Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Victory of the King of France (Philip the Fair), imploring the help of Our Lady of Chartres (1304) and Memorials of the Saints – 17 August

Victory of the King of France (Philip the Fair), imploring the help of Our Lady of Chartres (1304) – 17 August:

It was on this day in the year 1304 that “Philip the Fair” gained a signal victory over the Flemish after recommending himself to Our Lady of Chartres.

The eldest son of King Philip and Isabella of Aragon, he was nicknamed Philip the Fair while yet a Prince for his handsome features. He became King of France at only 17 years of age and married Joan of Navarre in 1284, which enlarged his Kingdom.

In the year 1302, Philip sent an inadequate army into Flanders to suppress the Flemish, who were making incursions into his realm at will. His army was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Philip responded by winning a naval victory over the Flemish at Zierichzee and then met the Flemish army at the Battle of Mons-en-Pevele, also known as Mons-en-Puelle, on 17 August 1304.

The battle was furious, lasting all day in extreme heat. Eventually the majority of the French army fled the field, leaving Philip alone with only ten Knights fighting desperately to save themselves and their King. Philip’s horse collapsed, having been killed under him and his life was in great danger of being lost. At that moment, while facing death and certain defeat in battle, Philip turned to the Queen of Heaven, Our Lady of Chartres, begging her assistance to save the day and his life.

Suddenly the French Knights, who had been fleeing the field, turned and saw the King’s Royal Standard still stood, and that he, himself, fought like a Knight of great renown amidst a sea of raging enemies. Racing to the scene with their swords and lances, they turned the Flemish and drove them from the field in what became a resounding victory for the King of France. The Battle of the Golden Spurs was well compensated.

In gratitude for this victory and favour of Our Lady of Chartres, King Philip went at once to do homage to the Virgin Mary at her Cathedral. He took off his own armour and gave it to the cathedral at the Altar. He also gave to it, in perpetuity, the land and lordship of Barrus, founded a daily Mass forever and left to this church ,all of the other accoutrements which he had worn on that day of victory. This feast is kept in the Church of Notre Dame, at Paris, on the following day, the 18th and the office is double. This armour is formerly exhibited in the church, on the Anniversary of the battle.

St Amor of Amorbach
St Anastasius of Terni
St Beatrice da Silva Meneses OIC (1424-1492) Virgin, Nun, Founder

St Benedicta of Lorraine
St Carloman
St Cecilia of Lorraine

St Clare of the Cross of Montefalco (c 1269-1308) Augustinian Nun and Abbess, before becoming a nun, St Clare was a member of the Third Order of St Francis (Secular), Mystic, Penitent, Spiritual adviser.

St Donatus of Ripacandida
St Drithelm
St Elias the Younger
Bl Enric Canadell Quintana
Bl Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera
St Pope Eusebius
St Eusebius of Sicily

St Hyacinth OP (1185-1257) ) “Apostle of Poland” and “Apostle of the North” also known as “the Polish St Dominic”– Religious Priest of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, Doctor of Law and Divinity, Missionary, Preacher, Miracle Worker, Mystic.

St Jacobo Kyushei Gorobioye Tomonaga
St James the Deacon

St Jeanne of the Cross Delanoue (1666-1736) Virgin, Sister and Foundress of the Congregation of St Anne de la Providence

St Jeroen of Noordwijk
St Juliana of Ptolemais
St Leopoldina Naudet
St Mamas
Bl Marie-Élisabeth Turgeon
St Michaël Kurobyoie
St Myron of Cyzicus

St Nicolò Politi (1117-1167) Basilian Monk and Hermit. He was known for his miracles even during his childhood and was Venerated as a saint even before his death.

Bl Noël-Hilaire Le Conte
St Paul of Ptolemais
St Theodore of Grammont

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Bl Antoni Carmaniú Mercarder, Bl Facundo Escanciano Tejerina, Bl Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera, Bl Enric Canadell Quintana, Florencio López Egea and see below –
Martyrs of Malaga – 8 beati: A priest and seven brothers, all members of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God, all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Oegnies, Brabant, Netherlands and the Memorials of the Saints – 9 August

There is no image or other information on this image, but it is connected with Blessed Marie of Oignies and the Treasure of Oignies, which consists of thirty reliquaries, crosses, and other precious items dating from the 13th century. Oegnies, also spelled Oignies and known as Ongniacume in ancient times, is a village located in the north of France. It is thought to be the birthplace of Mary of Oegnies, who visited the holy image of Our Lady of Oegnies once every year, even walking barefoot to the shrine during the severe rigors of winter.

Book cover of a Evangeliary by Hugo d’Oignies

St John Mary Vianney (1786-1859) (Memorial)

St Amor of Franche-Comté
St Autor of Metz
St Bandaridus of Soissons
St Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro

St Claude Richard
St Domitian of Châlons
Bl Falco the Hermit
St Firmus of Verona
Bl John Norton

Blessed John of Salerno OP (c 1190-1242) Dominican Friar and Priest, Confessor, miracle-worker.

Bl John Talbot
St Marcellian of Civitavecchia
St Maurilio of Rouen (c.1000–1067) Bishop
Bl Michal Tomaszek
St Nathy
St Numidicus of Carthage
St Phelim
Bl Richard Bere
St Romanus Ostiarius
St Rusticus of Sirmium
St Rusticus of Verona
St Secundian of Civitavecchia
St Stephen of Burgos
Bl Thomas Palaser
St Verian of Civitavecchia
Bl Zbigniew Adam Strzalkowski

Martyrs of Civitavecchia: Three Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than the names – Marcellian, Secundian and Verian. 250 near Civitavecchia, Italy.

Martyrs of Constantinople: 10 saints: A group of ten Christians who were arrested, tortured and executed for defending an icon of Christ in defiance of orders from Emperor Leo the Isaurian. We know the names of three, but nothing else about them – Julian, Marcian and Mary. They were beheaded in Constantinople.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Antonio Mateo Salamero
Bl Faustino Oteiza Segura
Bl Florentín Felipe Naya
Bl Florentino Asensio Barroso
Bl Francisco López-Gasco Fernández-Largo
Bl Guillermo Plaza Hernández
Bl Joan Vallés Anguera
Bl José María Garrigues Hernández
Bl Josep Figuera Rey
Bl Josep Maria Aragones Mateu
Bl Julián Pozo Ruiz de Samaniego
Bl Mateo Molinos Coloma
Bl Narcís Sitjà Basté

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Santa Maria della Querce / Our Lady of the Oak, Lucignano, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (1417) and Memorials of the Saints – 8 August

Santa Maria della Querce / Our Lady of the Oak, Lucignano, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy (1417) – 8 August, Third Saturday of September:

In 1417 Feliciano Batone painted a fresco of the Pietà on a wayside Shrine beneath a great oak . Fifty years later, there was a surge in devotion to the Madonna of the Oak after the story circulated that on 8 August 1467, a man from Siena, running from his enemies, stopped there to pray to Mary, who made him invisible to his pursuers.

A small wooden Chapel was built to protect the image and Consecrated that year. Located on a hill northeast of the old City centre, beyond the Medici Fortress and the cemetery, the present Church was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1558 and Consecrated in 1617.

On the third Sunday of September, near the feast of the Sorrowful Mother on S15 September, Lucignano celebrates St. Mary of the Oak with religious services, food, games and fireworks.

St Aemilian of Cyzicus
St Altman of Passau (c 1020 – 1091) Bishop

Ven Antonio/Margil of Jesus OFM (1657-1726)

St Cyriacus/Cyriac the Martyr (Died c 303) Deacon, Miracle-worker. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

St Eleutherius of Constantinople
St Ellidius
St Famianus of Compostela
St Gedeon of Besancon
St Hormisdas of Persia
Bl John Felton

Bl John Fingley
St Largus
St Leobald of Fleury
St Leonidas of Constantinople
St Marinus of Anzarba

St Mummolus of Fleury
St Myron the Wonder Worker
St Paulus Ge Tingzhu
St Rathard of Diessen
St Severus of Vienne
St Sigrada
St Smaragdus
St Ternatius of Besançon
St Ultan of Crayke
Bl William of Castellammare di Stabia
Bl Wlodzimierz Laskowski

Martyrs of Albano – 4 saints: Four Christians who were martyred together, and about we today know little more than their names – Carpóforo, Secondo, Severiano and Vittorino. They were martyred in Albano, Italy – their remains are interred in the San Senator cemetery, on the Appian Way, 15 miles from Rome, Italy.

Martyrs of Rome – 5 saints: Five Christians martyred together; we know nothing else about them but the names – Ciriaco, Crescenziano, Giuliana, Memmia and Smaragdus. They were martyred at the 7 mile marker, on the Via Ostia, Rome, Italy.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War – Martyrs of El Saler – 5 beati: Five nuns, all members of the Sisters of the Pious Schools, all teachers, and all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.
• Antonia Riba Mestres
• Maria Baldillou Bullit
• María Luisa Girón Romera
• Nazaria Gómez Lezaun
• Pascuala Gallén Martí
They were martyred on 8 August 1936 in El Saler, Valencia, Spain.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Cruz Laplana Laguna
Bl Fernando Español Berdie
Bl Leoncio López Ramos
Bl Manuel Aranda Espejo
Bl Mariano Pina Turón
Bl Pedro Álvarez Pérez

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, Nossa Senhora das Graças / Our Lady of Graces, Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Northeast, Brazil (1936) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 August

Transfiguration of Our Lord (Feast)

AND

Nossa Senhora das Graças / Our Lady of Graces, Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Northeast, Brazil (1936) – 6 August :

On 6 August 1936, Maria da Luz Teixeira, 13, and Maria da Conceição, 16 (a poor girl living with the Teixeira family), were gathering castor beans on Guarda mountain in the Cimbres district, 15 miles from Pesqueira. There was a flash of light and then Maria da Conceição said, “Look, there’s an image that looks like Our Lady.” Maria da Luz saw it too, up on a rock. They ran home and told Maria da Luz’s parents. At her mother’s insistence, Artur Teixeira climbed the hill with the girls, who reached the spot long before he struggled up through the brush. He saw nothing unusual but, at his suggestion, the girls together asked the image, “Who are you?” “I am Grace.” They asked what she wanted. “I’ve come to warn of three punishments sent by God. Tell the people to pray much and do penance.”

After this the girls returned to the site daily, where they prayed with a growing crowd of pilgrims. On 9 August, the crowd demanded a sign; reluctantly, the girls asked for one. The next day, they found water flowing from the rock and two sets of footprints embedded in stone, one an adult’s and one a child’s. The apparition confirmed they belonged to her and her son. The Bishop conducted an investigation. Maria da Luz described Our Lady of Grace as “similar to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Pesqueira Cathedral but her mantle is blue and her dress cream, with a belt. She has a little child in her left arm and both have very beautiful crowns on their heads.”

Eventually the Virgin told her that the people’s response had been sufficient to avert the three chastisements, sometimes identified as armed bandits (particularly the notorious Lampião, killed by police in 1938) and the coming of World War II or a Communist regime to Brazil. Maria da Conceição died young. In 1940, Maria da Luz joined the Religious of Christian Instruction, taking the name Sister Adélia. In her absence, pilgrims continued to visit the Shrine at the apparition site, where 296 carved stone steps lead to a Statue of Our Lady of Grace (as depicted on the Miraculous Medal, without the Child, not as the girls saw her) and to report miracles there.

Bl Gezelin of Schlebusch
St Gislain of Luxemburg
St Glisente of Brescia
Bl Goderanno
Bl Guillermo Sanz
St Hardulf of Breedon

St Pope Hormisdas (c 450-523) Bishop of Rome from 514 until his death in 523. A talented diplomat, arbitrator and negotiator.

St James the Syrian

St Justus and St Pastor of Alcala – Holy Martyred Children (Died 304) Saints Justus and Pastor of Alcala were two brothers, who in their tender age overcame, with an heroic courage, the rage and power of Dacian, armed with all the instruments of cruelty.

Bl Octavian of Savona
St Pope Sixtus II (Died 258) Pope and Martyr

St Stephen of Cardeña
Bl Tadeusz Dulny
Bl William of Altavilla

Martyrs of Cardeña: Two hundred Benedictine monks at the Saint Peter of Cardegna monastery, Burgos, Spain who were martyred in the 8th century by invading Saracens. They were buried by local Christians in a nearby churchyard in Burgos, Spain and Beatified in 1603 by Pope Clement VIII (cultus confirmed).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: 10 Beati
• Blessed Alejandro Casare Menéndez
• Blessed Andrés Soto Carrera
• Blessed José González Ramos Campos
• Blessed José María Recalde Magúregui
• Blessed Juan Silverio Pérez Ruano
• Blessed Saturnino Ortega Montealegre

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major / Our Lady of the Snows, Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Italy (1519) and Memorials of the Saints – 5 August

Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major / Our Lady of the Snows (Optional Memorial)

Nostra Signora della Neve / Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Italy (1519) – 5 August, 8 July:

St Abel of Rheims
St Addai
St Aggai of Edessa
Bl Arnaldo Pons
St Cantidianus
St Cantidius
St Cassian of Autun
St Casto of Teano
Bl Corrado of Laodicea
St Emygdius (Died c 303) Bishop Martyr
St Eusignius
St Gormeal of Ardoilen
Bl James Gerius
St Margaret the Barefooted
St Mari
St Memmius of Châlons-sur-Marne
St Nonna

St Oswald of Northumbria (604-642) Martyr and King.

