St. Lebuin
Feastday: November 16
Death: 773
Benedictine called Leaf Wine in his native England who worked with St. Boniface. He was a monk at Ripon, England, who went to Germany in 754. There he worked with St. Marchelm among the Frisians. Lebuin went to a pagan gathering at Marklo, where he won the respect of the Westphalian Saxons.
Lebuinus (also known as Lebuin, Lebwin or Liafwin[e]) is the Apostle of the Frisians and patron of Deventer (born in England of Anglo-Saxon parents, date unknown; died at Deventer c. 775).
Life
Lebuinus was a monk in Wilfrid's monastery at Ripon. Inspired by the example of Saint Boniface, Saint Willibrord and other great English missionaries, he resolved to devote his life to the conversion of the Germans. After his ordination, he proceeded in 754 to Utrecht, and was welcomed by Saint Gregory, acting bishop of that place, who entrusted him with the mission of Overijssel on the borders of Westphalia, and gave him a companion - Marchelm (or Marcellinus), a disciple of Saint Willibrord.[1]
Lebuinus preached the Gospel among the tribes of the district, and erected a little chapel at Wilp (see: Voorst) (Wilpa) on the west bank of the IJssel. His venerable personality and deep learning quickly won many to Christianity, even among the nobles, and it soon became necessary to build at Deventer on the east bank of the river a larger church. However, Lebuinus's great success aroused hostility among the pagans. Ascribing his conversions to witchcraft, they formed an alliance with the anti-Christian Saxons, burned the church at Deventer and dispersed the converts.[1]
After escaping with difficulty, Lebuinus determined to voice the claims of Christianity at the national assembly (Allthing) of the Saxons at Marklo near the Weser (Northwestern Germany).[2]
The Vitae of Lebuinus describes in great details, his appearance before the assembly, where, it is claimed, he pointed out to the Saxons the inefficacy of their deities. It also describes how he warned them of impending destruction at the hands of a powerful king unless they converted to Christianity. With the intercession of the nobleman Buto, he persuaded them sufficiently of the power of his mission that they not only allowed him to escape with his life, but allowed him to preach unmolested in the territory allotted him. His life may have been a source of inspiration in the creation of the cultus on Saint Livinus of Ghent.
Death
On his return to Friesland, Lebuinus rebuilt the church at Deventer where he was later buried. The exact date of his death is unknown, however it is almost certain that it occurred before 776, because during that year, the Saxons attacked and burnt the church at Deventer and yet could not identify his remains inside of the church after three days. His body and a copy of the Gospels presumed to have been written by his hand were still in Deventer, in a church bearing his name, until 882 when it was again destroyed by the Normans. The relics of St. Livinus (whose feast also is on 12 November) are probably those of Lebuinus. Saint Ludger rebuilt the church a few years later, and in doing so rediscovered the saint's remains beneath the site.[1]
Veneration
Lebuinus is commemorated by the Church on 12 November, mostly in the Netherlands.
The Lebuïnuskerk, Deventer was consecrated in his name.
St. Joseph Moscati
Feastday: November 16
Birth: 1880
Death: 1927
Canonized: Pope John Paul II
Celebrated physician of Naples, Italy, noted for medical research. Joseph gave his wages and skills to caring for the sick and the poor and was a model of piety and faith. He was beatified in 1975 and canonized in 1987.
Giuseppe Moscati (25 July 1880 – 12 April 1927) was an Italian doctor, scientific researcher, and university professor noted both for his pioneering work in biochemistry and for his piety.[2] Moscati was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1987; his feast day is 16 November.
Youth
Moscati was the seventh[3] of nine children born to a noble Beneventene family which came from the village of Santa Lucia in Serino, near Avellino. His father, Francesco, was well known as a lawyer and magistrate in the area; his mother, Rosa De Luca dei Marchesi di Roseto, was of noble birth.
Portrait photograph of Moscati as a child
Moscati was born in Benevento in 1880; to commemorate his ties to the area, a marble statue has since been erected in the chapel of the Holy Sacrament in Benevento's cathedral. He was baptized six days after his birth, and took his first Communion at eight years old. Moscati moved with his family to Naples in 1884, and would spend much of the rest of his life in the city. During this time his family would spend its summers in Avellino, and Giuseppe would see his father serve at the altar in the local chapel of the Poor Clares whenever they attended Mass.[2]
At the age of ten, he was confirmed into the Catholic Church, at which time his family met Bartolo Longo and spent some time in the household of Caterina Volpicelli. The latter was to become among his most important spiritual guides later in life.
Studies
After finishing his elementary schooling in 1889, Moscati entered into the Liceo Vittorio Emanuele II in Naples, where among his professors was vulcanologist Giuseppe Mercalli. In 1892 his brother, Alberto, received incurable head trauma in a fall from a horse during his military service. Observing the care which Alberto received at home inspired in Giuseppe an interest in medicine, which he pursued after graduating from the Liceo in 1897; it was in the same year that his father died. Moscati received his doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Naples in 1903.[2] The subject of his thesis was hepatic urogenesis.
Medical career
Immediately upon receiving his degree, Moscati joined the staff of the Ospedale degli Incurabili,[4] eventually becoming an administrator. During this time he continued to study, conducting medical research when not performing his duties at the hospital. Already recognized for his commitment to his duties, he won further recognition for his actions in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 8 April 1906. One of the hospitals for which Moscati was responsible, at Torre del Greco, was located a few miles from the volcano's crater. Many of its patients were elderly, and many were paralytics as well. Moscati oversaw the evacuation of the building, getting them all out just before the roof collapsed due to the ash. He sent a letter to the general director of the Neapolitan hospital service, insisting on thanking those who had helped in the evacuation, yet not mentioning his own name.
When cholera broke out in Naples in 1911, Moscati was charged by the civic government with performing public health inspections, and with researching both the origins of the disease and the best ways to eradicate it. This he did quickly, presenting his suggestions to city officials. To his satisfaction, most of these ideas were put into practice by the time of his death. Also in 1911, Moscati became a member of the Royal Academy of Surgical Medicine, and received his doctorate in physiological chemistry.
Moscati's bedroom, seen in 2015. The armchair is the one in which he died.
