இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் நவம்பர் 20

நம் ஆண்டவர் இயேசு கிறி ஸ்து    அனைத்துலக அரசர் பெருவிழா

    கிறிஸ்து அரசர் பெருவிழா என்பது கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையிலும், மேலும் சில கிறிஸ்தவ சமயப் பிரிவுகளிலும் கொண்டாடப்படும் விழா ஆகும். இயேசு கிறிஸ்து அனைத்துலகின் அரசர்களுக்கெல்லாம் அரசர் என்ற மையப்பொருளில் சிறப்பிக்கப்படும் இவ்விழா, பொதுக் காலத்தின் இறுதி ஞாயிறன்று சிறப்பிக்கப்படுகிறது,

திருவழிபாட்டின் நிறம் வெள்ளை

அனுசரிப்புகள் நாள் முழுவதும் நற்கருணை ஆராதனை

நாள் திருவழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் இறுதி ஞாயிறு

யோவானாகிய நான் விண்ணகம் திறந்திருக்கக் கண்டேன். அங்கே ஒரு வெண்குதிரை காணப்பட்டது. அதன்மேல் ஒருவர் அமர்ந்திருந்தார். அவரது தலைமேல் பல மணிமுடிகள் இருந்தன. இரத்தம் தோய்ந்த ஆடையை அவர் அணிந்திருந்தார். கடவுளின் வாக்கு என்பது அவரது பெயர். அரசர்க்கெல்லாம் அரசர், ஆண்டவர்க்கெல்லாம் ஆண்டவர் என்ற பெயர் அவருடைய ஆடையிலும் தொடையிலும் எழுதப்பட்டிருந்தது.என்று கிறிஸ்துவின் அரசத்தன்மை பற்றி திருவெளிப்பாடு நூல் குறிப்பிடுகிறது.

வரலாற்றுப் பின்னனி

 முதல் உலகப்போர் நடைபெற்றுக் கொண்டிருந்த நேரம். உலகம் அச்சுநாடுகள், நேச நாடுகள் என்று இரண்டாகப் பிளந்து அதிகாரப் போட்டி போட்டுக்கொண்டு மக்களை துன்புறுத்துக் கொண்டிருந்த நேரம். அம்மக்களுக்கு பணியாற்ற திருச்சபை Mgr.அம்புரோஸ்ராட்டி  என்பவரை அனுப்புகிறது. பின் ஆயராக, கர்தினாலாக உயர்த்தப்படுகிறார். அப்பொழுது இருந்த திருச்சபையின் மறைவுக்குப் பிறகு, திருத்தந்தையாகத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்படுகிறார்.(திருத்தந்தை 11ம் பயஸ்). போரின் துயரத்தையும், அரசர்களின் அதிகார போக்கையும் கண்டு அனுபவித்தவர், 1925ம் ஆண்டு                    குவாஸ்பிரிமாஸ் என்கிற சுற்று  மடலின் மூலம் கிறிஸ்துவை அரசாக அறிமுகம் செய்து, மற்ற அரசர்களுக்கெல்லாம் முன்னுதாரனமாக நிறுத்துகிறார்.

தேசியவாதம், மதச்சார்பின்மை போன்றவற்றின் வளர்ச்சிக்கு பதிலளிக்கும் விதமாக திருத்தந்தை 11ம் பயஸ், 1925ல் குவாஸ் ப்ரைமாஸ் (முதலாவது) என்ற சுற்றுமடல் வழியாக கிறிஸ்து அரசர் பெருவிழாவை நிறுவினார். அப்போது இவ்விழா, 'நம் ஆண்டவர் இயேசு கிறிஸ்து அரசர்' (D. N. Jesu Christi Regis) என்ற பெயரில், அக்டோபர் கடைசி ஞாயிறன்று சிறப்பிக்கும் வகையில் நிறுவப்பட்டது. 1960ல் திருத்தந்தை 23ம் யோவான், இதை முதல் வகுப்பு விழாவாக மாற்றினார்.

1960ல் திருத்தந்தை 6ம் பவுல், தனது மோட்டு ப்ரொப்ரியோ (அவரது தூண்டுதலால்) என்ற சுற்றுமடல் வழியாக இவ்விழாவின் பெயரை, 'நம் ஆண்டவர் இயேசு கிறிஸ்து அனைத்துலக அரசர்' (D. N. Iesu Christi universorum Regis) என்று மாற்றினார். மேலும், அவர் இவ்விழாவை திருவழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் இறுதி ஞாயிறன்று பெருவிழாவாக கொண்டாடுமாறு ஆணையிட்டார்.

கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையில் திருத்தந்தை 6ம் பவுல் கற்பித்த விதத்திலேயே, இக்காலத்திலும் கிறிஸ்து அரசர் பெருவிழா கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. பெருவிழாவுக்கு உரிய விதத்தில், திருவழிபாட்டில் வெள்ளை அல்லது பொன்னிற திருப்பலி உடை பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது.

முதலாவதாக கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையில் தோன்றிய இவ்விழா, தற்காலத்தில் ஆங்கிலிக்க ஒன்றியம், அமெரிக்க லூதரனியம் உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு கிறிஸ்தவப் பிரிவினராலும் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது.

வழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் கடைசி ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமைகளில் இந்த விழா கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. ஆங்கில ஆண்டு மாதங்களாகப் பிரிக்கப்படுகிறது. ஆண்டின் தொடக்கம் ஜனவரி மாதம். நிறைவு டிசம்பர் மாதம். இதே போல, திருச்சபையில் வழிபாட்டு ஆண்டு இருக்கிறது. இதனை காலங்களாகப் பிரிக்கிறார்கள். திருவருகைக்காலம், பொதுக்காலம், தவக்காலம் மற்றும் பாஸ்கா காலம். வழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் தொடக்கம் திருவருகைக்காலம். நிறைவு வாரம், கிறிஸ்து அரசர் பெருவிழா வாரம். இதுதான் பொதுக்காலத்தின் நிறைவாகவும், வழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் கடைசி வாரமாகவும் இருக்கிறது. 

எதற்காக கிறிஸ்து அரசர் பெருவிழா, திருவழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் கடைசி வாரத்தில் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது? கிறிஸ்துவின் மகிமையை திருவழிபாட்டு ஆண்டின் இறுதியில் கொண்டாட வேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் இதற்கு காரணம். அதேபோல, திருவருகைக்காலங்களில் சுட்டிக்காட்டப்படும் இயேசுவின் வருகை மற்றும் உலகத்தின் இறுதிநாட்கள் போன்றவற்றையும், இதில் நாம் சிறப்பாக புரிந்து கொள்ள உதவியாக இருக்கும்.

 St. Proclus of Constantinople

புனித_புரோக்குலுஸ் (-447)

நவம்பர் 20

இவர் (#StProclusOfConstantinoble) கான்ஸ்டாண்டிநோப்பிளில் (தற்போதைய துருக்கியில்) பிறந்தவர்.

புனித ஜான் கிறிஸ்சோஸ்தமின் சீடரான இவர் பின்னாளில் கான்ஸ்டாண்டிநோப்பிளின் ஆயராக உயர்ந்தார். 

இவரது காலத்தில் நெஸ்தோரிஸ் என்பவர், 'மரியா இயேசுவின் தாய்தானே அன்றி, கடவுளின் தாய் அல்ல' என்ற தப்பறைக் கொள்கைப் பரப்பி வைத்தார். இதனைத் தனது வல்லமையான போதனையால் எதிர்த்த இவர், அதற்கு முற்றுப் புள்ளி வைத்தார்.

இதற்குப் பிறகு தப்பறைக் கொள்கையைப் பரவக் காரணமாக இருந்தவர்கள் மனந்திரும்பி, திருஅவையிடம் வந்தபோது, அவர்களை இவர் மன்னித்து ஏற்றுக் கொண்டார். 

தூய்மைக்கும் இறைப்பற்றிற்கும் மிகப்பெரிய எடுத்துக் காட்டாக விளங்கிய இவர், பலரையும் தன்னுடைய வல்லமை மிக்க போதனையால் கிறிஸ்தவ மறைக்குள் கொண்டுகொண்டுவந்தார்.

447 ஆம் ஆண்டு கான்ஸ்டாண்டிநோப்பிள் நகரில் மிகப்பெரிய நிலநடுக்கம் ஏற்படும் அபாயம் ஏற்பட்ட போது, இவர் இறைமக்களோடு சேர்ந்து இறைவனிடம் வேண்டியதால் அந்த அபாயம் வராமல் தவிர்க்கப் பட்டது.

இப்படி இறைமக்களுக்கு நல்லதோர் ஆயனாக இருந்து, திருஅவையை எதிரிகளிடமிருந்து கட்டிக் காத்த இவர் 447 ஆம் ஆண்டு இறையடி சேர்ந்தார்.

