“I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert”
Saint John the Baptist is the only person, along with the Virgin Mary, whose birth is celebrated by the Church with a solemn feast. According to tradition, John was born in Ain Karem, and his coming into the world is considered the first visible sign of the beginning of the messianic times.
The “Priest of the Gallows”
He accompanied no fewer than 57 condemned prisoners to the gallows, hearing their confessions and giving them Communion to support them in their final moments. For this reason, he became known as the “Priest of the Gallows.”
Faithful to Christ and the Church unto martyrdom
It was June 22, 1535, when Bishop John Fisher of Rochester England was executed by beheading in the Tower of London. He had been accused of high treason by King Henry VIII. In the hope of sparing his life, Pope Paul III had named him Cardinal on May 20 of that year, but it was in vain.
Renounced all honors to follow Christ on the path of consecration
Everything the world desires—honor, wealth, nobility, glory, power—he had. Yet Aloysius (Louis) Gonzaga chose to go against the tide, abandoning all worldly security to stake his entire life on following Christ.
A hermit and founder of a Benedictine Congregation
A central figure in the monasticism of southern Italy, founder of a Benedictine Congregation and an Abbey. This was John of Matera, born in Matera around 1070 into a wealthy and noble Christian family.
"Although the Eucharist is solemnly celebrated every day, we deem it fitting that, at least once a year, a more honored and solemn remembrance be observed. The other things we commemorate, we grasp with the spirit and the mind, but do not for that reason obtain their real presence.
Bishop, Reformer, Man of Charity and Dialogue
“The greatest imitator of Saint Charles [Borromeo] was Saint Gregory Barbarigo in Padua, where, thanks to his virtue, the Seminary became a monument and through three centuries it still remains in aedificationem gentium [for the edification of the nations].”
Witnesses to Christ unto giving their lives
Blaise (or Blastus) and Diogen (or Diogenes) are two saints who have been venerated in Rome since antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages. Their commemoration is recorded in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum under the date of June 17.
Mother and son united in faithfulness to Christ
Quiricus and Julita were two martyrs of the 4th century: a mother and her three-year-old son, killed together in Tarsus, in what is now Turkey. Julita was a noblewoman of royal lineage from Iconium in Lycaonia, a central region of present-day Turkey.
Charity and support for travelers and the needy
He is known for founding the famous hospices on the alpine passes of the Great St. Bernard and the Little St. Bernard, which were named after him. These hospices, located at altitudes of 2,469 meters and 2,188 meters respectively, were established to meet the needs of travelers crossing the Alps.
