St. Baldwin
Feastday: October 16
Death: 680
Martyr and son of St. Salaberga. He was also the brother of St. Anstrude. Baldwin was the archdeacon of León, Spain. His murder led to his status as a martyr for the faith.
St. Baldwin
Feastday: October 16
Death: 680
Martyr and son of St. Salaberga. He was also the brother of St. Anstrude. Baldwin was the archdeacon of León, Spain. His murder led to his status as a martyr for the faith.
St. Balderic
Feastday: October 16
Death: 7th century
Abbot and prince, brother of St. Bova. Balderie, or Baundry, and his sister were the children of Sigebert II, King of Austrasia. He became the abbot-founder of a convent at Reims and Montfaucon Abbey in France.
St. Anastasius XX
Feastday: October 16
Death: 1085
Hermit and papal legate. Anastasius was born in Venice about 1020. He became a monk in Mont St. Michel, in France, but then moved to a hermitage on the island of Tombelaine, off the coast of Normandy. In 1066, Anastasius was invited to enter Cluny Monastery by St. Hugh. Seven years later, known for his sanctity, Anastasius was commissioned by Pope St. Gregory VII to undertake a special mission in Spain. Anastasius returned to Cluny and remained there for seven years before becoming a hermit again near Toulouse. He was returning to Cluny when he died in 1085.
St. Ambrose
Feastday: October 16
Death: 752
Bishop of Cahors, in France. He resigned his office and made a pilgrimage to Rome. Living as a hermit, Ambrose died in Saint-Ambroisesur-Arnon, once called Ernotrum, in Berry.
St. Marguerite d'Youville
Feastday: October 16
Patron: of widows, difficult marriages, death of young children
Birth: October 15, 1701
Death: December 23, 1771
Beatified: 1959 by Pope John XXIII
Canonized: December 9, 1990, Vatican Basilica, by Pope John Paul II
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity, the Grey Nuns of Canada. St. Marguerite D'Youville was born at Varennes, Quebec, on October 15, Marie Marguerite Dufrost de La Jemmerais. She studied under the Ursulines, married Francois D'Youville in 1722, and became a widow in 1730. She worked to support herself and her three children, devoted much of her time to the Confraternity of the Holy Family in charitable activities.
In 1737, with three companions, she founded the Grey Nuns when they took their initial vows; a formal declaration took place in 1745. Two years later she was appointed Directress of the General Hospital in Montreal, which was taken over by the Grey Nuns, and had the rule of the Grey Nuns, with Marguerite as Superior, confirmed by Bishop of Pontbriand of Quebec in 1755.
She died in Montreal on December 23, and since her death, the Grey Nuns have established schools, hospitals, and orphanages throughout Canada, the United States, Africa, and South America, and are especially known for their work among the Eskimos. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1959 and canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II.
Saint Marguerite d'Youville (French pronunciation: [maʁɡʁit djuvil]; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II of the Roman Catholic Church in 1990, the first native-born Canadian to be declared a saint.
