Bl. Frederic Ozanam
அருளாளரான பிரெடரிக் ஓசானாம்
பிரெடரிக் ஓசானாம், பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் உள்ள லயோன்ஸ் நகரில் இருந்த ஒரு செல்வச் செழிப்பான குடும்பத்தில், 1815 ஆம் ஆண்டு பிறந்தார். இவருடைய குடும்பம் மிகவும் பக்தியான குடும்பம். அதனால் இவர் சிறுவயதிலிருந்தே பக்தி நெறியில் வளர்ந்துவந்தார்.
இவருடைய காலத்தில் பிரஞ்சுப் புரட்சியின் தாக்கம் அதிகமாகவே இருந்தது. பலர் திருச்சபைக்கு எதிராகச் செயல்படுவதை இவர் கண்கூடாகப் பார்த்தார். அப்படிப்பட்ட சூழ்நிலையில்தான் இவர் பாரிசுக்குச் சென்று, அங்கு சட்டத்தில் முனைவர் பட்டம் பெற்றார். ஒருசமயம் இவருக்கு அறிமுகமான ஒருவர் இவரிடத்தில் வந்து, “கிறிஸ்தவர்கள் வெறுமனே இறைவனிடத்தில் ஜெபிப்பதும் வழிபடுவதுமாகவே இருக்கிறார்கள், அவர்கள் நற்செயலில் இறங்கமாட்டார்களா?” என்று கேட்டார். இக்கேள்வி பிரெடரிக் ஓசானாமை வெகுவாகப் பாதித்தது. அன்றே முடிவெடுத்தார். தன்னுடைய வாழ்க்கையையும் ஒவ்வொரு கிறிஸ்தவவருடைய வாழ்க்கையையும் எப்படி அர்த்தமுள்ளதாக மாற்றுவது என்று தீவிரமாக யோசித்தார். அவருடைய தீவிரமான யோசனைப் பின், முதலில் பாரிஸ் நகரில் இருக்கக்கூடிய சேரிவாழ் மக்களுக்கு உதவி செய்யலாம் என்று முடிவெடுத்தார்.
தான் மேற்கொண்ட தீர்க்கமான முடிவுக்கு ஏற்றாற்போல், அவர் சேரிவாழ் மக்களிடத்தில் சென்று பணியாற்றினார். அவருடைய இந்த சேவைக்கு மக்களிடத்தில் நல்ல வரவேற்புக் கிடைத்தது. பலரும் அவர் ஆற்றிவந்த பணியில் தங்களையும் சேர்த்துக்கொண்டார்கள். அப்படி உருவானதுதான் வின்சென்ட் தே பவுல் சபையாகும். இன்றைக்கு இந்த சபையானது உலகின் பல்வேறு நாடுகளுக்கும் பரவி அற்புதமான ஒரு சேவையைச் செய்துகொண்டிருக்கின்றது.
பிரெடரிக் ஓசானாம் தன்னோடு இருப்பவர்களிடம் அடிக்கடி சொல்லக்கூடிய வார்த்தைகள், “கிறிஸ்தவர்கள் யாவரும் தங்களுடைய இதயக் கதவை மட்டுமல்லாமல், பணப்பையையும் திறந்து மக்களுக்கு சேவை செய்யவேண்டும்”. இவருடைய வார்தைகளைக் கேட்டு, பலரும் ஏழை எளிய மக்களுக்கு தாராளமாக உதவி செய்ய முன்வந்தார்கள்.
பிரெடரிக் ஓசானாம் மக்கள் பணியை இறைப்பணியோடு செய்து வந்தாலும் தன்னுடைய மனைவிக்கு ஒரு நல்ல கணவராக, முன் மாதிரியான கணவராக இருந்து வந்தார்.
இவருடைய அயராத மக்கள் பணி இவருடைய உடல் நலனைக் குன்றச் செய்தது. அதனால் இவர் 1853 ஆம் ஆண்டு, அதாவது தன்னுடைய 38 வயதில் இறையடி சேர்ந்தார். இவருக்கு 1997 ஆம் ஆண்டு தூய திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் யோவான் பவுலால் அருளாளர் பட்டம் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது
Feastday: September 9
Birth: 1813
Death: 1853
Beatified: August 22, 1997, Notre Dame de Paris by Pope John Paul II
Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (Milan, April 23, 1813 - Marseille, September 8, 1853) was a French scholar. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in the cathedral church Notre Dame de Paris in 1997.
Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (pronounced [ɑ̃twan fʁedeʁik ozanam]; 23 April 1813 – 8 September 1853) was a French literary scholar, lawyer, journalist and equal rights advocate. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.[1] He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in 1997, hence he may be properly called Blessed Frederic by Catholics. His feast day is 9 September.
Life
Frédéric Ozanam was born on Friday, 23 April 1813, to Jean and Marie Ozanam.[2] He was the fifth of Jean and Marie Ozanam’s 14 children, one of only three to reach adulthood.[3] His family, which was of Jewish origin,[4] had been settled in the region around Lyon, France, for many centuries. An ancestor of Frédéric, Jacques Ozanam (1640–1717), was a noted mathematician. Jean Ozanam, Frédéric's father, had served in the armies of the First French Republic, but with the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the founding of the First French Empire, he turned to trade, to teaching, and finally to medicine.
