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19 July 2023

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜீலை 20

 St. Wilgefortis

புனித வில்ஜிஃபோதிஸ் 

இவர் போர்ச்சுக்கல் நாட்டை ஆண்டு வந்த மன்னருடைய மகள். 

சிறு வயதிலேயே கடவுள்மீது மிகுந்த பற்றுகொண்டு வாழ்ந்து வந்த இவரை இவருடைய தந்தை சிசிலி நாட்டு மன்னருக்கு மணமுடித்துக் கொடுக்க நினைத்தார்.

இதை அறிந்த வில்ஜிஃபோதிஸ் தன் தந்தையிடம், தான் ஏற்கெனவே தன்னைக் கடவுளுக்கு அர்ப்பணித்துவிட்டதாகச் சொல்ல, அவர் இவர் சொன்னதை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளாமல், தன்னுடைய முடிவில் உறுதியாக இருந்தார்.

இதனால் இவர் கடவுளிடம், திருமணத்திலிருந்து தன்னை எப்படியாவது காத்தருளுமாறு வேண்ட, இவருக்கு மீசையும் தாடியும் வளரத் தொடங்கின. 

இந்நிலையில் இவரை மணம் முடிப்பதற்காக வந்த சிசிலி மன்னன், இவர் தாடியோடும் மீசையோடும் இருப்பதைப் பார்த்துவிட்டு,  வந்த வழியில் திரும்பிச் சென்று விட்டான். இதனால் சீற்றம் கொண்ட இவரது தந்தை இவரைச் சிலுவையில் அறைந்து கொன்று போட்டார்.

இவர் கணவனால் சித்திரவதைக்கு உள்ளாகும் மனைவிகளின் பாதுகாவலராக இருக்கிறார்

Venerated in Folk Catholicism

Feast in some places formerly 20 July

Attributes Bearded woman; depicted crucified, often shown with a small fiddler at her feet, and with one shoe off

Patronage Relief from tribulations, in particular by women who wished to be liberated ("disencumbered") from abusive husbands; facial hair

Wilgefortis, also known as Liberata, Kummernis in Germany, in England as Uncumber, and in France as Livrade, among other names, her story is a pious fiction more folktale than religious, according to which she was one of nine daughters of a pagan Portuguese King. When her father wanted her to marry the King of Sicily, despite her vow of virginity, she prayed for help in resisting the marriage, whereupon she grew a beard and mustache and the suit was withdrawn. Her father was so furious he had her crucified. Father Charles Cahier, S.J., wrote, for my part, I am inclined to think that the crown, beard, gown and gown and cross which are regarded as the attributes of this marvelous maiden (in pictorial representations), are only a pious devotion to the famous crucifix of Lucca, somewhat gone astray. This famous crucifix was completely dressed and crowned, as were many others of the same period. In course of time, the long gown caused it to be thought that the figure was that of a woman, who on account of the beard was called Vierge-forte. We may add that the crucifix of Lucca was shod with silver to prevent the wearing away of the wood by the kissing of the feet by pilgrims. This also has been turned to the glorification of St. Wilgefortis. For it is said that a poor minstrel playing an air before the saint's statue was rewarded by her giving him one of her precious shoes. St. Wilgefortis' feast day is July 20.




Wilgefortis (Portuguese: Vilgeforte) is a female folk saint whose legend arose in the 14th century,[1] and whose distinguishing feature is a large beard. According to the legend of her life, set in Portugal and Galicia, she was a teenage noblewoman who had been promised in marriage by her father to a Moorish king. To thwart the unwanted wedding, she had taken a vow of virginity, and prayed that she would be made repulsive. In answer to her prayers she sprouted a beard, which ended the engagement. In anger, Wilgefortis's father had her crucified.


Her name is thought to have derived from the Latin "virgo fortis" ("courageous virgin").[2] In England her name was Uncumber, and in Dutch Ontkommer (meaning one who avoids something, here specifically other people from suffering).[3]



In German lands she was known as Kümmernis ("grief" or "anxiety"). In Poland she was called Frasobliwa ("sorrowful"). She was sometimes confused with a female martyr saint known as Liberata in Italy and Librada in Spain ("liberated") whose feast day is on July 10; while Saint Liberata is a crucified, beardless female usually with a crown, Wiltegefortis is always depicted with a beard and generally crownless. In France Wiltegefortis is known as Débarras ("riddance"). The confusion between the martyr Saint Liberata and Wiltegefortis extended to places such as Sigüenza, Spain, where Liberata was widely venerated.[4]


While venerated by some Catholics, Wiltegefortis was never officially canonised by the church, but instead was a popular intercessor for people seeking relief from tribulations, in particular by women who wished to be liberated ("disencumbered") from abusive husbands.


History


Art historians have argued that the origins of the art can be found with Eastern-style representations of the crucified Christ, and in particular the Holy Face of Lucca, a large 11th-century carved wooden figure of Christ on the Cross (now replaced by a 13th-century copy), bearded like a man, but dressed in a full-length tunic that might have appeared to be like that of a woman instead of the loin cloth familiar and by the Late Middle Ages normal in depictions in the West.


The Holy Face is sometimes described as typical of early Byzantine robed crucifixes.[5] But no comparable large carved figures formed part of Byzantine art, whilst there are several surviving from Germany. Any Byzantine influence is very remote, as the face and hair are typical of German crucifixes, and many Ottonian manuscripts show robes in crucifixions. The Byzantine examples are from icons, illuminations or small relief carvings.[6]


The theory is that when the composition was copied and brought north of the Alps over the next 150 years, in small copies by pilgrims and dealers, this unfamiliar image led Northerners to create a narrative to explain the androgynous icon.[7] Some older images of the crucified Christ were repurposed as Wilgefortis, and new images clearly intended to represent the saint created, many with female clothes and breasts. Some older images of Christ on the cross are argued to have already deliberately included hints at an androgynous figure for theological reasons.[8] Single images normally showed Wilgefortis on her cross, but two prominent standing images where she carries a smaller cross as an attribute as part of a group of saints, are mentioned below. Images showing a set of scenes covering the whole legend are unusual, but a German one of 1513 is illustrated here.

Veneration

The popularity of prayer in the period of the Middle Ages has been connected to the Devotio Moderna and related devotion, where meditation on and identification with the sufferings of Christ was encouraged by writers such as Thomas à Kempis author of The Imitation of Christ or mostly encouraged by the Groote to focus on the personal structure of simplicity, obedience, and followed the book The Imitation of Christ circulating from the 1420s.[9]


St Wilgefortis remained popular in the North of England until the end of the Gothic period; there is a carving in the Henry VII Chapel of Westminster Abbey of Wilgefortis, standing while holding a cross, with a very long beard.[10] She also appears in a similar pose, very lightly bearded, on the outside of a triptych door by Hans Memling.[10]


Her cult was decisively supressed during the late 16th century (after a period in the 15th and 16th centuries in which she was popular), and thereafter disappears from high art, although lingering well into the 20th century in more popular forms, especially in Bavaria and Austria,[11] but also in northern France and Belgium. In the 12th-century church of Saint-Etienne in Beauvais, there is a 16th-century wooden statue of Saint Wilgefortis on the cross. She is depicted in a full blue tunic with a substantial beard. She is venerated by the name of Santa Librada in Argentina and Panama.[12]


She is often shown with a small fiddler at her feet, and with one shoe off. This derives from a legend, also attached to the Volto Santo of Lucca, of a silver shoe with which the statue had been clothed dropping spontaneously at the feet of a poor pilgrim. In Wilgefortis's version, the poor devotee became a fiddler, perhaps in the 13th century.[13]


Because of her appearance, Wilgerfortis has been described as a "transgender saint" and is sometimes seen as an informal patron saint of persons who identify as gender fluid


St. Thorlac Thorhallsson


Born 1133

Fljótshlíð, Icelandic Commonwealth

Died 23 December 1193 (aged 59–60)

Skálholt, Iceland

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church Evangelical-Lutheran Diocese of North America

Canonized 14 January 1984 by Pope John Paul II

Feast 23 December; 20 July (translation of relics)

Patronage Iceland, fishermen, Catholics of Scandinavia

Saint Thorlac was born in the south of Iceland in 1133. His parents were quite poor. They lost their farm and the family broke up while he was still a boy. Thorlac had two sisters. Before he was 20 Thorlac became a priest. For a few years he served as a parish priest and is said to have been very conscious of his duties. He managed to save some money in order to study abroad. He was 6 years in Paris, France and then some time in Lincoln, England.

When he returned to Iceland he spent some time at Kirkjubaer in the south-east of Iceland. He supported his mother and sisters. He loved kirkjubaer very much and later as bishop, he established the first nunnery in Iceland at this place.



When Thorlac had spent 6 years at Kirkjubaer, the first Augustinian Canonry in Iceland was founded at Thykkvibaer. Thorlac became the first Abbot. He seems to have regulated the Augustinian Rule in Iceland.

Some years later Thorlac was elected Bishop of Skálholt. He was consecrated bishop in Norway on the 2nd July 1178. He was Bishop of Skálholt for 15 years, until his death in 1193, aged 60.

Thorlac worked hard to reform the Nation and to strengthen the Church. This proved to be a tremendous undertaking. Although not always successful, he did pave the way for future improvements.

Thorlac lived a holy life and after his death hundreds of miracles were attributed to his intercession. He was canonized locally in 1198 and on the 14th of January 1984, the Holy Father, John Paul II, declared Thorlac to be the Patron Saint of Iceland. Thorlac has 2 feast days, 20th July and 23rd December.


Thorlak Thorhallsson (Icelandic: Þorlákur Þórhallsson; 1133 – 23 December 1193) is the patron saint of Iceland. He was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death.[1] Thorlak's relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 1198, not long after his successor as bishop, Páll Jónsson, announced at the Althing that vows could be made to Thorlak. His status as a saint did not receive official recognition from the Catholic Church until 14 January 1984, when John Paul II canonized him and declared him the patron saint of Iceland.[2] His feast day is 23 December, when Thorlac's mass is celebrated in Iceland.


Career

Born in 1133 at Hlíðarendi in the see of Skálholt in southern Iceland,[1] Thorlak was from an agrarian family.[3] He was ordained a deacon before he was fifteen and a priest at the age of eighteen. He studied abroad at Paris with the Victorines, where he learned the Rule of Saint Augustine from roughly 1153 to 1159, and then studied canon law in Lincoln.[1]


Returning to Iceland in 1165, Thorlak founded a monastery of Canons Regular at Þykkvabær after refusing to marry a rich widow. There he devoted himself to a strictly religious life, refusing to marry (many other Icelandic priests were married) and devoting himself to reciting the Our Father, the Creed, and a hymn, as well as fifty Psalms.

Thorlak was consecrated a bishop by Augustine of Nidaros and worked to regulate the Augustinian Rule in Iceland, as well as eradicate simony, lay patronage, and clerical incontinency.

Canonization

Thorlak's life and dozens of his miracles are described in great detail in the Icelandic saga Þorláks saga helga (the Saga of Saint Thorlak), republished in Icelandic on the occasion of John Paul II's visit to Iceland in 1989.[4] It seems likely that Thorlak's informal sanctification in the Church in Iceland, promoted by Latin texts on which this was based, "was arranged in Icelandic ecclesiastical circles, clerics of both dioceses being conspicuous in reports of early miracles".[5]

Thorlak was officially recognised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 14 January 1984, when John Paul II canonized him and declared him the patron saint of Iceland.[2]

The sacred reliquary of Thorlak was maintained in the Diocese of Skálholt until it was destroyed in the Reformation, and his mortal remains were strewn about the cathedral grounds. The only known remaining relic of Thorlak is a bone fragment contained with other saints' relics in a lead box in sanctuary's end wall ("The Golden Locker") of the St. Magnus Cathedral, Faroe Islands.[6]

Novena

A novena, or nine-day devotional prayer, in honor of Thorlac was approved in May 2018, by the Bishop of Reykjavík, Iceland for use by all faithful.

Thorlac's mass

The Mass of St. Thorlac (Þorláksmessa; Icelandic pronunciation: ​[ˈθɔrˌlauksˌmɛssa]) is an Icelandic holiday celebrated every December 23. The celebration honors Saint Thorlak. The day is also celebrated in the Faroe Islands, where it's called Tollaksmessa (Faroese pronunciation: [ˈtʰɔtlaksˌmɛsːa]).

In modern times, Þorláksmessa became part of Christmas, or the last day of preparations before Christmas.[3] Many people buy Christmas presents and finish decorating their houses and Christmas tree. On Þorláksmessa evening in Reykjavík, many stroll down Laugavegur.