Early life and marriage
She was born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais in 1701 at Varennes, Quebec, oldest daughter of Christophe du Frost, Sieur de la Gesmerays (1661–1708) and Marie-Renée Gaultier de Varennes. (According to Quebec naming conventions, she would have always been known as Marguerite, not Marie.) Her father died when she was a young girl. Despite her family's poverty, at age 11 she was able to attend the Ursuline convent in Quebec City for two years before returning home to teach her younger brothers and sisters.[1] Marguerite's impending marriage to a scion of Varennes society was foiled by her mother's marriage below her class to Timothy Sullivan, an Irish doctor who was seen by the townspeople as a disreputable foreigner.[2] On August 12, 1722, at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, she married François d'Youville, a bootlegger who sold liquor illegally to Indigenous Peoples in exchange for furs and who frequently left home for long periods for parts unknown. Despite this, the couple eventually had six children before François died in 1730. By age 30 she had suffered the loss of her father, husband and four of her six children, who died in infancy. Marguerite experienced a religious renewal during her marriage. "In all these sufferings Marguerite grew in her belief of God's presence in her life and His tender love for every human person. She, in turn, wanted to make known His compassionate love to all. She undertook many charitable works with complete trust in God, whom she loved as a Father."[1]
Grey Nuns of Montreal
Marguerite d'Youville Sanctuary in Varennes
Marguerite and three other women founded in 1737 a religious association to provide a home for the poor in Montreal. At first, the home only housed four or five members, but it grew as the women raised funds. As their actions went against the social conventions of the day, d'Youville and her colleagues were mocked by their friends and relatives and even by the poor they helped. Some called them "les grises", which can mean "the grey women" but which also means "the drunken women",[3] about d'Youville's late husband. By 1744 the association had become a Catholic religious order with a rule and a formal community. In 1747 they were granted a charter to operate the General Hospital of Montreal, which by that time was in ruins and heavily in debt. d'Youville and her fellow workers brought the hospital back into financial security,[4] but the hospital was destroyed by fire in 1765.[1] The order rebuilt the hospital soon after. By this time, the order was commonly known as the "Grey Nuns of Montreal" after the nickname given to the nuns in ridicule years earlier. Years later, as the order expanded to other cities, the order became known simply as the "Grey Nuns".
Slave owner
d'Youville has been described as "one of Montreal's more prominent slaveholders".[5][6] d'Youville and the Grey Nuns used enslaved laborers in their hospital and purchased and sold both Indian slaves and British prisoners, including an English slave which she purchased from the Indians. The vast majority of the 'slaves' in the hospital were English soldiers and would be better described as prisoners of war. As described in 'The Captors' Narrative: Catholic Women and Their Puritan Men on the Early American Frontier': "These 21 men were not captive freeholders, resentful of their captors' religion and longing to reestablish themselves at home. They were for the most part young soldiers, many of them conscripts, simply wishing to survive their captivity. However strange they may have found the community that held them and the woman who supervised them, they were probably relieved to find themselves in a situation that offered a strong possibility of survival. They knew their fellow soldiers to be dying in nearby prisons -- places notorious for their exposure to the heat and cold and unchecked pestilence. As hard as they must have worked at Pointe-Saint-Charles, the men could easily have regarded their captivity at least as a partial blessing." [7]
Legacy
Marguerite d'Youville died in 1771 at the General Hospital. In 1959, she was beatified by Pope John XXIII, who called her "Mother of Universal Charity", and was canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II. She is the first native-born Canadian to be elevated to sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is October 16. In 1961, a shrine was built in her birthplace of Varennes. Today, it is the site of a permanent exhibit about the life and works of Marguerite.[8] The review process included a medically inexplicable cure of acute myeloid leukemia after relapse. The woman is the only known long-term survivor in the world, having lived more than 40 years from a condition that typically kills people in 18 months.[9]
A large number of Roman Catholic churches, schools, women's shelters, charity shops, and other institutions in Canada and worldwide are named after St. Marguerite d'Youville. Most notably, the renowned academic institution of higher learning, D'Youville College in Buffalo, NY, is named after her.[10] The D'Youville Academy at Plattsburgh, New York was founded in 1860.[11]
Sir Louis-Amable Jetté’s wife, Lady Jetté, wrote a biography of Saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville.[12]
Final resting place
In 2010, Mother Marie-Marguerite d'Youville's remains were removed from Grey Nuns Motherhouse and relocated to her birthplace of Varennes.[13]
Recognition
On September 21, 1978, Canada Post issued 'Marguerite d'Youville' based on a design by Antoine Dumas. The 14¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited.[14]
St. Agileus
Feastday: October 15
Death: 300
Martyr honored by St. Augustine. Agileus was a Christian and lived in North Africa. He is listed as being martyred in the city of Carthage during the local persecutions. St. Augustine memorialized him on his birthday with a sermon.