Besides his work as a researcher and as a doctor, Moscati was responsible for overseeing the directions of the local Institute of Anatomical Pathology. In the institute's autopsy room, he placed a crucifix inscribed with Chapter 13, verse 14 of the Book of Hosea, Ero mors tua, o mors (O death, I will be thy death). The doctor's mother died of diabetes in 1914; as a consequence, Moscati became one of the first[citation needed] Neapolitan doctors to experiment with insulin in his treatment of the disease.
During World War I, Moscati tried to enroll in the armed forces, but was rejected; military authorities felt that he could better serve the country by treating the wounded. His hospital was taken over by the military, and he himself visited close to 3,000 soldiers. In 1919, he was made director of one of the local men's schools; he also continued to teach. In 1922 Moscati was given a libera docenza in clinical medicine, which allowed him to teach at institutes of higher education.
Death
St Giuseppe Moscati's grave, in Gesù Nuovo church
Moscati died in the afternoon of 12 April 1927. He had attended Mass that morning, receiving Communion as he always did, and spent the remainder of the morning at the hospital. Upon returning home he busied himself with patients until around three, after which, feeling tired, he sat down in an armchair in his office; soon after this, he died.
Moscati's body was initially buried in the cemetery of Poggio Reale, but three years later was exhumed and reinterred in the church of Gesù Nuovo. Today a marble stone marks his grave.
Faith
Plaque in memory of Giuseppe Moscati affixed to the building in which he lived in Naples
Moscati remained true to his faith his entire life, taking a vow of chastity and practicing charity in his daily work. He viewed his practice of medical science as a way of alleviating suffering, not as a way of making profits, and would retire regularly for prayer.[5] He also attended Mass daily, and would sometimes use a patient's faith, as well as the sacraments, in his treatments.[6] Moscati also refused to charge the poor for their treatment, and was known to sometimes send a patient home with a prescription and a 50-lira note in an envelope.[2]
It was claimed even before his death that Moscati was a miracle-worker; some said that he could accurately diagnose and prescribe for any patient merely by hearing a list of his symptoms, and that he was responsible for impossible cures.[6] Reports of his good works continued well after his death, with further reports that he interceded in impossible cases. Consequently, he was beatified by Pope Paul VI on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 November 1975.[7] Moscati was canonized on 25 October 1987, by Pope John Paul II. His canonization miracle involved the case of a young ironworker dying of leukemia. The young man's mother dreamed of a doctor wearing a white coat, whom she identified as Moscati when shown a photograph. Not long after this, her son went into remission and returned to work.[2]
Moscati was the first modern doctor to be canonized; his feast day is 16 November
St. Hugh of Lincoln
Feastday: November 16
Patron: of sick children, sick people, shoemakers, and swans
Birth: 1140
Death: 1200
Carthusian bishop and missionary to England. Born in Avalon Castle in Burgundy, France, the son of William, Lord of Burgundy, Hugh was raised by monks at Villard Benoit after his mother died when he was eight. While groomed to enter the Augustinian Canons, he was instead drawn to the contemplative life and became a Carthusian in 1160, while visiting the Grande Chartreuse. In 1175, he was invited by King Henry II to found the first English Charterhouse of the Order at Witham, in Somerset. This foundation was part of the king' penances for the murder of St. Thomas Becket. Hugh then became bishop of Lincoln in 1181 at the command of the king, accepting the office only after he was duly and freely elected. Renowned for his goodness and deep learning, Hugh disagreed with Henry and King Richard the Lionhearted on many occasions, but he never lost their respect nor ceased attempting to wield his saintly influence for the good of the Church and the English people. He was also a fervent defender of the English Jews, Protecting them from armed mobs. At his funeral, his bier was carried by notables, including the kings of England and Scotland. Hugh died in Lincoln on November 16, after a journey to France, and his tomb was a popular pilgrim site until its despoilment at the command of King Henry VIII in the sixteenth century. Canonized in 1220 by Pope Honorius III, he became the first Carthusian saint.
Not to be confused with Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln.
Hugh of Lincoln (c. 1135–1140 – 16 November 1200), also known as Hugh of Avalon, was a French noble,[citation needed] Benedictine and Carthusian monk, bishop of Lincoln in the Kingdom of England, and Catholic saint. At the time of the Reformation, he was the best-known English saint after Thomas Becket.[citation needed] His feast is observed by Catholics on 16 November and by Anglicans on 17 November.
Life
Hugh was born at the château of Avalon,[1] at the border of the Dauphiné with Savoy, the son of Guillaume, seigneur of Avalon. His mother Anne de Theys died when he was eight, and because his father was a soldier, he went to a boarding school for his education.[2] Guillaume retired from the world to the Augustinian monastery of Villard-Benoît, near Grenoble, and took his son Hugh, with him.[3]
At the age of fifteen, Hugh became a religious novice and was ordained a deacon at the age of nineteen. About 1159, he was sent to be prior of the nearby monastery at Saint-Maximin, presumably already a priest. From that community, he left the Benedictine Order and entered the Grande Chartreuse,[1] then at the height of its reputation for the rigid austerity of its rules and the earnest piety of its members. There he rose to become procurator of his new Order, in which office he served until he was sent in 1179 to become prior of the Witham Charterhouse in Somerset, the first Carthusian house in England.[1]
Henry II of England, as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in lieu of going on crusade as he had promised in his first remorse, had established a Carthusian charterhouse some time before, which was settled by monks brought from the Grande Chartreuse. There were difficulties in advancing the building works, however, and the first prior was retired and a second soon died. It was by the special request of the English king that Hugh, whose fame had reached him through one of the nobles of Maurienne, was made prior.[3]
Hugh found the monks in dire straits, living in log huts and with no plans yet advanced for the more permanent monastery building. Hugh interceded with the king for royal patronage and at last, probably on 6 January 1182, Henry issued a charter of foundation and endowment for Witham Charterhouse. His first attention was given to the building of the Charterhouse. He prepared his plans and submitted them for royal approbation, exacting full compensation from the king for any tenants on the royal estate who would have to be evicted to make room for the building.[3] Hugh presided over the new house till 1186 and attracted many to the community. Among the frequent visitors was King Henry, for the charterhouse lay near the borders of the king's chase in Selwood Forest, a favourite hunting ground. Hugh admonished Henry for keeping dioceses vacant in order to keep their income for the royal chancellery.
