20 June • yesterday
• tomorrow

It is only through shadows that one comes to know the light. - Saint Catherine of Siena
Meditations for Layfolk - Scandal, by Father Bede Jarrett
Angels And Devils, by Father Leslie Rumble

Blessed Margareta Ebner

Also known as

• Margaret, Margaretha, Margrete
• Mystic of Mödingen

Profile

Born wealthy. Received a thorough classical education at home. Dominican nun at Maria-Medingen, Germany convent in 1306. Dangerously ill from 1312 to 1322 during which time she was sent home to recover, and during which she began receiving visions, revelations and prophies. Visited by the Infant Christ. Spiritual student of Father Henry of Nördlingen from 1332 to her death. Their correspondence is the first collection of its kind in German. At his command she wrote a full account of her mystic experiences.

Born

c.1291 at Donauwörth, Bavaria, Germany

Died

20 July 1351 at Mödingen, Bavaria, Germany of natural causes

Beatified

• 24 February 1979 by Pope John Paul II (cultus confirmation)
• the first beatification of John Paul's pontificate

Reading

O God, source of all goodness, you enkindled within Blessed Margaret the fire of the Holy Spirit and drew her into the secrets of your divine love. By the help of her prayers and filled with that same Spirit may we come to you by the paths of Christ, 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-margareta-ebner/


Blessed Dermot O'Hurley

Also known as

• Dermit
• Diarmaid Ó Hiarlatha

Profile

Born to a wealthy family, the son of William O'Brien O'Hurley and Honoria. Studied at the University of Leuven, Belgium where he obtained his law degree. Dean of the law school at Leuven for 15 years. Taught in Rheims, France for 4 years. Chosen archbishop of Cashel, Ireland by Pope Gregory XIII in 1581 while Dermot was still a layman; he received the pallium on 27 November of that year.

He returned to Ireland in secret and kept on the move as Protestant authorities were watching for him. However, to save one of his hosts from trouble with the authorities, he surrendered when they caught up with him. Imprisoned, tortured and executed in the persecutions of Elizabeth I for the treason of refusing to acknowledge her as head of the Church. One of the Irish Martyrs.

Born

c.1530 in Emly, County Tipperary, Ireland

Died

• hanged on 20 June 1584 at Hoggen Green, (modern College Green) Dublin, Ireland
• buried at the church of Saint Kevin in Dublin

Beatified

27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

Videos

YouTube PlayList

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-dermot-ohurley/


Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg

Also known as

Apostle of the Slavs

Profile

Benedictine monk at the monastery of Saint Maximin at Trier, Germany. Missionary bishop. Leader of the band of missionaries sent into Russia in 961 by Emperor Otto I the Great on the request of Saint Olga, princess of Kiev. The band was violently opposed by an army of pagans led by Saint Olga's son Svyatoslav. Many of the missionaries were killed, and the remainder, still under the leadership of Adalbert, returned to Germany, spending four years in Mainz.

Abbot of a monastery at Weissenburg, Alsace. Noted for his support of education in general, and of his monks in particular. First archbishop of Magdeburg, Saxony in 968, which see he held for his remaining thirteen years. Worked with and sent missionaries to the pagan Wends, making many converts. Founded the dioceses of Naumberg, Neissen, Merseberg, Brandenburg, Havelberg, and Posen. Metropolitan of the Slavs.

Educated Saint Bruno of Querfurt. Healed, educated and converted Adalbert of Prague, who took the name Adalbert in memory of him.

Born

c.910 at Lorraine region

Died

20 June 981 at Merseburg, Germany of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-adalbert-of-magdeburg/


Saint John of Pulsano

Also known as

• Giovanni di Matera
• Giovanni Scalcione
• John of Matera
• John of Mathera

Profile

Benedictine monk. Lived with such austerity that it brought on the enmity of his brothers who felt he was setting a standard that they could not meet, making them look bad, and drawing attention to himself. Monk at Montevergine Abbey under the spiritual direction of his friend Saint William of Vercelli, its founder. Popular preacher in Bari, Italy. Founded the Saint Mary of Pulsano Abbey at Pulsano, Italy where he served as abbot, and from which grew a new congregation.

