| 19 July |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
• Brother Herman
• Father Herman
12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II
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.
21 October 1910 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland
• 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
13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland
Where there are sheep, there must also be a shepherd. Pastors cannot leave the believers! – Blessed Karol when the Nazis invaded his region of Poland
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-karol-stepien/
Pietrillo
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".
1243
• 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
• 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
man dressed in sack cloth or rags in a posture of prayer while staring at the sun
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-peter-crisci-of-foligno/
• John Plesington
• William Scarisbrick
• William Pleasington
25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
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.
c.1637 at Dimples Hall, Lancashire, England
• hanged, drawn, and quartered on 19 July 1679 at Barrows Hill, Boughton, England
• buried in the local cemetery of Burton, England
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
But I know it will be said that a priest ordayned by authority derived from the See of Rome is, by the Law of the Nation, to die as a Traytor, but if that be so what must become of all the Clergymen of the Church of England, for the first Protestant Bishops had their Ordination from those of the Church of Rome, or not at all, as appears by their own writers so that Ordination comes derivatively from those now living. - Saint John Plessington, from the gallows as he was about to be martyred
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-plessington/
Simmaco
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.
in Sardinia, Kingdom of Odoacer (part of modern Italy)
22 November 498
19 July 514 in Rome, Ostrogothic Kingdom (in modern Italy) of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/pope-saint-symmachus/
• Achilles Puchala
• Brother Achilles
• Father Achilles
12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II
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.
18 March 1911 in Kosina, Podkarpackie, Poland
• 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
13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jozef-puchala/
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.
c.327 at Caesarea, Cappadocia (in modern Turkey)
379 at Pontus (in modern Turkey) of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-macrina-the-younger/
Epagaphras
First century missionary to Colossae, Laodicea And Hierapolis. Bishop of Colossae. Martyr. Saint Paul mentions him.
Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth, as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. - Colossians 1:6-8
Epaphras sends you greetings; he is one of you, a slave of Christ [Jesus], always striving for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. - Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you. - Philemon 23
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-epaphras-of-colosse/
• Cragon
• Abba Karazün
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.
latter 3rd century Banawän, Egypt
• beheaded in the early 4th century
• relics later moved to Banawän, Egypt
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-kragon/
• John Baptist Zhou Wurui
• Ruohan
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
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.
c.1883 in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China
dismembered and beaten to death with an ax on 19 July 1900 in Lujiazhuang, Jingxia, Hebei, China
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ioannes-baptista-zhu-wurui/
Ximan
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
Son of Saint Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Martyred as a teenager in the Boxer Rebellion.
c.1886 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China
19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-simon-qin-chunfu/
• Bernhard of Millau
• Bernhard of Ruteni
• Bernard of...
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.
1045 in Provence, France
1079 in Marseilles, France of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-bernhard-of-rodez/
• Arsenius the Roman
• Arsenius the Deacon
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
354 in the Roman Empire
c.449 at Troë near Memphis, Egypt of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-arsenius-the-great/
Lisa
28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
Married lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. Mother of Saint Simon Qin Chunfu. Martyred in the Boxer Rebellion.
c.1846 in Nanpeiluo, Renqiu, Hebei, China
19 July 1900 in Liucun, Renqiu, Hebei, China
1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-elisabeth-qin-bianshi-elisabeth/
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.
1514 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-antonio-of-valladolid/
Michael of Saint Sabas
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.
beheaded
Mohamed is neither an apostle nor a prophet. – Saint Michael
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-michael-the-sabaite/
Aura
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.
Cordoba, Spain
beheaded in 856
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aurea-19-july/
Ambrose Aut-pert
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.
France
c.778
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ambrose-autpertus/
Romanus
Son of the Prince of Ryazan. Imprisoned, tortured and murdered by pagan Tatars who accused him of insulting their gods. Martyr.
cut to pieces, joint by joint, until he finally bled to death in 1270
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-romain-of-ryazan/
Martin of Treves
Tenth bishop of Trier, Germany.
• c.210
• may have been a martyr, but records are unclear
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-martin-of-trier/
Daretia
Martyr.
Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), date unknown
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-daria-of-constantinople/
Pascasio of Lycaonia
Mercedarian friar. Bishop of Lycaonia, Asia Minor.
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pascasio-of-lyon/
Felicinus of Verona
Bishop of Verona, Italy.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-felix-of-verona/
Martyrs of Phrygia
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.
burned to death on an iron grill in Meros, Phrygia (in modern Turkey)
https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-meros/
• Bernold of Utrecht
• Dio of Constantinople
• Diodorus of Milan
• Stephen del Lupo
• Stilla of Abenberg
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