St Paris of Teano
Bl Pierre-Michel Noël

St Sobel
St Theodoric of Cambrai-Arras
St Venantius of Viviers
St Viator

Martyrs of Fuente la Higuera: A group of Augustinian priests and clerics who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War. 5 August 1936 in Fuente la Higuera, Valencia, Spain:
• Anastasio Díez García
• Ángel Pérez Santos
• Cipriano Polo García
• Emilio Camino Noval
• Felipe Barba Chamorro
• Gabino Olaso Zabala
• Luciano Ramos Villafruela
• Luis Blanco Álvarez
• Ubaldo Revilla Rodríguez
• Victor Gaitero González

Martyrs of the Salarian Way: Twenty-three Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian.
303 on the Salarian Way in Rome, Italy.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Eduardo González Santo Domingo
Bl Jaume Codina Casellas
Bl José Trallero Lou
Bl Lluís Domingo Mariné
Bl Manuel Moreno Martínez
Bl Maximino Fernández Marinas
Bl Victor García Ceballos

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Maria Santissima Scala del Paradiso / Holy Mary, Ladder to Paradise, Noto, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy (1498) and Memorials of the Saints

Finding of the Body of St Stephen, Protomartyr

Maria Santissima Scala del Paradiso / Holy Mary, Ladder to Paradise, Noto, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy (1498) – 3 August:

Local tradition holds that Angels frescoed the image of the Madonna, Ladder to Paradise, on a rock wall in the countryside before St. Corrado di Fuori’s arrival in 1340 and, that it was discovered there on 3 August 1498. However, the Diocese of Noto, of which the Madonna della Scala is the Patron, suggests that an unknown artist created the fresco in the late 1500s or early 1600s, a period more in keeping with its style.

In any case, by the time of the earthquake that destroyed the City of Noto on 11 January 1693, popular devotion had grown around the image, surrounding it with votive lamps, ex votos left in thanksgiving for answered prayers, and eventually, an Oratory. The earthquake demolished the chapel but the image remained intact.

In 1708, a group of Carmelite Hermits took over the site and undertook the building of another church, which was blessed the following year. In 1712, Ven. Girolamo Terzo, recently appointed the group’s Superior, hired an expert to detach the fresco from its rock and arranged its spectacular transfer to the church, pulled by a team of untamed oxen. Ven. Girolamo promoted devotion to the Madonna of the Ladder by distributing copies of the image on evangelical visits throughout the region.

With a reputation for cures and other miracles, the Hermitage became a place of pilgrimage, particularly on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, 8 September.
The Sanctuary suffered damage during World War I.

Afterwards it was restored and in 1919 the Catholic Church gave the Madonna, Ladder to Paradise, her own liturgical feast day, 3 August. An annual festa on this date draws the people of Noto to the Shrine seven miles distant, where after Mass in the Carmelite Chapel a statuary version of the image goes in procession through all the neighbouring districts.

The image of the “Ladder to Paradise” echoes the story of Jacob (Genesis 28:12) and St John Climacus’s Ladder of Ascent, a guide to the spiritual life written in Greek in the 600s, which became popular among Western religious after its translation into Latin in the 1500s (Scala Paradisi). Here, the Virgin is identified with the way to heaven because of her role in bringing Christ to humanity and her ongoing help to all who follow Him.

St Abibas
St Aspren (1st Century) Bishop of Naples

Blessed Augustine Gazotich OP (1262-1323) Bishop of Lucera, Croatia, Of the Order of Preachers. He was also noted for being the guide for Dante Alighieri as the poet travelled through Croatia. His reputation for personal holiness remained noted long after his death; this resulted in Pope Innocent XII confirming the late Bishop’s beatification in 1700.

St Dalmatius
St Euphronius of Autun
St Gamaliel
St Gaudentia
Bl Godfrey of Le Mans
Bl Gregory of Nonantula
St Hermellus
St Nicodemus
St Senach of Clonard (Died 6th Century) One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland
St Trea of Ardtree

St Waltheof of Melrose O.Cist. (c 1095-1159) Monk, Abbot, Apostle of charity, Mystic.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Biandrés Avelino Gutiérrez Moral
Bl Antonio Isidoro Arrué Peiró
Bl Eleuterio Mancho López
Bl Geronimo Limón Márquez
Bl Patricio Beobide Cendoya
The Story of these around 10000 Martyrs of Spain:

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Santa Maria degli Angelis / Our Lady of Angels, Assisi, Italy (13th Century) Feast Day and Portiuncula Indulgence and Memorials of the Saints – 2 August

Santa Maria degli AngelisOur Lady of Angels, Assisi, Italy (13th Century) Feast Day and Portiuncula Indulgence: 2 August

Our Lady of Angels, or of the Portiuncula, is located on the outskirts of the City of Assisi, in Italy. It was a desolate locality and apparently an unsettled one where robbers and the lawlessness flourished, for the Benedictines who had lived at the Monastery felt it was too hazardous to remain there. They abandoned the Monastery, relocating to Mount Subasio, which was a fortified Monastery.

The original chapel is thought to date from the 4th Century and was built by holy hermits who had come from the Valley of Josaphat. It is said that they brought relics of the Blessed Virgin with them to the region when they constructed the chapel.

The history of the feast is inspiring. St Francis of Assisi, in the early days of his conversion, while he was still uncertain as to what path to pursue, was praying earnestly for enlightenment before the Crucifix at the Church of San Damiano, when he heard within himself the command of the Crucified: “Build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.” Taking the words literally, Francis began to restore San Damiano and other dilapidated Churches in and near Assisi. The most famous of these was the Church of Our Lady of the Angels.

Some time after the restoration of this little chapel, an angel told St Francis to come to the church of Our Lady of Angels, or Portiuncula. There he found Our Lord, His Blessed Mother and the Angels waiting for him. Our Lord commended Francis because of his zeal for the salvation of souls and promised to grant him whatever he should ask on behalf of sinners. St Francis asked for this great favour – that all those who came to this church to pray and, truly sorry for their sins, confessed them, should “Obtain in perpetuity a Plenary Indulgence” so that they would have nothing to account for when God called them. This was the great favour he asked, but Our Lord granted it to him through Mary.

When Saint Francis came upon the little, run down and abandoned chapel of Our Lady of Angels, or Santa Maria degli Angelis, in the year 1208, it was almost completely hidden in shrubs and bush. Saint Francis entered the hidden church, which measured only (7 x 4 metres) twenty-two feet by thirteen feet and saw the ancient fresco that had been placed above the main Altar. It was an image of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin surrounded by Angels. Some say that this is why the chapel was named Our Lady of Angels, although there are also legends that Angels could often be heard singing there.

The place took its name, the Little Portion, or Portiuncula in the native Italian, from the small section of fertile land that was gifted to the Monks to work for their support. It is said that this was the place where Saint Francis first understood his vocation, received visions and was also where the saint desired to live. The Benedictines had lived at that location for hundreds of years but the Benedictine Monks gave this Chapel to Saint Francis upon his request. It was certainly here that the Franciscan Order was founded.

At first Saint Francis wished the convent which he built there to be the principal one of his Order. He assembled the first General Chapter there, where there were five thousand religious. It was also where he yielded up his spirit on 3 October 1226, the twentieth of his conversion and the forty-fourth of his age. The cell in which the poor man of Assisi died can still be seen where it rests against one of the columns of the cupola under the choir bay.

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

The Roman Martyrology states of St Alphonsus today: “At Nocera-de-Pagani, Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop of St Agatha of the Goths and Founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists), distinguished by his zeal for the salvation of souls, by his writings, his preaching and his example.

He was inscribed on the Calendar of the Saints by Pope Gregory XVI in the year 1839, the 52nd after his happy death and , in 1871, was declared Doctor of the Universal Church by Pius IX, according to a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

St Eusebius of Vercelli (c 283-371) Bishop (Optional Memorial) Bishop, Confessor, Founder of monasticism in his region of Italy.

St Peter Julian Eymard SSS (1811-1868) – “Apostle of the Eucharist”Priest, Founder of two religious institutes, Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.

St Auspicius of Apt
St Betharius of Chartres
St Centolla of Burgos
St Etheldritha of Croyland
Bl Frederic Campisani
Bl Giustino Maria Russolillo
Bl Gundekar of Eichstätt
Bl Joanna of Aza
Bl John of Rieti
St Maximus of Padua
St Pedro de Osma

St Peter Faber SJ (1506-1546) the “Second Jesuit” – as co-Founder with St Ignatius. He was the first Priest and theologian of the Order.

St Plegmund
St Rutilius
St Serenus of Marseilles (Died c 606) Bishop of Marseilles
St Sidwell
St Pope Stephen I

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Fernando Olmedo Reguera
Bl Miguel Amaro Rodríguez

Posted in Uncategorized

Notre-Dame-de-Gray / Our Lady of Gray, France (1602) and Memorials of the Saints – 30 July

Notre-Dame-de-Gray / Our Lady de Gray, France (1602) – 30 July:

The Shrine of Notre-Dame-de-Gray, or Our Lady of Gray, is located near Besancon in Northern France near Franche-Comte. The Statue of Our Lady of Gray is made of an oak tree from Montaigu, has a dark wooden colour and is only 14.5 centimeters tall. It is much honoured in the country and there are many miracles and graces granted to petitioners that are attributed to Our Lady’s intercession at this shrine.

About five centuries ago, on a hill near Montaigu, a pious person placed a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon an old oak tree. The tree itself is believed to date from the time of the Druids and crested one of the hills in the Diocese of Malines. Soon the faithful began to come in crowds from throughout the region, for there were miraculous cures and various miracles granted to the pilgrims who invoked Mary under the name of Our Lady of the Oak.

In the year 1602 a small wooden chapel was built on the hill of Montaigu. The oak upon which the statue of Our Lady had once been displayed was now cut up into small pieces and carved by a local craftsman into statuettes of the same image. These statues were presented as a mark of respect to patrons of the shrine. Even the wood of the oak was considered almost a precious relic, for it had once touched the miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin.
Wherever they went these figures were enshrined with honour and it seemed as if Our Lady of Montaigu sent her favour, for her miraculous power went with them.

In the year 1613, a poor, seventy year old widow named Jeanne Bonnet de Salins made a pilgrimage to the shrine. She obtained a piece of the venerable old oak and took it to a sculptor named Jean Brange to carve into a statue similar to that of the original. On 4 April 1613, the Archbishop of Besancon blessed the Statue and allowed it to be exhibited for public veneration.

It is reported, that Jeanne Bonnet was rewarded by signal graces she obtained through Our Lady’s intercession. She intended to give the statue to a local church but, in 1616, yielded to the repeated entreaties of Father Gabriel Appremont, who wanted to have the image for the Capuchins of Gray. A special chapel was richly decorated to receive it. The news soon spread in the region of Gray and the faithful flocked to pay their respects to the new Madonna, Our Lady of Gray.

Our Lady of Gray holds in her right hand a gleaming sceptre of gold that a parishioner donated in the year 1807. It was at this time that the chapel – now a Basilica (see below), was undergoing reconstruction after the ravages of the French Revolution. There are also three semi-precious stones set in the front of the base of the statue that were given by grateful petitioners to the Blessed Virgin. Finally, the two gold crowns were created in 1909 on the occasion of the celebration of the coronation of the statue of Our Lady of Gray.

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) (Optional Memorial) “Golden Words,” Father and “Doctor of Homilies” of the Church

St Abdon
Bl Antonio di San Pietro
Bl Edward Powell
St Ermengyth
St Hatebrand
St Julitta of Caesarea
Blessed Manés de Guzmán OP (c 1168-1235) Dominican Priest and Friar, Brother of Saint Dominic

Bl Richard Featherstone
St Rufinus of Assisi
St Senen
St Tatwine of Canterbury
St Terenzio of Imola
Bl Thomas Abel
St Ursus of Auxerre
Bl Vicenta Chavez-Orozco

Martyrs of Castelseras: Three Dominicans, two of them priests, one a novice, who were martyred together in the Spanish Civil War for refusing to renounce Christianity.
• Joaquín Prats Baltueña
• José María Muro-Sanmiguel
• Zosimo Izquierdo Gil
They were shot on 30 July 1936 at a farm house outside Castelserás, Teruel, Spain.

Martyrs of Tebourba – 3 saints: Three girls martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little else about them but the names – Donatilla, Maxima and Secunda. 304 at Tebourba in North Africa.

The Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Alejandro González Blanco
Bl Eugenio García Tribaldos
Bl Guillermo Álvarez Quemada
Bl Juan Lanz Palanca
Bl Luis Herrero Arnillas
Bl Miguel Solas del Val
Bl Pablo Díaz de Zárate y Ortiz de Zárate
Bl Racardo Pla Espí
Bl Sergio Cid Paz

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna dei Miracoli / Holy Mary of Miracles, Morbio Inferiore, Ticino, Switzerland (1594) and Memorials of the Saints – 29 July

Madonna dei Miracoli / Holy Mary of Miracles, Morbio Inferiore, Ticino, Switzerland (1594) – 29 July:

Where the Sanctuary of Morbio now stands, a castle stood centuries ago, attested in 1198 and destroyed in the first half of the sixteenth century. Only the ruins of a Chapel, dedicated to St Bernardino of Siena, transformed over time into a pile of rubble, buried by weeds, brambles and thorns., remained. Surrounded by ivy and fortunately well preserved, remained the Fresco in the Chapel, depicting the Virgin with the Child.

