Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
April For the role of women
We pray that the dignity and immense value of women be recognized in every culture, and for the end of discrimination that they experience in different parts of the world.

 2024
22,600 lives saved since 2007


Haitian Help Funding Seeds Haitian Geology AND Haitian Paintings
http://www.haitian-childrens-fund.org/

For the Son of man ... will repay every man for what he has done.

Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List  Here

The saints are a “cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.


Kasperov_Icon_of_the_Most_Holy_Theotokos.jpg

Chastity is the longed for house of Christ
and the earthly heaven of the heart.
-- St. John Climacus


Easter Sunday – Our Lady of Fatima crowned Queen of Korea (1953)

The Virgin was absolutely sure that Jesus would resurrect from the dead, since he had openly predicted it. What she did not know was the hour of the Resurrection, which in fact is mentioned nowhere. However, in Psalm 56, David, speaking in the person of the Father addressing the Son, said: "Awake, my glory, awake my harp and my lyre!"
And the Son answered: "I will awake at dawn ..."

After the Virgin Mary realized the time of the Resurrection, she wanted to find out if other prophets had mentioned the day of the Resurrection, and she found this text in chapter 6 of Hosea:
"After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up and we will live in his presence."
The Virgin stood up and said, "These witnesses to the time when my Son will resurrect from the dead are enough for me".... And immediately Christ sent the angel Gabriel to her saying, "You who told my mother about the Incarnation of the Word, go announce to her his Resurrection." Immediately, the Angel flew to the Virgin and said,
"Queen of Heaven, rejoice, because the one you deserved to carry in your womb is risen, as he said."
And Christ greeted his mother, saying, "Peace be with you."

 Saint Vincent Ferrer, On the Holy Passover quoted in Bouchet, pp. 411ss.
 
April 5 – Our Lady of Fatima crowned Queen of Korea (1953)
 The Church of Korea preserved its faith thanks to its attachment to Mary
The first missionaries arrived in Korea in 1592 or 1593. The Church there suffered three periods of persecution: from 1801 to 1831, which 10,000 Christians were left without priests and kept the faith thanks to their devotion to Mary; from 1839 to 1846, when 6,000 Catholics died as martyrs; and in 1866, when 10,000 Christians were martyred.
These persecutions occasioned the devotion to Mary to become stronger and more intimate.
Rosaries, scapulars, and medals of Mary were increasingly widespread. As a result, today,
though repression from atheists is still very active, faith remains alive and heroic in Korea.

It was actually under Communist rule that Catholics built a new cathedral in Pyongyang
 (capital of the People's Republic of North Korea), dedicating it to "Our Lady of Perpetual Help."
In South Korea, the fighting of World War II ended on August 15, 1945 (Feast of the Assumption of Mary).
Later, on December 8, 1948 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary), Korea was admitted to the UN.
The Koreans saw in these dates Our Lady’s special protection.
Attilio GALLI  In Madre della Chiesa dei Cinque continenti, Ed. Segno, Udine, 1997


Our Bartholomew Family Prayer List
Joyful Mystery on Monday Saturday   Glorius Mystery on Sunday Wednesday
   Sorrowful Mystery on Friday Tuesday   Luminous Mystery on Thursday Veterens of War

Acts of the Apostles

Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart From the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
How do I start the Five First Saturdays?
Mary Mother of GOD 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary

April 5 – Our Lady of Fatima Crowned Queen of Korea (1953)  
The prophetic mission of Fatima is not complete
We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete. Here there takes on new life the plan of God which asks humanity from the beginning: “Where is your brother Abel (…) Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!” (Gen 4:9). Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end…

In sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks:
“Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”
(Memoirs of Sister Lucia, I, 162).
(…) At that time it was only to three children, yet the example of their lives spread and multiplied, especially as a result of the travels of the Pilgrim Virgin, in countless groups throughout the world dedicated to the cause of fraternal solidarity. May the seven years* *(1917-2017) which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.
 Pope Benedict XVI
Homily for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 2010
www.vatican.va

 
Mary's Divine Motherhood
Called in the Gospel "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the Mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).

Catechism of the Catholic Church 495, quoting the Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.


1258 Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon visions in which Jesus pointed out
that there was no feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrame
nt OSA V (AC)

Quote: “Precious stone of virginity...Flaming torch of charity...Mirror of penance...
Trumpet of eternal salvation...Flower of heavenly wisdom...Vanquisher of demons.”

(From the litanies of Saint Vincent Ferrer)
Eloquent and fiery preacher even invited to Mohammedan Granada preaching gospel with much success.
He lived to behold the end of the great schism and the election of Pope Martin V.


Do Whatever He Tells You April 5 - Our Lady of Graces (Italy, 1897)
Let us ask Our Lady to make our hearts 'meek and humble' as her Son's was. It is so very easy to be proud and and selfish, so easy; but we have been created for greater things. How much we can learn from our Lady! She was so humble because she was all for God. She was full of grace. Tell our Lady to tell Jesus, 'They have no wine', the wine of humility and meekness, of kindness and sweetness. She is sure to tell us, 'Do whatever He tells you'. Accept cheerfully all the chances she sends you. We learn humility through accepting humiliations cheerfully.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta quoted in "Something Beautiful for God",
MUGGERIDGE Malcolm Harper and Row Publishers, 1971

       Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb end 16th v. St John the Baptist and St Tatiana on painting
 130 St. Theodore and Pausilippus Martyrs slain during the reign of Hadrian at Byzantium
 303 Agathopodes the Deacon and Theodulus the Reader
Holy Martyrs righteous lives and pious fearlessly continued to proclaim the Gospel miracle of the ring of God
 304 Irene martyred for protecting sacred scriptures VM (RM)
        St. Zeno
       Martyrs of Lesbos 5 virgin Christian maidens martyred for the faith on the Greek island
 350 Saint Mark born in Athens desert monk moved mountain 2.5 km  He related his life to Abba Serapion who, by the will of God, visited him before his death
 375 Saint Publius lived a life of asceticism in the Egyptian desert during reign of emperor Julian Apostate (361-363)
 459 Martyrs of Africa  large group of Christians were martyred on Easter Sunday while hearing Mass
5th 6th v St. Derferl-Gadarn soldier monk
 597  St. Becan great champion of virtue 1/12 Twelve Apostles of Ireland
 647 Ethelburga of Lyminge founded an abbey at Lyminge abbess
 814 Saint Platon honored as a Confessor because of his fearless defense of the holy icons
Saint Theodora of Thessalonica obedient to all, especially to the abbess Many miracles were worked through St Theodora's holy relics
 875 Clarus of Rouen first a monk and then a hermit in the diocese of Rouen then roamed throughout the countryside preaching the Good News OSB M (RM)
1095 Saint Gerald of Sauve-Majeure monk cellarer of abbey Corbie; founded, directed, Benedictine Abbey of Grande -Sauveabbot  author of a hagiology
1127 St. Albert of Montecorvino Bishop visions miracle worker heroic patience
1162 Blessed Sighardus of Bonlieu founded the abbey of Carbon-Blanc (Bonlieu)
1258 Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon visions in which Jesus pointed out that there was no feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament OSA V (AC)
14th v Blessed Blaise of Auvergne impassioned Dominican preacher disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer
14th v Blessed Antony Fuster called 'the Angel of Peace.' disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer
1419 St. Vincent Ferrer Patron of Builders Dominican at 19 simply "going through the world preaching Christ,"
 eloquent and fiery preacher St Vincent declared himself to be the angel of the Judgement foretold by St John (Apoc. xiv 6). As some of his hearers began to protest, he summoned the bearers who were carrying a dead woman to her burial and adjured the corpse to testify to the truth of his words. The body was seen to revive for a moment to give the confirmation required, and then to close its eyes once more in death. It is almost unnecessary to add that the saint laid no claim to the nature of a celestial being, but only to the angelic office of a messenger or herald—believing, as he did, that he was the instrument chosen by God to announce the impending end of the world.
1422 Blessed Peter Cerdan accompanied Saint Vincent Ferrer in his travels OP (AC) Probus and Grace traditionally considered to be a Welsh husband and wife duo (AC)
1574 St. Catherine Thomas Orphan strange phenomena mystical experiences visits from angels, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Catherine gifts of visions and prophecy
1582 Martyrs of London Three groups of martyrs who were put to death in the late sixteenth century in London by English authorities
1607 Patriarch Job After his death relics were buried by the western doors of the Dormition Church monastery in Staritsa Many miracles took place at his grave incorrupt
1744 Blessed Crescentia Höss, OFM Tert. blessed by celestial visions V (AC)
Mary Mother of GOD Mary's Divine Motherhood
15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary

Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Пресвятая Богородице спаси нас!  (Santíssima Mãe de Deus, salva-nos!)
RDeo grátias. R.  Thanks be to God.
April is dedicated to devotion of the Holy Eucharist and to the Holy Spirit.
 2024
18,000 lives saved since 2007

Haitian Help Funding Seeds Haitian Geology AND Haitian Paintings
http://www.haitian-childrens-fund.org/

For the Son of man ... will repay every man for what he has done.

The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
   THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him"
(Psalm 21:28)

Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb end 16th v. St John the Baptist and St Tatiana on painting
Tradition says that this holy icon had been brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb at the end of the sixteenth century. Passing down from parent and child, the icon had come to a certain Mrs. Kasperova of Cherson in 1809.

One night in February of 1840 she was praying, seeking consolation in her many sorrows. Looking at the icon of the Virgin, she noticed that the features of the icon, darkened by age, had suddenly become bright.
Soon the icon was glorified by many miracles, and people regarded it as wonder-working.

During the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared.

Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday.

The icon is painted with oils on a canvas mounted on wood. The Mother of God holds Her Son on her left arm.
The Child is holding a scroll. St John the Baptist (Janurary 7) is depicted on one border of the icon, and St Tatiana (January 12) on the other. These were probably the patron saints of the original owners of the icon.
The Kasperov Icon is commemorated on October 1, June 29, and Bright Wednesday.
{note:  abscense of the 3 stars on Saint Mary's shawl}
130 St. Theodore and Pausilippus Martyrs slain during the reign of Hadrian at Byzantium.  
303 The Holy Martyrs Agathopodes the Deacon and Theodulus the Reader righteous lives and pious fearlessly continued to proclaim the Gospel miracle of the ring of God
They lived in Thessalonica during the reign of the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (284-305) and were among the church clergy. The holy Deacon Agathopodes was very old, and Saint Theodulus very young.
Both distinguished themselves by righteous life and piety. Once, St Theodulus had a vision in his sleep, in which an unknown person in radiant garb placed some object in his hand. When he awoke, he saw in his hand a beautiful ring with the image of the Cross and he realized that this was a sign of his future martyrdom.
By the power of the Cross depicted on the ring, the saint healed many of the sick and converted pagans to faith in Christ the Savior.
When the emperor Diocletian issued an edict of a persecution against Christians (303), many attempted to hide themselves from pursuit, but Sts Agathopodes and Theodulus fearlessly continued to proclaim the Gospel.
Governor Faustinus of Thessalonica heard of this, and gave orders to bring them to him for trial. Seeing the youth and excellence of St Theodulus, Faustinus attempted flattery to persuade him to renounce Christianity and to offer sacrifice. St Theodulus replied that he had long ago renounced error and that he pitied Faustinus, who by embracing paganism had condemned himself to eternal death.
The governor offered the martyr a choice: the fortunes of life, or immediate death. The saint said that he would certainly choose life, but life eternal, and that he did not fear death.

When Faustinus saw that he would not persuade Theodulus, he began to talk with St Agathopodes. The governor attempted to deceive him and said that St Theodulus had already agreed to offer sacrifice to the gods. But Agathopodes did not believe this. He was convinced that St Theodulus was prepared to offer his life for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not having any success, Faustinus commanded the martyrs to be taken to prison. The holy martyrs prayed fervently and boldly preached the Word of God to the imprisoned, so that many were converted to Christianity. Eutinios, the head of the prison, reported this to the governor.
Faustinus again summoned them to trial and again he urged them to renounce Christ. Before the eyes of St Theodulus they brought forth some who had been Christians, but betrayed the Faith. "You have conquered the weak, but you will never conquer the strong warriors of Christ, even if you invent greater torments," exclaimed St Theodulus. The governor commanded the martyr to produce the Christian books.
"Here, is my body given for torture," he answered, "do with it what you wish; torture me fiercely, but I shall not hand over the sacred writings to be mocked by the impious!"

Faustinus gave orders to bring St Theodulus to the place of execution, where an executioner readied a sword in order to cut off his head. The martyr bravely and with joy cried out, "Glory to You, O God, the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, Who deigned to suffer for us. Here, by His grace, I am coming to You, and with joy I die for You!"

Then Faustinus halted the execution and again locked up the martyrs in prison. There the holy martyrs prayed fervently and both had the same dream. They were sailing in a ship, which was in danger of being wrecked in a storm. The waves cast them up on shore, arrayed in radiant white clothing. The saints told each other about the vision, and they gave thanks to God for their impending martyrdom.

In the morning, when the martyrs were again brought to Faustinus, they declared to him: "We are Christians and we are prepared to undergo any suffering for Christ." Faustinus gave orders to cast them into the sea. The waves carried St Agathopodes to the rocks, and he loudly exclaimed, "This shall be for us a second Baptism, which will wash away our sins, and we shall come to Christ in purity." St Theodulus was also cast into the sea (+ 303).

The bodies of the saints were washed up on shore. They were dressed in radiant garb, but the ropes and stones used to weight them down were gone. Christians took their holy bodies and gave them reverent burial.
304 Irene martyred for protecting sacred scriptures VM (RM)
 Thessalonícæ sanctæ Irénes Vírginis, quæ, cum sacros Libros contra Diocletiáni edíctum occultásset, ideo, post tolerántiam cárceris, sagítta percússa est et igne cremáta, jussu Dulcétii Præsidis; sub quo et soróres ejus simul Agape et Chiónia passæ ántea fúerant.
       At Thessalonica, the virgin St. Irene, who was imprisoned for hiding the sacred books, contrary to the order of Diocletian.  She was pierced with an arrow, then burned to death by order of the governor Dulcetius, under whom her sisters Agape and Chionia had previously suffered.
Died at Thessalonica, Macedonia, April 5, 304. The martyrdom of Irene's sisters Agape and Chionia is described on April 3. The story is based on an amplified version of genuine records.
In 303, Emperor Diocletian issued a decree making it an offense punishable by death to possess any portion of sacred Christian writings. Irene and her siblings, daughters of pagan parents living in Salonika, owned and hid several of the forbidden volumes of Holy Scriptures.  The sisters were arrested and Chionia and Agape were sentenced by Governor Dulcitius to be burned alive because they refused to consume foods offered to pagan gods. Meanwhile, their house had been searched and the forbidden volumes discovered.

Irene was examined again, and said that when the emperor's decree against Christians was published, she and others fled to the mountains. She avoided implicating those who had helped them, and declared that nobody but themselves know they had the books: "We feared our own people as much as anybody."

Irene was sent to a soldiers' brothel, where she was stripped and chained but was miraculously protected from molestation. So, after again refusing a last chance to conform, she was sentenced to death. She died two days after her sisters either by being forced to throw herself into flames or, more likely, by being shot in the throat with an arrow. The books, including the Sacred Scripture, were publicly burned.
Three other women and a man were tried with these martyrs, of whom one woman was remanded because she was pregnant. It is not recorded what happened to the others (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White).
In art, this trio is represented generally as three maidens carrying pitchers, though they may be shown being burned at the stake (Roeder). They are venerated in Salonika (Roeder).
350 Saint Mark was born in Athens. He related his life to Abba Serapion who, by the will of God, visited him before his death.
He had studied philosophy in his youth. After the death of his parents, St Mark withdrew into Egypt and settled into a cave of Mount Trache (in Ethiopia). He spent ninety-five years in seclusion and during this time not only did he not see a human face, but not even a beast or bird.
The first thirty years were the most difficult for St Mark. Barefoot and bedraggled, he suffered from the cold in winter, and from the heat in summer. The desert plants served him for food, and sometimes he had to eat the dust and drink bitter sea water. Unclean spirits chased after St Mark, promising to drown him in the sea, or to drag him down from the mountain, shouting, "Depart from our land! From the beginning of the world no one has come here. Why have you dared to come?"
After thirty years of tribulation, divine grace came upon the ascetic. Angels brought him food, and long hair grew on his body, protecting him from the cold and heat. He told Abba Serapion,
"I saw the likeness of the divine Paradise, and in it the prophets of God Elias and Enoch.
The Lord sent me everything that I sought."
During his conversation with Abba Serapion, St Mark inquired how things stood in the world. He asked about the Church of Christ, and whether persecutions against Christians still continued. Hearing that idol worship had ceased long ago, the saint rejoiced and asked,
"Are there now in the world saints working miracles, as the Lord spoke of in His Gospel, 'If ye have faith even as a grain of mustard seed, ye will say to this mountain, move from that place, and it will move, and nothing shall be impossible for you' (Mt.17:20)?"
As the saint spoke these words, the mountain moved from its place 5,000 cubits (approximately 2.5 kilometers) and went toward the sea. When St Mark saw that the mountain had moved, he said,
"I did not order you to move from your place, but was conversing with a brother. Go back to your place!"
After this, the mountain actually returned to its place. Abba Serapion fell down in fright. St Mark took him by the hand and asked, "Have you never seen such miracles in your lifetime?"
"No, Father," Abba Serapion replied. Then St Mark wept bitterly and said,
"Alas, today there are Christians in name only, but not in deeds."

