இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஏப்ரல் 5

 St. Vincent Ferrer

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஏப்ரல் 5)

✠ புனிதர் வின்சென்ட் ஃபெர்ரர் ✠

(St. Vincent Ferrer)

இறுதி நீதி வழங்கப்படுதலின் தேவ துாதர்:

(Angel of the Last Judgment)

பிறப்பு: ஜனவரி 23, 1350

வாலன்சியா, வாலன்சியா அரசு

(Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia)

இறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 5, 1419 (வயது 69)

வேன்ஸ், பிரிட்டனி

(Vannes, Duchy of Brittany)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்

(Anglican Communion)

அக்ளிபயன் திருச்சபை அல்லது சுதந்திர பிலிப்பைன்ஸ் திருச்சபை

(Aglipayan Church)

புனிதர் பட்டம்: ஜூன் 3, 1455

திருத்தந்தை மூன்றாம் காலிக்ஸ்டஸ்

(Pope Calixtus III)

பாதுகாவல்: 

கட்டிடம் கட்டும் தொழிலாளர், 

குழாய் பணியாளர், பிரிட்டனின் மீனவர்,

ஸ்பெயினின் அநாதை இல்லங்கள்

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஏப்ரல் 5

புனிதர் வின்சென்ட் ஃபெரர், ஒரு வாலன்சியா (Valencian) நகர டொமினிகன் சபை (Dominican Friar) துறவியாவார். தலைசிறந்த தர்க்கவியலாளர் என்றும், மத போதகர் என்றும் பெயர் பெற்றவர். இவர், "இறுதி நீதி வழங்கப்படுதலின் தேவ துாதர்" (Angel of the Last Judgment) என்றும் இவர் பரவலாக அழைக்கப்பட்டார்.

ஓர் பிரபுக்கள் குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த இவருடைய தந்தை ஒரு ஆங்கிலேயர் ஆவார். அவரது பெயர், "கில்லெம் ஃபெர்ரர்" (Guillem Ferrer) ஆகும். இவரது தாயார், "கான்ஸ்டான்கா மிக்கேல்" (Constança Miquel) ஒரு வாலன்சியா (Valencian) நகர பெண்மணி ஆவார். 

குழந்தை பருவத்திலேயே ஓர் அழகிய சிறுவனாகவும், மிகவும் உயர்ந்த குணங்களையும் இயற்கையிலே பெற்றிருந்தார். இவரது பெற்றோர் இவரை, அன்னை மரியாளிடமும். ஏழைகளிடத்திலும் மிகுந்த பக்தியும், பாசமும் கொண்டவராக வளர்த்தனர். இவர் ஒவ்வொரு புதன் மற்றும் வெள்ளிக் கிழமைகளில் விரதமிருந்து, தான் பெறும் உயர்தர உணவுகளை தான் உண்ணாமல் மற்றவர்களுக்கு கொடுத்தார். வின்சென்ட் ஏழைகளை கடவுளின் நண்பர்களாக கருதி, அவர்கள்மேல் மிகுந்த பாசம் வைத்தார். இதைப் பார்த்த இவர் பெற்றோர் தன் குழந்தையின் தர்ம செயல்களால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டு, தங்களுக்கென்று இருந்த சொத்தில் மூன்றில் ஒரு பகுதியை ஏழைகளுக்கென்று ஒதுக்கி தன் குழந்தையுடன் சேர்ந்து தாங்களும் தர்மம் செய்தார்கள். 

வின்சென்ட் எட்டு வயதில் பாரம்பரிய ஆய்வுக்கான படிப்பைத் தொடங்கினார். பதினான்கு வயதில் தத்துவயியலையும் (Philosophy), இறையியலையும் (Theology) கற்றார். 