Born

c.1070 at Matera, Basilicata region, Italy

Died

• 1139 at Pulsano, Italy of natural causes
• buried in a niche in a cave in the church at Saint Mary of Pulsano Abbey
• relics translated to Matera Cathedral in 1830
• relics enshrined in a new sarcophagus in 1939

Canonized

1177 by Pope Alexander III

Representation

abbot driving away the devil with a rod

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-of-pulsano/


Blessed William Harcourt

Also known as

• William Barrow
• William Waring

Profile

Studied at the Jesuit College, Saint-Omer, France. Joined the Jesuits at Watten in 1632. Priest. Returned to England in 1644 to minister to covert Catholics. Worked in London for 35 years, using the names William Harcourt and/or William Waring. Jesuit superior for London in 1678. Arrested in May 1678, accused of being part of the Titus Oates Plot; lodged in Newgate prison. He went to trial on 13 June 1679, but since the verdict was already decided, and since the judge announced that no Catholic witness could be believed, he was quickly convicted. Martyr.

Born

1610 in Kirkham, Lancashire, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 June 1679 at Tyburn, London, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-william-harcourt/


Blessed John Gavan

Also known as

John Gawen

Profile

Educated at the Jesuit College, Saint Omer, France. Priest. Returned to England to minister to covert Catholics in Staffordshire. Took his final vows as a Jesuit in 1678 in Boscobel, England. Eloquent and effective preacher. Betrayed to the English priest hunters by an apostate priest named Schibber, he was arrested on 29 January 1679 during the persecutions connected to the Titus Oates Plot, a non-existent plan to assassinate Charles II. He defended himself and four fellow Jesuits in their trial at the Old Bailey, but to no avail; the trial rules included the principal that no Catholic could be believed in court. Martyr.

Born

1640 in London, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 June 1679 at Tyburn, London, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-gavan/


Irish Martyrs

Article

This is the collective title given to the 260 or more persons who are credited with dying for the faith in Ireland between 1537 and 1714. Seventeen of them were beatified together on 27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II.

• Blessed Conn O'Rourke
• Blessed Conor O'Devany
• Blessed Dermot O'Hurley
• Blessed Dominic Collins
• Blessed Edward Cheevers
• Blessed Francis Taylor
• Blessed George Halley
• Blessed John Kearney
• Blessed Matthew Lambert
• Blessed Maurice Eustace
• Blessed Patrick Cavanagh
• Blessed Patrick O'Healy
• Blessed Patrick O'Loughran
• Blessed Peter Higgins
• Blessed Robert Meyler
• Blessed Terrence Albert O'Brien
• Blessed William Tirry

https://catholicsaints.info/irish-martyrs/


Blessed Francisco Pacheco

Also known as

Francesco, Francis

Profile

Born to the Portugese nobility. Joined the Jesuit in 1592. Priest. Missionary to the Far East in 1598, first in India, then Macao, and finally in 1604 in Japan. He returned to Macao to direct the Jesuit Institute, then back to Japan, and then was exiled in the first wave of an anti-Christian persecution. He immediately returned to Japan to assist his fellow missionaries and minister to covert Catholics. Imprisoned, abused and finally executed for his continued work for the faith. Martyr.

Born

1566 in Ponte de Lima, Braga, Portugal

Died

• burned at the stake on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-francisco-pacheco/


Blessed John Fenwick

Also known as

John Caldwell

Profile

Born to a Protestant family who disowned him when he converted to Catholicism. Educated at Jesuit College in Saint-Omer, France, and then at Liege, Belgium. Entered the Jesuit in 1656, making his profession in 1676. Priest. Worked at the college of Saint-Omer. Returned to England in 1676 to minister to covert Catholics. Convicted for alleged complicity in the Titus Oates Plot; the trial rules included the principal that no Catholic could be believed in court. Martyr.

Born

1628 at Durham, England as John Caldwell

Died

• hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 June 1679 at Tyburn, London, England
• buried in the churchyard of Saint Giles-in-the-Fields

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-fenwick/


Blessed Margaret Ball

Also known as

• Maighréad Ball
• Maighréad nic Fheorais
• Margaret Bermingham
• Margherita Ball

Profile

Lay women in the archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland. Married to wealth merchant Bartholomew Ball. Hid priests and bishops in her home during a period of state persecution of the Church. Her eldest son, Walter, gave in to the pressure from the authorities and became a Prostetant; when he became mayor of Dublin, assisted in the persecution of Catholics and had his mother imprisoned. Martyr.

