Saint Francis of Paola
Also known as
• Franciscus de Paula
• Francis the Fire Handler
• Francesco di Paola
Profile
Francis's parents were childless for many years, but following prayers for the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, they had three children; Francis was the oldest. Following a pilgrimage in his teens to Rome and Assisi in Italy, he became a hermit in a cave near Paola. Before he was 20 years old he began to attract followers. By the 1450's the followers had become so numerous that he established a Rule for them and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474. In 1492 they were renamed the Franciscan Order of Minim Fiars, which means they count themselves the least of the family of God.
Prophet. Miracle worker. Reputed to read minds. In 1464 Francis wanted to cross the Straits of Messina to reach Sicily, but a boatman refused to take him. Francis laid his cloak on the water, tied one end to his staff to make a sail, and sailed across with his companions. Franz Liszt wrote a piece of music inspired by the incident.
Defender of the poor and oppressed. Gave unwanted counsel and admonitions to King Ferdinand of Naples and his sons. Traveled to Paris at the request of Pope Sixtus IV to help Louis XI prepare for death. Used this position to influence the course of national politics, helping restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis XI to return some disputed land.
In an old tradition that has certain saints opposing on an equivalent demon, Francis is the adversary of Belial since his simple humility cancels the demons raging pride.
Born
27 March 1416 at Paola, Calabria, Kingdom of Italy (part of modern Italy)
Died
• 2 April 1507 (Good Friday) at Plessis, France of natural causes
• in 1562 Huguenots broke open his tomb, found his body incorrupt, and burned it; the bones were salvaged by Catholics, and distributed as relics to various churches
Canonized
1519 by Pope Leo X
Patronage
• against fire
• against plague
• against sterility
• boatmen, mariners, sailors, watermen
• naval officers
• travellers
• 7 cities
Saint Pedro Calungsod
Also known as
Peter Calungsod
Profile
Educated by the Jesuits in the Visayas, a section of the Philippines. Pedro could read, write and speak Visayan, Spanish, and Chamorro, paint, draw, sing, and worked as a carpenter. Teenage catechist who worked with Spanish Jesuit missionaries to the violent Chamarros in the Ladrones Islands (modern Marianas) in 1668. Because he was a Christian on a mission to catechize the Chamorros, and Baptisms, Calungsod was murdered by two natives. He died trying to defend Father Diego Luis de San Vitores. Martyr.
Born
• c.1654 in Ginatilan, Cebu, Philippines
• named for Saint Peter the Apostle
Died
• hacked to death with a catana on 2 April 1672 at Tomhom, Guam
• mutilated body thrown into the sea
Beatified
• 5 March 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Vatican City
• the investigation proved the miraculous cure of bone cancer through Pedro's intercession
Canonized
21 October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI
Patronage
young people
Blessed Vilmos Apor
Also known as
Vilhelm, Gulielmus, William
Profile
Born to the Hungarian nobility. Ordained on 24 August 1915. Chosen bishop of Gyõr, Hungary on 21 January 1941 by Pope Pius XII. Conventual chaplain ad honorem of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Known for his hard work, his efforts for social justice, his support of the poor, his protection of the weak. Provided emergency supplies to Jews being deported through his town. Sheltered those made homeless by air raids. Hid and protected women from brutalities of Russian soldiers who were closing in on Germany at the end of World War II. Shot on a Good Friday by a drunken Red Army officer who was chasing women who had fled to bishop Vilmos for protection; he died three days later.
Born
29 February 1892 at Segesvár, Transylvania, Hungary
Died
shot on 2 April 1945 at Gyõr, Hungary
Beatified
9 November 1997 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's basilica, Vatican City
Readings
The Cross strengthens the weak, it curbs the powerful. - episcopal motto of Blessed Vilmos
The intimate sharing in the mystery of Christ, the new and perfect Temple in whom full communion between God and man is realized (cf. John 2:21), shines forth in the pastoral service of Blessed Vilmos Apor, whose life was crowned with martyrdom. He was the "parish priest of the poor", a ministry which he continued as a Bishop during the dark years of the Second World War, working as a generous benefactor of the needy and the defender of the persecuted. He was not afraid to raise his voice to censure, on the basis of Gospel principles, the injustices and abuses of power towards minorities, especially towards the Jewish community. In the image of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (cf. John 10:11), the new blessed lived his fidelity to the paschal mystery, ultimately making the supreme sacrifice of his own life. His murder occurred precisely on Good Friday: he was shot to death while defending his flock. Through his martyrdom he thus experienced his own Passover, passing from the heroic witness of love for Christ and of solidarity with his brothers and sisters to the crown of glory promised to faithful servants. The heroic witness of Bishop Vilmos Apor honours the history of the noble Hungarian nation and is held up today for the admiration of the whole Church. May it encourage believers to follow Christ in their lives without hesitation. This is the holiness to which all the baptized are called! - from the beatification homily by Pope John Paul II, 9 November 1997
Saint Francisco Coll Guitart
Also known as
• Francis Coll Guitart
• Frans Coll Guitart
Profile
One of ten children. His father, Peter, died when Francis was only four. Confirmed in 1818 at age six. Entered the seminary at Vichy, France in 1822 at age ten. Student with Saint Anthony Mary Claret. Even as a kid he taught grammar and catechism to local children. Francisco joined the Dominicans at Vichy in 1830 at age eighteen. When monastic orders were suppressed by the government, Francis continued to study covertly. Ordained on 28 March 1836 at Vichy.
