St. Avitus
Feastday: January 27
Death: unknown
Martyr of Africa, possibly the St. Avitus venerated in the Canary Islands as an apostle and first bishop.
St. Datius
Feastday: January 27
Death: unknown
African martyr with Reatrus and company, also a second Datius, with Julian, Vincent, and twenty-seven companions. They were slain by Arian Vandals.
St. Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
Feastday: January 27
Death: 800
The Blessed Gamelbert was a Christian priest, who worked in the 8th century in the area of the present Deggendorf in Bavaria in Germany.
Life
Gamelbert is said to have been of noble descent and a lord of Michaelsbuch. In the mid-8th century he acquired from Duke Tassilo III a piece of woodland on the opposite bank of the Danube between Mariaposching and Deggendorf, for which he had to pay a tax known as the Medema. From this was derived the name of Metten both for the place itself and for the monastery, Metten Abbey, that was founded there.
The first abbot was Gamelbert's godson Utto, who directed the construction of the monastery from his hermitage (the present Uttobrunn). In 766 twelve monks arrived from Reichenau Abbey as the first official occupants, although the place was well settled by then
Other
In art, Gamelbert is represented as a priest or as a pilgrim surrounded by birds. His feast is celebrated on 17 January.
Grave finds from Uttenkofen near Michaelsbuch have been dated to the late 7th or early 8th century and have been associated with the founding family of Metten Abbey.
St. Gamo
Feastday: January 27
Death: 8th century
Benedictine abbot of Bretigny, near Noyon, France. He aided the monastic expansion of the era and was a staunch patron of the arts.
St. Henry de Osso y Cervello
Feastday: January 27
Birth: 1840
Death: 1896
Beatified: Pope John Paul II
Canonized: Pope John Paul II
Henry was born at Vinebre, Catalonia, Spain, on the 16th October 1840 and was ordained priest on 21st September 1867. He was an apostle to young people in teaching them about their faith and inspired various movements for the teaching of the Gospel. As a spiritual director he was fascinated by St. Teresa of Jesus, the great teacher in the ways of prayer and Daughter of the Church who is better known in the English-speaking world as St. Teresa of Avila. In the light of her teaching, he founded the Company of St. Teresa (1876) dedicated to educating women in the school of the Gospel and following the example of St. Teresa. He gave himself to preaching and the apostolate through the printing press. He underwent many severe trials and sufferings. He died at Gilet, Valencia, Spain, on the 27th January, 1896. He was canonized on 16th July, 1993, in Madrid, by Pope John Paul II
St. Maurus
Feastday: January 27
Death: 555
Abbot founder of Bodon Abbey, near Sisteron, France. He is sometimes called Marius or May. Maurus was cured of a serious illness at the tomb of St. Denis in Paris. He was a revered prophet.
St. Sabas of Serbia
Feastday: January 27
Patron: of Serbian schools
Birth: 1174
Death: 1236
The son of a Serbian king who was also a saint, St. Sabas was born Rastko c. 1173/ 76; at 17, to avoid marriage, he fled to Mt. Athos, where he became a monk and founded the Hilander Monastery. In 1196, King Stephen I of Serbia abdicated, and taking the name Symeon, joined his son on Mt. Athos. Symeon died three years later, and Sabas, Archbishop of Serbia, translated his father's relics to their native land in 1208. Sabas wrote a history of his father's reign and a service to his father, the earliest known Serbian hynmography in Church Slavonic. Sabas copied books of law and compiled the Nomocanon, a book of canon laws. He was responsible for having liturgical documents translated from Greek into Serbian and for compiling two Serbian Typica. Because of his experience with Roman bishops and leaders on Athos after the Venetian sack of Constantinople in 1204, Sabas opposed the pro-Roman policies of his brother, Stephen II, the only Serbian king crowned by a pope. From 1217- 1219/ 20, Sabas was in exile, during which he persuaded the patriarch of Constantinople to grant the Serbian and Bulgarian churches autocephaly. When he returned to Serbia, he recrowned his brother. Sabas resigned as archbishop in 1230 /33 and travelled to the Holy Land, where he visited monasteries at Sketis, the Thebiad, and Mt. Sinai. He died in Bulgaria on his trip back from the Holy Land c. 1235/ 1237 King Ladislas of Serbia translated the relics of St. Sabas to Milesevo, a monastery the saint had founded shortly before his death. The Turks burned the relics in 1594.
Saint Sava (Serbian: Свети Сава / Sveti Sava, pronounced [sʋɛ̂ːtiː sǎːʋa], 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law, and a diplomat. Sava, born as Rastko (Serbian Cyrillic: Растко), was the youngest son of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (founder of the Nemanjić dynasty), and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in 1190–92. He then left for Mount Athos, where he became a monk with the name Sava (Sabbas). At Athos he established the monastery of Hilandar, which became one of the most important cultural and religious centres of the Serbian people. In 1219 the Patriarchate exiled in Nicea recognized him as the first Serbian Archbishop, and in the same year he authored the oldest known constitution of Serbia, the Zakonopravilo nomocanon, thus securing full independence; both religious and political. Sava is regarded as the founder of Serbian medieval literature.[6][7][8]
He is widely considered as one of the most important figures of Serbian history. Saint Sava is venerated by the Serbian Orthodox Church as its founder on January 27 [O.S. January 14]. Many artistic works from the Middle Ages to modern times have interpreted his career. He is the patron saint of Serbia, Serbs, and Serbian education. The Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade is dedicated to him, built where the Ottomans burnt his remains in 1594 during an uprising in which the Serbs used icons of Sava as their war flags; the church is one of the largest church buildings in the world.