St. Antiochus
Feastday: October 15
Death: 5th century
Bishop who tried to persuade St. Justus to resume his see of Lyons, in France. Antiochus, also called Andeol, was a priest in Lyons when St. Justus resigned as bishop and went to Egypt to become a hermit. Antiochus was sent to Egypt to persuade St. Justus to return to Lyons. When Antiochus went back to Lyons without Justus, he was elected bishop to replace the saint.
St. Callistus
Feastday: October 15
Death: 1003
Spanish martyr and companion of St. Mercurialis. Callistus was born in Huesca, in Aragon, Spain. Callistus went to France with St. Mercurialis to fight against the Saracens, dying in battle. Callistus and Mercurialis are venerated in the diocese of Tarbes, France.
St. Cannatus
Feastday: October 15
Death: 5th century
A bishop of Marseilles, France, and successor of St. Honoratus.
St. Euthymius the Younger
Feastday: October 15
Death: 886
Founder also called Euthymius the Thesssalonian or "the New." He was born in Galatia, and went to Mount Olympus in Bithynia circa 848. Sometime later he moved to Mt. Athos, Greece, where he gained a reputation as a preacher. He founded a monastery in Salonika, lived for some months in a tower, and then returned to Athos. There he built a monastery and founded another one. A few months before his death, Euthymius went to a solitary retreat, where he died on October 15 .
This article is about the Russian monastery. For the 5th century monastery in Palestine, see Laura of Euthymius.
The Saviour Monastery of St. Euthymius is a monastery in Suzdal, Russia, founded in 1352.[1]
History
Foundation
The monastery was founded in 1352 by the monk Yevfimi from Nizhny Novgorod, invited by Grand Prince Boris Konstantinovich of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod. The monastery, originally called the Spassky, was located high over the Kamenka River and served as a fortress to protect the town from any attackers. The original monastery buildings were made of wood, however, there is no data on their appearances. Monk Yevfimi (Euthymius) became the first archimandrite and lived here until 1404. Upon his death the monastery was renamed after him into the Spaso-Yevfimiev Monastery.[2]
The Great Battle of Suzdal happened right next to the monastery, that ended with defeat or the Russians. Vasily II of Moscow was captured and taken as a prisoner to Ulugh Muhammad sons Makhmud and Jakub. The Mongols sacked Suzdal and moved to Vladimir.
Late Middle Ages
The first wooden Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was constructed in 1507—1511 above the Saint Euthymius tomb. In 1594 a cathedral with four internal piers was built around this church. The old historical part was renamed into the St Euthymius aisle. The new Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was built of white stone in a traditional Russian style.[3]
The monastery grew in importance in the 16th and 17th centuries after donations by Vasili III, Ivan IV and the Pozharsky family, a noble dynasty of the region. They financed the construction of the strong brick walls around the monastery in 1670—1680s, that replaced the old wooden wall. 11 of 12 wall towers were made in round faceted shape, except the main gate tower. It is 22 m high and decorated in traditional "uzorochye" style. Between the 16-17th centuries the monastery also got the Assumption Church, the bell tower and the seven-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. The cathedral was built in the style of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal. Its interior contains restored frescoes by the school of Gury Nikitin of Kostroma, dating from 1689. The tomb of Dmitry Pozharsky lies by the cathedral wall.[3]
St. Flavia
Feastday: October 15
There is nothing known about Flavia other than she was martyred. The feast kept by the Western Church today is actually of St. Placid, "a monk and disciple of the Blessed Abbot Benedict, together with his brothers Eutychius and Victorinus, their sister, the maiden Flavia, Donatus, Firmatus the deacon, Faustus, and thirty other monks", who, we are told were martyred by pirates at Messina. The feast day is October 15th.
For St. Flavia Domitilla, see Flavia Domitilla (saint).
Saint Flavia is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She was martyred at Messina along with her brother, the Benedictine monk Saint Placidus, their brothers Eutychius and Victorinus, Donatus, Firmatus the deacon, Faustus, and thirty other monks. They were killed by pirates. Their feast day is October 15.[1]