The history of the Sanctuary of Holy Mary of Miracles began on 29 July 1594. It was a Friday when the two mothers with their daughters, Catherine and Angela , respectively ten and seven years old, travelled to Morbio to entreat the assistance of Fr Gaspare Basbetrini. They were sick girls, tormented by the devil and had travelled to Morbio, to ask for the blessing of Don Gaspare Barberini, the assistant Priest at Morbio, who was well-known as an Exorcist. However, sadly for the pilgrims, Fr Basbetrini was absent.

To the tiredness of the journey and the sadness of illness, the bitterness of disappointment was added. Among the ruins of the ancient castle the little group of supplicants waited and discovered on the crumbling and crumbling walls, the faded remains of a fresco depicting the Virgin in a deeply maternal position nursing Baby Jesus.

The two mothers knelt before the Virgin with their daughters and prayed in deep sadness and devotion for the intercession of the Holy Mother to come to the aid of the sick children.

And then the miracle happened. Those two poor simple and innocent creatures were cured. This is Morbio’s miracle – the Madonna appeared to the two little girls and cureds them of all their illnesses, dispelling any demonic presence within them.

Our Lady spoke to the elder girl, Catherine and instructed her to tell the Bishop that the Church should be rebuilt and that the Holy Rosary must be said everyday.

Eight days after the event, on 5 August 1594, the episcopal curia of Como, whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction also extended to the southern regions of Ticino, instructed the regular canonical process, which recognized, upon the sworn deposition of the main eyewitnesses, the truth of what happened and their prodigious and supernatural nature.

A stained-glass window, located at the top of the apse and placed at the beginning of this century, illustrates and reminds those who enter the Sanctuary of this miracle. Catherine is depicted on a ladder, with her arms outstretched, listening in front of the image of the Madonna dei Miracoli. At the foot of the ladder, Angela, the other sick girl, is lying asleep.

In a short while an Oratory was built on the site to recite the Rosary and celebrate Mass there, as the Madonna had said to Catherine, while on 29 July 1595, the Anniversary of the apparition and the miracle, the first stone was blessed and laid for the construction of the Sanctuary, Consecrated on 16 May 1631 by the Bishop of Como, Msgr Filippo Archinti.

St Martha (Memorial) – Sister of Saint Lazarus and Saint Mary of Bethany. Friend of Jesus and hostess to Him in her house. May have been part of an early mission to France.

St Antony
St Beatrix of Rome
Bl Beatrix of Valfleury
St Callinicus of Paphlagonia
Bl Charles-Antoine-Nicolas Ancel
St Faustinus of Rome
St Faustinus of Spello
St Felix of Rome
St John Baptist Luo Tingyin
St John the Soldier
Bl José Calasanz Marqués
St Joseph Zhang
St Kilian of Inishcaltra
St Lek Sirdani
Bl Luis Bertran
St Lupus of Troyes
Bl Mancius of the Cross
St Martha Wang
St Olaf II
St Olaus of Sweden
St Paulus Chen Changpin
Bl Petrus of Saint Mary
St Pjetër Çuni
St Prosper of Orleans
St Rufo of Rome
St Seraphina
St Serapia of Syria
St Simplicius of Rome
St Sulian

Blessed Pope Urban II (c 1035-1099) Bishop of Rome from 1088 until his death, Carthusian Abbot, Confessor

St William Pinchon of Saint Brieuc (1180-1234) Bishop of Saint Brieuc, Confessor

Four Anonymous Martyrs

Martyrs of Calanda – 8 beati: A group of Dominican priests and friars who were martyred over the course of a day in the same town by the same group of anti-Christian forces in the Spanish Civil War.
• Antonio Manuel López Couceiro
• Felicísimo Díez González
• Gumersindo Soto Barros
• Lamberto María de Navascués de Juan
• Lucio Martínez Mancebo
• Matías Manuel Albert Ginés
• Saturio Rey Robles
• Tirso Manrique Melero
They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Calanda, Teruel, Spain I.

Martyrs of Lleida – 12 beati: Carmelites of the Ancient Observance novices, friars and priests who were all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.
• Àngel Prat Hostench
• Eliseo Maneus Besalduch
• Gabriel Escoto Ruiz
• Ginés Garre Egea
• Joan Maria Puigmitjà Rubió
• Joan Prat Colldecarrera
• Josep Solé Rovira
• Lluis Fontdecava Quiroga
• Manuel Serrano Buj
• Miquel Soler Sala
• Pere Dorca Coromina
• Pere Ferrer Marín
They were martyred on 29 July 1936 in Clot dels Aubens, Cervera, Lleida, Spain.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Bartolomé Rodríguez Soria

Martyrs of Rome – 23 saints
Eugene
Flora the Martyr
Lucilla
Theodore

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame-de-Foy / Our Lady of Faith, Gravelines, Liege, France (1616) and Memorials of the Saints – 27 July

Notre-Dame-de-Foy / Our Lady of Faith, Gravelines, Liege, France (1616) – 27 July:

Not far from the small town of Dinant, in Liege near a home belonging to the Lord of Celles, two magnificent oaks once grew. One of the two venerable old trees was felled in the year 1609 by a man named Gilles, a lumberjack. The worker who inspected the tree found a small terracotta statue of the Mother of God, enthroned, as it were, with three iron bars that served as a trellis. The old oak stood on the edge of a path taken by pilgrims travelling to St Hubert. Apparently, at some time in the distant past, some pious Christian soul had placed the holy image in a hollow of the oak, as if in a niche. Then, over a period of time, the opening ​​the tree had made while it was still young gradually closed and as it grew, the tree hid in its womb, the precious figure. Over the years the bark of the tree closed upon it and, as the road became less frequented, the existence of the Statue was completely forgotten.

To honour the Virgin, the Statue was subsequently displayed on the other oak, once again behind an iron grating, by order of the Baron of Celles. In this new Sanctuary, the Mother of God was honoured with the title of Our Lady of Faith. Those passing by did not fail to venerate the Statue;and there were many unexpected miracles. Graces of all kinds multiplied,and soon pilgrims began to flock to the area because of the dazzling miracles and very quickly a spontaneous cult grew.

The Statue was first placed in another oak but it was almost thrown away by servants who thought it had no value. The local Baron placed it near the door to his oratory at the Castle of Veves as pilgrims began to flock there. In this new Sanctuary, the image of Our Lady was honoured under the title of Our Lady of Faith, which was the name of the farm.

The first miracle occurred in 1616. As a result of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary an old man was healed from a painful and debilitating hernia. The canonical investigation prescribed by the Bishop of Liege, was positive in its conclusion.

A Priest of the Society of Jesus had recently been sent to Gravelines. He worked diligently to cultivate souls, as if upon a fruitful vine and by his sermons excited the people of the region to a greater love for the Mother of God. Seeing that this devotion had taken root, he met with the local Magistrate to discuss how to maintain and increase the piety of the people. It was decided that they should make replicas of the Statue of Our Lady of Faith, made from the wood of the first oak. When the first was completed, the image was observed to have a great resemblance to the original. Received with great joy, it was placed in a large reliquary above the high Altar in the Parish Church.

St Aetherius of Auxerre
St Anthusa of Constantinople
St Arethas
St Aurelius of Cordoba
St Benno of Osnabruck (c 1020-1088) Bishop
Bl Berthold of Garsten

St Pope Celestine I (Died 432) called “the Heresy Fighter.” Much is unknown about Celestine, including his birthday. But his reign as Pope – from 422 to his death in 432 – is credited with many achievements.

St Ecclesius of Ravenna
Bl Felipe Hernández Martínez
St Felix of Cordoba
St Galactorio of Lescar
St George of Cordoba
St Hermippus
St Hermocrates
St Hermolaus
Bl Jaime Ortiz Alzueta
Bl Joaquín Vilanova Camallonga
Bl José María Ruiz Cano
St Juliana of Mataró
St Lillian of Cordoba
Bl Lucy Bufalari
St Luican

Blessed Maria Grazia Tarallo/Bl Maria of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1866-1912) Virgin, Religious Sister of the Institute of the Sisters Crucified Adorers of the Eucharist.

Bl Maria Klemensa Staszewska
Blessed Maria Magdalena Martinengo OSC Cap (1687-1737) Nun
St Maurus of Bisceglia
Bl Modesto Vegas y Vegas
St Natalia of Cordoba
Bl Nevolone of Tavenisa
St Pantaleimon

St Pantaleon (Died c 305) Martyr, Lay Physician, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Bl Rudolf Aquaviva S.J.
Bl Robert Sutton
St Semproniana of Mataró
St Sergius of Bisceglia
Bl William Davies
Bl Zacarías Abadía Buesa

Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together. The only other information to survive are their names – Felix, Jucunda and Julia. Nicomedia, Asia Minor.

Seven Sleepers of Ephesus: A group of seven young Christian men who hid in a cave in hopes of avoiding the persecution of Decius in the year 250. Found and arrested, they were ordered by the pro-consul in Ephesus to renounce their faith; they refused and were sentenced to die. Legend says that they were walled up in their hiding cave, guarded by the dog Al Rakim; when the cave wall was breached in 479 – they all woke up!

It is likely that the youths were tortured to death in various ways and buried in the cave. The resurrection story confusion came from the phrase “went to sleep in the Lord” which was used to describe the death of Christians and 479 is when their relics were discovered. Their names were Constantinus, Dionysius, Joannes, Malchus, Martinianus, Maximianus and Serapion. They were martyred in 250 in Ephesus (in modern Turkey); tradition says that they were walled up in a cave to suffocate but other records indicate that they were tortured to death in various ways. Their relics discovered in 479 and translated to Marseilles, France and enshrined in a large stone coffin.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna del Faggio / Our Lady of the Beech Tree, Castelluccio, Bologna, Emilia Romagna, Italy (1672) and Memorials of the Saints – 26 July

Madonna del Faggio (Our Lady of the Beech Tree), Castelluccio, Bologna, Emilia Romagna, Italy (1672) – 26 July, Ascension Thursday:

In 1672 the Blessed Virgin appeared to a shepherd boy and told him that she wished to be venerated at a certain place in the beech woods near Castelluccio in central Italy. The child , following the directions to the site, discovered a terracotta Madonna affixed to one of the trees. The tiny Statue, barely 18 centimetres tall (7 inches) was moved to a wayside Shrine and then, in 1722, to its own mountain Sanctuary. Until 1964 a caretaker lived in the hermitage there. Since then a volunteer opens the Chapel only in summer on Sundays. In 1975 the sacred image was stolen and a copy was made to replace it.

Since 1756, an annual pilgrimage on Ascension Day brings the image to the Town and back again, and on St Anne’s day, 26 July, a procession goes to the site of the beech tree where the Statue had been originally found, although the tree itself is no longer there as it fell during a storm.

The Sanctuary’s holy card, shown above, does not seem to depict the terracotta image. It may represent one of the paintings of Lorenzo Pranzini, who decorated the interior of the Chapel in the 1800s.

Sts Anne & St Joachim (Memorial) – Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Grandparents of Jesus

Bl Andrew the Catechist
St Austindus of Auch

St Bartholomea Capitanio SCCG (1807-1833) Religious and the Co-Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Lovere

St Benigno of Malcestine
Bl Camilla Gentili
St Charus of Malcestine
Bl Edward Thwing
Bl Élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin
St Erastus
Bl Évangéliste of Verona
St Exuperia the Martyr
Bl George Swallowell
St Gérontios
Bl Giuseppina Maria de Micheli
St Gothalm
St Hyacinth
Bl Jacques Netsetov
Bl John Ingram
St Joris
Bl Marcel-Gaucher Labiche de Reignefort
Bl Marie-Claire du Bac
Bl Marie-Madeleine Justamond
Bl Marie-Marguerite Bonnet
St Olympius the Tribune
St Parasceva of Rome (Died c 180) Virgin Martyr, Confessor
St Pastor of Rome
Bl Pérégrin of Verona
Bl Pierre-Joseph le Groing de la Romagère

Blessed Robert Nutter OP (c 1557-1600) Martyr, Priest of the Order of Preachers, Martyr of England.

St Simeon of Padolirone
St Symphronius the Slave
St Theodulus the Martyr

Blessed Titus Brandsma OCD (1881-1942) Martyr of the Faith, Carmelite Religious Priest, Mystic, Philosopher, Lecturer, Writer, Editor, Preacher, Linguist, Social Activist.

St Valens of Verona
Bl William Ward

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Feast of St James the Greater, Notre-Dame du Saguenay / Our Lady of Lac Bouchet, Quebec (1920) and Memorials of the Saints – 25 July

St James the Greater (Feast) – Son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of Saint John the Apostle. He is called “the Greater” simply because he became an Apostle before Saint James the Lesser.

