St Festus of Tuscany St Glycerius of Nicomedia St James of Valencia St John of Tuscany St John Vincent St Micah the Prophet St Severin of Trèves (Died c 300) Bishop, Confessor Bl Sibrand of Marigård St Themistocles of Lycia
Notre-Dame de Saint-Acheul / Our Lady of Saint Acheul, Amiens, France, founded by Saint Firmin, Bishop (4th Century) – 21 December:
The Church containing the Shrine of Our Lady of Acheul, was located near Amiens. In fact, Saint Acheul was once considered the Mother-Church of the Cathedral of Amiens and was sometimes called the “Old Cathedral of Amiens,” although this is no longer the case, as there is now a larger Cathedral Church in Amiens. The Church stands on the very place where once a Roman temple stood, and tradition tells that Saint Firminus (Died 303) was the Apostle of Amiens, arriving there before the close of the third century after Christ. It is said that by the eloquence of his preaching and the number of his miracles, Saint Firminus (or Saint Firmin) converted many idolaters to the True Faith and Baptised three thousand men in forty days. The early Church, built around the year 300, contained the remains of the Martyred Saint. This Church was devastated repeatedly by the invasions of the Normans, and was finally totally destroyed in 1218. The relics of Saint Firmin were transferred to the Cathedral of Amiens during the Middle Ages. The Shrine of the Virgin of Saint Acheul, is noteworthy for a singular miracle – an apparition which occurred during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The celebrant, after the Consecration, saw a hand appear from within a luminous cloud and the hand of Christ took the Sacred Host and dropped it into the Chalice. Some of the faithful present likewise witnessed the same thing – a certain skeptic was brought to his knees in humble acceptance of the fact, that the Holy Sacrifice is truly the same as that of Calvary. The armorial bearings of the Abbey of Saint-Acheul, displays a hand in remembrance of this miracle.
The Altar to Our Lady at the Cathedral
The present Cathedral of Saint Acheul was not finished until the fifteenth century. After the erection of the new Cathedral at Amiens, Saint Acheul was known as the Church of Our Lady of Acheul. Miracles took place frequently and pilgrimages continued. The Church of Saint Acheul was destroyed by a natural phenomenon, probably a strong storm, in about the year 1751. It was rebuilt and completed in 1760. A few short years later, during the Terror of the French Revolution, the Church was used as a stable. Today, the Church is protected as an historical monument, the decree given in 1969. The Abbey buildings are now occupied by a private party but the Church is used as a Parish Church.
St Anrê Tran An Dung St Baudacarius of Bobbio St Beornwald of Bampton Bl Bezela of Göda Blessed Daniel of the Annunciation OdeM Mercedarian Friar(13th Century?) St Dioscorus
St Festus of Tuscany St Glycerius of Nicomedia St James of Valencia St John of Tuscany St John Vincent St Micah the Prophet St Phêrô Truong Van Thi St Severin of Trèves (Died c 300) Bishop, Confessor Bl Sibrand of Marigård St Themistocles of Lycia
Saint of the Day – 21 December – Blessed Dominic Spadafora OP (1450-1521) Dominican Priest, renowned Preacher and Evangelist. He was a noted evangelist and attracted countless to the Dominican fold while also converting the hearts of others who led dissolute lives. His body is incorrupt.
Dominic was born in Sicily, of an old and noble family. His father was Baron of Miletto, and members of the family were connected with the nobility of Venice and Palermo. As a child, Dominic attended school in the Convent of St Rita in Palerno, which had been founded some years before by Blessed Peter Geremia. He studied in Perugia after moving there in 1477 and was later sent to Padua where he earned his Bachelor’s degree on 23 June 1479 and shortly thereafter, was ordained to the Priesthood. In Venice on 7 June 1487 he was granted his Master’s degree in theological studies after a public dissertation alongside eleven other candidates. He joined the Order of Preachers at the convent of Santa Zita in Palermo after returning there, where, for some time he lived quietly conducting classes for the brethren and the secular clergy.
He participated at the General Chapter of the order in Venice in 1487. He was supposed to be assigned to a convent in Messina in 1487 but the Father General of the order, Gioacchino Torriani, decided to have him as his collaborator in Rome. Also in 1487 he participated in the General Chapter in Le Mans in the Kingdom of France.
Blessed Dominic became a noted preacher and evangelist and won the hearts of converts that had led dissolute lives – such an example of holiness also prompted countless others to join the Dominican fold as religious themselves. He was known for his intense devotion to the passion of Jesus Christ. Amidst this activity he also taught theological studies in the Sicilian area.
He founded the convent of Madonna delle Grazie – that housed a miraculous image of the Madonna – in 1491 in Monte Cerignone and served for the remainder of his life as its first superior. This came about when the faithful of the area wanted to enhance the small chapel and thus the Master General of the Dominicans sent for Spadaforo to oversee its renovation. The priest arrived there in the town on 15 September 1491 and set off on foot to Rome in 1492 to receive papal approval for this work. At this point Pope Innocent VII died and Pope Alexander VI was elected in a chain of events that postponed their meeting until 22 February 1493 when papal permission was granted. He returned with the decree of approval in 1493 and began construction of the church in 1494. The work concluded in 1498. The Bishop Marco Vigerio della Rovere consecrated the new church on 16 July 1498.
What we have considered to be the usual virtues of a Dominican friar were practised faithfully by Dominic Spadafora. He spent most of his Dominican life in the Convent of Our Lady of Grace, directing societies and confraternities, zealous for regular observance and scrupulously exact in his own behaviour.
Dominic Spadafora died in 1521 aged 71, after the celebration of Mass. He had revealed earlier to the community that he knew he was about to die. He attended all religious exercises up to the hour of his death and he died as every Dominican hopes he will – the community was around him, singing the “Salve Regina.”
Blessed Dominic’s remains were exhumed in 1545 and were deemed to be incorrupt. His remains were relocated on 3 October 1677. His remains were relocated once more on 4 April 2005 to the Chiesa della Santissima Trinità. He was Beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1921 after the pontiff confirmed the late priest’s ‘cultus’.
Bl Adrian of Dalmatia
St Anastasius II of Antioch
St Anrê Tran An Dung
St Baudacarius of Bobbio
St Beornwald of Bampton
Bl Bezela of Göda
Bl Daniel of the Annunciation
St Dioscorus Bl Dominic Spadafora OP (1450-1521)
St Festus of Tuscany
St Glycerius of Nicomedia
St James of Valencia
St John of Tuscany
St John Vincent
St Micah the Prophet
St Phêrô Truong Van Thi
St Severinus of Trèves
Bl Sibrand of Marigård
St Themistocles of Lycia
AnaStpaul 
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