Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini

 For our final post of the month, I will give you two for the price of one. Luigi Beltrame Quattrocci and Maria Corsini-Beltrame Quattrocchi were the first married couple to be beatified together. The were beatified in 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II. According to the Pope, they lived "an ordinary life in an extraordinary way."

Luigi was born in 1880. He took on the second surname when he was adopted by his childless aunt and uncle, while maintaining a close relationship with his birth parents. He studied jurisprudence at University and graduated with a degree in law. 

Maria was born in Florence in 1884. Her father was a Royal Army captain and so the family moved several times during her childhood. She had an excellent education from a young age. After graduation, she became a professor of education and a lecturer.

The couple met at Maria's family's home and married in November 1905. Maria was highly devout, while (initially) Luigi was not. They had three children within the first three years of their marriage. During Maria's fourth pregnancy, she was diagnosed with placenta praevia and was advised to terminate the pregnancy. However, the doctors were able to induce labor and their daughter, Enrichetta, was born prematurely. 

The couple were among founders of many Catholic organizations, they started scouting groups for children in poor neighborhoods, and during WWII they sheltered Jews and other refugees in their home.

Their oldest son became a Benedictine priest, their younger son a Trappist monk, their older daughter a Benedictine nun and the youngest, Enrichetta, has had her cause for beatification opened in 2018. 

After their deaths - Luigi in 1951 and Maria in 1965 - their cause for beatification was opened. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said that they "made a true domestic church of their family, which was open to life, to prayer, to the social apostolate, to solidarity with the poor and to friendship."

Their feast day is their wedding date, November 25. They are both patrons of Married Couples and Families; Maria is patroness of Mothers and Volunteers; Luigi is patron of Fathers and Lawyers.

Polycarp

 On this second to the last day of November, let's go back to the earliest days of the Church with St. Polycarp. Polycarp was part of the second generation of Christians. He was a disciple of the Apostle John. The name is Greek, meaning "much fruit." 

Polycarp was born around the year 69. He was converted to Christianity by apostles, was consecrated a presbyter and communicated with many who had seen Jesus. According to St. Jerome, it was St. John that who ordained Polycarp as Bishop of Smyrna. He is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers of the Church. 

Polycarp was considered a great leader of the Church and defender of the Faith. Only one of his letters survives, a Letter to the Philippians, in which he repeatedly quotes from St. Paul and also from passages of the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and the Acts of the Apostles - providing early testimony to the importance of these texts to the early Church.

Toward the end of his life, Polycarp visited Bishop Anicetus of Rome to discuss with him the date at which Easter should be celebrated. The dating of the Easter Feast has caused disagreement from the earliest days of the Church - as it still does today. This controversy threated to provoke a schism between the church in Rome and that in Asia Minor. The two men could not reach agreement, so they agreed to disagree and peace was maintained. 

On his return to Smyrna, Polycarp was arrested and burned at the stake and pierced with a spear for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor. The date of his death is in dispute, but he is believed to have been 86 years old. His feast day is February 23. He is patron saint of those with ailments such as earaches or dysentery.

Elizabeth of Portugal

 Yesterday I attended the wedding of my cousin's son. Today's Saint is in honor of the bride, whose name is Elizabeth. St. Elizabeth of Portugal is also the patroness of brides. 

Elizabeth of Aragon, better known as Elizabeth of Portugal, was born to the royal house of Aragon in 1271. She was the great niece and namesake of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was educated very piously and led a life of strict regularity from her childhood. Her marriage to King Denis of Portugal was arranged when she was 10 years old. The wedding was not celebrated until 1288, when Denis was 2 and Elizabeth was 17. 

Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular religious practices of her youth and she also took an active interest in Portuguese politics. She was a decisive conciliator during the negotiations between her husband and Fernando IV of Castile which fixed the borders between their countries. She also served as an intermediary between her husband and her son during the civil war in the 1320s. 

After Denis' death, Elizabeth retired to a Poor Clare monastery. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis, devoting the rest of her life to the poor and sick. She was once again called upon to be a peacemaker in 1336, when Afonso IV marched his troops against King Alfonso XI of Castile, to whom he had married his daughter and who had neglected and ill-treated her. Once the Queen-dowager had stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be drawn up, she fell ill from the the exertion. She took to her bed with a fever from which she died on July 4. 

Elizabeth's feast day is July. In addition to brides, she is also the patron of charitable societies, difficult marriages, peace, queens, victims of adultery and widows.

St. Philomena

 Happy Thanksgiving!!