Fish was usually eaten on Þorláksmessa since 23 December was the last day of the Catholic Christmas fast. In west fjords in Iceland, it is customary to eat buried and fermented skate along with potatoes on Þorláksmessa. The ammonia-infused odor of fermented skate is quite strong, similar to that of hákarl.[7] This pungent dish is eaten as a continuation of tradition. The skate is usually served with boiled or mashed potatoes, accompanied by a shot of brennivín.

Other

A group based in the state of New York has advocated for Thorlak becoming the patron saint of people with autism.[8]

Autism Consecrated, a blog written by the autistic self-advocate Aimee O'Connell, promotes Saint Thorlak as a role model for autistic Catholics


St. Barhadbesciabas


Died 4th century

Arbela, Sassanid Empire

Venerated in Oriental Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

Roman Catholic Church

Feast July 20 or July 21

A Persian martyr, serving as a deacon in Arbele, sometimes called Barhadbesaba. He was caught up in the persecution conducted by Sassanid King Shapur II and was tortured by the governor of the Persian region of Adiaban in modern Iran. Aggai, an apostate Christian, was ordered to behead Barhadbesciabas. lie used the ax with such clumsiness that he had to strike the martyr again in order to slay him.

Barhadbesciabas (alternately Barhadbesaba or Barhadbescialas) (died July 20, 355) is venerated as a Christian martyr who was decapitated during the reign of Shapur II. A deacon of Arbela, in the Sassanid Empire, he was arrested by the governor of Arbela, Sapor Tamaspor, and put on the rack.

Tradition states that the authorities ordered Aghaeus, an apostate Christian nobleman, to kill Barhadbesciabas with a sword.

Another Christian of the same name was martyred with Abda and Abdjesus in 366.


Blessed Ángel Martínez Miquélez


Profile

The eldest son of José Martínez Polo and Juana Miquélez, Ángel was baptized at the age of one day; his aunt and godmother, Magdalena Martínez, consecrated him to the Virgin Mary. To get work, the family moved to Argentina when Ángel was five years old, but they were forced to return to Spain two years later when things didn’t work out. The boy‘s mother died when Ángel was seven years old. His aunt, Magdalena, helped with the family and ensured that the boys received a proper religious education. He went to a Piarist school, and began to feel a call to religious life. When he was old enough, he entered the Redemptorist seminary in Espino, Spain; a few years later, his younger brother Juan attended the same seminary.



Ángel was considered an excellent student, serious about his vocation, and a little stubborn. He was professed in the Redemptorists on 18 September 1928. He continued his studies, and was ordained a priest on 20 September 1930.


Father Ángel wanted to become a missionary, but his superiors decided that his work ethic and intelligence meant he would serve better as professor of philosophy and literature at the seminary at Astorga, León, Spain. The combination of the heavy teaching load and his own continued studies led to a collapse in January 1934. He was assigned to El Espino, Burgos, Spain to rest and recover; he used his time to hear confessions and preach missions and retreats. On 11 May 1934 he was assigned to the Redemptorist community in Granada, Spain, and then assigned to work as secretary to the Community of Perpetual Help in Madrid, Spain on 6 October 1934. He organized the library there, preached retreats, and wrote articles for Revista del Perpetuo Socorro.


In July 1936, just as the Spanish Civil War broke out, Father Ángel was assigned to minister to young people in the community. On 20 July, the street fighting reached the Community, and the Redemptorist brothers were seized by militiamen, accused of being Fascists because they opposed Communism. The Communists considered this just as bad, beat the brothers severely, and then shot them. Martyr.


Born

2 March 1907 in Funes, Navarra, Spain


Died

shot on 20 July 1936 in Casa de Campo, Madrid, Spain


Venerated

24 April 2021 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)



Saint Margaret of Antioch

அந்தியோக்கியா புனிதர் மார்கரெட் 

கன்னியர்-மறைசாட்சி/ பேயருவத்தின் வெற்றிவீராங்கனை:

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 289

அந்தியோக்கியா, பிசிடியா

இறப்பு: கி.பி. 304 (வயது 15)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் திருச்சபை

மேற்கத்திய மரபுவழி சடங்குகள்

பைஸான்டைன் கிறிஸ்தவம்

காப்டிக் கிறிஸ்தவம்

பாதுகாவல்:

கர்ப்பிணி பெண்கள் (Pregnant Women), பிரசவம் (Childbirth), இறக்கும் மக்கள் (Dying People), சிறுநீரக நோய் (Kidney Disease), விவசாயிகள் (Peasants), நாடுகடத்தப்பட்டவர்கள் (Exiles), பொய்க் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டவர்கள் (Falsely Accused People); Lowestoft, இங்கிலாந்து (England); குயின்ஸ் கல்லூரி (Queens' College), கேம்பிரிட்ஜ் (Cambridge); செவிலியர் (Nurses); சன்னட் மற்றும் பாரோர்லா (Sannat and Bormla), மால்டா (Malta), லோவஸ்டோஃப்ட் நகரம் (Lowestoft).

மேற்கில், “அந்தியோக்கியா நகர மார்கரெட்” (Margaret of Antioch in the West) என்றும் கிழக்கில், “பெரிய மறைசாட்சி மெரீனா” (Saint Marina the Great Martyr in the East) என்றும் அழைக்கப்படும் புனிதர் மார்கரெட், ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை (Roman Catholic Church), ஆங்கிலிக்கன் திருச்சபை (Anglican Church), மேற்கத்திய மரபுவழி சடங்குகள் (Western Rite Orthodoxy), பைஸான்டைன் கிறிஸ்தவம் (Byzantine Christianity), காப்டிக் கிறிஸ்தவம் (Coptic Christianity) ஆகிய திருச்சபைகளால் புனிதராக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

கி.பி. 304ம் ஆண்டு, மறைசாட்சியாக மரித்த இவர், ஐயத்திற்கிடமானவர் (Apocryphal) என்று, கி.பி. 494ம் ஆண்டு, திருத்தந்தை “முதலாம் கெலாசியஸால்” (Pope Gelasius I) அறிவிக்கப்பட்டார். ஆனால் அவருக்கான பக்தி, மேற்கு நாடுகளில் சித்திரவதைகளுடன் புத்தாக்கம் பெற்றது.

தனது வாழ்க்கையை எழுதியோ அல்லது படிப்பவர்களுக்கோ, அல்லது அவருடைய பரிந்துரையை வேண்டுவோர்க்கோ, மிகுந்த சக்திவாய்ந்த மனோபாவங்களை வாக்குறுதியளித்ததாகவும், பிரயோகிப்பதாகவும் அவர் புகழப்படுகின்றார். இவரது இந்த நம்பகத்தன்மை, இவரது புகழ் பரவிட காரணமானது.

பதினான்கு தூய உதவியாளர்களுள் (Fourteen Holy Helpers) ஒருவரான மார்கரெட், “புனிதர் ஜோன் ஆஃப் ஆர்க்கிடம்” (Joan of Arc) பேசிய புனிதர்களுள் ஒருவராகவும் கருதப்படுகின்றார்.

“பொன் புராணம்” (Golden Legend) எனும் புராணங்களில் சொல்லப்படும் கதைகளின்படி, இவர், அந்தியோக்கியா நகரைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு பெண்ணாவார். இவரது தந்தை, பாகன் இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு குரு ஆவார். அவரது பெயர், “எடேசியஸ்” (Aedesius) ஆகும். இவர் பிறந்து சிறிது காலத்திலேயே இவரது தாயார் மரித்துப் போனதால், அந்தியோக்கியா நகரிலிருந்து சுமார் எட்டு மைல் தூரத்திலுள்ள ஒரு கிறிஸ்தவப் பெண்ணால் மார்கரெட் பராமரிக்கப்பட்டு வளர்ந்தார்.

கிறிஸ்தவத்தை தழுவியதாலும், தமது கன்னித்தன்மையை கடவுளுக்கு அர்ப்பணித்ததாலும், இவரது தந்தையார் இவரை கைவிட்டார். ஆகவே, இவரது செவிலித்தாய் இவரை ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். தமது வளர்ப்புத் தாயுடன் நாட்டுப்புறங்களில் ஆடுகளை மேய்த்தபடி வளர்ந்தார். கிழக்கத்திய ரோமானிய மறைமாவட்ட ஆளுநரான “ஓலிப்ரியஸ்” (Olybrius) அவளை திருமணம் செய்துகொள்ளும்படி கேட்டார். ஆனால் கிறிஸ்தவத்தை கைவிட்டுவிடும் கோரிக்கையும் வைத்தார். இதற்கு மறுப்பு தெரிவித்த காரணத்தால், அவர் பலவிதமாக சித்திரவதை செய்யப்பட்டார். இதில் பல்வேறு அற்புதமான சம்பவங்கள் நிகழ்ந்தன. ஒரு டிராகன் வடிவத்தில் சாத்தானால் விழுங்கப்பட்ட சம்பவம் ஒன்றும் இந்த தொடர்புகளில் ஒன்று. தாம் வைத்திருந்த சிறு சிலுவை ஒன்றினால் எரிச்சல் அடைந்த டிராகனின் பிடியிலிருந்து அவர் உயிரோடு தப்பித்தார். 

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை (Eastern Orthodox Church) மார்கரெட்டை புனிதர் மெரினா (Saint Marina) என்று அறிந்திருக்கிறது. ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை (Roman Catholic Church) இவரை புனிதராக ஏற்கிறது. “ரோம மறைசாட்சிகள்” (Roman Martyrology) புத்தகத்தில் ஜூலை மாதம் 20ம் நாளாக குறிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Also known as

Margherita, Marina, Margaritha, Marine, Margaretha


Profile

Virgin and martyr whose story is know to us from a collection of legends, but no contemporary history. Her father was a pagan priest in Pisidian Antioch, Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Her mother died when Margaret was an infant, and the girl was raised by a Christian woman. Margaret's father disowned her, her nurse adopted her, and Margaret converted, consecrating herself and her virginity to God.



One day a Roman prefect saw the beautiful young Margaret as she was tending sheep, and tried to get her into his bed. When she refused, the official denounced her as a outlaw Christian, and she was brought to trial. When she refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods, the authorities tried to burn her, then boil her in a large cauldron; each time her prayers kept her unharmed. She was finally martyred by beheading.


Part of her story involves her meeting the devil in the form of a dragon, being swallowed by the dragon, and then escaping safely when the cross she carried irritated the dragon's innards; this accounts for this virgin's association with pregnancy, labour, and childbirth. She was one of the saints who appeared to Saint Joan of Arc. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.


Born

Antioch


Died

• beheaded, date unknown

• relics claimed by several locations


Patronage

• against kidney disease

• against loss of milk by nursing mothers

• against sterility

• dying people

• for escape from devils

• expectant mothers, pregnant women

• falsely accused people

• for safe childbirth

• Lowestoft, Suffolk, England

• martyrs

• Montefiascone, Italy

• nurses

• peasants

• people in exile

• Queens College Cambridge

• Rixtel, Netherlands

• Sannat, Gozo, Malta

• women

• women in labour


Representation

• dragon

• shepherdess

• woman carrying a small cross in her hand

• woman carrying a small girdle in her hand

• woman leading a chained dragon

• woman standing next to a cauldron or large vessel

• woman standing with, on, or beside a dead dragon

• women with a holy water font or vessel


Saint Paphnutius of Skete



Also known as

• Paphnutius of Alexandria

• Paphnutius of Scete

• Paphnutius of Wadi Natrun

• Paphnutius the Ascetic

• Paphnutius the Buffalo (the word indicated his love of solitude)

• Paphnutius the Hermit

• Pafnutios, Pafnutius, Paphnutios


Profile

Desert hermit in Egypt in the late 3rd and early 4th-century. Priest. Spiritual student of Saint Macarius the Great. The only times he would leave his hermit‘s cell was to attend Mass at a church 5 miles away on Saturday night and Sunday monring; he would carry back a bucket of water that was all the water he would consume until the next trip to Mass. During the persecutions of Diocletian, governor Hadrian sent troops to bring in Paphnutius; the hermit heard they were coming, went to the governor on his own, and made a public profession of Christianity. He was imprisoned and tortured to get him to give up his faith; he faith was so strong that he converted forty fellow prisoners (who were burned to death) and two of his torturers, Dionysius and Callimachus (who were beheaded). Released, Paphnutius was taken in by a local Christian name Nestorius, and spent his day preaching and teaching to the man’s family and anyone else who would listen; at least 546 people were brought to the faith, all of whom were later martyred. Hadrian finally sent the troublesome hermit to Diocletian whose forces finally killed him. Martyr. Paphnutius is most famous for his accounts of the lives of many holy hermits of the Egyptian desert, including Saint Onuphrius.


