Saint Sharbel Makhlouf was a Lebanese Maronite Rite monk, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches who follow a slightly different liturgy and canon law. We in the Latin or Roman Rite often forget that we have sisters and brothers in the East. Saint Sharbel is a good reminder of the wider Church.
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Saint Camillus de Lellis was rejected by the Capuchins because of an ongoing medical condition. Against the advice of a friend, he founded a religious community on his own to care for the sick. These men proved to be invaluable during the plague, caring for the worst of its victims.
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A Capuchin Poor Clare nun, Saint Veronica Giuliani received the unique gift of the stigmata of Christ. Few people have been blessed with these marks; Saint Francis of Assisi was probably the most notable among them.
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Among the Chinese martyrs was the diocesan priest, Father Augustine Zhao Rong. Facing the strong anti-foreign and anti-Catholic feelings present in China for centuries, these martyrs were caught up in a situation that in many ways had nothing to do either with religion or with the Church. But they stayed loyal to Christianity and to their people, and gave their lives in witness.
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Franciscan friar Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and his companions were tortured and killed for their faith in 1860. Little else is known about them, but the testimony of their lives speaks volumes.
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Around the year 64, the city of Rome experienced a devastating fire. Emperor Nero blamed it on the Christians, and a severe persecution followed. Included in the mass murder of Christians were the First Martyrs of Rome. We don’t know their names, but their witness to the faith is certain.
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We celebrate two great saints today, Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Peter is often considered the Apostle to the Jews and Saint Paul to the Gentiles (based, most probably, on his extensive travels among the Gentiles). Together they witnessed to the budding of Christianity, and both laid down their lives for the faith.
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Saint Cyril of Alexandria was instrumental in the Church’s doctrinal statement that there is one person but two natures in Christ. The practical implication of this teaching is that we believe that Jesus is truly God and truly human.
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A Secular Franciscan, Blessed Raymond Lull spent his life supporting the study of languages necessary for successful work in the missions. It wasn’t until late in life that he saw any fruition of his labors, when language chairs were established in several universities.
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Saint John Fisher’s name is usually associated with Saint Thomas More and their difficulty with King Henry VIII. A bishop and cardinal, John Fisher refused to agree with Henry’s divorce and remarriage, as well as the idea that the king, rather than the pope, was the head of the Church in England. He was imprisoned and eventually martyred.
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Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was a precocious child who had a spiritual awakening at the age of 7. As a young adult, and after a prolonged battle with his father, he entered the Jesuits where he had to learn to live and maneuver within community, and give up some of his independent ways of doing things. Aloysius helped nurse patients of the plague which he caught and from which he died.
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Saint Paulinus was a married priest and bishop. In his day, marriage was not an impediment to the priesthood. Though married for many years, Saint Paulinus and his wife were childless. When they finally were blessed with a son, he lived but a few weeks.
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Known for his long hours of prayer and notable ability to communicate, John Francis Regis served the people of France during a “dry” period, when the faith and the Church seemed in decline. He conducted missions to counteract the malaise.
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An Augustinian monk who was inspired by the martyrdom of Franciscan missionaries, Saint Anthony of Padua joined the Franciscans hoping to be a missionary. But God had other plans for him. He became one of the outstanding philosopher/theologians of the Order.
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Saint Ephrem was ordained a deacon, but refused ordination to the priesthood. He was a teacher, defender of the faith, and a prolific writer. He refuted many heresies of his day, often through the lyrics of hymns that he wrote.
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Saint Boniface was an English Benedictine monk who made it his life’s mission to convert the Germanic tribes to Christianity. He found it was no easy task and ended up giving his life for the cause. Boniface was martyred on June 5, 754.
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Today we celebrate the 22 martyrs of Uganda, Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions. Their stories are set in the court of a chief who did not share their faith. Even though they were pages in his court, their faith meant more to them than his approval and support.
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We know very little about these two martyrs, but Saints Marcellinus and Peter are mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Roman liturgy. They made the ultimate sacrifice for the faith and are remembered by the faithful for that reason.