After this, St Mark invited Abba Serapion to a meal and an angel brought them food. Abba Serapion said that never had he eaten such tasty food nor drunk such sweet water. "Brother Serapion," answered St Mark, "did you see what beneficence God sends His servants? In all my days here God sent me only one loaf of bread and one fish. Now for your sake He has doubled the meal and sent us two loaves and two fishes. The Lord God has nourished me with such meals ever since my first sufferings from evil."
Before his death, St Mark prayed for the salvation of Christians, for the earth and everything in the world living upon it in the love of Christ. He gave final instructions to Abba Serapion to bury him in the cave and to cover the entrance. Abba Serapion was a witness of how the soul of the one hundred- thirty-year-old Elder Mark, was taken to Heaven by angels.
After the burial of the saint, two angels in the form of hermits guided Abba Serapion into the inner desert to the great Elder John.
Abba Serapion told the monks of this monastery about the life and death of St Mark.

THE PRAYER OF SAINT MARK THE ATHENIAN
Behold the final hour on earth for me ticks
I go where the Lord shines in place of the sun
From the dusty, fleshly garment, I am leaving
And before Your face O Christ, I am departing
Just one more wish over the earth, I am unfolding  Before Your Throne, with prayer I penetrate  For all mankind, I desire salvation For everyone and for all, freedom from sin I desire that the virtuous ascetics be saved And all diligent laborers in Your field I desire that prisoners [for the Faith] because of You, be saved  For the sake of Your love, who sacrifice themselves  And for sinners cruel, that, violence commit  And those who endure violence for Your sake  Salvation to the monasteries [Lavras] with monks plentiful Salvation to the faithful; the tearful and the poor  Salvation to the churches throughout the whole universe  The Shepherds of the Church, to all as to me  All the servants of God and handmaidens all  Whom the world knows or whom in loneliness hide  Salvation to the baptized ones and the adopted ones  With the Life-giving Spirit of God enlivened  Salvation to the humble and the merciful  Faithful emperors and princes faithful  To every heart of man, the healthy and the infirm  And salvation to my brother Serapion  O Powerful Lord, that is my wish  And final prayer. Let it be Your will

Reflection of St. Nikolai Velimirovich
"Live as though you were not of this world and you will have peace." Thus spoke St. Anthony to his disciples.
An amazing lesson but truthful. We bring about greater misfortunes and uneasiness upon ourselves when we desire to associate and identify ourselves, as much as possible, to remain in this world. Whenever a person retreats, as much as possible, from this world and as often as he contemplates this world as existing without him and the deeper he immerses himself in reflecting about his unworthiness in this world, he will stand closer to God and will have deeper spiritual peace. "Everyday I face death", says St. Paul (1 Corinthians 15:31), that is, everyday I feel that I am not in this world. That is why he daily felt like a heavenly citizen in the spirit. When the torturer Faustinus asked St. Theodulus: "Is not life better than a violent death?" St. Theodulus replied: "Indeed, even I think that life is better than death. Because of this, I decided to abhor this mortal and temporal life, barely existing on earth, so that I may be a partaker of life eternal."

Martyrs of Lesbos 5 virgin Christian maidens martyred for the faith on the Greek island of Lesbos
 In Lesbo ínsula pássio sanctárum quinque vírginum, quæ gládio martyrium consummárunt.
      On the island of Lesbos, the martyrdom of five holy virgins, who were slain by the sword.


<<375 Saint Publius lived a life of asceticism in the Egyptian desert during the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363)
Before a military campaign against the Persians, the emperor sent a devil to explore the way for the army to go. The venerable Publius foresaw the intent of the emperor. He stood in prayer with upraised hands, praying day and night, and blocked the path of the devil.
For ten days the evil spirit waited until the monk concluded his prayer. Unable to proceed, he returned to the emperor and reported that he had been thwarted. In a rage against St Publius, Julian the Apostate vowed to avenge himself on the saint upon his return from the campaign. He did not fulfill this oath, since he soon perished.
After the death of Julian, one of his military commanders distributed his effects and received monastic tonsure at the hand of St Publius.

St. Zeno
 Eódem die sancti Zenónis Mártyris, qui, pice íllitus et in ignem conjéctus, et hasta in médio rogo vulnerátus, martyrio coronátus est.
      The same day, the martyr St. Zeno, who was covered with pitch, cast into the fire, and wounded by the thrust of a spear, thus gaining the crown of martyrdom.
A martyr who was put to death in an unknown date and an uncertain location. He was reportedly burned alive.
459  Martyrs of Africa  large group of Christians were martyred on Easter Sunday while hearing Mass
 In Africa pássio sanctórum Mártyrum, qui, in persecutióne Regis Ariáni Genseríci, in die Paschæ, in Ecclésia cæsi sunt, quorum Lector, dum in púlpito « ALLELUJA » cantáret, sagítta in gútture transfíxus est.
       In Africa, during the persecution of the Arian king Genseric, the holy martyrs who were murdered in the church on Easter day.  The lector, while singing "Alleluia" at the lectern, was pierced through the throat by an arrow. (RM)
A large group of Christians were martyred on Easter Sunday while hearing Mass, under the Arian King Genseric of the Vandals.
The lector, who was at that moment intoning the Alleluia, had his throat pierced with an arrow (Benedictines).
5th 6th v St. Derferl-Gadarn soldier monk 5th or 6th century
Welsh hermit, reported to have been in the battle of Camblan, where King Arthur died. He may have been a hermit before becoming a monk at Lianderfel, in Gwynedd, Wales.
A carved-wood statue depicting Derfel-Gadarn as a mounted soldier was used to burn Blessed John Forest at Smithfield in 1538, by order of Thomas Cromwell.

Derfel Gadarn (RM) (also known as Derfel Cadarn or Derfel Gdarn) 5th or 6th century. According to legend, Saint Derfel was a great Welsh soldier who fought at the Battle of Camlan (537), where King Arthur was killed. He may have been a monk and abbot at Bardsey and later a solitary at Llanderfel, Merionethshire, Wales, thus becoming its founder and patron. A wooden statue of him mounted on a horse and holding a staff was greatly venerated in the church at Llanderfel until it was used for firewood in the burning of Blessed John Forest, Queen Catherine of Aragon's confessor, at Smithfield, England.

In 1538, Dr. Ellis Price, Cromwell's agent for the diocese of Saint Asaph, wrote to Cromwell about Derfel's statue. He wanted to know how he should dispose of it, because "the people have so much trust in him that they come daily on pilgrimage to him with cows or horses or money, to the number of five or six hundred on April 5. The common saying was that whoever offered anything to this saint would be delivered out of hell by him."
 (We know that only Jesus Christ can save us from hell, but this testimony is an indication of the power of Derfel's prayers.)

Cromwell ordered him to send it to London. The local people of Llanderfel paid Price a 40 pound bribe, but the statue was still removed. On May 22, 1438, John Forest of Greenwich was to be burnt for refusing the Oath of Supremacy. Just before his execution, Derfel's "huge and great image" was brought to the gallows. A centuries old Welsh prophecy had predicted that "this image should set a whole forest afire; which prophecy now took effect, for he set this friar Forest on fire and consumed him to nothing."
The remains of Derfel's staff and horse can be seen in Llanderfel (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer).
ST. TIGERNACH, B. C., IN IRELAND.
His father Corbre was a famous general, and his mother, Dearfraych, was daughter of an Irish king named Eochod.   Tigernach was baptized by Conlathe, bishop of Kildare, St. Brigide being his godmother.
   In his youth he was carried away by pirates into Britain, and fell into the hands of a British king, who being taken with his virtue, placed him in the monastery of Rosnat.   In the school of affliction he learned the emptiness of all earthly enjoyments, and devoted himself with his whole heart to the pursuit of true happiness in the service of God.  When he returned into Ireland, he was compelled to receive episcopal consecration, but declined the administration of the see of Clogher, to which he was chosen upon the death of bishop Mac-karten, in 506.  He founded the abbey of Cluanois, or Clones, in the county of Monaghan, where he fixed his episcopal see, now united to that of Clogher.   He taught a great multitude to serve God in primitive purity and simplicity.  In his old age he lost his sight, and spent his time in a lonesome cell in continual prayer and contemplation, by which he in some measure anticipated the bliss of heaven, to which he passed in 550, according to bishop Usher.   See his Acts in Henschenius.
597 St. Becan great champion of virtue 1/12 Twelve Apostles of Ireland
One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, a relative of St. Columba (Born in Garton, County Donegal, Ireland, c. 521; died June 9, 597.). Becan founded a monastery at Kill-Beggan, Westmeath, which in time became a Cistercian Abbey. The parish in Imleach-Becain, in Meath, was named after him.

                      ST. BECANI ABBOT,
  SON of Murchade and Cula, of the regal family of Munster, contemporary with king Dermitius and St. Colunib-Kille.    In building his church, he worked frequently on his knees, and while his hands were employed at his work, he ceased not praying with his lips, his eyes at the same time streaming with tears of devotion.   In the life of St. Molossus he is named among the twelve apostles of Ireland and in the Festilogium of Aengus, on the 21st of March, he is said to be, with St. Endeus and St. Mochua, one of the three greatest champions of virtue, and leaders of saints in that fruitful age of holy men.  See Colgan, MSS. ad 5 Apr.

Becan of Kill-Beggan, Abbot (AC) (also known as Began, Beggan) 6th century. Saint Becan, named as one of the 12 Apostles of Ireland in the life of Saint Molossus, is said to be the son of Murchade and Cula, of the royal house of Munster and a blood relative of Saint Columba.
Becan has been declared one of the three greatest champions of virtue, together with Saint Endeus and Saint Mochua, all of whom were leaders of saints in that fruitful age of holy men.
He founded a monastery at Kill-Beggan, Westmeath, which centuries later became a Cistercian abbey. While building his church, he worked frequently on his knees, and while his hands were thus employed, he prayed with his lips and his eyes streamed with tears of devotion. He also gave his name to the church and parish of Imleach-Becain, Meath (Benedictines, Husenbeth, Montague).

647 Ethelburga of Lyminge founded an abbey at Lyminge abbess , OSB Matron Abbess (AC)

647 ST ETHELBURGA, ABBESS of LYMINGE, MATRON

ST ETHELBURGA was the daughter of St Augustine’s convert, King Ethelbert of Kent and of his wife Bertha. Ethelburga, also called Tata, was given in marriage to Edwin, the pagan king of Northumbria, and St Paulinus, one of St Augustine’s companions, accompanied her as chaplain. Although Edwin was well affected towards Christianity, he hesitated so long before accepting the faith that Pope Boniface V wrote expressly to Ethelburga, urging her to do her utmost to bring about his conversion. But it was not until 627 that Edwin himself received baptism. During the rest of his reign, Christianity made progress throughout Northumbria, encouraged as it was by the royal couple, but when Edwin had been killed at Hatfield Chase, his pagan adversaries overran the land. The queen and St Paulinus found themselves obliged to return to Kent where Ethelburga founded the abbey of Lyminge, which she ruled until her death.

We know nothing of St Ethelburga but what St. Bede (Hist. Eccles. ii, ch. 9 seq.) and Thomas of Elmham (pp. 176—177) have recorded.

814 Saint Platon honored as a Confessor because of his fearless defense of the holy icons
Born in the year 735 into a pious Christian family of the parents, Sergius and Euphemia. Orphaned early on, the boy was taken to be raised by relatives, who gave him a fine education. When he grew up, he began life on his own. The saint occupied himself in the first years in the management of the property which his parents had left him upon their death. He was very temperate and hard-working and acquired great wealth by his toil. However, the future monk's heart blazed with love for Christ. He gave away all his property, set his servants free and withdrew into a monastery named "Ensymboleion" near Mount Olympos.

His prayerful zeal, love of work and geniality won him the love of the brethren. When he was not praying he copied service books, and compiled anthologies from the works of the holy Fathers.

When the head of the monastery Theoctistus died in 770, the brethren chose St Platon as igumen, even though he was only thirty-five years old. After the death of the emperor Constantine Kopronymos (775), St Platon went to Constantinople. He resigned from the administration of the Metropolitan of Nicomedia. In 782, he withdrew to the desolate place of Sokudion with his nephews Sts Theodore (November 11) and Joseph (January 26). On the mount they built a church in honor of the holy Apostle John the Theologian, and founded a monastery, whose Superior was St Platon.

When Saint Tarasius and the empress Irene convened the Seventh Ecumenical Council in Nicea in 787, St Platon took an active part in its work. Being learned in Holy Scripture, he successfully unmasked the error in the Iconoclast heresy and defended the veneration of holy icons. When St Platon approached old age, he transferred the administration of the monastery to St Theodore.

In 795 the emperor Constantine VI (78-797) forced his wife to become a nun, and he married one of his relatives, Theodota.

Even though the holy Patriarch Tarasius condemned this marriage, Joseph, a prominent priest of Constantinople, violated the Patriarch's prohibition and celebrated the marriage of the emperor.

When they learned of this, Sts Platon and Theodore excommunicated the emperor from the Church and sent a letter about this to all the monks. The enraged emperor gave orders to lock St Platon in prison and to banish St Theodore to Thessalonica. Only after the death of the emperor in 797 did they receive their freedom. St Theodore settled in Constantinople and became igumen of the Studion monastery. St Platon lived as a simple monk at this monastery under the obedience of his nephew.

When the new emperor Nicephorus (802-811) returned the excommunicated priest Joseph to the Church on his own authority, Sts Platon and Theodore again came forward denouncing the unlawful activities of the emperor. For this the brave confessors were again subjected to punishment in 807. They were jailed for four years. St Platon was freed from imprisonment in 811 after the death of the emperor, and he returned to the Studion monastery.

He lived three more years at work and prayer, and departed to the Lord on Lazarus Saturday at age 79, on April 8, 814. St Platon is honored as a Confessor because of his fearless defense of the holy icons.
Saint Theodora of Thessalonica obedient to all, especially to the abbess Many miracles were worked through St Theodora's holy relics
We have no information about St Theodora's birthplace or early life. From a young age, she loved Christ and turned away from worldly pursuits. She entered a women's monastery, where she struggled in asceticism and adorned her soul with virtues. Regarding the other sisters as worthy of honor, she was obedient to all, especially to the abbess. Even after her death, St Theodora was a model for the nuns of a pure and blameless life.

Years after the saint's blessed repose, the abbess also departed to the heavenly habitations. When they dug the grave to bury the abbess, they uncovered the relics of St Theodora. Just as though she were still alive, she moved over in order to make room for the abbess. When those present witnessed this remarkable event they cried, "Lord, have mercy!"

Many miracles were worked through St Theodora's holy relics. Those who came to venerate her were healed of all manner of diseases, or freed from the power of demons. Therefore, the faithful continue to celebrate her memory.

St Theodora should not be confused with the other St Theodora of Thessalonica who is commemorated on August 29.

875 Clarus of Rouen first a monk and then a hermit in the diocese of Rouen then roamed throughout the countryside preaching the Good News OSB M (RM)
Born in Rochester, England; died c. 875 (or 894?). After his ordination, the English priest Clarus is described as having crossed over to France. There he was first a monk and then a hermit in the diocese of Rouen. He roamed throughout the countryside preaching the Good News. Clarus was murdered by two hired assassins at the instigation of a woman whose advances he had rejected. The village of his martyrdom and shrine, Saint-Clair- sur-Epte near Pontoise, is named after him and still visited by pilgrims. Another town in the diocese of Coutances, where he lived for a time, also bears his name. Saint Clarus is venerated in the dioceses of Rouen, Beauvais, and Paris (Benedictines, Husenbeth).

1095 Gerald of Sauve-Majeure monk cellarer of abbey Corbie founded directed Benedictine Abbey of Grande-Sauveabbot  author of a hagiology OSB Abbot (AC)
(also known as Geraud, Gerard) Born in Corbie, Picardy; canonized in 1197 by Pope Celestine II.

ST. GERALD,
ABBOT of Sauvé, or Sylva-major, near Bordeaux, who died on the 5th of April, 1095, and was canonized by Celestine II in 1197.  Papebroke, t. 1, Apr. p. 409.

1095 ST GERALD OF SAUVE-MAJEURE, ABBOT
C0RBIE in Picardy was the birthplace of St Gerald, who became first a pupil and then a monk in its great abbey. Quite suddenly he was attacked by excruciating pains, the symptoms of which, as described by his biographer, suggest a severe attack of shingles in the head, with the acute neuralgia which so often follows it. He could get no rest or sleep by day or by night, and it seemed to him as though he were losing his reason. Doctors bled him and dosed him, but afforded him no relief. Worst of all, he could no longer pray.
Feeling that all he could do for God was to minister to others, he undertook, in honour of the Holy Trinity, the care of three poor men whom he looked after. His abbot chose him as companion to go with him to Rome, where he hoped the sufferer might be cured. Together they visited the tombs of the Apostles, and at the hands of St Leo IX Gerald was ordained priest. But from time to time the terrible headaches recurred, until one day when—at the intercession, he was convinced, of St Adelard, whose life he had written— the pains left him as suddenly as they had come, never to trouble him again. After this, in thanksgiving he redoubled his prayers and mortifications. In a vision he beheld our Lord come down from the crucifix towards him, he felt Him place His hand on his head, and heard Him say, “Son, be comforted in the Lord and in the power of His might”. A pilgrimage to Jerusalem was another source of inspiration and consolation.
  Soon after his return St Gerald was chosen abbot by the monks of the abbey of St Vincent at Laon, but he found them lax and unwilling to submit to discipline. Unable to reform them, he resigned, and with some companions started southward in search of a suitable spot for a new foundation; they continued their way until they reached Aquitaine. There, not far from the present city of Bordeaux, on a tract of forest land given them by William VII, Count of Poitou, they in 1079 founded the abbey of Sauve-Majeure (Silva Major), of which Gerald became the first abbot. The monks reclaimed the land and acted as missionaries to the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts, Abbot Gerald being foremost as a preacher and confessor. He instituted the practice of offering Mass and reciting the office of the dead for thirty days after the death of any member of the community, and he also ordered that bread and wine should be served for a whole year for the deceased member and given to the poor. This custom spread to other monasteries and even to parish churches, but after a time the offerings, placed on the bier or on the tomb, were no longer given to the poor but to the priest. St Gerald was canonized in 1197.

