இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் மார்ச் 12

 St. Peter of Nicomedia

Feastday: March 12

Death: 303

Martyr. According to tradition, he was a chamberlain at the court of Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia. Arrested for being a Christian when the last great persecution of the Church was launched at Diocletian's command, Peter was cruelly tortured by having the flesh stripped from his body and salt and vinegar poured and rubbed into the wounds. Finally, he was roasted to death over a fire. He is ranked as one of the first victims of the last persecution by the Roman Empire.

St. Fina

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(மார்ச் 12)

✠ புனிதர் ஃபீனா ✠

(St. Fina)

கன்னியர்:

(Virgin)

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 1238

சான் கிமிக்னானோ, இத்தாலி

(San Gimignano, Italy)

இறப்பு: மார்ச் 12, 1253

சான் கிமிக்னானோ, இத்தாலி

(San Gimignano, Italy)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

பாதுகாவல்:

மாற்றுத் திறனாளிகள், நெசவாளர்கள்

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: மார்ச் 12

புனிதர் ஃபீனா அல்லது புனிதர் செரஃபினா (Saint Fina or Saint Serafina) ஓர் இத்தாலிய கிறிஸ்தவ குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த சிறுமி ஆவார்.

“ஃபினா டே சியார்டி” (Fina dei Ciardi) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட இவர், வட-மத்திய இத்தாலியின் “டுஸ்கனி” (Tuscany) மாகாணத்தின், “சியேனா” (Siena) பிராந்தியத்தின் “சேன் ஜிமிக்நானோ” (San Gimignano) எனும் மலை நகரில் 1238ம் ஆண்டு பிறந்தவர் ஆவார். இவரது பெற்றோர், "காம்பியோ சியார்டி" மற்றும் "இம்பீரியேரா" (Cambio Ciardi and Imperiera) ஆவர். ஒருவேளை உணவு கூட வயிறார உண்ணமுடியாத அளவிற்கு ஏழ்மையாக வாழ்ந்தவர். அவ்வாறு இருந்தபோதிலும், தன்னிடம் உள்ள உணவில் சிறிதளவை மற்ற ஏழைகளுடன் பகிர்ந்து வாழ்ந்தார்.

இவர், அதிதூய கன்னி மரியாளிடம் தீவிர பக்தியுள்ளவர். தமது வாழ்நாளில், திருப்பலிக்காக ஆலயத்திற்குச் செல்வதைத் தவிர்த்து வீட்டை விட்டு வெளியே சென்றறியாதவர். இவர் பிறரிடம் தீவிர அன்பு செலுத்துபவராக அறியப்படுகிறார்.

1248ம் ஆண்டு, ஃபீனா காசநோய் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட எலும்பு அல்லது எலும்பு மஜ்ஜையில் அழற்சி (Tuberculous Osteomyelitis) போன்ற பெரும் நோயால் தாக்கப்பட்டு, மிகக் கொடுமையான வேதனைகளை அனுபவித்தார். நோயின் வேதனை தாங்க முடியாமல் துடித்தபோதும், பொறுமையை இழக்காமல், இறைவனை இறுக பற்றி வாழ்ந்தார். படுக்கையை மறுத்து, மரக் கோரைப்பாயில் படுத்து உறங்கினார். தான் படும் வலிகளை இறைவனுக்காக அனுபவிக்கிறேன் என்று புன்னகையோடு ஏற்றார். இவரது இந்த ஆழ்ந்த தீவிர விசுவாசம் இவரது வேதனைகளைக் குறைத்தது.

நெடுநாளைய நோய்ப்படுக்கையால் இவரது உடல் இவர் படுத்திருந்த மரக் கோரைப்பாயுடன் ஒட்டிக்கொண்டதாக கூறுகின்றனர். இவரது உடலில் ஏற்பட்ட புண்களை புழுக்களும் எலிகளும் கடித்தனவாம். இவர் நோயில் இருக்கையிலேயே இவரது தந்தை மரித்துப்போனார். இவரது தாயாரும் பின்னர் கீழே விழுந்து மரணமடைந்தார். தமது துரதிர்ஷ்டத்திலும் ஏழ்மையிலும் இவர் இறைவனுக்கு நன்றி கூறிக்கொண்டேயிருந்தார். தமது ஆத்மா விரைவில் இவ்வுடலை விட்டு வெளியேறி இறைவனை காணவேண்டுமென்ற தமது விருப்பத்தை சொல்லிக்கொண்டேயிருந்தார்.

இப்புனிதரின் ஆழ்ந்த பக்தியானது, அவரை அடிக்கடி வந்து பார்த்துச் சென்ற சான் கிமிக்னானோ நகர மக்களுக்கு ஒரு சிறந்த எடுத்துக்காட்டாக அமைந்தது.