தமது பதினெட்டாம் வயதில், இங்கிலாந்தில் "கருப்பு துறவிகள்" என பெயர் பெற்ற "டொமினிக்கன் சபையில்" மத போதகராக சேர்ந்து, தன்னை கடவுளுக்கு அர்ப்பணமாக்கினார். ஆனால் அவர் சாத்தானின் சோதனைகளுக்கு உட்படுத்தப்பட்டு மிகவும் வேதனை அடைந்து சபையைவிட்டு வெளியேறி தனியாக செயல்பட நினைத்தார். ஆனால் பெற்றோர் இவரை செபத்தின் வழியாக மீண்டும் மீண்டும் ஊக்கமூட்டி உற்சாகப்படுத்தி துறவற மடத்திலேயே, அன்னை மரியாளின் துணையால் தனது துன்பங்களை தாங்கிக்கொண்டு புதுமுக துறவு வரை (Novitiate) பயிற்சிகளை பெறவைத்தனர்.

அதன்பிறகு அவர் பார்சிலோனாவிற்கு (Barcelona) பிரபலமான தத்துவயியல் ஆசிரியராக பணிபுரிய அனுப்பிவைக்கப்பட்டார். அதன்பிறகு கி.பி. 1373ம் ஆண்டு, பார்சிலோனாவில் மறைபரப்பு பணிக்காக அனுப்பிவைக்கப்பட்டார். அங்கு அவர் மிகவும் பஞ்சத்தில் அடிப்பட்டு, மக்களால் ஒதுக்கப்பட்டார். ஆனாலும் அவர் இரவு பகலென்று பாராமல் கப்பலில் பயணித்து போதித்தார். இதை கவனித்த கப்பலில் பயணம் செய்த சிலர், இவரை வதைத்து, கேலி செய்வதற்காக உயிருடனிருந்த ஒருவரை இறந்ததுபோல நடிக்கச்செய்தனர். இவர் இறந்த பிணத்தின் முன் செபித்தார். இதை கண்டு அவரைச் சுற்றியிருந்தவர்கள் பரிகாசம் செய்து சிரித்தனர். ஆனால் இவரின் வல்லமையை வெளிப்படுத்த இறைவன் உண்மையிலேயே அவரை இறக்கச் செய்தார். இதையறிந்த பரிகாசம் செய்தோர் பயம் கொண்டு, தவற்றை உணர்ந்து, தாங்கள் கூறிய பொய்யை மன்னிக்கும்படி வேண்டி, மனம்மாறி கிறிஸ்துவை பின் தொடர்ந்தார்கள்.

பின்னர் கி.பி. 1376ம் ஆண்டு, மீண்டும் வின்சென்ட் தூலூஸ் (Toulouse) என்ற இடத்திற்கு ஓர் ஆண்டு கல்வியை தொடர அனுப்பப்பட்டார். அங்கு எபிரேய மொழியில் விவிலியத்தை ஆய்வுசெய்தார். அதன்பின்னர் கி.பி. 1379ம் ஆண்டு, பார்சிலோனாவில் குருவானார். பிறகு மீண்டும் கி.பி. 1385 – 1390ம் ஆண்டுகளில் வாலென்சியாவிற்கு வரவழைக்கப்பட்டு பேராலயத்தில் போதித்தார். அப்போது ஏறக்குறைய 30,000 யூதர்களை மனமாற்றினார். அங்கு இவரது போதனையை கண்ட சில கர்தினால்கள் இவரை பழிவாங்கும் நோக்குடன் இவர்மேல் சில பொய் குற்றங்களைச் சுமத்தி நீதிமன்றத்திற்கு அனுப்பினர். அங்கு அவர்மேல் சுமத்தப்பட்ட குற்றங்களை “பீட்டர் டி லூனா/ பெனடிக்ட் XIII” (Peter De Luna/ Benedict XIII) என்ற “எதிர் திருத்தந்தை” (Antipope) விசாரித்தார். ஆனால் வின்சென்ட் கூறிய உண்மைகள் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்படாத நிலையில், அவர் குருவாக இருக்கக்கூடாது என்றும், துறவறத்திலிருந்து வெளியேற்றப்பட வேண்டுமென்றும் பேசப்பட்ட போது, வின்சென்ட் இடைவிடாது இறைவேண்டலில் ஈடுபட்டார். இதன்வழியாக உண்மைகள் வெளிக் கொணரப்பட்டது. இதன்பிறகு இவர் தனது குருத்துவ வாழ்வில் பலவிதமான நோய்களை குணமாக்கி, இறைசக்தியை இவ்வுலகில் வெளிப்படுத்தினார்.