Notre-Dame du Saguenay / Our Lady of Lac Bouchet, Quebec (1920) – 25 July:

The Saguenay Fjord is an ancient glacial valley that has been overrun with sea water. In the year 1828 a surveyor, Joseph Bouchette, ventured into the region for the purpose of collecting data for topographical maps. It was during this expedition that he found a suitable site for a future village, which Pascal Dumais and his family later settled. This marked the founding of the village of Lac-Bouchette, with more and more people coming to settle in the area until the village had 300 inhabitants by 1888.

Our story actually begins with a man named Charles Napoleon Robitaille, a salesman who travelled the roads in and around Quebec. During the winters he would have to cross frozen rivers and it was in the winter of 1878 while trying to cross the Saguenay River that the ice broke under the weight of his horse and sleigh. Pulled beneath the surface of the icy waters, Charles was alone and completely helpless. Knowing he was dying, he implored the Blessed Virgin Mary to save him.

Charles miraculously survived, and managed to escape from the river with his life. He knew the Virgin had assisted him and so to honour Mary and her recent apparition at Lourdes, he asked Louis Jobin to create a huge Statue of the Blessed Virgin sculpted in the image of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception. He envisioned the Statue in the heights overlooking the mouth of the river. The Statue Jobin sculpted became known as Notre-Dame du Saguenay.

The finished Statue is an impressive more than 10,5 metres high and weighs 3 tons. Sculpted of solid white pine, it was then sheathed in lead to protect it from the harsh weather. Hauling such a huge Statue into place was a difficult task in the late nineteenth century. After being constructed, it was broken down into 14 separate pieces and then hoisted into place and rebuilt. The Statue made Louis Jobin the most famous sculptor of the time, and it has become a regional landmark, with visitors from all over the world assembling at her feet to sing the Ave Maria.

In 1889 the mission Church of Saint Thomas Aquinas was built and the next year Father Joseph Ironwood became the first Priest there A second Church was soon built, in 1898, as the population increased dramatically. Now, on the north shore of Lake Bouchet, in the Province of Quebec, there stand the buildings of a Friary and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Saguenay.
In 1920, Father Elzear Delamarre built a house and a private Chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua on the site, which later became known as the hermitage of Saint Anthony and is one of the national Shrines in Quebec. So began the pilgrimage-shrine that has since grown steadily in popularity.

After Father de Lamarre’s death in 1925, the Capuchin Franciscans took over the property, built their house and Church there and minister to the thousands of pilgrims who visit the Blessed Mother at her Sanctuary.

Bl Alexius Worstius

Blessed Antonio Lucci OFM.Conv. (1682-1752) Bishop of Bovino, Franciscan Friar, Theologian, Professor, Writer, Apostle of Charity and Marian devotee.

Bl Antonio of Olmedo
St Bantu of Trier
St Beatus of Trier

St Christopher (died c 251) Martyr, “The Christ-Bearer”

St Cugat del Valles
Bl Darío Acosta Zurita
St Ebrulfus
St Fagildo of Santiago
St Felix of Furcona
St Florentius of Furcona
St Glodesind of Metz
St Magnericus of Trier (c 520-596) Bishop and Confessor
Bl Michel-Louis Brulard
Bl Mieczyslawa Kowalska
St Mordeyren
St Nissen of Wexford
St Olympiad of Constantinople
St Paul of Palestine

Blessed Pietro Corradini OFM (1435–1490) Priest of the Franciscan Friars Minor, Confessor, Preacher, Spiritual Director

St Theodemir of Cordoba

Martyrs of Caesarea – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Maximilian and governor Firmilian – Paul, Tea and Valentina. 309 in Caesarea, Palestine.

Martyrs of Cuncolim – 20 saints: On 15 July 1583 the group met at the church of Orlim, and hiked to Cuncolim to erect a cross and choose land for a new church. Local anti-Christian pagans, seeing the unarmed Christians, gathered their weapons and marched on them. One of the parishioners, a Portuguese emigre named Gonçalo Rodrigues, carried a firearm, but Father Alphonsus Pacheco stopped him from using it. The pagans then fell upon them, and killed them all without mercy. They were –
• Alphonsus Pacheco
• Alphonsus the altar boy
• Anthony Francis
• Dominic of Cuncolim
• Francis Aranha
• Francis Rodrigues
• Gonçalo Rodrigues
• Paul da Costa
• Peter Berno
• Rudolph Acquaviva
• ten other native Christian converts whose names have not come down to us
They were martyred on Monday 25 July 1583 at the village of Cuncolim, district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India. Beatified on 30 April 1893 by Pope Leo XIII.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Foundation of Our Lady of Cambron, France (1148) and Memorials of the Saints – 24 July

Foundation of Our Lady of Cambron, France (1148) – 24 July:

This feast day celebrates the Foundation of the Abbey of Our Lady of Cambron, near Mons, in Hainault, Belgium, by Anselm de Trasigny, Lord of Peronne and Canon of Soignies, in the year 1148.

The Abbey of Cambron was founded on the River Blanche and was a daughter house of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. It was situated some distance from Mons in Cambron-Casteau in Hainaut, Belgium and took its name from the land on which it was built. Cambron, in its turn, had daughter houses in the Abbeys of Fontenelle at Valenciennes and six other sites. The image of Our Lady formerly honoured at Cambron was famous for a great number of miraculous cures. A Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Cambron, was built at Mons in 1550 in a part of the Prince’s park.

In the following centuries the magistrates of Mons had a beautiful door built for the Shrine and added other embellishments. There was a small but well honoured and visited Oratory. In 1559, thieves broke into the Chapel and stole everything of value.

After the French Revolution when the State took over all properties belonging to the Church, this Chapel of Our Lady of Cambron was also taken. It was demolished after all the wood, iron and lead was removed. The Statue of the Blessed Virgin which decorated the Altar was then placed in the Church of Saint Elizabeth at Mons. The Abbey of Cambron was rebuilt in the 18th Century but was ordered to be vacated in 1783 by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. It was later sold to a wealthy Count who built a mansion on the property and the land remained in his family’s hands until it was sold in 1993 to a family, who turned the holy and once revered site, into the location of a public zoo known as the Pairi Daiza.

Verneration of Our Lady of Cambron: “In 1322 there was a serious incident at Cambron. An image of the Virgin Mary was profaned. The widely held suspicion was that a Jewish perpetrator had falsified conversion to Christianity to gain access to the image. The affair caused significant unrest and provoked the sympathy of many Christians. There were prayers and devotions held to repair the image. Thus the devotion to Our Lady of Cambron was begun. After a request by the King of France Philip of Valois, Pope Benedict XII issued a Papal Bull granting indulgences to pilgrims to Cambron. The pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cambron was thus begun. A solemn procession takes place each year on the third Sunday of Easter.”

Among the pilgrims and visitors were several important figures, including the Emperor Maximilian I, who, passing through Belgium in the early 16th century, visited the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cambron. He gave the Abbey sufficient funds to commission the restoration of the painted image.

St Charbel Makhluf OLM (1828-1898) (Optional Memorial) Monk, Priest, Hermit, Miracle Worker – The holy monk whose dead body radiated white light.

St Aliprandus of Pavia
St Antinogenes of Merida
St Aquilina the Martyr
St Arnulf of Gruyere
Bl Balduino of Rieti
St Boris of Kiev
St Capito

St Christina of Bolsena (3rd Century) Virgin Martyr

St Christina Mirabilis/the Astonishing (1150-1224) Virgin, mendicant, Penitent, Mystic.

Blessed Cristobal of St Catherine TOSF (1638-1690) Priest, Founder of the Franciscan Hospitallers of Jesus of Nazareth, Franciscan Tertiary.

St Cyriacus of Ziganeus
St Declan of Ardmore
Bl Diego Martinez
Bl Donatus of Urbino

Blessed Giovanni Tavalli (1386-1446) Archbishop, Friar of the Jesuit Friars of Saint Jerome.

Martyred in England:
John Boste
Joseph Lambton
Nicholas Garlick
Richard Simpson
Robert Ludlam

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Cándido Castán San José
Bl Cecilio Vega Domínguez
St Ignacio González Calzada
St Jaime Gascón Bordas
Bl José Joaquín Esnaola Urteaga
Bl José Máximo Moro Briz
St Josep Guillamí Rodo
St Marcos Morón Casas
Bl Maria Angeles of Saint Joseph
Bl Maria Mercedes Prat
Bl Maria Pilar of Saint Francis Borgia
Bl Teresa of the Child Jesus and of Saint John of the Cross
St Xavier Bordas Piferrer

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame-de-Bonne Délivrance / Our Lady of Good Deliverance, Schwarzen Madonna / Black Madonna of Einsiedeln, Schwyz, Switzerland (853) and Memorials of the Saints – 18 July

Notre-Dame-de-Bonne Délivrance / Our Lady of Good Deliverance (14th Century): 18 July
Since the 1000s, the Church of Saint-Etienne-des-Grès in the old Latin Quarter of Paris had a chapel to Our Lady of Good Deliverance, where, across the centuries, pilgrims sought the Virgin’s help in their of sufferings. During the Wars of Religion and counter-Reformation, her Confraternity had 12,000 members, including the King and Queen of France.

Schwarzen Madonna / Black Madonna of Einsiedeln, Schwyz, Switzerland (853) – First Sunday after Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

“Einsiedeln” means “hermitage.” It was the home of St Meinrad (c 797–861) Martyr, a Benedictine Monk who retreated to this place in the pine woods to live in solitude, with a pair of tame crows for company. Abbess Hildegarde of Zurich gave him a Statue of the Madonna for the forest Chapel built in 853, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. In 863, hoping to get his stash of pilgrim donations, two thieves murdered the Saint, who was living in poverty. The crows alerted people, who found and buried the body and executed the killers.

In 948, Benedictines built a Church on the site of St Meinrad’s hermitage. On 14 September, the night before Bishop Conrad was to bless the new Church, he dreamed that Jesus Himself was blessing it. In the morning, when he began the ceremony, everyone heard a voice say, “Stop, for the Church has been Consecrated divinely.” In 1028 the first of five fires destroyed everything but the Chapel containing the Statue. These miracles increased popular devotion to the Shrine, which was repeatedly rebuilt.

Although tradition holds the present Statue to be the original, it is unlike any that remain from the Ottonian period. Carved of dark wood, the graceful, sweet-faced Madonna, her right knee slightly bent, stands a little over three feet tall, holding the Divine Child in her left arm. This is a typical late Gothic work of the mid-1400s, possibly installed after the third fire in 1465. Displayed before a great aureole of golden rays,the Statue has worn elaborate vestments in colours matching those of Priests for each liturgical season. The Feast of Our Lady of Einsiedeln is 16 July but is usually celebrated on the Sunday following. Even greater pilgrimages occur on 14 September in honour of the Church’s miraculous Consecration.

St Aemilian of Dorostorium
St Alanus of Sassovivo
St Alfons Tracki
Blessed Angeline of Marsciano
Bl Arnold of Amiens
St Arnold of Arnoldsweiler
St Arnoul the Martyr
St Arnulf of Metz (c 580-640) Bishop
St Athanasius of Clysma
Bl Bernard de Arenis
Bl Bertha de Marbais

St Bruno of Segni OSB (1049-1123) Benedictine Bishop, Confessor, Missionary, Papal Advisor, Theologian.

St Ðaminh Ðinh Ðat
St Edburgh of Bicester (Died c 620) Abbess, Nun, Pr5incess
St Elio of Koper

St Frederick of Utrecht (c 815 – c 838) Martyr Bishop

St Goneri of Treguier
St Gundenis of Carthage
Bl Herveus
Bl Jean-Baptiste de Bruxelles
St Marina of Ourense
St Maternus of Milan
St Minnborinus
St Pambo of the Nitrian Desert
St Philastrius of Brescia
St Rufillus of Forlimpopoli
St Scariberga of Yvelines

St Simon (Szymon) of Lipnica OFM Cap (1435/1440-c 1482) Priest of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

St Theneva
St Theodosia of Constantinople

Martyrs of Silistria – 7 saints: Seven Christians who were martyred together. No details about them have survived but the names – Bassus, Donata, Justus, Marinus, Maximus, Paulus and Secunda. They were martyred in Silistria (Durostorum), Moesia (in modern Bulgaria), date unknown.

Martyrs of Tivoli – 8 saints: A widow, Symphorosa and her seven sons ( Crescens, Eugene, Julian, Justin, Nemesius, Primitivus and Stracteus) martyred in Tivoli, Italy in the 2nd-century persecutions of Hadrian.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna dell’Umiltà / The Madonna of Humility, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy (1490), Madonna della Campitelli / Our Lady of Campitelli, Italy (524) and Memorials of the Saints – 17 July

Madonna dell’Umiltà / The Madonna of Humility, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy (1490) – 17 July

Madonna della Campitelli / Our Lady of Campitelli, Italy (524) – 17 July and 2 February:

The Sanctuary of Sancta Maria in Campitelli is one of the most celebrated of Rome. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is located on the Piazza di Campitelli in Rome, Italy.

There is venerated at the Church a precious image that was transported from the portico of the palace of the Roman matron, Galla Patrizia Seveath, to whom the Virgin herself appeared on 17 July 524. The icon is only 25 centimeters high. Mention is made of the miraculous appearance by Pope Gregory the Great. The image is known as Our Lady in the Portico, or the Madonna del Portico.

