Tag: Spain

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Nuestra Señora del Fresno / Our Lady of Fresno, Grado, Asturias, Spain (9th Century)

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Nuestra Señora del Fresno / Our Lady of Fresno, Grado, Asturias, Spain (9th Century) – 8 and 28 September:

The Sanctuary of the Virgen del Fresno is one of the most visited Sanctuaries in the central area of ​​Asturias despite the difficulty of its access. The Sanctuary is located on the Camino de Santiago hence it’s popularity dating from the 9th Century when pilgrims stopped to rest in the hostel provided. They were known as “the Novenarios” as, during their rest, they prayed the St Michael Novena before his Feast Day on 29 September.

In honour of the Virgen del Fresno two festivals are held, one on 8 September and the other 28 of the same month preceded by a Novena that has traditionally started at four in the afternoon.

The current image dates from 1975, since the original was lost in the looting it suffered in 1936. It is made of cedar from Lebanon, made in Madrid. She is dressed and holds the Child in her arms and the Rosary between her fingers. She remain above her Altar and another processional image accompanies the Novena.

St Wenceslaus (907-935) King of Bohemia, Martyr (Optional Memorial)

Bl Aaron of Auxerre
St Alodius of Auxerre
St Annemond of Lyons
St Bardomianus

Blessed Bernardine of Feltre OFM (1439-1494) Franciscan Priest and Friar, Missionary Preacher, Poet, peace-maker, Civil protestor against the practice of usury, defender of the poor. He was a true ‘child prodigy’ – by the time he was 12 he was fluent in Latin and at the age of 15 he composed a poem and read it in the Town Square to celebrate a local peace treaty. He is remembered most especially, in connection with the “Monti di Pietà” “Mount of Piety” of which he was the reorganiser and, in a certain sense, the Founder, together with the Blessed Michele Carcano.

St Chariton of Palestine
Bl Christian Franco
St Conval of Strathclyde
St Eucarpus
St Eustochium
St Exuperius of Toulouse
St Faustus of Riez
Blessed Francesco Piani of Caldarola OFM (1424-1507) Francisan Friar
St John of Dukla
St Laurence of North Africa
St Lioba of Bischofsheim

St Machan
St Martial of North Africa
St Martin of Moyenmoutier
St Paternus of Auch
St Privatus of Rome
St Salonius of Geneva
St Silvinus of Brescia

St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) , “Father Ave Maria”/ “Apostle of the Ave Maria,” Religious Priest of the Trinitarian Order, Founder of the Lay Apostolate of the Congregation of the Slaves of the Sweet Name of Mary, Marian Devotee, Theologian, Philosopher, Spiritual Writer, Apostle of Charity, Apostolic Visitor.

St Solomon of Genoa
St Stacteus
St Tetta of Wimborne
Bl Thiemo
St Willigod of Moyenmoutier
St Zama of Bologna
—
Augustinian Martyrs of Japan: The first Augustinian Missionaries arrived in Japan in 1602 and met with immediate success; many were brought to the faith; many of them became Augustinians; and many of them were martyred in the periodic persecutions of Christians.
This memorial commemorates all of them, whether they have a sanctioned Cause for Canonisation or not. They include:
• Blessed Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez
• Blessed Ferdinand Ayala
• Blessed Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez
• Blessed Ioannes Mukuno Chozaburo
• Blessed Laurentius Kaida Hachizo
• Blessed Mancius Yukimoto Ichizaemon
• Blessed Martín Lumbreras Peralta
• Blessed Melchor Sánchez Pérez
• Blessed Michaël Ichinose Sukezaemon
• Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga
• Blessed Petrus Sawaguchi Kuhyoe
• Blessed Thomas Jihyoe of Saint Augustine
• Blessed Thomas Terai Kahyoe
• Blessed Vicente Simões de Carvalho
• Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki

Martyrs of Antioch – 37 saints: A group of 30 soldiers and 7 civilians who were murdered together for their faith. The names that have come down to us are – Alexander, Alphinus, Heliodorus, Mark, Neon, Nicon and Zosumus. c 303 at Antioch, Pisidia (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of China – 120 saints: A common memorial for the hundreds of the faithful, lay and clergy, who have died for their faith in the last couple of centuries in China.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Amalia Abad Casasempere de Maestre
• Blessed Francesc Xavier Ponsa Casallach
• Blessed Josep Casas Juliá
• Blessed Josep Casas Ros
• Blessed Josep Tarrats Comaposada
• Blessed María Fenollosa Alcaina

