இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் நவம்பர் 14

 St. Clementinus

Feastday: November 14

Martyr with Theodotus and Philornenus in Heraclea, in Thrace.

St. Gregory Palamas

Feastday: November 14

Birth: 1296

Death: 1359

The scion of a noble Anatolian family, St. Gregory was born, probably at Constantinople, c. 1296. After his father's death, he became a monk, as did several members of his family. He entered a monastery on Mt. Athos and followed the rule of St. Basil. He lived on Athos in solitude for most of the following twenty years. In the 1330's, he began to defend the practice of hesychasm against the attacks of people like Barlaam of Calabria, who denied, among other things, that the light of Tabor which hesychasts experience is the uncreated light. Athough the 1341 council of Constantinople upheld Gregory's teachings about theosis, he was excommunicated in 1344. Three years later, he was consecrated bishop of Thessaloniki. Because hesychasm had come to have political as well as theological associations, the choice was not popular, and he entered his see with the aid of the Byzantine emperor. The Turks captured Gregory in 1354 and kept him captive for a year. He died in 1359. Gregory believes that although God is ultimately unknowable, man can experience his energies through the sacraments and mystical experience, which are possible because of the Incarnation of Christ. The practice of the Jesus prayer opens one to God's energies.

Gregory Palamas (Greek: Γρηγόριος Παλαμᾶς; c. 1296 – 1357 or 1359)[1] was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessaloniki, he is famous for his defense of hesychast spirituality, the uncreated character of the light of the Transfiguration, and the distinction between God's essence and energies (i.e., the divine will, divine grace, etc.). His teaching unfolded over the course of three major controversies, (1) with the Italo-Greek Barlaam between 1336 and 1341, (2) with the monk Gregory Akindynos between 1341 and 1347, and (3) with the philosopher Gregoras, from 1348 to 1355. His theological contributions are sometimes referred to as Palamism, and his followers as Palamites.

Gregory has been venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church since 1368. Within the Catholic Church, he was also been called a saint, and repeatedly cited as a great theological writer, by Pope John Paul II.[2] Since 1971, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has venerated Gregory as a saint.[3][4] Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, and since the Ottoman period, the second Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory Gregory Palamas in the Orthodox Church. The Byzantine Synodikon of Orthodoxy also celebrates his memory and theology while condemning his opponents, including some anti-Palamites who flourished after Gregory's death.

Early life

Gregory was born in Constantinople around the year 1296. His father, Constantine, was a courtier of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282–1328), but died when Gregory was still young. The Emperor himself took part in the raising and education of the fatherless boy and hoped that the gifted Gregory would devote himself to government service, but Palamas chose monastic life on Mt. Athos. Gregory's mother (Kalloni) and siblings (Theodosios, Makarios, Epicharis, and Theodoti) would also embrace monasticism, and the entire family was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2009.

Before leaving for Mt. Athos, Gregory received a broad education, including the study of Aristotle, which he would display before Theodore Metochites and the emperor.[5]

Monastic career

Despite the Emperor's ambitions for him, Gregory, then barely twenty years old, withdrew to Mount Athos in the year 1316 and became a novice there in the Vatopedi monastery under the guidance of the monastic Elder St Nicodemos of Vatopedi. Eventually, he was tonsured a monk, and continued his life of asceticism. After the demise of the Elder Nicodemus, Gregory spent eight years of spiritual struggle under the guidance of a new Elder, Nicephorus. After this last Elder's repose, Gregory transferred to the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius the Athonite on Mount Athos, where he served the brethren in the trapeza (refectory) and in church as a cantor. Wishing to devote himself more fully to prayer and asceticism he entered a skete called Glossia, where he taught the ancient practice of mental prayer known as "prayer of the heart" or hesychasm.

In 1326, because of the threat of Turkish invasions, he and the brethren retreated to the defended city of Thessaloniki, where he was then ordained a priest. Dividing his time between his ministry to the people and his pursuit of spiritual perfection, he founded a small community of hermits near Thessaloniki in a place called Veria.

