St. Peter Van
Feastday: May 10
Death: 1857
Canonized: Pope John Paul II
Vietnamese martyr. A native catechist, he was arrested by authorities and beheaded. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1988.
The Vietnamese Martyrs (Vietnamese: Các Thánh Tử đạo Việt Nam; French: Martyrs du Viêt Nam), also known as the Martyrs of Annam, Martyrs of Tonkin and Cochinchina, Martyrs of Indochina, or Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions (Anrê Dũng-Lạc và các bạn tử đạo), are saints on the General Roman Calendar who were canonized by Pope John Paul II. On June 19, 1988, thousands of overseas Vietnamese worldwide gathered at the Vatican for the Celebration of the Canonization of 117 Vietnamese Martyrs, an event chaired by Monsignor Tran Van Hoai. Their memorial is on November 24 (although several of these saints have another memorial, having been beatified and on the calendar prior to the canonization of the group).
St. Damien of Molokai
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(மே 10)
✠ புனிதர் தமியான் ✠
(St. Damien of Molokai)
மதகுரு, மதபோதகர்:
(Religious Priest and Missionary)
பிறப்பு: ஜனவரி 3, 1840
ட்ரெமெலோ, ப்ரபன்ட், பெல்ஜியம்
(Tremelo, Brabant, Belgium)
இறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 15, 1889 (வயது 49)
கலாவுபப்பா, மொலகாய், ஹவாயி
(Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
கீழைக் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபைகள்
(Eastern Catholic Churches)
அமெரிக்க எப்பிஸ்கோப்பல் திருச்சபை
(Episcopal Church)
ஆங்கிலிக்கத்தின் சில பிரிவுகள்
(Some Churches of Anglican Communion)
லூதரன் தனிச்சபைகள் சில
(Individual Lutheran Churches)
அருளாளர் பட்டம்: ஜூன் 4, 1995
திருத்தந்தை இரண்டாம் ஜான் பவுல்
(Pope John Paul II)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: அக்டோபர் 11, 2009
திருத்தந்தை பதினாறாம் பெனடிக்ட்
(Pope Benedict XVI)
முக்கிய திருத்தலங்கள்:
லுவென், பெல்ஜியம் (உடலின் மிச்சங்கள்)
(Leuven, Belgium (bodily relics)
மோலக்காய், ஹவாய் (அவரது கையின் மிச்சங்கள்)
(Molokaʻi, Hawaii (relics of his hand)
நினைவுத் திருவிழா: மே 10
பாதுகாவல்: தொழுநோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டோர்.
ஹவாயி இராச்சியத்தின் மோலக்காய் தீவில் தொழுநோயாளருக்குப் பணிபுரிந்து, தாமும் தொழுநோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட புனிதர் தமியான், "இயேசு மற்றும் மரியாளின் திருஇருதய சபை" (Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary) என்னும் கத்தோலிக்க துறவற சபையினைச் சார்ந்த துறவியும், குருவும் ஆவார்.
பிறப்பும் துறவறமும்:
தந்தை தமியான், கி.பி 1840ம் ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், 3ம் நாளன்று பிறந்தார். அவர் பிறந்த இடம் பெல்ஜியம் நாட்டில் உள்ள “ட்ரெமெலோ” (Tremelo) என்னும் ஊர் ஆகும். அவருடைய இயற்பெயர் "ஜோசெஃப் டி வெய்ஸ்ட்டெர்' (Jozef De Veuster) ஆகும். அவர் "இயேசு மற்றும் மரியாள் ஆகியோரின் திரு இருதயங்களின் சபை" என்னும் துறவற சபையின் உறுப்பினராக இருந்தார். கிறிஸ்தவ சமயத்தைப் பரப்புவதில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தார்.
புனிதர் தமியான், "தொழுநோயாளரின் திருத்தூதர்" (The Apostle of the Lepers) என்னும் பெயராலும் அறியப்படுகிறார். மேலும் அவருக்கு, "தொழுநோய்த் துறவி" (Leper Priest) என்னும் பெயரும் உண்டு.
தமியானின் இளமைப் பருவம்:
"ஜோசெஃப் டி வேய்ஸ்ட்டர்" (Jozef De Veuster) எனும் இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட தந்தை தமியான், பெல்ஜியம் நாட்டில் 'ஃப்ளேமிஷ்' (Flemish) மொழி பேசும் மக்கள் குழுவைச் சார்ந்த "ஜோவான்னெஸ் ஃப்ரான்சிஸ்கஸ் டி வெய்ஸ்ட்டர்" (Joannes Franciscus De Veuster) என்பவருக்கும் அவரது மனைவி "ஆனி-காதரின் வூட்டெர்ஸ்" (Anne-Catherine Wouters) என்பவருக்கும் ஏழாவது குழந்தையாகப் பிறந்தவர். அவரது தந்தை சோளம் வியாபாரியாக இருந்தார். அவர் "ப்ரேய்ன்-லெ-கோம்த்" (Braine-le-Comte) என்னும் இடத்தில் உள்ள கல்லூரியில் கல்வி பயின்றார்.
துறவு வாழ்க்கையைத் தழுவுதல்:
இயேசுவை நெருக்கமாகப் பின்செல்ல விரும்பி, துறவற வாழ்க்கையைத் தழுவ எண்ணிய தமியான், "இயேசு மற்றும் மரியா ஆகியோரின் திரு இருதயங்களின் சபை" என்னும் துறவறக் குழுவில் உறுப்பினராகச் சேர முன்வந்து, அச்சபைக்கான புகுமுகப் (Novitiate) பயிற்சி பெற்றார். அப்போது அவர் தேர்ந்துகொண்ட துறவறப் பெயர் "தமியானஸ்"ஆகும்.
அவருடைய குருத்துவப் படிப்புக் காலத்தின் போது அவர் ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் மறைபரப்பாளர்களின் பாதுகாவலராகிய புனித ஃபிரான்சிஸ் சவேரியாரின் படத்தின் முன் அமர்ந்து, தாமும் ஒருநாள் நாடுகடந்து சென்று கிறிஸ்தவ மறைப்பணி புரிய இறைவன் அருளவேண்டும் என்று வேண்டுதல் செய்வது வழக்கம். மூன்று ஆண்டுகளுக்குப் பின் அவருடைய வேண்டுதல் கேட்கப்பட்டது. தமியானின் சகோதரர் "அருட்தந்தை பாம்ப்பில்" (Father Pamphile) அவர்கள் நோய்வாய்ப்பட்டதால் ஹவாயி இராச்சியத்துக்கு மறைப்பணியாளராகச் செல்ல இயலாமல் போயிற்று. அவருக்குப் பதிலாக, அவருடைய தம்பி தமியானை ஹவாயிக்கு மறைப்பணியாளராக அனுப்புவது என்று சபை முடிவுசெய்தது. அண்ணனுக்குக் கிடைக்காத பேறு தம்பிக்குக் கிடைத்தது.