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Matka Boża Leśniańska / Blessed Mother of Leśna, Leśna Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Lublin, Poland (1683) and Memorials of the Saints – 26 September

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Matka Boża Leśniańska / Blessed Mother of Leśna, Leśna Podlaska, Biała Podlaska, Lublin, Poland (1683) – 26 September:

The Leśnia Sanctuary begins on 26 September 1683. On that day, two shepherds – Miron Makaruk and Aleksander Stelmaszuk – looking for the lost cattle in the bushes, noticed a stone image of the Mother of God hanging on a wild pear tree, which gave an extraordinary glow. Wanting to take the painting off, one of the bravest young men climbed the tree but each time fell to the ground. The local inhabitants, seeing what was happening, began to pray fervently. Soon, Zabłocki’s elders from nearby Bordziłówka arrived and only he, as an unusually prayerful man, took the painting off the tree. Droplets of “sweat” appeared on the image and this phenomenon continued for a long time. Then the painting was taken to the manor in Bukowice.

This extraordinary find deeply touched the religious and secular authorities of the time. Soon a wooden Church was erected on the site of the appearance of the Image. On 26 September 1695, a Parish was established in Lesna. From the very beginning, the Image attracted crowds of believers who experienced many favours thanks to the Blessed Mother, especially cures of illnesses. The Bishop of Lutsk, Franciszek Prażmowski, issued a decree in 1700, in which he stated that the appearance of the Image should be considered miraculous.

In the Lesnian Image, Mary is presented, embracing the Child Jesus with her right arm. The Child Jesus is holding the book with his right hand and his left hand is raised up in a gesture of teaching. Mary, standing in half-figure, is facing the viewer. In her left hand she holds an open book, on which, with outstretched wings, a dove – a symbol of the Holy Spirit – is supported. The figure of the Mother of God is covered with a coat.

The image of the Mother of God is a relief carved in field stone. The dimensions of the Image are: width 29.3 cm, height 31.4 cm, thickness 4.6 cm, weighs 9.5 kg.

On the site of the appearance of the Image of the Mother of God in 1718. a small Church was built. It exists to this day and is called the “Chapel of the Appearance of the Miraculous Image.” In 1727, the Parish of Leśna and the care of the Miraculous Image were taken over by the Pauline Fathers from Jasna Góra. They began the construction of a magnificent Church, which was erected in the years 1731 – 1758. It was consecrated under the invocation of the “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul” on 8 September 1758. Huge crowds of the faithful of the Latin and Uniate rite were drawn to the Leśnia Sanctuary.

The situation changed with the partitions of Poland, when Leśna found itself under the Russian partition. After the fall of the January Uprising, the Lesnian Sanctuary found itself in a desperate situation. As part of the repression for helping the insurgents, on the night of 27-28 October 1864 , the Pauline Fathers were deported from Leśna. It was then, that the Bishop of Janów, Beniamin Szymanski, ordered to secretly take out the Miraculous Image and put a copy in its place. It was done in 1865. Soon the tsarist government abolished the Podlasie Diocese. The exiled Bishop took the Miraculous Picture with him to Łomża. He put it in the Church of the Benedictine Sisters. In 1875, the Church in Leśnia was taken over for the purposes of the Orthodox Church. Then the pilgrimages stopped. In 1889, an Orthodox nunnery was established in Lesna. It was to become the centre of Russification of Poles. In 1905 Tsar Nicholas II came to Lesna, whose relative was the superior of the nuns of Leśna. After the outbreak of World War I, the sisters left Leśna and took with them a copy of the painting of the Mother of God, still being firmly convinced that it was the original painting.

On 16 August 1915, the temple in Leśnia returned to Catholic worship. On 25 May 1919 . The Pauline Fathers returned to Lesna and immediately began renovation works in the Sanctuary. First of all, the search for the Miraculous Picture began, which was not found until 5 May 1926 in Łomża. It happened thanks to Fr. Aleksander Łaziński. After the canonical trial conducted by Bishop H. Przeździecki, the Miraculous Image returned in a triumphant parade from Siedlce to Leśna on 25 September 1927. It was a great celebration for the entire Podlasie Diocese and over 25,000 people attended this event. In the interwar period, the Pauline Fathers decorated the Sanctuary. They looked after the pilgrims who were again in large numbers at the feet of their Lesnian Mother.

