Calendar of Saints

21 March	• yesterday • tomorrow

I see clearly with the interior eye, that the sweet God loves with a pure love the creature that He has created, and has a hatred for nothing but sin, which is more opposed to Him than can be thought or imagined. - Saint Catherine of Genoa

Saint Benedicta Cambiagio Frassinello

Also known as

• Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
• Benedikta Frassinello
• Benedetta Cambiagio

Profile

Daughter of Giuseppe and Francesca Cambiagio, she grew up in Pavia, Italy. At the age of 20 she had a profound mystical experience that left her devoted to prayer and desiring a religious life. However, to go along with her family's wishes, she married Giovanni Battista Frassinella on 7 February 1816. The couple had a normal married life for two years, but Giovanni, impressed with Benedicta's holiness and desire for religious life, agreed to live continently. The two took care of Benedicta's little sister Maria until the girl's death from intestinal cancer in 1825. Giovanni then joined the Somaschan Fathers, Benedicta became an Ursuline nun.

In 1826 ill health forced Benedicta to return home to Pavia. There she began to work with young women in the area. The work sent so well that her husband Giovanni was assigned to help. The schools continued to grow and prosper, and Benedicta was appointed Promoter of Public Instruction in Pavia. However, no matter how chastely they lived, Benedicta and Giovanni's unusual relationship drew gossip and criticism from civil and Church authorities. To insure that she did not get in the way of the work, in 1838 Benedicta turned her work over to the bishop of Pavia, and withdrew to live as a nun at Ronco Scrivia, Italy.

Not content to withdraw from the world, Benedicta began all over. With five companions, she founded the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence dedicated to teaching, and opened another school. Living alone, the local authorities found no causes for gossip, and Benedicta spent her remaining years in prayer and service.

Born

2 October 1791 at Langasco, Campomorone, Italy as Benedetta Cambiagio

Died

21 March 1858 at Ronco Scrivia, Italy of natural causes

Canonized

19 May 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy

Patronage

Benedictine Sisters of Providence

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-benedicta-cambiagio-frassinello/

Saint Augustine Tchao

Also known as

• Augustin Rong Zhao
• Augustinus Zhao
• Augustine Zhao Rong

Additional Memorial

28 September as one of the Martyrs of China

Profile

Soldier. Escorted Saint Gabriel John Tauin du-Fresse to Beijing, China during his missionary work. Convert to Christianity. Priest. Worked in the Sichuan apostolic vicariate. Arrested for his faith and his work. He died in prison. Martyr.

Born

c.1746 at Wuchuan, Guizhou, China

Died

27 January 1815 due to poor conditions in prison at Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Canonized

1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-augustine-tchao/

Saint Elias of Orta

Also known as

Elia, Elijah

Profile

One of the early evangelists on the island of San Giulio in Lake Orta in the Piedmont region of Italy. He may have been a priest, and lived on the island for a while as a hermit.

Died

relics re-discovered buried in the floor of the basilica of San Giulio on Isola San Giulio, Italy in 1697 and enshrined in the marble altar

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-elias-of-orta/

Saint Birillus of Catania

Also known as

Berillo, Beryl, Beryllus, Brillus

Profile

Travelling companion of Saint Peter the Apostle. First bishop of Catania, Sicily, consecrated by Saint Peter.

Born

Antioch (in modern Turkey)

Died

c.90 in Catania, Italy of natural causes

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-birillus-of-catania/

Blessed Alfonso de Rojas

Also known as

• Alfonso of Coria
• Alonso de Rojas
• Alphonsus de Rojas

Additional Memorial

26 March in Coria, Spain

Profile

Professor in Salamanca, Spain. Tutor to the children of duke. Canon at Coria, Spain. Franciscan.