Born

Egypt


Died

• authorities tied a stone around his neck and threw him into a river; he floated to shore on the stone

• crucified on a date tree in the early 4th century



Elijah the Prophet


Also known as

Elias the Prophet


Profile

Old Testament prophet. He announced to Achad, King of Israel, who under the influence of his Tyrian wife Jezabel had erected a temple to Baal, that Jehovah had determined to avenge the apostasy of Israel by bringing a long drought on the land. During the drought which lasted three years, Elias withdrew to the vicinity of the brook Carith, where he was fed by the ravens. After the brook had dried up he crossed over to Sarepta, where he was hospitably received by a poor widow, whose charity he rewarded by increasing her store of meal and oil and by raising her child to life. At length he once more confronted the king and challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel, when Elias's oblation was consumed by fire from heaven, and the false prophets were slain by the people at his command. He was obliged to flee from the wrath of Jezabel and while on Mount Horeb was commissioned by Jehovah to anoint Hazael to be King of Syria, Jehu to be King of Israel, and Eliseus to be his own successor. Subsequently he denounced Achab for the murder of Naboth and reprimanded Ochozias and Joram, King of Juda. While conversing with Eliseus on the hills of Moab he was translated to heaven in a fiery chariot. The Carmelite Order traces its origin to him. An apocryphal Apocalypse of Elias was partly recovered in a Coptic translation.



Patronage

• Air Forces

• Carmelites

• civil aeronautics

• Romanian Air Force




Blessed Rita Josefa Pujalte y Sánchez


Also known as

Sister Rita of Our Lady of Sorrows



Profile

Nun, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as was her sister Luisa. On the recommendation of the Order's fonder, Rita was chosen superior of the Sisters in 1900; she served in that position for 28 years. Started schools for girls, especially in the poorest areas, and was know for her care for the sick, especially fellow Sisters. Retiring to the Saint Susanna convent in Madrid, Spain, she worked the convent's college. In the persecutions of the Spanish Civil War, many fled, but Rita, 83 years old and nearly blind, stayed to care for orphans and those in hospital. Grabbed by a anti–Christian revolutionaries while she was in prayer in chapel, she was taken out of Madrid and executed. Martyr.


Born

18 February 1853 in Aspe, Alicante, Spain


Died

• shot at 3.30pm on 20 July 1936 in Canillejas, Madrid, Spain

• exhumed and found incorrupt in 1940

• re-interred in the cemetery of Almudena, Madrid, Spain

• body found incorrupt in 1954

• re-interred in the chapel in Madrid Villaverde, Spain


Beatified

10 May 1998 by Pope John Paul II



Saint Bernward of Hildesheim


Also known as

Berward, Bernward



Profile

Member of a noble Saxon family. Grandson of Athelbero, Count Palatine of Saxony. Orphaned at an early age. Raised by his uncle Volkmar, bishop of Utrecht, and educated at the cathedral school at Heidelberg, where he was a schoolmate of Blessed Meinwerk of Paderborn and at Mainz. Ordained at Mainz. Imperial chaplain and tutor to the future Emperor Otto III beginning in 987. Bishop of Hildesheim, Germany from 993 till 1020. Encouraged the arts; commissioned religious paintings and sculpture, refurbished existing buildings, built new ones (thus his patronage of the builder's arts), and made altar vessels of gold and silver by hand, and dabbled in architecture and ornamental ironwork. His rule was marked with peace, and around 1020 he retired to a Benedictine monastary to spend his remaining days in prayer.


Born

c.960 at Utrecht, Netherlands


Died

20 November 1022 of natural causes


Canonized

1193 by Pope Celestine III


Patronage

• architects

• goldsmiths

• painters

• sculptors


Representation

• bishop making a chalice with a goldsmith's hammer

• holding a short cross in his hand and surrounded by tools



Saint Frumentius of Ethiopia


Also known as

• Apostle to Ethiopia

• Abuna of Ethiopia

• Father of Ethiopia

• Fremonat, Fulgence



Additional Memorials

• 1 August (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)

• 30 November (Eastern Orthodox Churches)

• 18 December (Coptic Orthodox Church)


Profile

Brother of Saint Aedeius. Student of the philosopher Meropius. While on a voyage on the Red Sea, their ship wrecked on the Ethiopian shore, and only Frumentius and Aedeius survived. They were taken to the king at Axum as a curiosity, and became members of the court, Frumentius serving as secretary. When the king died they stayed as part of the queen's court. She permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country, and open trade between Ethiopia and the west. Frumentius convinced Saint Athanasius of Alexandria to send missionaries from Alexandria, Egypt, and was himself consecrated as bishop of Ethiopia. Converted many, including the princes Ezana and Sheazana, and established a firm foothold in Ethiopia for the faith.


Born

early 4th century, Tyre (modern Sur, Lebanon)


Died

c.383 in Ethiopia of natural causes


Patronage

• Abyssinia

• Ethiopia



Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna

புனித அப்போலினாரிஸ் (St.Apollinaris)

ஆயர் (Bishop)

2 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு

இவர் துருக்கி நாட்டில் பிரிஜியா(Brijiya) மாநிலத்திற்கு ஆயராக தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டார். கிறிஸ்துவை அந்நாட்டில் பரப்ப பெரும்பாடுபட்டார். இதனால் அந்நாட்டு அரசன் மார்க்ஸ் அவுரேலியஸ்(Markus Aurelias) என்பவரால் பல துன்பங்களை அனுபவித்தார். ஆனால் ஆயர் தன்னுடைய செபத்தால் அரசனை வென்றார். ஆயரின் சொல்படி நடந்த அரசன், திருச்சபைக்காக பல உதவிகளை செய்தான். அந்நாட்டில் கிறிஸ்தவர்களுக்கு தேவையான எல்லாவற்றையும் செய்து கொடுத்தான். 

மார்க்ஸ் நாளடைவில் "கிறிஸ்துவர்களின் நண்பன்" என்ற பெயரை பெற்றான். அப்போலினாரிஸிடமிருந்து, பல விசுவாச போதனைகளை கற்றுக் கொண்டான். ஆயர் மன்னனின் மனதை கவர்ந்து விசுவாசத்தை அம்மண்ணில் நிலைநாட்டியதால் "வீரம் கொண்ட விசுவாச தந்தை" என்ற பெயரை பெற்றார். கிறிஸ்துவர்களின் முன்னேற்றத்திற்காக ஆயருக்கு, அரசர் உதவியதால் , அரசனின் எதிரிகளால் ஆயர் தாக்கப்பட்டார். அரசன் நிறைவேற்றிய சட்டங்கள் பல கிறிஸ்துவர்களுக்கு சாதகமாக இருந்ததால் அரசனும் அவமானத்திற்குள்ளாக்கப்பட்டான். இந்நிலையில் எழுந்த போராட்டங்களில், ஆயர் அப்போலினாரிஸ் எதிரிகளால் கொடூரமாக தாக்கப்பட்டுக் கொல்லப்பட்டார். துருக்கி நாட்டில், 2 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் இருந்த ஆயர்களில் "சிறந்தவர்" என்ற பெயர் பெற்றார்.

Also known as

Apollinare of Ravenna



Profile

Mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Spiritual student of Saint Peter the Apostle. First bishop of Ravenna, Italy; as such he faced nearly constant persecution. He and his flock were exiled from Ravenna during the persecutions of Emperor Vespasian. On his way out of the city he was identified, arrested as being the leader, tortured, and martryed. Noted miracle worker. Centuries after his death he appeared in a vision to Saint Romuald.



Born

Antioch, Turkey


Died

• run through with a sword c.79 at Ravenna, Italy

• relics at the Benedictine abbey of Classe, Ravenna and in Saint Lambert's church, Düsseldorf, Germany


Patronage

• against epilepsy

• against gout

• archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia, Italy

• 6 cities


Representation

• bishop healing a boy's eyes

• sword




Saint Joseph Barsabas


Also known as

• Joseph Basassas

• Joseph Justus

• Joseph of Barsabas

• Joseph the Just

• Barsabbas, Justus


Profile

A disciple of Jesus. Mentioned in Acts as the other candidate for the 12th Apostle's position, the one vacated by Judas Iscariot. The lot fell to Saint Matthias.


Died

1st century


Representation

• child holding stones

• child holding loaves of bread

• child blowing bubbles




Blessed Luigi Novarese


Profile

One of six children born to a farming family; his father died of pneumonia when the boy was very young. Due to a childhood illness, one of his legs was several inches shorter than the other, requiring him to wear special shoes all his life. Priest in the Diocese of Frascati, Italy, ordained on 17 December 1938. Had degrees in theology and canon law, but always found time for what he considered his primary work, ministering to the sick. Founded the Priestly Marian League in 1943. With Sister Elvira Myriam Psorulla, he founded the Volunteers of Suffering in 1947. Founded the Silent Workers of the Cross in 1950. Founded the Brothers and Sisters of the Sick in 1952.



Born

29 July 1914 in Casale Monferrato, Alessandria, Italy


Died

20 July 1984 in Rocca Priora, Rome, Italy


Beatified

• 11 May 2013 by Pope Francis

• beatification recognition celebrated at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls, Rome, Italy by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone



Blessed Gregorio López


Profile

Court page to King Philip II, Gregorio was well educated, especially in the sciences of his day. He lived six years as a hermit in the Navarre region of Spain before moving to Mexico in 1562 where he lived as a hermit among the natives near Zacatecas and the area of modern Mexico City. Because he was being sought out for spritiual guidance by local people, the archbishop of Mexico City had him examined for fidelity to the faith; the bishop and his priests were impressed with the man’s knowledge, piety and wisdom. This only increased the number of people who sought him out, so Gregorio withdrew to the small village of Santa Fe where he lived his remaining days in solitude. Devotion to him is widespread throughout Mexico, and his canonization cause has been pursued since 1620.



Born

4 July 1542 at Madrid, Spain


Died

20 July 1596 near Mexico City, Mexico of natural causes



Saint Chi Zhuze


Also known as

Xi Guizi


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China


Profile

Teenaged layman convert in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China who was still a catechumen when, during an anti-Western riot, he was dragged into the town square and murdered for being a Christian during the Boxer Rebellion. Martyr.



Born

c.1882 in Dezhaoin, Shenzhou, Hebei, China


Died

torn to pieces during June-July 1900 (records unclear) in Dechao, Shenzhou, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II




Saint Maria Fu Guilin


Also known as

Mali


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China


Profile

Lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Teacher. Turned over to the pagan persecutors in the Boxer Rebellion, she publicly prayed to Christ, and was immediately murdered. Martyr.


Born

c.1863 in Luopo, Shenzhou, Hebei, China


Died

beheaded on 20 July 1900 in Dailucun, Shenzhou, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II



Saint José María Díaz Sanjurjo


Also known as

Joseph Diaz Sanjurjo


Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Viet Nam


Profile

Dominican priest, ordained on 23 March 1844. Missionary to Manila, Philippines, and then to Viet Nam. Coadjutor vicar apostolic of Central Tonking, Viet Nam and titular bishop of Plataea on 5 September 1848. Martyr.


Born

26 October 1818 at Santa Eulalia, Spain


Died

martyred on 20 July 1857 in Vietnam


Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II



Saint Ansegisus


Also known as

Ansegis


Profile

Benedictine monk at Fontenelle Abbey, France at age 18. Entrusted by Charlemagne and Louis le Débonnaire with the reform and restoration of the monasteries of Saint Sixtus, Saint Memius, Flay, and Luxeuil. He codified the laws of Charlemagne and Louis in the Capitulars. Abbot of Fontenelle; the monastery became famous for learning, discipline, and its library. He divided the riches he obtained from his diplomatic missions among various monasteries.


Born

c.770


Died

c.833 of natural causes



Blessed Francisca Aldea y Araujo


Also known as

Sister Francisca of the Heart of Jesus


Profile

Nun, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.


Born

17 December 1881 in Somolinos, Guadalajara, Spain



Died

20 July 1936 in Canillejas, Madrid, Spain


Beatified

10 May 1998 by Pope John Paul II



Blessed Bernardo Sáiz Gutiérrez


Also known as

Gabriel


Profile

Member of the Redemptorists, making his profession on 25 March 1924. Priest. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.



Born

23 July 1896 in Melgosa, Burgos, Spain


Died

20 July 1936 in Casa de Campo, Madrid, Spain


Venerated

24 April 2021 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)



Blessed Crescencio Ortiz Blanco


Profile

Member of the Redemptorists, making his profession on 24 September 1900. Ordained a priest on 23 December 1905. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.


Born

10 March 1881 in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain



Died

20 July 1936 in Casa de Campo, Madrid, Spain


Venerated

24 April 2021 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom)



Blessed Anne Cartier


Also known as

Sister Saint Basil


Additional Memorial

9 July as one of the Martyrs of Orange



Profile

Ursuline nun. Martyred in the French Revolution.