The story of the cult of St. Philomena is an unusual and interesting one. For many Saints, people who knew them during their lifetime share their story and promote their cause for Sainthood. However, devotion to St. Philomena did not begin until 1500 years after her death. Philomena's remains were discovered in the Catacomb of Priscilla in 1802. Her tomb bore the inscription, Pax Tecum Filumena (Peace be unto you, Philomena). In her tomb was the skeleton of a young female, about 13-15 years old. There was also found a small glass phial with vestiges of what was believed to be blood. It was believed at the time that the presence of the phial was a sign that this was the grave of a martyr.

Her remains became the focus of widespread devotion and miracles were credited to her intercession. St. John Vianney was very devoted to her and attributed to her intercession the extraordinary cures that others attributed to himself. 

Nothing is known for certain of Philomena's life. In 1833, a religious named Sister Maria Luisa di Gesu claimed to have received revelations from Philomena herself. These revelations are private revelation and Catholic faithful are not compelled to believe them. Sr. Maria Luisa said that Philomena told her that she took a vow of consecrated virginity at the age of 13. The Emperor Diocletian fell in love with the young woman, but she refused to be his wife. She was subject to a series of tortures and ultimately martyred.

St. Philomena's feast day is August 11. She is patron of children, youth, babies, priests, lost causes, virgins and The Universal Living Rosary Association.

St. Martha

 For today's post I have chosen a Saint that many of you may be identifying with this week. I know that I am identifying with her tonight as I bake pumpkin pies, do laundry and try to pack for a few days spent with family. Busy, busy, busy . . .

All that we know about St. Martha we learn from Scripture. She lived with her siblings Lazarus and Mary in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. Martha gets a mild reprimand from Jesus when she was "worried and upset about many things" and he tells her that "Mary has chosen what is better." (Lk 10:41-42) When Jesus comes to Mary and Martha after their brother Lazarus has died, Martha makes a profound act of faith: "'Yes, Lord', she told him, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. who was to come into the world'" (Jn 11:27)

For me, what is so profound in this story is the intimate friendship that Martha and her siblings had with Jesus. It is obvious from the few Gospel stories that he was comfortable in their home and he loved them deeply. I need to meditate on this . . .  when I feel overwhelmed with my chores and serving others, can I remember Who I really serve? Can I remember that He is at home in my house - even when the sink is full of dirty dishes and the bed's not made? Can I remember that He loves me in the midst of all my business and stress, but He also wants me to let go of that long enough to get to know Him better?

St. Martha's feast day is July 29 (June  in the Eastern Orthodox church). She is the patron saint of butlers, cooks, dieticians, domestic servants, homemakers, hotel-keepers, housemaids, housewives, innkeepers, laundry workers, and single laywomen.

Venerable Edel Quinn

 I have this rule that when I do these November Saint posts I stick strictly to those who have the title of Saint or Blessed. However, since it is a rule that I impose on myself, it is one that I can break without fear of penalty. Having read some inspiring stories of those who are earlier on in the canonization process, today I will tell the story of Venerable Edel Quinn.

Edel was born in September 1907 in County Cork, Ireland. At a young age, she felt a call to the religious life and joined the Legion of Mary as a teenager. She wanted to join the Poor Clares, but was diagnosed with tuberculosis and ended up spending eighteen months in a sanatorium instead. Her condition unchanged, she gave herself entirely to the work of the Legion helping the poor in the slums of Dublin. 

In 1936, at the age of 29 and dying of tuberculosis, Edel became a Legion of Mary envoy. She traveled to Aftica to be a missionary and establish the Legion of Mary across hundreds of miles of African jungle. When she arrived in Africa, Catholic leaders told her that her idea would prove a failure. Edel persisted, full of hope. "The impossible has happened elsewhere - why not here?" she asked.

Fighting her illness (her health was never good), in seven and a half years Edel established hundreds of Legion branches and councils in Tanania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Mauritius. Her disease finally took her life on May 12, 1944, in Nairobi, Kenya. She is buried in the Missionaries' Cemetery where her tombstone reads: "She fulfilled this mission with such devotedness and courage as to stir every heart and to leave the Legion of Mary and Africa itself forever in her debt."

Saint Valerian

 Today is the Feast Day of St. Cecilia - patroness of my Parish (Happy Feast day to my fellow Parishioners!). I did a post on St. Cecilia on November 6, 2014, so I won't do a repeat. Check out my blog if you are interested in her story. But, in honor of her feast day, I will share the story of her husband and two of his companions.

St. Valerian was the husband of St. Cecilia. On their wedding night Cecilia told Valerian that she had taken a vow of virginity and that there was an angel protecting her. When Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia told him that if he went to the third milestone on the via Appia and be baptized by Pope Urban I he would be able to see him. After following his wife's instructions, Valerian did see the angel standing beside her crowning her with a chaplet of roses and lilies.