Born

c.1515 in Skreen, Meath, Ireland

Died

1584 in Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland of general abuse and neglect

Beatified

27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-ball/


Blessed Michelina of Pesaro

Also known as

Michelina Metelli

Profile

Born to the Italian nobility. Married to Duke Malatesta at age 12. Widowed at age 20. Her only child died, and she decided to take orders. Her family so strongly opposed this that they locked her up and declared her insane. When set free, she gave away her wealth and became a Franciscan tertiary.

Born

1300 at Pesaro, Urbino, Italy

Died

1356 of natural causes

Beatified

13 April 1737 by Pope Clement XII (cultus confirmed)

Patronage

• against death of children
• against mental illness; mentally ill people
• against in-law problems
• widows

Representation

young Franciscan tertiary kneeling in ecstasy in the midst of a storm with a pilgrim's hat and staff beside her

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-michelina-of-pesaro/


Blessed Giovanni Battista Zola

Also known as

John Baptist Zola

Profile

Joined the Jesuits in 1595 in Brescia, Italy. Missionary to India in 1602. Missionary to Japan in 1606, settling in Tacacu. Banished to China in 1614, he later returned to his work in Japan where he was assisted by Blessed Monica Naisen and Blessed John Naisen. Martyr.

Born

1 November 1575 in Brescia, Italy

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-giovanni-battista-zola/


Saint Methodius of Olympus

Profile

Born to the nobility. Priest. Bishop of Olympus in Lycia, Asia Minor. Bishop of Tyre. Theological writer admired by Saint Jerome. Martyr in the persecutions of Diocletian.

Died

c.311 at Chalcis (in modern Greece)

Video

YouTube PlayList

Works

• Banquet of the Ten Virgins
• On Free Will
• On the Resurrection of the Bodies

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-methodius-of-olympus/


Blessed Anthony Turner

Profile

Son of a Protestant minister. Educated at Cambridge University. Convert to Catholicism. Studied in Rome, Italy. Joined the Jesuits in Flanders, Belgium. Ordained in 1661. He returned to England and worked in Worcester. Arrested in the Titus Oates Plot, he was convicted of treason based on perjured evidence; one of the trial rules was that no Catholic could be believed in court. Martyr.

Born

1628 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England

Died

hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 June 1679 at Tyburn, London, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-anthony-turner/


Blessed Thomas Whitbread

Also known as

• Thomas Harcourt
• Thomas Harcott

Profile

Seminarian at Saint Omer, France. Joined the Jesuits in 1635. Priest. Using the alias Thomas Harcourt, he returned to England to minister to covert Catholics and serve as provincial of the Jesuit mission there. Falsely accused of conspiring to kill King Charles II. Martyr.

Born

1618 in Essex, England

Died

hanged, drawn and quartered on 20 June 1679 in Tyburn, London, England

Beatified

15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-thomas-whitbread/


Blessed Ioannes Kisaku

Also known as

• Ioannes Kinsako
• Ioannes Kinsaco
• John...

Profile

Jesuit novice. Martyr.

Born

c.1605 in Kuchinotsu, Nagasaki, Japan

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ioannes-kisaku/


Blessed Gaspar Sadamatsu

Also known as

• Gaspar Sadamazu
• Caspar...

Profile

Jesuit priest. Martyr.

Born

c.1565 in Hasami, Nagasaki, Japan

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-gaspar-sadamatsu/


Blessed Paulus Shinsuke

Also known as

Paul

Profile

Jesuit brother. Cathechist. Martyr.

Born

c.1581 in Urada, Nagasaki, Japan

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-paulus-shinsuke/


Blessed Baltasar de Torres Arias

Profile

Jesuit priest. Martyr.

Born

14 December 1563 in Granada, Spain

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-baltasar-de-torres-arias/


Saint Macarius of Petra

Also known as

Arius of Petra

Profile

Bishop of Petra. Attended the Council of Sardica. When the Arian heresy began to spread, Bishop Arius changed his name to Macarius to show his opposition. The Arians, gaining power in the area, exiled Macarius to Africa where he lived the rest of his days.

