St. Jerome of Pavia
Feastday: July 19
Death: 787
The bishop of Pavia. He served as the prelature in that Italian city from 778 until his death.
Jerome of Pavia also known as Gerolamo was Bishop of Pavia, from 778 until his death.[1] He was canonized on 20 December 1888 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation). The feast is celebrated on 19 July.
St. Epagaphras
Feastday: July 19
Death: 1st century
Bishop and martyr, called "the most beloved fellow servant" of Paul. Tradition states that he served in Colossae, where he was martyred.
St. Justa and Rufina
Feastday: July 19
Patron: of Seville; potters; guilds of alfareros (potters) and cacharreros (sellers of pottery)
Death: 287
St. Justa and St. Rufina, Virgins and Martyrs (Feast - July 19) These martyrs were two Christian women at Seville in Spain who maintained themselves by selling earthenware. Not to concur in idolatrous superstitions, they refused to sell vessels for the use of heathen ceremonies and when the worshipers broke up their stock-in-trade, Justa and Rufina retorted by overthrowing the image of a false goddess. Whereupon the people impeached them for their faith before the governor. The prefect, after they had boldly confessed Christ, commanded them to be stretched on the rack and their sides to be torn with hooks. An idol was placed near the rack with incense, that if they would offer sacrifice they should be released; but their fidelity was not to be shaken. Justa died on the rack; the judge ordered Rufina to be strangled, and their bodies to be burned. They are greatly venerated in Spain, and no doubt their names represent historical martyrs in that place. But their Acts are unreliable and one of the martyrs appears to have undergone a change of sex in the course of the ages, for Justa was originally called Justus.
Saints Justa and Rufina (Ruffina) (Spanish: Santa Justa y Santa Rufina) are venerated as martyrs. They are said to have been martyred at Hispalis (Seville) during the 3rd century.
Only St. Justa (sometimes "Justus" in early manuscripts) is mentioned in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (93), but in the historical martyrologies. Rufina is also mentioned, following the legendary Acts.[3] The two saints are highly honored in the Mozarabic Liturgy.
Blessed Karol Stepien
Also known as
• Brother Herman
• Father Herman
Additional Memorial
12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II
Profile
Born to Józef and Marianna Puch, poor working class farmers, Karol as a child was considered extremely intelligent and extremely unruly. He early felt a call to the priesthood, and at age 13 began studying at the Franciscan seminary in Lviv (in modern Ukraine). He joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual in 1928 at Lodz-Lagiewniki, Poland, taking the name Herman and making his solemn profession in 1932. Brother Herman continued his studies at the Pontifical University of Saint Bonaventure in Rome, Italy, and was ordained a priest in Rome on 5 July 1936. Father Herman continued his studies at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lvov, earning a Master's degree in Theology. Served as priest in Franciscan Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Radomsko, Poland, then the church and Franciscan monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1940 he was assigned to Piaršai (in modern Belarus), assisting Blessed Józef Puchala. The two worked to care first for the people who were being transported to Siberian work camps by the Russians, and then to concentration camps by Germans. Tortured, mutilated and then murdered while ministering to people who were to be murdered in retaliation for partisan attacks against the Nazi occupiers. Martyr.
Born
21 October 1910 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland
Died
• shot in the head on 19 July 1943 in a barn outside Borovikovshchina (Borowikowszczyzna), Minskaya voblasts', Belarus
• the barn was then set on fire
• remains later retrieved by local Catholics and buried in the parish church in Pierszaje, Poland
Beatified
13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland
Saint Peter Crisci of Foligno
Also known as
Pietrillo
Profile
As a young man, Peter lived a wild, profane, and dissolute life. Around the age of thirty his parents died, he came into his inheritence, contemplated his parents’ deaths, and came to understand the emptiness of his life; Peter had a conversion experience, sold all that he had, gave it away to the poor. He even sold himself into slavery as an act of penance and to get more to give away, but his "owner" freed him. He became a penitent beggar, an urban hermit who devoted himself to the care and cleanliness of the cathedral in Foligno, Italy; he wore sack cloth, lived in its bell tower, and slept on the steps, open to the elements. He had a great dedication to the spirituality of Blessed Angela of Foligno and Saint Chiara of Montefalco. Made several barefoot pilgrimages to Rome and Assisi, Italy. He was so odd, so open about his penance, and attracted so much attention from the faithful that the Inquisition investigated him; they were particularly concerned with his habit of praying while staring at the sun; but they determined that his was an orthodox faith, just extreme in its penance. He is considered one of the "mad saints" or "holy idiots" or "fools for Christ".