He served for a short time as Abbot of the Esphigmenou Monastery but was forced to resign in 1335 due to discontentment regarding the austerity of his monastic administration.[6]

The hesychast controversy

Main articles: Hesychasm, Palamism, and Hesychast controversy

Hesychasm attracted the attention of Barlaam, a man who either converted to Orthodoxy or was baptized Orthodox[7][8] who encountered Hesychasts and heard descriptions of their practices during a visit to Mount Athos; he had also read the writings of Palamas, himself an Athonite monk. Trained in Western Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized by hesychasm and began to combat it both orally and in his writings. As a private teacher of theology in the Western Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach to the knowledge of God than the hesychasts taught.

On the hesychast side, the controversy was taken up by Palamas who was asked by his fellow monks on Mt Athos to defend hesychasm from the attacks of Barlaam. Palamas was well-educated in Greek philosophy. Gregory wrote a number of works in its defense and defended hesychasm at six different synods in Constantinople ultimately triumphing over its attackers in the synod of 1351.

Early conflict between Barlaam and Palamas

Although Barlaam came from southern Italy, his ancestry was Greek and he claimed Eastern Orthodoxy as his Christian faith. Arriving in Constantinople around 1330, Barlaam was working on commentaries on Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite under the patronage of John VI Kantakouzenos. Around 1336, Gregory received copies of treatises written by Barlaam against the Latins, condemning their insertion of the Filioque into the Nicene Creed. Although this condemnation was solid Orthodox theology, Palamas took issue with Barlaam's argument in support of it, namely that efforts at demonstrating the nature of God (specifically, the nature of the Holy Spirit) should be abandoned, because God is ultimately unknowable and undemonstrable to humans. Thus, Barlaam asserted that it was impossible to determine from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds. According to Sara J. Denning-Bolle, Palamas viewed Barlaam's argument as "dangerously agnostic". In his response titled "Apodictic Treatises", Palamas insisted that it was indeed demonstrable that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father but not from the Son.[9] A series of letters ensued between the two but they were unable to resolve their differences amicably.

Triads

In response to Barlaam's attacks, Palamas wrote nine treatises entitled "Triads For The Defense of Those Who Practice Sacred Quietude". The treatises are called "triads" because they were organized as three sets of three treatises.

The Triads were written in three stages. The first triad was written in the second half of the 1330s and are based on personal discussions between Palamas and Barlaam although Barlaam is never mentioned by name.[9]

Gregory's teaching was affirmed by the superiors and principal monks of Mt. Athos, who met in synod during 1340–1. In early 1341, the monastic communities of Mount Athos wrote the Hagioritic Tome under the supervision and inspiration of Palamas. Although the tome does not mention Barlaam by name, the work clearly takes aim at Barlaam's views. The tome provides a systematic presentation of Palamas' teaching and became the fundamental textbook for Byzantine mysticism.[10]

In response, Barlaam drafted "Against the Messalians", which attacked Gregory by name for the first time.[11] Barlaam derisively called the hesychasts omphalopsychoi (men with their souls in their navels) and accused them of the heresy of Messalianism, also known as Bogomilism in the East.[9][12] According to Meyendorff, Barlaam viewed "any claim of real and conscious experience of God as Messalianism".

Barlaam also took exception to the doctrine held by the hesychasts as to the uncreated nature of the light, the experience of which was said to be the goal of hesychast practice, regarding it as heretical and blasphemous. It was maintained by the hesychasts to be of divine origin and to be identical to the light which had been manifested to Jesus' disciples on Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration.[16] Barlaam viewed this doctrine of "uncreated light" to be polytheistic because as it postulated two eternal substances, a visible and an invisible God. Barlaam accuses the use of the Jesus Prayer as being a practice of Bogomilism.[17]

The second triad quotes some of Barlaam's writings directly. In response to this second triad, Barlaam composed the treatise "Against the Messalians" linking the hesychasts to the Messalians and thereby accusing them of heresy.

