Christian Today

St. Peter, First Roman Catholic Pope and Martyr, The Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul was the greatest missionary in history. A Pharisee converted to Christ, his concern for expounding the faith to those, who heard him, would make him the first Christian theologian. His martyrdom is remembered on June 29, St. Mary Salome, Roman Catholic, Mother of John, surnamed Mark, who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Her home in Jerusalem was a gathering place of the Apostles. Peter went to Mary’s home when he was released from prison by King Herod. Feastday: June 29

St. Almus, 1270 A.D. Cistercian abbot also called Alme and Alanus. He was a monk in the English Cistercian monastery at Melrose when he was elected abbot of Scotland's Balmerino monastery, founded by Ermengardis, the widow of William I of Scotland. St. Austell, 6th century. Confessor and disciple of St. Newman of Cornwall, England. Modern scholars believe that Austell was a woman named Hoystill, a daughter of Brychan of Wales. St. Crummine, 5th century. Bishop and disciple of St. Patrick of Ireland. St. Patrick placed Crummine over the church in Lachan County, Westmeath. St. Paul I, Roman Catholic Priest and Pope from 757-767 . Feastday: June 28 St. Irenaeus, Roman Catholic Priest. He was an early Church Father and apologist. As one of the first great Christian theologians, he emphasized the traditional elements in the Church, especially the episcopate, Scripture, and tradition. Against the Gnostics, who said that they possessed a secret oral tradition from Jesus hims...

Saint John Southworth. Priest and English martyr. He went overseas to study and was ordained in Douai in 1618. St John returned to England in 1627 and was soon arrested. He spent three years in prison - the first of several imprisonments. Most of his priestly work was carried out in Westminster. He was much loved for his ministry to the sick and dying, especially during the plague years. He continued his work until 1654, when he was arrested for the last time, tried and finally condemned to death. On this day, June 27 at the age of 62, he was hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, close to where Marble Arch now stands. St John was the last secular priest to suffer in this way. His body was taken to Douai, embalmed and buried. But when the seminary was demolished, during the French Revolution, his coffin was lost. It was accidentally discovered in 1927 and taken to St Edmund's College in Ware. Three years later St John's body was placed in a shrine at Westminster Cathedral, in...

Saint of the day June 26 Bl. Teresa Fantou, Roman Catholic Nun and French Martyr of the Sisters of Charity in Arras, during the French Revolution, she was arrested by republican authorities and guillotined at Cambrai.Teresa and her three companions, Francoise Lanel, Madeleine Fontaine, and Joan Gerard. Feastday: June 26 St. Marie Magdalen Fontaine, Roman Catholic Nun and French Martyr. Martyred Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul . She was superior of the congregation’s house at Arras when the French Revolution erupted in the country With three members of her community, Mary Magdalen was guillotined at Cambrai, France. Feastday: June 26 Bl. Jane Gerald, Roman Catholic Nun and French Martyr of the Sisters of Charity in Arras, during the French Revolution, she was arrested by republican authorities and guillotined at Cambrai. Feastday: June 26 St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, Roman Catholic Priest founded Opus Dei, an institution within the Catholic Church dedicated to he...

Saint of the day June 25 ST.WILLIAM, ABBOT, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF MONTEVERGINE, JUNE 25 Sometimes, even a young child is able to make a decision that will change his life forever. This was the case with St William, who at the age of fourteen decided to go on pilgrimage – first to Santiago de Compostela, and then to the Holy Land. Like St Francis a century later, William gave up all he had in order to embrace a religious life. He freed himself from attachments to his family, gave up his noble title, put on a tattered habit, and left his home in Vercelli (Italy) barefoot. ST. PROSPERUS OF AQUITAINE, PHILOSOPHER June 25 St. Eurosia, A Roman Catholic French martyr, a victim of the Muslim invasion of Spain. She was born in Bayonne, France, and was slain at Jaca in the Pyrenees of Aragon, Spain, when she refused to marry a Muslim.Feastday June 25

Saint of the day June 24 St. Selyf, 6th century. Hermit in Cornwall. He is perhaps to be identified with St. Solomon, who has the same feast day. St. Adalbert , 740 A.D. A missionary in Ireland whose tomb became a center for pilgrims. Adalbert was born in Northumbria, England, and was educated at Rathmelgisi Monastery. Accompanying St. Willibrord and others to Friesland, he gained many converts in an area called Egmont. Adalbert was also a companion of St. Egbert to Ireland. It is believed that he became St. Willibrord's successor as the abbot of Epternach. Adalbert's shrine was noted for miracles after his death. St. Bartholomew of Fame, 1193 A.D. A Benedictine hermit and miracle worker associated with Durham, England. He was born in Whitby, in Northumbria, England, and was called Tostig. After going to Norway, Bartholomew was ordained and returned to Durham, where he entered the Benedictine Order. He became a hermit on the island of Fame, on the coast of Northumbria,...

Saint of the day June 23 St. Thomas Garnet, 1608 A.D. English Jesuit martyr. A nephew of the Jesuit Henry Garnet, he was born in Southwark, England, and studied for the priesthood at St. Omer, France, and Valladolid, Spain. Initially ordained as a secular priest, he joined the Jesuits in 1604 and worked to advance the Catholic cause in Warwick until his arrest in 1606. He was exiled after months of torture but returned in 1607 and was soon arrested. He was hanged at Tyburn. Beatified in 1929, he was canonized in 1970 and is included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Saint Ethelreda (Audrey), 679 A.D. Around 640, there was an English princess named Ethelreda, but she was known as Audrey. She married once, but was widowed after three years, and it was said that the marriage was never consummated. She had taken a perpetual vow of virginity, but married again, this time for reasons of state. Her young husband soon grew tired of living as brother and sister and began to ma...