Christian Today

31st May
 - Saint Petronilla - Independent Catholic News : Little is known about this early Roman martyr, except that she refused to marry a nobleman named Flaccus in the first century. He threatened to kill her but she died naturally after three days fasting. Petronilla is traditionally identified as the daughter of Saint Peter, though this may stem simply because of the similarity of names. It is believed she may have been a convert of the saint (and thus a 'spiritual daughter of St Peter, or a follower or servant. It is said St Peter cured her of palsy.

Fernando III of Castilla: Saint, King, and Conqueror : Fernando III of Castilla was the leader Christian Spain had long awaited. A just ruler, a merciful conqueror, a man of prayer and strict aestheticism, a great protector of the mendicant orders, and above all, a devoted subject of Jesus and Mary; St. Fernando was a Third Order Franciscan, a loving husband and father, and the Spanish ruler who won more territory back from the Moors than any other Christian leader in the Reconquista to date. When Fernando became King of Castilla in 1217 the Moors still had control of most of the south of Spain, including the cities of Sevilla and Cordoba, but by the time of his death in 1252 they only occupied the tiny kingdom of Granada, which was required to pay a yearly tribute to the Spanish crown. Among the victories won by St. Fernando, the reconquest of Cordoba and Sevilla are among the most significant.

St. Cantius, Cantianus, Cantianilla, & Protus - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Cantius, Cantianus, Cantianilla, & Protus, Roman Catholic Martyrs. Cantius with his brother, Cantianus, and his Sister, Cantianilla. They belonged to the Roman Anicii family, nobles orphaned as children and raised as Christians by one Protus. They freed their slaves, sold their estates, gave to the poor, and fled to Aquileia, Italy, when Emperor Diocletian started his persecution of Christians. Captured at Aquae Gradatae they refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and were beheaded. Feast May 31

30th May - Saint Joan of Arc - Independent Catholic News : The Maid of Orleans was the daughter of a peasant, born in Domremy in Lorraine, in 1412. From the age of 13 she began hearing heavenly voices telling her to take up arms and lead the French army against the English who had invaded the country. She obtained an audience with the the Dauphin, Charles, and after a searching interview, he entrusted her with a staff of attendants and a suit of armour. They joined the army at Blois and ten days later routed the

28th May - Saint Germain of Paris - Independent Catholic News : Abbot and bishop. Many incredible healings are attributed to this early French saint. Born in 496 near Autun, he was abbot of a monastery before becoming bishop of Paris in 555. He is said to have cured King Childebert I of a serious illness, and converted him from his licentious life. Out of gratitude the King built a huge Abbey for St Germain. He moved there, but continued to live very frugally. Saint Germain was known for his generosity

St. Ferdinand III of Castile - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Ferdinand III of Castile, Roman Catholic King, In 1225, he held back Islamic invaders; prayed and fasted to prepare for the war; extremely devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Between 1234-36, Ferdinand conquered the city of Cordoba from the Moors.Feastday May30

St. Luke Kirby - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Luke Kirby, Roman Catholic English Martyr, imprisoned in the Tower of London and subjected to the infamous device “Scavenger’s Daughter.” a hideous form of torture executed at Tyburn.Feastday May 30 Bl. William Filby, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr executed at Tyburn with three companions on May 30. Bl. Lawrence Richardson, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr executed at Tyburn on May 30. Bl. Maurus Scott Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on May 30 with Blessed Richard Newport Bl. Richard Newport, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. Feastday May30 Bl. Thomas Cottam, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest and English Martyr executed at Tyburn with three companions on May 30.

Martyrs of Toulouse - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Martyrs of Toulouse, Roman Catholic Martyrs. Twelve martyrs put to death by Albigensian heretics near Toulouse, France, on the eve of the feast of the Ascension. Four diocesan priests, three Dominicans, two Benedictines, two Franciscans, and one layman died singing the Te Deum. Feastday May29

Bl. Richard Thirkeld - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Richard Thirkeld, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr, Ordained in 1579, he went back to England and served the Catholics in the area around Yorkshire until his execution for being a priest on May 29 at York. Feastday May29

St. William Arnaud - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. William Arnaud, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr. A member of the Dominicans, he held the post of inquisitor general in Southern France during the effort to extirpate the Albigensian heresy. He was martyred by the heretics with eleven companions and is counted among the Martyrs of Toulouse. Feast May 29