After Valerian's conversion, the couple and Valerian's brother, Tiburtius, took up the task of burying martyred Christians. This was an illegal activity. Valerian, Tiburtius and another Christian named Maximus were martyred for performing this corporal work of mercy. St. Cecilia buried her husband and his companions and converted hundreds of others to Christianity before being martyred herself.

Valerian, Tiburtius and Maximus share a feast day on April 14. They are buried in the Catacombs of Praetextatus. 

Fr. Toribio Romo

 Happy Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!!  On this special Feast Day, I want to share the story of a Saint who died for preaching the Gospel of Christ the King.

St. Toribio Romo Gonzalez was born in 1900 to a Mexican peasant farm family. He had two siblings: a sister Maria, and a younger brother, Roman, who would also go on to become a priest. Toribio entered seminary at a very young age and received a dispensation to be ordained at the tender age of 22. 

Fr. Toribio's ministry was characterized by an emphasis on catechesis to the poor and the centrality of the Eucharist. Starting in November 1926, after a revolt against the anti-clerical persecutions, he was forced to take up an itinerant lifestyle. After relocating almost a dozen times, his final residence was the rural settlement of Agua Caliente, where he was sent to hide. There, he was joined by his siblings and he continued to secretly carry out his priestly ministry.

In the early morning hours of February 25, 1928, shortly after Fr. Toribio had retired for the night, government troops arrived and broke into the bedroom where he was sleeping. He was shot twice. The second bullet caused him to fall into the arms of his sister, who cried out, "Courage, Father Toribio . . . merciful Christ, receive him! Long live Christ the King!" 

Despite the fact that in 1920, he wrote a play that warned migrants against traveling to the States, there is a belief among some Mexicans that Toribio Romo has appeared to some who cross the border illegally to assist them in distress. 

St. Toribio Romo's feast day is May 21 (along with the other saints of the Cristero War). He is patron of Mexican migrants and  Mexico-United States border crossers. Saint Toribio, pray for us.

Blessed Jeremiah of Wallachia

 As the month goes on, it becomes more difficult to choose which Saint or Blessed to feature each day. This is not because there aren't as many to choose from - quite the opposite. I'm just not sure what my readers will find interesting and engaging. I hope this Blessed fits the bill.

He was born Ioan (John) Costiste in a village in the Principality of Moldavia (Romania) in 1556. As a child he developed the conviction that he wanted to go to Italy because that was where the best Christians were to be found. The fact that he was illiterate and knew only his own dialect and no other language did not deter him from leaving home at 19 to carry out his dream.

After serving as a physician's assistant for 5 years, he felt that he was not finding what he sought and resolved to return home. However, in 1579 he was admitted into the novitiate of the Capuchin friars where he was given the religious name Jeremiah. In 1585, he was assigned to the infirmary of the monastery of St. Ephrem the Old in Naples, where he would live out the rest of his life. He cared for the sick friars of the community as well as for the poor and sick of the city. He was noted for his compassion for the suffering seeing the people he cared for as "part of the suffering Jesus." Miraculous cures began to be associated with his nursing and prayers.

Jeremiah died of pleuropneumonia in 1625 at the age of 69. After his death he was clothed in the habit six times since the faithful snipped parts of it off as relics. The cause for his beatification was started in 1687, but remained stalled until 1905 when a biography of his life was published. He was beatified by St. John Paul II in 1983.

His feast day is May 8.

Olga of Kiev

 Today, we are going to shift gears a little and go into a place in history when things were not quite so well documented as they have been for the last several saints we have discussed. 

St. Olga of Kiev was born sometime between 890 and 925. Little is known of her life before her marriage to Prince Igor I of Kyiv. She was probably about 15 when she was married. Her husband was killed in 945 while seeking tribute from a neighboring tribe called the Drevlians. After his death, Olga ruled as regent on behalf of their son Sviatoslav. She was the first woman to rule Kievan Rus. 

As regent, Olga traveled to Constantinople in the 950s to visit Emperor Constantine VII. While there, she converted to Christianity with the help of the Emperor and the Patriarch. At her baptism, she was christened Helena, after the ancient empress, mother of Constantine the Great. Olga was not the first person from Kievan Rus to convert, but she was the most powerful Rus individual to accept baptism in her lifetime.

Olga was unsuccessful in converting her son to the Faith. Even though he refused to become a Christian himself, Sviatoslav agreed not to persecute those in his kingdom who did convert. This was a crucial turning point for Christianity in the area. Despite the resistance of her son and her people, Olga built churches throughout the region.

Olga died from illness in 969. Despite his disapproval of his mother's religion, Sviatoslav heeded Olga's request that her priest conduct a Christian funeral for her. Although it seemed at the time that her efforts to make her country Christian was a failure, her mission would be brought to fruition by her grandon Vladimir, who officially adopted Christianity in 988.

