SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 03

SAINTS AND MARTYRS for September 03 

Sts. John of Perugia & Peter of Sassoferrato, Franciscan martyrs. They were sent by St. Francis of Assisi in 1216 to preach among the Moors of Spain and worked in Tervel and Valencia until seized by Muslims and beheaded. Feastday Sept 3

St. Sandila, A Spanish martyr. He was put to death at Cordoba by the Islamic Moors for being a conspicuous Christian. Sept 3

St. Gregory the Great - Pope and Doctor of the Church. Gregory left his office as prefect of Rome to become a monk, only to be elected Pope in the midst of famine and plague. This Pope, who was declared a saint and “the Great” by popular acclaim, is one of the four great Latin doctors of the Church. He is most famous for sending a mission, often called the Gregorian mission,  to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons of England

St. Angus MacNisse. According to legends, Angus MacNisse was baptized by St. Patrick, who years later consecrated him, bishop. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Rome, he founded a church and monastery at Kells, which developed into Connor, of which he is considered the first bishop. His story is filled with extravagant miracles, such as changing the course of a river for the convenience of his monks and rescuing a child about to be executed for his father's crime by causing him to be carried by the wind from his executioners to his arms.  

St. Balin, 7th century. Confessor and disciple of St. Colman of Lindisfarne. Balm was the son of an AngloSaxon king. He accompanied St. Colman to lona, in Scotland, and then took up residence in Connaught, Ireland.  

St. Hereswitha, 690 A.D. Benedictine princess of Northumbria, England, sister of St. Hilda and mother of Sts. Sexburga, Withburga, and Ethelburga. A widow, Hereswitha spent the last years of her life as Benedictine in Chelles, France. 

 

St. Macanisius, 514 A.D. Bishop and probable founder of Kells Monastery. Ireland, which became the diocese of Connor. Tradition states that St. Patrick baptized Macanisius as an infant and then consecrated him later as a bishop. He is also listed as Aengus McNisse in some documents, and many spectacular miracles are attributed to him.