| 12 May |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
| Optional Memorial for Saint Nereus, Martyr; Optional Memorial for Saint Achilleus, Martyr; Optional Memorial for Saint Pancras, Martyr |
• Epiphanius of Constanzo
• Epiphanius of Constantia
• Epiphanius of Cyprus
• Epiphanus, Epifanio
• Oracle of Palestine
A Hellenized Jew, and convert to Christianity. Fluent in five languages, and extensively studied in theology and the classics. Monk in several communities in Egypt, returning to Palestine in 333. Priest. As a young man he founded a monastery at Eleutheropolis (Beth-Saddouk), and lived there as a monk for 30 years, serving as its superior. Bishop of Constantia and Metropolitan of Cyprus in 367 while remaining in his monastery. Fought Origenism and Arianism. Friend of Saint Jerome, but opponent of Saint John Chrystotom whom he found insufficiently orthodox. Brilliant speaker, he sometimes let his ability go to his head, and his confrontational approach got in the way of persuading his opponents. Doctor of the Church. He was an authority on Marian devotions, and his writings include a Bible dictionary, and The Medicine Box, a huge work which cataloged and refuted eighty heresies of his day.
315 at Besanduk, near Eleutheropolis, Judea
403 at sea of natural causes
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of God the Father, Only-begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; con-substantial with the Father; through whom all things were made, both those in heaven and those on earth, both visible and invisible; who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, was made man, that is, He received perfect man, soul and body and mind and all that man is, except sin, not from the seed of man nor as is usual with men, but He reshaped flesh into Himself, into one holy unity; not in the way that He inspired the prophets, and both spoke and acted in them, but He was made Man perfectly; for "the Word was made flesh (John 1:14)," not undergoing change, nor converting His own divinity into humanity; - joined together into the one holy perfection and divinity of Himself; - for the Lord Jesus Christ is one and not two, the same God, the same Lord, the same King; and He suffered in the flesh, and rose again and ascended into heaven in the same body, and sits in glory on the right of the Father, about to come in the same body in glory to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom will have no end; and we believe in the Holy Spirit, who spoke in the Law and proclaimed in the Prophets and descended at the Jordan, speaking in the Apostles and dwelling in the saints; thus do we believe in Him: that the Spirit is Holy, Spirit of God, Spirit perfect, Spirit Paraclete, increate, and is believed to proceed from the Father and to receive from the Son. We believe in one Catholic and Apostolic Church, and in one Baptism of repentance, and in the resurrection of the dead and the just judgement of souls and bodies, and in the kingdom of heaven, and in eternal life. But those who say that there was a time when the Son or the Holy Spirit was not, or was made out of nothing or of another substance or essence, who say the Son of God or the Holy Spirit is liable to change or to becoming different, these people the Catholic and Apostolic Church, your Mother and ours, anathematizes; and again we anathematize those who do not confess the resurrection of the dead, and all heresies which are not consistent with this, the true faith. - baptismal creed composed by Epiphanius (374 A.D.)
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-epiphanius-of-salamis/
Daughter of Count Egano Lambertini of Bologna and Castora Galuzzi. While still a child, she put together a little oratory in her house, and spent much time there in prayer. She felt drawn to religious life, and planned to become a nun. Student at Dominican Convent of Valdi-Pietra in Bologna, Italy, partly in preparation for religious life. Had a great devotion to Saint Agnes of Rome, of whom she may have had visions, to Mary as Queen of Angels, and to the Holy Eucharist. On 12 May 1333 she miraculously received her First Communion, and immediately after died in an ecstasy of love and joy.