In May 1186, Henry summoned a council of bishops and barons at Eynsham Abbey to deliberate on the state of the Church and the filling of vacant bishoprics, including Lincoln. On 25 May 1186 the cathedral chapter of Lincoln was ordered to elect a new bishop and Hugh was elected.[1] Hugh insisted on a second, private election by the canons, securely in their chapterhouse at Lincoln rather than in the king's chapel. His election was confirmed by the result.
Hugh was consecrated Bishop of Lincoln on 21 September 1186[4] at Westminster.[1] Almost immediately he established his independence of the King, excommunicating a royal forester and refusing to seat one of Henry's courtly nominees as a prebendary of Lincoln; he softened the king's anger by his diplomatic address and tactful charm. After the excommunications, he came upon the king hunting and was greeted with dour silence. He waited several minutes and the king called for a needle to sew up a leather bandage on his finger. Eventually Hugh said, with gentle mockery, "How much you remind me of your cousins of Falaise" (where William I's unmarried mother Herleva, a tanner's daughter, had come from). At this Henry just burst out laughing and was reconciled. As a bishop, he was exemplary, constantly in residence or travelling within his diocese, generous with his charity, scrupulous in the appointments he made. He raised the quality of education at the cathedral school. Hugh was also prominent in trying to protect the Jews, great numbers of whom lived in Lincoln, in the persecution they suffered at the beginning of Richard I's reign, and he put down popular violence against them – as later occurred following the death of Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln – in several places.
A plan of Lincoln Cathedral drawn by G Dehio (died 1932)
Lincoln Cathedral had been badly damaged by an earthquake in 1185, and Hugh set about rebuilding and greatly enlarging it in the new Gothic style; however, he only lived to see the choir well begun. In 1194, he expanded the St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford. Along with Bishop Herbert of Salisbury, Hugh resisted the king's demand for 300 knights for a year's service in his French wars; the entire revenue of both men's offices was then seized by royal agents.[5]
As one of the premier bishops of the Kingdom of England Hugh more than once accepted the role of diplomat to France for Richard and then for King John in 1199, a trip that ruined his health. He consecrated St Giles' Church, Oxford, in 1200. There is a cross consisting of interlaced circles cut into the western column of the tower that is believed to commemorate this. Also in commemoration of the consecration, St Giles' Fair was established and continues to this day each September.[6] While attending a national council in London, a few months later, he was stricken with an unnamed ailment and died two months later on 16 November 1200.[4] He was buried in Lincoln Cathedral.
Bishop Hugh was responsible for the building of the first (wooden) Bishop's Palace at Buckden in Cambridgeshire, halfway between Lincoln and London. Later additions to the Palace were more substantial and a tall brick tower was added in 1475, protected by walls and a moat, and surrounded by an outer bailey. It was used by the bishops until 1842. The Palace, now known as Buckden Towers, is owned by the Claretians and is used as a retreat and conference Centre. A Catholic church, dedicated to St Hugh, is located on the site.
Veneration
Tour d'Avalon, Saint-Maximin, Isère, marking St Hugh's birthplace
Hugh was canonised by Pope Honorius III on 17 February 1220,[1] and is the patron saint of sick children, sick people, shoemakers and swans. Hugh is honoured in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival[7] and in the Episcopal Church (USA) on 17 November.
Hugh's Vita, or written life, was composed by his chaplain Adam of Eynsham, a Benedictine monk and his constant associate; it remains in manuscript form in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Hugh is the eponym of St Hugh's College, Oxford, where a 1926 statue of the saint stands on the stairs of the Howard Piper Library. In his right hand, he holds an effigy of Lincoln Cathedral, and his left hand rests on the head of a swan.
At Avalon, a round tower in the Romantic Gothic style was built by the Carthusians in 1895 in Hugh's honour on the site of the castle where he was born.[8]
Iconography
Hugh's primary emblem is a white swan, in reference to the story of the swan of Stow, Lincolnshire (site of a palace of the bishops of Lincoln) which had a deep and lasting friendship with the saint, even guarding him while he slept. The swan would follow him about, and was his constant companion while he was at Lincoln. Hugh loved all the animals in the monastery gardens, especially a wild swan that would eat from his hand and follow him about, and yet the swan would attack anyone else who came near Hugh.[2]
Legacy
Both Buckden Towers, and the local Roman Catholic Church in nearby St Neots, are administered by the Claretians.[9] In Lincoln, there is the Roman Catholic St Hugh's Church. There are many parish churches dedicated to St Hugh of Lincoln throughout England including the Church of St Hugh of Lincoln in Letchworth founded by Adrian Fortescue.
A number of churches are dedicated to St Hugh of Lincoln in the United States, including: Episcopal Churches in Elgin, Illinois;[10] and Allyn, Washington;[11] St Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church, Huntington Station, New York[2] and St Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[12] St Hugh Roman Catholic Church and School in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.[13]
In 2018 St Hugh was made a subject of the BBC Radio 4 drama The Man who bit Mary Magdalene by Colin Bytheway, starring David Jason as the bishop in search of relics that would help in the construction of Lincoln Cathedral.
St. Gratia
Feastday: November 16
Gratia whose feast day is November 16th. According to tradition, Gratia was a native of Cattaro (Kotor) in Dalmatia who followed the trade of the sea till he was thirty years old. Coming one day into a church at Venice, he was deeply impressed by a sermon from an Augustinian friar, Father Simon of Camerino. Gratia determined to enter that order and was accepted as a lay-brother at Monte Ortono, near Padua. Here, brother Gratia was employed in the gardens, and soon earned the respect and veneration of the whole convent. When he was transferred to the friary of St. Christopher at Venice, a mysterious light was seen above his cell, and miracles took place at his intercession. When the church was being repaired and he was working on the building, his cistern was marvelously supplied with water all through a dry summer, and the water remained fresh even when the sea got into it. In his seventy-first year, Gratia was taken seriously ill, and insisted in getting out of bed to receive the last Sacraments on his knees. He died on November 9, 1508. The cultus of Blessed Gratia was confirmed in 1889.
