Calendar of Saints

17 April	• yesterday • tomorrow

Whether we wish it or not, this is a question of life or death: with the Church you have the infallible light, truth, virtue, all perfections; but if you cease to obey the Church you will unavoidably cease to pray, to confess, to communicate-in a word, to be a practical Christian. - Blessed Lidwina

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Also known as

• Catherine Tekakwitha
• Lily of the Mohawks
• Tegakouita, Tegakwitha

Additional Memorial

14 July (United States)

Profile

Daughter of a Christian Algonquin woman captured by Iroquois and married to a non-Christian Mohawk chief. Orphaned during a smallpox epidemic, which left her with a scarred face and impaired eyesight. Converted and baptized in 1676 by Father Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary. Shunned and abused by relatives for her faith. Escaped through 200 miles of wilderness to the Christian Native American village of Sault-Sainte-Marie. Took a vow of chastity in 1679. Known for spirituality and austere lifestyle. Miracle worker. Her grave became a pilgrimage site and place of miracles for Christian Native Americans and French colonists. First Native American proposed for canonization, her cause was started in 1884 under Pope Leo XIII. The Tekakwitha Conference, an international association of Native American Catholics and those in ministry with them, was named for her.

Born

1656 at Osserneon (Auriesville), modern New York, USA

Died

17 April 1680 at Caughnawaga, Canada of natural causes

Canonized

• 21 October 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI
• the canonization miracle involved the cure of a boy suffering from a flesh-eating bacteria

Patronage

• ecologists, environmentalists
• ecology, environment
• environmentalism
• exiles
• against the loss of parents
• orphans
• people ridiculed for their piety
• Native Americans
• diocese of Gallup, New Mexico

Representation

• lily
• rosary
• turtle

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

"Kateri Tekakwitha was born in today's New York state in sixteen fifty-six to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother who gave to her a sense of the living God. She was baptized at twenty years of age and, to escape persecution, she took refuge in Saint Francis Xavier Mission near Montreal. There she worked, faithful to the traditions of her people, although renouncing their religious convictions until her death at the age of twenty-four. Leading a simple life, Kateri remained faithful to her love for Jesus, to prayer and to daily Mass. Her greatest wish was to know and to do what pleased God. She lived a life radiant with faith and purity. Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her life in spite of the absence of external help and by the courage of her vocation, so unusual in her culture. In her, faith and culture enrich each other! May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are. Saint Kateri, Protectress of Canada and the first native American saint, we Entrust to you the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America! May God bless the first nations!" - Pope Benedict XVI canonization homily for Saint Kateri

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-kateri-tekakwitha/

Saint Robert of Molesme

Also known as

Robert of Cîteaux

Additional Memorial

26 January as one of the Founders of the Cistercians

Profile

Born to the French nobility. Benedictine monk in 1044. Prior of Moutiers-la-Celle Abbey. Abbot of Saint-Michel-de-Tonnerre, but considered it to have lax standards. Prior of Saint-Ayeul Abbey. In 1075, in an attempt to return to a simpler form of Benedictine life requested by a group of hermits from the forests around Colan, France, he helped found the monastery at Molesme, Burgundy. The group, especially Robert, gained a reputation for piety, which led to bequests of cash, which led to an increase in size of the monastery, which led to internal difficulties, and suddenly there were many brothers that objected to the severe life practised by the founders. Robert twice left to live on his own, but was ordered back to his position by the pope. In early 1098 Robert, Saint Stephen Harding, Saint Alberic of Citeaux and 18 other monks left Molesme, and on 21 March they founded the monastery of Cîteaux near Dijon, France, with the goal of living strictly by the Benedictine Rule, strict vows of poverty, and frequent retreats; Robert served as the first abbot. However, with conditions deteriorating at the Molesme house he was re-assigned as abbot there in 1100 with a mandate to reform; he lived and worked there the rest of his life. Traditionally considered one of the founders of the Cistercians, the reform that developed at Citeaux.

Born

1027 near Troyes, Champagne (in modern France)

Died

21 March 1110 of natural causes

Canonized

1222 by Pope Honorius III

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-robert-of-molesme/

Saint Robert of Chaise-Dieu

Also known as

• Robert de Turlande
• Robert of Casa Dei

Profile

Born to the nobility, related to Saint Gerald of Aurillac. Studied at the Church of Saint-Julien in Brioude, France. Ordained in 1026. Canon of Saint Julian where he founded a hospice for the poor. Monk at Cluny under the direction of Saint Odilo. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Retired to Brioude near Auvergne where he attracted so many followers that he was forced to found the great Benedictine abbey of Casa Dei (House of God) or Chaise-Dieu (Chair of God) with 300 monks. Spiritual teacher of Saint Adelemus.

