Christian Today

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 St. Thomas Du Roman Catholic Vietnamese martyr. A native of Vietnam, he entered the Dominicans as a tertiary and aided the Catholic cause in Vietnam until his arrest by authorities. He was tortured and finally beheaded. Feastday May 31

ST. FELIX OF NICOSIA St Felix of Nicosia was a Capuchin friar who lived in the first half of the 18th century. Inside his convent he was porter, shoemaker, and nurse. Outside, he went around begging, and teaching catechism to children. He died in 1787 and was canonized in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI.  May 31 ST. PETRONILLA According to the Passio of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, St Petronilla may have been the daughter of the Apostle Peter. What is certain is that she was buried in the Catacombs of St Domitilla. She was martyred in the 4th century and her remains were transferred to St Peter's in 757AD.   May 31

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 30 Bl. William Filby, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. Born in Oxfordshire, he studied at Oxford. After graduation, William was converted to Catholicism and went to Reims, France, where he received ordination as a priest in 1581. He returned to England immediately and was arrested with St. Edmund Campion. William was executed at Tyburn with three companions on May 30. He was beatified in 1886.  Bl. Thomas Cottam, 1582 A.D.  English martyr. Born at Dilworth, Lancashire, England, in 1549, he was raised as a Protestant and studied at Oxford University before undergoing a conversion to Catholicism. Leaving England to prepare for ordination at Douai and Rome, he was ordained and joined the Jesuits. going home in 1580. Arrested at his landing at Dover, he was taken to the Tower of London and eventually hanged, drawn, and quartered with three companions.  St. Walstan, 1016 A.D. Penitent and model of charity. Born at Bawburgh, near Norwich, England, ...

ST. JOAN OF ARC, VIRGIN, St. Joan of Arc, Patron Saint of soldiers and France,  May 30 ST. FERDINAND, KING OF CASTILLA 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 May 30

Then the Emperor, realizing that everything was lost, removed his Imperial insignia, and followed by his cousin Theophilus Palaeologus, the Castilian Don Francisco of Toledo, and John Dalmatus, all four holding their swords, charged into the sea of the enemy soldiers, hitting left and right in a final act of defiance. They were never seen again. Now thousands of Ottoman soldiers were pouring into the city. One after the other the city Gates were opened. The Ottoman flags began appearing on the walls, on the towers, on the Palace at Blachernae. Civilians in panic were rushing to the churches. Others locked themselves in their homes, some continued fighting in the streets, crowds of Greeks and foreigners were rushing towards the port area. The allied ships were still there and began collecting refugees. The Cretan soldiers and sailors, manning three towers near the entrance of the Golden Horn, were still fighting and had no intention of surrendering. At the end, the Ottoman commanders ...

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 Martyrs of Toulouse, Roman Catholic Martyrs. Twelve martyrs put to death by Albigensian heretics nearToulouse, 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

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 29 Bl. Richard Thirkeld, 1349 A.D. English martyr, also listed as Thirkild. Born in Durham, England, he studied at Oxford and was said to be quite old when he left the isle to receive preparation for the priesthood at Reims and Douai, France. 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.

ST. URSULA LEDÓCHOWSKA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE URSULINE SISTERS OF THE AGONIZING HEART OF JESUS   Saint  Urszula (born Julia)  Ledóchowska , nicknamed "Mother", founded the Grey Ursulines, or  Congregation  of Ursulines of the Agonising  Heart   of Jesus , who educate children and young people in orphanages and schools, and serve the needy and oppressed, in over a dozen countries. May 29 ST. PAUL VI, POPE Elected pope on June 21, 1963, he took the name  Paul VI . +  Pope Paul VI  is remembered for his commitment to continuing the work begun by  Pope St .  John XXIII  and the Second Vatican Council,

