St. Minias of Florence
Feastday: October 25
Death: 250
Martyred soldier of Florence, Italy, sometimes called Miniato. He was martyred for making converts in the reign of Emperor Trajanus Decius. An abbey near Florence bears his name.
Saint Minias (Minas, Miniatus) (Italian: Miniato, Armenian: Մինաս) (3rd century) is venerated as the first Christian martyr of Florence. The church of San Miniato al Monte is dedicated to him.[3] According to legend, he was an Armenian king or prince serving in the Roman Army – or making a penitential pilgrimage to Rome[2] – who had decided to become a hermit near Florence.
He was denounced as a Christian and in 250 AD brought before Emperor Decius, who was persecuting Christians. Miniato refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and was put through numerous torments – he was thrown into a furnace, was lapidated, and was thrown to a lion or a panther at an amphitheater – from which he emerged unharmed. Finally, he was beheaded near the present Piazza della Signoria,[2] but his legend states that he picked up his own head. Miniato then crossed the Arno and returned to his hermitage on the hill known as Mons Florentinus (Monte di Firenze).[4]
Veneration
Minias’ relics rest in a crypt in the church dedicated to him, begun by Alibrando (Hildebrand), Bishop of Florence, in 1013 and endowed by Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor.[2]
The historicity of the saint is uncertain.[1] It is possible that there was a saint with this name who was martyred near the Arno.[1] He may simply have been a soldier who was executed for spreading Christianity in the army
His cult may also have arisen from the fact that a relic from a location in the East, such as Egypt, was brought to the church that would be known as San Miniato.
The tradition of him picking up his own head—a hagiographic trope—[5] was first recorded by Giovanni Villani
St. Marnock
Feastday: October 25
Irish bishop, a disciple of St. Columba. He resided on Jona, Scotland, and is also called Marnan, Marnanus, or Marnoc. He died at Annandale and is revered on the Scottish border. His name was given to Kilmarnock, Scotland.
St. John Roberts
Feastday: October 25
Birth: 1575
Death: 1610
Benedictine member of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born in Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd, Wales, and studied at Oxford. John became a Catholic and went to Paris in 1598, Studying and becoming a Benedictine priest in 1602. He then returned to England and aided so many victims of the plague of 1603 that he became quite famous. He left England for a time to establish a seminary but then returned to London. He had many adventures until his final arrest for being a priest. With Blessed Thomas Somers, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.
John Roberts (1577 – 10 December 1610) was a Welsh Benedictine monk and priest, and was the first Prior of St. Gregory's, Douai, France (now Downside Abbey). Returning to England as a missionary priest during the period of recusancy, he was martyred at Tyburn. He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic church.
Early life and conversion to Catholicism
Roberts was born in 1577 in Trawsfynydd, a small village in Snowdonia, north Wales, the son of John and Anna Roberts of Rhiw Goch Farm.[1] His father was a member of the Welsh nobility and was descended from the Welsh Princes,[1][2] was a farmer. Roberts was baptised into the Anglican faith inside the local parish church of St Madryn but is said to have received his early education from an elderly man who had been a Cistercian monk at Cymer Abbey just outside Dolgellau until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1537. He attended St. John's College, Oxford in February, 1595 before leaving after two years to study law at Furnival's Inn, London.[3]
During his travels in Europe, he left behind both the law and his former faith as he converted to Catholicism on a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He moved on to Spain and joined St Benedict's Monastery, Valladolid, and became a member of this community in 1598,[3] where he was known as Brother John of Merioneth in reference to his birthplace.[1]
Benedictine missionary
From Valladolid he was sent to make his novitiate at San Martín Pinario, Santiago de Compostela, where he made his profession towards the end of 1600. Having completed his studies he was ordained, and set out for England on 26 December 1602. Although observed by a Government spy, Roberts and his companions succeeded in entering the country in April 1603, where he was appointed vicar of the English monks of the Spanish Congregation on the Mission.[4] He was arrested and banished on 13 May.[5]
He reached Douai, in northern France, on 24 May. Soon he managed to return to England; he worked among the plague victims in London. In 1604, while embarking for Spain with four postulants, including William Scott (later known as Maurus Scott) he was again arrested. Not recognized as a priest, he was released and again banished, but he returned to England at once.[5]
On 5 November 1605, while Justice Grange was searching the house of Mrs. Percy, first wife of Thomas Percy, who was involved in the Gunpowder Plot, he found Roberts there and arrested him. Though acquitted of any complicity in the plot itself, Roberts was imprisoned in the Gatehouse Prison at Westminster for seven months and then exiled again in July, 1606.[5]
Foundation of St. Gregory's monastery, Douai
This time he was absent for some fourteen months, nearly all of which he spent at Douai (now in northern France) where he founded and became the first prior of a house for the English Benedictine monks who had entered various Spanish monasteries. This was the beginning of the monastery of St. Gregory's at Douai. This community of monks was banished from France in 1795 at the French Revolution and travelled to England where they settled at Downside Abbey, Somerset in 1814.[5]
Return to England and martyrdom
Roberts returned to England in October 1607 and in December he was again arrested and placed in the Gatehouse at Westminster, from which he escaped after some months. After his escape, he lived for about a year in London, but in May 1609 was taken to Newgate Prison. He might have been executed, but Antonie de la Broderie, the French ambassador, interceded on his behalf, and his sentence was reduced to banishment.[5]
Roberts again visited Spain and Douai, but returned to England, for a fifth time, within a year. He was captured again on 2 December 1610; the arresting men arrived just as he was finishing saying Mass in a house, having been followed by former priest turned spy John Cecil, who had compiled a dossier on Roberts for James I.[6] He was taken to Newgate in his vestments. On 5 December he was tried and found guilty under the Act forbidding priests to minister in England, and on 10 December was hanged, drawn, and quartered, at the age of thirty-three,[3] along with Thomas Somers, at Tyburn, London.[5] It was usual for the prisoner to be disembowelled while still alive, but he was very popular among the poor of London because of the kindness he had shown them during the plague and the large crowd which gathered at his execution would not allow this.[3] They insisted he be hanged to the death so as not to feel the pain. His heart was then held aloft by the executioner who proclaimed: "Behold the heart of the traitor!" But the angry crowd did not provide the standard response of "Long live the King!"; there was deathly silence.[6]
Veneration
The introduction of the cause of beatification was approved by Pope Leo XIII in his Decree of 4 December 1886. On 25 October 1970,[7] Roberts was canonised by Pope Paul VI as one of the representative Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Roman Catholic Bishop Edwin Regan said: "Although the name St John Roberts isn't as well known today, he is a major figure in our religious history." He was the first monk to return to Britain following the Protestant Reformation; the hostility between the Catholics and Protestants was at its height at this stage, when a Catholic priest could only expect to live for approximately two years in Britain during that period.[8]
On 17 July 2010, Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury of the British Orthodox Church, accompanied by Deacon Theodore de Quincey, attended an Ecumenical Service at Westminster Cathedral in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Martyrdom of John Roberts. Abba Seraphim noted that as a Londoner he wanted to honour the humanitarian and pastoral ministry of Roberts to Londoners; and that all those who are conscious of the problems of exercising Christian ministry in times of persecution would immediately value Roberts's determination as well as realising the extraordinary sacrifice he made to fulfil his priestly vocation. Large contingents from Wales were in attendance and the service was bi-lingual.[2] Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams addressed the congregation in both English and Welsh. It was the first time Welsh had been spoken in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.[7]
The choral piece, "Beatus Juan de Mervinia" in both Latin and Welsh, was specially commissioned for the service from the Welsh composer Brian Hughes.[7]
Roberts is commemorated by a tourist trail from St Madryn's church Trawsfynydd to Cymer Abbey near Dolgellau, and by an exhibition in the Llys Ednowain Heritage Centre in Trawsfynydd.[9][10]
Relics
The body of Roberts was recovered by a group that included Maurus Scott and taken to St. Gregory's, Douai, but disappeared during the French Revolution. An arm was found in the possession of the Spanish royal family before being returned to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where he had served as a novice.[1] Fingers preserved as relics went to Downside Abbey, to Erdington Abbey, to the Sacred Cross Church in Gellilydan near Robert's birthplace, to Tyburn convent and to St Joseph's Convent, Taunton
St. John Houghton
✠ புனிதர் ஜான் ஹக்டன் ✠
(St. John Houghton)
வேல்ஸ் மற்றும் இங்கிலாந்தின் 40 மறைசாட்சிகள் :
(Forty Martyrs of England and Wales)
பிறப்பு : கி.பி. 1486
இங்கிலாந்து
(England)
இறப்பு : மே 4, 1535
டிபர்ன், இங்கிலாந்து
(Tyburn, England)
ஏற்கும் சமயம் :
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
அருளாளர் பட்டம் : டிசம்பர் 9, 1886
திருத்தந்தை பதின்மூன்றாம் லியோ
(Pope Leo XIII)
புனிதர் பட்டம் : அக்டோபர் 25, 1970
திருத்தந்தை ஆறாம் பவுல்
(Pope Paul VI)
நினைவுத் திருநாள் : அக்டோபர் 25
புனிதர் ஜான் ஹக்டன், ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க குருவும், “கர்த்தூசியன் துறவி” (Carthusian hermit) ஆவார். அக்காலத்தில், இங்கிலாந்தின் மன்னன் “எட்டாம் ஹென்றியின்” (King Henry VIII) “மேலாதிக்க சட்டத்தின்” (Act of Supremacy) காரணமாக மரித்த முதல் ஆங்கில கத்தோலிக்க மறைசாட்சியாவார். இவருடன் மரித்த நாற்பது மறைசாட்சியரில் இவர் முதலாவது மறைசாட்சியாக கருதப்படுகிறார்.
