15 September • yesterday
• tomorrow
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Daily Bread #30, by Father Richard Waldo Sibthorp
Mary: The Perfect Woman, Rhythm XV - The Ransom
In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favour, you shall reach the goal. - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Blessed Paolo Manna

Profile

Fifth of six children. Educated at Avellino and Naples in Italy. Studied philosophy at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Seminarian at the Theology Seminary of the Institute for Foreign Missions at Milan, Italy. Ordained on 19 May 1894 at Milan.

Missionary to Toungoo, Eastern Burma (modern Myanmar), setting sail on 27 September 1895. Worked in Burma until 1907 when his failing health forced his return to Italy. From there he spent the rest of his life encouraging clerical and lay missionaries through his writing, his work, his preaching. Director of Le Missioni Cattoliche in 1909. Started the publication of Propaganda Missionaria, a popular broadsheet newspaper, in 1914. Founded the Missionary Union of the Clergy in 1916, created with the idea of spreading missionary zeal throughout the faithful. Founded Italia Missionaria for young people in 1919. Founded Sacred Heart Seminary at Ducenta, Caserta, Italy in an effort to foster missionary vocations in southern Italy.

Superior General of the Institute of Foreign Missions of Milan in 1924 which in 1926 was joined by Pope Pius XI to the Missionary Seminary of Rome to create the Pontifical Institute for the Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.). Worked from 1934 to 1936 for help found the Misssionary Sisters of the Immaculate, an offshoot of the P.I.M.I. Headed the International Secretariat for the Missionary Union of the Clergy from 1937 to 1941. Superior of the Italian Southern Province of P.I.M.E. in 1943. Publisher of the family missionary magazine Venga il tuo regno in 1943. Wrote in support of missionaries, developed techniques which have become standard today, and though he was tied to a desk in southern Italy, he worked as a missionary throughout his life.

Born

16 January 1872 at Avellino, Italy

Died

• 15 September 1952 at Naples, Italy of natural causes
• buried at the seminary in Ducenta, Italy

Beatified

4 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II

Readings

All the Church for all the World! - Blessed Paolo

We missionaries often wonder why the work of the conversion of the non-Christian world goes so slowly. We usually give various reasons to explain this painful fact, and in truth the problem may be considered from many angles, some of which do not concern our responsibility. But for the part that does concern us, and it is the main part, the problem has a very clear solution. To save the world, God in his infinite wisdom wanted to have co-workers. God does his part well: do the people called to help him do their part equally well? Let us work in such a way that the whole Church, all Christian people, led by their bishops and clergy, truly feel the apostolic duty that is incumbent upon them to promote the propagation of the faith with every means. Let us work in such a way that that missionaries, the most direct instruments for the conversion of souls, are saints, and non-Christians will not be slow to be converted. The missionary problem has been, and still is almost ignored by the Christian people. Those who were interested in the past were always a minority, and it is extremely painful to see today too, although some progress has been made, how the enormous question is far from being understood and faced fully by clergy and people. It is extremely painful, because Catholic peoples would have more than enough energies to promote the work of evangelization more worthily if priests taught, organised and above all inflamed them with a greater spirit of faith and zeal. Missionaries, also from the human viewpoint, have been excellent people...but neither brilliance nor prudence, nor courage have made them great in our eyes and the eyes of God. They have been great, they have saved many souls, they have founded Churches, mainly because they were holy men, that is, spiritual men. This is the secret, the soul of their zeal, their perseverance and their success; this is the solemn teaching they have handed down to us and which I love to remind you of, so that our missionaries of today and those of tomorrow may always build upon it the first and essential reason for their own sanctification and the sanctification of the souls that are, and will be entrusted to them. You, missionaries in active service in the field, are particularly concerned with your part of cooperation. Therefore I say to you: be holy missionaries by following the footsteps of those great missionaries who went before you and, for the part that concerns you, your apostolic duty will have been done to the full. The souls the Lord in his merciful designs has entrusted to each one of you that you may lead them to salvation, will be saved and at the end of your days you will be able to say with the Divine Redeemer: "(Father) I kept those you had given me true to you name. I have watched over them and not one is lost" (John 17:12)." - Blessed Paolo

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-paolo-manna/


Saint Catherine of Genoa

Also known as

• Apostle of Purgatory
• Caterina Fieschi Adorno
• Caterina of Genoa
• Caterinetta

Profile

Daughter of Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, Geonese nobles; she was related to Pope Innocent V and Pope Adrian V, and her father became viceroy of Naples, Italy. Youngest of five children. A pious and prayerful girl, she early felt a call to religious life, tried to enter a convent at age 13, was turned away because of her youth. At 16 she entered into an arranged marriage with a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. They were a childless couple, he was careless and unsuccessful as a husband and provider, often cruel, violent and unfaithful, and reduced them to bankruptcy. Catherine became indifferent to her faith, and fell into a depression.

