Calendar of Saints

6 June	• yesterday • tomorrow
Optional Memorial of Saint Norbert, Bishop

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. - Epistle of Saint James

Meditations for Layfolk - Eternal Life, by Father Bede Jarrett

All Souls' Novena, by Father Daniel Aloysius Lord, S.J.

Secret Faults, by Saint John Henry Newman (youtube audio/images)

Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia

Profile

One of eleven children born to Prudenzio Guizar and Natividad Valencia, wealthy and pious land owners. Ordained in 1901. Conducted missions throughout Mexico. Founded the Congregation of Missionaries of Our Lady of Hope in 1903. Apostolic missionary in 1905. Spiritual director in the major seminary of Zamora, Mexico. Used his family's money to found a school for poor girls. Founded two colleges for boys.

In 1911 a state persecution of the Church began. His Congregation was dissolved and his missionary work was prohibited, so Father Raphael continued his work illegally. He founded a Catholic magazine in Mexico City, which the government quickly shut down. Raphael went on the road, disguised as a travelling merchant or musician, ministering to the poor and preaching when he could. He was shot at several times by soldiers, and condemned to death in absentia. In 1916 the authorities were so close on his trail that Raphael fled Mexico, first to the United States and then to Guatemala where he spent a year preaching missions. Preached in Cuba from 1917 to 1919. Named bishop of Veracruz-Jalapa, Mexico on 1 August 1919; he received word of the appointment while preaching in Havana. He continued his missionary work in Colombia, but finally returned to Veracruz, Mexico on 4 January 1920.

The government persecution of the Church escalated. The diocesan seminary was shut down; Bishop Raphael transferred his students to Mexico City and continued their training covertly. In 1931 Governor Tejada of Veracruz decreed that there could only be one priest per 100,000 Catholics; Raphael shut all his churches in protest. Tejeda ordered that Raphael be shot on sight; Raphael went straight to the governor's palace and walked into his office. Tejeda feared the uprising that killing such a man would cause, and revoked the death sentence; Raphael spent the rest of his days fighting to continue the work of the Church in the face of government opposition.

Born

26 April 1877 at Cotija, Michoacan, Mexico

Died

6 June 1938 in Mexico City, Mexico of natural causes

Canonized

15 October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI

Readings

The Gospel that we have heard helps us to understand the figure of Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Bishop of Vera Cruz in the beloved Mexican Nation, as an example of one who has left all to "follow Jesus". This Saint was faithful to the divine Word, "living and active", that penetrates the depth of the spirit (cf. Hebrews 4:12). Imitating the poor Christ, he renounced his goods and never accepted the gifts of the powerful, or rather, he gave them back immediately. This is why he received "a hundred fold" and could thus help the poor, even amid endless "persecutions" (cf. Mark 10:30). His charity, lived to a heroic degree, earned him the name, "Bishop of the poor". In his priestly and later episcopal ministry, he was an untiring preacher of popular missions, the most appropriate way at the time to evangelize people, using his own "Catechism of Christian Doctrine". Since the formation of priests was one of his priorities, he reopened the seminary, which he considered "the apple of his eye", and therefore he would often say: "A Bishop can do without the miter, the crosier and even without the cathedral, but he cannot do without the seminary, since the future of his Diocese depends on it". With this profound sense of priestly paternity he faced new persecutions and exiles, but he always guaranteed the formation of the students. The example of St Rafael Guízar y Valencia is a call to his brother Bishops and priests to consider as fundamental in pastoral programs, beyond the spirit of poverty and evangelization, the promotion of priestly and religious vocations, and their formation according to the heart of Jesus! - Pope Benedict XVI, from the canonization homily of Saint Raphael

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-rafael-guizar-y-valencia/

Saint Marcellin-Joseph-Benoît Champagnat

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Entered the seminary at age 16. Student with Saint John Marie Vianney. Ordained in 1816. Founded the Little Brothers of Mary (Marists) in 1817 mainly involving boys in their late teens with a great devotion of Our Lady who wanted to teach and help bring the Word to other young men. Today there are about 5,000 Marist Brothers in 72 countries; their slogan A Heart Without Borders.