The Church where the icon was kept was known as Santa Galla Antiqua and it used to be located just north of the Piazza Bocca della Verita and west of the Via Petroselli. It was destroyed by Mussolini under pretext that the street should be widened.

In the year 1618 the congregation was transferred to a new Church known as Santa Maria in Campitelli, finished in 1667. The work of the Shrine is that of the architect Rainaldi. The new edifice was erected by vote of the people in thanksgiving for the preservation of the city from the pestilence of 1656 and was designed in the Baroque style. There are tall columns on the façade of the church that were intended to include statues, although the statues were never completed as originally planned.

The icon of Our Lady of Campitelli is surrounded by an ornate Shrine behind the High Altar and there is a stairway behind the display that allows a closer inspection of the famous Icon. It is not open to the general public.

Many times the sacred image of Our Lady of Campitelli has been carried in procession through the streets of Rome – the people invoking Mary’s protection against pestilence, epidemics and earthquakes. This image is also invoked under the title of Our Lady of Security and two feasts are commemorated in Mary’s honour – 17 July and 2 February.

St Alexius of Rome (Died early 5th Century) Hermit, Mystic, beggar – known as “the Man of God.”

St Andrew Zorard OSB (c 980 – c 1008) Hermit, Monk, Missionary
Bl Arnold of Himmerod
Bl Bénigne
Bl Biagio of the Incarnation

Bl Carlos de Dios Murias OFM Conv (1945-1976) Priest Martyr
St Cynllo
St Ennodius of Pavia
St Fredegand of Kerkelodor
St Generosus
St Gorazd
St Hedwig, Queen of Poland
St Hyacinth of Amastris
St Kenelm
St Pope Leo IV

St Magnus Felix Ennodius
St Marcellina
St Nerses Lambronazi

St Petrus Liu Zeyu
Bl Sebastian of the Holy Spirit
Bl Tarsykia Matskiv
St Theodosius of Auxerre
St Theodota of Constantinople
St Turninus

Martyrs of Compiegne (16 beati): Sixteen Blessed Teresian Martyrs of Compiègne. Eleven Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters and two lay women servants who were martyred together in the French Revolution. They were the earliest martyrs of the French Revolution that have been recognised.
• Angelique Roussel • Anne Pelras • Anne-Marie-Madeleine Thouret • Catherine Soiron • élisabeth-Julitte Vérolot • Marie Dufour • Marie Hanniset • Marie-Anne Piedcourt • Marie-Anne-Françoise Brideau • Marie-Claude-Cyprienne Brard • Marie-Françoise de Croissy • Marie-Gabrielle Trezel • Marie-Geneviève Meunier • Marie-Madeleine-Claudine Lidoine • Rose-Chretien de Neuville • Thérèse Soiron •
They were guillotined on 17 July 1794 at the Place du Trône Renversé (modern Place de la Nation) in Paris, France.

Martyrs of Scillium (12 saints): A group of twelve Christians martyred together, the final deaths in the persecutions of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Upon their conviction for the crime of being Christians, the group was offered 30 days to reconsider their allegiance to the faith; they all declined. Their official Acta still exist. Their names –
• Acyllinus • Cythinus • Donata • Felix • Generosa • Januaria • Laetantius • Narzales • Secunda • Speratus • Vestina • Veturius
They were beheaded on 17 July 180 in Scillium, Numidia (in North Africa).

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Mariae Virginis Molanus / Our Lady of Molanus, Jerusalem (1099) and Memorials of the Saints – 15 July

Mariae Virginis Molanus / Our Lady of Molanus, Jerusalem (1099) – 15 July :

In the year 1099, the Christian armies arrived in Jerusalem, overjoyed that they had survived and reached their objective. Their joy turned nearly to despair, however, as they ran short of food and suffered greatly with a plague during the siege of the City.

The leaders of the Crusade concluded, that they could not win without courting the Divine Assistance. It was agreed by all, that they should march together barefoot around the City while singing litanies to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This they did, as the Jews had done centuries before at Jericho, while praying, fasting and giving alms. Eight days later, Godfrey of Bouillon, known as the “Defender of the Holy Sepulchre,” was the first to breach the walls and set foot in Jerusalem, which was then swiftly taken.

The Muslims were finally defeated after what had been a long and difficult siege and the First Crusade ended with a Christian victory. Now that the City was in Christian hands, the Crusaders desired that they should have a king for the new Kingdom of Jerusalem. The nobleman Raymond of Saint Gilles was offered the crown but he refused, as it did not seem proper to him to be named king in that holy place. Next, Robert Courte-Heuse also refused. Finally, Godfrey of Bouillon, who had so distinguished himself in the taking of Jerusalem, was asked to accept the crown.

Godfrey of Bouillon was a good man, the son of Blessed Ida of Bouillon, whose father was the Duke Godfrey of Lorraine, himself a descendent of Blessed Charles the Great. Although Godfrey agreed to be made king, still, as they were about to crown him King of Jerusalem, Godfrey pushed aside the crown, saying, “I cannot wear a diadem in the place where my Lord wore a Crown of Thorns.” Instead, as he had prayed at Our Lady at Boulogne-sur-mer before leaving on the Crusade, he credited the Blessed Virgin Mary with the victory, and symbolically gave the crown to Our Lady of Molanus.
After the victory, clad in white garments, the Crusaders expressed, in solemn procession, hymns and prayers, their gratitude to the Mother of God for giving them this singular victory over the enemies of the Church.

The annual celebration in remembrance of the victory occurs each year on 15 July with a Mass offered to Our Lady of Molanus. Formerly the feast of this event was celebrated with a double office and octave.

St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio OFM (1221-1274) – Seraphic Doctor of the Church – Friar of the Friars Minor Order of St Francis, Bishop, Theologian, Philosopher, Writer, Mystic, Preacher, Teacher. One of the early Biographers of St Francis.(Memorial)

Dispersion of the Apostles: Commemorates the missionary work of the Twelve Apostles. It was first mentioned in the 11th century and was celebrated in the northern countries of Europe during the Middle Ages. It is now observed in Germany, Poland and some dioceses of England, France and the United States.

St Abundantia of Spoleto
St Abudemius of Bozcaada
St Adalard the Younger
St Anrê Nguyen Kim Thông

Blessed Anne-Mary Javouhey (1779-1851) “The Mother of the Slaves,” Religious Sister, Missionary and Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. Imagine a Mother Teresa in the France of Napoleon’s day and you will have a picture of Anne-Marie Javouhey. Nanette, as she was called, was a “velvet brick,” a thin layer of gentleness covering her determined core. A competent leader, Nanette dominated every scene in her adventurous life. Blessed Anne-Marie was Beatified on 15 October 1950 by Ven Pope Pius XII.

Bl Antoni Beszta-Borowski
St Apronia
St Athanasius of Naples
St Antiochus of Sebaste
St Benedict of Angers
Blessed Bernard of Baden TOSF (1428-1458)
St David of Sweden
St Donivald
St Eberhard of Luzy
St Edith of Tamworth
St Eternus
St Felix of Pavia
St Gumbert of Ansbach
St Haruch of Werden
St Jacob of Nisibis
St Joseph Studita of Thessalonica
Bl Michel-Bernard Marchand
Bl Peter Aymillo
St Phêrô Nguyen Bá Tuan
St Plechelm of Guelderland
Bl Roland of Chézery
St Valentina of Nevers
St Vladimir I of Kiev

Martyred Jesuit Missionaries of Brazil – 40 beati: A band of forty Spanish, Portugese and French Jesuit missionaries martyred by the Huguenot pirate Jacques Sourie while en route to Brazil. They are –
• Aleixo Delgado • Alonso de Baena • álvaro Borralho Mendes • Amaro Vaz • André Gonçalves • António Correia • Antônio Fernandes • António Soares • Bento de Castro • Brás Ribeiro • Diogo de Andrade • Diogo Pires Mimoso • Domingos Fernandes • Esteban Zuraire • Fernando Sánchez • Francisco Alvares • Francisco de Magalhães • Francisco Pérez Godoy • Gaspar Alvares • Gonçalo Henriques • Gregorio Escribano • Ignatius de Azevedo • Iõao • João Fernandes • João Fernandes • Juan de Mayorga • Juan de San Martín • Juan de Zafra • Luís Correia • Luís Rodrigues • Manuel Alvares • Manuel Fernandes • Manuel Pacheco • Manuel Rodrigues • Marcos Caldeira • Nicolau Dinis • Pedro de Fontoura • Pedro Nunes • Simão da Costa • Simão Lopes •
They were martyed on 15 and 16 July 1570 on the ship Santiago near Palma, Canary Islands. They were beatified on 11 May 1854 by Pope Pius IX.

Martyrs of Alexandria – 13 saints: Thirteen Christians who were martyred together. We know the names of three, no details about them and the other ten were all children. – Narseus, Philip and Zeno. Martyred in the early 4th-century in Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Carthage – 9 saints: A group of nine Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else but their names – Adautto, Catulinus, Felice, Florentius, Fortunanziano, Januarius, Julia, Justa and Settimino. They were martyred in Carthaginian and their relics at the basilica of Fausta at Carthage.

Martyrs of Pannonia – 5 saints: Five 4th-century martyrs killed together. No information about them has survived except the names – Agrippinus, Fortunatus, Martialis, Maximus and Secundinus.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna del Soccorso / Our Lady of Soccorso, Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy ( 1718) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 July

Madonna del Soccorso / Our Lady of Soccorso, Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy ( 1718)- 13 July

In Castellammare del Golfo, in the Province of Trapani, a miraculous event occurred on 13 July 1718, when the Town was in the midst of war between Philip V and Amedeo di Savoia, for the possession of Sicily. A Spanish ship, pursued by five English ships, arrived to take refuge under the castle, from where the enemy ships were repelled.

The people, frightened, cried out for a miraculous help to their Patron – all fled the City, and despite the blows of the English artillery, no-one was killed or injured. But all of a sudden, to everyone’s amazement, the white-dressed Madonna appeared from Mount delle Scale, followed by a group of Angels, who descended towards Cala Marina. This vision terrified the British who hastened in retreat and left the port.

The name of Madonna del Soccorso derives from this extraordinary event.
Every two years, in fact, on 13 July in the Town of the Gulf the “Historical Re-enactment” of the miraculous intervention of Maria Santissima del Soccorso, in the City of Castellammare.

Devotion to the Madonna del Soccorso is particularly felt in the Magolà hamlet, in Lamezia Terme but also, in the whole area. The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso is located on a green hill overlooking the City of Lamezia Terme and overlooking the plain of Sant’Eufemia, in the most panoramic point . The presence of this Church then gave its name to the whole area. According to a historical research by Don Pietro Bonacci ( 1915 – 2007 ), devotion to the Madonna del Soccorso is very ancient and was initially practiced in the Church of the Reformed Fathers of St Frances (currently the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore) in very remote times. This devotion was also in use in the Church of Santa Lucia , which until the eighteenth century, had the title of Parish of St Maria del Soccorso, then passed to the Church of Magolà. It is said that the Reformed Fathers decorated with great piety and love, a miraculous image of the Madonna painted by St Luke and brought from Jerusalem by a Franciscan Friar who landed in Sant’Eufemia, fell ill and died with the Reformed Fathers. This image was of great veneration for its continuous graces but no trace has been found, it has disappeared.

The current Church was built shortly after the construction of the votive Shrine. In fact, a document reports that it was completed in 1740. . At the beginning of the nineteenth century cholera broke out and a small hospital was built to treat the sick. In the twentieth century everything returned to normal and the celebrations in honour of the Madonna began, which were established on the third Sunday of July, preceded by the Novena. On Saturdays it was customary to celebrate The Rosary and other Marian devotions, in which one spent a whole day with the Madonna and sang traditional hymns. On the day of the festival, after several Masses, the procession with the Statue of the Madonna begins,and looks out from the hill to bless the City. There was also a great fair. Today the festival is held the same way.

St Henry (972-1024) Holy Roman Emperor (Optional Memorial) Henry was well known for his missionary spirit and for his protection of the Pope in times of trouble. Henry ruled with a spirit of great humility and always sought to give the glory to God. He used his position to promote the work of the Church and the peace and happiness of the people.

Bl Anne-Andrée Minutte
St Arno of Würzburg
Bl Barthélemy Jarrige de la Morelie de Biars
Bl Berthold of Scheide

St Clelia Barbieri (1847-1870) Foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows, Mystic.

St Dogfan
Bl Élisabeth Verchière
St Emanuele Lê Van Phung
St Esdras the Prophet
St Eugene of Carthage
Bl Ferdinand Mary Baccilleri
St Iosephus Wang Kuiju
Blessed James of Voragine OP (c 1226 – 3 or 16 July 1298) Bishop, Author of the ‘Golden Legend.’
Bl Jean of France
St Joel the Prophet
Bl Louis-Armand-Joseph Adam

Bl Marie-Anastasie de Roquard
Bl Marie-Anne Depeyre
Bl Marie-Anne Lambert
St Mildred of Thanet
St Muritta of Carthage
St Myrope
St Paulus Liu Jinde
St Salutaris of Carthage
St Sarra of Egypt
St Serapion of Alexandria
Serapion of Macedonia
Bl Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
Bl Thomas Tunstal
St Turiaf

Martyrs of Cyprus – 300 saints: 300 Christians who retired to Cyprus to live as cave hermits, devoting themselves to prayer and an ascetic life devoted to God. Tortured and martyred for their faith and their bodies dumped in the various caves in which they had lived. We know the names of five of them but no other details even about them – Ammon, Choulélaios, Epaphroditus, Eusthénios and Héliophotos. They were beheaded in the 12th century on Cyprus and their bodies dumped in the cave where they had lived and only rediscovered long afterwards.

