Tag: saints

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame-au-Pied-d’Argent / Our Lady with the Silver Foot), Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France (1284) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 September

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Notre-Dame-au-Pied-d’Argent / Our Lady with the Silver Foot), Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France (1284) – 20 September:

At Toul, in Lorraine, there was a Statue, which, according to an ancient tradition, informed a woman on 20 September in the year 1284, of an act of treachery which was being planned against the City.

The Statue was called Our Lady with the Silver Foot, or Notre-Dame au pied d’argenth. The faithful keep the memory of this stone Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was located just inside the entrance of the Church and placed over a sculpted clam. In those days there would be a lamp burning before it on feast days and almost every day, the faithful offered small candles which they lit and rested on a circular iron candlestick that was placed before the Statue. It was well known that several people who prayed before this Statue were cured of various diseases but the devotion and respect of the people toward this image, grew more than ever at the time of the Bishop Conrad because of the miracle that occurred in the following manner:

A woman named Helwide was in the Cathedral Saint-Etienne de Toul praying to the Blessed Virgin for consolation and the repose of the souls of her husband and daughter who had recently died. It was about midnight, when the Canons were praying Matins, that the Blessed Virgin Mary suddenly appeared to her.

The Virgin Mary ordered Helwide to go immediately to find a man named Rimbert, who was the guardian of “The Door to the Chair.” The Door to the Chair gave access to the Castrum, a little entrance to the City near Tanner Street. Helwide was urged to go quickly, for an enemy proposed to enter the City by the door to set their homes on fire and fill the streets with blood.
Regaining her senses after the vision, Helwide got up feeling very puzzled. She was hesitant about what she should do, though as Rimbert’s home was not far distant and was on her way home anyway, she decided she would indeed go there.

No sooner had Helwide stepped out of the Church, than she met the night-watch on patrol. She told them the tale of her vision and they responded by mocking her and making derogatory jokes. Despite this, two of them still decided to follow and actually see what would happen if Helwide could find the porter she sought.

The pair arrived with Helwide at the house and simply thrust the door open. Rimbert sat on his bunk, seeming startled, yet as if expecting the visit. Helwide briefly stated the purpose of her visit and Rimbert exclaimed, “I had precisely the same vision and the same warning! I do not know if it occurred in my sleep or in the state of wakefulness but I have been told that the Statue will move her foot in testimony of the truth!”
At these words, all those present were seized with a great desire to see such a prodigy. With a rush they ran to the Cathedral and removed the candles and all that stood before the image. To their disappointment they found that the Virgin’s feet remained mostly hidden beneath the folds of the clothing of the Statue as before.
In the interim, several scholars and some laymen who were called to see the wonder, arrived on the scene. Seeing that nothing was apparently going to happen, they began cursing all the rest as senseless interpreters of dreams. As they stood not far from the Statue, many of them fell silent as they saw the Statue suddenly move as an entire foot of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared from beneath the folds of her garment.

Terrified, but convinced, this time they all agreed to announce the peril which they now knew actually threatened them. Quickly rendering their thanks to Mary, they agreed to defend the City and call for reinforcements. They arrived just in time to take up their positions to defend the entrance to the City with the assistance of the Episcopal palace guards.

A tremendous struggle occurred when the invaders broke down the door and entered the courtyard, but the defenders were committed to the fight and held their own. When reinforcements arrived, the invaders fell to the last man.

To perpetuate the memory and recognize the protection granted to them by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the people of Toul had a shoe of pure silver made to cover the foot on the Blessed Virgin’s Statue. From that time on the Statue was known as Our Lady with the Silver Foot. They also hung on the wall of the cathedral a picture which represented the heavenly vision and Mary was declared Patroness of the City.

The image of Our Lady with the Silver Foot was venerated in the City and the surrounding areas and in case of the threat of any public calamity, the Blessed Virgin was invoked and ,henceforth, the Statue would be carried in procession throughout the streets of the City. The Governors themselves considered it an honour to take the Statue upon their own shoulders. Pilgrimages were made to Our Lady of the Silver Foot; prayers answered, graces bestowed and miracles wrought.

The original Statue of Our Lady with the Silver Foot was destroyed during the ravages of the French Revolution and was replaced later by a modern statue that was stolen in the 1980’s. The Gothic Cathedral was repaired after being damaged during the French Revolution but still awaits repair after the damage caused when it was struck during an aerial bombardment in the Second World War. There was once also a Monastery at Toul,but no trace of it remains.

Vigil of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
St Agapitus of Rome
St Candida of Carthage
St Dionysius of Phrygia
St Dorimedonte of Synnada
St Eusebia of Marseilles

St Eustachius, Wife and Sons – Martyrs (Died c 188) St Eustachius is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – Patronages – against fire, difficult situations, fire prevention, firefighters, hunters, hunting, huntsmen, Madrid, torture victims, trappers.

St Evilasius of Cyzicum
St Fausta of Cyzicum
Bl Francisco Martín Fernández de Posadas
St Glycerius of Milan
St John Charles Cornay
Bl John Eustace

St Lawrence Mary Joseph Imbert
St Paul Chong Hasang
St Priscus
St Susanna of Eleutheropolis (Died 362) Virgin Martyr
Bl Thomas Johnson
—

Martyrs of Korea: St Andrew Kim Taegon, St Paul Chong Hasang & Companions – 103 saints and beati. The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the 19th century in Korea. At least 8,000 (as many as 10,000) adherents to the faith were killed during this period. (Memorial)

Martyrs of Constantinople – 3 saints: A priest and two bishops who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred for the defense of icons in the iconoclast persecutions of emperor Leo the Isaurian. – Andrea, Asiano and Hypatius. They were martyred in 735 in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) and their bodies were thrown to the dogs.

Martyrs of Pergen – 6 saints: A group of lay people martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Elagabalus. The names that have come down to us are Dionysius, Dioscorus, Philippa, Privatus, Socrates and Theodore. They were crucified c 220 at Pergen, Pamphylia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Cristobal Iturriaga-Echevarría Irazola
• Blessed Santiago Vega Ponce
• Blessed Juan Antonio López Pérez

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 September – St. Fausta and Evilasius of Cyzicum

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Saint Fausta of Cyzicus also known as Saint Fausta, was a thirteen year old girl born in 298, in modern-day Turkey. At the age of 13, she was arrested, tortured, and executed for being a Christian in the year 311. A pagan priest, Saint Evilasius was the one responsible for torturing and executing her. Seeing her courage, and moved by her prayers, he converted, and died with her in a cauldron of boiling water.

And I went up, and I saw an immense extent of garden, and in the midst of the garden a white-haired man sitting in the dress of a shepherd, of a large stature, milking sheep; and standing around were many thousand white-robed ones. And he raised his head, and looked upon me, and said to me, ‘You are welcome, daughter.’

St Perpetua

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame de la Salette / Our Lady of La Salette), La Salette-Fallavaux, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France(1846) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 September

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Notre-Dame de la Salette / Our Lady of La Salette, La Salette-Fallavaux, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France
(1846) 19 September:
Mary appeared to two small children, Melanie Mathieu and Maximin Giraud, on the mountain of La Salette in the French Alps. She was crying and around her neck was a crucifix, with a hammer and pincers on either side – 19 September 1846. Approved by the Diocesan Bishop in 1851.

St Januarius of Naples Martyr (Died c 304) (Optional Memorial)

St Alonso de Orozco Mena OSA (1500 – 1591) Augustinian Priest, Preacher, Writer, Apostle of Charity, Spiritual Director, Marian Devotee, Ascetic.

St Arnulph of Gap
St Carolus Hyon Song-Mun
St Constantia of Nocera
St Desiderius of Pozzuoli

St Emilie de Rodat (1787–1852) Nun and Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, Mystic. Venerable Pope Pius XII Beatified her on 9 June 1940 and Canonised her on 23 April 1950.

St Eustochius of Tours
St Felix of Nocera
St Festus of Pozzuoli
St Goeric of Metz
St Maria de Cervellón OdeM (1230 – 1290) Virgin, Second Order of the Mercedarians.