Died

1617

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alfonso-de-rojas/

Saint Nicholas of Flüe

Also known as

• Brother Klaus
• Bruder Klaus
• Nicholas von Flüe
• Niklaus von Flüe

Additional Memorial

25 September (Switzerland and Germany)

Profile

Born to a family of relatively wealthy peasants. Soldier who distinguished himself in combat against the break-away canton of Zurich and eventually reached the rank of captain; reported to have fought with a sword in one hand, a rosary in the other. At age 30 he married Dorothy Wiss; they couple had ten children. Cantonal judge and government advisor; declined to serve as cantonal governor. Following a vision of a harnessed draft horse (representing his worldly life as a farmer) eating a lily (representing his spiritual life of purity), Nicholas felt a desire withdraw from the world. With the approval of his family, he became a hermit in the Ranft valley, Switzerland in 1467; he assisted daily at Mass and spent most of the rest of his day in prayer. Reported to have had the gifts of prophecy and of inedia, surviving for 19 years solely on Holy Communion. His reputation for sanctity spread, and he attracted spiritual students. In 1481 he was called on to mediate a dispute that threatened civil war in Switzerland. He succeeded in averting the conflict, then retired to his hermitage. He is considered by many to be the father of this country, honoured by both Swiss Protestants and Catholics for his wisdom, holiness and work to unify Switzerland.

Born

21 March 1417 at Sachseln, Canton Unterwalden, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland

Died

• 21 March 1487 at Ranft, Aargau, Switzerland of natural causes; his wife and children were at his side
• relics in the church of Sachseln, Switzerland

Canonized

15 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII

Patronage

• councilmen
• difficult marriages
• large families
• magistrates
• parents of large families
• Pontifical Swiss Guards
• separated spouses
• Switzerland

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nicholas-of-flue/

Saint Serapion the Scholastic

Also known as

• Serapion of Thmuis
• Serapion the Scholar

Profile

Egyptian monk. Ran the famous catechetical school of Alexandria, Egypt. Resigned to spend more time in prayer and penitence. Spiritual student of Saint Anthony the Abbot in the desert. Friend of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Bishop of Thmuis, near Diospolis in the Nile delta of Egypt in 339. Fought Arianism. Supporter of Athanasius, and spoke for him in the Council of Sardis in 347. Banished by Emperor Constantius II for his opposition to Arianism. Named a Confessor of the Faith by Saint Jerome. Fought Macedonianism, which denies the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Wrote against Manichaeism, showing that our bodies can be instruments of good or evil, that it is our choice, and that just and wicked men often change; it's therefore a lie to think our souls are of God, our bodies of the devil.

Wrote several learned letters, a treatise on the titles of the Psalms, and a sacramentary called the Euchologium, a collection of liturgical prayers. Saint Athanasius wrote several works against Arians at Serapion's request, but thought so much of Sarapion that he told him to revise them as he saw fit.

Died

c.365-370 of natural causes while in exile in Egypt

Readings

The mind is purified by spiritual knowledge (or by holy meditation and prayer), the spiritual passions of the soul by charity, and the irregular appetites by abstinence and penance. - Serapion's little rule

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-serapion-the-scholastic/

Saint Enda of Arran

Also known as

• Enda of Aran
• Enda of Arranmore
• Éanna, Edna, Éinne, Endeus, Enna

Profile

An Irish prince, the son of Conall Derg of Ergall, Ulster. Brother of Saint Fanchea of Rossory who brought him to the Faith. Brother-in-law to King Oengus of Munster, Ireland. Soldier. When he converted to Christianity, he gave up the military life and his dreams of conquest, and planned to marry. When his fiancee suddenly died, Enda renounced his claim to the throne and became a monk. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Priest. Studied with Saint Ninian in Galloway, Scotland. Founded a monastery at Killeany on Inishmore in the Arran Islands on land donated by King Oengus. It was the first true monastery in Ireland, ten other houses developed directly from it, and Enda is considered the founder of Irish monasticism. Built churches at Drogheda, and a monastery in the Boyne valley. His houses lived under a severely austere rule, and prayerful men lived in them for centuries. Spiritual teacher of Saint Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, Saint Brendan the Voyager, Saint Finnian, Saint Columba of Iona, Saint Jarlath of Tuam, and Saint Carthach the Elder.

Born

Meath, Ireland

Died

• c.530 of natural causes
• buried at Tighlagheany, Inishmore, Ireland

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-enda-of-arran/

Blessed Thomas Pilcher

Also known as

Thomas Pilchard

Additional Memorials

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

Profile

Studied at Balliol College, Oxford, England. Converted to Catholicism. Studied at Douai College, Rheims, France. Ordained a priest at Laon, France in 1583. He then returned to England to minister to covert Catholics in Hampshire and Dorset. Arrested and condemned to death for the crime of being a priest.

