Saint of the day

Saint of the day

7 March: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs

Two mothers united in their witness to Christ unto sacrificing their lives

They were two young mothers: a 22 year old woman who was still nursing an infant, and a young woman who was eight months pregnant. Both were catechumens who had been imprisoned in Carthage, by Emperor Septimius Severus in 203 A.D. Perpetua and Felicity were from different social classes. Perpetua was part of a noble family, while Felicity was a servant. They were united by their faith in Christ and, later, by their martyrdom. They were arrested along with their catechist, Saturus, and other catechumens, including Saturninus, Revocatus and Secundulus

March 6: Saint Rose of Viterbo

Peacemaker in the Name of Christ

Rose was born in Viterbo in 1233, into a humble family. At that time, the city was the scene of clashes between Guelphs and Ghibellines, as Emperor Frederick II sought to remove it from papal influence. Her parents, Catherine and John, raised her in the faith, inspired by the charisma of Saint Francis of Assisi.

March 5: Saint Virgilius of Arles, Bishop

He assisted Saint Augustine of Canterbury in his mission

Saint Virgilius was born in Burgundy in the 6th century. He became abbot of the monastery of Saint Symphorian in Autun, and in 588 he was appointed Bishop of Arles.

He was outstanding in charity, helping the poor and the needy by founding hospitals and facilities for the sick. His pastoral zeal led him to evangelize southern Gaul. Pope Gregory the Great repeatedly invited him to support the efforts of Saint Augustine, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Saint Andrew on the Caelian Hill, and his 40 companions, whom he had sent to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons.

4 March: Saint Casimir

The Prince in Love with the Virgin Mary

He was born on October 3, 1458, in Wawel, the royal castle of Kraków, into the noble Jagiellonian family. The son of Casimir IV, King of Poland, he received a religious education from his mother, Elizabeth of Austria.

March 3: Saint Cunegonde, Empress

She Renounced Honors to Follow Christ

Cunegonde was born in 978 in Luxembourg to Sigfrid, the first Count of Luxembourg, and Hedwig of Nordgau, a descendant of Charlemagne. In 998 she married Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, who was later elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire as Henry II the Saint. After the death of Otto III, her husband was crowned King of the East Franks on June 6, 1002. Cunegonde was crowned queen on the following August 10 in Paderborn.

2 March: Saint Agnes of Bohemia

The Princess Who Chose Poverty

Agnes of Bohemia was born in Prague in 1211 to King Přemysl Otakar I and Queen Constance of Hungary. Her brother later ascended the throne of Bohemia as Wenceslaus I.

At the age of three, in order to receive an education befitting her rank, she was sent to the Cistercian monastery of Třebnice, where her aunt, Saint Hedwig, lived. It was her aunt who guided her in coming to know Christ and in learning the life of prayer.