கி.பி. சுமார் 1486ம் ஆண்டில் பிறந்த இவர், இவரைப் பின்பற்றிய கர்தூசியன் (Carthusians) சபை சகா ஒருவர் எழுதிய ஆவணங்களின்படி, “கேம்ப்ரிட்ஜ்” (Cambridge) பல்கலையில் கல்வி பயின்றார். தற்போதுள்ள ஆவணங்களில் இவரது குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு தேதி பற்றிய ஆவணங்களும் கிடைக்கவில்லை.
கி.பி. 1515ம் ஆண்டு, லண்டனிலுள்ள “சார்ட்டர்ஹௌஸ்” (London Charter house) அமைப்பில் சேர்ந்த இவர், கி.பி. 1523ம் ஆண்டு, 'கிறிஸ்தவ ஆலயங்களில் உள்ள புனிதப் பொருள்களைக் காப்பவராகவும், (Sacristan), கி.பி. 1526ம் ஆண்டு, 'பழங்கால ரோம அதிகாரி'யாகவும் உயர்ந்தார்.
கி.பி. 1534ம் ஆண்டு, புதிய வாரிசுரிமை சட்டங்களின்படி, (Act of Succession) கடைப்பிடிக்க வேண்டிய சத்தியப் பிரமாணங்களிலிருந்து தமக்கும் தமது சமூகத்தினருக்கும் விளக்கு அளிக்க வேண்டினார். இதன் பிரதிபலிப்பாக, இவரையும் இவரது செயலுரிமையாளர் ஒருவரையும் கைது செய்து “லண்டன் கோபுர” (Tower of London) கோட்டைக்கு இட்டுச் சென்றனர். அங்கே அவர்கள், அந்த புதிய சத்தியப் பிரமாணங்கள் கத்தோலிக்க சட்டங்களுக்கு ஒத்துப்போவதாக ஒப்புக்கொண்டனர். பின்னர், சார்ட்டர் ஹௌஸ் அழைத்து வரப்பட்ட இவர்களிருவரும், பெரும் ஆயுதப்படையினரின் முன்னிலையில், தமது மொத்த சமூகத்தினருடன் இணைந்து சத்திய பிரமாணம் எடுத்துக்கொண்டனர்.
கி.பி. 1535ம் ஆண்டு, மீண்டும் அழைக்கப்பட்ட இவர்களது சமூகத்தினர், இங்கிலாந்தின் மன்னன் எட்டாம் ஹென்றியை (King Henry VIII) ஆங்கில திருச்சபையின் தலைவராக ஏற்றுக்கொண்ட சட்ட திட்டங்களின் சத்தியப் பிரமாணங்களை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளும்படி வற்புறுத்தப்பட்டனர். ஹக்டன் இம்முறை, கர்தூசியன் சபையின் பிற இரண்டு இல்லங்களின் முதல்வர்களான, “ராபர்ட் லாரன்ஸ்” (Robert Lawrence) மற்றும் “அகஸ்டின் வெப்ஸ்டர்” (Augustine Webster) ஆகிய இருவரையும் தம்முடன் அழைத்துச் சென்றார். ஆங்கிலேய சத்திய பிரமாணத்துக்கு விளக்கு அளிக்க வேண்டி கெஞ்சிய இவர்களது சமூகத்தினர் அனைவரும் இம்முறை “தாமஸ் கிராம்வெல்” (Thomas Cromwell) என்பவரால் மொத்தமாக கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர்.
கி.பி. 1535ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், ஒரு விசாரணை மன்றத்தின் முன்னர் நிறுத்தப்பட்டனர். “சியோன் மடத்தைச்” (Syon Abbey) சேர்ந்த “ரிச்சர்ட் ரேனால்ட்ஸ்” (Richard Reynolds) எனும் துறவி உள்ளிட்ட இவர்கள் அனைவருக்கும் மரண தண்டனை பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டது.
புனிதர் ஜான் ஹக்டன் மற்றும் இரண்டு கர்த்தூசிய (Carthusians) துறவிகளான அருட்தந்தை “ரெனால்ட்” (Fr. Reynolds) மற்றும் அருட்தந்தை “ஜான் ஹைல்”', (Fr. John Haile of Isleworth) ஆகியோர் கி.பி. 1535ம் ஆண்டு, மே மாதம், 4ம் தேதியன்று, தூக்கிலிடப்பட்டு கொல்லப்பட்டனர்.
Feastday: October 25
Birth: 1486
Death: 1535
Protomartyr of the English Reformation. A native of Essex, he served as a parish priest after graduating from Cambridge. He then became a Carthusian and the prior of the Carthusian Charterhouse of London. As an opponent of King Henry Viii's Acts of Succession and Supremacy, he was arrested with other Carthusians but was released temporarily. He then refused to swear to the Oath of Supremacy, the first man to make this refusal. Dragged through the streets, he was executed at Tyburn with four companions by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Parts of his remains were put on display in assorted spots throughout London. Pope Paul VI canonized him in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
This article is about the English Catholic martyr. For other men with the same name, see John Houghton (disambiguation).
John Houghton (c. 1486 – 4 May 1535) was a Carthusian hermit and Catholic priest and the first English Catholic martyr to die as a result of the Act of Supremacy by King Henry VIII of England. He was also the first member of his order to die as a martyr. He is among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.[3]
Life
Born around 1487, he was (according to one of his fellow Carthusians) educated at Cambridge, but cannot be identified among surviving records.[4] Similarly, no certain records can be found of his ordination.
He joined the London Charterhouse in 1516, progressed to be sacristan in 1523, and procurator in 1528.[1] In 1531, he became Prior of the Beauvale Priory in Nottinghamshire. However, in November of that year, he was elected Prior of the London house, to which he returned.[5] In addition, the following spring he was named Provincial Visitor, at the head of the English Carthusians.[1]
In April 1534, two royal agents visited the Charterhouse. Houghton advised them that "it pertained not to his vocation and calling nor to that of his subjects to meddle in or discuss the king's business, neither could they or ought they to do so, and that it did not concern him who the king wished to divorce or marry, so long as he was not asked for any opinion."[2] He asked that he and his community be exempted from the oath required under the new Act of Succession, which resulted in both him and his procurator, Humphrey Middlemore, being arrested and taken to the Tower of London. However, by the end of May, they had been persuaded that the oath was consistent with their Catholicism, with the clause "as far as the law of Christ allows" and they returned to the Charterhouse, where (in the presence of a large armed force) the whole community made the required professions.[2]
However, in 1535, the community was called upon to make the new oath as prescribed by the 1534 Act of Supremacy, which recognised Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Again, Houghton, this time accompanied by the heads of the other two English Carthusian houses (Robert Lawrence, Prior of Beauvale, and Augustine Webster, Prior of Axholme), pleaded for an exemption, but this time they were summarily arrested. They were called before a special commission in April 1535, and sentenced to death, along with Richard Reynolds, a monk from Syon Abbey.[5]
Houghton, along with the other two Carthusians, Reynolds and John Haile of Isleworth, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 4 May 1535.[6]
The three priors were taken to Tyburn in their religious habits and were not previously laicised from the priesthood and religious state as was the custom of the day. From his prison cell in the Tower, Thomas More saw the three Carthusian priors being dragged to Tyburn on hurdles and exclaimed to his daughter: "Look, Meg! These blessed Fathers be now as cheerfully going to their deaths as bridegrooms to their marriage!" John Houghton was the first to be executed. After he was hanged, he was taken down alive, and the process of quartering him began.
Catholic tradition relates that when Houghton was about to be quartered, as the executioner tore open his chest to remove his heart, he prayed, "O Jesus, what wouldst thou do with my heart?" A painting of the Carthusian Protomartyr by the noted painter of religious figures, Francisco Zurbarán, depicts him with his heart in his hand and a noose around his neck. In the Chapter house of St. Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster, in England, there is a painting depicting the martyrdom of the three priors.
After his death, his body was chopped to pieces and hung in different parts of London. He was beatified on 9 December 1886 and canonized on 25 October 1970.
