| 26 August |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
• Al Qiddisa
• Maram Baouardy
• Maria di Gesu Crocifisso
• Mariam Baouardy
• Marie of Jesus Crucified
• Mary Baouardy
• Maryam Bawardi
• The Little Arab
Born to Giries Baouardy and Mariam Shahine, a poor Greek Melchite Catholic family. Twelve of her thirteen brothers died in infancy, and Mary's birth was an answered prayer to Our Lady. Her parents died when Mary was only two, and she was raised by a paternal uncle. Moved to Alexandria, Egypt at age eight.
Betrothed in an arranged marriage at age 13, she refused to go along with it, insisting on a religious life. As punishment for her disobedience, her uncle hired her out as a domestic servant, making sure she had the lowest and most menial of jobs. A Muslim servant with whom she worked began to act as her friend with an eye to converting her from Christianity. On 8 September 1858, Mary convinced him she would never abandon her faith; in response he cut her throat and dumped her in an alley. Mary lived, an apparition of the Virgin Mary treated her wound, and she left her uncle's house forever.
She supported herself as a domestic, working for a Christian family and praying. In 1860 she moved in with the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Supernatural events began to occur around her, and the Sisters would not let her join their house. She was taken to the Carmel at Pau by a Sister in 1867, and became a lay sister. Later that year she entered the cloister, taking the name Mary of Jesus Crucified, and making her final profession on 21 November 1871.
She continued to experience supernatural events. She fought off a demonic possession for 40 days, received the stigmata, was seen to levitate, had the gift of prophecy and knowledge of consciences, and permitted her guardian angel to speak through her. Helped found the missionary Carmel of Mangalore, India. Returned to France in 1872. Built a Carmelite monastery in Bethlehem in 1875. Supernatural gifts aside, she was known for her devotion to the Holy Spirit, even sending word to Pope Pius IX that the Spirit was not emphasized enough in seminaries.
5 January 1846 at Abellin, Galilee, Palestine as Mary Baouardy
26 August 1878 at Bethlehem of gangrene following an injury received at the construction site of the Bethlehem monastery
17 May 2015 by Pope Francis
Everything passes here on earth. What are we? Nothing but dust, nothingness, and God is so great, so beautiful, so lovable and He is not loved. - Blessed Mary
Holy Spirit, inspire me. Love of God consume me. Along the true road, lead me. Mary, my good mother, look down upon me. With Jesus, bless me. From all evil, all illusion, all danger, preserve me. - Blessed Mary
Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the one who tries your patience, who test your virtue, because with her you can always merit: suffering is Love; the Law is Love. - Blessed Mary
I desire to suffer always and not to die. I should add: this is not my will, it is my inclination. It is sweet to think of Jesus; but it is sweeter to do His will. - Blessed Mary
The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies; but to revive in heaven. - Blessed Mary
Observance of the rule is of more value than all extraordinary states, more than the stigmata and the gift of miracles. - Blessed Mary
Here in the peace of the Lord reposes Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified, professed religious of the white veil. A soul of singular graces, she was conspicuous for her humility, her obedience and her charity. Jesus, the sole love of her heart called her to Himself in the 33rd year of her age and the 12th year of her religious life at Bethlehem, 26 August 1878. - inscribed on Blessed Mary's tombstone
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mary-of-jesus-crucified/
Melchisedech
Hebrew: king of justice
King of Salem, most probably Jerusalem, and a priest of the Most High God. He came to meet Abram after his victory over Chodorlahomor and his allies (Genesis 14), and on this occasion brought forth bread and wine, blessed Abram, thanked God for the victory, and received tithes of all the spoils. The “bringing forth bread and wine” is interpreted by all the Fathers and Catholic commentators as offering a sacrifice to God, because the phrase which follows, “he was priest of the Most High God,” seems to give the motive why he brought forth bread and wine. According to oriental custom Abram would wish to thank God by sacrifice, and if Melchisedech came to meet Abram because he was a priest of the Most High God, the latter would ask him to offer the sacrifice, and would pay him the tithes for this truly sacerdotal function. Melchisedech is a type of Christ (Psalm 109; Hebrews 7), because of his titles, King of Justice, King of Peace, Priest of the Most High God; and because of his eternal priesthood. Scripture is silent about his lineage, about his birth and death; and in this sense he is “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Hebrews 7). This silence suggests the eternal Son of God and His endless priesthood. He is a type of Christ also because of his superiority to Abram, from whom he received tithes and whom he blessed. In Jewish tradition Melchisedech is commonly identified with Sem; Origen and Didymus held him to have been an angel; some even thought that he Wall an incarnation of the Holy Spirit or the Son of God.
