St. Alexandra and Companions
Feastday: March 20
Death: 300
Christian women, Alexandra, Claudia, Euphrasia, Matrona, Juliana, Euphemia, Theodosia, Derphuta, and her sister, were martyred in Amisus in Paphlagonia. The women were burned to death in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian.
St. Paul and Companions
Feastday: March 20
Death: unknown
Seven martyrs, including Cyril and Eugene, who were put to death during the Roman persecutions. They were martyred in Syria, although almost nothing else is known of them.
St. Photina
#புனித_ஃபோடினா (முதல் நூற்றாண்டு)
மார்ச் 20
இவர் (#StPhotina) வேறு யாருமல்லர்; யோவான் நற்செய்தி 4:4-26 -இல் வரும் சமாரியப் பெண்ணே ஆவார்.
யூதர்களுக்கும் சமாரியர்களுக்கும் இடையே அடிக்கடி சண்டை வரும். மேலும் யூதர்கள் தூய்மைவாதம் பேசி, சமாரியர்களை ஒரு பொருட்டாக மதிப்பதில்லை. இவற்றையெல்லாம் கடந்து இயேசு சமாரியப் பெண்ணோடு பேசினார். அவரிடம் தான் மெசியா என்பதை வெளிப்படுத்துகிறார்.
கிரேக்க மரபுப்படி இவர் இயேசுவின் போதனையால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டுக் கார்த்தேஜிற்குச் சென்று, அங்கு நற்செய்தி அறிவித்துச் சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுக் கொல்லப்பட்டார் எனச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது.
இன்னொரு மரபுப்படி இவர் உரோமை சென்று நற்செய்தி அறிவித்ததாகவும், நீரோ மன்னனுடைய மகள் உட்பட நூற்றுக்கு மேற்பட்டவர்களை மனமாற்றியதாகவும் அதனாலேயே இவர் தன் மகன்கள் விக்டர், ஜான் ஆகிய இருவரோடும், ஒருசில கிறிஸ்தவர்களோடும் சேர்த்துக் கொல்லப்பட்டார் எனவும் சொல்லப்படுகிறது.
இயேசுவின் போதனைகளைக் கேட்கும் ஒருவர் அவருடைய நற்செய்தியைத் தனக்குள் வைத்துக் கொள்ளாமல், மற்றவருக்கும் அறிவிக்க வேண்டும் என்பதை இவர் நமக்கு அற்புதமாக உணர்த்துகிறார்.
Feastday: March 20
Death: 1st century
Samaritan martyr. According to Greek tradition, Photiona was the Samaritan woman with whom Jesus spoke at the well as was recounted in the Gospel of St. John, chapter four. Deeply moved by the experience, she took to preaching the Gospel, received imprisonment, and was finally martyred at Carthage. Another tradition states that Photina was put to death in Rome after converting the daughter of Emperor Nero and one hundred of her servants. She supposedly died in Rome with her sons Joseph and Victor, along with several other Christians, including Sebastian, Photius, Parasceve, Photis, Cyriaca, and Victor. They were perhaps included in the Roman Martyrology by Cardinal Cesare Baronius owing to the widely held view that the head of Photina was preserved in the church of St. Paul's Outside the Walls.
The Water of Life Discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well by Angelika Kauffmann, 17–18th century
The Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John, in John 4:4–26. In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions, she is venerated as a saint with the name Photine (Φωτεινή), meaning "luminous [one]".[a]
The woman appears in John 4:4–42, However below is John 4:4–26:
But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
— John 4:4–26
This episode takes place before the return of Jesus to Galilee.[3] Some Jews regarded the Samaritans as foreigners and their attitude was often hostile, although they shared most beliefs, while many other Jews accepted Samaritans as either fellow Jews or as Samaritan Israelites.[4][5][6] The two communities seem to have drifted apart in the post-exilic period.[7] Both communities share the Pentateuch, although crucially the Samaritan Pentateuch locates the holy mountain at Mount Gerizim rather than at Mount Zion, as this incident acknowledges at John 4:20.