St. Marius
Feastday: January 27
Birth: 555
St. Marius Abbot January 27 A.D. 555 Dynamius, patrician of the Gauls who is mentioned by St. Gregory of Tours, (l. 6, c. 11,) and who was for some time steward of the patrimony of the Roman church in Gaul, in the time of St. Gregory the Great, as appears by a letter of that pope to him, (in which he mentions that he sent him in a reliquary some of the filings of the chains of St. Peter, and of the gridiron of St. Laurence,) was the author of the lives of St. Marius and of St. Maximus of Ries. From the fragments of the former in Bollandus, we learn that he was born at Orleans, became a monk, and after some time was chosen abbot at La-Val-Benois, in the diocese of Sisteron, in the reign of Gondebald, king of Burgundy, who died in 509. St. Marius made a pilgrimage to St. Martin's, at Tours, and another to the tomb of St. Dionysius, near Paris, where, falling sick, he dreamed that he was restored to health by an apparition of St. Dionysius, and awaking, found himself perfectly recovered. St. Marius, according to a custom received in many monasteries before the rule of St. Bennet, in imitation of the retreat of our divine Redeemer, made it a rule to live a recluse in a forest during the forty days of Lent. In one of these retreats, he foresaw, in a vision, the desolation which barbarians would soon after spread in Italy, and the destruction of his own monastery, which he foretold before his death, in 555. The abbey of La-Val-Benois *being demolished, the body of the saint was translated to Forcalquier, where it is kept with honor in a famous collegiate church which bears his name, and takes the title of Concathedral with Sisteron. St. Marius is called in French St. May, or St. Mary, in Spain, St. Mere, and St. Maire, and in some places, by mistake, St. Maurus. See fragments of his life compiled by Dynamius, extant in Bollandus, with ten preliminary observations.
St. Angela Merici
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(ஜனவரி 27)
✠ புனிதர் ஏஞ்செலா மெரிசி ✠
(St. Angela Merici)
கன்னி/ சபை நிறுவனர்:
(Virgin and Foundress)
பிறப்பு: மார்ச் 21, 1474
டிசெஸானோ டெல் கார்டா, ப்ரெஸ்ஸியா பிராந்தியம், வெனிஸ் குடியரசு
(Desenzano del Garda, Province of Brescia, Republic of Venice)
இறப்பு: ஜனவரி 27, 1540 (வயது 65)
ப்ரெஸ்ஸியா, வெனிஸ் குடியரசு
(Brescia, Republic of Venice)
அருளாளர் பட்டம்: ஏப்ரல் 30, 1768
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் கிளமன்ட்
(Pope Clement XIII)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 24, 1807
திருத்தந்தை ஏழாம் பயஸ்
(Pope Pius VII)
முக்கிய திருத்தலங்கள்:
புனித ஆஞ்சலா மெரிசி சரணாலயம், ப்ரெஸ்ஸியா, இத்தாலி
(Sanctuary of St. Angela Merici, Brescia, Italy)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜனவரி 27
பாதுகாவல்:
நோய் (Sickness),
பெற்றோரை இழந்தோர் (Loss of Parents),
மாற்றுத் திறனாளிகள் (Handicapped People)
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையால் புனிதராக அருட்பொழிவு செய்யப்பட்ட ஏஞ்செலா மெரிசி, ஒரு இத்தாலி நாட்டின் ஆன்மீக கல்வியாளர் ஆவார். இவர் கி.பி. 1535ம் ஆண்டு, "ப்ரெஸ்ஸியா" (Brescia) என்ற இடத்தில் "புனிதர் ஊர்சுலாவின் துணைவர்கள்" (Company of St. Ursula) என்ற கல்வி நிறுவனத்தினை நிறுவினார். இக்கல்வி நிறுவனத்தின் பெண்கள், சிறுமிகளின் கல்விக்காக தமது வாழ்க்கையினை திருச்சபைக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தவர்கள் ஆவர். சிறிது காலத்திலேயே இக்கல்வி நிறுவனம் சட்டென்று "ஊர்சுலின் துறவற சபையாக" (Monastic Order of Ursulines) மாறி உயர்ந்தது. இத்துறவு சபையின் அருட்கன்னியர்கள் செபம் மற்றும் கற்றலுக்கான இடங்களை முதலில் ஐரோப்பா எங்கும், குறிப்பாக வட அமெரிக்காவிலும், பின்னர் உலகமெங்கும் அமைத்தார்கள்.
வாழ்க்கை:
கி.பி. 1474ல் பிறந்த மெரிசியும் இவரது மூத்த சகோதரியான "கியானா மரியாவும்" (Giana Maria) இவரது பதினைந்தாம் வயதிலேயே அநாதைகளானார்கள். தமது தாய்மாமன் வீட்டில் வாழ்வதற்காக பக்கத்து நகருக்கு சென்றனர். சிறிது காலத்திலேயே இவரது மூத்த சகோதரி "கியானா மரியா" அகால மரணமடைந்தார். மரணத்தின் முன்பும் அதன் பின்னரும் நடக்க வேண்டிய எந்தவொரு இறுதிச்சடங்குக்களும்கூட அவருக்கு நடக்கவில்லை. இதனால் மிகவும் மன உளைச்சலுக்கு ஆளானார் மெரிசி. இந்நிலையில், மெரிசி "புனித ஃபிரான்சிஸின் மூன்றாம் நிலை சபையில்" (Third Order of St. Francis) இணைந்தார். தம்மை கடவுளுக்கு அர்ப்பணித்திருந்த மெரிசியின் அழகும் கவர்ச்சியான பொன்னிற கூந்தலும் பிறரைக் கவர்ந்தன. உலகினரின் கவனத்தை ஈர்க்க விரும்பாத மெரிசி, தமது கூந்தலை புகைக்கரியினால் கோரப்படுத்திக்கொண்டார்.