St Pomposa
St Sequanus
St Sosius of Puzzuoli
St Theodore of Canterbury
St Trophimus of Synnada
—
Martyrs of Antioch – (3 saints): Christians imprisoned, tortured and executed in various ways in the persecutions of Emperor Probus; some names have come down to us – Dorymedon, Sabbatius and Trophimus. c 277 at Antioch (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Phunon – (4 saints): Four bishops in Egypt who were sentenced to forced labour in a rock quarry and martyred in the persecution of Diocletian. Noted for celebrating Mass in prison. – Elias, Nilus, Patermuzio and Peleus. They were burned to death in 310 at Phunon, near Petra in Palestine.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Consuelo Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Herman José Fernández Sáenz
• Blessed Juan Pérez Rodrigo
• Blessed Lucas Martín Puente
• Blessed María de La Encarnación de La Yglesia de Varo
• Blessed María Dolores Aguiar-Mella Díaz
• Blessed Miguel Faúndez López
• Blessed Sebastián Obeso Alario

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 September – Saint Ariadne of Phrygia 

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Saint Ariadne of Phrygia, also known as Ariadna, Ariane, Arianna, was a martyr and slave woman in the the 2nd century, who was owned by a Phrygian prince called Tertullus. When by an edict of emperors Hadrian and Antoninus, Christianity was outlawed. When she refused to partake in the pagan rituals on the birthday of Tertullus’ son, she was punished and her case became known to the provincial governor, Gordios.

Both she and Tertullus were convened before a tribunal where Tertullus was acquitted while she was condemned to be crucified. The people of Prymnessus intervened on her behalf to give her three days of repentance in which she then escaped the Roman authorities, fleeing into the nearby mountains where she was saved from her pursuers by a rock which opened miraculously before her and closed behind her, providing her with a tomb.

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Saint of the Day – 17 September – Saint Columba of Cordova

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Saint Columba of Cordova, also known as Columba of Cordoba and Columba of Spain, martyr. She is a part of the Martyrs of Córdoba. Born to a pious family in the 8th century, Columba’s brother was an abbot, and her sister and brother-in-law founded a double monastery at Tabanos, Spain. Her mother wanted her to marry, but Columba was drawn to religious life, and entered her sister’s monastery at Tabanos.

During the Moorish persecutions of Christians in 852, most of the nuns of Tabanos fled to Cordova. Columba refused to run, and made a public proclamation of her faith to a Moorish magistrate and denounced Muhammed and his law. The magistrate condemned her to be beheaded on September 17, 853. Her body was thrown into the Guadalquivir Marshes, but was recovered by other Christians and buried at the basilica of St. Eulalia at Fragellas. Her relics were taken later to and venerated at two churches, the abbey of Santa Maria de Nájera and to its dependent priory, which was dedicated to Saint Columba.

The fortified Santa María la Real of Nájera

Neither can I call myself anything else than what I am, a Christian.

Passion of Perpetua and Felicity (Tertullian)

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Feast of the Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi and Memorials of the Saints – 17 September

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St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church, Bishop, Confessor, Theologian, Professor, Writer, Preacher, Mediator. (Optional Memorial) Feast day – 13 May (General Roman Calendar, 1932–1969)

Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi:
Two years before the great Saint Francis of Assisi died and when he was forty-two years old — one year after he had built the first crib in honour of Our Lord — he went off to a lonely mountain called Mount Alvernia, to prepare himself by forty days of fasting and prayer for the Feast of Saint Michael, the greatest of God’s Angels, whose Feast day is 29 September. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14 September, Saint Francis received in his hands, feet and side the Sacred Wounds from Our Lord’s own body.

Never was a Saint more beautifully loved by Jesus than Saint Francis of Assisi. The wounds Jesus gave him stayed in his hands, feet and side and continually bled for two more years, until he died in 1226. The day on which Saint Francis received the Five Wounds of Our Lord was 14 September but so, that this beautiful event might have a feast day for itself, the Stigmata of Saint Francis is commemorated today, on 17 September. The simple liturgy of this holy Saint’s life might be put this way – the crib in 1223 and the Cross in 1224.

St Agathoclia
St Brogan of Ross Tuirc
St Columba of Cordova
St Crescentio of Rome
St Emmanuel Nguyen Van Trieu
St Flocellus

St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) Doctor of the Church, German Benedictine Abbess, Theologian, Writer, Composer, Philosopher, Poet, Mystic, Visionary, Founder, Scientist, Artist and Polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

St Justin of Rome

St Lambert (c 635-c 700) Bishop & Martyr, Bishop of Maastricht, Confessor, Missionary.

St Narcissus of Rome
St Peter Arbues OSA (1442-1485) Priest Martyr
St Rodingus
St Satyrus of Milan
St Socrates
Bl Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary
St Stephen of England
St Theodora
St Uni of Bremen
St Zygmunt Sajna

St Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski TOSF (1822-1895) Archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, Apostle of poor, Confessor, Professor, Writer, Reformer.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
• Blessed Álvaro Santos Cejudo Moreno Chocano
• Blessed Juan Ventura Solsona
• Blessed Timoteo Valero Pérez

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 16 September – Saints Abundius and Abundantius of Rome

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Saints Abundius and Abundantius of Rome were martyrs who killed during the Diocletian persecution in the year 304. Abundius was a priest and Abundantius a deacon. The emperor ordered them to be arrested on suspicion of Christianity. When they refused to sacrifice to Hercules, they were tortured at Mamertine prison, and condemned to be beheaded. On the way to execution the two passed Senator Marcian who was grieving over his son John who had just died. Abundius prayed over John, and the boy returned to life; Marcian and John converted to Christianity on the spot. 

Prison of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul (Mamertinum)

The executions were carried out at the 26th milestone of the Via Flaminia. Their bodies were later transferred to the church of Cosmas and Damian in Rome. The bodies of Marcianus and John were found around 1001 and transferred to Civita Castellana. In 1583, the relics of Abundius and Abundantius were transferred to the SS. Nome di Gesu, where they were placed under the church’s high altar. Aloysius Gonzaga heard mass there before becoming a Jesuit.

Church of the Gesù

For in him whom then with a latent foreboding of divinity they were in such wise demanding, they were seeking not only a priest — but moreover a future martyr.

The Life and Passion of St Cyprian (Pontius)

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Nuestra Señora de las Lajas / Our Lady of the Flagstones, Potosí, Caldas, Colombia (1754) and Memorials of the Saints – 16 September

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Nuestra Señora de las Lajas / Our Lady of the Flagstones, Potosí, Caldas, Colombia (1754) – 16 September:

In 1754, Maria Mueses de Quinones, an Indian woman from the village of Potosi, Colombia and her deaf-mute daughter, Rosa, were caught in a very strong storm. They sought refuge in a cave in the gigantic Lajas mountains. To Maria’s surprise, her mute daughter, Rosa exclaimed with her first words “the mestiza is calling me…” Maria did not see the figures of a woman and child that the girl described and fearfully ran back with her daughter to Ipiales and told the townspeople. After later returning to the spot, the woman saw an apparition of Our Lady and Child. Some months later, Rosa died and was returned to life when her mother prayed again at the cave. The townspeople came to see this place and encountered the miraculous image burned into the rocks!

The congregation celebrated the first Mass in the Pastarán river cave – it was 16 September 1754 and they built a straw grotto. With the endorsement of the ecclesiastical authorities, who declared the event as a miracle on 15 September 1754. Very soon, the image began to be venerated with great fervour and many miraculous events occurred there.

Around the image the faithful devotees have erected four successively larger Churches, until culminating in the current Sanctuary whose construction lasted 30 years and was completed in 1949. In 1952 , Pope Pius XII granted the image the canonical coronation and in 1954 he granted the Sanctuary, the title of Minor Basilica.

St Pope Cornelius (Martyred in 253) (Memorial)
St Cyprian of Carthage (190-Martyred in 258) (Memorial)

St Abundantius of Rome
St Abundius of Rome
St Andrew Kim Taegon
St Cunibert of Maroilles
St Curcodomus
Bl Dominic Shobyoye
St Dulcissima of Sutri
St Edith of Wilton
St Eugenia of Hohenburg
St Euphemia (c 290-c 305) Virgin Martyr
St Geminianus of Rome
St John of Rome

Blessed Luigi Ludovico Allemandi (c 1390-1450) Bishop and Cardinal, called “The Cardinal of Arles.” Blessed Luigi was a Priest driven by immense love for the Holy Mother of God and for the Church. His involvement in various Councils and Papal dissentions, were the result of his great desire to maintain the purity of the Chair of Peter. He was Beatified in 1527 by Pope Clement VII.

St Lucy of Rome
St Ludmila
St Marcian the Senator
Bl Martin of Huerta
Bl Michael Himonaya

St Ninian (Died 432) “Apostle to the Southern Picts,” Bishop, Missionary, Monastic Founder, Wonderworker.