Ozanam was born in Milan, but brought up in Lyon. In his youth he experienced a period of doubt regarding the Catholic faith, during which he was strongly influenced by one of his teachers at the Collège de Lyon, the priest Abbé Noirot. His religious instincts showed themselves early, and in 1831 he published Réflexions sur la Doctrine de Saint-Simon, a pamphlet against Saint-Simonianism,[5] which attracted the attention of the French poet and politician Alphonse de Lamartine who was born in the area. Ozanam also found time to help organize and write for the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, a lay Catholic organization founded in the city with the aim of supporting Catholic missionaries, many of which came from the area. That autumn he went to study law in Paris, where he suffered a great deal from homesickness. Ozanam fell in with the Ampère family (living for a time with the mathematician André-Marie Ampère), and through them with other prominent liberal Catholics of the time, such as Count François-René de Chateaubriand, Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, and Charles Forbes René de Montalembert.[6]
While still a student, Ozanam took up journalism and contributed considerably to Bailly's Tribune catholique, which became L'Univers, a French Catholic daily newspaper that adopted a strongly ultramontane position. Ozanam and his friends revived a discussion group called a "Society of Good Studies" and formed it into a "Conference of History" which quickly became a forum for large and lively discussions among students. Their attentions turned frequently to the social teachings of the Gospel. At one meeting during a heated debate in which Ozanam and his friends were trying to prove from historical evidence alone the truth of the Catholic Church as the one founded by Christ, their adversaries declared that, though at one time the Church was a source of good, it no longer was. One voice issued the challenge, "What is your church doing now? What is She doing for the poor of Paris? Show us your works and we will believe you!"[7]
As a consequence, in May 1833 Ozanam and a group of other young men founded the charitable Society of Saint Vincent de Paul,[5] which already by the time of his death numbered upwards of 2,000 members. The founding members developed their method of service under the guidance of Sister Rosalie Rendu, a member of the Congregation of Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, who was prominent in serving the poor in the slums of Paris. The members of the conferences collaborated with Rendu during the time of the cholera epidemic. When fear had gripped the population, she organized the conferences in all the neighborhoods of Paris to care for the cholera victims, becoming well known in the city for her work, especially in the 12th arrondissement.[8] Frederic's first act of charity was to take his supply of winter firewood and bring it to a widow whose husband had died of cholera.
Ozanam received the degrees of Bachelor of Laws in 1834, Bachelor of Arts in 1835 and Doctor of Laws in 1836. His father, who had wanted him to study law, died on 12 May 1837. Although he preferred literature, Ozanam worked in the legal profession in order to support his mother, and was admitted to the Bar in Lyon in 1837.[8] Still, he also pursued his personal interest, and in 1839 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Letters with a thesis on Dante that then formed the basis of Ozanam's best-known books. A year later he was appointed to a professorship of commercial law at Lyon, and in 1840, at the age of twenty-seven, assistant professor of foreign literature at the Sorbonne.[5] He decided to give a course of lectures on German Literature in the Middle Ages and in preparation for it went on a short tour of Germany. His lectures proved highly successful despite the fact that he attached fundamental importance to Christianity as the primary factor in the growth of European civilization, unlike his predecessors and most of his colleagues, who shared in the predominantly anti-Christian climate of the Sorbonne at that time.[9]
In June 1841, he married Amélie Soulacroix, daughter of the rector of the University of Lyon,[10] and the couple travelled to Italy for their honeymoon. They had a daughter, Marie.
Candelas describes Ozanam as " ... a man of great faith. He valued friendships and defended his friends no matter what the cost. He was attentive to details, perhaps to the extreme. ... [H]e showed a great tenderness when dealing with his family. ...He had a great reverence for his parents, and revealed his ability to sacrifice his career and his profession in order to please them.[8]
Upon the death in 1844 of Claude Charles Fauriel, Ozanam succeeded to the full professorship of foreign literature at the Sorbonne.[5] The remainder of his short life was extremely busy, attending to his duties as a professor, his extensive literary activities, and the work of district-visiting as a member of the society of St. Vincent de Paul.
During the French Revolution of 1848, of which he took a sanguine view, he once more turned journalist by writing, for a short time, in various papers, including the Ère nouvelle ("New Era"), which he had founded. He traveled extensively, and visited England at the time of the Exhibition of 1851.
Death
His naturally weak constitution fell prey to consumption, which he hoped to cure by visiting Italy, but on his return to France he died in Marseille on Thursday, 8 September 1853, at the age of 40. He was buried in the crypt of the church of St. Joseph des Carmes at the Institut Catholique in Paris.[5]
Works
Bust of Frédéric Ozanam.
Ozanam "is recognized as a precursor of the Catholic Church's social doctrine, whose cultural and religious origins he wanted to know and on which he wrote books which are still in great demand."[11] He was more learned, more sincere, and more logical than Chateaubriand; and less of a political partisan and literary sentimentalist than Montalembert.[citation needed] In contemporary movements, he was an earnest and conscientious advocate of Catholic democracy and of the view that the Church should adapt itself to the changed political conditions consequent to the French Revolution.[12] He denounced the old alliance of "Throne and Altar" and pleaded with the Pope to adopt more liberal positions.[13] He advocated the separation of church and state as conducive to liberty, and he was frequently impugned by reactionaries who accused him of deserting the Church.[6]
In his writings he dwelt upon important contributions of historical Christianity, and maintained especially that, in continuing the work of the Caesars, the Catholic Church had been the most potent factor in civilizing the invading barbarians and in organizing the life of the Middle Ages. He confessed that his object was to prove the contrary thesis to Edward Gibbon, and, although the aim of proving theses is perhaps not the ideal approach for a historian, Ozanam no doubt administered a healthful antidote to the prevalent notion, particularly amongst English-speaking peoples, that the Catholic Church had done far more to enslave than to elevate the human mind. His knowledge of medieval literature and his appreciative sympathy with medieval life admirably qualified him for his work, and his scholarly attainments are still highly esteemed.
St. Isaac the Great
Feastday: September 9
Isaac the Great whose feast day is September 9 became a monk. He was the son of Catholicos St. Nerses I of Armenia. He studied at Constantinople, married, and on the early death of his wife became a monk. He was appointed Catholicos of Armenia in 390 and secured from Constantinople recognition of the metropolitan rights of the Armenian Church, thus terminating its long dependence on the Church of Caesarea in Cappodocia. He at once began to reform the Armenian Church. He ended the practice of married bishops, enforced Byzantine canon law, encouraged monasticism, built churches and schools, and fought Persian paganism. He supported St. Mesrop in his creation of an rmenian alphabet, helped to promote the translation of the Bible and the works of the Greek and Syrian doctors into Armenian, and was responsible for establishing a national liturgy and the beginnings of Armenian literature. He was driven into retirement in 428 when the Persians conquered part of his territory but returned at an advanced age to rule again from his See at Ashtishat, where he died in the year 439. He was the founder of the Armenian Church and is sometimes called Sahak in Armenia.