மெரிசியின் இருபதாம் வயதில் இவரது தாய்மாமன் இறந்து போனார். ஆகவே, தமது சகோதரர்களுடன் வாழ்வதற்காக சொந்த ஊர் திரும்பினார். இவருக்கு சேர வேண்டிய சொத்துக்கள் இவருக்கு தரப்பட்டன. பின்னர் இவருக்கு ஒரு திருக்காட்சி காணக் கிடைத்தது. அதில், இளம் பெண்களுக்கு சமய கல்வியூட்டுவதற்கு தமது வாழ்வினை அர்ப்பணித்த அருட்கன்னியர் கொண்ட சமூகம் ஒன்றினை நிறுவும்படி அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டார். இங்ஙனம் இவர் ஆரம்பித்த இந்த அருட்கன்னியர் சமூகம் வெற்றி பெற்றது. பிறகு பக்கத்து நகரான "ப்ரெஸ்ஸியாவில்" (Brescia) மற்றுமொரு பள்ளி தொடங்க இவர் அழைக்கப்பட்டார்.
எண்ணிலங்கா சமூகப் பணிகளை செய்த இவர், என்ணிடலங்கா ஏழை மக்களின் வாழ்வை உயர்த்தினார். கி.பி. 1524ம் ஆண்டு தனது 50ம் வயதில் பாலஸ்தீனத்திற்கு புனிதப் பயணம் ஒன்றை மேற்கொண்டார். வழியில், "க்ரேட்டா" எனும் தீவில், திடீர் என்று அவரது கண்களின் பார்வை மறைந்தது. இருப்பினும் அவர் தமது புனித பயணத்தைத் தொடர்ந்தார். பாலஸ்தீன புனித பயணத்திலிருந்து திரும்புகையில், அவரது பார்வை பறிபோன அதே "க்ரேட்டா" தீவில், அவர் சிலுவையை செபிக்கையில், அவருக்கு அதிசயமாக மீண்டும் பார்வை திரும்பியது.
கி.பி. 1535ம் ஆண்டும், நவம்பர் மாதம், 25ம் நாளன்று, தம்முடன் இருந்த பன்னிரெண்டு இளம்பெண்களுடன் இணைந்து "ப்ரெஸ்ஸியா" (Brescia) என்ற இடத்தில் "புனித ஊர்சுலாவின் துணைவர்கள்" (Company of St. Ursula) என்ற கல்வி நிறுவனத்தினை நிறுவினார். அவர்களுடைய நோக்கம், எதிர்கால மனைவி, தாய் (தற்போதைய இளம்பெண்கள்) ஆகியோரின் குடும்ப வாழ்க்கை நிலையை கிறிஸ்தவ கல்வி மூலம் உயர்த்துவது ஆகும். நான்கு வருடங்களில் இக்கல்வி நிறுவனம் இருபத்தெட்டாக உயர்ந்தது. மெரிசி தம்முடனிருந்தவர்களை இறைவனுக்கு ஒப்புக்கொடுத்து, அயலாரின் சேவையில் தம்மை அர்ப்பணிக்க கற்பித்தார். அதன் உறுப்பினர்கள் ஏதும் சிறப்பு பழக்க வழக்கங்களோ அல்லது சமய பிரமாணங்களோ எடுத்துக்கொண்டவர்கள் அல்ல. மெரிசி இக்கல்வி நிறுவனத்தின் உறுப்பினர்களுக்கான வாழ்க்கை நியதி அல்லது விதிகளை தாமே எழுதினர். அதில் பிரம்மச்சரியம், வறுமை, தாழ்ச்சி, கீழ்படிதல் ஆகியவற்றுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் அளித்தார். "ஊர்சுலின்ஸ்" (The Ursulines) என்றழைக்கப்படும் இவர்களுடைய நிறுவனம், மென்மேலும் பள்ளிகளையும் அநாதை இல்லங்களையும் தொடங்கியது. கி.பி. 1537ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், 18ம் நாளன்று, மெரிசி இந்நிறுவனங்களின் தலைமைப் பொறுப்பையேற்றார். மெரிசி இந்நிறுவன உறுப்பினர்களுக்காக எழுதிய விதிகள் மற்றும் நியதிகளை கி.பி. 1544ம் ஆண்டு திருத்தந்தை “மூன்றாம் பவுல்” (Pope Paul III) ஒப்புதல் அளித்து அங்கீகரித்தார்.
கி.பி. 1540ம் ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், 27ம் நாள், மெரிசி மரிக்கும்போது, 24 கல்வி நிறுவனங்கள் பிராந்தியம் முழுது கல்விச் சேவையில் இருந்தன. மெரிசியின் விருப்பப்படியே அவரது உடல் மூன்றாம் நிலை ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் வழக்கப்படி ஆடை அணிவிக்கப்பட்டு "அஃப்ரா தேவாலயத்தில்" (Church of St. Afra) அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டது. கி.பி. 1945ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், 2ம் தேதி "அஃப்ரா தேவாலயமும்" அதன் சுற்றுப்புற கட்டிடங்களும் தேவாலயத்தின் பங்குத்தந்தை மற்றும் இன்னபிற பங்கு மக்களுடேன் சேர்ந்து இரண்டாம் உலகப்போரின்போது நிகழ்ந்த குண்டு வீச்சில் முழுதும் அழிக்கப்பட்டன. பின்னர், இரண்டாம் உலகப்போரின் முடிவில் தேவாலயமும் அதன் சுற்றுப்புற கட்டிடங்களும் மீண்டும் கட்டப்பட்டு கி.பி. 1954ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், 10ம் நாளன்று, திறக்கப்பட்டன. கி.பி. 1956ம் ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், 27ம் நாளன்று, புதிதாக புனிதர் ஏஞ்செலா மெரிசிக்கு தேவாலயம் அர்ப்பணிக்கப்பட்டது.
Feastday: January 27
Patron: of the sick, disabled and physically challenged people and those grieving the loss of parents
Birth: March 21, 1474
Death: January 27, 1540
Beatified: April 30, 1768 by Pope Clement XIII
Canonized: May 24, 1807 by Pope Pius VII
St. Angela Merici was an Italian religious educator and founder of the Ursulines whose deep prayer life and relationship with the Lord bore the fruit of mystical encounters with God. She was born on March 21, 1474 in Desenzano, a small town on the shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy.