In 1473, while going to Confession in a convent in Genoa, Catherine was struck down by a vision, the revelation of God's love and her own sinfulness, and fell into a religious ecstasy; her interior state, and her contact with the truth she had received in the vision, stayed with her the rest of her life. She returned home, helped lead her husband to the faith, and the two lived together chastely the rest of their lives, working with the sick and poor till the death of Julian in 1497. She became a Franciscan tertiary, serving as a tertiary directress in 1490. Caught and survived the plague in 1493. Spiritual student of Father Cattaneo Marabotti in 1499, and he helped her to write and arrange descriptions of what she had seen and learned in her visions. It is her writings that have continued her fame today; during her canonization inquiry, the Holy Office announced that her writings alone were enough to prove her sanctity. Online and downloadable versions are linked below.

Born

1447 at Genoa, Italy as Caterina Fieschi Adorno

Died

15 September 1510 at Genoa, Italy of natural causes

Beatified

6 April 1675 by Pope Clement X

Canonized

16 June 1737 by Pope Clement XII

Patronage

• against adultery; victims of adultery or unfaithfulness
• against temptation
• brides
• childless people
• difficult marriages
• people ridiculed for their piety
• widows

Works

Life and Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa
Spiritual Dialogue
Treatise of Discretion
Treatise of Divine Providence
Treatise on Prayer
Treatise on Purgatory

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

If it were given to a man to see virtue's reward in the next world, he would occupy his intellect, memory and will in nothing but good works, careless of danger or fatigue. - Saint Catherine of Genoa

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-catherine-of-genoa/


Our Lady of Sorrows

Also known as

• Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens
• Beata Vergine Addolorata
• Dolorosa
• Maria Santissima Addolorata
• Mater Dolorosa
• Mother of Sorrows
• Our Lady of the Seven Dolours
• Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows
• Sorrowful Mother

Profile

Names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life
• The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus (Luke 2:34)
• The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family (Matthew 2:13)
• The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days (Luke 2:43)
• The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross (Luke 23:26)
• The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross (John 19:25)
• The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms (Matthew 27:57)
• The Burial of Jesus (John 19:40)

Patronage

• Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers
• Congregation of the Holy Cross
• Slovakia
• Mississippi, USA
• 13 cities

Representation

• heart surrounded by a wreath of roses and transfixed by a sword
• heart with seven swords, emblematic of the Seven Sorrows

Video

YouTube PlayList

https://catholicsaints.info/our-lady-of-sorrows/


Blessed Jacinto de Los Ángeles
Blessed Juan Bautista

Profile

Married laymen in the archdiocese of Antequera-Oaxaca, Mexico. Catechists. Martyred for refusing to worship idols.

Born

• c.1660 - 1663 in San Francisco Cajonos, Oaxaca, Mexico
• member of the Zapotec Indians

Died

hacked to death by a mob on the evening of 15 September 1700 in San Francisco Cajonos, Oaxaca, Mexico

Beatified

• 1 August 2002 by Pope John Paul II
• beatification recognition celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jacinto-de-los-angeles/
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-juan-bautista/


Saint Aichardus

Also known as

Achard, Achart, Aicard, Aichard

Profile

Son of a military officer in the court of King Clotaire II. Educated at a monastery in Poitiers, France. Destined by his father for the military, Aichardus felt a call to the religious life. His mother convinced the rest of the family to give him a choice, and he became a monk at Saint Jouin abbey, Ansion, Poitou (in modern France) for 39 years. Prior of Jumièges Abbey. Abbot of Jumièges, a house with 900 monks where his strict personal observance of the Order's rule set an example that rippled through the rest of the house.

Born

Poitiers, France

Died

687 at Jumièges Abbey of natural causes

Representation

angel touching monks with a staff

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


Saint Mirin of Bangor

Also known as

• Mirin of Benchor
• Mirin of Paisley
• Meadhran, Merinus, Merryn, Mirren

Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Comgall of Bangor. Monk. Evangelized the area of Strathclyde, Scotland. Founded Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and served as its first abbot. He is venerated in Ireland and Scotland, and in the Orthodox tradition.