Not to be confused with the Exarch of Ravenna Isaac the Armenian, who was also of Armenian extraction.
Isaac or Sahak of Armenia (354–439) was Catholicos (or Patriarch) of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is sometimes known as "Isaac the Great," and as "Sahak the Parthian" (Armenian: Սահակ Պարթև, Sahak Parthew", Parthian: Sahak-i Parthaw) owing to his Parthian origin.
Family
Isaac was son of the Christian St. Nerses I and a Mamikonian princess called Sanducht. Through his father he was a Gregorid and was descended from the family of St. Gregory I the Enlightener. He was the fifth Catholicos of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia after St. Gregory I the Enlightener (301–325), St. Aristaces I (325–333), St. Vrtanes I (333–341) and St. Husik I (341–347). His paternal grandmother was the Arsacid Princess Bambish, the sister of King Tigranes VII (Tiran)[2] and a daughter of King Khosrov III.[citation needed]
Life
Left an orphan at a very early age, Isaac received an excellent literary education in Constantinople, particularly in the Eastern languages. After his election as patriarch he devoted himself to the religious and scientific training of his people. Armenia was then passing through a grave crisis. In 387 it had lost its independence and been divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia; each division had at its head an Armenian but feudatory king. In the Byzantine territory, however, the Armenians were forbidden the use of the Syriac language, until then exclusively used in divine worship: for this the Greek language was to be substituted, and the country gradually Hellenized; in the Persian districts, on the contrary, Greek was absolutely prohibited, while Syriac was greatly favoured. In this way the ancient culture of the Armenians was in danger of disappearing and national unity was seriously compromised.
To save both Isaac helped Mesrop to invent the Armenian alphabet and began to translate the Christian Bible; their translation from the Syriac Peshitta was revised by means of the Septuagint, and even, it seems, from the Hebrew text (between 410 and 430). The liturgy also, hitherto Syrian was translated into Armenian, drawing at the same time on the liturgy of Saint Basil of Caesarea, so as to obtain for the new service a national color. Isaac had already established schools for higher education with the aid of disciples whom he had sent to study at Edessa, Melitene, Constantinople, and elsewhere. Through them he now had the principal masterpieces of Greek and Syrian Christian literature translated, e.g. the writings of Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil, the two Gregorys (Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa), John Chrysostom, Ephrem the Syrian, etc. Armenian literature in its golden age was, therefore, mainly a borrowed literature.
Through Isaac's efforts the churches and monasteries destroyed by the Persians were rebuilt, education was cared for in a generous way, Zoroastrianism which Shah Yazdegerd I tried to set up was cast out, and three councils held to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline. Isaac is said to have been the author of liturgical hymns.
Two letters, written by Isaac to Theodosius II and to Archbishop Atticus of Constantinople, have been preserved. A third letter addressed to Saint Proclus of Constantinople was not written by him, but dates from the tenth century. Neither did he have any share, as was wrongly ascribed to him, in the First Council of Ephesus of 431, though, in consequence of disputes which arose in Armenia between the followers of Nestorius and the disciples of Acathius of Melitene and Rabbula, Isaac and his church did appeal to Constantinople and through Saint Proclus obtained the desired explanations.
A man of enlightened piety and of very austere life, Isaac owed his deposition by the king in 426 to his great independence of character. In 430, he was allowed to resume his patriarchal throne. In his extreme old age he seems to have withdrawn into solitude, dying at the age of 110. The precise date of his death is not known, but it seems to have occurred between 439 and 441. Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi says his body was taken to Taron and buried in the village of Ashtishat. Several days are consecrated to his memory in the Armenian Apostolic Church. Isaac married an unnamed woman by whom he had a daughter called Sahakanoush who married Hamazasp Mamikonian, a wealthy and influential Armenian nobleman.
St. Peter Claver
புனித பீட்டர் கிளேவர், St. Peter Claver குரு
பிறப்பு
26 ஜூன் 1580,
ஸ்பெயின்
இறப்பு
8 செப்டம்பர் 1654
முத்திப்பேறுபட்டம்: 16 ஜூலை 1851 திருத்தந்தை ஒன்பதாம் பயஸ்
புனிதர்பட்டம்: 15 ஜனவரி 1888 திருத்தந்தை 13 ஆம் லியோ
பாதுகாவல்: அடிமைகள் மற்றும் கொலம்பியா நாட்டின் பாதுகாவலர்
கிளேவர் சிறு வயதிலிருந்தே அன்னைமரியாளின் மீது பக்தியை வளர்த்து வந்தார். பள்ளியில் சேர்ந்து படிக்கத் தொடங்கிய நாளிலிருந்து பல புத்தகங்களைப் படித்தார். தனது இளம் வயது படிப்பை முடித்தபின் 1596 ஆம் ஆண்டு பார்சலோனா என்ற நகரிலிருந்த புகழ் வாய்ந்த கல்லூரியில் படிக்க சென்றார். கல்லூரி படிப்பை முடித்ததும் 1802 ஆம் ஆண்டு குருவாக ஆசைக்கொண்டு இயேசு சபையில் சேர்ந்தார்.