Martyrs of Philomelio – 31 saints: 31 soldiers martyred for their faith in the persecutions of prefect Magno, date unknown. The only name that has come down to us is Alexander. In Philomelio, Phrygia (in modern Turkey).

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna del Carmine / Our Lady of Carmine, Combarbio di Anghiari, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, (1536) and Memorials of the Saints – 11 July

Madonna del Carmine / Our Lady of Carmine, Combarbio di Anghiari, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, (1536) – 11 July:

A 12-year-old shepherdess, Marietta Del Mazza, reported apparitions of the Virgin on 11 July 1536 and days following. When news spread through the region, along with reports of miracles attributed to the Virgin’s intercession, the Bishops of Arezzo and Sansepolcro, conducted an investigation and authorised a Shrine at the apparition site.

The Shrine was completed in 1539. The Sanctuary was staffed by the Franciscan order at first, then by the Carmelites until 1782. Since 1987 it has been under the jurisdiction of the local Bishop.

The Sanctuary took the name of Our Lady of Carmel and over the centuries, it has continued uninterruptedly to recall the devotion of the people of the surrounding area. A fervent testimony of trust and love to Our Lady of Carmel occurred on the evening of 11 July 1986, 450 years anniversary from the date of the first apparition.

On the main Altar you can admire a beautiful Florentine school painting representing the Madonna and the Child with Saint John the Baptist pointing to the Lord, from the 16th century.

St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547) (Memorial) Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism

St Abundius of Ananelos
St Amabilis of Rouen
St Anna An Jiaoshi
St Anna An Xingshi
Bl Antonio Muller
St Berthevin of Lisieux
St Cindeus
St Cowair
St Cyprian of Brescia
St Cyriacus the Executioner
St Hidulf of Moyenmoutier
St Januarius
St John of Bergamo
Bl Kjeld of Viborg
St Leontius the Younger
St Marcian of Lycaonia
St Marciana of Caesarea
Bl Maria An Guoshi
Bl Maria An Linghua
Bl Marie-Clotilde Blanc
Bl Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier
Bl Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède

St Olga Queen of Kiev (c 890-969) She was known as a ruthless and effective ruler but “when Olga was enlightened, she rejoiced in soul and body. The Bishop, who instructed her in the faith, said to her, ‘Blessed art thou among the women of Rus’, for thou hast loved the light and quit the darkness. The sons of Rus’ shall bless thee to the last generation of thy descendants.”

St Pelagia
St Pius I, Pope (Died c 154) (Martyr?) The ninth successor of St Peter.
St Placid of Dissentis
Bl Rosalie-Clotilde Bes
St Sabinus of Brescia
St Sabinus of Poitiers
St Sidronius
St Sigisbert of Dissentis
Bl Thomas Hunt
Bl Thomas Sprott
St Thurketyl

Blessed Valeriu Traian Frentiu (1875-1952) Martyr Bishop of the Greek-Catholic Rite.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 July

Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) – 10 July:

In the year 636, a small group of people standing on the seashore witnessed a boat without oars or sails came into the harbour of Boulogne. It finally came to rest in the estuary, seemingly of its own accord. One of the witnesses boarded the boat and confirmed that there was none aboard, and that the vessel had no rudder, oars or sails. The ship, however, bore a luminous Statue of Our Lady. Taking hold of it to bring it to land, a voice was heard saying, “I choose your City as a place of grace.” The citizens welcomed Mary to their City by erecting a Shrine in her honour, which reached its height of glory in the 12th Century.

King Henry VIII is reported to have stolen the Statue of Our Lady of Boulogne and taken it to England. After many negotiations, the French managed to get it back. The image had been stolen and hidden many other times, but always saved and returned.

World War II almost completely destroyed the Statue. In modern times, four exact replicas of Our Lady of Boulogne toured France for more than seven years as a symbol of French devotion to Mary. One of these was taken to Walsingham, England, in 1948 and carried in procession by the Cross-bearing pilgrims.

Boulogne was one of the most important Lady Shrines of medieval France; among its noted pilgrims have been: Henry III, Edward II, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt.
The dedication of a new Church built in honour of Our Lady of Boulogne was Consecrated in the year 1469 by Bishop Chartier of Paris. The confraternity of Our Lady of Boulogne was so celebrated, that six French Kings have chosen to belong to it.

At the French Revolution, the Statue was burnt to ashes and the Church pulled down. A new Statue was made in 1803 and pilgrimages began again. The image represents the Mother with the Child in her arms, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side. At the Marian Congress in Bolougne in 1938, a the custom began, to take replicas of this Statue on visitations through France and abroad. A branch of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Compassion at Boulogne has been established for the reconciliation of the Church of England.

The Sanctuary Church at Boulogne was badly damaged during World War II, and Mary’s image smashed but the return, the “Great Return” of one of the copies of the Statue which had been sheltered at Lourdes, took place in 1943, and the occasion will long be remembered by lovers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is an ancient offshoot of this Shrine at Boulogne-sur-Seine.

St Amalberga of Mauberge (Died 690) Wife, Mother of 3 Saints: Gudila, Reinelda, and Emembertus. She and her husband mutually agreed to separate to become a Monk and a Nun, respectively, once the children were grown.

St Anatolia & Victoria (Died 250) Martyrs, Sisters who gave their lives for Christ.

St Antôn Nguyen Huu Quynh

St Apollonius of Sardis
Bl Arnold of Camerino
St Bianor of Pisidia

St Canute IV (c 1042-1086) Martyr, King of Denmark, known as “Canute the Holy.”

St Cuán of Airbhre
St Elilantus
St Etto
Bl Euménios
St Lantfrid
Bl Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier
Bl Parthenios
St Pascharius of Nantes
St Peter Vincioli
St Phêrô Nguyen Khac Tu
St Rufina and St Secunda of Rome (3rd Century) Virgin Martyrs

Seven Holy Brothers and their mother, St Felicitas (Died c 165) Martyrs. The Seven Sons of St Felicitas were the very first victims sacrificed by Emperor Marcus Aurelius to satisfy his false philosophy and the superstitions of his pagan subjects. St Felicitas is also celebrated separately on 23 November .

St Sylvanus of Pisidia
Bl Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon
St Waltram

Martyrs of Africa – 4 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in Africa. The only information that has survived are four of their names – Felix, Januarius, Marinus and Nabor.

Martyrs of Antioch – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians martyred together. We have no details about them but the names – Diogenes, Domnina, Esicius, Macarius, Maxima, Maximus, Rodigus, Timoteus, Veronia and Zacheus. They were martyred in Antioch, date unknown.

Martyrs of Damascus – 11 beati: A group of Franciscans and laymen ordered by Druz Muslims to convert to Islam. They refused and were hacked to pieces.
• ‘Abd Al-Mu’ti Masabki
• Carmelo Bolta Bañuls
• Engelbert Kolland
• Francisco Pinazo Peñalver
• Fransis Masabki
• Juan Jacobo Fernández y Fernández
• Manuel Ruiz López
• Nicanor Ascanio de Soria
• Nicolás María Alberca Torres
• Pedro Soler Méndez
• Rufayil Masabki
They were cut to pieces on 9-10 July 1860 in Damascus, Syria.
Beatified on 10 October 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of Nicopolis – 45 saints: A group of 45 Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Licinius. We know nothing else but six of their names – Anicetus, Anthony, Daniel, Leontius, Mauritius and Sisinno. c 329 in Nicopolis, Armenia (modern Koyulhisar, Turkey).

Martyrs of Nitria – 5 saints: Fathers of Nitria – Four monks and the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt who were martyred by heretics. Saint John Chrysostom wrote about them but their names have not come down to us. They were martyred in the 4th century in Nitria, Egypt.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Chiquinquirá / La Chinita, Colombia and Memorials of the Saints – 9 July

Virgen del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary (Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia) (1586) – 9 July, 26 December:

In the mid-16th century the Spanish painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary. He painted in pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region of modern Colombia and his canvas was a rough 44 inch x 49 inch cloth woven by local Indians. The image of Mary is about a meter high. She has a small, sweet smile, both her face and the Divine Child’s are light coloured and she looks like she’s about to take a step. She wears a white toque, a rose-coloured robe and a sky blue cape. A Rosary hangs from the little finger of her left hand and she holds a sceptre in her right. She holds the Christ Child cradled in her left arm and looks toward Him. Christ has a little bird tied to His thumb and a small Rosary hangs from His left hand. To either side of Mary stand Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal Patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana and Monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the work.

In 1562 the portrait was placed in a rustic Chapel. It was exposed to the air, the roof leaked and soon the damage caused by the humidity and sun completely obscured the image. In 1577 the damaged painting was moved to Chiquinquirá, Colombia and stored in an unused room. In 1585 Maria Ramos, a pious woman from Seville, cleaned up the little Chapel and hung the faded canvas in it. Though the image was in terrible shape, she loved to sit and contemplate it.

On Friday 26 December 1586 the faded, damaged image was suddenly restored. It’s colours were bright, the canvas cleaner, the image clear and seemingly brand new. The healing of the image continued as small holes and tears in the canvas miraculously self-sealed. It still has traces of its former damage and the figures seem brighter and clearer from a distance than up close. For 300 years the painting hung unprotected and thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims. This rough treatment should have destroyed it but it healed and survives. In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá Patroness of Colombia and granted a special liturgy. In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it to shield the painting from the weather and the excess zeal of the faithful. The image was canonically crowned in 1919 and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.

Patronages – Colombia, Venezuelan National Guard.

St Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr (Died + 1815) and his 119 companions or Martyrs of China (Died 1648–1930, Qing dynasty and Republic of China) (Optional Memorial): 25 priests, friars, nuns, seminarians and lay people. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries, from the mid-17th century to 1930, were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatise.
Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which xenophobic peasants slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue TOSD (1476-1539) Martyr,. A husband and father, a Justice of the Peace, a Knight of the Realm, a Knight of Malta and a Dominican Tertiary (Lay Dominican), he was at once a loyal servant of the Crown so far as he could be but still more, he was a man of unshakeable faith.

St Agrippinus of Autun
St Alexander of Egypt
St Audax of Thora
St Brictius of Martola
St Copra of Egypt
St Cyril of Gortyna
Bl Dionysius the Rhetorician
St Everild of Everingham
St Faustina of Rome
St Felician of Sicily
Bl Fidelis Chojnacki
Blessed Giovanna Scopelli O.Carm (1428 – 1491) Virgin, Religious of the CarmelitesIncorrupt.
St Floriana of Rome
St Hérombert of Minden
St Joachim Ho
Bl Luigi Caburlotto
Bl Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher
Bl Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier

St Patermutius of Egypt
St Paulina do Coração Agonizante de Jesus

St Veronica/Ursula Giuliani OSC Cap. (1660-1727) Italian Capuchin Poor Clares nun, Abbot, Mystic, Stigmatist.

Four Holy Polish Brothers – 4 saints: Four brothers who became hermits, Benedictine monks and saints – Andrew, Barnabas, Benedict and Justus. They were born in Poland and died in 1008 of natural causes.