In 1939, the difficult time of the Nazi occupation began. In the fall of 1940, the Germans occupied the Monastery and expelled the Pauline Fathers.
After the war, in 1951, under the direction of the Prior – Father Jerzy Tomziński, the Church received a Pulpit and an Organ.

On 18 August 1963 , the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, together with the Bishop of Podlasie, Ignacy Świrski, crowned the Miraculous Image with papal crowns. From 11 to 12 June 1970, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła stayed in Leśna. On 25 September 1977, the 50th anniversary of the return of the Miraculous Image was solemnly celebrated. In 1983, the solemn celebrations of 300 years of the appearance of the Miraculous Image took place and in 1984 the Church in Leśnia was elevated to the rank of a Minor Basilica. In 1992, a break-in was made to the temple in Leśnia and attempts were made to steal the golden crowns from the Miraculous Image. In 1995, the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Parish in Leśna Podlaska was celebrated. This time the ceremony was presided over by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp. In 1996, works on frescoes and paintings in the Basilica began and they were completed in 2002. On 26 September 2019, the Leśnia Sanctuary celebrated the 100th anniversary of the return of the Pauline Order to Leśna Podlaska.

St Cosmas (Optional Memorial)
St Damian (Optional Memorial)
(Died c 286 ) Martyrs. Twin brothers and Physicians, Apostles of Charity, Evangelists – born in the 3rd century, of Arabic descent and died by being tortured, without suffering any injury and finally they were beheaded c 286 in Aegea, Cilicia (modern Ayas, Turkey). The Martyr twins are remembered in the Roman Canon of the Mass in the prayer known as the Communicantes (from the first Latin word of the prayer). They are also recalled in the Litany of the Saints and in the older form of the Roman rite, in the Collect for Thursday in the Third Week of Lent, as the Station Church for this day is Santi Cosma e Damiano.

St Amantius of Tiphernum
St Callistratus of Constantinople
St Colman of Elo
St Cyprian of Antioch
St Eusebius of Bologna
St John of Meda Ord.Hum. (1100-1159) Priest, Monk, Abbot
St Justina of Antioch

St Marie Victoire Therese Couderc
St Meugant

St Nilus the Younger (910-1005) Abbot and Confessor and Founder of Italo-Greek Monasticism in southern Italy.. St Nilus was a charismatic leader and leading spiritual personality of his time.

St Senator of Albano
St Vigilius of Brescia
—
Martyrs of Korea – 12 saints: Twelve lay people in the apostolic vicariate of Korea who were imprisoned, tortured and martyred together in the persecutions in Korea.
• Saint Agatha Chon Kyong-Hyob
• Saint Carolus Cho Shin-Ch’ol
• Saint Catharina Yi
• Saint Columba Kim Hyo-Im
• Saint Ignatius Kim Che-Jun
• Saint Iulitta Kim
• Saint Lucia Kim
• Saint Magdalena Cho
• Saint Magdalena Ho Kye-Im
• Saint Magdalena Pak Pong-Son
• Saint Perpetua Hong Kum-Ju
• Saint Sebastianus Nam I-Gwan
They were beheaded September 1839 in Seoul Prison, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Amalia Abad Casasempere de Maestre
• Blessed Andreu Felíu Bartomeu
• Blessed Antonio Cid Rodríguez
• Blessed Josefa Romero Clariana
• Blessed Manuel Legua Martí
• Blessed María Jord´ Botella
• Blessed Pau Castell´ Barber´
• Blessed Teresa Rosat Balasch

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Divina Pastora de las Almas ‘ The Divine Shepherdess of Souls, Cantillana, Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain (1703) and Memorials of the Saints – 25 September

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Divina Pastora de las Almas ‘ The Divine Shepherdess of Souls, Cantillana, Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain (1703)

St. Isidore of Seville (560-636) Bishop of Seville, Father and Doctor of the Church, spread devotion to the Divine Shepherdess of Souls. The first image of the Divina Pastora in Cantillana was a banner, attributed to the painter Germán Llorente, carried in Rosary.

