Saint Heliodorus of Pamphylia November 21

 Saint Heliodorus of Pamphylia

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Aurelian.

Died

c.270 at Pamphylia

Saint Rufus of Rome November 21

 Saint Rufus of Rome

Profile

A 1st-century Christian greeted by name by Saint Paul the Apostle in the Epistle to the Romans 16:13.

Died

c.90

Saint Digain November 21

 Saint Digain

Also known as

Dygain

Profile

Born to the 5th-century nobility, the son of Constantine, a lord in Cornwall, England. The village of Llangernyw, Wales is named after him.

Saint Amelberga of Susteren November 21

 Saint Amelberga of Susteren

Also known as

Amalburga, Amalia, Amalberga

Profile

Benedictine nun. Abbess of Susteren Abbey.

Born

early 9th century

Died

c.900

Saint Hilary of Vulturno November 21

 Saint Hilary of Vulturno

Profile

Benedictine monk. Abbot of San Vincenco, Volturno, Italy for 34 years, resurrecting the monastery as a center for learning and missions.

Born

at Matera, southern Italy

Died

c.1045 of natural causes

Blessed Gelasius O'Cullenan November 21

 Blessed Gelasius O'Cullenan

Additional Memorial

20 June as one of the Irish Martyrs

Profile

Cistercian priest. Martyr.

Born

Irish

Died

21 November 1580 in Dublin, Ireland

Beatified

27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

Blessed Eoin O'Mulkern November 21

 Blessed Eoin O'Mulkern

Also known as

• John Kieran

• John Mulcheran

Additional Memorial

20 June as one of the Irish Martyrs

Profile

Premonstratensian priest. Martyr.

Born

Irish

Died

21 November 1580 in Dublin, Ireland

Beatified

27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

Saint Agapius of Caesarea November 21

 Saint Agapius of Caesarea

Also known as

Agapio

Profile

Arrested three times during the persecutions of Diocletian, but released each time. On his fourth arrest he was imprisoned for two years, then offered his freedom if he would renounce Christianity; he declined. Martyr.

Born

Caesarea, Palestine

Died

• c.306

• chained to a convicted murdered and mauled by animals in the public amphitheatre

• still refusing to deny his faith, he was mauled by a bear

• still refusing to deny his faith, he was weighted with stones and drowned

Saint Maurus of Porec November 21

 Saint Maurus of Porec

Also known as

Also known as

• Maurus of Istria

• Maurus of Parenzo

• Maur, Mauro, Marino

Profile

Monk for 18 years. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Bishop of Porec, Istria. Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

• beheading c.300 of Porec, Istria

• buried in the cemtery outside the city

• interred in the church of Saint Maur in Proec c.500

• some relics transferred to Rome, Italy in the 7th century by Pope John IV, and now enshrined in the basilica of Saint John Lateran

Blessed Nicholas Giustiniani November 21

 Blessed Nicholas Giustiniani

Profile

Born to the Venetian nobility. Benedictine monk at the monastery of San Niccolò del Lido in Venice, Italy in 1153. After all his brothers were killed in combat outside Constantinople in 1172, Nicholas received dispensation from Pope Alexander III to return to secular life. He married Anne Michieli, the daughter of a Venetian doge, and was father of nine. In 1179 Anne agreed to let him return to his calling to religious life, and he spent his remaining years at San Niccolò del Lido; a few years later, Anne became a nun at the convent of Saint Blaise near Venice.

Born

early 12th century Venice, Italy

Died

c.1180 of natural causes

Beatified

no formal beatification, but the subject of local veneration

Saint Maurus of Cesena November 21

 Saint Maurus of Cesena

Also known as

Maur, Mauro

Profile

Nephew of Pope John IX. Priest. Benedictine monk at Classe monastery, Ravenna, Italy. Abbot of Classe in 926. Bishop of Cesena, Italy in 934; he served for about 12 years.

Born

Rome, Italy

Died

• 21 November 946 in Cesena, Flaminia, Italy of natural causes

• buried in a marble tomb on Monte Spaziano, Italy next to a small cell where he would retreat for prayer and solitude

• his grave was lost for many years but accidentally re-discovered in the 11th century

• relics enshrined in the nearby Benedictine church

• relics re-discovered in 1470 and moved to the cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

• some relics enshrined in Ravenna, Italy

Blessed Maria Franciszka Siedliska November 21

 Blessed Maria Franciszka Siedliska

Also known as

• Frances Siedliska

• Franciszka Siedliska

• Mother Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd

Profile

Eldest daughter of Adolf Adam Siedliski and Cecilia Marianna Morawska, wealthy and aristocratic landowners in the part of Poland which was occupied by Russia. In her late teens, Franciszka felt the call to religious life, which was against her family wishes as they were very indifferent Catholics; her father said he would rather see her dead then lost to the cloister. Founded the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth on 1 May 1884, taking the name Sister Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Born

12 November 1842 in Roszkowa Wola Castle, Rzeczyca, Poland

Died

21 November 1902 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

23 April 1989 by Pope John Paul II

Our Lady of Quinche November 21

 Our Lady of Quinche

Also known as

• La Pequeñita

• Virgen de Monte del Sol

• Virgin of the Rock

Profile

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the image of a cedar statue in Quinche, Ecuador. About two foot tall, it was carved in 1586 by Don Diego de Robles, an artist who created many other images of Mary. He carved it on order from the Lumbici Indians, who were unable to pay for it at delivery. Diego traded the statue to the Oyacachi Indians in exchange for a large load of cedar for future projects.