St. Gertrude
✠ புனிதர் மகா கெர்ட்ரூட் ✠
(St. Gertrude the Great)
கன்னியர்/ ஆத்ம பலம் கொண்டவர்/ இறையியலாளர்:
(Virgin, Mystic, and Theologian)
பிறப்பு: ஜனவரி 6, 1256
எய்ஸ்ல்பென், துரிங்கியா, தூய ரோமப் பேரரசு
(Eisleben, Thuringia, Holy Roman Empire)
இறப்பு: கி.பி. 1302
ஹெல்ஃப்டா, சேக்சொனி, தூய ரோமப் பேரரசு
(Helfta, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: கி.பி. 1677
திருத்தந்தை பன்னிரெண்டாம் கிளமென்ட்
(Pope Clement XII)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: நவம்பர் 16
பாதுகாவல்: மேற்கிந்திய தீவுகள் (West Indies)
“புனிதர் மகா கெர்ட்ரூட்” (St. Gertrude the Great), ஒரு “ஜெர்மன் பெனடிக்டைன்” (German Benedictine) சபையின் அருட்கன்னியும், மறைபொருளாளரும், இறையியலாளருமாவார்.
இவரது ஆரம்ப கால வாழ்க்கையைப் பற்றி சிறிதளவே அறியப்படுகிறது. கி.பி. 1256ம் ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், ஆறாம் நாள், தூய ரோமப் பேரரசின் கீழுள்ள “துரிங்கியாவின்” (Thuringia) “எய்ஸ்ல்பென்” (Eisleben) எனுமிடத்தில் பிறந்த இவர், தமது நான்கு வயதில் “தூய மரியாளின் துறவு மடத்தின்” (Monastery of St. Mary) பள்ளியில் சேர்ந்து கல்வி கற்றார். இத்துறவு மேடம், “பெனடிக்டைன்” அல்லது “சிஸ்டேர்ஸியன்” (Benedictine or Cistercian) என்று அறியப்படுகிறது. இவர் சிறு வயதிலேயே, தமது பக்தியுள்ள பெற்றோரால் ஆலயத்திற்கு நேர்ந்தளிக்கப்பட்டார் என்று யூகிக்கப்படுகிறது. இவரது குழந்தைப் பருவத்திலேயே இவரது பெற்றோர் மரித்துவிட்டதாயும், இவர் ஒரு அனாதையாகவே மடாலய பள்ளியில் சேர்ந்ததையும் அறிய முடிகிறது.
கி.பி. 1266ம் ஆண்டு, தமது பத்து வயதில் துறவற சமூகத்தில் இணைந்தார். அவர் பல்வேறு துறைகளில் முழுமையான கல்வி பெற்றார் என்பது அவரது எழுத்துக்களிலேயே தெளிவாகிறது.
கி.பி. 1281ம் ஆண்டு, தமது இருபத்தைந்தாம் வயதில், முதன்முதலாக தொடர் திருக்காட்சிகளை கண்டார். அவரது வாழ்நாள் முழுதும் தொடர்ந்த இவை, அவரது வாழ்வின் போக்கையும் மாற்றியது. அவருடைய முன்னுரிமைகள் மதச்சார்பற்ற அறிவிலிருந்து விலகி, வேதாகமம் மற்றும் இறையியல் பற்றிய ஆய்வுக்கு மாறின. தனிப்பட்ட ஜெபம் மற்றும் தியானத்திற்கு தம்மை தீவிரமாக அர்ப்பணித்துக்கொண்ட கெர்ட்ரூட், தமது துறவற சகோதரியரின் நன்மைகளுக்காக, ஆன்மீக உபதேசங்கள் எழுத ஆரம்பித்தார். பதின்மூன்றாம் நூற்றாண்டின் பெரும் உள்ளுணர்வுவாதிகளில் ஒருவரானார்.
கி.பி. 1302ம் ஆண்டு, தூய ரோமப் பேரரசிலுள்ள, “எய்ஸ்ல்பென்” (Eisleben), “சேக்சொனி” (Saxony) அருகிலுள்ள “ஹெல்ஃப்டா” (Helfta) எனுமிடத்தில் கெர்ட்ரூட் மரித்தார். இவர் மரித்த சரியான தேதி பற்றிய தகவல்கள் இல்லை.
Feastday: November 16
Patron: of the West Indies
Birth: 1256
Death: 1302
St. Gertrude, Virgin (Patroness of the West Indies) Feastday-November 16 St. Gertrude was born at Eisleben in Saxony. At the age of five, she was placed in the care of the Benedictine nuns at Rodalsdorf and later became a nun in the same monastery, of which she was elected Abbess. The following year she was obliged to take charge of the monastery at Helfta, to which she moved with her nuns.
St. Gertrude had enjoyed a good education. She wrote and composed in Latin, and was versed in Sacred Literature. The life of this saint, though not replete with stirring events and striking actions, was one of great mental activity. It was the mystic life of the cloister, a life hidden with Christ in God. She was characterized by great devotion to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord in His Passion and in the Blessed Eucharist, and by a tender love for the Blessed Virgin. She died in 1302.
Gertrude the Great (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; Italian: Santa Gertrude; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302[1]) was a German Benedictine nun, mystic, and theologian. She is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church and by The Episcopal Church. In addition to being commemorated in the Episcopal Calendar of Saints on November 19, Gertrude is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar for optional celebration throughout the Roman Rite, as a memorial on November 16.
Life
Little is known of the early life of Gertrude who was born on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia (within the Holy Roman Empire). At the age of four,[2] she entered the monastery school at St. Mary at Helfta (with much debate having occurred as to whether this monastery is best described as Benedictine or Cistercian),[3] under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn. It is speculated that she was offered as a child oblate to the church by devout parents. Given that Gertrude implies in the Herald that her parents were long dead at the time of writing,[4] however, it is also possible that she entered the monastery school as an orphan.
