| 19 October |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
| Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs; Optional Memorial of Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest |
• God's Hunter of Souls
• Paolo Francesco Daneo
• Paul Daneo
• Paul Francis Daneo
The son of Luca Daniel and Anna Maria Daneo; he was the second of sixteen children born to the couple, ten of whom died in infancy. Paolo was baptized at the age of 3 days, and was raised in a pious family; his father, a merchant, was known for his deep faith, and a brother and close uncle were both priests. Paolo was known as a pious child who attended daily Mass, but he wasn't confirmed until he was 25 years old, a common practice of the time. In 1701 the family moved from Ovada to Castellazo Bormida, and Paolo received his early education at a boy's school run by a priest in Cremolino, Italy. In 1713 he had what became known as a "conversion" experience, which convinced Paolo that he was called to religious life. He declined an arranged marriage, and when he received an inheritance from a rich uncle, a priest, he kept only the man's breviary and refused the wealth.
In 1715 he volunteered for the military service in the crusade against the Turks, but his call to religious life led him to return home in 1716. In 1720 he received a series of visions that confirmed his call, including one where he saw himself in what would become the habit of the Passionists. With his bishop's support, he went on a 40 day retreat and wrote the rule of a potential community, which he called The Poor of Jesus. His brother, Giovanni-Battista, became the second member of the community, and the two moved to Rome, Italy to help found a hospital and seek other members to help them care for the patients and staff.
While there, the Daneo brothers studied theology, and on 7 June 1727 were ordained to the priesthood by Pope Benedict XIII in Saint Peter's Basilica. The brothers became travelling preachers, leading parish missions around Italy. Father Paul was a preacher of such power that hardened soldiers and bandits were seen to weep at his words. He was known as a great spiritual teacher; over 2,000 of his letters survive, most devoted to spiritual direction.
Due to the ascetic lifestyle of a Passionist, the group attracted few members to begin with, but they were a dedicated lot, spending at least three hours in prayer each day. They established their first Retreat, as Passionist monasteries are known, in 1737 on Monte Argentario on the west coast of Italy. Pope Benedict XIV approved the Passionist Rule on 15 May 1741; Pope Clement XIV approved the congregation in 1769. Father Paul reluctantly served as the congregation's first superior-general, and by the time of his death there were 12 Retreats and 180 members. The Passionist fathers, brothers and sisters continue their good work around the world today.
3 January 1694 at Ovada, Piedmont (northern Italy) as Paolo Francesco Danei
• 18 October 1775 at Rome, Italy of natural causes
• interred in the chapel of the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Rome
1 October 1852 by Blessed Pope Pius IX
29 June 1867 by Blessed Pope Pius IX
• Castellazo Bormida, Italy
• Ovada, Italy
The soul is a seed which God sows in the field of the Church; to produce fruits, it must die under the strokes of pains, sorrows, contradictions, and persecutions. – Saint Paul of the Cross
Let us fear more to be deprived of sufferings than a miser fears to lose his treasures. – Saint Paul of the Cross
Suffering is brief; joy will be eternal. – Saint Paul of the Cross
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-paul-of-the-cross/
25 October as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Grandson of the poet Henry, Earl of Surrey, who was executed by King Henry VIII in 1547. Son of Thomas, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. Godson of King Philip of Spain. His parents were Protestant, but his mother returned to Catholicism and helped hide priests. Married to Anne, daughter of Lord d'Acre, at age 14. His father was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth in 1572 when Phillip was 15. Grandfather of Blessed William Howard. Graduated from Saint John's College, Cambridge in 1574. Courtier to Queen Elizabeth at age 18. Earl of Arundel and Surrey on 24 February 1580. At the royal court he led a sinful and dissolute life.
In 1581 he was present at the Tower of London during the proceedings against Saint Edmund Campion, Saint Ralph Sherwin and others, and they had a great effect on him. He returned to his home in Arundel to consider their faith and his own, and was reconciled to the Church on 30 September 1584. He planned to move abroad so he could practice his faith, but was betrayed by a servant, arrested on 15 April 1585, and lodged in the Tower of London on 25 April. He was interrogated extensively for a year, found guilty of treason due to being Catholic, fined £10,000, and returned to prison. During the wave of anti-Catholicism that swept the country in 1588, he was re-tried , found guilty of praying for victory for the Spanish Armada, and sentenced to death. He spent the next seven years in prison, praying for hours each day, eventually dying from general mistreatment. Martyr.