இவர் மயோர்க்கா நகரில் மீண்டும் தனது படிப்பை தொடர்ந்தார். அங்கு கல்லூரி படிப்பை முடித்தபின் 1616 ஆம் ஆண்டு குருப்பட்டம் பெற்றார். புதிய குருவான இவர் நீக்ரோ அடிமை மக்களிடம் பணியை தொடர அனுப்பப்பட்டார். அம்மக்களிடையே சிறப்பாக பணியாற்றி , சில நாட்கள் கழித்து, அவர்களில் ஒருவராகவே மாறினார். அப்போது அம்மக்களிடையே அடிமை வாணிகம் பெருகியது. அவற்றை ஒடுக்க இவர் பெரிதும் பாடுபட்டார். அச்சமயத்தில் ஆப்ரிக்கா நாட்டிலிருந்து மக்கள் அடிமைகளாக கொண்டுவரப்பட்டனர். அவர்களோடு சேர்த்து இறக்குமதியும் செய்யப்பட்டது. கிளேவர் அம்மருந்துகளை பெற்று, நீக்ரோ மக்களுக்கு மருத்துவப் பணியையும் ஆற்றினார். அடிமை மக்களிடையே மிகவும் அன்பாக பணியாற்றினார். தனது மறைப்பணியால் அம்மக்களின் கடுமையான மனதை மாற்றினார். அனைவரையும் இறைவன்பால் ஈர்த்து, இறையுறவில் வளர்த்தெடுத்தார். அடிமைகளின் மேல் கொண்ட அக்கறையாலும், அன்பாலும் இவர் அம்மக்களின் தந்தை என்றழைக்கப்பட்டார்.
Feastday: September 9
Patron: Saint of Negro Missions
Birth: 1580
Death: 1654
St. Peter Claver was born at Verdu, Catalonia, Spain, in 1580, of impoverished parents descended from ancient and distinguished families. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona in 1602 and took his final vows on August 8th, 1604. While studying philosophy at Majorca, the young religious was influenced by St. Alphonsus Rodriguez to go to the Indies and save "millions of perishing souls."
In 1610, he landed at Cartagena (modern Colombia), the principle slave market of the New World, where a thousand slaves were landed every month. After his ordination in 1616, he dedicated himself by special vow to the service of the Negro slaves-a work that was to last for thirty-three years. He labored unceasingly for the salvation of the African slaves and the abolition of the Negro slave trade, and the love he lavished on them was something that transcended the natural order.
Boarding the slave ships as they entered the harbor, he would hurry to the revolting inferno of the hold, and offer whatever poor refreshments he could afford; he would care for the sick and dying, and instruct the slaves through Negro catechists before administering the Sacraments. Through his efforts three hundred thousand souls entered the Church. Furthermore, he did not lose sight of his converts when they left the ships, but followed them to the plantations to which they were sent, encouraged them to live as Christians, and prevailed on their masters to treat them humanely. He died in 1654.
Peter Claver (Spanish: Pedro Claver y Corberó; Catalan: Pere Claver i Corberó; 26 June 1580 – 8 September 1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in Verdú (Catalonia, Spain) who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of slaves, the Republic of Colombia, and ministry to African Americans. During the 40 years of his ministry in the New Kingdom of Granada, it is estimated he personally baptized around 300,000 people (in groups of 10) and heard the confessions of over 5,000 slaves per year. He is also patron saint for seafarers. He is considered a heroic example of what should be the Christian praxis of love and of the exercise of human rights.[2] The Congress of the Republic of Colombia declared September 9 as the Human Rights national Day in his honor.
Early life
Claver was born in 1580 into a devoutly Catholic and prosperous farming family in the Catalan village of Verdú,[3] Urgell, located in the Province of Lleida, about 54 miles (87 km) from Barcelona. He was born 70 years after King Ferdinand of Spain set the colonial slavery culture into motion by authorizing the purchase of 250 African slaves in Lisbon for his territories in New Spain.
Later, as a student at the University of Barcelona,[3] Claver was noted for his intelligence and piety. After two years of study there, Claver wrote these words in the notebook he kept throughout his life: "I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like a slave."[4]
In the New World
After he had completed his studies, Claver entered the Society of Jesus in Tarragona at the age of 20. When he had completed the novitiate, he was sent to study philosophy at Palma, Mallorca. While there, he came to know the porter of the college, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, a laybrother known for his holiness and gift of prophecy.[5] Rodriguez felt that he had been told by God that Claver was to spend his life in service in the colonies of New Spain, and he frequently urged the young student to accept that calling.[3]
Portrait of St. Peter Claver in the museum Palace of Inquisition, Cartagena, Colombia
Claver volunteered for the Spanish colonies and was sent to the New Kingdom of Granada, where he arrived in the port city of Cartagena in 1610.[6] Required to spend six years studying theology before being ordained a priest, he lived in Jesuit houses at Tunja and Bogotá. During those preparatory years, he was deeply disturbed by the harsh treatment and living conditions of the black slaves who were brought from Africa.
By this time, the slave trade had been established in the Americas for about a century. Local natives were considered physically ill-suited to work in the gold and silver mines. Mine owners met their labor requirements by importing blacks from Angola and Congo, whom they purchased in West Africa for four crowns a head or bartered for goods and sold in America for an average two hundred crowns apiece. Others were captured at random, especially able-bodied males and females deemed suitable for labor.[7]
Cartagena was a slave-trading hub and 10,000 slaves poured into the port yearly, crossing the Atlantic from West Africa under conditions so foul that an estimated one-third died in transit. Although the slave trade was condemned by Pope Paul III and Urban VIII had issued a papal decree prohibiting slavery,[7] (later called "supreme villainy" by Pope Pius IX), it was a lucrative business and continued to flourish.[6]
Claver's predecessor in his eventual lifelong mission, Alonso de Sandoval, was his mentor and inspiration.[6] Sandoval devoted himself to serving the slaves for 40 years before Claver arrived to continue his work. Sandoval attempted to learn about their customs and languages; he was so successful that, when he returned to Seville, he wrote a book in 1627 about the nature, customs, rites and beliefs of the Africans. Sandoval found Claver an apt pupil. When he was solemnly professed in 1622, Claver signed his final profession document in Latin as: Petrus Claver, aethiopum semper servus (Peter Claver, servant of the Ethiopians [i.e. Africans] forever).