Gertrude was confided to the care of Mechtilde, younger sister of the Abbess Gertrude, and joined the monastic community in 1266.[5] It is clear from her own writings that she received a thorough education in a range of subjects. She, and the nun who authored Books 1 and 3-5 of the Herald, are thoroughly familiar with scripture, the Church Fathers such as Augustine and Gregory the Great, and also more contemporary spiritual writers such as Richard and Hugh of St Victor, William of St Thierry, and Bernard of Clairvaux. Moreover, Gertrude's writing demonstrates that she was well-versed in rhetoric, and her Latin is very fluent.[6]
In 1281, at the age of 25, she experienced the first of a series of visions[7] that continued throughout her life, and which changed the course of her life. Her priorities shifted away from secular knowledge and toward the study of scripture and theology. Gertrude devoted herself strongly to personal prayer and meditation, and began writing spiritual treatises for the benefit of her monastic sisters.[8] Gertrude became one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher Mechtilde, she practiced a spirituality called "nuptial mysticism," that is, she came to see herself as the Bride of Christ.[9]
Gertrude died at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony, around 1302. Her feast day is celebrated on November 16, but the exact date of her death is unknown; the November date stems from a confusion with Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn. One of her biographers, Gasparo Antonio Campaccio, diligently produced his own ‘Discorso Cronologico’ (pp 154–160) on the saint's life, stating that the exact date of her death was November 17, 1334.[10]
Works
Gertrude produced numerous writings, though only some survive today. The longest survival is the Legatus Memorialis Abundantiae Divinae Pietatis (known in English today as The Herald of Divine Love or The Herald of God's Loving-Kindness, and sometimes previously known as Life and Revelations), partly written by other nuns. There also remains her collection of Spiritual Exercises. A work known as Preces Gertrudianae (Gertrudian Prayers) is a later compilation, made up partly of extracts from the writings of Gertrude and partly of prayers composed in her style.[11] It is also very possible that Gertrude was the author of a part of the revelations of Mechthild of Hackeborn, the Book of Special Grace.[11]
The Herald is composed of five books. Book 2 forms the core of the work, and was written by Gertrude herself; she states that she began the work on Maundy Thursday 1289. Books 3, 4, and 5 were written by another nun, or possibly more than one, during Gertrude's lifetime and probably at least in part at her dictation. Book 1 was written shortly before or after Gertrude's death as an introduction to the whole collection; it is possible it was written by Gertrude's confessor, but far more likely that the author was another Helfta nun.[12]
The importance of the Spiritual Exercises extends to the present day because they are grounded in the themes and rites of Catholic liturgy for occasions of baptism, conversion, commitment, discipleship, union with God, praise of God, and preparation for death. Gertrude's Spiritual Exercises can still be used by anyone who seeks to deepen spirituality through prayer and meditation.[13]
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
One of the most esteemed female saints of the Christian West, she was a notable early devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[8] Book 2 of the Herald of Divine Love is notable within the history of Christian devotion because its vivid descriptions of Gertrude's visions show a considerable elaboration on the long-standing but ill-defined veneration of Christ's heart. This veneration was present in the belief that Christ's heart poured forth a redemptive fountain through the wound in his side, an image culminating in its most famous articulation by Bernard of Clairvaux in his commentary on the Song of Songs. The women of Helfta—Gertrude foremost, who surely knew Bernard's commentary, and to a somewhat lesser extent the two Mechthilds, Mechthild of Magdeburg and Mechthild of Hackeborn—made this devotion central to their mystical visions.[14] Gertrude reported a vision on the Feast of John the Evangelist. She was resting her head near the wound in the Christ's side and hearing the beating of his heart. She asked John if on the night of the Last Supper he had felt these pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love.[15]
Later reputation and influence
After her death, Gertrude's works seem to have vanished almost without trace. Only five manuscripts of the Herald have survived, the earliest one being written in 1412, and only two of these manuscripts are complete. With the invention of printing, Gertrude became far more prominent, with Latin, Italian and German editions being published in the sixteenth century. She was popular in seventeenth-century France, where her trust in and burning love for God were potent antidotes to Jansenism.
Philip Neri and Francis de Sales both used her prayers and recommended them to others.
In Spain, Bishop Diego of Tarragona, the confessor to Philip II, read the revelations of Gertrude aloud to the king as he lay dying in the Escorial.
Her works were also popular with the Discalced Carmelites in the sixteenth century. Francisco Ribera, the confessor to Teresa of Ávila, recommended that she take Gertrude as spiritual mistress and guide. The Spanish Jesuit Alonso de Andrade published a biography of Gertrude at the height of Spanish female mysticism, of which the saint and her ‘Revelations’ were an obvious fore-runner and gave Teresa a medieval antecedent.
More recently, Dom Prosper Guéranger, the restorer of Benedictine monasticism in France, was influenced by Gertrude. His Congregation of Solesmes was responsible for most of the work done on Gertrude in the nineteenth century.[16]
Veneration
Gertrude was never formally canonized, but a liturgical office of prayer, readings, and hymns in her honor was approved by Rome in 1606. The Feast of Saint Gertrude was extended to the Catholic Church by Clement XII and today is celebrated on November 16, the date of her death. Some religious communities, including the Benedictines, celebrate her feast on November 17, which had originally been chosen, but was already occupied by St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, whom Benedict XIV deemed unfit to be unseated by a woman. This is why the pope established November 15 as her feast day by Papal decree.[17] Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title "the Great" to distinguish her from Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn and to recognize the depth of her spiritual and theological insight.[13]
In 2018, The Episcopal Church added Gertrude, along with St. Mechtilde, to its calendar of saints by including them in Lesser Feasts and Fasts.[18]
Gertrude showed "tender sympathy towards the souls in purgatory" and urged prayers for them.[19] She is therefore invoked for suffering souls in purgatory. The following prayer is attributed to St. Gertrude, and is often depicted on her prayer card:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.
Perhaps for that reason, her name has been attached to a prayer that, according to a legend of uncertain origin and date (neither are found in the Revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great), Christ promised to release a thousand souls from purgatory each time it was said; despite the fact that practices relative to alleged promises to free one or more souls from purgatory by the recitation of some prayer were prohibited by Pope Leo XIII.[20] Nonetheless, the material that is found in her Revelations, such as the celebration of Gregorian Masses for the departed, is well in line with the devotions approved by the Catholic Church.
Patronage
In compliance with a petition from King Philip IV of Spain she was declared Patroness of the West Indies; in Peru her feast is celebrated with great pomp, and in New Mexico the town Santa Gertrudis de lo de Mora was built in her honor and bears her name
St. Baricus
Feastday: November 16
Rufinus, Marcus, Valerius Victor, Paulus, Honoratus, Donatus, Vitalis, Januarius, and Justus, Africa martyred
St. Rufinus
Feastday: November 16
Death: unknown
With Mark, Valerius, and companions, a group of African martyrs put to death a some time during the persecutions by the Roman Empire.