Born
1243
Died
• 19 July 1323 in the cathedral of Foligno, Umbria, Italy of natural causes
• buried in the cathedral of San Feliciano in Foligno
• a chapel was built in his honour in the cathedral in 1385
• chapel restored and relics enshrined in a wooden reliquary in 1870
Beatified
• local devotion developed soon after his death, and by the late 14th-century there was a fair that grew up around devotions to him on 19 July
• on 11 May 1400 Pope Boniface IX granted indulgences to those visited the cathedral of San Feliciano from 19 to 22 July
Saint John Plessington
Also known as
• John Plesington
• William Scarisbrick
• William Pleasington
Additional Memorial
25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Profile
Son of Robert Plessington, a royalist Catholic, and Alice Rawstone. His family was persecuted for both their religious and political beliefs. John was educated by Jesuits at Scarisbrick Hall, then at the Royal College of Saint Alban at Valladolid, Spain, and then Saint Omer's monastery in France. Ordained in Segovia, Spain on 25 March 1662. He returned to England in 1663 to minister to covert Catholics in the areas of Holywell and Cheshire, often hiding under the name William Scarisbrick. Tutor at Puddington Hall near Chester, England. Imprisoned for two months, and executed for the crime of priesthood. Martyr.
Born
c.1637 at Dimples Hall, Lancashire, England
Died
• hanged, drawn, and quartered on 19 July 1679 at Barrows Hill, Boughton, England
• buried in the local cemetery of Burton, England
Canonized
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
Pope Saint Symmachus
Also known as
Simmaco
Profile
The son of Fortunatus. Baptized in Rome, Italy. Archdeacon under Pope Anastasius II. Chosen 51st pope in 498.
An anti-pope, Laurentius, was elected the same day by a minority with Byzantine sympathies and with the support of Emperor Anastasius; King Theodoric the Great supported Symmachus who ascended to the throne. Any sort of campaigning for the papacy during the life of a sitting pope was outlawed by canon law. In 501, Senator Festus, a supporter of Laurentius, accused Symmachus of assorted crimes; the pope refused to answer the charges, claimed that secular rulers had no jurisdiction over a pope, and the Synodus Palmaris of 23 October 502 confirmed this decision. The schism with Laurentius continued for years, and at one point Theodoric installed the anti-pope in the Lateran Palace and proclaimed him the legal pontiff; Theodoric later decided that Laurentius was too Byzantine, and had him removed.
During all the turmoil, Symmachus spent largely to support bishops of Africa who were persecuted by the Arian Vandals. He also gave aid to northern Italians who suffered from the invasions of barbarians.
Born
in Sardinia, Kingdom of Odoacer (part of modern Italy)
Papal Ascension
22 November 498
Died
19 July 514 in Rome, Ostrogothic Kingdom (in modern Italy) of natural causes
Blessed Józef Puchala
Also known as
• Achilles Puchala
• Brother Achilles
• Father Achilles
Additional Memorial
12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II
Profile
Baptized on the day of his birth. Entered the minor seminary in Lviv (in modern Ukraine) in 1924. Franciscan Friar Minor Conventual, taking the name Achilles, and making his solemn vows on 22 May 1932. Priest, ordained on 5 July 1936. Served in the Franciscan convents in Grodno and Iwieniec in Poland. In early 1940 he moved into parish ministry in Pierszaje, Poland to help with a shortage of priests who had been arrested or fled ahead of arrest by the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation and persecutions of World War II. Arrested, tortured and eventually murdered by the Gestapo. Martyr.
