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The two Apostles, Simon and Jude Thaddeus, are celebrated on the same day, possibly because of their shared apostolate in Mesopotamia and Persia, where they went to proclaim the Gospel. Not much is known about them. The little we know is what is in the New Testament.
The three Archangels, whom we celebrate on 29 September, were contemplatives of the Glory of God and messengers of the Good News. Their names express their mission, not their nature. They are messengers of the Lord who proclaim his will and “along with the Saints, constitute the immense multitude of worshippers of the living God”.
Francisco de Jassu y Xavier, known as Francis Xavier, was the “Apostle of the Indies”, the Patron Saint of the Missions, the great Evangelizer of Asia and one of the first to follow Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
He was born in 1506 in Xavier Castle near Pamplona, to a noble family. In September 1525, he travelled to Paris to study at the College of Saint Barbe, where he shared a room with Pierre Favre, the first priest of the Society, who was joined by Ignatius of Loyola. At first, Francis and Ignatius had a strained relationship because Francis wanted to pursue his academic career. Ignatius described him as the “lumpiest dough he had ever kneaded”. In 1530, he became Magister Artium and obtained a chair at the College of Dormans-Beauvais.
There is not much reliable information on Saint Blaise of Sebaste. What is known comes from the Acts of Saint Blaise, which were written in Greek. Blaise studied philosophy as a young man and was a respected physician in Sebaste, Armenia, his hometown. Following the death of the city’s Bishop, he was elected as his successor by popular acclaim.
The Gospels present Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, as one of the two disciples of John the Baptist, who followed Jesus from the very beginning (Jn 1:35-39). He was born in Bethsaida in Galilee, on the shores of Lake Tiberias. He was a fisherman like his brother Simon (Peter). On his search for God, he became a disciple of John the Baptist, who baptized him. When John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the “Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29-40) on the River Jordan, he immediately followed the Teacher and never left him.
In his Apostolic Letter Scripturae Sacrae affectus,on30 September 2020 on the 16th centenary of the death of Saint Jerome, Pope Francis wrote:“The distinctive feature of Saint Jerome’s spirituality was undoubtedly his passionate love for the word of God entrusted to the Church in sacred Scripture. All the Doctors of the Church – particularly those of the early Christian era – drew the content of their teaching explicitly from the Bible. Yet Jerome did so in a more systematic and distinctive way”.
“Do not ever forget these three things, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Mary Help of Christians and devotion to the Holy Father”, Don John Bosco said to his companions, shortly before he died.
Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco was born on 16 August 1815 in Becchi, Castelnuovo d'Asti, to a poor and humble rural family. His parents' names were Francesco Bosco and Margherita Occhiena. He had two brothers, Giuseppe and Antonio.
Saint Barbara, a martyr rom the third century, is the Patron Saint of Firefighters. Her liturgical memorial is celebrated on 4 December. Devotion to the Saint began to spread in the seventh century, when the first Acta of her martyrdom began to appear.
While meditating on the death of the Son of God on Holy Wednesday in 1301, Saint Angela of Foligno heard the following words within her: "My love for you is no joke". These words embody the essence of Saint Angela, the Franciscan mystic whom Pope Francis canonized on 9 October 2013, by equipollent canonization.
The son of a noble family, he was appointed a commendatory abbot when he was 12 years old, and was created a Cardinal when he was 22, heading for a rapidly advancing and bright ecclesiastic career. He was the nephew of a Pope and became a formidable and exemplary pastor, a zealous preacher and a promoter of the implementation of the decrees of the Council of Trent. He faced struggles and adversity in his efforts to reform the Church, both the clergy and the religious, to free her from outside powers that threatened her integrity. Because of his zeal, he suffered slander, humiliation and even an attempt on his life, in which an arquebus was fired at his back as he prayed. He was unharmed
One day, as young Francis was riding his horse in the countryside around Assisi, he came across a leper. He was usually very afraid of lepers and did not go near their homes, refusing to even look at them. If he did meet one on his path, he would turn his head the other way and pinch his nose to avoid the bad smell that came from them. But this was not an ordinary day. He got off his horse, gave the leper a silver coin, and kissed his hand. Then he resumed his journey. A few days later, with a pocket full of money, he went to visit a hospice of lepers. He called them all together and gave them alms, kissing the hand of each of them. He had defeated himself, and from that moment onwards, he was never afraid of lepers, whom he humbly served.
Francis had changed. He was no longer the carefree young man who walked around Assisi’s streets dressed like a jester, joking and drinking with his friends. He no longer was a spendthrift with the money he earned helping his father, Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy merchant. He had been converted to love God and his brothers and sisters. Francis was a new man. He no longer wanted to lead a superficial life, empty of meaning. He understood that Christ was the Master to serve, and that his betrothed would always be Lady Poverty. It was 1205 and he was 23 years old. He was born in 1182 to Lady Pica de Bourlémont, originally from Provence, where his father often went to trade in fabrics. His Baptism name was John, but he was known as Francis, precisely because of his French roots.