The Gospel of John, like the Gospel of Luke, is favourable to the Samaritans throughout, and, while the Matthaean Gospel quotes Jesus at one early phase in his ministry telling his followers to not at that time evangelize any of the cities of the Samaritans,[8] this restriction had clearly been reversed later by the time of Matthew 28:19. Scholars differ as to whether the Samaritan references in the New Testament are historical. One view is that the historical Jesus had no contact with Samaritans; another is that the accounts go back to Jesus himself. In Acts 1:8, Jesus promises the apostles that they will be witnesses to the Samaritans.[9]
Interpretations
Scholars have noted that this story appears to be modelled on a standard betrothal 'type scene' from Hebrew scripture, particularly that of Jacob in Genesis 29.[10] This convention, which would have been familiar to Jewish readers, following on from an earlier scene in which John the Baptist compares his relationship to Jesus with that of the friend of a bridegroom.[3] Jo-Ann A. Brant, for example, concludes that there is "near consensus among literary critics that the scene at Jacob’s well follows conventions of the betrothal type-scene found in Hebrew narrative."[11] Other scholars note significant differences between John 4 and betrothal type-scenes in the Hebrew Bible.[12] For example, Dorothy A. Lee lists several discrepancies between Hebrew betrothal scenes and John 4: “the Samaritan woman is not a young Jewish virgin and no betrothal takes place; the well is not concerned with sexual fertility but is an image of salvation (see Isa. 12:3); Jesus is presented not as a bridegroom but as giver of living water.”[13]
This Gospel episode is referred to as "a paradigm for our engagement with truth", in the Roman Curia book A Christian reflection on the New Age, as the dialogue says: "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know" and offers an example of "Jesus Christ the bearer of the water of life".[14] The passages that comprise John 4:10–26 are sometimes referred to as the Water of Life Discourse, which forms a complement to the Bread of Life Discourse.[15]
In Eastern Christian tradition, the woman's name at the time of her meeting Jesus is unknown, though she was later baptized "Photine". She is celebrated as a saint of renown. As further recounted in John 4:28–30 and John 4:39–42, she was quick to spread the news of her meeting with Jesus, and through this many came to believe in him. Her continuing witness is said to have brought so many to the Christian faith that she is described as "equal to the apostles". Eventually, having drawn the attention of Emperor Nero, she was brought before him to answer for her faith, suffering many tortures and dying a martyr after being thrown down a dry well. She is remembered on the Sunday four weeks after Pascha, which is known as "the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman".[16]
In Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, a celebration of the Samaritan woman takes place on the fourth Friday of Lent. The custom of the day involves churches, schools, and businesses giving away fruit drinks to passers-by.
St. William of Penacorada
Feastday: March 20
Death: 1042
Benedictine founder. A monk in the monastery of Sathgun, in Leon, Spain, he fled with companions from the house in 988 when the monastery was under danger of Saracen attack. They settled at Penacorada and established the monastery of Santa Maria de los Valles, which was Iater named San Guillermo de Penacorda.
Saint Wulfram of Sens
Also known as
• Wulfram of Fontenelle
• Offran, Oufran, Suffrain, Vuilfran, Vulfran, Vulfranno, Vulphran, Wilfranus, Wolfram, Wolframus, Wolfran, Wulframnus, Wulfran, Wulfrann, Wulfrannus
Additional Memorials
• 15 October (translation of relics)
• 8 November as one of the Saints of the Diocese of Evry
Profile
Son of an official in the court of King Dagobert. Courtier under Clotaire III. Priest. Benedictine. Archbishop of Sens, France in 682, but in 685 he surrendered his see to Saint Amatus, whom he felt was the rightful bishop. Gave away his lands and evangelized the Frisians in Scandanavia with a group of monks for twenty years, remembered there as the Christian crew who "bore the White Christ" to these people.
Converted the son of King Radbod, and was allowed to preach the Gospel. He met with some success, but it was a rough and pagan land. children were sacrificed to heathen gods by hanging or drowning in the sea; people would cast lots at festivals to pick a victim, and the loser was immediately hanged or cut to pieces. Wulfram appealed to King Radbod to stop the slaughter, but the king said it was their custom, and he could not change it. He challenged Wulfram to rescue the victims if he could; Wulfram then waded into the sea to save two children who had been tied to posts and left to die in the rising tide.
The turning point in the mission came with the rescue of Ovon. Ovon had been picked by lot to be sacrificed by hanging. Wulfram begged King Radbod to stop the killing, but the commoners were outraged at the sacrilege. Wulfram eventually obtained an agreement that if Wulfram's God saved Ovon's life, Wulfram and the God could have the man. Ovon was hanged, and swung from the rope for two hours, during which Wulfram prayed. When the heathens decided to leave Ovon for dead, the rope broke, Ovon fell - and was alive. Ovon became Wulfram's slave, his follower, a monk, and then a priest at Fontenelle. The faith of the missionaries (and their power to work miracles), frightened and awed the people who turned from their old ways, and were baptized.
Even King Radbod converted, but just before his baptism, Radbod asked where his ancestors were. Wulfram told him that idolators went to hell. "I will go to hell with my ancestors," said the King, "rather than be in heaven without them." Later, near death, Radbod sent for Saint Willibrord to baptize him, but died before the saint's arrival.
