Saint Artemius Megalomartyr, also known as Artemios of Antioch, Artemois the Greatmartyr, Challita, Shallita (‘The empowered one’). Artemius was a noted soldier and military leader under Emperor Constantine the Great. Imperial prefect of Egypt and Duke of Alexandria, appointed by Emperor Constantius; he used his position to spread the faith.
During the reign of Julian the Apostate, Artemius became a fanatical Arian heretic, hunting and persecuting monks, nuns and bishops, including Saint Athanasius. However, through prayer and the horror of the persecutions, Artemius returned to orthodox Christianity, supported the Faith, and turned on pagans, including Julian. He was accused by heathens of destroying idols, arrested, taken to Antioch, tortured and martyred. Julian had Artemius tortured in various fashions while exhorting him to renounce his Christianity, but Artemius repeatedly confirmed his faith, and ultimately had his head cut off.
The coming executioner was instantly looked for who should strike through that devoted neck of the most sacred victim; and thus, in the daily expectation of dying, every day was to him as if the crown might be attributed to each.
Dedication of the Abbey of Our Lady, Pontigny, France (1114) – 20 October:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “The Dedication of the Church of Pontigny, four leagues from Auxerre, under the title of Our Lady. This Abbey was founded in 1114 by Thibaud, Count of Champagne.”
The former abbey of Pontigny is nestled in the Serein valley in the north of Burgundy, and is one of the oldest sites of the Cistercian order. Being only the second Cistertian monastery, it was established in the year 1114 by Blessed Hugh of Macon, the companion of Saint Bernard, in this valley north of Auxerre in the French Department of Yonne. It is notable, that Hugh later became the Bishop of Auxerre.
The Monks valued the land, the woods and streams they were surrounded by and cultivated large farms around their Abbey. They raised various crops, bread pigs and sheep and made terracotta bricks. It was that strong economic base that enabled them to construct the great Romanesque style Church that reached an impressive length of 120 metres that still stands intact today. In the year 1164 the Abbey received the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of England St Thomas à Becket while he was an exile due to his opposition to King Henry and in 1206 the Queen of France, Alix de Champagne, was buried in the choir of the Abbey.
The wealthy Abbey was looted and burned by the Huguenots in about 1529 during the Wars of Religion. During the French Revolution the Abbey was suppressed, and its buildings largely sold or destroyed, save for the Church. Unlike most Churches during the time of the French Revolution, the Abbey of Pontigny is completely preserved and is now thought to be the largest Cistercian Church in France. The Church is notable for its arches and columns with twin bays, its vaults on two columns and portal with tympanum cross and wrought iron hinges.
Known as the Church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Edme Pontigny, or Our Lady of Saint Edmond of Pontigny, the old Church Abbey monastery became the Parish Church of the village of the same name after the French Revolution. The church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Edme Pontigny is now abandoned and it is used simply as a kind of cultural meeting place.
St Acca (c 660-742) Bishop, Abbot, Missionary, Theologian, Musician.
St Adelina St Aderald St Aidan of Mayo St Andrew of Crete St Artemius Megalomartyr St Barsabias St Bernard of Bagnorea St Bradan St Caprasius of Agen St Cornelius the Centurion (1st Century) traditionally believed to have become th First Bishop of Caesarea
Bl Gundisalvus of Silos St Irene
Blessed James Strepar OFM (c 1340-1409) Archbishop of Halicz, Poland from 1392 until his death Religious Priest of the Order of Friars Minor, Missionary. St Pius X proclaimed Blessed James, along with St Anthony of Padua, the Patrons of the Conventual Franciscan Order of Krakow Province. He was given the title of “Protector of the Kingdom, Defender and Guardian of the Homeland,” for his exceptional merits, including civil ones. Such was he considered by all. He was Canonised by by Pope Pius VI on 11 September 1791. His body is incorrupt.
St John of Kanty/Cantius (1390-1473) Priest, Theologian, Scholastic Philosopher, Physicist, Teacher, Confessor, Philosopher, Apostle of Charity – Patron of Poland and Lithuania.
St Martha of Cologne St Maximus of Aquila St Orora St Saula of Cologne St Sindulphus of Rheims
Blessed Agnès of Jesus, also known as Agnès Galand, Agnes of Jesus Galand, Agnes of Jesus of Langeac, Agnes of Langeac, was a was a French nun of the Dominican Order. Born on 17 November 1602 in Le Puy, Haute-Loire, she consecrated herself to the Virgin Mary at age seven.
Agnès Galand was born the third of seven children of Pierre Galand, a cutler by trade, and his wife, Guillemette Massiote. When she was five years old, she was entrusted to a religious institute for her education. Even from that early age, she showed a strong sense of spiritual maturity. Agnes joined the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine of Siena at Langeac in 1623. At her receiving of the religious habit she took the name Agnes of Jesus. Soon after her own profession, she was assigned to serve as the Mistress of novices for the community. Galand was elected to lead her community as prioress in 1627. She was later deposed from this office, but she accepted her demotion with indifference and grace.
She was a mystic, St Louis de Montfort noted this:
I shall simply relate an incident which I read in the life of Mother Agnes of Jesus, a Dominican nun of the convent of Langeac in Auvergne. … One day the Blessed Virgin appeared to Mother Agnes and put a gold chain around her neck to show her how happy she was that Mother Agnes had become the slave of both her and her Son. And St. Cecilia, who accompanied our Lady, said to her, “Happy are the faithful slaves of the Queen of Heaven, for they will enjoy true freedom.”
In 1631, Agnes experienced the most famous of her visions, in which the Blessed Virgin Mary urged her to pray for an unknown priest with the command, “Pray to my Son for the Abbé of Prébrac.” Jean-Jacques Olier was the current holder of that office, and while at a retreat led by Vincent de Paul, he experienced a vision in which Agnes appeared to him, though he was unacquainted with her. He sought out the nun who had appeared to him in the dream. When he met Agnes, she told him: “I have received orders from the Holy Virgin to pray for you. God has destined you to open the first seminaries in France.” Olier would go on to found the Society of Saint-Sulpice. Before her death, she related to her community her great desire that they pray for priests.
She died on 19 October 1634 in Langeac and was declared venerable on 19 March 1808 by Pope Pius VII.
Virgen del Camino / Our Lady of the Way, Valverde de la Virgen, León, Castile and León, Spain (1505) – 19 October:
On 2 July 1505, while watching his sheep, Alvar Simón Fernández saw the Virgin, radiant with light and heard her say: “Go to the city and tell the Bishop to come to this place and install this image my Son wishes to appear here, for the good of this land.” The shepherd answered, “Señora, how will they believe it was you who sent me?” She asked for his slingshot and with it launched a small stone, saying, “When the Bishop sees this stone it will be so large that he will know I have sent you and where you find the stone, is where my Son and I want you to put the image.”
The miraculously-located Shrine was outside the City of León on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim road to Compostela, hence the title Virgin of the Way The Virgen del Camino was declared Patron of the León region in 1914. The Statue is a 84 centimetre wooden Pietà, which the Basilica’s website dates to 1514. Its coronation, which Pope Benedict XI authorised in 1917, was carried out on 19 October 1930. The large, modern Sanctuary was completed in 1961 and houses the Statue. The Virgin of the Way is honoured today and on 15 September, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775) Priest, Mystic, Preacher, endowed with miraculous powers of healing and prophecy, Founder of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ known as the Passionists. Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Blessed Pope Pius IX who placed his Feast on 28 April. It was moved in 1969. So great was his eloquence when he spoke of the Passion that both he and his hearers would shed tears and the most hardened hearts were moved to repentance.