Died 24 July 446

Venerated in Catholic Church

Eastern Catholic Churches

Eastern Orthodox Church

Oriental Orthodoxy

Canonized Pre-Congregation

Feast 20 November (Eastern Churches)

24 October (Roman Catholic Church)

Patriarch of Constantinople and a disciple of St. John Chrysostom. A native of Constantinople, he studied under St. John and then served as secretary to John's enemy, Patriarch Atticus of Constantinople. Ordained by Atticus, he was soon named bishop of Cyzicus, although the inhabitants of the diocese refused to have him for their bishop. Known for his eloquent preaching, he became a vocal opponent of the heretical patriarch Nestorius from 428 and the latter's appointment by Emperor Theodosius II. Six years later, Proclus was himself appointed patriarch of Constantinople, following the death of Patriarch Maximian, who had replaced the deposed Nestorius. As patriarch, he was conspicuous in his opposition to the Nestorian heresy, although he treated the heretics with remarkable patience and forbearance, and gave aid to the people of the city following a terrible earthquake. In 438 he secured the translation of the body of St. John Chrysostom. Proclus' body of writings, comprised mainly of epistles and homilies, included the Tome of St. Proclus, a treatise on the doctrine of the two natures of Christ which was addressed to the Armenians and was intended to refute the unorthodox teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia. He is also the attributed composer of the Trisagion of the liturgy.

Proclus (died 24 July 446) was an archbishop of Constantinople. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy.

St. Felix of Valois

 வலோய்ஸ் நகர புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ் 

ஒப்புரவாளர்:

(Confessor)

பிறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 16, 1127 

வலோய்ஸ், ஃபிரான்ஸ்

(Valois, France)

இறப்பு: நவம்பர் 4, 1212 (வயது 85) 

செர்ஃப்ராய்ட் துறவு மடம், ப்ரூமெட்ஸ், பிகார்டி, ஃபிரான்ஸ்

(Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Picardy, France)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 1, 1262 

திருத்தந்தை நான்காம் அர்பன்

(Pope Urban IV)

முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:

செர்ஃப்ராய்ட் துறவு மடம், ப்ரூமெட்ஸ், அய்ஸ்ன், ஃபிரான்ஸ்

(Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Department of Aisne, France)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: நவம்பர் 20

ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க துறவியான புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ், கத்தோலிக்க குருவும், புனிதருமான “மாதா'வின் ஜான்” (Saint John of Matha) என்பவருடன் இணைந்து “மகா பரிசுத்த திரித்துவ சபை” (Order of the Most Holy Trinity) எனும் கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்கான ஆன்மீக சபையை நிறுவியவர் ஆவார்.

மிகவும் மதிப்புமிக்க பிரபுக்களின் குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த ஃபெலிக்ஸ், தனது கல்வியை முடித்தபிறகு குருத்துவம் பெற்றார். சிறுவயதிலே உலக செல்வங்களைத் துறந்து காட்டிற்கு சென்று செபத்திலும் தவத்திலும் அமைதியாக தனிவாழ்வு நடத்தி வந்தார்.

குருவான பிறகு தனிமையாக வாழ்ந்து கடுமையான ஏழ்மையை கடைபிடித்தார். இவர் காட்டில் வாழும் துறவிகளை போல, அனைத்தையும் துறந்து வாழ வேண்டுமென்பதை விரும்பினார்.

சிறிது காலத்தின் பிறகு, ஃபிரான்ஸின் தென்கிழக்கு பிராந்தியமான “ப்ரொவென்ஸ்” (Provence) பகுதியைச் சேர்ந்த இளம் பிரபுவும், தெய்வீக முனைவரும் (Doctor of divinity), பிற்காலத்தில் குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு பெற்றவரும், கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் புனிதருமான "மாதாவி'ன் ஜான்" (St. John of Matha) கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்காக ஒரு சபையை ஆரம்பிக்க வேண்டி ஃபெலிக்சின் வழிகாட்டுதலை வேண்டி அவரை சந்தித்தார். அப்போது, எழுபது வயதான நிலையிலும் ஃபெலிக்ஸ் தயங்காமல் அதற்கு சம்மதித்தார்.

