Saint of the Day – 10 June – Blessed Henry of Treviso (1250-1315) Layman, Widower and Father – born in c 1250 at Bolzano, Italy and died on 10 June 1315 in Treviso, Italy of natural causes. He is also known as Henry of Bolzano or Blessed Rigo. Patronage – Treviso.
Henry was born in Bolzano, Italy. He lived during the last part of the thirteenth and early part of the fourteenth centuries. Henry’s family was very poor, so he had no opportunity to learn to read and write. When he was a teenager, he moved to Treviso to find work. He became a day labourer. Few people realised that he gave away most of his earnings to the poor. He went to Mass daily and received Holy Communion as often as was permitted. Henry loved the Sacrament of Confession, too and found this Sacrament, of the forgiving God very encouraging.
People began to notice the kind of Christian Henry was. He made it his penance to be very diligent at his work. And he allowed ample time every day for private prayer, usually in a Church. Henry was known for his calm and gentle ways. Sometimes people teased him because he seemed like such a simple person. As he grew older, he began to look shabby and stooped. Children would comment at times on his peculiar appearance. But Henry didn’t mind. He realised that they did not know they were hurting him.
When Henry was too old and frail to work, a friend James Castagnolis, brought him into his own home. Mr Castagnolis gave Henry a room and food when the old man would accept it. Blessed Henry insisted that he live on the alms of the people of Treviso. They were generous in their donations of food because they knew that he shared their gifts with many people, who were poor and homeless. By the end of his life, Henry could barely walk. People watched with awe as the old man dragged himself to morning Mass. Often, he would visit other local Churches as well, painfully moving toward each destination.
What a mystery this good man was. When he died on 10 June 1315, people crowded into his little room. They wanted a Relic, a keepsake. They found his treasures – a prickly hair-shirt, a log of wood that was his pillow, some straw that was the mattress for his bed. They stripped the straw that served for his bed to keep as a Relic – there was not much else to take.
His body was moved to the Cathedral so that all the people could pay their tribute. Over two hundred miracles were reported within a few days after his death. A beautiful Altar was built in a side Chapel of the Cathedral in his honour, see below.
A beautiful Oratory was built in Treviso in honour of Blessed Henry.
Henry of Treviso was declared “Blessed” by Pope Benedict XIV on 23 July 1750 (cultus confirmed).
A Trevisan Priest, Fr Rambaldo degli Azzoni Avogari, published a hagiography of him in 1760.
Our Lady of the Grotto, Mellieħa, Malta:
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa is a Marian shrine in the village of Mellieħa in Malta. It was originally constructed in the late 16th century and contains a Byzantine-style fresco, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ on her right arm. Tradition has it that the painting was made by St Luke when he was shipwrecked on the island with St Paul. The church expanded several times to accommodate the growing population of the village and the roofed veranda is considered a classic example of 17th century Renaissance architecture. The sanctuary was blessed by St Pope John Paul II during his visit to Malta in May 1990.
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Bl Amata of San Sisto
St Amantius of Tivoli
St Asterius of Petra
St Bardo of Mainz
Bl Bogumilus of Gniezno
St Caerealis of Tivoli
St Censurius of Auxerre
St Crispulus of Rome Blessed Edward Johannes Maria Poppe (1890-1924) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/06/10/saint-of-the-day-10-june-blessed-edward-joannes-maria-poppe/
Bl Elisabeth Hernden
Bl Elizabeth Guillen
St Evermund of Fontenay
St Faustina of Cyzicus
Bl Gerlac of Obermarchtal
St Getulius of Tivoli Blessed Henry of Treviso (1250-1315)
St Illadan of Rathlihen
St Ithamar of Rochester Blessed John Dominici OP (c 1355-1419) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/10/saint-of-the-day-10-june-blessed-john-dominici-o-p-c-1355-1419/
Bl José Manuel Claramonte Agut
Bl Joseph Kugler
St Landericus of Novalese
St Landericus of Paris
Bl Mary Magdalene of Carpi
St Maurinus of Cologne
St Primitivus of Tivoli
St Restitutus of Rome
Bl Thomas Green
St Timothy of Prusa
Bl Walter Pierson
St Zachary of Nicomedia
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Martyrs of North Africa – 17 saints: A group of seventeen Christians martyred together in North Africa; the only surviving details are two of their names – Aresius and Rogatius. Both the precise location in North Africa and the date are unknown.
Martyrs of the Aurelian Way – 23 saints: A group of 23 martyrs who died together in the persecutions of Aurelian. The only details that survive are three of their names – Basilides, Mandal and Tripos. c.270-275 on the Aurelian Way, Rome, Italy.
Martyrs of the Hulks of Rochefort/Martyrs of La Rochelle – 64 beati: In 1790 the French Revolutionary authorities passed a law requiring priests to swear allegience to the civil constitution, which would effectively remove them from the authority of and allegience to, Rome. Many refused and in 1791 the government began deporting them to French Guyana. 827 priests and religious were imprisoned on hulks (old ships no longer sea-worthy and used for storage, jails, hospitals, etc.) at Rochefort, France to await exile, most on the Deux-Associés and the Washington which had previously been used to house slaves or prisoners. There they were basically ignored to death as there was little provision for food and water, less for sanitation and none at all for medical help. 542 of the prisoners died there.
The survivors were freed on 12 February 1795 and allowed to return to their homes. Many of them wrote about their time on the hulks and many of them wrote about the faith and ministry of those who had died. 64 of them have been positively identified and confirmed to have died as martyrs, dying for their faith, they are:
• Antoine Auriel• Antoine Bannassat• Augustin-Joseph Desgardin• Barthélemy Jarrige de La Morelie de Biars• Charles-Antoine-Nicolas Ancel• Charles-Arnould Hanus• Charles-René Collas du Bignon• Claude Beguignot
• Claude Dumonet• Claude Laplace• Claude Richard• Claude-BarnabéLaurent de Mascloux• Claude-Joseph Jouffret de Bonnefont• élie Leymarie de Laroche• Florent Dumontet de Cardaillac• François d’Oudinot de la Boissière
• François François• François Hunot• François Mayaudon• Gabriel Pergaud
• Georges-Edme René• Gervais-Protais Brunel• Jacques Gagnot• Jacques Lombardie• Jacques Retouret• Jacques-Morelle Dupas• Jean Baptiste Guillaume• Jean Bourdon• Jean Hunot• Jean Mopinot• Jean-Baptiste de Bruxelles• Jean-Baptiste Duverneuil• Jean-Baptiste Laborie du Vivier
• Jean-Baptiste Menestrel• Jean-Baptiste Souzy• Jean-Baptiste-Ignace-Pierre Vernoy de Montjournal• Jean-Baptiste-Xavier Loir• Jean-François Jarrige de la Morelie de Breuil• Jean-Georges Rehm• Jean-Nicolas Cordier
• Joseph Imbert• Joseph Juge de Saint-Martin• Joseph Marchandon
• Lazare Tiersot• Louis-Armand-Joseph Adam• Louis-François Lebrun
• Louis-Wulphy Huppy• Marcel-Gaucher Labiche de Reignefort• Michel-Bernard Marchand• Michel-Louis Brulard• Nicolas Savouret• Nicolas Tabouillot• Noël-Hilaire Le Conte• Paul-Jean Charles• Philippe Papon• Pierre Gabilhaud• Pierre Jarrige de la Morelie de Puyredon• Pierre-Joseph le roing de la Romagère• Pierre-Michel Noël• Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge• Pierre-Yrieix Labrouhe de Laborderie• Raymond Petiniaud de Jourgnac• Scipion-Jérôme Brigeat Lambert• Sébastien-Loup Hunot.
They died between 19 May 1794 and 23 February 1795 aboard prison ships docked at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France and were beatified on
1 October 1995 by St Pope John Paul II.
Quote/s of the Day – 9 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A and the Memorial of St Ephrem of Syria (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
“We give glory to You, Lord, who raised up Your Cross to span the jaws of death like a bridge by which souls might pass from the region of the dead to the land of the living. .. You are incontestably alive. Your murderers sowed Your living body in the earth as farmers sow grain but it sprang up and yielded an abundant harvest of men raised from the dead.”
“Jesus, who feared nothing, experienced fear and asked to be freed from death – although He knew it was impossible. How much more, must we persevere in prayer before temptation assails us – so that we may be freed when the test has come!”
“She bore within herself, as a child, Him by whom the world was filled. He descended to become the model that would renew Adam’s ancient image.”
“You gave us so many gifts on the day of Your birth, a treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick. spiritual light for the blind, the cup of salvation for the thirsty, the bread of life for the hungry.”
“We have had Your treasure hidden within us, ever since we received baptismal grace, it grows ever richer at Your sacramental table.”
“Mary’s titles are numberless… she is the palace in which the mighty King of kings abode, yet He did not cast her out when He came, because it was from her that He took flesh and was born. She is the new heaven in which dwelt the King of kings, in her, Christ arose and from her, rose up to enlighten creation, formed and fashioned in His image. She is the stock of the vine that bore the grape, she yielded a fruit greater than nature and He, although other than her in His nature, ripened in colour on being born of her. She is the spring from which living waters sprang up for the thirsty and all those who drank them, yielded fruit a hundredfold.”
St Ephrem (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 9 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings 17:7-16, Psalm 4:2-5, 7-8, Matthew 5:13-16 and the Feast of Our Lady of Grace and the Memorial of St Columba of Iona (521-597) Apostle of the Picts, Apostle to Scotland
“You are the salt of the earth but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? … You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.“…Matthew 5:13, 14
REFLECTION – “That is what we are as authentic disciples of Jesus.