Bl Paul Fimonaya
St Priscus of Nocera
St Rogellus of Cordoba
St Sebastiana
St Servus Dei
St Stephen of Perugia

Blessed Pope Victor III OSB (1027-1087) Known as “the Gentle Pope,” Prince, Benedictine Abbot, Monk, Advisor, diplomat, reformer – Papal ascension – elected 24 May 1086 and enthroned on 9 May 1087 – until his death. Few have been more reluctant to accept the Papacy than the humble Monk and Hermit, who became Victor III.

St Vitalis of Savigny

Martyrs of the Via Nomentana: Four Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Alexander, Felix, Papias and Victor. They were martyred on the Via Nomentana outside Rome, Italy.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Martínez García
• Blessed Ignasi Casanovas Perramón
• Blessed Manuel Ferrer Jordá
• Blessed Pablo Martínez Robles
• Blessed Salvador Ferrer Cardet

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 16 September – “By your perseverance you will secure your lives”

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One Minute Reflection – 16 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary ” – Readings: Ps 78:11; 78:12; 78:10, Ps 78:1, Wis 3:1-8, Luke 21:9-19

The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment of death shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was judged an affliction, and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.

Wis 3:1-8

REFLECTION – Do you want to come to that life where you will be sheltered from error forever? Who does not want this? We all desire life and truth but how are we to attain it? What path are we to follow? Certainly, we have not reached the end of the journey yet we can already see it, we yearn for life and truth. Christ is both one and the other. What is the way to it? “I am the way,” he says. To what will we come? “I am the truth and the life”.

This is what the martyrs loved; this is why they looked beyond the love of present goods that pass away. Don’t be astonished at their bravery: in them love overcame suffering. Let us walk in their footsteps, our eyes fixed on him who is both their Leader and ours. If we would come to so great a happiness, let us not be afraid of treading difficult paths. He who has promised is true; he is faithful; he could not deceive us. Why fear the hard road of suffering and tribulation? Our Saviour in person has trodden it.

You answer: “But that was him, the Saviour!” Know that the apostles passed that way too. Now you’re going to say: “But they were apostles!” Yes, I know. But don’t forget that a great many people like yourself have trodden it in their turn, women have trodden it, too children, even young girls have gone that way. How could the road that so many passers-by have levelled still be too hard?

Saint Augustine

PRAYER – Look upon us Lord, Creator and Ruler of the whole world, give us the grace to serve You with all our hearts, to take up our cross and follow You, that we may come to know the power of Your love and the forgiveness which You give and You teach. Grant that by the intercession of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian, we may attain the glory of Your kingdom and see You face to face. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

The Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin and Memorials of the Saints – 15 September

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The Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin – Our Lady of Sorrows (Memorial)

St Aichardus
St Albinus of Lyon
Bl Anton Maria Schwartz
St Aprus of Toul
St Bond of Sens

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) Married laywoman, Mystic, Apostle of the sick, the poor and the needy, Writer. Her body is incorrupt and rests in a glass reliquary at the Capuchin Church in Genoa.
Catherine’s writings were examined by the Holy Office and declared to contain doctrine that would alone be enough to prove her sanctity and she was accordingly Beatified in 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised in 1737 by Pope Clement XII. Her writings also, became sources of inspiration for other religious leaders such as Robert Bellarmine and Francis de Sales and Cardinal Henry Edward Manning. Pope Pius XII declared her Patroness of the hospitals in Italy.

Bl Camillus Constanzo
St Emilas of Cordoba
St Eutropa of Auvergne
St Hernan
Bl Jacinto de Los Ángeles and Bl Juan Bautista
St Jeremias of Cordoba
St Joseph Abibos
St Mamillian of Palermo
St Melitina
St Mirin of Bangor
St Nicetas the Goth
St Nicomedes of Rome

St Porphyrius the Martyr
St Ribert
St Ritbert of Varennes
Bl Rolando de Medici
Bl Tommasuccio of Foligno
St Valerian of Châlon-sur-Saône
St Valerian of Noviodunum
St Vitus of Bergamo
Bl Wladyslaw Miegon
—
Martyrs of Adrianopolis – 3 saints: Three Christian men martyred together in the persecutions of Maximian – Asclepiodotus, Maximus and Theodore. They were martyred in 310 at Adrianopolis (Adrianople), a location in modern Bulgaria.

Martyrs of Noviodunum – 4 saints: Three Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Gordian, Macrinus, Stratone and Valerian.
They were martyred in Noviodunum, Lower Moesia (near modern Isaccea, Romania).

Mercedarian Martyrs of Morocco – 6 beati: A group of six Mercedarians who were captured by Moors near Valencia, Spain and taken to Morocco. Though enslaved, they refused to stop preaching Christianity. Martyrs. – Dionisio, Francis, Ildefonso, James, John and Sancho. They were crucified in 1437 in Morocco.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Antonio Sierra Leyva
Bl Pascual Penades Jornet

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 15 September – Saint Nicetas the Goth

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Saint Nicetas the Goth was a soldier and martyr born in the 4th-century, in the Gothic territory north of the Danube River. Coming from the upper class of his people. He was instructed in Christianity by Theophilus of Gothia, a converted bishop, between 325 and 341 AD.

Nicetas received his Greek name on the occasion of his baptism by Theophilus, a participant in the First Ecumenical Council. Pagan Goths began to oppose the spread of Christianity, which resulted in internecine strife. Nicetas fought in the Gothic civil war between the pagan Alaric and the Christian Fritigern. After the defeat of Alaric and after the invention of Gothic alphabets by Ulfilas, Nicetas worked intensely among the Goths for their conversion.

Later, Alaric returned, defeated Fritigern, and resumed his persecution of Christians. The s aint denounced the persecutor for his cruelty and impiety, because he subjected the Christians to severe torments. Nicetas endured many tortures himself and was condemned to the stake in 372. All the while, he hept over his heart, under his robes, an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child holding the Cross, carrying this after the Blessed Virgin appeared to him to provide comfort. The devil, shaped as an angel, induced Nicetas to sacrifice to the pagan gods for saving his life; the saint, however, put him to flight by means of prayer and the assistance of St Michael. Although he died at the stake, miraculously the fire did not touch his body, which was buried in Cilicia, and later transferred to Constantinople.

The veneration of this saint gave rise to the Slavic forms of his name: Nikita, Mykyta and Mikita. St Nicetas is prayed to for the preservation of children from birth defects and he is patron of Melendugno, Lecce, Italy.

At what point, then, shall I begin — from what direction shall I approach the description of his goodness, except from the beginning of his faith and from his heavenly birth? Inasmuch as the doings of a man of God should not be reckoned from any point except from the time that he was born of God.

The Life and Passion of St Cyprian (Pontius)

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Holy Cross, Nossa Senhora de Nazaré / Our Lady of Nazareth, Portugal (1182) and Memorials of the Saints – 14 September

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Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Feast) This feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mount Calvary by St Helena.

Nossa Senhora de Nazaré / Our Lady of Nazareth, Portugal (1182) -14 September:

The chronicles of old Portugal report this episode that took place in the year 1182, on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Dom Fuas Roupinho, a Knight and vassal of King Afonso Henriques, was out hunting on a foggy day. He was pursuing a deer when it came to an unexpected precipice and fell to its death into the sea below.

The horse, which was in close pursuit, reared on the very edge of the cliff and it seemed certain that Dom Fuas would follow the deer to his death. Knowing that a little distance to his left was a cave with the Statue of the Virgin of Nazareth, Dom Fuas immediately invoked her protection. He was saved and in thanksgiving he built a small “Chapel of memory” (Ermida da Memória) over the cave in her honour.

According to a document found with it, the little Statue of the Virgin had been venerated in Nazareth in the times of early Christianity. When the iconoclast heresy started in Constantinople and the heretics were destroying all the Statues, a Monk called Ciriaco took it to a Monastery in Spain in the proximity of Merida.

In 714, when the Saracens invaded the Iberian Peninsula, King Rodrigo fled with Friar Germano to the Atlantic coast, bearing the Statue with them. They hid the Statue in a small cave off the coast of the site that was later to become Nazaré, where it remained until it was found by a shepherd in 1179.

After Our Lady miraculously saved the life of Dom Fuas, the devotion to Our Lady of Nazareth spread throughout the country and was the source of countless graces for the people. In 1377 King Fernando ordered a large Church to be built near the little Chapel, and the Statue is venerated there now.