Our information comes mainly from two medieval Latin lives of the saint, one written by an anonymous contemporary, and the other somewhat later by the monk Christian. They are printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i. See also Cirot de la Ville, Histoire de St Gerard . . . (1869), and F. Moniquet, Un Fondateur de vile . . . (1895).

 Saint Gerald was educated and became a monk and cellarer of the famous abbey of Corbie. He suffered from acute headaches until he was healed by Saint Adalhard on his return from a pilgrimage with his abbot to Monte Cassino and Rome, where he was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Leo IX. After some time in Corbie, he made a pilgrimage to Palestine.
Next, he was chosen abbot of Saint Vincent's at Laon, where the monks were unwilling to submit to proper discipline. Gerald resigned to become abbot of Saint Medard's at Soissons; but, being expelled by an usurper.
Then with three companions he founded and directed the Benedictine Abbey of Grande-Sauve (Gironde) near Bordeaux, which became the center of a powerful congregation. He instituted the practice of celebrating Mass and Office for the Dead for 30 days after the death of a community member. Gerald was also the author of a hagiology and up to his death he recommended that his monks flee all discussion (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).

St. Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
As a monk of Corbie, France, Gerald was stricken with head pains so acute that he found it virtually impossible to pray. Doctors were unable to do anything for him. Gerald thereupon devoted himself to the care of three paupers in honor of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. At length, the pains suddenly ended, a cure that Gerald attributed to the intercession of Saint Adelard. Afterward, he had a dream in which he witnessed a Mass celebrated by Christ himself, with angels serving as his acolytes and saints as choristers. On another occasion, while kneeling before a crucifix in a crowded church, Gerald experienced a vision of Christ coming down from the cross to place his hand on his head and tell him, “Son, be comforted…” After making a pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Gerald founded a monastery in the woods at Sauve-Majeure, France, where he had experienced a dream of Christ Crucified on a cross stretching from heaven to earth. As abbot, he introduced the practice of having Masses and the Office of the Dead offered for thirty days for the soul of each monk who died at Sauve-Majeure.

1127 St. Albert of Montecorvino Bishop; visions, miracle worker, heroic patience
1127 ST ALBERT, BISHOP OF Montecorvino although bereft of physical vision he was endowed with second sight and the, gift of prophecy
IN the early days of Montecorvino in Apulia, when it was developing into a town, the father of St Albert took up his residence there with his little son. Albert grew up to be so highly esteemed that upon the death of the bishop he was unanimously chosen to be his successor. After a time he lost his sight, but although bereft of physical vision he was endowed with second sight and the, gift of prophecy.
Albert’s fame became widespread mainly owing to two miracles with which he was credited. On a hot summer’s day he had asked for a drink of water which his servant fetched from the spring. “My son”, said the bishop, when he had tasted it, “I asked for water and you have given me wine.” The man declared that he had offered him water, and brought him some more. That also became converted into wine. Soon afterwards a citizen, taken captive and imprisoned, called upon the name of the bishop; and a heavenly visitant carried him off from his prison in the Abruzzi and set him down near Montecorvino. The following morning he went to thank the bishop, who said, “Do not thank me, my son, but give thanks to God, who with His great might raises up the downtrodden and releases the fettered”.
In St Albert’s old age he was given as vicar a priest called Crescentius. He was an unscrupulous man whose one hope was that the aged prelate would die soon that he might succeed him. Instead of assisting the old bishop he and his satellites persecuted him by playing cruel practical jokes. The good man bore all with patience, although he prophesied that Crescentius would not long enjoy the bishopric he coveted.
The people of Montecorvino loved their pastor to the end. When it was known that he was dying, men, women and children gathered round weeping. The old saint gave them his benediction with a parting injunction that they should live in piety and justice and then passed away as though in sleep.
The only account of St Albert which we now possess was written three or four hundred years after his death by one of his successors in the united dioceses of Montecorvino and Vulturaria. This was Alexander Gerardinus, a prolific author as Ughelli shows. However, he seems only to have put into more classical form a life of Albert which was compiled by Bishop Richard, the next but one to follow him at Montecorvino. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, and by Ughelli, Italia Sacra, vol. viii (1662), cc. 469—474.

Born into a Norman family, Albert was brought to Montecorvino as a child. He demonstrated holiness at an early age and attracted many in the region. Blinded while still young, probably from some physical condition, Albert was nevertheless made bishop of Montecorvino. He was able to fulfill his duties and to perform many miracles. Albert was also known for his visions.
Albert of Montecorvino B (AC) Born in Normandy; died . Albert and his parents moved from Normandy to Montecorvino, where he became bishop. In his old age, Albert was blind and was given a coadjutor who treated him with amazing indignity and cruelty. The saint bore this, as all his trials, with heroic patience (Attwater2, Benedictines).

1162 Blessed Sighardus of Bonlieu founded the abbey of Carbon-Blanc (Bonlieu), OSB Cist. Abbot (AC)
Sighardus, Cistercian monk of Jouy, founded the abbey of Carbon-Blanc (Bonlieu) near Bordeaux in 1141 and became its first abbot (Benedictines).

1258 Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon visions in which Jesus pointed out that there was no feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament OSA V (AC)
Born in Retinnes, near Liège, Flanders, in 1192; died at Fosses April 5, 1258; cultus confirmed in 1869; feast day was April 6.
Orphaned when she was 5, Juliana and sister Agnes were placed in the care of the nuns of Mount Cornillon, where Juliana eventually became an Augustinian nun and, in 1225, prioress. While still young, Juliana experienced visions in which Jesus pointed out that there was no feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

1258 BD JULIANA OF MOUNT CORNILLON, VIRGIN
THE introduction of the feast of Corpus Christi was primarily due to one woman, whose mind first conceived it and whose efforts brought about its observance. Juliana was born near Liege in 1192, but being left an orphan at the age of five, she was placed by guardians in the care of the nuns of Mount Cornillon, a double Augustinian monastery of men and women devoted to the care of the sick, more especially of lepers. To keep Juliana and her sister Agnes from contact with the patients, the superior sent them to a dependent farm near Amercoeur, where they were in the kindly charge of a Sister Sapientia, who also taught them. Agnes died young; Juliana grew up into a studious girl who had an intense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and who loved to pore over volumes of St Augustine, St Bernard and other fathers on the library shelves. Strangely enough, from the time when she was about sixteen she was haunted day and night by the appearance of a bright moon streaked with a dark band. Occasionally she feared lest it might be a device of the Devil to distract her from prayer, but usually she felt convinced that it had some deep spiritual meaning if only she could grasp it. At last she had a dream or vision in which our Lord explained that the moon was the Christian year with its round of festivals and that the black band denoted the absence of the one holy day required to complete the cycle—a feast in honour of the Blessed Sacrament.
  The years passed and Juliana became a nun at Mount Cornillon; but she was unknown, without influence and in no position to do anything in the matter of the desired feast. Then in 1225 she was elected prioress and began to speak about what she felt to be her mission to some of her friends, notably to Bd Eva, a recluse who lived beside St Martin’s church on the opposite bank of the river, and to a saintly woman, Isabel of Huy, whom she had received into her community. Encouraged no doubt by the support of these two, she opened her heart to a learned canon of St Martin’s, John of Lausanne, asking him to consult theologians as to the propriety of such a feast. James Pantaleon (afterwards Pope Urban IV), Hugh of St Cher, the Dominican prior provincial, Bishop Guy of Cambrai, chancellor of the University of Paris, with other learned men, were approached, and decided that there was no theological or canonical objection to the institution of a festival in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. On the other hand opposition arose in other quarters. Although John of Cornillon composed an office for the day which was actually adopted by the canons of St Martin’s, and although Hugh of St Cher preached and spoke on her behalf, Juliana was criticized as a visionary, and worse. Feeling ran high against her even in the monastery, the constitution of which was somewhat peculiar. Whilst the ultimate direction of brethren and sisters was in the hands of the prior, the burgomaster and citizens seem to have had a voice in the management of the hospital, the revenues of which, however, were administered by the prioress. A new prior, Roger by name, accused Juliana of falsifying the accounts, of making away with the title-deeds, and of misappropriating the funds to further the promotion of a feast which nobody wanted, These accusations so infuriated the people of Liege that they compelled Juliana to leave. Bishop Robert caused an inquiry to be made into the matter. This resulted in the recall of Juliana to Cornillon, the transference of the prior to the hospital of Huy, and in 1246 the proclamation of the new festival for the diocese of Liege. After the death of the bishop, however, the persecution was renewed and Bd Juliana was driven from Cornillon altogether.
With three of the sisters, Isabel of Huy, Agnes and Otilia, she wandered from one place to another until they found a shelter at Namur. Here for some time they lived upon alms, but the abbess of Salzinnes came to their rescue and, espousing Juliana’s cause, obtained for her from Cornillon a grant from the dowry she had formerly brought to the convent. Misfortune, however, continued to dog her steps—misfortune which she foresaw and foretold. During the siege of Namur by the troops of Henry II of Luxemburg, Salzinnes was burnt down and Juliana was forced to escape with the abbess to Fosses, where she lived as a recluse for the rest of her days in poverty and sickness. She died on April 5, 1248, in the presence of the abbess and of a faithful companion called Ermentrude.
Juliana’s great mission was carried on and completed by her old friend Eva, the recluse of St Martin’s. After the elevation to the papacy of Urban IV, who as James Pantaleon had been one of Juliana’s earliest supporters, Eva, through the bishop of Liege, begged him to sanction the new feast of the Blessed Sacrament. He did so; and afterwards, in recognition of the part she had taken, he sent her his bull of authorization together with the beautiful office for Corpus Christi which St Thomas Aquinas had composed at his desire. The bull was confirmed in 1312 by the Council of Vienne under Pope Clement V, and the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi has from that time become of universal obligation throughout the Western church, and most Catholics of the Eastern rite have adopted it too. The observance of a feast in honour of Bd Juliana was allowed by the Holy See in 1869.

A narrative originally compiled in French but translated into Latin by John of Lausanne is printed in the Acta Sanctorum (April, vol. 1) and forms the principal source for the incidents here recorded. See also Clotilde de Sainte Julienae, Sainte Julienne de Cornillon (1928); and E. Denis, La vraie histoire de ste Julienne...(1935). There is an account in Flemish by J. Coenen (1946).
As prioress she began to agitate for the institution of the feast called for in her vision. Some supported her but enough opposed her that she was removed from office and persecuted; she was driven from Cornillon by the lay directors, who accused her of mismanaging the funds of a hospital under her control.
An inquiry by the bishop of Liège exonerated her and resulted in her recall in 1246, when he introduced the feast of Corpus Christi in Liège.

When the bishop died in 1248, Juliana was again driven from the convent and found refuge in the Cistercian convent of Salzinnes in Namur. Soon she found herself homeless again when the monastery was destroyed by fire during the siege of Namur by the troops of Henry II of Luxembourg. She then migrated to Fosses, where she spent the rest of her life as a recluse.
At her request she was buried at the Cistercian abbey of Villiers as one of their own.

After Juliana's death, the movement for the establishment of Corpus Christi as a universal feast was carried on by her friend Blessed Eva of Liège. The feast was sanctioned by Pope Urban IV in 1264 and the office for the feast was composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas. By 1312, the feast was obligatory throughout the Western Church (Attwater2, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
As is to be expected, Blessed Juliana is represented in art as an Augustinian nun holding a monstrance. She is venerated at Cornillon, Fosse, Retines (Liège), and Salzinnes (Roeder).
1574   St. Catherine Thomas Orphan lived unhappy childhood in home of  uncle many strange phenomena mystical experiences including visits from angels, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Catherine gifts of visions and prophecy
Palmæ, in ínsula Majórica, sanctæ Catharínæ Thomas, Vírginis, Canoníssæ Reguláris, ex Ordine sancti Augustíni, quam Pius Papa Undécimus in sanctárum Vírginum númerum rétulit.
      In the monastery at Palma, in the diocese of Majorca, the birthday of St. Catherine Thomas, Canoness Regular of the Order of St. Augustine, whom Pope Pius XI, in the fiftieth year of his priesthood, placed among the number of virgin saints.
Felt a call to the religious life at age 15, but her confessor convinced her to wait a little. Domestic servant in Palma where she learned to read and write. Joined the Canonesses of Saint Augustine at Saint Mary Magdalen convent at Palma. Subjected to many strange phenomena and mystical experiences including visits from angels, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Catherine. Had the gifts of visions and prophecy. Assaulted spiritually and physically by dark powers, she sometimes went into ecstatic trances for days at a time; her wounds from this abuse were treated by Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. During her last years she was almost continually in ecstasy. Foretold the date of her death.
Born    1 May 1533 at Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain
Died    5 April 1574 at Saint Mary Magdalen convent, Palma, Spain of natural causes
14th v Blessed Blaise of Auvergne impassioned Dominican preacher disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer, OP (AC)
14th century. Blaise was another disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer and, like Vincent, an impassioned Dominican preacher (Benedictines).

14th v Blessed Antony Fuster called 'the Angel of Peace.' disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer, OP (PC)
14th century. A disciple of Saint Vincent Ferrer, Blessed Antony was called 'the Angel of Peace.' He is highly honored at Vich in Catalonia (Benedictines).

1419 St. Vincent Ferrer Patron of Builders Dominican at 19 simply "going through the world preaching Christ," eloquent and fiery preacher St Vincent declared himself to be the angel of the Judgement foretold by St John (Apoc. xiv 6). As some of his hearers began to protest, he summoned the bearers who were carrying a dead woman to her burial and adjured the corpse to testify to the truth of his words. The body was seen to revive for a moment to give the confirmation required, and then to close its eyes once more in death. It is almost unnecessary to add that the saint laid no claim to the nature of a celestial being, but only to the angelic office of a messenger or herald—believing, as he did, that he was the instrument chosen by God to announce the impending end of the world.
 Venétiæ, in Británnia minóre, sancti Vincéntii, cognoménto Ferrérii, ex Ordine Prædicatórum, Confessóris, qui, potens ópere et sermóne, multa míllia infidélium convértit ad Christum.
      At Vannes in Brittany, St. Vincent Ferrer, of the Order of Preachers, and confessor.  He was mighty in word and deed, and converted many thousands of infidels to Christ.
b. 1350? 