Salt bring savour; light dispels darkness.
In order to bring savour, salt must identify with the food without losing it’s own identity. If it loses it’s own identity, it is fit only to be trampled underfoot.
Light dispels darkness. In fact, light and darkness are mutually exclusive because, where there is light there cannot be darkness and where there is darkness, light is absent.
But the light that we, as disciples of Jesus shed, must be mounted high, not for our own glory but that those who are enlightened may glorify and praise the Father.
If there is still so much darkness in our world, could it be that our light is not bright enough?” ,,, Msgr Alex Rebello, Diocese of Wrexham, Wales.
PRAYER – Holy Almighty Father, we pray that we may be the light of Your divine Son and the salt of the earth. Help us, we pray, to ever strive to be both the light and salt of the earth and may the protection of Our Lady of Grace, first disciple of Jesus and model, be of help to believers who live every day their vocation and mission in history. May our Mother help us, to let ourselves always be purified and illumined by the Lord, to become in turn “salt of the earth” and “light of the world. As St Columba of Iona brought both salt and light to the darkness of the pagan Scotland, grant we pray that his prayers may help us in our mission. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen…
Saint of the Day – 9 June – Saint Columba of Iona (521-597) Apostle of the Picts, Apostle to Scotland, Abbot, Missionary, Evangelist, Poet, Scholar and Writer – born on 7 December 521 at Garton, County Donegal, Ireland and died on 9 June 597 at Iona, Scotland and buried there. Patronages – Derry, against floods, bookbinders, poets, co-patron of Ireland and of Scotland. St Columba is also known as Coim, Colmcille, Colum, Columbkill, Columbkille, Columbus, Columcille, Columkill, Combs. Additional Memorials – 6 January as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, 17 June translation of relics.
His parents named him Crimtham (Pronounced Criffan) meaning “a fox.” This was not an unusual name at the time, as it signifies the type of attributes that a Celtic noble would need throughout his life – those of cunning and stealth. Later on Columba showed such gentleness, sweetness of nature and a desire for things sacred, that those around him called him Colm which means “a dove” and sometimes Colmcille, meaning “dove of the church.” The latter is the name most often given the saint in his native Ireland. More than likely St Columba would have been High King of Ireland had he not devoted his life to the best cause of all – proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ.
The son of a tribal chieftain, Columba was given the name Crimthann when he was Baptised shortly after his birth in Gartan, County Donegal. When he was a boy, he was so often found praying in the town church that his friends called him Colm Cille (Dove of the Church) and it was as Colm, or its Latin form Columba, that he was known for the rest of his life.
In his early 20s, Columba was strongly influenced by one of his teachers, St Finian of Clonard, and asked to be Ordained a Priest. When a prince cousin gave him some land at Derry, he decided to start a Monastery. Because of his love of nature Columba refused to build the Church facing east, as was the custom, he wanted to spare the lives of as many oak trees as he could. His foundation of another Monastery at Durrow 7 years later, was the beginning of an extraordinary decade during which he travelled through northern Ireland teaching about Christianity and inspiring many people by his personal holiness. He founded some 30 Monasteries in those 10 years.
Columba’s strong personality and forceful preaching aroused considerable antagonism. He was accused in 563 of starting a war between two Irish tribes and was sentenced by the high king never to see Ireland again, to spend the rest of his life in exile. This battle it is believed, resulted over what is today seen, as the first Copyright dispute in history – Columba had become involved in a quarrel with Finnian of Moville of Movilla Abbey over a psalter. Columba copied the manuscript at the Scriptorium under Finnian, intending to keep the copy. Finnian disputed his right to keep it.
With 12 companions he sailed from the shores he loved and settled on a bleak island called Iona off the coast of Scotland. The monks made occasional visits to the Scottish mainland, where they preached Christianity. Soon their community had 150 members.
In 575, Columba was persuaded to visit Ireland to mediate a dispute between the high king and the league of poets. Insisting on remaining faithful to the terms of his exile, that he never see Ireland again, he travelled blindfolded. Although his sympathies were with the poets, his reputation was respected by everyone. He spoke to the assembled nobles and clergy with such force and authority that the king was persuaded to reverse his original decree and the hostility between the two parties was calmed.
Columba spent the rest of his life on Iona, praying, fasting and teaching his monks to read and copy the Scriptures. He provided inspiration for their Missionary efforts and was influential, in the politics of Scotland. Long before his death in 597 he was regarded as a saint by his fellow monks and is today a beloved figure in Irish tradition.
Columba died on Iona and was buried in 597 by his monks in the Abbey he created. His relics were removed in 849 and divided between Scotland and Ireland. The parts of the relics which went to Ireland are reputed to be buried in Downpatrick, County Down, with Saint Patrick and Brigid of Kildare and at Saul Church neighbouring Downpatrick.
Iona Abbey
After his death Iona became a place of pilgrimage for kings and commoners. 60,000 of the latter still visit the rebuilt abbey every year. But did Columba leave any physical trace? His successor Adomnán, writing 100 years after the saint’s death, described him working in his cell on a rocky hillock. That knoll is called Tòrr an Aba – “the mound of the Abbot.” In 1957 the site was excavated by a team led by the Cornish historian and archaeologist Charles Thomas. On Tòrr an Aba the diggers found hazel charcoal, apparently the remains of a wattle hut. The site had been deliberately covered with beach pebbles and there was a hole where a post – possibly a cross – had been placed. Were these the remains of Columba’s cell? Charles Thomas thought so. Only 60 years later were carbon tests capable of being done and they have confirmed that this must’ve been St Columba’s cell.
The Dig in 1957
Dr Campbell who did the testing said: “This being St Columba, who is so important as a spiritual figure and as a person who founded this series of Monasteries which cultivated learning which spread throughout Europe, it’s really important. It’s really exciting to be able to touch some of the things that were associated with him.”Sixty years on, some of Prof Thomas’s fellow diggers on Iona are still alive. They were as sure as they could be, that this was the saint’s Scriptorium but lacked the backing of modern radiocarbon dating. Sadly Charles Thomas did not live to see his work vindicated. He died in 2016 a year before the definitive date of his samples could be established.
St Columba’s restored Cell
There is a lovely story, whereby St Columba prophesied his own death. It was the Sabbath and he told his fellow monks that his Sabbath was come, his time of departure, to the Lord.
As St Columba sat down, to rest his weary, aching body, the Monastery’s work horse approached him. It lay its head upon the saint’s shoulder, as though to console him and to wish him farewell. They remained there together for a short while.
Seventy-five years of prayer, mortification and fasting were almost at an end. The north of Scotland was converted. Monks, trained by St Columba had travelled southwards, setting up Monasteries and converting the northern English. Iona was becoming the great place of pilgrimage it has remained for centuries, to his day.
He made his way to the chapel, blessed his fellow monks and took his leave, expiring right there at the foot of the altar.
And I think it is extremely fitting at this time, to petition this great saint of Ireland to prayers of intercession, for the rekindling of the Faith in this land.
St Columba, Pray for Ireland.
St Columba, Pray for Scotland.
St Columba, Pray for Holy Mother Church.
St Columba, Pray for Us All!
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Bl Alexander of Kouchta
St Alexander of Prusa
Bl Anne Marie Taigi
St Arnulf of Velseca
St Baithen of Iona St Columba of Iona (521-597) Apostle of the Picts, Apostle to Scotland
St Comus of Scotland
St Cumian of Bobbio
St Cyrus
Bl Diana d’Andalo
St Diomedes of Tarsus
St Felicianus
Bl Henry the Shoemaker
St Jose de Anchieta
Bl Joseph Imbert
St Julian of Mesopotamia
St Luciano Verdejo Acuña
Bl Luigi Boccardo
St Maximian of Syracuse
St Pelagia of Antioch
St Primus
St Richard of Andria
Bl Robert Salt
Bl Sylvester Ventura
St Valerius of Milan
St Vincent of Agen
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Martyrs of Arbil – 5 saints: Five nuns who were martyred together in the persecutions of Tamsabur for refusing to renounce Christianity for sun-worship – Amai, Mariamne, Martha, Mary and Tecla. They were beheaded on 31 May 347 at Arbil, Assyria (in modern Kurdistan, Iraq)
One Minute Reflection – 8 June – Month of the Sacred Heart” – Monday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings 17:1-6, Psalm 121:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12 and the Memorial of Saint Medard (c 456-545) Bishop
“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” … Matthew 5:8
REFLECTION – “There is nothing as beautiful as a soul which is pure. If we understood this, we would be incapable of losing our purity. A pure soul is like a beautiful pearl. As long as it is concealed in a shell, at the bottom of the sea, no-one thinks of admiring it. But if you display it in the sun, then this pearl shines and draws people’s eyes.
Purity comes from Heaven, we have to ask God for it. If we ask for it, we shall receive it. We must take great care not to lose it. It closes our hearts to pride, sensuality and every other passion.
Children, we cannot understand the power which a pure soul has over the Good God – it receives all it wishes for. … Before God, a pure soul is like a child before its mother, it caresses her and hugs her and its mother returns its caresses and embraces.
To preserve our purity, there are three things – the Presence of God, prayer and the Sacraments.” … St John-Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) Curé d’Ars (Selected Thoughts of the Curé d’Ars).
