St. Domitius
Feastday: March 23
Death: 361
Martyr with Aquila, Esparchius, Pelagia, and Theodosia. Domitius was a Phrygian. He entered the circus in Caesarea, where he exhorted the people to deny the gods of Rome. He and his companions were struck by swords.
St. Victorian
Feastday: March 23
Death: 484
Martyr in Carthage with four other wealthy fellow merchants, including Frumentius. Initially named proconsul by Hunneric, the Arian king of the Vandals, he was seized and put under pressure to convert to Arianism. When he refused, he was executed with the other merchants after being tortured at Adrumetum.
Saints Victorian, Frumentius and Companions are venerated as Christian martyrs of the Roman Catholic Church. They were killed at Hadrumetum in 484 by the Arian Vandals. Accounts of their martyrdom state that Huneric, King of the Vandals, began persecuting Catholic priests and virgins in 480, and by 484 began persecuting simple believers as well. Victorian was a wealthy Catholic of Hadrumetum who had been appointed proconsul by Hunneric. He served as an obedient administrator to the king until he was asked to convert to Arianism. Victorian refused and was tortured and killed.
The Roman Martyrology states that four other wealthy merchants were martyred on the same day as Victorian's death. Two were named Frumentius; they were merchants of Carthage. The other two were brothers of the city of Aquae Regiae, Byzacena, who were killed at Tabaia.
St. Rafqa
#புனித_ரஃப்கா (1832-1914)
மார்ச் 22
"லெபனோனின் சிறுமலர்" என அழைக்கப்படும் இவர் (#StRafga), தனது ஆறு வயதில் தாயை இழந்து, சிற்றன்னையின் சித்திரவதையில் வளர்ந்து வந்தார்.
தனது பதினான்காவது வயதில் இறையழப்பை உணர்ந்த இவர், தன் தந்தையின் எதிர்ப்பையும் மீறி, இருபத்து ஒன்றாம் வயதில் துறவுமடத்தில் சேர்ந்தார்.
துறவுமடத்தில் "ஆக்னஸ்" என்ற புதிய பெயரைத் தாங்கிய இவர், இயேசுவிடம், அவருடைய பாடுகளில் பங்கு பெற வேண்டும் என்று தொடர்ந்து மன்றாடி வந்தார். இதனால் இயேசு இவருக்குத் தன் பாடுகளில் பங்குபெறும் பேற்றினை அளிக்க, இவர் பார்வையின்றியும் முடக்குவாதத்தோடும் வாழத் தொடங்கினார்.
பார்வையின்றியும் முடக்குவாதத்தோடும் வாழ்ந்த இவர், இத்துன்பங்களை மகிழ்ச்சியோடு தாங்கிக்கொண்டார். இறப்பதற்கு ஒரு மணி நேரத்திற்கு முன்னர், இயேசுவிடம் இவர் கேட்டுக்கொண்டதன் பேரில், மீண்டும் பார்வை பெற்று, உலகை ஒருமுறை கண்டு இரசித்துவிட்டு, மகிழ்ச்சியோடு தன் ஆன்மாவை இறைவனிடம் ஒப்படைத்தார்.
துன்பங்களை மகிழ்ச்சியோடு தாங்கிக்கொண்ட இவருக்கு, திருத்தத்தை புனித இரண்டாம் ஜான்பால் 2001 ஆம் ஆண்டு புனிதர் பட்டம் அளித்தார்.
Feastday: March 23
Birth: 1832
Death: 1914
Beatified: November 16, 1985 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: June 10, 2001, Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II
Saint Rafqa, also know as Saint Rebecca, was born in Hemlaya, Lebanon on June 29, 1832. She was the only child of her parents, Saber El-Choboq El-Rayess and Rafqa Gemayel. She was baptized on July 7, 1832 and named Boutroussieh.
Her parents were devout Christians and taught her daily prayers. By all accounts, her childhood was happy and simple, until she was just 7 years old and her mother, Rafqa (for whom she was named) died.
The death of her mother started a period of tribulation for Rafqa and her father, who soon experienced financial difficulties. Rafqa was sent to work as a domestic servant for four years to help support the family. During that period, she worked in Damascus, away from her father.
In 1847, she returned to find that her father had remarried and his new wife desired that Rafqa marry her brother. At the same time, an aunt wanted to arrange a marriage between Rafqa and her cousin.
Rafqa was left to decide what to do with herself, split between two potential suitors and under pressure from family to make two different choices. She turned to prayer and asked God to guide her. Her answer surprised everyone. Rafqa would marry neither man, but instead would devote her life to Jesus and become a nun.
Rafqa traveled to the convent of Our Lady of Deliverance in Bikfaya. She joined the Mariamettes, founded by Fr. Jospeh Gemayel.
According to legend, when she entered the convent and gazed upon the icon of Our Lady of Deliverance, she heard the voice of God tell her "You will become a nun."
The Mother Superior of the convent accepted her immediately, without question. Shortly thereafter, her father and his new wife arrived to try to dissuade Rafqa from her God-chosen path. She refused to leave and remained devoted to her vocation.
She was sent to Deir El Qamar to teach catechism. The town became the site of civil unrest and on one occasions he reportedly saved a child from murder by hiding him under her robes.
She served in Deir El Qamar for a year.