கி.பி. 1198ம்  ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், அடர் குளிர் காலத்தில் ரோம் நகர் சென்றடைந்த இவர்கள் இருவரும் அப்போதைய திருத்தந்தை “மூன்றாம் இன்னொசன்ட்” (Pope Innocent III) அவர்களால் வரவேற்கப்பட்டனர். இவர்கள் ஏற்கனவே கொண்டு வந்திருந்த பாரிஸ் ஆயரின் பரிந்துரை கடிதங்களை அவர்களிடம் கையளித்தனர். "கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்கான தூய திரித்துவ சபை" (Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives) என்ற பெயரில் சபையினைத் தொடங்க திருத்தந்தை அனுமதி அளித்தார்.

சபையின் தலைவராக “மாதாவின் ஜானை” நியமித்த திருத்தந்தை அவர்கள், சபைக்கான சட்ட திட்டங்களை வகுக்கும் அதிகாரங்களை பாரிஸ் நகர ஆயரிடமும், புனித விக்டர் மடாலயத்தின் (Abbot of St. Victor) மடாதிபதியிடமும் அளித்தார். பிற்காலத்தில், அவர்கள் வகுத்த சட்ட திட்டங்கள் திருத்தந்தையின் ஒப்புதலும் பெற்றன. சபையை நிறுவுவதற்காக பாரிஸ் திரும்பிய ஃபெலிக்ஸ் பெரும் உற்சாகத்துடன் வரவேற்கப்பட்டார். ஃபிரான்ஸ் மன்னர் “பிலிப் அகஸ்டஸ்” (King Philip Augustus) சபையை ஃபிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் அங்கீகரித்தார். அதனை வளர்க்கவும் உதவி செய்தார்.

நாற்பது வருடங்களுக்குள்ளேயே அச்சபை ஐரோப்பாவின் மூலைமுடுக்கெல்லாம் அருநூறுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட துறவு மடங்களுடன் பல்கிப்பெருகியது.

புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ், தமது தாய் இல்லம் அமைந்திருந்த “செல்ஃப்ராய்டில்” (Cerfroid), தமது சக திரித்துவ துறவியரின் மத்தியில் கி.பி. 1212ம் ஆண்டு, நவம்பர் மாதம், 4ம் தேதியன்று மரித்தார்.

Born April 16, 1127

possibly Valois, France

Died November 4, 1212 (aged 85)

Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Picardy (now the department of Aisne), France

Venerated in Catholic Church

Canonized May 1, 1262, Rome by Pope Urban IV

Major shrine Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Department of Aisne, France

Feast November 4

November 20 (General Roman Calendar 1679-1969)

Attributes banner; old man in Trinitarian habit with a coronet at his feet; purse; Trinitarian with a stag nearby; Trinitarian with chains or captives nearby; depicted with the Holy Trinity

Hermit and co-founder of the Trinitarians with St. John of Matha. He lived as a recluse at Cerfroid, France, and in 1198 received approval from the Holy See for the Order of the Most Holy Trinity to ransoms captives from the Moors. Felix founded St. Mathburn Convent in Paris while in his seventies. He died in Cerfroid on November 4. In 1969 his feast was confined to local calendars.

Felix of Valois (French: Félix de Valois; April 16, 1127 – November 4, 1212) was a Cistercian[1] hermit and a co-founder (with John of Matha) of the Trinitarian Order.

Life

Butler says that Felix was born in 1127.[2] He was surnamed Valois because he was a native of the province of Valois. Tradition holds that he renounced his possessions and retired to a dense forest in the Diocese of Meaux, where he gave himself to prayer and contemplation.[3] Much later sources sometimes identify him with Hugh (II), supposed son of Ralph I, Count of Vermandois by Eleanor of Champagne.

John of Matha, a young nobleman, a native of Provence, and doctor of divinity, who was lately ordained priest, having heard of the holy hermit of Cerfroid, sought him out, and put himself under his direction.[2] John proposed to him the project of founding an order for the redemption of captives.[4] Felix, though seventy years of age, readily agreed.

Felix, in company with John, set out for Rome in the depth of winter and arrived there in January 1198, the beginning of the pontificate of Innocent III. They had letters of recommendation from the Bishop of Paris, and the new pope received them with kindness and lodged them in his palace. Though little in favor of new orders, Innocent III granted approval to this enterprise in a Bull of 17 December 1198,[5] under the named of the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives. Innocent appointed John of Matha superior-general and commissioned the Bishop of Paris and the Abbot of Saint Victor to draw up for the institute a rule, which he subsequently confirmed.[2] Felix returned to France to establish the Order. He was received with great enthusiasm, and King Philip Augustus authorized the institute in France and fostered it by signal benefactions.[4]

