தினசரி புனிதர்கள் தகவல் : Thursday, July 08, 2021

08 July 2021

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜூலை 9

St. Willehad of Denmark

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Franciscan martyr. A Dane by birth, baptized in 1483 as Anthony, he was exiled from Denmark at the onset of the Protestant Reformation in his country. He went to the ill-fated Franciscan friary at Gorkum, in the Netherlands, and was thus among the Franciscans who were condemned and hanged by the Protestants at Biel. At the time of his death, he was ninety.

The Martyrs of Gorkum (Dutch: Martelaren van Gorcum) were a group of 19 Dutch Catholic clerics, secular and religious, who were hanged on 9 July 1572 in the town of Brielle (or Den Briel) by militant Dutch Calvinists during the 16th century religious wars—specifically, the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule, which developed into the Eighty Years' War.

Events

In the first half of the 16th century, various forms of Protestantism—particularly, Lutheranism and Calvinism—were spreading through Western Europe. In the Low Countries, then under the rule of Spain, Emperor Charles V and his son King Philip II instituted a systematic campaign to root out the new religious movements, which resulted in political resentment towards the authorities, including the Catholic Church.[citation needed]

By 1572 the Netherlands were in open revolt against Spanish rule, while in the internal rivalry among the Protestant denominations, Calvinism managed to suppress Lutheranism. On 1 April of the next year, Calvinist forces and a rebel group called the Watergeuzen (Sea Beggars) captured Brielle (Den Briel) and later Vlissingen (Flushing).[2]

In June, Dordrecht and Gorkum fell, and at the latter the rebels captured nine Franciscans: Nicholas Pieck, guardian of Gorkum; Hieronymus of Weert, vicar; Theodorus van der Eem of Amersfoort; Nicasius Janssen of Heeze; Willehad of Denmark; Godefried of Mervel; Antonius of Weert; Antonius of Hoornaer, and Franciscus de Roye of Brussels. To these were added two lay brothers from the same friary, Petrus of Assche and Cornelius of Wijk bij Duurstede. At almost the same time the Calvinists arrested the parish priest of Gorkum, Leonardus Vechel of 's-Hertogenbosch, and his assistant.[2]

Also imprisoned were Godefried van Duynsen of Gorkum, a priest in his native city, and Joannes Lenartz of Oisterwijk, a Canon Regular from a nearby priory and spiritual director for the monastery of Augustinian nuns in Gorkum. To these fifteen were later added four more companions: Joannes van Hoornaer (alias known as John of Cologne), a Dominican of the Cologne province and parish priest not far from Gorkum, who when apprised of the incarceration of the clergy of Gorkum hastened to the city in order to administer the sacraments to them and was seized and imprisoned with the rest; Jacobus Lacops of Oudenaar, a Norbertine, who became a curate in Monster, South Holland; Adrianus Janssen of Hilvarenbeek, a Premonstratensian canon and at one time parish priest in Monster, who was sent to Brielle with Jacobus Lacops. Last was Andreas Wouters of Heynoord.[2]

In prison at Gorkum (from 26 June to 6 July 1572), the first 15 prisoners were transferred to Brielle, arriving there on 8 July.[3] On their way to Dordrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious. The following day, William de la Marck, Lord of Lumey, commander of the Gueux de mer, had them interrogated and ordered a disputation. In the meantime, four others arrived. It was demanded of each that he abandon his belief in the Transubstantiation, the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, as well as the belief in the Papal supremacy. All remained firm in their faith. Meanwhile, there came a letter from the Prince of Orange, William the Silent, which enjoined all those in authority to leave priests and religious unmolested. Despite this call, on 9 July, they were hanged in a turfshed.[2]

Veneration

A shrub bearing 19 white flowers is said to have sprung up at the site of their martyrdom. Many miracles have since been attributed to the intercession of the Gorkum Martyrs, especially the curing of hernias.[3] The beatification of the martyrs took place on 14 November 1675, and their canonization on 29 June 1867.[1][4] Their elevation to sainthood, which took place on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, was part of grand celebrations marking 1,800 years since the traditional year for the martyrdom of the two apostles in Rome.[5]

For many years the place of their martyrdom in Brielle has been the scene of numerous pilgrimages and processions. The reliquary of their remains is now enshrined in the Church of Saint Nicholas, Brussels, Belgium.

There were 11 Franciscan friars or Minderbroeders (Friars Minor), one Dominican friar or Predikheer, two Norbertine canons regular and a local canon regular, or witheren and five wereldheren (secular clergy). The 19 put to death on 9 July 1572 were:[2][6]

1. Leonard van Veghel (born 1527), spokesman, secular priest, and since 1566 pastor of Gorkum

2. Peter of Assche (born 1530), Franciscan lay brother

3. Andrew Wouters (born 1542), secular priest, pastor of Heinenoord in the Hoeksche Waard

4. Nicasius of Heeze (born 1522), Franciscan friar, theologian and priest

5. Jerome of Weert (born 1522), Franciscan friar, priest, pastor in Gorcum

6. Anthony of Hoornaar, Franciscan friar and priest

7. Godfried van Duynen (born 1502), secular priest, former pastor in northern France

8. Willehad of Denmark (born 1482), Franciscan friar and priest

9. James Lacobs (born 1541), Norbertine canon

10. Francis of Roye (born 1549), Franciscan friar and priest

11. John of Cologne, Dominican friar, pastor in Hoornaar near Gorkum

12. Anthony of Weert (born 1523), Franciscan friar and priest

13. Theodore of der Eem (born c. 1499–1502), Franciscan friar and priest, chaplain to a community of Franciscan Tertiary Sisters in Gorkum

14. Cornelius of Wijk bij Duurstede (born 1548), Franciscan lay brother

15. Adrian van Hilvarenbeek (born 1528), Norbertine canon and pastor in Monster, South Holland

16. Godfried of Mervel, Vicar of Melveren, Sint-Truiden (born 1512), Franciscan priest, vicar of the friary in Gorkum

17. Jan of Oisterwijk (born 1504), Augustinian canon regular, a chaplain for the Beguinage in Gorkum

18. Nicholas Poppel (born 1532), secular priest, chaplain in Gorkum

19. Nicholas Pieck (born 1534), Franciscan friar, priest and theologian, Guardian of the friary in Gorkum, his native city

St. Peter of Asche

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Franciscan lay brother and a member of the Gorkum Martyrs. Also called Peter van Asche, he was a native of Asche, near Brussels, Belgium. Entering the Franciscans as a lay brother, he served as Guardian of the Franciscan house at Gorkum, Holland, and participated in the efforts of the Franciscans to convert the local Calvinists. He was seized by Protestant forces when Gorkum fell into Calvinist hands and, with four priests, was taken to Briel. There he endured severe tortures before being hanged at the ruined monastery of Ruggen.

St. Nicholas Poppel

Feastday: July 9

Franciscan martyr of Gorkum. A Dutch Franciscan, he was serving as curate to Leonard van Wechel at the time of their martyrdom at Gorkum. He was canonized in 1867.

St. Nicholas Pieck

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1534

Death: 1572

Franciscan martyr of Gorkum. A native of Holland, he served as a guardian of the friary at Gorkum, and devoted himself to converting Calvinists to the Catholic faith. He was martyred with the other Franciscans at Gorkum and was canonized in 1867.

Nicholas Pieck, O.F.M., "Nicolaas" or "Claes Pieck" in Dutch, was a Franciscan friar who was one of a group of Catholic clergy and lay brothers, the Martyrs of Gorkum, who were executed for refusal to renounce their faith in 1572.

Life

He was born in the town of Gorkum (now Gorinchem), the son of Jan Pieck and Henriea Clavia, devout Catholics. He was sent to college at 's-Hertogenbosch, and as soon as he had completed his classical studies he received the habit of the Friars Minor at the friary in that town. Nicholas was ordained a priest in 1558, devoting himself to the apostolic ministry. He was appointed Guardian of the friary in Gorkum, his native town.[1]

Pieck preached against Calvinism. In particular, he preached the dogma of the Real Presence. In June 1572, the citadel of Gorkum was taken by the Watergeuzen, who retained 19 of the clergy as prisoners although they had promised to let the inhabitants depart from the town without being molested.[2] For reprisals, because of the city's determined defense, they gathered all the members of the clergy in Gorkum into one prison and took out their grievances against the Spanish crown on the priests and religious.[3]

Pieck and eight other Franciscan friars were confined in a dark and foul dungeon[1] where they were tortured. Taking the cord which Pieck wore around his waist and putting it around his neck, they first suspended him from a beam and then let him fall heavily to the ground. This torture was continued until the cord broke, and Father Nicholas fell to the ground unconscious.[4] Pieck's two brothers tried to obtain his release, but the guardian would not leave the others.[2] Other priests were captured, bringing the total to 19.