In 1800 a yellow fever epidemic ravaged the area,but Cantillana was largely spared, for which people thanked the Divine Shepherdess of Souls. Soon thereafter, the Hermandad de la Divina Pastora was chartered, a Rosary apostolate or brotherhood. The Brotherhood’s processional image is a seated statue, attributed to Francisco Antonio Ruiz Gijón (1653-1705).

For special occasions, of which there are many, she wears a large sombrero. On 31 August, a grand procession fetches the Statue from its Sanctuary into the Town, for celebrations leading up to the fiesta from 8 September. On the last weekend in September, with equal splendour and devotion, the Divine Shepherdess returns to her Shrine. A procession accompanies her canopied float on Saturday. On Sunday, there is Mass and music and then an all-night exposition of the Statue with devotions lasting into Monday morning.

St Anacharius of Auxerre
St Aurelia of Macerata
St Caian of Tregaian
St Ceolfrid
St Cleopas
St Egelred of Crowland
St Ermenfridus of Luxeuil

St Finbar (c 550– 623) Bishop of Cork and Abbot

St Firminus of Amiens
St Fymbert
St Herculanus the Soldier

Blessed Herman of Reichenau/the Cripple (1013–1054) Benedictine Monk, Confessor, Scholar, Scientist, Writer, Hymnist, Poet, Musical Composer, Teacher. In his own day, the heroic cripple who achieved learning and holiness was called ‘The Wonder of His Age.’.
Composer of the “Salve Regina” Hail Holy Queen, “Veni Sancte Spiritus” Come Holy Spirit and “Alma Redemptoris Mater” amongst many others.

Bl Marco Criado
St Mewrog
St Neomisia of Mecerata
St Paphnutius of Alexandria
St Principius of Soissons
St Sergius of Moscow
St Solemnis of Chartres

St Vincent Strambi CP (1745-1824) Bishop, Priest of the Passionist Order of St Paul of the Cross, Apostle of Charity, Preacher, Teacher, Writer.

Martyrs of Damascus: A Christian family of six who were tortured to death in a persecution by Roman authorities. They were: Eugenia, Maximus, Paul, Rufus, Sabinian and Tatta. They were tortured to death in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Jose María Bengoa Aranguren
• Blessed Josep Maria Vidal Segú
• Blessed Juan Agustín Codera Marqués
• Blessed Julio Esteve Flors
• Blessed Pedro Leoz Portillo
• Blessed Rafael Pardo Molina
• Blessed Tomás Gil de La Cal

Feast of the Holy Bishops of Milan – a 1st Century Diocese!

Imagine being part of a Diocese in which 36 of your past Bishops are saints and some are also Doctors of the Church and Popes (and others being considered for sanctity)! The latest addition to this illustrious role-call, is Pope Paul VI.
Today, the Church in Milan commemorates these holy Bishops.
They are:
• Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
• Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari
• Pope Pius XI
• Saint Ambrose of Milan
• Saint Ampelius of Milan
• Saint Anathalon of Milan
• Saint Antoninus of Milan
• Saint Auxanus of Milan
• Saint Benedict Crispus of Milan
• Saint Benignus of Milan
• Saint Calimerius of Milan
• Saint Castritian of Milan
• Saint Charles Borromeo
• Saint Datius of Milan
• Saint Dionysius of Milan
• Saint Eugene of Milan
• Saint Eusebius of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius II of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius of Milan
• Saint Gaius of Milan
• Saint Galdinus of Milan
• Saint Geruntius of Milan
• Saint Glycerius of Milan
• Saint Honoratus of Milan
• Saint John Camillus the Good
• Saint Lazarus of Milan
• Saint Magnus of Milan
• Saint Mansuetus of Milan
• Saint Marolus of Milan
• Saint Martinian of Milan
• Saint Mirocles of Milan
• Saint Mona of Milan
• Saint Natalis of Milan

• Saint Protasius of Milan
• Saint Senator of Milan
• Saint Simplician of Milan
• Saint Venerius of Milan

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Walsingham / Virgin of the Sea (1061) , Marian Feasts and Memorials of the Saints – 24 September

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Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes / Our Lady of Mercy/Ransom, Barcelona, Spain (1218) – 1 August, 24

Our Lady of Walsingham / Virgin of the Sea (1061) – 24 September:

The story of the Walsingham Shrine begins in Saxon times. In 1061, the Lady of the Manor, Richeldis de Faverches, was taken in spirit to Nazareth, shown the House where the Annunciation took place and asked by Our Lady, to build a replica in Norfolk. She was promised that ‘Whoever seeks my help there will not go away empty-handed.‘ The simple wooden house that she built soon became the focus of special devotion to Our Lady. The ‘Holy House’ was later encased in stone to protect it from the elements.