Wulfram's relics were translated from Fontenelle to Abbeville, and in 1062, they were moved to Rouen, France. The life of Wulfram was written by the monk Jonas of Fontenelle eleven years after his death.
Born
c.640; French
Died
• 20 March 703 at Fontenelle, France of natural causes
• relics at Abbeville, France
Patronage
• Abbeville, France
• against the dangers of the sea
Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
இன்றைய புனிதர் :
(20-03-2021)
தூய கத்பர்ட் (மார்ச் 20)
இன்று நாம் நினைவுகூரும் கத்பர்ட், இங்கிலாந்து நாட்டில் உள்ள நார்த்தம்பிரியா என்னும் இடத்தில் 635 ஆம் ஆண்டு பிறந்தார். இவர் சிறுவயதிலே தன்னுடைய பெற்றோரை இழந்ததால், கென்ஸ்வித் என்பவருடைய பாதுகாப்பில்தான் வளர்ந்து வந்தார்.
கத்பர்ட், சிறுவயதில் பள்ளிக்குச் செல்லவில்லை, மாறாக ஆடுகளை ஓட்டிக்கொண்டு மெல்ரோஸ் என்ற மலைச்சரிவில் மேய்க்கச் சென்றார். அப்போது அங்கிருந்த ஆசிர்வாதப்பர் துறவற மடத்தைக் கண்டு, ஒருநாள் தானும் ஒரு துறவியாகவேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் கொண்டார். இதற்கிடையில் வயது வந்த இளைஞர்கள் யாவரும் நாட்டிற்காக இராணுவத்தில் சேர்ந்து போராடவேண்டும் என்றொரு நிலை உருவானது. எனவே, கத்பர்ட் இராணுவத்தில் சேர்ந்து நான்கு ஆண்டுகள் இராணுவத்தில் பணிபுரிந்தார். நான்கு ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பிறகு மீண்டுமாக தன்னுடைய சொந்த ஊருக்குத் திரும்பி வந்து, ஏற்கனவே செய்து வந்த வேலையைச் செய்து வந்தார்.
இச்சமயத்தில் ஒருநாள் தூய ஆர்டன் என்பவருடைய ஆன்மாவை வானதூதர்கள் தூக்கிக்கொண்டு போகும் காட்சியைக் கண்டார். இதனைக் கண்ட கத்பர்ட், தன்னுடைய ஆன்மாவையும் இவ்வுலக மாசுகளிலிருந்து காப்பாற்ற வேண்டும், அதற்கு நாம் துறவற வாழ்க்கையை மேற்கொள்வதே சரியானது என்று முடிவுசெய்து மெல்ரோஸ் மலைச்சரிவில் இருந்த தூய ஆசிர்வாதப்பர் சபையில் சேர்ந்து துறவியானார். கத்பர்ட், சிறுவயதில் பள்ளிக்குச் செல்லவில்லை என்றாலும் துறவற மடத்தில் சொல்லிக்கொடுக்கப்பட்ட பாடங்களை மிக எளிதாகக் கற்று, கல்வியில் சிறந்து விளங்கினார்.
இப்படி கத்பர்ட்டின் வாழ்க்கை மகிழ்ச்சியாய் போய்கொண்டிருந்த தருணத்தில், அவர் இருந்த துறவற மடத்தில் நிறையப் பேர் குறிப்பாக தலைமைப் பொறுப்பில் இருந்த தூய பாசில் உட்பட தொற்றுநோய் தாக்கி இறந்துபோனார்கள். அதனால் கத்பர்ட் தலைமைப் பொறுப்பை ஏற்றார். அக்காலத்தில் வழிபாடுகள் ஒழுகில்லாமல் நடைபெற்றுக்கொண்டிருந்தன. இதனைக் கவனித்த ஆயர் பேரவை உரோமை வழிபாட்டு முறையை எங்கும் அமுல்படுத்தக் கேட்டுக்கொண்டது. அதனடிப்படையில் கத்பர்ட் தான் இருந்த பகுதியில் உரோமை வழிபாட்டு முறையை அமுல்படுத்தினார். இது பிடிக்காத ஒருசிலர் அவருக்கு எதிராகக் கிளர்தெழுந்தார்கள். கத்பர்ட் அதற்கெல்லாம் அஞ்சாமல் மிகவும் துணிச்சலாக இருந்து இறைப்பணியைச் செய்து வந்தார்.
