St. Agape
Feastday: April 3
Death: 304
Agape and her sisters Chionia and Irene, Christians of Thessalonica, Macedonia, were convicted of possessing texts of the Scriptures despite a decree issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian naming such possessions a crime punishable by death. When they further refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, the governor, Dulcitius, had Agape and Chionia burned alive. When Irene still refused to recant, Dulcitius ordered her sent to a house of prostitution. There she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was put to death either by burning or by an arrow through her throat.
Agape, Chionia and Irene (Greek: Αγάπη, Χιονία και Ειρήνη) were sisters and Christian saints from Aquileia,[1] martyred at Thessalonica in 304 AD. Agape and Chionia were charged with refusing to eat sacrificial offerings, whilst Irene was killed for keeping Christian books in violation of existing law. All were condemned to be burned alive.
Legend
Orphaned at a young age, the sisters Agape, Chionia, and Irene led pious lives under the direction of the priest Xeno. They declined a number of offers of marriage. In 303, Emperor Diocletian issued a decree making it a capital offense to possess Christian scriptures. The sisters hid their copies.[2]
Eventually, they were arrested for offending the Imperial cult by not eating food that had been sacrificed to the gods.[2] They were brought before Emperor Diocletian, who could not persuade them to renounce their faith, and as he was leaving for Macedonia, brought them with him. There they were taken to the court of Dulcitius, governor of Thessalonica.[3]
The sisters repulsed the governor's indecent advances. Annoyed with Dulcititus as ineffectual, Diocletion turned the three young women over to Count Sisinus for trial. He imprisoned Irene, the youngest; and making no headway in getting the older two to recant, ordered them to be burned. Afterwards the decedents appeared to be merely asleep as neither their clothes nor bodies had been scorched.[3] After the deaths, their house was searched and the scriptures found and publicly burned.[2]
Sisinus ordered Irene to be taken to a brothel, but on the way the escort was intercepted by two soldiers who told them to abandon her on a mountain. When they returned Sisinus grew angry as he had given no such orders. He pursued Irene and she was wounded in the throat with an arrow, at which point she died
Four other individuals were tried with the sisters: Agatho, Casia, Philippa and Eutychia. Of these, one woman was remanded as she was pregnant. The fates of the other three are unknown.
St. Evagrius & Benignus
Feastday: April 3
Death: unknown
Martyrs at Tomi. Nothing is known of their martyrdom.
St. Fara
#புனித_ஃபரா (595-657)
ஏப்ரல் 03
இவர் (#StFara) பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் பிறந்தவர். இவரது தந்தை பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டை ஆண்ட இரண்டாம் தியோடபர்ட் என்பவருடைய அரசவையில் முக்கிய பணியாற்றி வந்தவர்.
சிறுவயது முதலே இறையன்பிலும் பிறரன்பிலும் சிறந்து விளங்கிவந்த இவரை இவரது தந்தை ஒருவருக்கு மணம் முடித்துக் கொடுக்க முடிவு செய்தார். அதற்கு இவர் மறுப்புத் தெரிவித்ததால் இவரது தந்தை இவரது விருப்பம் போன்றே ஒரு துறவியாக வாழ அனுமதித்தார்.
இதன்பிறகு இவர் 37 ஆண்டுகள் துறவியாக வாழ்ந்து வந்தார். இறைப்பற்றிற்கும் நிர்வாகத் திறனுக்கும் பெயர்போன இவர் பல பெரிய ஆளுமைகளை உருவாக்கினார். அவர்களில் ஒருவர்தான் புனித எதல்பர்கா.
இவ்வாறு ஆண்டவருக்குத் தன்னை அர்ப்பணித்து வாழ்ந்த இவர் 657 ஆம் ஆண்டு இறையடி சேர்ந்தார்.
Feastday: April 3
Burgundofara (Fara) was the daughter of Count Agneric, courtier of King Theodebert II. She refused her father's demands that she marry, and became Abbess of a convent she convinced him to build, and ruled for thirty-seven years. Named Evoriacum, the convent was renamed for her after her death, and in time became the famous Benedictine Abbey of Faremoutiers. She is also known as Fare. Her feast day is April 3rd.
Burgundofara (died 643 or 655), also Saint Fara or Fare, was the founder and first Abbess of the Abbey of Faremoutiers. Her family is knowns as the Faronids, named after her brother Saint Faro. Her name may mean: 'She who moves the Burgundians' (as in Latin verb: Fero, fers, ferre, tuli, latum)
Jonas of Bobbio's life of Columbanus reports that she was blessed by the Irish monk when a child:
Then Columban went to the city of Meaux. There he was received with great joy by a nobleman Hagneric (Chagneric, father of Burgundofara), who was a friend of Theudebert [King Theudebert II], a wise man, and a counsellor grateful to the king, and was fortified by nobility and wisdom. ... Columban blessed his house and consecrated to the Lord his daughter Burgundofara, who was still a child, and of whom we shall speak later.[2]
Jonas's life of Burgundofara picks up the tale. She is betrothed against her will, and against Columbanus' prediction, and straight away falls deathly sick. Her father Chagneric says to Eustasius of Luxeuil, who happens to be present, "Would that she might return to health and devote herself to divine service!" Burgundofara recovers, thanks to Eustasius's prayers, but her father goes back on his word and decides to give her away in marriage. She discovers this, and flees to the church of Saint Stephen in Meaux. There her brothers Faro and Chagnoald catch her, and are set on killing her for disobeying their father Chagneric, but the timely arrival of Eustasius settles matters.