Born

19 November 1733 in Livron, Drôme, France


Died

guillotined on 20 July 1794 in Orange, Vaucluse, France


Beatified

10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI



Blessed Vicente López y López


Also known as

Virginio Pedro


Profile

Professed religious in the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers). Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.


Born

27 October 1884 in Miraveche, Burgos, Spain


Died

20 July 1936 in Almudena, Madrid, Spain


Beatified

13 October 2013 by Pope Francis



Saint Wulmar


Also known as

Ulmar, Ulmer, Vilmarus, Volmar, Vulmaro, Vulmarus


Profile

Uncle of Saint Eremberta of Wierre. Priest. Monk. Founded a convent at Wierre-aux-Bois, France and the monastery of Samer near Boulogne, France that was later renamed Saint-Vulmaire in his honour.



Born

near Boulogne, France


Died

689



Saint Paul of Saint Zoilus


Also known as

Paul of Cordoba


Profile

Deacon in Moorish-occupied Cordoba, Spain. Monk at the Saint Zoilus monastery in Cordoba. Had a special ministry caring for Christians imprisoned for their faith by the Muslims. Martyr.


Died

• beheaded in 851

• relics in the church of Saint Zoilus, Cordoba, Spain



Blessed Abraham Furones y Furones


Also known as

Arenas, Luis


Profile

Dominican priest. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.


Born

8 October 1892 in Abraveses de Tera, Zamora, Spain


Died

20 July 1936 in Madrid, Spain


Beatified

28 October 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI



Saint Elswith


Also known as

Etheldwitha, Ethelwitha, Ealsitha, Ealhswith


Profile

Born a princess in Mercia (in modern England). A queen, married to King Alfred the Great of West Saxons. Widowed in 899, she became a nun and later abbess at a convent she had founded in Winchester, England.



Died

903

Ealhswith or Ealswitha (died 5 December 902) was the wife of King Alfred the Great. Her father was a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, which is thought to be an old Mercian tribal group. Her mother was Eadburh, a member of the Mercian royal family. Ealhswith is commemorated as a saint in the Christian East and the West on 20 July.


Descent

A charter of 897 (S 1442) discusses the responsibilities of Ealhswith's brother Æthelwulf towards the monastery of Winchcombe, and Barbara Yorke argues that as this monastery was claimed as a possession by the family of Ceolwulf and Coenwulf, brothers who were both kings of Mercia, Ealhswith was probably a member of this family.[1] Richard Abels goes further, stating that she was descended from King Coenwulf.[2]


Life

She was married to Alfred in 868 at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. His elder brother Æthelred was then king, and Alfred was regarded as heir apparent.[3][4] The Danes occupied the Mercian town of Nottingham in that year, and the marriage was probably connected with an alliance between Wessex and Mercia.[5] Alfred became king on his brother's death in 871. Ealhswith is very obscure in contemporary sources. She did not witness any known charters during the reign of her husband, and while Asser details her parentage and the date of their marriage, he did not identify her by name in his "Life of King Alfred" calling her only "a noble Mercian Lady". In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. According to King Alfred, this was because of the infamous conduct of a former queen of Wessex called Eadburh, who had inadvertently poisoned her husband when trying to poison another.[6]


After Alfred's death, in 901, Ealhswith did witness one charter during the reign of her son King Edward in which she is identified as "Ealhswið mater regis", Ealhswith mother of the king. Her name is subscribed immediately after King Edward, and before Edward's wife Ælfflæd.[7]


Alfred left his wife three important symbolic estates in his will, Edington in Wiltshire, the site of one important victory over the Vikings, Lambourn in Berkshire, which was near another, and Wantage, his birthplace. These were all part of his bookland, and they stayed in royal possession after her death.[4]


It was probably after Alfred's death in 899 that Ealhswith founded the convent of St Mary's Abbey, Winchester, known as the Nunnaminster. She died on 5 December 902, and was buried in her son Edward's new Benedictine abbey, the New Minster, Winchester. She is commemorated in two early tenth century manuscripts as "the true and dear lady of the English".[4]


Ealhswith's brother Æthelwulf was ealdorman of western and possibly central Mercia under his niece's husband, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, in the 890s.[8] He died in 901.


Saint Aurelius of Carthage


Profile

Bishop of Carthage in North Africa. Worked with Saint Augustine of Hippo. One of the first to denounce the heresy of Pelagianism.



Died

c.426



Blessed Jacinto García Riesco


Profile

Dominican cleric. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.


Born

28 August 1894 in Calvillas, Somiedo, Asturias, Spain


Died

20 July 1936 in Madrid, Spain


Beatified

28 October 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI



Saint Rorice of Limoges


Profile

Married, he was known in his community as an honourable and upright man. Rorice one day had a conversion experience that led him to complete devotion to God and a more religious life. Bishop of Limoges, France in 484.


Died

507 of natural causes



Saint Cassian of Saint Saba


Also known as

Cassiano


Profile

Educated at the monastery of Saint Saba where he became a monk and then abbot.


Born

Scythopolis


Died

20 July 547 or 548 (records vary)



Saint Severa of Saint Gemma


Profile

Sister of Saint Modoald of Trier. Nun. First Abbess of Saint Gemma convent in Villeneuve, France; it was later renamed Sainte-Sevère in her honour.


Died

c.680



Saint Mère


Profile

The memorial has long been celebrating in the diocese of Auch, France, and the town of Sainte-Mère, France appears to have been named for this person, but no information about them has survived.



Saint Severa of Oehren


Profile

Abbess of the convent of Oehren in Trier, Germany.


Died

c.750



Saint Caramnan


Also known as

Carmnan


Profile

No information has survived.



Martyrs of Corinth


Profile

22 Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names –


• Appia • Calorus • Cassius • Celsus • Cyriacus • Donatus • Emilis • Felix • Fructus • Magnus • Maximus • Nestita • Partinus • Pasterus • Paul • Romanus • Spretus • Tertius • Theodolus • Ueratia • Valerian • Victor •


Died

Corinth, Greece



Martyrs of Damascus


Profile

16 Christians who were martyred together. We know the names of six of then, but no details about any of them – Cassia, Julian, Macrobius, Maximus, Paul and Sabinus.


Born

Syria


Died

Damascus, Syria, date unknown



Martyrs of Seoul


Additional Memorial

20 September as one of the Martyrs of Korea


Profile

Eight lay native Koreans in various states of life who were murdered together for their faith.



• Anna Kim Chang-gum

• Ioannes Baptista Yi Kwang-nyol

• Lucia Kim Nusia

• Magdalena Yi Yong-hui

• Maria Won Kwi-im

• Martha Kim Song-im

• Rosa Kim No-sa

• Theresia Yi Mae-im


Died

20 July 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea


Canonized

6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II



Martyrs of Zhaojia


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China


Profile

Married lay woman and her two daughters in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. During the persecutions of the Boxer Rebellion, the three of them hid in a well to avoid being raped. They were found, dragged out, and killed for being Christian. Martyrs. They were - Maria Zhao Guoshi (mother), Maria Zhao and Rosa Zhao (sisters).


Died

late July 1900 in Zhaojia, Wuqiao, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II



Martyrs of Zhujiahe


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China


Profile

Two Jesuit missionary priests and two local lay people who supported their work who were martyred together in the Boxer Rebellion during and immediately after Mass.


• Léon-Ignace Mangin

• Maria Zhu Wushi

• Paul Denn

• Petrus Zhu Rixin


Died

20 July 1900 in church in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II



Also celebrated but no entry yet 


• Akhtyrskaya Icon of the Mother of God

• Our Lady of Zocueca

• Arnold Vessem

• Elias Tsjavtsjavadse

• Flavian II of Antioch

• Elias of Jerusalem

Church Church of Antioch

See Antioch

Installed 498

Term ended 512

Predecessor Palladius

Successor Severus

Personal details

Died 518

Petra, Byzantine Empire

Sainthood

Feast day July 20 (Julian Calendar)

August 2 (Gregorian Calendar) 

Venerated in Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity

Two bishops. Flavian was patriarch of Antioch, and Elias the patriarch of Jerusalem. They were both exiled by Emperor Anastasius I, a Monophysite. The two bishops supported the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon. Flavian, and probably Elias, died in the city of Petra, Jordan.

St. Flavian II of Antioch (Latin: Flavianus II; Greek: Φλαβιανός Βʹ Ἀντιοχείας, Phlabianós II Antiokheías) was the Patriarch of Antioch from 498 until his deposition in 512.

Biography

Flavian was a Monk under the Rule of St Basil at the Monastery of Tilmognon and later became an apocrisiarius. After the death of Palladius in 498, Flavian was appointed by Emperor Anastasius I as Patriarch of Antioch on the condition that he accepted the Henotikon. However, during his reign as patriarch, Flavian did not show any opposition to Chalcedonianism.

As patriarch, Flavian and Patriarch Elias of Jerusalem, resisted the attempts to abolish the Council of Chalcedon.[1] However, due to the conflict between Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians in Antioch, Flavian endeavoured to please both parties by steering a middle course in reference to the Chalcedonian decrees, yet was forced by Anastasius to sign the Henotikon in 508/509.[2] Furthermore, Flavian was accused of Nestorianism by Philoxenus, Bishop of Hierapolis.

In 511, Philoxenus convinced Monophysites of the surrounding Syrian countryside to storm Antioch and force Flavian to condemn the Council of Chalcedon but was met by fierce Chalcedonians who slaughtered the attackers and dumped their bodies into the River Orontes. The monks of Flavian's former monastery journeyed to Antioch to defend Flavian against the anti-Chalcedonians. These events drove Anastasius to adopt a Miaphysite ecclesiastical programme and thus Flavian and Elias lost imperial support.

A synod was convened in Sidon in 512 by Philoxenus and eighty other non-Chalcedonian bishops, with the support of Anastasius, to condemn Flavian and Elias and as a result he was deposed and banished to Petra, where he died in 518.[3] Flavian's deposition and subsequent resentment towards Anastasius caused Vitalian's rebellion in 513. Flavian was soon posthumously enrolled among the saints of the Eastern Church, and after some opposition, in the Western Church as well

• Folmer of Alslev

• Gepa of Füssenich




18 July 2023

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜீலை 19

 St. Jerome of Pavia


Feastday: July 19

Death: 787

Jerome of Pavia also known as Gerolamo was Bishop of Pavia, from 778 until his death.[1] He was canonized on 20 December 1888 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation). The feast is celebrated on 19 July.


St. Justa and Rufina


Born Justa, 268 AD; Rufina 270 AD

Died 287 AD

Venerated in Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church [1]

Major shrine Seville

Feast 19 July (17 July in the medieval Hispanic liturgy)

Attributes A model of the Giralda; earthenware pots, bowls and platters; books on which are two lumps of potter's clay; palms of martyrdom; lion[2]

Patronage Seville; potters; guilds of alfareros (potters) and cacharreros (sellers of pottery)




St. Justa and St. Rufina, Virgins and Martyrs (Feast - July 19) These martyrs were two Christian women at Seville in Spain who maintained themselves by selling earthenware. Not to concur in idolatrous superstitions, they refused to sell vessels for the use of heathen ceremonies and when the worshipers broke up their stock-in-trade, Justa and Rufina retorted by overthrowing the image of a false goddess. Whereupon the people impeached them for their faith before the governor. The prefect, after they had boldly confessed Christ, commanded them to be stretched on the rack and their sides to be torn with hooks. An idol was placed near the rack with incense, that if they would offer sacrifice they should be released; but their fidelity was not to be shaken. Justa died on the rack; the judge ordered Rufina to be strangled, and their bodies to be burned. They are greatly venerated in Spain, and no doubt their names represent historical martyrs in that place. But their Acts are unreliable and one of the martyrs appears to have undergone a change of sex in the course of the ages, for Justa was originally called Justus.


Blessed Karol Stepien


Also known as

• Brother Herman

• Father Herman


Additional Memorial

12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II



Profile

Born to Józef and Marianna Puch, poor working class farmers, Karol as a child was considered extremely intelligent and extremely unruly. He early felt a call to the priesthood, and at age 13 began studying at the Franciscan seminary in Lviv (in modern Ukraine). He joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual in 1928 at Lodz-Lagiewniki, Poland, taking the name Herman and making his solemn profession in 1932. Brother Herman continued his studies at the Pontifical University of Saint Bonaventure in Rome, Italy, and was ordained a priest in Rome on 5 July 1936. Father Herman continued his studies at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lvov, earning a Master's degree in Theology. Served as priest in Franciscan Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Radomsko, Poland, then the church and Franciscan monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1940 he was assigned to Piaršai (in modern Belarus), assisting Blessed Józef Puchala. The two worked to care first for the people who were being transported to Siberian work camps by the Russians, and then to concentration camps by Germans. Tortured, mutilated and then murdered while ministering to people who were to be murdered in retaliation for partisan attacks against the Nazi occupiers. Martyr.