இதற்குப் பின்பு, அவர் பார்னா என்ற தீவிற்குச் சென்று, அங்கு தனிமையில் இறைவனிடம் ஜெபித்து வந்தார். அப்போது அவருக்கு லின்டிஸ்பர்னே என்னும் இடத்திற்கு ஆயராகப் பொறுபேற்க வேண்டும் என்றொரு அழைப்பு வந்தது. கத்பர்ட் அதனைக் கீழ்ப்படிதலோடு ஏற்றுக்கொண்டு சிறப்பான முறையில் இறைப்பணியைச் செய்து வந்தார். இப்படி அவர் ஓயாது பணிசெய்து வந்ததால் அவருடைய உடல் நலம் குன்றியது. இதனால் அவர் 686 ஆம் ஆண்டு இறையடி சேர்ந்தார்.
Also known as
• Thaumaturgus of England
• Wonder-Worker of England
Profile
Orphaned at an early age. Shepherd. Received a vision of Saint Aidan of Lindesfarne entering heaven; the sight led Cuthbert to become a Benedictine monk at age 17 at the monastery of Melrose, which had been founded by Saint Aidan. Guest-master at Melrose where he was know for his charity to poor travellers; legend says that he once entertained an angel disguised as a beggar. Spiritual student of Saint Boswell. Prior of Melrose in 664.
Due to a dispute over liturgical practice, Cuthbert and other monks abandoned Melrose for Lindisfarne. There he worked with Saint Eata. Prior and then abbot of Lindesfarne until 676. Hermit on the Farnes Islands. Bishop of Hexham, England. Bishop of Lindesfarne in 685. Friend of Saint Ebbe the Elder. Worked with plague victims in 685. Noted (miraculous) healer. Had the gift of prophecy.
Evangelist in his diocese, often to the discomfort of local authorities both secular and ecclesiastical. Presided over his abbey and his diocese during the time when Roman rites were supplanting the Celtic, and all the churches in the British Isles were brought under a single authority.
Born
634 somewhere in the British Isles
Died
• 20 March 687 at Lindesfarne, England of natural causes
• interred with the head of Saint Oswald, which was buried with him for safe keeping
• body removed to Durham Cathedral at Lindesfarne in 1104
• his body, and the head of Saint Oswald, were incorrupt
Blessed Ambrose Sansedoni of Siena
Also known as
• Ambrogio Sansedoni
• Ambrose Sansedone
Profile
The son of a book illuminator, he was born so badly deformed that his mother gave him off to the care of a nurse. The nurse claimed that the only time the child was peaceful was in the local Dominican church, especially when near the altar of relics. Legend says that one day in church, the nurse covered the baby's face with a scarf; an unknown pilgrim told her, "Do not cover that child's face. He will one day be the glory of this city." A few days later the child suddenly stretch out his twisted limbs, pronounced the name "Jesus", and all deformity left him.
A pious child, getting up during the nights to pray and meditate. At age two he was given the choice of two of his father's books - and chose the one about saints. From age seven he daily recited the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. He was always charitable, and even when young he worked with the poor, the abandoned, and the sick.
When he announced he wanted to join the preaching friars, his parents and friends tried to talk him out of it. But Ambrose had heard the call, and he joined the Dominicans in Siena, Italy in 1237 on his 17th birthday.
He studied in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany with Saint Thomas Aquinas and Pope Blessed Innocent V under Saint Albert the Great. Taught in Cologne. Ambrose wanted to write, but saw the greatness of Saint Thomas, decided he could not match it, and devoted himself to preaching.
Worked on diplomatic missions for popes and secular rulers. Evangelized in Germany, France, and Italy; his preaching helped lead Blessed Franco of Siena to the solitary life. Mystic with a deep contemplative prayer life. He received ecstacies and visions, was known to levitate when preaching, and was seen circled in a mystic light in which flew bright birds.
Born
16 April 1220 at Siena, Italy
Died
20 March 1287 at Siena, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
8 October 1622 by Pope Gregory XV (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
• affianced couples
• betrothed couples
• engaged couples
• Siena, Italy
Saint John Nepomucene
Also known as
• Jan Nepomucký
• John Nepomucen
• John of Nepomuk
• John Wolflin
• Johannes von Nepomuk
• Martyr of the Confessional
Profile
While a child, he was cured by the prayers of his parents; they then consecrated him to God. Priest. Known as a great preacher who converted thousands. Vicar-general of Prague (in the modern Czech Republic). Counselor and advocate of the poor in the court of King Wenceslaus IV. He refused several bishoprics. Confessor to the queen, he taught her to bear the cross of her ill-tempered husband the king. Imprisoned for refusing to disclose the queen's confession to the king. When he continued to honor the seal of the confessional, he was ordered executed. Symbol of Bohemian nationalism. His image has been used in art as a symbol of the sacrament of Confession, and many bridges in Europe bear his likeness as their protector.