In 1861, she returned to her congregation and become a novice. On March 19, 1862, she took her temporary vows and was assigned to kitchen service in a seminary.
Rafqa spent her free time learning Arabic, writing, and arithmetic. She also helped convince other girls to join the congregation. In 1863, she continued working as a teacher, first at a school belonging to her congregation in Byblos, then Maad village where she and a fellow sister established a new school for girls.
Following this early period, Rafqa repeatedly heard messages from heaven. When her order faced a crisis, god told her "You will remain a nun." And she heard the voices of saints directing her to enter the Lebanese Maronite Order. She obeyed.
Sister Rafqa took her solemn vows in the new order on Augist 25, 1872.
During her time, she was known to be quiet and contemplative. She was devoted to prayer and spoke little. She commonly made sacrifices and lived in great austerity.
In October 1885, Sister Rafqa made an unusual request of Jesus, asking to share in his suffering. She immediately began to experience pain in her head, which moved to her eyes. Her superior was concerned about Rafqa's pain and ordered that she be examined by doctors and sent to Beirut for treatment.
As she passed through the nearby church in Byblos, the congregation made note that an American doctor was in the area. The located the doctor who recommended immediate surgery for Sister Rafqa.
During the surgery, she refused anesthesia, and the doctor made a mistake which caused her eye to emerge from its socket and fall to the floor. Sister Rafqa, instead of panicking, blessed the doctor, saying "For Christ's passion, god bless your hands and may God repay you."
The surgery did not succeed. Shortly thereafter, pain entered her left eye.
For the next 12 years, she experienced pain in her remaining eye and headaches. At no point did she reverse her wish to share in Christ's suffering. Instead, she remained joyful in prayer and patient in her suffering. She remained quiet for long periods, speaking infrequently, but always joyously.
In 1887, Sister Rafqa was sent with five other sisters to found a new monastery in Jrabta, Batroun in Lebanon. She did as she was asked, working patiently and diligently as she was able despite her suffering. In 1899, she became blind and paralysis set in.
Eventually she was confined to bed, mostly paralyzed and only able to lie on her right side. Her body withered, but her hands remained capable, and she used them to knit socks. A wound developed in left shoulder, which she referred to as "the wound in the shoulder of Jesus." This continued for seven years.
On March 23, 1914, she received her last communion and called upon Jesus and the Holy Family, then went to her reward in Heaven.
After she was buried in the monastery cemetery, a light appeared on her grave for three consecutive light and was witnessed by many.
In 1925, a case for her beatification was opened in the Vatican and the investigation into her life began in the year following.
In 1927, her grave was exhumed and she was reburied in the monastery church.
Pope John Paul declared her venerable on Feb. 11, 1982, and she was beatified on Nov. 17, 1985. She was finally recognized as a saint on July 10, 2001.
St Rafka ill in bed in her latter days
Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, O.L.M. (Arabic: رفقا بطرسيّة شبق ألريّس, June 29, 1832 – March 23, 1914), also known as Saint Rafka and Saint Rebecca, was a Lebanese Maronite nun who was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 10, 2001.
Birth and Youth
Rafka was born in Himlaya, in Matn District, on 29 June 1832, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, the only child of Saber Mourad El Rayess and Rafqa Gemayel, and was baptised Boutrossieh (pronounced in Arabic as the feminine of Peter). Her mother died when she was seven years of age. In 1843, her father experienced financial difficulties and sent her to work as a servant for four years in Damascus at the home of Assaad Al-Badawi. She returned home in 1847 to find that her father had remarried.[1]
When Boutrossieh was 14 years old, her stepmother wanted her to marry her stepbrother, and her maternal aunt wanted her to marry her son. Boutrossieh did not want to marry either of the men and this caused a great deal of discord in her family. One day, while she was coming back from the fountain, holding her jar, she overheard them arguing. She asked God to help her deal with the problem. She then decided to become a nun and went straight to the Convent of Our Lady of Liberation at Bikfaya.[1] Boutrossieh's father and stepmother tried to take her back home but she did not want to go. "I asked the Mistress of novices to excuse me from seeing them and she agreed."[citation needed] They returned home, saddened, and from then on they never saw her again.
Boutrossieh's kinsman, Father Joseph Gemayel and his family founded a new religious institute for women that provided them with full-time education as well as religious instruction. Boutrossieh's name, Pierine (in French), was listed last among the first four candidates of the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception (“Mariamettes”, in French) in Gemayel's notebook dated January 1, 1853.[2] She was 21.
Mariamette Sisters
On February 9, 1855, the Feast of St. Maron, Boutrossieh commenced her novitiate at the convent in Ghazir and chose the name Rafqa (Like her mother's name). She took her first temporary religious vows on 19 March 1862 at the age of thirty.[3] Sister Rafqa's first assignment in the congregation was charge of the kitchen service in the Jesuit school in Ghazir, where she spent seven years. She was placed in charge of the workers and had the task of giving them religious instruction in a spinning mill in Scerdanieh, where she remained for two months.