In 1153, the Augustinian Canons founded a Priory to care for the spiritual needs of the pilgrims. Their magnificent Priory Church was added in the fifteenth century. Only the ruin of the Priory Arch remains and archaeology has placed the site of the ‘Holy House’ in its shadow.

Walsingham became one of the foremost Shrines of medieval Christendom. Among the pilgrims to the ‘Holy House’ were many royal visitors. Henry III in 1226, Edward I (eleven times), Edward II in 1315, Edward III in 1361, Richard II in 1383, Edward IV in 1469, Henry VI in 1487 (and many other times) and Henry VIII in 1511, in thanksgiving for the birth of his son, Prince Henry.
In 1340, the Slipper Chapel was built at Houghton St Giles, a mile outside Walsingham. This was the final ‘Station’ Chapel on the way to Walsingham. It was here, that pilgrims would remove their shoes to walk the final ‘Holy Mile’ to the Shrine barefoot.

The Slipper Chapel

Erasmus, the Dutch scholar, visited Walsingham in 1513 and was impressed by the splendour of the Shrine. He wrote:

‘When you look inside, you would say, it is the abode of saints, so brilliantly does it shine with gems, gold and silver … Our Lady stands in the dark at the right side of the Altar … a little image, remarkable neither for its size, material or workmanship.’

This was soon to come to an end. Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and in 1538 the Priory was closed, the ‘Holy House’ burned to the ground and the Statue of Our Lady taken to London to be destroyed.
In 1896 Miss Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel, which had seen centuries of secular use. She devoted herself to its restoration. The Statue of the Mother and Child was carved at Oberammergau and based on the design of the original statue – a design found on the medieval seal of Walsingham Priory, an imprint of which is in the British Museum.

The Walsingham seal: around the edges
Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum

The first Mass since the Reformation was offered in the Slipper Chapel on 15 August 1934 and a few days later Cardinal Francis Bourne led a pilgrimage of 10,000 people to the Chapel and declared it to be the Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady.

St Anathalon of Milan
St Andochius of Autun
St Anthony Gonzalez

St Chuniald
Bl Colomba Matylda Gabriel
St Coprio
St Erinhard
St Felix of Autun

St Gerard Sagredo OSB (980-1046) Bishop and Martyr, “The Apostle of Hungary,” Venetian nobleman, Benedictine monk, Prior of San Giorgio, Missionary to Hungary, Adviser to King Saint Stephen, Tutor to Prince Saint Emeric, Hermit, Bishop of Csanád, Writer, Reformer

St Geremarus
St Gislar
St Isarnus of Toulouse
St Lupus of Lyons

St Pacificus of Severino OFM (1653-1721) Priest, Franciscan Friar, Mystic, Miracle-worker, Missionary, Superior of the Friary of San Severino and joyful sufferer for Christ.

St Paphnutius of Egypt
Bl Robert Hardesty
St Rusticus of Clermont
St. Rupert of Salzburg
St Terence of Persaro (c 210-c 247) Martyr Layman
St Thyrsus of Autun
St Ysarn of Saint Victor
Bl William Spenser
—
Martyrs of Chalcedon – (49 saints): Forty-nine Christian choir singers of the church in Chalcedon in Asia Minor who were martyred together in their persecutions of Diocletian in 304.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Pancorbo López
• Blessed Esteban García y García
• Blessed José María Ferrándiz Hernández
• Blessed Juan Francisco Joya Corralero
• Blessed Luis de Erdoiza Zamalloa
• Blessed Manuel Gómez Contioso
• Blessed Melchor Rodríguez Villastrigo
• Blessed Pascual Ferrer Botella
• Blessed Rafael Rodríguez Mesa
• Blessed Santiago Arriaga Arrien

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 September – Saint Pomposa of Cordoba

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Saint Pomposa of Cordoba, a martyr from Spain. She was a nun in a convent near Cordoba. When the muslims invaded Spain, she refused to deny her faith and convert to Islam. As such, she was beheaded by them in 835.