Born
c.1340 at Nepomuk, Bohemia (in modern Czech Republic) as John Wolflin
Died
• burned, then tied to a wheel and thrown off a bridge into the Moldau River (in the modern Czech Republic) to drown on 20 March 1393
• on the night of his death, seven stars hovered over the place where he drowned
Canonized
19 March 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII
Patronage
• against calumnies or slander
• against floods
• against indiscretions
• bridges and bridge builders
• confessors and for a good confession
• for discretion and silence
• running water
• Bohemia
• Czech Republic
• archdiocese of Prague, Czech Republic
Blessed John Baptist Spagnuolo
Also known as
• Baptista Mantuanus
• Baptista Spagnoli
• Baptista Spagnolo
• Baptista Spagnuoli Mantuanus
• Baptista Spanuoli Mantuanus
• Baptistae Mantuani
• Battista Spagnoli
• Battista Spagnuoli
• Giovanni Baptista Mantuanus
• Johannes Baptista Mantuanus
• Mantuan
• Mantuanus
• Mantuanus Baptista
Profile
Son of Peter Spagnoli, a Spanish nobleman assigned to the court in Mantua, Italy. Studied in Padua, Italy where a wild life put him briefly at the mercy of loan sharks, and got him thrown out of his father's house. Drifted through Venice, Italy. Experienced a conversion to the faithCarmelite at age 16 at Ferrara, Italy. Elected vicar-general of his congregation six times. Prior-general of the Carmelites in 1513. Noted poet, writing over 55,000 lines of Latin verse; has been criticized for excessive use of pagan mythological images in his work, but was referred to as the Good old Mantuan by Shakespeare in Love's Labour Lost. Eminent representative of Italian Christian Humanism.
Born
17 April 1447 at Mantua, Italy
Died
20 March 1516 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
1890 by Pope Leo XIII
Blessed Nikollë Prennushi
Also known as
Vinçenc
Profile
Nikollë entered the Franciscan Friars Minor in 1900, taking the name Vinçenc, and made his profession at Salzburg, Austria on 12 December 1904. He studied theology and philosopher in Innsbruck, Austria, and was ordained a priest in Salzburg on 19 March 1908. He wrote, poetry, books and articles for newspapers and magazines on political and international topics, and collected Albanian folklore. Chosen bishop of Sapë, Albania by Pope Pius XI on 27 February 1936. Chosen archbishop of Durrës, Alabania by Pope Pius XII on 26 June 1940. Arrested by Communist authorities on 19 May 1947 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime of staying loyal to Rome and not turning everything over the national church formed by the Communists. After a show trial, he was sentenced to prison where he was tortured, abused and neglected to death. Martyr.
Born
4 September 1885 in Shkodrë, Albania
Died
20 March 1949 in prison in Durrës, Albania of abuse and repeated torture
Beatified
• 5 November 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Square of the Cathedral of Shën Shtjefnit, Shkodër, Albania, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
Saint Jósef Bilczewski
Also known as
• Giuseppe Bilczewski
• Joseph Bilczewski
• Jozef Bilczewski
• Yosyp Bil'chevs'kyi
Profile
Eldest of nine children in a peasant family. Seminarian at Krakow, Poland. Ordained on 6 July 1884. Doctor of theology at the University of Vienna, Austria in 1886. Studied dogmatic theology and Christian archaeology in Rome, Italy and Paris, France. Professor of theology at the University of Lviv in 1891. Archbishop of Leopoli, Ukraine on 17 December 1900. Often intervened with civil authorities on behalf of Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. Guided his flock during World War I (1914 to 1918), the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919), the Bolshevik invasion (1919-1920), and the anti-Catholic terror started by the Communists; from 1918-1921 his archdiocese lost about 120 priests. Fought to protect everyone in his see, regardless of race or religion.
Born
26 April 1860 at Wilamowice, Austria (modern Ukraine)
Died
20 March 1923 at Lviv, Ukraine of pernicious anemia
Canonized
23 October 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI at Rome, Italy
Blessed Francis Palau y Quer
Also known as
• Francisco Palau y Quer
• Francesc Palau Quer
• Francesc of Jesus, Mary, Joseph
Profile
Joined the Carmelites in 1832. Ordained in 1836. Civil disorder forced him into exile. He returned to Spain in 1851 and founded his School of Virtue at Barcelona to teach catechism. For non-theological reasons, his school was suppressed and he was exiled to Ibiza from 1854 to 1860. Founded the Congregation of Carmelite Brothers and Congregation of Carmelite Sisters in 1860-1861 in the Balearic Islands. Preached popular missions and devotion to Our Lady.