Ministry to the slaves
Church of St. Peter Claver in Cartagena, Colombia, where Claver lived and ministered
Whereas Sandoval had visited the slaves where they worked, Claver preferred to head for the wharf as soon as a slave ship entered the port. Boarding the ship, he entered the filthy and diseased holds to treat and minister to their badly treated, terrified human cargo, who had survived a voyage of several months under horrible conditions. It was difficult to move around on the ships, because the slave traffickers filled them to capacity. The slaves were often told they were being taken to a land where they would be eaten. Claver wore a cloak, which he would lend to anyone in need. A legend arose that whoever wore the cloak received lifetime health and was cured of all disease. After the slaves were herded from the ship and penned in nearby yards to be scrutinized by crowds of buyers, Claver joined them with medicine, food, bread, lemons. With the help of interpreters and pictures which he carried with him, he gave basic instructions.[8]
Claver saw the slaves as fellow Christians, encouraging others to do so as well. During the season when slavers were not accustomed to arrive, he traversed the country, visiting plantation after plantation, to give spiritual consolation to the slaves.[9] During his 40 years of ministry it is estimated that he personally catechized and baptized 300,000 slaves. He would then follow up on them to ensure that as Christians they received their Christian and civil rights. His mission extended beyond caring for slaves, however. He preached in the city square, to sailors and traders and conducted country missions, returning every spring to visit those he had baptized, ensuring that they were treated humanely. During these missions, whenever possible he avoided the hospitality of planters and overseers; instead, he would lodge in the slave quarters.[4]
Claver's work on behalf of slaves did not prevent him from ministering to the souls of well-to-do members of society, traders and visitors to Cartagena (including Muslims and English Protestants) and condemned criminals, many of whom he spiritually prepared for death; he was also a frequent visitor at the city's hospitals. Through years of unremitting toil and the force of his own unique personality, the slaves' situation slowly improved. In time he became a moral force, the Apostle of Cartagena.[4]
Illness, and death
The bones of Claver under an altar at the Church of St. Peter Claver in Cartagena
In the last years of his life Peter was too ill to leave his room. He lingered for four years, largely forgotten and neglected, physically abused and starved by an ex-slave who had been hired by the Superior of the house to care for him. He never complained about his treatment, accepting it as a just punishment for his sins.[1] He died on 8 September 1654.
When the people of the city heard of his death, many forced their way into his room to pay their last respects. Such was his reputation for holiness that they stripped away anything to serve as a relic.[1]
The city magistrates, who had previously considered him a nuisance for his persistent advocacy on behalf of the slaves, ordered a public funeral and he was buried with pomp and ceremony. The extent of Claver's ministry, which was prodigious even before considering the astronomical number of people he baptized, came to be realized only after his death.
He was canonized in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII, along with the holy Jesuit porter, Alphonsus Rodriguez. In 1896 Pope Leo also declared Claver the patron of missionary work among all African peoples.[3] His body is preserved and venerated in the church of the Jesuit residence, now renamed in his honor.[10]
Legacy
"No life, except the life of Christ, has moved me so deeply as that of Peter Claver".
Pope Leo XIII, on the occasion of the canonization of Peter Claver
Many organizations, missions, parishes, religious congregations, schools and hospitals bear the name of St. Peter Claver and also claim to continue the Mission of Claver as the following:
The Knights of Peter Claver, Inc., is the largest African-American Catholic fraternal organization in the United States. In 2006, a unit was established in San Andres, Colombia. The Order was founded in Mobile, Alabama, and is presently headquartered in New Orleans.[7]
Claver's mission continues today in the work of the Apostleship of the Sea (AoS)[12] and his inspiration remains among port chaplains and those who visit ships in the name of the church, through the AoS.
The Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver are a religious congregation of women dedicated to serving the spiritual and social needs of the poor around the world, particularly in Africa. They were founded in Austria by the Blessed Mary Theresa Ledóchowska in 1894.[14]
Among the many parishes dedicated to St. Peter Claver are those in Lexington, Kentucky,[15] West Hartford, Connecticut,[16] Macon, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana,[18] Simi Valley, California,[19] St. Paul, Minnesota,[20] Sheboygan, Wisconsin,[21] Montclair, New Jersey,[22] Baltimore, Maryland,[23] Huntington, West Virginia, and Nairobi, Kenya.
Among the many schools dedicated to St. Peter Claver are those in Decatur, Georgia,[26] and Pimville, South Africa.The oldest African American school in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, and the oldest African American school still functioning in the State of Florida, is the St. Peter Claver Catholic School.
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia declared September 9 as the Human Rights national Day in his honor.
Controversy
His canonization has caused controversy among some groups due to his own slaveholding and treatment of slaves (including physical punishment), and it is said by some that these matters initially stalled the sainthood process. Dr. Katie Grimes of Villanova has emphasized this point in various scholarly articles and in her book "Fugitive Saints", released in 2017. She has gone so far as to call St Claver a "White Supremacist" and has accused the Catholic Church of the same for championing him.[
That said, the sources used for this criticism also note that St Claver allowed uncommon freedom for the slaves he purchased (intending to use them for ministry rather than hard labor), and used physical punishment not to enforce labor but to prevent what he viewed as immoral behavior.
Blessed Francisco Gárate Aranguren
Also known as
Brother Kindness
Profile
Second of seven boys born to Francisco and Maria Aranguren, a pious farm family in the Basque region of northern Spain; three of them grew up to become Jesuit brothers. Francisco left home at age 14 to work as a domestic servant at the newly opened Jesuit College of Nuestra Señora de la Antigua in Orduña, Spain. By age 17, he had felt a call to join the Jesuits himself, and travelled on foot to Poyanne in southern France to enter the initiate, the Jesuits having been expelled from Spain following the revolution of 1868; he made his initial vows as a Jesuit lay brother on 2 February 1876, his final vows on 15 August 1877. Beginning in early 1877, he served as a sacristan and infirmarian at the La Guadia college where he was in charge of the medical care for 200 young men. Assigned to the Jesuit Duesto college as doorkeeper, sacristan and infirmarian in March 1888; he served there for the next 40 years. Francisco became known for his prayer life and simple living, his kind care and charity for the students, and as a source of wisdom and advice for all; he prayed constantly, carried a rosary everywhere, and was a beloved example of living a ordinary life with piety.