1322 at Bologna, Italy
• Feast of the Ascension, 12 May 1333 Bologna, Italy
• relics at the Church of Saint Sigismund in Bologna
20 December 1826 by Pope Leo XII (cultus confirmed)
first communicants (named by Pope Saint Pius X)
very young Dominican novice kneeling before the altar with a sacred Host appearing above her
Can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die? - Blessed Imelda
Lord Jesus Christ, you received into heaven Blessed Imelda who loved you in the eucharistic banquet. By her prayers may we learn to approach your holy table with that same fervent love and so fulfill our longing to be with you, who live and reign with the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-imelda-lambertini/
Pancritas, Pancratius, Pancrazio, Pancracio, Pancrace
Fourteen-year-old orphan, brought to Rome by his uncle, Saint Dionysius. Convert to Christianity. Martyred with Saint Nereus, Saint Achilleus, and Saint Domitilla for publicly proclaiming his faith. Pope Saint Vitalian sent his relics from the cemetery of Calepodius in Rome to the British Isles as part of the evangelization of England, so they would have relics of the Church at large, and to install in altars in new churches. Saint Augustine of Canterbury dedicated the first church in England to Saint Pancras, and subsequent churches throughout England are similarly named for him.
c.290 at Phrygia
• beheaded c.304 on the Via Aurelia, Rome, Italy
• relics interred in the Saint Pancras church, Rome, but were destroyed in 1798
• his head is still in the basilica of Saint John Lateran
• against cramps
• against false witness or perjury
• against headaches
• children
• oaths, treaties
• diocese of Albano, Italy
• 27 cities in Germany and Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pancras-of-rome/
One of eight children. Joined Opus Dei in 1935. Engineering student. Member of the Saint Vicent de Paul Society, and taught catechism to children in in poor neighbourhoods where the Society worked. Priest, ordained on 25 June 1944 in Madrid, Spain. Assigned to work in Rome, Italy in 1946. Bishop of the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei on 28 November 1982. Titular bishop of Vita on 7 December 1990.
11 March 1914 in Madrid, Spain
23 March 1994 in Rome, Italy of natural causes
• 27 September 2014 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated in Madrid, Spain
• the beatification miracle involves the August 2003 healing of Chilean newborn Jose Ignacio Ureta Wilson; just a few days old, the boy suffered a 30-minute period of cardiac arrest and a major hemorrhage; his medical team thought the boy had died, but his parents prayed for healing through the intercession of the bishop, and Jose now lives a normal life
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alvaro-del-portillo-diez-de-sollano/
Rictrude, Rictrudis
Born to the nobility, the daughter of Ernold. Married to the Frankish nobleman Saint Adalbald of Ostrevant. Her family objected to Adalbald's military incursions into their region, and endlessly opposed the marriage. Mother of four - Saint Eusebia of Hamage, Saint Clotsindis of Marchiennes, Saint Adalsindis of Hamay, and Saint Maurontius. The couple dedicated themselves and their fortunes to care for the poor and to religious projects including founding a Benedictine double monastery at Marchiennes, Flanders, Belgium. After Adalbald was murdered, she was pressured by the royal court to remarry. She refused, and with the help of her friend, Saint Amandus, she became a Benedictine nun at the Marchiennes monastery. Abbess there for forty years. Three of her children, Adalsindis, Clotsindis, and Maurontius, lived there in religious life during her time.
612 in Gascony, France
• 12 May 687 in Marchiennes, Belgium of natural causes
• relics translated to Paris, France
• relics destroyed in 1793 during the French Revolution
• nun holding a church in her hand
• nun Saint Eusebia of Hamage, Saint Clotsindis of Marchiennes, Saint Adalsindis, and Saint Maurontius
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-richrudis-of-marchiennes/
Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola
Oldest of seven children born to Juan Miguel Cipitria and María Jesús Barriola. The family were weavers, and Juana learned the craft as a child. At age 18 she left home to work as a maid to a family in Burgos, Spain. Juana early felt a call to religious life, and on 8 December 1871 she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus to work for a Christian upbringing of children, and to improve the condition of woman in Salamanca, Spain. She took the name Mother Candida Maria de Jesus, and the Congregation received papal approval from Pope Leo XIII on 30 July 1901. Mother Candida based her spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
31 May 1845 in Andoáin, Guipúzcoa, Spain as Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola
9 August 1912 in Salamanca, Spain of natural causes
17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-candida-maria-de-jesus-cipitria-y-barriola/
Joan, Joana, Johanna
Princess, the daughter of Elizabeth and King Alphonsus V of Portugal. Entered a Dominican convent at Aveiro, Portual in 1473. The royal family objected to her taking vows because she might need to marry to insure the continuity of the royal bloodline. She agreed, fended off arranged marriages, and did not take vows until 1485 when the succession was secured.