In the third Triad, Palamas refuted Barlaam's charge of Messalianism by demonstrating that the hesychasts did not share the antisacramentalism of the Messalians nor did they claim to physically see the essence of God with their eyes.[13] According to Fr. John Meyendorff "Gregory Palamas orients his entire polemic against Barlaam the Calabrian on the issue of the Hellenic wisdom which he considers to be the main source of Barlaam's errors."[18]

Role in the Byzantine civil war

Although the civil war between the supporters of John VI Kantakouzenos and the regents for John V Palaeologus was not primarily a religious conflict, the theological dispute between the supporters and opponents of Palamas did play a role in the conflict. Steven Runciman points out that "while the theological dispute embittered the conflict, the religious and political parties did not coincide."[19] The aristocrats supported Palamas largely due to their conservative and anti-Western tendencies as well as their links to the staunchly Orthodox monasteries.[20] Although several significant exceptions leave the issue open to question, in the popular mind (and traditional historiography), the supporters of "Palamism" and of "Kantakouzenism" are usually equated.[21][22] Thus, the eventual triumph of Kantakouzenos in 1347 also brought with it the conclusive triumph of the Palamists over the anti-Palamists.

Fifth Council of Constantinople

It became clear that the dispute between Barlaam and Palamas was irreconcilable and would require the judgment of an episcopal council. A series of six patriarchal councils were held in Constantinople on 10 June 1341, August 1341, 4 November 1344, 1 February 1347, 8 February 1347, and 28 May 1351 to consider the issues.[23] Collectively, these councils are accepted as having ecumenical status by Orthodox Christians,[24] some of whom call them the Fifth Council of Constantinople and the Ninth Ecumenical Council.

The dispute over hesychasm came before a synod held at Constantinople in May 1341 and presided over by the emperor Andronicus III. The assembly, influenced by the veneration in which the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius were held in the Eastern Church, condemned Barlaam, who recanted. The ecumenical patriarch insisted that all of Barlaam's writings be destroyed and thus no complete copies of Barlaam's treatise "Against Messalianism" have survived.[9]

Barlaam's primary supporter Emperor Andronicus III died just five days after the synod ended. Although Barlaam initially hoped for a second chance to present his case against Palamas, he soon realised the futility of pursuing his cause, and left for Calabria where he converted to the Roman Church and was appointed Bishop of Gerace.[11]

After Barlaam's departure, Gregory Akindynos became the chief critic of Palamas. A second council held in Constantinople in August 1341 condemned Akindynos and affirmed the findings of the earlier council. Akindynos and his supporters gained a brief victory at a council held in 1344 which excommunicated Palamas. However, the last of these councils, held in May 1351, conclusively exonerated Palamas and condemned his opponents.[11] This synod ordered that the metropolitans of Ephesus and Ganos be defrocked and jailed. All those who were unwilling to submit to the orthodox view were to be excommunicated and kept under surveillance at their residences. A series of anathemas were pronounced against Barlaam, Akindynos and their followers; at the same time, a series of acclamations were also declared in favor of Gregory Palamas and the adherents of his doctrine.[25] One notable opponent of Palamism was Nicephorus Gregoras who refused to submit to the dictates of the synod and was effectively imprisoned in a monastery for two years.

