Saint Bernadine of Siena
புனித சியென்னா பெர்னார்டின் (St. Bernardine of Siena)
குரு
பிறப்பு
1380
சியென்னா
இறப்பு
20 மே 1444
இத்தாலி
புனிதர்பட்டம்: 24 மே 1450
திருத்தந்தை ஐந்தாம் நிக்கோலாஸ்
இவர் ஓர் பிரான்சிஸ்கன் துறவற சபையை சார்ந்த குரு. இவர் அச்சபையில் இருக்கும்போது பலவற்றை சீர்திருத்தி அமைந்தார். இவர் தன்னுடைய 20 ஆம் வயதிலேயே தன்னுடன் ஏராளமான இளைஞர்களை நண்பர்களாக வைத்திருந்தார். இவர்களின் ஒத்துழைப்பினால், சியென்னா நகரில் ஒரு மருத்துவமனையில் சமூகசேவை செய்ய முழு பொறுப்பையும் ஏற்றார். அங்கு நாள்தோறும் குறைந்தது 20 பேர்கள் பிளேக் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டு பலியானார்கள். ஆனால் பெர்னார்டின் இந்நோயைக் கண்டு பயப்படாமல் அந்நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு தன் முழு நேரத்தையும் செலவழித்து தொண்டு புரிந்தார்.
பின்னர் 2 ஆண்டுகளுக்குப்பின் பிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபையில் குருவானார். குருப்பட்டம் பெற்றபின் 12 ஆண்டுகள் தனிமையாக ஜெபிப்பதில் தன் நாட்களைக் கழித்தார். பின்னர் பல இடங்களுக்கும், கால்நடையாகவே சென்று, பல மணிநேரம் மறையுரை ஆற்றினார். பிறகு பிரான்சிஸ்கன் சபைக்கு தலைவரானார். நாளடைவில் திருத்தந்தையின் அதிகாரம் பெற்று இப்பதவியிலிருந்து விலகினார். மீண்டும் மக்களிடையே மறையுரையாற்றத் தொடங்கினார். உத்தம மனஸ்தாபம், திருப்பாடுகள், புண்ணியங்கள் மற்றும் அவரது காலத்தில் தாண்டவமாடிய கொடுமைகள் ஆகியவற்றைப் பற்றி மறையுரையாற்றினார். இயேசுவின் திருப்பெயரைச் சொல்லும்போது புண்ணியம் அடைகிறோம் என்றும், அன்னை மரியாளைப் பற்றியும், தூய வளனாரைப்பற்றியும் ஏராளமாக எடுத்துரைத்து மறையுரையாற்றினார். IHS என்பது இயேசு என்னும் திருப்பெயரின் சுருக்கம் என்றுணர்ந்து, இந்த 3 எழுத்துக்களையும் அழகாக ஓர் ஏட்டில் வரைந்து, அதை மக்கள் மீது வைத்து அவர்களை மந்திரித்து வருவதை வழக்கமாக கொண்டிருந்தார்.
இவரது அர்த்தமுள்ள, உருக்கமான மறையுரையைக் கேட்க, சில வேளைகளில் 50,000 பேருக்கும் மேலாக ஆலயத்திலும், வெளியிலும் காத்திருப்பார்கள். குருக்களைப் பற்றியும், கன்னியர்களைப் பற்றியும் பொதுநிலையினர் எப்போதும் தவறாக பேசாமல், மிகவும் கண்ணியமாகப் பேச வேண்டுமென்றும், அவர்களின் குற்றங்களைப் பொதுநிலையினர் பொது இடங்களில் பேசித்திரியக்கூடாது என்றும் இவர் எப்போதும் அறிவுரை கூறி வந்துள்ளார். இவர் IHS என்ற இயேசுவின் பெயருக்கு காட்டிய சிறப்பு பக்தி விளக்கம், விரைவில் மக்களிடையே பரவியது. இச்சின்னம் ஆலயங்களிலும், வீடுகளிலும், பொது இடங்களிலும் வரையப்பட்டு வணக்கம் செலுத்தப்பட்டது. இதனால் இவர்மேல் பொறாமைக் கொண்ட சிலர் இவரைப்பற்றி மூன்று முறை திருத்தந்தையிடம் குற்றஞ்சாட்டினர். ஆனால் இவரது புனிதம், இக்குற்றச்சாட்டுகளின் நடுவே, முந்தைய நிலையைவிட மிகவும் அதிகமாகவே கூடியது. இவர் இத்தாலி நாட்டிலேயே மிகச்சிறந்த மறைபோதகப் பேச்சாளராக திகழ்ந்தார்.