With Eustasius's support, and the approval of Bishop Gundoald of Meaux, Burgundofara established an abbey on her father's lands. First called Evoriacum, it was later renamed Faremoutiers in her honour.
Studies of Burgundofara's life, and those of noble heiresses in similar situations, lead some writers to conclude that in fact the abbey was very likely established with her father's blessing, and the supposed parental insistence upon her marriage may have been no more than a front, especially if the marriage was proposed by the King. An edict of King Chilperic I a generation earlier had favoured the claims of daughters in inheritance over those of uncles and nephews, making the marriage of an heiress of considerable importance to the wider family.
The feast of Saint Burgundofara is celebrated on 3 April, probably in error. At Faremoutiers, she was commemorated on 7 December.
St. Richard of Wyche
† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(ஏப்ரல் 3)
✠ சிச்செஸ்டர் நகர் புனிதர் ரிச்சர்ட் ✠
(St. Richard of Chichester)
சிச்செஸ்டர் ஆயர்:
(Bishop of Chichester)
பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 1197
ட்ராய்ட்விச், வொர்செஸ்டெர்ஷைர், இங்கிலாந்து
(Droitwich, Worcestershire, England)
இறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 3, 1253
டோவர், கென்ட், இங்கிலாந்து
(Dover, Kent, England)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: ஜனவரி 25, 1262
திருத்தந்தை நான்காம் அர்பன்
(Pope Urban IV)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஏப்ரல் 3
பாதுகாவல்:
குதிரை வண்டி ஓட்டுனர் (Coachmen),
சிசெஸ்டர் மறைமாவட்டம் (Diocese of Chichester),
சஸ்செக்ஸ் (Sussex), இங்கிலாந்து (England)
புனிதர் ரிச்சர்ட், "சிசெஸ்டர்" மறை மாவட்ட (Bishop of Chichester) ஆயர் ஆவார். இவர் பெயரில் அர்ப்பணிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த "சிசெஸ்டர்" மறை மாவட்ட பேராலயம் ஒன்று மிகவும் அலங்கரிக்கப்பட்ட திருத்தலமாக இருந்தது. கி.பி. 1538ம் ஆண்டு, அரசன் எட்டாம் ஹென்றியின் (Henry VIII) ஆட்சியின்போது, "தாமஸ் குரோம்வெல்" (Thomas Cromwell) என்பவனது உத்தரவின்பேரில் இத்திருத்தலம் சூறையாடி அழிக்கப்பட்டது.
இப்புனிதர், கி.பி. 1197ம் ஆண்டு, இங்கிலாந்து நாட்டில் உள்ள "வொர்செஸ்டெர்ஷைர்" (Worcestershire) என்ற இடத்தில் பிறந்தார். இவர் பிறந்த சிறிது காலத்திலேயே இவரது பெற்றோர் இறந்துவிட்டனர். இவரது தந்தையின் தோட்டங்கள், வாரிசான இவரது மூத்த சகோதரருக்கு போனது. ஆனால், தந்தையின் மரண அத்தாட்சி சான்றிதழுக்காக கட்ட வேண்டிய வரிப்பணம் இவர்களிடம் இல்லாததால் சொத்துக்கள் கைவிட்டுப் போயின. இவர்கள் வறியவர்கள் ஆனார்கள். ரிச்சர்ட் ஒரு தோட்டத்தில் பணியாற்றினார்.
ஆக்ஸ்ஃபோர்ட் (University of Oxford) பல்கலைகழகத்தில் கல்வி கற்ற ரிச்சர்ட், பின்னர் அதே பல்கலையிலேயே கற்பிக்கும் பணியும் செய்தார். அங்கிருந்து பாரிஸ் (Paris) நகருக்கும், பின்னர் "பொலொக்னா" (Bologna) நகருக்கும் சென்றார். அங்கே, தமது சமய சட்ட விதிமுறைகளின் திறமையால் மேன்மை பெற்றார். கி.பி. 1235ம் ஆண்டு இங்கிலாந்து திரும்பிய இவர் ஆக்ஸ்ஃபோர்ட் பல்கலைகழகத்தின் வேந்தராக தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டார்.
கி.பி. 1240ம் ஆண்டு, மதகுருவாக் முடிவெடுத்த ரிச்சர்ட், "ஒர்லியான்" (Orléans) மாநிலத்திலுள்ள "டோமினிக்கன்" (Dominicans) சபையில் இரண்டு வருடங்கள் இறையியல் கற்றார். இங்கிலாந்து திரும்பிய அவர், :சாரிங்" மற்றும் "டீல்" (Charing and at Deal) ஆகிய பங்குகளின் பங்குத்தந்தையாக நியமிக்கப்பட்டார். ஆனால், விரைவிலேயே "காண்டர்பரி'யின்" (Canterbury) வேந்தராக பேராயர் "போனிஃபேஸ்" (Boniface of Savoy) நியமிக்கப்பட்டார்.
கி.பி. 1244ம் ஆண்டு, ரிச்சர்ட் "சிசெஸ்டர்" மறைமாவட்டத்தின் ஆயராக (Bishop of Chichester) தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டார். திருத்தந்தை "நான்காம் இன்னொசென்ட்" (Innocent IV) அவருக்கு மார்ச் மாதம் கி.பி. 1245ம் ஆண்டு, "லியோன்ஸ்" (Lyons) நகரில் ஆயராக அருட்பொழிவு செய்வித்தார்.