On 6 July they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship and removed to Brielle.[3] Stopping at Dordrecht they were exhibited for money to the curious. At Brielle the commander of the Watergeuzen, William II de la Marck, promised them freedom if they would renounce the authority of the pope and belief in the Real Presence. None did. Despite instructions from Prince William the Silent to spare them, and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum,[3] the members of the group were hanged on 9 July 1572 in an old barn at the deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel. The execution was clumsily handled; it took two hours for some of them to strangle.[5] They became known as the Martyrs of Gorkum.

Veneration

Nicholas and his companions were beatified by Clement X, 24 November 1675, and canonized by Pius IX, 29 June 1867.[1] For many years the place of their martyrdom in Brielle has been the scene of numerous pilgrimages and processions.[6

St. Nicasius Jonson

Feastday: July 9

A member of the Martyrs of Gorkum. He was born in Brabant, entered the Franciscans, and authored several anti Protestant treatises before his martyrdom with other Franciscans at Gorkum.

St. Mary Hermina Grivot

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1866

Death: 1900

Canonized: Pope John Paul II

Chinese Martyr

Chinese Martyrs (traditional Chinese: 中華聖烈士; simplified Chinese: 中华圣烈士; pinyin: Zhōnghuá shéng lièshì; Wade–Giles: Chung1-hua2 shêng4-lieh4-shih4) is the name given to a number of members of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church who were killed in China during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are celebrated as martyrs by their respective churches. Most were Chinese laity, but others were missionaries from various other countries; many of them died during the Boxer Rebellion.

Eastern Orthodox

See also: China Martyrs of 1900

Many Protestants also died during the Boxer Rebellion, including the "China Martyrs of 1900", but there is no formal veneration (according to their religious beliefs) nor a universally recognized list.

At least 189 missionaries and 500 native Chinese Protestant Christians were murdered in 1900 alone.[5] Though some missionaries considered themselves non-denominationally Protestant, among those killed were Baptists, Evangelical,[6] Anglicans, Lutherans,[7] Methodists,[8] Presbyterians[9] and Plymouth Brethren.

St. Marie Amandine

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1872

Death: 1900

Beatified: 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII

Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Amandina of Schakkebroek (December 28, 1872 - July 9, 1900), born under the name of Pauline Jeuris, was a Belgian Franciscan missionary sister in China. She was beatified and canonized together with other martyrs of the Boxer rebellion.

Saint Amandina of Schakkebroek (28 December 1872 – 9 July 1900), born Pauline Jeuris, was a Franciscan sister of Belgian origin who served in China. She was beatified and canonized together with other martyrs of the Boxer rebellion.

Background

Her official name was "Marie-Pauline Jeuris". Her father was Cornelius Jeuris, born on 25 February 1830 and her father was Agnes Thijs, born on 13 May 1836. Her mother died on 27 October 1879 with the birth of the ninth child. Pauline was the seventh child.

Education

When she was only seven years old, Pauline had already lost her mother. Until the age of fifteen she was placed with a neighbour woman (Celis-Jans). Thereafter she stayed for two years with the family Van Schoonbeek-Jans.

She attended primary school with the sisters Ursulines in Herk-de-Stad. In 1886 she was serving with the Sisters of Love congregation in Sint-Truiden, which also allowed her to study. Her elder sister Marie had already joined this congregation and her two-years-older sister Rosalie also had already worked there for two years.

On 2 August 1892 she went to Hasselt to assist the household of her sister Anna, struck by illness and widowed with four children.

She entered the Institute of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary with the name Marie Amandine. Her first assignment was to go to Marseilles to nurse the sick, also completing a sacrament. Her second was in Taiyuan to work in the mission hospital. Her humor, friendliness, and healing with laughter gained her the esteem of the Chinese, who called her "the laughing foreigner".[1]

In the course of the Boxer Rebellion, an edict was issued on 1 July 1900 which, in substance, said that the time of good relations with European missionaries and their Christians was now past: that the former must be repatriated at once and the faithful forced to apostatize, on penalty of death.[2]

When she heard the news that a persecution was approaching St. Amandine said: "I pray God, not to save the martyrs, but to fortify them." With true Franciscan joy she and her companions met their deaths singing the Te Deum, the hymn of thanksgiving. Seven sisters, including St. Marie Amandina, were martyred on 9 July 1900 and were canonized on 1 October 2000 along with other Martyr Saints of China

St. Leonard Wegel

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

One of the martyrs of Gorkum, Holland, sometimes called Veckel or Wickel. He was born in Blois-le-duc. Educated at Louvain, Belgium, Leonard became a priest in Gorkum serving there until brutally slain by Calvinists. His canonization was in 1867

St. Justus of Poland

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1008

Camaldolese hermit, one of four brothers who were also canonized: Sts. Benedict, Andrew, Barnabas, and Justus.

St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1815

Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Joseph Zhang Dapeng, a lay catechist, and a merchant. Baptised in 1800, he had become the heart of the mission in the city of Kony-Yang. He was imprisoned, and then strangled to death on March 12, 1815.

This article is about the Catholic martyrs of the 17th to 20th centuries. For other Christian martyrs in China, see Chinese Martyrs.

The Martyr Saints of China (traditional Chinese: 中華殉道聖人; simplified Chinese: 中华殉道圣人; pinyin: Zhōnghuá xùndào shèngrén), or Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions, are 120 saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries[1] from the mid-17th century to 1930 were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatize.

Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which anti-colonial peasant rebels slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

In the ordinary form of the Latin Rite, they are remembered with an optional memorial on July 9.

The 17th and 18th centuries

On January 15, 1648, during the Manchu Invasion to Ming China, Manchu Tatars, having invaded the region of Fujian and Francisco Fernández de Capillas, a Dominican priest aged 40.[2] After having imprisoned and tortured him, they beheaded him while he recited with others the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Father de Capillas has since been recognised by the Holy See as the protomartyr of China.

After the first wave of missionary activities in China during the late Ming to early Qing dynasties, the Qing government officially banned Catholicism (Protestantism was considered outlawed by the same decree, as it was linked to Catholicism) in 1724 and lumped it together with other 'perverse sects and sinister doctrines' in Chinese folk religion.[3]

While Catholicism continued to exist and increase many-fold in areas beyond the government's control (Sichuan notably), and many Chinese Christians fled the persecution to go to port cities in Guangdong or to Indonesia, where many translations of Christian works into Chinese occurred during this period, there were also many missionaries who broke the law and secretly entered the forbidden mainland territory.[3] They eluded Chinese patrol boats on the rivers and coasts; however, some of them were caught and put to death.

Towards the middle of the 18th century five Spanish missionaries, who had carried out their activity between 1715 and 1747, were put to death as a result of a new wave of persecution that started in 1729 and broke out again in 1746. This was in the epoch of the Yongzheng Emperor and of his successor, the Qianlong Emperor.

1. Peter Sanz, O.P., bishop, was martyred on May 26, 1747, in Fuzhou.

All four of the following were killed on October 28, 1748:

1. Francis Serrano, O.P., vicar apostolic and bishop-elect

2. Joachim Royo, O.P., priest

3. John Alcober, O.P., priest

4. Francis Diaz, O.P., priest.

Early 19th-century martyrdoms

A new period of persecution in regard to the Christian religion occurred in the 19th century.

While Catholicism had been authorised by some Chinese emperors in the preceding centuries, the Jiaqing Emperor published, instead, numerous and severe decrees against it. The first was issued in 1805. Two edicts of 1811 were directed against those among the Chinese who were studying to receive sacred orders, and against priests who were propagating the Christian religion. A decree of 1813 exonerated voluntary apostates from every chastisement – that is, Christians who spontaneously declared that they would abandon their faith – but all others were to be dealt with harshly.

In this period the following underwent martyrdom:

1. Peter Wu, a Chinese lay catechist. Born of a pagan family, he received baptism in 1796 and passed the rest of his life proclaiming the truth of the Christian religion. All attempts to make him apostatize were in vain. The sentence having been pronounced against him, he was strangled on November 7, 1814.

2. Joseph Zhang Dapeng, a lay catechist, and a merchant. Baptized in 1800, he had become the heart of the mission in the city of Guiyang. He was imprisoned, and then strangled to death on March 12, 1815.

Also in the same year, there came two other decrees, with which approval was given to the conduct of the Viceroy of Sichuan who had beheaded Monsignor Dufresse, of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and some Chinese Christians. As a result, there was a worsening of the persecution.

The following martyrs belong to this period:

1. Gabriel-Taurin Dufresse, M.E.P., Bishop. He was arrested on May 18, 1815, taken to Chengdu, condemned, and executed on September 14, 1815.