இவர் சபைத்தலைவராக இருக்கும்போது வெறும் 300 பேர் மட்டுமே இச்சபையில் இருந்தனர். பல சீர்திருத்தம் பெற்றதன்பின், இச்சபை ஆல்போல் தழைத்து, இவரது இறுதி நாட்களில் ஏறக்குறைய 4000 பேராக பொலிவுடன் விளங்கியது. தன் மறைபோதக பணியால் பலரை இறைவன் பால் ஈர்த்த பெர்னார்டின் இறைமகன் இயேசு விண்ணேற்பு அடைந்த நாளன்று இறைவாழ்விற்கு விண்ணகம் சென்றார்.
Also known as
Bernadino, Bernardine, Bernardino
Profile
Franciscan Friar Minor. Priest. Itinerant preacher. Theological writer. His preaching skills were so great, and the conversions so numerous, that he has become associated with all areas of speaking, advertising, public relations, etc.
Bernardino's charismatic preaching filled the plazas of Italian cities. Thousands of listeners flocked to hear him and to participate in dramatic rituals, which included collective weeping, bonfires of vanities, and exorcisms. He was a renowned peacemaker, in the Franciscan tradition, who tried to calm feuding clans and factions in the turbulent political world of the Renaissance. His preaching visits would often culminate in mass reconciliations, as listeners were persuaded to exchange the bacio di pace, or kiss of peace.
Bernardino was sensitive to the demands of secular life, and tried to negotiate between Christian ethics and a conflicting code of honour that stressed retaining face in a public world. He argued that the catalyst of civil discord in the urban setting was malicious gossip, which led to insults, and, too often, vendetta by aggressive males. His surprising allies in his peacekeeping mission were the women who comprised the majority of his audience.
Born
1380 at Massa di Carrara, Italy
Died
1444 at Aquila, Italy of natural causes
Patronage
• against hoarseness
• against chest problems
• against respiratory problems
• lung problems, lungs
• advertisers, advertising
• communications personnel
• gambling addicts; against compulsive gambling
• public relations personnel (proclaimed on 20 May 1960 by Pope John XXIII)
• Italy
• diocese of San Bernardino, California
• 4 cities in Italy
Blessed Columba of Rieti
Also known as
• Angelella Guardagnoli
• Colomba of Rieti
Profile
Legend says that at her birth, angels gathered around Columba's house to sing. During her Baptism, a dove suddenly flew down to the font. From that point on, no one used her by her given name (Angelella = little angel), but called her Columba (= dove). She was raised in a poor but pious family; her parents gave away nearly everything thing they had to people even poorer than themselves. As a small girl Columba learned to spin and sew; she and her mother repaired the clothes of the local Dominicans. Educated by Dominican nuns.
Columba quickly developed a strong devotion to Saint Catherine of Siena and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. While still in her teens she prayed about her vocation in life, and received a vision of Christ on a throne surrounded by saints. She took this as instruction to dedicate herself to God, and so she cut herself off from the world, made a private vow of chastity, and spent her time in prayer. Unbeknownst to Columba, her parents had arranged a marriage for her, but she cut off her hair and sent it to her would-be suitor, an accepted way at that time of telling him that she was devoting her life to God, not marriage.