Born
29 December 1811 at Aythona, Lerida, Spain
Died
20 March 1872 at Tarragona, Spain of natural causes
Beatified
24 April 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Maria Josefa Sancho de Guerra
Also known as
Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus
Profile
Nun, joining the Institute of the Servants of Mary at age 18, taking name Maria Josefa of the Heart of Mary. Helped found the Institute of the Servants of Jesus in Bilbao, Spain in 1871; the Institute sisters care for the children, the sick, the elderly and the abandoned in hospital and in their homes. By her death, the Insitute had 43 houses and 1,000 sisters; they continue their good work today with 100 houses in 16 countries.
Born
7 September 1842 in Vitoria, Basque Country, Spain
Died
20 March 1912 in Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain of natural causes
Canonized
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Herbert of Derwentwater
Profile
Benedictine monk and priest. Disciple and friend of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. Hermit on the island of Lake Derwentwater, later called Saint Herbert's Island. Each year he visited Cuthbert at Lindisfarne. In 686 Cuthbert visited Herbert on his island, and told him that if he had anything to ask, he must do so because he foresaw he would soon die. They both prayed they go together. Soon after, Herbert fell ill; the illness lasted till 20 March 687 when both saints died. In 1374, Bishop Thomas Appleby of Carlisle ordered the vicar of Crosthwaite to celebrate a sun Mass on Saint Herbert's Isle each year on his feast, and granted 40 days Indulgence to all who visited on this day. Ruins of a circular stone building there may be connected with him.
Died
20 March 687 of natural causes
Saint Clement of Ireland
Also known as
• Clemens Scotus
• Clement of the Paris Schools
Profile
Clement and his companion Ailbe, arrived in Gaul in 772, and opened shop as teachers. Their fame spread, and Charlemagne sent for them to come to his court, where they stayed for several months. Ailbe was given direction of a monastery near Pavia, Italy. Clement stayed in France as regent of the Paris school from 775 until his death. Legend says that Clement founded the University of Paris, which in a metaphorical sense he did since he started a great tradition of learning in the city.
Born
c.750 in Ireland
Died
• 20 March 818 in Auxerre, France of natural causes
• interred in the church of Saint-Amator
Saint Archippus of Colossi
Also known as
Archippus the Apostle
Additional Memorials
• 19 February (with Philemon and Appia)
• 6 July (with Onesimus)
• 22 November (with Philemon and Appia)
Profile
Companion of Saint Paul the Apostle. Tradition says he was one of the 72 disciples. In the canonical Epistle to the Colossians, Paul bids him "take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it."
Born
possibly at Colossae or Laodicea; records vary
Died
1st century
Saint Martin of Braga
Also known as
• Bracara
• Martin of Dumio
Profile
Monk in Palestine. In 550 he introduces communal monasticism into Galatia in Spain. Abbot at the Dumio Monastry in Dume, Portugal and missionary to the Arians and pagans of the area by May 561. Bishop of Mondoñedo, Spain. Archbishop of Braga, Portugal by 572. Writer who left text of his homilies and sermons, and moral, liturgical, and ascetical treatises.
Born
515-520 at Pannonia
Died
580 at Braga, Portugal of natural causes
Blessed Hippolytus Galantini
Also known as
Ippolito Galantini
Profile
Silk-weaver. From age twelve, he assisted priests in teaching children their catechism. As an adult, he formed the congregation of Italian Doctrinarians, who taught children catechism.
Born
1565 at Florence, Italy
Died
1619 of natural causes
Beatified
29 June 1825 by Pope Leo XII
Saint Guillermo de Peñacorada
Also known as
William of Peñacorada
Profile
Monk in Sahagún, León, Spain. He and his brothers fled from there ahead of invading Saracens, and settled in Peñacorada, Spain. Built the monastery of Santa Maria de los Valles, which was later renamed San Guillermo de Peñacorada in his honour.
Died
c.1042
Blessed Jeanne Veron
Additional Memorial
21 January as one of the Blessed Martyrs of Laval
Profile
Member of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Evron. Martyred in the French Revolution.
Born
6 August 1766 in Quelaines, Mayenne, France
Died
20 March 1794 in Laval, Mayenne, France
Beatified
19 June 1955 by Pope Pius XII at Rome, Italy
Saint John Sergius
Also known as
John of Mar Sabas
Profile
Monk at the eremetical abbey (a laura) of Saint Sabas' near Jerusalem. Martyred with 20 other monks in an Arab anti-Christian raid during which many others were injured but escaped; one of them, named Stephen, wrote a poem in honour of the group known as the Martyrs of Mar Sabas.