16 February 1452 at Lisbon, Portugal
12 May 1490 in Aveiro, Portugal of natural causes
31 December 1692 by Pope Innocent XII (cultus confirmed)
diocese of Aveiro, Portugal
O God, in the midst of the royal court you strengthened Blessed Jane with purity of heart. By her prayers may your faithful turn from the things of earth and seek after the things of heaven. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jane-of-portugal/
Chrysopolitus, Crispoldo, Crispolito, Crispolto, Crispoltus, Cyspolitus
Bishop of Bettona, Italy where he was known as a miracle worker. May have been bishop of Nocera, Italy, too. Arrested by order of prefect Asterius in the late 3rd-century persecutions of emperor Maximian, ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods, and then tortured and killed with another Christian, named Barontius, when he refused to do so. Martyr.
Some sources list him as one of 70 Disciples, and say that he was sent by Saint Peter the Apostle to evangelize in Italy in 58, but it’s hard to reconcile that with his death 250 years later.
• c.300 in Bettona, Italy
• church built on the site of the execution
• his sister, Tutela, and 12 other women were arrested and martyred for trying to give the two men a Christian burial
• relics enshrined in an urn in a chapel in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bettona in the 13th century
Bettona, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-crispoldus/
• Aethelheard
• Aethilheard
• Aethelheard
• Aethilheard
• Ethelreard
Abbot, probably of Louth, Lincolnshire, England. May have been bishop of Winchester, England. Archbishop of Canterbury, England, consecrated on 21 July 793. Elected to the see at a time when Mercian King Offa was trying to weaken Canterbury's influence. Ethelhard had to flee from his see for a while, but when Cenwulf succeeded in Mercia, they worked together to restore the rights of Canterbury, a matter finally settled in 802. Had Offa succeeded, his policy would not only have affected the Church, it would have seriously slowed the unification of England. Ethelhard convened the synod of Clovesho in 803, which resulted in a requirement of a pledge obedience by new bishops to their superior.
Louth, Lincolnshire, England
• 12 May 805 at Canterbury, England of natural causes
• buried in the Canterbury cathedral
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ethelhard-of-canterbury/
Son of a Senator Justinian of Constantinople. Priest. Bishop of Cyzicus. Attended the Synod of Constantinople in 712, and may have briefly agreed to the teaching of the Monothelite heresy supported by the emperor. Patriarch of Constantinople in 715. Opposed the Monothelites and then the iconoclasts and their mentor, emperor Leo the Isaurian. Forced to resign his position in 730 and sent into exile. Several of his writings, including homilies and hymns, have survived.
c.640 in Constantinople
12 May 733 at Platonium of natural causes
When we show reverence to representations of Jesus Christ, we do not worship paint laid on wood: we worship the invisible God in spirit and in truth. - Saint Germanus
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-germanus-of-constantinople/
• Dominic of the Causeway
• Dominic of Landeveien
• Domenico, Dominicus...
Feeling a call to religious life, Dominic tried to join the Benedictines at Valvanera, Spain, but was turned away. Hermit at Rioja, Spain at what is now the shrine La Calzada. To help pilgims to Compostela, Spain, and with the help of Saint John de Ortega he built by hand a causeway, bridge and hospice to make the travel easier. The location of his old hermitage is now a place of pilgrimage itself.