In 1860, while still stationed in Ghazir, Rafqa's superiors sent her on a temporary posting to Deir-el-Qamar, in Mount Lebanon - Shouf, where she helped the Jesuit mission. In less than two months the Druze killed 7,771 people and destroyed 360 villages, 560 churches, 28 schools, and 42 convents. Sister Rafqa saved one child's life by hiding him in the skirts of her habit as he was being chased by some soldiers.[1] Rafqa was deeply affected by the massacres.[4]
Two years later, Sister Rafqa was transferred to Byblos, where she remained for one year before going to Ma'ad to establish a school there at the request of Antoun (Anthony) Issa, a prominent citizen.[5]
In 1871, the “Mariamettes” religious institute merged with another to form the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The Religious Sisters were given the option to join the new congregation, or a different one, or to resume lay status. Rafqa decided to become a cloistered nun rather than a teaching Sister, and, after praying in the Church of St. George, made the decision to join the Baladita Order, the monastic order now named the Lebanese Maronite Order of St. Anthony, founded in 1695, and told Antoun Issa of her decision. He offered to pay the requisite dowry.[5]
That same night, Rafqa dreamed of three men. One with a white beard, one dressed like a soldier and the third was an old man. She recounted "One of the men said to me, 'Become a nun in the Baladita Order'. I woke up very happy … and went to Antoun Issa, bursting with joy … and I told him about my dream.” Antoun identified the men as St. Anthony of Qozhaia (St. Anthony the Abbot) from whom the order was inspired, the soldier was St. George, to whom the church in Ma'ad was dedicated, and the third could only be a Baladita monk. Rafqa decided to leave immediately for the Monastery of St. Simon in Al-Qarn. Antoun gave her the money as promised as well as a letter of recommendation to the archbishop.[5]
A nun of the Lebanese Maronite Order
Monastery of St. Simon
On July 12, 1871, at the age of thirty-nine, Rafqa began her novitiate into the new monastery and then on August 25, 1873, she “professed her perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the spirit of the strict Rule of the Baladita Order.” Her new name was that of her mother's, Rafqa, (Rebecca),[4] the name of Abraham's great granddaughter and wife of his son Isaac. St. Simon Monastery was situated on a high altitude, where the winters were very harsh. The nuns followed a very rigid daily schedule throughout the year. Prayer and manual labour became the rule of their daily lives. The nuns planted and harvested vegetables and grain in the surrounding fields. They also cultivated silkworms and sewed vestments for churches.[3] Rafqa remained in this monastery until 1897.
Life with pain
In 1885 Rafqa decided not to join the nuns for a walk around the monastery. In her autobiographical account she wrote, “It was the first Sunday of the Rosary. I did not accompany them. Before leaving each of the nuns came and said to me, ‘Pray for me sister.’ There were some who asked me to say seven decades of the Rosary ... I went to the Church and started to pray. Seeing that I was in good health and that I had never been sick in my life, I prayed to God in this way, ‘Why, O my God, have you distance yourself from me and have abandoned me. You have never visited me with sickness! Have you perhaps abandoned me?’”[3]
Rafqa continued in her account to her superior, the next night after the prayer “At the moment of sleeping I felt a most violent pain spreading above my eyes to the point that I reached the state you see me in, blind and paralyzed, and as I myself had asked for sickness I could not allow myself to complain or murmur.”[3]
“The symbolic daughter of a country which for over a decade has been in the world headlines because of its suffering,” Rafqa suffered many years because of her desire to share in the passion of Jesus Christ.
The Mother Superior sent Rafqa to Tripoli, where she submitted to a painful medical examination.[3] For two years, she suffered. She went to several doctors who all agreed that there was nothing they could do. Upon the persuasion of Father Estefan, Rafqa consulted a visiting American doctor who strongly suggested that the eye be removed. Estefan later recounted,
Before the operation I asked the doctor to anesthetize the eye so that Rafqa would not feel any pain but she refused. The doctor made her sit down and pushed a long scalpel … into her eye … the eye popped out and fell on the ground, palpitating slightly … Rafqa didn’t complain … but only said, ‘in communion with Christ’s Passion.’
The pain was then all concentrated in her left eye and nothing could be done.[4]
Gradually Rafqa's left eye shrunk and sunk into the socket and she became blind. For about thirty years both sockets hemorrhaged two to three times a week. She also suffered from frequent nosebleeds. “Her head, her brow, her eyes, her nose were as if they were being pierced by a red hot needle. Rafqa did not let this pain isolate her from the community. She continued to spin wool and cotton and knitted stockings for the other sisters; she participated in choral prayer.
Due to the harsh winters at the Monastery of St. Simon, Rafqa was allowed to spend the coldest months on the Lebanese coast as a guest of the Daughters of Charity and then of the residence of the Maronite Order. Unable to observe the Rule at these locales, Rafqa asked to be taken to the Monastery of St. Elias at El Rass, which belonged to her order.
Monastery of St. Joseph
In 1897, Rafqa was one of six nuns sent to found the order's new Monastery of St. Joseph of Gerbata in Ma’ad, along with Mother Ursula Doumit, the superior, where Rafqa remained for the last 17 years of her life. It was here that her suffering increased.
In 1907 Rafqa confided to Mother Ursula that she felt a pain in her legs, “as if someone were sticking lances in them and pain in my toes as if they were being pulled off.” This began the long list of sufferings and pains Rafqa endured for the last seven years of her life.
Based on direct evidence and on the autopsy of Rafqa's remains in 1927, she had become paralyzed due to complete disarticulation in her wrist and finger joints, while the pain continued in her head, her devastated eye sockets and her nosebleeds ... completely immobile, her lower jaw touched her benumbed knee.