Born

c.565 in Ireland

Died

• c.620 of natural causes
• his shrine at the Paisley abbey became a pilgrimage site

Patronage

• Paisley, Scotland, city of
• Paisley, Scotland, diocese of
• Saint Mirren Football Club

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mirin-of-bangor/


Blessed Rolando de Medici

Also known as

Orlando

Profile

Born to the famous de Medici family. At around age 30, he retired from the world to live as a hermit in the Alpine forests.

Born

c.1330 in Milan, Italy

Died

• 15 September 1386 of natural causes
• buried at the Church of the Holy Church Busseto, Italy

Beatified

25 September 1853 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmation) after a canonization process that lasted nearly 300 years

Representation

man in goatskin as for many years that was all he had to wear

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-rolando-de-medici/


Saint Nicetas the Goth

Profile

Convert, brought to Christianity by the missionary and translator Ulphilas. Martyred in the persecutions of King Athanaric.

Born

4th-century Goth territory north of the Danube River

Died

• burned alive c.370 on the banks of the Danube River
• relics enshrined in Mopsuestria, Cilicia (in modern Turkey) on 15 September 375
• left arm enshrined in the 12th century abbey of Saint Nicetas in Melendugno, Lecce, Italy

Patronage

Melendugno, Lecce, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nicetas-the-goth/


Blessed Wladyslaw Miegon

Also known as

• Ladislao
• prisoner 21223

Profile

Priest in the military ordinariate of Poland. Military chaplain. Deported, imprisoned, tortured and martyred in the Nazi persecutions.

Born

30 September 1892 in Samborzec, Swietokrzyskie, Poland

Died

15 September 1942 in the prison camp at Dachau, Oberbayern, Germany

Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-wladyslaw-miegon/


Saint Mamillian of Palermo

Profile

Bishop of Palermo, Sicily. Because Mamillian stood for orthodox Christianity, the Arian King Genseric exiled him to Tuscany, Italy.

Died

• 460 in the Tuscany region of Italy
• relics later translated to Palermo, Sicily
• some relics later transferred to the church of San Maria Monticelli in Rome, Italy
• some of those relics later transferred to Spoleto, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mamillian-of-palermo/


Blessed Anton Maria Schwartz

Profile

Ordained in 1875 in the archdiocese of Vienna. Founder of the Congregation of Christian Workers of Saint Joseph Calasanz at Vienna on 24 November 1889.

Born

28 February 1852 in Baden, Vienna, Austria

Died

15 September 1929 in Vienna, Austria of natural causes

Beatified

21 June 1998 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-anton-maria-schwartz/


Saint Nicomedes of Rome

Profile

Priest in Rome, Italy. Arrested for helping martyrs, and for giving them Christian burial. Martyred.

Died

• beaten to death with clubs c.71 at Rome, Italy
• his catacomb is on the Via Nomentana, Rome, under the grounds of the Villa Patrizio
• some relics transferred to Milan and Parma in Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nicomedes-of-rome/


Blessed Pascual Penades Jornet

Profile

Priest in the archdiocese of Valencia, Spain. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.

Born

3 January 1894 in Montaverner, Valencia, Spain

Died

15 September 1936 in Cárcer, Valencia, Spain

Beatified

11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pascual-penades-jornet/


Blessed Camillus Costanzo

Also known as

Giovanni Battista Costanzo

Profile

Jesuit priest. Missionary to Japan. Martyr.

Born

1571 in Bovalino, Reggio Calabria, Italy

Died

burned to death on 15 September 1622 in Tabira, Nagasaki, Japan

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-camillus-costanzo/


Saint Melitina

Profile

Christian woman in a time persecution by emperor Antoninus Pius and governor Antiochus, she was twice taken into pagan temples and ordered to make sacrfices to idols; the idols would topple over. Her captors gave up, tortured and then executed her. Martyr.

Died

• beheaded in the 2nd century at Marcianopolis, Thrace (in modern Greece)
• relics enshrined on Lemnos Island in the Aegean Sea

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


Saint Aprus of Toul

Also known as

Aper, Apre, Apro, Epvre, Evre

Profile

Lawyer, known for his skill, integrity and devotion to justice. He gave up his profession to became a priest. Bishop of Toul, France.