வாழும் போதே புனிதர் என்று போற்றப்பட்ட இவர், நோயுற்று, நீண்ட ஐந்து வருட வேதனையின் பிறகு, 1253ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், நான்காம் நாளன்று, அவருடைய செவிலியர்களான “பெல்டியா” (Beldia) மற்றும் “பொனவென்சுரா” (Bonaventura) ஆகியோர் அவரது இறப்புக்காக காத்திருக்கையில், “புனிதர் பெரிய கிரகோரி” (Saint Gregory the Great) அவரது அறையில் தோன்றி, அவர் மார்ச் 12ம் தேதியன்று மரணமடைவார் என்று முன்னறிவித்தார். புனிதர் பெரிய கிரகோரி முன்னறிவித்தபடியே ஃபீனா மார்ச் 12ம் தேதி மரணமடைந்தார். அவர் இறக்கும்போது அவருக்கு வயது பதினைந்து.

இவரது இறப்பை முன்னறிவிக்க புனிதர் பெரிய கிரகோரி தோன்றியது, பெரும் அதிசயமாக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டது.

இவர் “சேன் ஜிமிக்நானோ” (San Gimignano) நகரில் உள்ள பேராலயத்தில் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டார். அப்பேராலயத்தின் அருகில் இவர் பெயரில் ஆலயம் ஒன்றும் கட்டப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Feastday: March 12

St. Fina or Seraphina, Virgin A.D. 1253 The old town of San Geminiano in Tuscany treasures with special veneration the memory of Santa Fina, a young girl whose claim to be recognized as a saint lay in the perfect resignation with which she accepted bodily suffering. She was born of parents who had seen better days but had fallen into poverty. The child was pretty and attractive. Poor as she was she always kept half her food to give to those who were worse off than herself. As far as possible she lived the life of a recluse at home, sewing indeed and spinning during the day, ;but spending much of the night in prayer. Her father seems to have died when she was still young and about the same time Fina was attacked by a sudden complication of diseases. Her head, hands, eyes, feet and internal organs were affected and paralysis supervened. She lost her good looks and became a miserable object. Desiring to be like our Lord on the cross, for six years she lay on a plank in one position, unable to turn or to move. Her mother had to leave her for hours while she went to work or beg, but Fina never complained. Although in terrible pain she always maintained serenity and with her eyes fixed upon the crucifix she kept on repeating,"It is not my wounds but thine, O Christ, that hurt me".

Fresh trouble befell her. Her mother died suddenly and Fina was left utterly destitute. Except for one devoted friend Beldia she was now so neglected that it was clear she could not live long, dependent on the casual attentions of poor neighbors who shrank from contact with her loathsome sores. Someone had told her about St. Gregory the Great and his sufferings, and she had conceived a special veneration for him. She used to pray that he, who was so much tried by disease would intercede with God that she might have patience in her affliction. Eight days before her death as she lay alone and untended, Gregory appeared to her and said, "Dear child on my festival God will give you rest". And it came to pass when her body was removed from the board on which it had rested, the rotten wood was found to be covered with white violets. All the city attended the funeral and many miracles were reported as having been wrought through her intercession. In particular she is said as she lay dead, to have raised her hand and to have clasped and healed the injured arm of her friend Beldia. The peasants of San Geminiano still give the name of Santa Fina's flowers to the white violets which bloom about the season of her feast day of March 12th.

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Saint Fina (1238–1253), or Saint Serafina, was an Italian Christian girl who is venerated in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano. She developed a paralytic illness and spent the rest of her life on a bed made from a wooden pallet, where Saint Gregory the Great allegedly appeared to her to predict her death. Miraculous healings were later attributed to her remains.

Saint Fina is celebrated in San Gimignano on both March 12, the anniversary of her death, and the first Sunday in August. Her relics are kept in a chapel in the Collegiata di San Gimignano. A hospital in San Gimignano was formerly named in her honor and several paintings of her can be found in the town.

Life

Representation of Saint Fina on a ceramic dish

Fina[1]dei Ciardi was born in San Gimignano in 1238. The Daughter of Cambio Ciardi and Imperiera, a declined noble family, she lived all her existence in a humble house located in the historic centre of the famous “city of beautiful towers” (today the small road on which her house stands takes her name). There is little record of the first ten years of her life, and what information available comes from legends narrated after her death. Some accounts note Fina's strong devotion to the Virgin Mary, and that she went out only to hear Mass. She was also said to be extraordinarily kind.

In 1248, Fina’s life was changed by a serious illness, which began, progressively, to paralyse her (probably a form of tuberculous osteomyelitis). Her deep faith relieved her pain. She refused a bed and chose instead to lie on a wooden pallet. According to her legend, during her long sickness her body became attached to the wood of the table, with worms and rats feeding on her rotting flesh. During her illness, she lost her father and later her mother died after a fall. In spite of her misfortune and poverty, she thanked God and expressed a desire that her soul might separate from the body in order to meet Jesus Christ.