At just 10-years-old, Angela and her older sister became orphans and went to live with their uncle in Salo. There they led a quiet and devout Catholic Christian life. After the untimely death of her sister, Angela was saddened by the fact the that she had not had the opportunity to receive her last Sacraments and was concerned for her sister's eternal salvation.
Angela was inspired by the Holy Spirit to dedicate herself to the Lord and to give her life in service to the Church to help everyone grow closer to the Lord. Still filled with grief, she prayed for God to reveal the condition of her deceased sister's soul. In a vision, she learned her sister was in Heaven with the company of saints. She became increasingly more devout and joined the Third Order of St. Francis where she also pledged to remain a consecrated virgin, forsaking marriage to one man to be married to the Lord and His Church.
When Angela was 20-years-old, her uncle died and she returned to Desenzano. She found that around her hometown there were many young girls who had no education and no hope. Her heart was moved. She also became distressed by their ignorance and upset at the parents who had not educated them.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Angela became convinced there was great need for a better way of teaching these young girls. So, she opened her own home to them and began to teach them herself. She devotedly taught them the Catholic Christian faith. By her example and instruction, she taught them to how to pray and participate in the sacramental life of the Church. She evangelized and catechized these young girls, opening them up to the life of grace.
Another vision from the Lord revealed to Angela that she was to found an institution with other consecrated virgins to further devote their lives toward the religious training of young girls. These women had little money and no power, but were bound together by their dedication to education and commitment to Jesus Christ and service to His Church.
Living in their own homes, the girls met for prayer and classes where Angela reminded them, "Reflect that in reality you have a greater need to serve [the poor] than they have of your service."
Free Online Catholic Classes for Anyone, Anywhere - Click Here
Angela's charming nature and natural leadership qualities made this a successful endeavor. She was so successful she accepted an invitation from the neighboring town, Brescia, to establish a similar school there.
In 1524, she eagerly took on the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. During the journey, she was suddenly struck with blindness while on the island of Crete. This didn't stop her though; she continued the journey with as much enthusiasm as she would have if she had her vision. She made the entire pilgrimage and visited the sacred shrines. On the journey back home, her sight was miraculously restored while she was praying before a crucifix in the same place where she had become blind. The Lord showed Angela through this experience that she must never shut her eyes to the needs she saw around her ? to not shut her heart to God's call.
During the Jubilee year in 1525, Angela traveled to Rome to gain the special grace of the plenary indulgence offered to all Christian pilgrims. Pope Clement VII had heard of Angela and her great holiness. He noted her wonderful success as a religious teacher for young girls and invited her to stay in Rome. Angela was humble, disliked publicity and kindly declined the generous offer.
Though she turned him down, perhaps the pope's request gave her the inspiration or the push to make her little group more formal. Although it was never recognized formally as a religious order in her lifetime, Angela's Company of Saint Ursula, or the Ursulines, was the first group of women religious to work outside of the cloister and became the first teaching order of women in the Catholic Church.
On November 25, 1535, Angela gathered together 12 young virgins and laid down the foundation for the Order of the Ursulines at a small house near the Church of St. Afra in Bresica with Angela's Company of Saint Ursula, under the patronage of St. Ursula.
Angela's goal was to elevate family life through Christian education for women ? the future wives and mothers. The community she founded was different than many of the religious orders of women which existed in her day. She believed it was important to teach the girls in their own homes with their own families. One of her favorite sayings was, "Disorder in society is the result of disorder in the family."
Though the women in the community wore no special religious habit and took no formal vows, Angela wrote a Rule of Life for those who lived and served in the community of women. They did pledge to live a life of consecrated celibacy, poverty and obedience. They lived this Rule of Life within their own homes.
This was the first group of consecrated women to work outside of a formal cloister or convent in her day and became the first teaching order of women in the Catholic Church. The community existed as what is called a "secular institute" until years after Angela's death.
The Ursulines opened both schools and orphanages and in 1537, Angela was elected "Mother and Mistress" of the group. Her Rule was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1544 and the Ursulines became a recognized religious community of women with a teaching ministry.
Before her death, Angela reassured her Sisters who were afraid to lose her in death: "I shall continue to be more alive than I was in this life, and I shall see you better and shall love more the good deeds which I shall see you doing continually, and I shall be able to help you more."
St. Angela Merici died on January 27, 1540. Clothed in the habit of a Franciscan tertiary, Angela was buried in the Church of St. Afra in Brescia.
St. Angela Merici was beatified on April 30, 1768 by Pope Clement XIII and canonized May 24, 1807 by Pope Pius VII.
Angela is often attributed with a cloak and ladder.
She is the patron saint of sickness, disabled and physically challenged people, and those grieving the loss of parents. Her feast day is celebrated on January 27.
In Her Footsteps:
Take a look around you. Instead of just driving or walking without paying attention today, open your eyes to the needs you see along the way. What people do you notice who need help but who are not being helped? What are their true needs? Make a commitment to help them in some way.
Prayer:
Saint Angela, you were not afraid of change. You did not let stereotypes keep you from serving. Help us to overcome our fear of change in order to follow God's call and allow others to follow theirs. Amen
Angela Merici or Angela de Merici (/məˈriːtʃi/ mə-REE-chee, Italian: [ˈandʒela (de) meˈriːtʃi]; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an Italian religious educator, who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. She founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the Church through the education of girls. From this organisation later sprang the monastic Order of Ursulines, whose nuns established places of prayer and learning throughout Europe and, later, worldwide, most notably in North America.
Birth to death
Merici was born in 1474 on a farm near Desenzano del Garda, a small town on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy, Italy. She and her older sister, Giana Maria, were left orphans when she was ten years old.[1] They went to live with their uncle in the town of Salò. Young Angela was very distressed when her sister suddenly died without receiving the Last Rites of the Church and prayed that her sister's soul rest in peace. It is said that in a vision she received a response that her sister was in heaven in the company of the saints.[2] She joined the Third Order of St. Francis around that time. People began to notice Angela's beauty and particularly to admire her hair. As she had promised herself to God, and wanted to avoid the worldly attention, she dyed her hair in soot.