Born

20 May 1789 at Hameau du Rosey, Lyon, France

Died

6 June 1840 in in Saint-Chamond, Loire, France of natural causes

Beatified

• 29 May 1955 by Pope Pius XII
• the investigation included the October 1939 cure of Mrs Georgina Grondin from a malignant tumour in Waterville, Maine, USA, and the 12 November 1941 cure of John Ranaivo from cerebrospinal meningitis, in Antsirabe, Madagascar

Canonized

• 18 April 1999 by Pope John Paul II
• the investigation include the July 1976 cure of Brother Heriberto Weber Nellessen, in Montevideo, Uruguay

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

To educate the children well, we must love them, and love them all equally. - Saint Marcelino

To educate a child...is to make him a good Christian and a good citizen. - Saint Marcelino

If it were only a question of teaching human knowledge to the children, there would be no need for Brothers, since lay teachers can do this work. If we are to give only religious instruction, we would be content to be simply catechists, and to bring the children together for only one hour a day. But we want to do more than this - we want to educate the children, that is, to give them an integrated education. To do this, we must be educators, we must live with the children, and they must spend a lot of time with us. - Saint Marcelino

I can never see a child...without wanting to tell him how much Jesus Christ loves him. - Saint Marcelino

To make Jesus Christ known and loved - this is the whole aim of your vocation and the objective of the Institute. - Saint Marcelino

A Brother is a mirror of the Gospel. - Saint Marcelino

All the dioceses of the work come within the scope of our work. - Saint Marcelino

All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus. - Saint Marcelino

Saint Marcelino announced the Gospel with an ardent heart. He was sensitive to the spiritual and educational needs of his time, especially the prevailing religious ignorance, and the abandonment which youth were experiencing...he was a model for all parents and educators to help them look upon youth with hope, to encourage them with total love, which will make a true human, moral and spiritual formation possible. - Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-marcellin-joseph-benoit-champagnat/

Saint Norbert of Xanten

Also known as

• Norbert of Kingdown
• Norbert of Magdeburg

Profile

Born to the nobility, Norbert was raised around the royal court and served as almoner for Emperor Henry V. In the court he developed a very worldly view, and took holy orders as a career move, joining the Benedictines at Siegburg. A narrow escape from death led to a conversion experience, and he began taking his vows seriously. He tried to reform his order's local house, then became a wandering preacher. He founded a community of Augustinian canons at Premontre, France; they became known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians, and started a reform movement that swept through European monastic houses.

Friend of Blessed Godfrey of Cappenberg. Archbishop of Magdeburg, Germany. Reformed the clergy in his see, using force when necessary. Worked with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint Hugh of Grenoble to heal the schism caused by the death of Pope Honorius II. Fought heresy in Cambrai, France with the help of Saint Waltmann.

Born

c.1080 at Xanten, Germany

Died

• 6 June 1134 at Magdeburg, Germany
• relics in Prague

Canonized

1582 by Pope Gregory XIII

Patronage

• against birth complication
• for peace
• Bohemia
• archdiocese of Magdeburg, Germany

Representation

• monstrance
• cross with two cross-bars

Video

YouTube PlayList

Readings

Norbert established a clergy dedicated to the ideals of the Gospel and the apostolic Church. They were chaste and poor. They wore the clothing and the symbols of the new man; that is to say, they wore "the religious habit and exhibited the dignity proper to the priesthood." Norbert asked them "to live according to the norms of the Scriptures with Christ as their model. The priests lived in community, where they continued the work of the apostles. When Norbert was appointed as archbishop, he urged his brothers to carry the faith to the lands of the Wends. Faith was the outstanding virtue of Norbert's life, as charity had been the hallmark of Bernard of Clairvaux. Affable and charming, amiable to one and all, he was at ease in the company of the humble and the great alike. Finally, he was a most eloquent preacher; after long meditation he would preach the word of God and with his fiery eloquence purged vices, refined virtues and filled souls of good will with the warmth of wisdom. - from the life of Saint Norbert