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 28 Bl. Thomas Ford, 1582 A.D. Martyr of England. He was born in Devon and educated at Oxford. There he converted and set out for Douai, France. Ordained a priest in 1573, he was sent back to England three years later. Thomas labored in Oxfordshire and Berckshire until his arrest. He was martyred on May 28 at Tyburn by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. He was a companion of St. Edmund Campion, and he died with Blesseds Robert Johnson and John Shert. Thomas was beatified in 1882.  Bl. Robert Johnson , 1582 A.D. English martyr. Born in Shropshire, England, he was a servant before he went to study at Rome and Douai, France, receiving ordination in 1576. Returning to the English mission, he served in the area of London for four years, until his arrest. Robert was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn with Blesseds Thomas Ford and John Short. Robert was beatified in 1886.  St. Augustine of Canterbury, 605 A.D. At the end of the sixth century any...

ST. GERMAIN, BISHOP OF PARIS He studied at Avalon and also at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scapilion, a priest. At the age of thirty-four he was ordained by  St . Agrippinus of Autun and became Abbot of  Saint-Symphorien  near that town. May 28

ST. AUGUSTINE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY St. Augustine of Canterbury, Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597,the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church. Feastday May 27

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 26 St. Becan, 6th century. Irish hermit in Cork. Becan lived in the time of St. Columba and was known for his sanctity.  St. Dyfan. Missionary to the Britons. He was sent by Pope St. Eleutherius when a local Briton king requested missionaries from the pope. Dyfan is remembered with a church at Merthyr-Dyfan, Britain. He is also called Deruvianus and Damian.  Sts. Fugatius and Damian, 2nd century. Reportedly missionaries sent by Pope St. Eleutherius to Britain. They are also listed as Phaganus and Diruvianus Fagan and Deruvian, or as Hager and Dyfan. St. Oduvald, 695 A.D. Scottish abbot. A native of Scotland, he entered the monastic life and became abbot of Melrose, which was then a great spiritual center of the era.

ST. PHILIP NERI, PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE ORATORY In the “peripheries” of the city center When Philip Neri arrived in Rome in 1534, it was as if a light were lit in the darkness of misery that nestled amidst the glories of the Ara Pacis and the lustrous travertines of the noble palaces. The center of the city had the dirty face of the outskirts, and Philip would go and get a small room, in San Girolamo in via Giulia. By day, even before he was ordained a priest, his kind face and happy heart led those who met him to the warmth of God, to which warmth he added some bread when he was able - or a caress on the forehead, a whispered comfort, to those who complain about the pallets of the Hospital of the Incurables. At night, a soul of fire, Philip, lost in a dialogue so intimate with God that he could make his bed on the steps of a church or even atop the stone of a catacomb. Always smiling This, recalls Pope Francis in his Message marking the 500th annivers...

St. Aldhelm, 709 A.D. Bishop and abbot, also called Adelemus, Athelmas, Adelnie, Eadelhelm, Aedelhem. Born about 639, and a relative of King Ine of Wessex, he received his early education at Malmesbury, in Wiltshire, England. There he was trained by an Irish teacher, Maildubh, and by Adrian, a native of Roman Africa. Adrian arrived in England with Bishop Theodore and was made abbot of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. After his training in Malmesbury, Aldhelrn was named abbot of Malmesbury, where he practiced great austerity. During his term in office the abbey prospered, and he also founded St. Lawrence monastery, in the area of Bradfordon-on-Avon. Aldhelm went to Rome to represent Malmesbury before Pope Sergius. He also counseled the Wessex Synod. In 705, Aldhelm succeeded Hedda as bishop of Sherborne, Hedda's original diocese being divided. He died only four years later. A silver shrine was erected at Malmesbury in 857 by King Ethelwulf. The shrine honored not only the saint'...