St. Olga's feast day is July 11. She is patron of widows and converts.

St. Camillus de Lellis

 Tonight we have a Saint for our Front-Line Workers - a patron of the sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians.

Camillus de Lellis was born in 1550 in Italy. His mother, Camilla, was nearly 50 when she gave birth to him. His father was an officer in both the Neapolitan and French royal armies and was seldom home. After his mother's death when he was 12, he was taken in by other family, who pretty much neglected him.

At 16, he joined his father in the army and served for several years. His regiment was disbanded in 1575. Having gambled away all of his possessions, he took a job as a laborer in a Capuchin friary. Despite Camillus' aggressive nature and excessive gambling, the guardian of the friary continually tried to bring out the better side of his nature. He succeeded and Camillus entered the novitiate of the Capuchins. 

Unfortunately, a leg wound that he had received while in the army refused to heal and continued to plague him. It was declared incurable and the Capuchins denied him admission because of this. Camillus moved to Rome and entered the San Giacomo Hospital, which cared for incurable cases. He himself became a caregiver at the hospital and later its superintendent. He observed the poor attention the sick received from the staff of the hospital and was led to invite a group of pious men to express their faith through the care of the patients at the hospital. 

Eventually, he established a religious community for this purpose - the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm. He also sought Holy Orders in order to lead his congregation and was ordained in 1584. The order that he founded were known by the large red cross on their cassocks. This remains a symbol of the Congregation today. This symbol became what is today a universal symbol of charity and service - the original Red Cross, hundreds of years before the formation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

St. Camillus died in Rome in 1614 at the age of 64. His feast day is celebrated on July 14. In the U.S.A., it is currently an optional Memorial celebrated on July 18, because on July 1 there is the obligatory Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

Servant of God Charlene Marie Richard

 The United States Council of Catholic Bishops voted today to advance the causes for sainthood of three Servants of God. Among these is a young girl from Louisiana named Charlene Marie Richard.

Charlene was born in Richard, LA in 1947. Adults who knew her considered her to be smart, but otherwise unremarkable. In May of 1959, after reading a book about St. Therese of Lisieux, she asked her grandmother whether she, too, could become a Saint by praying like Therese. 

After Charlene reported appearances of a tall woman in black who vanishes and her teacher saying that she was not herself, she was taken to a doctor and diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia. She was hospitalized. The hospital chaplain was given the task of informing her that she was going to die. Though the illness was painful, she remained cheerful and offered up her suffering to God. The chaplain, a newly ordained priest named Joseph Brennan, was impressed by her faith and visited her daily. 

While dying,  Charlene prayed for others to be healed or to be converted. Fr. Brennan and Director of Pediatrics, Sister Theresita Crowley, reported that those for whom she prayed recovered from their illnesses or became Catholic. She died on August 11, 1959, just two weeks after her diagnosis. She was just 12 years old.

Belief in Charlene's sanctity started spreading in  Louisiana shortly after her death and by 1972 prayer cards with a picture of her and a prayer for her canonization were in circulation. By 1989, hundreds of people were visiting her grave each week and a booklet had been published with testimonials of people who believed that they had benefited from her prayers. 

Jerzy Popiełuszko

 I often listen to Fr. John Ricardo on the radio on my way to work. On his program this morning, he was speaking about Polish Martyrs. One name he mentioned was that of Jerzy Popiełuszko.

Jerzy Popiełuszko was born on September 14, 1947 and was baptized Alphons. After finishing school, he attended the priests' seminary in Warsaw. At that time, Poland was under communist rule and the government was anti-religion. From 1966 to 1968, Jerzy served his army duties in a special force that was aimed at keeping young men from becoming priests. This had no effect on his vocation, however the repeated punishments for his resistance affected his health for the rest of his life. On one occasion, he refused to crush a rosary beneath his heel and was beaten and put in solitary confinement.

Upon leaving the army, Jerzy returned to his studies and was ordained to the priesthood with his named changed to Jerzy in 1972. He was given the care of several small parishes until January 1979, when he collapsed while saying Mass. After his recovery in the hospital, he served as a hospital chaplain until being assigned to St. Stanislas Parish in Warsaw. 

In 1981, Fr. Jerzy served as chaplain for the striking Warsaw Steelworkers. Thereafter, he was closely associated with workers, trade unionists and the Solidarity movement. He himself was a staunch anti-communist, weaving political messages into his sermons. During that time of martial law, the Catholic Church was the only force that could voice protest comparatively openly. His sermons were broadcast by Radio Free Europe, and so were heard all across Poland.