Margaret of Blois donated 20 acres (81,000 m2) of the wood where Felix had built his first hermitage, and on almost the same spot he erected the famous Monastery of Cerfroid, the motherhouse of the Order. Within forty years, the Order possessed six hundred monasteries in every part of Europe. John was obliged to go to Rome to found a house of the Order, the church of which, Santa Maria in Navicella, still stands on the Caelian Hill. Felix remained in France to look after the interests of the congregation. He founded a house in Paris attached to the Church of Saint Maturinus, which afterwards became famous under Robert Guguin, master general of the order.[4]

Felix died amongst his fellow Trinitarians at their motherhouse in Cerfroid on November 4, 1212.[2]

Veneration

Though no bull of his canonization is extant, it is the tradition of his institute that he was canonized by Pope Urban IV on May 1, 1262. Du Plessis tells us that his feast was kept in the Diocese of Meaux as early as the year 1215. On October 21, 1666, Pope Alexander VII confirmed his status as a saint because of his immemorial cult.[6] In 1679 Felix's feast was transferred to November 20 by Pope Innocent XI, when it was placed in the General Roman Calendar because, since 1613, November 4 was the feast day of Charles Borromeo[7] In 1969, his feast was restored to November 4, his dies natalis.[8]

Legacy

Saint-Felix-de-Valois is a village in the province of Quebec. St. Felix de Valois Parish is located in Bankstown, Australia.[9] St. Felix Church in Clifton Springs, New York is named after him. It is now part of Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Rochester, New York. The current church building was built in 1895 and the name of the parish was changed at that time from St. Agnes to St. Felix by the pastor Felix O'Hanlon. 

St. Bernward of Hildesheim

Born 960

Duchy of Saxony

Died 20 November 1022

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

Major shrine St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim

Feast 20 November

Attributes Bishop vestments, small cross, hammer, chalice

Patronage Architects, painters, sculptors, goldsmiths

Bernward was of a Saxon family and was raised by his uncle Bishop Volkmar of Utrecht when orphaned as a child. He studied at the cathedral school of Heidelburg and at Mainz, where he was ordained in 987. He became imperial chaplain and tutor to the child Emperor Otto III. He was elected bishop of Hildesheim in 993, built St. Michael's church and monastery there, and administered his See capably. He was interested in architecture, art, and metal work and created several metalwork pieces. He was engaged in a dispute for years with Archbishop Willigis of Mainz over episcopal rights to the Gandersheim convent, but eventually Rome ruled in Bernward's favor. He became a Benedictine in later life and died on November 20th. He was canonized in 1193. His feast day is November 20th.

Bernward (c. 960 – 20 November 1022) was the thirteenth Bishop of Hildesheim from 993 until his death in 1022.[1]

Life

Bernward came from a Saxon noble family. His grandfather was Athelbero, Count Palatine of Saxony. Having lost his parents at an early age, he came under the care of his uncle Volkmar, Bishop of Utrecht, who entrusted his education to Thangmar, learned director of the cathedral school at Heidelberg. Under this master, Bernward made rapid progress in the sciences and in the liberal and even mechanical arts. He became very proficient in mathematics, painting, architecture, and particularly in the manufacture of ecclesiastical vessels and ornaments of silver and gold. He completed his studies at Mainz, where he was ordained priest by Archbishop Willigis, Chancellor of the Empire (975-1011). He declined a valuable preferment in the diocese of his uncle, Bishop Volkmar, and chose to remain with his grandfather, Athelbero, to comfort him in his old age. Upon the death of the latter, in 987, he became chaplain at the imperial court, and was shortly afterwards appointed by the Empress-Regent Theophano, tutor to her son Otto III, then six years of age.[1]

His time in office fell during the era of the Saxon emperors, who had their roots in the area around Hildesheim and were personally related to Bernward. During this time, Hildesheim was a center of power in the Holy Roman Empire and Bernward was determined to give his city an image fitting for one of its stature. The column he planned on the model of Trajan's Column at Rome never came to fruition, but Bernward revived classical precedent by having his name stamped on roof tiles made under his direction.[2] Bernward built up the cathedral district with a strong twelve-towered wall and erected further forts in the countryside to protect against attacks by the neighboring Slavic peoples. Under his direction arose numerous churches and other edifices, including even fortifications for the defence of his episcopal city against the invasions of the pagan Normans.[1] He protected his diocese vigorously from the attacks of the Normans.[3]

His life was set down in writing by his mentor, Thangmar, in Vita Bernwardi. For at least part of this document, the authorship is certain, but other parts were probably added in the High Middle Ages. He died on 20 November 1022, a few weeks after the consecration of the magnificent church of St. Michael, which he had built. Bernward was canonized by Pope Celestine III on 8 January 1193. His feast day is November 20.