ரிச்சர்டின் தனிப்பட்ட வாழ்க்கை மிகவும் கடினமானதாக இருந்தது. எளிமை, பணிவு, தாழ்ச்சி, அடிபணிதல் ஆகியவற்றின் எடுத்துக்காட்டாக வாழ்ந்தார். ஆடம்பரங்களை அறவே வெறுத்த அவர், தமது உணவு முறைகளைக்கூட மிகவும் எளிதானாதாகவே வைத்திருந்தார். புலால் உண்பதை முழுதும் தவிர்த்தார். காய்கறி வகைகளையே உண்டார்.
வட்டித்தொழில் செய்வோர், ஊழல் செய்யும் மறை பணியாளர்கள் மற்றும் தெளிவாக அல்லாது முணுமுணுப்பாக திருப்பலி நிறைவேற்றும் மதகுருமார் ஆகியோரை வெறுத்தார். அவர்கள்மீது இரக்கமற்ற விதமாக நடவடிக்கை எடுத்தார்.
56 வயதான ரிச்சர்ட், கி.பி. 1253ம் ஆண்டு, ஏப்ரல் மாதம், மூன்றாம் நாளன்று, டோவர் (Dover) என்னுமிடத்திலுள்ள புனித எட்மண்ட் சிற்றாலயத்தை (St. Edmund's Chapel) அர்ச்சித்ததன் பின்னர், திருத்தந்தையின் உத்தரவின்படி, சிலுவைப்பாடுகளை பிரசங்கித்துக்கொண்டிருந்தார். பிரசங்கத்தின் இடையில் அவர் மரணமடைந்தார்.
Feastday: April 3
Patron: of Coachmen; Diocese of Chichester; Sussex, England
Birth: 1197
Death: 1253
Richard of Wyche, also known as Richard of Chichester, was born at Wyche (Droitwich), Worcestershire, England. He was orphaned when he was quite young. He retrieved the fortunes of the mismanaged estate he inherited when he took it over, and then turned it over to his brother Robert. Richard refused marriage and went to Oxford, where he studied under Grosseteste and met and began a lifelong friendship with Edmund Rich. Richard pursued his studies at Paris, received his M.A. from Oxford, and then continued his studies at Bologna, where he received his doctorate in Canon Law. After seven years at Bologna, he returned to Oxford, was appointed chancellor of the university in 1235, and then became chancellor to Edmund Rich, now archbishop of Canterbury, whom he accompanied to the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny when the archbishop retired there. After Rich died at Pontigny, Richard taught at the Dominican House of Studies at Orleans and was ordained there in 1243. After a time as a parish priest at Deal, he became chancellor of Boniface of Savoy, the new archbishop of Canterbury, and when King Henry III named Ralph Neville bishop of Chichester in 1244, Boniface declared his selection invalid and named Richard to the See. Eventually, the matter was brought to Rome and in 1245, Pope Innocent IV declared in Richard's favor and consecrated him. When he returned to England, he was still opposed by Henry and was refused admittance to the bishop's palace; eventually Henry gave in when threatened with excommunication by the Pope. The remaining eight years of Richard's life were spend in ministering to his flock. He denounced nepotism, insisted on strict clerical discipline, and was ever generous to the poor and the needy. He died at a house for poor priests in Dover, England, while preaching a crusade, and was canonized in 1262. His feast day is April 3.
"Saint Richard" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Richard (disambiguation).
Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (canonized 1262) who was Bishop of Chichester.
In Chichester Cathedral a shrine dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of pilgrimage. In 1538, during the reign of Henry VIII, the shrine was plundered and destroyed by order of Thomas Cromwell. Richard of Chichester is the patron saint of Sussex in southern England; since 2007, his translated saint's day of 16 June has been celebrated as Sussex Day.
Life
Richard was born in Burford, near the town of Wyche (modern Droitwich, Worcestershire) and was an orphan member of a gentry family.[1][2] On the death of their parents Richard's elder brother was heir to the estates but he was not old enough to inherit, so the lands were subject to a feudal wardship. On coming of age his brother took possession of his lands, but was required to pay a medieval form of death duty that left the family so impoverished that Richard had to work for him on the farm.[3] His brother also made Richard heir to the estate.[3] According to Richard's biographers, friends tried to arrange a match with a certain noble lady.[3] However Richard rejected the proposed match, suggesting that his brother might marry her instead; he also reconveyed the estates back to his brother, preferring a life of study and the church.[4]
Educated at the University of Oxford, Richard soon began to teach in the university.[5] From there he proceeded to Paris and then Bologna, where he distinguished himself by his proficiency in canon law. On returning to England in 1235, Richard was elected Oxford's chancellor.[6]
His former tutor, Edmund of Abingdon, had become archbishop of Canterbury.[7] Richard shared Edmund's ideals of clerical reform and supported papal rights even against the king.[7] In 1237, Archbishop Edmund appointed Richard chancellor of the diocese of Canterbury.[5] Richard joined the archbishop during his exile at Pontigny, and was with him when the archbishop died circa 1240.[6][8] Richard then decided to become a priest and studied theology for two years with the Dominicans at Orléans.[7] Upon returning to England, Richard became the parish priest at Charing and at Deal, but soon was reappointed chancellor of Canterbury by the new archbishop Boniface of Savoy.[7]
In 1244 Richard was elected Bishop of Chichester. Henry III and part of the chapter refused to accept him, the king favouring the candidature of Robert Passelewe (d. 1252).[5] Archbishop Boniface refused to confirm Passelew, so both sides appealed to the pope.[7] The king confiscated the see's properties and revenues, but Innocent IV confirmed Richard's election and consecrated him bishop at Lyons in March 1245.[7][9] Richard then returned to Chichester, but the king refused to restore the see's properties for two years, and then did so only after being threatened with excommunication.[7] Henry III forbade anyone to house or feed Richard.[10] At first, Richard lived at Tarring in the house of his friend Simon, the parish priest of Tarring, visited his entire diocese on foot, and cultivated figs in his spare time.[7][10]