21 ஆண்டுகள் சுவிட்சர்லாந்து, ஸ்பெயின், ஃபிரான்ஸ், இத்தாலி, இங்கிலாந்து, அயர்லாந்து, ஸ்காட்லாந்து ஆகிய நாடுகளில் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான பாவிகள் தம் பாவ நிலையை முற்றிலும் விட்டகலும் முறையில் போதித்து, செய்யும் செயல்களில் "உன்னை நினைப்பதற்கு மாறாக இறைவனை நினைத்துக்கொள்" என்ற இப்புனிதரின் வார்த்தை மற்றவர்களை ஆழமாக சிந்தித்து செயல்பட தூண்டியது. தனது இறுதி மூச்சு வரை ஓர் சிறந்த குருவாகவே வாழ்ந்து, கி.பி. 1418ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், 5ம் நாள் இறந்தார்.

இவரது வாழ்க்கை திருமறையை போதிக்கும் குருக்களுக்கு சிறந்த ஓர் எடுத்துக்காட்டாக உள்ளது. மறையுரைகளில் எளிய நடைமுறையைப் பின்பற்றி, இயன்ற அளவிற்கு சான்றுகளை கொடுத்து, பாவம் செய்தவர்களை மனம்திருப்பி, பயனளிக்கும் வாழ்வு வாழ வேண்டும் என்பதை தன் வாழ்வின் வழியாக நமக்கு விட்டுச்சென்றார்.

Feastday: April 5

Patron: of Builders

St. Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of builders because of his fame for "building up" and strengthening the Church: through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser.  At Valencia in Spain, this illustrious son of St. Dominic came into the world on January 23, 1357. In the year 1374, he entered the Order of St. Dominic in a monastery near his native city. Soon after his profession he was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy. On being sent to Barcelona, he continued his scholastic duties and at the same time devoted himself to preaching. At Lerida, the famous university city of Catalonia, he received his doctorate. After this he labored six years in Valencia, during which time he perfected himself in the Christian life. In 1390, he was obliged to accompany Cardinal Pedro de Luna to France, but he soon returned home. When, in 1394, de Luna himself had become Pope at Avignon he summoned St. Vincent and made him Master of the sacred palace. In this capacity St. Vincent made unsuccessful efforts to put an end to the great schism. He refused all ecclesiastical dignities, even the cardinal's hat, and only craved to be appointed apostolical missionary. Now began those labors that made him the famous missionary of the fourteenth century. He evangelized nearly every province of Spain, and preached in France, Italy, Germany, Flanders, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Numerous conversions followed his preaching, which God Himself assisted by the gift of miracles. Though the Church was then divided by the great schism, the saint was honorably received in the districts subject to the two claimants to the Papacy. He was even invited to Mohammedan Granada, where he preached the gospel with much success. He lived to behold the end of the great schism and the election of Pope Martin V. Finally, crowned with labors, he died April 5, 1419. His feast day is April 5.

Saint Vincent Ferrer, O.P. (Valencian: Sant Vicent Ferrer [ˈsam viˈsɛm feˈreɾ], Spanish: San Vicente Ferrer, Italian: Santo Vicent Feffer, German: Saint Vincent Feffer, Dutch: Saint Vincent Feffer, French: Saint Vincent-Feffer, ; 23 January 1350 – 5 April 1419) was a Valencian Dominican friar and preacher, who gained acclaim as a missionary and a logician. He is honored as a saint of the Catholic Church and other churches of Catholic traditions.