Bl Agnes of Jesus St Altinus St Aquilinus of Evreux St Asterius of Ostia St Beronicus of Antioch St Desiderius of Longoret St Ednoth St Ethbin St Eusterius of Salerno St Frideswide
St Laura of Cordoba St Lucius of Rome St Luke Alonso Gorda St Lupus of Soissons St Matthaeus Kohyoe St Pelagia of Antioch
St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562) Franciscan Friar and Priest, Mystic, Ecstatic, Writer, Preacher, Reformer, Hermit, Apostle of Prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, the Passion and Charity, Miracle-worker.
St Potenzianus of Sens St Ptolemy of Rome St Sabiniano of Sens St Theofrid
Blessed Thomas Hélye (c 1180-1257) Priest, Penitent, Teacher, Missionary and renowned Preacher.
St Varus of Kemet St Verano of Cavaillon — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: 18 Beati • Blessed Antonio Elizalde Garvisu • Blessed Constantino Miguel Moncalvillo • Blessed Dionisio Arizaleta Salvador • Blessed Emiliano Pascual Abad • Blessed Eusebio de Las Heras Izquierdo • Blessed Ferran Castán Messeguer • Blessed Francesc Solá Peix • Blessed Francisco Marco Martínez • Blessed Francisco Milagro Mesa • Blessed Francisco Simón Pérez • Blessed Josep Ferrer Escolà • Blessed Josep Ribé Coma • Blessed Julio Leache Labiano • Blessed Juan Senosiaín Zugasti • Blessed Manuel Font y Font • Blessed Narcís Simón Sala • Blessed Nicolas Campo Giménez • Blessed Pere Vives Coll
Blessed Domenico of Perpignano was a Mercedarian (the Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives) friar of the Holy Savior convent on Mallorca, Spain. He freed 153 Christians enslaved and imprisoned by Muslims for their faith in Tunisia.
Members of Blessed Domenico’s order took a fourth vow: to die, if necessary, for a Christian captive who is in danger of losing their faith.
Our Lady of Mercy – From the Generalate of the Mercedarian Order.
Notre-Dame de Reims / Our Lady of Rheims – Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Rheims (405) built by St Nicasius – 18 October:
Dedication of Our Lady of Rheims, built by St Nicasius (died c 407), Archbishop of that City period in the year 405. It was Saint Nicasius who prophesised that France would be invaded by the Vandals, telling the people of Rheims to prepare themselves. When the Vandals finally arrived at the City gates, St Nicasius went out to meet them with his sister, a faithful deaconess. All were killed but their sacrifice gave time for more of the people of Rheims to flee to safety.
It is interesting to note, that when St Nicasius was beheaded he was praying Psalm 119. He was slain at the moment when he reached the phrase “Adhaesit pavimento anima mea,” which means, “my soul is attached to dust.” After he was decapitated, his head struck the ground and he miraculously continued the psalm, saying: “Vivifica me, Domine, secundum verbum tuum,” which means, “revive me, Lord, with your words.”
This was the Church where King Clovis humbly confessed his belief in the Triune God and was baptised by St Regimius in 496 and where, all of the subsequent French Kings were crowned. In the Gallery of the Kings there is a magnificent painting of the baptism of King Clovis surrounded by images of all of his successors.
This Church, having fallen to ruins, was later rebuilt by Ebo and Hincmar. It was finished in the year 845 and still remains a place of pilgrimage to the Mother of God. At one time enemies of the Cathedral chapter set fire to a monastery of Rheims. Among the relics which the sacristan tried to save was an ivory statue of the Virgin, containing some of her hair. The sacristan prayed fervently to the Virgin that she would preserve this relic. The Abbot, entering the ruins of the Church, found the Statue upright and unharmed as if placed there reverently. From thence forward, the image was believed to be miraculous.
The present Cathedral takes the place of the older churches, the previous one having been damaged by fire in 1210. It was not completed until the 14th century, and is the beautiful Gothic Cathedral that can still be seen today, after much restoration work after the bombardments of WWI and II.
St Acutius of Pozzuoli St Amabilis of Auvergne (c 397- c 475) Priest, Confessor St Asclepiades of Antioch St Athenodorus St Brothen Bl Burchard I St Cadwaladr of Brittany Bl Domenico of Perpignano St Eutychius of Pozzuoli St Gwen of Tagarth St Gwendoline
St Justus of Beauvais (c 278—c 287) Martyr, Child of nine years of age. He is a Cephalophores.
Bl Margherita Tornielli St Monon of Nassogne St Proculus of Pozzuoli Bl Theobald of Narbonna St Tryphonia of Rome — Martyrs of Africa – 9 saints: A group of Christians martryed together in Africa. The only details that have survived are the names – Beresus, Dasius, Faustinus, Leucius, Lucius, Martialis, Victoricus, Victrix and Viktor. They were martyred in c.300 in Africa.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Alfredo Almunia López-Teruel • Blessed Francisco Roselló Hernández • Blessed Isidro Juan Martínez
Saint John the Short, also known as John Colobus, John Kolobos, John the Little, John the Dwarf, Yoannis Pi Kolobos, was a Coptic Desert Father born in 339 at Thebes, Egypt. Born to a poor but pious family, from age 18, John lived in an underground cave he dug in the desert of Skete. He was the spiritual student of Saint Poemen and Saint Ammoes.
Noted for being short of stature, short of temper, and conceited by nature; he did not grow in height, but as his faith increased, so did his gentleness and humility. John lived on only flatbread and vegetables his entire life and ate only one meal a day. In later life he was known for absent-mindedness, his thoughts being on the spiritual life. As a test of his new humble obedience, his director Pambo ordered him to water a walking staff stuck in the sand; John obeyed and went on watering it twice a day even though the water was about 12 miles from where they lived. After three years, the piece of wood sprouted and grew into a fruitful tree. Pambo took some of this tree’s fruits and went around to all the elder monks, saying “take, eat from the fruit of obedience”. John was ordained a priest by Pope Theophilus and became abbot of the monastery he founded around the Tree of Obedience.
To escape Berber invaders around 395, he fled Skete and lived for years as a hermit on Mount Qolzum, near the current city of Suez. He was the spiritual teacher of Saint Arsenius, and died in 405 at Mount Qolzum, Egypt, of natural causes. When Saint John died, his servant, who had been in a nearby village, had a vision of him being carried to heaven by a group of angels and saints.
Könnyezo Szuz Mária / Our Lady of Tears or the Weeping Madonna (Sajópálfala, Miskolci, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary) (1717) – Third Sunday of October, 16 February:
During the Turkish occupation of the late 1600s, the town of Sajópálfala in northeastern Hungary was destroyed and deserted. Not long after Greek Catholics resettled the area. The painting of the Madonna and Child in their village Church perspired and wept bloody tears, from 6 January to 16 February 1717.
The investigating Bishop took the picture to Eger, where it stayed in the Franciscan Church until the Communists dissolved the religious orders in 1950. Then the painting was lost to the faithful of Sajópálfala, who had made an annual pilgrimage to Eger on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
In 1969, they located the original weeping image in a Church in the Diocese of Pécs, where a friar had taken it when the Eger Monastery closed. On 25 October 1973, after 256 years, the Weeping Virgin Mary returned to the Church of the Visitation in Sajópálfala, where the main pilgrimage days are now Pentecost Sunday and the third Sunday in October.
St Margaret Mary Alacoque VHM (1647-1690) Virgin, Nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Mystic, Saint and Apostle of the Sacred Heart. Her feast day was moved to after Vatican II and prior to that was 17 October. (Optional Memorial)
Blessed Balthassar of Chiavari OFM (1420–1492) Priest of the Order of Friars Minor of the strict observance, Confessor, renowned Preacher, Professor of Theology, Superior General of the Order.