Even in this state, Rafqa was able to crawl to the chapel on the feast of Corpus Christi to the amazement of all the sisters. When asked about this, Rafqa replied, “I don’t know. I asked God to help me and suddenly I felt myself slipping from the bed with my legs hanging down; I fell on the floor and crawled to the chapel.”
On a separate occasion, when asked by her superior if she would like to see, Rafqa responded, “I would like to see for at least an hour, to be able to look at you.” In an instant the superior could see Rafqa smile and suddenly said, “Look, I can see now.” Not believing her, Sister Ursula put her to the test asking her to identify several objects. Shortly thereafter, Rafqa fell into a deep sleep for about two hours. Sister Ursula became worried and tried repeatedly to awaken her. Upon waking, Rafqa explained that she had entered a large, beautifully decorated building with baths full of water and people crowding to enter them; she went with them. Sister Ursula asked her why she came back; why she didn't continue to walk. Blessed Rafqa explained, “You called me, and I came.”
Rafqa's obedience and love for her superior is quite evident in this account. For a nun, the superior, “as the Rule puts it, represents Christ and is owed respect, obedience and love. Despite her condition, Rafqa did nothing without the Superior’s permission.”
Before dying, Rafqa told of her life to Mother Ursula Doumit, superior of the monastery in which she died, “There is nothing important in my life that is worthy of being recorded … my mother died when I was seven years old. After her death my father married for a second time.”
Three days before her death, Rafqa said, “I am not afraid of death which I have waited for a long time. God will let me live through my death.” Then on March 23, 1914, four minutes after receiving final absolution and the plenary indulgence, she died.
Beatification and canonization
A relic of St. Rafqa at St. Raymond Maronite Cathedral (St. Louis, Missouri)
On June 9, 1984, the eve of Pentecost, in the presence of the Pope John Paul II, the decree approving the miracle of Elizabeth Ennakl, who was said to have been completely cured of uterine cancer in 1938 at the tomb of Rafka, was promulgated.
On November 16, 1985, Pope John Paul II declared Rafqa Al Rayess a Blessed, and on June 10, 2001, he proclaimed her to be a saint at a solemn ceremony in the Vatican
Saint Walter of Pontoise
#மாமனிதர்கள்
#புனித_வால்டர் (1030-1099)
இவர் (#StWalterOfPontoise) பிரான்சிஸ் நாட்டைச் சார்ந்தவர். கல்வியில் சிறந்தவரான இவர், மெய்யியல் பேராசிரியராக உயர்ந்து, மாணவர்களுக்கு நல்ல முறையில் பாடம் கற்றுக் கொடுத்து வந்தார்.
இப்படியிருக்கையில் இவர் இந்த உலகம் தரும் பெயர், புகழ், பதவி, பட்டம் எல்லாம் வீண் என்பதை உணர்ந்தவராய், எல்லாவற்றையும் துறந்து, போன்டாய்ஸ் என்ற இடத்தில் இருந்த துறவுமடத்தில் துறவியாகச் சேர்ந்தார்.
அங்கு இவருடைய அறிவாற்றலையும் ஞானத்தையும் கண்டு இவரை மடத்தின் தலைவராக உயர்த்தினார்கள். அது தனக்கு வேண்டாம் என்று அதனை உதறித் தள்ளிவிட்டு அங்கிருந்து அகன்று இவர் அப்பொழுது திருத்தந்தையாக இருந்த ஏழாம் கிரகோரியைச் சந்தித்து, தன் நிலையை அவரிடம் எடுத்துச் சொன்னார்.
எல்லாவற்றையும் பொறுமையாகக் கேட்டுக்கொண்ட திருத்தந்தை இவரை முந்தைய இடத்திற்கே சென்று, மட அதிபதியாகப் பணியாற்றுமாறு சொன்னார்.
இதன்பிறகு இவர் போன்டாய்ஸிற்கு வந்து மிகுந்த தாழ்ச்சியோடு பணியாற்றினார்.
இவர் திருஅவையில் மறுமலர்ச்சியைக் கொண்டுவந்தார். அதனால் இவருக்குக் கடுமையான எதிர்ப்பு வந்தது. ஒருமுறை எதிரிகள் இவரைத் தூக்கிச் சென்று கட்டி வைத்து அடித்துச் சித்திரவதை செய்தனர். அப்படியிருந்தும் இவர் தன்னுடைய முடிவில் உறுதியாக இருந்தார்.
இவ்வாறு மிகவும் தாழ்ச்சியுடனும், அதே நேரத்தில் கொண்ட கொள்கையில் உறுதியாகவும் இருந்த இவர் 1099 ஆம் ஆண்டு இறையடி சேர்ந்தார்.
.
Also known as
• Walter of Pontnoise
• Gaucher, Gaultier, Gautier, Gualterio, Gualtiero
Additional Memorial
4 May (translation of relics)
Profile
Well educated in general, and a professor of philosophy and rhetoric. Joined the Benedictines at Rebais-en-Brie to escape the world and the temptations presented by success in his field. Against his will he was made abbot of Pontoise Abbey by King Philip I; Walter reminded the king that it was by God's will that he did such a thing, not the crown's. He fled the house several time to escape the position, the last time to Rome, Italy where he gave Pope Gregory VII his written resignation; the pope told him to return to his house, assume his responsibilities as abbot, and never leave again. He obeyed. Worked against simony, lax discipline, and dissolute lives of some of his clergy. He was opposed by the corrupt and the corrupters that he fought, and they finally resorted to imprisoning and beating him. On his release, he resumed his work, often spending the whole night in chapel, praying for strength and wisdom.