St Aelia Flaccilla

St Albert of Jerusalem (1149-1215) also known as St Albert of Vercelli – Bishop, Canon Lawyer, Diplomat and Peacemaker and is regarded as a Co-Founder of the Carmelite Order.

St Caerealis
Bl Claude Laplace
St Cormac of Cashel
St Crescentian of Carthage
St Crescentius of Rome
St Generalis of Carthage
St Giulia Crostarosa
St Jean Gabriel Taurin du Fresse
St Maternus of Cologne (Died c 325) Bishop

St Peter of Tarentaise O.Cist (1102-1174) Cistercian Monk, Archbishop of Tarentaise from 1141 until his death, Abbot, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-worker.
There are two men named Saint Peter of Tarentaise who lived one century apart. The man we honour today is the younger Peter, born in France in the early part of the 12th century. The other man with the same name became Pope Innocent the Fifth.

Bl Pedro Bruch Cotacáns
St Rosula of Carthage
St Sallustia
St Victor of Carthage

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 September – Saint Aelia Flaccilla

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Saint Aelia Flavia Flaccilla, known as Aelia Flacilla or Flacilla, was a Roman empress and may have been the daughter of Claudius Antonius, Prefect of Gaul. She was the first wife of Emperor Theodosius I. She was of Spanish descent. During her marriage to Theodosius, she gave birth to two sons, the future Emperors Arcadius and Honorius, as well as a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria.

Aelia Flacilla was a zealous supporter of the Nicene Creed, and she was considered a pillar of the Church and model of Christian virtue by Saint Gregory of Nyssa and others. She died in 385 of natural causes.

"The greatness of the good gift given her made her love for Him who gave it all the greater, so she bestowed every kind of attention on the maimed and the mutilated, declining all aid from her household and her guards, herself visiting the houses where the sufferers lodged, and providing every one with what he required. She also went about the chambers of the churches and ministered to the wants of the sick, herself handling pots and pans, and tasting broth, now bringing in a dish and breaking bread and offering morsels, and washing out a cup and going through all the other duties which are supposed to be proper to servants and maids. To them who strove to restrain her from doing these things with her own hands she would say, "It befits a sovereign to distribute gold; I, for the sovereign power that has been given me, am giving my own service to the Giver."

-Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History (Book V.18)

"It appears that, during the reign of Valens, had some dispute with his own clergy at Cyzicus, and had in consequence seceded from the Arians, and retired to Bithynia, near Constantinople. Here multitudes resorted to him; some also gathered from different quarters, a few with the design of testing his principles, and others merely from the desire of listening to his discourses. His reputation reached the ears of the emperor, who would gladly have held a conference with him. But the Empress Flacilla studiously prevented an interview from taking place between them; for she was the most faithful guard of the Nicene doctrines, and feared lest Eunomius might, by his powers of disputation, induce a change in the sentiments of the emperor."

-Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History (Book VII)
Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Spain, (14th century) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 September

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Our Lady of Guadalupe in Extremadura, Spain:

The original Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain

The Marian shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located in the Extremadura region of what was the Kingdom of Castile. The shrine houses a Black Madonna, a statue crafted by the loving hands of Saint Luke the Evangelist himself and given to Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville, by Pope Gregory I. It is one of the fifteen Black Madonnas in Spain. The statue was canonically crowned on 12 October 1928 by Pope Pius XI with a crown designed and crafted by Father Felix Granda, and crowned in the presence of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

Spain was invaded by the Muslims in the year 711. The beloved statue of the Blessed Virgin was taken by the Christians who fled before the advance of the invading hordes, placing the statue in a strongbox and burying it in a cave in the hills near the Guadalupe River in Extremadura. When those who had safeguarded the statue died, the existence of it and the knowledge of its location was lost.

In the year 1326, the Blessed Virgin appeared to a shepherd near the village of Guadalupe, asking him to have priests dig at the site of the apparition. When they did, the priests found the strongbox that had been buried in the earth over 600 years previously. It contained documents that identified the cherished statue that became known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. A Marian shrine was built there in her honor.

A copy of the Extremaduran image is enshrined in Loboc Church in the island province of Bohol, and has documented miracles attributed to the Virgin.

Immediately pilgrims began to visit the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and in 1340, King Alfonso XI endowed the sanctuary over which he took a particular interest. It was in that same year that Abu Hasan of Morocco had invaded the Iberian Peninsula with a huge army, intending to march into Castile and reverse the earlier Catholic expansion into what had been Muslim territory. The battle of Rio Salado had been hard fought, though it ended in a Christian victory that King Alfonso attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Banner of Cortés preserved in the Army Museum in Toledo (Spain)

In 1389 the Spanish architect, Juan Alphonso, began the church, which has walls ornamented with magnificent votive offerings, attesting to more than three thousand authentic miracles of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The veneration for Our Lady of Guadalupe crossed the ocean, and was established by miracles in Mexico. The magnificent captain, Hernan Cortez, conquered the evil Aztec Empire under a Marian standard. Cortez himself was from Extremadura.

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico

St John Chrysostom (347-407) “Golden Mouthed” Father & Doctor of the Church (Memorial of his Departure).

Dedication of the Basilicas of Jerusalem: Commemoration of the dedications of the Basilicas built on Mount Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
—
St Aigulf

St Amatus OSB (c 560-c 627) Monk, Abbot, Hermit, Penitent, miracle-worker, together with St Romaric, he founded Remiremont Abbey.

St Barsenorius
Bl Claude Dumonet
St Columbinus of Lure
St Emiliano of Valence
St Evantius of Autun
St Gordian of Pontus
Bl Hedwig of Hreford
St Julian of Ankyra
St Ligorius
St Litorius of Tours
St Macrobius
St Marcellinus of Carthage
Bl María López de Rivas Martínez

St Maurilius of Angers (c 336-426) Bishop of Angers, Cantor for Saint Ambrose, (Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church), Disciple of St Martin of Tours.

St Nectarius of Autun

St Notburga (c 1265-1313) Virgin
St Philip of Rome
St Venerius of Tino
—
Martyrs of Ireland:
• Blessed Edward Stapleton
• Blessed Elizabeth Kearney
• Blessed James Saul
• Blessed Margaret of Cashel
• Blessed Richard Barry
• Blessed Richard Butler
• Blessed Theobald Stapleton
• Blessed Thomas Morrissey
• Blessed William Boyton

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War including the Martyrs of Pozo de Cantavieja – 11 beati:
• Blessed Bienvenido Villalón Acebrón
• Blessed Emilio Antequera Lupiáñez
• Blessed Florencio Arnáiz Cejudo
• Blessed Francisco Rodríguez Martínez
• Blessed Joaquín Gisbert Aguilera
• Blessed José Álvarez-Benavides de La Torre
• Blessed José Cano García
• Blessed José Román García González
• Blessed Juan Capel Segura
• Blessed Juan Ibáñez Martín
• Blessed Luis Eduardo López Gascón
• Blessed Manuel Alvarez y Alvarez
• Blessed Manuel Martínez Giménez
• Blessed Pío Navarro Moreno
• Blessed Ramiro Argüelles Hevia
• Blessed Sabino Ayastuy Errasti
• Blessed Teófilo Montes Calvo

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 September – St Aigulf

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Saint Aigulf, also known as Aigulphe, Aygulf or Ayoul. He was Abbot of Lérins, and a martyr.

St. Benedict frees a monk possessed by a demon by striking him.

Aigulf was born in 630 in Blois and was a Benedictine monk at Fleury, France. He led a party of monks sent to retrieve the relics of Saint Bernard from the Lombards. Later, he was called upon to reform the Abbey of Saint Honorat.

He became abbot of Lérins around 671 and worked to restore monastic discipline, which had weakened over time. He replaced the monks’ own rules, which had been followed since the abbey’s origins, with the Rule of Saint Benedict. Many of the brothers supported him, but some resisted, and following a riot they conspired to have Aigulf and four of his supporters kidnapped by soldiers, taken to the island of Capri, Italy, blinded, tortured and murdered. The monks of Lérins claimed possession of his relics and have always considered Aygulf a martyr. A chapel was dedicated to him in the fortified monastery. 

Saint Aygulf is invoked for the healing of eye ailments.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 12 September – Blessed Thomas of Zumárraga

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Blessed Thomas of Zumárraga was a Dominican friar, priest, missionary, and martyr of Japan.

