Saint Nerses the Great
Profile
Educated at Cappadocia. Married a princess of the Mamikonian family. Father of Saint Isaac the Great. Catholicos in 353. When some of his proposed reforms displeased King Arshak III, Nerses was exiled until recalled in 369 by King Pap - who murdered him by poisoning 4 years later.
Died
poisoned in 373
Obadiah the Prophet
Also known as
Abdias, Abdis
Profile
Old Testament prophet whose writings are dated between the 9th and 5th centuries before Christ. Outside of the text, which announces the punishment of the enemies of Israel, nothing is known about him.
Name Meaning
servant of the Lord
Blessed Eliseo García y García
Profile
Member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joining in 1932. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
Born
25 August 1907 in El Manzano, Salamanca, Spain
Died
shot on 19 November 1936 in Garraf, Barcelona, Spain
Beatified
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Alexandre Planas Saurí
Profile
Deaf layman in the archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain. Member of the Salesian Cooperators whom he considered his family. Skiled sculptor. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
Born
31 October 1878 in Mataró, Barcelona, Spain
Died
shot on 19 November 1936 in Garraf, Barcelona, Spain
Beatified
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Simon of Mount Mercury
Also known as
Simone
Profile
Tenth century monk in Calabria, Italy. Abbot. He travelled to North Africa to obtain the relesae of some monks held captive by Muslims, he was captured himself. When the Saracens demanded that the Christian prisoners renounce their faith; when they refused, the captors prepared to beat them – and became paralyzed. Simon healed them with a prayer, and he and his brother monks were released. Late in life, Simon left his monastery to live as a hermit on Mount Mercury in Calabria.
Saint Barlaam of Antioch
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Uneducated Christian peasant. Jailed for his faith during the persecution of Diocletian. Brought to trial in 304, he was scourged, racked, tortured, and ordered to deny his faith; he refused. In an effort to make it look as though Barlaam were making an incense offering to an idol, the judge had the prisoner's hand covered in incense, then held over the coals of a brazier. He thought that when Barlaam flinched from the pain, the incense would fall in the fire, he could declare that Barlaam had made sacrifice, and he could be turned loose as an example. Instead, Barlaam never flinched. When his entire hand had burned off, the judge gave up and had him murdered. Martyr.
Born
Antioch
Died
304 at Caesarea, Cappadocia
Pope Saint Pontian
Also known as
Pontianus
Profile
Son of Calpurnius. Chosen 18th pope in 230. Ended the schism of Hippolytus and reconciled the schismatics with the Church. Exiled with Saint Hippolytus by emperor Maximinus Thrax to Sardinia and sentenced to work in the mines, he abdicated the papacy on 28 September 235 so a new man could lead the Church.
Born
at Rome, Italy
Papal Ascension
• 21 July 230
• abdicated on 28 September 235
Died
• 235 at Sardinia from the terrible treatment received in the mines
• remains brought to Rome, Italy by Pope Saint Fabian and buried in the catacomb of Callistus
Patronage
Montaldo Scarampi, Italy
Blessed James Benfatti
Also known as
• James Benefatti
• James of Mantua
• Father of the Poor
Profile
Dominican at Mantua, Italy in 1290. Doctor of theology. Priest. Friend and brother friar with Nicholas Boccasino who later became Pope Benedict XI, and for whom James held several support offices including papal legate. Bishop of Mantua in 1303. Noted for his devotion to the poor, and his care for the sick during a plague epidemic. Rebuilt his cathedral and refurbished churches. Papal legate for Pope John XXII.
Born
late 13th century at Mantua, Italy
Died
• 19 November 1332 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes
• body found incorrupt when exhumed in 1480
• body found incorrupt when exhumed in 1604
Beatified
1859 (cultus confirmed) by Pope Pius IX
Prayers
Eternal God, you established Blessed James as a model for your flock and made him renowned for his zeal for peace and for his mercy towards your people. By his prayers and example may we be united in the truth of your word and ever ardent in your divine love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
Saint Ebbe of Minster-in-Thanet
Also known as
• Aebbe of Minster-in-Thanet
• Domina Aebbe
• Domneva, Ermenburga, Ermenburgh
• Lady Ebba
Profile
Daughter of Prince Eormenred of Kent, England; grand-daughter of King Edbald. Sister of Saint Ermengitha, Saint Etheldreda, Saint Ethelred, and Saint Ethelbert of Eastry. Married to King Merewalh of Magonset. Mother of Saint Mildred of Thanet, Saint Milburga, and Saint Milgitha, and a son named Merefin who died very young.