APRIL V.
ST. VINCENT FERRER, C.
From his life, written by Ranzano, bishop of Luchera, in order to his canonization, in Henschenius, with the notes of Papebroke. See Toron, Hommes illustrea de l’Ordre de St.CL Dominique, t. 3; Fleury, b.110
A. D. 1419.
  ST. VINCENT FERRER WAS born at Valencia, in Spain, on the 23d of January, 1357.   His parents were persons distinguished for their virtue and alms deeds.   They made it their rule to distribute in alms whatever they could save out of the necessary expenses of their family at the end of every year.  Two of their Sons became eminent in the church. -Boniface, who died general of the Carthusians, and St Vincent, who brought with him into the world a happy disposition for learning and piety, which were improved from his cradle by study and a good education. In order to subdue his passions, he fasted rigorously from his childhood every Wednesday and Friday.  The passion of Christ was always the object of his most tender devotion. The blessed Virgin he ever honored as his spiritual mother. Looking on the poor as the members of Christ, he treated them with the greatest affection and charity, which being observed by his parents they made him the dispenser of their bountiful alms. They gave him for his portion the third part of their possessions, all which he in four days' time distributed among the poor.   He began his course of philosophy at twelve years of age, and his theology at the end of his fourteenth year. His progress was such that he seemed a master in both studies at the age of seventeen, and by his affectionate piety he had obtained an eminent gift of tears in that tender age. His father having proposed to him the choice of a religious, an ecclesiastical, or a secular state, Vincent, without hesitation, said, it was his earnest desire to consecrate himself to the service of God in the order of St. Dominick.  His good parents with joy conducted him to a covenant of that order in Valencia, and he put on the habit in 1374, in the beginning of his eighteenth year.
  He made a surprisingly rapid progress in the paths of perfection, taking St. Dominick as his model. To the exercises of prayer and penance he joined the study and meditation of the Holy Scriptures, and the reading of the fathers.   Soon after his solemn profession, he was deputed to read lectures of philosophy, and at the end of his course, published a treatise on Dialectic Suppositions, being not quite twenty-four years old. He was then sent to Barcelona, where he continued his scholastic exercises, and at the same time preached the word of God with great fruit, especially during a great famine, when he foretold the arrival of two vessels loaded with corn, the same evening, to relieve the city which happened, contrary to all expectation. From thence he was sent to Lerida, the most famous university of Catalonia. There continuing his apostolic functions and scholastic disputations, he commenced doctor, receiving the cap from the hands of cardinal Peter de Luna, legate of pope Clement VII., in 1381, being twenty-eight years of age. At the earnest importunities of the bishop, clergy, and people of Valencia, he was recalled to his own country, and pursued there both his lectures and his preaching with stich extraordinary reputation, and so manifestly attended with time benediction of the Almighty, that he was honored in the whole country above n-hat can be expressed. As a humiliation, God permitted an angel of Satan to molest him with violent temptations of the flesh, and to fill his imagination with filthy ideas, the fiend rather hoping to disturb than seduce him. Also a wicked woman who entertained a criminal passion for our saint, feigned herself sack, and sending for him, on pretense of hearing her confession, took that occasion to declare to him  her vicious inclinations, and did all in her power to pervert him.   The saint, like another Joseph, in the utmost horror, and in a humble distrust of himself, without staying to answer her one word, betook himself to flight. The unhappy woman, enraged at his conduct, acted the part of Potiphar's wife in calumniating him. But her complaints meeting with little or no credit, she, upon reflection, became sensible of her fault and being stung with remorse, made him public amends to the best of her power.   The saint most readily pardoned her, and cured a disturbance of mind into which she was fallen. The arms which the saint employed against the devil were prayer, penance, and a perpetual watchfulness over every impulse of his passions.   His heart was always fixed on God, and he made his studies, labor, and all his other actions, a continued prayer.  The same practice he proposes to all Christians, in his book entitled   A Treatise on a Spiritual Life, in which he writes thus: Do you desire to study to your advantage?  Let devotion accompany au your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint.    Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart.   Go from time to tune to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under his cross.   Some moments of repose in his sacred wounds give fresh vigor and new insights.  Interrupt your application by short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers: never begin or end in study but by prayer.  Science is a gift of the Father of lights: do not therefore consider it as barely the work of your own mind or industry."  He always composed his sermons at the foot of a crucifix, both to beg light from Christ crucified, and to draw from that object sentiments wherewith to animate his auditors to penance and the love of God.
 St. Vincent had lived thus six years at Valencia, assiduously pursuing his apostolically labors, under great persecutions from the devils and carnal men, out in high esteem among the virtuous, when cardinal Peter do Luna. Legate of Clement VII in Spain was appointed to go from thence in the same Capacity to Charles IV., king of France.  Arriving at Valencia in 1390, he obliged the saint to accompany him into France.  While the cardinal, who had too much of the spirit of the world, was occupied in politics, Vincent had no other employ or concern than that of the conversion of souls, and of the interests of Jesus Christ: and the fruits of his labors it, Paris were not less than they had been in Spain.  In the beginning of the year 1394, the legate returned to Mignon, and St. Vincent, refusing his invitations to the court of Clement VII went to Valencia. Clement VII dying at Avignon, in 1394, during the great schism, Peter de Luna was chosen pope by the French and Spaniards, and took the name of Benedict XIII. He commanded Vincent to repair to Avignon, and made him Master of the Sacred Palace.  The saint labored to persuade Benedict to put an end to the schism, but obtained only promises, which the ambitious man often renewed, but always artfully eluded.  Vincent in the meantime applied himself to his usual functions, and by his preaching reformed the city of Avignon; but, to breathe a free air of solitude, he retired from court to a convent of his order.  Benedict offered him bishoprics and a cardinal's hat; but he steadfastly refused all dignities; and, after eighteen months, earnestly entreated to be appointed apostolically missionary; and so much did the opinion of his sanctity prevail, that the opposing his desire was deemed an opposition to the will of heaven. Benedict therefore granted his request, gave him his benediction, and invested him with the power of apostolically missionary, constituting him also his legate and vicar. Before the end of the year 1398, St. Vincent being forty-two years old, set out from Avignon towards Valencia He preached in every town with wonderful efficacy, and the people having heard him in one place followed him in crowds to others. Public usurers, blasphemers, debauched women, and other hardened sinners, everywhere were induced by his discourses to embrace a life of penance.  He converted a prodigious number of Jews and Mahometans, heretics, and schematics.    He visited every province of Spain in this manner, except Galicia.  He returned thence into France, and made some stay in Languedoc, Provence, and Dauphine.   He went thence into Italy, preaching on the coasts of Genoa, in Lombardy, Piedmont, and Savoy: as he did in part of Germany, about the Upper Rhino, and through Flanders.  Such was the fame of  his missions, that Henry IV., king of England, wrote to him in the most respectful terms, and sent his letter by a gentleman of his court, entreating him to preach also in his dominions. He accordingly sent one of his own ships to fetch him from the coast of France, and received him with the greatest honors.    The saint having employed Olin time in giving the king wholesome advice both for himself and his subjects, preached in the chief towns of England, Scotland, and Ireland.  Returning into France, he did the seine, from Gascony to Picardy.  Numerous Wars, and the unhappy great schism in the church, had been productive of a multitude of disorders in Christendom; gross ignorance, and a shocking corruption of manners, prevailed in many places; whereby the teaching at this zealous apostle, who, like, another Boanerges, preached in a voice of thunder, became not only useful, but even absolutely necessary, to assist the weak and alarm the sinner.   The ordinary subjects of his sermons were sin death, God's judgments, hell, and eternity.  He delivered his discourses with so much energy, that he filled the most insensible with terror. While he was preaching one day at Toulouse, his whole auditory was seized with trembling.  At his sermons persons often fainted away, and be was frequently obliged to stop, to give leisure for the venting of the sobs and sighs of the congregation.  His sermons were not only pathetic, but were also addressed to the understanding, and supported with a wonderful strength of reasoning, and the authorities of scriptures and fathers, which he perfectly understood and employed as occasion required. His gift of miracles, and the sanctity of his penitential life, gave to his words the greatest weight. Amidst these journeys and fatigues he never ate flesh, fasted every day, except Sundays, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he lived on bread and water, which course he held for forty years: he lay on straw or small twigs. He spent a great part of the day in the confessional with incredible patience, and there finished what he had begun in the pulpit.  He had with him five friars of his order, and some other priests to assist him.    Though by his sermons thousands were moved to give their possessions to the poor, he never accepted anything himself; and was no less scrupulous in cultivating in his heart the virtue and spirit of obedience, than that of poverty; for which reason he declined accepting any dignity in the church or superiority in his order.  He labored thus near twenty years, till 1417, in Spain, Majorca, Italy, and France.  During this time preaching in Catalonia, among other miracles, he restored to the use of his limbs John Soler, a crippled boy, judged by the physicians incurable, who afterwards became a very eminent man, and bishop of Barcelona.  In the year 1400, he was at Aix, in Provence: in 1401, in Piedmont, and the neighboring parts of Italy, being honorably received in the Obedience' of each pope.  Returning into Savoy and Dauphine, he found there a valley called Vaupute, or Valley of Corruption, in which the inhabitants were abandoned to cruelty and shameful lusts. Alter long experience of their savage manners, no minister of the gospel durst hazard himself among them.   Vincent was ready to suffer all things to gain souls, and to snatch from the devil a prey which he had already seemingly devoured. He joyfully exposed his life among these abandoned wretches convened them all from their errors and vices, and changed the name of the valley into Valpuro, or Valley of Purity, which name it ever after retained.
  Being at Geneva in 1403, he wrote a letter to his general, still extant, in which, among other things, he informed him, that after singing mass he preached twice or thrice every day, preparing his sermons while he was on the road: that he had employed three months in travelling from village to village, and from town to town, in Dauphine, announcing the word of God; making a longer stay in three valleys in the diocese of Embrun, namely, Lucerna, Argenteya, and Vaupute, having converted almost all the heretics which peopled those parts: that being invited in the most pressing manner into Piedmont, he for thirteen months preached and instructed the people there, in Montserrat, and the valleys, and brought to the faith a multitude of Vaudois and other heretics.   He says the general source of their heresy was ignorance and want of an instructor, and cries out: "1 blush and tremble when I consider the terrible judgment impending on ecclesiastical superiors, who live at their ease in rich palaces, &c., while so many souls redeemed by the blood of Christ are perishing.

During the grand schism of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries those countries which acknowledged each Pope were called his Obedience.
A"na 5.]                    S. VINCENT FERRER, C.                          33

I pray without ceasing the lord of the harvest that he send good workmen into his harvest." He adds that he had in the valley of Luferia converted an heretical bishop by a conference; and extirpated a certain infamous heresy in the valley Pontia converted the country into which the murderers of St. Peter, the martyr, had fled; had reconciled the Guelph’s and Ghibellines, and settled a general peace in Lombardy. Being called back into Piedmont by the bishops and lords of that country, he stayed five months in the dioceses of Aoust, Tarentaise, St. John of Moriennie, and Grenoble. He says he was then at Geneva, where he had abolished a very inveterate superstitious festival, a thing the bishop durst not attempt; and was going to Lausanne, being called by the bishop to preach to many idolaters who adored the sun, and to heretics who were obstinate, daring, and very numerous on the frontiers of Germany. Thus in his letter Spondanus, 2 and many others say, the saint was honored with the gift of tongues, and that, preaching in his own, he was understood by men of different languages; which is also affirmed by Lanzano, who says that Greeks, Germans, Sardes, Hungarians, and people of other nations, declared they understood every word he spoke, though he preached in Latin, or in his mother tongue, as spoken at Valentia.*
       Peter de Loon, called Benedict XIII., sent for him out of Lorraine to Genoa, promising to lay aside all claim to the papacy.  The saint obeyed, and represented to him the evils of the schism, which would be all laid to his charge but he spoke to one that was deaf to such counsels, he preached with more success to the people of Genoa for a month, and travelled again through France and Flanders, and from thence, in 1406, over all the dominions of Henry VI., king of England. Over the years 1407 and 1408, he employed in reforming the manners of the people of Poitou, Gascony, Languedoc, Provence, and Auvergne at Clermont is still shown the pulpit in which he preached in 1407.  An inscription in a church at Nevers testifies the same of that city: he was again at Aix in October, 1108. Benedict XIII being returned from Genoa, stopped at Marseilles, and came 110 more to Mignon, but in 1408 went to Perpignan.  In the same year the Mahometan king of the Moors, at. Granada in Spain, hearing the reputation of St. Vincent, invited him to his court.  The saint took shipping at Marseilles, and preached to the Mahometan the gospel with great success at Granada, and converted many until some of the nobles, fearing the total subversion of their religion, obliged the king to dismiss him, he then labored in the kingdom of Aragon, and again in Catalonia, especially in the diocese of Gironne and Vich; in a borough of the latter he renewed the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, related at length in his life. 3 At Barcelona; in 1400, he foretold to Martin, king of Aragon, the death of his son Martin the king of Sicily, who was snatched away midst his triumphs in the month of July.  Vincent comforted the afflicted lather, and persuaded him to a second marriage to secure the public peace by an heir to the crown.
  He cured innumerable sick everywhere, and at Valencia made a dumb woman speak, but told her she should ever after remain dumb, and that this was for the good of her soul; charging her always to praise and thank God in spirit, to which instructions’ she promised obedience. He converted the Jews in great numbers en the diocese of Palencia, in the kingdom of Leon, as Mariana relates.  He was invited to Pisa, Sienna, Florence, and Lucca, in 1410, whence, after having reconciled the dissensions that prevailed in those parts, he was recalled by John II., king of Castile.

  1  Luke x. 2.  Spondan. ad an. 1403.   3 Bolland , p. 501, n. 23

Baillet says he preached in French ,Spanish, and Italian and where the language, was not understood, Latin but alters his authors to suppress the miracle.
       Vol. 11.-5
34 St. VINCENT FERRET'   APRIL 5

In 1411 he visited the kingdoms of Castile, Leor Murcia, Andalusia, Asturias, and other countries; in all which places the power of God was manifested in his enabling him to work miracles, and effect the conversion of an incredible number of Jews and sinners. The Jews of Toledo embracing the faith changed their synagogue into a church, under the name of Our Lady’s. From Valladolid, the saint went to Salamanca, in the beginning of the year 1412, where, meeting the corpse of a man who had been murdered, and was carrying on a bier, he, in the presence of a great multitude, commanded the deceased to arise, when the dead man instantly revived; for a monument of which a wooden cross was erected, and is yet to be seen on the spot.   In the same city the saint entered the Jewish synagogue with a cross in his hand, and, replenished with the Holy Ghost, made so moving a sermon, that the Jews, who were at first surprised, at the end of his discourse all desired baptism, and changed their synagogue into a church, to which they gave the title of the holy Cross. But St. Vincent was called away to settle the disputes which had for two years disturbed the tranquility of the kingdom of Aragon, concerning a successor to the crown. The states of Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia were divided.  The most powerful among the Catalonians were for choosing count Urge, but the bishop of Saragossa, who opposed his election, being murdered, so impious and inhuman a crime occasioned a general detestation of that candidate, destroyed his interest, and was an alarm to a civil war.    At last the states of the three kingdoms agreed to choose nine commissaries, three for each kingdom, which were to assemble in the castle of Caspe’ in Aragon, on the river Ebro, to decide the contest, which was to be determined by the concurrence of not less than six of the commissaries appointed for this purpose.  St. Vincent, his brother, Boniface the Carthusian, and Don Peter Bertrand, were the three commissaries for the kingdom of Valencia. The saint therefore left Castile to repair to Caspe’.  Ferdinand of Castile was declared the next heir in blood, and lawful king, by the unanimous consent of the commissaries.   St. Vincent on that occasion made an harangue to the foreign ambassadors and people present, and when he had named Ferdinand king, a prince highly esteemed for his valor, virtue, and moderation, the acclamations of all present testified their approbation.  Ferdinand hastened to Saragossa, and was proclaimed on the 3d of September, 1412. He made the saint his preacher and confessor; yet the holy man continued his usual labors throughout Spain and the adjacent isles, and seemed to take more pleasure in teaching an ignorant shepherd on the mountains, than in teaching to the court. After having long endeavored to move Peter de Luna to resign his pretensions to the papacy, but finding him obstinate, he advised king Ferdinand to renounce his obedience, in case he refused to acknowledge the council of Constance; which that prince did by a solemn edict, dated the 6th of January in 1416, by the advice of the saint, as Oderic Raynold, Mariana, and Spondanus most accurately relate.*
      The saint labored zealously to bring all Spain to this union, and was sent by King Ferdinand to assist at the council of Constance.  He preached through Spain, Languedoc, and Burgundy in his way thither. The fathers of the council pressed his arrival, and deputed Hannibaldi, cardinal of St. Angelus, to consult him at Dijon, in 1417.  Gerson wrote to him also an earnest letter expressing a high esteem for his person. 4  But it does not appear that St. Vincent ever arrived at Constance, notwithstanding Dupin and some others think he did.

4 Gorsen., T.2, p 658, ed. nov.

 * Their authority renders the mistake of Fleury's continuator inexcusable, who pretends! that the saint Only acted in compliance with the king's inclination.