Richard's private life was supposed to have displayed rigid frugality and temperance.[11] Richard was an ascetic who wore a hair-shirt and refused to eat off silver.[10] He kept his diet simple and rigorously excluded animal flesh; having been a vegetarian since his days at Oxford.[11][12]
Richard was merciless to usurers, corrupt clergy and priests who mumbled the Mass. He was also a stickler for clerical privilege.[10]
Richard's episcopate was marked by the favour which he showed to the Dominicans, a house of this order at Orléans having sheltered him during his stay in France, and by his earnestness in preaching a crusade.[5] After dedicating St Edmund's Chapel at Dover, he died aged 56 at the Maison Dieu, Dover at midnight on 3 April 1253, where the Pope had ordered him to preach a crusade.[9] His internal organs were removed and placed in that chapel's altar. Richard's body was then carried to Chichester and buried, according to his wishes, in the chapel on the north side of the nave, dedicated to his patron St. Edmund.[13] His remains were translated to a new shrine in 1276.[13]
Episcopal statutes
Sculpture of Richard of Chichester outside St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean
After the full rights of the see and its revenues were returned to him in 1246, the new bishop showed much eagerness to reform the manners and morals of his clergy, and also to introduce greater order and reverence into the services of the Church.[5][11] Richard overruled Henry on several occasions. Richard defrocked a priest who had seduced a nun out of her convent, turning aside a petition from the king in the priest's favour.[14]
Richard was militant in protecting the clergy from abuse. The townsmen of Lewes violated the right of sanctuary by seizing a criminal in church and lynching him, and Richard made them exhume the body and give it a proper burial in consecrated ground.[11] He also imposed severe penance on knights who attacked priests.[14]
Richard produced a body of statutes with the aid of his chapter, for the organisation of the church in his diocese and the expected conduct of its clergy. It seems that many of the clergy still secretly married, though such alliances were not recognised by canon law, and as such their women's status was that of a mistress or concubine. The Bishop endeavoured to suppress the practice in his diocese with relentless austerity.
By Richard's statutes:[11]
It was decreed that married clergy should be deprived of their benefices; their concubines were to be denied the privileges of the church during their lives and also after death; they were pronounced incapable of inheriting any property from their husbands, and any such bequests would be donated for the upkeep of the cathedral. A vow of chastity was to be required of candidates for ordination. Rectors were expected to reside in their parishes, to be hospitable and charitable and tithes were to be paid on all annual crops. Anyone who did not pay their tithe would not be granted penance until they did.
Vicars were to be priests and have only one freehold to live on, they were not allowed to have another parish held under an assumed name.
Deacons were not to be allowed to receive confessions or to provide penances, or to baptise except in the absence of a priest. Children had to be confirmed within a year of baptism. The Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer were to be learned in the mother tongue; priests were to celebrate mass in clean robes, to use a silver or golden chalice; thoroughly clean corporals and at least two consecrated palls were to be placed on the altar; the cross was to be planted in front of the celebrant; the bread was to be of the purest wheaten flour, the wine mixed with water. The elements were not to be kept more than seven days; when carried to a sick person to be enclosed in a pyx, and the priest to be preceded by a cross; a candle, holy water and bell.
Practices such as gambling at baptisms and marriages is strictly forbidden.
Archdeacons were to administer justice for their proper fees, not demanding more either for rushing or delaying the business. They were to visit the churches regularly, to see that the services were duly ministered, the vessels and vestments are in proper order, the canon of the mass correctly observed and distinctly read, as also the ‘'hours’’. Priests who clipped or slurred the words by rushing were to be suspended.
The clergy should wear their proper dress and not imitate what the lay people wore. They were not allowed to wear their hair long or have romantic entanglements. The names of excommunicated persons to be read out four times a year in the parish churches.
A copy of these statutes was to be kept by every priest in the diocese and be brought by him to the episcopal synod.
Saint Luigi Scrosoppi of Udine
Also known as
Aloisius, Aloysius
Profile
Youngest of three brothers born to Domenico Scrosoppi, a jeweler, and Antonia Lazzarini; his brother Carlo was ordained when Luigi was six, and his brother Giovanni several years later. When Luigi was 11 or 12 years old, his home region was struck by drought, famine, typhus, and smallpox in quick succession; the sight of such misery, complete poverty, and the number of orphans had a lasting effect on the boy.
In his teens, Luigi felt a call to the priesthood, and he entered the same seminary as his brother Giovanni. Deacon in 1826; ordained on 31 March 1827 at the cathedral in Udine; he was assisted at his first Mass by his brothers.
Director of the Pious Union of the Heart of Jesus Christ. Helped manage the children's center run by his brother Carlo. Franciscan tertiary. Assistant director of Carlo's orphanage in 1829. The orphanage fell on harder times than usual; Luigi, in desperation, hit the streets to beg for their support, and the school soon had a great lesson in faith - and enough money to buy their building.