View of the historic centre of Córdoba

‘Perpetua, I am waiting for you; but be careful that the dragon does not bite you.’ And I said, ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall not hurt me.’ And from under the ladder itself, as if in fear of me, he slowly lifted up his head; and as I trod upon the first step, I trod upon his head.

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity (Tertullian)

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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)

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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)
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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)

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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 CATHOLIC Quotes, QUOTES on EDUCATION

Quote/s of the Day – 27 August – St Joseph Calasanz/Calasantius (1557-1648)

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Quote/s of the Day – 27 August – St Joseph Calasanz/Calasantius (1557-1648) Spanish Confessor

“Like the saplings of plants,
the young are easily influenced,
as long as someone works
to teach their souls.
But if they are allowed to grow hard,
we know well that the possibility
of one day bending them,
diminishes a great deal
and is sometimes utterly lost.”

“Keep, O Lord, my heart at peace,
always close to Thee.
Thou Who calms the wild waves of the sea.”

“If, from the very earliest years,
a child is instructed
in both religion and letters,
it can be reasonably hoped
that his life will be happy.”

“LOVE
is the only way
to HEAVEN.”

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 21 August – Saint Bernard of Lérida, Saint Gracia of Lérida, Saint Maria of Lérida

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Siblings, and children of Almanzor, Muslim caliph of Lerida, Catalonia, Spain, during the Moorish Occupation in the 12th century. Saint Bernard converted and became a Benedictine Cistercian monk at Poblet, taking the name Bernard. He then converted his two sisters Gracia and Maria, and together they attempted to convert their other brother, Almanzor, who turned them over to Moorish authorities. They were martyred in 1180.

Saint Bernard
Saint Gracia
Saint Maria

The exact circumstances surrounding their deaths are not known. Bernard, Gracia and Maria are venerated as the patron saints of Alcira, Valencia, Spain.

Muslim army in Iberia

Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended at my sufferings.

St Perpetua

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 25 July – Saint Cucuphas

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Cucuphas, also known as Cobad, Cocoba, Cucufate (and many more). His name is said to be of Phoenician origin with the meaning of “he who jokes, he who likes to joke.”

Cucuphas was born into a noble Christian family in Scillis, North Africa. He and Saint Felix were deacons in Carthage and they later arrived at Barcelona to evangelize. Cucuphas lived as a merchant in Barcelona while preaching the Faith, baptizing converts, and aiding the Christian community there. He was generous with the poor and a worker of miracles.

He was martyred near Barcelona during the persecution of Diocletian. He suffered many torments. He was handed over to twelve strong soldiers, who were ordered to whip him and tear his skin with iron nails and scorpions. He was then roasted alive after being covered in vinegar and pepper, but was miraculously saved him from death and injury. A great bonfire also failed to kill him and instead killed his would-be executioners. His jailers then converted to Christianity after they found Cucuphas in his cell illuminated by a heavenly light. The next day, he was flagellated with iron whips. Divine intervention slew the prefect Maximianus when his carriage caught on fire. Rufus, the new prefect, having learnt from the experiences of his predecessor, did not dare practice torture of any kind on the saint, and instead ordered his immediate execution by sword, ordering his throat to be cut.

Two Christian women, Juliana and Semproniana, buried his body and were subsequently martyred as well. The Benedictine abbey of Sant Cugat del Vallès is situated on the site of his martyrdom.

Reliquary casket of Saint Cucuphas

The poet Prudentius honored him in a hymn. Cucuphas is mentioned in the Hieronymian Martyrology; the Prayer Book of Verona; in a hymn called Barcino laeto Cucufate vernans, which says: “Barcino bursts into the vernal joy,of Saint Cucuphas, honoring his remains, and spreads privet branches on the burial mound and on the tomb”.

Saint Cucuphas Chapel Basilica Saint Denis

Since the eighth century, Sant Cugat has claimed Cucuphas’ relics. In the eighth century, Saint Fulrad took a relic of Cucuphas from Sant Cugat to Saint-Denis. The relics of Cucuphas occupy a place of honor in the apse to the right of Saint Denis to this day. Many churches in Europe claim his relics, including Reichenau; the cathedrals of Braga, Oviedo; and Lièpvre.

