Saint Humbert of Elmham November 20

 Saint Humbert of Elmham

Profile

Ninth-century bishop. Crowned Saint Edmund as king of East Anglia in 855. Martyred by pagan Danish raiders.

Died

870 in East Anglia (in modern England

Saint Gregory Decapolites November 20

 Saint Gregory Decapolites

Profile

Ninth century monk. Hermit. Pilgrim. An opponent of the iconoclasts, at whose hands he suffered.

Born

at the Decapolis, Asia Minor

Died

842 in Constantinople

Saint Nerses of Sahgerd November 20

 Saint Nerses of Sahgerd

Profile

Bishop of Sahgerd in Persia. Arrested with 10 or 12 parishioners during the persecutions of Shapur II. They were offered their freedom if they would worship the sun; they declined. Martyr.

Died

Persia

Saint Apothemius of Angers November 20

 Saint Apothemius of Angers

Also known as

Apotemius, Apothème, Hypotheme

Profile

Hermit. Spritual student of Saint Martin of Tours. Priest. Bishop of Angers, France c.380.

Born

Greece

Died

c.389

Saint Hippolytus of Belley November 20

 Saint Hippolytus of Belley

Also known as

• Hippolytus of Condat

• Hippolytus of Saint-Oyend

• Ippolito of...

Profile

Monk. Abbot of Saint-Oyend abbey. Bishop of Belley, France.

Died

c.772 in Jura, France

Saint Crispin of Ecija November 20

 Saint Crispin of Ecija

Profile

Fourth century bishop of Ecija, Andalusia, Spain. Martyred in the persecutions of Maximian Herculeus. Has a special office in the old Mozarabic Breviary and Missal.

Died

beheaded in the early 4th century in Ecija, Andalusia, Spain

Saint Autbodus of Valcourt November 20

 Saint Autbodus of Valcourt

Profile

Missionary and evangelist in the areas of Artois, Hainault and Picardy, regions today in modern France and Belgium. He finally retired to end his days as a hermit near Laon, France.

Born

Ireland

Died

690

Saint Dasius of Dorostorum November 20

 Saint Dasius of Dorostorum

Also known as

• Dasius of Silistria

• Dasio of...

Profile

Bishop at Dorostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria). Fought against the immorality involved in the Saturnalia and other pagan festivals. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

c.303

Saint Sylvester of Châlons-sur-Saône November 20

 Saint Sylvester of Châlons-sur-Saône

Profile

Priest for 40 years. Bishop of Châlons-sur-Saône, France from c.484 to c.525. Saint Gregory of Tours describes him as "the glory of confessors".

Died

c.525 in Châlons-sur-Saône, France of natural causes

Saint Francis Xavier Can Nguyen November 20

 Saint Francis Xavier Can Nguyen

Also known as

Phanxicô Xaviê Can

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Layman. Catechist. Worked to help the Paris Foreign Mission Society. Arrested for his faith, he was offered the chance for freedom if he would renounce his faith; he declined. Martyr.

Born

c.1803 in Son Miêng, Hà Ðông, Vietnam

Died

strangled to death on 20 November 1837 in prison in Ô Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Saint Bernerio of Eboli November 20

 Saint Bernerio of Eboli

Also known as

Berniero

Profile

Pilgrim to all the major shrines in Spain and then in Rome, Italy. Cave hermit in Eboli, Salerno, Italy.

Born

c.1100 in Spain

Died

• late 12th century of natural causes

• buried at the church of the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro in Eboli, Italy

• relics re-discovered on 16 October 1554

• relics enshrined under the altar of the crypt of the church of San Pietro in Eboli on 25 July 1930

Canonized

Congregation of Rites approved an Office for the clergy of Eboli, Italy on 18 May 1602

Patronage

Eboli, Italy

Representation

• pilgrim's staff

• defeating, standing or chastising a dragon, referring to his personal fight with sin

Blessed Ambrose of Camaldoli November 20

 Blessed Ambrose of Camaldoli

Also known as

• Ambrose Traversari

• Ambrogio...

Profile

Born to the Tuscan nobility. Studied assorted arts, sciences and languages in Venice, Italy, and would be considered a classic Renaissance man. Joined the Camaldolese in 1400 at the Santa Maria del Angelis monastery in Florence, Italy. A noted scholar and theologian, he read widely, wrote extensively, including lives of the saints, collected a large library, and translated much of it. Teacher of both religious and lay people. Superior-general of the Camaldolese in 1431. Negotiator between the pope and emperor Sigismond. Worked for re-unification with the Greek bishops at the Council of Florence in 1439, drawing up the final statement of the Council.