Born

• 11th century at Auvergne, France
• his mother went into labour while out in the forests near the family castle; locals thought this meant that the baby would become a hermit

Died

• 17 April 1067 of natural causes
• interred at Chaise-Dieu
• relics burned by Huguenots

Canonized

• 1070 by Pope Alexander II
• 1095 by Pope Blessed Urban II
• 1351 by Pope Clement VI

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-robert-of-chaise-dieu/

Saint Acacius Agathangelos of Melitene

Also known as

• Acacius of Hither
• The Good Angel
• The Wonder Worker
• Acacius, Achates, Achatius, Agathangelos

Profile

Bishop of Hither, Asia (Melitene in Armenia, modern Malatya, Turkey). He intervened in the Council of Ephesus to defend orthodox Christianity against Nestorianism. Arrested in the persecutions of Decius and brought before the imperial tribunal for the crimes of Christianity and refusing to sacrifice to idols. His defense of the faith so impressed the judges that they set him free. Because of his arrest and his willingness to die for the faith he is often listed as a martyr, but he apparently survived the persecutions.

Died

c.251 of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-acacius-agathangelos-of-melitene/

Blessed Mariana of Jesus

Also known as

• Lily of Madrid
• Mariana Navarra de Guevara
• Mary Ann of Jesus Navarro
• Maria Ana de Jesus Navarro de Guevara

Profile

Known as a pious youth. At age 23 she turned down a marriage proposal and instead became a Discalced Mercedarian nun at Madrid, Spain. Noted for her life of penance, devotion to the Eucharist, and intense prayer life. Ordered by her superiors to write her spiritual biography.

Born

17 January 1565 at Madrid, Spain as Mariana Navarra de Guevara

Died

• 17 April 1624 of natural causes at Madrid, Spain
• body found incorrupt

Beatified

18 April 1783 by Pope Pius VI in Rome, Italy

Patronage

Madrid, Spain

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mariana-of-jesus/

Blessed Henry Heath

Also known as

Paul of Saint Magdalene

Additional Memorials

• 29 October as one of the Martyrs of Douai
• 22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales

Profile

Raised in a Protestant family, Henry became a minister in the Church of England. Convert to Catholicism. Joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Recollects, taking the name Paul of Saint Magdalene. Priest. Imprisoned, tortured and eventually executed in the persecutions of King Charles I for the crime of being a priest. Martyr.

Born

c.1599-1600 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England

Died

hanged on 17 April 1643 in Tyburn, London, England

Beatified

22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-henry-heath/

Saint Landericus of Soignies

Also known as

• Landericus of Meaux
• Landry, Landricus, Landrich, Landerico

Profile

Eldest son of Saint Madelgarus and Saint Waldetrudis. Soldier. Priest. Bishop of Meaux, France from 641 to 650. Benedictine abbot in Soignies, Belgium. Abbot of Hautmont, France.

Born

France

Died

• 7th century in Soignies, France of natural causes
• relics rest in the Church of Saint-Vincent in Soignies

Representation

• bishop with a book and razor (refers to his tonsure)
• with Saint Vincent Madelgaire

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-landericus-of-soignies/

Blessed James of Cerqueto

Additional Memorial

31 October (Augustinians)

Profile

Augustinian friar and hermit at Cerqueto, Italy. Known as a preacher and miracle worker. It was his prayers that secured permission for the Augustinians to wear white habits in tribute to Mary.

Born

1285 at Cerqueto in Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Died

• 17 April 1366 in the Church of Saint Augustine in Perugia, Italy of natural causes
• due to the number of miracles at his grave, he was re-interred in a 1754

Beatified

10 June 1895 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmed)

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-james-of-cerqueto/

Blessed Ambrose of Massa

Also known as

Ambrogio da Massa

Profile

Parish priest in Maremma region of Tuscany, Italy. After hearing the preaching of Blessed Moricus, an early companion of Saint Francis of Assisi, Ambrose was drawn to the religious life. Joined the Franciscans in 1225 and devoted himself to charity and penance.

Born

Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Italy

Died

17 April 1240 in Orvieto, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ambrose-of-massa/

Saint Donnan of Eigg

Also known as

Dounan, Donan, Donnanus, Domnanus

Profile

Monk of Iona Abbey with Saint Columba of Iona. Founded a monastery on the Island of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland. He and 52 brother monks were massacred by pagan raiders.

Died

stabbed to death by sword on Easter Sunday in 618 on Eigg Island, Scotland

Canonized

11 July 1898 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmed)

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-donnan-of-eigg/

Saint Pantagathus of Vienne

Also known as

Pantagathe of Vienne

Profile

Born to the nobility. Well-educated, he served as a diplomat and courtier to King Clovis I. Priest. Bishop of Vienne, France c.536. Attended the Council of Orléans.