Victoria, Biscay, Spain
1109 of natural causes
Spanish civil engineers
• hen and rooster
• monk's habit
• prayer beads
• shepherd's crook
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-dominic-de-la-calzada/
Lucian, Luciano
Member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Priest. Missionary to China, working the Xichang, Sichuan area. Imprisoned for this work in November 1950, he was exiled and arrived in Hong Kong in January 1952. He was reassigned to a mountainous area of Laos in 1956; in February 1960 he replaced Blessed René Dubroux who had been murdered in 1959. Parish priest of Blessed Thomas Khampheuane Inthirath, he was taking the boy to catechist training when the two were murdered. Martyr.
9 December 1921 in Golinhac, Aveyron, France
shot on 12 May 1968 on the highway in Houey Makchan, Paksong, Champasak, Laos
• 11 December 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated in Vientiane, Laos, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-lucien-galan/
Castus
Priest. Missionary bishop. Miracle worker and healer.
Lured to a location near Aquaviva in central Italy with a challenge by pagan priests to prove the power of Christianity over that of idols, Casto and Saint Cassio of Sinuessa were seized, beaten and then thrown into a fire. When they were unharmed, the pagans claimed the two were using magic, pulled them from the fire, dragged them to a pagan temple, and ordered them to offer incense to an idol; when all the pagan priests were in the temple, it collapsed, killing them all and leaving Casto and Cassius untouched. The two bishops were then dragged to Sinuessa where they were stoned and murdered. Martyr.
• stabbed with a sword at Sinuessa, Latium (in modern Italy)
• relics interred in the cathedral of Calvi, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-casto-of-calvi/
Achille, Achilles, Acilius, Aquileus
Soldier in the imperial Roman army, and a member of the Praetorian Guard. Convert to Christianity, baptized by Saint Peter the Apostle. Exiled for his faith to the island of Pontia, he suffered with Saint Flavia Domitilla, and was martyred with his brother Saint Nereus.
beheaded in 98 on the Ardeatine road outside Rome, Italy
• with Saint Flavia Domitilla if Terracina
• with Saint Nereus of Terracina
• palm of martyrdom
• holding a church in his hands
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-achilleus-of-terracina/
Cassius
Priest. Missionary bishop.
Lured to a location near Aquaviva in central Italy with a challenge by pagan priests to prove the power of Christianity over that of idols, Cassio and Saint Casto of Calvi were seized, beaten and then thrown into a fire. When they were unharmed, the pagans claimed the two were using magic, pulled them from the fire, dragged them to a pagan temple, and ordered them to offer incense to an idol; when all the pagan priests were in the temple, it collapsed, killing them all and leaving Cassio and Casto untouched. The two bishops were then dragged to Sinuessa where they were stoned and murdered. Martyr.
stabbed with a sword at Sinuessa, Latium (in modern Italy)
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-cassio-of-sinuessa/
Studied with the Franciscans, and then at the Shkodrë Pontifical Seminary. Ordained on 24 February 1943 as a priest in the archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult, Albania. Vicar of his archdiocese. Arrested on 12 November 1947 and sentenced to 10 years in prison during the anti–Christian persecutions of the Communist government. Martyr.
22 February 1917 in Shkodrë, Albania
12 May 1948 in prison in Shkodrë, Albania
• 5 November 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Square of the Cathedral of Shën Shtjefnit, Shkodër, Albania, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ejell-deda/
Studied at the Pontifical French Seminary, and in Italy. Ordained on 20 December 1942 in Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italy as a priest of the archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult, Albania. Parish priest in the Buna Dajçit Coast area. Martyred in the Albanian Communist anti–Christian persecutions.