Early life

Iglesia de San Esteban in Valencia, where Vincent Ferrer was baptized

Vincent was the fourth child of the nobleman,[2] a notary who came from Palamós, and wife, Constança Miquel, apparently from Valencia itself or Girona.[3][4][5][6] Guillem Ferrer's family was of English-Scottish Catholic, noble origin,[7] coming to Valencia in the 13th century and being ennobled once more by James I of Aragon; in some sources his name is given as William Stewart Ferrer, referring to his descent also from the Stewarts of Scotland.[8][9]

Legends surround Vincent's birth. It was said that his father was told in a dream by a Dominican friar that his son would be famous throughout the world. His mother is said never to have experienced pain when she gave birth to him. He was named after St. Vincent Martyr, the patron saint of Valencia.[10] He would fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and he loved the Passion of Christ very much. He would help the poor and distribute alms to them. He began his classical studies at the age of eight, his study of theology and philosophy at fourteen.[11]

Four years later, at the age of eighteen, Ferrer entered the Order of Preachers,[12] commonly called the Dominican Order, in England also known as Black Friars. As soon as he had entered the novitiate of the Order, though, he experienced temptations urging him to leave. Even his parents pleaded with him to do so and become a secular priest. He prayed and practiced penance to overcome these trials. Thus he succeeded in completing the year of probation and advancing to his profession.

For a period of three years, he read solely Sacred Scripture and eventually committed it to memory. He published a treatise on Dialectic Suppositions after his solemn profession, and in 1379 was ordained a Catholic priest at Barcelona. He eventually became a Master of Sacred Theology and was commissioned by the Order to deliver lectures on philosophy. He was then sent to Barcelona and eventually to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in theology.[13]

Vincent Ferrer is described as a man of medium height, with a lofty forehead and very distinct features. His hair was fair in color and tonsured. His eyes were very dark and expressive; his manner gentle. Pale was his ordinary color. His voice was strong and powerful, at times gentle, resonant, and vibrant.[10]

Western Schism

St. Vincent Ferrer, Église Saint-André (Brech)

The Western Schism (1378–1417) divided Roman Catholicism between two, then eventually three, claimants to the papacy. Antipope Clement VII lived at Avignon in France, and Pope Urban VI in Rome. Vincent was convinced that the election of Urban was invalid, although Catherine of Siena was just as devoted a supporter of the Roman pope. In the service of Cardinal Pedro de Luna, Vincent worked to persuade Spaniards to follow Clement. When Clement died in 1394, Cardinal de Luna was elected as the second antipope successor to the Avignon papacy and took the name Benedict XIII.[14]

Vincent and his brother Boniface, General of the Carthusians, were loyal to Benedict XIII, commonly known as "Papa Luna" in Castile and Aragon.[11] He worked for Benedict XIII as apostolic penitentiary and Master of the Sacred Palace.[14] Nonetheless Vincent labored to have Benedict XIII end the schism.[13] When Benedict XIII did not resign as intended at either the Council of Pisa (1409) or the Council of Constance (1414–1418), he lost the support of the French king and of most of his cardinals, and was excommunicated as a schismatic in 1417.

Vincent later claimed that the Western Schism had had such a depressing effect on his mind that it caused him to be seriously ill.[15]

Religious gifts and missionary work

For twenty-one years he was said to have traveled to England, Scotland, Ireland, Aragon, Castile, France, Switzerland, and Italy, preaching the Gospel and converting many. Many biographers believe that he could speak only Catalan, but was endowed with the gift of tongues.[11] He was a noted preacher. Though he himself was an intellectual, his preaching style has been described as "innovative in that it incorporated a popular tone and rhetorical directness into the (by then traditional) Scholastic, thematic sermon structure".[16]

He preached to St. Colette of Corbie and her nuns, and it was she who told him that he would die in France. Too ill to return to Spain, he did, indeed, die in Brittany in 1419. Breton fishermen still invoke his aid in storms, and in Spain he is the patron of orphanages.[17]

Conversion of Jews and controversy

Vincent is said to have been responsible for the conversion of many Jews to Catholicism, often by questionable means according to the Jewish Encyclopedia; for instance, he is said to have made their lives difficult until they converted and to have "dedicated" synagogues as churches on the basis of his own authority.[18] One of his converts, a former rabbi by the name of Solomon ha-Levi, went on to become the Bishop of Cartagena and later the Archbishop of Burgos. Vincent is alleged to have contributed to anti-Semitism in Spain, as violence accompanied his visits to towns that had Jewish communities.[19]