Born

as Arius

Died

c.350 in Africa of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-macarius-of-petra/


Blessed Petrus Rinsei

Also known as

Peter Rinsei

Profile

Jesuit priest. Martyr.

Born

c.1588 in Hachirao, Nagasaki, Japan

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-petrus-rinsei/


Saint Bagne of Terouanne

Also known as

Bain, Bagnus

Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Wandrille. Benedictine monk at Fontenelle Abbey in Gaul (modern France). Bishop of Terouanne, France in 689. Missionary in the area of modern Calais. After twelve years he resigned his see and retired to Fontenelle. Elected abbot in 704. Abbot of Fleury Abbey.

Died

c.711 of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bagne-of-terouanne/


Blessed Vincentius Kaun

Also known as

Vincent

Profile

Jesuit priest. Martyr.

Born

c.1579 in Korea

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-vincentius-kaun/


Saint Edburga of Caistor

Also known as

Eadburh, Edburge, Idaberga, Ideberga

Profile

Daughter of the seventh-century pagan King Penda of Mercia, an area of modern England. Convert to Christianity. Nun at Caistor, England.

Died

• interred at Caistor, England
• relics transferred to Peterborough, England
• relics transferred to Flanders, Belgium

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-edburga-of-caistor/


Blessed Michaël Tozo

Profile

Jesuit priest. Martyr.

Born

c.1588 in Chijiwa, Nagasaki, Japan

Died

• burned alive on 20 June 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
• ashes thrown into the sea and no relics remain

Beatified

7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-michael-tozo/


Saint Goban

Also known as

Gavan, Gobain, Govan, Gobano

Profile

Spiritual student of Saint Fursey. Benedictine monk at Burgh-Castle, Suffolk, England. Travelled with Fursey to France where they lived as hermits in the forests of Oise. Murdered by non-Christian raiders.

Born

in Ireland

Died

murdered c.670 at Laon, Neuestria (modern Saint-Gobain, France)

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


Blessed Donough MacCready

Profile

Priest in the diocese of Down and Connor, Ireland. One of the Irish Martyrs.

Born

Irish

Died

1608 in Coleraine, Ireland

Beatified

27 September 1992 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-donough-maccready/


Saint Gemma of Saintonge

Profile

Christian daughter of a pagan noble who beat her to death when she refused an arranged marriage to a young pagan man. Martyr.

Died

from injuries received from a beating while in prison in Saintoge, France

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gemma-of-saintonge/


Blessed Benignus of Breslau

Profile

Thirteenth-century Cistercian monk at Breslau, Silesia, Poland. Martyred with many of his brother monks for protecting litugical vessels from invading Tartars.

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-benignus-of-breslau/


Saint Guibsech of Cluain-Bairenn

Profile

Founded a community of nuns in Cluain-Bairenn, Ireland.

Patronage

Cluain-Bairenn (Clonburren, Roscommon County), Ireland

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-guibsech-of-cluain-bairenn/


Saint Helen of Oehren

Also known as

Elia, Eliada, Heliada, Helia

Profile

Benedictine nun and abbess of the convent of Oehren in Trier, Germany.

Died

c.750 of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-helen-of-oehren/


Saint Cyriacus of Lower Moesia

Profile

Martyr.

Died

on the Black Sea at Lower Moesia (in modern Bulgaria), date unknown

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-cyriacus-of-lower-moesia/


Saint Paul of Lower Moesia

Profile

Martyr.

Died

on the Black Sea at Lower Moesia, date unknown (in modern Bulgaria)

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-paul-of-lower-moesia/


Saint Novatus of Rome

Profile

Son of Pudens, imperial Roman senator. Brother of Saint Praxedes and Saint Pudentiana.

Died

c.151

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


Saint Hector

Also known as

Ettore

Profile

Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian, possibly in Greece. No other information has survived.

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


Saint Cassán of Cluain-Ratha

Profile

No information about this subject has survived.

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-cassan-of-cluain-ratha/


Also celebrated but no entry yet

• Our Lady of Consolation
• Martyrs of Salamis
• Latuinus of Seez
• Louis Matienzo
• Lucano of Saben
• Martin de Agreda
• Meinrich of Lübeck


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