Bl Battista de Bonafede St Berarius I of Le Mans St Catervus St Colman of Kilroot Blessed Contardo Ferrini TOSF (1859-1902) Layman, Third Order Franciscan
Bl Francois Isidore Gagelin (1799-1833) Priest and Martyr, Missionary, was a member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in Vietnam.
Bl Gilbert the Theologian St Heron of Antioch Bl Jacques Burin St John the Short/Dwarf St Louthiern St Mamelta of Persia St Nothelm of Canterbury St Richard Gwyn St Rudolph of Gubbio St Rufus of Rome St Serafino of Montegranaro St Solina of Chartres St Zosimus of Rome — Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them that have survived are their names – Alexander, Marianus and Victor. 303 in Nicomedia (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of Valenciennes -5 beati: A group of Ursuline nuns martyred in the persecutions of the French Revolution. • Hyacinthe-Augustine-Gabrielle Bourla • Jeanne-Reine Prin • Louise-Joseph Vanot • Marie-Geneviève-Joseph Ducrez • Marie-Madeleine-Joseph Déjardins
Martyrs of Volitani: A group of martyrs who were praised by Saint Augustine of Hippo. In Volitani, proconsular Africa (in modern Tunisia).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • BlessedFidel Fuidio Rodriguez • BlessedJosé Sánchez Medina • BlessedPerfecto Carrascosa Santos • BlessedTársila Córdoba Belda de Girona
Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Milan (1417) by Pope Martin V – 16 October:
The Abbot Orsini wrote: “Dedication of Our Lady of Milan, by Pope Martin V, in the year 1417. This Church was built in 1388 by John Galleas, Duke of Milan.”
The magnificent Milan Cathedral is a Gothic Cathedral that has its roots in the fourth centurY. Today it is one of the most famous and celebrated structures in all of Europe. It is the second largest Church in Italy after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the third largest Catholic Church in the world.
Dedicated to the Mother of God, the present Cathedral was begun in the 14th century but was not completed until the 20th century when the last gate was finally installed in 1965. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte himself ordered that the façade be finished in the year 1805, as he desired to see the beautiful structure completed. He guaranteed that the French would pay for the work, although they never actually did. Even so, it took seven years to complete the work. There were other additions that followed, including stained glass windows and various arches and lace-like spires. In the end it can be said, that the Cathedral required 6 centuries to complete and is one of the largest Cathedrals in the entire world.
The Madonnina Spire or guglia del tiburio (“lantern spire“), one of the main features of the Cathedral, was erected in 1762 at the height of 108.5 m (356 ft), as designed by Francesco Croce. At the top of the spire is the polychrome Madonnina Statue, designed and built by Carlo Pellicani in 1774, during the episcopacy of Bishop Giuseppe Pozzobonelli who supported the idea to place the Madonnina at the top of the Cathedral, By tradition, no building in Milan may be higher than the Madonnina.
The first Church thought to occupy the location was built by Saint Ambrose, although there is an old baptistery which was constructed in about 335. The good Abbot appears to have been incorrect in dating the Cathedral from 1388, as there is a plate attached to a stone on the Church which states: “El Principio del Duomo di Milano Nel Anno 1386.”
St Ambrose barring Theodocius from Milan Cathedral
The Milan Cathedral houses a Holy Nail which was used to Crucify Christ. It is marked by a tiny red light located in the dome above the apse. There are more Statues on this Cathedral than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires. It is said that if the Statues were placed on top of each other, they would reach a height of about 5,300 meters (3.3 miles).
The Cathedral is 158.5 meters (520 feet) long, 92 meters (302 feet) wide. It has a cruciform plan in the form of a Latin cross that covers nearly 12,000 square meters. 40,000 people can fit comfortably within. Its construction was up five naves, a central and two lateral on each side, resting on 40 columns of 24.50 meters (80 feet) each.
St Margaret Mary Alacoque VHM (1647-1690) Virgin, Nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Mystic, Saint and Apostle of the Sacred Heart
St Gall (c 550–c 646) “Apostle of Switzerland,” Monk, Missionary, Hermit – he was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Saint Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent.
St Gerard Majella CSsR (1726-1755) Religious Lay Brother of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer, better known as the Redemptorists, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist, Apostle of Charity, known as a Thaumaturge.
Bl Gerald of Fossanuova St Hedwig of Andechs (1174-1243) Mother, Widow, High Duchess of Poland Bl Jesús Villaverde Andrés Bl Józef Jankowski St Junian St Lull St Magnobodus of Angers
St Martinian of Mauretania St Mummolinus St Saturian of Mauretania St Silvanus of Ahun St Victor of Cologne St Vitalis of Noirmoutier — Martyrs in Africa – 220 saints: A group of 220 Christians martyrs about whom we know nothing but that they died for their faith.
Martyrs of North Africa – 365 saints: A group of 365 Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of the Vandal king Genseric. The only details that have survived are the names of two of the martyrs – Nereus and Saturninus. 450 in North Africa.
St. Callistus of Huesca, was a Spanish martyr and companion of St. Mercurialis. Callistus was born in Huesca, in Aragon, Spain. Callistus went to France with St. Mercurialis to fight against the Saracens/Moors (Muslims), dying in battle in 1003.
Away, away with the belief that anything would be wanting to the least of us, so long as he stands for the confession of the Name.
Virgen de los Remedios / Virgin of the Remedies, Rubite, Granada, Spain (12th Century) – 15 October:
The Virgin of Los Remedios is the title of the Virgin Mary which was promoted by the Trinitarian Order, founded in the late 12th century. The devotion became tied to the re-conquest of Spain, then still at its height. In the following century it spread to other parts of Europe. When Spain began the exploration and conquest of the Americas, it was a favourite devotion of the Spanish conquistadores.
It remains a popular devotion in Spain. Patronages – Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the island of Tenerife, and the city of Cali, Colombia.
St Antiochus of Lyon St Aurelia of Strasbourg (Died 1027) Virgin Recluse, Princess St Callistus of Huesca St Cannatus of Marseilles Bl Cipriano Alguacil Torredenaida St Euthymius the Younger Bl Josefa Martínez Pérez St Leonard of Vandoeuvre Bl Narcis Basté y Basté Bl Pere Verdaguer Saurina Bl Ramón Esteban Bou Pascual St Sabinus of Catania St Severus of Trier
St Thecla of Kitzengen OSB (Died c 790) a Benedictine Nun and Abbess. Born in England, she went to Germany to assist Saint Boniface in his missionary labours.
St Willa of Nonnberg — Martyrs of Cologne: A group of 360 Christian soldiers martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian. They were martyred in 303 outside the city walls of Cologne, Germany.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Cipriano Alguacil Torredenaida • Blessed Josefa Martínez Pérez • Blessed Narcis Basté y Basté • Blessed Pere Verdaguer Saurina • Blessed Ramón Esteban Bou Pascual
Saint Gaudentius of Rimini, also known as Gaudenzo, Gaudenzio, martyr and bishop. Gaudentius was born in Ephesus in around 280 and fled to Rome in 308 because his parents were killed by Manichaeans. Consecrated a bishop, he evangelised Rimini, Italy in 346. He ordained Saint Marinus as deacon and attended the Council of Rimini in 359 which condemned Arianism.
To to flee Arian violence in the city, with seventeen other bishops, Gaudentius retreated to a nearby town, which tradition says was renamed Cattolica (‘Catholic’) after their retreat. On his return to Rimini, Gaudentius was arrested for condemning Arianism. A mob snatched him from the hands of the city’s magistrates: he was lynched or stoned to death by Arians on 14 October 360.