ஹவாயிக்கு மறைப்பணியாற்றச் செல்லுதல்:
கி.பி 1864ம் ஆண்டு, மார்ச் மாதம், 19ம் நாள், தமியான் மறைப்பணியாளராக ஹவாயி நாட்டின் "ஹொனலூலு" (Honolulu Harbor) துறைமுகம் வந்திறங்கினார். அங்கு, இவர் நிறுவிய சபையினர் கட்டியிருந்த "அமைதியின் அன்னை பேராலயத்தில்" (Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace), கி.பி 1864ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 21ம் நாளன்று, தமியான் குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு செய்யப்பட்டார்.
கி.பி 1865ம் ஆண்டு, தமியானுக்கு ஹவாயியின் "வட கோஹலா" (Catholic Mission in North Kohala) பகுதியில் அமைந்திருந்த இயேசுவின் திரு இருதய ஆலய பொறுப்பு ஒப்படைக்கப்பட்டது.
ஹவாயியில் மருத்துவ நெருக்கடி:
ஹவாயி இராச்சியத்தின் 'ஓவாஹூ' (Oahu) பகுதியில் பல பங்குகளில் மறைப்பணி செய்தார் தந்தை தமியான். அவ்வாறு அவர் பணியாற்றிக் கொண்டிருக்கையில் ஹவாயியின் மருத்துவ சேவை ஒரு பெரிய நெருக்கடியைச் சந்திக்கலாயிற்று. வெளிநாடுகளிலிருந்து வந்த வணிகர்களும் கடற்பயணிகளும் சுமந்துவந்த சில நோய்கள் அவர்கள் ஹவாயியின் ஆதி குடிமக்களோடு கொண்ட தொடர்பின் பயனாக அம்மக்கள் சிலரிடையே பரவின.
இதனால் ஆயிரக்கணக்கான ஹவாயி மக்கள் ஃபுளூ சளிக்காய்ச்சல், பால்வினை நோயாகிய மேகப்புண் (smallpox, cholera, influenza, syphilis, and whooping cough) போன்ற நோய்களுக்கு ஆளாகி இறந்தனர். இந்த நோய்கள் அப்பகுதிகளில் முன்னால் கண்டதில்லை. இவ்வாறு வந்து பரவிய நோய்களுள் ஒன்று "ஹான்சன் நோய்" (Hansen's disease) என்று அழைக்கப்படுகின்ற தொழுநோய்.
அச்சமயத்தில் தொழுநோய் மிகவும் பயங்கரமான தொற்றுநோயாகக் கருதப்பட்டது. ஆனால் 95% மனிதர்கள் அந்நோய்க் கிருமியைத் தடுக்கும் எதிர்ப்புச் சக்தி கொண்டுள்ளனர் என்று அறியப்பட்டது. தொழுநோய் என்பது குணப்படுத்த முடியாத நோய் என்றும் அக்காலத்தில் கருதப்பட்டது.
ஒதுக்கப்பட்டு வாழ்ந்த தொழுநோயாளருக்கு மக்கள் நல வாரியம் உணவும் பிற பொருள்களும் கொடுத்தது. ஆனால் நாள்கள் போகப்போக அம்மக்களின் நலனைக் கவனிக்க போதுமான ஆள்களோ பொருள்களோ அனுப்பப்படவில்லை.
தந்தை தமியான் தொழுநோயாளர் நடுவே பணி செய்ய முதல் ஆளாகப் போய்ச் சேர்ந்தார். ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட இடமாகிய கலாவுபப்பா தொழுநோயாளர் குடியிருப்பில் தமியான், கி.பி 1873ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 10ம் நாள், சென்றடைந்தார். அங்கு வாழ்ந்த 816 தொழுநோயாளர் முன்னிலையில் 'ஆயர் மேக்ரே', தந்தை தமியானை அறிமுகம் செய்தார்.
தொழுநோயாளர் குடியிருப்பில் போய்ச் சேர்ந்த உடனேயே அங்கு வாழ்ந்த மக்களின் வாழ்க்கையை எப்படி முன்னேற்றுவது என்பது குறித்து தமியான் சிந்திக்கலானார். முதல் வேலையாக ஒரு கோவில் கட்டுவது என்று முடிவுசெய்து, கோவிலைக் கட்டி அதைப் புனித ஃபிலோமினாவுக்கு அர்ப்பணித்தார். ஆனால் அவரது பணி மறைசார்ந்த ஒன்றாக மட்டுமே இருக்கவில்லை.
தொழுநோயாளரின் புண்களைக் கட்டுவது, அவர்கள் வசதியாகத் தங்கியிருக்க வீடுகள் கட்டுவது, அவர்களுக்குத் தேவையான மரச்சாமான்களைச் செய்துகொடுப்பது, இறந்தோரை அடக்கம் செய்ய அடக்கப்பெட்டிகள் செய்வது, கல்லறைக் குழிகள் தோண்டுவது என்று பல பணிகளையும் தமியான் செய்யலானார்.
தந்தை தமியானுக்கும் தொழுநோய் தொற்றிவிட்டது. தமக்கும் தொழுநோய் வந்துவிட்டது என்று தெரிந்த பிறகு, தமியான் முன்னைப் போலவே ஊக்கத்தோடு தம் பணிகளில் ஈடுபட்டார்.
கி.பி 1889ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், 15ம் தேதியன்று காலை 8 மணிக்குத் தந்தை தமியான் தொழுநோயால் இறந்தார். அப்போது அவருக்கு வயது 49.
Feastday: May 10
Patron: of people with leprosy
Birth: 1840
Death: 1889
Beatified: June 4th, 1995, Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Koekelberg), Brussels, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: October 11th, 2009, Vatican City, by Pope Benedict XVI
The man who would become St. Damien of Molokai, was born in rural Belgium, on January 3, 1840. His name was Jozef De Veuster, and he was the youngest of seven children. Growing up on the farm, Jozef was prepared to take over for his family, but he did not want the responsibility. Instead, he wanted to follow his older brother and two sisters who took religious vows.
Jozef attended school until the age of 13 when his help was needed on the family farm full-time. He aided his family until he was old enough to enter the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He took the name Damien, after a sixth century martyr.
In 1864, Damien's brother who was also in the same order of religious, was ordered to Hawaii. But his brother became ill, so Br. Damien offered to go in his place.
The brothers worried that Br. Damien was too uneducated to become a priest, although he was not considered unintelligent. Br. Damien demonstrated his ability by quickly learning Latin from his brother. He was also devoted in prayer, Br. Damien prayed each day before an icon of Saint Francis Xavier to be sent on a mission.
Eventually, his religious brothers agreed to send him and have him ordained.
Br. Damien arrived in Hawaii in March 1864, and was ordained as a priest on the island of Hawaii two months later. For nine years, he worked on the island as a priest, leading an important, yet undistinguished life.
In 1866, Hawaii established a leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. It was still mistakenly believed that leprosy was highly contagious. This belief resulted in the forced quarantine of leprosy patients.
These people still needed spiritual and medical care, so to Fr. Damien discerned his call to serve them. In 1873, Fr. Damien made the trip to be with these people in their colony.
Upon arrival, he found the colony was poorly maintained. Anarchy reigned among the people living there. Many patients required treatment but had nobody to care for them. Other patients took to drinking and became severe alcoholics. Every kind of immorality and misbehavior was on display in the lawless colony. There was no law or order.
Fr. Damien realized the people needed leadership, so he provided it. He asked people to come together to build houses and schools and eventually the parish church, St. Philomena. The church still stands today.