Born
c.1030 in Andainville, Picardy, France
Died
• Good Friday, 8 April 1099 of natural causes
• buried at Pontoise Abbey
• miracles at his tomb and by his intervention approved almost immediately by bishops of Rouen, Paris and Senlis in France
• relics re-translated in 1655
• relics lost in the anti-Christian excesses of the French Revolution
Patronage
• against job-related stress
• prisoners
• prisoners of war
• vintners
• Pontoise, France
Blessed Pietro of Gubbio
Additional Memorial
29 October (Augustinians; Diocese of Gubbio, Italy)
Profile
Born to the Italian nobility, Pietro studied law at universities in Perugia, Italy, and Paris, France. He was a successful and brilliant lawyer known for his honesty, and who concentrated on representing the poor.
When he was 40 years old, Pietro came to know the Augustinians and was drawn to them, wanting to put himself and his law practice at the disposal of the Church. Priest. Friar in the Augustinian monastery in Gubbio, Italy. Chosen by the Order‘s vicar-general to serve as Provincial Visitor to Augustinian houses in France; tradition says that he travelled bare-footed and met all his brother Augustinians that way as a sign of humility. Noted preacher. Known for his holiness of life, his zeal for the Augustinian Rule and the Christian life, his patience with Augustinian brothers who had trouble living up to the Rule, and as a miracle worker. He spent later years as a prayerful monk the Gubbio monastery where he had begun.
Born
early 13th century in Gubbio, Umbria, Italy
Died
• between 1306 and 1322 in Gubbio, Umbria, Italy of natural causes
• buried in the common grave of friars in the center of the choir area in the Augustinian church in Gubbio
• legend says that one day soon after his burial, the monks were in the choir, sang the Te Deum, and heard a voice from the tomb that responded: Te Dominum confitemur! (Lord, we thank you!); the frightened brothers opened the tomb and found the body of Blessed Peter on his knees, looking up and hands crossed on his chest
• relics still enshrined in the Augustinian church
Beatified
1874 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmation)
Saint Ottone Frangipane
Also known as
Oddone, Oto, Otto
Profile
Born to the Italian nobility, he became a knight and fought in defense in the pope in the area of Frascati, Italy. Captured on the field, he was imprisoned in a tower until he prayed for the intercession Saint Leonard of Noblac and received miraculous assistance in escape. Pilgrim to the Benedictine abbey to Saints Trinity of Cava dei Tirreni; he did not become a monk, but lived there, spending his days in prayer and work. From there he moved to the monastery of Montevergine and became a spiritual student of Saint William of Vercelli. Moved to Ariano Irpino, Italy in 1117, and devoted himself to care for the pilgrims that came through the city en route to the Holy Lands. He began living nearby as a hermit in 1120; Ottone even dug a grave next to his cell as a reminder that death was always near. His reputation for holiness, wisdom and miracles soon spread and drew many would-be students.
Born
1040 in Rome, Italy
Died
• 23 March 1127 in Ariano Irpino, Italy of natural causes
• buried in the cathedral of Ariano Irpino
• during a siege of Ariano Irpino by Saracens, the locals prayed for Ottone's intercession; a shower of stones from the clouds chased off the besiegers
• relics transferred to Benevento, Italy in 1220 ahead of Saracen invasion
• some relics at the church of Saint Peter in Montemiletto, Italy
Patronage
• Ariano Irpino, Italy, city of
• Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, Italy, diocese of
• Castelbottaccio, Italy
Saint Joseph Oriol
Also known as
• José Orioli
• Josep Oriol Bogunyà
• Thaumaturgus of Barcelona• • Wonder Worker of Barcelona
Profile
Born poor. Studied at the University of Barcelona. Awarded a doctorate of theology on 1 August 1674. Ordained 30 May 1676. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy in 1686. Pope Innocent XI granted him a benefice at Santa Maria del Pino (Our Lady of the Pines), Barcelona, Spain, a parish he served for the rest of his life.
Wanted to evangelize infidels, and give himself over to martyrdom. On his way to Rome in April 1698 to ask to be a missionary, Joseph fell ill at Marseilles, France, and had a vision that gave him a new mission - revitalize the faith in his own back yard.
Returning home, he worked with the youngest of children and roughest of soldiers, and prayed without ceasing for the living and the dead. He wore a hair-shirt; lived for 26 years, half his life, solely on bread and water. Famed confessor, prophet, healer, and miracle worker, though many of the writers in his day and after have made him sound like some kind of medium or magician or somesuch.
Born
23 November 1650 at Barcelona, Spain
Died
• 23 March 1702 at Barcelona, Spain of natural causes
• predicted the date of his own death
• some locals lent him a bed to die on as he had always slept on a wooden bench or whatever was handy
Canonized
20 May 1909 by Pope Pius X
Blessed Metodej Dominik Trcka
Also known as
• Dominik Trcka
• Metod Dominik Trcka
• Metodij Dominik Trcka
Profile
Redemptorist, making his profession on 25 August 1904. Priest, ordained in Prague (in modern Czech Republic) on 17 July 1910. Worked in parish missions. Vice-provincial of his order on 23 March 1946.