Parish priest of Arles, France. Re-assigned to Moya in 1839, an area devastated by war, awash with starving refugees. He established charitable organizations to feed and house them, and he worked with the poor and displaced for ten years. Helped Saint Anthony Claret found the Apostolic Fraternity in 1846. Director of the tertiaries in Vichy. In 1850 he re-opened the suppressed Dominican monastery, and began a program of preaching throughout the Catalan region. Worked with cholera victims during the epidemic that struck in 1854.
Founded the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (La Annunciata) in 1856, a teaching branch of tertiaries; by his death the order had grown to fifty houses, and today there are over 140 in Europe and America. Struck blind during a homily given at Sallent on 2 December 1869; his health was never the same, but he refused to retire. When the Dominicans were allowed to officially return to the region in 1872, they found that Francis has somehow maintained the primary structures, physical and administrative, and instead of starting all over, they reclaimed what was theirs, and took up their work where they had left off.
Born
18 May 1812 in Grombeny, Catalan Pyrenees, Spain
Died
• 2 April 1875 in Vic, Barcelona, Spain of natural causes
• relics enshrined in the La Annunciata motherhouse
Canonized
11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Prayers
God of all truth, you chose Blessed Francis to make known the name of your Son and to instruct Christian people in holiness. By the help of his prayers may the true faith be continually sustained and grow through the ministry of preaching. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
Blessed Mykolai Charnetskyi
Also known as
• Mykola Carneckyj
• Mykola Charnetsky
• Nicholas Charnetsky
• Nikolas Carneckyj
Additional Memorial
• 6 January as one of the Martyrs of Ukraine
• 27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe
Profile
Greek Catholic. Ordained on 2 October 1909. Received a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology in Rome, Italy. Entered the Redemptorist novitate at Zboysko in 1919, making his vows on 16 September 1920. Spiritual director and professor at the seminary in Stanislaviv (modern Ivano-Frankivsk), Ukraine. Appointed Apostolic Visitor to Ukrainian Catholics in Volyn and Polyssya by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Bishop on 2 February 1931.
Apostolic Exarch in Volyn and Pidlyashia during the Bolshevik occupation. Arrested for his faith on 11 April 1945 by the NKVD; sentenced to six years forced labour in Siberia. Worked in a blacksmith shop, ministered to other prisoners, and ruined his health. His six year sentence continued for eleven years, and after his release he lived under constant surveillance and irregular torture. Martyr.
Born
14 September 1884 at Samakivtsi, Horodensk District, Halychyna, Ukraine
Died
• 2 April 1959 at Lviv, Ukraine
• buried there
• city authorities have to cover the grave with fresh earth each week as pilgrims carry off so much
Beatified
27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine
Saint Appian of Caesarea
Also known as
Affianus, Amphian, Amphianus, Anphian, Aphian, Aphianus, Apian, Apphian, Apphianos
Profile
Born to wealthy, prominent and non-Christian family. Brother of Saint Aedesius of Alexandria. Well educated, studying rhetoric, philosophy and civil law in Beirut, Lebanon. Convert to Christianity. Friend of Eusebius of Caesarea; the pair made a pilgrimage to Palestine. Studied under Saint Pamphilus.
In May 305, Emperor Maximinus declared that everyone should take part in public sacrifices in celebration of his coronation. When it came time for the sacrifices in his city, Appian went to the temple and stopped the official, Urbanus, from offering incense to an idol, explaining that it was impious to worship an idol instead of the true God, and berating the judge for doing it. Appian was beaten, imprisoned, his flesh torn off with iron claws, and roasted over a slow fire. He was then ordered to sacrifice to the Roman gods; he declined. Martyr.