2. Augustine Zhao Rong, a Chinese diocesan priest. Having first been one of the soldiers who had escorted Monsignor Dufresse from Chengdu to Beijing, he was moved by his patience and had then asked to be numbered among the neophytes. Once baptized, he was sent to the seminary and then ordained a priest. Arrested, he was tortured and died in 1815.[4]

3. John da Triora, O.F.M., priest. Put in prison together with others in the summer of 1815, he was then condemned to death, and strangled on February 7, 1816.

4. Joseph Yuan, a Chinese diocesan priest. Having heard Monsignor Dufresse speak of the Christian faith, he was overcome by its beauty and then became an exemplary neophyte. Later, he was ordained a priest and, as such, was dedicated to evangelisation in various districts. He was arrested in August 1816, condemned to be strangled, and was killed in this way on June 24, 1817.

5. Paul Liu Hanzuo, a Chinese diocesan priest, killed in 1819.

6. Francis Regis Clet of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians). After obtaining permission to go to the missions in China, he embarked for the Orient in 1791. Having reached there, for 30 years he spent a life of missionary sacrifice. Upheld by an untiring zeal, he evangelised three immense Chinese provinces: Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan. Betrayed by a Christian, he was arrested and thrown into prison where he underwent atrocious tortures. Following sentence by the Jiaqing Emperor he was killed by strangling on February 17, 1820.

7. Thaddeus Liu, a Chinese diocesan priest. He refused to apostatize, saying that he was a priest and wanted to be faithful to the religion that he had preached. Condemned to death, he was strangled on November 30, 1823.

8. Peter Liu, a Chinese lay catechist. He was arrested in 1814 and condemned to exile in Tartary, where he remained for almost twenty years. Returning to his homeland he was again arrested, and was strangled on May 17, 1834.

9. Joachim Ho, a Chinese lay catechist. He was baptised at the age of about twenty years. In the great persecution of 1814 he had been taken with many others of the faithful and subjected to cruel torture. Sent into exile in Tartary, he remained there for almost twenty years. Returning to his homeland he was arrested again and refused to apostatize. Following that, and the death sentence having been confirmed by the Emperor, he was strangled on July 9, 1839.

10. John Gabriel Perboyre, C.M., entered the Vincentians as a high school student. The death of his younger brother, also a Vincentian priest, moved his superiors to allow him to take his brother's place, arriving in China in 1835. Despite poor health, he served the poverty-stricken residents of Hubei. Arrested during a revival of anti-Christian persecution, upon imperial edict, he was strangled to death in 1840.

11. Augustus Chapdelaine, M.E.P., a priest of the Diocese of Coutances. He entered the Seminary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and embarked for China in 1852. He arrived in Guangxi at the end of 1854. Arrested in 1856, he was tortured, condemned to death in prison, and died in February 1856.

12. Lawrence Bai Xiaoman, a Chinese layman, and an unassuming worker. He joined Blessed Chapdelaine in the refuge that was given to the missionary and was arrested with him and brought before the tribunal. Nothing could make him renounce his religious beliefs. He was beheaded on February 25, 1856.

13. Agnes Cao Guiying, a widow, born into an old Christian family. Being dedicated to the instruction of young girls who had recently been converted by Blessed Chapdelaine, she was arrested and condemned to death in prison. She was executed on March 1, 1856.

Martyrs of Maokou and Guizhou

Saint Paul Chen

Three catechists, known as the Martyrs of Maokou (in the province of Guizhou) were killed on January 28, 1858, by order of the officials in Maokou[citation needed]:

1. Jerome Lu Tingmei

2. Laurence Wang Bing

3. Agatha Lin

All three had been called on to renounce the Christian religion and having refused to do so were condemned to be beheaded.

In Guizhou, two seminarians and two lay people, one of whom was a farmer, the other a widow who worked as a cook in the seminary, suffered martyrdom together on July 29, 1861. They are known as the Martyrs of Qingyanzhen (Guizhou):

1. Joseph Zhang Wenlan, seminarian

2. Paul Chen Changpin]], seminarian

3. John Baptist Luo Tingyin]], layman

4. Martha Wang Luo Mande]], laywoman

In the following year, on February 18 and 19, 1862, another five people gave their life for Christ. They are known as the Martyrs of Guizhou.

1. Jean-Pierre Néel, a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society,

2. Martin Wu Xuesheng, lay catechist,

3. John Zhang Tianshen, lay catechist,

4. John Chen Xianheng, lay catechist,

5. Lucy Yi Zhenmei, lay catechist.

19th-century social and political developments

In June 1840, Qing China was forced to open to open the borders and afforded multiple concessions to European Christian missions after the First Opium War, including allowing the Chinese to follow the Catholic religion and restoring the property confiscated in 1724.[3] The 1844 treaty also allowed for missionaries to come to China, provided if they come to the treaty ports opened to Europeans.

The subsequent Taiping Rebellion significantly worsened the image of Christianity in China. Hong Xiuquan, the rebel leader, claimed to be a Christian and brother of Jesus who received a special mission from God to fight evil and usher in a period of peace. Hong and his followers achieved considerable success in taking control of a large territory, and destroyed many Buddhist and Taoist shrines, temples to local divinities and opposed Chinese folk religion.[3] The rebellion was one of the bloodiest armed conflicts in human history, accounting for an estimated number of 20-30 million deaths. As missionary activities became increasingly associated with European imperialism, violence against missionaries arose.[3]

In 1856, the death of missionary Augustus Chapedelaine trigged a French military expedition during the Second Opium War, which China lost. The resulting Treaty of Tientsin, granted Christian missionaries the freedom of movement throughout China and the right to land ownership.[3]

As missionaries started to build churches or schools in offensive locations like old temples or near official buildings, tensions with the local Chinese population arose. The missionaries also abolished indigenous Chinese Catholic institutions that had survived the imperial ban.[3] In some regions, Catholic missionaries started "quarantining" new Chinese converts from the hostile social environment as they see the mission as "enclaves of Christianity in an alien world". The separation sparked conspiracy theories about the Christians and eventually accumulated in a the massacre of 60 people in a Catholic orphanage.[3] In comparison, Protestant missions were less secretive and treated more favorably by the authorities.[3]

Chinese literati and gentry produced a pamphlet attacking Christian beliefs as socially subversive and irrational. Incendiary handbills and fliers distributed to crowds were also produced, and were linked to outbreaks of violence against Christians. Sometimes, no such official incitement was needed in order to provoke the populace to attack Christians. For example, among the Hakka people in southeastern China, Christian missionaries frequently flouted village customs that were linked with local religions, including refusal to take part in communal prayers for rain (and because the missionaries benefitted from the rain, it was argued that they had to do their part in the prayers) and refusing to contribute funds to operas for Chinese gods (these same gods honoured in these village operas were the same spirits that the Boxers called to invoke in themselves, during the later rebellion).[3]

Catholic missions offered protection to those who came to them, including criminals, fugitives from the law, and rebels against the government; this also led to hostile attitudes developing against the missions by the government.[3]

Boxer Rebellion

And so passed an era of expansion in the Christian missions, with the exception of the period in which they were struck by the uprising by the "Society for Justice and Harmony" (commonly known as the "Boxers"). This occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and caused the shedding of the blood of many Christians.

It is known[citation needed] that mingled in this rebellion were all the secret societies and the accumulated and repressed hatred against foreigners in the last decades of the 19th century, because of the political and social changes following the Second Opium War and the imposition of the so-called unequal treaties on China by the Western Powers.

Very different, however, was the motive for the persecution of the missionaries, even though they were of European nationalities. Their slaughter was brought about solely on religious grounds. They were killed for the same reason as the Chinese faithful who had become Christians. Reliable historical documents provide evidence of the anti-Christian hatred which spurred the Boxers to massacre the missionaries and the Christians of the area who had adhered to their teaching. In this regard, an edict[citation needed] was issued on July 1, 1900, which, in substance, said that the time of good relations with European missionaries and their Christians was now past: that the former must be repatriated at once and the faithful forced to apostatize, on penalty of death.

Following the failure of the Boxer Rebellion, China was further subject to Western spheres of influence, which in turn led to a booming conversion period in the following decades. The Chinese developed respect for the moral level that Christians maintained in their hospital and schools.[3] The continuing association between Western imperialism in China and missionary efforts nevertheless continued to fuel hostilities against missions and Christianity in China. All missions were banned in China by the new communist regime after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, and officially continue to be legally outlawed to the present.