Fina's immense devotion was an example to all the citizens of San Gimignano, who frequently visited her. Visitors were surprised to receive words of encouragement from a desperately ill young girl who was resigned to the will of God. On March 4, 1253, after five years of sickness and pain, her nurses Beldia and Bonaventura were waiting for her to die. Suddenly, Saint Gregory the Great allegedly appeared in Fina’s room and predicted that she would die on the 12th of March. Fina died on the predicted date at the age of 15.

Miracles and veneration

Announcement of Death to Saint Fina by Saint Gregory the Great, by Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Miracles attributed to Fina are mentioned in stories, paintings, poems and in notary documents. The most important miracle of Fina's life is her vision of Saint Gregory, also because she died on Saint Gregory's feast day (12 March) as he predicted.

When Fina’s body was removed from the pallet that was her deathbed, onlookers saw white violets bloom from the wood, and smelt a fresh, floral fragrance throughout her house. The violets grew on the walls of San Gimignano and still grow there today. For this reason, the townspeople call them “The Saint Fina violets.” The young girl’s body was brought to the Pieve Prepositura[2] and during the transfer, the crowd proclaimed “The Saint is dead!”

For several days, pilgrims went to the Pieve to see Fina’s remains and in the same period there were many evidences of her curative power. One was her nurse Beldia. The woman had a paralysed hand for the labour in supporting Fina’s head during her sickness. While she was near the body, the dead young girl cured Beldia’s hand. Legends say that, at the exact moment of Fina’s passing away, all the bells of San Gimignano rang without anyone touching them.

Many sick people who visited her grave during the following years were cured and some of these became some of Fina's most fervent devotees. The decision of Fina to lie down on a wood table is still a mystery. Some documents tell about her sympathy for a soldier: before her sickness she received an orange from him as a love token. After the disappointment of her parents for Fina having accepted the present she might have chosen the pain.

Another legend tells that during a walk with two of her friends she heard another young girl, Smeralda, crying. Smeralda had broken a pitcher that her mother had given her in order to fill with water from Fonti.[3] While she was entertained by other children, she forgot the pitcher on the ground which unfortunately rolled down and broke. Fina told her to arrange the pieces and put them under the water: the pitcher became whole and full of water.

Another anecdote about Fina’s miracles is the one of Cambio di Rustico, the Ciardi family’s neighbor. On one anniversary of Fina's death, when the townsfolk had stopped working to remember her, Cambio went to cut wood and hurt his leg. Suffering, he asked forgiveness of Saint Fina and was very sorry for not having respected her memorial. His cut then miraculously disappeared.

Commemoration

Saint Fina is celebrated in San Gimignano on two separated days. Her first feast is on March 12 – the anniversary of her death – which has been a statutory holiday in the town since 1481. The second feast on the first Sunday of August commemorates her stopping two plagues that ravaged the town in 1479 and 1631.

On both days, her relics are carried in procession in order to bless the town. Her example of devotion has been handed down by the people of San Gimignano through her veneration, despite not being formally canonised by the Church. So, as written in some paintings dedicated to her, it would be correct to call her Blessed Fina. In fact, the official patron saint of her town is still Saint Gimignano.[4]

The hospital

The most important thing “produced” in the memory of Saint Fina is the “spedale” (hospital),[5] which took her name and was built in 1255 thanks to donations given at her tomb. The hospital gave hospitality to old and poor people and pilgrims too. It became in the following century one of the best in Tuscany. The building changed its name[specify] in 1816 and remained in function until the end of the 20th century. In the hospital’s chapel, the original oak wood table where Saint Fina lay down for five years is preserved.

Iconography and biographies

The most important monument dedicated to Saint Fina is her chapel (designed by Giuliano da Maiano in 1468 and consecrated in 1488) located inside the Collegiata di San Gimignano where, inside the altar (built by the brother Benedetto da Maiano), the bones are kept. On the left and right walls of the Chapel there are two frescoes painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio: one shows the vision of Saint Gregory; the other shows the funeral where the violets in blossom on the towers are represented. We also see an angel ringing the bells, Beldia’s cured hand and the self-portrait of the painter and his brother-in-law Mainardi, who painted the Chapel’s ceiling. On the altar there is a bust with Saint Fina’s relics inside.

Inside the Civic Museum of San Gimignano there is a wood tabernacle (by Lorenzo di Niccolò 1402) depicting Saint Fina with the town on her lap, an icon of St Gregory and some of her anecdotes. Another image of Fina is in the nearby Sant'Agostino Church, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli. Other artists depicting the Saint’s life were Piero del Pollaiolo and Pier Francesco Fiorentino. In others small churches in the countryside other painting about Saint Fina were discovered.

