Lady of Virtues, Lisbon, Portugal (15th Century) – 8 March:
The Church of the Monastery of Our Lady of Virtues, or Nossa Senhora das Virtudes, until recently was nothing more than a ruin, located north of Lisbon. A small Church was constructed in 2009 and further work is planned. The site is now protected because of its historical importance but for no other reason, as pilgrimages and devotion to the Blessed Virgin declined from the 19th century until the 21st century, when there remained almost no memory of the glory that once was here. According to tradition, the origin of the Church of Our Lady of Virtues, relates to the appearance of Our Lady to a keeper of cows back in the early fifteenth century. The apparition gave rise to a pilgrimage to the site, as well as the later construction of a primitive Chapel, presumably made of wood and other perishable materials. A short time later, due to the growing importance of the site and the devotion of the faithful, King Duarte commanded that a Franciscan Monastery be built, that would be attached to the Chapel. Following upon the construction of the Monastery, a hospital was also soon built and subsequently inns and other businesses supporting the thriving community that grew up around the Chapel. Pilgrimages to the Shrine became widespread throughout the remainder of the fifteenth century. Of unquestionable importance throughout the Middle Ages, the more recent centuries have seen the abandonment of pilgrimages to the Shrine, as well as the decay of the buildings and the eventual abandonment of the site by the Franciscans. At the beginning of the 1990’s, when excavations were made at the Monastery, all that remained was ruins. Despite the fact that the Monastery was almost completely destroyed, there are still some structural remains located on the north side of the Church and most of these structures are assumed to still be buried beneath the earth. This is believed because the Church of Our Lady of Virtues itself, was partially buried before the archaeological work revealed it.
St Apollonius of Antinoë St Arianus of Alexandria St Beoadh of Ardcarne St Duthus of Ross St Felix of Burgundy St Humphrey of Prüm St Jon Helgi Ogmundarson St Litifredus of Pavia St Philemon of Antinoë St Pontius of Carthage St Provinus of Como St Quintilis of Nicomedia St Rhian St Senan of Scattery St Stephen of Obazine St Theophylact of Nicomedia St Theoticus of Alexandria St Veremundus of Irache Blessed Vincent Kadlubek O.Cist (c 1160-1223) Bishop — Martyrs of North Africa – 9 saints – A bishop and some of his flock who were martyred together in North Africa. The only details that have survived are nine of the names – Beata, Cyril, Felicitas, Felix, Herenia, Mamillus, Rogatus, Silvanus, Urban.
Nossa Senhora da Estrela / Our Lady of the Star, Villa Vicosa, Portugal (1050) – 7 March:
In the year 1050 there were two Benedictine Monks who lived in the convent of Monte Cassino. They decided to go on pilgrimage, teaching and catechising all those they met along the way. One night they found themselves wandering on the coast of Normandy, France, near a place called Grand Champ. Tired and sleepy, they decided to spend the night on the beach under the stars. Father Rogerio slept on the cool sand and the other Monk found himself a place to rest in a small boat nearby. As the night went on, the tide came up and the little boat was gently drawn out onto the sea. Without realising it, the Monk was going on an adventure in which he would not awaken until he was just off the coast of England. In Salisbury, England, everyone was amazed to see the Monk in the little boat, convinced that it was a miracle that he had crossed the French Sea in a small boast and lived to see the shores of England. Soon, the Monk was made Bishop and his period in office was marvellous to the people because he was a humble man of prayer, who sacrificed everything for God. The Monk who had stayed on the beach, Father Rogerio, knew nothing of what had happened to his friend. All he knew was that he and the boat had disappeared and, giving his concerns into the hands of God, he determined to continue on his journey alone. One night not long afterward, Father Rogerio went to sleep and had a dream that would change his life forever. In his dream he saw a great star fall from the sky, burning all the bushes and trees and heard a voice that said: “Our Lady wants a Church built in this place.” When he awoke, Father Rogerio looked about