Legend says that the vision of Our Lady appeared in a cave to some of the Oyacachi, promising to the protect their children; the image Diego brought for trade looked just like the lady in the vision. The Oyacachi asked Diego to stay and help them build a shrine for the statue; he declined and started home. His horse threw him as they crossed a bridge, and Diego was miraculously saved after he had prayed for Our Lady's intervention; he understood that this was a sign, went back to the Indians, and built an altar for the statue.

In 1604 the statue was moved to the local village of Quinche and a chapel was built for it. A new sanctuary was built in 1630 where the statue stayed until the church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1869. The church was re-built, and housed the image until moved to another new church in 1928; in 1985 the Vatican proclaimed the chapel to be a national sanctuary of Ecuador. Many miracles, especially healings, have been associated with the image, and there is a huge catalog of songs in several languages that have been written in devotion over the centuries.

Carved

1586 by Don Diego de Robles

Patronage

Ecuador

Blessed Clelia Merloni November 21

 Blessed Clelia Merloni

Profile

The daughter of Gioacchino Merloni, a wealthy and influential industrialist, and Teresa Brandinelli; Clelia was baptized in the diocesan cathedral of Santa Croce in Forli, Italy when she was only a few hours old. Her mother died in 1864 when Clelia was only 3 years old; her maternal grandmother and her step-mother, Maria Giovanna Boeri who married Gioacchino in 1866, raised her to be a pious girl with a good education. Her father became so involved in succeeding in business that he became openly hostile to religion in general, joined the Freemasons, and became specifically anti–Catholic. He planned to have Clelia follow him into business, but she was drawn to religious life which led to family strife as he blamed the women in the family for turning Clelia against him. Clelia responded by praying for him and doing penance in reparation of her father‘s actions. He was reconciled to the faith before his death in 1885.

Freed from her family obligations, Clelia joined the Figlie di Santa Maria della Divina Provvidenza (Daughters of Holy Mary of the Divine Providence). In religious life, she felt a calling to start a congregation devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and eventually founded the Apostole del Sacro Cuore di Gesù (Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) in Viareggio, Italy on 30 May 1894. Internal disputes, including corruption and theft by Clelia's finance administrator, led to her leaving the order in 1896; the adminstrator was a priest, and Clelia refused to bring in civil authorities for fear of causing scandal and stirring up anti–Catholic sentiment. But on 10 June 1900, with the approval and support of Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, bishop of Piacenza, Italy, she returned to religious life, was accepted back into the Apostles, and helped set them up on their new work as missionaries to Brazil. Following the loss of support caused by the death of bishop Scalabrini in 1905, the internal strife in the Apostles erupted again, support of Clelia declined, and in 1911 she was replaced as Superior General by the Vatican. Clelia withdrew from public life, and in 1916 received dispensation to be released from her religious vows. However, late in life she requested to re-enter religious life, and on 7 March 1928 became a simple sister in the Apostles.

The Apostles, whose motto is "The Love of Christ Impels Us", continue their good work today with 1,200 sisters based in 195 houses in Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the United States, Mozambique, Benin, Albania, Taiwan and the Philippines, focusing primarily on education.

Born

10 March 1861 in Forli, Italy

Died

• 21 November 1930 in Rome, Italy of natural causes

• buried at Campo Verano cemetery in Rome

• following the destruction of the cemetery during World War II, Mother Clelia was re-interred in the chapel of the Motherhouse of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome in 1945

Beatified

• 3 November 2018 by Pope Francis

• beatification recognition celebrated at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, Italy, presided by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu

• the beatification miracle involved the cure of Brazilian physician Pedro Ângelo of Landry's paralysis or Guillian-Barré syndrome, in 1951; Ângelo had reached the point where he could barely swallow, and his condition was considered fatal; he was completely cured after a combination of prayer and drinking from a cup of water in which a relic of Merloni (a piece of fabric from her veil) had been placed

Patronage

Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Liberalis November 21

 St. Liberalis

Feastday: November 21

Death: 940

Liberalis, of Brive, France, left his native place to undertake a hidden life as a hermit in the Alps near Embrun. The clergy and people of Embrun came to recognize his great humility and other virtues, which led to his being chosen to become the city's bishop. Liberalis proved to be a most devoted pastor. His body is enshrined in a church of his native city of Brive, in the diocese of Tulle, which for centuries has commemorated him each year on November 21.