The most credited hagiography of Saint Fina is the one of Fra’ Giovanni del Coppo (“Historia vita et morte di Sancta Fina da San Gimignano”, written on 14th century and translated from Latin by Jacopo Manducci in 1575), who lived closest in time to Saint Fina. Many others have tried to tell Saint Fina’s life (Enrico Castaldi, Giovanni Bollando, Filippo Buonaccorsi, Teodoro Ferroni, Ignazio Malenotti, Luigi Pecori, Ugo Nomi Veronesi Pesciolini, and Enrico Fiumi).

The best and most updated book is “Fina dei Ciardi”, written by Profesoressa Iole Imberciadori Vichi in 1979: a deep research of all documents and biography existing in San Gimignano archives.

Saint Luigi Orione

#புனித_லூகி_ஓரியன் (1872- 1940)

மார்ச் 12

இவர் (#StLuigiOrione) இத்தாலியைச் சார்ந்தவர். 

அருள்பணியாளராக வேண்டும் என்ற கனவோடு பிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையில் சேர்ந்த இவருக்கு அங்கு உடல்நிலை சரியில்லாமல் போகவே வீட்டிற்குத் திருப்பினார்.

பின்னர் இவர் புனித ஜான் போஸ்கோவோடு தங்கியிருந்து கல்வி கற்றார். அவரது அடக்க நிகழ்வில் கலந்துகொண்டு வேண்டிக் கொண்டிருக்கும்போது இவருடைய நோய் நீங்கியது. 

இதற்குப் பிறகு இவர் டோர்டோனா என்ற இடத்தில் இருந்த குரு மடத்தில் சேர்ந்து குருத்துவ வாழ்விற்குத் தன்னையே தயாரித்தார். இவர் குருத்துவப் படிப்புப் படித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தபோதே ஏழைக்காக ஓர் இல்லத்தைத் தொடங்கினார். 

1893 ஆம் ஆண்டு குருவாக அருள்பொழிவு செய்யப்பட்ட இவர் ஆண், பெண் என இருபாலருக்கும் துறவு அவைகளைத் தொடங்கினார். உரோமையில் ஓர் அனாதை இல்லத்தை நிறுவினார்; டோர்டோனாவில் மரியாவின் திருத்தலம் ஒன்றை நிறுவினார். 

இப்படி ஏழைகள்மீது மிகுந்த அன்பு இறைப்பணியைச் செய்த இவர் 1940 ஆம் ஆண்டு இதய நோய் காரணமாக இறையடி சேர்ந்தார். இவருக்குத் திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான்பால் 2004 ஆம் ஆண்டு புனிதர் பட்டம் கொடுத்தார்

Also known as

Aloysius Orione

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Joined the Franciscans at Voghera, Italy as a young man, but developed severe health problems and returned to his family. Studied under Saint John Bosco at Turin, Italy, was present at Saint John's death, and was cured of his illness during Saint John's funeral.

Studied at the seminary in Tortona, Italy. While still a layman and student, he opened San Luigi House at San Bernardino in 1893, a home for the poor, homeless and abandoned. Ordained on 13 April 1895.

Founded the Hermits of Divine Providence congregation, the Ladies of Divine Providence, and an orphanage in Rome, Italy in 1899. Under the patronage of Pope Saint Pius X, he founded the Little Missionaries of Charity. Constructed the Marian shrine at Tortona, a site that became a rallying point for people during times of political unrest. To administer the houses of his congregations, Luigi travelled the world, visiting houses in Wales, Brazil, the United States, and throughout Italy.

Born

23 June 1872 at Pontecurone, Allessandria, Italy

Died

• 12 March 1940 at San Remo, Imperia, Italy from heart disease

• body found intact when exhumed in 1965

• interred at the shrine of Our Lady of Safe Keeping, Tortona, Italy

Canonized

16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II

Martyrs of Nicomedia

Additional Memorial

28 December as part of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia

Profile

Eleven Christians who were martyred in succession in a single incident during the persecutions of Diocletian. First there were the eight imprisoned Christians, Domna, Esmaragdus, Eugene, Hilary, Mardonius, Maximus, Mígdonus and Peter, about whom we know little more than their names. Each day for eight days one of them would be strangled to death in view of the others so that they would spend the night in dread, not knowing if they were next.

Peter was the chamberlain or butler in the palace of Diocletian. When he was overheard complaining about this cruelty, he was exposed as a Christian, arrested, tortured and executed by having the flesh torn from his bones, salt and vinegar poured on the wounds, and then being roasted to death over a slow fire.

Gorgonio was an army officer and member of the staff in the house of emperor Diocletian; Doroteo was a staff clerk. They were each exposed as Christians when they were overhead objecting to the torture and murder of Peter. This led to their own arrest, torture and executions.