Thomas was born in Vitoria, Spain, in 1577. In 1594, he was professed in the Order of Preachers in Vitoria. After he entered the Convento de San Esteban de Salamanca, he received the name of Fray Tomás del Espíritu Santo (Brother Thomas of the Holy Spirit). In 1601, he was sent to Mexico en route to the Philippines. Shortly after arriving, in 1603, Fray Francisco Morales, superior of the Dominicans in Manila, sent him to Japan to found a mission.

By the early 17th century Japan was mostly closed to foreigners, but he fearlessly preached the Gospel and worked tirelessly to establish Christian communities. He hid in the mountains in the area of Nagasaki and Ōmura, but in 1617 he was arrested alongside several other missionaries. After five years of imprisonment, he was burnt alive on 12 September 1622.

Pope Pius IX venerated him on 26 February 1866 with a decree of martyrdom, and later proclaimed him blessed on 7 May 1867.

 On all sides all men were flocking together to a spectacle, to us glorious from the devotion of faith, and to be mourned over even by the Gentiles. 

The Life and Passion of St Cyprian (Pontius)

Posted in The HOLY NAME of MARY

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (1683) and Memorials of the Saints – 12 September

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Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (1683 ) – 12 September:
Feast of the entire Latin Church. It was first observed at Cuenca, Spain in 1513, then extended to the universal Church and assigned to its present place and rank by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin for the liberation of Vienna, France and the signal victory over the Turks on 12 September 1683. It is the titular feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

St Ailbe (Died 528) Bishop “The Patrick of Munster,” Confessor, Evangelist – Saint Ailbe is venerated as one of the four great Patrons of Ireland.

Blessed Apolinaris Franco Garcia OFM (1575-1622) Priest, Martyr

St Autonomous
St Curonotus
St Dominic Magoshichi
St Eanswida
St Francis of Saint Bonaventure
St Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan

St Guy of Anderlecht (c 950–1012) Hermit and Pilgrim known as “the Poor Man of Anderlecht”

St Juventius of Pavia

Bl Maria Luisa Angelica/Gertrude Prosperi (1799-1847)
St Mancius of Saint Thomas
St Paul of Saint Clare
Bl Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge
St Sacerdos of Lyon
St Silvinus of Verona
St Tomás de Zumárraga Lazcano
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Hieronides, Leontius, Sarapion, Seleusius, Straton and Valerian. They were drowned c 300 at Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Phrygia – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred for destroying pagan idols. We know little more than their names – Macedonius, Tatian and Theodolus. They were burned to death in 362 in Phrygia (modern Turkey).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Arias Sánchez
• Blessed Francisco Maqueda López
• Blessed Jaume Puigferrer Mora
• Blessed Josep Plana Rebugent
• Blessed Julián Delgado Díez

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 11 September – Saints Felix, Regula and Essuperanzio 

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Saints Felix, Regula and Essuperanzio were martyrs beheaded together in the 3rd century, near Zürich, Switzerland, for converting to Christianity. Felix and Regula were brother and sister, while Essuperanzio was their servant. They are the patron saints of Zürich.

Felix was a member of the Theban legion which was based in Egypt under Saint Maurice and stationed in Agaunum in the Valais, Switzerland. When the legion refused to sacrifice to Emperor Maximian, the order was given to execute them. The siblings fled, reaching Zürich before they were caught, tried and executed in 286. After decapitation, they miraculously stood to their feet, picked up their own heads, walked forty paces uphill, and prayed before lying down in death. They were buried on the spot where they lay down, on the hilltop which would become the site of the Grossmünster.

This was revealed in a dream to a monk called Florentius in the 8th century. It contributed greatly to the massive conversion of the inhabitants of these regions to Christianity and had such an impact on Zurich that these three saints still appear on the seal of Zurich today.

And Hilarianus the procurator, who had just received the power of life and death in the place of the proconsul Minucius Timinianus, who was deceased, said, ‘Spare the grey hairs of your father, spare the infancy of your boy, offer sacrifice for the well-being of the emperors.’ And I replied, ‘I will not do so.’ Hilarianus said, ‘Are you a Christian?’ And I replied, ‘I am a Christian.’

St Perpetua

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 10 September – Sts Victor and Sosthenes of Chalcedon

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Saints Victor and Sosthenes of Chalcedon were soldiers and the executioners assigned to torture Saint Euphemia. However her faith and prayers converted them to Christianity. The Proconsul Priscus ordered Victor and Sosthenes to throw the saint into a red-hot furnace. In the flames, however, they saw angels who prevented them from touching the saint. When they refused to carry out the order, they were placed in shackles. Other soldiers, who threw Saint Euphēmia into the fire, were burnt by the flames, but inside the furnace the martyr remained unharmed.

St Victor of Chalcedon

They were subsequently martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. The Proconsul tried to make them bow down to the idols, but they replied that they had come to know the true God and would not offer homage to demons. As they were led to the wild beasts, they begged the Lord to forgive the sins they had committed as pagans. Then a divine voice came from Heaven, calling them to their rest. The animals did not touch their bodies. Later, the two martyrs were buried secretly by some Christians.

Then I awoke, and perceived that I was not to fight with beasts, but against the devil. Still I knew that the victory was awaiting me.

St Perpetua

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Beata Vergine Maria della Vita / Our Lady of Life (1289) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 September

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Beata Vergine Maria della Vita / Our Lady of Life (1289) 10 September:
Patronage – hospitals in the Diocese of Bologna, Italy.

The cult of the Madonna della Vita is connected with the hospital of the same name founded in 1289 by the Compagnia dei Battuti, present in Bologna since 1261. In the Sanctuary dedicated to her, between 1370 and 1380, Simone dei Crocefissi frescoed the image of the Blessed Virgin, which remained covered during the renovations in the years 1454-1502 and accidentally found among the exultation of the Bolognese people on 10 September 1614. It depicts Mary Mother and Queen as she rests her face to the cheek of Jesus, according to the iconography of the Mother of Tenderness.
The close link between the original hospital activity and the devotion of the brothers, was also expressed by the motto inscribed under the double Cross: “Vitam dat nobis crux tua, Christe Jesu” “Your Cross gives us life, Christ Jesus.”

St Agapius of Novara
St Alexius Sanbashi Saburo

St Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) Priest, Martyr.

St Autbert of Avranches
St Barypsabas
St Candida the Younger
St Clement of Sardis
St Finnian of Moville
St Frithestan
Bl Jacques Gagnot

St Nicholas of Tolentino OSA (1245-1305) known as the Patron of Holy Souls, Priest, Augustinian Friar Monk, Confessor, Mystic.

Blessed Oglerio O.Cist (c 1136-1214) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Mediator and peace-maker, Reformer, Penitent, Writer.

St Peter Martinez
St Pulcheria (399-453) Empress, Widow
St Salvius of Albi
St Sosthenes of Chalcedon
St Theodard of Maastricht
St Victor of Chalcedon
—
Martyrs of Bithynia – 3 sister saints: Three young Christian sisters martyred in the persecutions of emperor Maximian and governor Fronto: Menodora, Metrodora, Nymphodora. They were martyred in 306 in Bithynia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Japan – 205 beati: A unified feast to memorialise 205 missionaries and native Japanese known to have been murdered for their faith between 1617 and 1637.

Martyrs of Sigum – 8 saints: A group of Nicomedian martyrs, condemned for their faith to be worked to death in the marble quarries of Sigum. There were priests, bishops and laity in the group but only a few names have come down to us: Dativus, Felix, Jader, Litteus, Lucius, Nemesian, Polyanus, Victor. They were worked to death c 257 in Sigum.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Félix España Ortiz
• Blessed Leoncio Arce Urrutia
• Blessed Tomàs Cubells Miguel

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 9 September – Blessed Maria de la Cabeza

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Blessed Maria de la Cabeza, born at Uceda, Guadalajara, Spain, was a Spanish peasant woman who married Saint Isidore. She is known in Spain as Santa María de la Cabeza (“Saint Mary of the Head”) or Maria Toribia.

Ss. Isidore and Maria Torribia

Maria’s date of birth is unknown, but it was sometime near the end of the 11th century or at the beginning of the 12th century. She is believed to have been born in Caraquiz, a little village close to Uceda. She subsequently lived in Torrelaguna, where she met and married Saint Isidore the Farmer. She spent her life working on the farm, cleaning local chapels and shrines, helping the poor.

With her husband she had her only son, Illan. The child one day fell down a deep well, leaving the parents with no recourse but prayer. Miraculously, the water level suddenly rose to the level of the ground, and the floating baby was rescued unharmed. As a result of this, she and her husband committed themselves to sexual abstinence as a form of devotion, and, from that time on, lived in different homes.