The sick were cared for and the dead buried. Order and routine made the colony livable. Fr. Damien personally provided much of the care the people needed.
He was supposed to only work in the colony for a time then he would be replaced by one of three other volunteers for the work. But the leper colony was to become his permanent home. After working with the people for a time Fr. Damien grew attached to the people and his work. He asked permission to stay at the colony to serve. His request was granted.
Leprosy is not as contagious as most people of the period assumed, however five percent of the human population is susceptible. The disease can also take several years to show symptoms.
Fr. Daminen became one of those people. He contracted leprosy in 1885, after several years of work. He realized he had the disease when he placed his foot into scalding water by accident, but felt no pain. This was a common way by which people discovered they were infected. Leprosy attacks nerve endings and a victim may hurt themselves but not feel any pain.
Fr. Damien continued his work, despite his illness, which slowly took over his body. He derived strength from prayer and devotion. He often went to the cemetery to pray the Rosary or spent time in the presence of the Eucharist. "It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength we need in our isolation," he wrote.
By all accounts, Fr. Daminen was courageous, headstrong and resilient. His personal toughness served to inspire others. He was also reportedly very happy, a common phenomenon for those who pray and work hard to serve others and the Lord.
After sixteen years in the colony, Fr. Damien succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889. He was first buried nearby, then his remains were transferred to Belgium in 1936. His right hand was returned to Hawaii in 1995 to be reburied in his original grave at Molokai.
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Brussels, Belgium on June 4, 1995. His sainthood was confirmed on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast day is May 10.
The day of his passing, April 15, is a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii.
Saint Damien is the patron saint of people suffering from leprosy.
For other people with similar names, see Father Damien (disambiguation), Saint Damien (disambiguation), and Peter Damian.
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster (Dutch: Pater Damiaan or Heilige Damiaan van Molokai; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889),[2] born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,[3] a missionary religious institute. He was recognized for his ministry, which he led from 1873 until his death in 1889, in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi for people with leprosy (Hansen's disease), who lived in government-mandated medical quarantine in a settlement on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokaʻi.[4]
During this time, he taught the Catholic faith to the people of Hawaii. Father Damien also cared for the patients and established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches. He dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, made coffins, dug graves, shared pipes, and ate poi by hand with them, providing both medical and emotional support.
After eleven years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, Father Damien contracted leprosy. He continued with his work despite the infection but finally succumbed to the disease on 15 April 1889.
Father Damien has been described as a "martyr of charity".[5] Damien De Veuster is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. In the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for leprosy and outcasts. Father Damien Day, 15 April, the day of his death, is also a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii. Father Damien is the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii.
Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2009.[6][7] Libert H. Boeynaems, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, calls him "the Apostle of the Lepers."[8] Damien De Veuster's feast day is 10 May.
Early life
Father Damien was born Jozef ("Jef") De Veuster, the youngest of seven children and fourth son of the Flemish corn merchant Joannes Franciscus ("Frans") De Veuster and his wife Anne-Catherine ("Cato") Wouters in the village of Tremelo in Flemish Brabant in rural Belgium on 3 January 1840. His older sisters Eugénie and Pauline became nuns, and his older brother Auguste (Father Pamphile) joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus Fathers). Jozef was forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm.[9] His father sent him to a college at Braine-le-Comte to prepare for a commercial profession, but as a result of a mission given by the Redemptorists in 1858, Joseph decided to become a religious.[8]
Jozef entered the novitiate of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary at Louvain and took in religion the name of Damien, presumably about the first Saint Damian, a fourth-century physician and martyr.[10][11] He was admitted to the religious profession, 7 Oct. 1860.
His superiors thought that he was not a good candidate for the priesthood because he lacked education. However, he was not considered unintelligent. Because he learned Latin well from his brother, his superiors decided to allow him to become a priest. During his religious studies, Damien prayed daily before a picture of St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionaries, to be sent on a mission.[12][13] Three years later when his brother Father Pamphile (Auguste) could not travel to Hawaiʻi as a missionary because of illness, Damien was allowed to take his place.[14]
Mission in Hawaii
Father Damien in 1873 before he sailed for Hawaii
On 19 March 1864, Damien arrived at Honolulu Harbor on Oahu. He was ordained into the priesthood on 21 May 1864, at what is now the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.[15]
In 1865 Damien was assigned to the Catholic Mission in North Kohala on the island of Hawaiʻi. While he was serving in several parishes on Oʻahu, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was struggling with a labor shortage and a public health crisis.[16] Many of the Native Hawaiian parishioners had high mortality rates due to infectious diseases such as smallpox, cholera, influenza, syphilis, and whooping cough, brought to the Hawaiian Islands by foreign traders, sailors and immigrants. Thousands of Hawaiians died of such diseases, to which they had no acquired immunity.[17]
It is believed that Chinese workers carried leprosy (later known as Hansen's disease) to the islands in the 1830s and 1840s. At that time, leprosy was thought to be highly contagious and was incurable. In 1865, out of fear of this contagious disease, Hawaiian King Kamehameha V and the Hawaiian Legislature passed the "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy." This law quarantined the lepers of Hawaii, requiring the most serious cases to be moved to a settlement colony of Kalawao on the eastern end of the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokaʻi. Later the settlement of Kalaupapa was developed. Kalawao County, where the two villages are located, is separated from the rest of Molokaʻi by a steep mountain ridge. From 1866 through 1969, about 8,000 Hawaiians were sent to the Kalaupapa peninsula for medical quarantine.[18]
The Royal Board of Health initially provided the quarantined people with food and other supplies, but it did not have the workforce and resources to offer proper health care.[8] According to documents of that time, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi did not intend for the settlements to be penal colonies. Still, the Kingdom did not provide enough resources to support them.[4] The Kingdom of Hawaii had planned for the lepers to be able to care for themselves and grow their crops. Still, due to the effects of leprosy and the peninsula's local environmental conditions, this was impractical.
By 1868, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), "Drunken and lewd conduct prevailed. The easy-going, good-natured people seemed wholly changed."[19][20]
Mission on Molokai
While Bishop Louis Désiré Maigret, the vicar apostolic of the Honolulu diocese, believed that the lepers needed a Catholic priest to assist them, he realized that this assignment had high risk. He did not want to send any one person "in the name of obedience." After much prayer, four priests volunteered to go, among them Father Damien. The bishop planned for the volunteers to take turns in rotation assisting the inhabitants.
On 10 May 1873, the first volunteer, Father Damien, arrived at the isolated settlement at Kalaupapa, where there were then 600 lepers,[8] and was presented by Bishop Louis Maigret. At his arrival, he spoke to the assembled lepers as "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you."[citation needed]
Damien worked with them to build a church and establish the Parish of Saint Philomena. In addition to serving as a priest, he dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, built homes and furniture, made coffins, and dug graves.[10] Six months after his arrival at Kalawao, he wrote to his brother, Pamphile, in Europe: "...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."[citation needed]
During this time, Father Damien had cared for the lepers and established leaders within the community to improve the state of living. Father Damien aided the colony by teaching, painting houses, organizing farms, organizing the construction of chapels, roads, hospitals, and churches. He also dressed residents, dug graves, built coffins, ate food by hand with lepers, shared pipes with them, and lived with the lepers as equals. Father Damien also served as a priest during this time and spread the Catholic faith to the lepers; it is said that Father Damien told the lepers that despite what the outside world thought of them, they were always precious in the eyes of God.