As there were more orphans than space, the brothers decided to enlarge the house; Luigi went through the countryside to beg building materials and labor. Work began in 1834 with Luigi coordinating, begging, supervising, and working construction; it was completed in 1836, and named the House for the Destitute. That year also saw another cholera epidemic, and the orphanages, again, were full.
The need of the orphans, and the constant work of the brother priests, attracted the attention of several area women who were also working with the poor and the abandoned. Among them were Felicita Calligaris, Rosa Molinis, Caterina Bros, Cristina and Amalia Borghese and Orsola Baldasso. These women, under the spiritual direction of Carlo and Luigi, founded what would become the Congregation of Sisters of Providence who taught basic academic subjects and needle crafts. Luigi placed them under the patronage of Saint Cajetan, and the Congregation received final approval from Pope Blessed Pius IX on 22 September 1871.
In 1846 Luigi joined the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, a congregation devoted to charity and learning; elected provost of the community on 9 November 1856. On 4 October 1854 he finished work on the Rescue Home for abandoned girls. On 7 March 1857 he opened the school and home for deaf-mute girls; sadly, it survived only 15 years. He opened Providence House for his unemployed former students, and he worked in hospitals with the sickest and poorest of patients.
In his later years, Luigi had to combat anti-clerical sentiments that swept through the Italian peninsula during the political unification of the country; many houses and groups, including the Oratory, were seized, closed, and their assets sold off. While he could not save the Oratory or parish property, Luigi did protect his charitable institutions, and saw the Congregation grow and spread.
Born
4 August 1804 at Udine Italy
Died
3 April 1884 at Udine Italy of fever and the postulant skin disease pemphigus
Canonized
• 10 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II
• his canonization miracle was the cure of a Zambian AIDS victim, Peter Changu Shitima in 1996
Blessed Maria Teresa Casini
Also known as
Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced
Additional Memorial
29 October (Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; diocese of Frascati, Italy; based on the date of her baptism)
Profile
Born to a wealthy family, the eldest daughter of Tommaso Casini, an engineer, and Melania Rayner, she was baptized at the age of two days at the cathedral of Frascati, Italy. Her father died when Teresa was about ten years old, and she and her mother moved in with her maternal grandparents. In 1875 she began studying at the school at Santa Rufina in Rome, Italy, which was run by Society of the Sacred Heart nuns. Teresa early felt a call to religious life, and though she had a number of set-backs due to health problems, and faced some family opposition, she entered Poor Clare Sepolte Vive monastery in Rome on 2 February 1885, taking the name Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced.
Poor health caused her to leave the cloister on 2 December 1886. She returned to her family, and spent as much time as she could in prayer in the chapel of the Sacred Heart in the parish church of San Rocco in Frascati. The church and chapel were badly neglected, and Sister Maria worked to restore them. All the while, she kept hearing in inner voice calling her to console the sufferings of the Heart of Jesus, particularly those caused by faithless or undisciplined priests. With this as her goal, and on the advice of her spiritual director, she became part of the community called True Lovers of the Heart of Jesus. When the group's leader died, Sister Maria gathered everal like-minded sisters, and using her inheritance, on 2 February 1894 she founded the Victims of the Sacred Heart as a cloistered community. They received diocesan approval on 1 April 1896.
With the encouragment of their bishop, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, in the early 20th century the Victims moved from being a clositered order to an active one, working to help priests in their parishes. They founded a school for girls in 1910. On 1 November 1916 changed its name to the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to better reflect their status and mission. In 1925 she starting working with the Little Friends of Jesus, which educated boys, helped support vocations, and later expanded to assist priests with health problems.
Late in 1925 Mother Maria's health collapsed completely, and she was eventually paralyzed for the final decade of her life. She never stopped working, running the Sisters from bed, meeting, teaching and consoling sisters, priests and seminarians until the end. The Oblate Sisters continue their good work today, assisting and supporting priests and vocations in Italy, the United States, Brazil, Peru and Guinea-Bissau.
Born
27 October 1864 in Frascati, Italy
Died
• around 5am on 3 April 1937 at Oblate monastery on the via del Casaletto in Grottaferrata, Rome, Italy of natural causes
• buried in the chapel of the Zealots of the Sacred Heart in a nearby cemetery
• re-interred at the Generalate of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Grottaferrata on 20 May 1965
Beatified
• 31 October 2015 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated at the Piazza San Pietro at the cathedral in Frascati, Italy, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
• her beatification miracle involved the 25 – 27 June 2003 healing of the brain lesions and trauma of Jacob “Jack” Ronald Sebest, a five year old drowning victim in Youngstown, Ohio
Patronage
Oblates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Saint Richard of Chichester
Also known as
• Richard de Wych
• Richard Backedine
• Richard of Wich
Profile
Second son of Richard and Alice de Wych. His father died when the boy was young. The family fell upon hard times, but as soon as he became old enough, Richard took over management of their estates and brought them back to profit. Educated at Oxford, England, in Paris, France, and in Bologna, Italy. Chancellor of Oxford University. Legal advisor to Saint Edmund Rich and Saint Boniface of Savoy, the Archbishops of Canterbury. Priest. Bishop of Chichester. Miracles and cures occured at his shrine in Chichester. His patronage of coachmen began with the Milanese Guild of Coachmen, possibly because Richard drove carts and wagons on the family farm.
