Christian Today

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Saint Francis Borgia, SJ : Phyllis McGinley wrote a book titled Saint-Watching in 1969; one of my History professors gave me a copy after I'd taken a class on Eig...

SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 30,  ST. JEROME, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ST. SIMEON, EARL OF CRÉPY ST. FRANCIS BORGIA, JESUIT

  Saint Jerome (c. 347 – 30 September 420) was a Latin Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, who also became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), and his commentaries on the Gospel of the Hebrews. His list of writings is extensive. Sept. 30

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 30  St. Enghenedl , 7th century. Welsh saint venerated in a church in Anglesey, Wales. St. Honorius of Canterbury , 653 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, a native of Rome, sent to the British Isles by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Honorius was Benedictine who went to England at the request of St. Augustine of Canterbury. He succeeded to the see in 627. Honorius was consecrated by St. Paulinus, and he consecrated Sts. Felix and Ithamar, the first English born bishops. Honorius gave St. Paulinus refuge when he fled Caedwalla of Wales after the death of King Edwin.   St. Laurus , 7th century. Welsh abbot, also listed as Lery. He left Wales to go to Brittany, France, and founded an abbey on the river Doneff, now called Saint Lery.   St. Midan , 610 A.D. Saint of Anglesey, sometimes called Nidan. He was an evangelist of that region of Wales. Other details of his life no longer exist.

 Saints Sept. 29 St. Theodota, Roman Catholic Martyr and penitent, she was converted and refused to obey the decree of the local prefect for all citizens of Philipopolis, Thrace (modern southeast Balkans), to participate in the festival of Apollo. Hundreds of Christians followed her lead, and she was arrested and put to torture, she was finally stoned to death. Feastday Sept 29 St. Rhipsime, Roman Catholic Virgin martyr who was put to death with a group of fellow virgins in Armenia. Brought before King Tiridates. Rhipsime refused the royal favors and was put to death by being roasted alive. Gaiana and all of the other maidens except one, called Christiana, were massacred by Armenian soldiers. Christiana later became a missionary in Georgia. Feastday Sept 29 Bl. Miguel de Aozaraza Roman Catholic Dominican priest. and a Martyr of Japan. Feastday Sept 29

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 29,  ST. MICHAEL, ARCHANGEL, ST. RAPHAEL, ARCHANGEL B. NICOLA OF FORCA PALENA, JEROLAMIN ST. GABRIEL, ARCHANGEL

  Bl. Thiemo , Benedictine bishop and martyr. Journeying to Palestine to aid the crusading movement, he was captured by the Muslims and imprisoned at Ascalon (modern Israel). Tortured for a long time, he was finally killed for refusing to abjure the faith. Bl. Magdalena of Nagasaki , Japan. Magdalene turned herself into the authorities and declared herself a follower of Jesus Christ. At age 23, she died on October 16, 1634 after thirteen days of torture, suffocated to death and suspended upside down in a pit of offal on a gibbet (tsurushi, "reverse hanging"). St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Martyr of Japan with Michael Aozaraza, Anthony Gonzales, William Cowtet, Vincent Shiwozuka, Lazarus and others. Lawrence was born in Manila, the Philippines. He and his companions were tortured and slain on Okinawa. St. Fr. Jacobo Kyushei Gorobioye Tomonaga de Santa María After 1614,  Ordained priest in 1626 he returned to Japan his native country in 1632, risking his life for the service of God and t...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER  28  St. Annemund, 658 A.D. Bishop and friend of St. Wilfrid of York, called Delphinus by Bede and Chamond or Annemundus. The son of a prefect in Lyons, Gaul, Annemund was raised in the count of King Dagobert I. When Clovis II succeeded to the throne, Annemund served as his councilor. Named the bishop of Lyons, Annemund befriended St. Wufrid of York. When Clovis died, Annemund was slain in the political upheaval of his time. He died on September 28, 658.   St. Tetta, 772 A.D. Benedictine abbess. She governed the convent of Wimborne in Dorsetshire, England, and she was a supporter of the missionary effort of St. Boniface in Germany, dispatching nuns to assist in the evangelization.  St. Conwall, 630 A.D. A disciple of St. Kentigern in Scotland also called Conval. He was a priest who preached and worked in Scotland.   St. Machan . Scottish saint educated in Ireland. Machan was ordained as a bishop in Rome. Details of...