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-norbert-of-xanten/

Blessed Józef Wojciech Guz

Also known as

Innocent, Innocenty

Additional Memorial

12 June as one of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II

Profile

After high school Jozef tried to join the Jesuits, but was turned down. On 25 August 1908 be joined the Franciscans, taking the name Innocenty. Studied philosophy and theology in Krakow, Poland. Ordained on 2 June 1914. Parish priest in a number of cities, and worked with Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Confessor to a Franciscan monastery at Niepokalanów, Poland from 1933 to 1936. Vice-master of clerics and singing teacher in the minor seminary. Parish priest in Grodno, Poland. Imprisoned by invading Russia troops on 21 March 1940 for the crime of being a Polish priest, but he managed to escape. Captured by invading German troops, he was sent to several prisons for the crime of being a priest before finally ending at the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen where he was severely beaten and put to forced labour; when he could not work, owing to a broken leg, he was nearly drowned and finally murdered. Martyr.

Born

8 March 1890 in Lwów, Poland (modern L'viv, L'vivs'ka oblast', Ukraine)

Died

from trauma resulting from having a charged fire hose stuffed down his throat on 6 June 1940 in the prison camp at Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg, Oberhavel, Germany

Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II at Warsaw, Poland

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-jozef-wojciech-guz/

Saint Bertrand of Aquileia

Also known as

Bertrando, Bertrichramnus

Profile

Studied civil and canon law at the University of Toulouse. Priest. Dean of the cathedral chapter of Angouleme, France in 1316. Canon of Saint Felice in Toulouse, France in 1318. Archdeacon of Noyon, France. Papal chaplain. Taught law at the University of Toulouse. Worked for the canonization of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Papal diplomat.

Patriarch of Aquileia, Italy on 4 July 1334. Noted for his austere lifestyle, he founded monasteries to promote learning, encouraged the work of the Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans, spent largely on charity for the poor, and worked for the moral reform in his diocese. Supported the olive and wool trade in his region as a way to improve the lives of his people. Convened a council of bishops in Udine, Italy in 1335, and in Aquileia in 1339. Murdered for defending the rights of the Church against local nobles, and is thus considered a martyr.

Born

c.1260 at Saint Geniès, Quercy, Aquitaine, France

Died

• 6 June 1350 at San Giogio Richionvelda
• buried in Udine, Italy
• relics enshrined in the Udine cathedral choir

Beatified

1760 by Pope Clement XIII (cultus confirmation)

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bertrand-of-aquileia/

Blessed Gilbert of Neufontaines

Also known as

Gilbert of Auvergne

Profile

Born to the nobility of Aquitaine. Married to Petronilla, father of Pontia. Fought in the Crusades with King Louis VII from 1146 to 1149. When he returned home he convinced his wife and family to let him follow a call to religious life. Hermit. Premonstratensian monk. Founder and abbot of the Premonstratensian monastery at Neufontaines, which was noted for its hospital where Gilbert cared for the sick.

Born

late 11th century in Auvergne, Aquitaine (in modern France)

Died

• 6 June 1152 at Neuffonts, Auvergne, Aquitaine (in France) of natural causes
• some relics taken to the Premonstratensian college in Paris, France in 1615

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-gilbert-of-neufontaines/

Saint Jarlath of Tuam

Also known as

Iarlaith, Iarlath

Profile

Born to the Irish nobility. Studied under Saint Benignus. Priest. Founded a monastery and college at Cluain Fois outside Tuam, Galway, Ireland, and is considered the founder of the diocese. The school attracted scholars from all over Ireland, including Saint Brendan of Ardfert and Saint Colman of Cloyne. Abbot-bishop of the monastery-school. Spiritual student of Saint Enda of Arran. Prophet.

Born

c.445 at Connaught, Galway, Ireland

Died

• c.540 of natural causes
• relics at Kilmainemore, Ireland

Patronage

archdiocese of Tuam, Ireland

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-jarlath-of-tuam/

Saint Phêrô Thuan

Also known as

Peter

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Married layman in the apostolic vicariate of Central Tonkin (in modern Vietnam). Fisherman by trade. During the persecutions of emperor Tu Duc, he was ordered to stomp on a cross to show his contempt for Christianity; he refused. Martyr.