Born
c.287 in Gagae, Asia Minor
Died
• drowned in April 306 in Caesarea, Palestine by having stones tied him and then being thrown into the sea
• an earthquake immediately struck the area and Appian's body, stones and all, immediately washed back up onto the beach
Reading
I confess Christ, the one God, and the same God with the Father. - Saint Appian to the court when ordered to sacrifice to idols
Saint John Payne
Also known as
• John Pain
• John Paine
Additional Memorials
• 25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
Profile
Convert. Studied at Douai, France in 1574. Ordained on 7 April 1576. Returned to Ingatestone, Essex, England, ministering to covert Catholics and bringing many back to the Church. Worked with Saint Cuthbert Mayne. Arrested for his work in 1577, he was exiled to Douai in 1579. Returned to England in 1581 to resume his work. Betrayed by by John Eliot, a known murderer who made a career of denouncing Catholics and priests for bounty, he was arrested in Warwickshire, tortured several times, accused of plotting to kill the queen based solely on Eliot's testimony, and executed. Martyr.
Born
diocese of Petersborough, Northampton, England
Died
hanged, drawn, and quartered on 2 April 1582 at Chelmsford, Essex, England
Canonized
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Saint Urban of Langres
Additional Memorial
23 January in Langres, France
Profile
Bishop of Langres, France in 374. During a priod of persecution of the Church, Urban hid for a while in a vineyard. There he converted the vine dressers, who then helped him in his covert ministry. Due to their work, and to Urban's devotion to the Holy Blood, he developed great affection to all the people in the wine industry, and they for him.
Died
c.390 of natural causes
Patronage
• against alcoholism
• against blight
• against fainting
• against faintness
• against frost
• against storms
• barrel makers, coopers
• Dijon, France
• gardeners
• Langres, France
• vine dressers
• vine growers
• vintners
Blessed Leopold of Gaiche
Also known as
Giovanni Croci
Profile
Born to a peasant family, he was a shepherd as a boy. He early showed signs of a religious vocation, and joined the Franciscans at age 19. Ordained in 1757. Taught philosophy and theology. Mission preacher. Minister-Provincial of Umbrian in 1781; his term was noted for insisting on study and adherence to his Order's Rule by the friars, and support of the friars by their superiors. Established a cloister at Monte Luco near Spoleto, Italy, and lived there in solitude and silence for several years; it was closed in 1809 due to political suppression of monastic houses, and Leopold returned to life as a parish priest, working in periods of silent prayer whenever his schedule permitted. The community at Monte Luco was restored in 1814, Leopold immediately returned there, and spent his remaining months as a prayerful, silent monk.
Born
30 October 1732 in Gaiche di Piegaro, Perugia, Italy
Died
2 April 1815 in Monteluco, Perugia, Italy of natural causes
Beatified
12 March 1893 by Pope Leo XIII
Blessed Arnulf of Leuven
Also known as
• Arnulf I
• Arnulf of Louvain
• Arnulf of Lovanium
• Arnolf of Löwen
• Arnulf of Villers
• Arnulfus Lovaniensis
• Arnolfo, Arnoul
Profile
Cistercian monk. Abbot at Villers-la-Ville, Brabant (in modern Belgium) for 10 years. He expanded the abbey, made it a center of piety and mysticism, and compiled the first records of the abbey, covering the years 1146 to 1240. Noted poet. He opposed the scholasticism and formal education system being implemented at the time, and refused to help with the construction of the Saint-Bernard college in Paris, France as he thought the scholastic movement was destroying mystical life. Late in life, he retired from the abbacy to devote his remaining days to prayer and study.
Born
early 13th century in Leuven, Belgium
Died
1276 the abbey at Villers-la-Ville, Brabant (in modern Belgium) of natural causes
Saint Ebbe the Younger
Also known as
• Ebbe of Coldingham
• Abb, Aebbe, Ebba
Profile
Abbess at Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland, a double monastery that had been founded by Saint Ebbe the Elder, and which was the largest in the country at the time. When the monastery was attacked by Scandinavian pirates, Ebbe gathered her nuns and exhorted them to save themselves from falling into the hands of the pirates by voluntary disfiguring themselves. She then set an example by cutting off her own nose and upper lip; the other nuns did the same. When the Vikings broke into the convent, they were so horrified and angry by what the women had done to escape being raped, they locked them all in, set fire to the house, and burned them all to death.
Died
burned to death on 2 April 870 at Coldingham monastery, Berwickshire, Scotland
Saint Abundius of Como
Also known as
Abbondio, Abondius, Abundias
Profile
Priest. Bishop of Como, Italy. Noted theologian. Attended the Council of Constantinople in 450. Diplomat from Pope Leo the Great to Emperor Theodosius II. Papal legate to the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Attended the Council of Milan in 452. Fought Eutychianism, which denied Jesus' human nature, and Nestorianism. Sometimes credited with the authorship of the Te Deum.