Sant Cugat monastery

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Nuestra Señora de Zocueca / Our Lady of Zocueca, Bailén, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain (1808) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 July

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Nuestra Señora de Zocueca / Our Lady of Zocueca, Bailén, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain (1808 – 20 July:

Around 1150, Mozarabic Christians built a rudimentary Chapel near the Rumblar River, the Guadalquivir tribuitary that waters this region in southern Spain, at a place called Zocueca. When Alfonso VII reconquered the area in 1155, people gave thanks to the Virgin at the Shrine. In the 1400s it was was rebuilt, and from this period the graceful, standing Gothic Statue of the Mother and Child seems to date, although tradition holds it to be older than the first Chapel.

During the cholera epidemic of 1681, the people vowed to hold an annual feast in honour of the Virgin, preceded by a day of fasting, if she would save them. The promise has been kept on 5 August ever since. The Chapel was re-decorated in Baroque style in the 1700s.

In 1808, people again thanked the Virgin of Zocueca for her help during the Battle of Bailén, the first Spanish victory against Napoleon. Annually since 1810, the municipality commemorates the battle with a series of civil, patriotic, and religious events from 17-22 July, reaching their greatest splendour on the 20th, when the Patroness, the Virgin of Zocueca, goes through the City streets in procession. Another event in her honour, the romería or pilgrimage, takes place on the last Sunday in September in thanks for her help in ending a plague of locusts which threatened the region’s crops in the late 1800s. Men carry the Statue, bristling with decorations, on their shoulders from its usual home in the Church of the Incarnation in Bailén, to the Sanctuary four miles distant, where overnight vigil is kept before a sunrise Mass. In 1925, the Virgin of Zocueca was proclaimed “Captain General” and her Statue given a military sash. After the Statue burned in the Civil War, religious sculptor Jose Maria Alcacer made a replica, blessed on 5 August1954.

St Apollinaris of Ravenna – Disciple of St Peter – Bishop Martyr (Optional Memorial)

Bl Anne Cartier
St Ansegisus
St Aurelius of Carthage
St Cassian of Saint Saba
St Chi Zhuze
St Elijah the Prophet

St Elswith

Blessed Gregory Lopez (1542-1596) “The Mystery Man” – Hermit, Spiritual Advisor, Writer. Around 1585, word of a “Mystery Man” began to leak into Mexico City, a strange hermit who lived out in the lonely valley of Guesteca, who walked miles to go to Mass, lived totally subject to “Lady Poverty” and had travelled from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain (which dates from 712), to her Shrine in Mexico (which dates from 1531).

St Jerome Emiliani (1486–1537) Layman, Founder of the Somascan Fathers

St Joseph Barsabbas the Just (1st Century) Disciple of Jesus, Bishop, Martyr

St José María Díaz Sanjurjo

St Margaret of Antioch (3rd century) Virgin Martyr. Margaret is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is one of the Saints who spoke to St Joan of Arc.

St Maria Fu Guilin
St Mère
St Paul of Saint Zoilus
St Rorice of Limoges
St Severa of Oehren
St Severa of Saint Gemma
St Wulmar

Martyrs of Corinth – 22 saints: 22 Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – • Appia • Calorus • Cassius • Celsus • Cyriacus • Donatus • Emilis • Felix • Fructus • Magnus • Maximus • Nestita • Partinus • Pasterus • Paul • Romanus • Spretus • Tertius • Theodolus • Ueratia • Valerian • Victor. They were martyred in Corinth, Greece.

Martyrs of Damascus – 16 saints: 16 Christians who were martyred together. We know the names of six of then, but no details about any of them – Cassia, Julian, Macrobius, Maximus, Paul and Sabinus. They were martyred in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.

Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Eight lay native Koreans in various states of life who were murdered together for their faith.
• Anna Kim Chang-gum
• Ioannes Baptista Yi Kwang-nyol
• Lucia Kim Nusia
• Magdalena Yi Yong-hui
• Maria Won Kwi-im
• Martha Kim Song-im
• Rosa Kim No-sa
• Theresia Yi Mae-im
They were martyred on 20 July 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea

Martyrs of Zhaojia – 3 saints: Married lay woman and her two daughters in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. During the persecutions of the Boxer Rebellion, the three of them hid in a well to avoid being raped. They were found, dragged out, and killed for being Christian. Martyrs. They were – Maria Zhao Guoshi (mother), Maria Zhao and Rosa Zhao (sisters). They were martyred in late July 1900 in Zhaojia, Wuqiao, Hebei, China.