Born

c.1802 in Ðông Hào, Thái Bình, Vietnam

Died

burned at the stake on 6 June 1862 in Nam Ðinh, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-phero-thuan/

Saint Phêrô Dung

Also known as

Peter

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Born

c.1800 in Ðông Hào, Thái Bình, Vietnam

Died

burned at the stake on 6 June 1862 in Nam Ðinh, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-phero-dung/

Blessed Falco of Cava

Also known as

Falcone

Profile

Educated at the Benedictine monastery of Holy Trinity in Cava dei Tirreni, Italy. Spiritual student of Saint Peter of Pappacarbone. Monk at Cava, and prior of the house. Abbot of Saint Mary's at Cirzosimo. Abbot of Cava in 1141. Noted expert in canon law. Advisor to Norman king Roger II. Regional bishops deferred to him on matters of law, canon and civil.

Died

• 6 June 1146 of natural causes
• relics enshrined at the altar of Saint Catherine
• relics moved to a marble reliquary in the chapel of the Holy Fathers in 1675

Beatified

16 May 1928 by Pope Pius XI (cultus confirmed)

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-falco-of-cava/

Saint Vinh-Son Duong

Also known as

Peter

Additional Memorial

24 November as one of the Martyrs of Vietnam

Profile

Born

c.1821 in Doãn Trung, Thái Bình, Vietnam

Died

burned at the stake on 6 June 1862 in Nam Ðinh, Vietnam

Canonized

19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-vinh-son-duong/

Saint Claudius of Besançon

Also known as

• Claudius the Thaumaturge
• Claudius the Miracle Worker
• Claude...

Profile

Priest. Monk. Abbot of Condat, Jura; his house later became known as Saint-Claude. Bishop of Besançon, France in 685. He resigned his see in 692 to return to life as a cloistered monk at Saint Oyand-de-Joux Abbey. Known for his love as literature.

Born

in Franche-Comté, France

Died

c.699

Patronage

• wood turners
• Franche-Comté, France

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-claudius-of-besancon/

Saint Eustorgius II of Milan

Additional Memorial

25 September as one of the Holy Bishops of Milan

Profile

Priest in Rome, Italy. Bishop of Milan, Italy in 512. Spent hugely to ransom Christians who had been abducted by invading barbarians.

Died

• 6 June 518 of natural causes
• interred in the chapel of Saint Sixtus, basilica of Saint Lorenzo Maggiore, Milan, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eustorgius-ii-of-milan/

Saint Ceratius of Grenoble

Also known as

Cerato, Cerazio

Profile

Bishop of Grenoble, France c.440. Attended the Council of Orange in 441. Several stories and conjectures, many conflicting, have become attached to Saint Ceratius, but we have no evidence to support them.

Born

c.400

Died

5th century of natural causes

Canonized

• 1903 (cultus confirmed)
• the celebration of his memorial on 6 June dates from the 6th century

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-ceratius-of-grenoble/

Saint Alexander of Fiesole

Profile

Bishop of Fiesole, Italy. Defended the rights and authority of the Church against the kings of Lombardy. When he refused give in to the lay authorities and put their choices in positions of power for political reasons, his opponents ambushed and murdered him.

Died

drowned in 590 in the River Reno near Bologna, Italy

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alexander-of-fiesole/

Blessed William Greenwood

Additional Memorial

4 May as one of the Carthusian Martyrs

Profile

A lay brother in the Carthusian London Charterhouse. Arrested for opposing the policies of King Henry VIII, and remaining loyal to Rome. Martyred with six companions.

Born

English

Died

starved to death on 6 June 1537 at Newgate Prison, London, England

Beatified

20 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII

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

Blessed Gerard Tintorio

Profile

Well off layman in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. He spent his wealth founding a hospital in Monza where he worked with the sick, especially lepers.

Died

1207 of natural causes

Beatified

1582 by Pope Gregory XIII (cultus confirmed)

Patronage

Monza, Italy

Representation

bowl; cherries

https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-gerard-tintorio/

Saint Gudwall

Also known as

Curval, Gudwal, Gurval, Gurwall, Gudual, Guidgal, Goual

Profile

Saint Candida of Rome

Profile

Married to Saint Artemius of Rome; mother of Saint Paulina of Rome. Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Peter the Exorcist and baptised by Saint Marcellinus. Martyr.