St. Phocas of Sinope
(St. Phocas the Gardener)
Feastday: September 22
Death: 102
Martyred bishop of Sinope, a diocese on the Black Sea. He was martyred during the reign of Emperor Trajan.
Hieromartyr Phocas was born in the city of Sinope. During his adult years he became Bishop of Sinope. At the time of a persecution against Christians under the emperor Trajan (98–117), the governor demanded that the saint renounce Christ. After fierce torture they enclosed St Phocas in a hot bath, where he died a martyr's death in the year 117.[2]
A homily in his honour was composed by Saint John Chrysostom on the occasion of the translation of his relics to Constantinople. The translation of his holy relics from Pontus to Constantinople about the year 404 A.D. is celebrated on July 23. His primary feast is on September 22, and he is called a wonderworker.[1][2][3]
The Hieromartyr Phocas is especially venerated as a defender against fires, and also as a helper of the drowning.
Patron: of gardeners; sailors; hospitality; agricultural workers; boatmen; farm workers; farmers; fieldhands; gardeners; husbandmen; mariners; market-gardeners; sailors; watermen
Death: ~303
Image of St. Phocas the GardenerPhocas earned his living by cultivating a garden near the city gate of Sinope (now in Turkey). The quiet and beauty of the plot he cultivated proved quite conducive to his exercise of prayer in the course of his labors. He shared with the poor what he earned from his gardening, and opened his home to travelers lacking a place to stay. Phocas' Christian identity became known to the pagan Roman authorities. Soldiers were dispatched to find and arrest him. Upon nearing Sinope, they stopped at Phocas' door and received lodging from him, unaware that their host was the man they were charged to capture. At his table, they spoke openly of their mission before retiring for the night. As the soldiers slept, Phocas kept watch in prayer to prepare himself for martyrdom. The next morning, he revealed to them his identity. In a turn of events similar to the martyrdom of Saint Eudoxius (see September 5), the stunned soldiers were at first reluctant to carry out their orders against their kind host, but in the end they beheaded him. Phocas is venerated as a patron saint of both gardeners and mariners.
Saint Phocas, sometimes called Phocas the Gardener (Greek:Φωκᾶς), is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His life and legend may have been a fusion of three men with the same name: a Phocas of Antioch, a Phocas the Gardener and Phocas, Bishop of Sinope.[2]
History
Christian tradition states that he was a gardener who lived at Sinope, on the Black Sea, who used his crops to feed the poor and aided persecuted Christians.[3] During the persecutions of Diocletian, he provided hospitality to the soldiers who were sent to execute him. The soldiers, not knowing that their host was their intended victim, agreed to his hospitality. Phocas also offered to help them find the person they were seeking.
As the soldiers slept, Phocas dug his own grave and prayed. He made arrangements for all his possessions to be distributed to the poor after his death.[3] In the morning, when the soldiers awoke, Phocas revealed his identity.
The soldiers hesitated and offered to report to their commander that their search had been fruitless. Phocas refused this offer and bared his neck. He was then decapitated and buried in the grave that he had dug for himself.[3]
Veneration
He is mentioned by Saint Asterius of Amasia (ca. 400). The name Phocas seems to derive from the Greek word for "seal" (phoke/φώκη), which may explain his patronage of sailors and mariners. A sailors' custom was to serve Phocas a portion of every meal; this was called "the portion of St. Phocas." This portion was bought by one of the voyagers and the price was deposited in the hands of the captain. When the ship came into port, the money was distributed among the poor, in thanksgiving to their benefactor for their successful voyage. He is mentioned in the work by Laurentius Surius. This tradition may be connected to a similar practice among sailors in the Baltic Sea of giving food offerings to an invisible sprite known as the Klabautermann.[5]
Other Gardener Saints
Saint Conon the Gardener (or of Pamphylia, Palestine, or Magydos)
Saint Serenus
Saint Fiacre
St. Lioba
Feastday: September 22
Death: 781
Benedictine abbess, a relative of St. Boniface. Born in Wessex, England, she was trained by St. Tetta, and became a nun at Wimboume Monastery in Dorsetshire. Lioba, short for Liobgetha, was sent with twenty-nine companions to become abbess of Bischofheim Monastery in Mainz, Germany She founded other houses as well and served as abbess for twenty-eight years. She was a friend of St. Hildegard, Charlemagne's wife.