As a result, the martyrdom took place of several missionaries and many Chinese who can be grouped together as follows:

a) Martyrs of Shanxi, killed on July 9, 1900 (known as the Taiyuan massacre), who were Franciscan Friars Minor:

• Gregorio Grassi, bishop

• Francis Fogolla, bishop

• Elias Facchini [fr], priest

• Théodoric Balat [fr], priest

• Andrew Bauer [fr], religious brother;

b) Martyrs of Southern Hunan, who were also Franciscan Friars Minor:

• Anthony Fantosati [fr], bishop (martyred on July 7, 1900)

• Joseph Mary Gambaro [fr] priest (martyred on July 7, 1900)

• Cesidio Giacomantonio [fr], priest (martyred on July 4, 1900)

To the martyred Franciscans of the First Order were added seven Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, of whom three were French, two Italian, one Belgian, and one Dutch:

• Mary Hermina of Jesus (in saeculo: Irma Grivot)

• Marie de la Paix Giuliani (in saeculo: Mary Ann Giuliani)

• Maria Chiara Nanetti (in saeculo: Clelia Nanetti)[5]

• Marie of Saint Natalie (in saeculo: Joan Mary Kerguin)

• Marie of Saint Just (in saeculo: Ann Moreau)

• Marie-Adolphine (in saeculo: Ann Dierk)

• Mary Amandina (in saeculo: Paula Jeuris)

Of the martyrs belonging to the Franciscan family, there were also eleven Secular Franciscans, all Chinese:

• John Zhang Huan, seminarian,

• Patrick Dong Bodi, seminarian,

• John Wang Rui, seminarian,

• Philip Zhang Zhihe, seminarian,

• John Zhang Jingguang, seminarian,

• Thomas Shen Jihe, layman and a manservant,

• Simon Qin Chunfu, lay catechist,

• Peter Wu Anbang, layman,

• Francis Zhang Rong, layman and a farmer,

• Matthew Feng De, layman and neophyte,

• Peter Zhang Banniu, layman and labourer.

To these are joined a number of Chinese lay faithful:

• James Yan Guodong, farmer,

• James Zhao Quanxin, manservant,

• Peter Wang Erman, cook.

When the uprising of the Boxers, which had begun in Shandong and then spread through Shanxi and Hunan, also reached South-Eastern Tcheli (currently named Hebei), which was then the Apostolic Vicariate of Xianxian, in the care of the Jesuits, the Christians killed could be counted in thousands. Among these were four French Jesuit missionaries and at least 52 Chinese lay Christians: men, women and children – the oldest of them being 79 years old, while the youngest were aged only nine years. All suffered martyrdom in the month of July 1900. Many of them were killed in the church in Zhujiahe Village, in which they were taking refuge and where they were in prayer together with the first two of the missionaries listed below:

• Leo Mangin [fr], S.J., priest

• Paul Denn [fr], S.J., priest

• Rémy Isoré [fr], S.J., priest

• Modeste Andlauer [fr], S.J., priest

Besides all those already mentioned who were killed by the Boxers, there were the following:

• Alberic Crescitelli, a priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions of Milan, who carried out his ministry in Southern Shaanxi and was martyred on July 21, 1900

Later martyrs

Some years later, members of the Salesian Society of St John Bosco were added to the considerable number of martyrs recorded above:

• Luigi Versiglia, bishop

• Callistus Caravario, priest

They were killed together on February 25, 1930, at Li-Thau-Tseul

St. John of Osterwick

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Augustinian martyr of Gorkum. He was a native of Holland who became a confessor of Augustinian nuns at Gorkum and was murdered by a group of Calvinists.

St. Jerome of Werden

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1522

Death: 1572

Franciscan martyr. Born in Werden, Holland, he entered the Franciscans and journeyed to Palestine, where he labored as a missionary among the Muslims. Returning to Europe, he devoted his evangelizing efforts to working among the Calvinists and served as vicar of the friary at Gorkum. He was thus a member of the martyrs of Gorkum, dying with his fellow Franciscans.

St. James Lacop

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

One of the many martyrs of Gorkum. Born in Oudenarden, France, he left the faith but returned to the Church and the Norbertines. The Calvinists martyred him at Gorkum with the other better known Franciscans. James was canonized in 1867.

St. Gregorio Grassi

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1833

Death: 1900

Beatified: November 27, 1946 by Pope Pius XII

Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Gregory Mary Grassi, O.F.M., (Gregorio Maria Grassi) (December 13, 1833-July 9, 1900) was an Italian Franciscan friar and bishop who is honored as a Roman Catholic martyr and saint.

St. Golvinus

Feastday: July 9

Death: 7th century

Breton born saint of Rennes, in Brittany, France, the bishop of St. Pol de Leon. His relics are enshrined in Rennes.

St. Godfrey

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Two martyrs of the same name: Godfrey of Duynen, and Godfrey of Merville, both hanged by Calvinists. Godfrey of Duynen was a priest and former rector, and Godfrey of Merville was a member of the Franciscan house at Gorkum, Holland. They were hanged at Briel and are honored among the Martyrs of Gorkum.

St. Francis Rod

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Franciscan martyr, hanged at Briel, by the Calvinists. He was born in Brussels, Belgium, and became a Franciscan at Gorkum, Holland. A short time later he was martyred.

St. Elia Facchini

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1839

Death: 1900

Beatified: November 27, 1946, by Pope Pius XII

Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Elia Facchini was Bishop, missionary, martyr.

Eastern Orthodox

See also: China Martyrs of 1900

St. Antonino Fantosati

Feastday: July 9

Birth: 1842

Death: 1900

Beatified: 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII

Canonized: 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Antonino Fantosati was a Franciscan missionary. Vicar apostolic for southern Hunan, China. Antonino was killed during the Boxer Rebellion and is a Martyr of China.

St. Andrew Wouters

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Martyr of Gorkum. A secular priest at Heinot in Holland, Andrew was scandalous in his behavior until pressured by the local Calvinists to renounce the Church. Andrew confessed his sins and was imprisoned in Briel, Holland. He was hanged with other martyrs.

St. Anatolia

Feastday: July 9

Death: 250

Martyr with her sister, Victoria, in Thora, on Lake Velino in Italy. Anatolia lived with Victoria and was sought by a young man named Aurelius but refused him. She was supported in her decision by a visit from an angel. Her refusal brought about the arrest of the sisters during the persecutions conducted by Emperor Trajanus Decius. Banished to Thora, Anatolia was locked in a room with a venomous serpent, but the reptile did not attack her. Her guard, a man named Audax, was so moved by the event that he became a Christian and suffered Anatolia's martyrdom by the sword. The martyrdom has been recorded in two legends or traditions.

Saints Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax (Italian: Sante Vittoria, Anatolia, e Audace) are venerated as martyrs and saints by the Catholic Church. Victoria and Anatolia are mentioned (without Audax) in the Roman Martyrology under the date of 10 July.[1] Anatolia was first mentioned in the De Laude Sanctorum composed in 396 by Victrice (Victricius), bishop of Rouen (330-409).

Anatolia and Victoria are mentioned together in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum under 10 July: VI idus iulii in Savinis Anatholiae Victoriae; Victoria is also mentioned alone under 19 December: In Savinis civitate Tribulana Victoriae.[2] The two saints appear in the mosaics of Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, at Ravenna, between Saints Paulina and Christina. A Passio SS. Anatoliae et Audacis et S. Victoriae of the 6th or seventh century, which added the name of Audax, was mentioned by Aldhelm (died 709) and Bede (died 735), who list the saints in their martyrologies. Caesar Baronius lists Anatolia and Audax under 9 July and Victoria under 23 December.[2]

Legend

Their legend recounts that, in the time of the Emperor Decius, Anatolia and Victoria were sisters whose marriage was arranged to two noble, non-Christian Roman men. They resisted matrimony and their prospective grooms denounced them as Christians. They received permission to imprison the women on their estates and convince them to renounce their faith. Anatolia's suitor, Titus Aurelius, gave up, and handed her back to the authorities. Victoria’s suitor, Eugenius, was more persistent, but also ended up returning her to the authorities.

Deaths

Victoria’s legend states that she was stabbed through the heart in 250 AD at Trebula Mutuesca (today Monteleone Sabino) after chasing away a dragon terrorizing the residents in exchange for their conversion[3]. An elaboration on her legend states that her murderer was immediately struck with leprosy, and died six days later. Anatolia was killed, also in 250 AD, at "Thora" (identified with present-day Sant'Anatolia di Borgorose). Her legend states that she was at first locked up with a poisonous snake. The snake refused to bite her, and a soldier named Audax was sent into her cell to kill her. The snake attacked him instead, but Anatolia saved him from the snake. Impressed by her example, he converted to Christianity and was martyred by the sword with her.

Due to the translation of their relics, their cult spread across Italy. Some relics of Saint Victoria were transferred in 827 by Abbot Peter of Farfa from the Abbey to Mount Matenano in the Picene area (roughly the south of Le Marche) because the Abbey was besieged by "Saracens".[2] The town of Santa Vittoria in Matenano is named after her. Ratfredus, a later Abbot of Farfa, brought the body from Farfa to Santa Vittoria in Matenano on 20 June 931.