Martyrs of Zhujiahe – 4 saints: Two Jesuit missionary priests and two local lay people who supported their work who were martyred together in the Boxer Rebellion during and immediately after Mass.
• Léon-Ignace Mangin
• Maria Zhu Wushi
• Paul Denn
• Petrus Zhu Rixin
They were martyred on 20 July 1900 in church in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Abraham Furones y Furones
• Blessed Antoni Bosch Verdura
• Blessed Francisca Aldea y Araujo
• Blessed Jacinto García Riesco
• Blessed Joan Páfila Monllaó
• Blessed Josep Tristany Pujol
• Blessed Matías Cardona-Meseguer
• Blessed Rita Josefa Pujalte y Sánchez
• Blessed Vicente López y López

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Rute, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain) (17th Century) and Memorials of the Saints – 16 July

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel -Mary is said to have given the Scapular to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock. (Optional Memorial)

The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Rute, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain) (17th Century)– 16 July, 13 February – Patron of Rute:

By order of Pope Pius XI, Our Lady of Mount. Carmel was proclaimed Patron of the Town of Rute in southern Spain on 13 February1924. Her beloved image goes back to the late 1600s, when Luisa Roldán (La Roldana) of Seville carved the head and hands. Made to be dressed, the Statue did not have a proper body until the 1960s.

It occupies a neo-baroque setting over the High Altar, also of the 1960s. Rute honours its Patron several times a year. The anniversary celebration lasts three days, culminating on 13 February with Mass, presentations to the Chief of the Brotherhood and the Fiesta Queen of gifts made for the Virgin, and a ceremony of kissing the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount. Carmel. Her liturgical feast day, 16 July is the focus of another three-day celebration. On the last Sunday of June, the procession is held, when the Statue goes in procession through the neighbourhood to the main Parish Church of Santa Catalina Mártir. Another triduum is celebrated around the feast of the Assumption, 14-16 August.

Bl André de Soveral
St Andrew the Hermit
St Antiochus of Sebaste
Bl Arnold of Clairvaux
Bl Arnold of Hildesheim

Blessed Arnulf of Hildesheim
St Athenogenes of Sebaste

St Bartholomew of Braga OP – Archbishop of Braga also known as Bl Bartholomew of the Martyrs (Bartolomeu Fernandez dei Martiri Fernandes) (1514-1590) Portuguese Dominican Friar and Priest, Writer, Theologian, Advisor, Teacher and Catechetical writer, Apostle of Charity founding a series of hospitals and hospices in Braga and surrounds.

St Benedict the Hermit

Blessed Ceslaus Odrowaz OP (c 1184– 1242) (Brother of St Hyacinth) Priest and Friar of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, Spiritual Advisor, miracle-worker.

Bl Claude Beguignot
Bl Domingos Carvalho
St Domnin
St Domnio of Bergamo
Bl Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond
St Elvira of Ohren
St Eugenius of Noli
St Faustus
St Faustus of Rome and Milan
St Fulrad of Saint Denis
St Generosus of Poitou
St Gobbán Beg
St Gondolf of Saintes
St Grimoald of Saintes
St Helier of Jersey
Bl Irmengard
Bl John Sugar
St Landericus of Séez
Bl Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond
Bl Marguerite-Rose de Gordon
Bl Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol
Bl Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal
Bl Marie-Anne Doux

St Marie-Madeline Postel (1756-1846) Religious Sister and Founder of the Sisters of Christian Schools of which she is the Patron, Teacher, Franciscan tertiary.

Bl Marie-Rose Laye
Bl Milon of Thérouanne
Bl Nicolas Savouret
Bl Ornandus of Vicogne
St Paulus Lang Fu
St Reinildis of Saintes ( c 630 – c 700) Virgin, Laywoman, Martyr
Bl Robert Grissold
Bl Simão da Costa
St Sisenando of Cordoba
St Tenenan of Léon
St Teresia Zhang Heshi
St Valentine of Trier
St Vitalian of Capua
St Vitaliano of Osimo
St Yangzhi Lang
—
Martyrs of Antioch – 5 saints: Five Christians who were martyred together. No details about them have survived by the names – Dionysius, Eustasius, Maximus, Theodosius and Theodulus. They were Martyred in Antioch, Syria, date unknown.