Bl. Robert Johnson - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Robert Johnson, Roman Catholic Priest English Martyr, martyred at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered.Feastday May28

Bl. Thomas Ford - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Thomas Ford, Roman Catholic Priest English Martyr, martyred on May 28 at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered.Feastday May28

Bl. John Shert - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. John Shert, Roman Catholic Priest English Martyr, martyred at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Feastday May28

English Historical Fiction Authors: Margaret Pole’s Wild Ride on Fortune’s Wheel : by Samantha Wilcoxson Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, is possibly best known for her botched execution. One of the last victims of H...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Three Priests at Tyburn and the "Rome and Rheims P... : Fathers Thomas Ford, John Shert, and Robert Johnson were hung, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on May 28, 1582. According to the Catholic ...

27th May - Saint Augustine of Canterbury - Independent Catholic News : Bishop and missionary. Known as the Apostle of the English, St Augustine was a Benedictine monk and Prior of St Andrew's in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great sent him with a band of 40 missionaries to evangelise England. They landed at Ebbsfleet near Ramsgate in 597. Augustine soon converted the local King Ethelbert whose wife Bertha, daughter of the King of Paris, was already Christian. Rather than ban pagan customs his

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Ten Reasons to Honor St. Edmund Campion: August 31... : Fresh from his latest torture session, bereft of books or any sources but his memory and his wit, the Jesuit priest Edmund Campion debated...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Pugin and St. Augustine of Canterbury : St. Bede the Venerable, St. Philip Neri, and now St. Augustine of Canterbury, there has been quite a sequence of English or English relate...

Text: Pope Francis Corpus Christi homily - Independent Catholic News : On Thursday evening, Pope Francis celebrated a special Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi on the steps of Rome's cathedral Basilica of St John Lateran. An official English translation of the Holy Father's homily follows: Do this in remembrance of me. Twice the Apostle Paul, writing to the community in Corinth, recalls this command of Jesus in his account of the institution of the Eucharist. It is the oldest testimony we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper.

26th May - Saint Philip Neri - Independent Catholic News : Priest, reformer and founder. The son of a lawyer, Philip Neri was born in Florence in 1515. He was educated by the Dominicans before being apprenticed to an uncle's mercantile business. At 17 he went to Rome where he became a tutor in the house of a nobleman, wrote poetry, and studied theology and philosophy. From 1538 he formed a brotherhood of laymen who met together to pray and work with pilgrims and the sick.

St. Mariana - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Mariana, Roman Catholic Holy recluse, Patron of Ecuador; Americas; bodily ills; loss of parents; people rejected by religious orders; sick people; sickness. Feastday May 26

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: St. Philip Neri, Newman's Patron : Today is the feast of St. Philip Neri, Blessed John Henry Newman's patron and model as an Oratorian. His feast this year comes soon af...

St. Bede the Venerable and History as His Story : There is fundamental and very important distinction between the Church of England on the one hand, and the Church in England on the other. Prior to the foundation of the Church of England by King Henry VIII in the sixteenth century, the Church took hold in England thanks to missionaries from Rome; their tale and …

Prisoner in the Death House: Father Emil Kapaun : Day by day, Fr Emil Kapaun knew exactly what the real enemy was. When the enlisted men refused to carry out tasks, he would do them. When POWs argued with each other, he mediated; when gloominess was in the air, he cracked jokes; but, more importantly, he was praying constantly for these men.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Maria Magdalen Dei Pazzi, Roman Catholic Discalced Carmelite mystic and healer. Feast May 25

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Pope Benedict XVI on St. Bede the Venerable : During his series of addresses on the Doctors of the Church during his weekly general audiences , Pope Benedict XVI spoke about St. Bede t...