APR11 5.]  8. VINCENT FERRER, C p  35

The saint's occupations made him leave few writings to posterity.  The chief of his works now extant, are, A Treatise on a Spiritual Life, or, On the Interior Man, A Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, A Consolation under Temptations, Against Faith, and Seven Epistles.*

     St. Vincent having labored some time in Burgundy went from Dijon to Bourges, where he continued his apostolical functions with equal zeal. In that city he received pressing letters from John V., duke of Brittany, inviting him to visit his dominions.   The saint convinced it was a call from God, passed by Tours, Angers, and Nantz, in his way thither, being everywhere received as an angel from heaven, and in all places curing the sick, and converting sinners.  The duke resided at Vannes: in which city the saint was received by the clergy, nobility, and people in bodies, and the sovereign thought no honors sufficient to testify his esteem of his merit. St. Vincent preached there from the fourth Sunday of Lent till Easter-Tuesday, of the year 1417 and foretold the duchess that the child she then bore in her womb would one day be duke of Brittany, which came to pass for the eldest son then alive died without issue. 
        All the dioceses, towns, and countries of Brittany heard this apostle with great fruit, and were witnesses of his miracles.   His age and infirmities were far from abating anything of his zeal and labors he rooted out vices, superstitions, and all manner of abuses, and had the satisfaction to see a general reformation of manners throughout the whole province.   Out of Brittany he wrote letters into Castile, by which he engaged the bishops, nobility, and Port Alphonsus, regent of that kingdom for king John the Second, yet a minor, to renounce Peter de Luna as an antipope, and acknowledge the council of Constance, to which they accordingly sent ambassadors, who were received with joy at Constance, on the 3d of April, 1417.  Pope Martin V, elected by the council in November, wrote to the saint, and deputed to him Montanus, an eminent theologian, confirming all his missionary faculties and authority., King Henry V., king of England, being then at Caen in Normandy, entreated the saint to extend his zeal to that province.   He did so; and Normandy and Brittany were the theatre of the apostle's labors the two last years of his life.   He was then sixty years old, and so worn out and weak that he was scarce able to walk a step without help; yet no sooner was he in the pulpit, but he spoke with as much strength, ardor, eloquence, and unction, as he had done in the vigor of his youth. He restored to health on the spot one that had been bedridden eighteen years, in the presence of a great multitude, and wrought innumerable other miracles; among which we may reckon as the greatest the conversions of an incredible number of souls.
He inculcated everywhere a detestation of lawsuits, swearing, lying, and other sins, especially of blasphemy.
     Falling at last into a perfect decay, his companions persuaded him to return to his own country. Accordingly he set out with that view, riding on an ass, as was his ordinary manner of travelling in long

The sermons, printed in three volumes, under his name, cannot be his work, as Dupin and Lappe observe. For his name is quoted in them and they answer nothing the character and spirit of this great man.
Perhaps they were written by someone who had heard him and his companions preach.  There is also a treatise On the end of the World, and On Antichrist, under his, name, some reprehend him, for affirming the end of the world to be at hand; but he meant no more than the apostles and fathers by the like expressions; for the duration of this world, is short in reality, and in public calamities we have signs which continually put us in mind of its final dissolution, and might  be well employed by this Saint to move the people with a mere lively faith to fear that terrible day. But only God knows the time; and 6th General council of Lateran forbids any preachers on any conjectures whosoever, to pretend to foretell or determine it. (Con. t. 14, p. 240) though the time of God' a judgment is certainly near to everyone by death. Some also found fault with the troops of penitents who followed Vincent with disciplines. But they were sincere penitents in whom appeared the true spirit of compunction; very opposite of the fanatics heretics of Germany called Flagellates who placed penance entirely in that exterior grimace of disciplining or flagellation, teaching that it supplied the salutary purposes of the sacraments  not to mention  other abuses which Canon discreetly censures, t. 2, ed. nov. p. 660

Journeys.  But after they were gone, as they imagined, a considerable distance, they found themselves again near the city of Vannes.     Wherefore the Saint, perceiving his illness increase, determined to return into the town, saying to his companions, that God had chosen that city for the place of his burial.  The joy
of the city was incredible when he appeared again, but it was allayed when he told them he was come, not to continue his ministry among them, but to look for his grave.  These words, joined with a short exhortation which he made to impress on the people’s minds their duty to God, made many to shed tears, and threw all into an excess of grief.  His fever increasing, he prepared himself for death by exercises of piety, and devoutly receiving the sacraments.  On the third day the bishop, clergy, magistrates, and part of the nobility, made him a visit.    He conjured them to maintain zealously what he had labored to establish among them, exhorted them to perseverance in virtue, and promised to pray for them when he should be before the throne of God, saying he should go to the Lord after ten days.  During that interval, under the pains of his distemper, he never opened his mouth about his sufferings only to thank almighty God for making him, by a share in the cross, to resemble his crucified Son for he suffered the sharpest agonies not only with resignation and patience, but with exultation and joy.   His prayer and union with God he never interrupted.    The magistrates sent a deputation to him, desiring he would choose the place of his burial.     They were afraid his order, which had then no convent inVannes, would deprive the city of his remains.  The saint answered, that being an unprofitable servant, and a poor religious man, it did not become him to direct anything concerning his burial; however, he begged they would preserve peace after his death, as he had always inculcated to them in his sermons, and that they would be pleased to allow the prior of the convent of his order, which was the nearest to that town, to have the disposal of the place of his burial.    He continued his aspirations of love, contrition, and penance; and often wished the departure of his soul from its fleshy prison, that it might the more speedily be swallowed tip in the ocean of all good.  On the tenth day of his illness, he caused the passion of our Saviour to he read to him, and after that recited the penitential psalms, often stopping totally absorbed in God.  It was on Wednesday in Passion-Week, the 5th of April, that he slept in the Lord, in the year 1419, having lived, according to the most exact computation, sixty-two years, two months, and thirteen days.  Joan of France, daughter of King Charles Vi., duchess of Brittany, washed his corpse with her own hands.   God showed innumerable miracles by that water and by the saint's habit, girdle, instruments of penance, and other relics, of which the detail may be read in the Bollandists.   The duke and bishop appointed the cathedral for the place of his burial.  He was canonized by pope Calixtus III in 1455.  But the bull was only published in 1458, by pope Pius II.  His relics were taken up in 1456.    The Spaniards solicited to have them translated to Valencia, and at last resolved to steal them, thinking them their own property, to prevent which the canons hid the shrine in 1590.   It was found again in 1637, and a second translation was made on the 6th of September, when the shrine was placed on the altar of a new chapel in the same cathedral, where it is still exposed to veneration.

  The great humility of this saint appeared amidst the honors and applause which followed him. He wrote thus, from the sincere sentiments of his heart, in his treatise On a Spiritual Life, c. 16 : " My whole life is nothing but stench: I am all infection both in soul and body; everything in me exhales a smell of corruption, caused by the abominations of my sins and injustices and what is worse, I feel this stench increasing daily in me, and Avnrt 5.]  8. BECAN, A  37
renewed always more insupportably."   He lays down this principle as the preliminary to all virtue, that a person he deeply grounded in humility; ° For whosoever will proudly dispute or contradict, will always stand without the door.  Christ, the master of humility, manifests his truth only to the humble, and hides himself from the proud," c. 1, p. 70.      He reduces the rules of perfection to the avoiding three things   First, the exterior distraction of superfluous employs.  Secondly, all interior secret elation of heart. Thirdly all immoderate attachment to created things.     Also to the practicing of three things  First, the sincere desire of contempt and abjection.  Secondly, the most affective devotion to Christ crucified.   Thirdly, patience in bearing all things for the love of Christ, c. nit.

1419 ST VINCENT FERRER

THE descendant of an Englishman or a Scotsman settled in Spain, St Vincent Ferrer was born at Valencia, probably in the year 1350. Inspired by pro­phecies of his future greatness, his parents instilled into him an intense devo­tion to our Lord and His blessed Mother and a great love for the poor. Moreover they made him the dispenser of their bountiful alms, and from them also he learnt the rigorous Wednesday and Saturday fast which he continued to practise all his life. On the intellectual side he was almost equally precocious. He entered the Dominican priory of Valencia, where he received the habit in 1367, and before he was twenty-one he was appointed reader in philosophy at Lerida, the most famous university in Catalonia. Whilst still occupying that chair he published two treatises, both of which were considered of great merit. At Barcelona, whither he was afterwards transferred, he was set to preach, although he was still only a deacon. The city was suffering from famine: corn which had been despatched by sea had not arrived and the people were nearly desperate. St Vincent, in the course of a sermon in the open air, foretold that the ships would come in that day before night­fall. His prior censured him severely for making predictions, but the ships duly appeared—to the joy of the people who rushed to the priory to acclaim the prophet. His superiors, however, deemed it wise to transfer him to Toulouse, where he remained for a year. He was then recalled to his own country, and his lectures and sermons met with extraordinary success. Nevertheless it was to him a time of trial. Not only was he assailed by temptations from the hidden powers of darkness, but he was also exposed to the blandishments of certain women who became attached to him—his good looks were exceptional—and strove first to beguile him and then to blacken his name. From these trials the saint emerged braced for the strenuous life which lay before him, as well as for the priestly office which was conferred upon him. He soon became famous as a preacher, whose eloquence roused to penitence and fervour multitudes of careless Catholics, besides converting to the Christian faith a number of Jews, notably the Rabbi Paul of Burgos, who died bishop of Cartagena in 1435.

That terrible scandal had begun in 1378 when, upon the death of Gregory XI, sixteen of the twenty-three cardinals had hastily elected Urban VI in deference to the popular cry for an Italian pope. Under the plea that they had been terrorized, they then, with the other cardinals, held a conclave at which they elected Cardinal Robert of Geneva, a Frenchman. He took the name of Clement VII and ruled at Avignon, whilst Urban reigned in Rome. St Vincent Ferrer, who had been amongst those who recognized Clement, naturally upon his death accepted as pope his successor, Peter de Luna or Benedict XIII as he was called, who summoned the Dominican to his side. [* Because of their anomalous position this Clement VII and Benedict XIII are not referred to as antipopes but as “called popes in their obedience”.]

St Vincent duly arrived in Avignon where he had great favour shown him, including the offer of a bishopric, which he refused; but he found his position very difficult. He soon realized that Benedict by his obstinacy was hindering all efforts that were being made towards unity. In vain did Vincent urge him to come to some sort of understanding with his rival in Rome. Even when a council of theologians in Paris declared against his claim, the Avignon pontiff would not stir an inch. The strain upon the saint as his confessor and adviser was so great that he fell ill. Upon his recovery he with great difficulty obtained permission to leave the court and devote himself to missionary work. His object was not primarily to escape from the intrigues and worries of the papal court, but to obey a direct call, for it is said that during his illness our Lord had appeared to him in a vision with St Dominic and St Francis and, after making him understand that he was to go and preach penance as those two had done, had then instantaneously restored him to health.

He set forth from Avignon in 1399 and preached to enormous congregations in Carpentras, Arles, Aix, Marseilles. Besides the inhabitants of the districts he visited, his audience consisted of a number of men, women and even children who followed him from place to place. These people, at first a heterogeneous crowd, were gradually weeded out, organized and brought under rule until, as “Penitents of Master Vincent”, they became valuable helpers, when necessary staying behind in places where the mission had been held to consolidate the good work begun. It is worthy of note that, in a lax age, no breath of suspicion appears to have attached to any member of that mixed company. Several priests travelled with the party, forming a choir and hearing confessions.
Between 1401 and 1403 the saint was preaching in the Dauphiné, in Savoy and in the Alpine valleys: he then went on to Lucerne, Lausanne, Tarentaise, Grenoble and Turin. Everywhere crowds flocked to hear him; everywhere innumerable conversions and remarkable miracles were reported. Vincent preached mainly on sin, death, hell, eternity, and especially the speedy approach of the day of judgement; he spoke with such energy that some of his hearers fainted with fear, whilst the sobs of his congregation often compelled him to pause, but his teaching penetrated beyond the emotions and bore fruit in many cases of genuine conversion and amendment of life. At the Grande Chartreuse, which he visited several times, his brother Boniface being prior, the Carthusian Annals record that “God worked wonders by means of these two brothers. Those who were converted by the preaching of the one, received the religious habit at the hands of the other.”
In 1405 St Vincent was in Genoa, from whence he reached a port from which he could sail for Flanders. Amongst other reforms he induced the Ligurian ladies to modify their fantastic head-dress—“the greatest of all his marvellous deeds”, as one of his biographers avers. In the Netherlands he wrought so many miracles that an hour was set apart every day for the healing of the sick. It has also been supposed that he visited England, Scotland and Ireland, but of this there is no shadow of proof. Although we know from the saint himself that beyond his native language he had learnt only some Latin and a little Hebrew, yet he would seem to have possessed the gift of tongues, for we have it on the authority of reliable writers that all his hearers, French, Germans, Italians and the rest, understood every word he spoke, and that his voice carried so well that it could be clearly heard at enormous distances. It is impossible here to follow him in all his wanderings. In fact he pursued no definite order, but visited and revisited places as the spirit moved him or as he was requested. In 1407 he returned to Spain.

Grenada was then under Moorish rule, but Vincent preached there, with the result that 8000 Moors are said to have asked to be baptized. In Seville and Cordova the missions had to be conducted in the open air, because no church could accommodate the congregations. At Valencia, which he revisited after fifteen years, he preached, worked many miracles, and healed the dissensions which were rending the town.
According to a letter from the magistrates of Orihuela, the effects of his sermons were marvellous: gambling, blasphemy and vice were banished, whilst on all hands enemies were being reconciled. In Salamanca he converted many Jews, and it was here that, in the course of an impassioned open-air sermon on his favourite topic, St Vincent declared himself to be the angel of the Judgement foretold by St John (Apoc. xiv 6). As some of his hearers began to protest, he summoned the bearers who were carrying a dead woman to her burial and adjured the corpse to testify to the truth of his words. The body was seen to revive for a moment to give the confirmation required, and then to close its eyes once more in death. It is almost unnecessary to add that the saint laid no claim to the nature of a celestial being, but only to the angelic office of a messenger or herald—believing, as he did, that he was the instrument chosen by God to announce the impending end of the world.
St Vincent of course had never ceased being deeply concerned at the disunity within the Church, especially since after 1409 there had been no less than three claimants to the papacy, to the great scandal of Christendom. At last the Council of Constance met in 1414 to deal with the matter and proceeded to depose one of them, John XXIII, and to demand the resignation of the other two with a view to a new election. Gregory XII expressed his willingness, but Benedict XIII still held out. St Vincent went to Perpignan to entreat him to abdicate, but in vain. Thereupon, being asked by King Ferdinand of Castile and Aragon to give his own judgement in the matter, the saint declared that because Benedict was hindering the union which was vital to the Church, the faithful were justified in withdrawing their allegiance. Ferdinand acted accordingly, and at length Benedict, Peter de Luna, found himself deposed. “But for you”, wrote Gerson to St Vincent, “this union could never have been achieved.”

The last three years of the saint’s life were spent in France. Brittany and Normandy were the scene of the last labours of this “legate from the side of Christ”. He was so worn and weak that he could scarcely walk without help, but in the pulpit he spoke with as much vigour and eloquence as though he were in the prime of life. When, early in 1419, he returned to Vannes after a course of sermons in Nantes, it was clear that he was dying, and on the Wednesday in Passion Week 1419 he passed away, being then in his seventieth year. His death was greeted by an outburst of popular veneration, and in 1455 St Vincent Ferrer was canonized.
Amid all the honours and applause which were lavished upon him, St Vincent was remarkable for his humility. It seemed to him that his whole life had been evil. “I am a plague-spot in soul and body; everything in me reeks of corruption through the abomination of my sins and injustice”, he laments in his treatise on the spiritual life. It is ever thus with the great saints. The nearer they are to God, the baser do they appear in their own eyes.

According to Dr H. Finke, a most competent historian of this period, no satisfactory life of St Vincent Ferrer has yet been written. His story even now is overlaid with legend; Peter Razzano, who compiled the first biography thirty-six years after the saint’s death, set a very bad example of credulity, which was followed by too many of those who came after him. A collection of the depositions taken in 1453 and 1454 for the process of canoniza­tion has been printed by Fr H. Fages (1904) and other documents (1905), as well as his works (1909), but the French life by the same friar (1901) by no means corresponds to the requirements of modem criticism. Other materials have been studied by R. Chabas in the Revista de Archivos…, 1902—1903. A short English life, based on that of Fages, was published by Fr S. Hogan (1911). More recent accounts are those of R. Johannet (1930), of M. M. Gorce (1924 and 1925) “Les Saints” series), and S. Brettle (1924)—on which see the Analecta Bollandiana, xliv (1926), pp. 216—218-—and there is a valuable note by H. Finke in the Gustav Schnürer Festschrift (1930) on St Vincent’s sermons in 1413. St Vincent also figures largely in Mortier’s Histoire des Maîtres Généraux O.P., vol. iv. A characteristic study by H. Ghéon has been translated into English.
This was the time of the “great schism”, when rival popes were reigning at Rome and Avignon and when even great saints were divided in their allegiance.

The polarization in the Church today is a mild breeze compared with the tornado that ripped the Church apart during the lifetime of this saint. If any saint is a patron of reconciliation, Vincent Ferrer is.

Despite parental opposition, he entered the Dominican Order in his native Spain at 19. After brilliant studies, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Peter de Luna—who would figure tragically in his life.
Of a very ardent nature, Vincent practiced the austerities of his Order with great energy. He was chosen prior of the Dominican house in Valencia shortly after his ordination.

The Western Schism divided Christianity first between two, then three, popes. Clement VII lived at Avignon in France, Urban VI in Rome. Vincent was convinced the election of Urban was invalid (though Catherine of Siena was just as devoted a supporter of the Roman pope). In the service of Cardinal de Luna, he worked to persuade Spaniards to follow Clement.
When Clement died, Cardinal de Luna was elected at Avignon and became Benedict XIII.