Saint Edmund Rich
Also known as
• Edmund of Abingdon
• Edmund of Canterbury
• Edme, Eadmund
Profile
Born to a wealthy and pious family, the son of Reinald and Mabel Rich; his father retired to become a monk, his two sisters became nuns. Studied at Oxford, England, and Paris, France. At Oxford he received a vision of the Child Christ. Priest. Professor of art, mathematics, philosophy and theology at Oxford. Known for his scholarship, piety, and skill as a preacher and writer. Canon of Salisbury, England in 1222. Preached the Sixth Crusade in England in 1227. Consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, England on 2 April 1234. Advisor to King Henry III. Presided over Henry's ratification of the Magna Carta in 1237. Assisted in his public dealings by Saint Richard of Chichester. Prevented civil war in Wales. His support for monastic discipline put him in conflict with his own order, King Henry III, and the papal legate. He died while on a trip to Rome to gain the support of the Pope.
Born
20 November 1175 at Abingdon, Berkshire, England
Died
• 16 November 1240 at Soissy, Burgundy, France of natural causes
• interred at Pontigny, France
• shrine behind the high altar in the Cistercian abbey at Pontigny
Canonized
1247 by Pope Innocent IV
Patronage
• Abingdon, England
• Portsmouth, England, diocese of
Saint Margaret of Scotland
✠ ஸ்காட்லாந்து நாட்டின் புனிதர் மார்கரெட் ✠
(St. Margaret of Scotland)
ஸ்காட்லாந்து அரசி:
(Queen of Scotland)
பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 1045
ஹங்கேரி அரசு
(Kingdom of Hungary)
இறப்பு: நவம்பர் 16, 1093
எடின்பர்க், ஸ்காட்லாந்து அரசு
(Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்
(Anglican Communion)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: 1250
திருத்தந்தை நான்காம் இன்னொசென்ட்
(Pope Innocent IV)
முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:
டுன்ஃபெர்ம்லின் மடம், ஃபிஃப், ஸ்காட்லாந்து
(Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland)
நினைவுத் திருவிழா: நவம்பர் 16
பாதுகாவல்:
ஸ்காட்லாந்து (Scotland), டுன்ஃபெர்ம்லின் (Dunfermline), ஃபிஃப் (Fife), ஷெட்லேண்ட் (Shetland), அரசியின் பயணப்படகு (The Queen's Ferry), ஆங்கிலோ-ஸ்காட்டிஷ் உறவுகள் (Anglo-Scottish relations)
ஸ்காட்லாந்து நாட்டின் புனிதர் மார்கரெட், “ஆங்கிலேய இளவரசர் எட்வர்ட்” (English prince Edward the Exile) மற்றும் “அகதா” (Agatha) ஆகியோரின் மகள் ஆவார். ஆங்கிலேய இளவரசியும் (English princess), ஸ்காட்டிஷ் அரசியுமான (Scottish queen) இவர், “ஸ்காட்லாந்தின் மார்கரெட்” (Margaret of Scotland) என்றும், “வெஸ்செக்ஸின்’ மார்கரெட்” (Margaret of Wessex) என்றும் அறியப்படுகிறார். சில சமயம், “ஸ்காட்லாந்தின் முத்து” (The Pearl of Scotland) என்றும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறார்.
ஹங்கேரி அரசில் பிறந்த இவரும் இவரது குடும்பத்தினரும் 1057ம் ஆண்டு, இங்கிலாந்து இராச்சியத்துக்குத் திரும்பினார்கள். மார்கரெட் 1057ம் ஆண்டிலிருந்து தன் மாமாவின் கண்காணிப்பில் இங்கிலாந்தில் வளர்ந்தார். 1066ம் ஆண்டு “நார்மன்” இங்கிலாந்தை வெற்றி கொண்டதும், (Norman conquest of England) இவரின் 20ம் வயதில் ஸ்காட்லாந்திற்கு திரும்பிச் சென்றார். அங்கே, 1070ம் ஆண்டின் இறுதியில், ஸ்காட்லாந்தின் அரசர் 3ம் மால்கோம் (King Malcolm III of Scotland) என்பவரிடம் பழகி, பின்னர் அவரையே திருமணம் செய்து, ஸ்காட்லாந்தின் அரசியானார். அவருடைய கணவர், அவரை கிறிஸ்தவ மறையை தழுவக்கூடாது என்று கட்டளையிட்டார். ஆனால் அவர் தன் கணவரின் பேச்சை மறுத்து, மேலும் தன் கிறிஸ்தவ விசுவாசத்தில் வேரூன்றி இருந்தார்.
பக்தியுள்ள பெண்ணான அரசி, ஏழை மக்களின் வாழ்வில் அதிக அக்கறை கொண்டு வாழ்ந்தார். அவர்களுக்கு பலவிதங்களில் உதவினார். ஏழைகளை தன் இதயத்தில் சுமந்து உதவினார். தான் ஓர் அரசியாக இருந்தபோதும், துறவிகளைப் போலவே, ஏழ்மையான வாழ்வை வாழ்ந்தார். தவறாமல் நோன்பிருந்து செபித்து பல நலன்களை பெற்றார். பலவிதங்களிலும் ஒறுத்தல் செய்து வாழ்ந்தார். அநேக தொண்டு பணிகளைச் செய்தார்.
இங்கிலாந்துக்கு எதிராக நடந்த ஒரு போரில் (Battle of Alnwick) கலந்துகொள்ள சென்ற இவரது கணவரான அரசர் “மூன்றாம் மால்கானு'ம்” (Malcolm III) அவரது இருபத்தியிரண்டே வயதான மூத்த மகன் “எட்வர்டும்” (Edward) 13 நவம்பர் 1093 அன்று கொல்லப்பட்டனர். ஐம்பது வயதுகூட பூர்த்தியாகாத மார்கரெட் ஏற்கனவே தொடர் நோன்பு மற்றும் ஒருத்தல்களினால் பலவீனமாக இருந்தார். தமது கணவரும் மூத்த மகனும் மரித்துப் போன செய்தியைக் செவியுற்ற அவர், மூன்றாம் நாளே (1093ம் ஆண்டு, நவம்பர் மாதம், 16ம் நாள்) மரித்தார். 1250ம் ஆண்டு, திருத்தந்தை “நான்காம் இன்னசன்ட்” (Pope Innocent IV) இவருக்கு புனிதர் பட்டம் வழங்கினார்.
Also known as
Margaret of Wessex
Additional Memorial
16 June in Scotland
Profile
Granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside of England. Great-niece of Saint Stephen of Hungary. Born in Hungary while her family was in exile due to the Danish invasion of England, she still spent much of her youth in the British Isles. While fleeing the invading army of William the Conqueror in 1066, her family's ship wrecked on the Scottish coast. They were assisted by King Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland, whom Margaret married in 1070. Queen of Scotland. They had eight children including Saint Maud, wife of Henry I, and Saint David of Scotland. Margaret founded abbeys and used her position to work for justice and improved conditions for the poor.
