St Moeliai of Nendrum Blessed Pietro Giacomo of Persaro OSA (c 1445-1496) Priest of the Order of the Hermits of St Augustine Bl Peter of Juilly Bl Thomas Corsini of Orvieto St Thomas Garnet Bl Walhere of Dinant St Zenas of Philadelphia St Zeno of Philadelphia
Martyrs of Ancyra: A family of converts who were arrested, tortured, and sent in chains to Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey) where they was tortured again by order of governor Agrippinus during the persecutions of Diocletian. Martyrs. They were – Eustochius, Gaius, Lollia, Probus, Urban. Died by being roasted over a fire and finally beheaded c300 in Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey).
Martyrs of Nicomedia: During the persecutions of Diocletian, many Christians fled their homes to live in caves in the area of Nicomedia. In 303 troops descended on the area, systematically hunted them down and murdered all they could find.
Saint John‘s Eve Vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Madonna del Sasso, Bibbiena, Arezzo, Toscana, Italy (1347) – 23 June:
The little seer , Caterina, 7 years old, while her mother was washing clothes in the Vessa stream, moved away a little, placing herself near a stone . Here she saw a beautiful lady dressed all in white who, having entered the nearby field of beans, collected several and placed them in the bosom of the girl. Meanwhile, the mother was busy and the little girl ran to tell her of the lady and showed her the beans she had received but the mother paid no attention to her daughter’s meeting.
Returning to the village, Caterina complained to her mother because the beans had grown so much that their weight was difficult for her to bear but her mother told her to be patient as they would soon be home. In the evening, the mother wanted to cook some of those beans but she noticed that they were full of blood. The whole country ran to see the prodigy. The following morning, everyone went in procession to the stone and here they decided to build a Chapel in honour of the Madonna. The apparition of the Madonna del Sasso was preceded and followed by two further miraculous events.
Also in 1347, shortly before the vision, a white dove appeared on the top of the stone and was approached only by children and an old hermit , Beato Martino da Poppi, a Camaldolese Monk, who had his hermitage nearby . When the children approached it, the dove pecked at their fingers and hands but if adults approached, it flew away. In 1444, several people saw golden-blue light globes inside and outside the C hurch these appeared for about three months The podestà, together with some family and friends, returning from a hunting party, about 300 meters away from the sacred stone, saw a crowd of white-dressed young men heading in procession to the Church. A small Chapel was immediately built next to the boulder, later enlarged to include the entire boulder. It now host sthe beautiful image of the Madonna del Sasso, painted by Bicci di Lorenzo in 1435 . This image miraculously remained intact in the fire that completely destroyed the Church in 1486.
The Dominican Fathers were custodians of the Sanctuary since 1468,. They immediately worked on the construction of the current Sanctuary, in pure Renaissance style, based on a design by Giuliano da Maiano. A great amount of funds for the construction of the Sanctuary and Convent, came from Savonarola in 1495, who solicited help from noble families of Florence and from the Medici in particular.
Bl Félix of Cîteaux St Felix of Sutri Bl Frances Martel Bl Francis O’Sullivan St Hidulphus of Hainault St James of Toul St John of Rome
St Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860) “Priest of the Gallows”, Priest, Theology Lecturer, Social Reformer, Confessor, Spiritual Director (of St John Bosco and quite a few other Saints), Rector of a post-Ordination Theological College, member of the Third Order of St Francis. His will bequeathed everything to aid the Little House of Divine Providence which was the religious order founded by St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (1786-1842). St John Bosco (1815-1888) preached the funeral Mass homily. Patronages – Italian prisons, Prison chaplains, Prisoners, those condemned to death. St Joseph Cafasso’s Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/23/saint-of-the-day-23-june-st-joseph-cafasso-1811-1860-priest-of-the-gallows/
Bl Lupo de Paredes Blessed Marie of Oignies (1167-1213) Recluse, Mystic, Ascetic St Moeliai of Nendrum Bl Peter of Juilly Bl Thomas Corsini of Orvieto St Thomas Garnet Bl Walhere of Dinant St Zenas of Philadelphia St Zeno of Philadelphia — Martyrs of Ancyra: A family of converts who were arrested, tortured and sent in chains to Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey) where he was tortured more by order of governor Agrippinus during the persecutions of Diocletian. Martyr. They were – Eustochius, Gaius, Lollia, Probus, Urban. They were roasted over a fire and finally beheaded c 300 in Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey).
Martyrs of Nicomedia: During the persecutions of Diocletian, many Christians fled their homes to live in caves in the area of Nicomedia. In 303 troops descended on the area, systematically hunted them down and murdered all they could find.
Saint of the Day – 23 June – Saint Lanfranco Beccari (c 1134-1198) Bishop of Pavia, Italy, Defender of the Rights of the Church, Apostle of prayer of the poor and those in situations of distress, miracle-worker – born in c 1124 at Gropello, Pavia, Italy and died on 23 June 1198 at the Vallombrosan Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre near Pavia, Italy of natural causes.Also known as St Lanfrancoof Pavia.