28 June 1557 at Norfolk, England
• 19 October 1595 of malnutrition in the Tower of London, London, England
• buried in the graveyard of the Tower church near his father and grandfather
• re-interred in Long Horsley in 1624
• re-interred in the Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel
• relics re-interred in the Arundel cathedral in 1971
25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI
• diocese of Arundel and Brighton, England
• betrayal victims
• difficult marriages
• falsely accused people
• separated spouses
Elizabethan nobleman with a greyhound
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-howard/
• Canadian Martyrs
• Isaac Jogues and Companions
• Jesuit Martyrs of North America
• John de Brébeuf and Companions
• Martyrs of Canada
• Martyrs of New France
• North American Martyrs
• 26 September (Canada)
Two priests and six lay-brothers, all Jesuits, who were sent as missionaries to the area of modern Canada and New York, and who were murdered by the locals for their work.
• Saint Antoine Daniel
• Saint Charles Garnier
• Saint Gabriel Lalemant
• Saint Isaac Jogues
• Saint Jean de Brébeuf
• Saint Jean de la Lande
• Saint Noel Chabanel
• Saint Rene Goupil
29 June 1930 by Pope Pius XI
Canada
Holy Martyrs and patrons, protect this land which you have blessed by the shedding of your blood. Renew in these days our Catholic faith which you helped to establish in this new land. Bring all our fellow citizens to a knowledge and love of the truth. Make us zealous in the profession of our faith so that we may continue and perfect the work which you have begun with so much labour and suffering. Pray for our homes, our schools, our missions, for vocations, for the conversion of sinners, the return of those who have wandered from the fold, and the perseverance of all the Faithful. And foster a deeper and increasing unity among all Christians. Amen. - Jesuit novena prayer to the martyrs
Born to a farm family. Ordained on 28 May 1972 in the archdiocese of Warsaw, Poland. Noted and vocal anti-Communist preacher during the period of Communist rule in Poland. Worked closely with the anti-Communist Solidarity union movement. When martial law was declared in Poland to suppress opposition, the Church continued to work against the Communists, and Father Jerzy's sermons were broadcast on Radio Free Europe. The secret police threatened and pressured him to stop, but he ignored them. They trumped up evidence and arrested him in 1983, but the Church hierarchy indicated that they would fight the charges; the false charges were dropped, Father Jerzy was released, continued his work, and was pardoned in a general amnesty of 22 July 1984. The Communists tried several times to kill him and make it look like an accident or anonymous attack, but they quit hiding their intentions, and the secret police simply kidnapped and killed Father Jerzy. Martyr.
14 September 1947 in Okopy, Podlaskie, Poland
• kidnapped on 19 October 1984 by the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa (Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), the Communist Polish secret police
• beaten to death from 19 to 20 October 1984 near Wloclawek, Pomorskie, Poland
• body dumped in the Vistula Water Reservoir where it was found on 30 October 1984
• the murderers and their supervisor, Grzegorz Piotrowski, Waldemar Chmielewski, Adam Pietruszka, and Leszek Pêkala, were arrested, convicted of the crime, and received light sentences
• more than 250,000 attended Father Jerzy's funeral
• buried at Saint Kostka's Church, Warsaw, Poland
• the rock that struck the killing blow is enshrined at Saint Bartholomew's Basilica, Tiber Island, Rome, Italy
• 6 June 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI
• recognition to be celebrated at Pilsudski Square, Warsaw, Poland, presided by Archbishop Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jerzy-popieluszko/
• Agnès Galand
• Agnes of Jesus Galand
• Agnes of Jesus of Langeac
• Agnes of Langeac
Consecrated herself to the Virgin Mary at age seven. Joined the Dominican nun at Langeac, France in 1623. Served as novice mistress, and then prioress of her house. Spent three years in penance and prayer for the establishment of the seminary of Saint-Sulpice. Visionary.