Died

in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (in modern Turkey)

Blessed Giustina Bezzoli Francucci

Profile

Born to the nobility, Giustina grew up in a wealthy household. As a child, she frequently fasted on her own, and had a habit of hiding away to pray. She was drawn to the religious life, but her parents strongly opposed it, not wishing to lose their only daughter to the cloister. However, her father fell seriously ill, and during his recovery time he meditated on what was and was not important in life. This led him to give his blessing to Giustina becoming a nun.

She began her Benedictine novitiate at the monastery of San Marco at age 12; legend says that a dove landed on her as she walk into the convent, and all took this as a sign of blessing from the Holy Spirit on her choice. Feeling the need for more solitude, with her bishop‘s permission she became a hermitess and anchoress. She lived in isolation for 35 years; legend says that when wolves would gather around her hermitage, an angel would drive them off. In later years, her health began to fail, she became blindess, and she was forced to return to live in the convent. When the convent became unsafe due to civil unrest, she returned to her family home in 1315, and spent her remaining years there. Subject to ecstasies and received visions.

Born

c.1257 in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Died

• 12 March 1319 in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy of natural causes while praying

• a white lily grew out of the stone of her tomb

• body found incorrupt when moved in 1329

• body enshrined in an iron in the Holy Spirit Benedictine monastery in Arezzo

• body found incorrupt when moved in 1709

• relics enshrined in the Santa Maria del Flore Benedictine monastery in Lapo, Italy in 1968

Beatified

14 January 1891 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)

Saint Joseph Zhang Dapeng

Also known as

• Iosephus Zhang Depeng

• Joseph Tchang Taong

• Joseph Tshang-ta-Pong

• Ruose

Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

A clever and inquisitive boy, he was much attracted to Taoism in his youth. He moved to Guiyang in 1794, and entered the silk business. Through a business contact, he first learned of Christianity. He converted, but was unable to join the Church because, in the custom of the day, he kept a concubine. He eventually left her, and in 1800, against strong opposition from his family and business associates, he joined the Church, taking the name Joseph.

Because of trouble at his business over his new-found faith, he went out on his own, opening his own store. He began a ministry of preaching and teaching, and converted a house into a small school for religion. He became a school principal in 1808, and worked as a catechist and altar server.

During the anti-Christian persecutions led by the White Lotus Cult, Joseph went briefly into hiding, but continued his catechist work covertly. In 1814 he was betrayed by his anti-Christian brother-in-law, and was arrested. He was lodged with Saint Peter Wu Gousheng, and the two spent their prison time ministering to other prisoners. He was offered his freedom if he would denounce Christianity; he declined. Martyr.

Born

c.1754 in Duyun, Guizhou Province, China

Died

• strangled to death on 12 March 1815 in Guiyang, Guizhou, China

• buried in Xijiaotang, China

• grass from his grave has become part of local folk remedies

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Angela Salawa

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(மார்ச் 12)

✠ அருளாளர் ஏஞ்சலா சலாவா ✠

(Blessed Angela Salawa)

பொதுநிலைப் பெண்:

(Laywoman)

பிறப்பு: செப்டம்பர் 9, 1881

சியேப்ராவ், மலோபோல்ஸ்கீ, போலந்து

(Siepraw, Małopolskie, Poland)

இறப்பு: மார்ச் 12, 1922 (வயது 40)

க்ரகோவ், மலோபோல்ஸ்கீ, போலந்து

(Krakow, Małopolskie, Poland)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஆகஸ்ட் 13, 1991

திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பால்

(Pope John Paul II)

பாதுகாவல்:

ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் துறவகங்கள்

(Franciscan tertiaries)

மாணவர்கள்

(Students)

சாவான நோய்களுக்கு ஆளான மக்கள்

(People with terminal illnesses)

மூளை மற்றும் முதுகு தண்டு நரம்பு செல்களில் ஏற்படும் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள்

(People with multiple sclerosis)

அருளாளர் ஏஞ்சலா சலாவா (Blessed Angela Salawa) முதலாம் உலகப்போரின்போது மருத்துவமனைகளில் பணியாற்றிய ஒரு போலந்து நாட்டுப் பெண்மணியாவார். சார்புநிலையற்ற ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையின் (Secular Franciscan Order) உறுப்பினரான இவர், மிகவும் பக்திவாய்ந்த குடும்பமொன்றில் பதினோராவது குழந்தையாகப் பிறந்தவர் ஆவார். முதலாம் உலகப்போரின்போது மருத்துவமனைகளில் நோயாளிகளினூடே பணியாற்றியதால், பின்னாளில் இவரும் நோய்த்தொற்று ஏற்பட்டு, தமது நாற்பது வயதிலேயே மரித்துப்போனார்.