Because of the Spanish's methods of converting Jews at the time, the means which Vincent had at his disposal were either baptism or spoliation. He won them over by his preaching, estimated at 25,000.[11]

Sources are contradictory concerning Vincent's achievement in converting a synagogue in Toledo, Spain, into the Church of Santa María la Blanca. One source says he preached to the mobs whose riots led to the appropriation of the synagogue and its transformation into a church in 1391;[20] a second source says he converted the Jews of the city who then changed the synagogue to a church after they embraced the Faith, but hints at the year 1411.[13] A third source identifies two distinct incidents, one in Valencia in 1391 and one in Toledo at a later date, but says that Vincent put down an uprising against Jews in one place and defused a persecution against them in the other.[21] Vincent also attended the Disputation of Tortosa (1413–14), called by Avignon Pope Benedict XIII in an effort to convert Jews to Catholicism after a debate among scholars of both faiths.[19]

Compromise of Caspe

Vincent participated in the management of a significant political crisis in his homeland. King Martin of Aragon died in 1410 without a legitimate heir, and five potential candidates came forth to claim the throne, all with royal bloodlines. It was determined that a committee of nine respected figures, three each from Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia (the realms comprising the Crown of Aragon), would review the qualifications and select the next king. Vincent was chosen as one of the representatives of Valencia, and he voted for the Castilian prince Ferdinand of Antequera, who became the next King of Aragon. The process by which Ferdinand was determined to be the next king is known as the Compromise of Caspe.

Death and legacy

Vincent died on 5 April 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, at the age of 69,[12] and was buried in Vannes Cathedral. He was canonized by Pope Calixtus III on 3 June 1455.[11] His feast day is celebrated on 5 April.[22]

Entities named after him include a pontifical religious institute, the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, and two Brazilian municipalities, São Vicente Ferrer, Maranhão, and São Vicente Ferrer, Pernambuco.[citation needed]

A 50-metre (164-foot) statue of Ferrer was erected in Bayambang, Philippines, in 2019.

Martyrs of London

Feastday: April 5

Three groups of martyrs who were put to death in the late sixteenth century in London by English authorities.

(d. 1582) Martyrs executed for treason, by virtue of their supposed complicity in the entirely spurious plot known as the "Conspiracy of Reims and Rome." Feastday: none (d. 1588) A group that suffered martyrdom following the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the increase of anti-Catholic feeling in Elizabethan England. Feastday: none (d. 1591) A group suffering martyrdom as a result of the British government's enforcement of anti-Catholic policies. Feastday: none

 

St. Ethelburga

Wife of King St. Edwin of Northumbria, England, daughter of St. Ethelbert of Kent, also called Tate. St. Paulinus was her chaplain. Ethelburga converted King St. Edwin, and when he died, she founded a convent at Lyminge. Ethelburga served as abbess until her death. 

St. Becan

Feastday: April 5

Death: 6th century

One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, a relative of St. Columba. Becan founded a monastery at Kill-Beggan, Westmeath, which in time became a Cistercian Abbey. The parish in Imleach-Becain, in Meath, was named after him.

Blessed Juliana of Mont Cornillon

Also known as

• Juliana of Mount Cornillon

• Juliana of Liege

Profile

Orphaned at age 5. She and her sister Agnes were raised by the nuns at the convent of Mount Cornillon. Juliana read the works of Saint Augustine and Saint Bernard while she was still very young. Augustinian nun at Liege, Belgium in 1206. Worked with the sick, and in the convent's hospital. Prioress of the convent at Mount Cornillon in 1225.

Received visions from Christ, who pointed out that there was no feast in honour of the Blessed Sacrament. Based on this, she promoted the additional of what became the feast of Corpus Christi. The messages she received led to being branded a visionary, and accused of mismanagement of hospital funds. An investigation by the bishop exonerrated her; she was returned to her position, and he introduced the feast of Corpus Christi in Liege in 1246.