Born

21 October 1910 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland


Died

• shot in the head on 19 July 1943 in a barn outside Borovikovshchina (Borowikowszczyzna), Minskaya voblasts', Belarus

• the barn was then set on fire

• remains later retrieved by local Catholics and buried in the parish church in Pierszaje, Poland


Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland




Saint Peter Crisci of Foligno


Also known as

Pietrillo



Profile

As a young man, Peter lived a wild, profane, and dissolute life. Around the age of thirty his parents died, he came into his inheritence, contemplated his parents’ deaths, and came to understand the emptiness of his life; Peter had a conversion experience, sold all that he had, gave it away to the poor. He even sold himself into slavery as an act of penance and to get more to give away, but his "owner" freed him. He became a penitent beggar, an urban hermit who devoted himself to the care and cleanliness of the cathedral in Foligno, Italy; he wore sack cloth, lived in its bell tower, and slept on the steps, open to the elements. He had a great dedication to the spirituality of Blessed Angela of Foligno and Saint Chiara of Montefalco. Made several barefoot pilgrimages to Rome and Assisi, Italy. He was so odd, so open about his penance, and attracted so much attention from the faithful that the Inquisition investigated him; they were particularly concerned with his habit of praying while staring at the sun; but they determined that his was an orthodox faith, just extreme in its penance. He is considered one of the "mad saints" or "holy idiots" or "fools for Christ".


Born

1243


Died

• 19 July 1323 in the cathedral of Foligno, Umbria, Italy of natural causes

• buried in the cathedral of San Feliciano in Foligno

• a chapel was built in his honour in the cathedral in 1385

• chapel restored and relics enshrined in a wooden reliquary in 1870


Beatified

• local devotion developed soon after his death, and by the late 14th-century there was a fair that grew up around devotions to him on 19 July

• on 11 May 1400 Pope Boniface IX granted indulgences to those visited the cathedral of San Feliciano from 19 to 22 July



Saint John Plessington


Also known as

• John Plesington

• William Scarisbrick

• William Pleasington


Additional Memorial

25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales



Profile

Son of Robert Plessington, a royalist Catholic, and Alice Rawstone. His family was persecuted for both their religious and political beliefs. John was educated by Jesuits at Scarisbrick Hall, then at the Royal College of Saint Alban at Valladolid, Spain, and then Saint Omer's monastery in France. Ordained in Segovia, Spain on 25 March 1662. He returned to England in 1663 to minister to covert Catholics in the areas of Holywell and Cheshire, often hiding under the name William Scarisbrick. Tutor at Puddington Hall near Chester, England. Imprisoned for two months, and executed for the crime of priesthood. Martyr.


Born

c.1637 at Dimples Hall, Lancashire, England


Died

• hanged, drawn, and quartered on 19 July 1679 at Barrows Hill, Boughton, England

• buried in the local cemetery of Burton, England


Canonized

25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI




Pope Saint Symmachus


Also known as

Simmaco


Profile

The son of Fortunatus. Baptized in Rome, Italy. Archdeacon under Pope Anastasius II. Chosen 51st pope in 498.



An anti-pope, Laurentius, was elected the same day by a minority with Byzantine sympathies and with the support of Emperor Anastasius; King Theodoric the Great supported Symmachus who ascended to the throne. Any sort of campaigning for the papacy during the life of a sitting pope was outlawed by canon law. In 501, Senator Festus, a supporter of Laurentius, accused Symmachus of assorted crimes; the pope refused to answer the charges, claimed that secular rulers had no jurisdiction over a pope, and the Synodus Palmaris of 23 October 502 confirmed this decision. The schism with Laurentius continued for years, and at one point Theodoric installed the anti-pope in the Lateran Palace and proclaimed him the legal pontiff; Theodoric later decided that Laurentius was too Byzantine, and had him removed.


During all the turmoil, Symmachus spent largely to support bishops of Africa who were persecuted by the Arian Vandals. He also gave aid to northern Italians who suffered from the invasions of barbarians.


Born

in Sardinia, Kingdom of Odoacer (part of modern Italy)


Papal Ascension

22 November 498


Died

19 July 514 in Rome, Ostrogothic Kingdom (in modern Italy) of natural causes



Blessed Józef Puchala


Also known as

• Achilles Puchala

• Brother Achilles

• Father Achilles


Additional Memorial

12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II



Profile

Baptized on the day of his birth. Entered the minor seminary in Lviv (in modern Ukraine) in 1924. Franciscan Friar Minor Conventual, taking the name Achilles, and making his solemn vows on 22 May 1932. Priest, ordained on 5 July 1936. Served in the Franciscan convents in Grodno and Iwieniec in Poland. In early 1940 he moved into parish ministry in Pierszaje, Poland to help with a shortage of priests who had been arrested or fled ahead of arrest by the Gestapo during the Nazi occupation and persecutions of World War II. Arrested, tortured and eventually murdered by the Gestapo. Martyr.


Born

18 March 1911 in Kosina, Podkarpackie, Poland


Died

• 19 July 1943 in a barn outside Borovikovshchina (a.k.a. Borowikowszczyzna), Minskaya voblasts', Belarus

• the barn was then set on fire

• remains later retrieved by local Catholics and buried in the parish church in Pierszaje, Poland


Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II



Saint Macrina the Younger

புனிதர் இளைய மேக்ரினா 

அருட்சகோதரி:

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 330

சேசரா, கப்படோசியா, துருக்கி

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 19, 379

போன்டஸ்

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

ஓரியண்டல் மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

ஆங்கிலிக்கன் சமூகம்

லூதரன் திருச்சபை

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 19

புனிதர் இளைய மேக்ரினா, ஆதிகால கிறிஸ்தவ திருச்சபைகளின் (Early Christian Church) அருட்சகோதரியும், முக்கியமான புனிதருமாவார். இவரது உடன் பிறந்த இளைய சகோதரரான “புனிதர் கிரகோரி” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa) இவரைப் பற்றி எழுதுகையில், கன்னித்தன்மையைப் போற்றும் இவரது தீவிரம் பற்றியும், பொதுவாக மத காரணங்களுக்காக, கடுமையான சுய ஒழுக்கம் மற்றும் அனைத்து விதமான இவ்வுலக விருப்பங்கள் மற்றும் பழக்கவழக்கங்களையும் தவிர்த்து வாழ்ந்தவர் என எழுதிவைத்தார்.

துருக்கி (Turkey) நாட்ன் “கப்படோசியா” (Cappadocia) பிராந்தியத்தின் “சேசரா” (Caesarea) எனும் பெரிய நகரில் பிறந்த இவரது தந்தையார், “மூத்த பாசில்” (Basil the Elder) ஆவார். தாயாரின் பெயர், “எம்மெலியா” (Emmelia) ஆகும். புனிதர் “மூத்த மேக்ரினா” (Saint Macrina the Elder) இவரது பாட்டி ஆவார். இவருடன் உடன்பிறந்த ஒன்பது சகோதரர்களுள் இருவரான, புனிதர் “பெரிய பாசில்” (Basil the Great) மற்றும் புனிதர் “கிரகோரி” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa) ஆகியோர், “கப்படோசிய தந்தையர்” (Cappadocian Fathers) என்று அழைக்கப்படும் மூவரில் இருவர் ஆவர். புனிதர் “பீட்டர்” (Peter of Sebaste) மற்றும் பிரபல கிறிஸ்தவ நீதிபதியான புனிதர் “நவ்கிரேஷியஸ்” (Naucratius) ஆகியோரும் இவரது சகோதரர்கள் ஆவர்.

அவரது தந்தை அவருக்கு திருமணம் செய்ய ஏற்பாடு செய்தார். ஆனால் அவரது வருங்கால கணவர், திருமணத்திற்கு முன் இறந்து போனார். ஒருவருடன் திருமண உறுதி செய்துகொண்டதன் பிறகு, மற்றொரு மனிதரை திருமணம் செய்வது பொருத்தமானது என்று மேக்ரினா நம்பவில்லை. ஆனால், கிறிஸ்துவையே தமது நித்திய மணமகனாக ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். அதற்கு பதிலாக, அவர் தனது மதத்திற்கு தன்னை அர்ப்பணித்து, ஒரு கன்னியாஸ்திரியாக மாறினார்.

மேக்ரினா, தனது சகோதரர்கள் மற்றும் தமது தாயின் மீது, “ஆன்மீக இலக்குகளை அடைய வேண்டுமென்ற நோக்கத்திற்காக, சிற்றின்ப இன்பமயங்களில் இருந்து விலகுவதால் குணப்படுத்தப்படும் துறவற வாழ்க்கைக்கான” (Ascetic Ideal) ஒரு ஆழ்ந்த செல்வாக்கு கொண்டிருந்தார்.

இவரது சகோதரர் “கிரகோரி” (Gregory of Nyssa), “மேக்ரினாவின் வாழ்க்கை” (Life of Macrina) எனும் பெயரில் எழுதிய சரிதத்தில், இவரது வாழ்க்கை முழுதும் இவர் கடைபிடித்த அருளுடைமை அல்லது புனிதம் பற்றி எழுதியிருந்தார். ஒரு சாந்தமான, பணிவான மற்றும் எளிய வாழ்க்கை வாழ்ந்த மேக்ரினா, தமது நேரத்தை செபிப்பதிலும், தமது இளைய சகோதரர் பீட்டருக்கு ஆன்மீக கல்வி பயிற்றுவதிலுமே செலவிட்டார். இவரது மூத்த சகோதரர் கிரகோரி இவருக்கு கற்பித்த பண்டைய கலாச்சார கல்வி அனைத்தையும் முழு மனதுடன் நிராகரித்த மேக்ரினா, வேதாகமம் மற்றும் பிற புனித நூல்களின் அர்ப்பணிப்பு ஆய்வுகளைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்து கற்றார்.

கருங்கடலின் (Black Sea) தென்கரையோரமுள்ள வரலாற்று ஸ்தலமான “போன்டஸ்” (Pontus) எனுமிடத்திலுள்ள தமது குடும்ப தோட்டத்தை தமது இளைய சகோதரர் பீட்டரின் உதவியுடன் ஒரு துறவற மடாலயமாகவும் பள்ளியாகவும் மாற்றியமைத்து அங்கேயே வாழ்ந்திருந்த மேக்ரினா, 379ம் ஆண்டு, ஜூலை மாதம், 19ம் நாளன்று மரித்தார். தமது மரண படுக்கையிலும் கூட, புனிதமான வாழ்க்கையைத் தொடர்ந்த மேக்ரினா, படுக்கையை வெறுத்து வெறும் தரையிலேயே படுத்தார். புனிதர் மேக்ரினா, ஒரு புனிதமான கிறிஸ்தவ பெண்மணியாக இருப்பதற்கான தரங்களை நிர்ணயிக்க முடிந்தது. கன்னித்தன்மை, "கடவுளுடைய பிரகாசமான தூய்மையை” (Radiant Purity of God) பிரதிபலிக்கிறது என்பதை அவர் நம்பினார்.



Profile

Daughter of Saint Emmelia and Saint Basil the Elder; sister of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, and Saint Peter of Sebastea; granddaughter of Saint Macrina the Elder, and called the Younger to distinguish between the two. Educated by her mother, she could read from an early age. Betrothed at age twelve to a young lawyer who died before the wedding. She refused other offers of marriage, and devoted herself to her family, then to a religious life. Nun. Succeeded her mother as head of a small community of women in Pontus (part of modern Turkey). Her biography and reminicenses of her were written by her brother Saint Gregory.



Born

c.327 at Caesarea, Cappadocia (in modern Turkey)


Died

379 at Pontus (in modern Turkey) of natural causes




Saint Epaphras of Colosse


Also known as

Epagaphras


Profile

First century missionary to Colossae, Laodicea And Hierapolis. Bishop of Colossae. Martyr. Saint Paul mentions him.




Saint Kragon


Also known as

• Cragon

• Abba Karazün


Profile

Highway bandit in Egypt. Around the the year 297, he and two fellow thieves were brought to Christianity by a desert hermit, and Kragon became a monk. During the persecutions of Diocletian, Kragon left his hermitage to travel the region and preach Christianity. He was imprisoned several times and tortured, but suffered no damage from it, and never stopped preaching. In Samannüd he was dragged from the torture chamber to appear before the vizier Justus; Kragon brought Justus, his family and guards to Christianity. He was finally imprisoned and executed for his faith and work. Martyr.