One story relates that Maria always kept a pot of stew on the fireplace in their humble rural dwelling. She knew that her husband Isidore would often bring home anyone who was hungry. One day he brought home more hungry people than usual. After she served many of them, Maria told him that there simply was no more stew in the pot. He insisted that she check the pot again, and she was able to spoon out enough stew to feed them all.

Torribia outlived her husband, who died in 1130. After his death, she lived as a hermit, performed miracles, and had visions.

The title of the Head is due to her head being a relic venerated for centuries, and the need to distinguish her from so many other Saints Mary.

She died in 1175 and her relics were displayed in a Franciscan convent in Torrelaguna, Spain, before being moved to Saint Andrew’s Church in Madrid in 1645, placed with the incorruptible body of her husband. In 1769, Charles III of Spain had the remains of Saint Isidore and his wife Maria relocated to the San Isidro Church, Madrid. The sepulcher has nine locks and only the King of Spain has the master key.

She was beatified by Pope Innocent XII on 11 August 1697.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 8 September – St. Isaac the Great

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Saint Isaac the Great, also known as Sahak and Parthev, was born in 338, the son of Saint Nerses the Great, Catholicos of Armenia.

Left an orphan at a very early age, he received in Constantinople an excellent education, particularly in the Eastern languages. He was a married layman for several years. When he wife died he became a monk, succeeding his father as Catholicos (Patriarch) of Armenia in 390. He secured recognition from Constantinople of the status, rights and independence of the Armenian Church. From his position he worked to reform the Armenian Church, evangelize the Armenian people, and establish an Armenian identity. Through Isaac’s efforts the churches and monasteries destroyed by the Persians were rebuilt, education was cared for in a generous way, the pagan worship of Ormuzd which Shah Yezdigerd tried to set up was cast out, and three councils held to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline. He was also noted for his ascetic life.

Isaac worked with Saint Mesrop the Teacher to evangelize Armenia, and to develop an alphabet for the Armenian language. He supported the translation of the Bible and the Greek and Syrian Doctors of the Church into Armenian, and translated some of holy scripture himself. Isaac served as both civil and religious ruler of his people, established a national liturgy, and was responsible for the beginnings of Armenian literature. He was driven into retirement in 428 when the Persians conquered part of his territory, but later returned as Catholicos at Ashtishat from where he worked until he death. He is considered the founder of the Armenian Church.

He died at the age of 110 at Ashtishat, of natural causes.

St Isaac and St Mesrop
Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian Feasts in Cuba, Spain, India, Andora and Memorials of the Saints – 8 September

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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – 8 September (Feast)

Nuestra Senora de la Virgen de la Caridad / Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba (1612)- 8 September

Nuestra Senora de la Covadonga, also named “La Santina” / Our Lady of Covadonga (720) – 8 September:

This is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian Shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The Shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga in about 720, which was the first defeat of the Moors during their invasion of Spain. A Statue of the Virgin Mary, secretly hidden in one of the caves, was believed to have miraculously aided the Christian victory.
Our Lady of Covadonga is the Patron of Asturias, and a Basilica was built to house the current Statue. Our Lady of Covadong’s east day is 8 September.

Our Lady of Health of Vailankanni (16th Century) – 8 September:

This is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by people as she twice appeared in the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, in the 16th to 17th centuries. The Feast of the Nativity of Mary, is also commemorated as the feast of Our Lady of Good Health. The celebration starts on 29 August and ends on the day of the feast. The feast day prayers are said in Tamil, Marathi, East Indian, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, Hindi and English.

Nuestra Senora de la Meritxell / Our Lady of Meritxell (12th Century) – 8 September:

This is an Andorran Roman Statue depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Meritxell is the Patron Saint of Andorra. On 6 January in the late 12th century, villagers from Meritxell, Andorra were going to Mass in Canillo. Though it was winter, they found a wild rose in bloom by the roadside. At its base was a Statue of the Virgin and Child. They placed the Statue in a Chapel in the Church in Canillo. The next day the Statue was found sitting under the wild rose again. Villagers from Encamp took the Statue to their Church but the next day the Statue had returned to the rose bush. Though it was snowing, an area the size of a Chapel was completely bare and the villagers of Meritxell took this to mean that they should build a Chapel to house the Statue and so they did. On 8-9 September 1972 the Chapel burned down and the Statue was destroyed, a copy now resides in the new Meritxell Chapel.
The feast day of Our Lady of Meritxell is 8 September and the Andorran National Day.

St Adam Bargielski
St Adela of Messines
Bl Alanus de Rupe

St Corbinian (c 670–c 730) First Bishop of Freising and Founder of the Diocese, Hermit, Missionary, Confessor.

St Disibod of Disenberg
St Ethelburgh of Kent
St Faustus of Antioch
St Isaac the Great
St István Pongrácz
St Kingsmark
St Peter of Chavanon
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Pope Sergius I (c 650–701)

St Thomas of Villanova OSA (1488 – 1555) Bishop, Religious Priest of the Order of St Augustine, Confessor, Writer, Preacher, Teacher, Apostle of Charity, Mystic, Miracle-Worker often called “the Almsgiver” and “the Father of the Poor“, Reformer.

St Timothy of Antioch
Bl Wladyslaw Bladzinski
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints)
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ammon, Dio, Faustus, Neoterius and Theophilus. Martyred in Alexandria, Egypt.

Martyrs of Japan – (21 beati):
A group of 21 missionaries and converts who were executed together for their faith.
• Antonio of Saint Bonaventure
• Antonio of Saint Dominic
• Dominicus Nihachi
• Dominicus of Saint Francis
• Dominicus Tomachi
• Francisco Castellet Vinale
• Franciscus Nihachi
• Ioannes Imamura
• Ioannes Tomachi
• Laurentius Yamada
• Leo Aibara
• Lucia Ludovica
• Ludovicus Nihachi
• Matthaeus Alvarez Anjin
• Michaël Tomachi
• Michaël Yamada Kasahashi
• Paulus Aibara Sandayu
• Paulus Tomachi
• Romanus Aibara
• Thomas of Saint Hyacinth
• Thomas Tomachi
Died on 8 September 1628 in Nagasaki, Japan
Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius XI

Martyred in England:
Bl John Norton
Bl Thomas Palaser

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Blessed Apolonia Lizárraga Ochoa de Zabalegui
• Blessed Bonifacio Rodríguez González
• Blessed Dolores Puig Bonany
• Blessed Eusebio Alonso Uyarra
• Blessed Ismael Escrihuela Esteve
• Blessed Josefa Ruano García
• Blessed Josep Padrell Navarro
• Blessed Mamerto Carchano y Carchano
• Blessed Marino Blanes Giner
• Blessed Miguel Beato Sánchez
• Blessed Pascual Fortuño Almela
• Blessed Segimon Sagalés Vilá
• Blessed Tomàs Capdevila Miquel

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Vigil of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary instituted by Pope Gregory II (722) and Memorials of the Saints – 7 September

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Vigil of the Nativity of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, instituted by Pope Gregory II (722):

The day destined for the parturition of Saint Anne and for the birth of her, who was consecrated and sanctified to be the Mother of God, had arrived – a day most fortunate for the world. This birth happened on the eighth day of September, fully nine months having elapsed since the Conception of the soul of our most holy Queen and Lady.

Saint Anne was prepared by an interior voice of the Lord, informing Her, that the hour of her parturition had come. Full of the joy of the Holy Spirit at this information, she prostrated herself before the Lord and besought the assistance of his grace and his protection for a happy deliverance.

Presently she felt a movement in her womb similar to that which is proper to creatures being born to the light. The most blessed child Mary was at the same time, by divine providence and power, ravished into a most high ecstasy. Hence Mary was born into the world without perceiving it by her senses, for their operations and faculties were held in suspense. As She had the use of her reason, she would have perceived it by her senses, if they would have been left to operate in their natural manner at that time. However, the Almighty disposed otherwise, in order that the Princess of heaven might be spared the sensible experience, otherwise connected with birth.
she was born pure and stainless, beautiful and full of grace, thereby demonstrating, that she was free from the law and the tribute of sin. Although she was born substantially like other daughters of Adam, yet her birth was accompanied by such circumstances and conditions of grace, that it was the most wonderful and miraculous birth in all creation and will eternally redound to the praise of her Maker.