The secret police tried to intimidate him into silence and then ramped up their efforts by fabricating evidence against him and having him arrested in 1983. He was soon released on intervention of the clergy. However, the efforts of the communists did not stop there. In October 1984, an "accident" was set up to kill him, but he evaded the initial attempt. On October 19, 1984, three security police officers pretended to have car trouble and flagged Fr. Jerzy down. He was kidnapped and beaten. He was taken in the trunk of the car to a reservoir where a rock was tied to his feet and he was thrown into the water. His body was not recovered until October 30.

Fr. Jerzy has been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a Martyr and he was Beatified in 2010. His feast day is October 19. He is patron saint of Solidarity.

Narcisa de Jesus

 Today I have chosen a Blessed from South America known for he charitable and strict devotion to Jesus Christ.

Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran was born in Ecuador in 1832. Her father was a landowner who worked hard and amassed a considerable amount of wealth. He mother died in 1838. Narcisa took up many of the domestic chores of the family while her elder sister and teacher taught her to read, write, sing and play the guitar. She turned a small room in the house into a domestic chapel and frequently used a small wood near her home for contemplation and solitude. 

The death of her father in 1852 prompted her to relocate to Guayaquil, where she lived with prominent nobles, and it was here that she began her mission of helping the poor, the sick and abandoned children. She took a job as a seamstress in order to fund her mission and support her siblings. She soon moved and for some months went from home to home, living with whoever would take her in to allow herself more time for silent contemplation and penance.

In 1868, she relocated to Lima, Peru, where she lived in a Dominican Convent. Here she followed a demanding schedule of eight hours of reflection offered in silence and solitude. She devoted hours of the night to various forms of mortification and fasted on bread and water. With such a regime, I don't find it surprising that little more than a year later she developed a high fever for which medical remedies could do little. She died on December 8, 1869. 

Her feast day is August 30.

Chrysogonus

 I said in an earlier post that I would get back to some of the Saints and Martyrs listed in the first Eucharistic Prayer. Today is the day.

Saint Chrysogonus is a saint and martyr of ancient Rome. He lived in the early fourth century and was likely martyred during the Diocletianic Persecution. Veneration of this Saint dates to the late fifth century.

About the late sixth century legends arose regarding Chrysogonus' life. According to the legend, he was a functionary of the vicarius Urbis and was the Christian teacher of St. Anastasia. When he was thrown into prison during the persecution, he comforted Anastasia by letters. Chrysogonus was condemned to death, beheaded and his corpse was thrown into the sea. 

The Roman Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on November 24, the anniversary of the church that bears his name. The Orthodox Church celebrates his feast on December 22 together with hisSpiritual daughter, St. Anastasia. 

St. Casilda

 For some Saints, we have a lot of documentation of their lives and almost too much information to digest. For others, we have little more than pious legend. Our Saint for today is of the second type, although I find that her story rings more of truth than some others that I have read.

St. Casilda is believed to have lived sometime in the ninth or tenth century - the exact dates are not known. According to her legend, she was the daughter of a Muslim king of Toledo Spain. She showed great compassion for Christian prisoners by sneaking bread into the prison, hidden in her clothes, to feed them. When on one occasion she was stopped by her father and his soldiers and was asked to reveal what she was carrying in her skirt, the bread turned into a bouquet of roses. 

Although Casilda was raised Muslim, when she became ill she traveled to partake of the healing waters of the shrine of San Vincente. When she was cured, she converted and received baptism. She chose to live a life of solitude and penance not far from the miraculous spring where she was healed. It is said that she lived to be 100 years old.

St. Casilda's feast day is April 9. She is pictured in art with roses in her skirt or in a basket. 

Peter Ri, James Tsiou and the Church in Korea

 The story of the Church in Korea is unique. I find in inspiring to see how God works through all kinds of people to accomplish the spread of the Gospel.

In every other place where the news of Jesus Christ has spread (at least to my knowledge), Christian Missionaries have taken the initiative to go into that territory to preach and teach. However, in Korea, the faith was brought in by scholars, not missionaries. Sometime in the mid-eighteenth century, Korean Ambassadors in China discovered some Christian books that Jesuit missionaries had brought to that country. Being well-educated, noble men, the ambassadors were eager to know about the word outside of Korea. They brought the books back to Korea to study. One of these men returned to Beijing in 1784, to study Catholicism and was converted, taking the name Peter Ri. 

Peter returned home and began to teach the faith, making many converts. By 1791, those who followed this emerging religion were seen to be foreign traitors and persecution began and martyrdom followed for some of Peter's converts. The faith persevered, however. When the first missionary, Fr. James Tsiou, arrived in Korea, he found 4000 baptized Catholics. This great growth of the Church can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit working through the Koreans themselves. 

Fr. James, a native of China, stayed in Korea ministering to this home-grown Church and providing for their sacramental life for the next ten years. In 1801, he was arrested and martyred. The persecution of the Church in Korea continued throughout the nineteenth century. 103 of the Korean Martyrs were canonized en masse by Pope St. John Paul II in 1984. Their feast day is September 20. 