17 November 1602 in Le Puy, Haute-Loire, France as Agnès Galand
19 October 1634 in Langeac, Haute-Loire, France of natural causes
20 November 1994 by Pope John Paul II
I shall simply relate an incident which I read in the life of Mother Agnes of Jesus, a Dominican nun of the convent of Langeac in Auvergne, who died a holy death there in 1634. When she was only seven years old and was suffering great spiritual anguish, she heard a voice telling her that if she wished to be delivered from her anguish and protected against all her enemies, she should make herself the slave of our Lord and his Blessed Mother as soon as possible. No sooner had she returned home than she gave herself completely to Jesus and Mary as their slave, although she had never known anything about this devotion before. She found an iron chain, put it round her waist and wore it till the day she died. After this, all her sufferings and scruples disappeared and she found great peace of soul. This led her to teach this devotion to many others who made rapid progress in it - among them, Father Olier, the founder of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, and several other priests and students from the same seminary. One day the Blessed Virgin appeared to Mother Agnes and put a gold chain around her neck to show her how happy she was that Mother Agnes had become the slave of both her and her Son. And Saint Cecilia, who accompanied our Lady, said to her, "Happy are the faithful slaves of the Queen of heaven, for they will enjoy true freedom." Tibi servire libertas. - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort in True Devotion to Mary
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-agnes-of-jesus/
• Uranus of Cavaillon
• Veranus of Cavaillon
• Verà del Gavalda
• Vrain of Cavaillon
• Wrain of Cavaillon
Ordained in 540. Hermit in Vaucluse, France. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Bishop of Cavaillon, France in 568. Godfather of King Theodoric II. His miracles, which included freeing a captive dragon and miraculously healing the foot of a nobleman, which had withered after the nobleman had kicked Verano for not delaying Mass as requested, are mentioned by Saint Gregory of Tours.
Vaucluse, France
• in 589 in Arles, France of plague
• some relics in Cavaillon, France
• some relics in Peccioli, Italy
• some relics at the Cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo in Albenga, Italy
• Abbadia Alpina, Italy
• Peccioli, Italy
• Saint-Veran, France
• dragon
• withered, damaged or crushed foot
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-verano-of-cavaillon/
Fredeswida, Fredeswinda, Frévisse, Friday, Frideswida, Frideswith, Friduswiþ, Fris, Fritheswithe, Frithuswith
Daughter of Prince Didan. When a neighbouring noble, Prince Algar, as for her hand in an arranged marriage, Frideswide fled to Thomwry Wood, Birnsey, England where she lived as a hermitess. Benedictine nun. Founded Saint Mary's Convent, and served as its abbess. The monastery is now Christ Church College, University of Oxford, and the convent church became Oxford cathedral.
c.650 in the upper Thames region of England
• c.735 of natural causes
• in 1561 Calfhill, Canon of Christ Church, desecrated and destroyed her relics
• Oxford, England
• University of Oxford, England
Benedictine nun with an ox
Whatsoever is not God is nothing. - Saint Frideswide
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-frideswide/
Son of Elias and Matilda Hélye. School teacher and tutor in Biville, France and then in Cherbourg, France where he ran a school. A pious young man, he would fast several days a week. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Studied theology in Paris, France, and was ordained a priest there c.1236. Travelling priest and evangelist in the diocese of Avranches and Coutances, France, spending his days in ministry, his nights in prayer and penance, and spreading his own intense dedication to the Eucharist.
early 13th century in Biville, Normandy, France
• 19 October 1257 in Biville, Normandy, France of natural causes
• interred in a chapel in the parish church of Biville
• his relics had to be hidden in 1794 to prevent their destruction during the persecutions of the French Revolution
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-helye/
Celebrates the supernatural life which Mary led on earth, particularly her advancement in grace and wisdom, in her intimate union with Jesus, her Divine Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Saint Luke, in chapter 2, tells us Mary's manner of meditation, how she pondered on the words concerning Jesus and the words spoken by Jesus: "But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart," and "his mother kept all these words in her heart."
https://catholicsaints.info/inner-life-of-mary/
Married. Widow. Nun and then abbess at Cuteclara during the period of Moorish occupation of Spain. Killed by Muslim authorities for the crime of Christianity. Martyr. One of the Martyrs of Córdoba. The Estadio Santa Laura in Santiago, Chile, and the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works in northern Chile are named for her. Thomas Love Peacock wrote a ballad about her in his work Gryll Grange.
