Pope Saint John XXIII

Also known as

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli

Profile

Born to an Italian peasant family. Educated at Bergamo and the Pontifical Roman Seminary. Ordained on 10 August 1904. Secretary to the bishop of Bergamo, Italy from 1904 to 1914, during which he wrote the basis for his five-volume biography of Saint Charles Borromeo. Served in World War I in the medical corps, and as a chaplain. Worked in Rome, Italy after the war, and reorganized the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Titular archbishop of Areopolis on 3 March 1925. Vatican diplomatic representative to Bulgaria on 16 October 1931, then to Turkey and Greece on 12 January 1935. Titular archbishop of Mesembria on 30 November 1934. Papal nuncio to France on 23 December 1944 where he mediated between conservative and socially radical clergy. Created cardinal on 12 January 1953, and patriarch of Venice, Italy on 15 January 1953. Elected 261st pope on 28 October 1958.

As pope he stressed his own pastoral duties as well as those of other bishops and clergy. Promoted social reforms for workers, poor people, orphans, and the outcast. He advanced cooperation with other faiths and traditions including Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Church of England, and even Shinto. In April 1959 he forbade Catholics to vote for parties supporting Communism. His encyclical, Mater et Magistra of 14 July 1961 advocated social reform, assistance to underdeveloped countries, a living wage for all workers, and support for socialist measures that promised real benefit to society.

He nearly doubled the number of cardinals, making the college the largest in history. On 25 January 1959, he announced his intent to call a council to consider ways to renew the Church in the modern world, promote diversity within the unity of the Church, and consider reforms promoted by ecumenical and liturgical movements. Convening the council, known as Vatican II, on 11 October 1962, was the high point of his reign.

His heartiness, his overflowing love for humanity individually and collectively, and his freshness of approach to ecclesiastical affairs made John one of the best-loved popes of modern times.

Born

25 November 1881 at Sotto il Monte, diocese of Bergamo, Italy as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli

Papal Ascension

• elected 28 October 1958
• installed on 4 November 1958

Died

• 7:50pm on 3 June 1963 at Rome, Italy of stomach cancer
• buried in Saint Peter's basilica, Vatican City

Canonized

• on 5 July 2013, Pope Francis approved the promulgation of a decree of canonization
• 27 April 2014 by Pope Francis

Patronage

papal delegates

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

Everyone remembers the image of Pope John's smiling face and two outstretched arms embracing the whole world. How many people were won over by his simplicity of heart, combined with a broad experience of people and things! The breath of newness he brought certainly did not concern doctrine, but rather the way to explain it; his style of speaking and acting was new, as was his friendly approach to ordinary people and to the powerful of the world. It was in this spirit that he called the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, thereby turning a new page in the Church's history Christians heard themselves called to proclaim the Gospel with renewed courage and greater attentiveness to the "signs" of the times. The Council was a truly prophetic insight of this elderly Pontiff who, even amid many difficulties, opened a season of hope for Christians and for humanity. In the last moments of his earthly life, he entrusted his testament to the Church: "What counts the most in life is blessed Jesus Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, truth and goodness". - Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-john-xxiii/

Saint Maria Soledad Torres Acosta

Also known as

• Emanuela Tores-Acosta
• Manuela Torres Acosta
• María Soledad

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Daughter of Francis Torres and Antonia Acosta, who ran a small business. From her youth, Emanuela felt a call to the religious life. When she was old enough to leave home, she applied to the Dominicans, but she was rejected due to poor health. She spent much time and prayer discerning her call to vocation, and in 1848 was asked by a Servite tertiary priest to head a new community of women dedicated to ministering to the sick poor. She took the name Mary Soledad, and dedicated herself to the new community, which in 1851 still numbered only seven.

In 1855 the community split into two groups, one founding a new house in Ferdinand Po. The half that remained with Mary Soledad became the foundation of the Handmaids of Mary Serving the Sick. Saint Mary was briefly relieved of her position, and the group nearly fell apart, but she was soon reinstated. The community received diocesan approval in 1861, and Mary Soledad spent 35 years as superior of the order, leading always by example. The group made a name for themselves working with victims of the Madrid, Spain cholera epidemic in 1865. By the time of her death, there were forty-six Handmaid houses across the world.

Born

2 December 1826 at Madrid, Spain as Emanuela Tores-Acosta

Died

11 October 1887 of natural causes

Canonized

25 January 1970 by Pope Paul VI

Readings

O Saint Maria Soledad whose great love of God irradiated your loving devotion to the sick and poor, dedicating yourself to the relief and consolation of their sufferings, obtain for us from God: help in all our sickness of body and soul, and patience and acceptance of His Holy Will in all our tribulations. Inspire in us great kindness towards the sick and the poor, in order that by our many works of charity done to them for Christ's sake, we may be worthy to receive with you in the end, the reward promised by Our Lord. Amen.