Incredible as it may seem, Korea has the fourth largest number of canonized saints of any country in the world. Almost all of them are Martyrs. 

St. Sabina

 At my Bible Study group this evening, one of the ladies was telling us about the movie Sabina that she had seen recently. I thought that Sabina was a pretty name and searched to see if there was a Saint by that name - and there is.

St. Sabina was the daughter of Herod Metallarius and widow of Senator Valentinus. Her female slave, Serapia (or Seraphia), brought her to convert to the Church. When Serapia was denounced and martyred for her faith, Sabina rescued her remains and had them interred in the family mausoleum. Sabina herself was then denounced and accused of being a Christian. She was martyred in the year 125 AD. 

In 430, Sabina's relics were brought to the Aventine Hill, to a basilica that was specially built on the site of her house. The church was initially dedicated to both St. Sabina and St. Serapia, The dedication was later limited to St. Sabina. Sabina's feast day is August 29.

Roque González de Santa Cruz

So, no special reason to choose this Saint today. I just chose one from my list of potential posts. 

St. Roque González de Santa Cruz was born in 1576 in Paraguay. He was the son of Spanish colonists of noble birth. Due to the large native population in the area, he spoke the native language, Guarani, fluently from an early age - as well as his native Spanish.

Roque was ordained to the priesthood in 1598 and joined the Jesuit order in 1609. At that time, he began his work as a missionary in what is now Brazil. He was the first European to enter the territory now known as the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Hi arrival in that area happened only after his developing delicate relationships of trust with local indigenous leaders. He founded many Jesuit reductions in the region. These were a type of settlement for indigenous people established by the Jesuit order (similar, I suppose, to the missions in California). 

On November 15, 1628, while preparing to oversee the installation of a new bell for a church, Roque was struck down and killed with a tomahawk, along with a fellow Jesuit. This was done under the orders of the local chieftain, who opposed the missions. The bodies of the two Jesuits were dragged into the church, which was then set on fire. 

St. Roque González' feast is commemorated on November 16, along with other Martyrs of the Rio de la Plata. 

Blessed Hildegard Burjan

 Over the last several days, I seem to have set a pattern of alternating between male and female Saints. To maintain that patter, I will share a story of a female Saint today - or actually a Blessed.

Hildegard Freund Burjan was born in January 1883 to a non-practicing Jewish couple in Germany. The family moved several times during her childhood and she attended school in Berlin and in Switzerland. She married a Hungarian entrepreneur Alexander Burjan in May 1907 and obtained a doctorate in 1908.

In October 1908, she suffered from severe renal colic that forced her hospitalization at the Saint Hedwig Catholic Hospital in Berlin. After several operations, her condition got to the point where doctors gave up all hope. However, she was healed from this grave illness just after Easter 1909. It was during this hospital stay that Hildegard encountered the Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo and came to admire their work. This prompted her conversion to the Roman Catholic Church and she was baptized on August 11, 1909. Her husband converted soon afterwards.

The couple moved to Vienna, Austria, where she gave birth to a daughter, Lisa, after a risky pregnancy. In Austria, Hildegard began to take an interest in the social issues of the nation and in particular in the working conditions and spiritual welfare of the poor. In 1912, she founded the group "Christian Women Working at Home" to offer women social protection, better wages and legal assistance. She also founded a group called "Social Help" in 1918. Her activism was based on Catholic Social Teaching as articulated in Pope Leo XIII's 1881 Rerum Novarum. 

In 1919, Hildegard became one of the first female members of the Austrian Parliament. In Parliament, she argued for the extension of legal rights of expectant and nursing mothers, equal wages for men and women, social protection for the working class and care for poor families. She was invited to run in the 1920 elections and was proposed as the Minister for Social Affairs, but declined due to poor health.

She died on June 11, 1933. Her feast day is June 12 and she is patron of politicians and converts.

St. Homobonus

 Monday night is my Quilt Group night. Our Parish Quilt Group makes a quilt every year that is raffled off with the money going to the Church.  With quilting on my mind, I am choosing a patron in this area. There are many patron saints who are called on for intercession by people who enjoy needle craft or other arts and crafts. Tonight I have chosen St. Homobonus.

Saint who? you may ask. The name is derived from the Latin homo bonus,  meaning "Good Man." St. Homobonus was born in Lombardy, Italy in the 12th century. He was a married layman and a merchant. He believed that God had allowed him to work in order that he would be able to support people living in poverty. He was able to pursue this calling because his father, a prosperous tailor and merchant, left him an inheritance. He practiced his business with scrupulous honesty and donated a large portion of his profits to the relief of the poor.