Father Damien, seen here with the Kalawao Girls Choir during the 1870s.
Some historians believed that Father Damien was a catalyst for a turning point for the community. Under his leadership, basic laws were enforced, shacks were upgraded and improved as painted houses, working farms were organized, and schools were established. At his request and of the lepers, Father Damien remained on Molokaʻi.[4] Many such accounts, however, overlook the roles of superintendents who were Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian. Pennie Moblo states that until the late 20th century, most historical reports of Damien's ministry revealed biases of Europeans and Americans, and nearly completely discounted the roles of the native residents on Molokaʻi.[20]
William P. Ragsdale was a highly popular and effective attorney and politician who was part Hawaiian; he had served as an interpreter and in other government posts. After finding that he had contracted leprosy, he "gave himself up to the law" and was appointed to serve as superintendent at Kalaupapa in 1873. He led it until his death in 1877. His popularity led to his being called "Governor." Father Damien succeeded him briefly as superintendent, but he gave that up after three months in February 1878 in favor of another appointee. His superiors did not want priests serving in government posts.[21]
Recognition during his lifetime
King David Kalākaua bestowed on Damien the honor of "Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalākaua."[22] When Crown Princess Lydia Liliʻuokalani visited the settlement to present the medal, she was reported as having been too distraught and heartbroken at the sight of the residents to read her speech. The princess shared her experience, acclaiming Damien's efforts.[23] Consequently, Damien became internationally known in the United States and Europe. American Protestants raised large sums of money for the missionary's work. The Church of England sent food, medicine, clothing, and supplies to the settlement. It is believed that Damien never wore the royal medal, although it was placed by his side at his funeral.
Illness and death
Father Damien on his deathbed
St. Marianne Cope standing beside Father Damien's funeral bier (image reversed)
The leprosy patients of Molokaʻi gathered around Father Damien's grave in mourning
Father Damien worked for 16 years in Hawaii, providing comfort for the lepers of Kalaupapa. He gave the people not only faith but also homes and his medical expertise. He would pray at the cemetery of the deceased and comfort the dying at their bedsides.
In December 1884, while preparing to bathe, Damien inadvertently put his foot into scalding water, causing his skin to blister. He felt nothing and realized he had contracted leprosy after 11 years of working in the colony.[4] This was a common way for people to discover that they had been infected with leprosy. Despite his illness, Damien worked even harder.[24]
In 1885, Masanao Goto, a Japanese leprologist, came to Honolulu and treated Damien. He believed that leprosy was caused by a diminution of the blood. His treatment consisted of nourishing food, moderate exercise, frequent friction to the benumbed parts, special ointments, and medical baths. The treatments did relieve some of the symptoms and were very popular with the Hawaiian patients. Damien had faith in the treatments and said he wanted to be treated by no one but Goto,[25][26][27] who eventually became good friends with Father Damien.[28]
Despite the illness slowing his body, Damien engaged in a flurry of activity in his last years. He tried to complete and advance as many projects as possible with his remaining time. While continuing to spread the Catholic Faith and aid the lepers in their treatments, Damien completed several building projects and improved orphanages. Four volunteers arrived at Kalaupapa to help the ailing missionary: a Belgian priest, Louis Lambert Conrardy; a soldier, Joseph Dutton (an American Civil War veteran who left behind a marriage broken by alcoholism); a male nurse, James Sinnett from Chicago; and Mother (now also Saint) Marianne Cope, who had been the head of the Franciscan-run St Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, New York.[29] Conrardy took up pastoral duties. Cope organized a working hospital. Dutton attended to the construction and maintenance of the community's buildings. Sinnett nursed Damien in the last phases of illness.
With an arm in a sling, a foot in bandages, and his leg dragging, Damien knew death was near. He was bedridden on 23 March 1889, and on 30 March, he made a general confession.[30] Damien died of leprosy at 8:00 a.m. on 15 April 1889, aged 49.[31] The next day, after Mass said by Father Moellers at St. Philomena's, the whole settlement followed the funeral cortège to the cemetery. Damien was laid to rest under the same pandanus tree where he first slept upon his arrival on Molokaʻi.[32]
In January 1936, at the request of King Leopold III of Belgium and the Belgian government, Damien's body was returned to his native land in Belgium. It was transported aboard the Belgian ship Mercator. Damien was buried in Leuven, the historic university city close to the village where he was born. After Damien's beatification in June 1995, the remains of his right hand were returned to Hawaii and re-interred in his original grave on Molokaʻi.[33][34]
Commentary after his death
Father Damien had become internationally known before his death, seen as a symbolic Christian figure caring for the afflicted natives. His superiors thought Damien lacked education and finesse but knew him as "an earnest peasant hard at work in his own way for God."[35] News of his death on 15 April was quickly carried across the globe by the modern communications of the time, by steamship to Honolulu and California, telegraph to the East Coast of the United States, and cable to England, reaching London on 11 May.[36] Following an outpouring of praise for his work, other voices began to be heard in Hawaiʻi.