St. Bernward's Church in Hildesheim, a neo-romanesque church built 1905-07 and St. Bernward's Chapel in Klein Düngen which dates from the 13th century, are named after him.

World Heritage Sites

One of the most famous examples of Bernward's work is a monumental set of cast bronze doors known as the Bernward doors, now installed at St. Mary's Cathedral, which are sculpted with scenes of the Fall of Man (Adam and Eve) and the Salvation of Man (Life of Christ), and which are related in some ways to the wooden doors of Santa Sabina in Rome. Bernward was instrumental in the construction of the early Romanesque Michaelskirche. St. Michael's Church was completed after Bernward's death, and he is buried in the western crypt. These projects of Bernward's are today UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

St Michael's Church has exerted great influence on developments in architecture. The complex bears exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared. These two edifices and their artistic treasures give a better overall and more immediate understanding than any other decoration in Romanesque churches in the Christian West. St Michael's Church was built between 1010 and 1020 on a symmetrical plan with two apses that was characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque art in Old Saxony. Its interior, in particular the wooden ceiling and painted stucco-work, its famous bronze doors and the Bernward bronze column, are – together with the treasures of St Mary's Cathedral – of exceptional interest as examples of the Romanesque churches of the Holy Roman Empire.

St Mary's Cathedral, rebuilt after the fire of 1046, still retains its original crypt. The nave arrangement, with the familiar alternation of two consecutive columns for every pillar, was modelled after that of St Michael's, but its proportions are more slender

Saint Edmund of East Anglia

Also known as

• Edmund the Martyr

• King of the East Angles

Additional Memorial

29 April (translation of relics)

Profile

King of East Anglia at age 14, crowned on Christmas Day 855 by Bishop Saint Humbert of Elmham. Edmund was a model ruler, concerned with justice for his people and his own spirituality; he spent a year sequestered at Hunstanton learning the Psalter by heart. Following one of a series of armed engagement with invading Danes, he was captured. He was ordered to give his Christian people to the pagan invaders; he refused. Martyr.

Born

c.841 probably at Nuremburg, Germany

Died

• beaten, whipped, shot with arrows "until he bristled with them like a hedgehog", and beheaded at Hoxne, Suffolk, England 20 November 870

• buried at Hoxne

• relics moved to Beodricsworth, England (modern Bury Saint Edmunds (Borough of Saint Edmunds)) in the 915

• relics moved to the Cathedral of Saint Paul in London, England in 1010 ahead of an invading Viking force

• relics returned to Bury Saint Edmunds in 1113

• relics re-enshrined in a new church in a Benedictine monastery built by King Canute in 1020

• relics re-enshrined in a new Norman church in Bury Saint Edmunds in 1095

• following a fire, the relics re-enshrined in a new church in 1198

• following a battle in Lincoln, England in 1217, French troops claim to have taken the relics, but modern testing has disproved this; the real relics may have been hidden, destroyed, looted - we just don't know, and no authentic relics exist today

Patronage

• against plague

• diocese of East Anglia, England

• kings

• torture victims

• wolves

Representation

• arrow

• king tied to a tree and shot with arrows

• wolf

• bearded king with a sword and arrow

• man with his severed head between the paws of a wolf

• sword

Saint Cyprian of Calamizzi

Also known as

Cipriano

Profile

Born to the to wealthy nobility; his father was a physician, and Cyprian studied medicine himself. Monk at Holy Saviour monastery in Calanna, Italy at age 25. Hermit on family lands in Pavigliana, Italy, spending 20 years in prayer, meditation and growing his own food. Word of his learning and holiness spread, and people came to him for medical help and spiritual advice; some tried to stay as spiritual students, but Cyprian sent them away. Abbot of the San Nicolas monastery in Calamizzi at age 60 at the request of the monks. There Cyprian became known for his austerity, adherance to the rule of his Order, his charity to poor, and his wise counsel to anyone who approached him. He rebuilt the monastery, restored its church, built a bell tower, expanded the library, worked to increase the education and spirituality of his monks, and worked during the day as a free physician to all comers. He once fell from a wagon and broke his leg, which was badly set and left him with a lifelong limp.