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 27,  ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION AND THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY, PATRON OF ALL THE ASSOCIATIONS OF CHARITY STS. ADOLPH AND JOHN, MARTYRS OF CORDOBA

SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 26, S. NILUS, ABBOTT, FOUNDER OF THE EXARCHIC MONASTERY OF SANTA MARIA IN GROTTAFERRATA Nilus was born in 910 in the town of Rossano in Calabria. He was a Basilian monk, and then began to live the life of a hermit, dedicated to prayer and study. Toward the end of his life, he founded the famous Abbey of Grottaferrata, and became its first abbot.   STS. COSMAS AND DAMIAN, MARTYRS ST SENATOR, MARTYR OF ALBAN

  Saints Sept. 26, Sts. Cosmas & Damian, Being Christians, they were filled with the spirit of charity and never took money for their services. At Egaea in Cilicia, where they lived, they enjoyed the highest esteem of the people. When the persecution under Diocletian broke out, their very prominence rendered them marked objects of persecution. Being apprehended by order of Lysias, governor of Cilicia, they underwent various torments about the year 283. Their feast day is September 26th. They are patron saints of pharmacists. St. Noel Roman Catholic Jesuit Martyr in 1643 was sent as a missionary to the Huron Indians in New France. He became assistant to Father Charles Garnier at the Indian village of Etarita in 1649 and was murdered on December 8 by an apostate Indian while returning from a visit to neighboring Ste. Marie. He is one of the martyrs of North America. Feastday Sept 26th.

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 26  St. Colman of Elo , 612 A.D. Abbot and bishop, also called Colman Lann Elo. He was born circa 555 at Glenelly, Tyrone, Ireland, the nephew of St. Columba, In 590 A.D.; he built a monastery at Offaly. He also founded Muckamore Abbey and became bishop of Connor. Colman was the author of the Alphabet of Devotion. He died at Lynally on December 26.   St. Meugant, 6th century. Hermit of Britain. Also called Maughan, Mawghan, and Morgan, he was a disciple of St. lIltyd and reportedly died on the island of Bardsey. He is the titular patron of churches in Wales and Cornwall.

  ST. FIRMIN, BISHOP OF AMIENS AND MARTYRS

Saints Sept. 25 St. Vincent Strambi. Roman Catholic Priest and Bishop. He was expelled from his See when he refused to take an oath of alliance to Napoleon in 1808. Bl. Mark Criado, Trinitarian martyr. He was born in Andujar, Spain, in 1522, and joined the Trinitarians in 1536 . Mark was martyred by the Muslim Moors in Almeria.

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER, 25  St. Finbar . He was the son of an artisan and a lady of the Irish royal court. Born in Connaught, Ireland and baptized Lochan, he was educated at Kilmacahil, Kilkenny, where the monks named him Fionnbharr (white head) because of his light hair; he is also known as Bairre and Barr. He went on pilgrimage to Rome with some of the monks, visiting St. David in Wales on the way back. Supposedly, on another visit to Rome the Pope wanted to consecrate him a bishop but was deterred by a vision, notifying the pope that God had reserved that honor to Himself, and Finbar was consecrated from heaven and then returned to Ireland. At any rate, he may have preached in Scotland, definitely did in southern Ireland, lived as a hermit on a small island at Lough Eiroe, and then, on the river Lee, founded a monastery that developed into the city of Cork, of which he was the first bishop. His monastery became famous in southern Ireland and attracted numerous d...

SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 24, ST.PACIFIC OF SAN SEVERINO, FRANCISCAN FRIAR Carlo Antonio Divini was born in San Severino in 1653; he was orphaned at a young age. He entered the Franciscan order, taking the name Pacificus, and began a long apostolate of service in his own region. His health was poor, and he died in 1721. He was canonized in 1836.   B. V. MARY OF THE MERCY B. COLUMBA RAWSKI, ABBESS

Saints Sept. 24  Martyrs of Chalcedon, A group of forty-nine Christians slain in Chalcedon during the reign of Emperor Diocletian . Records indicate that the martyrs were members of the choir in the church of Chalcedon. Our Lady of Mercy  Our Lady of Ransom

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 24  Sts. Chuniald and Gislar, 7th century. Irish or Scottish missionaries to southern Germany and Austria. They labored as disciples of St. Rupert of Salzburg.

  SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 23,  ST. PIUS OF PIETRELCINA, PRIEST, A poor brother who prays Born into a poor Italian farm family, from a young age Francesco Forgione desired to be a friar. When he was sixteen, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Order, and took the name Brother Pius (Fra Pio). He was ordained to the priesthood in 1910; six years later, joined the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo. He spent many hours every day hearing Confessions. The height of his apostolic commitment was the celebration of the Holy Mass. He described himself as “a poor brother who prays.” “Prayer is the greatest weapon we have,” he said. It is “a key to open the heart of God.” An extraordinary meeting In 1948, Padre Pio heard the Confession of a young Polish priest, Father Karol Wojtyła, who thirty years later would ascend the throne of Peter, taking the name John Paul II. It was during John Paul’s pontificate that Padre Pio was declared blessed. During the rit...