himself. He was not injured but this indeed was the place he had seen in his dream, for everything around him was burned. Father understood that Our Lady really did desire that he should build a Church there in her honour. He also felt in his heart, the desire to give Mary the title of “Our Lady of the Star” because of the star he had seen in his dream. Due to the poverty of those who inhabited that region, Father Rogerio was only able to build a small Altar and a tiny Chapel which would be the seed of the great Abbey of Our Lady of the Star of Monteburgo. One day an immense Chapel would be built, sheltering not only the Church but a very large convent as well. King William, who was the Duke of Normandy and he who had conquered England, learning of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Star, sent his private doctor to visit the little Chapel to find out for himself how it had all come about. Upon arriving there, the doctor discovered that he was the brother of the Monk Rogerio! He listened to his brother’s account of how he had been separated from his friend and then told about his dream. The doctor believed everything at once and to Father Rogerio’s surprise, the doctor knew the Monk who had crossed the channel in a small boat and informed his brother, that his lost friend had become the Bishop of Salisbury! The two brothers excitedly thanked Our Lady for providing this reunion. The Bishop of Salisbury, our former friend of the Monk Rogerio, asked King William to help his brother in the faith, for they were both blessed by Our Lady on their pilgrimage. William the Conqueror, with a glad heart, donated to Father Rogerio the entire region of Monteburg, along with the resources to build a great Church and an Abbey there that became a great seminary. The work was finished by the son of King William, King Henry. He, taking the throne, continued the work until its completion. The Abbey of Our Lady of the Star was, for many centuries, a centre of the Church for the whole region. Dark centuries ensued and the Church and Abbey suffered a decline until in 1842, the Vicar General of Coutances took possession of what was by that time little more than an enclosure of ruins. He turned it over to the Brothers of Mercy, a new order meant to promote Catholic education. The Abbey Church was rebuilt but as time went on, the Brothers of Mercy also left and all is now used as part of an agricultural school. As for Our Lady of the Star, it is a story almost completely forgotten, even to Catholics.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Star
“O, Our Lady of the Star, to you our gaze turns and our childlike hearts. You are the Morning Star, that announces the arrival of the day. You are the Evening Star, that shines in our night. You are the Star of the Sea, who sends us her son Jesus, the eternal Light of the world. Through the darkness and storms of life, in the hour of doubt or of temptation, in the revolt, be our clarity and our peace. Be our hope and our purity, be our sweetness and our strength, O Lady of the Star. May our gaze and our hearts forever rest on you. O Lady of the Star, Pray for us. Amen”
St Ardo of Aniane St Deifer of Bodfari St Drausinus of Soissons St Enodoch St Esterwine of Wearmouth St Eubulus of Caesarea St Gaudiosus of Brescia Bl Henry of Austria Blessed Leonid Feodorov (1879-1935) Martyr His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/07/saint-of-the-day-7-march-blessed-leonid-feodorov-1879-1935-martyr/ St Paul of Prusa St Paul the Simple St Reinhard of Reinhausen Bl William of Assisi — Martyrs of Carthage – 4 saints: A catechist and three students martyred together for teaching and learning the faith. We know little more than their names – Revocatus, Saturninus, Saturus and Secundulus. Mauled by wild beasts and beheaded 7 March 203 at Carthage, North Africa
Martyrs of Korea St Siméon-François Berneux MEP (1814-1866) Bishop, Martyr St Bernard-Louis Beaulieu St Ioannes Baptista Nam Chong-Sam St Pierre-Henri Dorie St Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières
Martyrs of Laos Bl Luc Sy Bl Maisam Pho Inpèng Martyrs of Tyburn Bl German Gardiner Bl John Ireland Bl John Larke
Nossa Senhora da Nazaré/Our Lady of Nazareth, Pierre Noire, Portugal, (1150) – 6 March:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “This image was honoured at Nazareth in the time of the Apostles, if we may believe a writing which was found, by a hunter, attached to this image, in the year 1150.”