Born
at Thessalonica, Greece
Died
469 of natural causes
Patronage
Como, Italy
Represetation
raising a rich pagan's son to life
Saint Eustace of Luxeuil
Also known as
Eustasius, Eustatius, Eustathius, Eustache, Eustochius, Eustachius
Profile
Monk. Spiritual student of Saint Columbanus. Head of the monastic school at Luxeuil Abbey. Abbot of Luxeuil in 611. During his abbacy the abbey had 600 monks and ran a seminary that sent many bishops and saints into the world. Noted for his humility, lengthy fasts, and for spending his time either at work or prayer. Healed Saint Sadalberga of blindness.
Born
c.560
Died
c.629
Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores-Alonso
Profile
Jesuit missionary priest. Founded the first Catholic church on the island of Guam. Established the Spanish presence in the Mariana Islands.
Born
13 November 1627 in Burgos, Spain
Died
2 April 1672 in Tumon, Guam
Beatified
6 October 1985 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Theodora of Tiria
Also known as
• Theodora of Tyre
• Theodora of Tyros
• Theodora of Caesarea
• Teodora, Theodosia
Profile
Imprisoned, tortured and executed in her late teens for encouraging other martyrs to not give up their faith. Martyr.
Born
c.290 in Tyre
Died
thrown into the sea to drown at Caesarea, Palestine c.317
Blessed Alessandrina of Foligno
Also known as
Alexandrine, Sandrina
Profile
Poor Clare nun. Founded the Poor Clare monastery in Foligno, Italy where she was admired for her great piety.
Born
1385 in Sulmona, Italy
Died
2 April 1458 of natural causes
Blessed Drogo of Baume
Also known as
Drogon, Dreux, Druon
Profile
After leading a worldly and dissolute life, Drogo became a Benedictine monk at the abbeys of Fleury-sur-Loire and Baume-les-Messieurs in France. Noted for his piety. Around 950, he received a vision of Saint Benedict of Nursia, confirming his conversion to religious life.
Saint Ðaminh Tuoc
Also known as
Domenico, Dominic
Additional Memorial
24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam
Profile
Dominican priest. Martyr.
Born
c.1775 in Trung Lao, Nam Ðinh, Vietnam
Died
2 April 1839 in Nam Ðinh, Vietnam
Canonized
19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Brónach of Glen-Seichis
Also known as
• Virgin of Glen-Seichis
• Bromana, Bronacha, Bronanna, Bronagh, Bronaha
Profile
Nun. Abbess of Gleannsechis (Kill-sechis), Ireland.
Saint Nicetius of Lyon
Also known as
Nicet, Nicetus, Nizier, Nicezio
Profile
Nephew of Saint Sacerdos of Lyons. Bishop of Lyon, France in 553. Worked to revive ecclesiastical chant.
Died
573 of natural causes
Blessed Meingosus of Weingarten
Also known as
Megingaud, Meingos
Profile
Benedictine monk. Abbot of at Weingarten abbey in Swabia (in modern Germany) c.1188.
Died
c.1200
Representation
abbot supervising construction
Saint Lonochilus of Maine
Also known as
Longis, Lenogisil
Profile
Priest. Founded a monastery in Maine, France. Spiritual teacher of Saint Agnofleda of Maine.
Died
653 of natural causes
Saint Agnofleda of Maine
Also known as
Agneflette, Noflette
Profile
Nun. Spiritual student of Saint Lonochilus of Maine.
Born
Switzerland
Died
638 of natural causes
Saint Constantine of Scotland
Profile
King of Scotland. Died in battle fighting invading heathens, and thus considered a martyr.
Died
• 874
• buried on Iona
Saint Rufus of Glendalough
Also known as
Rufin
Profile
Hermit at Glendalough, Ireland.
Saint Musa of Rome
Profile
Young girl in 6th century Rome, Italy who had visions and mystical experiences. Saint Gregory the Great wrote about her.
Saint Victor of Capua
Profile
Bishop of Capua, Italy in 541. Noted ecclesiastical writer.
Died
554
Saint Gordonian
Also known as
Gortonian, Gordian, Gurgoniana
Profile
Martyr.
Saint Magnus
Profile
Martyr.
Saint Donatus
Profile
Martyr.
Saint Julius
Profile
Martyr.
Martyrs of Africa
Profile
A group of ten Christians martyred together in Africa, date unknown. We have six of their names - Marcellinus, Procula, Quiriacus,Regina, Satullus and Saturnin, but no other information has survived.
Martyrs of Thessalonica
Profile
Sixteen Christians who were martyred together in Thessalonica in Greece, date unknown. We know nothing else about them but 13 of their names – Agapitus, Agatophus,Cyriacus, Dionysius, Gagus, Julianus,Mastisius, Proculus, Publius, Theodoulus,Urbanus, Valerius and Zonisus.