25th May
 - The Venerable Bede - Independent Catholic News : Monk. Born in Northumbria in 673, Bede studied at the newly-founded monastery of Wearmouth, and then Jarrow. Here he became a monk, and spent the rest of his life - probably travelling no further afield than York and Lindisfarne. The Venerable Bede said: ''I have devoted my energies to the study of the Scriptures. Observing monastic discipline, singing the daily services in church, study, teaching and writing have always been

St. Joanna - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Joanna, Joanna was the wife of Chuza, steward of King Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She was one of the women who helped provide for Jesus and the Apostles and was one of the three women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on the first Easter morning. Jennifer and Jessica are derivatives of Joanna. Feastday May 24

St. John del Prado - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John del Prado, Roman Catholic Franciscan martyr of Morocco. He was born in Morgobresio, in Leon, Spain, and became a Franciscan of the Strict Observance. Volunteering in 1613 to go to Morocco, he was martyred there with two Franciscan companions on the orders of the ruler of Marrakesh. The ruler supposedly executed John personally. Feastday May 24

24th May - 

Saint David of Scotland - Independent Catholic News : Scotland's greatest king was the sixth and youngest son of St Margaret of Scotland and Malcolm III, born in 1085. He married Matilda daughter of Waldef, the Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northampton and Huntingdon which gave him a claim to the earldom Northumberland. For many years he waged a long and unsuccessful war against England, but after being crowned king of Scotland in 1124, around the age of 40, he devoted his life to peaceful activities

St. Julia - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Julia, Roman Catholic Martyr she refused to sacrifice to Pagan Gods, disrespecting the state gods was a crime punishable by death, which the magistrate could only overlook at his own risk. Feastday May 23

23rd May - Saint William of Rochester - Independent Catholic News : This 12th century saint was a Scottish fisherman from Perth. As a young man he experienced a conversion and devoted himself to caring for orphans and the poor. One child in his care had been abandoned as a baby on a church doorstep. In 1201 he set off on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but only reached Rochester in Kent, when he was set upon by thieves and murdered. His body was found by a madwoman. She covered him in honeysuckle and was

St. Rita - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Rita, Roman Catholic Patron of impossible cases, Saint Rita's tomb with her incorrupt body at the Basilica of Cascia. Feastday May 22

English Historical Fiction Authors: Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts. : By E.M. Powell The word manuscript literally means ‘written by hand’ and medieval manuscripts refers to those books produced in Europe bet...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Blessed John Forest, Observant Friar and Martyr : Blessed John Forest was executed by being burned to death, suspended over the flames from a gibbet in chains on May 22, 1538 because he o...

21st May - Saint Andrew Bobola - Independent Catholic News : Martyr. Jesuit priest. This Polish saint was born in 1591. He became a Jesuit at Vilno (Vilnius) in 1609 where he preached at the church of St Casimir before being appointed superior at the house at Bobruysk. During an epidemic of plague he worked night and day caring for the sick and dying. Later he worked as a missionary, bringing whole villages of Orthodox Christians into communion with the Catholics. This caused considerable

St. Constantine the Great - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Constantine the Great, Roman Catholic emperor called the “Thirteenth Apostle” in the East he founded the Christian city of Constantinople to serve as his new capital, and undertook a long-sighted program of Christianization for the whole of the Roman Empire. Feastday May21

Bl. Peter Wright - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Peter Wright, Roman Catholic English Jesuit Martyr, put to death at Tyburn by Oliver Cromwell . Feastday May 19

St. Basilissa - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Basilissa Roman Catholic Martyr. After her conversion to Christianity. She was beheaded for her faith when she was denounced to Emperor Galienus by Pompeius and remained steadfast in her refusal to marry him. Feastday May 20

20th May - Saint Bernardino of Siena - Independent Catholic News : Franciscan preacher. St Bernadino was born at Massa di Carrera in 1380, and brought up by an aunt after his parents died. As a young man he took charge of the La Scala hospital at Siena after most of the staff died of plague. He then looked after his bedridden aunt until her death. In 1402 he became a Franciscan friar and soon began to make a name for himself as a preacher. For many years he journeyed on foot, preaching up and down Italy in

Pope: Rich people who exploit the poor are bloodsuckers - Independent Catholic News : Exploiting working people to enrich oneself is like sucking blood - it's a mortal sin. That was the message of Pope Francis in his homily at morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday. The day's first reading, taken from the Letter of Saint James, is a forceful warning to the rich who accumulate wealth by exploiting the people. 'Riches in themselves are good,' the Pope explained, but they are 'relative, not absolute' goods. He criticized the so-called 'theology of prosperity' -