PRAYER – Lord God and Father, grant us we pray, a heart like Your divine Son’s – His Sacred Heart is our standard and our goal – grant us a heart made of flesh, pure and beautiful in Your sight. May we ever seek Your Face and follow the love with which the Sacred Heart of Jesus guides our way. May the prayers of St Medan today, help us to be Your children, pure in heart. Through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
The Roman Martyrology states of St Medard and his twin brother, St Gildard, today: “At Soissons, in France, the birthday of St Medard, Bishop of Novon, whose life and precios death are illustrated by glorios miracles – at Rouen, St Gildard, Bishop, twin brother of St Medard,who was born with his brother on the same day, Consecrated Bishops at the same time and being taken away from this life, also on the same day, they entered Heaven together!”
Saint of the Day – 8 June – Saint Medard (c 456-545) Bishop and Confessor, Apostle of the poor – born in c 456 at Salency, Picardy, France – died on 8 June 545 at Noyon, France of natural causes. Patronages – the weather, invoked against toothache. St Medard was one of the most honoured Bishops of his time, often depicted laughing, with his mouth wide open and therefore he was invoked against toothache.
Saint Medard, one of the most illustrious prelates of the Church of France in the sixth century, was born of a pious and noble family, at Salency, about the year 457. From his childhood, he displayed the tenderest compassion for the poor. On one occasion he gave his coat to a destitute blind man and when asked why he had done so, he answered, that the misery of a fellow-member in Christ, so affected him that he could not help giving him part of his own clothes.
Being promoted to the Priesthood in the thirty third year of his age, he became a bright ornament of that sacred order. He preached the word of God with an unction which touched the hearts of the most hardened and the influence of his example, by which he enforced the precepts which he delivered from the pulpit, seemed irresistible.
In 530, Alomer, the thirteenth bishop of that country, died. St Medard was unanimously chosen to fill the see and was consecrated by St Remigius, who had Baptised King Clovis in 496, and was then exceeding old. Our Saint’s new dignity did not make him abate any of his austerities and, though at that time, seventy-two years old, he thought himself obliged to redouble his labours. Though his Diocese was very wide, it did not suffice his zeal, which could not be contained, when he saw the opportunity of advancing the honour of God and of abolishing the remains of idolatry. He overcame all obstacles and by his zealous labours and miracles, the rays of the Gospel dispelled the mists of idolatry throughout the whole extent of his Diocese. What rendered this task more difficult and perilous, was the savage and fierce disposition of the ancient inhabitants of Flanders, who were the most barbarous of all the nations of the Gauls and Franks.
In 545, our Saint, having completed this great work in Flanders, returned to Noyon, where shortly after, he fell ill and soon rested from his labours at an advanced age. The whole kingdom lamented his death as the loss of their common father and protector. His body was buried in his own Cathedral but the many miracles wrought at his tomb so moved King Clotaire that he transferred the precious remains to Soissons. The Statue and the Gospel book below belonged to St Medard and reside at Soissons.
As a child, St Medard was said to have once been sheltered from rain by an eagle which hovered over him. This is how he was most commonly depicted and is why he is associated with weather, good or bad and why he is held to protect those who work in the open air. The French rhyme is: Quand il pleut à la Saint-Medard, il pleut quarante jours plus tard – If it rains on St Medard’s Day, it rains for forty days more.
Every year at Salency (Medard’s birthplace) near Noyon, France (and certain other villages) “the most virtuous young girl of the year” of the community is elected the Rosière. The custom is said to have been started by St Médard himself and the first Rosaire is said to have been his sister, Sainte Médrine. Clothed in a long white dress, the Rosière is escorted to Mass by 12 young girls dressed in white and 12 young boys. After Mass, accompanied by two godmothers, she is crowned with a crown of 12 roses, decorated a blue ribbon and a silver ring, at the chapel of St Médard. Then she goes to receive a bouquet of roses from the mayor, who also presents her with two arrows, two tennis balls and a whistle. She blows the whistle three times and throws nuts to the assembled crowd. The procession is followed by a fair with rides, stalls and fireworks.
Our Lady of Sunday: Also known as Notre-Dame du Dimanche
About the Apparition:
An apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Auguste Arnaud on 8 June 1873 and 8 July 1873. Arnaud was married, the father of two, and a winemaker who regularly skipped Sunday Mass to work his vineyards. Our Lady appeared to him in the vineyard on 8 June and reminded him“You must not work on Sundays.” In honour of this blessing, Arnaud placed a Cross and a Statue of Mary at the site in the field. On 8 July Our Lady appeared again, this time to both Auguste and his neighbours who had gathered there and told them, “You must never work on Sunday! Blessed are those who believe.”
Dates: 8 June and 8 July in 1873
Location: vineyard in Saint-Bauzille-de-la-Sylve, l’Hérault, France
Approval: 1876 by Bishop de Cabrières
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St Anne Mary Taigi
St Bron of Cassel
St Calliope
St Clodulf of Metz
Bl Engelbert of Schäftlarn
St Eustadiola of Moyen-Moutier
St Fortunato of Fano
St Gildard of Rouen
Bl Giorgio Porta
Bl Giselbert of Cappenberg
St Heraclius of Sens
Bl István Sándor St Jacques Berthieu SJ (1838-1896) Biography:
Bl John Davy
Bl John Rainuzzi
Bl Maddallena of the Conception
Bl Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan
St Maximinus of Aix St Medard (c 456-545)
St Melania the Elder
St Muirchu
St Pacificus of Cerano
Bl Peter de Amer
Bl Robert of Frassinoro
St Sallustian
St Syra of Troyes
St Victorinus of Camerino
St William of York
Saint of the Day – 7 June – Blessed Ana of St Bartholomew OCD (1550-1626) – Bl Ana was an early member of St Teresa of Àvila’s Discalced Carmelite Order, Mystic, Spiritual writer, apostle of the poor, Prioress – born Ana García Manzanas on 1 October 1549 at Almendral, Spain and died on 7 June 1626 at Antwerp, Belgium at the time known as the County of Flanders, Spanish Netherlands of natural causes, aged 75. Patronage – Antwerp.
Ana García Manzanas was born in Almendral de la Cañada on 1 October 1550 as the seventh child to Ferdinand García and Maria Mancanas. On the date of her birth she was also Baptised in the Parish Church of His Holiness the Saviour. Together with her three brothers and three sisters she was raised to be close to God by her pious parents. The entire household – on a frequent basis – attended Daily Mass and recited the Holy Rosary together. Her father had a Priest teach the children the doctrine of the faith, while her mother opened their home to the poor and adopted orphans to raise as her own.
In her childhood she loved the paintings that depicted the Passion of the Lord and she wanted to be associated with His suffering – even if in a minor way by giving her food to beggars. She often walked barefoot along stoney paths, in order that she could offer the pain, to her suffering Lord. She said later in this regard:
“I will say here, for the glory of our Lord, that He always gave me consolations when I did good to my neighbour, when the occasion presented itself and when I aided them in their need. I inconvenienced myself, it is true, on these occasions but I found instead of an inconvenience it was a real consolation. It is to the good Master I owe it and it has remained so with me until this day. May His holy Name be blessed!”
In 1559 her mother died and in 1560 her father died. This period turned out to be a time in her life, that she described as being flung into her “deepest affliction.” When she was of the proper age, her older siblings wanted her to enter into marriage, though in her heart she desired to become a religious. Her older brothers tried to test her will, by giving her the difficult task, of sharing the work of the labourers in the fields, in the hope that she would renounce her calling. But once her brothers did this, she refused to speak to them and to any men and thus granting them the opportunity to converse with her, so as to defend herself from marriage, since she wanted to be married to God. The brothers felt that she was too tenderhearted to withstand the austere mode of Monastic life and presumed she would soon leave the Convent life and thus burden the household with dishonour.
Ana experienced visions and apparitions that made her unwilling to give up her dream, though on one occasion had a frightful apparition of a giant demon that scared her to the point of illness. Her relatives became quite concerned for her wellbeing and so took her to a hermitage dedicated to Saint Bartholomew to make a novena. Once she arrived outside the hermitage she was at once seized with paralysis and when her relatives carried her in – and not long after entering – she found herself cured of this extreme affliction.
Finally, on 2 November 1570, Ana entered the Discalced Carmelites as a secular member. She was the first secular that the foundress Teresa of Ávila accepted. She made her religious vows on 15 August 1572. For the next decade she filled the post of a nurse in the Infirmary.
In 1577, when St Teresa broke her left arm, she chose Ana as her personal assistant, nurse and secretary and during the next 5 years Ana was her inseparable companion, travelling with her and assisting in the last four foundations. All of Teresa’s letters in the last few years of her life were dictated to Ana. Teresa died in Ana’s arms in 1582 at the monastery in Alba de Tormes.
Following the death of the Foundress, she returned to Ávila and took part in the foundation of a Convent at Ocana (1595). And she was one of the seven nuns selected for the introduction of the Order into the Kingdom of France on 15 October 1604. In 1605, the French Carmelites appointed Ana the Superior of the Convent in Pontoise. This was a highly unusual step, as Ana was a “secular Carmelite,” meaning she was not part of the choir and removed from the Convent’s life of prayer. She was thus consecrated as a religious sister and took over the Convent at Pontoise. So unusual a step met with the disapproval of her companions but – as the Foundress – had once foretold – she offered no resistance. Ana had also been forewarned that her elevation would cause her great sufferings.