Saints Sept. 23 St. Andrew and Companions, Martyred by the Saracens. Andrew, with John, Peter, and Anthony, were deported from Sicily to Africa by the Saracens (Muslims), who occupied that land at the time. In Africa, they were tortured brutally and martyred for defending the faith. Feastday Sept 23 Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap. (May 25, 1887 – September 23, 1968) was a Capuchin Catholic priest from Italy who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. St. Linus, He succeeded St. Peter as Pope about the year 67. St. Irenaeus says he is the Linus mentioned by St. Paul in the second letter to Timothy, chapter 4, verse 21, and that he was consecrated bishop by St. Paul. St. Thecla , she was a native of Iconomium who was so impressed by the preaching of St. Paul on virginity that she broke off her engagement to marry Thamyris to live a life of virginity. Bl. Bernardina Maria Jablonska, Co-foundress of the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis Servants of the Po...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 23  St. Adamnan . Adamnan, born in Drumhome, Donegal, Ireland, became a monk at the monastery there. Later at Iona, of which he became ninth abbot in 679. He gave sanctuary to Aldfrid when the crown of Northumbria was in dispute after the death of Aldfrid's father, King Oswy. In 686, when Aldfrid had ascended the throne, Adamnan visited him to secure the release of Irish prisoners. Two years later Adamnan visited several English monasteries and was induced by St. Ceolfrid to adopt the Roman calendar for Easter. Adamnan worked ceaselessly thereafter with much success to get Irish monks and monasteries to replace their Celtic practices with those of Rome. His success in convincing the Council of Birr that women should be exempt from wars and that women and children should not be taken prisoners or slaughtered caused the agreement to be called Adamnan's  law. A scholar noted for his piety, he wrote a life of St. Columba, one of the most imp...

Saints Sept. 22  Sts. Digna & Emerita Roman Catholic Virgin Martyrs, Roman maidens martyred in the Eternal City. They both died while praying before their judges. Their relics are in St. Marcellus Church in Rome. Feastday Sept 22 Sts. Felix and Constantia , Roman Catholic Martyrs of Nocera, Italy, slain in the persecution conducted by Emperor Nero. Feastday Sept 22 St. Thomas of Villanueva , Roman Catholic Spanish friar of the Order of Saint Augustine who was a noted preacher, ascetic and religious writer of his day. He became an archbishop who was famous for the extent of his care for the poor of his see. Feastday Sept 22 Martyrs of the Theban Legion, While serving in France, the legion marched to Agaunum, where it encamped for pagan rituals. Maurice, a commander, and Exuperius, Candidus, Innocent, Vitalis, two Victors, and the men of the legion refused to worship pagan deities, or possibly refused to massacre the local innocent populace. They were supposed to be pressured t...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 22  St. Lolanus, 1034 A.D. Scottish bishop whose life is Unknown because fifth-century legends obscure the historically accurate accounts of his labors.

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 22, SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 22, St Maurice was the head of the famous Theban Legion, a unit of Roman soldiers composed of Christians. They were martyred by the Emperor Maximian when they refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods ahead of an important battle.    ST. EMERITA, MARTYR ON THE VIA OSTIENSE ST. BASILLA, MARTYR ON THE VIA SALARIA ANTICA

ST. MATTEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST Lake Tiberias sparkled and, as usual, Matthew was there, sitting at the custom desk at Capernaum, to collect the taxes that the Jews had to pay to the Romans. He was a publican, despised by the people because he was considered in league with the oppressors. Probably, Matthew had become accustomed to it, but that day he heard a different voice. A man told him, “Follow me,” and Matthew got up and followed the man ever after. That man was Jesus, and Matthew’s life was no longer as before. A sinner who meets Jesus Levi organized a great banquet for Jesus, who went with his disciples, stirring up the scorn of scribes and Pharisees because there were in attendance publicans and sinners. Jesus’ answer greatly touched Matthew. “They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick,” said the Nazarene, adding, “For I came not to call the just, but sinners.” Matthew, who was a sinner, left everything and followed Jesus, becoming one of the Twel...