The bodies of Anatolia and Audax were transferred by Abbot Leo to Subiaco around 950. At an unknown date, a scapula of Anatolia was translated to the present-day Sant'Anatolia di Borgorose and an arm of the saint was translated to the present-day Esanatoglia. The bodies of Anatolia and Audax still rest at Subiaco in the basilica of Santa Scholastica, under the altar of the sacrament.[2] her feast day was actually 9 July. A simulacrum and other relics of Saint Victoria are currently on display at the Santa Maria della Vittoria church in Rome.

St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny, Ireland also claims to hold St Victoria's body, preserved in wax, along with a chalice containing some of her blood. These were supposedely sent to Kilkenny in 1845 by Pope Gregory XVI

St. Agilulfus

Feastday: July 9

Death: 751

Also called Agilulf, a martyr and the archbishop of Cologne, Germany. He also served as abbot of Stavelot, and his life was written by a monk of the Benedictine house located in Malmedy, France. Agilulfus was from a good family and gained a reputation at Stavelot. Named archbishop of Cologne, he tried to persuade King Pepin not to name his illegitimate son Charles Martel heir to the throne, and was slain as a result. His remains were taken to the Church of Our Lady of the Steps in Cologne where they were venerated. He also received a commendation from Pope Zacharius in 747.

St. Adrian Van Hilvarenbeek

Feastday: July 9

Death: 1572

Martyr in the religious wars of Holland during the difficult years of the Reformation. He was born and educated in Hilvarenbeek, and joined the Premonstratensians for a time before becoming a parish priest. One of the Martyrs of Gorkum, Adrian was arrested with Jacob Lacops and Andreas Wouters. The three were taken to Briel and charged with refusing to deny papal supremacy in religious matters and for teaching others about the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Zeno

Feastday: July 9

Death: 300

The leader of an enormous group of martyrs who were all put to death at the command of Emperor Diocletian. The Christians, supposedly numbering more than ten thousand, were forced to labor upon public works constructed on behalf of the emperor, who then commanded all of them to be executed.

Saint Paulina do Coração Agonizante de Jesus

தூய பவுலின் (ஜூலை 09)

இன்று நாம் நினைவுகூரும் பவுலின், 1865 ஆம் ஆண்டு, இத்தாலியில் உள்ள, வட்டரோவில் பிறந்தார். இப்பகுதியில் அமைதியில்லாத சூழல் நிலவியதால், இவருடைய குடும்பம் பிரேசிலுக்கு இடம் பெயர்ந்தது. அப்போது இவருக்கு வயது பத்து.

பவுலின் சிறுவயது முதலே பக்தியில் சிறந்து விளங்கி வந்தாள். இது மட்டுமல்லாமல், அக்கம் பக்கத்து வீட்டிலிருந்த குழந்தைகளுக்கு மறைக்கல்வி சொல்லிக் கொடுத்து வந்தாள்.

இப்படியே இவருடைய வாழ்க்கை நகர்ந்துகொண்டிருக்க, ஒருநாள் இவர் ஒரு புற்றுநோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மனிதரைச் சந்தித்தார். அவரைச் சந்தித்த பின்பு, இவருடைய வாழ்க்கை முற்றிலுமாக மாறத் தொடங்கியது. ஆம், சமூகத்தில் இருக்கின்ற இதுபோன்ற நோயாளிகள், கைவிடப்பட்டவர்கள், அனாதைகள் இவர்களுக்கு ஏன் நாம் உதவி செய்யக்கூடாது என்று மிகத் தீவிரமாக யோசித்தார். அதன் வெளிப்பாடாக இவர் Little Sisters of the Immaculate Heart என்றொரு சபையை நிறுவினார். இதில் ஏராளமான பேர் உறுப்பினர்களாகச் சேர்ந்தார்கள். அவர்களுடைய ஒத்துழைப்பினால், இவர் பல நல்ல பணிகளைச் செய்து வந்தார்.

ஏழை எளியோர், பல்வேறு விதமான நோயினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு இவர் ஆற்றி வந்த சேவை, பல தரப்பினரிடமிருந்தும் இவருக்கு நல்ல பெயரைப் பெற்றுத் தந்தது. அதே நேரத்தில் ஒருசிலர் இவருடைய வளர்ச்சியைப் பிடிக்காமல், இவருக்கு எதிராகச் செயல்படத் தொடங்கினார்கள். குறிப்பாக இவரைத் தேவையற்ற விதங்களில் எல்லாம் விமர்சனம் செய்தார்கள். அவற்றையெல்லாம் இவர் பொறுமையோடு தாங்கிக்கொண்டார்.

மக்களுடைய விமர்சனங்கள் ஒருபுறம் இவரைத் தாக்கியது என்றால், இவருக்கு வந்த நீரழிவு நோய் இவரைக் கடுமையாகத் தாக்கியது. அதனால் இவரால் முன்புபோல் பணிகளைச் சிறப்பாகச் செய்யமுடியாமல் போனது. ஒருகட்டத்தில் இவருடைய நோய் முற்றவே, இவர் படுத்தபடுக்கையாகி, 1942 ஆம் ஆண்டு இறந்துபோனார். இவருக்கு 2002 ஆம் ஆண்டு புனிதர் பட்டம் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது.

Also known as

• Amabile Lucia Visintainer

• Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus

• Pauline Visintainer

Profile

The daughter of Antonio Napoleone Visintainer and Anna Pianezzer, she was born to a poor but pious family. In September 1875 her family, along with 100 other folks, about a fifth of her home town, emigrated from Italy to the state of Saint Catherine in Brazil to seek a better life. There the Italian emigres founded the village of Vigolo (modern Nova Trento). She received First Communion about age twelve. In her early teens, Amabile began teaching children catechism, visited the sick, and cleaned the church.

On 12 July 1890 Amabile and her friend Virginia Rosa Nicolodi were caring for a woman suffering from cancer. From them and their work began the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, approved by José de Camargo Barros, bishop of Curitiba. They and Teresa Anna Maule took their religious vows in December 1890; Amabile took the name Sister Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus. Their congregation grew quickly, and in 1903 Mother Pauline was elected Superior General for life. Even with her new responsibilities, she left Nova Trento in late 1903 for Saõ Paulo to work with orphans, the children of slaves, and aged slaves who had been left to die because they could no longer work.

In 1909 she was relieved of her duties as Superior General by Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, Archbishop of Saõ Paulo following a series of disputes within the congregation. She was sent to work with the sick and aged at the Hospice of Saint Vincent de Paul at Bragança Paulista. She spent her spare time in prayer in support of the Congregation. In 1918 she was recalled to the Congregation's motherhouse of Ipiranga. She lived there for over 20 years, caring for sick sisters, praying, and living away from the world. In 1938 her health began a long, slow decline as she fought a losing battle with diabetes.

The Congregation continues its work today in Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua, Chad, Zambia, Mozambique and Italy. They combine interior spirituality with service to those in need, drawing strength from devotion to the Eucharist, the Immaculate Virgin, and Saint Joseph. She is the first Brazilian citizen to be canonized.

Born

16 December 1865 in Vigolo Vattaro, Trent, Italy as Amabile Lucia Visintainer

Died

9 July 1942 at Ipiranga, Brazil of diabetic complications

Canonized

19 May 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy

Patronage

• against diabetes

• diabetics

Blessed Marija Petkovic

Also known as

• Maria Petkovic

• Marija of Jesus Crucified Petkovic

• Marija of Jesus Crucified

• Mary of Jesus Crucified

Profile

Sixth of eleven children born to Antun Petkovic-Kovac and Maria Marinovic. Raised in a wealthy family known for their charity to the poor. Educated in public elementary school and then the School of Domestic Science run by the Servants of Charity. Made her First Communion in 1905 at age 13.

She joined the Daughters of Mary in 1906, felt a serious call to religious life, and on 21 November she made a private vow of chastity. President of the 300 member Daughters of Mercy from 1909 to 1919. Member of the Good Shepherd Association, a group of twenty young women who visited the sick and helped children prepare for their First Communion. Her father died in 1911 when Mary was 19, and she had to help raise her younger siblings. Founded the Society of Catholic Mothers in 1915. Led a group of 200 Franciscan tertiaries in 1917, and began working in a Servants of Charity soup kitchen. Her work led her to become well-known and well-loved in her home town of Blato, Croatia, and in 1918 she promised its citizens that she would stay to live and help them.

On 25 March 1919 she and her friend Marija Telenta joined the Sisters of Charity. However, in May the superior died, the Italian sisters were forced to leave the country, and Mary, Marija and two other Croatian sisters were left to handle the work in the area. Mary was put in charge, and requested that the remaining Sisters follow the Rule of the Third Order Franciscans. Few as they were, in 1919 the Sisters still opened a recovery center, a child-care facility, and an orphanage.