Martyrs of Gorkum – 19 saints: Nineteen martyrs killed by Calvinists for loyalty to the Pope and for their belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are –
• Adrianus van Hilvarenbeek • Andreas Wouters • Antonius van Hoornaar • Antonius van Weert • Cornelius van Wijk • Francisus de Roye • Godfried van Duynen • Godfried van Melveren • Hieronymus van Weert • Jacobus Lacops • Joannes Lenaerts • John of Cologne • Leonardus van Veghel • Nicasius Janssen van Heeze • Nicolaas Pieck • Nicolaas Poppel • Petrus van Assche • Theodorus van der Eem • Willehad van Deem •
They werehanged on 9 July 1572 in Brielle, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Beatified on 24 November 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

Martyrs of Orange – 32 beati: 32 nuns from several orders who spent up to 18 months in prison and were finally executed for refusing to renounce Christianity during the persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Anne Cartier • Anne-Andrée Minutte • Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond • élisabeth Verchière • élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin • Jeanne-Marie de Romillon • Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond • Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu • Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond • Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher • Marguerite-Rose de Gordon • Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol • Marie Cluse • Marie-Anastasie de Roquard • Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal • Marie-Anne Depeyre • Marie-Anne Doux • Marie-Anne Lambert • Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier • Marie-Claire du Bac • Marie-Clotilde Blanc • Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier • Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène • Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier • Marie-Marguerite Bonnet • Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède • Marie-Rose Laye • Rosalie-Clotilde Bes • Suzanne-Agathe Deloye • Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon • Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
They were guillotined between 6 July and 26 July 1794 at Orange, Vaucluse, France.
Beatified on 10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of the Baths – 10,204 saints: A group of Christians enslaved by Diocletian to build the gigantic baths in imperial Rome, Italy. The end of their labours coincided with the beginning of the great persecutions of Diocletian and they were all executed. Ancient records indicated there were 10,204 of them; Zeno of Rome is the only one whose name has come down to us and we know nothing else about any of their individual lives.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Nostra Signora della Neve, Adro, Italy/ Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Brescia, Italy (1519) and Memorials of the Saints – 8 July

Nostra Signora della Neve, Adro, Italy/ Our Lady of the Snow, Adro, Brescia, Italy (1519) – 8 July, 5 August:

Adro is a Town in the Province of Brescia, in the Lombardy region, northern Italy. The Sanctuary emerged after the appearance of the Madonna in this place. to Battista Bajoni Comino, the deaf-mute who was visited by the Holy Mother on 8 July 1519. The Virgin appeared saying she was the Mother of God and sent a message to the people of Adro. Our Lady’s message contained a reference to a Christian life, repentance for sins and conversion and reparation and the construction of a Sanctuary in her honour. The built the Church at the place of vision, and began to amend their lives. They practised devotion on Sundays and Holy Days, stopped blaspheming the Holy Name and refrained from other evil habits, for Our Lady had also said that if they did not repent they could expect a serious penalty. Mary said – “And if they wonder how it is that you speak, tell them that you have been with the Advocate of Sinners. Everyone knows you were dumb. Now take this stone with you and show it to them as it will change colour from time to time. “

The central Feast of Our Lady of the Snows is celebrated on 5 August
Immediately after the miracle, it was called “Madonna della Cava,” the place where the Virgin had appeared to the Shepherd and the feast was celebrated on 8 July the anniversary of the vision. Later, however, Church officials transferred the Feast to 5 August, the day the dedication of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, also known as “Santa Maria de las Nieves,” built by Pope Liberius commemorates after Miracle of snow (that happened in Rome). It was then that this temple took the name of “Our Lady of the Snows.”
In pilgrimage season (April to October) groups of pilgrims arriving from neighbouring provinces, especially from Brescia, Bergamo, Como, Varese, Milan, Cremona, Mantua and Verona. Sunday is preferred by families. All opportunities for spiritual growth are offered through preaching and the Sacraments.

Such is the fascination of the Virgin on the pilgrims who will then return again.
It is a ceremony in which you have to enter the crypt “to see the Madonna”.

The miracle of the deaf-mute who began to hear and speak gave rise to a small Shrine. It remains alongside the current main Altar. It was visited by Saint Charles Borromeo in 1581. Being too small for the influx of pilgrims,the Church was demolished in 1750 and enlarged. It was built on a design by architect Gaspare Turbini and opened in 1776.

The Carmelites of St Teresa, built a Monastery nearby. The current statue is gilded wood sculptor. Next to the Shrine a discreet and well-shaded park with tables and benches offers a welcome drink to pilgrims.

St Abraham the Martyr
Bl Adolf IV of Schauenburg
St Pope Adrian III
St Ampelius of Milan
St Apollonius of Benevento

Sts Aquila & Priscilla – the Tentmakers, Collaborators of Saint Paul.

St Arnold
St Auspicius of Toul
St Auspicius of Trier
Brogan of Mothil
St Colman of Thuringia
St Doucelin
St Edgar the Peaceful
Blessed Pope Eugene III O.Cist (c 1080-1153) Papal Ascension – 15 February 1145 until his death. The 167th Pope.

Blessed Giulio of Montevergine (Died 1601) Hermit, Penitent

St Elizabeth of Portugal

St Glyceria of Heraclea
St Grimbald
St Ioannes Wu Wenyin
St Ithier of Nevers


St Killian (c 640-689) Martyr, Bishop, Missionary, “Apostle of Franconia”(nowadays the northern part of Bavaria).

St Landrada
Bl Mancius Araki Kyuzaburo
St Morwenna
St Pancras of Taormina
Bl Peter the Hermit

Blessed Peter Vigne (1670-1740) Missionary Priest, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist, of Charity, of Mary, Catechist, tireless missionary and teacher and Founder of the Religious of the Blessed Sacrament

St Procopius of Ceasarea
St Sunniva of Bergen
St Thibaud de Marly
St Totnan of Thuringia

Abrahamite Monks/Martyrs of Constantinople: A group of monks in a monastery founded by Saint Abraham of Ephesus. Martyred in the iconoclast persecutions of emperor Theophilus. In c 835 in Constantinople.
Martyrs of Shanxi – 7 saints: In 1898 seven sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were sent to the Shanxi diocese in China to serve the poor in hospitals and care for the unwanted or other destitutes in orphanages. They were –
• Anne-Catherine Dierks
• Anne-Francoise Moreau
• Clelia Nanetti
• Irma Grivot
• Jeanne-Marie Kuergin
• Marianna Giuliani
• Pauline Jeuris
There they all died in one of the periodic crackdowns against foreign missionaries. They were beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, China- Beatified on 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII.

Martyrs of Syrmium – 5 saints: Five Christians martyred together for their faith. We know nothing else about them but the names – Cecilia, Eperentius, Eraclius, Sostratus and Spirus. They were martyred in the 4th century in Syrmium, Pannonia (modern Serbia).

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN TITLES

Onze Zoeten Dame van Den Bosch, Arras / Our Lady of Arras, Netherlands (1380) and Memorials of the Saints – 7 July

Onze Zoeten Dame van Den Bosch , Arras / Our Lady of Arras, Netherlands (1380) – 7 July:

The image known as the “Kind Mother” at Sint Hertogenbosch, or “Our Sweet Lady” of Den Bosch, as she is also known in the north Brabant Province of the Netherlands, was an object of derision when it was first heard of in 1380. It had been found dirty and damaged in a builder’s junk-yard, but it soon became celebrated for the wonders connected with it. It was in 1380, when Saint John’s Cathedral was being renovated, that the Statue was found. An apprentice stone mason, was looking for wood for his fire when he uncovered a scruffy wooden Statue in the rubble. The Statue was in such poor condition, that he didn’t recognise it as the Mother of God. The mason in charge somehow recognised Her, even without the Infant Jesus in her arms.

The Statue was placed on the Altar of Saint Martin, in the Cathedral,but the faithful did not like it and were upset that such a dilapidated Statue was exposed for veneration. It wasn’t long before one of the Priests attempted to remove the Statue but found that it had become so heavy, that he could not move it.

It was soon noted, though, that any who spoke disapprovingly of the Statue became weak, fainted, or had nightmares. One woman mocked the Statue, and became partially paralysed. That night, she had a vision of Our Lord, who ordered her to repair the Statue and honour it. The next day she was able to drag herself to the Cathedral to begin the work. At the end of each day, she was able to walk a little more.

It was an entire year later when a Brother Wout found the missing image of the Infant Jesus that belonged to the Statue. Local children were using if for a toy but now the Statue was reunited and complete. There were still some who ridiculed the Statue but now they fainted on the spot. Many experienced strange pains, headaches,and even indigestion. On the other hand, those who prayed before the Statue received a cure of their illnesses and otherwise were greatly favoured. Due to the presence of the Statue, the Church became a place of pilgrimage. Emperor Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, and King Fernando of Castile were among the notables who visited the miraculous Statue.

The Statue of Our Sweet Lady is of oak and is nearly four feet tall and is of an unusual pattern – Our Lady stands upright, while her forearms are extended at right angles to her body. The Child is balanced on her left hand and in her right she holds an apple.

The dedication of the new Church of Our Lady of Arras occurred in the year 1484 by Bishop Peter de Ranchicourt, who was Bishop of that City. The first Church which had been built at the site had been constructed by Saint Vaast, who had been the Bishop of Arras, in the year 542, using the liberal donations of the first Kings of France.

The desolation caused by the Calvinists began in 1566 and many Churches were plundered. The Kind Mother was hidden and saved from the destruction. Years later, when the City was seized by the Spanish, two Carmelites took the Statue to Bishop Ophovius, who gave it to one of the women of the parish to safeguard.

Eventually it was feared that the Statue of the Kind Lady would not be safe if it stayed were it was and so, it was decided to take the Statue to Brussels for safety. The Statue had to be hidden and was placed in a chest and smuggled through the Town gates. It was then taken to St Geradus’ Church in Belgium before being taken to Koudenberg Church in Brussels.

It wasn’t until the year 1810 when the Cathedral at Den Bosch was returned to the Catholics by Napoleon. Then, it took the prolonged efforts of Bishop J. Zwijsen, the Bishop of Hertogenbosh, to have the beloved Statue of Our Sweet Lady returned to his Cathedral in 1878. It was Crowned by the grateful Bishop in the name of Pope Leo XIII that same year and the Feast is 7 July with proper Mass and Office in certain places.

INTERESTING NOTE: Around 7% of the men in the Netherlands are called Maria. Yes, over 1/20 of Dutch men are named after the Virgin Mary. In 1954, a Marian Year, 17% of Dutch men where named after the Blessed Virgin. Incidentally, most of those men named Mary live in or around Den Bosch, and Mary is one of the Patron Saints of this beautiful City.

Saint Cyril (827-869)
Saint Methodius (826-885)
“Apostles to the Slavs,” Sibling Brother Bishops, Confessors, Theologians, Missionaries, Writers, Preachers, Patrons of Europe. Creators of the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic and Cyrillic Alphabet, which was developed from it.
Their Feast Day is 7 July (moved in 1969).
The great Saints Cyril & Methodius: 
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/saints-of-the-day-14-february-sts-cyril-827-869-methodius-826-885/

St Alexander
St Angelelmus of Auxerre
St Antonino Fantosati
St Apollonius of Brescia

Blessed Pope Benedict XI OP (1240-1303) Cardinal-Priest of St Sabina, Bishop of Ostia then of Rome, Dominican Friar, Prior Provincial of Lombardy prior to becoming the Master of the Order in 1296, Apostolic Papal Legate to Hungary and France, Teacher, Preacher, Writer and renowned Scholar with special emphasis on Biblical commentary. His Papacy began on 22 Ocober 1303 and ended at his death on 7 July 1304.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-blessed-pope-benedict-xi-1240-1303/

Bl Bodard of Poitiers
St Bonitus of Monte Cassino
St Carissima of Rauzeille
St Eoaldus of Vienne
St Ethelburga of Faremoutier
Bl Francisco Polvorinos Gómez
St Hedda of Wessex
Bl Joseph Juge de Saint-Martin
Bl Juan Antonio Pérez Mayo
Bl Juan Pedro del Cotillo Fernández
Bl Justo González Lorente
St Maelruan
Bl Manuel Gutiérrez Martín
St Marcus Ji Tianxiang
Bl María del Consuelo Ramiñán Carracedo

Bl Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène
St Medran
St Merryn
Bl Oddino Barrotti
St Odo of Urgell
St Odran
St Palladius of Ireland
St Pantaenus of Alexandria

St Pantænus (Died c 216) Father of the Church, Theologian, Philosopher, Teacher, Confessor and Defender of the Faith, Writer and interpreter of the Bible, the Trinity and Christology, |Missionary. Convert ofthe disciples of the Apostles. Head of the Alexandrian School of Learning – a famous pupil was St Clement of Alexandria.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-st-pantaenus-father-of-the-church-died-c-216/

Bl Pascual Aláez Medina

Blessed Peter To Rot (1912-1945) Martyr, Layman, Catechist and Defender of the Faith, Defender of the Sacrament of Marriage – (died c 1912 in Rakunai, East New Britain (part of modern Papua New Guinea) .
About Bl Peter:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/07/saint-of-the-day-7-july-blessed-peter-to-rot/

St Prosper of Aquitaine
St Syrus of Genoa
St Willibald of Eichstätt (c.700 – 787) Bishop, Prince, Missionary

Martyrs of Durres – 7 saints: Also known as – Martyrs of Dyrrachium/ Martyrs of Durazzo. A group of seven Italian Christians who fled Italy to escape the persecutions of emperor Hadrian. Arrived in Dyrrachium, Macedonia to find Saint Astius tied to a cross, covered in honey, laid in the sun and left to be tortured by biting and stinging insects. When they expressed sympathy for Astius, they were accused of being Christians, arrested, chained, weighted down, taken off shore and drowned. We know little more about each of them than their names – Germaus, Hesychius, Lucian, Papius, Peregrinus, Pompeius and Saturninus. They were born in Italy and were martyred at sea c117 off the coast of Dyrrachium (Durazzo), Macedonia (modern Durres, Albania).

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame d’Iron / Our Lady of Iron, Dunois, France (1631) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 July

Notre-Dame d’Iron / Our Lady of Iron, Dunois, France (1631) – 6 July:

Saint-Sulpice-le-Dunois is a small Village located near the centre of France. Once home to Our Lady of Iron, it is situated near the larger Town of Blois, its population was only 517 citizens in the year 2007, which was a decrease from the 636 citizens who had lived there in 1999. It was in the Chapel of this tiny Village of Saint-Sulpice-le-Dunois, in the year 1631, that our story takes place involving Our Lady of Iron.