Born
c.1045 in Hungary
Died
• 16 November 1093 at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, four days after her husband and son died in defense of the castle
• buried in front of the high altar at Dunfermline, Scotland
• relics later removed to a nearby shrine
• the bulk of her relics were destroyed in stages during the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution
Canonized
1251 by Pope Innocent IV
Patronage
• against the death of children
• for learning
• parents of large families
• queens
• widows
• Dunfermline, Scotland
• Scotland
Blessed Agnes of Assisi
#அசிசி_நகர்ப்_புனித_ஆக்னஸ் (1197-1253)
நவம்பர் 15
அசிசி நகரைச் சார்ந்தவரான இவர் (#St_Agnes_Of_Assisi), புனித கிளாராவின் இளைய சகோதரி.
இவருக்குப் பதினைந்து வயது நடக்கும்போது, எல்லாவற்றையும் துறந்துவிட்டு தன் சகோதரியின் சபையில் சேர்ந்து, அவரைப் போன்று கற்பு, ஏழ்மை, கீழ்ப்படிதல் ஆகியவற்றைக் கடைப்பிடித்து வாழத் தொடங்கினார்.
இதற்கு இவருடைய உறவினர்களிடமிருந்தும் பெற்றோரிடமிருந்தும் கடுமையான எதிர்ப்பு வந்தது. ஆனாலும் இவர் தன்னுடைய முடிவில் மிக உறுதியாக இருந்ததால், அவர்களால் இவரை ஒன்றும் செய்ய முடியவில்லை.
இதற்குப் பிறகு 1219 ஆம் ஆண்டு, அசிசி நகர்ப் புனித பிரான்சிஸ் இவரை மோன்டிசெல்லி( Monticelli) எந்த இடத்தில் இருந்த துறவுமடத்தில் தலைவியாக நியமித்தார். அங்கு இவர் தன்னுடைய எடுத்துக்காட்டான வாழ்வால் பலருக்கும் முன் மாதிரியாக இருந்தார்.
இவர் தன்னுடைய கடின உழைப்பால் வெனிஸ், பாதுவா ஆகிய இடங்களில் துறவு மடங்களை நிறுவி, கிறிஸ்துவைப் பற்றிய நற்செய்தி பல இடங்களிலும் பரவக் காரணமாக இருந்தார்.
மேலும் இவர் தன் சகோதரி கிளாராவின் கடைசிக் காலத்தில் அவரோடு இருந்து, அவருக்குப் பேருதவி செய்தார். அவர் இறந்த அடுத்த மூன்றாவது மாதத்தில், அதாவது 1253 ஆம் ஆண்டு நவம்பர் திங்கள் பதினாறாம் நாள் இவர் இறையடி சேர்ந்தார்.
Profile
Daughter of Count Favorino Scifi and Blessed Hortulana, she was raised in a series of castles in and around Assisi, Italy. Younger sister of Saint Clare of Assisi, and her first follower, leaving home two weeks after Clare to join the Benedictines at San Angelo di Panzo at age fifteen. The family tried to bring Agnes back by force, dragging her from the monastery, but her body became so heavy that several knights could not budge her. Her uncle Monaldo tried to beat her, but was temporarily paralyzed. The family then left Agnes and Clare in peace.
In 1221 a group of Benedictine nuns in Monticelli asked to become Poor Clares, and Saint Francis assigned Agnes as their abbess. Agnes wrote about how much she missed Clare and the other nuns at San Damiano, and after establishing other Poor Clare monasteries in northern Italy, Agnes was recalled in 1253 when Clare was dying. Agnes followed Clare in death three months later.
Born
1197 at Assisi, Italy
Died
• 16 November 1253 at the monastery of San Damiano of natural causes
• buried in the Santa Chiara church, Assisi, Italy
• miracles reported at her tomb
Beatified
1753 by Pope Benedict XIV (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
Poor Clares
Saint Othmar of Saint Gall
Also known as
Audemar, Audomar, Otmar
Profile
Educated in the ancient provice Rhaetia, an area in modern Switzerland and Germany. Priest. Presided over a church of Saint Florinus in Rhaetia, probably the same church where Saint Florinus worked and was buried. Appointed abbot at Saint Gall, Switzerland in 720, and united the area monks into a monastery under the rule of Saint Columban. As abbot, he added a hospital and school, and changed the monastery's rule to Benedictine. Legend says that when Othmar fed the poor from a barrel of provisions, it never became empty, no matter how much he took from it.
In 759, Counts Warin and Ruodhart unjustly tried to gain possession of property belonging to the abbey. Othmar resisted, they imprisoned him at the castle of Bodmann, then on the island of Werd-on-the-Rhine where he died. His cultus spread soon after his death, and he is now one of the most popular saints in Switzerland.
Died
• 16 November 759 at Werd-on-the-Rhine, near Echnez, Switzerland
• body transferred to monastery of Saint Gall in 769
• body entombed in the church of Saint Othmar at Saint Gall in 867
Saint Afan of Wales
Also known as
Avan, Avanus
Profile
Bishop. Nothing else is known about him for certain; various writers have made him a descendant of the 3rd century Cynedda Wledig, King of Britain, a cousin of 6th century Saint David of Wales, and the 10th century bishop Jeuan who was killed by Viking invaders, but no one today knows for sure.
The church dedicated to him at Lanafan Fawr, Powys, Wales was apparently a site of pilgrimages in times past, and site of at least one miracle. The English Lord Philip de Braose came to the area to hunt, and decided that the church was the best lodging for him and his dogs. When he woke at sunrise, his dogs had gone mad and he was blind. His sight was only restored by making his willingness to fight in the Crusades.
Died
entombed in the churchyard of Saint Afan's Church, Lanafan Fawr, Powys, Wales
Blessed Edward Osbaldeston
Additional Memorials
• 22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
Profile
Son of Thomas Osbaldeston. Studied at the English College in Douai, France, and then at the seminary in Rheims, France. Ordained on 21 September 1585. On 27 April 1589 he returned to England to minister to covert Catholics. Had a great devotion to Saint Jerome. Betrayed by Thomas Clark, an apostate priest, he was arrested at an inn in Tollerton, Yorkshire on 30 September 1594. Tried for high treason by reason of being a priest, he was quicklly condemned. Martyr.