Ana became the prioress of several different Convents: Tours, Flanders, and finally Antwerp, which she governed to the end of her life. Twice she was instrumental in delivering the town from the hands of Protestant forces.
Ana died on 7 June 1626. Soon after her death, miracles were attributed to her intercession and by 1632 over 150 miracles had been approved. She proved herself, like St Teresa, a daughter of the Church in her great zeal for souls. In 1735 Pope Clement XII declared the heroicity of her virtues and Pope Benedict XV Beatified Ana on 6 May 1917.
Her spiritual writings and letters are preserved in Antwerp and Paris.
Father,
rewarder of the humble,
you blessed Your servant Ana of Saint Bartholomew
with outstanding charity and patience.
May her prayers help us
and her example inspire us,
to carry our cross
and be faithful in loving You
and others for your sake.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen
St Meriadoc I of Vannes
St Meriadoc II of Vannes
St Odo of Massay
St Potamiaena of Alexandria the Younger
St Quirinus of Cluny
St Robert of Newminster
St Sergius of Cluny
St Vulflagius of Abbeville
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Martyrs of Africa – 7 saints: A group of seven Christians who were martyred together. No details about them have survived except the names – Donata, Evasius, Guirillus, Januaria, Privata, Spisinna, Victurus. The precise location in Africa and date are unknown.
Martyred in Córdoba, Spain:
Habentius of Córdoba
Jeremiah of Córdoba
Peter of Córdoba
Sabinian of Córdoba
Wallabonsus of Córdoba
Wistremundus of Córdoba
Quote/s of the Day – 6 June – The Memorial of St Norbert (c 1080-1134) and St Marcellin Champagnat FMS (1789-1840)
On the day of his ordination, St Norbert said:
“O Priest! You are not of yourself because you are of God. You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ. You are not your own because you are the spouse of the Church. You are not yourself because you are the mediator between God and man. You are not from yourself because you are nothing. What then are you? Nothing and everything. O Priest! Take care, lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you: ‘He saved others, himself he cannot save!”
“You will never enjoy the sweetness of a quiet prayer, unless you shut your mind, to all worldly desires and temporal affairs.”
St Norbert (c 1080-1134)
“All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus.”
One Minute Reflection – 6 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Psalm 71:8-9, 14-17, 22, Mark 12:38-44 and the Memorial of St Norbert O.Praem (c 1080-1134) and St Marcellin Champagnat FMS (1789-1840)
“For they all contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”…Mark 12:44
REFLECTION – “Now, if someone is wondering what the cost is, here is their answer – He who offers a Kingdom in heaven has no need of earthly coin. No-one can offer God anything, except what already belongs to Him, since all that exists is His. And yet, God does not give away so great a thing, without a price being placed on it, He does not give it to someone who doesn’t value it. For indeed, nobody gives away something they hold dear without placing some kind of value on it.
From now on, then, if God has no need of your goods, neither does He have to give you this great thing, if you refuse to love Him, all He requires is love, without which nothing constrains His giving. Love, then, and you will receive the Kingdom, love and you will possess it… Love God more than yourself and already, you begin to have what it is you desire to possess fully, in heaven.”… St Anselm (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Lord God, Your Son has shown us the way. As we follow in His steps, may we never wander from the path that leads to life. Renew the wonders of Your grace in our hearts so that neither death nor life may separate us from Your love. Holy Father, as You were glorified by the life and death of St Norbert and St Marcellin, grant that by their prayers, we may receive strength to always give You our hearts, minds and complete selves. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, with You in union with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 6 June – Blessed Innocenty Józef Wojciech Guz OFM (1890-1940) Priest of the Franciscan Conventual and Martyr of the Nazi Regime – born as Józef Adalbert Guz on 8 March 1890 in n Lemberg, Austria (present-day Poland) and died from trauma resulting from having a charged fire hose stuffed down his throat on 6 June 1940 in the prison camp at Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg, Oberhavel, Germany. He was 50 years old. Additional Memorial – 12 June as one of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II.
After high school Jozef tried to join the Jesuits but was turned down. On 25 August 1908 be joined the Franciscans, taking the name Innocenty. He studied philosophy and theology in Krakow, Poland and was ordained on 2 June 1914. He served as a Parish Priest in a number of cities and worked with Saint Maximilian Kolbe.
He was a confessor to a Franciscan monastery at Niepokalanów, Poland from 1933 to 1936, vice-master of clerics and singing teacher in the minor seminary and Parish Priest in Grodno, Poland.
He was imprisoned by invading Russia troops on 21 March 1940 for the crime of being a Polish Priest but he managed to escape and went to the German zone, where he was arrested by the Gestapo. He was sent to several prisons before finally ending at the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen where he was severely beaten and put to forced labour. When he could not work, owing to a broken leg, he was nearly drowned and finally murdered.
He was Beatified on 13 June 1999 by St Pope John Paul II at Warsaw, Poland. Below are the Franciscan Martyrs of the World War II.
St Agobard of Lyon
St Alexander of Fiesole
St Alexander of Noyon
St Amantius of Noyon
St Anoub of Skete
St Artemius of Rome
St Bazalota of Abyssinia
St Bertrand of Aquileia
St Candida of Rome
St Ceratius of Grenoble
St Claudius of Besançon
St Cocca
St Colmán of Orkney
Bl Daniel of Bergamo
St Euphemia of Abyssinia
St Eustorgius II of Milan
Bl Falco of La Cava
Bl Gerard Tintorio
Bl Gilbert of Neufontaines
St Grazia of Germagno
St Gudwall
Bl Gundisalvus of Azebeyro
St Hilarion the Younger Blessed Innocenty Józef Wojciech Guz OFM (1890-1940) Priest and Martyr of the Nazi Regime
St Jarlath of Tuam
St John of Verona
Bl Lorenzo de Masculis St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840) Wonderful St Marcellin:
St Paulina of Rome
St Phêrô Dung
St Phêrô Thuan
St Rafael Guízar y Valencia
St Vincent of Bevagna
St Vinh-Son Duong
Bl William Greenwood
—
Marytrs of Tarsus: A group of 20 martyrs who were killed together during the persecutions of Diocletian. They were martyred in Tarsus (in modern Turkey).
Mercedarian Fathers of Avignon: Several Mercedarians from the Santa Maria convent of Avignon, France who worked with plague victims in that city and died of the disease themselves. They died in Avignon, France of plague.
Quote/s of the Day – 5 June – The Memorial of St Boniface (c 672-754) “The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr
Let us listen to these very appropriate quotes for our times!
“In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course.”
“Let us pray the gracious Defender of our life, the only sure refuge of those in trouble, that His right hand may keep us safe amidst these dens of wolves and, that He may guard us from harm, so that the footsteps of apostates walking in darkness may not be found, where should be the beautiful feet of those who carry the peaceful light of the Gospel but, that the most gracious Father and God may help us to gird up our loins, with bright candles in our hands and that He may enlighten the hearts of the heathen to gaze at the glorious Gospel of Christ. Amen”
One Minute Reflection – 5 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Friday of the Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Psalm 119:157, 160-161, 165-166, 168, Mark 12:35-37 and the Memorial of St Boniface (672-754) “The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr and Bl Malgorzata Szewczyk (1828-1905)
David himself calls him ‘lord.’ … Mark 12:37
REFLECTION – “Be mindful of the mystery of Christ! Born from the Virgin’s womb, both Servant and Lord – Servant to set to work, Lord to command so that He might plant a Kingdom for God in people’s hearts. Twofold in origin but one in nature, He is not one thing when He comes from the Father, another when He comes from the Virgin. He is the very same, the one born of the Father before all ages and who has taken flesh of the Virgin in the course of time. And that is why He is named both Servant and Lord – Servant with respect to us but, due to the unity of the divine substance, God from God, Principle from Principle, Son equal in all things to the Father who is His equal. For the Father has not begotten a Son different to Himself – the Son of whom He asserted: “In him I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17) (…)
In every respect the Servant preserves His titles of dignity. God is great and the Servant is also great – when He came in the flesh He did not lose this “greatness that has no limit” (Ps 145[144]:3) … “Though he was in the form of God he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6-7) … Therefore, as Son of God He is equal to God, He took the form of a slave by becoming incarnate, He whose greatness has no limit “tasted death” (Heb 2:9) (…)
How good is the condition of the Servant who has set us all free! Yes, how good it is! It won for Him “the name which is above all other names!” How good that humility is! It was through it that, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11).” … St Ambrose (c 340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church – Sermon on Psalm 36[35]:4-5
PRAYER – Lord, Your martyr Boniface, spread the faith by his teaching and witnessed to it with his blood. Grant we pray, that the name of our Lord and God, Your divine Son, may be ever on our lips and in our hearts. May we bow in worship to our Lord Jesus now and forever, amen! By the help of the prayers of St Boniface and Bl Malgorzata Szewczyk, grant that we may be ever loyal to our faith and grant us the courage to profess it in our lives. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 5 June – Blessed Malgorzata Szewczyk (1828-1905). She was called “an Angel of Kindness”– Religious and Founder of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God, known commonly as the “Seraphic Sisters,” Apostle of Mercy and Charity to the poor, needy, homeless, the sick and orphans – born as Łucja Szewczyk in 1828 in Szepetówka, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine and died on 5 June 1905 in Nieszawa, Aleksandrów, Poland. Patronage – the Seraphic Sisters.