St. Digna & Emerita
Feastday: September 22
Death: 259
Roman maidens martyred in the Eternal City. They both died while praying before their judges. Their relics are in St. Marcellus Church in Rome.
For the 9th century St. Digna, see Martyrs of Córdoba.
Saints Digna and Emerita (died 259 AD) are venerated as saints by the Catholic Church. They were martyred at Rome.
Their feast day is celebrated on September 22.
Their relics are said to lie at the church of San Marcello al Corso, in Rome, although it is recorded that on April 5, 838, a monk named Felix appeared at Fulda with the remains of Saints Cornelius, Callistus, Agapitus, Georgius, Vincentius, Maximus, Cecilia, Eugenia, Digna, Emerita, and Columbana
Saint Ignatius of Santhia
Also known as
• Ignazio da Santhia
• Lawrence Belvisotti
• Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti
• Maurice Belvisotti
Profile
Ordained in 1710 in the diocese of Vercelli, Italy. Parish priest for six years. He was offered a position of authority in the diocese, but declined, and on 24 May 1716 he became a novice in the Capuchins of Turin, Italy, taking the name Ignatius, and beginning 54 years of service in the Order.
He was under the direction of a novice half his age, which Father Ignatius accepted with humility. In 1717 he was assigned to the convent at Saluzzo, Italy, and served as sacristan. Novice master at Chieri, Italy. Sacristan at Capuchin Hill, Turin in 1723, a convent with 87 priests. Novice master at Mondovi from 1731 to 1744. An eye illness forced him to give up the position for nearly two years.
When he recovered he became head chaplain of the armies of the King of Piedmont who were fighting invading Franco-Hispanic forces. He was noted for his work in the field as minister, and with the injured. After the war he returned to life at Capuchin Hill where he served as confessor and religious instructor to lay brothers. In his later years he spent his days visiting the sick and the poor of Turin, and ministering to the thousands that came daily to Capuchin Hill for his blessing.
Born
5 June 1686 in Santhià, Vercelli, Italy as Maurice Belvisotti
Died
22 September 1770 of natural causes in Turin, Italy
Canonized
19 May 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy
Saint Maurice
மறைசாட்சிகள் மவுரிசியஸ் மற்றும் தோழர்கள்
St. Mauritius and companions
பிறப்பு : 3 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு,எகிப்து
இறப்பு : 302,அகாவ்னும் Agaunum(செயிண்ட் மௌரிஸ் St.Maurice), சுவிட்சர்லாந்து
பாதுகாவல்: போர் வீரர்கள், வியாபாரிகள்,சாயத் தொழிலாளிகள், ஆடை நிறுவனங்கள்,காது, மூட்டு நோய்களிலிருந்து
இவர் எகிப்து நாட்டில் முதன்முதலில் இராணுவப் படையை உருவாக்கினார். இவர், தன் படைவீரர்களுடன் சேர்ந்து சிலுவைப்போரை புரிந்தனர். இவரின் படைவீரர்களை, தன் படைக்கு கொடையாக தருமாறு, எதிர்படையினர்,
மவுரிசியஸிடம் கேட்டனர். அப்படி தந்தால் வெற்றியடைய செய்வோம் என்றும் கூறினர். ஆனால் மவுரிசியஸ் இதனை ஏற்க மறுத்தார். இதனால் மீண்டும் போர் மூண்டது. மவுரிசியசின் படையிலிருந்த படைவீரர்கள் சிலரின் அந்த
செயல்களால், மவுரிசியஸ், அப்படையை விட்டு விலக வேண்டியதாயிற்று. இவர் அப்படையிலிருந்து விலகியப்பின் படைவீரர்கள் மிகக் கடினமான ஒழுங்குகளை கடைபிடிக்க வற்புறுத்தப்பட்டார்கள். இதனை கடைபிடிக்க மறுத்ததால், பலம் வாய்ந்த வீரர்கள் பலர் கொல்லப்பட்டனர். அதன்பிறகு இராணுவவீரர்கள் 6000 பேர், மாக்சிமில்லியனுடன் (Maxmilian)
சேர்ந்து, ஜெனிவா என்ற ஏரியின் அருகே எதிரிகளுடன் போரிட்டனர். இப்போரில் மீண்டும் பலர் இறந்தனர். இதனால் இராணுவத்தில் மிகக்குறைவான பலம் வாய்ந்த வீரர்களே இருந்தனர். இவற்றை கண்ட மவுரிசியஸ், மீண்டும் ராணுவத்தில் நுழைந்தார். இராணுவ வீரர்களுக்கு சிறப்பான பயிற்சியை கொடுத்தார். வீரர்களை மீண்டும்
திடப்படுத்தி பலமூட்டினார். அத்துடன் அவர்களுக்கு கிறிஸ்துவ நெறியை கற்பித்து நல்ல கிறிஸ்துவர்களாகவும் வாழ வைத்தார். இந்நிலையில் எதிரிகள் மீண்டும் படையெடுத்து வந்து மவுரிசியசையும் அவரின் படைவீரர்களையும் கொன்றார்கள்
Also known as
Mauritius, Moritz, Morris
Profile
Layman. Soldier. Officer in a legion of Christian soldiers from Upper Egypt during the reign of Emperor Maximian Herculeus. His legion, as many as 6600 men, was massacred en masse by their own side when they refused to participate in pagan sacrifices prior to battle. One of the Martyrs of the Theban Legion.