Merici's uncle died when she was twenty years old and she returned to her home in Desenzano, and lived with her brothers,[3] on her own property, given to her in lieu of the dowry that would otherwise have been hers had she married. She later had another vision that revealed to her that she was to found an association of virgins who were to devote their lives to the religious training of young girls. This association was a success and she was invited to start another school in the neighboring city, Brescia.[2][4]
St. Angela Merici (17th century)
According to legend, in 1524, while traveling to the Holy Land, Merici became suddenly blind when she was on the island of Crete. Despite this, she continued her journey to the Holy Land and was ostensibly cured of her blindness on her return, while praying before a crucifix, at the same place where she was struck with blindness a few weeks before.[2] In 1525 she journeyed to Rome in order to gain the indulgences of the Jubilee Year then being celebrated. Pope Clement VII, who had heard of her virtue and success with her school, invited her to remain in Rome. Merici disliked notoriety, however, and soon returned to Brescia.
On 25 November 1535, Merici gathered with 12 young women who had joined in her work in a small house in Brescia near the Church of St Afra, where together they committed themselves in the founding of the Company of St Ursula, placed under the protection of the patroness of medieval universities. Her goal was to elevate family life through the Christian education of future wives and mothers. They were the first teaching order of women religious.[5]
Four years later the group had grown to 28.[6] Merici taught her companions to serve God, but to remain in the world, teaching the girls of their own neighborhood, and to practice a religious form of life in their own homes.[a] The members wore no special habit and took no formal religious vows. Merici wrote a Rule of Life for the group, which specified the practice of celibacy, poverty and obedience in their own homes. The Ursulines opened orphanages and schools. On 18 March 1537, she was elected "Mother and Mistress" of the group. The Rule she had written was approved in 1544 by Pope Paul III.[7]
When Merici died in Brescia on 27 January 1540, there were 24 communities of the Company of St. Ursula serving the Church through the region.[8] Her body was clothed in the habit of a Franciscan tertiary and was interred in the Church of Sant'Afra.
The traditional view is that Merici believed that better Christian education was needed for girls and young women, to which end she dedicated her life. Querciolo Mazzonis argues that the Company of St. Ursula was not originally intended as a charitable group specifically focused on the education of poor girls, but that this direction developed after her death in 1540, sometime after it received formal recognition in 1546.[9]
Veneration
The incorrupt body of Saint Angela Merici in Brescia, Italy.
During her life, Merici had often prayed at the tombs of the Brescian martyrs at the Church of St. Afra in Brescia. She lived in small rooms attached to a priory of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. According to her wishes, after her death, she was interred in the Church of St Afra to be near the martyrs' remains. There her body remained until the complete destruction of this church and its surrounding area by Allied bombing during the Second World War, on 2 March 1945, in which the parish priest and many townspeople died. The church and corresponding buildings were afterwards rebuilt, and reopened on 10 April 1954. The church was consecrated on January 27, 1956, with a new dedication to St. Angela Merici, while the Parish of St. Afra was transferred to the neighboring Church of St. Eufemia.[10]
Merici was beatified in Rome on 30 April 1768, by Pope Clement XIII. She was later canonized on 24 May 1807 by Pope Pius VII.
Feast Day
Merici was not included in the 1570 Tridentine Calendar of Pope Pius V, because she was not canonized until 1807. In 1861 her feast day was included in the Roman Calendar – not on the day of her death, 27 January, since this date was occupied by the feast day of St. John Chrysostom, but instead on 31 May. In 1955 Pope Pius XII assigned this date to the new feast of the Queenship of Mary, and moved Merici's feast to 1 June. The celebration was ranked as a Double until 1960, when Pope John XXIII gave it the equivalent rank of Third-Class Feast. Lastly, in the major 1969 reform of the liturgy, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration, ranked as a Memorial, to the saint's day of death, 27 January.
Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulewicz
Also known as
• George Matulaitis
• Jerzy Matulevicz
• Jorge Matulaitis
• Jurgis Matulewicz
• Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevicius
Profile
Born to a poor farm family, the youngest of eight children at a time when Lithuania was under the control of Tsarist Russia. Orphaned at age ten. Developed tuberculosis of the bone in his leg, in his early teens; he suffered with it the rest of his life. Entered the seminary in Poland in 1891, studied in the major seminary in Warsaw, studied theology in Saint Petersburg, Russia, earned his doctorate of theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Spiritual student of Blessed Honorat Kozminski. Ordained on 20 November 1898 in the Congregation of Marian Fathers. Taught Latin and canon law in the seminary in the diocese of Kielce, Poland. Worked for the betterment of the working poor. Head of the Sociology section of Saint Petersburg Academy in 1907. Taught dogmatic theology. Vice-rector of the Academy. Noted teacher, preacher, spiritual director, and confessor. Reformed the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in 1910, changing their constitution, habit, vows, and way of life, resigning his position at the Academy to work for the Marians revitalization; superior general of the Congregation on 14 July 1911. Founded the Congregation of Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in 1918. Founded the Sisters Servants of the Jesus in the Eucharist in Belarus. Reluctant bishop of Vilnius, Lithuania on 23 October 1918. The city was divided into warring camps loyal to the various forces of the First World War, and George fought constantly to defend the right of the Church and the freedom of the citizens. Founded the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist in 1919. He retired from his see on 14 July 1925; on 1 September 1925 he was made titular archbishop and Apostolic Visitator to Lithuania. Dispatched by the Vatican to complete a concordant with the Lithuanian government to restore diplomatic relations; he succeded just before his death.