Until his encounter with the leper, Francis had spent his youth having fun, without a care in the world. He had joined the militia that defended Assisi, the Ghibellines, against Perugia, which was under the Guelphs, but he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Collestrada (1202) and kept captive for one year, until his father paid a ransom. He became ill during his confinement and drew nearer to the faith. After returning to his family, he spent time recovering on his parent’s estate, drawing ever nearer to nature, in which he could see the signs of the Creator. Despite his trials, he continued to dream of being a knight. He thus left for Puglia to fight under the leadership of Gualtiero di Brienne. However, while he was in Spoleto, he fell sick again. His dreams had been shattered. In that moment, he heard a voice telling him to return to Assisi.
These experiences had left their mark and he was no longer the young man he had been. He decided to give all his money to the Church and to alms. But it wasn’t enough. He went on a pilgrimage to Rome and met a poor man. He wanted to experience what it meant to be reduced to poverty. And so, he swapped his clothes with those of the poor man and begged for alms at the doors of a Church. At the end of the day, he recovered his clothes, gave the poor man what he had earned and returned to Assisi. From that time onwards, he understood that poverty would no longer scare him.
Not far from Francis’ home, there was a small church, San Damiano, which had fallen to ruin. The only thing that was still left standing was a large painted wooden crucifix. One day, the Crucifix spoke to him, saying, “Francis, go and rebuild my church which, as you see, is falling down”. Francis immediately replied, “Yes, Lord, I will do it willingly”.
He began to live like a hermit. People thought he had gone mad and he became the joke of the town. Worried that he had lost his mind, his father brought him home and locked him up for a few days in a small store room, feeding him only bread and water. But Francis’ mother intervened and he was freed. The tension with his father became a full blown disagreement that even included discussion on inheritance.
In fact, to put together some money to repair San Damiano, Francis had used the profits from the sale of a few fabrics, which angered his father to the point that he reported him to the authorities. Pietro di Bernardone even took Francis before the Bishop, to be judged. But on that occasion, Francis did something that would go down in history. He stripped off his clothes in the rooms of the old Cathedral of Assisi, Saint Mary Major, renouncing all earthly possessions. Bishop Guido covered Francis with his cloak, and with this gesture, welcomed him under his protection. Francis renounced Pietro di Bernardone as his father, and stated that his Father was in Heaven. He was definitively free from any human trap or bond.
After he had repaired San Damiano, Francis wanted to repair other churches too, like Saint Mary of the Angels, known as the Porziuncola, and San Pietro della Spina.
Detached from everything, he wore a simple tunic and began a new life. He travelled through cities and villages, begging for alms and proclaiming the Word of God. From then on, he was joined by members of the nobility, the bourgeoisie, clerics and lay people, who wished to live according to his Rule, having given up all the concerns and vanities of the world. Bernardo di Quintavalle was the first one to give up all his possessions to the poor. Some companions followed Francis more closely, such as Egidio of Assisi, Pietro Cattani, Angelo Tancredi, Masseo Leone and Ginepro. They soon became 12. Francis called his companions “brothers”.
On 24 February 1209, Francis attended Holy Mass celebrated by a priest in the Porziuncola chapel. When he heard the Reading of Matthew 10:15, which refers to the mission Jesus entrusted to the Apostles, he understood that that was the life he was called to live.
The first Rule he wrote was a series of quotations from the Bible and very simple rules of life. It was approved by Innocent III in 1209, giving rise to the Order of Friars Minor. The basic principles were fraternity, by living together, humility, by serving the least ones, poverty and a missionary spirit.
Captivated by Francis’ example, in the evening of Palm Sunday 1211 or 1212, Chiara degli Offreducci (Clare of Assisi) ran away from home to meet him at the Porziuncola. Francis cut her hair and gave her the Franciscan habit to wear. She was followed soon after by her sister Agnes, and the Second Franciscan Order was born.
In 1217, during the General Chapter at Santa Maria della Porziuncola in Assisi, Francis decided to send some friars to France, Germany, Hungary, Spain and to the other provinces of Italy that had not yet been reached by his disciples.
He sent his brothers out in pairs to preach in villages and cities. His way of life did not include remaining inside a monastery, but rather sharing all the difficulties and trials of life, with others.
Francis tried to go to the Holy Land to convert the infidels, three times. The first time he set sail from Ancona, perhaps around 1212-13, but due to a storm, he landed on the Dalmatian coast and returned to Assisi. The following year, he tried to enter Morocco via Spain, but an illness forced him to return. His third attempt was in 1219, when the second General Chapter was celebrated in the Porziuncola. He left for the east, passing through Ancona. In August he reached Damietta, which was besieged by the crusaders. With Brother Illuminato, he went to meet Sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil, to proclaim the Gospel to him. He was unable to convert him, but Francis was not harmed. Indeed, the Sultan gave him freedom of movement throughout his land. In Autumn 1220, he returned to Italy.