  St. Maura Troyes , Roman Catholic Virgin. - She was nobly born at Troyes in Champagne in the ninth century, and in her youth obtained of God by her prayers the wonderful conversion of her father, who had till then led a worldly life. After his happy death, Maura continued to live in the most dutiful subjection and obedience to her mother, Sedulia and by the fervor of her example was the sanctification of her brother Eutropius and of the whole family. Feastday Sept 21 St. Francis Jaccard, Roman Catholic Martyr of Vietnam. Born in Onnion, Savoy, France, Francis was sent by the Seminary for Foreign Missions in Paris to Vietnam in 1826. He was martyred by strangulation. Feastday Sept 21 St. Thomas Dien , Roman Catholic Martyr of Vietnam. A native of Vietnam, he entered the seminary program of the Paris Foreign Missions but was put to death before he could complete his studies. Thomas was flogged and strangled. Feastday Sept 21 Sts. Chastan , who had preceded him into Korea, surrend...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 21  St. Hieu, 657 A.D. English abbess of Northumbria, England, who received the veil from St. Aidan. She governed Tadcaster Abbey, in Yorkshire. She may be identical with St. Bega or Bee.  St. Mabyn, 6th century. Welsh and Cornish saint, with Mabon and Mabenna. All are associated with St. Teilo. St. Mabenna was the daughter of Chieftain Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. They are all revered in various places that bear their names, but no details of their lives are extant.

 Saints Sept. 20,  St. John Charles Cornay, Martyr of Vietnam. He was born in Loudon, Poitiers, France. and joined the Paris Society of Foreign Missions. Sent to Vietnam he worked there until his arrest after being denounced as a Christian by a bandit. He was kept in a cage for months and subjected to hideous cruelties before being beheaded. Feastday Sept 20 Martyrs of Korea , The men and women who were slain because they refused to deny Christ in the nation of Korea. At least 8,000 adherents to the faith were killed during this period. Sept 20 St. Agapitus I, Pope from 535-536 and apologist, the son of a priest named Gordianus slain during the reign of Pope Symmachus. He was elected pope on May 13, 535, and was already of an advanced age as he started healing the rifts in the Church by regulating affairs. Sept. 20 St. Fausta and Evilasius, Martyrs at Cyzicum, in Pontus. Fausta, a girl of thirteen, was tortured by her judge, Evilasius. Her courage converted him, and he died w...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 20  Bl. Thomas Johnson, 1537 A.D. English Carthusian Martyr. A priest and member of the London Charterhouse, he was arrested with fellow monks for opposing the claim by King Henry VIII of spiritual supremacy over the English Church. Imprisoned at Newgate, Thomas was starved to death.

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 20,  ST. EUSTACHIUS, IN HIS CHURCH Placidus was a Roman general who had a vision of the Cross between a deer’s antlers, and heard a voice revealing himself as the Christ. He converted, with his wife and sons, and took the name Eustachius. The family was separated, and only reunited on the eve of their martyrdom, around the year 140.   STS. ANDREW KIM TAEGO˘N, PAUL CHÔNG HASANG AND COMPANIONS, KOREAN MARTYRS

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER19  St. Theodore of Tarsus, 690 A.D. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, and a memorable figure in the English Church. A native of Tarsus, Turkey, he was a Greek by descent. After studying in Tarsus and Athens, Greece, he went to Rome, where he became so respected that Pope St. Vitalian (r. 657-672) appointed him to succeed to the see of Canterbury in 667. After receiving consecration on March 26, 668, he set out for England in the company of Sts. Dominic Biscop and Hadrian the African, both of whom were to provide assistance and helped guarantee that Theodore's administration remained entirely orthodox. They arrived at Canterbury in May 669 and Theodore moved immediately to consolidate his position as primate of England and the metropolitan status of the see of Canterbury. To promote further unity, he convened two synods, at Hereford in 673 and at Hatfield in 680. Such was the success of his programs that the Venerable Bede wrote that Theodore...

 Bl. Thomas Akafuji, Roman Catholic Japanese martyr. A Japanese nobleman and devoted Christian, Thomas served as catechist to Blessed Leonard Kimura until his arrest by government authorities. Condemned for being a Christian, he was burned alive at Nagasaki. Feastday Sept 19 St. Maria de Cerevellon, Superior of the Mercedarians, the order of Our Lady of Ransom, also called Maria de Socos, “Mary of Help.” Mary formed a group that evolved into the Mercedarians. She labored among the Christian slaves of the Moors, and she is the patroness of sailors in Spain. Maria died at Barcelona. Feastday Sept 19

  ST. JANUARIUS, BISHOP OF BENEVENTO AND MARTYR

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 18  St. Hygbald, 690 A.D. Benedictine abbot of Lincolnshire England, also called Higbald, Hugbald, or Hybald. Several churches in the region bear his name.