Born of a noble family in Gropello in the province of Pavia around 1134, Lanfranco was assigned the role of Bishop for his city by Alexander III.
Very kind to good people but uncompromising to the unjust, he led an exemplary life, characterised by devoted life of intense prayer and charity towards the needy.
He had heated discussions against the city civil authorities who wanted to take possession of various ecclesiastical goods. For this reason, finding himself almost forced to leave Pavia, he went to Rome to find comfort and support from the Pope.
When he returned to Pavia, now tired of the constant problems that public life was giving him, he decided to retire to the Vallombrosan Monastery of the Holy Sepuchre, where he remained until his death, which took place on 23 June 1198.
The above passage comes from what is written in the letter sent by Pope Innocent III to the Bishop of Faenza, Bernardo, on 8 August 1198, in which the passage to the Diocese of Pavia, Bernardo was proposed as successor to the late Lanfranco. And it was Bernardo himself who, as successor Bishop, wrote the first biography of Lanfranco.
St Lanfranco di Pavia between saints Giovanni Battista and Liberius, Cima da Conegliano, Fitzwilliam Museum , Cambridge
There is little information relating to the first years of the Monastery’s life. The most significant period coincided with the years in which Lanfranco Beccari was Bishop of Pavia. Lanfranco, Consecrated Bishop of Pavia by Pope Alexander III in 1159, was often a guest of the Monastery. Lanfranco decided to spend the last years of his life in the Monastery and was buried here, in a reputation for holiness. After his death on 23 June 1198, the Church and Monastery were dedicated to him.
Facade of the Church and Monastery
In the Church there is a sepulchral marble ark which houses the body of San Lanfranco Beccari. It is the work of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo , the great Italian sculptor and architect who worked in Pavia for both the Certosa and the Cathedral together with Bramante. The construction of the ark dates back to 1489 and took place on commission of the abbot and cardinal Pietro Pallavicini de ‘Scipione.
The sarcophagus is divided into squares with depictions of the Saint’s life:
On the left: Lanfranco heals a mute young man. On the front: In the Atrium of San Siro he receives the consuls (you can see the two cathedrals and the statue of the Regisole). On his return from exile, he is welcomed by the new consuls (the character on the right, half hidden by a figure from behind, would have the appearance of Amadeo). Praying to the Virgin in her retreat with the Vallombrosan monks . Right: The young Gelasia condemned on the false charge of poisoning her brother comes out of the stake . In the back: Healing of the Pavese jurisconsult Pietro Negri; Giovanni Brunelli attacked by brigands and tied in the bush, manages to untie himself with the help of the Saint. Alberto da Novara, a repentant criminal, is saved from hanging .
There are also other relief panels with scenes from the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin – the Annunciation , the Visitation , the Nativity , the Presentation in the temple , Jesus healing the sick , the Crucifixion.
In the central nave, in the middle of the right side, a fresco, unfortunately only partially extant, painted between 1173 and 1198 is particularly interesting. It depicts the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury St Thomas á Becket on 29 December 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral, at the hands of some assassins sent by King Henry II of England. The king decided to commission the murder as Becket, much loved by the people and once his special adviser, had begun to reproach him for his dissolute and violent life and divorce choices. In the fresco there are three knights with a sword in the act of killing the Archbishop.
The fresco was created to indicate the parallel between the events of the life of St Thomas á Becket and those of the Pavese Bishop Lanfranco Beccari – as Becket had opposed King Henry of England who limited the freedom of the English clergy, an opposition that pushed him to Rome to ask help to the Pope and who, in the end, paid with his life. In the same way, St Lanfranco, a few decades later, came into sharp conflict with the Pavia authorities and was forced to ask the Pope for help – he was not killed but retired to the Monastery leading a solitary life.
Next to Becket’s fresco, on the left, the figure of the same Bishop Lanfranco is repeated, with red chasuble and pallium, mitre and pastoral, in a blessing gesture with ring finger and little finger joined to the Greek.
St Lanfranco Beccari (c 1134-1198) Bishop
Bl Lupo de Paredes
Bl Mary of Oignies
St Moeliai of Nendrum
Bl Peter of Juilly
Bl Thomas Corsini of Orvieto
St Thomas Garnet
Bl Walhere of Dinant
St Zenas of Philadelphia
St Zeno of Philadelphia
—
Martyrs of Ancyra: A family of converts who were arrested, tortured and sent in chains to Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey) where he was tortured more by order of governor Agrippinus during the persecutions of Diocletian. Martyr. They were – Eustochius, Gaius, Lollia, Probus, Urban. They were roasted over a fire and finally beheaded c 300 in Ancyra, Galatia (modern Ankara, Turkey).
Martyrs of Nicomedia: During the persecutions of Diocletian, many Christians fled their homes to live in caves in the area of Nicomedia. In 303 troops descended on the area, systematically hunted them down and murdered all they could find.
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