Born
13 April 1871 at Lugine, Lithuania
Died
27 January 1927 of appendicitis at Kaunas, Lithuania
Beatified
28 June 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Enric de Osso y Cervello
Also known as
Enrique, Henry
Profile
The youngest of three children born to Jaime and Micaela de Osso y Cervello. Enric felt an early call to the priesthood, which his mother supported but his father opposed. At age 12 Enric was sent to Quinto de Ebro to learn the textile business from his uncle. There Henry became seriously ill, and upon his recovery, had to return home; he stopped first at Our Lady of the Pillar to give thanks for his health.
His mother died in the cholera epidemic of 1854, and the boy was sent to Reus to apprentice in the textile business there. Enric sought refuge and a new home in the Montserrat monastery. His brother James took him home, and his father finally began to understand the boy's desire to follow his vocation. He relented, and Enric studied at Barcelona, Spain where he was a sub-deacon, and at Tortosa, Spain. Classmate with Blessed Emmanuel Domingo y Sol. Ordained on 21 September 1867, celebrating his first Mass at Montserrat, Spain.
He taught mathmatics at the Tortosa seminary. Had a great devotion to Saint Teresa of Avila, and sought to bring her reforming zeal to his preaching and parish missions. Founded the Association of Young Catholic Daughters of Mary and Saint Teresa of Jesus in 1873, the Institute of Josephine Brothers (Josephine Sisterhood) in 1876, and the Congregation of Saint Teresa (the Teresian Missionaries). This group received papal approval in 1877, and the sisters serve today in Europe, Africa and Mexico.
Founded and wrote extensively for the publications El Hombre (The Man), El Amigo del Pueble (The Friend of the People), and Revista Teresiana (The Teresian Review). He aimed much of his writings and teachings to women. He published works aimed at a female audience on prayer and living the spiritual life. Was working with Blessed Emmanuel Domingo y Sol to develop a Josephite order for men when he died.
Born
16 October 1840 at Vinebre, Tarragona, Spain
Died
• 27 January 1896 at Gilet, Valencia, Spain of a stroke
• relics re-interred at the chapel at the Teresian Missionaries at Tortona in July 1908
Canonized
16 June 1993 by Pope John Paul II at Madrid, Spain
Blessed Carolina Santocanale
Also known as
• Sister Maria of Jesus
• Sister Maria di Gesù Santocanale
• Carolina Concetta Angela Santocanale
Profile
Born to the nobility, part of the family of the barons of Celsa Reale near Palermo, Italy. Baptized at the age of three days, made her first Communion at age eight, and received a good education. In her late teens she became the target for offers of marriage, but began to feel a call to religious life. Spiritual student of Father Mauro Venuti. Leader of the Daughters of Mary in the parish of San Antonio Abate in Palermo at age 21. The call to religious life became stronger, but she was torn between the contemplative cloister and working with the sick, poor, disabled and abandoned on Palermo. Hoping to combine the two, she became a Franciscan tertiary, taking the name Sister Maria di Gesù. Her family strongly objected to her choice, especially when she and some like-minded tertiaries began going door to door in poor neighborhoods, wearing a backpack of supplies, helping the sick, feeding the poor. Founded the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes on 24 January 1923 to continue her work; it continues to do so today.
Born
2 October 1852 in Palermo, Italy as Carolina Concetta Angela Santocanale
Died
27 January 1923 in Cinisi, Palermo, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
• 12 June 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova, Monreale, Italy presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
Blessed João Schiavo
Also known as
Giovanni Schiavo
Profile
Eldest of nine children born to Luiz, a shoemaker, and Rosa Schiavo. At one point in his youth, João suffered through four years of meningitis, which nearly killed him. He joined the Josephites of Murialdo (Murialdines) in 1917 where he came to know Venerable Eugenio Ruffo. Ordained a priest on 10 July 1927 in Vincenza, Italy, and served as a parish priest in Modena and Oderzo. Missionary to Brazil, arriving in Jaguarão on 5 September 1931. On 25 November 1931, he moved to Ana Rech and started working at Colégio Murialdo. In 1935, he moved to Galópolis, Brazil where he ran a school and a parish. In 1937, he assumed the direction of Colégio Murialdo and the coordination of the Josephine priests in Ana Rech. In 1956 he moved to the Josefino Seminary of Fazenda Souza and worked for the formation of the Murialdine Sisters of Saint Joseph.
Born
8 July 1903 in Sant'Urbano de Montecchio Maggiore, Vicenza, Italy
Died
at 9:30am on 27 January 1967 in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil of liver damage from hepatitis and liver cancer
Beatified
• 28 October 2017 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated in the Pavilhões da Festa da Uva, Caxias do Sul, Brazil, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
• his beatification miracle involved the cure from acute peritonitis of Juvelino Cara on 9 September 1997
Blessed Manfredo Settala
Additional Memorials
• 26 January (blessed bread is distributed to families in the Riva San Vitaly, Italy on the eve of his memorial)
• Sunday following 27 January (procession of his relics)
Profile
Born to an esteemed Milanese family. Priest of the parishes of Cuasso, Cuasso al Piano, Cuasso al Monte, Brusimpiano and Porto Ceresio Besano in the diocese of Milan. Hermit on Monte San Giorgio, Italy. His reputation for piety spread, which led to a series of people asking for his advice, and his intercession in a plague in 1207; he recommended pilgrimages to the tombs of saints and to ask for their intercession, which worked. Miracle worker.
Born
latter 12th century Milan, Italy
Died
• 27 January 1217 in Riva San Vitaly, Lombardy, Italy of natural causes
• the bells throught the region miraculously rang at the hour of his death
• buried in Riva San Vitaly at the foot of Monte San Giogio
• relics enshrined in a marble sacrophagus in 1387
• relics re-enshrined in an urn at the high altar in 1633
• relics re-enshrined in the Como, Italy in 1888
Blessed Alruna of Cham
Also known as
Alrun, Mother of the Poor
Profile
Born to the nobility, a member of the house of Cham, she was married to the Mazalin, Count of Portis, and the mother of one son. Widowed, she converted her castle into a hospital for the poor, and lived as a prayerful recluse at the Benedictine abbey of Saint Maritius in Niederaltaich, Bavaria, Germany. She became known for spiritual insights and wisdom, and was a much-sought advisor.