Died
martyred in 796
Saint Remigius of Strasbourg
Also known as
Remi, Remidius
Profile
Born to the nobility, the son of Hugh of Alsace; cousin of Saint Odilia of Hohenburg. Abbot of Münster near Colmar, France. Bishop of Strasbourg, France in 776.
Died
783
Saint Anastasius XVI
Also known as
• Anastasius of Jerusalem
• Anastasius of Saint Sabas
Profile
Monk. Archimandrite of Saint Sabas Abbey in Jerusalem. Murdered with his brothers in an attack by a band of thieves.
Died
797
Martyrs of San Sabas
Profile
Twenty monks who were martyred together in their monastery by invading Saracens.
Died
797 when they were burned inside the San Sabas monastery in Palestine
Saint Nicetas of Apollonias
Profile
Bishop of Apollonias in Bithynia (in modern Turkey). Persecuted and exiled to Anatolia for opposing the iconoclasm of emperor Leo III.
Saint Urbitius of Metz
Profile
Bishop of Metz, France. Built a church in honour of Saint Felix of Nola; it became part of the Saint Clement monastery.
Died
c.420
Saint Tertricus of Langres
Profile
Son of Saint Gregory of Langres; uncle of Saint Gregory of Tours. Bishop of Langres, France c.540.
Died
572
Saint Benignus of Flay
Also known as
Benignus of Fontenelle
Profile
Monk and abbot at Fontenelle and Flay in France.
Died
725
Saint Cathcan of Rath-derthaighe
Profile
Bishop of Rath-derthaighe, Ireland.
Martyrs of Amisus
Profile
A group of Christian women martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details we have are eight of their names - Alexandra, Caldia, Derphuta, Euphemia, Euphrasia, Juliana, Matrona and Theodosia.
Died
burned to death c.300 in Amisus, Paphlagonia (modern Samsun, Turkey)
Martyrs of Rome
Profile
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Nero. We know nothing else about them but the names Anatolius, Cyriaca, Joseph, Parasceve, Photis, Photius, Sebastian and Victor.
Martyrs of Syria
Profile
A group of Christians who were martyred together in Syria. We know nothing else about them but the names Cyril, Eugene and Paul.
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(மார்ச் 20)
✠ புனிதர் சல்வேடர் ✠
(St. Salvator of Horta)
குருத்துவம் பெறாத ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் அருட்சகோதரர்:
(Franciscan Lay Brother)
பிறப்பு: டிசம்பர் 1520
செயின்ட் கொலோமா டி ஃபார்நெர்ஸ், கிரோனா, ஸ்பெயின்
(Santa Coloma de Farners, Girona, Spain)
இறப்பு: மார்ச் 18, 1567
ககிலியாரி, ஸர்டினியா, ஸ்பேனிஷ் பேரரசு
(Cagliari, Sardinia, Spanish Empire)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(இளம் துறவியர் சபை)
(Roman Catholic Church)
(Order of Friars Minor)
முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஃபெப்ரவரி 5, 1606
திருத்தந்தை ஐந்தாம் பால்
(Pope Paul V)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: ஏப்ரல் 17, 1938
திருத்தந்தை பதினோராம் பயஸ்
(Pope Pius XI)
முக்கிய திருத்தலங்கள்:
புனித ரோசலி தேவாலயம், கக்ளியரி, ஸர்டினியா, இத்தாலி
(Church of St. Rosalie, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: மார்ச் 20
புனிதர் சல்வேடர், ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் "கேடலோனியா" (Catalonia) பிராந்தியத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவரும், ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையின் குருத்துவம் பெறாத மறை பணியாளரும் (Franciscan Lay Brother) ஆவார். தமது வாழ்நாள் காலத்தில் இவர் அதிசயங்கள் பல செய்ததாக மக்கள் இவரைக் கொண்டாடுகின்றனர்.
"சல்வேடர் ப்ளடேவல் ஐ பீன்" (Salvador Pladevall i Bien) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட இவர், ஒரு ஏழைக் கூலித்தொழிலாளர்களின் மகனாவார். ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் “கிரோனா” (Province of Girona) மாகாணத்தின், சான்ட கொலோனா டி ஃபார்னர்ஸ்” (Santa Coloma de Farners) எனும் பெயர் கொண்ட மருத்துவமனையில் பிறந்த இவரது பெற்றோர் இருவரும் இம்மருத்துவமனையின் பணியாளர்களாவர். தமது பதினான்கு வயதிலேயே அனாதையான இவர், தமது ஒரே தங்கையான "ப்ளாஸா'வை" (Blasa) அழைத்துக்கொண்டு "பார்சிலோனா" (Barcelona) சென்றார். தங்கள் இருவரது வயிற்றுப்பிழைப்புக்காக செருப்புத் தைக்கும் பணி செய்தார். தமது தங்கைக்கு திருமணமானதும் தாம் இறை சேவையில் ஈடுபட எண்ணியிருந்தார்.