Died
c.287 at Agaunum, an area of modern Switzerland
Patronage
• against cramps
• against gout
• alpine troops
• armies
• cloth dyers
• clothmakers
• infantrymen
• Pontifical Swiss Guards
• soldiers
• swordsmiths
• weavers
• Austria
• Sardinia
• diocese of Angers, France
• diocese of Magdeburg, Germany
• 4 cities
Representation
• banner
• soldier
• soldier being executed with other soldiers
• knight (sometimes a Moor) in full armour, bearing a standard and a palm
• knight in armour with a red cross on his breast, which is the badge of the Sardinian Order of Saint Maurice
Saint Settimio of Jesi
Also known as
Septimus
Profile
Raised in a pagan family, Settimio received a good education and was a professional soldier. While in Italy, he converted to Christianity, and began to preach the faith. He was forced to flee from Milan, Italy in 303 during the persecutions of Diocletian. In Rome he became known for his preaching and bringing converts to the faith, even during a time of persecution. Consecrated as the first bishop of Jesi, Italy by Pope Saint Marcellus I. In Jesi, he built the first cathedral of the diocese, but a judge named Florentius ordered Settimio to sacrifice to pagan gods. Bishop Settimio ignored the order, continued to preach, performed miracles, and converted many in the city. For his refusal, he was executed. Martyr.
Born
Germany
Died
• beheaded in Jesi, Italy
• though his place of burial was lost, by 1208 the cathedral was named for him
• relics re-discovered in 1469 and enshrined in the Jesi cathedral
• relics re-enshrined in a new altar in 1623
Patronage
• Jesi, Italy, city of
• Jesi, Italy, diocese of
Saint Gunthildis of Suffersheim
Also known as
Gunthild
Profile
A pious milk maid and servant, known for her charity to the poor. On two occasions, in response to her prayers, springs of fresh water erupted out of the ground, once from solid rock; the water from the latter was said to cure a leper who washed in it. Once when she was about to give away a bucket of fresh milk to the poor, her employer caught her and asked what she was carrying; she told him it was a bucket of lye, and when he looked, the milk had, indeed, turned to lye.
Died
• c.1057 in Suffersheim, Bavaria, Germany of natural causes
• her burial site was chosen by the oxen that were pulling the wagon as they stopped at a particular spot and would go no further
• after miracles were reported at her grave, a chapel was built over it
Representation
• woman with a bucket of milk and/or a block of cheese, and a cow
• woman with a pitcher of milk
Patronage
cattle, lepers, servants
Saint Lauto of Coutances
Also known as
Laud, Laudo, Laudus, Launus, Lô
Profile
Bishop of Coutances, France in 528; he served for 40 years. Participated in the conclave of bishops in Angers, France c.529. Noted for his healing miracles, especially of eye problems. The town of Briovere and Lauto's estate became the modern city of Saint-Lô in northern France, and a healing spring at Courcy, France dedicated to him is a pilgrimage site.
Born
Courcy, France
Died
c.568 of natural causes
Patronage
• blind people; against blindness
• eyes
• Coutances, France, diocese of
Saint Sadalberga
Also known as
Salaberga
Profile
Born to the nobility, the daughter of Duke Gundoin of Alsace; sister of Saint Bodo. She went blind as a child, but was healed by Saint Eustace of Luxeuil. Married, but widowed after two months. Married to Saint Blandinus of Laon. Mother of five, including Saint Baldwin and Saint Anstrudis of Laon. Their children grown, Sadalberga and Blandinus separated, each to enter religious life. Nun at Poulangey. Worked with Saint Waldebert of Luxeuil to found the convent of Saint John the Baptist in Laon, France, and served as its abbess.