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Saint Justin Martyr was the first recognized philosopher of the Christian era. Converted to Christianity, he continued his love of philosophy and used it to defend the faith.
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Saint Augustine of Canterbury, a monk, was the first bishop of Canterbury. While he only labored for another eight years after establishing the diocese, his influence lives on. Part of his success, limited though it was, was due to his compassionate approach to the local peoples.
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Saint Bernardine of Siena seems to have been a man with a whole lot of energy. He preached, reconciled cities, fought heresy, and attracted great crowds. Bernardine always traveled by foot, and often preached in more than one city on a given day. He is best known today for his great devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
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The title of this stained glass window translates as “Example for Married People”. Located in Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt (Nesselwängle, Austria), it depicts two saints who were a married couple, Maria Torribia and Isidore the Farmer. Today is their feast day.
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Saint Cristóbal Magallanes and Companions, 21 diocesan priests and three laymen, belonged to the Cristero movement during the 20th-century persecution of the Church in Mexico. Martyred over a number of years in eight Mexican states, they were beatified and canonized together.
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Saint Theophilus of Corte is a saint known more by reputation than by facts. We know that he was a Franciscan, ordained priest, and served at a retreat house near Subiaco. Theophilus was known for his poverty and his preaching.
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A married man known for his love of prayer, Saint Isidore the Farmer is one of the five saints of Spain. Saint Isidore worked on the estate of a wealthy landowner and thus attained the title of farmer.
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Saint Damien de Veuster became so well known for his work among the lepers in Hawaii that Moloka’i almost became his surname. Dedicating his life to those suffering from Hansen’s disease, Damien made the world aware of their plight. He succumbed to the disease and died in 1889.
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Saint John of Avila had some pretty impressive friends—Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila—to name just a few. These saints, along with John, were all part of a reform of the Church in Spain. Little did they know at the time the holiness of their group.
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Have you ever felt like running away from your job? Saint Peter of Tarentaise “disappeared” from his diocese to an abbey where he quietly prayed for about a year. Called back to ministry, Peter performed his duties to his diocese well, focusing his energies on the poor.
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Two almost unknown martyrs courageously witnessed to the world many years ago about their faith. Saints Marian and James were martyred in the 3rd century, yet their deaths still speak to the Church today.
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Little biographical data is available for Blessed Michael Giedroyc, but we do know that he was physically handicapped and that this caused him great suffering during his lifetime. But, despite his difficulties, Blessed Michael coped well, due in part to his rich spiritual life.
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Saints Philip and James share a feast day because their relics were brought to Rome together in early May. We know nothing more about either saint than what is found in the Scriptures. There we are told that they were apostles, and tradition has it that they were both martyred.
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A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 1 Cor 15:1-8
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached…
Saint Catherine of Siena was a Third Order Dominican known for her contemplation and prayer—as well as her involvement in Church and civil affairs. During the time when there were two and three popes each claiming the papacy, Saint Catherine sided with Pope Urban VI. She was named a Doctor of the Church in 1970.
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A diocesan priest with a great devotion to Mary, Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort attracted many people to the faith by his preaching. He lived a life of notable poverty and simplicity.
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Most likely the first of the four Gospels, the Gospel of Mark is brief and pointed. Saint Mark has one goal, to present Jesus as God’s crucified messiah, and he fulfills that goal concisely. Saint Mark’s Gospel seems to have been one of the sources used by Saints Matthew and Luke for their works.
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Perhaps best known in philosophical circles for his rational proof of the existence of God, Saint Anselm was a great theologian as well. A Benedictine monk and scholar, Saint Anselm earned the title “Father of Scholasticism,” a school of philosophy/theology prominent in the middle ages, especially among Catholic philosophers and theologians.
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Saint Stanislaus, the bishop of Kraków, was martyred for denouncing political and social corruption. He became the patron saint of Poland, and remains a popular saint throughout Eastern Europe.
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