https://catholicsaints.info/melchizedek/
• Orontius the Companion
• Aronzo, Hermes, Horace, Oronzio, Oronzo, Rontius
Son of Publius, a Roman imperial treasurer; uncle of Saint Fortunatus. Converted by the shipwrecked Saint Paul the Apostle. Roman imperial treasurer upon his father's death. Denounced as a Christian, he was ordered to sacrifice to idols; he refused. He was arrested, stripped of his office, whipped, and exiled to Corinth where he met up with Saint Paul again. Consecrated as the first bishop of his home town of Lecce, Italy. He returned to the town during the persecutions of Nero, was arrested again, and ordered to denounce Christianity. He refused, and after some time in prison managed to get released. He immediately resumed preaching in the areas of Brindisi and Bari. Martyr.
22 in Lecce, Italy
beheaded with an axe on 26 August 68 a couple of miles outside Lecce, Italy
• against cholera (his intercession ended an outbreak in 1851)
• Acaya, Italy
• Botrugno, Italy
• Brindisi-Ostuni, Italy, diocese of
• Campi Salentina, Italy
• Diso, Italy
• Lecce, Italy, city of
• Lecce, Italy, archdiocese of
• Lecce, Italy, province of
• Muro Leccese, Italy
• Ostuni, Italy
• Paola, Italy (his intercession saved the city from a siege by the Bruzi)
• Turi, Italy (hid from his persecutors in a cave there; appeared in a vision there in answer to prayers, and his intercession ended a plague in the city c.1657
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-orontius-of-lecce/
Daughter of Antony Bichier, lord of Agnes, and Marie Augier de Moussac. From ages ten through nineteen she was educated at a convent at Poitiers, France. When her father died, she returned home to keep her family's property from being confiscated by the state. She won the court battle to retain the property, and she and her mother moved to La Guimetiere.
The town still suffered the effects of the French Revolution; it didn't even have a priest, much less religious communities. Jeanne Elizabeth gathered the remaining faithful together to pray, read Scripture, and sing hymns. Lived for a while with the Carmelites and the Society of Providence to learn about religious life firsthand.
She soon heard of Saint Andrew Fournet, who practiced a similar ministry in a nearby city; in 1797 she met him, and asked for his help. The two quickly became friends, and together founded the Sisters of the Cross (Sisters of Saint Andrew) to care for the sick and the poor, and to help educate the people of rural France. Jeanne Elizabeth was the first superior of the community, and by 1830 the community had sixty houses scattered throughout France. A men's congregation, Priests of the Sacred Heart of Betherran was formed alongside the Sisters.
5 July 1773 at La Blanc, Charente, France
26 August 1838 La Puye, Vienne, France of natural causes
6 July 1947 by Pope Pius XII
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-jeanne-elizabeth-des-bichier-des-anges/
Daughter of Angiolo Corsini, a royal army captain of grenadiers, and Giulia Salvi. Due to her father's military postings, she lived in the Italian cities of Pistioa, Florence, Arrezo and Rome by the time Maria was nine. Initially enrolled in a Rome parochial school, her father transferred Maria to public school after one of the nuns bad-mouthed the king. She served as a volunteer Red Cross nurse during World War I. Catechist to women parishioners. Married to Blessed Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi. Mother of four. During World War II, their home became a shelter for refugees. Professor, and writer on education. Member of Women's Catholic Action. Noted speaker to women's lay groups. Widow.