Born
c.1197 at Droitwich, Worcestershire, England as Richard de Wych
Died
3 April 1253 at Dover, Kent, England of natural causes
Canonized
1262 by Pope Urban IV at Viterbo, Papal States (part of modern Italy)
Patronage
• coachmen
• diocese of Chichester, England
• Sussex, England
Blessed Gandulphus of Binasco
Also known as
• Gandulphus Sacchi
• Gandulphus of Polizzi Generosa
• Gandulphus of Polizzo
• Gandolf, Gandolfo, Gandulf
Additional Memorial
relics processed in Polizzi Generosa, Italy on the 3rd Sunday of September
Profile
Born to the nobility, a member of the wealthy and powerful Sacchi family. He joined the Franciscans while Saint Francis was still alive, and made his final vows c.1224. Priest. Father Gandulphus spent his life praying and preaching throughout Sicily. Founded the Franciscan convent at Termini Imerese, Italy in 1256. He cured a young mute man outside Polizzi Generosa, Italy in 1260 which led to his preaching having great affect on the local people.
Born
c.1200 at Binasco, Lombardy, Italy
Died
• Holy Saturday 3 April 1260 at the San Nicolò Hospital in Polizzi Generosa, Sicily, Italy of natural causes
• legend says that birds gathered to sing in the church where his body was laid out
• relics enshrined in a wooden reliquary in Polizzi soon after his death
• relics re-enshrined in a marble ark in 1482
• relics re-enshrined and the reliquary covered in silver leaf in 1549
Beatified
10 March 1881 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)
Patronage
Polizzi Generosa, Italy (chosen by citizens and confirmed in 1320)
Blessed Juan Otazua y Madariaga
Also known as
Juan de Jesús y María
Profile
Member of the Trinitarians, beginning his novitiate at the Shrine of Bien Aparecida in Cantabria, Spain, and making his simple vows on 11 October 1914. He studied at several convents, and made his final profession on 17 May 1918 in Cordoba, Spain. Ordained a priest in Madrid, Spain on 23 October 1921, he began to serve at the church of Sant’Ignazio de Loyola dei vaschi. A musician familiar with several instruments, Father Juan was an excellent cello player.
On 13 March 1936, the church was burned by anti–Christian forces in the Spanish Civil War. The Trinitarians left their convent, sought shelter with locals, and Father Juan was assigned to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Cabeza. On 28 July 1936 the Trinitarians were expelled from the Sanctuary by Communist forces, and Juan found shelter with the Duke de la Quinteria in Andújar, Spain. In the spring of 1937, the Communists imprisoned him, tried him for the crime of being a priest, sentenced him to 20 years in prison, but decided instead to execute him for the offense of his vocation. Martyr.
Born
8 February 1895 in Rigoitia, Vizcaya, Spain
Died
shot at dawn on 3 April 1937 in the cemetery of Mancha Real, Jaén, Spain
Beatified
28 October 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI
Saint Liutberga of Windenhausen
Also known as
• Liutberga of Michaëlstein
• Liutberga of Rosstreppe
• Liutberga of Thale
• Liutberga of Wendhausen
• Leutpurga, Liudbirg, Liutbirg, Liutbirga, Liutburga, Luitberga, Luitburg, Lutberga, Lutbirg
Profile
Born to the nobility, related to Duke Hessi of Ostfalen. Noted by the nobles for her exceptional skill at managing the estates and houses of her family, and by the poor for her almsgiving and care for the sick and dying as she travelled from estate to estate. She spent her days managing the estates and caring for the needy, and her nights in prayer. In her later years, she retired to the convent at Wendhausen, Germany and with the approval of Bishop Thiatgrim von Halberstadt, eventually was locked into a cell next to the church of the cloister, and lived the rest of her life as an anchoress, praying, doing penance, and giving wisdom and spiritual training to any who visited her, rich and poor, lay, ordained and consecrated. Reported to have had the gift of prophesy. A monk of her aquaintance was so impressed by her piety that he wrote a biography of her soon after her death.
Born
in Solszburg in the area of Sulzgau, Bavaria (in modern Germany)
Died
of natural causes in Thale near Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt (in modern Germany) on 3 April; the year is variously recorded as 863, 865, 876, 882 or sometimes just c.870
Blessed Francisco Solís Pedrajas
Profile
Born to a poor and pious family. Ordained a priest in the diocese of Jaén, Spain on 22 December 1900. Served six years in the parish of Santiago Apóstol in Valdepeñas de Jaén, Spain while earning a degree in theology. Known in all his postings as "a learned, zealous and pious pastor". Archpriest of Mancha Real, Spain in 1914. Founded a Catholic Union. Established men's and women's branches of Catholic Action. Imprisoned with other priests and parishioners at the outbreak of the anti–Christian persecutions of the Spanish Civil War, Father Francesco ministered as best he was allowed to the physical and spiritual needs of his fellow prisoners. Sentenced to death for the crime of being a priest, he was the last of his group of prisoners to be murdered as none of the men wanted to shoot him; he took advantage of this to hear confessions and give absolution to the other prisoners. Martyr.