On 14 April 1950 the Communist government of Czechoslovakia outlawed religious communities. On 21 April 1952 Father Metodio received a show trial and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for his work; he was repeatedly tortured by interrogators. Locked in an isolation cell as punishment for singing a Christmas hymn, he contracted pneumonia. Martyr.
Born
6 July 1886 at Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, Ostravský (modern Czech Republic)
Died
• 23 March 1959 in a Communist prison camp at Leopoldov, Trnavský kraj, Slovakia of pneumonia
• buried in the prison graveyard
• re-interred at the Redemptorist cemetery at the Greek-Catholic church in Michalovce on 17 October 1969
Beatified
4 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Álvaro del Portillo Díez de Sollano
Profile
One of eight children. Joined Opus Dei in 1935. Engineering student. Member of the Saint Vicent de Paul Society, and taught catechism to children in in poor neighbourhoods where the Society worked. Priest, ordained on 25 June 1944 in Madrid, Spain. Assigned to work in Rome, Italy in 1946. Bishop of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei on 28 November 1982. Titular bishop of Vita on 7 December 1990.
Born
11 March 1914 in Madrid, Spain
Died
23 March 1994 in Rome, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
• 27 September 2014 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated in Madrid, Spain
• the beatification miracle involves the August 2003 healing of Chilean newborn Jose Ignacio Ureta Wilson; just a few days old, the boy suffered a 30-minute period of cardiac arrest and a major hemorrhage; his medical team thought the boy had died, but his parents prayed for healing through the intercession of the bishop, and Jose now lives a normal life
Saint Turibius of Mogroveio
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(மார்ச் 23)
✠ புனிதர் டுரீபியஸ் ✠
(St. Turibius of Mogrovejo)
பேராயர், மறைப்பணியாளர்:
(Archbishop, Missionary)
பிறப்பு: நவம்பர் 16, 1538
மயோர்கா டி கம்போஸ், லியோன் அரசு, ஸ்பெய்ன்
(Mayorga de Campos, Kingdom of León, Spain)
இறப்பு: மார்ச் 23, 1606 (வயது 67)
ஸனா, வைசிராய் காலணியாதிக்க பெரு, பெரு
(Saña, Viceroyalty of Peru, Peru)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்
(Anglican Communion)
குருபரிபாலன திருச்சபை (ஐக்கிய அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் ஸ்காட்லாந்து நாடுகளிலுள்ள ஆங்கிலிக்கன் திருச்சபை)
(Episcopal Church (Anglican Church in the US and Scotland)
முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஜூலை 2, 1679
திருத்தந்தை பதினோராம் இன்னொசென்ட்
(Pope Innocent XI)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: 1726
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் பெனடிக்ட்
(Pope Benedict XIII)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: மார்ச் 23
பாதுகாவல்:
பெரு (Peru), லிமா (Lima), இலத்தின் அமெரிக்க ஆயர்கள் (Latin American bishops), பிறப்புரிமை (Native rights), சாரணர்கள் (Scouts), “வல்லடோலிட்” – வட ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டிலுள்ள ஒரு நகரம் (Valladolid, a city in northern Spain)
புனிதர் டுரீபியஸ், “ஸ்பேனிஷ் ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் உயர்பதவி” (Spanish Roman Catholic prelate) வகித்தவரும், கி.பி. 1579ம் ஆண்டுமுதல், கி.பி. 1606ம் ஆண்டில் தமது மரணம்வரை (சுமார் இருபத்தேழு வருடங்கள்) “லிமா” உயர்மறைமாவட்டத்தின் (Archbishop of Lima) பேராயராக பணியாற்றியவருமாவார். முதலில் மனிதநேயமும், சட்டமும் கற்ற இவர், பின்னர் பேராசிரியராகவும், அரசன் இரண்டாம் பிலிப்புவின் (King Philip II) உத்தரவின் பேரில் நீதி விசாரணை அதிகாரியாகவும் பணியாற்றினார். இவரது பக்தியும், கற்கும் திறனும் அரசனின் காதுகளைச் சென்றடைந்தது. அக்காலத்தில் இது வழக்கமில்லை எனினும், அரசுமுறை அனுபவமோ, நீதி விசாரணைகளில் முன் அனுபவமோ இல்லாத டுரீபியஸுக்கு இப்பதவி கிட்டியது. நீதி விசாரணைகளில் இவர் செய்திருந்த குறிப்பிடத்தக்க பணிகள் இவருக்கு அரசனிடம் புகழைத் தேடித் தந்தது. இதன் காரணமாக, அவ்வமயம் காலியாக இருந்த லிமா உயர்மறைமாவட்ட பேராயர் பதவியில் இவரை நியமித்தார். தமது எதிர்ப்பையும் மீறி, திருத்தந்தை அதனை அங்கீகரித்தார்.
“டொரீபியோ அல்ஃபோன்சோ டி மொக்ரோவேஜோ” (Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட இவர், ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் உயர் குடியில் பிறந்தவர் ஆவார். சிறந்த கல்விமானான டுரீபியஸ், புகழ் பெற்ற 'சலமான்கா' நகரின் பல்கலை கழகத்தின் (University of Salamanca) சட்ட பேராசிரியரும் ஆவார்.