She had the gifts of prophecy, healing, exorcism, raising the dead, and miracles. Given to ecstacies during one of which her spirit toured the Holy Lands. Dominican tertiary at age 19. Her reputation for wisdom and holiness spread throughout the region, and she was a much sought after counsellor. Some people from the city of Narni, Italy tried to kidnap her so she could be their miracle worker, but she escaped.
Following a revelation that she should leave Rieti, Italy, she walked away with no destination in mind. Along the way she was arrested in Foligno, Italy as a vagrant, but she eventually stopped and stayed in Perugia, Italy. On 1 January 1490 she and several other women took vows as a community of Dominican teritary nuns. Noted spiritual counselor to any who sought her advice. During an epidemic she worked among the sick, healing many by praying for them. She offered her own health in exchange for the city; when the general epidemic ended, she became ill, eventually recovering through the intercession of Saint Catherine of Siena. Her sanctity caused her to be persecuted by Lucrezia Borgia for years; at one point Borgia had a decree issued accusing Columba of practicing magic.
Born
2 February 1467 at Rieti, Umbria, Italy as Angelella Guardagnoli
Died
• 20 May 1501 at Perguia, Italy of natural causes
• at the moment of her death, her friend, Blessed Osanna Andreasi, saw Columba's soul as a radiance rising to heaven
• the whole city turned out for her funeral, which was paid for by the city fathers
Beatified
25 February 1625 by Pope Urban VIII
Patronage
• against magic or sorcery
• against temptation
• Perugia, Italy
Saint Lydia Purpuraria
Also known as
• Lydia of Thyatira
• Lydia of Philippi
• Lydia Philippisia
Additional Memorials
• 20 May (Roman Martyrology; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; Eastern Orthodox)
• 27 March (Russian Orthodox Church)
• 25 June (Russian Orthodox Church)
• 27 January (Evangelical Lutheran)
• 25 October (Episcopal Church; Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod)
Profile
Lay business woman in Thyatira, dealing in purple cloth, the most expensive type in the 1st century Middle East. Paul's first known convert.
Born
Greek
Patronage
cloth dyers
Saint Arcangelo Tadini
Profile
As a young adult, Arcangelo had an accident that left him with a lifelong limp. He entered the seminary in Brescia, Italy at age 18. Ordained in 1870, but illness forced him to spend his first year of priesthood with his family. Curate in the mountain village of Lodrino from 1871 to 1873. Curate at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Noce near Brescia. Noted for his attention to his parishioners, and his care for refugees. Curate at Botticino Sera in 1885; parish priest there in 1887, a post he held the rest of his life. He revitalized his parish, involved the parishioners, and made the church the center of the community. He founded the Workers' Mutual Aid Association, a form of social insurance for the sick, injured and aged. He used his own inheritance to build a modern spinning factory, employing local women, and using the profits to build a residence for them. He founded the Congregation of Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth who worked in factories with other women, teaching them when they could, and leading them by example. Father Arcangelo's strength came from prayer, much of it spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Born
12 October 1846 at Verolanuova, Brescia, Italy
Died
20 May 1912 at Botticino Sera, Brescia, Italy of natural causes
Canonized
26 April 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed María Angélica Pérez
Also known as
• María Crescencia
• Sister Dulzura
• Sister Sweetness
Profile
Born to immigrants from Spain, raised in a farm family, and known as a pious girl. Entered the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden on 31 December 1915, taking her vows on 7 September 1918. Teacher and catechist to children. In 1924 to 1928 she was assigned to a tuberculosis hospital where she worked closely with sick children. When her own health began to suffer, she was assigned to a hospital in Vallenar, Chile where she was a source of joy, comfort and the teachings of God to many patients.