Born
9 July 1877 in Marmolejo, Jaén, Spain
Died
• shot at dawn on 3 April 1937 in the parish cemetery of Mancha Real, Jaén, Spain
• body dumped into a common grave in the cemetery
Beatified
• 27 October 2013 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated at Tarragona, Spain
Blessed Laurentius Pak Chwi-deuk
Also known as
Lorenzo Pak Chwi-deuk
Additional Memorial
20 September as one of the Martyrs of Korea
Profile
Layman convert to Christianity in the apostolic vicariate of Korea. Zealous about his new found faith, he learned the catechism, then returned to his home village to try to convert his family and neighbors. When the anti–Christian Sinhae persecutions began in 1791, he protested the arrest of other Christians, and visited them in prison; for this, he was imprisoned for several weeks. When the anti–Christian Jeongsa persecutions began in 1797, Lawrence was ordered arrested; he went into hiding, but when the persecutors arrested his father in his place, Lawrence surrendered. He was imprisoned for two years and repeatedly tortured; records indicate that, along with other forms of torture, he received over 400 beatings. When the authorities questioned him, he would simply explain points of Catholic doctrine no matter what they had asked him. They finally gave up trying to break him, and simply killed him instead. Martyr.
Born
c.1769 in Myeoncheon, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
Died
hanged on 3 April 1799 in Hongju, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
Beatified
16 August 2014 by Pope Francis at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, South Korea
Pope Saint Sixtus I
Also known as
Xystus I
Profile
Little known about his life before he was chosen seventh pope in 116. He concerned himself with the liturgy, and instituted elements still in use today. He decreed that only priests may touch the sacred vessels, that bishops returning from the Apostolic See to their dioceses must present Apostolic letters, and that the priest shall recite the Sanctus with the people during the Mass. Reigned during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Trajan. Martyr.
Born
Rome, Italy
Papal Ascension
116
Died
125 in Rome, Italy
Patronage
• Alife-Caiazzo, Italy, diocese of
• Anagni-Alatri, Italy, diocese of
• Alatri, Italy
• Alife, Italy
Saint Joseph the Hymnographer
Also known as
Joseph of the Studium
Profile
Born to Christian parents. He fled Sicily in 830 due to Arab invasion, and became a monk in Thessalonica. He joined the monastery of the Studium in Constantinople, but was forced to flee Constantinople in 841 due to iconoclast persecution. On his way to Rome, Italy he was captured by pirates and spent several years as a slave in Crete. He ministered to his fellow slaves, converting many. He finally managed to escape and return to Constantinople where he founded a monastery. When he opposed the Iconoclast emperor Theophilus, Joseph was exiled to the Chersonese. Bishop of Salonica. One of the great liturgical poets and hymnists of the Byzantine Church, credited with approximately 1,000 works.
Born
c.810 in Sicily
Died
886 of natural causes
Blessed Piotr Edward Dankowski
Also known as
Peter Edward Dankowski
Additional Memorial
12 June as one of the 108 Martys of World War II
Profile
Priest in the Archdiocese of Kraków, Poland. Vicar of the parish of Zakopane, he was known for his service to the people, especially the poor. During World War II he helped escapees hiding from the Nazis. Arrested in May 1941 and sentenced to the extermination camp in Oswiecim (Auschwitz). Martyr.
Born
21 June 1908 in Jordanów, Malopolskie, Poland
Died
Good Friday, 3 April 1942 in Oswiecim (Auschwitz), Malopolskie, Poland
Beatified
13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland
Readings
See you in the kingdom of God! - Blessed Piotr's dying words
Saint Urbicius of Clermont
Also known as
Ubricius, Urbice, Urbicus, Urbique, Urbitius
Profile
Born a member of an imperial Roman senatorial family, Urbicius was drawn to the Church and lived a pious married life. His reputation for learning and piety led to him being chosen the second bishop of the diocese of Clermont in the Auvergne region of modern France in 288; his wife entered a convent and he went to his diocese. However, his wife was unsatisfied with her new life, left the convent, returned to Urbicius and said she did not wish to give up married life. Seeing her, Urbicius realized how much he had missed her, and let her move in with him; they told people she was his sister who was there to keep house for him. The bishop‘s conscience soon got the best of him, and he left both wife and diocese to live in penance in a nearby monastery.
Died
c.312 of natural causes
Blessed John of Penna
Also known as
• Juan de Pina
• Juan da Penna San Giovanni
• Giovanni, Johannes
Additional Memorial
31 October (Franciscans)
Profile
Joined the Franciscan in Recanati, Italy c.1213. Priest. Founded several Franciscan houses in Provence, France during a 25 year apostolate there. Returned to Italy in 1242, and lived the bulk of his remaining 30 in cloistered retirement. Experienced many highs and lows in his spiritual life, with lengthy periods of aridity and doubt, but periods of ecstacies, visions, and mystic union. Had the gift of prophecy.
Born
c.1193 at Penna San Giovanni, diocese of Fermo, Italy
Died
3 April 1271 at Recanati, Italy
Beatified
20 December 1806 by Pope Pius VII (cultus confirmed)
Martyrs of Greece
Profile
A group of young Christian men who protested to city authorities that gifts to temples of pagan gods should be used to feed the poor during a regional famine. When the officials refused, the group went to local temples, broke up the idols and fixtures, and gave the gold and silver bits to the poor to use to buy food. The group was imprisoned and executed. The only other thing we know about these martyrs are the names – Bythonius, Elpideforus, Dius and Galycus
Died
3rd century at an unknown location in Greece
Blessed José Luciano Ezequiel Huerta-Gutiérrez
Profile
Married layman and father in the archdiocese of Guadalajara, he worked as a mechanic. Brother of Blessed José Luciano Ezequiel Huerta-Gutiérrez. Noted for his devotion to the Eucharist and attendance at daily Mass. Imprisoned, tortured and executed in the persecutions of the Mexican Revolution. Martyr.
