Christian Today

St. Balbina - Saints St. Balbina, Roman Catholic Women Martyr, Patron of struma, scrofulous diseases. Balbina died for the faith and was buried on the Appian Way. Her relics were later enshrined in St. Balbina's Church on the Aventine. Feastday March 31

St. John Climacus - Saints St. John Climacus, Roman Catholic monk called “Climacus” from the title of his famous book, The Climax, or The Ladder of Perfection. Feastday Mar.30

St. Mark - Saints St. Mark, Martyred Roman Catholic Bishop of Arethusa, on Mount Lebanon. He destroyed a local pagan temple, enraging the pagan populace. Emperor Julian the Apostate ordered that Mark and other Christians rebuild the temples that they had destroyed. Mark fled rather than comply, but he surrendered when members of his flock were arrested. He was tortured by being dragged through the streets, but he remained so loyal to Christ and the Church that he was set free. Emperor Julian pardoned him. Feastday Mar. 29

St. Venturino of Bergamo - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Venturino of Bergamo, Roman Catholic Dominican Monk, known for helping to organize a crusade, at the behest of Pope Clement VI (r. 1342-1352), against the Islamic Turks who were then menacing Europe. Feastday March 28

Bl. James Claxton - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online Bl. James Claxton, Roman Catholic Priest and English Martyr. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Isleworth. Feastday Mar.28

St. Augusta - Saints St Augusta, Roman Catholic Virgin martyr, the daughter of the duke of Friuli, in Italy. It is reported that the duke was so infuriated by Augusta's conversion to Christianity that he killed her with his own hand. Her shrine is near Treviso, in northern Italy. Feastday Mar.27

St. Margaret Clitherow - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online St. Margaret Clitherow, Roman Catholic English Martyr. She was born in Middleton, England, in 1555, of protestant parents. Possessed of good looks and full of wit and merriment, she was a charming personality. In 1571, she married John Clitherow, a well-to-do grazier and butcher (to whom she bore two children), and a few years later entered the Catholic Church. Her zeal led her to harbor fugitive priests, for which she was arrested and imprisoned by hostile authorities. Recourse was had to every means in an attempt to make her deny her Faith, but the holy woman stood firm. Finally, she was condemned to be pressed to death on March 25, 1586. She was stretched out on the ground with a sharp rock on her back and crushed under a door over laden with unbearable weights. Her bones were broken and she died within fifteen minutes. Her feast day is March 26th.