Born
3 February 1857 in Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, Spain
Died
• at 7:00am on 9 September 1929 in Deusto, Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain of complications involving a block urethra
• at his funeral, former students placed rosaries and crucifixes on his coffin, asking for his posthumous blessing on them
• re-interred in August 1946
• re-interred in 1964
Beatified
6 October 1985 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy
Blessed Jacques Désiré Laval
Also known as
• Apostle of Mauritius
• Jacob Désiré Laval
Profile
Son of a prosperous farmer, Jacques grew up in a pious household with examples set by his mother and an uncle who was a priest. Jacques' mother died when the boy was seven years old. Intially torn between the priesthood and medicine, Jacques was educated at local schools, Evraux, and Stanlislaus College in Paris, France, and received his medical degree in 1830. Jacques established his medical practice in Saint André and Saint Ivry-la-Bataille in his native Normandy, France and became more worldly, ignoring spiritual things.
However, a near-fatal fall from a horse led him to re-examine his life. A few months later he closed his practice and entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice. Ordained four years later in 1838. Parish priest in Normandy for two years. But Jacques felt a call to more active ministry, and he finally gave all his possessions to the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary (which later became the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and Immaculate Heart of Mary), and was sent as a missionary to Mauritius on 14 September 1841; he never saw France again.
Slavery had only recently been outlawed in Mauritius, and many of Jacques' potential parishioners were freed slaves, poor, uneducated, often unemployed, and always treated as second class citizens. Jacques lived with them, learned their language, fasted when supplies were short, slept in a packing crate, used his medical training to heal them, and explained that to God there were no unimportant people, that no one was second class. He instituted reforms in agriculture, sanitation, medicine, science, and teacher education. He placed responsibilities on people, checked their performance, and as so often happens, the people rose to the occasion. The faith spread throughout the region, and Jacques is believed to have made 67,000 converts in his parish.
He knew, respected, worked with, and received help from leaders of local Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus on the island. There were 40,000 mourners of all faiths at his funeral. The date of his death has become a national holiday in Mauritius with an average of 100,000 Christians, Animists, Buddhists, Shintoists, Hindus and Muslims making pilgrimage to his tomb that day.
Born
18 September 1803 in Croth, Normandy, France
Died
• 9 September 1864 in Port Louis, Mauritius of natural causes
• buried at the Church of Saint Croix, Port Louis, Mauritius
• his tomb receives about 8,000 pilgims a week, and is known as a site of miracles
Beatified
• 29 April 1979 by Pope John Paul II
• first beati of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed Maria Euthymia Üffing
துறவி மரியா எத்திமியா Maria Euthymia
பிறப்பு
8 ஏப்ரல் 1914,
ஹால்வேர்தா, நார்ட்ரைன்
வெஸ்ட்ஃபாலன், ஜெர்மனி
இறப்பு
9 செப்டம்பர் 1955,
மியூண்டர், நார்ட்ரைன்
வெஸ்ட்ஃபாலன், ஜெர்மனி
இவர் 1934 ஆம் ஆண்டு இரக்கத்தின்அருள்சகோதரர்கள் Barmherzigen Schwestern என்ற துறவற சபையில் சேர்ந்து 1940 ல் துறவியானார்.இவர் தனது வார்த்தைப்பாடுகளை பெற்ற பின்னர்,இரண்டாம் உலகப் போரில் அடிப்பட்ட மக்களுக்காக
பணியாற்றினார். நோயாளிகளை அன்புடன்பராமரித்தார். போரினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த மக்களின் மனதில், மகிழ்ச்சியை வளர்க்க பெரிதும் உழைத்தார். இவர் தன்னுடைய அன்பான பேச்சாலும், அரவணைக்கும் இதயத்தாலும், பாதித்த மக்களின் வாழ்வை மாற்றினார். சோக வாழ்விலிருந்து விடுபட்டு, சுமுகமான வாழ்வுக்கு வழிகாட்டினார்.
இவர் மக்களால் "அன்பின் வானதூதர்" என்றழைக்கப்பட்டார். தன்னுடைய அன்பான புன்முறுவலுடன் வாழ்வில் எதுவுமே இல்லை என்று வாழ்ந்த மக்களுக்கு மகிழ்ச்சியை வழங்கினார். அனைவருக்கும் தன் முழு அன்பை வழங்கினார். ஏராளமான மக்களின் வாழ்வில் நம்பிக்கையை வளர்த்து நல்வாழ்வை அமைத்துக்கொடுத்தார்
Also known as
• Emma Uffing
• Maria Eutimia
Profile
One of eleven children of August Üffing and Maria Schmidt, Emma grew up in a pious family in a small town. At 18 months, she developed a form of rickets that stunted her growth and left her in poor health the rest of her life. Made her First Communion on 27 April 1924, and was Confirmed on 3 September 1924. Emma worked on her parents' farm as a child, and by her early teens began to feel a call to religious life. She worked as an apprentice in house keeping management at the hospital in Hopsten, Germany, completing her studies in May 1933. Entered the Sister of the Congregation of Compassion (Klemensschwestern) on 23 July 1933, taking the name Euthymia; she made her simple vows on 11 October 1936, and her final profession on 15 September 1940. Assigned to work at Saint Vincent's Hosptial in Dinslaken, Germany in October 1936. Graduated with distinction from the nursing program on 3 September 1939. Worked as nurse through World War II, and in 1943 she was assigned to nurse prisoners of war and foreign workers with infectious diseases. She worked tirelessly for her charges, caring for them, praying for them, and insuring they received the sacraments. After the war she was given supervision of the huge laundry rooms of the Dinslaken hospital, her order's mother-house, and the Saint Raphael Clinic in MÜnster, Germany; what little spare time she had was spent in prayer before the Eucharist.