At twelve o-clock in the night this divine child issued forth, dividing the night of the ancient Law and its pristine darknesses from the new day of grace, which now was about to break into dawn. She was clothed, handled and dressed like other infants, through she excelled all mortals and even all the angels in wisdom. Her mother did not allow her to be touched by other hands than her own but she, herself, wrapped her in swaddling clothes: and in this Saint Anne was not hindered by her present state of incapacity, for she was free from the toils and labours, which mothers endure in such circumstances.

So then Saint Anne received in her arms she, who was her Daughter but at the same time, the most exquisite treasure of all the universe, inferior only to God and superior to all other creatures. (The City of God, by Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda OIC (1602-1665) [Her body is incorrupt].

St Alcmund of Hexham
Bl Alexander of Milan
St Augustalus
St Balin
St Carissima of Albi
St Chiaffredo of Saluzzo
Bl Claude-Barnabé Laurent de Mascloux

St Cloud (522-c 560) Priest, Hermit, Confessor and Abbot.

St Desiderio of Benevento
St Dinooth
Bl Eugenia Picco
St Eupsychius of Caesarea
St Eustace of Beauvais
St Evortius of Orleans
St Faciolus
St Festo of Benevento
Bl François d’Oudinot de la Boissière

Blessed Giovanni Battista Mazzucconi (1826-1855) aged 29, Martyr, Priest, Missionary of The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME).

St Giovanni of Lodi
St Goscelinus of Toul
St Gratus of Aosta
St Grimonia of Picardy
St Hiduard
Bl Ignatius Klopotowski
Bl John Duckett
Bl John Maki
Bl John of Nicomedia
Bl Ludovicus Maki Soetsu
St Madalberta
Bl Maria of Bourbon
St Marko Križevcanin
St Melichar Grodecký
St Memorius of Troyes
St Pamphilus of Capua
Bl Ralph Corby

St Regina (3rd Century) Virgin Martyr

St Sozonte
Blessed Thomas Tsuji SJ (1570-1627) Priest of the Society of Jesus, Martyr.

St Tilbert of Hexham
—
Martyrs of Noli: Four Christians who became soldiers and were martyred together for their faith. A late legend makes them member of the Theban Legend who escaped their mass martyrdom but that’s doubtful – Paragorius, Partenopeus, Parteus and Severinus. They were born in Noli, Italy and martyred in Corsica, France. Attribute – soldiers with a banner of Noli.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antoni Bonet Sero
• Blessed Ascensión Lloret Marcos
• Blessed Gregorio Sánchez Sancho
• Blessed Félix Gómez-Pinto Piñero

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 7 September – Blessed John Duckett

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Blessed John Duckett, was a priest and martyr, one of the Martyrs of Douai. Born in 1613 in Sedbergh, Yorkshire, the son of James and Francis Duckett and a relative and possibly the grandson of Blessed James Duckett, who had been executed at Tyburn on 19 April 1601 for printing Catholic books.

He was baptized on 24 February 1614 and educated at Sedbergh School. At the age of seventeen, he entered the English College, Douai; where he was ordained a priest by the Archbishop of Cambrai in 1639.

John possessed an extraordinary gift for prayer, and would spend whole nights in contemplation. On his way to the English mission, he spent two months in spiritual exercises, under the direction of his uncle, the Carthusian prior at Nieuport. He laboured for about a year in Durham and was arrested near Whisingham on his way to baptize two children, 2 July, 1644. The place which tradition declares to be that of his arrest is now marked by a tall stone cross. Carried to Sunderland, he was examined by a Parliamentary Committee of sequestrators, and placed in irons. He confessed his priesthood and was thereupon sent up to London with Father Ralph Corbie, S.J., who had been arrested about the same time near Newcastle-on-Tyne.

They were committed to Newgate, and edified the crowds of Catholics who flocked to see them by their joyousness, their sanctity, and their longing to suffer for Christ. A reprieve for one of them having been obtained, each refused to take it for himself. On his way to execution, Duckett astonished all by his supernatural joy; comforting those who wept for him, he said smiling: “Why weep you for me who am glad at heart of this happy day?” His jailers even were so struck by his gladness that they exclaimed “assuredly this man dies for a good cause”.

He suffered with Father Corbie, at Tyburn. In a farewell letter to the Bishop of Chalcedon, he wrote on the eve of his martyrdom: “I fear not death, nor I contemn not life. If life were my lot, I would endure it patiently; but if death, I shall receive it joyfully, for that Christ is my life, and death is my gain. Never since my receiving of Holy Orders did I so much fear death as I did life, and now, when it approacheth can I faint?”

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 September – Saint Zacharius the Prophet

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Zacharius the Prophet, also known as Zaccaria, Zechariah (“Yahweh remembers”), was the son of Barachias, son of Addo, and a prophet who rose in Israel in the eighth month of the seventh year of the reign of King Darius, 520 B.C. He began to prophesy just two months after Haggai. The urgings of the two Prophets brought about the building of the second temple. He is the the author of the Book of Zechariah, the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Zechariah on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

The Book of Zechariah introduces him as the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. The Book of Nehemiah identifies him as a Levitical priest. His work has both an allegorical history of his people, and prophecies of the Messiah to come.

In the eighth month, in the second year of king Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying: The Lord hath been exceeding angry with your fathers.

Zechariah 1: 1-2

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame de la Cordon / Our Lady of the Cord, Valenciennes, France (1008) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 September

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Notre-Dame de la Fontaine / Our Lady of the Fountain, Valenciennes, France (1008) – 6 September:

Valenciennes is a City in northern France on the Scheldt River and Our Lady of the Fountain was located half a league from the City in the year 1008.
According to tradition, there was a terrible famine that preceded the Plague in that fateful year of 1008. It is recorded that the City of Valenciennes was so ravaged by the plague that nearly 8,000 people died in only a few days, so that the chronicles of the time tell us that it seemed “the dead outnumber the living.” The people grieved profoundly at the spectacle of death which constantly surrounded them,and having no other recourse, went in great crowds to their Churches to take refuge at the feet of Our Mother of Mercy and beg for her intercession.

A holy hermit named Bertholin, who lived nearby Our Lady of the Fountain, was touched by the misfortune of his brothers and redoubled his austerities and prayers. He prayed for the people of Valenciennes, saying, “O Mary! Rescue these afflicted who have cried out to you! Will you let this people die who have called upon you for rescue and who confide their cares to you? Will you be invoked in vain?”

The Blessed Virgin appeared to the hermit Bertholin while he was fervently praying on the night of the 5th of September. The pious hermit was suddenly dazzled by the brilliance of a light purer than the sun, while at the same time the Mother of Mercy appeared to him with an air of kindness. She commanded Bertholin to tell the inhabitants to fast on the following day and then pass the night in prayer to bring an end to the Plague. “Go to my people of Valenciennes. On the eve of my nativity they will see the guarantee of protection that I want to give them.”

The response was overwhelming. The people of Valenciennes did as they were told,and on the eve of the Nativity, the 7th of September, the people of Valenciennes stood upon the ramparts and towers of the City excitedly awaiting the fulfilment of the heavenly promise. Their confidence was not in vain, for suddenly the night seemed to turn into day and they witnessed the Queen of Heaven descending to earth in majesty, sparkling like a light of heaven, brighter than the sun. Accompanied by a host of Angels, Our Lady seemed to gird the town all round with a cord.

Nothing can convey the feelings of joy and devotion with which the people of Valenciennes were seized at this sight. At one point they all bowed and asked the Blessed Virgin’s blessing. Their Heavenly Mother did indeed bless them and those who were sick recovered their health and the inhabitants of Valenciennes have been forever freed from the plague.

The Blessed Virgin instructed the hermit to tell the people that they were to make a solemn procession, and then to do so every year. The people were eager to fulfill this desire of their Heavenly Mother and left the City singing praises to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Since that time the procession of Our Lady of Saint-Cordon, or the Tour of the Holy Cordon, takes place every year, always along the same route where the holy cord had been placed. The cord of the Blessed Virgin was locked up in a Shrine at a beautiful Gothic Church, Notre-Dame-la-Grande.

This cord, the Abbot Orsini related, was still preserved at Valenciennes while he was alive. That is no longer the case, as it disappeared during the Terror that was the French Revolution. The Church was sold at auction and then razed to the ground, and the reliquary sent to the mint. Of the Holy Cord nothing is now known, although no one witnessed its destruction when it disappeared in the year 1793.