கி.பி. 1578ம் ஆண்டு, கத்தோலிக்க குருவாக அருட்பொழிவு பெற்ற இவர், பெரு நகருக்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டார். அரசன் இரண்டாம் பிலிப்புவால் (King Philip II) “லிமா” நகரின் பேராயராக நியமிக்கப்பட்டார். கி.பி. 1579ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 16ம் நாளன்று, திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் கிரகொரி (Pope Gregory XIII) அதற்கு அங்கீகாரம் அளித்தார். 580ம் ஆண்டு, ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம், "செவில்" (Seville) உயர் மறைமாவட்ட பேராயர் "கிறிஸ்டோபல் ரோஜஸ் செண்டோவல்" (Cristóbal Rojas Sandoval, Archbishop of Seville) அவர்களால் பேராயராக அருட்பொழிவு செய்யப்பட்டார்.
970 கிலோ மீட்டர் தொலைவிலுள்ள லிமா நகருக்கு நடை பயணமாக சென்றபடி தமது அருட் பணியை தொடங்கினார். கவர்ந்திழுக்கும் நாவன்மை கொண்ட போதகரான டுரீபியஸ், எண்ணற்ற பூர்வீக குடியினருக்கு திருமுழுக்கு அளித்ததுடன், அவர்களுக்கு உறுதிப்பூசுதல் அருட்சாதனமும் வழங்கினார். "லிமா நகர புனிதர் ரோஸ்" (St. Rose of Lima) மற்றும் "புனிதர் மார்ட்டின்" (St. Martin de Porres.) உள்ளிட்டோர் இவரால் திருமுழுக்கு பெற்று உறுதிப்பூசுதல் அருட்சாதனம் பெற்றவர்களே.
இவர் சாலைகள், உறைவிட பள்ளிகள், பல பள்ளிகள், மருத்துவமனைகள், மற்றும் கிறிஸ்தவ தொழுகைக் கூடங்களைக் கட்டினார். கி.பி. 1591ம் ஆண்டு, மேற்கு துருவத்தில் (Western Hemisphere) முதல் குருத்துவ பள்ளியை (First Seminary) நிறுவினார். 1604ம் ஆண்டு, ஃபெப்ரவரி மாதம், இரண்டாம் நாளன்று, “மூன்றாம் லிமா பேராலயத்தின்” (Third Lima Cathedral) முதல் பகுதியை திறந்து வைத்தார்.
டுரீபியஸ், தமது பணி காலத்தில் பதின்மூன்று பேராய மாநாடுகளைக் (Diocesan Synods) கூட்டினார். மூன்றுமுறை மாகாண சபைகளுக்கான (Provincial Councils) கூட்டங்களைக் கூட்டினார். இவரது காலத்தில், லிமா (Lima) மகத்தான உயர் மறைமாவட்டமாக (Immense Archdiocese) மாறியது.
மக்களின் குடியுரிமைகளுக்காக, பெரு நாட்டு ஆட்சியாளர்களுக்கெதிராக போராடிய இவர், அம்மக்களால் தங்களது பரிந்து போராடும் தலைவராக பார்க்கப்பட்டார். அங்குள்ள பேச்சு வழக்கினைக் கற்றுக்கொண்ட இவர், எண்ணற்ற பூர்வீக குடிகளை கிறிஸ்தவர்களாக மாற்றினார்.
தாம் இறப்பதற்கு சில வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னமே இவர் தமது இறப்பின் நாளையும் நேரத்தையும் கணித்தார். இருப்பினும், தமது இறை பணியை விடாது செய்து வந்தார். "பகஸ்மயோ" (Pacasmayo) என்ற இடத்தில் காய்ச்சலால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட இவர், தமது பணியைத் தொடர்ந்தபடியே, மிகவும் மோசமான நிலையில் "ஸனா" (Sana) வந்தடைந்தார். தாம் கணித்தபடியே கி.பி. 1606ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், 23ம் நாளன்று, மரணமடைந்தார்.
டுரீபியஸ், தமது பணி காலத்தில் எண்ணற்ற குருக்களுக்கும் ஆயர்களுக்கும் பேராயர்களுக்கும் அருட்பொழிவு செய்வித்தார்.
Also known as
• Turibius of Lima
• Toribio, Turribius Alphonsus, Turybiusz, Turibio de Mogrovejo
Profile
Born to the nobility. Lawyer. Professor of law at Salamanca, Spain. Ordained in 1578 at age 40. Judge of the Court of the Inquisition at Granada, Spain. Archbishop of Lima, Peru on 15 May 1579. Founded the first seminary in the Western hemisphere. Fought for the rights of the natives against the Spanish masters. Organized councils and synods in the New World.
Born
1538 at Mayorga de Campos, Leon, Spain
Died
23 May 1606 at Santa, Peru of natural causes
Canonized
10 December 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII
Patronage
• Latin American bishops
• native rights
• Lima, Peru
• Peru
Saint Victorian of Hadrumetum
Profile
The wealthiest subject of the Vandal king Hunseric, Victorian served as governor of Carthage with the imperial Roman title of Proconsul, and was known for his devotion to orthodox Christianity. Hunseric offered him all the wealth and power he could bestow if Victorian would declare himself a supporter of Arianism; Victorian declined. He was arrested, tortured and killed for his refusal.