Łucja Szewczyk was born in 1828 in a noble family in Volhynia. Orphaned at an early age, she was cared for by her half-sister. In the difficult situation of partitions and persecution of the Church at the age of 20, she made her tertiary profession in the Third Order of St Francis. She learned to love “love who is not loved” from the poor man from Assisi.
At the age of 42, together with another tertiary she went on a dangerous journey to the Holy Land. She went all the way to Odessa on foot. There she boarded a ship that sailed to her dream destination. In Jerusalem, she worked at St Joseph’s Hospital alongside French nuns. During her three-year stay in the land of Jesus, she surrendered her life to Our Lady of Sorrows. Here, in the footsteps of the Lord, she discovered her calling – she wished to live “for the glory of God and for the good of suffering humanity.”
After returning from the Holy Land and Loreto, in 1880, she went to Zakroczym near Warsaw. On the advice of Father Honorat Koźmiński, who became her Spiritual Director, the first step she took was to invite two poor and sick elderly women to live in her apartment. According to her memoirs, she carried two elderly women on her own back, whom she cared for. She took care of them in secret, because charitable or church activities were forbidden, according to the decrees of the Russian Emperor, who at the time ruled over Poland. When taking her Franciscan vows, in addition to obedience, poverty and chastity, she took a vow pledging mercy to the needy. Father Honoratwrote: “Łucja felt a desire to devote herself to the misery of the poor … She found paupers and devoted herself to them with a strange passion…. Encouraged by her example, pious people began to join her. … God blessed her.”
Later to accommodate the growing number and better serve those in need, she decided to purchase a new house with a garden. On the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows – on 8 April 1881, she founded a new Congregation, initially under the name of the Sisters of the Poor. Father Honorat chose their Superior, Łucja, who took the name Małgorzata. For the first 10 years, the sisters operated in the Russian partition in a hidden way. Mother Małgorzata opened houses in Warsaw and Częstochowa. In 1891 she went to Galicia, where there was greater religious freedom. She founded a religious house in Hałcnów. The Congregation adopted Franciscan habits and a new name: Daughters of Our Lady of Sorrows.
A year later, the construction of the Monastery in Oświęcim began, which became the Motherhouse of the “Seraphic Sisters.” The sisters created an orphanage for children, a shelter for sick and abandoned old men, a tailoring and embroidery workshop for girls. There was also an orphanage in Żywiec, a religious institution in Wielka Wieś (teaching), in Przemyśl (to serve in a local hospital), Stryj and Frydrychowice (orphanages for children, a shelter for the elderly), Siemiechów (teaching), Przemyślany (hospital ministry), Drohobych (orphanage, orphanage), in Mogila near Kraków (teaching in elementary school) and Jarosław (hospital ministry). Mother Małgorzata, by her example, encouraged the sisters, by using the sick and neglected, to reach their souls and to preserve the “holy virtue of poverty.”
In 1904, after twenty-three years, Mother Małgorzata, “burdened with age and physical weaknesses,” she resigned from the post of Superior General. She went to Nieszawa, a branch which at that time was the only one operating within the Russian partition. She became a “little” sister again. She continued to serve the needy and, toward the end of her life, offered her suffering for their intentions.
The inhabitants of Nieszawa called their Mother Małgorzata “an Angel of Kindness.” She spent the last months of her life “praying constantly.” She died on 5 June 1905. Crowds of people attended her funeral in 1905. The “mother of the poor and orphaned” was beatified on 9 June 2013 in Krakow, where the Motherhouse of the congregation she founded is currently located, at 3 Łowiecka.
In 1931, her remains were moved from Nieszawa to the cemetery chapel in Oświęcim and in 1951 – to the local church which she, herself had built.
Translation of the Bl Małgorzata’s Relics
Mother Małgorzata makes us careful not to pass by a person who may not seem in need but suffers from loneliness, rejection and ill health. It is not enough to secure someone materially or give him professional help. One must first see a person, a human being, because human suffering has a specific face.
Bl Małgorzata ‘s Order now operates in places such as Belarus and France and in 2005 had 679 religious in 76 houses. The Order received the Papal Decree of praise from Pope Pius X on 12 February 1909 and full pontifical approval from Pope Pius XII on 3 March 1953. At some stage the order was aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
Bl Małgorzata was Beatified on 9 June 2013, Sanktuarium Bożego Miłosierdzia, Kraków, Poland by Cardinal Angelo Amato.
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St Adalar of Erfurt
Bl Adalbert Radiouski
Bl Adam Arakawa
St Austrebertus of Vienne
St Claudius of Egypt and Companions
St Ðaminh Huyen
St Ðaminh Toai
St Dorotheus of Tyre
St Elleher
St Eoban of Utrecht
St Eutichius of Como
St Evasius of Africa
St Felix of Fritzlar
Bl Ferdinand of Portugal
St Franco of Assergi
St Genesius, Count of Clermont
St Gregory of Lilybaeum
St Gundekar
St Hadulph
St Luke Loan Blessed Malgorzata Lucja Szewczyk (1828-1905)
Bl Meinwerk of Paderborn
St Privatus of Africa
St Sanctius of Córdoba
St Tudno of Caernarvon
St Waccar
Martyrs of Caesarea:
A group of Christians who converted together, were imprisoned together, tortured together, and martyred together. We know nothing more about them but their names – Cyria, Marcia, Valeria and Zenaides.
Died
Caesarea, Palestine, date unknown.
Martyrs of Egypt:
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Galerius Maximian. The only other information was have is three of their names – Apollonius, Marcian and Nicanor.
Died
in Egypt, date unknown.
Martyrs of Perugia:
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than their names – Cyriacus, Faustinus, Florentius, Julian and Marcellinus.
Died
beheaded in 250 in Perugia, Italy
Martyrs of Rome:
26 Christians martyred together. We have no details about them but their names – Candida, Castula, Fappa, Felician, Felicitas (2 of), Felicula, Fortunatus, Gagus, Gregor, Hilarius, Ingenuus, Juliana, Martialis, Maurus, Mustilus, Nicander, Prima, Rogata, Rutianus, Sacrinus, Saturnin, Secundian, Secundus, Urbicus, Victurus.
Died
• Rome, Italy, date unknown
• relics transferred to Antwerp, Belgium, date unknown
Second Thoughts of the Day – 4 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Francis Caracciolo CRM (1563-1591) Priest, Founder
From the Clerics Regular Minor – Adorno Fathers
In the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina in Rome, there is a sacred image of the Blessed Mother entitled, LA MADONNA DELLA SANITÀ, or rendered in English as Our Lady of Health.
This ancient image had been lost for centuries but was rediscovered as the structure was being restored in the church during the time of Pope Sixtus V. It was moved to the main altar above the painting of the Crucifixion by Guido Reni, see below.
A few years later, Pope Paul V entrusted this church to the Clerics Regular Minor.
His Holiness, who had great esteem for St Francis Caracciolo, spoke to him at length about the Sacred Image of the Madonna, recommending its veneration, entitled Our Lady of Health, in regard to the many graces which were granted to the sick, even during times of plague.
The Clerics Regular Minor promulgated this devotion among the faithful over the years.
In 1867, when a terrible plague afflicted the City of Rome, the faithful of San Lorenzo in Lucina, encouraged by the Clerics Regular Minor, invoked Mary’s aid under this title by reviving this devotion and they were freed from the scourge of cholera.
In 1868, in thanksgiving for graces received, a booklet entitled “Cenni Istorici della Madonna della Sanità di S. Lorenzo in Lucina “ with prayers was published.
Let us invoke the aid of the Blessed Mother under the title of “LA MADONNA DELLA SANITÀ” during this time of for the end of the evil virus and the conversion of sinners.
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF HEALTH—PREGHIERA ALLA MADONNA DELLA SANITÀ
God gave you, O pre-elected Mary, Mother of the eternal Word, who through such a lofty dignity, filled you with divine Wisdom, who became the wonder of the Angels, the marvel of the world, the Queen of Heaven, the Cooperator of Christ in the redemption of the whole human family and our Mother of love and mercy. Oh! full of joy, we praise and thank the Divine Word for having graced you with so many sublime gifts, enriched by His divine Wisdom. Though we are wretched sinners but humbled and repentant, we turn to your Son Jesus, our Advocate before His Divine Father and to you, our most wise Mother of Mercy, to obtain for us the forgiveness of our sins with sincere sorrow. Say unto the Divine Child, whom you hold close to your bosom, that we strive to be devout and offer Him our repentant hearts again and we will be saved. Give us those graces and help that we need for the benefit of our eternal salvation. Help every devoted infirm person, who trusts in you, by means of this devout exercise to this prodigious Imagine for those who have recourse to you. The favours and graces which you always give to those who trust in you are innumerable and, the new graces, you have obtained, show us that you are for us always, our Mother of Health. Oh Our most loving Mother, obtain for us again from your Son Jesus, our most lovable Redeemer, that we may always trust in His infinite merits and in your most powerful intercession, to obtain, with the graces that we ask for in our temporal needs, the eternal salvation of our souls. AMEN
Thought for the Day – 4 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Blessed Eucharist
“It is from the loving Heart of Jesus that His innumerable gifts come to us – His graces, the Sacraments, the supernatural work of our redemption. His many acts of mercy and compassion, of which we read in the pages of the Gospel, show us the immensity of the love which His Heart bore for us.