Gradual acceptance of the Palamist doctrine

Kallistos I and the ecumenical patriarchs who succeeded him mounted a vigorous campaign to have the Palamist doctrines accepted by the other Eastern patriarchates as well as all the metropolitan sees under their jurisdiction. However, it took some time to overcome initial resistance to his teachings. For example, the metropolitan of Kiev, upon receiving tomes from Kallistos that expounded the Palamist doctrine, rejected it vehemently and composed a reply in refutation. Similarly, the patriarchate of Antioch remained steadfastly opposed to what they viewed as an innovation; however, by the end of the fourteenth century, Palamism had become accepted there. Similar acts of resistance were seen in the metropolitan sees that were governed by the Latins as well as in some autonomous ecclesiastical regions, such as the Church of Cyprus.[26]

One notable example of the campaign to enforce the orthodoxy of the Palamist doctrine was the action taken by patriarch Philotheos I to crack down on Prochoros Kydones, a monk and priest at Mount Athos who was opposed to the Palamites. Kydones had written a number of anti-Palamist treatises and continued to argue forcefully against Palamism even when brought before the patriarch and enjoined to adhere to the orthodox doctrine. Finally, in exasperation, Philotheos convened a synod against Kydones in April 1368. However, even this extreme measure failed to effect the submission of Kydones and in the end, he was excommunicated and suspended from the clergy in perpetuity. The long tome that was prepared for the synod concludes with a decree canonizing Palamas who had died in 1357/59.[27]

Despite the initial opposition of some patriarchates and sees, over time the resistance dwindled away and ultimately Palamist doctrine became accepted throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. During this period, it became the norm for ecumenical patriarchs to profess the Palamite doctrine upon taking possession of their see.[26]

Martin Jugie states that the opposition of the Latins and the Latinophrones, who were necessarily hostile to the doctrine, actually contributed to its adoption, and soon Latinism and Antipalamism became equivalent in the minds of many Orthodox Christians.[26]

According to Aristeides Papadakis, "all Orthodox scholars who have written on Palamas — Lossky, Krivosheine, Papamichael, Meyendorff, Christou — assume his voice to be a legitimate expression of Orthodox tradition."[28]

Later years

Palamas's opponents in the hesychast controversy spread slanderous accusations against him, and in 1344 Patriarch John XIV imprisoned him for four years. However, in 1347 when Patriarch Isidore came to the Ecumenical Throne, Gregory was released from prison and consecrated as the Metropolitan of Thessalonica. However, since the conflict with Barlaam had not been settled at that point, the people of Thessalonica did not accept him, and he was forced to live in a number of places. It was not until 1350 that he was able to occupy the episcopal chair.[19] In 1354, during a voyage to Constantinople, the ship he was in fell into the hands of Turkish pirates; he was imprisoned and beaten. He was obliged to spend a year in detention at the Ottoman court where he was well treated.[19] Eventually his ransom was paid and he returned to Thessaloniki, where he served as archbishop for the last three years of his life.

Death and canonization

Palamas died in 1357/59. His dying words were, "To the heights! To the heights!" He was canonized a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1368 by Patriarch Philotheos of Constantinople, who also wrote his Vita and composed the service which is chanted in his honour. His feast day is celebrated twice a year on November 14, the anniversary of his death, and on the Second Sunday of Great Lent. The reason for his commemoration on the Second Sunday of Great Lent is because Gregory's victory over Barlaam is seen as a continuation of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (i.e., the victory of the Church over heresy) which was celebrated the previous Sunday.

Gregory's relics are kept in the Metropolitan Cathedral which is named after him. The Cathedral is in Thessaloniki, Greece

Blessed John Licci

Also known as

John Liccio

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Born to a poor farm family, John's mother died in childbirth. His life from then on, all 111 years, was a tale of miracles.

John's father, who fed the baby on crushed pomegranates, had to work the fields, and was forced to leave the infant alone. The baby began crying, and a neighbor woman took him to her home to feed him. She laid the infant on the bed next to her paralyzed husband - and the man was instantly cured. The woman told John's father of the miracle, but he was more concerned that she was meddling, and had taken his son without his permission. He took the child home to feed him more pomegranate pulp. As soon as the child was removed from the house, the neighbor's paralysis returned; when John was brought back in, the man was healed. Even John's father took this as a sign, and allowed the neighbors to care for John.