Died
484 in Carthage in North Africa
Readings
Tell the king that I trust in Christ. His Majesty may condemn me to any torments, but I shall never consent to renounce the Catholic Church, in which I have been baptized. Even if there were no life after this, I would never be ungrateful and perfidious to God, who has granted me the happiness of knowing Him, and bestowed on me His most precious graces. - Saint Victorian in response Huneric's offer to support Arianism
Saint Gwinear
Also known as
Fingar, Guigner, Gwinnear
Profile
Son of the pagan King Clito of Ireland. When Saint Patrick arrived at Clito's court, the king was hostile; Gwinear recognized Patrick‘s sincerity and piety, treated him well, and meditated on his message. Convert to Christianity. Hermit. Upon his father‘s death, he returned home, gathered 770 other converts, and worked to spread the faith in Wales and Brittany. Miracle worker. Martyr. The Cornish village of Gwinear is named for him. At Pluvigner there is a stained glass window of Gwinear hunting a stag with a cross between its antlers, and there is a holy well with his name near the church.
Born
Irish
Died
• beheaded c.460 at Hayle, Cornwall, England
• a basilica was built over his grave
Martyrs of Caesarea
Profile
A group of five Christians who protested public games which were dedicated to pagan gods. Martyred in the persecutions Julian the Apostate. The only details we know about them are their names - Aquila, Domitius, Eparchius, Pelagia and Theodosia.
Died
in 361 in Caesarea, Palestine
Blessed Peter Higgins
Also known as
Peadar Ó Huiggin
Additional Memorial
20 June as one of the Irish Martyrs
Profile
Joined the Dominicans in 1622. Priest. Prior of the Dominican house at Naas. He was ordered to acknowledge the English king as head of the Church; he declined. Martyr.
Born
1601 in Ireland
Died
martyred on 23 March 1642 in Dublin, Ireland
Beatified
27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy
Video
YouTube PlayList
Blessed Annunciata Asteria Cocchetti
Profile
Orphaned at age seven. At 17 she opened a school for poor girls in her home. Taught school at Rovato, Italy at 22, and then at Cemmo Valcamonica, Italy. Helped found the Sisters of Saint Dorothy of Cemmo, and served in the order for 40 years.
Born
9 May 1800 in Rovato, Italy
Died
23 March 1882 in Cemmo, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
21 April 1991 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy
Saint Ethelwald of Farne
Also known as
• Ethelwald the Hermit
• Aethelwold, Edelwald, Oidilwald
Profile
Priest. Benedictine monk at the monastery of Ripon, England. Hermit on the island of Inner Farne, England in 687. A miracle worker, his prayers were known to stop storms that threatened visitors to his island.
Died
• spring 699 of natural causes
• interred at Lindisfarne next to Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and Saint Edbert of Lindisfarne
• relics moved from place to place with those of Saint Cuthbert
• relics re-interred in Durham cathedral
Blessed Edmund Sykes
Additional Memorials
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
• 22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales
Profile
Priest in the apostolic vicariate of England. Martyred in the persecutions of Queen Elizabeth I.
Born
c.1550 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Died
23 March 1587 in York, North Yorkshire, England
Beatified
22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Benedict of Campagna
Also known as
• Benedict the Hermit
• Benedict of Campania
Profile
Benedictine hermit in the Campagna region of Italy. Friend of Saint Benedict of Nursia. Captured by Totila the Goth, he was thrown in a fire to die; he stayed in the flames until the next day when he miraculously emerged unharmed.
Died
c.550 of natural causes
Saint Nicon of Sicily
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Distinguished Roman soldier. Converted to Christianity while travelling in Palestine. Spiritual student of Theodosius of Cyzicus. Leader of 200 Christian disciples who fled to Sicily to escape persecutions of Decius in Palestine. They could not escape it, however, and all were martyred.
Died
martyred c.250 in Sicily, Italy
Saint Liberatus of Carthage
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Martyred with his wife and children in the persecutions of the Arians; only the father‘s name has come down to us.
Died
484 at Carthage (modern Tunis, Tunisia)
Saint Frumentius of Hadrumetum
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Wealthy merchant. Martyred in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal King Hunneric.
Died
martyred in 484 in Hadrumetum (modern Sousse, Tunisia)
Saint Maidoc of Fiddown
Also known as
• Mo-Mhaedog of Fiddown
• Momhaedog
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Fifth century abbot at the monastery at Fiddown in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Born
Irish
Saint Felix the Martyr
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Fifth century martyr, killed in the Vandal persecutions with 20 other Christians whose names have not come down to us.
Died
martyred in Africa in the 5th century
Saint Felix of Monte Cassino
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Benedictine monk at Monte Cassino.
Died
• c.1000 of natural causes
• miracles reported at his tomb
Saint Crescentius of Carthage
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Priest. Martyred in the persecutions of the Arians.
Died
484 at Carthage (modern Tunis, Tunisia)
Daughters of Feradhach
Also known as
Filiae Feradachi
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Mentioned in early calendars and martyrologies, but no information about them has survived.
Saint Theodolus of Antioch
Also known as
Theodore, Theodoricus
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Priest in Antioch, Syria.
Saint Fidelis the Martyr
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Martyr.
Died
martyred in North Africa