Born
8 April 1914 in Halverde, Germany as Emma Uffing
Died
morning of 9 September 1955 at MÜnster, Germany of cancer
Beatified
7 October 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pierre Bonhomme
Profile
Pierre was known as a pious and studious child who early felt a call to the priesthood. He entered seminary at Montfaucon, France in November 1818 at age 15. While a deacon he opened a school for boys. Ordained on 23 December 1827 at age 24, and served in the diocese of Cahors, France.
He opened a seminary preparatory school in 1831. Founded the Children of Mary to help provide for the spiritual and mundane needs of girls in Gramat, France. He urged the young people in his groups and schools to visit and help the poor elderly who were effectively abandoned. He established a home for the indigent, and to staff it he founded the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary dedicating to teaching children, helping the poor, sick, elderly, and disabled.
As part of his parish work, Pierre preached missions in the region, and became known as a excellent preacher, converting many. He had a special devotion to Our Lady of Rocamadour. Once while preaching a retreat, he completely lost his voice; through prayer to Our Lady of Rocamadour he was miraculously healed and finished the retreat. Father Pierre felt a desire to become a Carmelite, but his bishop insisted that he continue his work as a missioner, and gave him a new group of missioners to work with. Pierre obeyed, preaching until 1848 when larynx disease forced him to stop.
His mission vocation over, Pierre turned his attention to the Congregation, expanding their work into care for the deaf and mute in 1854, and the mentally ill in 1856. His last years were spent in spiritual guidance of the Sisters, writing their Rule, and expanding the areas of their good works. Today the Congregation has sisters working in France, Brazil, Argentina, Guinea, Ivory Coast and the Philippines.
Born
4 July 1803 in Gramat, Lot, France
Died
9 September 1861 at Gramat, Lot, France
Beatified
23 March 2003 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Kieran the Younger
Also known as
• Kieran of Clonmacnoise
• Ceran, Ciaran, Kyaranus, Kyran, Kyrian, Queran, Queranus, Ciarano, Querano, Kiriano
• one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland
Profile
Son of Beoit, a carpenter and chariot builder. Spiritual student of Saint Finian of Clonard and Saint Dermot. Considered the most learned monk at Clonard. Tutor to the daughter of the king of Cuala. Lived seven years as a hermit at Inishmore with Saint Enda. Monk at the abbey of Isel in central Ireland, but was run off by his brother monks - his charity to the local poor was so great that it threatened to bankrupt the abbey. He lived for a while with eight other hermits on Inish Aingin. Founder of the Clonmacnoise abbey in West Meath, and served as its first abbot. Spiritual teacher of Saint Comgall of Bangor. He placed that house under a singularly austere rule, referred to as the Law of Kieran to draw those monks who felt a need to ignore the physical world completely. The house was known for centuries as a center of Irish learning and thought. Reported miracle worker.
Born
c.516 at Connacht, County Roscommon, Ireland
Died
c.556 of natural causes
Patronage
diocese of Clonmacnois, Ireland
Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk
Also known as
• Ivan Sanin
• Joseph of Volotsk
• Joseph Sanin
• Svyatoy Iosef Volokolamsky
Profile
Monk. Abbot at the monastery of Borovsk, Russia in 1477, but his strict discipline did not sit well with his brothers. Founded the monastery at Volokolamsk, Russia in 1479, and served as its abbot. Reformer in his houses, stressing discipline, fasting, obedience, devotion to the liturgy, learning, and works of charity; his vision of a monastery included support of social services to local laity. Met Saint Nilus of Sora at a Council at Moscow, Russia in 1503 to discuss the church reforms each had put forth; Joseph's ideas won out, and helped changed the direction of the Church activities in his land.
Born
1440 in Lithuania
Died
9 September 1515 at Volokolamsk, Russia of natural causes
Canonized
1578 by Pope Gregory XIII
Blessed Maria de la Cabeza
Also known as
• Maria of the Head
• Maria Toribia
Additional Memorial
15 May with Saint Isidore the Farmer
Profile
In Torrelaguna, Spain she met and married to Saint Isidore the Farmer. She spent her life working on the farm, cleaning local chapels and shrines, helping the poor. The title of the Head is due to her head being a relic venerated for centuries, and the need to distiguish her from so many other Saints Mary.
Born
at Uceda, Guadalajara, Spain
Died
• c.1175
• relics long displayed in a Franciscan convent in Torrelaguna, Spain
• relics moved to Saint Andrew's Church in Madrid, Spain in 1645 and interred beside Saint Isidore
Beatified
• by Pope Leo X (cultus confirmed)
• 11 August 1697 by Pope Innocent XII (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
• Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
• World Youth Day 2011
Saint Bettelin
Also known as
Bertram, Bertellin, Bethlin, Bethelm
Profile
Spritual student of Saint Guthlac of Croyland. One of several hermits around Croyland in Lincolnshire, England who were subject to the monastery there.
Some stories claim Bettelin was a Mercian nobleman married to an Irish princess. While the two were travelling through a forest, the princess went into labour. Bettelin went for help, and while he was gone the princess delivered the baby; the two were eaten by wolves. This traumatic event reputedly sent Bettelin to the hermitage. The reliability of the story is, well, questionable.
Died
• 8th century of natural causes
• the remains of his shrine are found in Staffordshire, England
Patronage
Stafford, England
Saint Omer
Also known as
Audomarus
Profile
In 617, following the death of his parents, Omer became a Benedictine monk at Luxeuil, France under the direction of Saint Eustace. Bishop of Therouanne in 637. He reformed the administration of his diocese, and supported ministry to the sick and poor; his brother monks from Luxeuil played a large role in this work. Founded the monastery of Sithiu; it became a great religious center, and the town that developed around it became known as Saint Omer. Reputed miracle worker.