A precocious and emotional child, John began reciting the Daily Offices before age 10. While on a trip to Palermo, Italy at age 15, John went to Confession in the church of Saint Zita of Lucca where his confession was heard by Blessed Peter Geremia who suggested John consider a religious life. John considered himself unworthy, but Peter pressed the matter, John joined the Dominicans in 1415, and wore the habit for 96 years, the longest period known for anyone.

Priest. Founded the convent of Saint Zita in Caccamo, Italy. Lacking money for the construction, John prayed for guidance. During his prayer he had a vision of an angel who told him to "build on the foundations that were already built." The next day in the nearby woods he found the foundation for a church called Saint Mary of the Angels, a church that had been started many years before, but had never been finished. John assumed this was the place indicated, and took over the site.

During the construction, workmen ran out of materials; the next day at dawn a large ox-drawn wagon arrived at the site. The driver unloaded a large quantity of stone, lime and sand - then promptly disappeared, leaving the oxen and wagon behind for the use of the convent. At another point a well got in the way of construction; John blessed it, and it immediately dried up; when construction was finished, he blessed it again, and the water began to flow. When roof beams were cut too short, John would pray over them, and they would stretch. There were days when John had to miraculously multiply bread and wine to feed the workers. Once a young boy came to the construction site to watch his uncle set stones; the boy fell from a wall, and was killed; John prayed over him, and restored him to life and health.

John and two brother Dominicans who were working on the convent were on the road near Caccamo when they were set upon by bandits. One of the thieves tried to stab John with a dagger; the man's hand withered and became paralyzed. The gang let the brothers go, then decided to ask for their forgiveness. John made the Sign of the Cross at them, and the thief's hand was made whole.

One Christmas a nearby farmer offered to pasture the oxen that had come with the disappearing wagon-driver. John declined, saying the oxen had come far to be there, and there they should stay. Thinking he was doing good, the layman took them anyway. When he put them in the field with his own oxen, they promptly disappeared; he later found them at the construction site, contentedly munching dry grass near Father John.

While he did plenty of preaching in his 90+ years in the habit, usually on Christ's Passion, John was not known as a great homilist. He was known, however, for his miracles and good works. His blessing caused the breadbox of a nearby widow to stay miraculously full, feeding her and her six children. His blessing prevented disease from coming to the cattle of his parishioners. Noted healer, curing at least three people whose heads had been crushed in accidents. Dominican Provincial of Sicily. Prior of the abbey on several occasions.

Born

1400 at Caccamo, diocese of Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Died

14 November 1511 of natural causes

Beatified

25 April 1753 by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)

Patronage

• against head injuries

• Caccamo, Italy

Saint Lawrence O'Toole

Also known as

• Laurence O'Toole

• Lorcan Ua Tuathail

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Son of the chief of Hy Murray. Taken as a hostage by King Dermot McMurrogh Leinster in 1138 when he was ten years old; Dermot later married Lawrence's sister Mor. He was released in 1140 at age twelve to the Bishop of Glendalough, Ireland. and raised and educated at the monastic school there. Monk at Glendalough, and then abbot in 1153. Declined the bishopric of Glendalough in 1160, citing his unworthiness. Ordered to accept the archbishopric of Dublin, Ireland in 1161, he became the first native-born Irishman to hold the see.

Reformed much of the administration and clerical life in his diocese. Worked to restore and rebuild Christ Church cathedral. As archbishop he accepted the imposition onto Ireland of the English form of liturgy in 1172. Noted for his personal austerity, he wore a hair shirt under his ecclesiastical robes, made an annual 40 day retreat in Saint Kevin's cave, never ate meat, fasted every Friday, and never drank wine - though he would color his water to make it look like wine and not bring attention to himself at table. Acted as peacemaker and mediator at the second seige of Dublin in 1170.