Born
18 March 1911 in Kosina, Podkarpackie, Poland
Died
• 19 July 1943 in a barn outside Borovikovshchina (a.k.a. Borowikowszczyzna), Minskaya voblasts', Belarus
• the barn was then set on fire
• remains later retrieved by local Catholics and buried in the parish church in Pierszaje, Poland
Beatified
13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Macrina the Younger
புனிதர் இளைய மேக்ரினா
(St. Macrina the Younger)
அருட்சகோதரி:
(Nun)
பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 330
சேசரா, கப்படோசியா, துருக்கி
(Caesarea, Cappadocia, Turkey)
இறப்பு: ஜூலை 19, 379
போன்டஸ்
(Pontus)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை
(Eastern Orthodox Church)
ஓரியண்டல் மரபுவழி திருச்சபை
(Oriental Orthodoxy)
ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்
(Anglican Communion)
லூதரன் திருச்சபை
(Lutheranism)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 19
புனிதர் இளைய மேக்ரினா, ஆதிகால கிறிஸ்தவ திருச்சபைகளின் (Early Christian Church) அருட்சகோதரியும், முக்கியமான புனிதருமாவார். இவரது உடன் பிறந்த இளைய சகோதரரான “புனிதர் கிரகோரி” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa) இவரைப் பற்றி எழுதுகையில், கன்னித்தன்மையைப் போற்றும் இவரது தீவிரம் பற்றியும், பொதுவாக மத காரணங்களுக்காக, கடுமையான சுய ஒழுக்கம் மற்றும் அனைத்து விதமான இவ்வுலக விருப்பங்கள் மற்றும் பழக்கவழக்கங்களையும் தவிர்த்து வாழ்ந்தவர் என எழுதிவைத்தார்.
துருக்கி (Turkey) நாட்டின் “கப்படோசியா” (Cappadocia) பிராந்தியத்தின் “சேசரா” (Caesarea) எனும் பெரிய நகரில் பிறந்த இவரது தந்தையார், “மூத்த பாசில்” (Basil the Elder) ஆவார். தாயாரின் பெயர், “எம்மெலியா” (Emmelia) ஆகும். புனிதர் “மூத்த மேக்ரினா” (Saint Macrina the Elder) இவரது பாட்டி ஆவார். இவருடன் உடன்பிறந்த ஒன்பது சகோதரர்களுள் இருவரான, புனிதர் “பெரிய பாசில்” (Basil the Great) மற்றும் புனிதர் “கிரகோரி” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa) ஆகியோர், “கப்படோசிய தந்தையர்” (Cappadocian Fathers) என்று அழைக்கப்படும் மூவரில் இருவர் ஆவர். புனிதர் “பீட்டர்” (Peter of Sebaste) மற்றும் பிரபல கிறிஸ்தவ நீதிபதியான புனிதர் “நவ்கிரேஷியஸ்” (Naucratius) ஆகியோரும் இவரது சகோதரர்கள் ஆவர்.
அவரது தந்தை அவருக்கு திருமணம் செய்ய ஏற்பாடு செய்தார். ஆனால் அவரது வருங்கால கணவர், திருமணத்திற்கு முன் இறந்து போனார். ஒருவருடன் திருமண உறுதி செய்துகொண்டதன் பிறகு, மற்றொரு மனிதரை திருமணம் செய்வது பொருத்தமானது என்று மேக்ரினா நம்பவில்லை. ஆனால், கிறிஸ்துவையே தமது நித்திய மணமகனாக ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். அதற்கு பதிலாக, அவர் தனது மதத்திற்கு தன்னை அர்ப்பணித்து, ஒரு கன்னியாஸ்திரியாக மாறினார்.
மேக்ரினா, தனது சகோதரர்கள் மற்றும் தமது தாயின் மீது, “ஆன்மீக இலக்குகளை அடைய வேண்டுமென்ற நோக்கத்திற்காக, சிற்றின்ப இன்பமயங்களில் இருந்து விலகுவதால் குணப்படுத்தப்படும் துறவற வாழ்க்கைக்கான” (Ascetic Ideal) ஒரு ஆழ்ந்த செல்வாக்கு கொண்டிருந்தார்.