The greatest of all His gifts to us, is the Eucharist, for in the Eucharist, He gives us, not merely His gifts but Himself, the Author of all these gifts. There are three great mysteries which show us, in a special way, the infinite love of God for us and indicate, although in a manner which we cannot clearly comprehend, that He is love itself. “God is love.” (1 Jn 4:8) These three mysteries are the Creation, the Incarnation and the Eucharist. God, infinitely perfect and happy in Himself, wished to impart something of His infinite perfection. He created the universe and made man master of it. But, ungrateful man separated himself from God by sin. He became engulfed in an abyss of evil from which he was incapable of rising to return to God, his only good. Then God, in another mysterious act of love, became man. The Eternal Word assumed a human form, taught us the way to Heaven, gave us the means of reaching it and died for our sins on the Cross. We could never meditate sufficiently on this profound mystery of love.
There was more to follow, however. When Jesus was returning to His heavenly Father, He wished to remain among us. During His earthly life, He had given Himself completely up, to the final immolation on Calvary. But, He wished to give us Himself for all time, until the end of the world. This is the explanation of the Eucharist, which is Jesus dwelling amongst us as our nourishment and as our consolation in life and at the hour of death.
By means of this wonderful gift, we can live the life of Jesus Himself!”
Quote/s of the Day – 4 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Francis Caracciolo CRM (1563-1591) Priest, Founder
“Let’s go, let’s go to heaven.”
His last words
“The zeal of your house consumes me”
(Ps 69:10)
“My most beloved Lord, how good you are! Blood of Christ shed for me! It is mine, do not deny it to me because it is mine! O priests, strive to offer Mass everyday, inebriate yourselves with this blood. O Paradise, O Paradise, Blessed are those who live in your house, O Lord.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Thursday of the Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14, Mark 12:28-34
Jesus replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” … Mark 12:29-31
REFLECTION – “It is God we love; love of God is the first commandment but the second is like it, namely, that it is only through others that we can return love for love to God.
The danger is when the second commandment becomes the first. However, we have a means of control which is to love each person, to love Christ, to love God in each person, without preference or distinction or exception.
The second danger is, that we cannot do it and will not do it, if we separate charity from faith and hope.
It is prayer that gives us faith and hope. Without prayer we won’t be able to love. …
Faith and hope infused by prayer, are what will clear the path of our love from its most cluttering obstacle – self-love.
The third danger is to love, not “as Jesus has loved us” but in a human fashion. And perhaps this is the greatest danger of all. …
It is not our own love we are to give, it is God’s love. The love of God, a divine person, the gift of God to us but which remains a gift, which has to pass through us, so to speak, to pierce us, in order go elsewhere, to enter others.” … Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl (1904-1964) Missionary to the Outcasts, Author, Poet, Mystic – Fulfilling even on this earth the love for which God has created us (The joy of believing)
PRAYER – God power and mercy, by whose grace, Your people give You praise and worthy service, help us to see Your face in our neighbour. To love them all as we love You. Save us from faltering on our way and grant us the joys You have promised. St Francis Caracciolo, you who loved even unto death, kindly assist our journey by your prayers. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 4 June – Saint Francis Caracciolo CRM (1563-1608) Priest, co-Founder of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular Minor with Venerable John Augustine (1551-1587) the “Adorno Fathers,” Confessor, Apostle of the Eucharistic Adoration – born as Ascanio Pisquizio on 13 October 1563 at his family’s castle at Villa Santa Maria, Abruzzi, Italy and died on 4 June 1608 at Agnone, Italy of a fever, aged 44. Patronages – Association of Italian Cooks (chosen in 1996), Naples, Italy (chosen in 1838).
Francis Caracciolo was born of a noble family on 13 October 1563 in Villa Santa Maria (Abruzzo Region). His parents, Ferrante Caracciolo and Isabella Baratucci Baptised him as Ascanio. He received an excellent educational formation and Catholic education and these showed from his virtues, evident from his early childhood.
When he was 22 years old, he was inflicted by a terrible disease which almost led him to death. In this trial he heard the Lord’s call and was ready to dedicate his life completely in the service of God and neighbour, if he would recover.
After his miraculous cure, Ascanio, faithful to his promise, renounced all his properties and noble titles. He left his home and went to Naples to prepare himself for the Priesthood. He was Ordained a Priest and joined the Confraternity of the White Servants of Justice (I Bianchi), a confraternity that looked after the spiritual welfare of prisoners and those condemned to death. It was located close to the Hospital of Incurables.
His real work was revealed to him, however, in 1587, when he mistakenly received a letter addressed to a relative of the same name, Father Fabrizio Caracciolo, the Abbot of St Mary Major in Naples. He learned from it that the writer, Father Augustine Adorno of Genoa, was planning to found a religious Order of Priests whose work would combine both active and contemplative life. The project appealed to Ascanio and he soon joined forces with Augustine Adorno and Fabrizio Caracciolo.
It was the period after the Council of Trent and Ascanio felt strongly the ideals of the Catholic Reform and saw this opportunity, as a providential sign from God. He immediately made himself available to the initiatives of Augustine and Fabrizio.
The three fathers retreated to the Camaldolese hermitage in Naples to write the first Constitutions of the Order. In addition to the three evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, they contemplated a fourth vow – the renunciation of any ecclesiastical dignity. A particular dedication to the divine worship centred on the Eucharistic Devotions nourished by the Circular Prayer and an austere life expressed in the Circular Penitence were indicated as the main qualities of the spirituality of the new religious Order.
After their stay in the hermitage, Ascanio and Augustine went on foot to Rome to ask for the Papal approval. Sixtus V granted their petition and on 1 July 1588, the new Religious Order was approved under the name of Clerics Regular Minor.
Augustine Adorno and Ascanio Caracciolo made their Religious Profession in the Chapel of the White Servants of Justice (I Bianchi) in Naples on 9 April 1589. Ascanio took the name Francis in honour of his devotion to St Francis of Assisi. They chose the motto: Ad Maiorem Resurgentis Gloriam – For the greater glory of the Risen Christ.
The first community of the Clerics Regular Minor lived and carried out their apostolate at the Church of Mercy in Naples. A few days later, they went on a journey to Spain with the intent of establishing the Order there. They were unsuccessful in establishing the Congregation but, they made contacts with other religious orders and leaders. They came back to Naples after a very tiring trip which caused Francis enormous suffering.
In 1591, while Francis took possession of the Church of St Mary Major in Naples, Augustine Adorno went to Rome for the ratification of the approval of the Order by Pope Gregory XIV. The Pope graciously granted the new Order all the same privileges that other religious institutes have.
In September of the same year, Augustine died prematurely at the age of 40. Most of the responsibilities and concerns of the new religious family fell upon Francis, who became the first Superior General during the First General Chapter in 1593. He accepted out of obedience the office for three years.
Francis was convinced of the necessity of expansion of the Order in Spain. He left for another time with Father Giuseppe Imparato and Brother Lorenzo D’ponte on 10 April 1594. He did his works of apostolate at the Hospital of the Italians in Madrid. The hard work and faith which Francis dedicated to the mission bore its first fruits on 25 July 1595, when he obtained the permission to open a religious house dedicated to St Joseph in Madrid. His success through his zealous priestly works provoked hostility of some people against the Order. Francis, solid in his faith, overcame all the difficult moments and left Spain for Italy in June 1596.
The first religious house in Rome was founded at the Church of St Leonard. He sent the first group of clerics to reside in this house.
In November 1596, Francis returned to Naples, where, after lots of hesitation, accepted to share the charge as Superior General for another year. This was the 23 May 1597.
After he obtained for the Order the Church of St Agnes in Piazza Navona and after his resignation as Superior General, Francis left for his third journey to Spain (September 1598). During his stay, he opened the religious houses in Valladolid and Alcala de Hanares. When returned to Rome, he was elected Vicar General for Italy and Superior of St Mary Major in Naples. In his humility, he asked the Pope Paul V to be spared from this position but in vain. The Order obtained from the same Pontiff the Roman Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina.
St Francis at San Lorenzo in Lucina
San Lorenzo in Lucina
Francis’ health became weaker because of his austere life. Despite all limitations, he did not hesitate from undertaking his last journey with his brother, Father Antonio of the Theatine Fathers, which led them to Loreto, Villa Santa Maria and Agnone (Molise Region) to accommodate the request of opening a new religious house there.
Plague in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto at the Loreto Shrine showing the names of all the saints, through the centuries, who have visited there.
Upon his arrival to Agnone, Francis was physically tired and fell ill. On 4 June 1608, he died uttering the words: “Let’s go, let’s go to heaven.”
His body was given enough preparation for a long journey to Naples. Truly, God has left His own sign on him. When the body was lanced, the blood spouted a red and scented fluid and his vital organs were incorrupt. Around his heart were printed the words of the Psalm: “The zeal of your house consumes me” (Ps 69:10).
St Francis Caracciolo was Beatified by Pope Clement XIV on 4 June 1769 and Canonised by Pope Pius VII on 24 May 1807. In 1838 he was chosen as a Patron Saint of Naples, where his body lies. At first, he was buried in Basilica of St Mary Major but his remains were afterwards translated to the church of Santa Maria di Monteverginella, which was given in exchange to the Clerics Regular Minor (1823) after their suppression at the time of the French Revolution.