Evangelizing 'Cafeteria Catholics' : Cafeteria Catholics. What a very descriptive phrase: a quick metaphor to describe those who want to pick and choose what parts of Church teaching to take seriously.  For Catholics who strive to live close to the teachings of mother Church this term can be used to quickly dismiss those we see as falling short of …

The Saintly Solution to Uncertainty : When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. John 16:13 Discernment doesn’t mean choosing between something morally right and something morally wrong; obviously we must avoid anything sinful. Discernment involves deciding between two or more courses of action that are morally good or at least morally neutral. The saints …

English Historical Fiction Authors: Vagrants and Vagabonds in Tudor England : by Deborah Swift Jacques Bellange (c. 1575–1616) The Beggar Looking Through his Hat  Hark! Hark! The dogs do bark! The beggars are c...

St. Pope John I - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Pope John I, Roman Catholic Pope and Martyr. John was elected Pope while he was still an archdeacon upon the death of Pope Hormisdas in 523. Feast May 18

Bl. Antonia Mesina - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Antonia Mesina, Roman Catholic Martyr, she was murdered by a teenager when she resisted his rape attempt, Patron of martyrs; rape victims, Feastday May 17

17th May Saint Paschal Baylon - Independent Catholic News : Franciscan laybrother. Patron of Eucharistic devotions. St Paschal was born in 1540 at Torre Hermosa in Aragon. He came from a poor shepherd family. In 1564 he joined the reformed Friars Minor of Peter of Alcantara at the convent of Loreto. Paschal worked very hard with the sick and poor and was known for his good humour. One day he was observed performing an elaborate dance before a statue of Our Lady in the refectory.

16th May - Saint Simon Stock, Saint Brendan the Navigator - Independent Catholic News : Saint Simon Stock - Carmelite friar. According to tradition St Simon Stock was born in Aylesford in Kent. Little is known of his early life. he may have travelled to the Holy Land on pilgrimage. He was elected prior general of the Carmelite order in 1247. This was a crucial time in the history of the order which had recently come to the West from Palestine. Among the foundations established at this time were Cambridge, Oxford, Paris and Bologna.

Pope Francis: One proves love - not with words, but with deeds - Independent Catholic News : 'Today, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, which brings to completion the Easter season, 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ. The liturgy invites us to open our minds and our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised several times to His disciples, that He has obtained with His Resurrection. Jesus Himself implored the Father for this, as attested to in today's Gospel, which takes place at the Last Supper. Jesus tells His disciples: 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the

St. Simon Stock - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Simon Stock, Roman Catholic Carmelite Monk. July 16, 1251, at a time when the Carmelite Order was being oppressed. In it the Virgin Mary appeared to him holding the brown scapular in one hand. The Scapular of Mount Carmel,Feast May 16

St. Dymphna - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Dymphna, Roman Catholic Laywoman Martyr, the patron of those suffering from nervous and mental afflictions. Feast May 15

St. Victor and Corona - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Victor and Corona, Roman Catholic Husband and Wife and Martyrs. They were put to death in Syria during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Feastday May 14

14th May - Saint Matthias - Independent Catholic News : Apostle. Matthias was chosen by the apostles, to fill the place left vacant by Judas Iscariot. He was with them at Pentecost. According to legend he preached in Judea and then Cappadocia and near the Caspian Sea. Tradition also links him with Ethiopia. His history is sometimes confused with that of Matthew and Andrew. It is claimed that St Matthias the Apostle's remains are interred in the Abbey of St Matthias, Trier, Germany, brought there through

St. John the Silent - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John the Silent, Roman Catholic Bishop. He asked to be walled up and lived for seventy-five years as a silent recluse. Feast May 13

St. Juliana of Norwich - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Juliana of Norwich, Roman Catholic English Benedictine Mystic. Feastday May 13

13th May - Feast of Our Lady of Fatima - Independent Catholic News : On 13 May 1917, three children were shepherding their little flock in the Cova da Iria, parish of Fatima, town of Vila Nova de Ourém - today the diocese of Leiria-Fatima. They were called: Lucia de Jesus, aged 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged 9 and 7. About midday, after praying the Rosary,

12th May - Saint Pancras - Independent Catholic News : Martyr. Little is known of the life of Saint Pancras. According to legend, he came from Phrygia and was martyred in Rome at the age of 14 in around the year 304. A church was built over his tomb in 500 by Pope St Symmachus. In 664 some of his relics were sent to the king of Northumbria by Pope Vitalian. He is mentioned by Bede.