Born
c.990 in Vohburg castle on the Danube River in Bavaria, Germany
Died
• 27 January 1045 in Niederaltaich, Bavaria, Germany of a fever
• buried in the crypt under the altar of Saint Oswald in the Benedictine abbey of Saint Maritius in Niederaltaich
• relics enshrined at the altar of Saints Heinrich and Kunigunde in the abbey church on 16 September 1731
• following a damaging fire, her relics were enshrined in a glass reliquary in the monastery church in 1800
Patronage
• against fever
• pregnant women
Pope Saint Vitalian
Also known as
Vitalianus
Profile
Son of Anastasius; nothing else is known of Vitalian before his election to the papacy. Chosen 76th pope in 657. His pontificate was marked by constant conflict with the eastern patriarchs and leaders over their support of Monothelite heresy. Helped settle the conflict between English and Irish bishops over the date of Easter. Sent Saint Adrian of Canterbury and Saint Theodore of Tarsus to England, which strengthened the ties between the bishops there with Rome. Came into conflict with archbishop Maurus of Ravenna who declared his see independent from Vatican control; he and the pope excommunicated each other, and emperor Constans II intervened on the side of the archbishop, and it wasn't until 682 that the controversy ended.
Born
at Segni, Campania, Italy
Papal Ascension
• elected on 2 June 657
• enthroned on 30 July 657
Died
• 27 January 672
• interred in Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy
Saint Devota
#புனித_டிவோட்டா (-303)
ஜனவரி 27
இவர் (#StDevota) பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டிற்கு அருகில் உள்ள தீவுகளில் ஒன்றான கோர்சிகா என்ற இடத்தில் பிறந்தவர். இவர் வளர்ந்து பெரியவராகி, உரோமை அரச அதிகாரியான யூடிசியுஸ் என்பவரிடம் பணிசெய்து வந்தார்.
இந்நிலையில் உரோமையை ஆண்ட தியோகிளசியன், மாக்சிமியான் ஆகியோரிடம் ஆளுநராக இருந்த பார்பாருஸ் என்பவன் யூடிசியுசைச் சந்திக்க வந்தான். அவன் யூடிசியுசிடம் டிவோட்டோ என்ற பெண்மணி பணிசெய்து வருவதையும், அவர் ஒரு கிறிஸ்தவர் என்பதையும் அறிந்து, அவரை உரோமைக் கடவுளுக்குப் பலி செலுத்துச் சொன்னான்.
இதற்கு டிவோட்டா மறுப்புத் தெரிவிக்கவே ஆளுநர் இவரைப் பலவாறாகச் செய்து கொல்ல ஆணையிட்டான். மேலும் கொல்லப்பட்ட டிவோட்டாவின் உடல் கிறிஸ்தவர்களுக்குக் கிடைத்துவிட்டால், அதை வைத்து அவர்கள் வழிபடத் தொடங்கி விடுவார்கள் என்று அஞ்சி அதைத் தீயிட்டுக் கொளுத்தச் சொன்னான்.
அதற்குள் கிறிஸ்தவர்கள் டிவோட்டாவின் உடலை மீட்டு, கப்பல் வழியாக மொனாகோ என்ற இடத்திற்குக் கொண்டு சென்றார்கள். அங்கு அவரது உடல் நல்லடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டு, அதன் மேல் ஒரு கோயிலானது எழுப்பப்பட்டது.
Also known as
Dévote
Profile
Member of the household of the imperial Roman senator Eutychiu, Devota wanted to devote herself to a life of God, but was imprisoned, tortured and martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian by order of the prefect Barbarus. Tradition says that flowers bloom out of season on her feast day.
Born
Mariana, Corsica, France
Died
• tortured to death on the rack c.303
• prefect Barbarus ordered her body burned to prevent veneration, but it was stolen by Christians and put on a boat to Africa to receive Christian burial there; when a storm threatened the boat, a dove flew from Devote's mouth, the storm abated and the bird guided the boat to Les Gaumetes (in modern Monaca)
• she was buried near a shrine of Saint George
• a chapel was soon built at her grave, which survives today
• relics at Riviera de Porenta, Monaco
Patronage
• Corsica
• Monaco
Saint Julian of Sora
Also known as
Giuliano di Sora
Profile
Arrested, tortured, and executed in the persecutions of Antoninus Pius. While he was in custody, a pagan temple collapsed, destroying the statue in it; Julian was immediately accused of magic and of having caused the destruction, and was immediately executed.
Born
Dalmatia
Died
• beheaded c.150 at in a collapsed pagan temple in Sora, Campania, Italy
• relics enshrined in a church built on the site of his execution
• relics re-discovered on 2 October 1612, and transferred to the church of the Holy Spirit in Costanza Sforza Boncompagni, Italy on 6 April 1614
• relics re-enshrined c.1800 in the cathedral in Sora
Patronage
Accettura, Italy
Saint Julian of Le Mans
Profile
Born to the Roman nobility. First bishop of Le Mans, France. Evangelized around Le Mans, an area under the influence of the old Roman pantheon and the Druids. When he felt he was growing too old to effectively discharge his office, he retired to live as a hermit at Sarthe. Many extravagant miracles were attributed to him by writers long after his death. Due to the Norman invasions, his name was carried to several parishes in England.
Died
• 3rd century at Sarthe, Gaul (modern Sant-Marceaux, France) of natural causes
• relics translated to the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Pré at Le Mans, France in 1254
Blessed Antonio Mascaró Colomina
Profile
Professed cleric in the Sons of the Holy Family. In 1935-1936 he was in the military, serving during the week and studying in seminary on when off duty. At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, the seminary closed and he was mustered out of the army; he moved to Barcelona, Spain and worked in a soap factory. Arrested and executed for his faith.