இவரது சகோதரர் “கிரகோரி” (Gregory of Nyssa), “மேக்ரினாவின் வாழ்க்கை” (Life of Macrina) எனும் பெயரில் எழுதிய சரிதத்தில், இவரது வாழ்க்கை முழுதும் இவர் கடைபிடித்த அருளுடைமை அல்லது புனிதம் பற்றி எழுதியிருந்தார். ஒரு சாந்தமான, பணிவான மற்றும் எளிய வாழ்க்கை வாழ்ந்த மேக்ரினா, தமது நேரத்தை செபிப்பதிலும், தமது இளைய சகோதரர் பீட்டருக்கு ஆன்மீக கல்வி பயிற்றுவதிலுமே செலவிட்டார். இவரது மூத்த சகோதரர் கிரகோரி இவருக்கு கற்பித்த பண்டைய கலாச்சார கல்வி அனைத்தையும் முழு மனதுடன் நிராகரித்த மேக்ரினா, வேதாகமம் மற்றும் பிற புனித நூல்களின் அர்ப்பணிப்பு ஆய்வுகளைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்து கற்றார்.
கருங்கடலின் (Black Sea) தென்கரையோரமுள்ள வரலாற்று ஸ்தலமான “போன்டஸ்” (Pontus) எனுமிடத்திலுள்ள தமது குடும்ப தோட்டத்தை தமது இளைய சகோதரர் பீட்டரின் உதவியுடன் ஒரு துறவற மடாலயமாகவும் பள்ளியாகவும் மாற்றியமைத்து அங்கேயே வாழ்ந்திருந்த மேக்ரினா, 379ம் ஆண்டு, ஜூலை மாதம், 19ம் நாளன்று மரித்தார். தமது மரண படுக்கையிலும் கூட, புனிதமான வாழ்க்கையைத் தொடர்ந்த மேக்ரினா, படுக்கையை வெறுத்து வெறும் தரையிலேயே படுத்தார். புனிதர் மேக்ரினா, ஒரு புனிதமான கிறிஸ்தவ பெண்மணியாக இருப்பதற்கான தரங்களை நிர்ணயிக்க முடிந்தது. கன்னித்தன்மை, "கடவுளுடைய பிரகாசமான தூய்மையை” (Radiant Purity of God) பிரதிபலிக்கிறது என்பதை அவர் நம்பினார்.
Profile
Daughter of Saint Emmelia and Saint Basil the Elder; sister of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, and Saint Peter of Sebastea; granddaughter of Saint Macrina the Elder, and called the Younger to distinguish between the two. Educated by her mother, she could read from an early age. Betrothed at age twelve to a young lawyer who died before the wedding. She refused other offers of marriage, and devoted herself to her family, then to a religious life. Nun. Succeeded her mother as head of a small community of women in Pontus (part of modern Turkey). Her biography and reminicenses of her were written by her brother Saint Gregory.
Born
c.327 at Caesarea, Cappadocia (in modern Turkey)
Died
379 at Pontus (in modern Turkey) of natural causes
Saint Epaphras of Colosse
Also known as
Epagaphras
Profile
First century missionary to Colossae, Laodicea And Hierapolis. Bishop of Colossae. Martyr. Saint Paul mentions him.
Readings
Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth, as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. - Colossians 1:6-8
Epaphras sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ [Jesus], always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. - Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you. - Philemon 23
Saint Kragon
Also known as
• Cragon
• Abba Karazün
Profile
Highway bandit in Egypt. Around the the year 297, he and two fellow thieves were brought to Christianity by a desert hermit, and Kragon became a monk. During the persecutions of Diocletian, Kragon left his hermitage to travel the region and preach Christianity. He was imprisoned several times and tortured, but suffered no damage from it, and never stopped preaching. In Samannüd he was dragged from the torture chamber to appear before the vizier Justus; Kragon brought Justus, his family and guards to Christianity. He was finally imprisoned and executed for his faith and work. Martyr.
Born
latter 3rd century Banawän, Egypt
Died
• beheaded in the early 4th century
• relics later moved to Banawän, Egypt
Saint Ioannes Baptista Zhu Wurui
Also known as
• John Baptist Zhou Wurui
• Ruohan
Additional Memorial
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
Profile
Young layman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. A teenager at the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, John publicly declared his Christianity, for which the rebels mutilated and killed him. Martyr.