அவரது எண்ணம் போலவே தங்கைக்கு திருமணம் ஆனது. சல்வேடர் முதலில் பார்சிலோனாவுக்கு அருகேயுள்ள "புனித மரியாளின் பெனடிக்டைன்" (Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat) துறவு மடத்தில் சேர்ந்தார். மென்மேலும் தாழ்ச்சியுடன் வாழ்வினை அர்ப்பணிக்க விரும்பிய சல்வேடர், "பெனடிக்டைன் துறவு மடத்திலிருந்து" விலகி, பார்சிலோனாவிலுள்ள "இளம் துறவியர் சபையின்" (Order of Friars Minor) "துறவறப்புகுநிலையின் கண்காணிப்புக் கிளையில் (novitiate of the Observant branch) கி.பி. 1541ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 3ம் நாளன்று, "குருத்துவம் பெறாத அருட்சகோதரராக" (Lay Brother) இணைந்தார். அவர் கி.பி. 1542ல் தமது உறுதிப்பாடுகளை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். அங்கேதான் அவரது பணிவான துறவு வாழ்க்கை முறை அனைவருக்கும் தெரிய வந்தது.
பின்னர் அவர் "டோர்டோஸா" (Tortosa) என்னுமிடத்திலுள்ள துறவு மடத்திற்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டார். அங்கே அவருக்கு சமையல் பணிகள், சுமை சுமக்கும் பணி, 'யாசகம் வாங்கும் பணி' ஆகியன வழங்கப்பட்டன. விரைவிலேயே சல்வேடர் நோயுற்றோரின் நோய்களை நீக்கும் அதிசயங்களைச் செய்ய ஆரம்பித்தார். அவர் பணி புரிந்த துறவு மடம் நோயாளிகளால் நிரம்பிப் போனது. வெகு தூர இடங்களிலிருந்தெல்லாம் நோயுற்றோர் வர ஆரம்பித்தனர். வாரம் தோறும் சுமார் இரண்டாயிரம் பேர் வரை வந்து சென்றதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.
துறவு மடத்தின் தலைமைத் துறவியர் அவர் மீது அவநம்பிக்கை கொள்ள ஆரம்பித்தனர். அவரை வெவ்வேறு துறவு மடங்களுக்கு அனுப்பினர். இறுதியில் அவர் "ரியுஸ்" (Reus) மற்றும் "மேட்ரிட்" (Madrid) ஆகிய இடங்களிலுள்ள துறவு மடங்களுக்கு சென்றார். அங்கே, ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் மன்னர் “இரண்டாம் பிலிப்” (King Philip II of Spain) அவரை காணச் சென்றார். கி.பி. 1560ம் ஆண்டு, அவர் செய்திருந்த அற்புதங்களுக்காக ஸ்பேனிஷ் அரசு விசாரணை நடத்தியது. விசாரணையின் முடிவில், அவர் உண்மையாகவே அதிசயங்கள் செய்வதாக முடிவுக்கு வந்தனர்.
கி.பி. 1565ம் ஆண்டு, சல்வேடர் "சார்டினியா" (Sardinia) தீவின் "கக்ளியாரி" (Cagliari) எனும் இடத்திலுள்ள "இயேசுவின் புனித மரியாள்" (Friary of St. Mary of Jesus) துறவு மடத்திற்கு சென்றார். அங்கே ஸ்பெயின் சட்டப்படி துறவு சமூகத்தினருக்கு சமையல் பணி செய்தார். தமது செப பரிந்துரையால் நோய் நீக்கும் அற்புதங்களையும் செய்து வந்தார்.
தம்மிடம் நோய் நீங்க வரும் நோயாளிகளிடம், அவர்களது உளச்சான்றினை பரிசோதிப்பதற்காக, பாவ மன்னிப்பு பெறவும், நற்கருணை பெற்று வரவும் வலியுறுத்தினார். இவற்றை செய்ய மறுத்தவர்களுக்காக அவர் செபிக்க மறுத்தார்.
கி.பி. 1567ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், பதினெட்டாம் நாளன்று, மரித்த சல்வேடர், தாம் மரிக்கையில், "ஆண்டவரே, உமது கைகளில், என் ஆவியை ஒப்புவிக்கிறேன்" (“Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”) என்று கூறி மரித்தார்.