O Saint Francis Caracciolo, for that most ardent love which You brought to this earth and now in heaven you bring to Jesus Christ, our most loving Redeemer and to His ever Virgin Mother Mary Most Holy and for that tender charity with which You consoled and comforted the afflicted and troubled. Oh! obtain the deliverance of our present affliction and tribulation to this soul, which full of trust, has recourse to your loving and mighty patronage and at the same time, that humbly resigns itself to the supreme will of God, whose eternal honour and glory be given forever. AMEN (Clerics Regular Minor – Adorno Fathers)
Founder’s Statue in the Vatican in the Right Tribune
St Aldegrin of Baume
St Alexander of Verona
St Alonio
Bl Antoni Zawistowski
St Aretius of Rome
Bl Boniface of Villers
St Breaca of Cornwall
St Buriana of Cornwall
St Christa of Sicily
St Clateus of Brescia
St Cornelius McConchailleach
St Croidan
St Cyrinus of Aquileia
St Dacian of Rome
St Degan
St Edfrith of Lindisfarne
St Elsiar of Lavedan
St Ernin of Cluain St Filippo Smaldone (1848-1923) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/04/saint-of-the-day-4-june-st-filippo-smaldone-1848-1923/
Bl Francesco Pianzola St Francis Caracciolo CRM (1563-1608) Priest, Founder
Bl Francis Ronci
Bl Margaret of Vau-le-Duc
St Medan
Bl Menda Isategui
St Metrophanes of Byzantium
St Nennoc
St Nicolo of Sardinia
St Optatus of Milevis
St Petroc of Cornwall
St Quirinus of Croatia
St Quirinus of Tivoli
St Rutilus of Sabaria
Saturnina of Arras
Bl Stanislaw Kostka Starowieyski
St Trano of Sardinia
St St Walter of Fontenelle
Walter of Serviliano
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Martyrs of Cilicia – 13 saints: A group of 13 Christians who were martyred together. The only details about them that have survived are their names –
• Cama• Christa• Crescentia• Eiagonus• Expergentus• Fortunus• Italius
• Jucundian• Julia• Momna• Philip• Rustulus• Saturnin
They were martyred in in Cilicia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey), date unknown
Martyrs of Nyon – 41 saints: A group of 41 Christians martyred together for refusing to sacrifice to imperial Roman idols. We know the names of some but no other details.
• Amatus• Attalus• Camasus• Cirinus• Dinocus• Ebustus• Euticus• Eutychius
• Fortunius• Galdunus• Julia• Quirinus• Rusticus• Saturnina• Saturninus
• Silvius• Uinnita• Zoticus
Martyred by being beheaded in Noviodunum (modern Nyon, Switzerland)
One Minute Reflection – 3 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Wednesday of the Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12, Psalm 123:1-2, Mark 12:18-27 and the Memorial of St Juan Grande OH (1546-1600)
“He is not God of the dead but of the living.” …Mark 12:27
REFLECTION – “How blind are the eyes of the intellect on its own! For they have not noticed that “the blind see, the lame walk” (Mt 11:5) on earth at the Saviour’s word… so that we might believe that the flesh in its entirety will rise again at the resurrection. If He cured diseases of the flesh on this earth and restored wholeness to the body, how much more, will He do so at the moment of resurrection, so that the flesh might rise again wholly and without blemish… It seems to me that such people fail to look, at the divine action in its totality, at the beginning of creation, in the forming of man. They don’t attend to the reason why earthly things were made.
The Word said: “Let us make man in our image and likeness” (Gn 1:26)… Obviously man, formed in the image of God, was flesh. Therefore, how absurd it is to claim, that flesh formed by God in His own image is despicable and worthless! Clearly flesh must be precious in God’s eyes since it is His creation. And since the culmination of His plan for all the rest of creation is to be found in it, this is what has the greatest worth in the eyes of the Creator.”… St Justin (c 100-160), Martyr, Apologist, Philosopher, Father of the Church (Treatise on the resurrection, 2.4.7-9)
PRAYER – Holy Father, You made us, we belong to You. Grant that by the prayers of all your holy saints, we may attain eternal life with You to praise and worship You for all eternity. May the prayers of St Juan Grande (1546-1600) assist us our earthly pilgrimage. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus, with You and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 3 June – St Juan Grande Román OH (1546-1600) commonly called St Juan Grande but also known as St John Grande – he adopted the name “John the Sinner,” Religious of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God, Apostle of Charity and Mercy, of the poor, sick, known as “a Prophet and Apostle of health care” – born on 6 March 1546 at Carmona, Andalusia, Spain and died on 3 June 1600 at Jerez, Spain of the plague which he became infected with whilst tending plague victims. Patronage – Diocese of Jerez de la Frontera in 1986.
Juan Grande Roman was born in Carmona, Seville, Spain, on Saturday 6 March 1546, the son of Cristobal Grande and Isabel Roman, themselves devout Christians and was Baptised by the parish priest, Andrés Muñoz. His father, a craftsman, died when John was only eleven years old.
He was given a sound Christian upbringing, firstly in his family and after the age of seven as a choir-boy in his parish.
He completed his educational formation and vocational training in Seville, learning the trade of a weaver and cloth-maker. At 17 he returned home and turned to trade, selling cloth. Shortly afterwards, his work caused him to undergo a profound spiritual crisis.
Opting for God:
He left his family and retired to the Hermitage of St Olalla, at Marchena, a town near Carmona, where he spent a whole year in retreat trying to discover his true vocation. He then decided to devote himself to God – he exchanged his clothes for a sack-cloth habit, renounced marriage and adopted the nickname of “Juan Pecador” “John the Sinner.”
At the same time he began caring for an elderly couple who had experienced difficult times. He took them into his own home and catered for all their needs, going out to beg for alms for them. He then realised that his new vocation was to serve the poor and needy.
Opting totally for the poor:
When he was only 19 years old, Juan Pecador moved to Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, to start a new life there – he personally looked after needy people, prisoners in the ‘Royal Prison,’ incurably sick and convalescents who had been left to their own devices. To help them he would beg for alms around the town.
During this time he used to frequent the church of the Franciscans, where he prayed and took spiritual direction from one of the Fathers.
Founding the “Hospital de la Candelaria” (Candlemas Hospital):
Juan Pecador attracted the admiration of the people of Jerez because of his generous life of charity.
In January 1574 a serious epidemic broke out in Jerez and he addressed a petition to the Cathedral Chapter, urging them to assist the many, sick people who had been cast out on to the streets.
He did everything he could to cater for their needs and eventually decided to found a hospital of his own, which he gradually extended. He devoted it to Mary and called it “Our Lady of Candlemas.”
Union with St John of God:
Juan Pecador devoted his whole being and all his work to God, expressed through his service to the poor, sustained by his deep life of faith and prayer.
Meanwhile, he had heard of the Institution founded by St John of God in Granada. He visited it in 1574 and decided to join it, accepting the rules and applying the same form of professed life in his own hospital.
With his new project, his witness and his exemplary self-giving he attracted new companions to join him and he trained them according to “The Statutes of John of God.” This gave him the opportunity to reach a wider area and work with other foundations in Medina Sidonia, Arcos de la Frontera, Puerto Santa Maria, San Lucar de Barrameda and Villamartin.
Reducing the number of hospitals:
The care provided to the destitute sick in Jerez left much to be desired, while small centres mushroomed. The authorities therefore decided to reduce the number of hospitals, demanding greater efficiency. But this measure struck at the interests of not a few, whose attachment to the hospitals, was not so much out of a desire to serve the sick but, because they were a source of personal profit. His path was, therefore, fraught with criticism, opposition and obstacles.
Juan Pecador’s hospital was also affected. Like all the others, he submitted his report to the authorities, explaining his way of caring for the sick in his hospital.
The Archbishop of Seville, Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro, entrusted the delicate mission of reducing the number of hospitals and raising efficiency to Juan Pecador, whom he considered to be the most appropriate and skilled person for this task, in view of his spirit, vocation and Hospitaller experience. Juan Grande set about reducing the number of hospitals boldly and lovingly and, despite the great and small difficulties he encountered, he revealed his particular sensitivity, capacity, sense of humour and great virtue.
The report on his hospital stated that the care was provided “with diligence, care and great charity, doing good and serving God our Lord, because he and his brothers of the cloth, are virtuous men and practise this charity of caring for the needy sick.”
The topical relevance of John Grande today:
In addition to an intense interior life, Juan Grande devoted himself body and soul to the external task, of seeking out, caring for and serving the poor and sick and showing his concern for the most serious and urgent issues of his day – prisoners, the convalescing sick and the incurably ill, prostitutes, rejected sick soldiers, abandoned children, etc. He truly practised all the works of mercy.
Juan Grande was a man who did good because he was good – a practical and efficient man of few words, a merciful tenant of the Gospel of Life, a Good Samaritan, an organiser of hospitals and of hospital care, a critical conscience against injustice, abuse of authority and inadequacy. In short, he was “a Prophet and Apostle of health care.”
The plague epidemic and his death:
When he was 54, living his life dedicated entirely to his community and his hospital, Jerez was stricken by a terrible outbreak of the plague. He worked everywhere, assisting the people and devoting all his strength and generosity to them but, he was eventually infected himself and died on Saturday 3 June 1600.
His glorification:
Beatified in 1853 by Pius IX and Canonised by St Pope John Paul 11 on 2 June 1996, he was proclaimed the Patron Saint of the new Diocese of Jerez de la Frontera in 1986.
His remains are venerated in the “Diocesan Shrine of St John Grande” in Jerez, at the hospital of the Brothers of St John of God that bears his name.