Vincent worked for him as apostolic penitentiary and Master of the Sacred Palace. But the new pope did not resign as all candidates in the conclave had sworn to do. He remained stubborn despite being deserted by the French king and nearly all of the cardinals.
Vincent became disillusioned and very ill, but finally took up the work of simply "going through the world preaching Christ," though he felt that any renewal in the Church depended on healing the schism. An eloquent and fiery preacher, he spent the last 20 years of his life spreading the Good News in Spain, France, Switzerland, the Low Countries and Lombardy, stressing the need of repentance and the fear of coming judgment. (He became known as the "Angel of the Judgment.")
He tried, unsuccessfully, in 1408 and 1415, to persuade his former friend to resign. He finally concluded that Benedict was not the true pope. Though very ill, he mounted the pulpit before an assembly over which Benedict himself was presiding and thundered his denunciation of the man who had ordained him a priest. Benedict fled for his life, abandoned by those who had formerly supported him.
Strangely, Vincent had no part in the Council of Constance, which ended the schism.
Comment:  The split in the Church at the time of Vincent Ferrer should have been fatal—36 long years of having two "heads." We cannot imagine what condition the Church today would be in if, for that length of time, half the world had followed a succession of popes in Rome, and half, an equally "official" number of popes in, say, Rio de Janeiro. It is an ongoing miracle that the Church has not long since been shipwrecked on the rocks of pride and ignorance, greed and ambition. Contrary to Lowell's words, "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne," we believe that "truth is mighty, and it shall prevail"—but it sometimes takes a long time.
Quote: “Precious stone of virginity...Flaming torch of charity...Mirror of penance...Trumpet of eternal salvation...Flower of heavenly wisdom...Vanquisher of demons.” (From the litanies of St. Vincent)

St. Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of builders because of his fame for "building up" and strengthening the Church: through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser.  At Valencia in Spain, this illustrious son of St. Dominic came into the world on January 23, 1357. In the year 1374, he entered the Order of St. Dominic in a monastery near his native city. Soon after his profession he was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy. On being sent to Barcelona, he continued his scholastic duties and at the same time devoted himself to preaching. At Lerida, the famous university city of Catalonia, he received his doctorate. After this he labored six years in Valencia, during which time he perfected himself in the Christian life. In 1390, he was obliged to accompany Cardinal Pedro de Luna to France, but he soon returned home. When, in 1394, de Luna himself had become Pope at Avignon he summoned St. Vincent and made him Master of the sacred palace. In this capacity St. Vincent made unsuccessful efforts to put an end to the great schism. He refused all ecclesiastical dignities, even the cardinal's hat, and only craved to be appointed apostolical missionary. Now began those labors that made him the famous missionary of the fourteenth century. He evangelized nearly every province of Spain, and preached in France, Italy, Germany, Flanders, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Numerous conversions followed his preaching, which God Himself assisted by the gift of miracles. Though the Church was then divided by the great schism, the saint was honorably received in the districts subject to the two claimants to the Papacy. He was even invited to Mohammedan Granada, where he preached the gospel with much success.
He lived to behold the end of the great schism and the election of Pope Martin V. Finally, crowned with labors, he died April 5, 1419.
Vincent Ferrer, OP Priest (RM)
Born in Valencia, Spain, January 23, c. 1350; died in Vannes, Brittany, France, April 5, 1418; canonized in 1455 by Pope Callistus III; formal bull issued in 1458 by Pius II authorizing his feast on April 6, but it has always been celebrated on April 5.
    "Whatever you do, think not of yourselves but of God."  --Saint Vincent Ferrer.
Born into a noble, pious family headed by the Englishman William Ferrer and the Spanish woman Constantia Miguel, Saint Vincent's career of miracle-working began early. Prodigies attended his birth and baptism on the same day at Valencia, and, at age 5, he cured a neighbor child of a serious illness. These gifts and his natural beauty of person and character made him the center of attention very early in life.
His parents instilled into Vincent an intense devotion to our Lord and His Mother and a great love of the poor. He fasted regularly each Wednesday and Friday on bread and water from early childhood, abstained from meat, and learned to deny himself extravagances in order to provide alms for necessities. When his parents saw that Vincent looked upon the poor as the members of Christ and that he treated them with the greatest affection and charity, they made him the dispenser of their bountiful alms. They gave him for his portion a third part of their possessions, all of which he distributed among the poor in four days.
Vincent began his classical studies at the age of 8, philosophy at 12, and his theological studies at age 14. As everyone expected, he entered the Dominican priory of Valencia and received the habit on February 5, 1367. So angelic was his appearance and so holy his actions, that no other course seemed possible to him than to dedicate his life to God.
No sooner had he made his choice of vocation than the devil attacked him with the most dreadful temptations. Even his parents, who had encouraged his vocation, pleaded with him to leave the monastery and become a secular priest. By prayer and faith, especially prayer to Our Lady and his guardian angel, Vincent triumphed over his difficulties and finished his novitiate.
He was sent to Barcelona to study and was appointed reader in philosophy at Lerida, the most famous university in Catalonia, before he was 21. While there he published two treatises (Dialectic suppositions was one) that were well received.
In 1373, he was sent to Barcelona to preach, despite the fact that he held only deacon's orders. The city, laid low by a famine, was desperately awaiting overdue shipments of corn. Vincent foretold in a sermon that the ships would come before night, and although he was rebuked by his superior for making such a prediction, the ships arrived that day. The joyful people rushed to the priory to acclaim Vincent a prophet. The prior, however, thought it would be wise to transfer him away from such adulation.
Another story tells us that some street urchins drew his attention to one of their gang who was stretched out in the dust, pretending to be dead, near the port of Grao: "He's dead, bring him back to life!" they cried.  "Ah," replied Vincent, "he was playing dead but the, look, he did die." This is how one definitely nails a lie: by regarding it as a truth. And it turned out to be true, the boy was quite dead.
Everyone was gripped with fear. They implored Vincent to do something. God did. He raised him up.
In 1376, Vincent was transferred to Toulouse for a year, and continued his education. Having made a particular study of Scripture and Hebrew, Vincent was well-equipped to preach to the Jews. He was ordained a priest at Barcelona in 1379, and became a member of Pedro (Peter) Cardinal de Luna's court--the beginning of a long friendship that was to end in grief for both of them. (Cardinal de Luna had voted for Pope Urban VI in 1378, but convinced that the election had been invalid, joined a group of cardinals who elected Robert of Geneva as Pope Clement VII later in the same year; thus, creating a schism and the line of Avignon popes.)
After being recalled to his own country, Vincent preached very successfully at the cathedral in Valencia from 1385-1390, and became famed for his eloquence and effectiveness at converting Jews--Rabbi Paul of Burgos, the future bishop of Cartagena was one of Vincent's 30,000 Jewish and Moorish converts--and reviving the faith of those who had lapsed. His numerous miracles, the strength and beauty of his voice, the purity and clarity of his doctrine, combined to make his preaching effective, based as it was on a firm foundation of prayer.
Of course, Vincent's success as a preacher drew the envy of others and earned him slander and calumny. His colleagues believed that they could make amends for the calumny by making him prior of their monastery in Valencia. He did withdraw for a time into obscurity. But he was recalled to preach the Lenten sermons of 1381 in Valencia, and he could not refuse to employ the gift of speech which drew to him the good and simple people as well as the captious pastors, the canons, and the skeptical savants of the Church.
Peter de Luna, a stubborn and ambitious cardinal, made Vincent part of his baggage, so to speak; because from 1390 on, Vincent preached wherever Peter de Luna happened to be, including the court of Avignon, where Vincent enjoyed the advantage of being confessor to the pope, when Peter de Luna became the antipope Benedict XIII in 1394.
Two evils cried out for remedy in Saint Vincent's day: the moral laxity left by the great plague, and the scandal of the papal schism. In regard to the first, he preached tirelessly against the evils of the time. That he espoused the cause of the wrong man in the papal disagreement is no argument against Vincent's sanctity; at the time, and in the midst of such confusion, it was almost impossible to tell who was right and who was wrong. The memorable thing is that he labored, with all the strength he could muster, to bring order out of chaos. Eventually, Vincent came to believe that his friend's claims were false and urged de Luna to reconcile himself to Urban VI.
He acted as confessor to Queen Yolanda of Aragon from 1391 to 1395. He was accused to the Inquisition of heresy because he taught that Judas had performed penance, but the charge was dismissed by the antipope Benedict XIII, who burned the Inquisition's dossier on Vincent and made him his confessor.
Benedict offered Vincent a bishopric, but refused it. Distressed by the great schism and by Benedict's unyielding position, he advised him to confer with his Roman rival. Benedict refused. Reluctantly, Vincent was obliged to abandon de Luna in 1398. The strain of this conflict between friendship and truth caused Vincent to become dangerously ill in 1398. During his illness, he experienced a vision in which Christ and Saints Dominic and Francis instructed him to preach penance whenever and wherever he was needed, and he was miraculously cured.
After recovering, he pleaded to be allowed to devote himself to missionary work. He preached in Carpetras, Arles, Aix, and Marseilles, with huge crowds in attendance. Between 1401 and 1403, the saint was preaching in the Dauphiné, in Savoy, and in the Alpine valleys: he continued on to Lucerne, Lausanne, Tarentaise, Grenoble, and Turin. He was such an effective speaker that, although he spoke only Spanish, he was thought by many to be multilingual (the gift of tongues?). His brother Boniface was the prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and as a result of Vincent's preaching, several notable subjects entered the monastery.
Miracles were attributed to him. In 1405, Vincent was in Genoa and preached against the fantastic head-dresses worn by the Ligurian ladies, and they were modified--"the greatest of all his marvelous deeds, reports one of his biographers. From Genoa, he caught a ship to Flanders. Later, in the Netherlands, an hour each day was scheduled for his cures. In Catalonia, his prayer restored the withered limbs of a crippled boy, deemed incurable by his physicians, named John Soler, who later became the bishop of Barcelona. In Salamanca in 1412, he raised a dead man to life. Perhaps the greatest miracle occurred in the Dauphiné, in an area called Vaupute, or Valley of Corruption. The natives there were so savage that no minister would visit them. Vincent, ever ready to suffer all things to gain souls, joyfully risked his life among these abandoned wretches, converted them all from their errors and vices. Thereafter, the name of the valley was changed to Valpure, or Valley of Purity, a name that it has retained.
He preached indefatigably, supplementing his natural gifts with the supernatural power of God, obtained through his fasting, prayers, and penance. Such was the fame of Vincent's missions, that King Henry IV of England sent a courtier to him with a letter entreating him to preach in his dominions. The king sent one of his own ships to fetch him from the coast of France, and received him with the greatest honors. The saint having employed some time in giving the king wholesome advice both for himself and his subjects, preached in the chief towns of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Returning to France, he did the same, from Gascony to Picardy.
The preaching of Saint Vincent became a strange but marvelously effective process. He attracted to himself hundreds of people--at one time, more than 10,000--who followed him from place to place in the garb of pilgrims. The priests of the company sang Mass daily, chanted the Divine Office, and dispensed the sacraments to those converted by Vincent's preaching. Men and women travelled in separate companies, chanting litanies and prayers as they went barefoot along the road from city to city. They taught catechism where needed, founded hospitals, and revived a faith that had all but perished in the time of the plague.
The message of his preaching was penance, the Last Judgment, and eternity. Like another John the Baptist--who was also likened to an angel, as Saint Vincent is in popular art--he went through the wilderness crying out to the people to make straight the paths of the Lord. Fearing the judgment, if for no other reason, sinners listened to his startling sermons, and the most obstinate were led by him to cast off sin and love God. He worked countless miracles, some of which are remembered today in the proverbs of Spain. Among his converts were Saint Bernardine of Siena and Margaret of Savoy.
He returned to Spain in 1407. Despite the fact that Granada was under Moorish rule, he preached successfully, and thousands of Jews and Moors were said to have been converted and requested baptism. His sermons were often held in the open air because the churches were too small for all those who wished to hear him.
In 1414 the Council of Constance attempted the end the Great Schism, which had grown since 1409 with three claimants to the papal throne. The council deposed John XXIII, and demanded the resignation of Benedict XIII and Gregory XII so that a new election could be held. Gregory was willing, but Benedict was stubborn. Again, Vincent tried to persuade Benedict to abdicate. Again, he failed. But Vincent, who acted as a judge in the Compromise of Caspe to resolve the royal succession, influenced the election of Ferdinand as king of Castile. Still a friend of Benedict (Peter de Luna), King Ferdinand, basing his actions on Vincent's opinion on the issue, engineered Benedict's deposition in 1416, which ended the Western Schism.
(It is interesting to note that the edicts of the Council of Constance were thrown out by the succeeding pope. The council had mandated councils every ten years and claimed that such convocations had precedence over the pope.)
His book, Treatise on the Spiritual Life is still of value to earnest souls. In it he writes: "Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint. Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart. Go from time to time to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under his cross. Some moments of repose in his sacred wounds give fresh vigor and new lights. Interrupt your application by short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers: never begin or end your study but by prayer. Science is a gift of the Father of lights; do not therefore consider it as barely the work of your own mind or industry."
It seems that Vincent practiced what he preached. He always composed his sermons at the foot of a crucifix, both to beg light from Christ crucified, and to draw from that object sentiments with which to animate his listeners to penance and the love of God.
Saint Vincent also preached to Saint Colette and her nuns, and it was she who told him that he would die in France. Indeed, Vincent spent his last three years in France, mainly in Normandy and Brittany, and he died on the Wednesday of Holy Week in Vannes, Brittany, after returning from a preaching trip to Nantes. The day of his burial was a great popular feast with a procession, music, sermons, songs, miracles, and even minor brawls (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Dorcy, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gheon, Husenbeth, Walsh, White).

Note: I highly recommend reading the entry for Vincent Ferrer in Butler's Lives of the Saints.
It's more accurate than many of his biographies and much more detailed about the saints travels and miracles than presented here.
Saint Vincent is the patron of orphanages in Spain. And Breton fishermen still invoke his aid in storms (Dorcy). He is also the patron of lead founders and invoked against epilepsy, fever, and headache (Roeder).
In art, Saint Vincent is a Dominican with a book, Christ is above with the Instruments of His Passion. Sometimes Vincent is shown (1) pointing to Christ, with a lily and crucifix; (2) ditto, Christ above, shrouded corpses under his feet; (3) surrounded by cherubim, flame in one hand, book in the other; (4) with symbolic wings on his shoulder, trumpet in his hand; (5) with flame, IHS and a radiant face; (6) with Blessed Peter Cerdan (Roeder, Tabor); (7) with a cardinal's hat; or with Jewish and Saracen converts around him (White).
Probus and Grace traditionally considered to be a Welsh husband and wife duo (AC)
Probus and Grace are traditionally considered to be a Welsh husband and wife duo. The church of Tressilian, or Probus, in Cornwall is dedicated in their honor (Attwater2, Benedictines).

1422 Blessed Peter Cerdan accompanied Saint Vincent Ferrer in his travels OP (AC)
Died at Grans near Barbastro, Aragon, Spain, in 1422. Blessed Peter was still another of the Dominican friars who accompanied Saint Vincent Ferrer in his travels (Benedictines). Blessed Peter is venerated at Barbastro. In art he is usually shown in the company of Saint Vincent Ferrer (Roeder).

1582  Martyrs of London Three groups of martyrs who were put to death in the late sixteenth century in London by English authorities.
Martyrs executed for treason, by virtue of their supposed complicity in the entirely spurious plot known as the “Conspiracy of Reims and Rome.” Feastday: none (d. 1588) A group that suffered martyrdom following the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the increase of anti-Catholic feeling in Elizabethan England. Feastday: none (d. 1591) A group suffering martyrdom as a result of the British government’s enforcement of anti-Catholic policies. Feastday: none

1607 After his death relics of Patriarch Job were buried by the western doors of the Dormition Church monastery in Staritsa Many miracles took place at his grave incorrupt
In 1652, on the recommendation of Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, Tsar Alexei ordered that the relics of St Job and St Philip (January 9) be transferred to Moscow.
Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov presided at the uncovering of St Job's relics in Staritsa. The Patriarch's incorrupt and fragrant relics became the source of healing for many who were afflicted by physical and mental illnesses.  On March 27 a procession set off for Moscow with the relics. On Monday of the sixth week of Lent (April 5), the relics of Patriarch Job were brought to the Passions Monastery. From there, the procession proceeded to the Kremlin, and the relics of the saint were placed in the Dormition cathedral.
A few days later, Patriarch Joseph died and was buried next to St Job.
St Job has long been revered as a worker of miracles. The Altar Crosses in the churches of the Staritsa monastery and the Tver cathedral contained particles of his holy relics.
St Job is commemorated on June 19, and also (in the Tver diocese) on the first Sunday after the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul.
1744 Blessed Crescentia Höss blessed by celestial visions, OFM Tert. V (AC)
Born in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany; died there in 1744; beatified in 1900. The German virgin Crescentia, daughter of a poor weaver, was admitted to the convent of the Franciscan regular tertiaries in 1703 at the behest of the Protestant mayor of Kaufbeuren. The other nuns neglected and even persecuted her because she had entered without a dowry. Her holiness, however, overcame their hostility, when they realized that it was her dowry. Eventually Crescentia became novice-mistress, then superioress of the convent. Crescentia was blessed by celestial visions. (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia).

1744 BD CRESCENTIA OF KAUFBEUREN, VIRGIN She had many visions and ecstasies, besides a mystical experience of the sufferings of our Lord which lasted every Friday from nine until three, culminating often in complete unconsciousness. On the other hand she suffered greatly from the assaults of the powers of evil.
IT was in the humble home of wool-weavers at Kaufbeuren in Bavaria that Crescentia Höss first saw the light in 1682, but if her parents were lacking in this world’s goods, they could set their children an example of simple piety which Crescentia— or Anna as she was baptized—was quick to follow.
At an early age, as she knelt in the chapel of the local convent of Franciscan nuns, a voice from the crucifix had said to her, “This shall be your dwelling-place”. When, however, her father applied that she might be received there, he was informed that the poverty of the house rendered a dowry essential—and a dowry he could not supply. Crescentia was content to wait, working at the family trade until she was twenty-one. The promise was then fulfilled in an unexpected way. Beside the convent was a tavern the noise from which was a constant annoyance to the nuns. When they would have bought it up, a prohibitive price was set upon it by the owner. Eventually it came into their possession through the benevolence of the Protestant burgomaster who, as the only token of gratitude which he would accept, asked them to admit Crescentia, saying it would be a pity for such an innocent lamb to remain in the world. Her wish was thus accomplished and she entered the third order regular of St Francis.
Her life for the next few years was to be one of humiliations and persecution, for the superioress and the older nuns could not forget that she had come to them penniless. They taunted her with being a beggar, gave her the most disagreeable work, and then called her a hypocrite. At first she had a little cell, but that was taken away to be given to a novice who had brought money. For three years she had to beg first one sister and then another to allow her to sleep on the floor of her cell: then she was allowed a damp dark little corner of her own. Taking all humiliations as her due, Crescentia refused the sympathy of some of the younger nuns when they exclaimed at the treatment meted out to her. In time, however, another superioress was appointed, who had more charity and discrimination. In time the nuns recognized that they had a saint amongst them and eventually chose her as novice mistress and finally as superioress. She had many visions and ecstasies, besides a mystical experience of the sufferings of our Lord which lasted every Friday from nine until three, culminating often in complete unconsciousness. On the other hand she suffered greatly from the assaults of the powers of evil.
Unkindly criticism of others Crescentia always repressed, invariably defending the absent. Stern to herself, she yet said to her daughters, “The practices most pleasing to God are those which He himself imposes—to bear meekly and patiently the adversities which He sends or which our neighbours inflict on us”. Gradually her influence spread beyond the walls of her convent, and people who came to consult her went away impressed by her wisdom and spoke of her to others: leaders in church and state visited the weaver’s daughter or corresponded with her, and to this day her tomb is visited by pilgrims. Pope Leo XIII beatified her in 1900.