St. Boniface I
✠ புனிதர் முதலாம் போனிஃபாஸ் ✠
(St. Boniface I)
42ம் திருத்தந்தை :
(42nd Pope)
பிறப்பு : ரோம்
இறப்பு : செப்டம்பர் 4, 422
ரோம்
நினைவுத் திருநாள் : அக்டோபர் 25
திருத்தந்தை புனிதர் முதலாம் போனிஃபாஸ், கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் 42ம் திருத்தந்தையாக 418ம் ஆண்டு, டிசம்பர் மாதம், 28ம் தேதி முதல், 422ம் ஆண்டு, செப்டம்பர் மாதம், 4ம் தேதி வரை பணியாற்றினார். இவர் புனித அகஸ்தீனுடைய சமகாலத்தவர். “புனிதர் அகுஸ்தீன்” (Saint Augustine of Hippo), இவருக்கு தன் படைப்புகளுள் பலவற்றை அர்ப்பணித்துள்ளார்.
(Liber Pontificalis) எனும் மேற்கத்திய திருச்சபையின் திருத்தந்தையர் அல்லது ஆயர்களின் நடப்புகள் மற்றும் சடங்குகள் பற்றின விபரங்கள் எழுதப்பட்டிருக்கும் புத்தகத்தில், திருத்தந்தை போனிஃபாஸ் பற்றின விபரங்கள் சிறிதளவே காணப்படுகின்றன. இவர் ஒரு ரோமன் என்றும், கிறிஸ்தவ தேவாலயத்தின் மூப்பரான (Presbyter) “ஜோகண்ட்டஸ்” (Jocundus) என்பவருடைய மகன் என்றும் அறியப்படுகிறது. இவர், திருத்தந்தை “முதலாம் டமாஸ்கஸ்” (Pope Damasus I) அவர்களால் குருத்துவம் பெற்றவர் என்றும், “கான்ஸ்டண்டினோபிலில்” (Constantinople) திருத்தந்தை “முதலாம் இன்னொசென்ட்டின்” (Innocent I) பிரதிநிதியாக செயல்பட்டவர் என்றும் அறியப்படுகிறது.
திருத்தந்தைத் தேர்தலில் குழப்பம் :
திருத்தந்தை “சோசிமஸின்” (Pope Zosimus) இறப்புக்குப் பின், இருவர் திருத்தந்தை பதவிக்கு முன்மொழியப்பட்டனர். ஒருவர் போனிஃபாஸ், மற்றவர் “யூலாலியஸ்” (Eulalius). இதனால் ஏற்பட்ட குழப்பத்தை தவிர்க்கக் கோரி ரோம ஆட்சியாளர் “சிம்மாக்குஸ்” (Aurelius Anicius Symmachus) என்பவர் இரவேன்னா நகரில் தங்கியிருந்த ரோமப்பேரரசர் “ஹொனோரியசை” (Emperor Honorius) வேண்டி கடிதம் எழுதினார். அவர், முதலில் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டவர் யூலாலியஸ் ஆதலால், அவருக்கே ஆதரவளித்தார்.
ரோமப் பேரரசின் பேரரசி “கல்லா பிலசிடியா” (Empress Galla Placidia) மற்றும் அவருடைய கணவர் “மூன்றாம் கான்ஸ்டன்ஷியஸ்” (Constantius III) கூட யூலாலியுசுக்கு ஆதரவு தெரிவித்தனர். இருந்தாலும், யார் திருத்தந்தை என்னும் குழப்பத்தைத் தீர்ப்பதற்கு வசதியாக போனிஃபாசும், யூலாலியுசும் ரோமுக்கு வெளியே அனுப்பப்பட்டனர். அச்சமயம் இயேசுவின் உயிர்த்தெழுதல் விழா அண்மையில் நிகழவிருந்ததைப் பயன்படுத்திக்கொண்ட யூலாலியுசு, பேரரசின் உத்தரவுகளையும், சட்டத்தையும் மீறி ரோமுக்குத் திரும்பினார். இது ரோம ஆட்சியாளர்களுக்குப் பிடிக்கவில்லை. இதைத் தொடர்ந்து பேரரசர் “ஹொனோரியஸ்” (Emperor Honorius) போனிஃபாஸ்’தான் முறைப்படி திருத்தந்தை ஆவார் என்று அறிவித்தார்.
போனிஃபாஸ் ஆட்சி :
திருத்தந்தை போனிஃபாஸ், தமக்கு முந்தைய சில திருத்தந்தையரின் திருச்சபையின் நிர்வாகம் சம்பந்தமான கொள்கைகள் சிலவற்றை மாற்றியமைத்தார். “பெலாஜியஸ்” (Pelagius) எனும் பிரிட்டிஷ் துறவி போதித்த “பெலாஜியனிசம்” (Pelagianism) எனும் இறையியல் கோட்பாடுகளைக் கண்டித்தார். இதனை எதிர்த்து போராடுவதற்காக, இவர் “புனிதர் அகுஸ்தினாருக்கு” (St. Augustine) ஆதரவளித்தார்.
பேரரசர் “இரண்டாம் தியோடோசியசை”, (Emperor Theodosius II) அவரது மேற்கத்திய அதிகார வரம்பான “இலரிக்கம்” (Illyricum) திரும்ப வற்புறுத்தினார். மேலும், திருப்பீடத்துக்கு உள்ள உரிமைகளை இவர் நிலைநாட்டினார்
Feastday: October 25
Patron: of brewers; Fulda; Germany; World Youth Day
Death: 422
Boniface I Ordained by Pope Damasus I, St. Boniface was a priest at Rome and served as papal legate to Constantinople under Innocent I. When Pope Zosimus died in December, 418, a majority elected Boniface pope, and a minority elected Eulalius pope. Pope and antipope were consecrated on the same day. The Council of Spoleto was convoked in 419 to settle the dispute. Symmachus the Prefect supported Eulalius, and the Emperor Honorius supported Boniface, who was enthroned after the council. Boniface condemned Pelagianism and encouraged St. Augustine to write against it. When Boniface died in 422, he was buried in a chapel which he had built in the cemetary of St. Felicity.
Boniface (Latin: Bonifatius; c. 675[2] – 5 June 754), born Winfrid (also spelled Winifred, Wynfrith, Winfrith or Wynfryth) in the Devon town of Crediton in Anglo-Saxon England, was a leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He organised significant foundations of the church in Germany and was made archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III. He was martyred in Frisia in 754, along with 52 others, and his remains were returned to Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, there being a wealth of material available—a number of vitae, especially the near-contemporary Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence. He is venerated as a saint in the Christian church and became the patron saint of Germania, known as the "Apostle to the Germans".
Norman F. Cantor notes the three roles Boniface played that made him "one of the truly outstanding creators of the first Europe, as the apostle of Germania, the reformer of the Frankish church, and the chief fomentor of the alliance between the papacy and the Carolingian family."[3] Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, he helped shape the Latin Church in Europe, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas in Germania and in England. He is still venerated strongly today by German Catholics. Boniface is celebrated as a missionary; he is regarded as a unifier of Europe, and he is regarded by German Catholics as a national figure. In 2019 Devon County Council with the support of the Anglican and Catholic churches in Exeter and Plymouth, officially recognised St Boniface as the Patron Saint of Devon.
Early life and first mission to Frisia
The earliest Bonifacian vita, Willibald's, does not mention his place of birth but says that at an early age he attended a monastery ruled by Abbot Wulfhard in escancastre,[4] or Examchester,[5] which seems to denote Exeter, and may have been one of many monasteriola built by local landowners and churchmen; nothing else is known of it outside the Bonifacian vitae.[6] This monastery is believed to have occupied the site of the Church of St Mary Major in the City of Exeter, demolished in 1971, next to which was later built Exeter Cathedral.[7] Later tradition places his birth at Crediton, but the earliest mention of Crediton in connection to Boniface is from the early fourteenth century,[8] in John Grandisson's Legenda Sanctorum: The Proper Lessons for Saints' Days according to the use of Exeter.[9] In one of his letters Boniface mentions he was "born and reared...[in] the synod of London",[10] but he may have been speaking metaphorically.[11]
According to the vitae, Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. Against his father's wishes he devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. He received further theological training in the Benedictine monastery and minster of Nhutscelle (Nursling),[12] not far from Winchester, which under the direction of abbot Winbert had grown into an industrious centre of learning in the tradition of Aldhelm.[13] Winfrid taught in the abbey school and at the age of 30 became a priest; in this time, he wrote a Latin grammar, the Ars Grammatica, besides a treatise on verse and some Aldhelm-inspired riddles.[14] While little is known about Nursling outside of Boniface's vitae, it seems clear that the library there was significant. To supply Boniface with the materials he needed, it would have contained works by Donatus, Priscian, Isidore, and many others.[15] Around 716, when his abbot Wynberth of Nursling died, he was invited (or expected) to assume his position—it is possible that they were related, and the practice of hereditary right among the early Anglo-Saxons would affirm this.[16] Winfrid, however, declined the position and in 716 set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia.