Born
Toul, France
Died
c.665 in Laon, France
Blessed Giovanni Battista Bonetti
Also known as
Giovanni Battista Bonetto
Profile
A physically small and very humble man, Giovanni joined the Franciscan friars in Turin, Italy in 1635, and was assigned to the house in Piobesi Torinese. Priest. Sent to north Africa as a missionary to the Muslim Moors, his public preaching of Christianity led to him being arrested, tortured, dragged through the street by horses and excuted. Martyr.
Born
early 17th century in Pont Canavese, Turin, Italy
Died
• burned to death on 22 September 1654 in Tripoli, Libya
• a knight of Malta who witnessed the execution later had a vision of Giovanni in heaven
Saint Emmeramus of Regensburg
Also known as
Emmeran, Haimhramm
Profile
Priest and noted preacher in Bavaria, Germany. Abbot of a monastery in Regensburg, Germany. Bishop of Regensburg. Murdered on the road on his way to Rome, Italy. He is honoured as a martyr in some areas, but his killers may have just been highway robbers.
Born
Poitiers, France
Died
• killed c.690
• relics in the monastery in Regensburg, Germany
Patronage
Regensburg, Germany
Representation
• ladder
• spear
Saint Augustinus Yu Chin-Kil
Also known as
• Augustinus Yu Jin-Gil
• Augustinus Yu Chin-gil
• Auguseutino, Augustine
Profile
Married layman catechist in the apstolic vicariate of Korea. Wrote to Pope Gregory XVI, asking for missionaries and priests to Korea. Imprisoned, tortured and martyred for his faith.
Born
1791 in Jo Dong, Seoul, South Korea
Died
beheaded on 22 September 1839 in Seoul, Korea
Canonized
6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Joseph Marchandon
Profile
Priest in the diocese of Limoges, France. Imprisoned on a ship in the harbor of Rochefort, France and left to die during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the French Revolution. One of the Martyrs of the Hulks of Rochefort.
Born
21 August 1745 in Bénévent, Creuse, France
Died
22 September 1794 aboard the prison ship Deux-Associés, in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France
Beatified
1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Florentius the Venerable
புனித ப்ளாரன்டியுஸ் (ஐந்தாம் நூற்றாண்டு)
செப்டம்பர் 22
இவர் பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டைச் சார்ந்த, தூர்ஸ் நகர்ப் புனித மார்ட்டினின் மாணவர். அவரிடம் பாடம் கற்று வந்த இவர், அவராலேயே அருள் பணியாளராக அருள்பொழிவு செய்யப்பட்டார்.
இதன் பிறகு இவர் பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் உள்ள போய்டோவு (Poitou) என்ற இடத்திற்கு நற்செய்தி அறிவிக்க அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்டார்.
அங்குச் சென்றதும், க்ளோன்னி மலையில் ஒரு துறவு மடம் அமைத்துத் துறவியாக வாழத் தொடங்கினார். இதைச் சுற்றிலும் இருந்த இளைஞர்கள் பார்த்துவிட்டு, இவருடைய சீடராக வந்து சேர்ந்தார்கள்.
இவரோ, தான் இறக்கும்வரை தனக்குக் கீழ் இருந்த துறவிகளுக்கு முன் மாதிரியான வாழ்க்கையை வாழ்ந்து காட்டினார்.
Also known as
Fiorenzo, Florence, Florent-le-Vieux
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Martin of Tours who ordained him and sent him to evangelize in Poitou, France. Hermit at Mount Glonne in Anjou, France. His reputation for holiness spread and he attracted so many spiritual students that he built a monastery for them; it was later known as Saint-Florent-le-Vieux.
Born
Bavaria, Germany
Died
5th century
Saints Digna and Emerita of Rome
Profile
Consecrated virgins, an early version of a nun. When dragged to court for the crime of Christianity during the persecutions of Valerian, they simply stood in front of the judge and prayed. Martyrs.
Died
• c.259 in Rome, Italy
• relics enshrined in the church of Saint Marcellus in Rome
Blessed Otto of Freising
Profile
Cistercian monk. Priest. Bishop of Freising, Germany. Adopted the Gregorian reforms for his diocese. Throughout his episcopacy, he wore the Cistercian habit and attended to all his duties as a monk as well as bishop.