Martyrs of Uganda (Memorial) – 22 saints: Twenty-two (22) Ugandan converts martyred in the persecutions of King Mwanga. They are –
• Achileo Kiwanuka • Adolofu Mukasa Ludigo
• Ambrosio Kibuuka • Anatoli Kiriggwajjo
• Anderea Kaggwa • Antanansio Bazzekuketta
• Bruno Sserunkuuma • Charles Lwanga
• Denis Ssebuggwawo • Gonzaga Gonza
• Gyavire • James Buzabaliao
• John Maria Muzeyi • Joseph Mukasa
• Kizito • Lukka Baanabakintu
• Matiya Mulumba • Mbaga Tuzinde
• Mugagga • Mukasa Kiriwawanvu
• Nowa Mawaggali • Ponsiano Ngondwe
They were Canonised on 18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI at Rome, Italy. The Lives and Martyrdom of the Ugandan Martyrs: https://anastpaul.com/2017/06/03/saints-of-the-day-3-june-uganda-martyrs-or-st-charles-lwanga-companions/
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Bl Adam of Guglionesi
St Albert of Como
St Athanasius of Traiannos
St Auditus of Braga
Bl Beatrice Bicchieri
St Caecilius of Carthage St Charles Lwanga & Companions (see the Martyrs of Uganda above)
Bl Charles-René Collas du Bignon
St Clotilde of France
St Conus of Lucania
St Cronan the Tanner
St Davinus of Lucca
Bl Diego Oddi
Bl Francis Ingleby
St Gausmarus of Savigny
St Genesius of Clermont
St Glunshallaich
St Hilary of Carcassone
St Isaac of Córdoba St Juan Grande Román OH (1546-1600)
St Kevin of Glendalough (c 498-618)
St Laurentinus of Arezzo
St Liphardus of Orléans
St Morand of Cluny
St Moses of Arabia
St Oliva of Anagni
St Paula of Nicomedia
St Pergentinus of Arezzo
St Phaolô Vu Van Duong
St Urbicius
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Dominicans Martyred in China
Martyrs of Africa – 156 saints: 156 Christians martyred together in Africa, date unknown; the only other information to survive are some of their names –
• Abidianus• Demetria• Donatus• Gagus• Januaria• Juliana• Nepor• Papocinicus• Quirinus• Quirus
Martyrs of Byzantium – 5 saints: A group of Christians, possibly related by marriage, who were martyred together. They were –
• Claudius• Dionysius• Hypatius• Lucillian• Paul
They were Martyred in 273 in Byzantium.
Martyrs of Rome – 8 saints: A group of Christians martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names –
• Amasius• Emerita• Erasmus• Lucianus• Orasus• Satuaucnus• Septiminus• Servulus
They were Martyred in Rome, Italy, date unknown.
Martyrs of Rome – 86 saints: 85+ Christians martyred together in Rome, Italy, date unknown. The only details that have survived are some of their names –
• Apinus • Apronus • Aurelius • Avidus • Cassianus • Criscens • Cyprus • Domitius • Donata • Donatus • Emeritus • Extricatus • Exuperia • Faustina • Felicitas • Felix • Flavia • Florus • Fortunata • Fortunatus • Fructus • Gagia • Gagus • Gallicia • Gorgonia • Honorata • Januaria • Januarius • Justa • Justus • Libosus • Luca • Lucia • Matrona • Matura • Mesomus • Metuana • Nabor • Neptunalis • Obercus • Paula • Peter • Pompanus • Possemus • Prisca • Procula • Publius • Quintus • Rogatian • Romanus • Rufina • Saturnin • Saturnus • Secundus • Severa • Severus • Sextus • Silvana • Silvanus • Sinereus • Tertula • Titonia • Toga • Urban • Valeria • Veneria • Veranus • Victor • Victoria • Victorinus • Victuria • Victurina • Virianus • Weneria • Zetula.
They were Martyred in Rome date unknown.
Saint of the Day – 2 June – Blessed Alexandru Rusu (1884-1963) Bishop and Martyr of the Soviet Regime, Professor, Activist – born on 22 November 1884 in Saulia de Câmpie, Mures, Romania and died on 9 May 1963 in Gherla Prison, Cluj, Romania.
Alexandru Rusu was one of twelve children born to a Priest in Șăulia Commune, Mureş County. He was the first Bishop of the Greek-Catholic Diocese of Maramureş and after the Church’s leadership fell vacant in 1941, he was chosen its new head (Major Archbishop of Fagaraş and Alba Iulia) in 1946, a decision approved by the Holy See but not by the Communist-dominated Petru Groza government.
He studied in Bistrita, Targu Mures, Bla and Budapest where he obtained his Doctorate in Theology. On 20 July 1910, he was Ordained a Priest. He was a Professor at Blaj, a Metropolitan Secretary, a Canonist and Rector of the Seminary in Blaj. From 1931, after being installed as first Bishop of Maramures he was a senator in the Romanian Parliament.
For defying the anti–Christian authorities, Bishop Alexandru was arrested on 28 October 1948 and imprisoned firstly in monasteries and he was then sent to Sighet prison. He was finally “tried” by a military tribunal in 1957 who found him guilty of treason for remaining faithful to the Catholic Church and sentenced him to 25 years in prison (he had already been imprisoned for 9 years when this so-called trial took place). He was sent to Gherla prison where he died due to the inhuman conditions. Bishop Rusu was buried in the prison cemetery without any religious rite.
Bl Alexandru was Beatified on 2 June 2019 by Pope Francis in Romania along with 6 other Bishop Martyrs. Declaring their Beatification, Pope Francis said the seven martyred Greek-Catholic Bishops gave their lives for fidelity to the Church and in defence of the right to freedom of religion.
Series of Postage Stamps issued for the Beatification
“The new blesseds endured suffering and gave their lives to oppose an illiberal ideological system that oppressed the fundamental rights of the human person. … With great courage and interior fortitude, they accepted harsh imprisonment and every kind of mistreatment, in order not to deny their fidelity to their beloved Church,” the pope said, adding that “in the face of fierce opposition from the regime, they demonstrated an exemplary faith and love for their people.”
Icon of the Seven Blesseds
Today, Catholics make up less than 6% of the population of Romania, which is a majority of Orthodox Christians. Most of the Catholics in the country are of the Latin rite and come from Romanian, Hungarian and German language and ethnic groups.
The Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, to which the new Blesseds belonged, is a Byzantine rite Church in communion with the Holy See.
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St Ada of Ethiopia
St Adalgis of Thiérarche Blessed Alexandru Rusu (1884-1963) Bishop and Martyr of the Soviet Regime
St Armin of Egypt
St Barbarinus
St Blandina the Slave
St Bodfan of Wales
St Daminh Ninh
Bl Demetrios of Philadelphia
St Dorotheus of Rome St Erasmus (Died c 303) Martyr Biography:
St Pope Eugene I,
St Evasius
Bl Giovanni de Barthulono
Bl Guy of Acqui
St Honorata
St Humatus
St John de Ortega
St Joseph Tien
St Nicholas Peregrinus
St Photinus of Lyons
St Rogate
Bl Sadoc of Sandomierz
St Stephen of Sweden
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Martyrs of Lyons and Vienne: A group of 48 Christians from the areas of Vienne and Lyon, France, who were attacked by a pagan mob, arrested and tried for their faith, and murdered in the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius. A letter describing their fate, possibly written by Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, was sent to the churches in the Middle East. Only a few names and details of their lives have survived; some of them have separate entries on this date –
• Alexander of Vienne
• Attalus of Pergamos
• Biblis of Lyons
• Blandina the Slave
• Cominus of Lugdunum
• Epagathus of Lugdunum
• Maturus the Novice
• Photinus of Lyons
• Ponticus of Lugdunum
• Sanctius of Vienne
• Vettius of Lugdunum
They were martyred in assorted ways on on various during 177.
Martyrs of Sandomierz: A group of 49 Dominicans, some of whom received the habit from Saint Dominic de Guzman himself. They worked separately and together to bring the faith and establish the Dominican Order in Poland, basing their operations in and around Sandomierz. In 1260 they were all martyred by the Tartars as they were singing the Salve Regina at Compline; the custom of singing the Salve Regina at the deathbed of Dominicans stems from this incident. We know a few details about a few of the martyrs, but most survive only as names –
• Zadok• Andrea, chaplain• James, novice master• Malachi, convent preacher
• Paul, vicar• Peter, guardian of the garden• Simone, penitentiaryfriars
• Abel, Barnabas, Bartholomew, Clemente, Elia, John, Luke, Matthew, Philip
deacons• Giuseppe, Joachim, Stefanosub-deacons• Abraham, Basil, Moses, Taddeoclerics• Aaron, Benedict, David, Dominico, Mattia, Mauro, Michele, Onofrio, Timothyprofessed students• Christopher, Donato, Feliciano, Gervasio, Gordian, John, Mark, Medardo, Valentinonovices• Daniele, Isaiah, Macario, Raffaele, Tobialay brothers• Cyril, tailor• Jeremiah, shoemaker
• Thomas, organist
They were martyred in 1260 at Sandomierz, Poland and Beatified on 18 October 1807 by Pope Pius VII (cultus confirmation).
This was a highly unusual step, as Ana was a “secular Carmelite,” meaning she was not part of the choir and removed from the Convent’s life of prayer. She was thus consecrated as a religious sister and took over the Convent at Pontoise. So unusual a step met with the disapproval of her companions but – as the Foundress – had once foretold – she offered no resistance. Ana had also been forewarned that her elevation would cause her great sufferings.
AnaStpaul 
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