Homobonus was a frequent church goer and a daily communicant. He died on November 13, 1197, while attending Mass. He was canonized just 14 months later by Pope Innocent III. In the bull of canonization, the Pope called him "father of the poor", "consoler of the afflicted", "a man good in name and deed", among other things. 

St. Homobonus' feast day is November 13. He is patron of tailors, shoemakers, clothworkers, and business people. 

St. Christina the Astonishing

 One of the main reasons that I love telling the stories of the Saints is that they represent to me the full spectrum of  the human condition. They show us how God can work in our lives no matter who we are or what we struggle with. So far, in this first week, we have had Saints who dealt with physical disabilities and infertility as well as Saints from various parts of the world. Today's Saint had a different challenge - that of mental illness.

Christina Mirabilis was born in 1150, the youngest of three daughters in the family. When she was 21 years old she suffered a seizure and was thought to be dead. Her funeral Mass was held with an open coffin (the custom at the time). During the Agnus Dei, she arose and "levitated" to the rafters. She later explained that she could not bear the smell of the sinful people. 

During the time that she was dead, she claimed that she had been transported to hell, purgatory and heaven. She was given the choice of remaining in heaven or returning to earth to perform penance to deliver souls from purgatory. She agreed to return. Christina renounced all comforts of life, dressed in rags, lived without a home and sought all that could cause her suffering. She would throw herself into fires, into icy waters and allow herself to be attacked by dogs, but would emerge unharmed.

Although some saw her extreme actions as a sign of insanity or possession, others saw her as a holy woman sent to warn people of the pains of purgatory. Several contemporary Saints thought well of her and sought her advise. Christina was arrested twice on suspicion of demonic possession. After her release the second time, she moderated her behavior somewhat and eventually entered a Dominican Monastery. The prioress testified that she would humbly and fully obey any command given by her superiors. She died there at the age of 74 of natural causes. 

Christina's feast day is July 24. She is patron of people with mental disorders and mental health workers.

Blessed Benedict Daswa

 Today I want to share the story of a Blessed that I just heard of for the first time very recently. He was beatified in 2015, so he is a recent addition to the canon of Blesseds.

Benedict Daswa was born as Tshimangadzo Samuel Daswa in 1946. He was born in South Africa as a member of the Lemba people, who followed Jewish rituals and laws. He worked as a herd boy before he attended school. After his father's accidental death, it fell to him to provide for his family and pay for his siblings schooling. 

Daswa was exposed to Roman Catholicism through a friend he met while living with an uncle in Johannesburg. After two years of instruction, he was baptized on April 21, 1963. He took the name Benedict because he was inspired by St. Benedict of Nursia. 

Daswa became very active in the church, serving as a teacher and catechist. He worked with adolescents and families. He helped to build the first church in his area and later became the principal of the school. He married in 1974. He and his wife had eight children. He valued his family and assisted his wife with household chores, which was unheard of in that area at that time.

In November 1989, heavy rains and lightening strikes plagued the area. Hi village suffered strong storms again a couple of months later and the elders decided that the lighting occurred due to magic. They demanded a tax from all of the residents to pay for a sangoma to "sniff out" the witch who caused the storms. Daswa declined to pay the tax, saying that the storms were just a natural phenomenon. On February 2, 1990, while driving someone to the next village, he found his way blocked by a downed tree. As he attempted to clear the road he was ambushed by a mob of young men. He was stoned, beaten and clubbed over the head. Boiling water was poured over him in his ears and nostrils after he was attacked to ensure that he was dead. 

Benedict Daswa's feast day is February1. He is patron against the occult, against witchcraft and for persecuted Christians. 

St. Martha Wang Luo Mande

 For this National Adoption Awareness Month, today's post will feature a Saint who shared the struggle of infertility. 

St. Martha Wang Luo Mande was born in 1812 in the town of Zunji in China. Martha married and lived with her husband on a small vegetable farm in Qingyian. The couple was childless and so adopted two nephews. 

When Martha's husband died, the nephews left home and she moved to the edge of town and ran a small inn. When a Catholic came to town to evangelize, Martha was intrigued. She was baptized in the Church on Christmas Day 1852. She moved to Guiyang where she worked as a cook in a Catholic hostel. When a seminary was opened, she was hired as a cook and cleaning lady for the seminarians.

In 1861, anti-religious soldiers came to the seminary and arrested three of the seminarians. They were sentenced to death for the crime of being Christians. Martha decided to accompany the seminarians to the place of execution. Because she continued to offer support for the seminarians in the face of threats from the soldiers, she too was arrested and condemned. The four of them were beheaded on July 29, 1861. 

St. Martha Wang's feast day is July 29. She was canonized in the year 2000 by Pope Saint John Paul II along with other Chinese Martyrs. 