"பர்ட்லோமியேஜ் சலாவா" (Bartłomiej Salawa) என்ற தந்தைக்கும் "ஈவா பொச்சேநெக்" (Ewa Bochenek) என்ற தாய்க்கும் பிறந்த பன்னிரண்டு குழந்தைகளில் பதினோராவது குழந்தையான ஏஞ்சலா, பிறந்த நான்காவது நாளில் திருமுழுக்கு பெற்றார். இவரது தந்தை ஒரு கொல்லன் ஆவார். மிகவும் ஏழ்மையான குடும்பம். இதன்காரணமாகவே ஆஞ்செலா இலகுவாக நோய்வாய்ப்படுபவராகவும் பலவீனமானவராகவும் இருந்தார். மிகவும் கீழ்படியும் குணமுள்ள இவர், தமது குடும்பத்திற்கு தம்மாலான உதவிகள் செய்துவந்தார். சிறு வயதிலேயே தாம் கிறிஸ்துவில் அழைக்கப்படுவதாக உணர்ந்தார்.

பதினாறு வயதிலேயே "க்ரகோவ்" (Kraków) நகரில் பணிப்பெண் பணி புரிவதற்காக வீட்டை விட்டு சென்றார். அங்கே, உலக நாட்டங்களில் ஈடுபாடு கொண்ட இவர், தமது சமய ஆர்வங்களிலிருந்து விலகிப்போனார். இவ்வுலக நாட்டங்களில் ஏற்பட்ட ஈடுபாடுகளை மறுபரிசீலனை செய்யும்படி கேட்டுக்கொண்ட தமது சகோதரி தெரெசா (Teresa) இறந்தபோது மிகவும் மனதளவில் பாதிக்கப்பட்டார்.

ஒருமுறை, திருமண வரவேற்பு நிகழ்ச்சியொன்றில் நடனமாடிக்கொண்டிருந்தார். அப்போது, இயேசு கிறிஸ்து தமதருகில் நிற்பது போலவும், "என்னைப் பின்தொடர விரும்பும் நீ இங்ஙனம் நடனம் போன்றவற்றில் நாட்டம் கொள்வதேன்" என்று கேட்பதாக உணர்ந்தார். மனம் வருந்திய ஏஞ்சலா, உடனே அங்கிருந்து விலகிச் சென்றார். தேவாலயம் ஒன்றிற்கு சென்று செபித்தார். நற்கருணை ஆண்டவரை வழிபட தொடங்கினார்.

சமயப் பணியாற்ற விரும்பிய ஏஞ்சலாவுக்கு அவரது பலவீன உடல்நிலை தடையாக இருந்தது. தூய்மை மற்றும் நல்லொழுக்கத்திற்காக தனிப்பட்ட முறையில் சத்திய பிரமாணம் எடுத்துக்கொண்ட இவர் 1912ம் ஆண்டு, "சார்புநிலையற்ற ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையின்" (Secular Franciscan Order) உறுப்பினரானார்.

1914ம் ஆண்டு, முதலாம் உலகப்போர் வெடித்தபோது, அவர் மத இன வேறுபாடுகளின்றி காயமடைந்த போர் வீரர்களுக்கு சேவை புரிந்தார். ஏற்கனவே நோய்களால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த ஏஞ்சலா, இன்னும் அதிகமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டதை எவரும் கவனிக்கவில்லை. ஆனாலும் மனம் தளராது பணியாற்றினார்.

1916ம் ஆண்டு, இவர் மீது திருட்டுப் குற்றம் சாட்டிய இவரது முதலாளி, இவரை பணியிலிருந்து நீக்கினார். வீடற்ற ஏஞ்சலா, நோய்களின் தாக்கத்தால் வேதனைகளால் துயருற்றார். பார்க்க நலமடைந்த பெண்போல காட்சியளித்த காரணத்தால், மருத்துவமனையிலிருந்து வெளியே அனுப்பப்பட்டார். இறுதியில், குடும்பத்தால் கைவிடப்பட்டு, சொந்தங்களிழந்து, சுற்றத்தாரும் நண்பர்களும் இல்லாத அனாதையாக வாழ்ந்த ஏஞ்சலா, 1922ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், 12ம் நாளன்று, மரணமடைந்தார்.

Also known as

Aniela Salawa

Profile

Daughter of Salaw Bartlomiej and Ewa Bochenek, the youngest of ten children in a pious tradesman's family. She received two years of formal education, and at age 12 began work as a domestic in nearby homes. On 27 April 1900 she joined the Saint Zita Assocation, a religious group for maids. Within this church-centered place, Angela felt at home, and devoted her free time to the house, the church, and a call to religion, attending Mass daily and in routine contact with Franciscans. She was unable to enter religious life due to poor health, and continued to work as a maid and to mentor other young women. She became a Franciscan tertiary on 15 March 1912. Worked as a nurse in a Krakow hospital during World War I, spending her own money and any that she could beg to buy better food for injured soldiers. In 1917 her health collapsed completely; she spent the last five years of her life in a small room, surviving on the charity of the Saint Zita Association, and spending her time in prayer.