In 1171 he travelled to Canterbury, England on diocesan business. While preparing for Mass there he was attacked by a lunatic who wanted to make Lawrence another Saint Thomas Beckett. Everyone in the church thought Lawrence had been killed by the severe blow to the head. Instead he asked for water, blessed it, and washed the wound; the bleeding stopped, and the archbishop celebrated Mass.

Negotiated the 1175 Treaty of Windsor which made upstart Irish king Rory O'Connor and vassal of king Henry II of England, but ended combat. Attended the General Lateran Council in Rome, Italy in 1179. Papal legate to Ireland. Died while travelling with King Henry II, a trip taken as a peacemaker and on behalf of Rory O'Conner. It resulted in his imprisonment and ill-treatment by the king who decided he had had his fill of meddling priests.

Born

1128 at Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland

Died

• 14 November 1180 at Eu, diocese of Rouen, Normandy, France of natural causes

• buried at the abbey church at Eu

• so many miracles were reported at his tomb that his relics were soon translated a place of honour before the altar

• his heart was removed and returned to Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

Canonized

1225 by Pope Honorius III

Patronage

archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland

Blessed Maria Teresa of Jesus

Also known as

Maria Scrilli

Profile

An unknown illness kept the young Maria bedridden for two years; she was cured following a vision of Saint Fiorenzo, and soon after she felt a call to the religious life. On 28 May 1846 she entered the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, Florence, Italy, and though she loved the cloistered life, she realized it was not her calling, and left after two months. Carmelite tertiary, taking the name Maria Teresa of Jesus. Back home she began teaching secular and religious topics to local girls, and effectively started a small school for them. While looking for a place to start a formal school, she was asked by a town council to take over a local school; she did and it formed the base for a religious institute. On 15 October 1854 she founded as the Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but on 30 November 1859, during a period of anti-clerical sentiment in Italy, her institute was ordered to be dissolved and the school secularized. It took years of work and waiting, but on 18 March 1878 Mother Maria was able to resurrect her community, this time in Florence, Italy where they ran a school, boarding house, and Marian association, and lived a vocation of teaching, parish work, and visiting the sick. Today the Institute has about 250 sisters spread through Italy, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Israel, Poland, Canada, the Philippines, the United States, and the Czech Republic, teaching, catechising, caring for the sick and aged.

Born

15 May 1825 in Montevarchi, Arezzo, Italy as Maria Scrilli

Died

14 November 1889 in Florence, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

• 8 October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI

• recognition celebrated by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins at the Roman Amphitheater, Fiesole, Italy

Saint Serapion of Algiers

Also known as

• Serapion of England

• Serapio of...

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As a boy he accompanied his father in the Third Crusade, and was at the battle of Acre in 1191. Member of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom, received into the Order by Saint Peter Nolasco at Barcelona, Spain in 1222. Worked with Saint Raymond Nonnatus to free 150 Christian slaves in 1229. Assigned to recruit for the Order in England, his ship was captured by pirates, and Serapion was left for dead. He survived, however, and wandered the area of London, England preaching against the theft and abuse of Church property which was happening in that area; he was ordered to leave London, and spent some time as a wandering evangelist in the British Isles. In 1240 he took a ransom to release 87 Christians held in Algiers by Muslims, and when the captors demanded more money, he volunteered to stay as a hostage until it arrived. He then worked as a missionary, converting many to Christianity. Authorities then tortured, scourged, abused and executed him. Martyr.

Born

c.1179 in London, England

Died

crucified, stabbed and dismembered alive in Algeria in 1240

Canonized

14 April 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII

Patronage

• against arthritis

• Azul, Argentina, diocese of

Saint Siard

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Born to the nobility of Friesland (an area of modern Netherlands). Studied at the abbey school of Mariëngaarde, Friesland. Spiritual student of Frederick of Hallum. Joined the Premonstratensians in the early 1170's. Abbot at the house in Mariëngaarde in 1194 where he served for 36 years. Noted for his adherence to the Norbertine rule, his love of the contemplative life, for his generosity to the poor, and as a peacemaker. Had a devotion of the Saint Mary and Saint Martha of Bethany, and gave them as examples to his brothers.