Born
17 August 1897 in San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died
• 20 May 1932 in Vallenar, Atacama, Argentina of natural causes
• found incorrupt in 1966
• re-interred in the College Chapel in Huerto de Pergamino, Argentina
Beatified
• 17 November 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI
• the recognition was celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, at Pergamino, Argentina
• her beatification miracle involved a cure from type A hepatitis
Saint Ethelbert of East Anglia
Also known as
Aethelbert, Albert, Albright
Profile
Son of Ethelred, King of the East Angles, and Leofrana. A pious youth, he would have preferred religious life, but was in line for the throne. King of East Anglia for 44 years. He would have preferred to remain celibate, but agreed to seek the hand of Althryda (Alfrida) daughter of Offa, King of the Mercians in order to continue a stable line to the crown. There were a number of supernatural indications that it was a bad choice, but Ethelbert went anyway. Due to court intrigues, Ethelbert was murdered by a man named Grimbert at the instigation of his father-in-law, Offa of Mercia. Often listed as a martyr.
Died
• murdered in 793 at Villa Australis, Mercia, England
• his body was buried like trash, but a heavenly light identified it, and it was eventually relocated
• buried at Maurdine near the Lugg River in Mercia
• remains relocated to Stratus-way
• remains relocated to Fernley (modern Hereford, England)
• remains relocated to Hereford Cathedral
• during one of the moves the head fell off the body, fell of the cart it was being carried in, touched a pedestrian who had been blind for eleven years, and cured him
• head enshrined at Westminster Abbey
Patronage
• Hereford, England
• Hereford Cathedral
Saint Baudelius of Nimes
Also known as
Baldiri, Basile, Baudelio, Baudile, Baudilio, Baudilus, Bausile, Boal, Boi
Profile
Married lay evangelist who worked tirelessly to spread the faith in Gaul. He arrived Nîmes, France during a sacrifice to the Roman god Veiovis; he knocked over the statue, interrupted the sacrifice, preached against false gods, and was immediately seized, whipped and murdered. Martyr. Over 400 churches have been dedicated to him throughout France and Spain.
Born
Orleans, France
Died
• beheaded in late 3rd century Nîmes, France
• on the three places where his severed head touched the ground, there sprang up healing springs of water; the street of Trois Fontaines in modern Nîmes goes through the traditional execution area
• his wife took the body to a place called Valsainte for proper burial; a church was built over the tomb, it became a place of pilgrimage, and a monastery was built nearby that lasted over 1,000 years
Saint Austregisilus of Bourges
Also known as
Aoustrille, Austregesilio, Outril, Outrille
Profile
Educated and trained as a courtier to King Gontrano, but Austregisilus felt a call to religious life, and withdrew from worldly life. Monk in the abbey of Saint-Nizier at Lyons, France. Abbot of his house. Priest. Bishop of Bourges, France in 612, he served there the remaining 12 years of his life. Part of the Council of Paris in 614. Friend of Saint Amand of Maastricht who lived for several years in a cell next to the cathedral of Bourges.
Born
551 in Bourges, France
Died
624 of natural causes
Patronage
Bourges, France
Saint Talaleo of Egea
Also known as
Taleleo, Thalelaeus, Thallelaeus
Profile
Physician. Imprisoned, tortured and martyred in the persecutions of Numerian.
Born
c.265 near Mount Lebanon, Phoenicia
Died
• 284 in Egea, Macedonia (modern Edessa, Greece)
• relics enshrined in the church of San Agatónico, Constantinople
• relics destroyed by Muslims
Saint Lucifer of Cagliari
Also known as
Lucifero
Profile
Priest. Bishop of Cagliari, Italy. Fierce opponent of Arianism and defender of the faith as expressed in the Nicene Creed for which he was exiled by emperor Constantius. Bishop Lucifer was so opposed to the Arians that he refused to have anything to do with any of them, for which Saint Jerome had to take him to task.
Died
370 in Cagliari, Italy
Saint Protasius Chong Kuk-bo
Also known as
• Jeong Guk-Bo
• Peurotasio
• Protasio Chong Kuk-bo
Profile
Married layman in the apostolic vicariate of Korea. At one point he abandoned Christianity, but recovered his faith, was imprisoned, tortured and eventually executed for refusing to renounce it again. Martyr.