In 1219 a group of Friars Minor had been living in the retreat at Olivais, near Coimbra, Portugal, Five friars left Olivais and headed to the areas controlled by the Moors in Andalusia, then to Morocco, where they were martyred by the Saracens on 16 January 1220. An Augustinian canon, named Fernando, had met them in Coimbra and had been struck by their witness. He wanted to join the Order of Friars Minor and would later become the famous Saint Anthony of Padua.
In 1223, Francis wanted to recreate the essence of the birth of Jesus. He set up the scene in Greccio with a manger, a donkey and an ox. The characters were portrayed by the shepherds and by local people. The Altar for the celebration was placed inside the manger and Francis, who was a deacon, sang the Gospel and preached to those who had come to relive the birth of our Saviour.
On 17 September 1224, while he was meditating on the suffering of Christ in La Verna, in the Casentino Forests, a seraph appeared to him and gave him the stigmata. In 1225, he composed his celebrated Canticle of the Creatures. In June of 1226, he wrote his Testament, in which he underscored the importance of preserving the original spirit of the Rule, never abandoning the vocation to help the least ones and those in need.
Upon his return to Assisi, feeling that death was approaching, he retreated to the Porziuncola and called for Iacopa de’ Settesoli (“Brother Iacopa”). Surrounded by his friars, he gave them his Testament, asking that it be observed as a supplement to the Rule, forbidding any additions to it or interpretations. He died after sunset on 3 October 1226.
On 4 October, with a solemn procession, he was translated from the Porziuncola to the Church of San Giorgio in Assisi. Along the way, his mortal remains were shown to Clare and her sisters at San Damiano.
He was canonized by Gregory IX, in the presence of his mother, Lady Pica, on 16 July 1228, after one of the briefest canonical processes in Church history. Some forty miracles attributed to him were examined. Among them were healings of lepers, of people with dropsy and paralysed people, rescued castaways, released prisoners and a return from death.
His mortal remains were kept in San Giorgio until 25 May 1230, when they were transferred to Assisi’s Lower Basilica. Dedicated to Francis, its construction had been ordered by Brother Elias.
Young Agatha is one of the most well-known and venerated martyrs of early Christianity. She was killed during the persecution of Christians, ordered by Emperor Decius (249-251) in Catania.
Information about her can be found in Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend (1261-1268) and in the Acta Sanctorum (1643-1648), as well as in writings by Methodius I, Patriarch of Constantinople, from the ninth century, and by Symeon Metaphrastes from the 10th century.
La jeune Agathe est l’une des martyres les plus connues et les plus vénérées de l’antiquité chrétienne. Elle fut tuée lors de la persécution des chrétiens ordonnée par l’empereur Dèce (249-251) à Catane.
On trouve des informations à son sujet dans la Légende dorée (1261-1268) de Jacques de Voragine et dans les Acta Sanctorum (1643-1648), mais aussi dans les écrits de Méthode Ier, Patriarche de Constantinople, au IXe siècle, et de Syméon Metaphraste, au Xe siècle.
John Neumann, the first U.S. Bishop to be canonized, is best known for his pastoral and educational work. While serving as Bishop of Philadelphia, he founded the first diocesan Catholic school system in the United States of America.
“God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor”, Mother Teresa often told people she met, involving them in charity towards those in need. She was convinced that in serving the poorest of the poor, one should not simply act as social workers, but as brothers and sisters who seek out other brothers and sisters. Her charity was fuelled by faith. It was not just philanthropy. Mother Teresa felt the urgent need to lift people from their misery, but she also believed in the importance of bringing to them the message that God is love and that his love translated into attention to their condition. Her thoughts regarding this were very clear: “God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, the homeless; hunger, not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be somebody to someone; nakedness, not of clothing only, but nakedness of that compassion that very few people give to the unknown; homelessness, not only for a shelter made of stone, but that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.”
Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was a Bishop born in Patara, Lycia (modern-day Turkey), around 270 A.D. He is a Saint that brings together most of the Christian Churches and Confessions, and is venerated both in the East and the West. His memorial is 6 December, the day of his death, but he is also remembered by the Church on 9 May, in memory of when his remains were translated to Bari.
Elected at the age of 54, Pius IX holds the record for the longest pontificate in history: 32 years, even longer than the one tradition attributes to Saint Peter.
He served the Church with great zeal, imitating the Good Shepherd, promoted missions and fostered the formation of the clergy and religious life. He is responsible for furthering devotion to the worship of the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. With the help of numerous social institutions, he was charitable towards the poor. He accepted the misunderstandings, the loneliness and the adversities brought on by the enemies of Christ and the Church, with Christian patience.
Raymond of Peñafort cofounded the Order of the Mercedarians, served as Master General of the Dominicans, and above all, was a renowned expert in canon law. Born between 1175 and 1185 in Villafranca del Panadés, Raymond studied at the Cathedral of Barcelona, where he later taught rhetoric and logic.
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
The Feast of the Rosary was instituted by Saint Pius V with the name, “Our Lady of Victory, to commemorate the battle of Lepanto, which took place on 7 October 1571, when a fleet of the Holy League defeated a fleet of the Ottoman Empire. Christians attributed the victory to the protection of Mary, whom they had invoked by reciting the Rosary before going into battle.
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