Bl. Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

11th May
 - Saint Comgall - Independent Catholic News : First abbot of Bangor, Northern Ireland. St Comgall known as the 'father of the monks of Ireland. Born in 516, he was trained by St Fintan at Clonenagh. After his ordination he lived for some years as a hermit in very austere conditions, in Lough Erne. In 558 he founded Bangor which became the largest monastery in Ireland. Together with several smaller houses the community is said to have reached 3,000.

Bl. John of Rochester - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. John of Rochester, Roman Catholic Carthusian Monk and Martyr of England who died with Blessed James Walworth. He was born in Terling, Essex, and became a monk in the London Charterhouse. John was implicated in Blessed James Walworth's correspondence with the duke of Norfolk. He and James refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were martyred at York and beatified in 1886. Feastday May 11

St. Peter Van - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Peter Van, Roman Catholic Catechist and Vietnamese Martyr. A native catechist, he was arrested by authorities and beheaded. May 10

St. Damien de Veuster: Servant of Humanity : Fr. Damien practiced the corporal works of mercy and helped the people to build housing, to clothe themselves and to raise crops. He cleaned and bandaged their sores, bathed them, amputated their gangrenous limbs, and washed their clothes. He restrained the strong from brutalizing the weak. He put an end to the debauchery. He built orphanages and schools.

10 May
 - Saint John of Avila - Independent Catholic News : Priest, writer, mystic. John was born in 1500 in New Castile to wealthy Jewish parents. He studied law at Salamanca but then gave the subject up to devote himself to prayer and penance for three years. He then went to Alcala and studied theology under Dominic de Soto. In 1525 he was ordained. He gave away his inheritance to the poor and wanted to join the missions in Mexico. Instead he was asked to

Pope Francis: We must witness to Christ not only with words but in everyday life - Independent Catholic News : During the Regina coeli with pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about the Ascension of Our Lord. 'Before parting from his friends, Jesus, referring to the event of his death and resurrection, told them, 'You are my witnesses' that is, the disciples, the Apostles are witnesses of the death and resurrection of Christ, on that day, even at the Ascension of Christ.' The Holy Father went on to say, 'In fact, after seeing their Lord ascending into heaven, the disciples returned to the city as witnesses

English Historical Fiction Authors: Commodore John Barry - Father of the United States... : by Arthur Russell John Barry, who is regarded by many as the Father of the United States Navy, was born son of James and Ellen Barr...

Bl. Thomas Pickering - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. Thomas Pickering Roman Catholic English Benedictine martyr. He entered the Benedictines as a lay brother at Douai, France, and there took his vows in 1660. Going home to England, he became attached to the Benedictines in the service of the Chapel Royal of Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II (r. 1660-1685). Arrested as part of the "Popish Plot," he was condemned and hanged at Tyburn. Feastday May 9

8th May - Saint Peter of Tarantaise - Independent Catholic News : Cistercian archbishop. Born in Dauphine, France in 1102, Peter joined the Cistercian Order at Bonneveaux at the age of 20 with his two brothers and father. When he was 30 he was sent to serve as the first abbot of Tamie, in the Tarantaise Mountains, between Geneva and Savoy. There he built a hospice for travellers. In 1142, he was named archbishop of Tarantaise although he was initially very reluctant to take up the office.

St. John of Beverly - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. John of Beverly, Roman Catholic Bishop. His shrine was for centuries one of the most popular pilgrim centers in England. Feastday May7

Berrigan's life lesson: fidelity has its payoffs | National Catholic Reporter In their respective ways, said Kelly, the lives of the two men asked: “Are we to remain in a catatonic stupor, asleep, drunk, unconscious or in flat-lined existence? In these United States of Amnesia? Will we arrive at perdition, dominion of death with our freedom never used, intact? What good is it if paralyzed in fear? Liberated, but not loving.”