On 25 August 1920, Mary wrote the first Constitutions of a new order. On 4 October 1920 it was founded as the Congregation of the Daughters of Mercy, Mary taking the name Marija of the Crucified Jesus. She served as the Superior General of the Congregation for over 30 years, helped found 46 communities of the Daughters serving in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, seminaries, and parishes. Her health failed in her later years, and she was partially paralysed the last three years of her life.

Born

10 December 1892 at Blato, Korcula, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Croatia as Maria Petkovic

Died

9 July 1966 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

6 June 2003 by Pope John Paul II in Croatia

Our Lady of Chiquinquirá

Also known as

La Chinita

Profile

In the mid-16th century the Spanish painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary. He painted in pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region of modern Colombia, and his canvas was a rough 44 inch x 49 inch cloth woven by local Indians. The image of Mary is about a meter high, and stands about a half moon. She has a small, sweet smile, both her face and the Child's are light colored, and she looks like she's about to take a step. She wears a white toque, a rose-coloured robe, and a sky blue cape. A rosary hangs from the little finger of her left hand, and she holds a sceptre in her right. She holds the Christ Child cradled in her left arm, and looks toward him. Christ has a little bird tied to his thumb, and a small rosary hangs from his left hand. To either side of Mary stand Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana, and monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the work.

In 1562 the portrait was placed in a rustic chapel. It was exposed to the air, the roof leaked, and soon the damage caused by the humidity and sun completely obscured the image. In 1577 the damaged painting was moved to Chiquinquirá, Colombia, and stored in an unused room. In 1585 Maria Ramos, a pious woman from Seville, cleaned up the little chapel, and hung the faded canvas in it. Though the image was in terrible shape, she loved to sit and contemplate it.

On Friday 26 December 1586 the faded, damaged image was suddenly restored. It's colors were bright, the canvas cleaner, the image clear and seemingly brand new. The healing of the image continued as small holes and tears in the canvas self-sealed. It still has traces of its former damage, and the figures seem brighter and clearer from a distance than up close. For 300 years the painting hung unprotected, and thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims. This rough treatment should have destroyed it, but it healed and survives. In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá patroness of Colombia, and granted a special liturgy. In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it to shield the painting from the weather and the excess zeal of the faithful. The image was canonically crowned in 1919, and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.

Patronage

• Colombia (1829)

• Venezuelan National Guard

Blessed Fidelis Jerome Chojnacki

Also known as

• Fedele Chijnacki

• Jerome Spurinska

• Hieronim Chojnacki

• prisoner 22473

Additional Memorial

12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War Two

Profile

Youngest of six children born to Waclaw and Leokadia Spurinska. Raised in a pious family. Studied in public schools and a military academy. Worked for a year at Szczuczyn Mowogrodzki in the Institute of Social Insurance. Worked at the Central Post Office in Warsaw, Poland. Member and administrator of Catholic Action. Worked against alcohol abuse and helped recovering alcoholics in his region. Joined the Secular Franciscan Order at the Capuchin church in Warsaw. Friend of Blessed Anicet Koplinski. Joined the Capuchins on 27 August 1933, taking the name Fidelis. Developed a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Studied philosphy at Zakroczym, Poland. Founded a Club for Intellectual Collaboration for the seminarians. Continued his work with alcoholics, working a group of Franciscans. Studied theology in Lublin, Poland, begining in 1937; his studies were interrupted by the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Arrested for his faith on 25 January 1940 and held in the "Fortress of Lublin". On 18 June 1940 he was moved to the prison camp at Sachsenhausen. To this point Fidelis had kept his optimism, hope and simplicity, but this camp broke him; the abuse of himself and the other prisoners sent him into depression. On 14 December 1940 he, with other priests and religious, was transferred to the Dachau concentration camp; tattooed with his prisoner number, and subjected to more abuse. Abused, starved and over-worked, he developed a serious heart condition and finally died from the abuse. His last words to fellow prisoners as he was being taken away were, "Praised be Jesus Christ; we'll see each other in heaven."

Born

1 November 1906 at Lodz, Poland as Jerome Spurinska

Died

• 9 July 1942 at the Dachau concentration camp, Bavaria, Germany due to lengthy and assorted abuse

• body burned in the camp's crematorium ovens

Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Veronica Giuliani

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(ஜூலை 9)

✠ புனிதர் வெரோனிகா கிலியானி ✠

(St. Veronica Giuliani)

பெண்கள் துறவு மடாதிபதி மற்றும் கத்தோலிக்க மறைபொருள்:

(Abbess and Catholic mystic)

பிறப்பு: டிசம்பர் 27, 1660

மேர்சடேல்லோ சுல் மேடௌரோ, ஊர்பினோ (இத்தாலி)

(Mercatello sul Metauro, Duchy of Urbino (Italy)

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 9, 1727 (வயது 66)

ஸிட்டா டி கஸ்டெல்லோ, திருத்தந்தையர் மாநிலம், (இத்தாலி)

(Città di Castello, Papal States (Italy)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

முக்திபேறு பட்டம்: ஜூன் 17, 1804

திருத்தந்தை ஏழாம் பயஸ்

(Pope Pius VII)

புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 26, 1839

திருத்தந்தை பதினாறாம் கிரகோரி

(Pope Gregory XVI)

முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:

புனிதர் வெரோனிகா கிலியானி துறவு மடம், ஸிட்டா டி கஸ்டெல்லோ

(Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani, Città di Castello)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 9

புனிதர் வெரோனிகா கிலியானி, ஒரு இத்தாலிய “கபுச்சின் எளிய கிளாரா” சபையின் அருட்சகோதரியும் (Italian Capuchin Poor Clares nun), மறைபொருளும், (Mystic) ஆவார்.

“ஊர்சுளா கிலியானி” (Ursula Giuliani) என்ற இயற்பெயர் கொண்ட இவர், இத்தாலியின் “மெர்சடேல்லோ” (Mercatello) என்ற இடத்தில், கி.பி. 1660ம் ஆண்டு, டிசம்பர் மாதம், 27ம் தேதியன்று, பிறந்தார். இவருடைய தந்தை ஃபிரான்செஸ்கோ” (Francesco) ஆவார். இவரது தாயார் பெயர் “பெனேடேட்டா” (Benedetta Mancini Giuliani) ஆகும். இவரது பெற்றோருக்கு பிறந்த ஏழு பெண் குழந்தைகளில் இவர் கடைசி குழந்தை ஆவார். சகோதரிகள் எழுவரில் மூவர் துறவு வாழ்க்கையை தேர்வு செய்துகொண்டனர்.

இவருக்கு ஏழு வயதான போது இவரது தாயார் மரித்துப் போனார். குழந்தைப் பருவத்தில் இவர் சற்றே முரடாகவும் முன்கோபியாகவும் இருந்தார். ஆனால் பதினாறு வயதில் இவர் கண்ட ஒரு திருக்காட்சி, இவரது குறைபாடுள்ள குணத்தை மாற்றியமைத்தது. மகளுக்கு திருமண வயது வந்ததை உணர்ந்த தந்தை, ஊர்சுளாவுக்கு திருமண ஏற்பாடுகளை கவனிக்க ஆரம்பித்தார். ஆனால், இவர் தந்தையிடம் அழுது கெஞ்சி திருமணத்துக்கு மறுப்பு தெரிவித்தார். மகளின் விருப்பத்தை அறிந்துகொண்ட தந்தை, அவரை தாம் விரும்பிய வாழ்வினை தேர்ந்தெடுக்க அனுமதியளித்தார்.

கி.பி. 1677ம் ஆண்டு, 17 வயதான ஊர்சுளா, இத்தாலியின் “ஊம்ப்ரியா” (Umbria) மாநிலத்திலுள்ள “ஸிட்டா டி கஸ்டெல்லோ” (Città di Castello) என்னுமிடத்திலுள்ள “கபுச்சின் எளிய கிளாரா” (Capuchin Poor Clares) பெண் துறவு மடத்தில் இணைந்தார். இறைவனின் பாடுகளின் நினைவாக “வெரோனிகா” (Veronica) எனும் ஆன்மீக பெயரையும் ஏற்றார். இவர் துறவு மடத்தில் இணைந்த அன்று, ஆயர் இவரது மடாதிபதியிடம் கூறியதாவது, “நான் இந்த புதிய மகளை உங்கள் சிறப்பு கவனிப்பிற்கு விடுகிறேன்; ஏனென்றால், இவர் ஒருநாள் மிகவும் பெரிய புனிதராவார்” என்றார்.