ST. GREGORY VII, POPE Pope/St. Gregory VII was one of the great church reformers. Educated in Rome, Hildebrand was chaplain to Gregory VI, whose exile he shared. When Gregory VI died in 1047, Hildebrand entered a monastery where he remained until Leo IX called him to Rome to serve as treasurer of the church. Elected pope in 1073, Hildebrand took the name Gregory in honor of St. Gregory the Great and began to institute reforms against simony, clerical marriage May 25 ST. BEDE THE VENERABLE, BENEDECTINE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Venerable Bede, Roman Catholic Monk and Doctor of The Church. He is considered one of the most learned men of his time and a major influence on English literature. His best-known work is HISTORIA ECCLESIASTICA, a history of the English Church and people, which he completed in 731. It is an account of Christianity in England up to 729 and is a primary source of early English history. Called "the Venerable" to acknowledge his wisdom and learnin...

Bl. Louis Moreau, Roman Catholic ordained a priest on December 19, 1846. He was named bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada on November 19, 1875. Founder of the Sisters of de Saint-Joseph of Saint-Hyacinthe and Sisters of Sainte-Martha. Feastday May 24 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, 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

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 24 St. David, 1153 A.D. King of Scotland, the son of King Malcolm III and St. Margaret, born in 1084. He was sent to the English Norman court in 1093, and he married Matilda, the widow of the earl of Northhampton, becoming an English baron in 1113. David succeeded his brother, Alexander I, as the king of Scotland in 1124. Years of Struggle against King Stephen ended in 1139 when they made peace. David founded dio-ceses and monasteries in Scotland, instituted Norman law, started the office of chancellor, and conducted many charitable projects. He died in Carlisle, Scotland, May 24. He was never formally canonized.

ST. VINCENT DI LÉRINS, PRIEST we commemorate the holy, righteous Father  Vincent  of  Lérins . Vincent  was born in Gaul sometime in the late fourth century. He abandoned a career in the Roman military to become a monk at the great Monastery of  Lérins , located on a small island (today known as Isle Saint-Honorat) just off the Mediterranean coast from the modern city of Cann. May 24

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 23 St. William of Rochester, Patron of adopted children.   St. William of Rochester is the patron saint of adopted children. William was a well-to-do burgher at Perth, Scotland. He went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his adopted son David who murdered him near Rochester, England. When a mentally deranged woman found his body and cared for it, she was miraculously cured of her mental problems. Reportedly miracles occurred at his grave, and it is said that he was canonized by Pope Alexander IV in 1256, St. Goban, 6th or 7th century. Abbot also called Gobhnena. He is believed to be the Goban mentioned in the life of St. Laserian. Goban served in Tascaffin, County Limerick, Ireland.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST DE ROSSI, ROMAN PRIEST  He is the patron saint of Voltaggio and his feast day is celebrated on May 23. May 23

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 22 St. Boethian, 7th century. Benedictine martyr and a disciple of St. Fursey. An Irishman by birth, Boethian built the Pierrepoint Abbey near Laon, in France. He was murdered there by rebellious monks. Bl. John Forest, 1538 A.D. Martyr of England, the confessor of the wife of King Henry VIII, Queen Catherine of Aragon. He became a Franciscan at Greenwich at the age of seventeen and studied at Oxford. John opposed Henry’s divorce and the suppression of religious orders. Because of this he was arrested at Newgate and ordered to agree to the Oath of Supremacy. Refusing, John was dragged on a hurdle to Smithfield and then burned to death at the stake. A wooden statue of St. Derfel was burned with John. He was beatified in 1886.  St. Conall, 7th century. Abbot of Inniscoel Monastery in County Donegal, Ireland. A holy well there is named after St. Conall.