Córdoba, Spain
boiled in lead in 864
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-laura-of-cordoba/
Lou, Loup
Nephew of Saint Remigius of Rheims. Bishop of Soissons, France.
• c.540
• buried in the chapel of Sainte-Thecle
• relics transferred to the cathedral in Soissons, France in the 9th century
• relics burned by Calvinists in 1568
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-lupus-of-soissons/
• Lukas del Espíritu Santo
• Lucas of the Holy Spirit
Dominican missionary priest. Martyr.
18 October 1594 in Carracedo de Vidriales, Zamora, Spain
19 October 1633 in Nishizaka, Nagasaki, Japan
18 October 1987 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-luke-alonso-gorda/
Married. Aquilinus and his wife agreed to live by good works. When they moved to Evreux, France, Aquilinus's reputation for holiness was such that he was chosen bishop, but he lived more as a prayerful hermit than an active pastor among the people.
c.620 in Bayeux, France
695
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-aquilinus-of-evreux/
• Matthaeus of the Rosary
• Mateo, Matteo, Matteus
Dominican novice and catechist. Martyr.
1615 in Arima, Hyogo, Japan
19 October 1633 in Nishizaka, Nagasaki, Japan
18 October 1987 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-matthaeus-kohyoe/
Soldier in Upper Egypt assigned to guard a group of monks who were condemend to death for their faith. They led Varus to convert, and when one of the monks died in custody, he took the brother's place. Martyr.
hanged from a tree on 19 October 307 in Kemet, Upper Egypt
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-varus-of-kemet/
Egbin
Born to the nobility. Spiritual student of Saint Samson of York in Brittany, France. Deacon. Served at the monastery of Taurac in Brittany until it was destroyed by the Franks. Hermit near Kildare, Ireland. Miracle worker.
British Isles
c.600
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ethbin/
Eadnot, Eadnothus, Esneu
Monk at Worcester, England. Abbot of Ramsey Abbey. Bishop of Dorchester, England in 1006. Martyred by Danish raiders.
1016
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ednoth/
Protested the martyrdom of Saint Ptolemy of Rome in the persecutions of Antoninus Pius. Martyred for his objections. His story was written by Saint Justin Martyr.
c.160 in Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-lucius-of-rome-19-october/
Arrested and martyred in the persecutions of Antoninus Pius for the crime of teaching a woman about Christianity. His story was written by Saint Justin Martyr.
c.160 in Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ptolemy-of-rome/
Benedictine monk at Saint-Pierre de Longoret Abbey in France. Spiritual student of Saint Sigiranus. Hermit in La Brenne, France.
c.705
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-desiderius-of-longoret/
Minor Old Testament prophet. Author of the canonical Book of Joel. Nothing is known about the man or his life.
https://catholicsaints.info/joel-the-prophet/
Theofroy, Chaifre
Monk and then abbot at Carmery-en-Velay (Monastier-Saint-Chaffre). Martyred by invading Saracens.
Orange, France
728
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-theofrid/
One of a group of 59 Christians martyred together.
Antioch, Syria
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-beronicus-of-antioch/
One of a group of 59 Christians martyred together.
Antioch, Syria
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pelagia-of-antioch-2/
Attinus
First century missionary bishop. Founded the churches of Orleans and Chartres, France.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-altinus/
Shepherd. Martyr.
Sens, France
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-potenzianus-of-sens/
Shepherd. Martyr.
Sens, France
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-sabinianus-of-sens/
Fifth-century bishop of Salerno, Italy.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusterius-of-salerno/
Martyr.
Ostia, Lazio, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-asterius-of-ostia/
CatholicSaints.Info Portable Edition