Representatives of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in Hawaii criticized his approach. Reverend Charles McEwen Hyde, a Presbyterian minister in Honolulu, wrote in August to fellow pastor Reverend H. B. Gage of San Francisco. Hyde referred to Father Damien as "a coarse, dirty man," who contracted leprosy due to "carelessness."[37][38] Hyde said that Damien was mistakenly being given credit for reforms made by the Board of Health. Without consulting with Hyde, Gage had the letter published in a San Francisco newspaper, generating comment and controversy in the US and Hawaiʻi. People of the period consistently overlooked the role of Hawaiians themselves, among whom several had prominent leadership roles on the island.[39]
Later in 1889 Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his family arrived in Hawaii for an extended stay. He had tuberculosis, then also incurable, and was seeking some relief. Moved by Damien's story, he became interested in the priest's controversy and went to Molokaʻi for eight days and seven nights.[37] Stevenson wanted to learn more about Damien at the place where he had worked. He spoke with residents of varying religious backgrounds to learn more about Damien's work. Based on his conversations and observations, he wrote an open letter to Hyde that addressed the minister's criticisms and had it printed at his own expense. This became the most famous account of Damien, featuring him in the role of a European aiding a benighted native people.[37][40]
In his "6,000-word polemic,"[40] Stevenson praised Damien extensively, writing to Hyde:
If that world at all remember you, on the day when Damien of Molokai shall be named a Saint, it will be in virtue of one work: your letter to the Reverend H. B. Gage.[37]
Stevenson referred to his journal entries in his letter:
...I have set down these private passages, as you perceive, without correction; thanks to you, the public has them in their bluntness. They are almost a list of the man's faults, for it is rather these that I was seeking: with his virtues, with the heroic profile of his life, I and the world were already sufficiently acquainted. I was besides a little suspicious of Catholic testimony, in no ill sense, but merely because Damien's admirers and disciples were the least likely to be critical. I know you will be more suspicious still, and the facts set down above were one and all collected from the lips of Protestants who had opposed the father in his life. Yet I am strangely deceived, or they build up the image of a man, with all his weakness, essentially heroic, and alive with rugged honesty, generosity, and mirth.[37]
Since then, historians and ethnologists have also studied Damien's work and residents' lives on Molokaʻi. For example, Pennie Moblo assesses the myth and controversy about the priest in the context not of religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, but changes in relations in Hawaiʻi between the royal house, European-American planters, and missionaries, and native residents, in the years of the overthrow of the government and assumption of power by Americans.[16] Among the facts left out of early accounts praising Father Damien was that the residents of the leper colony wanted a native priest, that lay volunteers were rejected, and that residents asked in 1878 that the priest be replaced. As Hawai'ians were literate, they spoke for themselves. In this period, Damien had patient J.K. Kahuila, a Hawaiian Protestant minister, put in irons and deported to Oahu because he believed the man was too rebellious. Kahuila got a lawyer and demanded an investigation of Damien.[16] Moblo concludes that in most 19th- and 20th-century accounts, "the focus on Damien eclipses the active role played by Hawaiians and preserves a colonially biased history."[16]
Mahatma Gandhi said that Father Damien's work had inspired his social campaigns in India, leading to independence for his people and securing aid for those who needed it. Gandhi was quoted in T.N. Jagadisan's 1965 publication, Mahatma Gandhi Answers the Challenge of Leprosy, as saying,
The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Molokai. The Catholic Church, on the contrary, counts by the thousands those who, after the example of Fr. Damien, have devoted themselves to the victims of leprosy. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism.[41]
Canonization
Original grave of Father Damien next to the St. Philomena Roman Catholic Church in Kalawao, Kalaupapa Peninsula, Molokaʻi, Hawaii (21°10′37″N 156°56′53.3″W)
Grave of Saint Damien in the crypt of the church of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Leuven, Belgium (50°52′33.4″N 004°41′54.1″E)
In 1977, Pope Paul VI declared Father Damien to be venerable. On 4 June 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified him and gave him his official spiritual title of Blessed. On 20 December 1999, Jorge Medina Estévez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, confirmed the November 1999 decision of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to place Blessed Damien on the liturgical calendar with the rank of an optional memorial. Father Damien was canonized on 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast day is celebrated on 10 May. In Hawaii, it is celebrated on the day of his death, 15 April.
Two miracles have been attributed to Father Damien's posthumous intercession. On 13 June 1992, Pope John Paul II approved the cure of a nun in France in 1895 as a miracle attributed to Venerable Damien's intercession. In that case, Sister Simplicia Hue began a novena to Father Damien as she lay dying of a lingering intestinal illness. It is stated that the pain and symptoms of the illness disappeared overnight.[42]
In the second case, Audrey Toguchi, a Hawaiian woman who suffered from a rare form of cancer, had remission after having prayed at the grave of Father Damien on Molokaʻi. There was no medical explanation, as her prognosis was terminal.[43][44] In 1997, Toguchi was diagnosed with liposarcoma, a cancer that arises in fat cells. She underwent surgery a year later and a tumor was removed, but the cancer metastasized to her lungs. Her physician, Dr. Walter Chang, told her, "Nobody has ever survived this cancer. It's going to take you."[43] Toguchi was surviving in 2016.[45]
In April 2008, the Holy See accepted the two cures as evidence of Father Damien's sanctity. On 2 June 2008, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican voted to recommend raising Father Damien of Molokaʻi to sainthood. The decree that officially notes and verifies the miracle needed for canonization was promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on 3 July 2008, with the ceremony taking place in Rome and celebrations in Belgium and Hawaii.[46] On 21 February 2009, the Vatican announced that Father Damien would be canonized.[6] The ceremony took place in Rome on Rosary Sunday, 11 October 2009, in the presence of King Albert II of the Belgians and Queen Paola as well as the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, and several cabinet ministers,[7][47] completing the process of canonization. In Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama affirmed his deep admiration for St. Damien, saying that he gave voice to the voiceless and dignity to the sick.[48] Four other individuals were canonized with Father Damien at the same ceremony: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Sister Jeanne Jugan, Father Francisco Coll Guitart and Rafael Arnáiz Barón.[49]
Damien is honored, together with Marianne Cope, with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 15 April.
Saint John of Avila
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(மே 9)
✠ அவிலா நகர புனிதர் யோவான் ✠
(St. John of Avila)
மதகுரு, மறைவல்லுநர், அண்டலூசியாவின் திருத்தூதர்:
(Priest, Doctor of the Church and Apostle of Andalusia)
பிறப்பு: ஜனவரி 6, 1499
அல்மொடோவார் தெல் காம்போ, சியுடட் ரியல், ஸ்பெயின்
(Almodóvar del Campo, Ciudad Real, Spain)
இறப்பு: மே 10, 1569 (வயது 69)
மொன்டீல்லா, கொர்டோபா, ஸ்பெயின்
(Montilla, Córdoba, Spain)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
அருளாளர் பட்டம்: நவம்பர் 12, 1893
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோ
(Pope Leo XIII)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 31, 1970
திருத்தந்தை ஆறாம் பவுல்
(Pope Paul VI)
முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:
இன்கார்னேஷன் ஆலயம், மொண்டில்லா, கொர்டோபா, ஸ்பெயின்
(Church of the Incarnation, Montilla, Córdoba, Spain)
நினைவுத் திருவிழா: மே 9
பாதுகாவல்: அண்டலூசியா, ஸ்பெயின், ஸ்பானிஷ் மதச்சார்பற்ற குருமார்கள் (Spanish Secular Clergy)
அவிலா நகர புனிதர் யோவான், ஸ்பேனிஷ் கத்தோலிக்க குருவும், எழுத்தாளரும், இறைக்காட்சியாளரும், புனிதரும் ஆவார். திருத்தந்தை பதினாறாம் பெனடிக்ட், இவரை திருச்சபையின் மறைவல்லுநர் என 2012ம் ஆண்டு, அக்டோபர் மாதம், 7ம் நாளன்று, அறிவித்தார்.
இளமை:
அவிலா நகரின் யோவான், ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டின் ஒரு பக்தி உள்ள செல்வந்தக் குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்தவர். 14 வயதில் இவர் கல்வி கற்க சலமான்கா பல்கலைக்கழகத்திற்கு (University of Salamanca) அனுப்பப்பட்டார். ஒருவருடம் கழித்து பட்டங்கள் ஏதும் பெறாமலேயே வீடு திரும்பினார்.
ஃபிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையினரால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்ட இவர், அவர்களின் அறிவுரைப்படி இறையியலும், தத்துவமும் படித்தார். படித்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போதே இவரின் பெற்றோர் இறந்தனர். இவர் படித்து குருவான பின்பு, இவரின் பெற்றோர் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்த இடத்தில் இருந்த ஆலயத்தில் தனது முதல் திருப்பலியை நிறைவேற்றினார். பின்னர் தனது சொத்துக்கள் அனைத்தையும் விற்று ஏழைகளுக்குக் கொடுத்தார். பின்னர் மெக்சிக்கோவுக்கு சென்று மறைப்பணியாற்ற தன்னையே தயாரித்து வந்தார். கி.பி 1527ம் ஆண்டு, இவர் நிகழ்த்திய திருப்பலியின்போது துலங்கிய பக்தியைக் கண்ட ஆயர் இவரை அண்டலூசியாவிற்குச் சென்று அங்கு மழுங்கிப்போன பக்தியைப் புதுப்பிக்க இவரைக் கட்டாயப்படுத்தி அனுப்பி வைத்தார்.