Born

9 September 1881 in Siepraw, Malopolskie, Poland

Died

• 12 March 1922 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland of natural causes

• relics transferred to the Franciscan Chapel of the Lord's Passion on 13 May 1949

Beatified

13 August 1991 by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Rutilio Grande García

Profile

The youngest of seven children born to a poor family, his parents divorced when Rutilio was small, and he was raised by his grandmother and an older brother. He began attending a high school seminary in San Salvador at age 12, and joined the Jesuits when he was 17. Ordained a priest on 30 July 1959.

Father Rutilio came into his own as a priest in the 1960’s; what he took from the work of Vatican II was that his own spiritual development would come from his self-sacrifice for the good of others. He became director of social action projects in San Salvador, and for nine years taught seminarians to live and work with the poor so that they were part of the flock, and to be an example of the church among them.

After work at the seminary, he became a parish priest and school teacher in Aguilares, El Salvador where he was murdered by El Salvadoran security forces while on his way to celebrate Saturday night Mass; he was the first priest martyred in the lead up to the civil war. A friend of Saint Oscar Romero, Saint Oscar later said the death of Blessed Rutilio was his own wake-up call to the cause of the Salvadoran people.

Born

5 July 1928 in El Paisnal, San Salvador, El Salvador

Died

• shot around 5pm on Saturday 12 March 1977 on the road between Aguilares and El Paisnal, San Salvador, El Salvador

• he was hit by 12 rounds

Venerated

21 February 2020 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)

Saint Seraphina

Also known as

Fina, Serafina

Profile

Born poor, and though she stayed that way, she still found ways to help those in worse shape that herself. A pretty girl, she lived as a hermit in her home, doing chores, giving to the poor when she could, spinning, sewing, and praying through the nights. Seraphina's father died when the girl was very young. Soon after, she was stricken with a condition that made any movement painful; she had to be carried everywhere on a board. Fina lived the rest of her life in constant suffering, and neglect, which she turned over to God in her constant prayers. She never joined an order but lived her life under Benedictine Rule. Devoted to Saint Gregory the Great who suffered from a condition like hers. She received a vision from Saint Gregory who foretold the date of her death.

Born

1238 at San Geminiano, Tuscany, Italy

Died

12 March 1253 of natural causes

Patronage

• disabled people

• handicapped people

• physically challenged people

• spinners

Saint Paul Aurelian

Also known as

• Paul of Léon

• Paol Aorelian

• Paulinus Aurelianus

• Paul Aurelian of Léon

• Pol Aurelian

• Pol de Léon

Profile

Born a Romano-Briton prince, the son of Perphius, a Welsh chieftain. Educated at Llantwit Major with Saint David of Wales, Saint Samson of York, Saint Gildas the Wise and Saint Illtyd. Hermit. To escape being made a bishop, he and 12 companions established a monastery at Porz-Pol, Ouessant Island, Brittany (part of modern France. He later relented and became bishop of Ouismon. Spiritual director of his nephew, Saint Joavan of Brittany.

Legend says that Saint Pol subdued a dragon on the Île de Batz by wrapping his clerical stole around the animal's neck, then used his bishop‘s crozier to drag it to the north edge of the island and ordered it to disappeared into the sea.

Born

Glamorgan, Wales

Died

572 on Île de Batz, France

Patronage

Saint-Pol-de-Léon, France

Saint Mura McFeredach

Also known as

• Murames McFeredach

• Muran McFeredach

• Murin of Fahan

• Mura of Fahan

Profile

Abbot of Fahan (Othan Mor), appointed by Saint Columba. Friend of King Hugh of Ireland. Spiritual teacher of Saint Laserian of Leighlin. Member of the O'Neill clan. Writer of a number of works including a rhymed biography of Saint Columba. In the ruined church of Saint Mura at Fahan is a beautiful Irish cross, and nearby is Saint Mura's Well.

Born

c.550 in County Donegal, Ireland

Died

• 645 of natural causes

• relics include his crozier at the National Museum, Dublin, Ireland, and his bell-shrine at the Wallace Collection, London, England

Patronage

• Fahan, Ireland

• O'Neill clan

Saint Theophanes the Chronographer

Also known as

Theophanus the Confessor

Profile

Educated at the Byzantine imperial court. Married layman. Both he and his wife entered religious life. Founded two monasteries. Abbot at Mount Migniana abbey. Wrote a Chronography, a sort of abstract of history from 284 to 813. Arrested, tortured, and exiled to Samothrace by Leo the Armenian for opposing iconoclasm.

Born

Constantinople

Died

12 March 817 of natural causes

Saint Maximilian of Thebeste

Also known as

• Maximilian of Tebessa

• Maximilian of Theveste

• Mamilian...

Profile

Son of a Roman army veteran. Conscientious objector - when drafted into the Roman army, he refused to serve on the grounds that his faith prohibited it. Martyred for this stand.