Died
1158 at the Cistercian monastery of Morimond, France of natural causes
Blessed Alfonso da Cusco
Profile
Mercedarian lay brother at the convent of San Giovanni Laterano in Arequipa, Peru. Known for his piety and as a miracle worker.
Saint Basilia
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Died
• beheaded c.300 on the Via Salaria, Rome, Italy
• legend says that seven healing springs appeared at the place of execution - one from every point the severed head touched
Saint Jonas
Also known as
Yon
Profile
Disciple of Saint Dionysius of Paris. Priest. Evangelized near Paris, France. Marytred by order of the Roman prefect Julian.
Died
flogged and stabbed with a sword c.3rd century at Paris, France
Saint Sanctinus of Meaux
Profile
Spiritual student of Saint Denis of Paris. First bishop of Meaux, France.
Died
c.300
Saint Irais
Also known as
Herais, Rhais
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.
Born
Egyptian
Died
beheaded c.300
Saint Silvanus of Levroux
Also known as
Silouan, Silvano
Profile
Early saint long venerated in Levroux, France.
Saint Lindru of Partois
Profile
Nun in Partois, France.
Martyrs of the Theban Legion
Profile
A Roman imperial legion of 6,600 soldiers, all of whom were Christians; they had been recruited from the area around Thebes in Upper Egypt, were led by Saint Maurice, and served under Emperor Maximian Herculeus. Around the year 287, Maximian led the army across the Alps to Agaunum, an area in modern Switzerland, in order to suppress a revolt by the Bagandre in Gaul. In connection with battle, the army offered public sacrifices to the Roman gods; the Theban Legion refused to participate. For refusing orders, the Legion was decimated - one tenth of them were executed. When the remainder refused to sacrifice to the gods, they were decimated again. When the survivors still refused to sacrifice, Maximinian ordered them all killed. Martyrs.
Known members of the Legion include
• Alexander of Bergamo
• Alverius of Agaunum
• Candidus the Theban
• Chiaffredo of Saluzzo
• Exuperius
• Fortunato
• Innocent of Agaunum
• Martiniano of Pecco
• Maurice
• Sebastian of Agaunum
• Secundus the Theban
• Ursus the Theban
• Victor of Agaunum
• Victor of Cologne
• Victor of Xanten
• Victor the Theban
• Vitalis of Agaunum
Other profiled saints associated with the Legion include
• Antoninus of Piacenza (martyred soldier; associated by later story tellers)
• Adventor of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Attilio of Trino (martyred soldier; associated by some, but not all, later lists)
• Bessus
• Cassius (may have been a member)
• Florentius the Martyr (may have been a member)
• George of San Giorio (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Gereon (not a member, but another soldier who was martyred for refusing to make a sacrifice to Roman gods)
• Gusmeo of Gravedona sul Lario (may have been a member)
• Matthew of Gravedona sul Lario (may have been a member)
• Octavius of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Pons of Pradleves (escaped the massacre to become an evangelists in northern Italy)
• Secundus of Asti (not a member, but linked due to art work)
• Solutor of Turin (not a member; associated by later story tellers)
• Tiberio of Pinerolo (may have been a member)
• Verena (wife of a member of the Legion)
Died
• martyred c.287 in Agaunum (modern Saint-Maurice-en-Valais, Switzerland
• a basilica was built in Agaunum to enshrine the relics of the Legion
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 Alfonso Lopez
• Blessed Antonio Gil-Monforte
• Blessed Antonio Sáez de Ibarra López
• Blessed Carlos Navarro Miquel
• Blessed Diego Morata Cano
• Blessed Enrique Pedro Gonzálvez Andreu
• Blessed Esteban Cobo-Sanz
• Blessed Federico Cobo-Sanz
• Blessed Félix Echevarría Gorostiaga
• Blessed Francisco Carlés González
• Blessed Francisco Vicente Edo
• Blessed Germán Gozalvo Andreu
• Blessed José Ardil Lázaro
• Blessed Josefina Moscardó Montalvá
• Blessed Juan García Cervantes
• Blessed Luis Echevarría Gorostiaga
• Blessed María Purificación Vidal Pastor
• Blessed Miguel Zarragua Iturrízaga
• Blessed Modesto Allepuz Vera
• Blessed Ramon Rius Camps<
• Blessed Simón Miguel Rodríguez
• Blessed Vicente Sicluna Hernández
Also celebrated but no entry yet
• Martyrs of Valencia, Spain