SAINTS OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 18,   Bl. Carlo Erana Guruceta, Roman Catholic Marianists. Martyred with Blessed Fidel Fuidio Rodriguez and Blessed Jesus Hita Miranda during the Spanish Civil War. Feastday Sept 18 St. Dominic Trach, Roman Catholic Vietnamese martyr and a priest member of the Dominican Third Order. Caught up in the persecution against Christians, Dominic was beheaded. Feastday Sept.18 St. Ludmilla of Bohemia, Roman Catholic Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as daughter of a Slavic prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus, who is widely referred to as Good King Wenceslaus. Feastday Sept 18 St. John Macías, O.P. Roman Catholic,  Spanish-born Dominican laybrother who evangelized in Peru in 1620.Feastday Sept 18 St. Methodius of Olympus, Roman Catholic Bishop and martyr, famous for his writings. St. Jerome wrote of his martyrdom at Chalcis, in modern Greece. Feastday Sept ...

  ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO, FRANCISCAN ST. SOPHIA

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-09/jurkovic-holy-see-united-nations-water-sanitation-45-session.html  

  ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE, CARDINAL, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH St Robert Bellarmine was one of the pre-eminent theologians of the post-Tridentine church. A member of the Jesuit order, he became a cardinal in 1599. He was known for his devotion to the poor. He was beatified, canonized, and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pius XI.   ST. COLUMBA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR OF CORDOBA

Saints, Sept. 17,  St. Columba, A Roman Catholic virgin and martyr of Cordoba Spain. She served as a nun at Tabanos until the Moorish persecution started in 852. Going to Cordoba, she refused to deny the faith and was beheaded. Feastday Sept. 17 Saint Hildegard of Bingen, O.S.B. was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath.Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play. St. Ariadne, Martyr of Phrygia . Ariadne was a slave in the household of a Phrygian prince. When pagan rites were performed in honor of the prince's birthday, she refused to take part. hunted by the authorities, she entered a chasm in a ridge. The chasm opened miraculously before her and closed behind her, providing her with a tomb. St. Emmanuel T...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 17  St. Brogan , 7th. Century.  Abbot of Ross Tuirc, Ossory, Ireland, he is called the author of a hymn to St. Brigid.

  STS. CORNELIUS, POPE AND CYPRIAN, BISHOP, MARTYR ST. EUPHEMIA, MARTYR OF CHALCEDON BD. VICTOR III, POPE

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 16  St. Ninian. According to the life of Ninian by St. Aelred, he was the son of a converted chieftain of the Cumbrian Britons, studied at Rome, was ordained, was consecrated a bishop and returned to evangelize his native Britain. He had his own church built by masons from St. Martin's Monastery in Tours, which became known as The Great Monastery and was the center of his missionary activities. From it Ninian and his monks evangelized neighboring Britons and the Picts of Valentia. Ninian was known for his miracles, among them curing a chieftain of blindness, which cure led to many conversions.   St. Edith of Wilton, Edith of Wilton was the daughter of King Edgar of England and Wulfrida. She was born at Kensing, England, and was brought as a very young child to Wilton Abbey by her mother, who later became a nun there and Abbess. Edith became a nun when fifteen, declined her father's offer of three abbacies, and refused to leave the...

 Bl. Michael Fimonaya , Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan and a Dominican tertiary. A native of Japan and a convert, he was beheaded at Nagasaki for refusing to abjure the faith. Feastday, September 16 Bl. Paul Fimonaya, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan The son of Blessed Michael Fimonaya. Paul was a Dominican tertiary who was arrested for being a Christian and was beheaded at Nagasaki. Feastday, September 16 St. Rogellus , Roman Catholic Martyr with his disciple, Servus Dei. He was a monk in Spain who was put to death at Cordoba by the Moors for publicly attacking the Muslim faith. His young disciple suffered with him. Feastday, September 16 St. Cyprian ,  One of the early writers of the Primacy of the Pope as stated in :The Unity of the Catholic Church". A very important writer which shows that the Protestant view that the Chair of Peter was a later invention, is false. Feastday, September 16 St. Euphemia, Roman Catholic Martyred virgin of Chalcedon. The traditions surrounding ...

 St. Valerian , Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr. The massacre of the martyrs of Lyons with their bishop, St. Pothinus, took place during the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius in the year 177. Marcellus, a priest, we are told, by Divine intervention, managed to escape to Chalon-sur-Saone, where he was given shelter. His host was a pagan, and seeing him offer incense before images of Mars, Mercury, and Minerva, Marcellus remonstrated with and converted him. While journeying toward the North, the priest fell in with the governor Priscus, who asked him to a celebration at his house. Marcellus accepted the invitation, but when he found that Priscus was preparing to fulfill religious rites, he asked to be excused on the ground that he was a Christian. This raised an outcry, and the bystanders tried to kill Marcellus there and then by tying him to the tops of two young trees in tension and then letting them fly apart. The governor ordered him to make an act of worship before an image of Sa...

  ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 15 St. Merinus, 620 A.D. Bishop beloved in both Scotland and Ireland. Sometimes called Meadhran or Merryn, he was a disciple of St. Comgall at Bangor.

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 15,  OUR LADY OF SORROWS ST. NICOMEDES, MARTYR ON THE VIA NOMENTANA ST CATHERINE OF GENOA, WIDOW

 SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 14, ST. ALBERT, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM Albert was a man famous for his wisdom. After serving as Bishop of Vercelli, he became the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He reformed the Carmelite Rule. He was killed in an act of vengeance by the Master of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, whom he had removed for immoral conduct.  

  Triumph of the Holy Cross [Feast] September 14

 St. Caerealis & Sallustia , Roman Catholic Martyrs.  A soldier and his wife martyred in Rome. They were converted by Pope St. Cornelius. Caerealis and Sallustia were slain during the persecution conducted by Emperor Trajanus Decius. Feastday Sept 14 St. Gabriel Taurin Dufresse , Roman Catholic Martyr of China, and a priest of the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris at the age of twenty-four. In 1776 he arrived in China to undertake his missionary labors in the country's Szechwan Province. The renewed persecution of Chinese Christians in 1784 led to Father Dufresse's arrest. He soon escaped from prison and was taken in by a Chinese Catholic family. He subsequently surrendered himself to the pagan authorities after an auxiliary bishop instructed all the priests staying with families to turn themselves in rather than expose their hosts to the danger of arrest. Father Dufresse was imprisoned and then exiled to Macao. In 1789 he managed to return to Szechwan Province. In the...

  ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 14 St. Cormac, 6th century. An Irish abbot who was a friend of St. Columba.

  ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH The rhetor-monk John was born in 347 in Antioch and was baptized there more than twenty years later. Under the pagan teacher Libanius, he learned rhetoric, Greek language and literature. He reportedly so impressed his teacher that as Libanius lay dying, he lamented that John would have been his successor as master of rhetoric, “if the Christians had not stolen him from us.” That gift with language that had so impressed Libanius would be put to use – indeed, into a service far greater than any master rhetorician could hope for – but not before it had been purified with fasting and prayer. John became a hermit, coming to know his Lord in the silence of prayer. He did penance and at the same time savored the Scriptures, committing much of them to memory. The golden-mouthed preacher When poor health forced his return to Antioch, his gift with words, now purified by years of silent meditation on God’s Word, came alive again. John, o...

 Bl. Thomas Zumarraga, Dominican martyr of Japan. Born in Vitoria, Spain, he entered the Dominicans and was dispatched to the missions in Japan. There he worked to advance the Christian cause until his imprisonment at Omura. After three years of confinement, he was burned alive with several companions. Feastday Sept 12

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 12  St. Ailbhe , 541 A.D. Bishop and preacher, one of the saints whose life has been woven into the myths and legends of Ireland. He was a known disciple of St. Patrick, and is called Albeus in some records. What is known about Ailbhe is that he was a missionary in Ireland, perhaps sponsored by King Aengus of Munster. He was also the first bishop of Emily in Munster, Ireland. Legends and traditions abound about his life. One claims that he was left in the woods as an infant and suckled by a wolf. This legend is prompted in part by Ailbhe's later life. An old she-wolf came to Ailbhe for protection from a hunting party, resting her head upon his breast. He is supposed to have been baptized by a priest in Northern Ireland, possibly in a British settlement. The so called Acts of Ailbhe are filled with traditions that are not reliable. Ailbhe was noted for his charity and kindness, as well as his eloquent sermons. He is beloved in Ireland.

  HOLY NAME OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY ST. GUY OF ANDERLECHT

 Bl. John-Gabriel Perboyre, Martyr of China: He was a Vincentian from Puech, France, who was ordained in 1826. In 1835 he volunteered for the missions of China and went to Honan, where he rescued abandoned children. When the persecution started, John was arrested and tortured for a year. On September 11, he was strangled to death. Pope Leo XIII beatified him in 1889, making him the first martyr in China to be so honored.Sept. 11 Bl. Francis Takea, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan, A twelve-year-old martyr of Japan, the son of Blessed Thomas Takea and a companion of Blessed Caspar Contenda. Francis was beheaded at Nagasaki, Japan  Feastday Sept 11 Bl. Peter Ikiemon , Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan, Peter was seven when, with his father, Blessed Bartholomew, he was beheaded at Nagasaki. Feastday Sept 11 Bl. Caspar Kotenda , Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan, he converted to the faith. He was arrested and martyred at Nagasaki. Feastday Sept 11 St. Paphnutius, Roman Catholic, holy c...

  ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 11 St. Ambrose Edward Barlow, 1641 A.D. Martyr and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A convert, Ambrose studied for the priesthood at Douai, France, and Valladolid, Spain. In 1615 he was professed Benedictine, affiliated by request to the Spanish Abbey of Celanova. For twenty-four years, Ambrose worked in Lancashire, England, despite the dangers. He was arrested four times but was released. On his fifth arrest, he was executed at Lancaster.  St. Daniel , 584 A.D. Welsh bishop and founder, companion of Sts. Dygrig and David. Daniel belonged to the Strathclyde family of Wales. He founded a monastery at Bangor Fawr, Caernarvonshire, in 514. He also became the first bishop of that see. Daniel went to St. David to persuade him to attend the Synod of Brefi. In Wales he is sometimes called Desiniol.

  SAINT OF THE DAY SEPTEMBER 11, STS. PROTUS AND HYACINTH, MARTYRS ON THE VIA SALARIA, Sts Protus and Hyacinth were said to be eunuchs in the service of a Roman lady named Eugenia. With their help, Eugenia, along with her friend Bassilla, converted to Christianity. All suffered martyrdom after Eugenia was accused by her fiancé of being a Christian.   B. BONAVENTURA OF BARCELONA, FRANCISCAN FRIAR

 Roman Catholic Martyrs of Japan, Sept. 10,   Bl. Agnes Takea,   Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan. She was the wife of Blessed Cosmas Takea. They were martyred with Blessed Charles Spinola by beheading at Nagasaki. Sept. 10 Bl. Lucy de Freitas , Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan. A native Japanese, she was the widow of Philip de Freitas. Lucy, a Franciscan tertiary, was arrested for sheltering Blessed Richard of St. Anne, a Franciscan priest. Although advanced in age, Lucy defended the faith before the authorities and was burned to death for it at Nagasaki, Japan, on September 10 Bl. Mary Tokuan & Mary Choun, Roman Catholic Martyrs of Japan. They were slain with their husbands for refusing to give up the Christian faith..Sept 10 Bl. Agnes Tsao-Kou Ying, Roman Catholic Martyr of China. Agnes was a widow when she faced persecution for being a missionary catechist. She was executed by being placed in a cage at Sy-Lin-Hien. Feastday Sept 10 Bl. Mary Tanaura, and compan...

 St. Menodora, Roman Catholic Martyr, Martyred with her sisters, Metrodora and Nymphodora. They were orphans of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, who were denounced as Christians and taken before the local Roman governor, named Fronto. They refused to worship the pagan gods, and Menodora was beaten to death, as was Nymphodora. Metrodora was tortured, burned, and beheaded. Feastday, September 10

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 10  St. Finian , 579 A.D. Irish abbot, a disciple of Sts. Colman and Mochae also called Winin. He was born in Strangford, Lough, Ulster, in Ireland, a member of a royal family. Studying under Sts. Colman and Mochae, he became a monk in Strathclyde and was ordained in Rome. Returning to Ulster, Finian founded several monasteries, becoming abbot of Moville, in County Down, Ireland. He became embroiled with St. Columba, a student, over a copy of St. Jerome’s Psalter, and St. Columba had to surrender that copy to Finian. He also founded Holywood and Dumfries in Scotland. Finian was known for miracles, including moving a river.   St. Frithestan , 933 A.D. Benedictine bishop, a disciple of Sts. Grimbald and Plegmund. Frithestan was bishop of Winchester, England, for almost a quarter of a century

  ST. NICHOLAS DA TOLENTINO, AGOSTINIAN Nicholas was born in the Diocese of Fermo, Italy, in the year 1245. From a young age he was acquainted with the Augustinian order. Attracted by the monastic life, he joined their community in Tolentino. His prayer and fasting was always accompanied by sympathy and charity. He died in 1305.  Sept. 10

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 9   St. Kieran. Kieran was born in Connacht, Ireland. He was the son of Beoit, a carpenter. He studied at St. Finnian's school at Clonard and taught the daughter of the king of Cuala, as he was considered the most learned monk at Clonard. Kieran spent seven years at Inishmore on Aran with St. Enda and then went to a monastery in the center of Ireland called Isel. Forced to leave by the monks because of what they considered his excessive charity, he spent some time on Inis Aingin (Hare Island) and with eight companions, migrated to a spot on the bank of the Shannon river in Offaly, where he built a monastery that became the famous Clonmacnois, reknowned for centuries as the great center of Irish learning, and was its Abbot. Many extravagant miracles and tales are told of Kieran, who is one of the twelve apostles of Ireland. He is often called St. Kieran the Younger to distinguish him from St. Kieran of Saighir.   St. Bettelin, ...