Gaudentius’ sarcophagus by the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini
Saint Gaudentius performed several miracles during his life: he exorcised a man possessed by the devil and he transformed the waters of the Misa river into wine for his travelling companions.
As well as being the patron saint of Rimini, Gaudentius is celebrated in Ostra, in the Marche region, Garaguso, in Basilicata, both of which host some of his relics. In 1857, Pope Pius IX donated a silver reliquary to Rimini’s Tempio Malatestiano to house Gaudentius’ skull.
Besides, although this might otherwise appear to be a punishment, yet in causes and sentences of this kind, which we suffer for the trial of the proof of our virtue, it is not a punishment, because it is a glory.
St. Chelidonia, was a Benedictine nun and hermitess. Born in Ciculum, Abruzzi, Italy, she became a recluse in the mountains near Subiaco, in a cave now called Marra Ferogna. Chelidonia received her habit from Cardinal Cuno of Frascati. When she died in 1152, many, including Pope Eugenius III, saw her soul ascend to heaven. Her remains are in the church of St. Scholastica in Subiaco, and she is patron of that city.
Our Lady of Fatima: The Sixth & Final Apparition & the Miracle of the Sun (1917) 13 October
The Day the Sun Danced… The Miracle of the Sun which occurred miraculously on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to a prophecy made by three shepherd children, Lúcia Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The prophecy was that the Virgin Mary (referred to as Our Lady of Fátima), would appear and perform miracles on that date. Newspapers published testimony from witnesses who said that they had seen extraordinary solar activity, such as the Sun appearing to “dance” or zig-zag in the sky, careen towards the Earth, or emit multicolored light and radiant colours. According to these reports, the event lasted approximately ten minutes.
The local Bishop opened a canonical investigation of the event in November 1917, to review witness accounts and assess whether the private revelations from Mary were compatible with Catholic doctrine. The local Priest conducting the investigation was particularly convinced by the concurring testimony of the extraordinary solar phenomena, received from secular reporters, government officials and other skeptics in attendance. Bishop José da Silva declared the miracle “worthy of belief” on 13 October 1930, permitting “officially the cult of Our Lady of Fatima” within the Catholic Church.
At a gathering on 13 October 1951 at Fátima, the Papal Legate, Cardinal Federico Tedeschini, told the million people attending, that on 30 October, 31 October, 1 November and 8 November 1950, Pope Pius XII himself witnessed the miracle of the Sun from the Vatican gardens.
St Benedict of Cupra St Berthoald of Cambrai
St Edward King and Confessor (c 1003-1066) “Confessor ” reflects his reputation as a Saint who did not suffer Martyrdom, as opposed to King Edward the Martyr.
St Carpus of Troas St Chelidonia St Comgan the Monk St Florence of Thessalonica St Fyncana St Fyndoca Bl Gebrand of Klaarkamp
Blessed Maddalena Panattieri OP (1443–1503) Religious of the Sisters of Penance of Saint Dominic, Stigmatist, she was blessed with many Mystical gifts.
St Maurice of Carnoet St Regimbald of Speyer St Romulus of Genoa St Simbert of Augsburg St Theophilus of Antioch St Venantius — Three Crowns of Cordoba – (3 saints): Three Christian men martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian – Faustus, Januarius and Martial. They were burned to death in 304 in Cordoba, Spain.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Àngel Presta Batllé • Blessed ángel Ramos Velázquez • Blessed Antonio Ayet Canós • Blessed Ruperto García Arce • Blessed Salustiano González Crespo • Blessed Tomás Pallarés Ibáñez • Blessed Francesc Mitjá i Mitjá • Blessed Herminio Motos Torrecillas • Blessed Joan Puig Serra
Saint Cyprian, martyr and bishop of North Africa during the fifth century. In 484, Cyprian, Saint Felix, and 4,964 assorted unnamed parishioners were driven into the Libyan desert by the Arian Vandal King Huneric. There they were tortured and martyred for their faith. Their story was recorded by Victor of Utica.
Banishment followed these actions, so good and so benevolent. For impiety always makes this return, that it repays the better with the worse.
Life and Passion of St Cyprian of Carthage (Pontius)
The death of Huneric
Like many of the most obnoxious kings, Huneric died by putrefaction, being eaten alive by worms.
Nossa Senhora Aparecida / Our Lady Aparecida, Aparecida, Sao Paulo, Brazil (1717) – 12 October: Also known as – Our Lady Who Appeared: Nuestra Señora del Pilar / Our Lady of the Pillar – 12 October:
Virgen de Zapopan / Our Lady of Zapopan, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, (1541) – 18 January, 12 October:
Today the village of Zapopan is a quiet little place not many miles from Guadalajara, reached by an excellent highway. Its tranquility and religious atmosphere must be a far cry from pre-Conquest times, when it was a feudal district and tributary of the powerful King of Tonala. In those days the Indians of the district worshiped an idol called Teopintzintl, “The Child God,” to which they offered gifts of hare and partridge. When the kingdom of Tonala bowed to Nuno de Guzman in 1530, Zapopan came under Spanish dominion. The Indian Queen, Chihuapili Tzapotzinco, ordered all the chieftains under her rule, to render their obedience to the Spanish Crown and in March of 1530 the Governor of Atemajac, under whose jurisdiction lay Zapopan, complied with this order. The Mixton War of 1541, however, depopulated the district and the Commander of Tlaltenango, Francisco de Bobadilla, obtained the Viceroy’s permission to repopulate Zapopan with Indians from Tlaltenango, thus lessening the chance of another uprising.
On the eighth of December, 1541, the people of Zapopan was resettled in accordance with the agreement, and on that day, the Franciscan Fray Antonio de Segovia, gave to the newly settled colony, a small image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. For ten years it had accompanied him on his apostolic journeys. In fact, only a short while before, while the Mixton War was still in progress, Fray Antonio, with his missionary companion Fray Miguel de Bolonia, had gone among the warring Indians, the image about his neck, exhorting them to make peace with the Spaniards. It is related that while Fray Antonio was preaching, the Indians saw luminous rays issuing from the image of Our Lady, and that this fact, as much as his preaching, caused them to stop fighting. In thirty-six hours Fray Antonio de Segovia brought to the Viceroy for pardon, more than six thousand Indians, who had laid down their arms. From that time Fray Antonio called the image La Pacificadora, “She Who Makes Peace.”
The image is made of paste – pieces of cornstalk, smoothed and cemented together with glue. It is little more than 30 centimetres in height and represents the Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception. The hands, joined before the breast, are of wood. The original sculpture donated by Fray Antonio de Segovia consisted only of the upper half, it is believed, the lower section having been added at a later date. As the lower half is not in proportion to the upper, the reconstruction gives a stunted effect to the image. However, nowadays the Statue is always covered with rich vestments of fabric, the disproportion is not apparent.
In its sculptured form, the Statue represents Our Lady standing with her feet upon a rudely formed crescent moon. She wears a red tunic and a dark blue mantle outlined in gold. One may find much to be desired in the image, considered as a work of art. Yet we must remember that it has the honour of being the first image of the Virgin Mary venerated in the State of Jalisco and that it has seen the Church, in that part of Mexico, grow from the tiniest seed to the great, many-branched tree of the present-day Catholic Faith. Furthermore, for over four centuries, Our Lady of Zapopan has been a constant channel of heavenly favours to the people of Jalisco. A beautiful Church has bee built to house and enshrine her and it remains a vital source of devotion and pilgrimage. Our Lady under this title is celebrated on 18 January and 12 October.