24 June 1884 at Florence, Italy
26 August 1965 in Serravalle, Arezzo, Italy of natural causes
• 21 October 2001 by Pope John Paul II
• her beatification miracle involved the healing of a young man with a severe circulatory disorder; he is now a neuro-surgeon in Milan, Italy
[They] made their family an authentic domestic Church, open to life, prayer, witness of the Gospel, the social apostolate, solidarity with the poor, and friendship. - Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-maria-corsini-beltrame-quattrocchi/
• Black Madonna of Czestochowa
• Czarna Madonna
• Hodegetria
• Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae
• Matka Boska Czestochowska
• One Who Shows the Way
A revered four-foot high, wood and canvas icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa, Poland. In the image, Mary, dressed in fleur-de-lis robes, directs attention away from herself and toward Jesus. The Child Jesus raises his right hand in a blessing to the viewer while holding the gospels in his left hand. It was created by an unknown artist some time prior to 1430, possibly as early as the 6th century; it was badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430 and had to be restored. The images is credited with saving the Jasna Góra Monastery from invading Swedes. King John II Casimer crowned the images as Queen and Protector of Poland on 1 April 1652. Pope Clement XI issued a Canonical Coronation of the image on 8 September 1717. Another Canonical Coronation was issued on 22 May 1910 by Pope Pius X. Yet another was issued by Pope John Paul II on 26 August 2005.
Poland
https://catholicsaints.info/our-lady-of-czestochowa/
The son of a school teacher, the nephew of a parish priest, Juan was baptized at the age of five days, and eventually followed the paths of both his elders. He graduated in 1899, and became a teacher for the next 20+ years. In 1921, at age 39, he finally followed a call to the priesthood, and after some studies was ordained a priest in the diocese of Almería, Spain on 10 June 1922. Director of the Ave María de la Dehesa de la Villa Schools in Madrid, Spain in 1923. During the Spanish Civil War, anti–Catholic forces burned church schools, and killed priests on sight. Father Juan at first went into hiding, but realized that he was endangering the people who sheltered him, he tried to hide in the wild; it didn't work, and he was quickly captured by the militia. Martyr.
21 September 1881 in Purchena, Almería, Spain
26 August 1936 in Cuestas de Belinchón, Cuenca, Spain
• 25 March 2017 by Pope Francis
• beatification celebrated in the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos de Aguadulce, Almería, Spain, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-juan-segura-rubira/
Father Pedro of Benisa
Youngest of four children of Francisco Más and Vicenta Ginestar. Joined the Franciscan Capuchins on 1 August 1893 at the convent of Saint Mary Magdalen in Massamagrell, Spain, and made his perpetual vows on 8 August 1897. Priest, ordained on 22 December 1900 in Ollería, Spain. Working primarily in youth ministery and catechesis, he was know for his strict personal adherence to the Rule of his Order. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
13 December 1876 in Benisa, Alicante, Spain
• shot 14 times on 25 August 1936 in Vergel, Alicante, Spain
• buried in Denia, Spain
• exhumed on 30 July 1939 and re-interred at the chapel of martyrs of the Capuchin convent of Saint Mary Magdalen in Massamagrell, Spain
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alejandro-mas-ginester/
Alessandro da Bergamo
22 September (Eastern Orthodox)
Imperial Roman centurian, possibly in the Theban Legion. Martyred both for his faith, and probably for refusing to martyr other Christians. Legend says that he fled his legion, had a series of captures and narrow escapes, preaching on the run and converting many before finally being caught and beheaded, but those documents are likely pious fiction.
beheaded c.287
• Bergamo, Italy, city of
• Bergamo, Italy, diocese of
• Capriate San Gervasio, Italy
• Cervignano d'Adda, Italy
• lily
• military standard with a white lily
• palm of martyrdom
• Roman soldier
• soldier on horseback
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexander-of-bergamo/
• Levkadia Herasymiv
• Leukadia, Laurentia, Lavrentia, Lorenza, Leucadia
27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe
Greek Catholic. Entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1931, taking her vows in 1933. Arrested for her faith by the NKVD in 1951, and sent to Borislav (in the modern Czech Republic), then exiled to Tomsk, Siberia. She contracted tuberculosis, and was relocated to Kharsk, Siberia on 30 June 1952. Martyr.