In 664, Ebbe's cousin Egbert ascended to the throne of Kent. Worried about claims to the crown by Ethelred and Ethelbert, Egbert had them murdered. He later repented of the crime, and offered Queen Ebbe compensation for the loss (weregild). Ebbe chose a gift of as much land as her tame doe could run around in one course; the king agreed, and the Isle of Thanet was chosen as the site. The king's advisor, Thunor, who had recommended the murders, accused Ebbe of witchcraft, mounted his horse, and set off in pursuit of the doe; the earth promptly opened and swallowed him. The doe circled a large plot of land, which became the site of the monastery of Minster-on-Thanet, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; today the area is known as Ebbsfleet in memory of Ebbe. On the death of King Merewalh in 673, Ebbe entered the convent as its first abbess.
Born
7th century Kent, England
Died
19 November 694 at Minster-in-Thanet, Kent, England of natural causes
Bl. Salvatore Lilli
Feastday: November 19
Birth: 1853
Death: 1895
Beatified: Pope John Paul II
Son of Vincenzo and Annunziata Lilli. Joined the Franciscans in 1870, making his vows on 6 August 1871. Studied at the Franciscan seminary in the Holy Lands. Ordained in Bethlehem on 6 April 1878. Missionary in Jerusalem for two years. Missionary to Marasco, Armenia in 1880. In addition to preaching the faith he built schools, clinics, and homes for the abandoned, and taught modern hygiene and sanitation in the remote villages. Worked endlessly with the sick during a cholera epidemic in 1891. Missionary to Mujuk-Deresa, Armenia in 1894. In 1895 the area was occupied by Islamic Turks who captured Salvatore and fellow Franciscans Baldji Oghlou Ohannes, David Oghlou David, Dimbalac Oghlou Wartavar, Geremia Oghlou Boghos, Khodianin Oghlou Kadir, Kouradji Oghlou Tzeroum, and Toros Oghlou David. They were tortured and ordered to convert; they refused. One of the Martyrs of Armenia.
St. Ermenberga
Feastday: November 19
Death: 700
Wife of Merewald, a king of Mercia, England, and the mother of Sts. Mildred, Milburga, Ermengytha, and Mildgytha. She is also known as Domna Ebba or Domneva. Ermenberga founded the convent of Minster, on Thanet Isle, on land donated by her uncle King Egbert of Kent. Egbert had murdered Ermenberga's two brothers and provided the land as atonement for his crimes.
St. Faustus
Feastday: November 19
Death: 4th century
Martyr of Alexandria, Egypt, the deacon of St. Dionysius and his companion in exile. In extreme old age, Faustus was martyred.
St. Crispin
Feastday: November 19
Death: 4th century
Bishop and martyr, ruling the see of Ecijia in Andalusia, Spain. He is believed to have been beheaded in the reign of co-Emperor Maximilian. Crispin is particularly venerated in the Mozarabic breviary.
• Mechtilde of Hackeborn-Wippra
• Mechtilde of Hackenborn
• Mechtilde of Magdaburg
• Mathilda, Mathildis, Matilda, Maud, Mechthild, Mechtild, Mechtildis
26 February in some Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries
Born to a pious, powerful Thuringian noble family; her older sister was a nun. Convent-educated from age seven, Mechtilde became a nun at Rodersdorf, Switzerland. She moved to the Helfta monastery in 1258 where her sister served as abbess. Teacher and choir director at the convent school at Helfta. Visionary and mystic. Novice mistress for Saint Gertrude the Great who wrote The Book of Special Grace about Mechtilde's teachings; she was initially terrified that the book might cause trouble, but Christ appeared to her in prayer and told her not to worry. She became a much sought spiritual advisor to her sister nuns, laity and learned Dominicans. May have been the inspiration for the character Matelda in Dante's Purgatorio.
c.1241 at her family's castle of Helfta near Eisleben, Saxony, Germany
19 November 1298 at Helfta monastery of natural causes
against blindess (one well-known miracle was healing the blindness of a nun)
• dove on a book
• healing a blind nun
• receiving a vision of Mary
• with Saint Gertrude the Great