அண்டலூசியாவில்:
அவர் தனது முதல் பிரசங்கத்தை அண்டலூசியாவில் கி.பி 1529ம் ஆண்டு, ஜூலை மாதம், 22ம் தேதி, நிகழ்த்தியதும், உடனடியாக இவரது புகழ் அங்கு பரவியது. அவர் அண்டலூசியாவில் பணியாற்றிய ஒன்பது ஆண்டுகளில், அவரது போதனைகளைக் கேட்க தேவாலயங்கள் மக்களால் நிரம்பி வழிந்தது. மக்களும் திருச்சபையும் சீர்திருத்தம் பெறவேண்டும் என்று அவர் வலியுறுத்தினார். மேலும், உயர் சமூகத்தின் நடத்தையையும் அவர் கண்டனம் செய்தார். இதனால் யோவான் செவீயா நகருக்குக் கொண்டுவரப்பட்டு, அங்கு சமய விசாரணை மன்றத்தின் முன் நிறுத்தப்பட்டார். இவர் செல்வத்தால் வரும் ஆபத்துக்களை மிகைப்படுத்திக் கூறினார் என்றும், செல்வந்தர்கள் விண்ணரசில் நுழைய முடியாது என்று போதித்தார் என்றும் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டார். ஆனால் யோவான் மீது சாட்டப்பட்ட குற்றங்கள் ஆதாரமற்றவை என்று விரைவிலேயே தெரிந்துபோனது. இறுதியாக, அவர் குற்றம் யாதும் புரியவில்லை என்று கி.பி 1533ம் ஆண்டு, அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது.
ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டில்:
குருக்கள் மற்றும் துறவியரின் வாழ்க்கைமுறையில் சீர்திருத்தம் கொண்டுவந்த சிறப்பும் இவருக்கு உண்டு. ஸ்பெயின் நாட்டில் இவர் நிறுவிய பல கல்லூரிகளில் இவரது சீடர்கள், இளைஞர்களுக்குக் கற்பிப்பதில் தங்களை அர்ப்பணித்துக்கொண்டனர்.
இவரது வாழ்க்கை மற்றும் போதனையால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டோருள் அவிலாவின் புனித தெரேசா, கடவுளின் யோவான், பிரான்சிஸ் போர்ஜியா மற்றும் கிரனாடா நகரின் லூயிஸ் ஆகியோர் உள்ளடங்குவர்.
திருத்தந்தை மூன்றாம் பவுல், கி.பி 1538ல் பயேசா நகரில் ஒரு பல்கலைக்கழகத்துக்கு அடித்தளம் இட்டார். அந்த நிறுவனத்தின் முதல் அதிபராக அவிலாவின் யோவான் நியமிக்கப்பட்டார். குருத்துவக் கல்லூரிகளுக்கும் பிற கல்வி நிறுவனங்களுக்கும் ஒரு சிறந்த முன்மாதிரியாக அப்பல்கலைக்கழகம் அமைந்தது. இயேசு சபையினர் கல்விக்கூடங்களுக்கும் அது முன்னுதாரணமாயிற்று.
அவிலாவின் யோவான் இயேசு சபையினரால் பெரிதும் மதிக்கப்படுகிறார். இயேசு சபை எசுப்பானியாவில் கண்ட பெரு வளர்ச்சிக்கு இவர் எண்பித்த நட்பும் ஆதரவுமே காரணம் என்று கருதப்படுகிறது.
இறப்பு:
தமது முப்பதாம் வயதில் அவிலாவின் யோவான் அண்டலூசியாவில் போதகம் நிகழ்த்தச் சென்றார். ஒன்பது ஆண்டுகள் மறைப்பணி ஆற்றிய பின்னர் அவர் செவீயா நகருக்குத் திரும்பினார். தொடர்ந்து, ஸ்பெயினிலேயே கோர்தொபா, கிரனாடா, பயேசா, மொன்டீயா மற்றும் சாஃப்ரா ஆகிய இடங்களில் மறைப்பணி ஆற்றினார்.
நாற்பது ஆண்டுகளாக ஈடுபட்டிருந்த கடின உழைப்புக் காரணமாக அவரது வாழ்க்கையின் இறுதி பதினெட்டு ஆண்டுகளும் அவர் நோயுற்றிருந்தார். அவர் மொன்டீயா நகரில், கி.பி 1569ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 10ம் நாளன்று, தமது 69ம் வயதில் உயிர்துறந்தார்.
Also known as
• Apostle of Andalusia
• Juan de Ávila Jijón
Profile
Born to a wealthy Castilian family with Jewish ancestry. Studied law at the University of Salamanca from age 14, and felt a call to religious life. Studied theology and philosophy at Alcala, Spain at age 17. Lawyer. Following the death of his parents, he liquidated most of his large fortune, and gave it to the poor. Ordained in 1525. He wanted to be a missionary in the West Indies and Mexico, but became a travelling preacher in Andalusia for 40 years, re-evangelizing a region previously ruled by the Moors. He spoke boldly against the sins of the ruling classes, made powerful enemies, and at one point was imprisoned in Seville, Spain by the Inquisition, accused of false teachings; the charges were dismissed, John was released, and his preaching became more popular than ever. Spiritual director of Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Francis Borgia, Saint John of God, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Peter of Alcántara, and Saint Louis of Granada. Writer whose works continue their influence today. Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 October 2012.
Born
6 January 1499 at Almodovar del Campo (Ciudad Real), Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Died
• 10 May 1569 at Montilla, Provincia de Córdoba, Andalucia, Spain of natural causes
interred in the Basílica de San Juan de Ávila in Montilla
Canonized
31 May 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Patronage
• Andalusia, Spain
• Spain
• Spanish secular clergy
• World Youth Day 2011
Saint Joseph de Veuster
Also known as
• Apostle to the Lepers
• Damian de Veuster
• Father Damien
Additional Memorial
15 April (Father Damien Day in Hawaii)
Profile
Son of a small farmer. Studied at the college at Braine-le-Comte, Belgium. Joined the Picpus Fathers on 7 October 1860, taking the name Damien. Seminarian in Paris, France. Volunteered for missionary work while still in seminary, and was sent to Hawaii. Ordained in Honolulu on 24 May 1864. Missionary on islands where his single parish was the size of all of his native Belgium. Resident priest in the leper colony on Molokai where for years he worked alone to minister to the patients' spiritual and medical needs. His work turned a wretched dump for the unwanted into a real community with the best treatment of the day, and patients who lived strong spiritual lives. He contracted leprosy in 1885, and though severely crippled by the disease, Father Damien worked until the end.