30 September 1911 at Rudnyky, Lviv District, Ukraine as Levkadia Harasymiv
28 August 1952 of tuberculosis and overwork at Kharsk, Tomsk Region, Siberia, Russia
27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-levkadia-harasymiv/
Born to a family of merchants, Jacques received an education and was known as a lover of books. Joined the Carmelites of the Ancient Observant at age 15. Priest. A popular preacher, his health forced him to limit his mission work. Arrested at the convent at Limoges, France, he was ordered deported to French Guinea, imprisoned on a ship in the harbor of Rochefort, France and left to die as part of the anti-Catholic persecutions of the French Revolution. One of the Martyrs of the Hulks of Rochefort.
15 September 1746 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France
26 August 1794 aboard the prison ship Deux-Associés, in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France
1 October 1995 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jacques-retouret/
Giovanni
Jean moved to Italy in 1300, which had been declared a Holy Year. Benedictine hermit in a cave on Mount Caramola, Basilicata, Italy. Cistercian lay-brother at the abbey of Santa Maria del Sagittario, Naples, Italy; he was so dedicated to a holy silence that most people thought he was a mute. Miracle worker.
c.1280 in Toulouse, France
• 26 August 1339 at the abbey of Santa Maria del Sagittario in Naples, Italy of natural causes
• interred in a chapel dedicated to him in the abbey
• body found incorrupt in 1500
• relics moved to the church of San Giovanni Battista di Chiaromonte in 1808
• body found incorrupt in 2002
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jean-of-caramola/
Teresa of Jesus Ibars
Raised on a farm. Teacher at Lérida. Tried to join the religious life, but was refused. At the suggestion of her spiritual director, she founded the Little Sisters of the Poor at Barbastra on 27 January 1872. The congregation expanded to 58 houses in Teresa's lifetime.
9 January 1843 at Aytona, Lleida, Spain
26 August1897 in Liria, Valencia, Spain of natural causes
27 January 1974 by Pope Paul VI
people rejected by religious orders
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-teresa-de-gesu-jornet-y-ibars/
Born a wealthy Aquileian noble family. After reading Saint Paul's advice to the Thessalonians that it's best to work with your hands, he became a fuller at Spalato, Dalmatia (modern Split, Croatia). Martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian when he painted a cross on his shop door and openly practised his faith.
• drowned with a weight around his neck in 304 in Salona, Dalmatia (part of modern Croatia)
• his body was recovered, brought back to Salona, and a church was built there in his honour
• relics transferred to Spalato (modern Split, Croatia) in the 7th century
• fullers
• weavers
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-anastasius-the-fuller/
Son of a building contractor. Studied in Rocafort, Barcelona, Spain and Campello, Alicante, Spain. Salesian brother, making his vows in 1928 in Sarrla, Spain. Studied theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
23 January 1911 in San Feliu de Torelló, Barcelona, Spain
shot on 25 August 1936 on the side of the road with his father and brother outside Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-felix-vivet-trabal/
Raised to be a soldier, and served as a knight at the court of the Count of Brionne, France. He left the life of arms to found a monastery on his estate at Bonneville, France. Benedictine monk. Abbot at Bonneville. Moved his community to a new home on the banks of the River Bec in 1040. Abbot to Archbishop Lanfranc and Saint Anselm of Canterbury; the three together made their house a center of learning in Christendom.
Normandy (in modern France)
1078 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-herluin/
Layman martyr in the apostolic vicariate of Korea.
1756 in Gimje, Jeolla-do, South Korea
26 August 1801 in Gimje, Jeolla-do, South Korea
15 August 2014 by Pope Francis
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-stanislaus-han-jeong-heum/
Mercedarian friar. Elected Master General of the Mercedarians on 8 September 1492; he served for 21 years. Founded several monasteries in Spain and northern Africa. Noted for his personal piety in the midst of his administrative and missionary work.