The decree of beatification, giving a summary of the life of Crescentia Höss, is printed in the Analecta Ecclesiastica, viii (1900), pp. 435—457.
Besides the documents published for the Congregation of Rites in the course of the process, sonic unprinted materials connected with the first stages of the inquiry have been edited by Alfred Schroder in the Hagiographischer Jahresbericht for 1903, pp. 1—111. There are also sundry popular lives of the beata in German, e.g., that by Jeiler, which has been translated into Italian, and others by Offner, Seeböck and P. Gatz (1930).


THE PSALTER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PSALM 326

I believed, therefore I have spoken: thy glory, O Lady, to the whole world.

Have compassion on my soul, and guide it: deign in thy good pleasure to take possession of it.

Assign to it the testament of thy peace and thy love: give to it the memory of thy name.

Of the blessing of thy womb give me support: and from the fatness of thy grace sweeten my soul.

Break thou the bonds of my sins: and with thy virtues adorn the face of my soul.


Let every spirit praise Our Lady

Rejoice, ye Heavens, and be glad, O Earth: because Mary will console her servants and will have mercy on her poor.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost as it was in the beginning and will always be.

God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea.  As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. Dear Lord, grant us a spirit that is not bound by our own ideas and preferences.  Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.
O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory. Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.  Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.   God calls each one of us to be a saint in order to get into heavenonly saints are allowed into heaven. The more "extravagant" graces are bestowed NOT for the benefit of the recipients so much as FOR the benefit of others.
There are over 10,000 named saints beati  from history
 and Roman Martyology Orthodox sources

Patron_Saints.html  Widowed_Saints htmIndulgences The Catholic Church in China
LINKS: Marian Shrines  
India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes 1858  China Marian shrines 1995
Kenya national Marian shrine  Loreto, Italy  Marian Apparitions (over 2000Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798
 
Links to Related MarianWebsites  Angels and Archangels  Saints Visions of Heaven and Hell

Widowed Saints  html
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Of_The_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  UniateChalcedon

Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BLay Saints  Miraculous_IconMiraculous_Medal_Novena Patron Saints
Miracles by Century 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800  1900 2000
Miracles 100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000  
 
1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900 Lay Saints

The great psalm of the Passion, Chapter 22, whose first verse “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus pronounced on the cross, ended with the vision: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him
For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you. The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.
Pope Benedict XVI to The Catholic Church In China {whole article here} 2000 years of the Catholic Church in China
The saints “a cloud of witnesses over our head”, showing us life of Christian perfection is possible.

Join us on CatholicVote.org. Be part of a new movement committed to using powerful media projects to create a Culture of Life. We can help shape the movement and have a voice in its future. Check it out at www.CatholicVote.org

Saint Frances Xavier Seelos  Practical Guide to Holiness
1. Go to Mass with deepest devotion. 2. Spend a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it.
3. Do daily spiritual reading for at least 15 minutes, if a half hour is not possible.  4. Say the rosary every day.
5. Also daily, if at all possible, visit the Blessed Sacrament; toward evening, meditate on the Passion of Christ for a half hour, 6.  Conclude the day with evening prayer & an examination of conscience over all the faults & sins of the day.
7.  Every month make a review of the month in confession.
8. Choose a special patron every month & imitate that patron in some special virtue.
9. Precede every great feast with a novena that is nine days of devotion. 10. Try to begin & end every activity with a Hail Mary

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee.  I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not
O most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.  I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended, and by the infite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I beg the conversion of poor sinners,  Fatima Prayer, Angel of Peace
The voice of the Father is heard, the Son enters the water, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove.
THE spirit and example of the world imperceptibly instil the error into the minds of many that there is a kind of middle way of going to Heaven; and so, because the world does not live up to the gospel, they bring the gospel down to the level of the world. It is not by this example that we are to measure the Christian rule, but words and life of Christ. All His followers are commanded to labour to become perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, and to bear His image in our hearts that we may be His children. We are obliged by the gospel to die to ourselves by fighting self-love in our hearts, by the mastery of our passions, by taking on the spirit of our Lord.
   These are the conditions under which Christ makes His promises and numbers us among His children, as is manifest from His words which the apostles have left us in their inspired writings. Here is no distinction made or foreseen between the apostles or clergy or religious and secular persons. The former, indeed, take upon themselves certain stricter obligations, as a means of accomplishing these ends more perfectly; but the law of holiness and of disengagement of the heart from the world is general and binds all the followers of Christ.
God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique each the result of a new idea.
As the liturgy says: Non est inventus similis illis--there are no two exactly alike.
It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints.

Dear Lord, grant us a spirit not bound by our own ideas and preferences.
 
Grant that we may be able to appreciate in others what we lack in ourselves.

O Lord, grant that we may understand that every saint must be a unique praise of Your glory.
 
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives.
Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts.
The 15 Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary ) Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)
1.    Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. 2.    I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. 3.    The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 4.    It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that soul would sanctify them by this means.  5.    The soul that recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. 6.    Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.  God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 7.    Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8.    Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. 9.    I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 10.    The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.  11.    You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary. 12.    I shall aid all those who propagate the Holy Rosary in their necessities. 13.    I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 14.    All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ. 15.    Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
His Holiness Aram I, current (2013) Catholicos of Cilicia of Armenians, whose See is located in Lebanese town of Antelias. The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias.
Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac
The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa {Armenian Ourhaï in Arabic Er Roha, commonly Orfa or Urfa, its present name} is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206) becoming official kingdom religion.
Christian council held at Edessa early as 197 (Eusebius, Hist. Ecc7V,xxiii).
In 201 the city was devastated by a great flood, and the Christian church was destroyed (“Chronicon Edessenum”, ad. an. 201).
In 232 the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas were brought from India, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written.

Under Roman domination martyrs suffered at Edessa: Sts. Scharbîl and Barsamya, under Decius; Sts. Gûrja, Schâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian.
 
In the meanwhile Christian priests from Edessa evangelized Eastern Mesopotamia and Persia, established the first Churches in the kingdom of the Sassanides.  Atillâtiâ, Bishop of Edessa, assisted at the Council of Nicæa (325). The “Peregrinatio Silviæ” (or Etheriæ) (ed. Gamurrini, Rome, 1887, 62 sqq.) gives an account of the many sanctuaries at Edessa about 388.
Although Hebrew had been the language of the ancient Israelite kingdom, after their return from Exile the Jews turned more and more to Aramaic, using it for parts of the books of Ezra and Daniel in the Bible. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the main language of Palestine, and quite a number of texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls are also written in Aramaic.
Aramaic continued to be an important language for Jews, alongside Hebrew, and parts of the Talmud are written in it.
After Arab conquests of the seventh century, Arabic quickly replaced Aramaic as the main language of those who converted to Islam, although in out of the way places, Aramaic continued as a vernacular language of Muslims.
Aramaic, however, enjoyed its greatest success in Christianity. Although the New Testament wins written in Greek, Christianity had come into existence in an Aramaic-speaking milieu, and it was the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, now known as Syriac, that became the literary language of a large number of Christians living in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire, further east. Over the course of the centuries the influence of the Syriac Churches spread eastwards to China (in Xian, in western China, a Chinese-Syriac inscription dated 781 is still to be seen); to southern India where the state of Kerala can boast more Christians of Syriac liturgical tradition than anywhere else in the world.

680 Shiite saint Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad Known as Ashoura and observed by Shiites across the world, the 10th day of the lunar Muslim month of Muharram: the anniversary of the 7th century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints.  Imam Hussein died in the 680 A.D. battle fought on the plains outside Karbala, a city in modern Iraq that's home to the saint's shrine.  The battle over a dispute about the leadership of the Muslim faith following Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. It is the defining event in Islam's split into Sunni and Shiite branches.  The occasion is the source of an enduring moral lesson. "He sacrificed his blood to teach us not to give in to corruption, coercion, or use of force and to seek honor and justice."  According to Shiite beliefs, Hussein and companions were denied water by enemies who controlled the nearby Euphrates.  Streets get partially covered with blood from slaughter of hundreds of cows and sheep. Volunteers cook the meat and feed it to the poor.  Hussein's martyrdom recounted through a rich body of prose, poetry and song remains an inspirational example of sacrifice to many Shiites, 10 percent of the world's estimated 1.3 billion Muslims.
Meeting of the Saints  walis (saints of Allah)
Great men covet to embrace martyrdom for a cause and principle.
So was the case with Hazrat Ali. He could have made a compromise with the evil forces of his time and, as a result, could have led a very comfortable, easy and luxurious life.  But he was not a person who would succumb to such temptations. His upbringing, his education and his training in the lap of the holy Prophet made him refuse such an offer.
Rabia Al-Basri (717–801 C.E.) She was first to set forth the doctrine of mystical love and who is widely considered to be the most important of the early Sufi poets. An elderly Shia pointed out that during his pre-Partition childhood it was quite common to find pictures and portraits of Shia icons in Imambaras across the country.
Shah Abdul Latif: The Exalted Sufi Master born 1690 in a Syed family; died 1754. In ancient times, Sindh housed the exemplary Indus Valley Civilisation with Moenjo Daro as its capital, and now, it is the land of a culture which evolved from the teachings of eminent Sufi saints. Pakistan is home to the mortal remains of many Sufi saints, the exalted among them being Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a practitioner of the real Islam, philosopher, poet, musicologist and preacher. He presented his teaching through poetry and music - both instruments sublime - and commands a very large following, not only among Muslims but also among Hindus and Christians. Sindh culture: The Shah is synonymous with Sindh. He is the very fountainhead of Sindh's culture. His message remains as fresh as that of any present day poet, and the people of Sindh find solace from his writings. He did indeed think for Sindh. One of his prayers, in exquisite Sindhi, translates thus: “Oh God, may ever You on Sindh bestow abundance rare! Beloved! All the world let share Thy grace, and fruitful be.”
Shia Ali al-Hadi, died 868 and son Hassan al-Askari 874. These saints are the 10th and 11th of Shia's 12 most revered Imams. Baba Farid Sufi 1398 miracle, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki renowned Muslim Sufi saint scholar miracles 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] hermit gave to poor, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti greatest mystic of his time born 533 Hijri (1138-39 A.D.), Hazrat Ghuas-e Azam, Hazrat Bu Ali Sharif, and Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Sufi Saint Hazrath Khwaja Syed Mohammed Badshah Quadri Chisty Yamani Quadeer (RA)
1236-1325 welcomed people of all faiths & all walks of life.
801 Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya Sufi One of the most famous Islamic mystics
(b. 717). This 8th century saint was an early Sufi who had a profound influence on later Sufis, who in turn deeply influenced the European mystical love and troubadour traditions.  Rabi'a was a woman of Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq.  She was born around 717 and died in 801 (185-186).  Her biographer, the great medieval poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary" (186).  She was, he continues, “an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries" (218).
Rabi'a began her ascetic life in a small desert cell near Basra, where she lost herself in prayer and went straight to God for teaching.  As far as is known, she never studied under any master or spiritual director.  She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path (222).  A later Sufi taught that there were two classes of "true believers": one class sought a master as an intermediary between them and God -- unless they could see the footsteps of the Prophet on the path before them, they would not accept the path as valid.  The second class “...did not look before them for the footprint of any of God's creatures, for they had removed all thought of what He had created from their hearts, and concerned themselves solely with God. (218)
Rabi'a was of this second kind.  She felt no reverence even for the House of God in Mecca:  "It is the Lord of the house Whom I need; what have I to do with the house?" (219) One lovely spring morning a friend asked her to come outside to see the works of God.  She replied, "Come you inside that you may behold their Maker.  Contemplation of the Maker has turned me aside from what He has made" (219).  During an illness, a friend asked this woman if she desired anything.
"...[H]ow can you ask me such a question as 'What do I desire?'  I swear by the glory of God that for twelve years I have desired fresh dates, and you know that in Basra dates are plentiful, and I have not yet tasted them.  I am a servant (of God), and what has a servant to do with desire?" (162)
When a male friend once suggested she should pray for relief from a debilitating illness, she said,
"O Sufyan, do you not know Who it is that wills this suffering for me?  Is it not God Who wills it?  When you know this, why do you bid me ask for what is contrary to His will?  It is not  well to oppose one's Beloved." (221)
She was an ascetic.  It was her custom to pray all night, sleep briefly just before dawn, and then rise again just as dawn "tinged the sky with gold" (187).  She lived in celibacy and poverty, having renounced the world.  A friend visited her in old age and found that all she owned were a reed mat, screen, a pottery jug, and a bed of felt which doubled as her prayer-rug (186), for where she prayed all night, she also slept briefly in the pre-dawn chill.  Once her friends offered to get her a servant; she replied,
"I should be ashamed to ask for the things of this world from Him to Whom the world belongs, and how should I ask for them from those to whom it does not belong?"  (186-7)
A wealthy merchant once wanted to give her a purse of gold.  She refused it, saying that God, who sustains even those who dishonor Him, would surely sustain her, "whose soul is overflowing with love" for Him.  And she added an ethical concern as well:
"...How should I take the wealth of someone of whom I do not know whether he acquired it lawfully or not?" (187)
She taught that repentance was a gift from God because no one could repent unless God had already accepted him and given him this gift of repentance.  She taught that sinners must fear the punishment they deserved for their sins, but she also offered such sinners far more hope of Paradise than most other ascetics did.  For herself, she held to a higher ideal, worshipping God neither from fear of Hell nor from hope of Paradise, for she saw such self-interest as unworthy of God's servants; emotions like fear and hope were like veils -- i.e., hindrances to the vision of God Himself.  The story is told that once a number of Sufis saw her hurrying on her way with water in one hand and a burning torch in the other.  When they asked her to explain, she said:
"I am going to light a fire in Paradise and to pour water on to Hell, so that both veils may vanish altogether from before the pilgrims and their purpose may be sure..." (187-188)
She was once asked where she came from.  "From that other world," she said.  "And where are you going?" she was asked.  "To that other world," she replied (219).  She taught that the spirit originated with God in "that other world" and had to return to Him in the end.  Yet if the soul were sufficiently purified, even on earth, it could look upon God unveiled in all His glory and unite with him in love.  In this quest, logic and reason were powerless.  Instead, she speaks of the "eye" of her heart which alone could apprehend Him and His mysteries (220).
Above all, she was a lover, a bhakti, like one of Krishna’s Goptis in the Hindu tradition.  Her hours of prayer were not so much devoted to intercession as to communion with her Beloved.  Through this communion, she could discover His will for her.  Many of her prayers have come down to us:
       "I have made Thee the Companion of my heart,
        But my body is available for those who seek its company,
        And my body is friendly towards its guests,
        But the Beloved of my heart is the Guest of my soul."  [224]

To Save A Life is Earthly; Saving A Soul is Eternal Donation by mail, please send check or money order to:
Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Irondale, AL 35210  USA
  Catholic Television Network  Supported entirely by donations from viewers  help  spread the Eternal Word, online Here
Mother Angelica saving souls is this beautiful womans journey  Shrine_of_The_Most_Blessed_Sacrament
Colombia was among the countries Mother Angelica visited. 
In Bogotá, a Salesian priest - Father Juan Pablo Rodriguez - brought Mother and the nuns to the Sanctuary of the Divine Infant Jesus to attend Mass.  After Mass, Father Juan Pablo took them into a small Shrine which housed the miraculous statue of the Child Jesus. Mother Angelica stood praying at the side of the statue when suddenly the miraculous image came alive and turned towards her.  Then the Child Jesus spoke with the voice of a young boy:  “Build Me a Temple and I will help those who help you.” 

Thus began a great adventure that would eventually result in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a Temple dedicated to the Divine Child Jesus, a place of refuge for all. Use this link to read a remarkable story about
The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Father Reardon, Editor of The Catholic Bulletin for 14 years Lover of the poor; A very Holy Man of God.
Monsignor Reardon Protonotarius Apostolicus
 
Pastor 42 years BASILICA OF SAINT MARY Minneapolis MN
America's First Basilica Largest Nave in the World
August 7, 1907-ground broke for the foundation
by Archbishop Ireland-laying cornerstone May 31, 1908
James M. Reardon Publication History of Basilica of Saint Mary 1600-1932
James M. Reardon Publication  History of the Basilica of Saint Mary 1955 {update}

Brief History of our Beloved Holy Priest Here and his published books of Catholic History in North America
Reardon, J.M. Archbishop Ireland; Prelate, Patriot, Publicist, 1838-1918.
A Memoir (St. Paul; 1919); George Anthony Belcourt Pioneer Catholic Missionary of the Northwest 1803-1874 (1955);
The Catholic Church IN THE DIOCESE OF ST. PAUL from earliest origin to centennial achievement
1362-1950 (1952);

The Church of Saint Mary of Saint Paul 1875-1922;
  (1932)
The Vikings in the American Heartland;
The Catholic Total Abstinence Society in Minnesota;
James Michael Reardon Born in Nova Scotia, 1872;  Priest, ordained by Bishop Ireland;
Member -- St. Paul Seminary faculty.
Affiliations and Indulgence Litany of Loretto in Stained glass windows here.  Nave Sacristy and Residence Here
Sanctuary
spaces between them filled with grilles of hand-forged wrought iron the
life of our Blessed Lady After the crucifixon
Apostle statues Replicas of those in St John Lateran--Christendom's earliest Basilica.
Ordered by Rome's first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, Popes' cathedral and official residence first millennium of Christian history.