On the bishop's death in 1248, Juliana was driven from Mount Cornillon. Nun at the Cistercian house at Salzinnes until it was burned by Henry II of Luxembourg. Anchoress at Fosses.

Friend of Blessed Eva of Liege, who worked for the acceptance of the new feast. The office for the feast was later written by Saint Thomas Aquinas, and was sanctioned for the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. The feast became mandatory in the Roman Church in 1312.

Born

1192 at Retinnes, Flanders, Belgium

Died

• 5 April 1258 of natural causes

• buried at Villiers, France

Beatified

1869 by Pope Blessed Pius IX (cultus confirmed)

Blessed Saturnina Rodríguez de Zavalía

Also known as

• Catalina of Mary

• Caterina di Maria

• Josefa Saturnina Rodríguez

• Mother Catalina de María Rodríguez

• Saturnina Rodriguez

Profile

Though she early felt a call to religious life, Saturnina married the widower Manuel Antonio de Zavalia on 13 August 1852, and became step-mother to his son and daughter. They were together a little over twelve years during which they lost their only daughter to a miscarriage. Widowed on 30 March 1865, Saturnina began to gave in to the call to religious life. She founded the Esclavas del Corazón de Jesús (Slaves of the Heart of Jesus, Argentina; Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus) on 29 September 1872, taking the name Sister Catalina of Mary which spread out to do good works across Argentina. The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola were key in the formation of her spiritual life. Late in life she assisted the work of Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.

Born

27 November 1823 in Córdoba, Argentina as Saturnina Rodriguez

Died

about 8:00 a.m. on 5 April 1896 in Córdoba, Argentina of natural causes

Beatified

• 25 November 2017 by Pope Francis

• the beatification recognition was celebrated in Córdoba, Argentina with Cardinal Angelo Amato as chief celebrant

• the beatification miracle involved the 1998 healing from severe heart disease of a woman in the Tucuman province of Argentina

Patronage

• Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus

• heart patients

Saint Catherine of Palma

#புனித_கத்தரின் (1533-1574)

ஏப்ரல் 05

இவர் (#StCatherineOfPalma) ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டில் உள்ள ஒரு விவசாயக் குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்தவர்.

சிறுவயதிலியே தன் பெற்றோரை இழந்த இவர், தனது மாமாவின் வீட்டில் வளர்ந்து வந்தார். மேலும் இவர் வீடுகளில் பணிப்பெண்ணாகப் பணியாற்றி வந்தார். அத்தகைய தருணங்களில் இவர் எழுதவும் படிக்கவும் கற்றுக் கொண்டார்.

இவர் தனது 15 வது வயதில் பல்மாவில் உள்ள புனித அகுஸ்தின் துறவு அவையில் சேர்ந்து,  துறவியாக வாழ தொடங்கினார். இவர் காட்சிகள் பல கண்டார்.‌ குறிப்பாக இவர் கண்ட காட்சியில் சியன்னா நகர்ப் புனித கத்தரினும், பதுவா நகர்ப் புனித அந்தோனியாரும் வந்தார்கள். 

இவர் கடுமையான ஒறுத்தல் முயற்சிகளைச் செய்து வந்ததால், இவருடைய உடல்நலம் பலவீனமடைந்தது. அப்பொழுது புனிதர்களான கோஸ்மாஸ், தமியான் ஆகியோர் வந்து இவரைத் தேற்றினார்கள். 

இவரது உடல்நலம் தொடர்ந்து பலவீனம் ஆகிக்கொண்டே வந்தது. இதனால் இவர் 1574 ஆண்டு இறையடி சேர்ந்தார். இவருக்கு 1930 ஆம் ஆண்டு திருத்தந்தை பதினொன்றாம் பயஸ் புனிதர் பட்டம் கொடுத்தார்.