Early missionary work in Frisia and Germania
Boniface first left for the continent in 716. He traveled to Utrecht, where Willibrord, the "Apostle to the Frisians," had been working since the 690s. He spent a year with Willibrord, preaching in the countryside, but their efforts were frustrated by the war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, King of the Frisians. Willibrord fled to the abbey he had founded in Echternach (in modern-day Luxembourg) while Boniface returned to Nursling.
Boniface returned to the continent the next year and went straight to Rome, where Pope Gregory II renamed him "Boniface", after the (legendary) fourth-century martyr Boniface of Tarsus, and appointed him missionary bishop for Germania—he became a bishop without a diocese for an area that lacked any church organization. He would never return to England, though he remained in correspondence with his countrymen and kinfolk throughout his life.
According to the vitae Boniface felled the Donar Oak, Latinized by Willibald as "Jupiter's oak," near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse. According to his early biographer Willibald, Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When the gods did not strike him down, the people were amazed and converted to Christianity. He built a chapel dedicated to Saint Peter from its wood at the site[17]—the chapel was the beginning of the monastery in Fritzlar. This account from the vita is stylized to portray Boniface as a singular character who alone acts to root out paganism. Lutz von Padberg and others point out that what the vitae leave out is that the action was most likely well-prepared and widely publicized in advance for maximum effect, and that Boniface had little reason to fear for his personal safety since the Frankish fortified settlement of Büraburg was nearby.[18] According to Willibald, Boniface later had a church with an attached monastery built in Fritzlar,[19] on the site of the previously built chapel, according to tradition.[20]
Boniface and the Carolingians
The support of the Frankish mayors of the palace (maior domos), and later the early Pippinid and Carolingian rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Boniface had been under the protection of Charles Martel from 723 on.[21] The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the pagan Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's campaign of destruction of indigenous Germanic pagan sites may have benefited the Franks in their campaign against the Saxons.
In 732, Boniface traveled again to Rome to report, and Pope Gregory III conferred upon him the pallium as archbishop with jurisdiction over what is now Germany. Boniface again set out for the German lands and continued his mission, but also used his authority to work on the relations between the papacy and the Frankish church. Rome wanted more control over that church, which it felt was much too independent and which, in the eyes of Boniface, was subject to worldly corruption. Charles Martel, after having defeated the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate during the Battle of Tours (732), had rewarded many churches and monasteries with lands, but typically his supporters who held church offices were allowed to benefit from those possessions. Boniface would have to wait until the 740s before he could try to address this situation, in which Frankish church officials were essentially sinecures, and the church itself paid little heed to Rome. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made papal legate for Germany.[22]
After Boniface's third trip to Rome, Charles Martel established four dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau) and gave them to Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine. In 745, he was granted Mainz as metropolitan see.[23] In 742, one of his disciples, Sturm (also known as Sturmi, or Sturmius), founded the abbey of Fulda not far from Boniface's earlier missionary outpost at Fritzlar. Although Sturm was the founding abbot of Fulda, Boniface was very involved in the foundation. The initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman, the son of Charles Martel, and a supporter of Boniface's reform efforts in the Frankish church. Boniface himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could "neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry".
According to German historian Gunther Wolf, the high point of Boniface's career was the Concilium Germanicum, organized by Carloman in an unknown location in April 743. Although Boniface was not able to safeguard the church from property seizures by the local nobility, he did achieve one goal, the adoption of stricter guidelines for the Frankish clergy,[24] who often hailed directly from the nobility. After Carloman's resignation in 747 he maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the Franks, Pepin; the claim that he would have crowned Pepin at Soissons in 751 is now generally discredited.[25]
Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the papacy and of the Agilolfing rulers of Bavaria. In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the dioceses of Würzburg and Erfurt. By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes.
Last mission to Frisia
According to the vitae, Boniface had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in 754 he set out with a retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from Dokkum, between Franeker and Groningen. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed robbers appeared who slew the aged archbishop. The vitae mention that Boniface persuaded his (armed) comrades to lay down their arms: "Cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in Scripture not to render evil for evil but to overcome evil by good."[26]
Having killed Boniface and his company, the Frisian bandits ransacked their possessions but found that the company's luggage did not contain the riches they had hoped for: "they broke open the chests containing the books and found, to their dismay, that they held manuscripts instead of gold vessels, pages of sacred texts instead of silver plates."[27] They attempted to destroy these books, the earliest vita already says, and this account underlies the status of the Ragyndrudis Codex, now held as a Bonifacian relic in Fulda, and supposedly one of three books found on the field by the Christians who inspected it afterward. Of those three books, the Ragyndrudis Codex shows incisions that could have been made by sword or axe; its story appears confirmed in the Utrecht hagiography, the Vita altera, which reports that an eye-witness saw that the saint at the moment of death held up a gospel as spiritual protection.[28] The story was later repeated by Otloh's vita; at that time, the Ragyndrudis Codex seems to have been firmly connected to the martyrdom.
Boniface's remains were moved from the Frisian countryside to Utrecht, and then to Mainz, where sources contradict each other regarding the behavior of Lullus, Boniface's successor as archbishop of Mainz. According to Willibald's vita Lullus allowed the body to be moved to Fulda, while the (later) Vita Sturmi, a hagiography of Sturm by Eigil of Fulda, Lullus attempted to block the move and keep the body in Mainz.[29]
His remains were eventually buried in the abbey church of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht, and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda Cathedral, previously the abbey church. There is good reason to believe that the Gospel he held up was the Codex Sangallensis 56, which shows damage to the upper margin, which has been cut back as a form of repair.
Veneration
Fulda
Veneration of Boniface in Fulda began immediately after his death; his grave was equipped with a decorative tomb around ten years after his burial, and the grave and relics became the center of the abbey. Fulda monks prayed for newly elected abbots at the grave site before greeting them, and every Monday the saint was remembered in prayer, the monks prostrating themselves and reciting Psalm 50. After the abbey church was rebuilt to become the Ratgar Basilica (dedicated 791), Boniface's remains were translated to a new grave: since the church had been enlarged, his grave, originally in the west, was now in the middle; his relics were moved to a new apse in 819. From then on Boniface, as patron of the abbey, was regarded as both spiritual intercessor for the monks and legal owner of the abbey and its possessions, and all donations to the abbey were done in his name. He was honored on the date of his martyrdom, 5 June (with a mass written by Alcuin), and (around the year 1000) with a mass dedicated to his appointment as bishop, on 1 December.[30]
Dokkum
Willibald's vita describes how a visitor on horseback came to the site of the martyrdom, and a hoof of his horse got stuck in the mire. When it was pulled loose, a well sprang up. By the time of the Vita altera Bonifatii (9th century), there was a church on the site, and the well had become a "fountain of sweet water" used to sanctify people. The Vita Liudgeri, a hagiographical account of the work of Ludger, describes how Ludger himself had built the church, sharing duties with two other priests. According to James Palmer, the well was of great importance since the saint's body was hundreds of miles away; the physicality of the well allowed for an ongoing connection with the saint. In addition, Boniface signified Dokkum's and Frisia's "connect[ion] to the rest of (Frankish) Christendom".[31]
Memorials
Saint Boniface's feast day is celebrated on 5 June in the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Communion and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
A famous statue of Saint Boniface stands on the grounds of Mainz Cathedral, seat of the archbishop of Mainz. A more modern rendition stands facing St. Peter's Church of Fritzlar.
The UK National Shrine is located at the Catholic church at Crediton, Devon, which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak, by sculptor Kenneth Carter. The sculpture was unveiled by Princess Margaret in his native Crediton, located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is also a series of paintings there by Timothy Moore. There are quite a few churches dedicated to St. Boniface in the United Kingdom: Bunbury, Cheshire; Chandler's Ford and Southampton Hampshire; Adler Street, London; Papa Westray, Orkney; St Budeaux, Plymouth (now demolished); Bonchurch, Isle of Wight; Cullompton, Devon.
Bishop George Errington founded St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth in 1856. The school celebrates Saint Boniface on 5 June each year.
In 1818, Father Norbert Provencher founded a mission on the east bank of the Red River in what was then Rupert's Land, building a log church and naming it after St. Boniface. The log church was consecrated as Saint Boniface Cathedral after Provencher was himself consecrated as a bishop and the diocese was formed. The community that grew around the cathedral eventually became the city of Saint Boniface, which merged into the city of Winnipeg in 1971. In 1844, four Grey Nuns arrived by canoe in Manitoba, and in 1871, built Western Canada's first hospital: St. Boniface Hospital, where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet. Today, St. Boniface is regarded as Winnipeg's main French-speaking district and the centre of the Franco-Manitobain community, and St. Boniface Hospital is the second-largest hospital in Manitoba.
Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 1 June.[32]
Legends
Some traditions credit Saint Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. The vitae mention nothing of the sort. However, it is mentioned on a BBC-Devon website, in an account which places Geismar in Bavaria,[33] and in a number of educational books, including St. Boniface and the Little Fir Tree,[34] The Brightest Star of All: Christmas Stories for the Family,[35] The American normal readers.[36] and a short story by Henry van Dyke, "The First Christmas Tree".[37]
Sources and writings
Vitae
The earliest "Life" of Boniface was written by a certain Willibald, an Anglo-Saxon priest who came to Mainz after Boniface's death,[38] around 765. Willibald's biography was widely dispersed; Levison lists some forty manuscripts.[39] According to his lemma, a group of four manuscripts including Codex Monacensis 1086 are copies directly from the original.[40]
Listed second in Levison's edition is the entry from a late ninth-century Fulda document: Boniface's status as a martyr is attested by his inclusion in the Fulda Martyrology which also lists, for instance, the date (1 November) of his translation in 819, when the Fulda Cathedral had been rebuilt.[41] A Vita Bonifacii was written in Fulda in the ninth century, possibly by Candidus of Fulda, but is now lost.[42]
The next vita, chronologically, is the Vita altera Bonifatii auctore Radbodo, which originates in the Bishopric of Utrecht, and was probably revised by Radboud of Utrecht (899–917). Mainly agreeing with Willibald, it adds an eye-witness who presumably saw the martyrdom at Dokkum. The Vita tertia Bonifatii likewise originates in Utrecht. It is dated between 917 (Radboud's death) and 1075, the year Adam of Bremen wrote his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, which used the Vita tertia.[43][44]
A later vita, written by Otloh of St. Emmeram (1062–1066), is based on Willibald's and a number of other vitae as well as the correspondence, and also includes information from local traditions.
Correspondence
Boniface engaged in regular correspondence with fellow churchmen all over Western Europe, including the three popes he worked with, and with some of his kinsmen back in England. Many of these letters contain questions about church reform and liturgical or doctrinal matters. In most cases, what remains is one half of the conversation, either the question or the answer. The correspondence as a whole gives evidence of Boniface's widespread connections; some of the letters also prove an intimate relationship especially with female correspondents.[45]
There are 150 letters in what is generally called the Bonifatian correspondence, though not all them are by Boniface or addressed to him. They were assembled by order of archbishop Lullus, Boniface's successor in Mainz, and were initially organized into two parts, a section containing the papal correspondence and another with his private letters. They were reorganized in the eighth century, in a roughly chronological ordering. Otloh of St. Emmeram, who worked on a new vita of Boniface in the eleventh century, is credited with compiling the complete correspondence as we have it.[45]
The correspondence was edited and published already in the seventeenth century, by Nicolaus Serarius.[46] Stephan Alexander Würdtwein's 1789 edition, Epistolae S. Bonifacii Archiepiscopi Magontini, was the basis for a number of (partial) translations in the nineteenth century. The first version to be published by Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) was the edition by Ernst Dümmler (1892); the most authoritative version until today is Michael Tangl's 1912 Die Briefe des Heiligen Bonifatius, Nach der Ausgabe in den Monumenta Germaniae Historica, published by MGH in 1916.[45] This edition is the basis of Ephraim Emerton's selection and translation in English, The Letters of Saint Boniface, first published in New York in 1940; it was republished most recently with a new introduction by Thomas F.X. Noble in 2000.
Included among his letters and dated to 716 is one to Abbess Edburga of Minster-in-Thanet containing the Vision of the Monk of Wenlock.[47] This otherworld vision describes how a violently ill monk is freed from his body and guided by angels to a place of judgment, where angels and devils fight over his soul as his sins and virtues come alive to accuse and defend him. He sees a hell of purgation full of pits vomiting flames. There is a bridge over a pitch-black boiling river. Souls either fall from it or safely reach the other side cleansed of their sins. This monk even sees some of his contemporary monks and is told to warn them to repent before they die. This vision bears signs of influence by the Apocalypse of Paul, the visions from the Dialogues of Gregory the Great, and the visions recorded by Bede.[48]
Sermons
Main article: Sermones (Pseudo)-Bonifatii
Some fifteen preserved sermons are traditionally associated with Boniface, but that they were actually his is not generally accepted.
Grammar and poetry
Early in his career, before he left for the continent, Boniface wrote the Ars Bonifacii, a grammatical treatise presumably for his students in Nursling. Helmut Gneuss reports that one manuscript copy of the treatise originates from (the south of) England, mid-eighth century; it is now held in Marburg, in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv.[49] He also wrote a treatise on verse, the Caesurae uersuum, and a collection of twenty acrostic riddles, the Enigmata, influenced greatly by Aldhelm and containing many references to works of Vergil (the Aeneid, the Georgics, and the Eclogues).[50] The riddles fall into two sequences of ten poems. The first, De virtutibus ('on the virtues'), comprises: 1. de ueritate/truth; 2. de fide catholica/the Catholic faith; 3. de spe/hope; 4. de misericordia/compassion; 5. de caritate/love; 6. de iustitia/justice; 7. de patientia/patience; 8. de pace uera, cristiana/true, Christian peace; 9. de humilitate cristiania/Christian humility; 10. de uirginitate/virginity. The second sequence, De vitiis ('on the vices'), comprises: 1. de neglegentia/carelessness; 2. de iracundia/hot temper; 3. de cupiditate/greed; 4. de superbia/pride; 5. de crapula/intemperance; 6. de ebrietate/drunkenness; 7. de luxoria/fornication; 8. de inuidia/envy; 9. de ignorantia/ignorance; 10. de uana gloria/vainglory.[51]
Three octosyllabic poems written in clearly Aldhelmian fashion (according to Andy Orchard) are preserved in his correspondence, all composed before he left for the continent.[52]
Additional materials
A letter by Boniface charging Aldebert and Clement with heresy is preserved in the records of the Roman Council of 745 that condemned the two.[53] Boniface had an interest in the Irish canon law collection known as Collectio canonum Hibernensis, and a late 8th/early 9th-century manuscript in Würzburg contains, besides a selection from the Hibernensis, a list of rubrics that mention the heresies of Clemens and Aldebert. The relevant folios containing these rubrics were most likely copied in Mainz, Würzburg, or Fulda—all places associated with Boniface.[53] Michael Glatthaar suggested that the rubrics should be seen as Boniface's contribution to the agenda for a synod.[54]
Anniversary and other celebrations
Boniface's death (and birth) has given rise to a number of noteworthy celebrations. The dates for some of these celebrations have undergone some changes: in 1805, 1855, and 1905 (and in England in 1955) anniversaries were calculated with Boniface's death dated in 755, according to the "Mainz tradition"; in Mainz, Michael Tangl's dating of the martyrdom in 754 was not accepted until after 1955. Celebrations in Germany centered on Fulda and Mainz, in the Netherlands on Dokkum and Utrecht, and in England on Crediton and Exeter.
Celebrations in Germany: 1805, 1855, 1905
The first German celebration on a fairly large scale was held in 1805 (the 1,050th anniversary of his death), followed by a similar celebration in a number of towns in 1855; both of these were predominantly Catholic affairs emphasizing the role of Boniface in German history. But if the celebrations were mostly Catholic, in the first part of the 19th century the respect for Boniface in general was an ecumenical affair, with both Protestants and Catholics praising Boniface as a founder of the German nation, in response to the German nationalism that arose after the Napoleonic era came to an end. The second part of the 19th century saw increased tension between Catholics and Protestants; for the latter, Martin Luther had become the model German, the founder of the modern nation, and he and Boniface were in direct competition for the honor.[55] In 1905, when strife between Catholic and Protestant factions had eased (one Protestant church published a celebratory pamphlet, Gerhard Ficker's Bonifatius, der "Apostel der Deutschen"), there were modest celebrations and a publication for the occasion on historical aspects of Boniface and his work, the 1905 Festgabe by Gregor Richter and Carl Scherer. In all, the content of these early celebrations showed evidence of the continuing question about the meaning of Boniface for Germany, though the importance of Boniface in cities associated with him was without question.[56]
1954 celebrations
In 1954, celebrations were widespread in England, Germany, and the Netherlands, and a number of these celebrations were international affairs. Especially in Germany, these celebrations had a distinctly political note to them and often stressed Boniface as a kind of founder of Europe, such as when Konrad Adenauer, the (Catholic) German chancellor, addressed a crowd of 60,000 in Fulda, celebrating the feast day of the saint in a European context: "Das, was wir in Europa gemeinsam haben, [ist] gemeinsamen Ursprungs" ("What we have in common in Europe comes from the same source").[57]
1980 papal visit
When Pope John Paul II visited Germany in November 1980, he spent two days in Fulda (17 and 18 November). He celebrated Mass in Fulda Cathedral with 30,000 gathered on the square in front of the building, and met with the German Bishops' Conference (held in Fulda since 1867). The pope next celebrated mass outside the cathedral, in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000, and hailed the importance of Boniface for German Christianity: "Der heilige Bonifatius, Bischof und Märtyrer, bedeutet den 'Anfang' des Evangeliums und der Kirche in Eurem Land" ("The holy Boniface, bishop and martyr, signifies the beginning of the gospel and the church in your country").[58] A photograph of the pope praying at Boniface's grave became the centerpiece of a prayer card distributed from the cathedral.