The only replicas ever made:  in order from west to east {1932}.
Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel
 
It Makes No Sense
Not To Believe In GOD
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
THE BLESSED MOTHER AND ISLAM By Father John Corapi
  June 19, Trinity Sunday, 1991: Ordained Catholic Priest under Pope John Paul II;
then 2,000,000 miles delivering the Gospel to millions, and continues to do so.
By Father John Corapi
Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.

Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress—a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God—total collapse, economic, social, and national. The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death—unwanted, unborn children.

No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.

As we watch the spectacle of the world seeming to self-destruct before our eyes, we can’t help but be saddened and even frightened by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster of epic proportions displayed in living color on our television screens.  These are not ordinary times and this is not business as usual. We are at a crossroads in human history and the time for Catholics and all Christians to act is now. All evil can ultimately be traced to its origin, which is moral evil. All of the political action, peace talks, international peacekeeping forces, etc. will avail nothing if the underlying sickness is not addressed. This is sin. One person at a time hearts and minds must be moved from evil to good, from lies to truth, from violence to peace.
Islam, an Arabic word that has often been defined as “to make peace,” seems like a living contradiction today. Islam is a religion of peace.  As we celebrate the birthday of Our Lady, I am proposing that each one of us pray the Rosary for peace. Prayer is what must precede all other activity if that activity is to have any chance of success. Pray for peace, pray the Rosary every day without fail.  There is a great love for Mary among Muslim people. It is not a coincidence that a little village named Fatima is where God chose to have His Mother appear in the twentieth century. Our Lady’s name appears no less than thirty times in the Koran. No other woman’s name is mentioned, not even that of Mohammed’s daughter, Fatima. In the Koran Our Lady is described as “Virgin, ever Virgin.”

Archbishop Fulton Sheen prophetically spoke of the resurgence of Islam in our day. He said it would be through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Islam would be converted. We must pray for this to happen quickly if we are to avert a horrible time of suffering for this poor, sinful world. Turn to our Mother in this time of great peril. Pray the Rosary every day. Then, and only then will there be peace, when the hearts and minds of men are changed from the inside.
Talk is weak. Prayer is strong. Pray!  God bless you, Father John Corapi

Father Corapi's Biography

Father John Corapi is what has commonly been called a late vocation. In other words, he came to the priesthood other than a young man. He was 44 years old when he was ordained. From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions with the simple message that God's Name is Mercy!

Father Corapi's academic credentials are quite extensive. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University in the seventies. Then as an older man returned to the university classrooms in preparation for his life as a priest and preacher. He received all of his academic credentials for the Church with honors: a Masters degree in Sacred Scripture from Holy Apostles Seminary and Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctorate degrees in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre in Spain.

Father John Corapi goes to the heart of the contemporary world's many woes and wars, whether the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, or the Congo, or the natural disasters that seem to be increasing every year, the moral and spiritual war is at the basis of everything. “Our battle is not against human forces,” St. Paul asserts, “but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness...” (Ephesians 6:12). 
The “War to end all wars” is the moral and spiritual combat that rages in the hearts and minds of human beings. The outcome of that  unseen fight largely determines how the battle in the realm of the seen unfolds.  The title talk, “With the Moon Under Her Feet,” is taken from the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and deals with the current threat to the world from radical Islam, and the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in the ultimate victory that will result in the conversion of Islam. Few Catholics are aware of the connection between Islam, Fatima, and Guadalupe. Presented in Father Corapi's straight-forward style, you will be both inspired and educated by him.

About Father John Corapi.
Father Corapi is a Catholic priest .
The pillars of father's preaching are basically:
Love for and a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary 
Leading a vibrant and loving relationship with Jesus Christ
Great love and reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist from Holy Mass to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
An uncompromising love for and obedience to the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church


God Bless you on your journey Father John Corapi


Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

Records on life of Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, presented at Vatican
Jul 23, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The cause for canonization of Servant of God Edward Flanagan, the priest who founded Nebraska's Boys Town community for orphans and other boys, advanced Monday with the presentation of a summary of records on his life.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified
Jul 6, 2019 - 04:00 am .- Pope Francis approved the miracle attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen Friday, making possible the American television catechist's beatification.

Brooklyn diocese advances sainthood cause of local priest
Jun 25, 2019 - 03:01 am .- The Bishop of Brooklyn accepted last week the findings of a nine-year diocesan investigation into the life of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn, known for fighting bigotry and serving the African American population, as part of his cause for canonization.

Fr. Augustus Tolton, former African American slave, advances toward sainthood
Jun 12, 2019 - 05:03 am .- Fr. Augustus Tolton advanced along the path to sainthood Wednesday, making the runaway slave-turned-priest one step closer to being the first black American saint.

Pope Francis will beatify these martyred Greek-Catholic bishops in Romania
May 30, 2019 - 03:01 pm .- On Sunday in Blaj, Pope Francis will beatify seven Greek-Catholic bishops of Romania who were killed by the communist regime between 1950 and 1970.
 
Woman who served Brazil’s poorest to be canonized
May 14, 2019 - 06:53 am .- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Bl. Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.

Seven 20th-century Romanian bishops declared martyrs
Mar 19, 2019 - 12:01 pm .- Pope Francis declared Tuesday the martyrdom of seven Greek-Catholic bishops killed by the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century.

Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women
Jan 15, 2019 - 11:12 am .- Pope Francis approved Tuesday the next step in the canonization causes of 17 women from four countries, including the martyrdom of 14 religious sisters killed in Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War.
 
Nineteen Algerian martyrs beatified
Dec 10, 2018 - 03:08 pm .- Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, were beatified Saturday during a Mass in Oran.

The Algerian martyrs shed their blood for Christ, pope says
Dec 7, 2018 - 10:02 am .- Ahead of the beatification Saturday of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, Pope Francis said martyrs have a special place in the Church.
Algerian martyrs are models for the Church, archbishop says
Nov 16, 2018 - 03:01 am .- Archbishop Paul Desfarges of Algiers has said that Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, are “models for our lives as disciples today and tomorrow.”
 
Francesco Spinelli to be canonized after healing of a newborn in DR Congo
Oct 9, 2018 - 05:01 pm .- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Algerian martyrs to be beatified in December
Sep 14, 2018 - 06:01 pm .- The Algerian bishops' conference has announced that the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, who were martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996, will be held Dec. 8.

Now a cardinal, Giovanni Angelo Becciu heads to congregation for saints' causes
Jun 28, 2018 - 11:41 am .- Newly-minted Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu will resign from his post as substitute of the Secretariat of State tomorrow, in anticipation of his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints later this summer.

Pope Francis creates new path to beatification under ‘offering of life’
Jul 11, 2017 - 06:22 am .- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.
 
Twentieth century Polish nurse among causes advancing toward sainthood
Jul 7, 2017 - 06:14 am .- Pope Francis on Friday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Hanna Chrzanowska, a Polish nurse and nursing instructor who died from cancer in 1973, paving the way for her beatification.
 
Sainthood causes advance, including layman who resisted fascism
Jun 17, 2017 - 09:22 am .- Pope Francis on Friday recognized the heroic virtue of six persons on the path to canonization, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian man who died from injuries of a beating he received while imprisoned in a concentration camp for resisting fascism.
 
Solanus Casey, Cardinal Van Thuan among those advanced toward sainthood
May 4, 2017 - 10:47 am .- Pope Francis on Thursday approved decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints advancing the causes for canonization of 12 individuals, including the American-born Capuchin Solanus Casey and the Vietnamese cardinal Francis Xavier Nguen Van Thuan.
 
Pope clears way for canonization of Fatima visionaries
Mar 23, 2017 - 06:44 am .- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.
Surgeon and father among sainthood causes moving forward
Feb 27, 2017 - 11:03 am .- Pope Francis recognized on Monday the heroic virtue of eight persons on the path to canonization, including an Italian surgeon and father of eight who suffered from several painful diseases throughout his life.

8 Martyrs Move Closer to Sainthood 8 July, 2016
Posted by ZENIT Staff on 8 July, 2016

The angel appears to Saint Monica
This morning, Pope Francis received Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato. During the audience, he authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

***
MIRACLES:
Miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Luis Antonio Rosa Ormières, priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Guardian Angel; born July 4, 1809 and died on Jan. 16, 1890
MARTYRDOM:
Servants of God Antonio Arribas Hortigüela and 6 Companions, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; killed in hatred of the Faith, Sept. 29, 1936
Servant of God Josef Mayr-Nusser, a layman; killed in hatred of the Faith, Feb. 24, 1945
HEROIC VIRTUE:

Servant of God Alfonse Gallegos of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, Titular Bishop of Sasabe, auxiliary of Sacramento; born Feb. 20, 1931 and died Oct. 6, 1991
Servant of God Rafael Sánchez García, diocesan priest; born June 14, 1911 and died on Aug. 8, 1973
Servant of God Andrés García Acosta, professed layman of the Order of Friars Minor; born Jan. 10, 1800 and died Jan. 14, 1853
Servant of God Joseph Marchetti, professed priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles; born Oct. 3, 1869 and died Dec. 14, 1896
Servant of God Giacomo Viale, professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, pastor of Bordighera; born Feb. 28, 1830 and died April 16, 1912
Servant of God Maria Pia of the Cross (née Maddalena Notari), foundress of the Congregation of Crucified Sisters Adorers of the Eucharist; born Dec. 2, 1847 and died on July 1, 1919
Sunday, November 23 2014 Six to Be Canonized on Feast of Christ the King.

On the List Are Lay Founder of a Hospital and Eastern Catholic Religious
VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2014 (Zenit.org) - Today, the Vatican announced that during the celebration of the feast of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, an ordinary public consistory will be held for the canonization of the following six blesseds, who include a lay founder of a hospital for the poor, founders of religious orders, and two members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See:
-Giovanni Antonio Farina (1803-1888), an Italian bishop who founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts
-Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871), a Syro-Malabar priest in India who founded the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate
-Ludovico of Casoria (1814-1885), an Italian Franciscan priest who founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth
-Nicola Saggio (Nicola da Longobardi, 1650-1709), an Italian oblate of the Order of Minims
-Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952), an Indian Carmelite of the Syro-Malabar Church
-Amato Ronconi (1238-1304), an Italian, Third Order Franciscan who founded a hospital for poor pilgrims

CAUSES OF SAINTS July 2015.
Pope Recognizes Heroic Virtues of Ukrainian Archbishop
Recognition Brings Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Closer to Beatification
By Junno Arocho Esteves Rome, July 17, 2015 (ZENIT.org)
Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky. According to a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, the Holy Father met this morning with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Pope also recognized the heroic virtues of several religious/lay men and women from Italy, Spain, France & Mexico.
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky is considered to be one of the most influential 20th century figures in the history of the Ukrainian Church.
Enthroned as Metropolitan of Lviv in 1901, Archbishop Sheptytsky was arrested shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914 by the Russians. After his imprisonment in several prisons in Russia and the Ukraine, the Archbishop was released in 1918.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic prelate was also an ardent supporter of the Jewish community in Ukraine, going so far as to learn Hebrew to better communicate with them. He also was a vocal protestor against atrocities committed by the Nazis, evidenced in his pastoral letter, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." He was also known to harbor thousands of Jews in his residence and in Greek Catholic monasteries.
Following his death in 1944, his cause for canonization was opened in 1958.
* * *
The Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees regarding the heroic virtues of:
- Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., major archbishop of Leopolis of the Ukrainians, metropolitan of Halyc (1865-1944);
- Servant of God Giuseppe Carraro, Bishop of Verona, Italy (1899-1980);
- Servant of God Agustin Ramirez Barba, Mexican diocesan priest and founder of the Servants of the Lord of Mercy (1881-1967);
- Servant of God Simpliciano della Nativita (ne Aniello Francesco Saverio Maresca), Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1827-1898);
- Servant of God Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres del Cancino, Mexican founder of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1866-1937);
- Servant of God Marie-Charlotte Dupouy Bordes (Marie-Teresa), French professed religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1873-1953);
- Servant of God Elisa Miceli, Italian founder of the Rural Catechist Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1904-1976);
- Servant of God Isabel Mendez Herrero (Isabel of Mary Immaculate), Spanish professed nun of the Servants of St. Joseph (1924-1953)
October 01, 2015 Vatican City, Pope Authorizes following Decrees
(ZENIT.org) By Staff Reporter
Polish Layperson Recognized as Servant of God
Pope Authorizes Decrees
Pope Francis on Wednesday authorised the Congregation for Saints' Causes to promulgate the following decrees:

MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Valentin Palencia Marquina, Spanish diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith in Suances, Spain in 1937;

HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Giovanni Folci, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Opera Divin Prigioniero (1890-1963);
- Servant of God Franciszek Blachnicki, Polish diocesan priest (1921-1987);
- Servant of God Jose Rivera Ramirez, Spanish diocesan priest (1925-1991);
- Servant of God Juan Manuel Martín del Campo, Mexican diocesan priest (1917-1996);
- Servant of God Antonio Filomeno Maria Losito, Italian professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (1838-1917);
- Servant of God Maria Benedetta Giuseppa Frey (nee Ersilia Penelope), Italian professed nun of the Cistercian Order (1836-1913);
- Servant of God Hanna Chrzanowska, Polish layperson, Oblate of the Ursulines of St. Benedict (1902-1973).
March 06 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Pope Francis received in a private audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES

– Blessed Manuel González García, bishop of Palencia, Spain, founder of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth (1877-1940);
– Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity (née Elisabeth Catez), French professed religious of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1880-1906);
– Venerable Servant of God Marie-Eugène of the Child Jesus (né Henri Grialou), French professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, founder of the Secular Institute “Notre-Dame de Vie” (1894-1967);
– Venerable Servant of God María Antonia of St. Joseph (née María Antonio de Paz y Figueroa), Argentine founder of the Beaterio of the Spiritual Exercise of Buenos Aires (1730-1799);
HEROIC VIRTUE

– Servant of God Stefano Ferrando, Italian professed priest of the Salesians, bishop of Shillong, India, founder of the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1895-1978);
– Servant of God Enrico Battista Stanislao Verjus, Italian professed priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, coadjutor of the apostolic vicariate of New Guinea (1860-1892);
– Servant of God Giovanni Battista Quilici, Italian diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Crucified (1791-1844);
– Servant of God Bernardo Mattio, Italian diocesan priest (1845-1914);
– Servant of God Quirico Pignalberi, Italian professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1891-1982);
– Servant of God Teodora Campostrini, Italian founder of the Minim Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Sorrows (1788-1860);
– Servant of God Bianca Piccolomini Clementini, Italian founder of the Company of St. Angela Merici di Siena (1875-1959);
– Servant of God María Nieves of the Holy Family (née María Nieves Sánchez y Fernández), Spanish professed religious of the Daughters of Mary of the Pious Schools (1900-1978).

April 26 2016 MIRACLES authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
Here is the full list of decrees approved by the Pope:

MIRACLES
– Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco, diocesan priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist (1839-1910);
– Venerable Servant of God John Sullivan, professed priest of the Society of Jesus (1861-1933);
MARTYRDOM
– Servants of God Nikolle Vinçenc Prennushi, O.F.M., archbishop of Durres, Albania, and 37 companions killed between 1945 and 1974;
– Servants of God José Antón Gómez and three companions of the Benedictines of Madrid, Spain, killed 1936;
HEROIC VIRTUES
– Servant of God Thomas Choe Yang-Eop, diocesan priest (1821-1861);
– Servant of God Sosio Del Prete (né Vincenzo), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, founder of the Congregation of the Little Servants of Christ the King (1885-1952);
– Servant of God Wenanty Katarzyniec (né Jósef), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (1889-1921);
– Servant of God Maria Consiglia of the Holy Spirity (née Emilia Pasqualina Addatis), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Addolorata, Servants of Mary (1845-1900);
– Servant of God Maria of the Incarnation (née Caterina Carrasco Tenorio), founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of the Flock of Mary (1840-1917);
– Servant of God , founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Family of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1851-1923);
– Servant of God Ilia Corsaro, founder of the Congregation of the Little Missionaries of the Eucharist (1897-1977);
– Servant of God Maria Montserrat Grases García, layperson of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1941-1959).
LINKS:
Marian Apparitions (over 2000)  India Marian Shrine Lourdes of the East   Lourdes Feb 11- July 16, Loreto, Italy 1858 
China
Marian shrines
May 23, 1995 Zarvintisya Ukraine Lourdes Kenya national Marian shrine    Quang Tri Vietnam La Vang 1798  
Links to Related
Marian Websites  Angels and Archangels
Doctors_of_the_Church   Acts_Apostles  Roman Catholic Popes  Purgatory  Uniates, PSALTER  BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 326 2024