Born

274

Died

• beheaded c.295 at Thebeste, Numidia, North Africa

• buried at Carthage

Blessed Girolamo da Recanati

Also known as

• Girolamo Gherarducci

• Jerome...

Profile

Priest. Member of the Hermits of Saint Augustine, and lived in their convent in Recanati, Italy. Worked as a peacemaker between warring Italian political and military factions.

Died

• 12 March 1350 in Recanati, Piceno, Italy of natural causes

• relics enshrined in the church of Sant'Agostino in Recananti

Beatified

1804 by Pope Pius VII (cultus confirmation)

 

Blessed Manuel Solórzano

Profile

Lifelong layman in the archdiocese of San Salvador, El Salvador. He was married to Eleuteria Antonia Guillén, and the couple had ten children. In Aguilares, Chile, he sold seeds and cattle for a living. Murdered by El Salvadoran security forces while on his way to serve at Saturday night Mass. Martyr.

Born

c.1905 in Suchitoto, Cuscatlán, El Salvador

Died

shot around 5pm on Saturday 12 March 1977 on the road between Aguilares and El Paisnal, San Salvador, El Salvador

Venerated

21 February 2020 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)

Saint Bernard of Carinola

Also known as

Bernard of Capua

Profile

Studied at Monte Cassino Abbey; spiritual student of the abbot who later became Pope Victor III; fellow student of Saint Peter Damian. Priest. Counselor and chaplain to prince Jordan of Capua, Italy. Bishop of Forum Claudii, Italy, consecrated on 21 March 1087; he moved the see city to Carinola, Campania, Italy in 1100.

Born

1040 at Capua, Italy

Died

• 1109 of natural causes

• interred in a marble sarcophagus in the cathedral of Carinola, Italy

Patronage

Carinola, Campania, Italy

Blessed Beatrix of Engelport

Profile

Dominican nun in 1262 at the convent of Engelport in Hundsrück, Germany. All the nuns at the convent became Premonstratensians in 1272. Beatrix may have served as the first prioress.

Born

13th century Germany

Died

• c.1275

• interred in the choir loft of the convent church

• legend says that if the convent forgot to celebrate her feast day, Beatrix would make knocking noises in her tomb

• relics destroyed during the anti-Church excesses of the French Revolution

Blessed Nelson Rutilio Lemus Chávez

Profile

Young, single layman in the archdiocese of San Salvador, El Salvador. Murdered by El Salvadoran security forces while on his way to serve at Saturday night Mass. Martyr.

Born

10 November 1960 in El Paisnal, San Salvador, El Salvador

Died

shot around 5pm on Saturday 12 March 1977 on the road between Aguilares and El Paisnal, San Salvador, El Salvador

Venerated

21 February 2020 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)

Saint Alphege the Bald

Also known as

• Alphege of Winchester

• Alphege the Elder

• Ælfheah, Elphege, Elfego, Elpigio

Profile

Relative of Saint Dunstan of Canterbury and Saint Ethelwold. Monk. Bishop of Winchester, England in 935. Great supporter of the monastic life. Ordained Saint Dunstan and Saint Ethelwold.

Died

951 of natural causes

Saint Almut of Wetter

Also known as

Almud of Wetter

Profile

Born to the royal family. With her sister Digmund, she founded the convent of Wetter in Oberlahngau, Germany, and served as its first abbess.

Born

9th century Germany

Died

10th century

Saint Peter the Deacon

Profile

Benedictine monk. Friend, spiritual student and secretary to Pope Saint Gregory the Great; Gregory dictated four books of the Dialogues to Peter.

Born

6th century

Died

early c.605

Patronage

Salassola, Italy

Saint Heiu of Hartlepool

Profile

First nun to take vows in Northumbria (part of modern England), consecrated by Saint Aiden of Lindisfarne. Founded a convent at Hartlepool, Northumbia, and later another at Healaugh, Northumbria.

Died

mid-7th century

Saint Fechno

Also known as

Fiachna

Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Columbanus. Went with Columbanus to evangelize in Scotland.

Born

northern Ireland

Died

• 580 of natural causes

• miracles reported at his tomb

Saint Corman of Iona

Also known as

Coman

Profile

Seventh-century priest. Monk at Iona Abbey. Missionary to Northumbria in northern England; he may have been the first priest to evangelize the area.

Born

Ireland

Saint Egdunus

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian with seven other Christians.

Died

hung by his feet over a fire to die of smoke inhalation in 303 in Nicomedia, Asia Minor

Saint Indrecht of Iona

Profile

Monk. Abbot of Iona Abbey. Martyred by Saxons while travelling to Rome, Italy.

Died

854

Blessed Claudius the Minor

Also known as

Claude

Profile

Franciscan monk.

Saint Basilissa of Asia

Profile

Married to a man named Felicius. Martyred, date unknown.