Born
c.1560 in Osbaldeston, Lancashire, England
Died
hanged, drawn and quartered on 16 November 1594 at York, North Yorkshire, England
Beatified
22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Simeon of Cava
Also known as
Symeon
Profile
Fourth abbot of the abbey of Cava dei Tirreni in Campania, Italy. Elected in 1124, he served for 16 years of great political turmoil between state and Church; his rule was noted for his concern for the local laity under the abbey's protection, and for the works of the monks he sent out to reform other houses. Held in high esteem and sought out consellor by bishops, fuedal lords, King Roger II, Pope Anacletus II and Pope Innocent II.
Died
• 16 November 1140 at Cava dei Tirreni monastery, Campania, Italy
• buried in Arsicia cave with other abbot of Cava dei Tirreni
• relics enshrined at the altar of Saint Benedict in the monastery church in 1928
Beatified
18 May 1928 by Pope Pius XI (cultus confirmation)
Patronage
Castellabate, Italy (proclaimed on 6 April 1963)
Blessed Zef Marksen
Also known as
Josef Marxen
Profile
Studied in Vienna, Austria, and ordained in Munich, Germany on 21 June 1936 as a priest for the diocese of Lezhë, Albania. Arrested in Shijak, Albania in February 1945 for remaining Catholic following the Communist take over. Sentenced to prison where he was eventually murdered. Martyr.
Born
5 August 1906 in Worringen, Cologne, Germany
Died
shot on 16 November 1946 in the high security prison in Tiranë, Albania
Beatified
• 5 November 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Square of the Cathedral of Shën Shtjefnit, Shkodër, Albania, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
Saint Eucherius of Lyon
Profile
Born to the nobility, well educated, and known for his learning and as a gifted speaker. Married to Galla, who became a nun in later life; father of at least two sons – Saint Veranus of Vence and Saint Salonius of Geneva. In 422 he became a monk at Lérins, France, and Galla became a nun. Wrote works on asceticism. Reluctant bishop of Lyons, France in 434. Presided over the Council of Orange in 441. Worked with Saint Hilary of Arles.
Died
449 of natural causes
Saint Anianus of Asti
Profile
Fifth century bishop of Asti, Italy. Little information and survived, and historians don't agree on any of it.
Died
• buried in the crypts under the cathedral of Saint John in Asti, Italy
• re-interred in the church of San Sisto in Asti in 1567
• when the church became structurally un-sound the relics were enshrined in an urn beneath the high altar of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Asti on 12 August 1696
Saint Leocadio of Déols
Also known as
Leocadius, Leucadio
Additional Memorial
23 November (Bourges, France)
Profile
Father of Saint Ludre. Imperial Roman senator in Déols, Gaul (in modern France). A pagan, he converted to Christianity in the early 4th century, brought to the faith by Saint Ursinus of Bourges, brought in missionaries to his area, supported Ursinus, and converted his own house into a church for their use.
Saint Gobrain of Vannes
Also known as
Gobrien
Profile
Breton monk. Priest. Bishop of Vannes, France. At age 87, he retired from his see to live his remaining days as a hermit. Known for healing by prayer.
Died
• 725 of natural causes
• interred in the Chapelle de Saint Gobrien, Saint-Servant, France
Feast of the Patronage of Our Lady
About
Feast permitted by a 1679 decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites for all provinces of Spain, in memory of the victories obtained there over infidels. Pope Benedict XIII granted it to the Papal States and it may now be celebrated with due permission by churches throughout the world.
Saint Alfric of Canterbury
Also known as
Aelfric, Alfrick
Profile
Benedictine monk of Abingdon Abbey, England. Abbot of Abingdon. Bishop of Wilton, England. Archbishop of Canterbury, England in 995. It was during his governance that Kent was invaded by Danes.
Died
1005 of natural causes
Saint Fidentius of Padua
Also known as
Fidenzio
Profile
Third bishop of Padua, Italy, serving from 166 to 168.
Patronage
• Megliadino San Fidenzio, Italy
• Polverara, Italy
Saint Ludre
Additional Memorial
1 November (Jerome Martyrology)
Also known as
Lusor, Lusore
Profile
Son of Saint Leocadio of Déols. A convert, he died almost immediately after baptism, still wearing the white robes.
Died
relics at Déols on the Indre (in modern Bourges, France)
Saint Elpidius the Martyr
Profile
Official in the court of Emperor Constantius. He was demoted from the court by Julian the Apostate. Martyr.
Died
dragged by wild horses and then burned at the stake in 362
Saint Africus of Comminges
Also known as
Afrique of Comminges
Profile
Seventh century bishop of Comminges, France.
Died
relics and shrine destroyed by Calvinists in the 16th century
Saint Céronne
Profile
Raised in a pagan family. Convert, baptized at Bordeaux, France where she became an evangelist.
Born
Corneilhan, France
Died
490 of natural causes
Saint Marcellus the Martyr
Profile
Martyr.
Died
dragged by wild horses and then burned at the stake in 362
Saint Agostino of Capua
Also known as
Augustine
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Died
c.250 in Capua, Campania, Italy
Saint Felicita of Capua
Also known as
Felicity
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Decius.
Died
c.250 in Capua, Campania, Italy
Saint Eustochius the Martyr
Profile
Martyr.
Died
dragged by wild horses and then burned at the stake in 362
Martyrs of Africa
Profile
A group of North African Christians murdered together for their faith, date unknown. We know little more than their names - Baricus, Donatus, Honoratus, Januarius, Justus, Markus, Paulus, Rufinus, Valerius, Victor and Vitalis.
Martyrs of Almeria
Profile
Soon after the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the Communist-oriented Popular Front had all clergy and religious arrested and abused as they considered staunch Christians to be enemies of the revolution. Many of these prisoners were executed for having promoted the faith, and this memorial remembers several of them killed in the province of Almeria.
• Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Bienvenido Villalón Acebrón
• Bonifacio Rodríguez González
• Diego Ventaja Milán
• Eusebio Alonso Uyarra
• Isidoro Primo Rodríguez
• Justo Zariquiegui Mendoza
• Manuel Medina Olmos
• Marciano Herrero Martínez
Beatification
10 October 1993 by Pope John Paul II