ST. RITA OF CASCIA, AGOSTINIAN Margherita Lotti - “Rita” for short - was born in the small township of Roccaporena in Umbria, probably in 1371. Her parents, poor farmers and peasants, made sure she had good schooling and religious education in the nearby Cascia, in the care of the Augustinian friars. From the friars, Rita learned devotion to St. Augustine, St. John the Baptist, and Nicholas of Tolentino, whom Rita chose as his patron saints. Wife and mother Around 1385, she married Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino. Society was rife with controversies and political rivalries, in which Rita’s husband was involved. The young Rita, however, through prayer, patience, and the ability to pacify that she learned from his parents, helped her spouse slowly but surely to live a more authentically Christian way of life. With love, understanding and patience, that of Rita and Paolo became a fruitful union, cheered by the arrival of two male children: Giangiacomo and Paolo Maria. Their dom...

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 21 St. Barrfoin, 6th century. Irish missionary, possibly a bishop, and friend of Sts. Columba and Brendan. Barrfoin took charge of a church founded by St. Columba in Drum Cullen, Offaly. He lived at Killbarron. He also journeyed to spread the faith. Barrfoin repeated his adventures on a voyage to the Americas to St. Brendan the Navigator.  St. Constantine the Great, 337 A.D. Junior Emperor and emperor called the “Thirteenth Apostle” in the East. The son of Constantius I Chlorus, junior emperor and St. Helena, Constantine was raised on the court of Co-Emperor Diocletian. When his father died in 306, Constantine was declared junior emperor of York, England, by the local legions and earned a place as a ruler of the Empire by defeating of his main rivals at the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312.  St.  Gollen, 7th century. Welsh saint also listed as Collen or Colan. He gave his name to Llangollen, in Clwyd, Wales, and he is associated in leg...

STS CHRISTOPHER MAGALLANES, PRIEST AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS IN MEXICO St . Christopher Magallanes, along with 21 other priests and three lay companions, were martyred between 1915 and 1937, by shooting or hanging, throughout eight Mexican states, for their membership in the Cristero movement. Magallanes erected a seminary in Totatiche and he and his companions secretly preached and ministered to the faithful. May 21 ST. EUGENE DE MAZENOD, BISHOP OF MARSEILLES, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE St. Eugene de Mazenod, Roman Catholic Priest he founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and in 1841 the Oblates sailed for missions in five continents. Patron saint of dysfunctional families. Feast May 21

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. May 20

St.  Ethelbert, 794 A.D. Martyred king of East Anglia, England. When Ethelbert, the son and heir of Ethelred, went to Mercia to ask for the hand of a princess, he was murdered by her mother, Queen Cynethryth. He was especially venerated in Hereford.

ST. BERNARDIN OF SIENA, FRANCISCAN St. Bernardine of Siena, Roman Catholic Franciscan missionary. He is known  as “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the country's Catholic faith during the 15th century. His preaching was frequently directed against gambling, witchcraft, sodomy and usury - particularly as practised by Jews. Feast May 20 ST. AUREA, MARTYR OF OSTIA Saint Aurea of Ostia  was murdered for visiting Christian prisoners and giving them a decent burial after their execution. She was drowned around 270 in  Ostia , Italy. Her body later washed ashore and was given a proper Burial. May 19

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 19 Bl. Alcuin, 804 A.D. Benedictine scholar and counselor to Charlemagne, sometimes called Alcuin of York. He was born in York, England, circa 735 and became a monk in the Benedictine Order in York. Ordained a deacon, Alcuin became headmaster of the cathedral school. He went to Rome and then met Charlemagne at Parma. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to become the minister of education for the Frankish court. Alcuin also founded a school and tutored the emperor. Upon retiring from the court, he became the abbot of St. Martin of Tours Monastery, reforming the house with St. Benedict of Aniane. Alcuin was listed in martyrologies as a Blessed. He was known for his holiness and scholarly wisdom, writing theological and liturgical treatises, and for his contributions to the so called Carolingian Renaissance.  St. Dunstan, Patron of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewelers. Born of a noble family at Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury, England, Dunstan was educ...