St Amelius of Mortara St Amicus of Mortara
St Cyprian St Domnina of Anazarbus St Edisto St Edistius of Ravenna
St Pantalus of Basle St Priscian the Martyr St Relindis
St Rodobaldo II Cipolla of Pavia (Died 1254) Bishop of Pavia. St Roboaldo II is remembered as a zealous shepherd and for his intense charitable activity.
St Wilfrid (c 633-709) Bishop, Abbot, Founder of Monasteries and Churches.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Bartolomé Caparrós García • Blessed Eufrasio of the Child Jesus • Blessed José González Huguet • Blessed Pedro Salcedo Puchades • Blessed Rafael Lluch Garín
Saint Philip the Deacon, also known as Philip of Hierapolis and Philip the Evangelist. Born at Caesarea, Palestine, he was one of the seven Jerusalem deacons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. He preached and performed miracles in Samaria, converting many, including the magician Simon Magus. Upon being commanded by an angel, he travelled from Jerusalem to Gaza, converting and baptizing the eunuch of Queen Candace of Ethiopia on the way.
Transported to Azotus by angels, he preached throughout the region, finally returning to Caesarea where he lived with his four daughters, virgins with the gift of prophecy. Philip met with Saint Paul the Apostle on his last journey to Jerusalem. Some traditions say be became bishop of Tralles (modern Aydin, Turkey).
Saints Eulampius and Eulampia, brother and sister martyrs from Nicomedia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey) were children executed in 310, during the reign of Emperor Maximinus.
Eulampius was arrested by the Roman authorities during an attempt to buy supplies for Christians who were hiding in caves on the outskirts of Nicomedia. After he was whipped, his sister Eulampia was arrested after she emerged from a crowd to embrace and comfort him.
The siblings were executed the next day. First they were thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but since they miraculously stepped out unhurt, they were beheaded.
Two hundred soldiers, moved by the courage and faith of the two siblings, converted to Christianity on the spot and were themselves martyred.
And in the midst of that place we saw as it were an old man sitting, having snow-white hair, and with a youthful countenance; and his feet we saw not. And on his right hand and on his left were four-and-twenty elders, and behind them a great many others were standing. We entered with great wonder, and stood before the throne; and the four angels raised us up, and we kissed Him, and He passed His hand over our face.
La Naval de Manila / Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary , Quezon City, Philippines (1593) – Second Sunday of October: Also known as Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario / The Grand Lady of the Philippines.
In 1593, the Governor General of the Philippines commissioned a Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Dominican Church in Manila. A un-named Chinese sculptor carved the hardwood body and ivory hands and face, which has Asian features. About 4’8″ tall, the image is dressed in cloth of gold, with a crown and a halo of 24 stars and adorned with precious donated jewels. Our Lady holds the Child Jesus with her left hand and a Rosary with her right. The title “La Naval” refers to Our Lady’s help in the naval battles of Lepanto in 1571 and Manila in 1646, when a small Catholic fleet repeatedly repelled Dutch invaders. The Catholic Church in Manila first celebrated the feast of “La Naval” on 8 October 1646. Pope Pius X’s Apostolic Delegate crowned the Statue on 5 October 1907.
Pope Pius XII also sent an Apostolic Letter on the occasion of the tricentenary of the Battle of La Naval de Manila on 31 July 1946. The Japanese bombing of 27 December 1941 destroyed the Church of Santo Domingo in Manila’s old walled city. Hidden for safekeeping, the holy Statue moved in 1954 to its present location in the Santo Domingo Shrine in Quezon City.
In 1646, naval forces of the Dutch Republic made several repeated attempts to conquer the Philippines in a bid to control trade in Asia. The combined Spanish and Filipino forces who fought, requested the intercession of the Virgin through the Statue prior to battle. They were urged to place themselves under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary and to pray the Rosary repeatedly. They went on to rebuff the continued attacks by the superior Dutch fleet, engaging in five major battles at sea and losing only fifteen members of the Spanish Navy. After the Dutch retreat, in fulfillment of their vow, the survivors walked barefoot to the Shrine in gratitude to the Virgin.
Later, on 9 April 1662, the Cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila declared the naval victory a miraculous event owed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, declaring:
“Granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin and devotion to her Rosary, that the miracles be celebrated, preached and held in festivities and to be recounted amongst the miracles wrought by the Lady of the Rosary, for the greater devotion of the faithful to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary and Her Holy Rosary.“
St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) Priest of the Society of Jesus, Advisor, Missionary, Evangelist, Administrator par excelleance. Francisco de Borja y Aragon was the 4th Duke of Gandía, was a Grandee of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus
St Aldericus
St Cassius St Cerbonius of Populonia St Cerbonius of Verona St Clarus of Nantes Bl Demestrius of Albania Bl Edward Detkens St Eulampia St Eulampius St Florentius the Martyr St Fulk of Fontenelle St Gereon St Gundisalvus Bl Hugh of Macon St John of Bridlington OSA (1319-1379) Priest, Prior of the Monastery of the Canons Regular of St Augustine. Bl Leon Wetmanski St Maharsapor the Persian St Malo the Martyr St Patrician St Paulinus of Capua
St Paulinus of York (c 584-644) First Bishop of York, Missionary – Paulinus was a member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I.
Bl Pedro de Alcantara de Forton de Cascajares St Pinytus of Crete Bl Pontius de Barellis St Tanca St Teodechilde St Victor of Xanten
Martyrs of Ceuta – 7 beati: A group of seven Franciscan Friars Minor missionaries to Muslims in the Ceuta area of modern Morocco. Initially treated as madmen, within three weeks they were ordered to convert to Islam and when they would not they were first abused in the streets, then arrested, tortured and executed. • Angelo • Daniele di Calabria • Donnolo • Hugolinus • Leone • Nicola • Samuele They were beheaded in 1227 in Mauritania Tingitana (Ceuta, Morocco). Local Christians secreted the bodies away and gave them proper burial in Ceuta. They were Beatified in 1516 by Pope Leo X.
St Denis of Paris (Died c 258) and Companions – the First Bishop of Paris, Martyr, Confessor (Optional Memorial) One of the 14 Holy Helpers
St John Leonardi (1541-1609) (Optional Memorial) Priest, Founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca, wherein he assumed the name of “Giovanni of the Mother of God”, Confessor, Reformer, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration, Marian devotee.
Bl Aaron of Cracow St Abraham the Patriarch St Alfanus of Salerno St Andronicus of Antioch St Athanasia of Antioch Bl Bernard of Rodez St Demetrius of Alexandria St Deusdedit of Montecassino St Domninus St Dorotheus of Alexandria St Donnino of Città di Castello (Died 610) Lay Hermit St Eleutherius St Geminus St Gislenus St Goswin Bl Gunther
St Lambert
St Louis Bertrand OP (1526-1581) “Apostle of South America” – Dominican Priest, Missionary, Preacher, Confessor, Teacher, Spiritual Director, Miracle-Worker.
St Publia St Rusticus St Sabinus of the Lavedan St Valerius — Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War – Martyrs of Astoria – (9 saints): Also known as Martyrs of Turon: A group of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a Passionist priest martyred in the persecutions during the Spanish Civil War. They are – • Aniceto Adolfo • Augusto Andrés • Benito de Jesús • Benjamín Julián • Cirilo Bertrán • Inocencio de la Immaculada • Julián Alfredo • Marciano José • Victoriano Pío They were martyred on 9 October 1934 in Turón, Spain and Canonised on 21 November 1999 by St Pope John Paul II. — Martyrs of Laodicea – (3 saints): Three Christians martyred together in Laodicea, but no other information about them has survived but their names – Didymus, Diodorus and Diomedes. They were martyred in Laodicea, Syria.