Died

• 1230 at the abbey of Mariëngaarde, Friesland of natural causes

• relics moved to Hildesheim, Germany in 1578 when the abbey was destroyed by Calvinists

• relics placed in new reliquaries in 1608

• some relics taken to Tongerlo abbey at Westerlo, Belgium in 1617

• some relics taken to the abbey of Saint-Feuillin, Roeulz, France in 1617

• the abbey of Saint-Feuillin was suppressed in the French Revolution and the relics were taken to the church of Strépy

• some relics transferred to the abbey of Windberg, Germany in 2000

Beatified

8 March 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII (cultus confirmation)

Saint Nikola Tavelic

Also known as

• Nikola Tavigli

• Nicholas, Nicola

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Franciscan friar. Priest. Missionary to Bosnia for 12 years; reports of the day say that the friars brought 50,000 to Christianity. Missionary to Palestine in 1384. Martyred by the Muslim authorities.

Born

c.1340 in Sibenik, Sibensko-Kninska, Croatia

Died

burned alive on 14 November 1391 near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem

Beatified

• 6 June 1889 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)

• 12 June 1966 by Pope Paul VI (decree of martyrdom)

Canonized

• 21 June 1970 by Pope Paul VI

• the first Croatian saint canonized in the modern process

Blessed Maria Louise Merkert

Also known as

Maria Luiza Merkert

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Second and last daughter born to Anthony Merkert and Maria Barbara Pfitzner, she was raised in a pious, middle-class family. Her father died when Maria was still a baby. She and her sister grew to both be devoted to care for the poor. Co-founder in 1842 of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth in Nelsse, Prussia, to tend in their own homes, without compensation, helpless sick persons who could not or would not be received into the hospitals; she served as their first superior until her death.

Born

21 September 1817 in Nysa, Opolskie, Poland (formerly in the Breslau region of Germany

Died

14 November 1872 in Nysa, Opolskie, Poland of typhus

Beatified

20 September 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI

Saint Dubricius of Wales

Also known as

• Dubricius of Caerleon

• Dubricius of Llandaff

• Devereux, Dubric, Dubrice, Dubricus, Dubritius, Dybrig, Dyffryg, Dyfrig

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Related to Saint Brychan of Brycheiniog. One of the founders of monastic life in Wales. He founded monasteries in Gwent and England with his main centers in Henllan and Moccas. Worked with Saint Teilo of Llandaff and Saint Samson of York who he appointed as abbot on Caldey Island. Bishop of Llandaff, Wales, consecrated in by Saint Germanus of Auxerre. Archbishop of Caerleon, Wales, a seat he turned over to Saint David of Wales. In his later years he retired to the Isle of Bardsey to live as a prayerful hermit.

Born

Wales

Died

c.545 on the Isle of Bardsey, Wales of natural causes

Saint Etienne-Théodore Cuenot

Also known as

Stephen-Theodore Cuenot

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Priest, ordained in 1825. Member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Missionary to Vietnam in 1828. Missionary bishop in 1835. Vicar apostolic of Cochinchina in 1840. Martyred in the persecutions of emperor Tu Duc.

Born

8 February 1802 in Le Bélieu, Doubs, France

Died

14 November 1861 in an elephant stable in Bình Ðinh, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saint John Osorinus

Also known as

• John of Trau

• John of Trogir

• Johannes von Trogir

• Ivan Trogirski

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Hermit at the Camaldolese monastery at Ossero on the island of Cres. First bishop of Trogir (in modern Croatia) c.1070. Helped defend the city from king Coloman of Hungary.

Died

• c.1111

• buried in the Saint Lawrence cathedral, Trogir, Croatia

Patronage

Trogir, Croatia

Saint Antigius of Langres

Also known as

Anthôt, Antidius, Antège, Autige

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Itinerant missionary bishop who evangelized in the area of Langres, France.