  ST. PETER CLAVER, JESUIT, APOSTLE OF SLAVES An unlikely friendship At the University of Barcelona, Peter Claver studied and prayed. The young man, born in 1580 in the Catalan region of Spain, came to understand: “I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death.” He felt a call. Its clearer contours were still hidden from him, but he knew that he had to follow it. So at 20, Peter joined the Society of Jesus. His superiors sent him to study philosophy in Mallorca, where he made an unlikely friend: Alphonsus Rodriguez, the elderly, uneducated lay brother who was the porter at the Jesuit college. Alphonsus may not have had much book-learning, but a life of suffering had taught him to listen to God. Peter noticed his holiness. “How can I love the Lord?” he asked the old man. “He gives me a great desire to follow him, but I don’t know how.” Alphonsus prayed, and the answer came to him: this young man with a great heart was destined for a suffering people far away. At Alphonsus...

 St. Adrian, Roman Catholic Martyr. Adrian was a pagan officer at the imperial court of Nicomedia. Impressed by the courage of a group of Christians who were being tortured, he declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned with them and suffered excruciating tortures before he was put to death. His young wife, Natalia, who was present at his death, comforted him in his agony, recovered one of his severed hands, and took it to Argyropolis near Constantinople, where she fled to escape the importunities of an imperial official of Nicomedia who wanted to marry her. She died there peacefully on December 1. Adrian is the patron of soldiers and butchers. Feastday Sept 8

Sept. 8, Roman Catholic Martyrs of Japan   Bl. Thomas of St. Hyacinth, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan.  A native catechist, he assisted the Dominican mission in Japan until his arrest by authorities. He was burned alive with Blessed Dominic Castellet and other companions. Feastday Sept 8 Bl. Thomas Tomaki, Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan. A young boy, he was beheaded with his father, Blessed John Tomaki, and three brothers. Feastday Sept 8 Bl. Dominic of Nagasaki, Roman Catholic Japanese Martyr. Arrested, this native Japanese received the Franciscan habit from Blessed Anthony of St. Bonaventure in the prison of Omura, Japan. He was burned alive at Nagasaki.Feastday Sept 8 Bl. Anthony of St. Bonaventure, Roman Catholic, Martyr of Japan, a Franciscan. Anthony was born in 1588 in Tuy, Galicia, Spain, and was educated in Salamanca. After entering the Franciscan Order, he was sent to the Philippines and ordained in Manila. After ordination, Anthony was sent to Japan, where he br...

Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: from East... : Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman and Eastern Catholic Church, called the Feast of the Nativity o...

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 8  St. Disibod , 700 A.D. An Irish bishop also called Disen or Disibode. Discouraged by his lack of success as a missionary in Ireland, he went to Germany, where he founded a monastery on a hill near Bingen, called Disibodenburg. St. Hildegard of Bingen resided there in time.   St. Kingsmark , 5th century. A Scottish chieftain also called Cynfarch. He lived in Wales, where he is venerated.

  ST. SERGIUS I, POPE ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, BISHOP OF VALENCIA

 Bl. John Maid , Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of Japan, the adopted son of Blessed Louis Maki. A Christian, he refused to abjure the faith when arrested and was burned alive at Nagasaki. Feastday, September 7. Bl. Louis Maki , Roman Catholic Martyr of Japan. He was a Japanese layman who allowed Blessed Thomas Tsughi to celebrate Mass in his home. Arrested, Louis was burned alive at Nagasaki, Japan. Feastday Sept 7

 ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS SEPTEMBER 7  St. Grimonia . French legend relates that St. Grimonia was the daughter of a pagan Irish chief, and that when she was twelve years old; she was converted to Christianity and made a vow of perpetual virginity. Her father, in defiance of or not understanding such a vow, wished her to marry, and when she refused, shut her up. Grimonia escaped and fled to France, where she became a solitary in the forest of Thierache in Picardy. Here the contemplation of the beauty of created things would often bring her to the state of ecstasy. After a prolonged search, the messengers of her father traced her to her retreat, where they before her the alternatives of return in a forced marriage or death. Grimonia remained firm and so she was beheaded on April 20th in an unknown year. A chapel was built over her grave which became famous for miracles, and around it, grew up a town called from its origin, LaChapelle. On September 7, 1231, her relics, together wi...