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-maria-soledad-torres-acosta/

Saint Canice

Also known as

Caimnech, Cainnech, Cainnic, Canicus, Chainnigh, Kenneth, Kenny

Profile

His father was a distinguished royal bard, and his mother's name was Maul. Spiritual student of Saint Finnian of Clonard in 543 with Saint Columba. Spiritual student of Saint Kieran of Conmacnoise, Saint Comgall of Bangor, and Saint Mobhi in 544. Ordained in 545 at Llancarvan, Glamorganshire.

Monk in Glasnevin in 550. Founded the monastery of Agahanoe and served as its abbot. May have founded the monastery of Kilkenny, Ireland, a city named for him. Missionary to Scotland with Saint Columba in 565; known as an effective preacher. Built a church in the place now known as Saint Andrews. He copied out the all four Gospels, and wrote a commentary on them.

Legend says that with a stern word he chased away all the mice on the island of Inish Ubdain, that on En Irish he ordered all the birds to land and stop singing during Mass, and that when he lived as a hermit, a local stag would hold Canice's Bible in its antlers so the saint could hold his hands aloft when praying.

Born

c.525 in Glengiven, County Derry, northern Ireland

Died

c.599 at Aghaboe, Laois, Ireland of natural causes

Patronage

• against shipwrecks
• Kilkenny, Ireland

Representation

• man praying with arms raised while a nearby stag holds a Bible in his antlers
• man ordering birds to stop singing
• man ordering mice to leave

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-canice/

Saint Alexander Sauli

Also known as

• Apostle of Corsica
• Alessandro Sauli
• Alexander Mary Sauli

Profile

Priest. Clerk Regular of the Congregation of Saint Paul (Barnabite). Taught philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia, Italy. Superior-General of the Barnabites in 1565. Bishop of Aleria, Corsica from 1571 to 1591; there the faith was all but dead, and the clergy and people were in a state of deplorable ignorance. With three companions, he reclaimed the inhabitants, corrected abuses, rebuilt churches, founded colleges and seminaries, and returned the Church in Corsica to health. Bishop of Pavia, Italy in 1591. Left a number of catechetical works. Spiritual director of Saint Charles Borromeo.

Born

1534 at Milan, Italy

Died

11 October 1592 at Pavia, Italy

Canonized

11 December 1904 by Pope Saint Pius X

Patronage

Corsica

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexander-sauli/

Saint Gummarus

Also known as

Gomer, Gommaire, Guntmar, Gummar, Gommar

Profile

Son of the Lord of Emblem, a court official. Gummarus received no formal education but grew up serving in the court of Pepin the Short. He married a shrewish noble woman name Guinmarie; they had no children. Soldier in the army of Pepin, serving eight years in the field in Lombardy, Saxony, and the Aquitaine. In his absence, his wife abused the servants and withheld funds for their support. On his return, Gummarus tried to convert her to active Christianity, failed, and they separated in their later years. He became a hermit at Nivesonck. With Saint Rumald, he founded an abbey at Lier, Belgium.

Born

717 at Brabant, Belgium

Died

774 of natural causes

Patronage

• against hernia
• carpenters
• childless people
• courtiers
• cowherds
• difficult marriages
• glove makers
• separated spouses
• turners
• woodcutters
• Antwerp, Belgium
• Lier, Belgium

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gummarus/

Saint Philip the Deacon

Also known as

• Philip of Hierapolis
• Philip the Evangelist

Profile

Probably an Hellenized Jew. One of the seven Jerusalem deacons mentioned in the canonical Acts of the Apostles. Preached and performed miracles in Samaria, converting many including the magician Simon Magus. Commanded by an angel, he travelled from Jerusalem to Gaza. Converted and baptized the eunuch of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. Transported to Azotus, he preached throughout the region, finally returning to Caesarea where he lived with his four daughters, virgins with the gift of prophecy. Met with Saint Paul the Apostle on his last journey to Jerusalem. Some traditions say be became bishop of Tralles (modern Aydin, Turkey).

Born

at Caesarea, Palestine

Died

c.58 at Caesarea, Palestine

Representation

• baptizing the eunuch of Ethiopia
• with his four daughters

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-the-deacon/

Saint Phêrô Lê Tùy

Also known as

Peter Tuy Le

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Studied at the seminary in Vinh-Tri in the apostolic vicariate of West Tonkin (in modern Vietnam). Parish priest in Dong-Thanh, Chan-Loc, Nam-Duong and Thanh-Trai. Arrested for his faith in the persecutions of Emperor Minh Mang while minstering to a sick prishioner in Thanh-Trai. Local Christians tried to free him, failed, and to prevent further problems, Father Phêrô was sent to Hanoi. He was held there for three months and repeatedly ordered to renounce his faith and his priesthood; he refused. Martyr.