Born

16 September 1386 in Portico di Romagna, Florence, Tuscany, Italy as Ambrose Traversari

Died

21 October 1439 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti November 20

 Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti

Also known as

Anna Felicia Viti

Profile

Daughter of Luigi Viti, a gambler and heavy drinker, and Anna Bono, who died when Anna was fourteen. Raised her eight siblings after her mother's death, often working as a domestic servant to support them. Joined the Benedictines at the San Maria de'Franconi monastery in Veroli, Italy on 21 March 1851 at age 24, taking the name Sister Maria Fortunata. She was over 70 years in the Order, her days spent spinning, sewing, washing, mending - and praying the whole time. Sister Maria never learned to read or write, and never held any position in her house, but she had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and whole generations of nuns and local lay people learned from her quiet, humble, happy, prayerful example.

Born

10 February 1827 in Veroli, Frosinone, Italy as Anna Felicia Viti

Died

• 20 November 1922 in Veroli, Frosinone, Italy of natural causes

• interred in a mass grave at her house

• miracles reported at her grave site

Beatified

8 October 1967 by Pope Paul VI

Patronage

• against poverty; poor people

• against temptations

• loss of parents

• against mental illness; mentally ill people

Saint Cyprian of Calamizzi November 20

 Saint Cyprian of Calamizzi

Also known as

Cipriano

Profile

Born to the to wealthy nobility; his father was a physician, and Cyprian studied medicine himself. Monk at Holy Saviour monastery in Calanna, Italy at age 25. Hermit on family lands in Pavigliana, Italy, spending 20 years in prayer, meditation and growing his own food. Word of his learning and holiness spread, and people came to him for medical help and spiritual advice; some tried to stay as spiritual students, but Cyprian sent them away. Abbot of the San Nicolas monastery in Calamizzi at age 60 at the request of the monks. There Cyprian became known for his austerity, adherance to the rule of his Order, his charity to poor, and his wise counsel to anyone who approached him. He rebuilt the monastery, restored its church, built a bell tower, expanded the library, worked to increase the education and spirituality of his monks, and worked during the day as a free physician to all comers. He once fell from a wagon and broke his leg, which was badly set and left him with a lifelong limp.

Born

c.1125 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy

Died

• 20 November 1190 at the monastery of San Nicola, Calamizzi, Italy of natural causes

• buried in the church of the monastery

• the monastery was destroyed by an earthquake in 1783

Saint Edmund of East Anglia November 20

 Saint Edmund of East Anglia

Also known as

• Edmund the Martyr

• King of the East Angles

Additional Memorial

29 April (translation of relics)

Profile

King of East Anglia at age 14, crowned on Christmas Day 855 by Bishop Saint Humbert of Elmham. Edmund was a model ruler, concerned with justice for his people and his own spirituality; he spent a year sequestered at Hunstanton learning the Psalter by heart. Following one of a series of armed engagement with invading Danes, he was captured. He was ordered to give his Christian people to the pagan invaders; he refused. Martyr.

Born

c.841 probably at Nuremburg, Germany

Died

• beaten, whipped, shot with arrows "until he bristled with them like a hedgehog", and beheaded at Hoxne, Suffolk, England 20 November 870

• buried at Hoxne

• relics moved to Beodricsworth, England (modern Bury Saint Edmunds (Borough of Saint Edmunds)) in the 915

• relics moved to the Cathedral of Saint Paul in London, England in 1010 ahead of an invading Viking force

• relics returned to Bury Saint Edmunds in 1113

• relics re-enshrined in a new church in a Benedictine monastery built by King Canute in 1020

• relics re-enshrined in a new Norman church in Bury Saint Edmunds in 1095

• following a fire, the relics re-enshrined in a new church in 1198

• following a battle in Lincoln, England in 1217, French troops claim to have taken the relics, but modern testing has disproved this; the real relics may have been hidden, destroyed, looted - we just don't know, and no authentic relics exist today

Patronage

• against plague

• diocese of East Anglia, England

• kings

• torture victims

• wolves

Representation

• arrow

• king tied to a tree and shot with arrows

• wolf

• bearded king with a sword and arrow

• man with his severed head between the paws of a wolf

• sword