Saint Nestor of Thessalonica, martyr, was a wrestler known for having been the student of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, who instructed Nestor in the Faith. The emperor was visiting Thessaloniki, and he built a high platform in the midst of the city so that a gigantic barbarian named Lyaios could wrestle there, seen by all. Beneath the platform many spears and other sharp weapons were placed pointing upward. When Lyaios defeated his opponents, he threw them down onto the spears. As a method of execution, Christians were killed in this way. When Nestor saw how Emperor Maximian rejoiced over the victories of his champion, he despised his pride. Seeing the miracles of Saint Demetrios, however, he was inspired and went to the prison where the holy martyr was confined, and fell at his feet.
“Pray for me, O Servant of God Demetrios,” he said, “that by your prayers, God may help me to beat Lyaios, and put an end to him who brings reproach upon the Christians.”
The saint, after making the Sign of the Cross over Nestor, told him that he would prevail over Lyaios, and then suffer for Christ. Nestor mounted the platform without fear and exclaimed: “Help me, O God of Demetrios.” After he defeated Lyaios, he hurled him down onto the spears, where he died.
Maximian (co-ruler with Diocletian) became enraged and ordered that both Nestor and Demetrios should be put to death. Saint Demetrios was stabbed with spears, and Saint Nestor was beheaded.
Notre-Dame du Bon Remède / Our Lady of Good Remedy, France (1197) – 8 October:
In 1197, a Sorbonne Doctor of Theology and newly Ordained Priest, Jean de Matha, while saying his first Holy Mass, saw a vision of an Angel with a red and blue cross on his chest and his hands resting on the heads of two captives. The following year, St Jean founded a religious order dedicated to the redemption of Christians held as slaves by Moslems — the Hospitaler Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of Captives, commonly called the Trinitarians. On their habit, Jean placed the Cross he had seen on the Angel,and, as their Patron, he gave them Notre-Dame du Bon Remède, a popular devotion in his Provençal homeland. Now devoted largely to education and evangelisation, for three centuries they raised funds and travelled from Europe into Africa to buy thousands of captives’ freedom with Our Lady’s help. A painting (right) in the Trinitarian Motherhouse of Cerfroid in northern France, shows Our Lady of Good Remedy giving a bag of money to St Jean/John of Matha, while a grateful freedman and St Felix of Valois, look on. The Order celebrates her feast day 8 October.
800 years ago Christians were being captured and sold into slavery by the thousands, and nobody knew what to do about it. Then, in the year 1198, a man had an idea. St. John of Matha founded the Trinitarians to go to the slave markets, buy the Christian slaves and set them free. To carry out this plan, the Trinitarians needed large amounts of money. So, they placed their fund-raising efforts under the patronage of Mary. They were so successful that, over the centuries, the Trinitarians were able to free thousands and thousands of people and to return them safely home. In gratitude for her miraculous assistance, St. John of Matha honoured Mary with the title of “Our Lady of Good Remedy.” Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America and the Church celebrates her feast day on 8 October. Our Lady of Good Remedy is often depicted as the Virgin Mary handing a bag of money to St. John of Matha. When in need – for whatever reason but especially where you have had difficulty obtaining help – invoke the aid of Our Lady of Good Remedy and you will surely experience the power of her intercession.
St Bridget of Sweden (c 1303-1373) Widow, Religious, Mystic, Confessor, Founder of the Bridgettines Nuns and Monks, author of “The Pieta” book of devotions. Feast day pre-1969 is today 8 October
St Hugh Canefro (1148-1233) Religious of the Order of Malta, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-Worker.
Bl John Adams Bl John Lowe St Keyna St Laurentia St Nestor of Thessalonica St Palatias
St Pelagia the Penitent (Fourth or Fifth Century) Recluse. Like St Mary Magdalen and St Mary of Egypt, St Pelagia inspired Christians of the Middle Ages as an enchanting icon of repentance.
Saint Osith, also known as Osyth, Osgyth, Othith, Ositha, Sythe, a Mercian noblewoman and prioress martyred in the 8th century. Born in Quarrendon, Buckinghamshire, England, she was the daughter of Frithuwald, a sub-king of Mercia in Surrey. Her mother was Wilburh, of the royal house of Mercia. Her parents, with St Erconwald, founded Chertsey Abbey in 675 AD.
Raised in the care of her maternal aunts, St Edith of Aylesbury and Edburga of Bicester, her ambition was to become an abbess, but she was forced by her father into a marriage with Sighere, King of Essex. She is the mother of King Offa of Essex.
While her husband was away on a hunt, Osith persuaded two local bishops to accept her vows as a nun. Upon the king’s return some days later, he reluctantly agreed to her decision and granted her some land at Chich near Colchester, now named after her as St Osyth, where she established a convent, and ruled as first abbess. She was beheaded by Vikings, perhaps because she resisted being carried off.
The holy spring at Quarrendon, is associated with her legend, in which Osith stood up after her execution, picking up her head and walking with it in her hands, to the door of a local convent, before collapsing there.
Veneration of St Osith was widespread across England. Norwich Cathedral and St Albans Abbey had chapels dedicated to her in the Middle Ages.
St Osyth Priory, after being stolen by Henry VIII and turned into a manor house for his lackeys
On Sunday 7 October 1571 the combined Christian fleets under Don John of Austria achieved a significant naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were liberated, the Turkish fleet was destroyed and they suffered their first great defeat at sea. In gratitude to God and Our Lady, Pope Saint Pius V ordered an annual commemoration to be made of Our Lady of Victory. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII transferred the feast to the first Sunday of October with the title Feast of the Most Holy Rosary since the victory was won through invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1716 Pope Clement XII extended the feast to the whole Latin Rite calendar, assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Saint Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913.
St Martin Cid Bl Matthew Carreri St Osith St Palladius of Saintes St Quarto of Capua St Rigaldo
Martyrs of Arima: Eight lay people Japan who were martyred together in the persecutions of Christianity in Japan: • Blessed Hadrianus Takahashi Mondo • Blessed Ioanna Takahashi • Blessed Leo Hayashida Sukeemon • Blessed Martha Hayashida • Blessed Magdalena Hayashida • Blessed Didacus Hayashida • Blessed Leo Takedomi Kan’Emon • Blessed Paulus Takedomi Dan’Emon They were martyred on 7 October 1613 in Arima, Hyogo, Japan and Beatified on 24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Mercedarian Nuns of Seville: Five Mercedarian nuns at the monastery of the Assumption in Seville, Spain noted for their piety – Sisters Agnese, Bianca, Caterina, Maddalena and Marianna.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War • Blessed José Llosá Balaguer
Blessed Artaldo of Belley, also known as Artaldus, Artaud, Arthaud, Arthold, Artholdus, Artoldo, was a 13th-century Carthusian Bishop of Belley, France. Artaldus was born in the castle of Sothonod in Savoy. At the age of eighteen, he went to the court of Duke Amadeus III, but a year or two after, he became a Carthusian at Portes. After many years, being a priest and an experienced and holy religious, he was sent by the prior of the Grande Chartreuse to found a charterhouse near his home, in a valley in the Valromey significantly called “the cemetery”. Here Artaldus established himself with six of his brethren from Portes. The community was no sooner well settled down, than there buildings were destroyed by fire, and St. Artaldus had to begin all over again. He chose a fresh site on the Arvieres River, and his second foundation was soon built and occupied, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in 1132.
But a Carthusian cell could not contain the ever-increasing reputation of Artaldus: like his master St. Bruno, he was consulted by the Pope, and when he was well over eighty, he was called from his monastery to be bishop of Belley. However, after less than two years of episcopate, his resignation was accepted, and he returned to Arvieres, where he lived in peace for the rest of his days. During his last years, he was visited by St. Hugh of Lincoln, who had come into France, and who, while he was prior of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become a benefactor of Arvieres.