Born
12 March 1913 in Albelda, Huesca, Spain
Died
• 27 January 1937 in Montcada, Barcelona, Spain
• body has not been located
Beatified
13 October 2013 by Pope Francis
Blessed Gonzalo Diaz di Amarante
Profile
A sailor who, in Lima, Peru in 1603, joined the Mercedarians at the Convent of Mercy. Served as doorman and porter for his house. Chaplain of the Mercedarian house of Callao, Peru. Noted for his deep prayer life, his charity to the indigenous people and the poor, his miraculous ability to heal by prayer, and by visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Born
1540 in Amarante, Portugal
Died
• 27 January 1618 in Callao, Peru of natural causes
• interred in the Mercedarian church in Lima
Saint John Maria Muzeyi
Also known as
• Jean-Marie Muzeeyi
• Jean-Marie the Elder
Additional Memorial
3 June as one of the Martyrs of Uganda
Profile
Mbogo clan. Member of the Ugandan royal court. Convert. One of the Martyrs of Uganda who died in the Mwangan persecutions, the last one to die in that persecution.
Born
at Buganda, Uganda
Died
beheaded on 27 January 1887 at Mengo, Uganda
Canonized
18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI at Rome, Italy
Blessed Rosalie du Verdier de la Sorinière
Also known as
Soeur Saint Celeste
Additional Memorial
2 January as one of the Martyrs of Anjou
Profile
Our Lady of Calvary Benedictine nun of the diocese of Angers, France. Martyred in the persecutions of the French Revolution.
Born
12 August 1745 in Saint-Pierre de Chemillé, Maine-et-Loire, France
Died
beheaded on 27 January 1794 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France
Beatified
19 February 1984 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy
Blessed Benvenuta of Perugia
Profile
One of the first of the Poor Clare nun, joining the Order in 1213 at the San Damiano convent in Assisi, Italy, and accepted into the Order by Saint Clare of Assisi herself. She became a friend, companion and spiritual student of Saint Clare, and testified in the canonization process of Saint Clare. She was considered a model of the virtues sought by Poor Clares.
Died
• c.1257 in Assisi, Italy of natural causes
• buried at the convent of San Damiano in Assisi
• re-interred at the convent of San Giogio in Assisi in 1260
Blessed John of Warneton
Also known as
• John of Saint Omer
• John of Thérouanne
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Ivo of Chartres. Canon regular at Mont-Saint-Eloi. Archdeacon of Arles. Bishop of Thérouanne, which he accepted only under papal order. Founded several monasteries. While he had a reputation for strictness to discipline for himself, he was seen to be very gentle with people as individuals, even refusing to prosecute some would-be assassins.
Born
Warneton, French Flanders
Died
27 January 1130 of natural causes
Blessed Paul Josef Nardini
Profile
Priest in the diocese of Speyer, Germany. Founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family.
Born
25 July 1821 in Germersheim, Rhineland Palatinate (modern Germany)
Died
27 January 1862 in Pirmasens, Rhineland Palatinate (modern Germany) of natural causes
Beatified
• 22 October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI
• recognition celebrated at the cathedral at Speyer, Germany
Saint Gilduin of Dol
Also known as
Gilduino
Profile
Devout young canon at Dol, Brittany (in modern France). Elected bishop of Dol, he felt unworthy of the post, and travelled to Rome, Italy to plead his case to Pope Gregory VII, who released him from the charge. Gilduin died on the road home from Rome. Miracles reported at his tomb.
Born
1052
Died
1077 near Chartres, France natural causes
Saint Domitian of Melitene
Also known as
Domitian of Palestine
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Euthymius the Great. Desert hermit. Evangelizing preacher in the Caphar Baricha region. Founded the monastery of the Sahel. Ordained as a deacon in 429 by Bishop Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Saint Euthymius died, Domitian lived as a hermit near his tomb.
Died
27 January 473 of natural causes
Saint Theodoric of Orleans
Also known as
Theodoric II
Profile
Benedictine monk at Saint-Pierre-le-Vif monastery, Sens, France. Royal counselor. Bishop of Orleans, France. Died while on pilgrimage the them tombs of the Apostles in Rome, Italy.
Died
1022 in Tonnerre, Burgundy, France of natural causes
Blessed Michael Pini
Profile
Favored courtier to Lorenzo de' Medici. Camaldolese hermit in 1502. After his ordination, Michael was walled up in his hermitage where he spent his remaining twenty years. Had the gift of prophecy.
Born
c.1445 at Florence, Italy
Died
1522 of natural causes
Saint Natalis of Ulster
Also known as
Naal of Ulster
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Columba. One of the great founders of monasticism in northern Ireland. Abbot of monasteries of Naile, Daunhinis, and Cill. A well in the region honors his memory.
Born
6th century Irish
Saint Emerius of Bañoles
Also known as
Emerus, Memerius
Profile
Son of Saint Candida of Bañoles. Benedictine monk. Founded Saint Stephen of Bañoles Abbey, Catalonia, Spain. His mother lived in a hermitage near the abbey.
Born
France
Died
8th century of natural causes
Saint Candida of Bañoles
Profile
Mother of Saint Emerius of Bañoles. Lived as a anchoress near Saint Stephen of Bañoles Abbey, Garona, Spain.
Born
in Spain
Died
c.798 of natural causes
Saint Lupus of Châlons
Profile
Bishop of Châlons-sur-Saone, France. Friend and correspondent with Pope Saint Gregory the Great. Noted for his charity to the sick and poor in his diocese.
Died
610 of natural causes
Saint Felix of Messina
Also known as
Felice
Profile
Sixth-century spiritual student of Saint Placidus of Messina. Bishop of Messina, Sicily, Italy.
Saint Donatus of Africa
Profile
Martyr. No other reliable information has survived.
Died
in Africa
Saint Avitus
Profile
Martyr.
Died
in Africa
Martyrs of North Africa
Profile
A group of 30 Christians martyred together by Arian Vandals. The only details to have survived are four of their names - Datius, Julian, Reatrus and Vincent.
Died
c.500 in North Africa