Born

c.1125 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy

Died

• 20 November 1190 at the monastery of San Nicola, Calamizzi, Italy of natural causes

• buried in the church of the monastery

• the monastery was destroyed by an earthquake in 1783

Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti

Also known as

Anna Felicia Viti

Profile

Daughter of Luigi Viti, a gambler and heavy drinker, and Anna Bono, who died when Anna was fourteen. Raised her eight siblings after her mother's death, often working as a domestic servant to support them. Joined the Benedictines at the San Maria de'Franconi monastery in Veroli, Italy on 21 March 1851 at age 24, taking the name Sister Maria Fortunata. She was over 70 years in the Order, her days spent spinning, sewing, washing, mending - and praying the whole time. Sister Maria never learned to read or write, and never held any position in her house, but she had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and whole generations of nuns and local lay people learned from her quiet, humble, happy, prayerful example.

Born

10 February 1827 in Veroli, Frosinone, Italy as Anna Felicia Viti

Died

• 20 November 1922 in Veroli, Frosinone, Italy of natural causes

• interred in a mass grave at her house

• miracles reported at her grave site

Beatified

8 October 1967 by Pope Paul VI

Patronage

• against poverty; poor people

• against temptations

• loss of parents

• against mental illness; mentally ill people

Blessed Ambrose of Camaldoli

Also known as

• Ambrose Traversari

• Ambrogio...

Profile

Born to the Tuscan nobility. Studied assorted arts, sciences and languages in Venice, Italy, and would be considered a classic Renaissance man. Joined the Camaldolese in 1400 at the Santa Maria del Angelis monastery in Florence, Italy. A noted scholar and theologian, he read widely, wrote extensively, including lives of the saints, collected a large library, and translated much of it. Teacher of both religious and lay people. Superior-general of the Camaldolese in 1431. Negotiator between the pope and emperor Sigismond. Worked for re-unification with the Greek bishops at the Council of Florence in 1439, drawing up the final statement of the Council.

Born

16 September 1386 in Portico di Romagna, Florence, Tuscany, Italy as Ambrose Traversari

Died

21 October 1439 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

Saint Bernerio of Eboli

Also known as

Berniero

Profile

Pilgrim to all the major shrines in Spain and then in Rome, Italy. Cave hermit in Eboli, Salerno, Italy.

Born

c.1100 in Spain

Died

• late 12th century of natural causes

• buried at the church of the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro in Eboli, Italy

• relics re-discovered on 16 October 1554

• relics enshrined under the altar of the crypt of the church of San Pietro in Eboli on 25 July 1930

Canonized

Congregation of Rites approved an Office for the clergy of Eboli, Italy on 18 May 1602

Patronage

Eboli, Italy

Representation

• pilgrim's staff

• defeating, standing or chastising a dragon, referring to his personal fight with sin

Saint Francis Xavier Can Nguyen

Also known as

Phanxicô Xaviê Can

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Layman. Catechist. Worked to help the Paris Foreign Mission Society. Arrested for his faith, he was offered the chance for freedom if he would renounce his faith; he declined. Martyr.

Born

c.1803 in Son Miêng, Hà Ðông, Vietnam

Died

strangled to death on 20 November 1837 in prison in Ô Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Sylvester of Châlons-sur-Saône

Profile

Priest for 40 years. Bishop of Châlons-sur-Saône, France from c.484 to c.525. Saint Gregory of Tours describes him as "the glory of confessors".

Died

c.525 in Châlons-sur-Saône, France of natural causes

Saint Dasius of Dorostorum

Also known as

• Dasius of Silistria

• Dasio of...

Profile

Bishop at Dorostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria). Fought against the immorality involved in the Saturnalia and other pagan festivals. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

c.303

Saint Autbodus of Valcourt

Profile

Missionary and evangelist in the areas of Artois, Hainault and Picardy, regions today in modern France and Belgium. He finally retired to end his days as a hermit near Laon, France.

Born

Ireland

Died

690

Saint Crispin of Ecija

Profile

Fourth century bishop of Ecija, Andalusia, Spain. Martyred in the persecutions of Maximian Herculeus. Has a special office in the old Mozarabic Breviary and Missal.

Died

beheaded in the early 4th century in Ecija, Andalusia, Spain

Saint Hippolytus of Belley

Also known as

• Hippolytus of Condat

• Hippolytus of Saint-Oyend

• Ippolito of...

Profile

Monk. Abbot of Saint-Oyend abbey. Bishop of Belley, France.