The cultus of St. Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians, was confirmed for the diocese of Belley in 1834. He was 105 years old when he died on 6 October 1206, the same day as the founder of his order, St Bruno.
Notre-dame-de-toute-aide de Querrien, France / Our Lady of All Help (1652) – 6 October, for the Feast of the Holy Rosary on 7 October) 15 August (the Assumption) and the Sunday following 8 September (Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady):
In 574, the Monk Saint Columban came from Ireland and landed on the coast of Brittany with 12 companions. The Monk Saint Gall, friend and companion of St Colomban, was part of the group. The latter stopped at Querrien and there, he found a clear and limpid spring gushing out of the ground “so that the inhabitants can knead bread there” . St Gall also built a wooden Oratory which he dedicated to Our Lady. He placed there, a wooden Statue, representing the Virgin and Child , a Statue he had sculpted himself. Over time, the Oratory was abandoned, it disintegrates and the Statue fell to the ground and was buried in the mud near the source of the spring.
On 15 August 1652, Jeanne Courtel a 12-year-old girl, deaf and dumb from birth. while guarding the family’s sheep saw a “beautiful lady” who spoke to her. Thereupon, Jeanne was immediately able to hear and to speak to the great astonishment of all the inhabitants of the village. A few days later, Jeanne saw the beautiful lady again who asked to have the ground dug up near the source of the spring, where the Statue of the Virgin was buried. The wooden Statuette was found at the place indicated, confirming for the people, the authenticity of the Apparition. There were a total of fifteen appearances of Our Lady with which Jeanne was favoured, until September of the same year. From that time on, pilgrims arrived and numerous miracles were recorded.
Shortly after this miracle became known, there was a second one just as remarkable. There was a community benefactor whose son was at death’s door with a high fever. Invoking Our Lady before this same Statue the man saw his son instantly cured. After this second wondrous miracle, the Statue was moved into the Chapel and there were many miracles that followed. One miracle was worked in favour of a religious Sister who had been terribly burned and was she was instantly cured. A Priest, falsely accused of a crime, was acquitted after special prayers to the “miracle lady.” The statue had had no name before this but the Parishioners decided now to call her Our Lady of All Help, Quick Help, or Our Lady of Good Remedy.
The local Bishop, Denis de La Barde, launched an investigation and went there to verify the child’s declarations. Satisfied with his hearings, he had a chapel erected in 1652 to organise the devotion of the faithful. After having carried out a canonical investigation, the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc issued a positive opinion on the Apparition and decided to have a Chapel built and to organise worship there. The following 29 September, the Bishop returned to bless the first stone of the Chapel during a celebration which brought together 1,500 pilgrims.
On 14 August 1950, a great celebration was held in the Sanctuary. This celebration was attended by 20,000 pilgrims, several Bishops, the Abbots of Brittany and 200 Priests from Saint-Brieuc, Rennes and Vannes , for the crowning of the Statue of Notre-Dame de Tout-Aide . It was Archbishop Clément Roque of Rennes who placed the crown designed by Émile Daubé and made by goldsmith René Desury on the head of the Statue. This coronation was carried out with the authorisation and blessing of Pope Pius XII.
The Statue itself is only about 60 centimetres tall. The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned, and holds her Infant Son in one arm, and a sceptre in the other. At the time of the French Revolution and during the accompanying Reign of Terror, the Abbey was destroyed. A pious lady took the Statue of Our Lady of All Help and safeguarded it until the trouble was over. After her death the Statue was restored to the community. The Statue of Our Lady of All Help has survived several wars since.
In 1998, a series of renovations began which would continue for several years. Today pilgrimages continue all year with often as many as 10 000 attending the major celebrations. The current Church incorporates the small Chapel (the remains of which, can still be seen on the north side of the building).
There is a short and very lovely prayer which, for centuries, has been associated with this Statue. It is, “Oh, Mother of All Help, say but one word in our behalf to Thy Divine Son, for He cannot refuse thee any favour. Amen.”
St Bruno O.Cart (c 1030-1101) Priest, Confessor, Hermit, Monk, Mystic, Founder of the Carthusian Order, Philosopher, Theologian, Teacher, Advisor, Writer (Optional Memorial)
Blessed Adalbero of Lambach (c 1010–1090) Bishop of Würzburg and Count of Lambach-Wels, Reformer, Mediator and Advisor, founder of Churches and Monasteries.
St Pardulf St Renato of Sorrento St Romanus of Auxerre St Sagar of Laodicea — Martyrs of Capua – 4 saints: A group of martyrs who were either killed in Capua, Italy, or that’s where their relics were first enshrined. We now know nothing but their names – Aemilius, Castus, Marcellus and Saturninus.
Martyrs of Kyoto – 52 beati: Fifty-two Japanese lay people, some single, some married, some parents, some children, who were martyred together during one of the government sponsored persecutions of Christians.
Martyrs of Trier: Commemorates the large number of martyrs who died in Trier, Germany in the persecutions of Diocletian. 287 in Trier, Germany.
One Minute Reflection – 6 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 36:30-31, Ps 36:1, Sir 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40
Blessed are those servants whom the master, on his return, shall find watching.
Luke 12:35-40
REFLECTION – And your public assemblies I have come to hate. For there are excessive banquetings, and subtle flutes which provoke to lustful movements, and useless and luxurious anointings, and crowning with garlands. With such a mass of evils do you banish shame; and you fill your minds with them, and are carried away by intemperance, and indulge as a common practice in wicked and insane fornication. And this further I would say to you, why are you, being a Greek, indignant at your son when he imitates Jupiter, and rises against you and defrauds you of your own wife? Why do you count him your enemy, and yet worship one that is like him? And why do you blame your wife for living in unchastity, and yet honour Venus with shrines? If indeed these things had been related by others, they would have seemed to be mere slanderous accusations, and not truth. But now your own poets sing these things, and your histories noisily publish them.
Henceforth, you Greeks, come and partake of incomparable wisdom, and be instructed by the Divine Word, and acquaint yourselves with the King immortal; and do not recognise those men as heroes who slaughter whole nations. For our own Ruler, the Divine Word, who even now constantly aids us, does not desire strength of body and beauty of feature, nor yet the high spirit of earth’s nobility, but a pure soul, fortified by holiness, and the watchwords of our King, holy actions, for through the Word power passes into the soul. O trumpet of peace to the soul that is at war! O weapon that puts to flight terrible passions! O instruction that quenches the innate fire of the soul! The Word exercises an influence which does not make poets: it does not equip philosophers nor skilled orators, but by its instruction it makes mortals immortal, mortals gods; and from the earth transports them to the realms above Olympus.
St. Justin Martyr
PRAYER – Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Teach us Almighty Father to pray, fill us with the love of Your Spirit and guide us always by the Word and Trust of our lives. With the Blessed Mother of God and of the Holy Rosary, we kneel in love and adoration. May her prayers lead us to heaven. Amen
Notre-Dame Arcachon / Our Lady of La Teste-de-Buch, Guienne (1519) – 5 October:
According to the Marian Calendar, Our Lady of Buch is located in the Pine Mountains, in Guienne. The sea cast this image upon the sands, while Saint Thomas, the Cordelier Friar, was praying on behalf of two vessels which he saw in danger of perishing. He respectfully received this image and deposited it in this place, in a small Chapel which he built there.