Born

c.1773 in Bang Son, Hà Ðông, Ha Tay, Vietnam

Died

• beheaded on 11 October 1833 in Quan Ban, Vietnam
• relics enshrined at the seminary of the Foreign Missions of Paris

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-phero-le-tuy/

Blessed James Grissinger

Also known as

• James Griesinger
• James of Ulm

Profile

Mercenary for the army of Naples, Italy in 1432. Disillusioned with military life, he spent five years as a secretary to a lawyer in Capua, Italy. Falling on financial hard times, he briefly rejoined the army, then left for his true vocation, becoming a Dominican lay brother in Bologna, Italy in 1441. He spent most of the next 50 years working in stained glass and painting images on the windows of churches.

Born

1407 at Ulm, Swabia (modern Germany)

Died

• 11 October 1491 in Bologna, Italy of natural causes
• interred in the Basilica of Saint Dominic in Bologna

Beatified

1825 by Pope Leo XII

Patronage

• glass painters
• stained glass workers

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-james-grissinger/

Saint Agilbert of Paris

Also known as

Agilbert of Wessex

Profile

Born to the Frankish nobility. Studied at the monastery of Jouarre in Ireland under the spiritual direction of his cousin, abbot Ado. Invited in 650 by King Coenwalh of the West Saxons to serve as bishop of Wessex with his see at Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Active evangelist and missionary. Ordained and worked with Saint Wilfrid of York. Led the effort to replace Celtic liturgical customs with Roman ones.

When King Coenwalh divided Agilbert's see for political reasons in 660, Agilbert returned to France. Bishop of Paris, France in 668. When Coenwalh invited Agilbert to return to Wessex, the bishop sent his nephew Eleutherum in his place, and stayed with his Paris see the rest of his days.

Born

near Soissons, France

Died

c.685 of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-agilbert-of-paris/

Saint Bruno the Great

Also known as

• Bruno I
• Bruno of Cologne
• Bruno of Saxony
• Brun....

Profile

Youngest son of Emperor Henry I and Saint Matilda of Saxony. Educated at Utrecht, Netherlands. Courtier to his brother Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, the Great Archchancellor to Otto in 951. Archbishop of Cologne, Germany. Administrator of the Duchy of Lorraine. Great supporter of monastic and ecclesiastical institutions. He founded the monastery of Saint Pantaleon at Cologne.

Born

925

Died

• 11 October 965 at Rheims, France of natural causes
• buried at the monastery of Saint Pantaleon at Cologne

Canonized

1870 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmation)

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bruno-the-great/

Saint Tarachus of Cladiopolis

Also known as

Tharacus, Tracio

Profile

Tried and tortured for the crime of Christianity in Tarsus, Mopsuestia and Anazarbus in Cilicia during the persecutions of Galerius and Diocletian; local Christians at each town made records of the examinations and abuse. Martyr.

Born

Cladiopolis, Isauria

Died

• beheaded in 304 in the amphitheatre of Anazarbus, Cilicia
• body left for animals to destroy, but local Christians recovered and buried him

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-tarachus-of-cladiopolis/

Saint Andronicus of Ephesus

Profile

Born to a prominent family in Ephesus. Tried and tortured for the crime of Christianity in Tarsus, Mopsuestia and Anazarbus in Cilicia during the persecutions of Galerius and Diocletian; local Christians at each town made records of the examinations and abuse. Martyr.

Born

Ephesus

Died

• beheaded in 304 in the amphitheatre of Anazarbus, Cilicia
• body left for animals to destroy, but local Christians recovered and buried him

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-andronicus-of-ephesus/

Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Article

Commemorates Mary's divine motherhood, her dignity as Mother of God, and refers also to her spiritual motherhood of men. It was first granted to Portugal, Brazil, and Algeria in 1751; it is now of almost universal observance. Under this title Poland celebrates the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland.

Patronage

Trinitarians

https://catholicsaints.info/feast-of-the-maternity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

Saint Nectarius of Constantinople

Profile

Born to the imperial Roman nobility, the son of a senator of Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). Imperial magistrate. Bishop of Constantinople in 381; even though Necatrius was married and a yet un-baptized Christian catechumen layman, his piety and skills were obvious. One baptized, ordained, consecrated and properly installed as bishop, Nectarius proved a capable and zealous bishop, fighting against Arianism.

Born

Tarsus, Cilicia (in modern Turkey)

Died

17 September 397 of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nectarius-of-constantinople/

Saint Probus of Side

Profile

Tried and tortured for the crime of Christianity in Tarsus, Mopsuestia and Anazarbus in Cilicia during the persecutions of Galerius and Diocletian; local Christians at each town made records of the examinations and abuse. Martyr.

Born

Side, Pamphylia

Died

• beheaded in 304 in the amphitheatre of Anazarbus, Cilicia
• body left for animals to destroy, but local Christians recovered and buried it

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-probus-of-side/

Blessed Meinards

Also known as

Meinhard

Profile

Member of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. Priest. Bishop in Latvia.

Born

c.1130 in Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Died

12 October 1196 in Ikskile, Ogres rajons, Latvia of natural causes

Beatified

8 September 1993 by Pope John Paul II (restoration of cultus)

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-meinards/

Saint Guiadenzio of Gniezno

Also known as

Razdim