Born
3 January 1840 on the family farm at Tremeloo, Belgium as Joseph de Veuster
Died
• 15 April 1889 at Molokai, Hawaii from leprosy
• buried next to Saint Philomena Church, Molokai, Hawaii
• interred in a basement chapel in the church of Saint Antonius, Leuven, Belgium in 1936
Canonized
11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Patronage
• against leprosy
• lepers
Blessed Vasile Aftenie
Profile
Drafted into the army in 1917, Vasile fought in the front in Galacia and Italy in World War I. In 1918 he began studying law in Bucharest, Romania, but in 1919 gave into a call to the priesthood and began studying theology at the Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius. Ordained a priest in the Romanian Greek-Catholic rite in Fagaras si Alba Iulia, Romania on 1 January 1926. Taught at the Theological Academy in Blaj, Romania from 1926 to 1934. Dean of the seminary in Bucharest in 1934. Cathedral canon in Blaj in 1937. Rector of the Theological Academy in 1939. Chosen auxiliary bishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia, Romania and Titular Bishop of Ulpiana by Pope Pius XII on 12 April 1940. Apostolic administrator of Fagaras si Alba Iulia on 15 June 1941. Arrested on 28 October 1948 in the Communist persecutions, he was imprisoned first in the Dragoslavele work camp, and then in February 1949 placed in solitary confinement in the Caldarusani monastery outside Bucharest. Beginning on 10 May 1949, he was subjected to a year of repeated torture which left him mutilated and crippled, broken in his physical and mental health; his faith never flagged. Martyr.
Born
14 June 1899 in Lodroman, Valea Lungã, Alba, Romania
Died
• 10 May 1950 in the prison hospital in Vacaresti, Bucharest, Romania from the abuse from repeated torture sessions, possibly after being shot
• body burned by order of the Communist authorities, and the remains were buried in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest
• a white marble grave stone was erected on his grave in 1990; it has become the site of pilgrimage
Beatified
2 June 2019 by Pope Francis
Blessed Ivan Merz
Also known as
John Merz
Profile
Educated in Banja Luka, briefly in a military academy, and in Vienna, Austria. Fought on the Italian front of World War I. After the war he studied again in Vienna, in Paris, France, and then taught French language and literature at the University of Zagreb, from which he received his Ph.D. in philosophy.
Though he decided to remain a layman in the world, Ivan took a vow of celibacy, and devoted his free time to the Church. He taught young Croatians, and spoke and wrote to evangelize all Croats. He worked for liturgical revival, and helped institute Catholic Action in Croatia.
Born
16 December 1896 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Died
• 10 May 1928 in Zagreb, Croatia of natural causes
• relics transferred to the Shrine of the Holy Heart in Zagreb on 16 December 1977
Beatified
22 June 2003 by Pope John Paul II in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Readings
Catholic faith is my life vocation. - Blessed Ivan
Why do I love the Church and the Holy Father? Because in the Church I see the clear picture of my beloved Saviour and God Jesus in all His perfection, and in the Holy Father I see the human image of my God and my Lord. - Blessed Ivan
Died in the peace of the Catholic faith. My life had been Christ, and death was my gain. I am expecting the mercy of the Lord and undivided, complete, eternal possession of the most Holy Heart of Jesus. Happy in peace and joy. My soul is reaching the goal for which it had been created. - Blessed Ivan in a testament he wrote just before his death; today it serves as the epitaph on his tomb
Blessed Enrico Rebuschini
Profile
Second of five children born to an upper class family in the Lombard region of modern Italy. A pious young man and good student, he had a mystical outlook on things, and was subject to bouts of depression. At age 18 Enrico felt a call to the priesthood, but his family, especially his father strongly objected. However, they finally relented, and at 24 Enrico began his studies at the seminary in Como, Italy. He studied at the Lombard College and Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, and proved an able student, but a crushing bout of depression sent him back to his family home and finally to a nursing home for recovery.
When he was back on his feet and ready to return to his studies, Enrico re-examined his call to religious life, and, with the help of his confessor, decided to work with the Camillians, a congregation dedicated to the sick; he began his novitiate at age 27. With special dispensation from his bishop, the future Pope Saint Pius X, he was ordained a priest on 14 April 1889. He ministered to the sick in Verona, Italy from 1889 to 1899, making his solemn Camillian vows in 1891, and then served at the San Camillo di Cremona nursing home the rest of his life – almost 40 years. He served as treasurer of his community for 34 years, and superior for 11. Father Enrico’s life was one of prayer and service in the day to day needs of other people.
Born
28 April 1860 at Gravedona, Como, Italy
Died
10 May 1938 in Cremona, Italy of pneumonia
Beatified
4 May 1997 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Comgall of Bangor
Additional Memorial
6 January as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland
Profile
Son of Sedna. Soldier. Spiritual student of Saint Fintan of Clonenagh and Saint Kieran at Clonmacnoise. Friend of Saint Brendan, Saint Cormac, Saint Kevin of Glendalough and Finbarr of Moville. Ordained by Saint Lughaedh of Conmacnoise. Spiritual teacher of Saint Cronan Mochua. He and a few brother monks lived a very strict and austere life on an island on Lough Erne. Among other houses, he founded the monastery at Bangor, County Down, Ireland in 552 and served as its first abbot; at one point it housed 8,000 monks. Life there was harsh and adherence to the Rule strict, but the brothers were very close, and were encouraged to help and support each other. Spiritual teacher of Saint Blane, Saint Cainnech, Saint Columbanus, Saint Deicola, Saint Fintan of Doon, Saint Gall, Saint Lactali, Saint Lua of Limerick and Saint Mochoemoc. Missionary to Scotland and the Picts. A reported miracle worker, Comgall is said to have blinded a band of thieves as they approached the monastery, but restored eye sight to a penitent man. Received Holy Communion on his death bed from Saint Fiacra.
Born
c.510 Dalaradia, near Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland
Died
601 at Bangor Abbey, Ireland of natural causes
Canonized
1903 (cultus confirmed)
Saint Solange of Bourges
Also known as
• Solange of Berry
• Solange of Bourges of Genevieve du Berry
• Solangia...
Profile
Born to a family of poor vine dressers. Young virgin shepherdess who took a personal vow of chastity, devoting herself to God alone. When she said her prayers in the field, a star shone over her head. Reported to have the gift of healing, especially of animals. She was murdered by her landlord, Bernard, son of the Count of Poitiers, for resisting his sexual advances. Considered a martyr as she died insisting on her fidelity to Christ. Some of the early versions of her story include her carrying her severed head into a nearby village, and the head preaching to the people.
Born
863 at Villemont near Bourges, France
Died
stabbed with a hunting knife c.880 at Champ de Sainte Solange
Patronage
• Berry, France
• Bourges, France
• children
• drought relief
• for rain
• rape victims
• shepherdesses
• shepherds
Saint Catald of Taranto
Also known as
• Catald of Tarentum
• Catald of Rachau
• Cataldus, Cathal, Cattaldo, Cathaluds, Cathaldus, Cataldo
Profile
Student at the monastic school of Lismore, Waterford under Saint Carthage. Later a teacher there, and then headmaster. Pilgrim to the Holy Land. On his way home a storm shipwrecked him in Taranto, Italy. As he recovered, his holiness was such that he was chosen by the people to be their bishop. He lived the rest of his life in the region, teaching and caring for his parishioners. There are towns in Sicily and southern Italy named for him.