St Arator of Verdun
St Augebert of Champagne
St Augustine of Sens
St Beata of Sens
St Bega

Blessed Bertrand de Garrigues OP (c 1195-1230) “The Second Dominic,” Dominican Priest, Preacher, Evangeliser, Confessor.

St Cagnoald
St Consolata of Reggio Emilia
St Cottidus of Cappadocia

St Eleutherius the Abbot (Died c 585) Monk and Abbot. A wonderful simplicity and spirit of compunction were the distinguishing virtues of this holy sixth century Abbot.

St Eugene of Cappadocia
St Eve of Dreux
St Faustus of Alexandria
St Faustus of Syracuse
St Felix of Champagne
St Frontiniano of Alba (Died 311) Deacon Martyr
St Gondulphus of Metz
St Imperia
St Liberato of Loro Piceno
St Macarius of Alexandria
St Maccallin of Lusk

St Magnus of Füssen (Died c 666) Religious Priest, Monk, Abbot, Missionary, Spiritual student of Saint Columban and Saint Gall.

St Mansuetus of Toul
St Onesiphorus
St Petronius of Verona
St Sanctian of Sens
St Zacharius the Prophet
—
Martyrs of Africa – 6 saints: There were thousands of Christians exiled, tortured and martyred in the late 5th century by the Arian King Hunneric. Six of them, all bishops, are remembered today; however, we really know nothing about them except their names and their deaths for the faith – Donatian, Fusculus, Germanus, Laetus, Mansuetus and Praesidius.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Diego Llorca Llopis
• Blessed Felipe Llamas Barrero
• Blessed Pascual Torres Lloret
• Blessed Vidal Ruiz Vallejo

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame, Folgoët / Our Lady of Folgoët Finistère, Brittany, France (1650) and Memorials of the Saints – 5 September

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Notre-Dame, Folgoët / Our Lady of Folgoët Finistère, Brittany, France (1650) – First Sunday or the First Week of September:

Known as the “the fool of the woods,” St Salaün (Died1358 – Memorial on1 November) lived in a forest clearing near a spring, over which he enjoyed hanging from an oak branch, immersed to his shoulders, singing “O Maria.” He lived by begging: “Ave Maria! Salaün could eat some bread!” After he died in 1358, aged 48, in the woods near the spring, people found a white lily with “Ave Maria” in gold lettering on its petals — growing from the mouth of the dead fool buried beneath.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Folgoët was begun on the spot in 1365, completed in 1419 and consecrated in 1423. Its main Altar is over the spring, channeled into a basin behind the Church. In 1888, a dark stone Virgin was crowned Our Lady of Folgoët, replacing a polychrome wooden Statue which was moved to a side Altar. The Black Virgin is standing, holding the Child with her left arm; both wear large crowns. Her back is flat; the statue may have been on the exterior of the Church before the Revolution, when some Statues were damaged and removed for safekeeping from the marauding mobs of the French Revolution.

In the late 1500s, the big pilgrimage date was 15 August Feast of the Assumption. Three hundred years later, the celebration moved to 8 September, Nativity of the Virgin. Since 1970 the Grand Pardon has been held the first weekend in September, with a succession of processions and Masses in the Breton language.

St Albert of Butrio

St Alvito de León (Died 1063) Bishop. Alvito was the Confessor to King Fernando I of León, a Monk and the Benedictine Abbot of the Sahagún Monastery.

Bl Anselm of Anchin
St Anseric of Soissons

St Bertin the Great (c 615-c 709) Benedictine Monk and Abbot, Missionary.

Bl Florent Dumontet de Cardaillac
St Genebald of Laon
Bl Gendtilis
Bl Gerbrand of Dokkum
St Guise Hoang Luong Canh
Blessed John the Good OSA (c 1168-1249) Bishop
Bl Jordan of Pulsano
St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455) Bishop
St Obdulia
St Phêrô Nguyen Van Tu
St Romulus of Rome

St Victorinus of Amiterme
St Victorinus of Como
Bl William Browne
—
Martyrs of Armenia – 1,000 saints: A group of up to 1,000 Christian soldiers in the 2nd century imperial Roman army of Trajan, stationed in Gaul. Ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused and were transferred to Armenia. Ordered again to sacrifice to pagan gods, they refused again. Martyrs. We know the names of three of them, but nothing else – Eudoxius, Macarius and Zeno.

Martyrs of Capua – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred together. Long venerated in Capua, Italy. We know their names, but little else – Arcontius, Donatus and Quintius. They were martyred in Capua, Italy.

Martyrs of Nicomedia – 80 saints: A group of 80 Christians, lay and clergy, martyred together in the persecutions of Valens. We know little more than the names of three of them – Menedemo, Teodoro and Urbano. They were locked on a boat which was then set on fire on the shore of Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey) c 370.

Martyrs of Porto Romano – 4+ saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius. We know little more than their names – Aconto, Herculanus, Nonno and Taurino. c180 at Porto Romano, Italy.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 September – Blessed  Peter Nguyễn Văn Tự

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Blessed Peter Nguyễn Văn Tự, also known as Phêrô Nguyễn Văn Tự or Peter Tu Van Nguyen, was a Dominican priest and martyr born in 1796, Nam Dinh, Vietnam. Growing up during a time of persecutions of Christians, he entered the seminary, was ordained a priest in 1826, and joined the Dominican Order on January 4, 1827.

For 12 years Peter served in parishes across the Diocese of Bùi Chu. When the 1832 edict under Emperor Minh Mạng came, he went into hiding for six years, yet continued ministering secretly, often at great risk. In June 1838, soldiers raided Kẻ Mốt village, confiscating religious items and torturing locals. His hiding spot was betrayed and he was arrest on June 29, 1838, alongside catechist Bùi Văn Úy.

While imprisoned, Peter boldly preached during interrogations and refused to trample on a crucifix. Sentenced to death, he prepared with prayer, confessing to a fellow priest and receiving Holy Communion. On September 5, 1838, at age 42, he was beheaded at Cổ Mễ execution grounds alongside Joseph Hoàng Lương Cảnh. His body was buried at Nghĩa Vũ parish, with relics now at Trung Lại church in Bắc Giang province.

He was beatified on May 27, 1900, by Pope Leo XIII.

O blessed, you may regard yourselves as having been translated from a prison to, we may say, a place of safety. It is full of darkness, but you yourselves are light; it has bonds, but God has made you free. Unpleasant exhalations are there, but you are an odour of sweetness. The judge is daily looked for, but you shall judge the judges themselves.

Tertullian (To the Martyrs)

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna della Consolazione / Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, (1436) and Memorials of the Saints – 4 September

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Madonna della Consolazione / Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, (from the Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum): (1436) – 4 September

It is found in the Litany of Loreto.
The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is one of the solemnities not inscribed in the General Roman Calendar but which are observed in particular places, regions, churches or religious institutes. Augustinians and many regions, observe today 4 September, the Benedictines 5 July.

And about The Augustinians, Our Lady of Consolation and The “Augustinian Rosary”
The “Corona (or Crown) of Our Mother of Consolation.”

St Ammianus the Martyr
St Caletricus of Chartres
St Candida of Naples/St Candida the Elder
St Castus of Ancyra

Blessed Catherine of Racconigi OP (1486-1547) Third Order Dominican, Mystic, Stigmatist.

St Fredaldo of Mende
St Hermione

St Ida of Herzfeld (c 770-825) Laywoman, Widow, Apostle of the poor.

St Irmgard of Süchteln
St Julian the Martyr
St Magnus of Ancyra
St Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saône
St Marcellus of Treves
St Maximus of Ancyra
St Monessa
St Moses the Prophet
Bl Nicolò Rusca
St Oceanus the Martyr
Bl Peter of Saint James
St Rebecca of Alexandria
St Rhuddlad
St Rosalia (c 1130-c 1160) Virgin, Recluse, known as “La Santuzza” – “The Little Saint.“

St Rose of Viterbo TOSF (c 1233 – 1251) Virgin, Preacher – Member of the Franciscan Third Order, Recluse, Miracle-Worker.

St Rufinus of Ancyra
St Salvinus of Verdun
Bl Scipion-Jérôme Brigeat Lambert
St Silvanus of Ancyra
St Sulpicius of Bayeux
St Thamel
St Theodore the Martyr
St Ultan of Ardbraccan
St Victalicus
—
Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek:
The Eleven Nuns of Nowogródek or Blessed Mary Stella and her Ten Companions were a group of members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, a Polish Roman Catholic religious congregation, executed by the Gestapo in August 1943 in occupied Poland (present-day Navahrudak, Belarus).