ST. URBAN I, POPE   St . Urban I who was elected pope in 222. He was a Roman and served as bishop of Rome for almost nine years.  Hippolytus  may have been anti-pope during his reign, and legends say that Urban baptized Valerian, the husband of  St . Cecilia.  Urban  died in 230 and was buried in the cemetary of Callixtus. May 19 ST. PETER CELESTINE V, POPE (PIETRO DEL MORRONE)   Celestine  is a saint who will always be remembered for the unique manner in which he was elected  Pope , for his spectacular incompetence in that office, and for the distinction of being the first pontiff ever to have resigned. May 19 STS. PARTHENIUS AND CALOGERO, MARTYRS ON THE VIA APPIA ST. IVES, PRIEST, ADVOCATE OF THE POOR ST. CRISPIN OF VITERBO, CAPUCHIN Crispin  was born  Pietro Fioretti  in  Viterbo . When he was five years old, his mother took him to a sanctuary of the Blessed Vir...

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 18 St. Feredarius, 863 A.D. Irish abbot of lona, Scotland, in 863. He moved the relics of St. Columba to Ireland because of Danish raids .  St. Merililaun, 8th century. Martyred pilgrim. He was from England, journeying to Rome, when he was slain at Reims, France, under circumstances that warranted his being considered a martyr.

ST.JOHN I, POPE AND MARTYR 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 ST. FELIX OF CANTALICE, CAPUCHIN FRIAR Felix of Cantalice ,  Saint ,  Capuchin friar , b. at  Cantalice , on the northwestern border of the Abruzzi; d. at Rome, May 18, 1587. His feast is celebrated amongst the Franciscans and in certain Italian dioceses on May 18.

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 17 St. Cathan, 6th or 7th century. Bishop of the isle of Bute, in Scotland, called Kil-Cathan in his honor. A tomb bearing his name was found near Londonderry, Ireland, but Scottish scholars claim his remains are at Kil-Cathan.  St. Madern. Hermit of Cornish descent also called Maden and Madron. Nothing is known of his life, but he was of Cornish descent and connected with Brittany, France. Numerous churches in England bear his name, and the reputed site of his hermitage, St. Madern’s Well, is still popular.  St. Maiduif. Irish abbot and founder of Malmesbury Abbey in England. He trained St. Aldhelm there.

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

ST. VICTOR, MARTYR ON THE VIA SALARIA ANTICA ST. PASCHAL BAYLON, FRANCISCAN LAY , PATRON OF THE EUCHARISTIC ASSOCIATIOn. St. Paschal Baylon, Roman Catholic Franciscan lay brother and mystic. Patron of all eucharistic confraternities and congresses. Feast May 17

St. Hilary, Roman Catholic Priest Bishop of Pavia, Italy, who was a ferocious enemy of the Arian heresy. May 16

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS MAY 16 St. Simon Stock.  Although little is known about Simon Stock's early life, legend has it that the name Stock, meaning "tree trunk," derives from the fact that, beginning at age twelve, he lived as a hermit in a hollow tree trunk of an oak tree. It is also believed that, as a young man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he joined a group of Carmelites with whom he later returned to Europe. Simon Stock founded many Carmelite Communities, especially in University towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, and he helped to change the Carmelites from a hermit Order to one of mendicant friars. In 1254 he was elected Superior-General of his Order at London. Simon Stock's lasting fame came from an apparition he had in Cambridge, England, on 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. Her words were: "Receive, my b...

ST. ALEXANDER, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM AND MARTYR St . Alexander, Bishop and Martyr. Alexander was a student with  Origen  at the famous Christian school of Alexandria in the late second century. He became bishop of  Cappadocia  and during the persecution of  Severus  was imprisoned for several years (204-211). May 16 ST. UBALD, BISHOP OF GUBBIO Ubald  was ordained, was named deacon of the cathedral, reformed the canons, and then left a few years later to become a hermit. Dissuaded from the eremitical ...  Ubald Baldassini  was born of a noble family in  Gubbio Italy , was orphaned in his youth, and was educated by his  uncle , the  Bishop of Gubbio . May 16