Born
7th century Munster, Ireland
Died
• c.685 in Taranto, Italy of natural causes
• relics discovered centuries after his death during a renovation of the cathedral following its damage by Saracens in 927
• relics translated on 10 May 1017
• remarkable cures reported almost immediately at his new tomb
Patronage
• against blindness
• against drought
• against epilepsy
• against hernias
• against paralysis
• against plague
• against storms
• blind people
• drought relief
• epileptics
• paralyzed people
• Massa Lubrense, Italy
• Taranto, Italy
Blessed Amalarius of Metz
Also known as
• Amalarius of Trier
• Fortunatus, Symphosius
Additional Memorials
• 29 April (Martyrologium Hieronymianum)
• 10 June (Trier, Germany)
Profile
Ninth-century liturgical writer. A pupil of Alcuin at Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany, he was bishop of Trier, Germany from 811 to 813, and later ambassador to Constantinople. He lived at a time when the liturgy was changing, when fusion of the Roman and Gallican uses was taking place, and he exercised a remarkable influence in introducing the present composite liturgy which has supplanted the ancient Roman Rite. The chief merit of his works is that they have preserved much accurate and valuable information on the state of the liturgy at the beginning of the ninth century and are therefore useful sources for the history of Latin rites.
Born
775 in Metz, Kingdom of the Franks (in modern France)
Died
c.853
Blessed Beatrix of Este the Elder
Profile
Born to the dynastic house of Este. Aunt of Blessed Beatrix of Este the Younger. Nun in the convent of Santa Margherita at Solarolo, Italy. Feeling a need for more seclusion, she took over a deserted monastery at Gemmola, Italy, and founded a new convent where she apparently spent the rest of her life.
Born
between 1200 and 1206 in the castle of d'Este, Italy
Died
• 10 May 1226 of natural causes at Gemmola, Italy
• interred in the church of Saint John the Baptist
• relics translated to the church of Saint Sophia in Padua, Italy in 1578
• tradition says that when anything important was about to befall the family of Este, Beatrix would turn in her grave, and the noise could be heard throughout the church
Beatified
19 November 1763 by Pope Clement XIII
Saint Gordian the Judge
Also known as
• Gordian of Rome
• Gordianus...
Profile
Roman judge. Adult convert to Christianity. Tortured and martyred by order of the Roman prefect Apronianus during the persecutions of Julian the Apostate.
Died
• beheaded in 362 on the Latin Road outside Rome, Italy
• buried with Saint Epimachus in a crypt near Rome
• relics at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome, Italy, and at Kempten Abbey,Bavaria, Germany
Saint Calepodius of Rome
Profile
Priest. Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus. One of the Roman catacombs is named for him.
Died
• stabbed with a sword c.232 in Rome, Italy
• his body was dragged through the streets of Rome and then thrown into the River Tiber
• body later recovered and given proper burial by Pope Callistus I
• relics enshrined in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome in the 10th century
• some relics enshrined in the church of Notre-Dame de Reims, Rheims, France
Saint Alphius of Lentini
Also known as
Alfio
Profile
Brother of Saint Cyrinus and Saint Philadelphus. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Born
Sicily, Italy
Died
251 in Lentini, Sicily, Italy
Patronage
• Lentini, Sicily, Italy
• Trecastagni, Sicily, Italy
Saint Cyrinus of Lentini
Also known as
Cirino
Profile
Brother of Saint Alphius and Saint Philadelphus. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Born
Sicily
Died
251 in Lentini, Sicily, Italy
Patronage
• Lentini, Sicily, Italy
• Trecastagni, Sicily, Italy
Saint Philadelphus of Lentini
Profile
Brother of Saint Alphius and Saint Cyrinus. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Born
Sicily, Italy
Died
251 in Lentini, Sicily, Italy
Patronage
• Lentini, Sicily, Italy
• Trecastagni, Sicily, Italy
Blessed Giusto Santgelp
Profile
Born to the nobility. Secular Mercedarian knight. Ransomed 200 Christian slaves from the Saracens in Muslim occupied Granada, Spain in 1284.
Born
France
Died
Mercedarian convent of Saint Anthony the Abbot, Tarragona, Spain
Saint Palmatius of Rome
Profile
Roman imperial consul. Martyred with his wife, children and 42 members of his household, whose names have not come down to us, in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus.
Died
• beheaded c.232 in Rome, Italy
• heads of all the martyrs were placed over the gates of Rome as a warning to other Christians
Saint Simplicius of Rome
Profile
Roman imperial senator. Martyred with 68 members of his household, whose names have not come down to us, in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus.
Died
• beheaded c.232 in Rome, Italy
• heads of all the martyrs were placed over the gates of Rome as a warning to other Christians
Job
Profile
Old Testament Patriarch. The man "simple and upright and fearing God and avoiding evil" who figures in the canonical Old Testament Book of Job.
Patronage
• against abscesses
• against depression
• against ulcers
• ulcer sufferers
Saint Epimachus of Rome
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Died
• burned at the stake c.250 in Alexandria, Egypt
• relics transferred to a crypt near Rome, Italy
Saint Felix of Rome
Profile
Married to Saint Blanda of Rome. Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus.
Died
• beheaded c.232 in Rome, Italy
• head placed over a gate into Rome as a warning to other Christians
Saint Blanda of Rome
Profile
Married to Saint Felix of Rome. Martyred in the persecutions of Emperor Alexander Severus.
Died
• beheaded c.232 in Rome, Italy
• head placed over a gate into Rome as a warning to other Christians
Saint Aurelian of Limoges
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Martial of Limoges. Bishop of Limoges, France.
Died
relics enshrined at the Chapelle Saint-Aurelian, Limoges, France
Blessed William of Pontoise
Profile
May have been a Benedictine monk. Priest. Hermit at Pontoise, France.
Born
England
Died
c.1195 of natural causes
Saint Quartus of Capua
Profile
Martyr.
Born
Capua, Italy
Died
• martyred at Rome, Italy, date unknown
• relics enshrined at Capua, Italy
Saint Quintus of Capua
Profile
Martyr.
Born
Capua, Italy
Died
• martyred at Rome, Italy, date unknown
• relics enshrined at Capua, Italy
Blessed Antonio of Norcia
Profile
Lay Franciscan.
Died
c.1310 in Norcia, Italy of natural causes
Saint Dioscorides of Smyrna
Profile
Martyr.
Died
at Smyrna, Asia Minor
Saint Thecla
Profile
Martyr.
Blessed Nicholas Albergati
Profile
Studied law. Carthusian monk in 1394. Prior of several Carthusian houses. Ordained in June 1404. Chosen as reluctant bishop of Bologna, Italy on 5 January 1417. Papal diplomat with missions to France and Lombardy, Italy. Archbishop of Bologna in 1418 against his will. Elevated to cardinal-priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on 24 May 1426. Known as a peacemaker. Mediated between the emperor and Pope Martin V, and the French king and Pope Eugene IV. Prominent in the Council of Basel and Council of Ferrara-Florence. Active in the negotiations that brought reunion of the Greek Church with Rome at Ferrara-Florence. Generous patron of learned men. Wrote several theological treatises, and encouraged academics. Chief penitentiary to Pope Eugene IV. Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in 1440.
Born
1373 at Bologna, Italy
Died
• 9 May 1443 at Siena, Italy of natural causes
• buried at the Carthusian monastery in Florence, Italy
Beatified
25 September 1744 by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
learning