Born
c.1883 in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China
Died
dismembered and beaten to death with an ax on 19 July 1900 in Lujiazhuang, Jingxia, Hebei, China
Canonized
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Simon Qin Chunfu
Also known as
Ximan
Additional Memorial
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
Profile
Son of Saint Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Martyred as a teenager in the Boxer Rebellion.
Born
c.1886 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China
Died
19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China
Canonized
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Bernhard of Rodez
Also known as
• Bernhard of Millau
• Bernhard of Ruteni
• Bernard of...
Profile
Born to the nobility, one of eight children born to Viscount Richard II of Millau and Rixinde. Benedictine monk at the Saint Victor monastery in Marseilles, France in 1061. Abbot of Saint Victor in 1064. Friend of Pope Gregory VII, Saint Hugo of Cluny, and Saint William of Hirschau. Zealously promoted the Cluniac reform. Created cardinal in 1065 by Pope Alexander II. Papal legate to Germany in 1077. Papal legate to Spain in 1078.
Born
1045 in Provence, France
Died
1079 in Marseilles, France of natural causes
Saint Arsenius the Great
Also known as
• Arsenius the Roman
• Arsenius the Deacon
Profile
Born to a wealthy Roman noble family. Deacon. Tutor to the sons of Emperor Theodosius the Great c.383. About 395 he left to live with the monks of Alexandria, Egypt. After the emperor's death, Arsenius retired to the wilderness of Scetis, and became a student of Saint John the Short. Hermit, noted for his great austerity
Born
354 in the Roman Empire
Died
c.449 at Troë near Memphis, Egypt of natural causes
Saint Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth
Also known as
Lisa
Additional Memorial
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
Profile
Married lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Mother of Saint Simon Qin Chunfu. Martyred in the Boxer Rebellion.
Born
c.1846 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China
Died
19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China
Canonized
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Antonio of Valladolid
Profile
Mercedarian friar. Bible scholar. Provincial of the Order in Castile. Advisor to Spanish kings. Sent the first Mercedarian missionaries to America after recieving permission from Pope Alexander VI in 1493. Travelled to many churches in Spain, working to revitalize the faith. Known for his endless charity to the poor.
Died
1514 of natural causes
Saint Michael the Sabaitè
Also known as
Michael of Saint Sabas
Profile
Eighth century hermit at the monastery of Saint Sabas. The Muslim Caliph greatly admired him, and tried to convert him to Islam. Michael refused, so his admirer had him executed. Martyr.
Died
beheaded
Readings
Mohamed is neither an apostle nor a prophet. – Saint Michael
Saint Aurea of Cordoba
Also known as
Aura
Profile
Raised Muslim during the period of Moorish occupation of Spain. Married. Widow. Convert to Christianity. Nun at Cuteclara for 20 years. She was eventually denounced as a Christian by her family to Muslim religious authorities and killed for the crime of converting. Martyr.
Born
Cordoba, Spain
Died
beheaded in 856
Saint Ambrose Autpertus
Also known as
Ambrose Aut-pert
Profile
While in Italy as a diplomatic envoy, he visited the monastery of Saint Vincent near Benevento. There he answered a call to religious life and became a monk, and later served as its abbot.
Born
France
Died
c.778
Saint Romain of Ryazan
Also known as
Romanus
Profile
Son of the Prince of Ryazan. Imprisoned, tortured and murdered by pagan Tatars who accused him of insulting their gods. Martyr.
Died
cut to pieces, joint by joint, until he finally bled to death in 1270
Saint Martin of Trier
Also known as
Martin of Treves
Profile
Tenth bishop of Trier, Germany.
Died
• c.210
• may have been a martyr, but records are unclear
Saint Daria of Constantinople
Also known as
Daretia
Profile
Martyr.
Died
Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), date unknown
Blessed Pascasio of Lyon
Also known as
Pascasio of Lycaonia
Profile
Mercedarian friar. Bishop of Lycaonia, Asia Minor.
Saint Felix of Verona
Also known
Felicinus of Verona
Profile
Bishop of Verona, Italy.
Martyrs of Meros
Also known as
Martyrs of Phrygia
Profile
Three Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Julian the Apostate and governor Almachio. We know nothing else about them but the names - Macedoniuis, Tatian and Theodule.
Died
burned to death on an iron grill in Meros, Phrygia (in modern Turkey)