Born

c.1557 in Battle, East Sussex, England

Died

• hanged, drawn and quartered on 21 March 1587 in Dochester, Dorset, England
• no official executioner could be found; a local butcher was hired to do the disemboweling, but stopped halfway when Thomas asked him, “Is this your justice?”

Beatified

22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

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

Blessed Mark Gjani

Also known as

Mark Xhani

Profile

Studied at the Shkodra Pontifical Seminary, and then theology in Bobion, Italy. Ordained on 21 March 1942 as a priest of the archdiocese of Shkodrë-Pult, Albania. Imprisoned and tortured in the anti–Christian persecutions of the Albanian Communist government. His torturers repeatedly ordered him to curse Christ; he repeatedly answered "Long live Jesus Christ!" Martyr.

Born

10 July 1914 in Mirditë, Albania

Died

• tortured to death in 1947 in Shën Pal, Mirditë, Albania
• body dumped in a canal to be eaten by stray dogs

Beatified

• 5 November 2016 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated at the Square of the Cathedral of Shën Shtjefnit, Shkodër, Albania, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mark-gjani/

Blessed Matthew Flathers

Additional Memorial

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

Profile

Studied at the English College in Douai, France. Priest in the apostolic vicariate of England, serving covert Catholics during the persecutions of James I. Martyr.

Born

1560 in Weston, near Otley, West Yorkshire, England

Died

21 March 1608 in York, North Yorkshire, England

Beatified

22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-matthew-flathers/

Blessed John of Valence

Profile

Canon at Lyons, France. Pilgrim to Compostela, Spain. Benedictine Cistercian monk at Clairvaux Abbey under Saint Bernard. Founded the Cistercian Bonneval Abbey in 1117, and later served as its abbot. Bishop of Valence, France in 1141; he felt so unworthy of the position that he had to be physically carried to the altar to be consecrated. Fought for his flock not just in matters spiritual but for farmers, merchants and the impoverished who were all ruined by debt during a regional financial crisis.

Born

at Lyons, France

Died

1146 of natural causes

Beatified

1901 by Pope Pius X (cultus confirmed)

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-of-valence/

Blessed Lucia of Verona

Profile

As a girl, Lucia was noted for her piety and charity. She joined the Third Order of the Servants of Mary in Verona, Italy, and lived in her house as though it was a monastery. She developed a ministery of visiting the sick, nursing them in their homes, dressing wounds, sitting with the dying, and caring for those struck down with plague until it took her away, as well.

Born

c.1514 in Verona, Italy

Died

1574 in Verona, Italy of plague

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-lucia-of-verona/

Blessed Santucci Terrebotti

Profile

Married. Mother of one daughter who died in childhood. She and her husband agreed to split up, each entering religious life. Benedictine nun in Gubbio, Italy. Abbess of her house. She moved her community to Santa Maria in Via Lata, the Via Iulia in Rome, Italy where they lived in very strict observance of the Benedictine Rule and became known as Mary's Servants or Le Santucci.

Born

in Gubbio, Umbria, Italy

Died

1305

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-santucci-terrebotti/

Blessed William Pike

Additional Memorial

22 November as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales

Profile

Layman in the apostolic vicariate of England during a period of persecutions of Catholics. Martyr.

Born

in Dorset, England

Died

• hanged on 22 December 1591 in Dorchester, Dorset, England
• body dismembered and the pieces distributed as a warning to others

Beatified

22 November 1987 by Pope John Paul II

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

Saint Christian of Cologne

Also known as

• Christian of St-Pantaleon
• Christianus of...

Profile

Monk in the monastery of Fulda, Germany. First abbot of the St-Pantaleon Abbey in Cologen, Germany. Wrote works on theology that were widely read in his time.

Died

1002

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-christian-of-cologne/

Martyrs of Alexandria

Profile

A large but unknown number of Catholics massacred in several churches during Good Friday services in Alexandria, Egypt by Arian heretics during the persecutions of Constantius and Philagrio.