Saints John and Paul

 I forgot to post yesterday. I am so sorry. To make up for it, we will have two Saints today.

A little explanation of why I chose these Saints:  In an attempt to be more focused at Mass, I have been reading along with the prayers, particularly the Eucharistic Prayers, while the Priest prays them at the Mass. Both our Pastor and our Parochial Vicar favor Eucharistic Prayer I for the Sunday Liturgy, so I am reading it with them nearly every week. While doing this I noticed that in the list of Apostles and Martyrs, the names John and Paul are listed twice. It is somewhat obvious that the first time they are mentioned, they refer to the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John. But who then are the "John and Paul" that come between "Chrysogonus" and "Cosmos and Damian"? (Stay tuned for possible future posts on these Saints.)

Saints John and Paul lived during the fourth century in Rome. Very little is known of their lives or their martyrdom. According to their Acts, they were eunuchs of the daughter of Constantine the Great. They were martyred at the command of Julian the Apostate by beheading on June 26 around the year 362.

Although so little is known of their lives, it is certain that these men lived in Rome and were martyred for the faith. In the second half of the fourth century, a Roman senator and his son fashioned their house into a basilica. On the ground floor of this house, which remains under the Basilica to this day, lie the tombs of the two martyrs. They are decorated with interesting frescoes. There is evidence that the tombs of these martyrs were venerated as early as the fifth century.

The feast day of Saints John and Paul is June 26.

St. Nicholas of Tolentino

 Today the Catholic Church observes All Souls Day. On this day when we pray for the souls in purgatory, let us look at a Saint who was known for his intercession for the faithfully departed. 

Nicholas of Tolentino took his name from St. Nicholas of Myra, at whose shrine his parents had prayed to have a child. He was born in 1245 in Sant'Angelo, Italy, and became an Augustinian Monk at the age of 18. Seven years later he was ordained to the priesthood. In 1274, he was sent to Tolentino where he ministered to the poor and criminals. He is said to have cured the sick with bread over which he had prayed to Mary. He obtained a reputation as a wonderworker.

Nicholas is said to have received visions, including images of Purgatory. Because of these visions, prayer for the souls in Purgatory was an outstanding characteristic of his spirituality. 

Many legends have grown up around St. Nicholas. One that I found fun and fantastic is that he was once served a roasted fowl. A vegetarian, Nicholas made the Sign of the Cross over the bird and it revived and flew out the window. 

Towards the end of his life he became ill and suffered greatly. He died on September 10, 1305. St. Nicholas is invoked as patron of many things, including animals, babies, boatmen, dying people, sick animals, and souls in Purgatory. His feast day is September 10.

St. Margaret of Castello

 Happy Feast of All the Saints!!  On this day, the Catholic Church commemorates all those who have gone before us and have persevered in the Faith. We recognize that untold numbers of the faithful have reached that eternal home land - "I had a vision of a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue." Rev 7:9a   Of that great multitude, the Church has canonized more than 10,000 (contrary to popular parlance, the Church does not "make saints", she identifies Saints that God has already made and give us the opportunity to learn from them). 

It is time once again for "Saintly November." Since I have limited time and space, I will stick to those Saints that the Church has identified through the process of Beatification and Canonization - and even at that, I could continue this for a couple of lifetimes and not get to them all - so let's get started.

I am starting our journey this year with the recently canonized St. Margaret of Castello. Margaret was born near Florence, Italy, in 1247 to a well to do family. Her parents were dismayed to discover that she was born with several physical ailments. She was a dwarf, lame and blind and had a severe curvature of the spine that left her permanently hunched over. Her family was ashamed of her and kept her hidden away for many years - from the age of 6, she was walled up in a room beside a chapel. There, the family chaplain was able to instruct her in the faith and administer the sacraments. 

When Margaret was about 16, her parents took her to a Franciscan Shrine in Castello hoping for a miracle cure for their daughter. When the hoped for miracle did not occur, Margaret's parents abandoned her. The people of the community took pity on the young girl, giving her the help that she needed to survive. Margaret accepted her afflictions with the eyes of faith. She never became discouraged or bitter over her circumstances. She repaid the townsfolk by looking after their children while they worked and instructing the children in the faith and the Psalms. 

Margaret came to know the Dominican Friars who were in the town and was under their spiritual guidance. She was admitted to the local order of the Third Order of St. Dominic. St. Margaret died on April 12, 1320. She was beatified in 1675 and has held a special place in the hearts of Dominicans around the world (and in particular the Dominicans at St. Patrick Church here in Columbus, OH). Pope Francis declared her a Saint by equipollent canonization on April 24, 2021. 

St Margaret is the patron saint of the Pro-Life Movement, the disabled and the blind. Her feast day is April 13.