Died

c.772 in Jura, France

Saint Apothemius of Angers

Also known as

Apotemius, Apothème, Hypotheme

Profile

Hermit. Spritual student of Saint Martin of Tours. Priest. Bishop of Angers, France c.380.

Born

Greece

Died

c.389

Saint Nerses of Sahgerd

Profile

Bishop of Sahgerd in Persia. Arrested with 10 or 12 parishioners during the persecutions of Shapur II. They were offered their freedom if they would worship the sun; they declined. Martyr.

Died

Persia

Saint Gregory Decapolites

Profile

Ninth century monk. Hermit. Pilgrim. An opponent of the iconoclasts, at whose hands he suffered.

Born

at the Decapolis, Asia Minor

Died

842 in Constantinople

Saint Humbert of Elmham

Profile

Ninth-century bishop. Crowned Saint Edmund as king of East Anglia in 855. Martyred by pagan Danish raiders.

Died

870 in East Anglia (in modern England

Saint Eudo of Carméry

Also known as

Eudon, Eudes, Odo, Odon

Profile

Monk at Lerins Abbey in France. Founded the monastery of Corméry-en-Velay.

Died

c.760

Saint Eval of Cornwall

Also known as

Urval, Uvol, Urfol

Profile

Sixth century bishop in Cornwall, England. The village of St Eval, Cornwall was named in his honour.

Saint Maxentia of Beauvais

Profile

Anchoress near Senlis, France. Martyr.

Born

Ireland

Died

martyred in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France

Saint Teonesto of Vercelli

Also known as

Theoneste, Theonestus

Profile

Martyr.

Died

c.313 in Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy

Saint Eustachius of Nicea

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Maximinius the Thracian.

Died

235 in Nicea, Asia Minor

Saint Thespesius of Nicea

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Maximinius the Thracian.

Died

235 in Nicea, Asia Minor

Saint Anatolius of Nicea

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Maximinius the Thracian.

Died

235 in Nicea, Asia Minor

Saint Ampelus of Messina

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

c.302 in Messina, Sicily

Saint Gaius of Messina

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

c.302 in Messina, Sicily

Saint Dorus of Benevento

Profile

Fifth century bishop of Benevento, Italy.

Died

Benevento, Italy

Saint Leo of Nonantula

Profile

Monk and later abbot of Nonantula Abbey near Modena, Italy.

Died

1000

Saint Simplicius of Verona

Profile

Bishop of Verona, Italy.

Died

c.535

Saint Basil of Antioch

Profile

Martyr.

Died

Antioch (Antakya, Turkey)

Martyrs of Antioch

Profile

Group of three Christians executed together for their faith. No details have survived except their names - Basil, Dionysius and Rusticus.

Died

Antioch (Antakya, Turkey)

Martyrs of Heraclea

Profile

A group of 43 Christians martyred together. The only details about them to survive are three of their names - Agapitus, Bassus and Dionysius.

Died

Heraclea, Thrace

Martyrs of Turin

Additional Memorial

20 January (translation of relics)

Profile

Three Christian martyrs whose original stories were lost, and somehow came to be associated with the Theban Legion. They are - Adventor, Octavius and Solutor.

Died

beheaded in 297 in Turin, Italy

Patronage

Turin, Italy

Martyred Sisters of the Christian Doctrine

Profile

A group of 17 religious sisters, members all of the Sisters of the Christian Doctrine, who were martyred in two different incidents in 1936 during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War.

Beatified

1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War

Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. I have pages on each of them, but in most cases I have only found very minimal information. They are available on the CatholicSaints.Info site through these links:

• Blessed Ascensión Duart Roig

• Blessed Aurea Navarro

• Blessed Catalina Calpe Ibáñez

• Blessed Emilia Martí Lacal

• Blessed Francisca Desamparados Honorata Lloret Martí

• Blessed Gertrudis Rita Florència Surís Brusola

• Blessed Isabel Ferrer Sabrià

• Blessed Josefa Pascual Pallardó

• Blessed Josefa Romero Clariana

• Blessed Josepa Mongoche Homs

• Blessed María Antonia del Sufragio Orts Baldó

• Blessed Maria Dolors Llimona Planas

• Blessed María Isabel López García

• Blessed María Purificación Gómez Vives

• Blessed Milagros Ortells Gimeno

• Blessed Paula de San Antonio

• Blessed Teresa Jiménez Baldoví

• Blessed Teresa Rosat Balasch