Born

latter 3rd century Banawän, Egypt


Died

• beheaded in the early 4th century

• relics later moved to Banawän, Egypt



Saint Ioannes Baptista Zhu Wurui


Also known as

• John Baptist Zhou Wurui

• Ruohan



Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China


Profile

Young layman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. A teenager at the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion, John publicly declared his Christianity, for which the rebels mutilated and killed him. Martyr.


Born

c.1883 in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China


Died

dismembered and beaten to death with an ax on 19 July 1900 in Lujiazhuang, Jingxia, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II



Saint Simon Qin Chunfu


Also known as

Ximan


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China



Profile

Son of Saint Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Martyred as a teenager in the Boxer Rebellion.


Born

c.1886 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China


Died

19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II




Blessed Bernhard of Rodez


Also known as

• Bernhard of Millau

• Bernhard of Ruteni

• Bernard of...


Profile

Born to the nobility, one of eight children born to Viscount Richard II of Millau and Rixinde. Benedictine monk at the Saint Victor monastery in Marseilles, France in 1061. Abbot of Saint Victor in 1064. Friend of Pope Gregory VII, Saint Hugo of Cluny, and Saint William of Hirschau. Zealously promoted the Cluniac reform. Created cardinal in 1065 by Pope Alexander II. Papal legate to Germany in 1077. Papal legate to Spain in 1078.


Born

1045 in Provence, France


Died

1079 in Marseilles, France of natural causes



Saint Arsenius the Great


Also known as

• Arsenius the Roman

• Arsenius the Deacon



Profile

Born to a wealthy Roman noble family. Deacon. Tutor to the sons of Emperor Theodosius the Great c.383. About 395 he left to live with the monks of Alexandria, Egypt. After the emperor's death, Arsenius retired to the wilderness of Scetis, and became a student of Saint John the Short. Hermit, noted for his great austerity


Born

354 in the Roman Empire


Died

c.449 at Troë near Memphis, Egypt of natural causes



Saint Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth


Also known as

Lisa


Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China



Profile

Married lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Mother of Saint Simon Qin Chunfu. Martyred in the Boxer Rebellion.


Born

c.1846 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China


Died

19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China


Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II



Blessed Antonio of Valladolid


Profile

Mercedarian friar. Bible scholar. Provincial of the Order in Castile. Advisor to Spanish kings. Sent the first Mercedarian missionaries to America after recieving permission from Pope Alexander VI in 1493. Travelled to many churches in Spain, working to revitalize the faith. Known for his endless charity to the poor.


Died

1514 of natural causes



Saint Michael the Sabaitè


Also known as

Michael of Saint Sabas


Profile

Eighth century hermit at the monastery of Saint Sabas. The Muslim Caliph greatly admired him, and tried to convert him to Islam. Michael refused, so his admirer had him executed. Martyr.


Died

beheaded





Saint Aurea of Cordoba


Also known as

Aura


Profile

Raised Muslim during the period of Moorish occupation of Spain. Married. Widow. Convert to Christianity. Nun at Cuteclara for 20 years. She was eventually denounced as a Christian by her family to Muslim religious authorities and killed for the crime of converting. Martyr.


Born

Cordoba, Spain


Died

beheaded in 856



Saint Ambrose Autpertus


Also known as

Ambrose Aut-pert


Profile

While in Italy as a diplomatic envoy, he visited the monastery of Saint Vincent near Benevento. There he answered a call to religious life and became a monk, and later served as its abbot.


Born

France


Died

c.778



Saint Romain of Ryazan


Also known as

Romanus


Profile

Son of the Prince of Ryazan. Imprisoned, tortured and murdered by pagan Tatars who accused him of insulting their gods. Martyr.


Died

cut to pieces, joint by joint, until he finally bled to death in 1270



Saint Martin of Trier


Also known as


Martin of Treves


Profile

Tenth bishop of Trier, Germany.


Died

• c.210

• may have been a martyr, but records are unclear



Saint Daria of Constantinople


Also known as

Daretia


Profile

Martyr.


Died

Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), date unknown



Blessed Pascasio of Lyon


Also known as

Pascasio of Lycaonia


Profile

Mercedarian friar. Bishop of Lycaonia, Asia Minor.



Saint Felix of Verona


Also known

Felicinus of Verona


Profile

Bishop of Verona, Italy.



Martyrs of Meros


Also known as

Martyrs of Phrygia


Profile

Three Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Julian the Apostate and governor Almachio. We know nothing else about them but the names - Macedoniuis, Tatian and Theodule.


Died

burned to death on an iron grill in Meros, Phrygia (in modern Turkey)



Also celebrated but no entry yet


• Bernold of Utrecht

• Dio of Constantinople

• Diodorus of Milan

• Stephen del Lupo

• Stilla of Abenberg

17 July 2023

இன்றைய புனிதர்கள் ஜீலை 18

 Saint Camillus of Lellis


Also known as

• Camillus de Lellis

• Camillo de Lellis



Profile

Son of a military officer who had served both for Naples and France. His mother died when Camillus was very young. He spent his youth as a soldier, fighting for the Venetians against the Turks, and then for Naples. Reported as a large individual, perhaps as tall as 6'6" (2 metres), and powerfully built, but he suffered all his life from abscesses on his feet. A gambling addict, he lost so much he had to take a job working construction on a building belonging to the Capuchins; they converted him.


Camillus entered the Capuchin noviate three times, but a nagging leg injury, received while fighting the Turks, each time forced him to give it up. He went to Rome, Italy for medical treatment where Saint Philip Neri became his priest and confessor. He moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking education, he began to study with children when he was 32 years old. Priest. Founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick (the Camillians or Fathers of a Good Death) who, naturally, care for the sick both in hospital and home. The Order expanded with houses in several countries. Camillus honoured the sick as living images of Christ, and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his wayward youth. Reported to have the gifts of miraculous healing and prophecy.


Born

25 May 1550 at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, kingdom of Naples, Italy


Died

14 July 1614 at Genoa, Italy of natural causes


Canonized

29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV


Patronage

• against illness, sickness or bodily ills; sick people (proclaimed on 22 June 22 1886 by Pope Leo XIII)

• hospitals

• hospital workers

• nurses

• Abruzzi, Italy



Saint Szymon of Lipnica


Also known as

• Szymon of Lipnicza

• Szymon z Lipnicy

• Simon of...



Profile

Born to a poor but pious family, the son of Grzegorz and Anna. In 1454, at age 17 he moved from his small town to Kraków to study at the Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego. While there, he heard a sermon by Saint John Capistran which led him to consider a call to religious life and the priesthood. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1457, and joined the Franciscan Friars Minors (Observants) at the convent of Saint Bernard in Stadom, Poland, making his vows in 1458. Ordained a priest c.1460. Assigned first to the Franciscan convent at Tarnów, Poland, and then back to Stadom. Known as a powerful preacher, he helped spread popular devotions such as that to the Holy Name of Jesus. Father Szymon had a devotion to Saint Bernardine of Siena, modeled his preaching after that of Bernardine, and assisted at the transfer of Bernardine‘s relics to Aquila, Italy on 17 May 1472. Attended the Franciscan General Chapter in Pavia, Italy in 1478. Pilgrim to the Holy Lands and to the tombs of Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Paul the Apostle. Szymon died tending the sick during a plague epidemic.


Born

c.1437 in Lipnica Murowana, Malopolskie, Poland


Died

18 July 1482 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland during a plague epidemic


Beatified

• 24 February 1685 (cultus confirmed) by Blessed Pope Innocent XI

• re-confirmed on 20 December 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI


Canonized

• 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy

• the canonization miracle involved the cure of a woman in 1943


Representation

• Franciscan giving food to a poor man

• Franciscan celebrating Mass around dying people



Saint Clair of Epte


Also known as

• Clair of Beauvais

• Clare...


Profile

Born to the nobility, Clair felt a call to religious life, and lived at home much like a monk. His father arranged a marriage for Clair to a nearby wealthy heiress, and when the young man said he preferred to devote himself to God, the woman tried to seduce him in order to joined the two families together. When he refused her, she became enraged, and swore vengance. Clair fled to the region of Normandy, France c.866 where he lived as a hermit. Word spread of his wisdom and ability to heal by prayer, and Clair had to keep moving from place to place in order to have solitude. Ordained a priest in 870. Hermit in the woods around Nacqueville, France, and then at a hermitage on the banks of the river Epte where he lived with brother hermit and spiritual student named Cyrin. He was finally located by agents sent by his spurned would-be wife, and murdered on her orders. Martyr.


Born

845 in Rochester, Kent, England


Died

• beheaded on 4 November 884 at Vulcassum (modern Saint-Clair-sur-Epte), France while he was praying

• where his severed head hit the ground, a spring of fresh water sprang up and washed the whole death scene away; water from the spring was reputed to have healing properties

• his hermit's hut was converted into a chapel

• a church was later built on the spot

• the village of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, France grew up around the church


Patronage

Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, France




Saint Frederick of Utrecht

உட்ரெச்ட் நகர் புனிதர் ஃபிரடெரிக் 

உட்ரெச்ட் ஆயர்:

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 780

ஃபிரீஸ்லேண்ட்

இறப்பு: ஜூலை 18, 838

“உட்ரெச்ட்”

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 18

பாதுகாவல்: காது கேளாதோர்

புனிதர் ஃபிரடெரிக், கி.பி. 815/816 முதல் 834/838 வரை “உட்ரெச்ட்” ஆயராக (Bishop of Utrecht) சேவை செய்தவர் ஆவார். ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்கம் (Roman Catholic Church) மற்றும் கிழக்கு மரபுவழி (Eastern Orthodox Church) திருச்சபைகள் இவரை புனிதராக ஏற்கின்றன.

கி.பி. சுமார் 780ம் ஆண்டு, “நெதர்லாந்து” (Netherlands) நாட்டின் வடக்கிலுள்ள பிராந்தியமான “ஃபிரீஸ்லேண்ட்’ல்” (Friesland) பிறந்த இவர், “ஃபிரிசியன்” அரசனான “ராட்பௌட்” (Frisian King Radboud) என்பவரது பேரனாவார்.

தமது இளம் வயதில் “உட்ரெச்ட்” (Utrecht) நகரில் கல்வி கற்ற இவருக்கு, ஆயர் “ரிக்ஃபிரைட்” (Bishop Ricfried) உள்ளிட்ட மறைப்பணியாளர்கள் கல்வி கற்பித்தனர். அவரது படிப்பு முடிந்தபின் அவர் குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு செய்விக்கப்பட்டார். பின்னர், மறைமாவட்டத்தின் வடக்குப் பகுதியிலுள்ள மீதமுள்ள “பாகன் இனத்தவர்களை” (Heathens) கிறிஸ்தவர்களாக மனம் மாற்றுவதற்கான பொறுப்பு இவரிடம் ஒப்படைக்கப்பட்டது. ஆனால் மறைமாவட்டத்திற்கு வெளியே உள்ள பகுதிகளிலும் இப்பணியைச் செய்தார். இவர், “ஸீலேண்ட்” (Dutch province of Zeeland) எனும் டச்சுப் பிராந்தியத்தின் “வால்ச்சரன்” (Walcheren) எனும் முன்னாள் தீவில் மறைபோதகம் செய்ததாக தகவல்கள் உள்ளன. அத்துடன், புனிதர் “ஓடல்ஃபஸ்” (St. Odulfus) என்பவருடன் இணைந்து “ஸ்டாவோரேன்” (Stavoren) நகரிலும் அதன் சுற்றுப்புறங்களிலும் மறைபோதகம் செய்ததாக தகவல்கள் கூறுகின்றன.

“உட்ரெச்ட்” (Utrecht) மறைமாவட்ட ஆயர் “ரிக்ஃபிரைட்” (Bishop Ricfried) கி.பி. 815/816ம் ஆண்டு மரித்ததும், ஃபிரடெரிக் அப்பதவிக்கு தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டார். அவர் தனது பக்தி மற்றும் அறிவாற்றலுக்காக அறியப்பட்டார். அவர், ஃபிரான்கிஷ் பெனடிக்டைன் (Frankish Benedictine monk) துறவியும், ஜெர்மனி நாட்டின் மெய்ன்ஸ் உயர்மரைமாவட்ட பேராயருமான “ரபானஸ் மௌரஸ்” (Rabanus Maurus) என்பவருடன் கடித தொடர்பு வைத்திருந்தார். 829ம் ஆண்டு, “மெயின்ஸ்” (Mainz) நகரில் நடந்த ஆலோசனை சபையில் அவரது அறிவு மற்றும் புரிந்துகொள்ளுதலையும் அவர் பாராட்டினார்.