Born
1799 in Songdo, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Died
20 May 1839 in Seoul Prison, South Korea
Canonized
6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Aurea of Ostia
Also known as
Aura, Chryse
Profile
Killed for visiting Christian prisoners and giving them a decent burial after their execution. Martyr.
Died
• drowned c.270 in Ostia, Italy
• her body later washed ashore and was given a proper burial
Saint Basilla of Rome
Also known as
Babilla
Profile
Niece of the Emperor Gallienus. Adult convert to Christianity, baptised by Pope Saint Cornelius. She refused to marry a pagan patrician to whom she had arranged marriage and who required her to denouce her faith. Martyr.
Died
• beheaded in 304 in Rome, Italy
• buried in the catacombs on the Via Salaria outside Rome
Blessed Arnaldo Serra
Profile
Mercedarian. While on a mission to Tunis, Tunisia to ransom Christian slaves from Muslim captors, he was imprisoned, tortured and left to die in prison with 30 fellow Christians. Martyr.
Died
of hunger and thirst in 1492 in prison in Tunis, Tunisia
Saint Theodore of Pavia
Profile
Little known of his early life. Bishop of Pavia from 743 to 778. Outspoken critic of Arianism, which caused his repeated exile by Lombard Arian kings.
Died
778 of natural causes
Patronage
Pavia, Italy
Blessed Guy de Gherardesca
Also known as
Guido
Profile
Hermit at Campo, Italy.
Born
at Pisa, Italy
Died
1099 of natural causes
Saint Plautilla of Rome
Profile
Married to a former imperial proconsul. Mother of Flavia Domitilla of Terracina. An adult convert, tradition says she was baptised by Saint Peter the Apostle, and witnessed the martyrdom of Saint Paul the Apostle.
Died
c.67
Blessed Albert of Bologna
Profile
Member of the Parisi family. Monk. Abbot of the Vallombrosan abbey near Bologna, Italy, which after his death was renamed San Alberto.
Born
in Bologna, Italy
Died
1245 of natural causes
Saint Althryda
Also known as
Alfrida, Altrida, Etheldrytha
Profile
Born a princess, the daughter of King Offa of Mercia. Betrothed to Saint Ethelbert after whose death she retired to Croyland Abbey to live as a hermitess.
Died
834 of natural causes
Saint Asterius of Edessa
Profile
Executioner who killed Christians until his exposure to them converted him to the faith. Martyred in the persecutions of Numerian.
Born
Syrian
Died
284 at Edessa, Mesopotamia
Saint Anastasius of Brescia
Profile
Bishop of Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. Converted the Lombards from Arianism.
Died
• 610 of natural causes
• relics translated in 1581 by Saint Charles Borromeo
Saint Aquila of Egypt
Also known as
Aquila of Nîmes
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Maximinus Daza.
Born
Egyptian
Died
torn to pieces with iron combs in 311 in Thebais, Egypt
Saint Abercius
Profile
One tradition makes him the son of Alphaeus the Apostle. Martyr.
Died
exposed naked to a swarm of angry bees in the 1st century
Saint Alexander of Edessa
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Numerian.
Died
Edessa, Syria
Saint Helena
Profile
One tradition makes her the daughter of Alphaeus the Apostle. Martyr.
Died
stoned to death in the 1st century
Saint Thalalaeus of Edessa
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Numerian.
Died
Edessa, Syria
Saint Codrato
Also known as
Codro
Profile
Martyr.
Died
tied to and torn apart by horses
Saint Hilary of Toulouse
Profile
Fourth century bishop of Toulouse, France.
Saint Marcello
Profile
Martyr.
Died
molten lead poured down his throat
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 José Pérez Fernández
• Blessed Rafaél García Torres
• Blessed Tomás Valera González