வெரோனிகா தனது ஆன்மீக வழிகாட்டிகளின் (Spiritual Directors) விருப்பத்திற்கு முழுமையாக கீழ்ப்படிந்தார். துறவற வாழ்வின் முதல் ஆண்டில் அவர் சமையலறை, மருத்துவமனை மற்றும் புனிதப் பாத்திரங்கள், அங்கிகள் முதலானவை வைக்கும் இடம் ஆகிய இடங்களில் பணியாற்றினார். அத்துடன் சுமை தூக்குபவராகவும் பணியாற்றினார். இறுதியில், தமது 34 வயதில், புதுமுக பெண் துறவியரின் தலைவரானார்.

அருட்சகோதரி வெரோனிகா, ஐம்பது வருடங்கள் கபுச்சின் பள்ளியில் வாழ்ந்தார். 34 வருடங்கள் புதுமுக பெண் துறவியரின் தலைவராக தாழ்ச்சியுடனும், 11 வருடங்கள் மடாதிபதியாக உறுதியுடனும் கண்டிப்புடனும் வாழ்ந்தார்.

வெரோனிகா தமது வாழ்நாள் முழுதும் கிறிஸ்துவின் பாடுகளின்பால் அளப்பரிய பக்தி கொண்டிருந்தார். அந்த பக்தியானது, இறுதியில் அவரது உடல் அடையாளங்களில் வெளிப்பட்டது. கி.பி. 1694ம் ஆண்டு, கிறிஸ்துவின் முள்முடியின் அடையாளம் அவரது முன் நெற்றியில் தோன்றியது. கி.பி. 1697ம் ஆண்டு, இறைவனின் ஐந்து காய அடையாளங்கள் இவரது உடம்பிலும் தோன்றின.

ஆனால், அவருடைய ஆயரின் கடுமையான சோதனைகள் அவருடைய அனுபவத்தை அவமானப்படுத்தியது. அவர் சாதாரண சமுதாய வாழ்க்கையில் இருந்து நீக்கப்பட்டார் மற்றும் அவருடன் தொடர்ந்து கண்காணிப்பில் வைக்கப்பட்டார். அந்த நிகழ்வுகள் உண்மையானவை என்று ஆயர் முடிவு செய்தபோதுதான் அவர் மீண்டும் அவரது துறவு மடத்திற்குள் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டார்.

கி.பி. 1727ம் ஆண்டு, ஜூலை மாதம், 9ம் தேதியன்று, “ஸிட்டா டி கஸ்டெல்லோ” (Città di Castello) நகரில் வெரோனிகா மரித்தார்.

Also known as

• Ursula Giuliani

• Veronica de Julianis

Profile

Born wealthy, the daughter of Francesco Giuliana and Benedetta Mancini. In her youth, Ursula developed a deep spirituality and desired nothing more than to dedicate her life to God. She received visions as a child, and her first words were reported to be "Do justice, God sees you," said to a crooked merchant. Ursula's father presented suitors in hopes that she would marry her; the girl became ill at the idea of not devoting her life to God, and she finally received her father's blessing on her call to religious life.

She joined the Poor Clares in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy, on 17 July 1677 at age 17, receiving the veil on 28 October and taking the name Veronica. In 1693 she received visions that indicated that the Passion would be re-enacted in her own soul; in 1694 she received the first sign of the stigmata, in her case the visible wounds of the crown of thorns; on Good Friday in 1697 she received the wounds on her hands, feet and side. She submitted to medical treatment and many examinations, never trying to prove the stigmata was real, just suffering through the wounds, the exams and the scorn of her peers.

Veronica served as novice mistress for over thirty years; she refused to let them read any related to visions or mysticism, insisting that they become practical brides of Christ. Chosen abbess of her house in 1716, and served for more than a decade. Her 10-volume Diary of the Passion catalogues her religious experiences.

Born

1660 at Mercatello, Duchy of Urbino (part of modern Italy) as Ursula Giuliani

Died

• 9 July 1727 at Città di Castello, Italy of natural causes

• the figure of the cross was found impressed upon her heart

• body incorrupt

Beatified

17 June 1804 by Pope Pius VII

Canonized

26 May 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI

Blessed Adrian Fortescue

Profile

Born to the English nobility, the son of Sir John Fortescue, and a cousin of Anne Boleyn. Made a Knight of Bath in 1503, frequently serving in the royal court of King Henry VIII. Fought for England in France in 1513 and 1522. Married twice, and father of seven. Made a Knight of Saint John in 1532. He collected several lists of proverbs and folk sayings, often writing them in the margins of his Book of Hours. On 29 August 1534, for reasons never explained, he was arrested by the king's order, and imprisoned for several months. Arrested again on 3 February 1539, and sent to the Tower of London. Without trial, he was condemned to death in April for treason, though no specific act was alleged, only general "sedition and refusing allegiance", a consquence of his loyalty to Rome. Martyr.

Born

1476 in Punsborne, Hertfordshire, England

Died

beheaded on 9 July 1539 on Tower Hill, London, England

Beatified

13 May 1895 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)

Saint Mary Hermina Grivot

Also known as

• Irma Grivot

• Maria Ermellina di Gesù

• Marie Hermine de Jésus

• Mary Hermina of Jesus

Additional Memorials

• 8 July as one of the Martyrs of Shanxi

• 28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

Daughter of a cooper and a housekeeper. Irma was an active, affectionate, sensitive, intelligent but sickly child, and her education stopped at the elementary level. She felt drawn to religious life, but her family opposed it, She worked as a tutor to make her own way, and in 1894 she entered a pre-novitiate of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary at Vanves near Paris, France, then her novitiate at Les Châtelets in July, taking the name Marie Hermine de Jésus. Her poor health caused her to spend a longer than usual noviate, proving that she was capable of the rigors of missionary life. She served in her house by taking care of the accounts in Les Chatelets and Vanves, caring for the sick in Marseilles, France and then as superior of the missionaries in Taiyuanfu, China. In 1898 she and six sisters were sent to the Shanxi diocese in China to serve the poor in hospitals, and care for the unwanted or other destitutes in orphanages. There they all died in the Boxer Rebellion. One of the Martyrs of Shanxi and the Martyrs of China.

Born

28 April 1866 in Beaune, France

Died

beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in Rome

Blessed Luigi Caburlotto

Profile

Son of a Venetian gondolier. Parish priest in the archdiocese of Venice, Italy, ordained on 24 September 1842. Worked with children and teens who had been abandoned or were homeless. On 30 April 1850 he founded a school for poor and abandoned girls, and with two like-minded catechists, formed what would become the Figlie di San Giuseppe (Daughters of Saint Joseph). In 1857 he founded a home for poor girls, in 1859 a school complex for the poor, and later a free college. In 1869 he was assigned to re-organize and re-vitalize the Manin Institute, a trade and craft school for men. In 1881 he took over two more impoverished schools and managed to re-vitalize them and re-staff them with religious devoted to teaching. His health began to fail, and he was confined more and more to his home parish where he spent him non-management time conducting retreats for clergy and laity. His health continuing to fail, Father Luigi spent his final years out of the public eye, living much a like a prayerful hermit, keeping track of his beloved institutions, but unable to visit them The Daughters continue their good work today in Italy, Brazil, Kenya and the Philippines.

Born

7 June 1817 in Venice, Italy

Died

• 9 July 1897 in Venice, Italy of natural causes

• re-interred in a chapel at the parish church of San Sebastion in Venice on 1 March 2009

Beatified

• 16 May 2015 by Pope Francis

• recognition celebrated in Venice, Italy

Saint Ioachim Hao

Also known as

• Joachim Ho

• Joakim Hao Kaizhi

• Yajin

Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

Raised in a pagan family, he worked in cotton for a while, and then as a blacksmith. Convert some time after 1802. Layman catechist in the apostolic vicariate of Guizhou, China. Married; widower. He lived an quietly, giving what he could to the poor, fasting, and having services and teaching in his house. Arrested during an official persecution in 1814; he was tortured and finally exiled to Ili, Mongolia. There he worked with other Christians, even building churches. Joakim aided soldiers assigned to fight Muslim rebels in the area, received commendation for his work by the commanding general, and was allowed to return from exile in 1832. In 1836 he was arrested during another wave of persecutions, ordered to renounce his faith, and put to torture when he refused. Martyr.

Born

c.1782 in Zhazuo, Xiuewen, Guizhou, China

Died

strangled on 9 July 1839 at Guiyang, Guizhou, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Copra of Egypt

Also known as

Copres, Copretes

Profile

Desert hermit in Egypt. Helped lead Saint Patermutius to the faith. At age 45 he was arrested in the persecutions of Julian the Apostate for refusing to sacrifice to idols. Through flattery and the offer of riches, Julian convinced Copra to renounce Christianity. Copra was then sent to convince Patermutius to apostasize. Instead, Patermutius convinced Copra to return to Christianity. For this, Julian had Copra's tongue torn out of his head, and had him thrown into a furnace with Patermutius. The two were unharmed by the flames, and were seen standing in the fire and praying; this show of faith and strength brought Saint Alexander of Egypt to convert. Copra was pulled from the furnance and executed. Martyr.