2004 celebrations
In 2004, anniversary celebrations were held throughout Northwestern Germany and Utrecht, and Fulda and Mainz—generating a great amount of academic and popular interest. The event occasioned a number of scholarly studies, esp. biographies (for instance, by Auke Jelsma in Dutch, Lutz von Padberg in German, and Klaas Bruinsma in Frisian), and a fictional completion of the Boniface correspondence (Lutterbach, Mit Axt und Evangelium).[59] A German musical proved a great commercial success,[60] and in the Netherlands an opera was staged.[61]
Scholarship on Boniface
There is an extensive body of literature on the saint and his work. At the time of the various anniversaries, edited collections were published containing essays by some of the best-known scholars of the time, such as the 1954 collection Sankt Bonifatius: Gedenkgabe zum Zwölfhundertsten Todestag[62] and the 2004 collection Bonifatius—Vom Angelsächsischen Missionar zum Apostel der Deutschen.[63] In the modern era, Lutz von Padberg published a number of biographies and articles on the saint focusing on his missionary praxis and his relics. The most authoritative biography remains Theodor Schieffer's Winfrid-Bonifatius und die Christliche Grundlegung Europas (1954).
St. Ambrose Edward Barlow
Feastday: October 25
Birth: 1585
Death: 1641
Martyr and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A convert, Ambrose studied for the priesthood at Douai, France, and Valladolid, Spain. In 1615 he was a professed Benedictine, affiliated by request to the Spanish Abbey of Celanova. For twenty-four years, Ambrose worked in Lancashire, England, despite the dangers. He was arrested four times but was released. On his fifth arrest, he was executed at Lancaster.
Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B., (1585 – 10 September 1641)[1] was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Early life and education
Barlow Hall, 1910
Ambrose was born at Barlow Hall, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester in 1585 (in the parish of Manchester).[2] He was the fourth son of the nobleman Sir Alexander Barlow and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Urian Brereton of Handforth Hall.[3] The Barlow family had been reluctant converts to the Church of England following the suppression of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Ambrose's grandfather died in 1584 whilst imprisoned for his beliefs and Sir Alexander Barlow had two thirds of his estate confiscated as a result of his refusing to conform with the rules of the new established religion.[4] On 30 November 1585, Ambrose was baptised at Didsbury Chapel and his baptism entry reads "Edwarde legal sonne of Alex' Barlowe gent' 30". Ambrose went on to adhere to the Anglican faith until 1607, when he converted to Roman Catholicism.
In 1597, Ambrose was taken into the stewardship of Sir Uryan Legh, a relative who would care for him whilst he served out his apprenticeship as a page. However, upon completing this service, Barlow realised that his true vocation was for the priesthood, so he travelled to Douai in France to study at the English College there before attending the Royal College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, Spain. In 1615, he returned to Douai where he became a member of the Order of Saint Benedict, joining the community of St Gregory the Great (now Downside Abbey), and was ordained as a priest in 1617.[4]
Mission
After his ordination into the priesthood, Ambrose returned to Barlow Hall, before taking up residence at the home of Sir Thomas Tyldesley, Morleys Hall, Astley.[5] Sir Thomas' grandmother had arranged for a pension to be made available to the priest which would enable him to carry out his priestly duties amongst the poor Catholics within his parish. From there he secretly catered for the needs of Catholic 'parishioners', offering daily Mass and reciting his Office and Rosary for the next twenty-four years. To avoid dete ction by the Protestant authorities, he devised a four-week routine in which he travelled throughout the parish for four weeks and then remained within the Hall for five weeks. He would often visit his cousins, the Downes, at their residence of Wardley Hall and conduct Mass for the gathered congregation.[4]
Arrest and execution
Ambrose was arrested four times during his travels and released without charge.[6] King Charles I signed a proclamation on 7 March 1641, which decreed that all priests should leave the country within one calendar month or face being arrested and treated as traitors, resulting in imprisonment or death. Ambrose's parishioners implored him to flee or at least go into hiding but he refused. Their fears were compounded by a recent stroke which had resulted in the 56-year-old priest being partially paralysed. "Let them fear that have anything to lose which they are unwilling to part with", he told them.[4]
On 25 April 1641, Easter Day, Ambrose and his congregation of around 150 people were surrounded at Morleys Hall, Astley by the Vicar of Leigh and his armed congregation of some 400. Father Ambrose surrendered, and his parishioners were released after their names had been recorded. The priest was restrained, then taken on a horse with a man behind him to prevent his falling, and escorted by a band of sixty people to the Justice of the Peace at Winwick, before being transported to Lancaster Castle.[4][5]
Father Ambrose appeared before the presiding judge, Sir Robert Heath, on 7 September when he professed his adherence to the Catholic faith and defended his actions. On 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, Sir Robert Heath found Ambrose guilty and sentenced him to be executed. Two days later, he was taken from Lancaster Castle, drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, hanged, dismembered, quartered, and boiled in oil. His head was afterwards exposed on a pike.[4][5] His cousin, Francis Downes, Lord of Wardley Hall, a devout Catholic rescued his skull and preserved it at Wardley where it remains to this day. It is not the skull of Roger Downes of that same family, the libertine and friend of the Earl of Rochester.
When the news of his death and martyrdom reached his Benedictine brothers at Douai Abbey, a Mass of Thanksgiving and the Te Deum were ordered to be sung.[4]
Canonisation
On 15 December 1929, Pope Pius XI proclaimed Father Ambrose as Blessed at his Beatification ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. In recognition of the large number of British Catholic martyrs who were executed during the Reformation, most during the reign of Elizabeth I, Pope Paul VI decreed that on 25 October 1970 he was canonising a number of people who were to be known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales of whom Ambrose was one.[7][8]
Hagiography and relics
Challoner (see below) compiled Barlow's biography from two manuscripts belonging to St Gregory's Monastery, one of which was written by his brother Dom Rudesind Barlow, President of the English Benedictine Congregation. A third manuscript, titled "The Apostolical Life of Ambrose Barlow", was written by one of his pupils for Dom Rudesind, and is in the John Rylands Library, Manchester; it has been printed by the Chetham Society.[9]
Two portraits of Barlow and one of his father, Sir Alexander, are known to exist.[9]
Several relics of Ambrose are also preserved; his jaw bone is held at the Church of St Ambrose of Milan, Barlow Moor, Manchester; one of his hands is preserved at Stanbrook Abbey[6] now at Wass, North Yorkshire, and another hand is at Mount Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, Oregon; and his skull is preserved on the stairwell at Wardley Hall in Worsley, the one time home of the Downes family, and now the home of the Catholic Bishop of Salford.
Legacy
The church of St Ambrose of Milan at Barlow Moor is in the parish of his birthplace. It was founded in 1932, and is dedicated to St Ambrose of Milan but changed to St Ambrose Barlow at his canonisation.[10] St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic church and primary school in Astley is also named after Ambrose.
Other schools named after the saint include The Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Didsbury, St Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Swinton near Manchester, and St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School in Netherton, Merseyside. One of the boarding houses at Downside School is named Barlow in his honour.
An Oblate Chapter (association of secular Benedictines) of Douai Abbey, meeting at St Anne's Roman Catholic Church in Ormskirk, has St Ambrose Barlow as its patron.
Saint Crispin and Saint Crispian
✠ புனிதர்கள் கிறிஸ்பின் மற்றும் கிறிஸ்பினியன் ✠
(Sts. Crispin and Crispinian)
மறைசாட்சியர்:
(Martyrs)
பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 3ம் நூற்றாண்டு
இறப்பு: கி.பி. 286
ரோம் (Rome)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபைகள்
(Eastern Orthodox Churches)
இங்கிலாந்து திருச்சபை
(Church of England)
முக்கிய திருத்தலங்கள்:
சோய்சன்ஸ் (Soissons)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: அக்டோபர் 25
பாதுகாவல்:
காலணி தயாரிப்பாளர்கள்; தோல் பதனிடுபவர்கள்; கையுறை தயாரிப்பாளர்கள்; சரிகை தயாரிப்பாளர்கள்; சரிகைத் தொழிலாளர்கள்; தோல் தொழிலாளர்கள்; சேணம் தயாரிப்பாளர்கள்; நெசவாளர்கள்.