ஃப்ரெட்ரிக் எப்படி மரித்தார் என்பதற்கான தெளிவான தகவல்கள் இல்லை. அவர் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டார் என்பது மட்டும் நிரூபிக்கப்பட்டது; ஆனால், யாரால் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டார், கொலைக்கான காரணம் ஆகியனபற்றி தெளிவான தகவல் இல்லை. கி.பி. 838ம் ஆண்டு, ஜூலை மாதம், 18ம் நாளன்று, திருப்பலி நிறைவேற்றிவிட்டு வருகையில் இரண்டு பேரால் குத்திக் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டார் என்று புராணம் கூறுகிறது.

கி.பி. 11 மற்றும் 12ம் நூற்றாண்டு எழுத்தாளர்கள் “ஆயர் ஓபெர்ட்” (Bishop Otbert of Liège) (பாஸியோ ஃப்ரெடிசி) மற்றும் ஆங்கிலேய வரலாற்று ஆசிரியர் “வில்லியம்” (William of Malmesbury) ஆகியோரின் கூற்றுப்படி, கொலைகாரர்களை ஏற்பாடு செய்து ஏவி விட்டது, பேரரசி ஜூடித் (Empress Judith) என்கிறது. காரணம், பேரரசியின் ஒழுக்கக்கேடான வாழ்க்கை முறையை ஃபிரடெரிக் தொடர்ந்து விமர்சித்து வந்ததே ஆகும்.

கொலை செய்யப்பட்ட ஃபிரடெரிக், “உட்ரெச்ட்” (Utrecht) நகரின் “தூய சல்வேடார்” ஆலயத்தில் (St. Salvator's Church) அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டார். இவர், காது கேளாதோரின் பாதுகாவலர் ஆவார்.

Also known as

• Frederick of the Netherlands

• Fredericus, Fridrich, Frederic



Profile

Grandson of King Radbon of the Frisians. Educated by the priests at Utrecht, Netherlands. Priest, known for his learning and personal piety. Catechist and instructor to converts. Bishop of Utrecht in 825. Frederick worked to reform his clergy, regularize Church practice in his diocese, and opposed incestuous marriages, especially among the nobility. He dispatched a group of missionaries under the leadership to Saint Odulphus to evangelize the pagans to the north of Utrecht, and worked with them around Walcheren. He composed a prayer to the Blessed Trinity that was used for ages in the Netherlands. The memory of his life and sanctity were preserved in a poem by his contemporary Saint Rabanus Maurus.


Frederick became involved in the royal politics of his day, and was especially involved in the domestic problems of Emperor Louis the Debonair, Empress Judith, and their sons. Frederick openly chastised Judith for her immoral and adulterous lifestyle, which has led many writers to conclude that Judith hired the men who murdered Frederick. However, it is more likely that they were pagans from Walcheren, many of whom were violently opposed to the Christian missionaries, and who martyred him for his work.


Died

stabbed to death during Mass on 18 July 838


Representation

• bishop pierced by two swords

• bishop being stabbed by two men



Saint Bruno of Segni

புனித புரூனோ 


இவர் இத்தாலியில் உள்ள அஸ்டி என்ற இடத்தில் பிறந்தவர். சிறுவயதிலேயே கடவுள்மீது மிகுந்த பற்றுகொண்டு இவர், இறைவன் தன்னைத் தனது பணிக்காக அழைப்பதை உணர்ந்ததும், புனித பெனடிக்ட் சபையில் சேர்ந்து துறவியானார்.

இவருக்கு 30 வயது நடக்கும்பொழுது, அப்பொழுது திருத்தந்தையாக இருந்த இரண்டாம் கிரகோரி இவரிடமிருந்த ஞானத்தைக் கண்டு, இவரை செக்னி என்ற இடத்தின் ஆயராகத் திருப்பொழிவு செய்தார்.

சிறிதுகாலத்திற்கு ஆயர் பணியைச் சிறப்பாக செய்த இவர், 'ஆயர் பணிக்குத் நான் எந்த விதத்திலும் தகுதி இல்லாதவன்' என்பதை உணர்ந்து, அப்பதவியை ராஜினமா செய்துவிட்டு, முன்பிருந்த துறவு மடத்திற்குச் சென்று, ஒரு துறவியாக வாழ்ந்து வந்தார்.

இதற்குப் பின்பு இவர் துறவு மடத்தின் தலைவராகவும், வத்திக்கானில் உள்ள நூலகத்தின் நூலகராகவும் உயர்த்தப்பட்டார். தான் ஒவ்வொரு முறையும் பதவி உயர்த்தப்பட்டபோதெல்லாம், இவர் மிகவும் தாழ்ச்சியோடு நடந்து கொண்டார்.

இவர் நற்கருணையைக் குறித்து எழுதிய எழுத்துக்களெல்லாம் இன்றைக்கும் எல்லாராலும் வியந்து பாராட்டப்படுகிறது. இவருக்கு 1183 ஆம் ஆண்டு புனிதர் பட்டம் கொடுக்கப்பட்டது.

Profile

Born to the Italian nobility. Studied theology at the Benedictine monastery of Saint Pepetuus at Asti, Italy, and at Bologna, Italy. Benedictine, monk. Ordained in 1079, and assigned to a parish at Siena, Italy. Noted for defending orthodox Church wisdom, his knowledge of Scripture, and his teachings on the Blessed Sacrament. Counselor to four popes. Ordained bishop of Segni, Italy in 1080 by Pope Gregory VII. Fought simony and lay investiture. In 1095 he retired to a monastic life at Monte Cassino. Elected abbot in 1107. Following a chastisement of the pope for shirking his duty to others, he was soon ordered back to his diocese, a vocation he fulfilled until his death. Vatican librarian. Cardinal legate, though he declined the cardinalate. Wrote several works on theology.



Born

1049 at Solero, Piedmont, Italy


Died

1123 of natural causes


Canonized

5 September 1183 by Pope Lucius III


Patronage

Segni, Italy


Works

Pamphlet on Simoniacs



Blessed Carlos de Dios Murias


Profile

Carlos studied civil engineering until he gave in to a call to religious life and the priesthood. Member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. Ordained a priest in the diocese of La Rioja, Argentina by Blessed Enrique Angelelli on 17 December 1972. Member of the Third World Movement of Priests. Worked with Blessed Gabriel Longueville to set up a Franciscan community to support the peasants in their economic struggles against large land owners. Kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured and murdered by members of the Federal Police for his work. Martyr.



Born

10 October 1945 in San Carlos Minas, Córdoba, Argentina


Died

• shot on 18 July 1976 in Chamical, La Rioja, Argentina

• buried in the municipal cemetery in Chamical


Beatified

• 27 April 2019 by Pope Francis

• beatification recognition celebrated in La Rioja, Argentina, presided by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu



Saint Edburgh of Bicester


Also known as

• Edburgh of Aylesbury

• Eadburga, Eadburh, Edburg, Edburga



Profile

Born a princess, the daughter of the pagan King Penda of Mercia; sister of Saint Cuneburga and Saint Edith of Aylesbury; aunt of Saint Osith. Nun under Saint Cuneburga's convent at Castor, Northamptonshire, England. Nun at a small monastery she built on land at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England on land donated by her father. The towns of Adderbury and Edburton in England are thought to have been named for her.


Born

c.620 in Mercia (part of modern England)


Died

• 18 July 650 at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England of natural causes

• relics transferred to the Augustinian priory at Bicester, England in 1182 where they became a point of pilgrimage

• relics transferred to Flanders, Belgium in 1500 by order of Pope Alexander VI



Saint Ðaminh Ðinh Ðat


Also known as

Domenico Nicolao Dinh Dat


Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam



Profile

Layman in the apostolic vicariate of East Tonkin (in modern Vietnam). A soldier during the persecutions of emperor Minh Mang, he was ordered by the army to renounce Christianity and prove it by trampling a crucifix; he refused and was tortured until he relented and apostasized. Released, he repented, returned to his faith, and as a self-imposed penance, he wrote to the emperor to proclaim his Christianity. Martyr.


Born

c.1803 in Phú Nhai, Nam Ðinh, Vietnam


Died

strangled on 18 July 1839 in Nam Ðinh, Vietnam


Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II



Blessed Tarsykia Matskiv


Also known as

• Tarsykia Mackiv

• Tarcisia, Olga, Olha



Profile

Greek Catholic. Entered the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate on 3 May 1938, taking her vows on 5 November 1940. Made a private vow to her spiritual director that she would give her life for the conversion of Russia and the good of the Church. When the Bolsheviks arrived to destroy her convent, Sister Taryskia was the one who answered the door; she was shot without warning. Martyr.


Born

23 March 1919 at Khodoriv, Lviv District, Ukraine as Olha Mackiv


Died

shot by a Russian soldier at 8am on 17 July 1944 at Chervonohrad, L'vivs'ka oblast', Ukraine


Beatified

27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II at Ukraine



Saint Scariberga of Yvelines


Also known as

Scariberg, Scariberge



Profile

Born to the Gallic nobility; niece of King Clovis I. Given in an arranged marriage to Saint Arnulf of Tours; they lived as brother and sister, and when he became bishop, she became a nun. Widowed when Arnulf was martyred, she bult a hermit‘s cell over his tomb in the Yvelines forest between Paris and Chartres, France, and lived in it the rest of her life. The town of Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, France grew up around the tomb and cell.


Born

c.495 in Gaul (in modern France)


Died

c.550 in the forest of Yvelines in France of natural causes



Saint Arnulf of Metz


Also known as

Arnold, Arnoul



Profile

Courtier and advisor of Austrasian King Theodebert II. Soldier. Married the Lady Doda. Father. From his son Ansegisel and Saint Begga of Ardenne came the Carolingian kings of France. Widower. In 610, when Arnulf was about to become a monk at Lérins, he was appointed bishop of Metz, France. He played a prominent role in affairs of state, was instrumental in making Clotaire of Neustria king of Austrasia, was chief counselor to King Dagobert of Austrasia. In 626 Arnulf resigned his see and retired to a hermitage near the abbey of Remiremont.


Born

c.580


Died

16 August 640



Saint Philastrius of Brescia


Also known as

Philaster of Brescia



Profile

Priest. Bishop of Brescia, Italy. Bishop during a time of Arian disturbances, he strongly opposed and wrote against the heresy, working with Saint Ambrose of Milan and Saint Augustine of Hippo. Participated in the Synod of Aquileia of 381. Known for his charity to the poor of his flock.


Born

c.330 in Spain


Died

• c.387 of natural causes

• relics venerated in the crypt of Saint Apollonio in the cathedral of Brescia, Italy



Saint Theodosia of Constantinople


Also known as

Theodosia he Konstantinoupolitissa


Profile

Nun in Constantinople. Martyred by iconoclasts for defending an icon of Christ which emperor Leo the Isaurian had ordered destroyed.



Born

7th century


Died

• in 729 by having a ram's horn hammered through her neck at the Forum Bovis in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey)

• interred in the church of Hagia Euphemia in the Dexiokratianai section of Constantinople

• in the 14th century the church was renamed for Saint Theodosia


Blessed Jean-Baptiste de Bruxelles


Profile

Priest in the diocese of Limoges, France. Imprisoned on a ship in the harbor of Rochefort, France and left to die during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the French Revolution. One of the Martyrs of the Hulks of Rochefort.



Died

12 September 1734 in Saint-Léonard, Haute-Vienne, France


Died

18 July 1794 aboard the prison ship Deux-Associés, in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France


Beatified

1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II



Saint Gonéri of Tréguier


Also known as

• Gonéri of Brittany

• Gonéri of Plougrescant

• Gonéry, Gonnéry, Koneri



Profile

Son of Saint Elibouban. Sixth century exile who fled from Britain to Brittany to escape invading Anglo-Saxons. Hermit at Tréguier, France. Helped bring Prince Alwand to Christianity.


Born

British Isles


Patronage

• against anxiety

• against fever

• Saint-Gonnery, Morbihan, Brittany, France



Saint Pambo of the Nitrian Desert


Also known as

Bemwah, Pemwah


Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Anthony the Abbot. Worked to establish the eremitical life in the Nitrian Desert in Egypt, and founded monasteries there. He was renowned for his wisdom, and was consulted by many, including Saint Athanasius of Egypt, Saint Melania the Elder, and Saint Rufinus.


Died

c.375 of natural causes



Saint Theneva


Also known as

Dwynwen, Enoch, Thaneu, Thaney, Thenaw, Thenew, Thenog, Thenova


Profile

British princess. When Theneva became pregnant before marriage, her family threw her from a cliff. She survived the fall unharmed, and was soon met by an unmanned boat. She knew she had no home to go to, so got into the boat; it sailed her across the Firth of Forth to land at Culross where she was cared for by Saint Serf; he became foster-father of her son, Saint Kentigern.