Born

near Trier, Gaul (in modern Germany)

Died

• 507 of natural causes
• interred in the basilica in Toul, France

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aprus-of-toul/


Blessed Tommasuccio of Foligno

Also known as

Tommasuccio of Nocera

Profile

Franciscan friar. Noted preacher in the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria.

Born

1319 in Nocera, Italy

Died

• Foligno, Italy of natural causes
• buried in the Franciscan church of Sant Agostino in Foligno

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-tommasuccio-of-foligno/


Saint Emilas of Cordoba

Also known as

Emile

Profile

Deacon. Friend of and fellow student with Saint Jeremias at Cordova, Spain during a time when the city was under Moorish control. The two were very open about their Christianity. Martyred in the persecutions of Caliph Abderrahman.

Died

beheaded in 852 in Cordova, Spain

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-emilas-of-cordoba/


Saint Jeremias of Cordoba

Also known as

Jeremy

Profile

Friend of and fellow student with Saint Emilas at Cordova, Spain during a time when the city was under Moorish control. The two were very open about their Christianity. Martyr.

Died

beheaded in 852 in Cordova, Spain

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-jeremias-of-cordoba/


Saint Valerian of Tournus

Profile

Companion of Saint Photinus of Lyon. Arrested for his evangelism work, he escaped prison, went to Tournus in eastern France, resumed his preaching, and was soon arrested again. Martyr.

Died

beheaded in 178 in Tournus, France

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-valerian-of-tournus/


Saint Porphyrius the Martyr

Profile

An actor who, while performing in a play that mocked baptism, suddenly declared himself a Christian. Julian the Apostate was in the audience, was not amused, and had Porphyrius murdered on the spot. Martyr.

Died

362

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-porphyrius-the-martyr/


Saint Albinus of Lyon

Also known as

• Aubin of Lyon
• Alpin of Lyon

Profile

Bishop of Lyon, France from 381 to 390. Built the Saint Stephen Cathedral there.

Died

• c.390
• buried in Lyon, France

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-albinus-of-lyon/


Saint Hernan

Also known as

Heman

Profile

Fled from Britain to Brittany to escape the Anglo-Saxon invasion. Hermit at Loc-Harn, which was named after him.

Born

6th century Britain

Patronage

Loc-Harn, Brittany, France

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


Saint Bond of Sens

Also known as

Baldo, Baldus

Profile

Convert. Spiritual student of Saint Artemius of Sens. Hermit in Sens, France.

Born

Spain

Died

7th century

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bond-of-sens/


Saint Ribert

Profile

Monk. Abbot of Saint-Valèry-sur-Somme, France. May have been a bishop in the Normandy and Picardy areas of modern France.

Died

7th century

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


Saint Joseph Abibos

Profile

Abbot of Alavendi, Georgia. Disciple of Saint John Zedazneli.

Born

Syria

Died

c.590

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-joseph-abibos/


Saint Vitus of Bergamo

Profile

Benedictine monk near Bergamo, Italy. Spiritual student of Saint Albert.

Died

1095

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-vitus-of-bergamo/


Saint Ritbert of Varennes

Profile

Monk and then abbot of a monastery in Varennes, France.

Died

c.690

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ritbert-of-varennes/


Saint Eutropia of Auvergne

Profile

Holy 5th century widow in Auvergne, France.

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eutropia-of-auvergne/


Martyrs of Adrianopolis

Profile

Three Christian men martyred together in the persecutions of Maximian - Asclepiodotus, Maximus and Theodore.

Died

310 at Adrianopolis (Adrianople), a location in modern Bulgaria

https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-adrianopolis/


Martyrs of Noviodunum

Profile

Four Christian men martyred together, date unknown - Gordian, Macrinus, Stratone and Valerian.

Died

Noviodunum, Lower Moesia (near modern Isaccea, Romania)

https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-noviodunum/


Mercedarian Martyrs of Morocco

Profile

A group of six Mercedarians who were captured by Moors near Valencia, Spain and taken to Morocco. Though enslaved, they refused to stop preaching Christianity. Martyrs. - Dionisio, Francis, Ildefonso, James, John and Sancho.

Died

crucified in 1437 in Morocco

https://catholicsaints.info/mercedarian-martyrs-of-morocco/


Also celebrated but no entry yet

• Charles of Montegranelli
• Cristiano da Perugia


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