The Shrine of Our Lady of Nazareth, known in Portugal as Nossa Senhora da Nazare, is found in the village of Nazare on the Atlantic coast in Portugal. Indeed, the village is named after this miraculous statue of the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child, that was brought to the area many centuries ago. According to tradition, this miraculous image was carved by the hands of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of Christ, while in the very presence of the Infant Jesus and the Mother of God. Later, the faces and hands of the images were painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. This remarkable image is still preserved in a Church where it can be viewed by anyone and the story surrounding it is a fascinating one. It is known that the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth came from the Holy Land where it was one of the oldest images ever venerated by Christians. It was saved from destruction at the hands of the iconoclasts sometime early in the 5th century by a Monk named Ciriaco, who gave the statue to Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome later gave it to Saint Augustine in Africa, to protect the statue by removing it from the Holy Land. Saint Augustine then gave it into the safekeeping of the Monastery of Cauliniana, near Merida, a Monastery on the Iberian Peninsula. When the Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the year 711, King Roderic met them with his Visigothic army at the battle of Guadalete, where he was soundly defeated. It is a fact of history, that the body of Roderic was never found upon the field of battle, although his horse was found and it is often assumed by historians, that Roderic died that day when he lost his kingdom. According to this legend, however, Roderic was not killed but survived the battle and disguised himself as a beggar as he travelled north. Alone and unknown, he made his way to the Monastery of Cauliniana where he sought shelter for the night. Going to Confession, he, of necessity, revealed his true identity to the friar, Frei Romano. As it turned out, the Monks were preparing to leave the Monastery in advance of the Arabs and so Frei Romano asked the King if he could accompany him in his travels. Roderic agreed and the friar took with him the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth and the relics of Saint Bras and Saint Bartholomew. They travelled together until they arrived at a place later named Monte de Saint Bartolomeu in November of the year 714. They made for themselves a hermitage with the friar living in a small cave at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sea. He placed the image in a niche among the stones upon a pedestal of simple rocks. Roderic went a little ways off by himself to a hill where he also began to live the life of a hermit. After a year, though, King Roderic left the hermitage and nothing else is said of him in this legend. One wonders if he ever learned of his kinsman Pelayo, who had retreated into the mountains and continued to heroically defy the invaders. Before his death, Frei Romano hid the image in his small cave, where it remained undisturbed for some centuries until it was discovered by shepherds, who came there to venerate the statue. Inside that little, ancient sanctuary they had found the renowned and sacred image of Our Lady of Nazareth. Carved of wood, it was unlike any other statue of the Madonna they had ever seen, for it depicts the Blessed Virgin breastfeeding her Divine Child while seated upon a simple bench. When miracles began to frequently occur, it became a major pilgrimage site. Then, in the early morning of 14 September in the year 1182, the Mayor of Porto de Mos, Dom Fuas Roupinho, was hunting on his land when he observed a deer. Chasing it up a steep slope on horseback that misty morning, the fog became heavier all of a sudden. The deer, later suspected to be the devil in the guise of a deer, jumped off the edge of the hilltop into the empty void. Despite his efforts to stop his horse, the spirited mount was determined to follow after the deer. Helpless to save himself, the rider suddenly recognised that he was near the sacred grotto where he would often come to pray. Fuas Roupinho cried out to the Blessed Virgin, praying aloud: “Our Lady, Help Me!”
The horse stopped immediately, as if he were digging his hooves into the rocky cliff above the void. Suspended in an unnatural manner at the edge of the cliff, Fuas Rouphinho knew the drop to be over 100 meters and surely would mean his death if he had fallen. He was then able to back slowly away from the edge, looking down to see the evidence of the impossible and unimaginable – for there in the hard stone was the imprint of one of his horse’s hooves. One of those marks can still be seen in the native rock. Faus Rouphinho dismounted and went to the grotto to pray and give thanks, subsequently causing a chapel ‘Capela da Memoria,’ or ‘The Chapel of Remembrance,’ to be built very near the spot where his life had been miraculously saved. When the masons he had hired took apart the primitive altar in the cave, they found an ivory box of sorts that contained the relics of Saint Bras and Saint Bartholomew. There was also an ancient scroll that they carefully removed. Opening the scroll, they found that it explained the history of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Divine Child, now known as Our Lady of Nazareth, as outlined above. The church Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Nazare was later built on the hilltop overlooking Nazare by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in the year 1377. Its construction was necessary due to the large number of pilgrims who continued to come to venerate the image.
Over the years it was often rebuilt, or had additions made, especially in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The profusely decorated and gilded apse displays the statue of Nossa Senhora da Nazare in a lighted niche above the main altar, flanked by twisted columns. The first King of Portugal, Don Afonso Henriques, as well as the chief nobles of his court, were among the early pilgrims to the shrine. Many notable figures came to visit Our Lady of Nazareth throughout history, including Vasco de Gama, who came as a pilgrim before setting out for India and Pedro Alvares Cabral, who later discovered Brazil. St Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the East, went on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Nazareth before later leaving for Goa.
A close-up of the little Statue in it’s niche above the Altar – at Christmas, see the little trees.
According to a plaque placed in the Chapel in 1623, the image was carved by Saint Joseph in Galilee when Jesus was a baby. Some decades later St Luke the Evangelist painted the faces and hands of the images. It remained in Nazareth until brought by the Greek Monk Ciriaco to the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to be one of the oldest images venerated by Christians.
Nossa Senhora de Nazaré in its Sanctuary of the Portuguese village of Nazaré.