26 August 1513 in the Mercedarian convent in Barcelona, Spain of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-juan-urgel/
• Margarita of Faenza
• Margherita of Faenza
• Marguerite of Faenza
Benedictine Vallumbrosan nun at Saint John the Evangelist convent near Florence, Italy, where she eventually became abbess. Spiritual student of Saint Humilitas.
at Faenza, Italy
1330 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-margaret-of-faenza/
Joaquín Watanabe Jirozaemon
Married layman in the diocese of Fukuoka, Japan. Martyr.
c.1551 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
26 August 1606 in prison Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, diocese of Fukuoka, Japan
24 November 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ioachim-watanabe-jirozaemon/
Noted spiritual teacher. Archbishop of Canterbury, England in 759. Received the pallium from Pope Paul I in 761. Bregwin's letters to Saint Lull of Mainz survive.
Saxony (in modern Germany)
• 764 of natural causes
• buried in the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, east end of Canterbury Cathedral
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bregwin-of-canterbury/
Vitores
Hermit near Burgos, Spain. At the command of an angel, he returned to Cereza, Spain to preach Christianity to the Moors who were laying seige to the city. Martyr.
Cereza, Spain
crucified c.950 in Spain
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-victor-the-martyr-26-august/
Canon regular. Celestine Benedictine at Paris, France. Spiritual director of Saint Colette. Held several offices in his congregation, and worked to establish it in England and the Aragon region of Spain.
1360 at Besançon, France
1445 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jean-bassano/
Soldier. Martyr. Member of the Martyrs of the Theban Legion.
martyred c.287 in Agaunum (modern St-Maurice-en-Valais, Switzerland
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-secundus-the-theban/
Bishop of Auxerre, France in 532; he served for 29 years. Assisted at the four Councils of Orleans.
561
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eleutherius-of-auxerre/
Martyred during the persecutions of Valerian.
drowned c.258 in the sewers of Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-irenaeus-of-rome-26-august/
Vittore
Martyr.
crucified in Caesarea, Mauritania (in modern Algeria)
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-victor-of-caesarea/
Martyred during the persecutions of Valerian.
drowned c.258 in the sewers of Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-abundius-the-martyr/
Fifth-century bishop of Capua, Italy.
relics enshrined in the cathedral of Capua, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-rufinus-of-capua/
Archbishop of York, England in the latter 13th century.
1285 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-vyevain-of-york/
Martyr.
cemetery of Basilla on the Via Salaria Antica outside Rome, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-maximilian-of-rome/
Nun. The church in Eltisley, England is dedicated to her.
Irish
c.904 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pandwyna/
Felix of Pistoja
Ninth-century hermit in Pistoia, Italy.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-felix-of-pistoia/
Monk. Bishop of Syracuse, Sicily.
660
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-elias-of-syracuse/
Three Christians, Constantius, Simplicius and Victorinus, martyred in the same area at roughly the same time. That's really all we know, though it didn't stop writers in later centuries from inventing colourful histories, making them a father and sons, adding saintly family members, earthquakes, close escapes, etc.
• c.159 in the Marsica region of Italy
• at some point their relics were interred under the main altar of the San Giovanni Vecchio church in the Collegiata di Celano
• relics authenticated in 1057 by Pope Stephen IX
• the city was depopulated in 1222; when it was re-built, the relics were re-enshrined in the church of San Vittorino on 10 June 1406
Celano, Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-celano/
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939. I have pages on each of them, but in most cases I have only found very minimal information. They are available on the CatholicSaints.Info site through these links:
• Blessed Emilio Serrano Lizarralde
• Blessed Francesc Casademunt Ribas
• Blessed Josep Maria Tolaguera Oliva
• Blessed Luis Valls Matamales
• Blessed María de Los Ángeles Ginard Martí
• Blessed Pere Sisterna Torrent
CatholicSaints.Info Portable Edition