Born
18 March 1880 in Magdalena, Jalisco, Mexico
Died
shot on 3 April 1927 in the cemetery in Mezquitán, Jalisco, Mexico
Beatified
20 November 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed José Salvador Huerta-Gutiérrez
Profile
Married layman and father in the archdiocese of Guadalajara, he worked as a mechanic. Brother of Blessed José Luciano Ezequiel Huerta-Gutiérrez. Noted for his devotion to the Eucharist and attendance at daily Mass. Imprisoned, tortured and executed in the persecutions of the Mexican Revolution. Martyr.
Born
18 March 1880 in Magdalena, Jalisco, Mexico
Died
shot on 3 April 1927 in the cemetery in Mezquitán, Jalisco, Mexico
Beatified
20 November 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI
Blessed Thurstan Hunt
Also known as
Thurstan Greenlow
Additional Memorials
• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
• 22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales
Profile
Priest in the apostolic vicariate of England. Martyred in the persecutions of Queen Elizabeth I.
Born
c.1555 Carlton Hall, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Died
late March 1601 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Beatified
22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Nicetas of Medicion
Also known as
• Nicetas of Constantinople
• Nicetas the Confessor
• Niketas, Nikita
Profile
Monk and abbot of Medicion Abbey in Bithynia (in modern Turkey). He and his brother monks suffered in the persecutions of iconclast Emperor Leo, and he was imprisoned for many years.
Born
Bithynia (in modern Turkey)
Died
824 of natural causes
Saint Thiento of Wessobrunn
Also known as
Tientone
Profile
Benedictine monk. Abbot of Saints Peter and Paul abbey at Wessobrunn in Bavaria (in modern Germany). Martyred along with six of his brother monks by invading Hungarians.
Died
955 in Wessobrunn, Bavaria, Germany
Blessed Robert Middleton
Additional Memorial
22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales
Profile
Jesuit priest in the apostolic vicariate of England. Martyred in the persecutions of Queen Elizabeth I.
Born
1571 in York, North Yorkshire, England
Died
late March 1601 in Lancaster, Lancashire, England
Beatified
22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Iacobus Won Si-bo
Also known as
Jacob
Additional Memorial
20 September as one of the Martyrs of Korea
Profile
Layman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea.
Born
1730 in Hongju, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
Died
3 April 1799 in Cheongju, Chungcheong-do, South Korea
Beatified
15 August 2014 by Pope Francis
Blessed Alexandrina di Letto
Profile
Joined in the Poor Clares at age 15. Founded a Poor Clare convent in Foligno, Italy in 1423, served as its first abbess. Known for her reforms that emphasized Franciscan spirituality, she has the support of Pope Martin V.
Born
in 1385 in Sulmona, Italy
Died
1458 of natural causes
Saint Vulpian of Tyre
Also known as
Ulfianus, Ulpian, Ulpiano, Ulpianus, Vulpianus
Profile
Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian Galerius.
Born
Syria
Died
sewed up in a leather sack with a serpent and a dog and then thrown into the sea to drown in 304 at Tyre, Lebanon
Saint John I of Naples
Profile
Fifth-century bishop of Naples, Italy. Translated the body of Saint Januarius to Naples.
Born
Campania, Italy
Died
Holy Saturday night in 432 of natural causes
Saint Illyricus the Wonder Worker
Also known as
Illyricus Thaumaturgos
Profile
Monk. Hermit on a mountain near Pyrgos, Elis, Greece where his reputation for holiness, and as a miracle worker, caused many other monks to seek him out as a spiritual teacher.
Saint Agatho of Thessalonica
Also known as
Agathon
Profile
Convicted of possessing the Scriptures despite a prohibition issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian. He was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods; he refused. Martyr.
Died
c.304 in Thessalonica, Greece
Saint Eutychia of Thessalonica
Profile
Widow. During the persecutions of Diocletian and governor Dulcetius, Eutychia was exposed as a Christian when she refused to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Martyr.
Died
c.304 in Thessalonica, Greece
Saint Philippa of Thessalonica
Profile
Convicted of possessing the Scriptures despite a prohibition issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian. She was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods; she refused. Martyr.
Died
c.304 in Thessalonica, Greece
Saint Casia of Thessalonica
Profile
Convicted of possessing the Scriptures despite a prohibition issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian. She was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods; she refused. Martyr.
Died
c.304 in Thessalonica, Greece
Saint Benatius of Kilcooley
Profile
Mentioned in early Irish martyrologies, but no details about him have survived.
Patronage
Kilcooley (Cill-Chuile; Kill-Chuile), County Roscommon, Ireland
Saint Attala of Taormina
Also known as
Attalus of Taormina
Profile
Benedictine monk and then abbot of a monastery in Taormina, Sicily.
Died
c.800
Saint Donatus of Nicomedia
Profile
Martyr.
Died
Nicomedia, Bitynia (in modern Turkey)
Saint Agathamerus of Mysia
Profile
Martyr.
Died
1st century Mysia (in modern Turkey)
Saint Comman
Profile
Son of Domangen. Listed in the 9th century Irish martyrologies, but no other information has survived.
Martyrs of Tomi
Profile
Nine Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – Arestus, Benignus, Chrestus, Evagrius, Papo, Patricius, Rufus, Sinnidia and Zosimus.
Died
at Tomi, Scythia (modern Constanta, Romania)