சான் கிறிஸ்பின் (San Crispin), சான் பப்லோ நகரம் (San Pablo City), பிலிப்பைன்ஸ் (Philippines)
புனிதர்கள் கிறிஸ்பின் மற்றும் கிறிஸ்பினியன் ஆகியோர், காலணி தயாரிப்பாளர்கள், தோல் பதனிடுபவர்கள், கையுறை தயாரிப்பாளர்கள், சரிகை தயாரிப்பாளர்கள், சரிகைத் தொழிலாளர்கள்; தோல் தொழிலாளர்கள், மற்றும், சேணம் தயாரிப்பாளர்கள், நெசவாளர்கள், ஆகியோரது கிறிஸ்தவ பாதுகாவல் புனிதர்கள் ஆவர்.
ரோமப் பேரரசர் டயக்லேஷியன் ஆட்சிக்காலத்தில், கி.பி. சுமார் 285 அல்லது 286ம் ஆண்டு, இவர்களிருவரும், மறைசாட்சியராய் சித்திரவதை செய்யப்பட்டு, கொடுமையான வகையில் கொல்லப்பட்டனர்.
வரலாறு:
கி.பி. 3ம் நூற்றாண்டில், ஒரு உன்னதமான ரோமானிய குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த கிறிஸ்பின் மற்றும் கிறிஸ்பினியன் ஆகியோர், தங்கள் கிறிஸ்தவ விசுவாசத்திற்காக துன்புறுத்தலிலிருந்து தப்பி ஓடியபடியிருந்தனர். அவர்களது ஓட்டம், சோய்சன்ஸ் (Soissons) நகரில் முடிவடைந்தது. அங்கு அவர்கள் கிறிஸ்தவ மதத்தை "கௌல்ஸ்" (Gauls) இன மக்களுக்கு பிரசங்கித்தனர். அதே நேரத்தில் இரவு நேரங்களில் காலணிகள் தயாரித்தனர். அவர்கள் இரட்டை சகோதரர்கள் என்று கூறப்பட்டாலும், அது நேர்மறையாக நிரூபிக்கப்படவில்லை.
அவர்கள் தங்களுடைய தேவைகளுக்கும், ஏழைகளுக்கு உதவுவதற்குமான போதுமான வருமானத்தை, தங்கள் வர்த்தகம் மூலம் போதுமான அளவு சம்பாதித்தனர். அவர்களின் இந்த வெற்றி, "பெல்ஜிக் கோல்" ஆளுநரான "ரிக்டஸ் வரஸ்" என்பவரது கோபத்தை ஈர்த்தது. அவர்கள் சித்திரவதை செய்யப்பட்டு கழுத்தில் மைல் கற்கள் கட்டப்பட்டு, ஆற்றில் வீசப்பட்டனர். இருப்பினும், அதிலிருந்தும் தப்பிப்பிழைத்த அவர்கள், சக்கரவர்த்தியின் உத்தரவின்படி, தலை துண்டிக்கப்பட்டு, கி.பி. 285–286ல் கொல்லப்பட்டனர்.
கி.பி. 16ம் நூற்றாண்டின் புராணக்கதை ஓன்று, அவர்களை "ஃபேவர்ஷாம்" (Faversham) நகரத்துடன் இணைக்கிறது.
புனிதர்கள் கிறிஸ்பின் மற்றும் கிறிஸ்பினியன் ஆகியோரின் நினைவுத் திருநாள், அக்டோபர் 25 ஆகும். இரண்டாம் வத்திக்கான் (Second Vatican Council) சபையைத் தொடர்ந்து, ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் உலகளாவிய வழிபாட்டு நாட்காட்டியிலிருந்து (Catholic Church's Universal Liturgical Calendar) இந்த நினைவுத் திருநாள் அகற்றப்பட்டாலும், இவ்விரு புனிதர்களும் அந்த நாளில் இன்றும் ரோமன் திருச்சபையின் மறைசாட்சிய (Roman Church's Martyrology) பதிப்பில் நினைவுகூரப்படுகிறார்கள்.
கி.பி. ஆறாம் நூற்றாண்டில் இந்த புனிதர்களின் கல்லறைகளுக்கு மேல் சோய்சன்ஸ் நகரில், ஒரு அழகிய பேராலயம் அமைக்கப்பட்டது. மேலும், புகழ்பெற்ற பொற்கொல்லர் புனித எலிஜியஸ் (St. Eligius) புனித கிறிஸ்பினியனின் தலைக்கு ஒரு விலையுயர்ந்த திருத்தலத்தை உருவாக்கினார்.
Also known as
Crispinus and Crispianus
Profile
Brothers and members of the imperial Roman nobility. Together they evangelized Gaul in the middle 3rd century. They worked from Soissons, France where they preached in the streets by day, made shoes by night. Their charity, piety, and contempt of material things impressed the locals, and many converted in the years of their ministry. Martyred under emperor Maximian Herculeus, being tried by Rictus Varus, governor of Belgic Gaul and an enemy of Christianity. A great church was built at Soissons in the 6th century in their honor; Saint Eligius ornamented their shrine.
Because of his association with shoes, shoe-making, etc. a shoeshine kit is called a "Saint-Crispin"; an awl is "Saint Crispin's lance"; and if your shoes are too tight, you are "in Saint Crispin's prison."
Died
tortured and beheaded c.286 at Rome, Italy
Patronage
• cobblers, shoemakers
• glove makers
• lace makers, lace workers
• leather workers
• saddle makers, saddlers
• tanners
• weavers
Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy
Also known as
• Tadhg MacCarthy
• Taddeo Machar
• White Martyr of Münster
Profile
Son of the Lord of Muskerry, Ireland; grandson of the Lord of Kerry, Ireland. Educated by the Franciscans at Timoleague,at the University of Paris, and in Rome, Italy. Priest. Bishop of Ross, Ireland in 1482; when he arrived in Ross he found that Bishop Hugh O'Driscoll was still alive and holding the see. Because of the political intrigues of the time, and the fact that people were not above falsley reporting the bishop's death or sending an imposter to take his place, years of disputes broke out over the appointment, and Thaddeus never did assume his position. At one point he was excommunicated by Pope Sixtus IV, had the excommunication confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII, and charged with fraud; he was cleared of all charges, civil and ecclesiastic, and the excommunition revoked.
Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, Ireland on 21 April 1490. When he arrived he found that locals had chosen Gerald FitzGerald as bishop, and for political reasons there were armed supporters in the cathedral to prevent Thaddeus from assuming control. Thaddeus appealed to the Pope, and had his support, but without armed supporters he travelled for a while as a pilgrim to holy sites. He died while on the road. The title White Martyr of Munster commemorates the mental and physical anguish he suffered while trying to do the Church's work.
Born
c.1455 in County Cork, Ireland
Died
• 25 October 1492 in a pilgrim's hostel at Ivrea, Italy of natural causes
• the hostel warden found him deceased but surrounded by light
• Bishop Nicholas Garigliatti had a dream of Thaddeus's death and ascension to heaven, and came to collect the body, which would have otherwise been given a pauper's burial as the man was an unknown pilgrim
• buried in the cathedral of Ivrea
• miracles reported at the tomb
• body found incorrupt when the tomb was opened in 1742, but later deteriorated
• some relics enshrined in the Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Anne in Cork, Ireland
• some relics enshrined in the Cathedral of Saint Colman, Cobh, Ireland
• some relics enshrined in the Church of Saint Mary, Youghal, Ireland
Beatified
1896 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)
Blessed Maurus of Pécs
Also known as
• Maurus of Nitra
• Maurus of Pannonhalma
• Maurice, Mauricio, Mauro, Mór
Additional Memorial
4 December (Benedictines)
Profile
Benedictine monk in his youth at the San Martin monastery in Pannonhalma, Hungary. Abbot his monastery from 1029 till 1036, having been chosen by Saint Stephen of Hungary. Friend of Saint Emeric of Hungary. Bishop of Pécs, Hungary in 1036, the second bishop of the diocese, and possibly the first bishop born in the kingdom of Hungary; he served for over 30 years. Finished construction of the cathedral in Pécs. Survived the pagan uprising during the reign of King Peter I, and helped celebrate the coronation of the Christian king Andrew I in 1046. Courtier to King Andrew. Helped found the Tihany Abbey in 1055. Peacemaker between warring political factions in Hungary. Wrote Legend of Saints Benedict and Andrew Zorard c.1064, making him the first Hungarian ecclesiastical writer and hagiographer.
Born
c.1000, probably in the territory of modern Hungary
Died
c.1075 in Pécs, Hungary of natural causes
Beatified
22 July 1848 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmation)
Patronage
Diocese of Pécs, Hungary
Saint Tabitha
Also known as
Dorcas
Profile
Married lay woman in Joppa (in modern Israel). Seamstress. Widow. Mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. When she fell ill and died, she was raised from the dead by Saint Peter the Apostle.
Died
1st century
Saint Chrysanthus and Saint Daria
Also known as
Crisaunt, Crescentius, Crisanto
Profile
Married couple who were zealous and public in their Christianity. Martyred in the persecutions of Numerian and Carinus.