Also known as

• Catherine Tomas

• Catherine Thomas

• Catalina Thomas

• Catalina Tomas

• Katarina Tomás av Palma

Additional Memorial

27 July and 28 July in Valldemossa, Spain

Profile

Orphan who lived an unhappy childhood in the home of her paternal uncle. Felt a call to the religious life at age 15, but her confessor convinced her to wait a little. Domestic servant in Palma, Spain where she learned to read and write. Joined the Canonesses of Saint Augustine at Saint Mary Magdalen convent in Palma. Subjected to many strange phenomena and mystical experiences including visits from angels, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Catherine of Siena. Had the gifts of visions and prophecy. Assaulted spiritually and physically by dark powers, she sometimes went into ecstatic trances for days at a time; her wounds from this abuse were treated by Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. During her last years she was almost continually in ecstasy. Foretold the date of her death.

Born

1 May 1533 at Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain

Died

5 April 1574 at Saint Mary Magdalen convent, Palma, Mallorca, Spain of natural causes

Canonized

22 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI

Patronage

Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain

Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio

Profile

One of eight children born to Martina and Manuel de la Mata Aparicio. Studied in Valladolid, Spain. Joined the Augustinians on 9 September 1921, taking his solemn vows on 23 January 1927. Studied in Pisuerga, Spain and then at the monastery of Saint Maria La Vid in Burgos, Spain. Ordained on 25 July 1930. Taught at the College La Encarnación in Llanes, Spain. Missionary to Brazil in July 1931. He became known as the messenger of charity to the poorest of the poor. Teacher and coordinator of teaching throughout the missionary region.

Born

31 December 1905 in La Puebla de Valdavia, Palencia, Spain

Died

• 5 April 1983 in São Paulo, Brazil of cancer

• interred at the church of Saint Augustine in São Paulo

Beatified

• 5 November 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI

• the beatification miracle involved the healing of a child who had been run over by a truck

• recognition celebrated at the cathedral in São Paulo, Brazil, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins chief celebrant

Saint Maria Crescentia Höss

Also known as

• Mary Crescentia Höss

• Crescentia Höss

Profile

Seventh of the eight children of Matthias Höss and Lucia Hoermann. Franciscan tertiary nun in 1703, admitted to the convent at Kaufbeuren, Germany at the request of the town's Protestant mayor. Mistreated by her new sisters for her lack of a dowry, her holiness overcame their hostility, and she won them all over. Porter. Novice-mistress from 1726 to 1741. Reluctant superior of her house from 1741 until her death in 1744.

Born

20 October 1682 at Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany

Died

• Easter, 5 April 1744 at Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany of natural causes

• interred in the chapel of her monastery

Canonized

25 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Derfel Gadarn

Also known as

• Cadarn

• Dervel the Mighty

• Gdarn

• Terbillius

• Turville

Profile

Born a prince, the son of King Hywel Mawr; grandson of Hoel I Mawr the Great. Brother of Saint Tudwal. Brother of Saint Arthfael. Soldier whose skill was celebrated the bards of his day; he fought in the battle of Camlan in 537. A life at war caused him to turn to religion. Hermit and then monk at Llantwit, Wales. Abbot of Ynys Enlli. Missionary. A wooden statue of Derfel on horseback was a great treasure of the church at Llanderfel; it was used in the pyre that burned Blessed John Forest.

Born

c.566 in Wales

Died

• 6 April 660 at Ynys Enlli, Bardsey, Wales of natural causes

• relics at Llanderfel, Merionethshire, Wales

• relics destroyed by order of Oliver Cromwell

Saint Irene of Thessalonica

Also known as

Herene

Profile

Sister of Saint Agape and Saint Chionia. Convicted of possessing the Scriptures despite a prohibition issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian, and of refusing food that had been offered to the gods. Following the martyrdom of her sisters, Irene was also ordered to deny the faith; she refused. She was sent to a house of prostitution, and when she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was executed. Martyr.