Died

• beheaded c.363 in Egypt

• relics enshrined in Rome, Italy

• when the church of their shrine was demolished, Pope Pius V had them re-enshrined in the church of San Angelus in Italy

• some relics enshrined in the church of Sante Maria in Vallicella, Italy

Saint Patermutius of Egypt

Also known as

Patermuthius, Patermouthios, Pater Mucius, Patermuthias

Profile

A notorious robber and thief, he converted to Christianity, brought to the faith by Saint Copra. Desert hermit in Egypt. At age 75, he was arrested in the persecutions of Julian the Apostate for refusing to sacrifice to idols. Julian sent Copra, who had renounced Christianity, to convince Patermutius to do the same. Instead, Patermutius brought Copra back to the faith. Thrown into a flaming furnace for his defiance, he was unharmed by the fire and was seen standing and praying; this show of faith and strength brought Saint Alexander of Egypt to convert. Patermutius was then pulled from the furnace and executed. Martyr.

Died

• beheaded c.363 in Egypt

• relics enshrined in Rome, Italy

• when the church of their shrine was demolished, Pope Pius V had them re-enshrined in the church of San Angelus in Italy

• some relics enshrined in the church of Sante Maria in Vallicella, Italy

Blessed Jane Scopelli

Also known as

• Giovanna Scopelli

• Jane of Reggio

Profile

From an early age, Jane felt drawn to religious life. Her family opposed the vocation, and she obeyed them, living a pious, austere life in her parents' home. On their deaths she founded the Our Lady of the People Carmelite priory at Reggio, Italy, and served as its first prioress. She refused all endowments or gifts to the convent unless they were given as alms with no strings or conditions attached. Her prayers reportedly resulted in miracles.

Born

1428 at Reggio d' Emilia, Italy

Died

1491 of natural causes

Beatified

1771 by Pope Pius VI (cultus confirmed)

Saint Alexander of Egypt

Profile

Soldier in the army of emperor Julian the Apostate. When he witnessed the faith and strength of Saint Patermutius and Saint Copra when they were thrown into a flaming furnace, he was convinced of the power of Christianity, and announced he was converting. He was immediately throw into the furnace with them. Martyr.

Died

• burned to death in a furnace c.363 in Egypt

• relics enshrined in Rome, Italy

• when the church of their shrine was demolished, Pope Pius V had them re-enshrined in the church of San Angelus in Italy

• some relics enshrined in the church of Sante Maria in Vallicella, Italy

Blessed Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher

Also known as

• Sister Marguerite-Marie-Anne of the Angels

• Maria Anna Margherita degli Angeli de Rocher

Profile

Ursuline nun. Martyred in the French Revolution.

Born

20 January 1755 in Bollène, Vaucluse, France

Died

9 July 1794 in Orange, Vaucluse, France

Beatified

10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Saint Everild of Everingham

Also known as

Averil, Everildis

Profile

Seventh century English nobility. Convert to Christianity. Nun, entering a convent at York with Saint Bega and Saint Wuldreda under the direction of Saint Wilfrid. Assigned by Wilfrid to lead a large community of nuns at Bishop's Farm (later called Everildsham in her honour, and today called Everingham). Noted spiritual director of her sisters.

Born

in Wessex, England

Died

c.700 of natural causes

Blessed Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier

Also known as

Sister Saint Melania

Profile

Ursuline nun. Martyred in the French Revolution.

Born

29 June 1733 in Bollène, Vaucluse, France

Died

9 July 1794 in Orange, Vaucluse, France

Beatified

10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Martyrs of the Baths

Profile

A group of Christians enslaved by Diocletian to build the gigantic baths in imperial Rome, Italy. The end of their labours coincided with the beginning of the great persecutions of Diocletian, and they were all executed. Ancient records indicated there were 10,204 of them; Zeno of Rome is the only one whose name has come down to us, and we know nothing else about any of their individual lives.

Died

c.304

Saint Audax of Thora

Profile

Prison guard. During the persecutions of Decius, Audax was one of the guards of Saint Anatolia, who helped convert him. Martyr.

Died

beheaded c.250 in Rome, Italy

Saint Brictius of Martola

Profile

Bishop of Martola, Italy. Imprisoned in the persecutions of Diocletian, but was not martyred. Considered a confessor of the faith.

Died

c.312 of natural causes

Blessed Dionysius the Rhetorician

Profile

Monk at the Studion monastery in Constantinople. Spiritual student of Saint Metrophanes.

Died

1606 of natural causes

Saint Hérombert of Minden

Profile

Bishop of Minden, Westphalia (in modern Germany), chosen with the support of Blessed Charlemagne. Missionary to the Saxons.

Died

800

Saint Floriana of Rome

Profile

Virgin martyr.

Died

Rome, Italy, date unknown

Saint Cyril of Gortyna

Profile

Elderly bishop of Gortyna, Crete. Tortured and martyred in the persecutions of Decius.

Died

beheaded in 250

Saint Agrippinus of Autun

Profile

Bishop of Autun, France. Ordained Saint Germanus of Paris.

Died

538 of natural causes

Saint Faustina of Rome

Profile

Virgin martyr.

Died

Rome, Italy, date unknown

Saint Felician of Sicily

Also known as

Feliciano, Felicianus

Profile

Martyr.

Four Holy Polish Brothers

Profile

Four brothers who became hermits, Benedictine monks, and saints – Andrew, Barnabas, Benedict and Justus

Born

Poland

Died

1008 of natural causes

Martyrs of Orange

Also known as

Women Religious of Orange

Profile

32 nuns from several orders who spent up to 18 months in prison and were finally executed for refusing to renounce Christianity during the persecutions of the French Revolution.

• Anne Cartier • Anne-Andrée Minutte • Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond • élisabeth Verchière • élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin • Jeanne-Marie de Romillon • Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond • Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu • Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond • Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher • Marguerite-Rose de Gordon • Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol • Marie Cluse • Marie-Anastasie de Roquard • Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal • Marie-Anne Depeyre • Marie-Anne Doux • Marie-Anne Lambert • Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier • Marie-Claire du Bac • Marie-Clotilde Blanc • Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier • Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène • Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d'Alauzier • Marie-Marguerite Bonnet • Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d'Albrède • Marie-Rose Laye • Rosalie-Clotilde Bes • Suzanne-Agathe Deloye • Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon • Thérèse-Henriette Faurie •

Died

guillotined between 6 July and 26 July 1794 at Orange, Vaucluse, France

Beatified

10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI

Franciscan Martyrs of China

Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

25 priests, friars, nuns, seminarians and lay people, all members of the Franciscan, and all murdered together for their faith in the Boxer Rebellion. Each has a profile on CatholicSaints.Info, and they are -

• André Bauer • Elia; Facchini • Francesco; Fogolla • Franciscus; Zhang; Rong • Gregorio; Grassi • Iacobus; Yan; Guodong • Iacobus; Zhao; Quanxin • Ioannes; Wang; Rui • Ioannes; Zhang; Huan • Ioannes; Zhang; Jingguang • Jeanne-Marie; Kerguin • Maria; Chaira • Marianna; Giuliani • Marie; Adolphine; Dierks • Marie; Amandine • Marie; de; Saint; Just • Mary; Hermina; Grivot • Matthias; Feng; De • Patricius; Dong • Petrus; Wang; Erman • Petrus; Wu; Anbang • Petrus; Zhang; Banniu • Philippus; Zhang; Zhihe • Simon; Chen • Thomas; Shen; Jihe •

Died

beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, Shanxi, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in Rome

Martyrs of Gorkum

Also known as

• Gorkum Martyrs

• Martyrs of Gorcum

Profile

Nineteen martyrs killed by Calvinists for loyalty to the Pope and for their belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are -

• Adrianus van Hilvarenbeek • Andreas Wouters • Antonius van Hoornaar • Antonius van Weert • Cornelius van Wijk • Francisus de Roye • Godfried van Duynen • Godfried van Melveren • Hieronymus van Weert • Jacobus Lacops • Joannes Lenaerts • John of Cologne • Leonardus van Veghel • Nicasius Janssen van Heeze • Nicolaas Pieck • Nicolaas Poppel • Petrus van Assche • Theodorus van der Eem • Willehad van Deem •

Died

hanged on 9 July 1572 in Brielle, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Canonized

29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX

தினசரி புனிதர்கள் தகவல்

புனிதர்களை பெயர் வரிசையில் தேட

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08 July 2021

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜூலை 9