St. Evodius - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Evodius, Bishop Martyr, the successor of St. Peter in Antioch. Evodius was the first person to identify the faithful as Christians. Feastday May 6

Bl. Edward Jones - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Blessed Edward Jones and Anthony Middleton, Roman Catholic Priests and English Martyrs. The two men of God were hunted down and captured with the aid of spies posing as Catholics, and they were hanged before the very doors of the houses in Fleet Street and Clerkenwell where they were arrested. Their trial is regarded as full of irregularities; the reason for the summary justice dispensed to them was spelled out in large letters: "For treason and foreign invasion." After offering their death for the forgiveness of their sins, the spread of the true Faith, and the conversion of heretics, they died on May 6, 1590

Hedge Schools and Classical Education in Ireland - Crisis Magazine : The first Tuesday of the first full week in May is National Teacher Day, so this seems an opportune occasion to recall a courageous, but little-known group of teachers and schoolmasters who sacrificed comfort and security for the sake of truth, goodness, and beauty in seventeenth-century Ireland. From very early days, classical education was highly …

5th May - Saint Jutta - Independent Catholic News : Married woman. St Jutta lived in 13th century Thuringia. She was married at the age of fifteen to a nobleman and bore children by him. During their marriage Jutta, her husband and children led very prayerful lives. He died while they were on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Each of her children eventually entered a monastery upon reaching a suitable age, and this left Jutta able to pursue a more austere religious way of life.

4th May

 The English Martyrs - Independent Catholic News : These forty saints died for their faith between 1535 and 1679. They were selected from 200 already beatified by earlier popes. They were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970. In 2001 their feast was moved to this day. Thirteen were seminary priests, ten were Jesuits, three Benedictines, three Carthusian monks, one Brigettine, two Franciscans, and one Austin friar. The rest were lay people: four men and three women.

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Holy Martyrs of England, Pray for Us! : Today is the great feast honoring all of the Catholic Martyrs of the English Reformation: those canonized by Popes Paul VI and Pius XII an...

St. James the Lesser - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. James the Lesser, author of the first Catholic Epistle Feastday May 3

Sts. Timothy & Martha - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Sts. Timothy & Martha, Roman Catholic Martyrs, husband and wife, in Antinoe (modern Egypt). Timothy was a reader in the Egyptian Church who was ordered to hand over the Scriptures to Roman officials. When he refused, he was arrested and condemned with his wife of a mere three weeks, Martha. They were nailed to a wall and lingered for nine terrible days during which they gave encouragement to each other. Feastday May 3

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Their Faith Was Their Crime : I'm working on a second book, focused on the Catholic Martyrs of the English Reformation. This is the working Table of Contents, subject...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: May the Fourth Be With You, on the Third : Anna Mitchell and I will discuss the Feast of the Martyrs of England and Wales this morning on the Son Rise Morning Show during the first ...

St. Zoe - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Zoe, wife of Exsuperius, also known as Hesperus, both Christians, and slaves. When they refused to eat food offered to the Gods by their master on the birth of their son, they and their two sons, Syriacus and Theodulus, were tortured and then roasted to death in a furnace. Feastday May 2nd

Pope Francis: 'We are never alone, Jesus is with us always' - Independent : Before the Regina Coeli with pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Francis reflected on the days' Gospel reading that describes the Last Supper and Jesus' promise to the Apostles. The Lord tells the apostles their mission is to take the Gospel message into the world and that they will not be alone. 'The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you: teach and remember.'

2nd May - Saint Athanasius - Independent Catholic News : Bishop. Patriarch of Alexandria. Born in 296, to Christian parents, Athanasius became deacon and secretary to Bishop Alexander. He attended the Council of Nicea in 325, which condemned the Arian heresy (that denied the eternity of the Word of God and the Divinity of Christ). The Creed formulated during this first General Council of the church is part of Christian belief today. Athanasius was a vigourous defender of Christian orthodoxy all his life.

1 May - Saint Joseph the Worker - Independent Catholic News : Foster father of Jesus and husband of Our Lady. Patron saint of families, homes, hospices, manual workers, especially carpenters, and those who desire a happy death. All that is known of St Joseph for certain is in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. He came from the house of David but his trade as a carpenter shows that he was not rich. He was betrothed to Mary and worried when he learnt that she was pregnant, until an angel came to him in a dream. After the birth of Jesus,

St. Bertha of Kent - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Bertha of Kent, The first Christian queen of England, a Frankish princess. She married Ethelbert of Kent, a pagan king, and she brought her chaplain, Luidhard, to the court. Ethelbert welcomed St. Augustine to Kent in 596 . Feastday May 1