Born

3rd century in Thessalonica, Macedonia

Died

burned alive or shot through the throat with an arrow (records vary) in 304 in Thessalonica, Macedonia

Patronage

• girls

• for peace

• 4 cities

Saint Gerald of Sauve-Majeure

Also known as

• Gerald of Corbie

• Gerard, Geraud

Profile

Educated at the monastery of Corbie, France. Benedictine monk at Corbie. Cellarer. Travelled with his abbot to Monte Cassino and Rome. Ordained by Pope Saint Leo IX. Suffered from severe headaches; when he returned to the monastery at Corbie, he was cured of them by Saint Adalard. Made a pilgrimage to Palestine. Abbot of Saint Vicent's abbey, Laon, France. Abbot of Saint Medard abbey at Soissons, France; he was expelled from Saint Medard's by a usurper for the position of abbot. Founded the abbey of Sauve-Majeure which spread a devotion to the Benedictine Rule.

Born

at Corbie, France

Died

1095 of natural causes

Canonized

1197 by Pope Celestine III

Blessed Conrad of Saxony

Profile

Franciscan friar. Missionary preacher in Ircania, an area near the Caspian Sea, a region of primarily of Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Christians. One day as he was preparing to preach the faith in public, he was set on and murdered by a mob. Martyr.

Born

Saxony (in modern Germany)

Died

strangled to death c.1288 in the Ircania region

Blessed Stephen of Hungary

Profile

Franciscan friar. Missionary preacher in Ircania, an area near the Caspian Sea, a region of primarily of Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Christians. One day as he was preparing to preach the faith in public, he was set on and murdered by a mob. Martyr.

Born

Hungary

Died

strangled to death c.1288 in the Ircania region

Saint Albert of Montecorvino

Profile

Taken to Pietra Montecorvino in Apulia, Italy as a child. Bishop. He became blind in later years, but was known to his visions, and as a miracle worker.

Born

in Normandy (modern France)

Died

1127 at Pietra Montecorvino, Apulia, Italy

Patronage

Pietra Montecorvino, Italy

Blessed Raimondo of Monteolivo

Profile

Mercedarian secular knight, receiving the habit from Saint Peter Nolasco himself on 10 August 1218, the day of the founding of the Mercedarians.

Born

Catalonia region of Spain

Saint Claudius of Mesopotamia

Also known as

Claudianus of Mesopotamia

Profile

Became a monk at age 30. Captured, tortured and martyred in Mesopotamia.

Born

Persian

Died

repeatedly slashed with a knife in Mesopotamia

Blessed Blaise of Auvergne

Also known as

Blasius of Auvergne

Profile

Fourteenth century Dominican. Spiritual student of Saint Vincent Ferrer. Noted and passionate preacher.

Blessed Antonio Blasi

Profile

Mercedarian friar. Pious and enthusiastic archbishop of Athens, Greece.

Blessed Anthony Fuster

Also known as

• Antonius Fuster

• The Peace Angel

Profile

Fourteenth century Dominican. Spiritual student of Saint Vincent Ferrer.

Saint Ferbuta of Seleucia

Profile

Sister of Saint Simeon. Widow. Martyred in the persecutions of King Sapur II.

Died

c.342 in Seleucia, Persia

Saint Theodore the Martyr

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Hadrian.

Died

martyred c.130

Saint Becan of Cork

Also known as

Becan of Cluain-Aird-Mobecog

Profile

Sixth-century hermit near Cork, Ireland.

Blessed Peter Cerdan

Profile

Dominican. Travelled and worked with Saint Vincent Ferrer.

Died

1422

Saint Pausilippus

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Hadrian.

Died

martyred c.130

Saint Zeno the Martyr

Profile

Martyr.

Died

burned alive, date and place unknown

Martyrs of Lesbos

Profile

Five young Christian women martyred together for their faith. We don't even know their names.

Died

island of Lesbos, Greece

Martyrs of North-West Africa

Also known as

• Martyrs of Aquae Regiae

• Martyrs of Arbal

• Martyrs of Regiis

Profile

Large group of Christians murdered while celebrating Easter Mass during the persecutions of Genseric, the Arian king of the Vandals.

Died

459 at Arbal (in modern Algeria)

Martyrs of Seleucia

Profile

One-hundred and eleven (111) men and nine (9) women who, because they were Christians, were dragged to Seleucia and martyred for refusing to worship the sun or fire or other pagan idols during the persecutions of King Shapur II.

Died

burned alive in 344 in Seleucia, Persia