There was a young French couple living in the village at that time, who felt themselves singularly blessed. Were they not fortunate? They took pleasure in their youth and enjoyed good health, had happy employment,lived in a modest home and they had recently been blessed with a fine baby whom they felt was as sweet as the Babe of Bethlehem. Thus they mused on their way home together after early morning Mass one day.

As soon as they entered their home, Pierre hurried to the cradle to gaze lovingly at his infant son. The child must have been restless, he thought, as there was evidence that he had struggled with the bedclothes which were tossed about and tangled strangely about the infant. Pierre reached in and lifted his son to hold him in his arms, only to find that the tiny figure was rigid and cold. Stunned, he called for his wife disbelieving, for it seemed their baby was dead!

Pierre’s thoughts turned to Our Blessed Mother and then to the Statue of Our Lady of Iron at the Parish Church. They had spent many hours there in the past praying for her assistance and her help had never failed them. They determined to take their baby there instantly! Surely, Mary would not fail them in this time of dire need.

Together they entered the Church, and sadly laid the lifeless form at the feet of the Statue of Our Lady of Iron. As they began to pray for her intercession, they dedicated their baby to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that very instant, the child who had been smothered by struggling in its cradle, cried out and came back to life. News of the miracle spread far and wide and the fame of Our Lady of Iron was assured.

St Maria Goretti (1890-1902) Martyr (Optional Memorial) Virgin and Martyr, known as “Saint Agnes of the 20th Century.” St Maria Goretti was Canonised on 24 June 1950 by Pope Pius XII.
About St Maria here:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-st-maria-goretti/

Bl Angela of Bohemia
Bl Augustin-Joseph Desgardin
Bl Christopher Solino
St Cyril of Thessaloniki
St Dominica of Campania (c 287-303) Virgin Martyr
St Gervais
St Giusto of Condat
St Goar of Aquitaine
St Godelieve

Blessed Maria Theresa Ledóchowska SSPC (1863-1922) Religious Sister and Co-Founder of the Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver (commonly known as the Claverian Sisters), dedicated to service in Africa, Missionary – she is called the “Mother of the African Missions.”
Her Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-blessed-maria-theresa-ledochowska-sspc-1863-1922/

St Monenna

St Nazaria Ignacia March y Mesa (1889-1943) – Religious and Founder of the Missionaries of the Crusade (later renamed Congregation of the Missionary Crusaders of the Church).
Her story:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-blessed-sr-nazaria-of-saint-teresa-of-jesus-nazaria-ignacia-march-y-mesa-1889-1943/

St Noyala of Brittany
St Petrus Wang Zuolung

St Romulus of Fiesole (Died c 90) Martyr, Bishop, Disciple of Saint Peter.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/06/saint-of-the-day-6-july-saint-romulus-of-fiesole-died-c-90-martyr/

St Saxburgh of Ely
St Sisoes the Great
Bl Suzanne Agathe de Loye
St Thomas Alfield
St Tranquillinus of Rome

Martyrs of Campania – 23 saints: A group of 23 Christians arrested, tortured and then beheaded together in the later 3rd century by order of governor Rictiovarus in the persecutions of Diocletian. The names that have come down to us are – Antoninus, Arnosus, Capicus, Cutonius, Diodorus, Dion, Isidore, Lucia, Lucian, Rexius, Satyrus and Severinus.

Martyrs of Fiesole – 5 saints: Five Christians martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Domitian – Carissimus, Crescentius, Dulcissimus, Marchisianus and Romulus. c 90 near Fiesole, Italy.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Our Lady of Refuge, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (1720) and Memorials of the Saints – 4 July

Nuestra Señora del Refugio / Our Lady of Refuge, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (1720) – 4 July:

Jesuit Missionary Father Juan José Güica brought a painting of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners from Italy to Mexico in 1720. In a dream, the Virgin told Padre Güica to ask the Franciscans of Zacatecas to use and promote the image; – they distributed over 150 copies, making this one of the most widespread Marian devotions in Mexico.

In 1793 Franciscan Friars came to the new settlement which would become Matamoros, renaming the area “Nuestra Señora del Refugio de los Esteros Hermosos” (Our Lady of the Refuge of the Lovely Marshes).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Refuge, built in 1832, displays an 1886 painting of her. Her fiesta, celebrated in many Mexican Towns, commemorates the coronation of the original “Refugium Peccatori” in the Jesuit Church of Frascati, Italy, on 4 July 1717.

St Elizabeth of Portugal TOSF (1271-1336) Queen Consort, Franciscan Tertiary, Apostle of Charity and Peace, political negotiator and mediator.
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/04/saint-of-the-day-4-july-st-elizabeth-of-portugal-t-o-s-f-1271-1336/

Bl Agatha Yun Jeom-Hye
St Albert Quadrelli
St Andrew of Crete
St Anthony Daniel
St Aurelian of Lyons
St Bertha of Blangy
St Carileffo of Anille
Bl Catherine Jarrige
St Cesidio Giacomantonio
Bl Damiano Grassi of Rivoli
St Donatus of Libya
St Edward Fulthrop
St Elias of Jerusalem
St Finbar of Wexford
St Fiorenzo of Cahors
St Flavian of Antioch
St Giocondiano
Bl Giovanni of Vespignano
St Haggai the Prophet
Bl Hatto of Ottobeuren
Bl Henry Abbot
St Henry of Albano
St Hosea the Prophet
St Innocent of Sirmium
Bl John Carey
Blessed John Cornelius SJ (1557– 1594) Martyr, English Priest of the Society of Jesus, Missionary.
Bl Jozef Kowalski
St Jucundian
St Laurian of Seville
St Lauriano of Vistin
Bl Maria Crocifissa Curcio
St Namphanion the Archmartyr
Bl Natalia of Toulouse
St Odo the Good
Bl Odolric of Lyon
Bl Patrick Salmon
Bl Pedro Romero Espejo

Blessed Petrus Kasui Kibe SJ (c 1587-1639) Priest of the Society of Jesus and Martyr
The first of the 188 Japanese Martyrs
His Life and Death:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/04/saint-of-the-day-4-july-blessed-petrus-kasui-kibe-sj-c-1587-1639-priest-and-martyr-a-christian-walking-through-the-world/

St Sebastia of Sirmium
St Theodore of Cyrene
St Theodotus of Libya
Bl Thomas Bosgrave
Bl Thomas Warcop

St Ulric of Augsburg (c 890–973) Bishop of Augsburg, Germany, miracle-worker.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/04/saint-of-the-day-4-july-saint-ulric-of-augsburg-c-890-973/

St Ulric of Ratzeburg
St Valentine of Langres
St Valentine of Paris
Bl William Andleby
Bl William of Hirsau

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre Dame de la Visitation / Our Lady of the Visitation, Lescure, Valuéjols, Cantal, Auvergne, France (1717) and Memorials of the Saints – 2 July

Our Lady of the Walnut
Our Lady of Madhu
Our Lady of Montallegro
Our Lady of the Grove
Our Lady of the Leśniów Spring
Our Lady of the Visitation
Our Lady of the Way of Leon
Our Lady of Vaussivieres

Notre Dame de la Visitation / Our Lady of the Visitation, Lescure, Valuéjols, Cantal, Auvergne, France (1717) – Commemorated on the Fourth Sunday of June, 2 July :

At around 19 years old, Shepherd Jean Paillé was devoted to the Virgin Mary, and would daily lead his flock, from his little village in central France ,to a wayside Cross on a bluff, where he would kneel to say the Rosary. On 2 July, 1717, his prayers at the Cross were met by an apparition of the Virgin herself, who asked that a Church be built on that spot, leaving behind a small Statuette of herself at the foot of the Cross. She returned several times with the same request. Finally, Jean answered, “But no one will believe me.” “Keep telling the people of Lescure,” she said “and eventually they will listen.” Both were right. When the shepherd mustered the courage to tell the villagers about his visions, they ridiculed him as a simpleton. So he built a small Shrine in the holy place himself, of dry stone, placing the Statuette inside it.

When bad weather threatened, Jean would go there to pray for help. Seeing those prayers answered, the villagers began to believe in his communication with the Virgin and decided to build her a Church in the village. Jean argued that the Holy Virgin wanted her Church on the promontory but wanting the convenience of building and having it in town, the people built the new Church in Lescure and installed the Statuette there. But, the next day, it had returned to the bluff. Jean was suspected of moving it but the same thing kept happening, even with the shepherd under watch, so finally everyone agreed, that Heaven wanted the Virgin’s Chapel to be on the heights and not in the town. This time Jean Paillé himself organised the work. Building materials poured in, which oxen carried up the hill as easily if they were made of feathers.

In 1724, some 3,000 pilgrims camped in the open air to witness the Consecration of the new Church. The Bishop’s delegate dedicated the Sanctuary to Our Lady of the Visitation, in memory of the first apparition date, 2 July, then the Catholic Feast of the Visitation, commemorating the visit of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist. In recent years, the Feast of the Visitation has been moved to 31 May and the Solemnity of Our Lady of Lescure to the last Sunday in June.

She is invoked against illness, of the sick and for cures.
Notre-Dame de Lescure, santé des infirmes, priez pour nous.
Our Lady of Lescure, health of the sick, pray for us.

Bl Benedict Metzler

St Bernadino Realino SJ (1530-1616) Priest of the Society of Jesus, Lawyer, Teacher, Apostle of Charity. 
Biography:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-st-st-bernadino-realino-sj/

Servant of God Bernard of Quintavalle OFM ( Died 1q241) “The First fruits of the Minor Orders” – The First Follower of St Francis of Assisi.

Blessed Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904) Religious of the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart She died aged 28.
Her Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/02/saint-of-the-day-blessed-eugenie-joubert-1876-1904/

Bl Giovanni da Fabriano Becchetti
St Jacques Fermin
Bl Jarich of Mariengaarde
St Jéroche
St Lidanus of Sezze
St Martinian of Rome
St Monegundis
St Oudoceus

Blessed Peter of Luxembourg (1369-1387) Bishop and Cardinal. Because of his prudence and sanctity, at the early age of fifteen he was appointed Bishop of Metz.   He made his public entry into his See barefoot and riding on a donkey.
About Blessed Peter:

https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-blessed-peter-of-luxembourg-1369-1387/

Bl Pietro Becchetti da Fabriano
St Processus of Rome

St Swithun (c 800-863) Bishop of Winchester, Miracle-worker.
About St Swithun:

https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-saint-swithun-c-800-863-bishop/

Martyred Soldiers of Rome – 3 saints: Three soldiers who were converted at the martyrdom of Saint Paul the Apostle. Then they were martyred, as well. We known nothing else about them but their names – Acestes, Longinus and Megistus. Martyred c68 in Rome, Italy

Martyrs in Carthage by Hunneric – 7 saints: A group of seven Christians tortured and murdered in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal king Hunneric for remaining loyal to the teachings of orthodox Christianity. They were some of the many who died for the faith during a period of active Arian heresy. – Boniface, Liberatus, Maximus, Rogatus, Rusticus, Septimus and Servus.

Martyrs of Campania – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians marytred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them to have survived are their names – Ariston, Crescention, Eutychian, Felicissimus, Felix, Justus, Marcia, Symphorosa, Urban and Vitalis. Martyred in 284 in Campania, Italy.

Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Additional Memorial – 20 September as part of the Martyrs of Korea.

A group of eight Christians who were martyred together as part of the lengthy persecutions in Korea.
• Agatha Han Sin-ae
• Antonius Yi Hyeon
• Bibiana Mun Yeong-in
• Columba Gang Wan-suk
• Ignatius Choe In-cheol
• Iuliana Gim Yeon-i
• Matthaeus Gim Hyeon-u
• Susanna Gang Gyeong-bok
They were martyred on 2 July 1801 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea. Beatified on 15 August 2014 by Pope Francis.

Posted in JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, PATRONAGE - IMPOSSIBLE CAUSES, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS

Our Morning Offering – 15 June – Memorare to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Our Morning Offering – 15 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Our Lady’s Saturday

Memorare to Our Lady
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

By the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC)
Patronag: Of Difficult and Impossible Causes.

Remember, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,
what ineffable power thy Divine Son
hath given thee over His own adorable Heart.
Full of trust in thy merits,
we come before thee and beg thy protection.
O heavenly Treasurer of the Heart of Jesus
that Heart which is the inexhaustible source of all graces
which thou mayest open to us at thy good pleasure,
in order that, from it may flow forth upon mankind
the riches of love and mercy, light and salvation
which are contained therein;
grant unto us, we beseech thee, the favours which we seek.
We can never, never be refused by thee
and since thou art our Mother,
O our Lady of the Sacred Heart,
graciously hear our prayers and grant our request.
Amen

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a title which originated with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, founded by Fr J Chevalier (1824-1907) at Issoudun/France.
This religious Congregation was founded to revive and regenerate the Christian faith, thanks to a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and to Our Lady.
Their spirituality is based on a strong faith in the love of God the Father which revealed itself in the Heart of Jesus.
This Christocentric orientation is linked with a lively devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
It is said in the Rule of Life of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, “Since Mary was so intimately related to the Mystery of her Son’s Heart, we pray to her as did Fr Chevalier and we invoke her under the title of Our Lady of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
She knew of the inexhaustible riches of Christ; she was totally filled with His Love. She leads us to Him and directs us to His Heart which is the Source of Love …” ( #18)