Born

British Isles


Died

7th century


Patronage

Glasgow, Scotland



Saint Rufillus of Forlimpopoli


Also known as

Ruffilius of Forlimpopoli



Profile

First Bishop of Forlimpopoli, Emilia, Italy. Legend says that he and his parishioners drove out a dragon from the region; it's a metaphor for the work of the local Christians to evangelize the local pagans.


Died

382


Patronage

Forlimpopoli, Italy



Saint Elio of Koper


Profile

First century convert. Spiritual student of Saint Ermacora of Aquileia. Deacon to Nazarius, first bishop of Koper (in modern Slovenia). Built a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.


Born

1st century Costabona, diocese of Koper (in modern Slovenia)


Died

• late 1st century of natural causes

• relics enshrined under the altar of the choir in the cathedral of Koper, Slovenia in the late 17th century



Saint Aemilian of Dorostorium


Also known as

• Aemilian of Silistra

• Emilian, Emiliano



Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Julian the Apostate.


Died

burned to death in 362 in Dorostorium (modern Silistra, Bulgaria)



Blessed Alanus of Sassovivo


Profile

Benedictine monk in late 13th century Austria. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy for the Holy Year of 1300. Joined the Benedictine Sassovivo Abbey near Foligno, Italy. Left communal life in 1311 to live his remaining years as a hermit.


Born

13th century Austria


Died

1313 of natural causes



Saint Athanasius of Clysma


Profile

High government official in 4th century Egypt, he was revealed to be a Christian when he was discovered at Christmas Mass at Clysma, Egypt in the area of the Suez Gulf. Imprisoned and eventually executed for his faith. Martyr.


Died

beheaded in the 4th century in Clysma, Egypt



Blessed Ippolita of Melegnano


Profile

Poor Clare nun in the monastery of Santa Chiara in Mortara, Italy.



Born

15th century Melegnano, Italy


Died

18 July 1530 of natural causes



Blessed Bernard de Arenis


Profile

Mercedarian friar. Sent to north Africa, he was abused throughout his travels for his faith, but managed to free 222 Christians who had been imprisoned and enslaved by Muslims.


Born

French



Saint Maternus of Milan


Profile

Bishop of Milan, Italy in 295. He was tortured in the persecutions of Diocletian, but survived to follow his vocation and die of natural causes.


Died

c.307 of natural causes



Saint Gundenis of Carthage


Also known as

Gundenes


Profile

Maiden martyred in the persecutions of Septimus Severus.


Died

203 at Carthage (modern Tunis, Tunisia)



Blessed Arnold of Amiens


Also known as

Arnould, Arnulfus


Profile

Bishop of Amiens, France from 1236 to 1247.


Died

1247 of natural causes



Saint Arnoul the Martyr


Also known as

Arnulphus


Profile

Sixth-century missionary to the Franks. Martyr.


Died

534 in France



Blessed Bertha de Marbais


Profile

Cistercian nun. Abbess at the abbey of Marchet near Lille, Belgium.


Died

18 July 1247



Saint Minnborinus


Profile

Abbot of Saint Martin's Abbey in Cologne, Germany from 974 to 986.


Born

Ireland


Died

986



Blessed Herveus


Profile

Hermit on Chalonnes Island, Anjou, France.


Born

in the British Isles


Died

1130



Saint Marina of Ourense


Profile


Martyr.


Died

Ourense, Spain, date unknown



Martyrs of Silistria


Profile

Seven Christians who were martyred together. No details about them have survived but the names – Bassus, Donata, Justus, Marinus, Maximus, Paulus and Secunda.


Died

Silistria (Durostorum), Moesia (in modern Bulgaria), date unknown



Martyrs of Tivoli

புனிதர் சிம்போரோசா 

மறைசாட்சி:

இறப்பு: கி.பி. 138

டிபூர், (டிவோலி), இத்தாலி

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:

புனித ஏஞ்செலோ, பேஸ்செரியா, ரோம்

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: ஜூலை 18

பாதுகாவல்: 

டிவோலி, இத்தாலி

(Tivoli, Italy)

புனிதர் சிம்போரோசா, ஒரு கிறிஸ்தவ புனிதராக வணங்கப்படுகின்றவர் ஆவார். பாரம்பரியங்களின்படி, ரோமப் பேரரசன் “ஹட்ரியானின்” (Roman Emperor Hadrian) ஆட்சி முடிவில் (கி.பி. 117–138) தமது ஏழு மகன்களுடன் இத்தாலியின் டிபூர் (Tibur) நகரில் (தற்போதைய “டிவோலி” (Tivoli), “லாஸியோ” (Lazio), “இத்தாலி” (Italy) மறைசாட்சியாக மரித்தார்.

பேரரசன் ஹட்ரியான் (Emperor Hadrian), தனக்காக பெரும் பணச் செலவில் ஒரு ஆடம்பர மாளிகையைக் கட்டி முடித்திருந்தான். அதனை ரோம கடவுளர்களுக்கு அர்ப்பணிப்பதற்காக பலிகளைக் கொடுக்க ஆரம்பித்திருந்தான். அவனுக்கு ரோம கடவுளிடமிருந்து பின்வரும் மறுமொழி கிடைத்திருந்தது.

“உமது பேரரசிலுள்ள சிம்போரோசா என்னும் விதவைப் பெண்ணால் எமது அமைதி தொலைந்துவிட்டது. அவள் அவர்களது கடவுளுக்கு (கிறிஸ்துவுக்கு) செய்யும் புகழ்ச்சியும் அவளுடைய (கிறிஸ்தவ) விசுவாசமும் எங்களுக்கு சித்திரவதையாக உள்ளன. அவளையும் அவளது ஏழு மகன்களையும் எமக்கு பலியாக நீர் தரவேண்டும். அப்படிச் செய்தால், நாம் நீ வேண்டுவதெல்லாம் தருவோம்.”

சிம்போரோசாவை கொல்ல ஏனைய அரசர்கள் எடுத்திருந்த முயற்சிகள் தோல்வியடைந்திருந்த நிலையில், ஹட்ரியான் சிம்போரோசாவை அவர்களது கடவுளர்களின் கோவிலான “ஹெர்குலிஸ்” கோவிலுக்கு (Temple of Hercules) இழுத்து வரச் செய்தான். பலவித துன்புறுத்தல்களின் பின்னர், சிம்போரோசாவின் கழுத்தில் ஒரு பாறாங்கல்லைக் கட்டி, “இத்தாலியின், லசியோ” (Lazio, Italy) பிராந்தியத்திலுள்ள “அனியோ” (Anio River) நதியில் எறிந்தனர்.


மறுநாள் சிம்போரோசாவின் ஏழு மகன்களையும் கொண்டுவரச் செய்த ஹட்ரியான், தமது ரோம கடவுளர்களை வழிபடுமாறு பலவிதங்களிலும் அவர்களை துன்புறுத்தினான். ஆனால் எதற்கும் அவர்கள் மசியாததால், அவர்களனைவரும் வெவ்வேறு விதமாக சித்திரவதை செய்யப்பட்டு, ஏழு விதமாக கொல்லப்பட்டனர். பின்னர் அவர்களனைவரும் ஒட்டுமொத்தமாக ஒரு பெரும் குழியில் வீசப்பட்டு மூடப்பட்டனர்.


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A widow, Symphorosa, and her seven sons ( Crescens, Eugene, Julian, Justin, Nemesius, Primitivus and Stracteus) martyred in Tivoli, Italy in the 2nd-century persecutions of Hadrian.

ymphorosa is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. According to tradition, she was martyred with her seven sons at Tibur (present Tivoli, Lazio, Italy) toward the end of the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 117-38).


The Catholic Church presents to us today, as she did on the 10th of this Month, seven Christian heroes, who in their youth, manifested more than manly firmness in the confession of the true faith. Their names were, Crescentius, Julianus, Nemesius, Primitives, Justinus, Stacteus, and Eugenius. Symphorosa, their holy and not less heroic mother, was a native of Rome, and wife of Getulius, a Roman general. When in the reign of Emperor Adrian, cruel persecution of the Christians arose, she went with Getulius and Amantius, her brother-in-law, and her seven sons, to Tivoli, to strengthen the Christians in the true faith, and to prepare herself for the approaching struggle. The Emperor, informed of this, despatched Cerealis, one of his officers, to Tivoli, to take Getulius and Amantius, and bring them, prisoners, to Rome. Cerealis, still a heathen, came to execute the imperial command; but convinced by Getulius and Amantius of the truth of the Christian faith, he embraced it; and hence, all three were beheaded by command of the enraged Emperor, after having suffered a long imprisonment, and many cruel tortures.


St. Symphorosa had every reason to believe that she and her children would not long remain unmolested; and as she feared that one or more of her children, owing to their tender age, might be induced to abandon their faith for fear of the tortures, she left Tivoli, and concealed herself for a time in an unfrequented place, in order to gain time to inspire her children with Christian fortitude. She represented to them the priceless grace of dying for Christ's sake and the glory which awaits martyrs in heaven. The shortness of the pains of martyrdom and the never-ending rewards of heaven were the chief points which she almost hourly presented to their consideration, while, at the same time, she exhorted them to follow the example of their uncle and their father, and remain faithful to the true faith. One day, she asked Eugenius, the youngest, what he would do in case he was forced either to sacrifice to the gods or to be whipped and torn with scourges. The innocent little child answered manfully: “Dear mother, I would rather be torn in pieces than sacrifice to the devils.” “But,” said his mother, addressing all the children, “would you not be frightened if the executioner would seize you, threatening to kill you all most cruelly? Would you not shrink, if they were to place before your eyes fire, swords, the rack, and other instruments of torture? Oh! I fear, my beloved children, I fear that you would lose courage and forsake Christ.” “No, no, dear mother,” said Crescentius, “fear not; I and all my brothers promise to thee that there shall be nothing dreadful enough to conquer us and cause us to become faithless to Jesus Christ.” Greatly comforted, the pious mother admonished them to pray that God might give them the strength they needed to suffer for Him; a prayer which she herself ceaselessly sent up to the throne of the Highest. Not long after, her anticipations were realized.


Adrian had her and her children apprehended and brought before him, and commanded them immediately to sacrifice to the gods or to prepare themselves for the cruelest death. The fearless heroine replied: “There is no need for further preparations, of further consideration. My resolution is taken; I will not sacrifice to idols, and I have only one wish, to give my life for Him who has given His for me.” The tyrant, who had not expected this answer, was doubly enraged and commanded her to be taken to the temple of the idols and to be hung up by the hair of the head, after having been most cruelly buffeted. This command was immediately executed. Symphorosa, during this torture, courageously said to her children: ” Be not terrified, my children, at my sufferings; I bear it joyfully; joyfully do I give my life for Christ's sake. Remain steadfast. Fight bravely. Remember the example your father gave you; look at me, your mother, and follow in our footsteps. This suffering is short, but the glory prepared for us will be everlasting.” With such words, the Christian mother fortified her children who were willing to conduct themselves according to her precepts. The tyrant who would no longer listen to Symphorosa's exhortations, ordered her to be cast into the river, with a great stone fastened around her neck. In this manner ended her glorious martyrdom, in the 138th year of the Christian Era.


On the following day, her seven sons were brought before the Emperor, who represented to them that, as they had neither father nor mother, he would adopt them as his own children and provide for them most bountifully, if they would obey him and sacrifice to the gods. Should they, however, prove as obstinate as their parents had been, they had nothing to expect but torments and death. “This is what we desire,” answered Crescentius,” that we, like our parents, may die for the sake of Christ. Neither promises, nor threats, nor torments can make us faithless to Christ.” The Emperor, being unwilling to put his menaces immediately into execution, still endeavored to win over the children, alternately by promises and threats; but finding all unavailing, he ordered seven stakes to be raised in the idolatrous temple, to which the seven valiant confessors of Christ were tied, and tormented in all possible ways. Their limbs were stretched until they were dislocated, and the witnesses of these awful scenes were filled with compassion. The pain must have been most dreadful, but there was not one of these young heroes who did not praise God and rejoice in his suffering. The tyrant, ashamed of being conquered by children, ordered an end to be made of their torments, which was accordingly done in various ways. Crescentius had his throat cut with a dagger; Julianus was stabbed in the breast with a sword; Nemesius was pierced through the heart, and Primitives through the lower part of his body. Justinus was cut in pieces; Stacteus shot with arrows, and Eugenius, the youngest, was cut in two.


Thus gloriously died the seven sons of St. Symphorosa, reminding us of the illustrious martyrdom of the several Machabees, in the reign of the wicked King Antiochus.


Also celebrated but no entry yet


• Our Lady of Good Deliverance

• Martyrs of Silistria

• Antonio Garazez

• Arnold of Arnoldsweiler

• Arnulf of Yvelines

• Robert of Saletino

• Sabino Hernandez Laso