Born
595 near Constance, France
Died
• 670 of natural causes
• interred in the church that has since been named the cathedral of Saint Omer
Saint Gorgonius of Nicomedia
Additional Memorial
28 December as one of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia
Profile
Favourite and trusted servant in the court of Emperor Diocletian. Convert to Christianity. Tortured and martyred with a group of other Christians during the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
• strangled to death in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey)
• relics moved to Rome, Italy by order of Pope Saint Gregory IV
Blessed George Douglas
Additional Memorial
22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales
Profile
Studied in Paris, France. Priest. Ministered to covert Catholics in England. Arrested in York and martyred for the crime of being a priest. One of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales.
Born
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died
hanged, drawn, and quartered on 9 September 1587 in York, North Yorkshire, England
Beatified
22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Dorotheus of Nicomedia
Additional Memorial
28 December as one of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia
Profile
Favourite and trusted servant in the court of Emperor Diocletian. Convert to Christianity. Tortured and martyred with a group of other Christians during the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
strangled to death in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey)
Saint Valentinian of Chur
Profile
Bishop of Chur, Switzerland. Known for his charity to the poor, his ministry to prisoners, and his support of people of Rhaetia who were displaced by invading Franks.
Died
• 12 January 548 of natural causes
• interred in the tomb of the church of San Stefano
• relics moved to the church of San Lucio in the 8th century
Saint Osmanna
Also known as
Argariarga, Osanna
Profile
Born to an illustrious family. Benedictine nun. Anchoress near Brieuc, Brittany (in modern France).
Born
Ireland
Died
• c.650 at Saint Brieuc, Brittany, France of natural causes
• some relics were destroyed by Calvinists in 1567
• remaining relics are at church of Saint Denys near Paris, France
Saint Wilfrida
Also known as
Wilfreda, Wuifritha, Wulfritha
Profile
Mother of Saint Edith of Wilton, the result of adultery with King Edgar the Peaceable. Benedictine nun at Wilton, England, hoping that a life in the convent would make up for her sins. Spiritual student of Saint Ethelwald. Abbess of Wilton.
Died
988 at the convent at Wilton, England of natural causes
Saint Wulfhilda
Profile
May have been a member of the Anglo-Saxon nobility. While a novice at Wilton abbey, King Edgar the Peaceful sought her hand in marriage. She declined, and eventually took her vows as a Benedictine nun. Abbess of convents in Barking and Ilorton in 993.
Born
England
Died
c.1000 in England of natural causes
Saint Severian
Profile
Roman imperial senator during the persecutions of Licinius. He witnessed the martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and was moved to proclaim his own faith. Martyr.
Born
Armenian
Died
flesh torn off his body with iron rakes in 320
Blessed Gaufridus
Profile
Benedictine monk. Spiritual student of Blessed Vitalis. Abbot at Savigny from 1122 to 1139 during which the congregation increased to 29 houses in Normandy, France, in England and in Ireland.
Died
1139 of natural causes
Saint Gorgonio of Rome
Also known as
Gorgonius
Profile
Martyr.
Died
Two Laurels cemetery, Via Labicana, Rome, Italy
Saint Alexander of Sabine
Profile
Martyr.
Died
martyred in 690 in the Sabine region of Italy
Saint Hyacinth
புனித ஹியாசிந்த் (1185-1257)
இவர் போலந்து நாட்டைச் சார்ந்த ஒரு செல்வச் செழிப்பான குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்தவர்.
தனது பள்ளிக் கல்வியை கிராகோ (Krakowk) என்ற இடத்தில் இருந்த தனது மாமாவின் வீட்டில் தங்கிப் படித்த இவர், 1220 ஆம் ஆண்டு உரோமை நகருக்குச் சென்றார். அப்பொழுதுதான் இவர் புனித தோமினிக்கைச் சந்தித்தார். அவர் இவரைத் தனது சபையில் சேர்த்துக்கொண்டு, இவரைத் தன் சொந்த நாட்டிற்கே அனுப்பி வைத்து, நற்செய்தி அறிவிக்கச் செய்தார்.
இதன்பிறகு இவர் போலந்து நாட்டிற்கு வந்து நற்செய்தி அறிவிக்கத் தொடங்கினார். நற்செய்தி அறிவிப்பில் மிகுந்த ஈடுபாடு கொண்டிருந்த இவர், போலந்து, ஆஸ்திரியா,இரஷ்யா, சீனா போன்ற பல நாடுகளுக்குச் சென்று நற்செய்தி அறிவித்து, பலரையும் கிறிஸ்துவின் மீது நம்பிக்கை கொள்ளச் செய்தார்.
நற்கருணை ஆண்டவரிடமும் புனித கன்னி மரியாவிடமும் தனிப்பட்ட அன்பு கொண்டிருந்த இவர், இருவருடைய துணையால் பல ஆபத்துகளிலிருந்தும் தன்னைக் காத்துக் கொண்டார்.
இப்படி ஆர்வத்தோடு நற்செய்திப் பணி செய்த இவர், மூப்பெய்தியதும், எந்த இடத்தில் தனது பணியைத் தொடங்கினாரோ, அந்த இடத்திற்கே வந்து, தன் இறுதி நாள்களை இறைவேண்டலில் செலவழித்து, தனது ஆவியை ஆண்டவரிடம் ஒப்படைத்தார். இவருக்கு 1594 ஆம் ஆண்டு திருத்தந்தை எட்டாம் கிளமெண்டால் புனிதர் பட்டம் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது.
இவரது விழா ஆகஸ்ட் 17 அன்றும் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது.
Profile
Martyr.
Died
690 in the Sabine region of Italy
Saint Basura of Masil
Profile
Bishop of Masil. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Saint Engelram of Metz
Profile
8th–9th century bishop of Metz, France.
Saint Tiburtius
Profile
Martyr.
Died
690 in the Sabine region of Italy
Blessed Mary of Colonna
Blessed Mary of the Resurrection
Blessed Clemenzia of the Holy Trinity
Profile
Three blood sisters who became Mercedarian nun at the monastery of the Assumption in Seville, Spain.
Died
1615 of natural causes
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 Teódulo González Fernández