Not surprisingly, many legends developed around a couple of married martyrs, and others were re-written to use them as their lead characters. Modern scholarship has dismissed all these, leaving only two of the thousands of faithful who lost their lives in the early days of the Church.
Born
Egyptian
Died
• stoned to death c.283 in a sandpit off the Salarian Way, Rome, Italy
• relics at Bad Münstereifel, Germany
Patronage
• Eissel, Germany
• Salzburg, Austria
Saint Gaudentius of Brescia
Also known as
Gaudenty
Profile
Studied under Saint Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, Italy. He preached throughout Italy and in the East, respected wherever he went for his oratory and leading the Christian life. When Philastrius died near the end of the 4th century, the people of Brescia chose Gaudentius as their bishop. He was consecrated by Saint Ambrose of Milan in 387. Guadentius wrote many pastoral letters, and ten of his sermons have come down to us. They show a desire to educate, and to present good examples for living.
He left his diocese in 405 to join a delegation sent by Pope Innocent I to defend Saint John Chrysostom from charges brought by a heretic. The group was forced by John's enemies to return to Italy. Their ship sank near Lampsacus, Greece, but the group finally safely reached home. Though the delegation did not achieve its mission, Saint John sent a letter of thanks to Saint Gaudentius.
Born
at Brescia, Italy
Died
410 of natural causes
Saint Bernard of Calvo
Also known as
• Bernard of Calbo
• Bernard of Vich
• Bernard of Vic
• Bernat
Profile
Educated in Manso Calvo, Spain and Lleida, Spain. Benedictine Cistercian monk. Worked with Saint Raymond of Penyafort. Canon of the Tarragona cathedral and vicar-general in Tarragona, Spain. Appointed by Pope Gregory IX to combat the Waldenses in 1232 on the border of France. Bishop of Vich, Spain in 1233. Abbot of Santa Creus Monastery near Tarragona, Spain. Part of the of Council of Tarragona in 1239 and 1243.
Born
1180 at Manso Calvo, Catalan, Spain
Died
• 26 October 1243 in north Tarragona, Spain of natural causes
• interred in Vich, Spain
• some relics in the priory of San Pedro de Reus
Saint Miniato of Florence
Also known as
Minias
Profile
Soldier, though he is often depicted as a military prince. Evangelized among his fellow troops when stationed in Florence, Italy. Martyred in the persecutions of Decius. An abbey outside the Florence city walls is named for him.
Died
c.250 in Florence, Italy
Blessed Henry of Segusio
Also known as
Hostiensis
Profile
Studied civil and canon law at Bologna, Italy. Taught in Bologna. Taught canon law in Paris, France. Diplomat from the court of King Henry III to Pope Innocent IV. Provost of of the diocese of Antibes, France. Chaplain to the pope. Bishop of Sisteron, France in 1244. Archbishop of Embrun, France in 1250. Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri on 4 December 1261. Attended the conclave that elected Pope Gregory X, but his health prevented him from voting. Wrote a number of treaties on canon law.
Born
Susa, Italy
Died
25 October 1271 in Lyons, France of natural causes
Saint Fronto of Périgueux
Also known as
Front, Frontone, Frontón
Profile
Third-century missionary bishop of the Périgueux region of France.
Born
Lycaonia, Asia Minor
Died
• Périgueux, France of natural causes
• relics enshrined in Saint-Front cathedral in Périgueux
• relics thrown into the Dordogne river by Huguenots in 1575
Saint Hilary of Mende
Also known as
Chély, Hilaire, Ilaro, Ilario
Profile
Adult convert. Hermit, living by the River Tarn. Monk at Lérins Abbey. Bishop of Mende, France. Miracle stories attached to him include being carried on the wind to a place of privacy for his prayers, and the ability to draw water from a dry well for years.
Born
at Mende, southern France
Died
• 535 of natural causes
• relics destroyed in 1793 in the looting of the French Revolution
Saint Fructos of Segovia
Also known as
Fruitos, Frutos
Profile
Brother of Saint Engratia of Segovia and Saint Valentine of Segovia. When his brother and sister were martyred by invading Moors, Fructos fled and lived out his life as a hermit.
Born
at Sepulveda, Castile (in modern Spain)
Died
• c.715
• relics at Segovia, Spain
Patronage
Segovia, Spain
Saint Goeznoveus of Léon
Also known as
Gouéno, Gouenou, Gouesnou, Goueznou, Guennou
Profile
Brother of Saint Maughan. Emigrated to Brittany (part of modern France). Bishop of Léon, France.
Born
at Cornwall, England
Died
• 675 of natural causes
• most relics destroyed in the French Revolution
Blessed Edmund Daniel
Also known as
Edmund MacDaniell
Additional Memorial
20 June as one of the Irish Martyrs
Profile
Jesuit seminarian. One of the Irish Martyrs. First Jesuit martyr in Europe.
Born
Irish
Died
hanged on 25 October 1572 in Cork, Ireland
Beatified
27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy
Saint Guesnoveus of Quimper
Also known as
Gouernou, Goeznoveus, Governou, Guinou
Profile
Bishop of Quimper, Brittany. Founder of a monastery near Brest, France.
Died
675 at Brest, France
Saint Januarius of Sassari
Profile
Deacon in Sardinia. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
beheaded in 303 in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy
Saint Protus of Sassari
Profile
Priest in Sardinia. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
beheaded in 303 in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy
Saint Hildemarca of Fécamp
Profile
Benedictine nun at the Saint Eulalia convent in Bordeaux, France. Invited by Saint Wandrille to govern the monastery he founded at Fécamp. Abbess.
Died
c.670
Saint Dulcardus
Also known as
Doulchard
Profile
Monk at Saint-Mesmin Abbey in Orleans, France. Hermit near Bourges, France where the village of Saint-Doulchard was named for him.
Died
584
Saint Lucius of Rome
Profile
One of a group of 50 soldiers martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II.
Died
269 in Rome, Italy
Saint Peter of Rome
Profile
One of a group of 50 soldiers martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II.
Died
269 in Rome, Italy
Saint Theodosius of Rome
Profile
One of a group of 50 soldiers martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II.
Died
269 in Rome, Italy
Saint Lupus of Bayeux
Profile
Fifth-century bishop of Bayeux, France.
Saint Martirio of Constantinople
Profile
Sub-deacon. Martyred by Arians in the persecutions of emperor Constantius.
Saint Marciano of Constantinople
Profile
Cantor. Martyred by Arians in the persecutions of emperor Constantius.
Saint Mark of Rome
Profile
One of a group of 50 soldiers martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II.
Died
269 in Rome, Italy
Saint George of Périgueux
Profile
Third-century missionary priest of the Périgueux region of France.
Saint Cyrinus of Rome
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
late 3rd century in Rome, Italy
Saint Hilary of Javols
Profile
Sixth-century bishop of Javols, France.
Martyrs of Cruz Cubierta
Profile
A mother, Blessed María Teresa Ferragud Roig de Masiá, and her four daughters, Blessed María Joaquina Masiá Ferragud, Blessed María Vicenta Masiá Ferragud, Blessed María Felicidad Masiá Ferragud and Blessed Josefa Ramona Masiá Ferragud, all nuns, who were Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
Died
25 October 1936 in Cruz Cubierta, Alzira, Valencia, Spain
Beatified
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Profile
Following the dispute between the Pope and King Henry VIII in the 16th century, faith questions in the British Isles became entangled with political questions, with both often being settled by torture and murder of loyal Catholics. In 1970, the Vatican selected 40 martyrs, men and women, lay and religious, to represent the full group of perhaps 300 known to have died for their faith and allegiance to the Church between 1535 and 1679. They each have their own day of memorial, but are remembered as a group on 25 October.
• Alban Roe • Alexander Briant • Ambrose Edward Barlow • Anne Line • Augustine Webster • Cuthbert Mayne • David Lewis • Edmund Arrowsmith • Edmund Campion • Edmund Gennings • Eustace White • Henry Morse • Henry Walpole • John Almond • John Boste • John Houghton • John Jones • John Kemble • John Lloyd • John Pain • John Plesington • John Rigby • John Roberts • John Southworth • John Stone • John Wall • Luke Kirby • Margaret Clitherow • Margaret Ward • Nicholas Owen • Philip Evans • Philip Howard • Polydore Plasden • Ralph Sherwin • Richard Gwyn • Richard Reynolds • Robert Lawrence • Robert Southwell • Secular Clergy • Swithun Wells • Thomas Garnet •
Canonized
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Martyrs of Rome
Profile
A group of 46 soldiers and 21 civilians martyred together in the persecutions of Claudius II.
Died
269 in Rome, Italy
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. I have pages on each of them, but in most cases I have only found very minimal information. They are available on the CatholicSaints.Info site through these links:
• Blessed Alfons Arimany Ferrer
• Blessed Recaredo Centelles Abad