Died

• in Saint-Anthot, France of natural causes

• buried in Saint-Anthot

• relics moved to Chiney, France due to invading Normans

• relics moved to Italy in January 887 due to invading Normans

• relics later moved to the monastery of San Faustino e San Giovita in Brescia, Italy

Saint Hypatius of Gangra

Also known as

Hipacy, Hypatia, Ipazio

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Bishop of Gangra, Paphlagonia (modern Çankiri, Turkey). Attended the Council of Nicea where he fiercely defended the divinity of Christ. When he returned home, he was martyred by a group of Novatian heretics who opposed his view.

Died

stoned to death c.325 at Gangra, Paphlagonia (modern Çankiri, Turkey)

Saint Alberic of Utrecht

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Nephew of Saint Gregory of Utrecht. Friend of Blessed Alcuin. Benedictine monk in Utrecht, Netherlands. Prior of the cathedral of Utrecht. Noted for his encyclopedic knowledge of the faith, his joy for living in Christ, and his zeal for bringing both to any who would listen. Bishop of Utrecht in 775. Reorganized the school of Utrecht, directed the mission of Ludger in Ostergau, and worked to evangelize the pagan Teutons.

Died

21 August 784 of natural causes

Saint Venerando the Centurian

Also known as

Venerable the Centurian

Profile

Roman centurian. Convert to Christianity. Martyr.

Died

• interred in the catacombs of San Callisto, Rome, Italy

• relics translated to Grotte Santo Stefano, Italy

Patronage

Grotte Santo Stefano, Italy

Saint Pierre of Narbonne

Profile

Franciscan friar. Priest. Missionary to Palestine in 1384. Martyred by the Muslim authorities.

Born

Narbonne, Aude, France

Died

burned alive on 14 November 1391 near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem

Beatified

12 June 1966 by Pope Paul VI (decree of martyrdom)

Canonized

21 June 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Saint Serapion of Alexandria

Profile

A man very public about his faith, Serapion was abused and killed in anti-Christian riots during the persecutions of Septimius Severus. Martyr.

Died

thrown off the roof of his own home in 252 in Alexandria, Egypt

Blessed Jean of Tufara

Also known as

• Jean of Tupharia

• Jean of Tufaria

• John of...

Profile

Hermit. Helped found the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Gualdo Mazocca near Campobasso, Italy in the late 1150's.

Died

14 November 1170 of natural causes

Saint Déodat of Rodez

Profile

Franciscan friar. Priest. Missionary to Palestine in 1384. Martyred by the Muslim authorities.

Born

Rodez, Aveyron, France

Died

burned alive on 14 November 1391 near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem

Canonized

21 June 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Saint Stefano of Cuneo

Profile

Franciscan friar. Priest. Missionary to Palestine in 1384. Martyred by the Muslim authorities.

Born

Cuneo, Italy

Died

burned alive on 14 November 1391 near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem

Canonized

21 June 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Saint Adeltrude of Aurillac

Also known as

Adaltrude of Aurillac

Profile

Born

c.830 in France

Died

c.879

Saint Ruf of Avignon

Profile

Fourth century missionary to Avignon, France. He was the first to lead a Christian community there, and has long been considered the first bishop of Avignon.

Saint Jucundus of Bologna

Profile

Bishop of Bologna, Italy.

Died

485 of natural causes

Saint Modanic

Profile

Eighth century bishop, possibly at Aberdeen, Scotland.

Born

Scottish

Martyrs of Emesa

Profile

Group of Christian women tortured and executed for their faith in the persecutions of the Arab chieftain Mady.

Died

Emesa (modern Homs, Syria)

Martyrs of Heraclea

Profile

Group of Christians murdered together for their faith. The only details we have are three of their names - Clementinus, Philomenus and Theodotus.

Died

Heraclea, Thrace