St Cyriacus of Trier St Cyril of Constantinople St Evagrius of Constantinople St Fridolin Vandreren of Säckingen Bl Guillermo Giraldi St Heliodorus the Martyr Bl Jordan of Pisa St Julian of Toledo St Kyneburga of Castor St Kyneswide of Castor St Marcian of Tortona Bl Ollegarius of Tarragona St Patrick of Malaga St Sananus Blessed Sylvester of Assisi OFM (Died 1240) Priest
St Tibba of Castor St Venustus of Milan — Martyrs of Amorium – 42 saints – Also known as Martyrs of Syria and Martyrs of Samarra A group of 42 Christian senior officials in the Byzantine empire who were captured by forces of the Abbasid Caliphate when the Muslim forces overran the city of Amorium, Phrygia in 838 and massacred or enslaved its population. The men were imprisoned in Samarra, the seat of the Caliphate, for seven years. Initially thought to be held for ransom due to their high position in the empire, all attempts to buy their freedom were declined. The Caliph repeatedly ordered them to convert to Islam and sent Islamic scholars to the prison to convince them; they refused until the Muslims finally gave up and killed them. Martyrs. We know the names and a little about seven of them: • Aetios • Bassoes • Constantine • Constantine Baboutzikos • Kallistos • Theodore Krateros • Theophilos but details about the rest have disappeared over time. However, a lack of information did not stop several legendary and increasingly over-blown “Acts” to be written for years afterward. One of the first biographers, a monk name Euodios, presented the entire affair as a judgement by God on the empire for its official policy of Iconoclasm. Deaths: • beheaded on 6 March 845 in Samarra (in modern Iraq) on the banks of the Euphrates river by Ethiopian slaves • the bodies were thrown into the river, but later recovered by local Christians and given proper burial.
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours/Our Lady of Good Help, Montreal, Canada (1657) – 5 March:
This is the original Statue brought to the Chapel by St Marguerite Bourgeoys and which survived the fire intact, which though destroyed the entire Chapel, It is tiny, only 17cm tall.
Dedicated to Our Lady of Good Help, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, has been for 350 years the Sanctuary for seamen leaving Montreal for the seven seas. A wooden Chapel was built in 1657, replaced in 1675 by a building whose foundations serve the present Church which was erected in 1771.
Over the entrance is an inscribed message: “If the love of Mary is graven in your heart, forget not a prayer in passing.”
Our Lady of Good Help is a beautiful little Church, with fine paintings. On the walls are mosaics of St Marguerite Bourgeoys, who inspired the first Chapel and of Maisonneuve, Founder of Montreal, said to have felled the first oak for the Chapel. A narrow stairway, lined with pilgrims’ acknowledgments, leads to an aerial Chapel set in the roof. Here is a facsimile of the Santa Casa, the house of the Virgin carried by angels from Nazareth to Loreto. Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys was the Founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame. When she returned from France in 1673 she brought back with her a wooden statue of Our Lady of Good Help. It can still be seen in the reliquary on the gospel side of the altar, for when the Church burned in 1754, the statue was saved from the fire. This is not to say that someone took the statue from the Church, for after the fire had ravaged the original Chapel, the statue was found uninjured among the smouldering embers that remained. The mortal remains of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys were interred in the Sanctuary of the Church in the year 2005, the 350th anniversary of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours. She rests now at the feet of the statue she herself had brought from France. In 1849 the Bishop of Montreal placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin, Star of the Sea, atop the tower facing the harbour. For this reason, the Chapel is also known as the Sailor’s Church. There are votive offerings, carved ships, models of sailing ships suspended from the vault of the Chapel in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin for her assistance in their safe return from the sea.