16 November 1917 in Dushkul, Mali Shëngjinit, Lezhë, Albania
shot on 12 May 1959 in Shkodrë, Albania
• 5 November 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Square of the Cathedral of Shën Shtjefnit, Shkodër, Albania, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-dede-malaj/
Modoaldo, Modoaldus, Modowald, Modowandus, Modwald, Romoald, Romoaldus
Born to the nobility. Brother of Saint Severa of Saint Gemma. Uncle of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, Saint Begga of Ardenne and Saint Modesta of Trier. Counselor to King Dagobert I of the Franks. Bishop of Trier, Germany in 628. Attended the Council of Rheims. He spoke so strongly against the immorality of the Frankish royal court that King Dagobert was moved to personal conversion.
Aquitaine, France
• 640 in Trier, Germany of natural causes
• relics translated to Paderborn, Germany in 1107
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-modoald-of-trier/
Joined the Mercedarians in Barcelona, Spain. Prior of his house. General procurator of the Mercedarians in 1439. Attended the Council of Basel in 1439-1440. He several times visited the Vatican for consultation with the pope. Travelled to Tunis in North Africa in 1447 to ransom Christians enslaved by Muslims; he survived, but the treasure he carried was lost, and he was unable to free the slaves.
Barcelona, Spain
• 24 October 1466 in Barcelona, Spain of natural causes
• buried near the main altar of the church of the Mercedarian convent in Barcelona
https://catholicsaints.info/blessesd-juan-de-segalars/
Teenaged layman in the apostolic vicariate of Pakse (in modern Laos). His father had served as catechist for his parish, and Thomas was studying to become a catechist himself. Martyr.
May 1952 in Nong Sim, Champasak, Laos
shot on 12 May 1968 om the highway in Houey Makchan, Paksong, Champasak, Laos
• 11 December 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification recognition celebrated in Vientiane, Laos, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-khampheuane-inthirath/
• Apostle of the Sicilians
• Philip of Aggira
• Philip of Agirone
• Philip of Agirya
• Philip of Argira
First Christian missionary to Sicily. Exorcist. Many stories grew up around him, all apparently legend.
c.396 in Thrace
c.453 in Agira, Sicily, Italy of natural causes
• Agira, Sicily, Italy
• Zebbug, Malta
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-of-agira/
12-may/Soldier in the imperial Roman army, and a member of the Praetorian Guard. Convert to Christianity, baptized by Saint Peter the Apostle. Exiled for his faith to the island of Pontia, he suffered with Saint Flavia Domitilla, and was martyred with his brother Saint Achilleus.
beheaded in 98 on the Ardeatine road outside Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nereus-of-terracina/
• Erc Nasca de Talach-leis
• Erc Nasca of Tilaig Leis
• Erc Nasca of Tulach-lis
• Erc Nasca of Ui Eachach Uladh
• Erc Nasc, Earc, Ercus, Herc
Confessor of the faith in Ireland. His memorial is found on several calendars and martyrologies, but the details of his life have been lost.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-erc-nasca-of-tullylish/
Diamma, Dimma, Dioma
Son of Cass. Spiritual teacher of Saint Declan of Ardmore and other Irish evangelists.
Irish
5th century of natural causes
Kildimo, County Limerick, Ireland
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-diomma-of-kildimo/
Uncle and guardian of Saint Pancras. In Rome, Italy the two converted to Christianity. Arrested for his faith during the persecutions of Diocletian, he died in a Roman prison. Martyr.
Asia Minor
304 in Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-dionysius-of-asia/
Cyril of Axiopolis
Martyred with six companion Christians. We know nothing else about them.
3rd century Galatz (Axiopolis), Mesia (in modern Romania)
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-cyril-of-galatz/
Foster sister of Saint Flavia Domitilla and Saint Theodora of Terracina. Exiled and then martyred with her.
2nd-century Terracina, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-euphrosyna-of-terracina/
Foster sister of Saint Flavia Domitilla and Saint Euphrosyna of Terracina. Exiled and then martyred with her.
2nd-century Terracina, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-theodora-of-terracina/
Efrem
13th bishop of Jerusalem at the time of emperor Hadrian.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ephrem-of-jerusalem/
Martyred at age 14 in the persecutions of Diocletian.
c.304 at Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-palladius-of-rome/
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