Guienne, or Guyenne, refers to a loosely defined region of pre-revolutionary, South-Western France. Buch, or La Teste-de-Buch, is a Town in the Gironde region in Aquitaine, located on the south shore of Arcachon Bay. The “Cordeliers,” known also as the Grey Friars for the heavy grey cloth they wore, are Franciscans. Their belt was but a rope with five knots tied at the end, which gave them their name in France. The “Saint Thomas” mentioned is Thomas Illyricus (1484-1528), a Franciscan native of Vrana in the Diocese of Zarian. He was never Canonised. He was a hermit and itinerant preacher and an indefatigable missionary traveller who lived near Arcachon in la Teste-de-Buch. It was he, who built the Chapel of Notre-Dame Arcachon.
“More than his voice, vibrant with emotion,” wrote the Abbe Mauriac, “more than his ascetic appearance, more than his style so direct and so strong, what stirred and attracted thousands of listeners, was his ardent sincerity which overflowed and poured itself out, while his love of God and of souls, accented his words and made him very eloquent.”
It was in the year 1519 that Thomas Illyricus found the famous Statue now known as the Virgin of Advent at the edge of the sea. He built a Shrine of wood that same year for the Statue, and pilgrimages date from 1525 and grew so much in numbers that in 1624, Cardinal Francois de Sourdis authorised the construction of a stone Chapel. This small Chapel was gradually buried by the sands and it was decided to build a new one which was completed in 1723. The Church is known as the Church of L’eglise Notre Dame des Passes, or Notre-Dame Arcachon. Many miracles have been wrought through devotion to Mary at the Shrine and the Church is dedicated to sailors, who face the channels for entry into the Arcachon basin.
There is a tall Cross known as the Sailors Cross which stands at the end of the pier of the Chapel. Built at the same time as the construction of the Chapel in 1722, the original was destroyed by a gale in 1855 and was replaced by the one that we see today. It was once customary for sailors to greet the Cross with two blasts from their fog horn, to appeal for divine protection, when they went out on the ocean and faced its dangers. Mary is particularly interested in seafarers and folk living near waters. She who was so familiar with the Sea of Galilee and the profession of the Twelve Pillars of her Divine Son’s Church, she is still is vigilant for their welfare and happiness.
Bl Alberto Marvelli St Alexander of Trier St Anna Schaeffer St Apollinaris of Valence St Attilanus of Zamora St Aymard of Cluny
St Boniface of Trier St Charitina of Amasa St Eliano of Cagliari
St Firmatus of Auxerre St Flaviana of Auxerre Bl Flora of Beaulieu St Gallo of Aosta St Jerome of Nevers Bl John Hewett St Magdalveus of Verdun St Mamlacha St Marcellinus of Ravenna Bl Marian Skrzypczak St Meinulph St Palmatius of Trier Blessed Pietro of Imola (c1250-1320)
Blessed Raymond of Capua OP (c 1330-1399) Priest, “The Second Founder” of the Dominican Order of Preachers, Reformer, Spiritual Director, he worked with St Agnes of Montepulciano and St Catherine of Siena, Hagiographer, Teacher.
Bl Robert Sutton Bl Sante of Cori St Thraseas of Eumenia St Tranquilino Ubiarco Robles Bl William Hartley — Martyrs of Messina or St Placidus and Companions – 30 saints: A group of about 30 Benedictine monks and nuns, some blood relatives, who were sent in the early days of the order to establish monasteries in the vicinity of Messina, Sicily, Italy and who were martyred. We know the names, and a few details, about seven of them – • Donatus • Eutychius • Faustus • Firmatus • Flavia • Placidus • Victorinus 6th century Messina, Sicily, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Eugenio Andrés Amo • Blessed Sebastià Segarra Barberá • Blessed Rafael Alcocer Martínez
All martyrs from England murdered on 5 October 1588., all beatified by Pope Pius XI.
Blessed William Hartley was an English priest. Born in Wilne, Derbyshire and raised Protestant, he studied at Oxford University and became an Anglican minister before converting to Catholicism. He studied in Rheims, France and was ordained in 1580. Returning to England, he worked with Bl Edmund Campion, ministering to covert Catholics. Arrested in 1582 for being a priest, he was deported but soon returned to England to resume his ministry. He was captured at Holborn, and hanged on 5 October 1588 at Shoreditch, London.
Blessed John Hewett, also known as John Hewitt, John Weldon, John Savell. He was born in York, North Yorkshire, the son of a draper. Educated at Caius College, Cambridge, he studied for the priesthood at Rheims, France, and was ordained in 1586. Returning to England as a covert priest, he used the names Weldon and Savell to hide his identity. Arrested at Grey’s Inn Lane, London, on 10 March 1587 for the crime of priesthood, and hanged on 5 October 1588 at Mile End Green, London.
Blessed Robert Sutton, layman martyr, was a tutor or schoolmaster, born at Kegworth in Leicestershire, who had practiced his profession in Paternoster Row, London. Sometime prior to June 1586, he met there a Mr. Blythe (a.k.a. Oliver Heywoode), an old priest working in the area of Newgate, and converted to Catholicism. He was soon arrested, incarcerated and hanged in 1588 at Clerkenwell, London.
He must of right concede that, although very much might be done before Christ, yet that something more might be done after Christ, since to His times all fullness is attributed.
La Madonna della Riconciliazione e della Pace / Our Lady of Reconciliation and Peace, Balestrino Italy (1949) – 4 October
Caterina Richero was born on 7 October 1940 in Bergalla, the highest hamlet of Balestrino, of a humble peasant family. She was the first of four siblings and her life passed in the serenity of childhood until the age of nine. On 4 October 1949, something radically changed her life. Something that will lead Catherine to humbly sacrifice her life with a continuous and silent witness of faith. A life devoted to prayer and devotion to that female figure who appeared to her 138 times until 5 November 1986 and who, on 5 June 1950 when asked: ” Who are you?” replied: ” I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Catarina’s life, from that distant day in 1949 was by no means easy. She had to face the ridicule and mistrust of many and above all, she had to stick to what was given to her by the Bishop. She was also forbidden to go to Mount Croce but the Madonna began to appear in Catarina’s home. In all those years, Our Lady asked her to pray constantly for the conversion of sinners and to do many penances for all, without faith. On 5 October 1971 she said: “ On Mount Croce you will find light and strength and I, in this place, will obtain many graces for you.”
Now on Monte Croce there is a splendid Chapel with a Statue of Christ awaiting pilgrims at the top of a staircase. Inside, intent on arranging the flowers on the Altar or absorbed in prayers, Catarina, who with her silent presence tells everyone much more than thousands of articles and books could say. The Statue venerated in the Chapel of the Sanctuary was crowned on 7 October 1992 by Msgr. Mario Oliveri.
St Adauctus of Ephesus Bl Alfonso Tabela St Ammon the Great (c 286-c 348) Hermit, Layman St Aurea St Berenice St Caius of Corinth St Callisthene of Ephesus St Crispus of Corinth St Damaris of Athens St Diogenes of Milan St Domnina St Hierotheus Bl Julian Majali St Lucius of Alexandria St Peter of Damascus
St Prosdoce St Quintius of Tours — Martyrs of Alexandria – 2+ saints: A group of Christians, men and women, young and old, murdered together for their faith. The only names that have come down to us are the brothers Mark and Marcian.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Alfredo Pellicer Muñoz • Blessed Avelí Martínez de Arenzana Candela • Blessed Dionisio Ibáñez López • Blessed Francisco Martínez Granero • Blessed Fulgencio Martínez García • Blessed José Aloy Doménech • Blessed José Gafo Muñiz • Blessed José Miguel Peñarroya Dolz • Blessed Juan de Francisco Pío • Blessed Juan José Orayen Aizcorbe • Blessed Martina Vázquez Gordo • Blessed Publio Fernández González • Blessed Tomás Barrios Pérez
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