St Adrian of Caesarea St Caron St Carthach the Elder Bl Christopher Macassoli of Vigevano St Clement of Santa Lucia St Colman of Armagh St Conon of Pamphylia Bl Conrad Scheuber St Eusebius of Cremona St Eusebius the Martyr St Gerasimus Bl Giovanna Irrizaldi Bl Ion Costist St John Joseph of the Cross OFM (1654-1734) – Priest Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/05/saint-of-the-day-5-march-st-john-joseph-of-the-cross-ofm-1654-1734/ St Kieran Bl Lazër Shantoja St Lucius I, Pope St Mark the Ascetic St Oliva of Brescia St Phocas of Antioch St Piran (Died 480) Abbot
Bl Roger Bl Romeo of Limoges St Theophilus of Caesarea St Virgilius of Arles
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde / Our Lady of the Guard , Marseille, France (1221) – 4 March:
The Statue inside the Basilica
Late one afternoon during the thirteenth century, a solitary French fisherman was fishing off the harbour of Marseille. Before he became aware of it, a terrific storm descended upon him. His boat tossed around like a shell and filled with water faster than he could bail it out. His rudder was lost. his mast snapped. Cutting himself free from the rigging with a knife, he had saved himself temporarily from certain drowning. Still, everything looked hopeless and he felt he could never get back to the harbour. The fisherman thought of the family he would never see again and cast a despairing look at the City, the huge rock standing like a sentinel or guard on the mountain which overlooked the City and harbour. Dimly through the gloom, he suddenly saw a solitary figure of a lady, dressed in white, standing firmly on the very top of the rock. She seemed to be extending her hand as if she would help him to the shelter and safety of the harbour. At once it came to him that the Lady so calmly defying the wind and rain could only be the Blessed Mother, so he prayed to her to help him. Almost immediately his boat ceased its wild tossing, righted itself and pushed by a friendly gust of wind, raced into the calm water of the harbour until it drove onto the shore at the very foot of the mountain. Stepping onto the shore, the fisherman fell to his knees and poured out his thanks to the Blessed Virgin and then hurried home to his worried family. The story of his rescue through the assistance of Our Lady, quickly spread throughout the port. It was remembered that other sailors, on numerous occasions during severe storms, had also seen the figure of the Lady on top of the rock. Always when she had appeared, the angry seas had calmed and their crafts had ridden safely into the shelter.
Soon everyone came to believe that the rock was the spot on which the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Guard, would appear whenever her help was desperately required. In thanksgiving to her the sailors of Marseille, in 1213-1218, erected a Chapel on top of the rock . In it they enshrined a lovely Statue of Our Lady. Around 1544, the Chapel was replaced by a large Church and the Statue transferred to it. Sometime during the French Revolution the Statue of Our Lady of Guard was destroyed but during the 1830’s a new Statue was dedicated. That Mary did not confine her help only to sailors was proved in the year 1832, when a severe epidemic of cholera struck Marseille, the people decided to appeal to Mary. Forming a procession, they climbed the mountain, removed the Statue from the Chapel, brought it down and solemnly carried it through the streets of the City. Almost immediately the epidemic waned and in a few days vanished. So they called Mary, Our Lady of Help – the sailors called her Our Lady of Mariners. Some years later, as the fame of the shrine on top of the mountain spread, more and more people made pilgrimages to venerate the Blessed Virgin. The shrine acquired still another name, a name more reflective of who Our Lady truly is for all who call upon her – Notre Dame de la Guarde – Our Lady of Guard, or Guardian.
In Marseilles today, the hill of Notre Dame de la Garde is topped by a beautiful Basilica, built in 1864, at an altitude of 550 feet. This commanding site, however, has been occupied by a Chapel since the year 1214. The interior has a multitude of sailors’ votive offerings and model ships are hung in all parts of it, as signs of thanksgiving for all the mariners who have been assisted by their heavenly mothe, the beautiful Stella Maris.. A golden statue of the Virgin and Child suitably dominates the City from its place on top of the western tower spire.
Votive replicas of ships saved at sea hang everywhere from the vaults of the Basilica
— St Adrian of May St Adrian of Nicomedia Bl Alexander Blake St Appian of Comacchio St Arcadius of Cyprus St Basinus of Trier Bl Christopher Bales St Felix of Rhuys St Gaius of Nicomedia Bl Humbert III of Savoy St Leonard of Avranches St Nestor the Martyr St Owen Bl Paolo of Brescia St Peter of Pappacarbone Blessed Placida Viel SSC (1815—1877) Virgin, Religious Sister Bl Rupert of Ottobeuren — Martyrs on the Appian Way – 900 saints – Group of 900 martyrs buried in the catacombs of Saint Callistus on the Appian Way, Rome, Italy.c260
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 20 saints – A group of 20 Christians murdered together for their faith. The only details about them to survive are three of their names – Archelaus, Cyrillos and Photius. Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey)
Martyrs of the Crimea – 7 saints – A group of 4th century missionary bishops who evangelized in the Crimea and southern Russia, and we martyred for their work. We know little else beyond the names – Aetherius, Agathodorus, Basil, Elpidius, Ephrem, Eugene and Gapito.
Martyred by Communists: Bl Giovanni Fausti, Bl Gjelosh Lulashi, Bl Kolë Shllaku, Bl Zoltán Lajos Meszlényi
Martyred by Elizabeth I: Bl Alexander Blake, Bl Christopher Bales, Bl Nicholas Horner
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