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Home , Adam Stefan Sapieha, Ado of Vienne, Alphonsus Rodriguez, Anthony the Hermit, Bruno (bishop of Segni), Caius (bishop of Milan)

October 1 – St. Therese, the Little Flower

Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a , never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was an brief edited version of her journal called "Story of a Soul." But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized. Therese was born in in 1873, the pampered daughter of a mother who had wanted to be a and a father who had wanted to be . The two had gotten married but determined they would be celibate until a told them that was not how God wanted a marriage to work! They later had nine children, the five who lived were all daughters. At the age of 11, Therese became so ill with a fever it was thought she was dying. When Therese saw her sisters praying to statue of Mary in her room, Therese also prayed. She saw Mary smile at her and suddenly she was cured. Some people thought she made the whole thing up. At the same time she had developed the habit of mental prayer. She would find a place between her bed and the wall and in that solitude think about God, life, eternity. Her life was never hard as she did little to help at home often times with outbursts of tears and tantrums. Therese wanted to enter the Carmelite to join two of her sisters but she was uncertain of handling the rigors of Carmelite life. Even at the age of 14, she was still being treated as a child by her family. During one incident at home, had come into her heart and done what she could not do herself. He had made her more sensitive to her father's feelings than her own. Shortly after, she entered the convent. In her autobiography she referred to a difficult Christmas as her "conversion." Therese was known as the “Little Flower” but she had a will of steel. When the of the Carmelite convent refused to take Therese because she was so young, she went to the . When the bishop also said no, she and her father went onto the . They had been forbidden to speak to him but that didn't stop Therese. As soon as she got near him, she begged that he let her enter the Carmelite convent. The Vicar General who had seen her courage was impressed and soon Therese was admitted to the Carmelite convent. She worried about her vocation: " I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the . Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places...in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love...my vocation, at last I have found it...My vocation is Love!" At the age of 23 she took quite ill. Her pain was so great that she said that if she had not had she would have taken her own life without hesitation. One of her sisters in the same convent, journaled her final days. Her sister, Pauline put together Therese's writings and sent numerous copies to other . But Therese's "little way" of trusting in Jesus to make her holy and relying on small daily sacrifices instead of great deeds appealed to the thousands of Catholics and others who were trying to find holiness in ordinary lives. Within two years, Catholics move because her notoriety worked tirelessly toward gaining her in 1925.

October 2 – St. Leger

St. Leger led a volatile life with questions on his blessed life. Leger was raised at the court of King Clotaire II and by his uncle, Bishop Didon of . Leger was made by his uncle, was ordained, and in about 651, became of Maxentius Abbey, where he introduced the Rule of St. Benedict. He served the Queen and helped her govern when Clovis II died in 656, being named bishop of Autun in 663.

He was able to reconcile the differing factions that had torn the See apart, introduced reforms, fortified the town, and was known for his concern for the poor. On the death of Clotaire III, he supported young Childeric II for King against his Thierry, who had been backed by Ebroin, mayor of the palace. Ebroin was exiled to Luxeuil and became a bitter enemy of Leger. Leger became Childeric's adviser. When Leger denounced the marriage of Childeric to his uncle's daughter, he also incurred the enmity of Childeric, and in 675 Leger was arrested at Autun and banished. When Childeric was murdered, his successor restored Leger to his See. Ebroin was also restored as mayor of the palace after he had had the incumbent murdered and persuaded the Duke of Champagne and the of Chalons and Valence to attack Autun. To save the town, Leger surrendered. Ebroin had him blinded, his lips cut off, and his tongue pulled out. Not satisfied, he convinced the King that Childeric had been murdered by Leger and his brother Gerinus. Gerinus was stoned to death, and Leger was tortured and imprisoned at Fecamp in Normandy. After two years Leger was summoned to court by Ebroin, deposed, and executed protesting his innocence to the end. Though the Roman calls him Blessed and a , there is doubt among many scholars that he is entitled to those honors.

October 3 – St. Ewald the Fair & the Dark

Martyred Northumbrian English brothers, one called "the Fair" and one called "the Dark,” were educated in . They were given the same name, known by the difference in the color of their hair and complexions. These of the Benedictine Order. They were martyred together at Aplerbeke, near Dortmund, , by local pagans about 692.

Ewald the Black was the more learned of the two, but both were equally renowned for holiness of life. They were apparently acquainted with St. , the Apostle of Friesland, and were taken with his zeal for the conversion of the Germans.

They entered upon their mission about 690. The scene of their labours was the country of the ancient . The pagan Saxons, witnessing the activities of the Christian priests and , began to suspect that the Ewalds planned to convert their over-lord, destroy their temples and supplant their religion. Inflamed with jealousy and anger, they resolved that the Ewalds should die. An uprising followed and both priests were quickly seized. Ewald the Fair was killed quickly by sword; Ewald the Black was tortured and torn limb from limb, after which both their bodies were cast into the Rhine. This is understood to have happened on 3 October at a place called Aplerbeck, today a district of Dortmund, where a chapel still stands.

Christian sources describe various after the priests' deaths, including their martyred bodies being miraculously carried against the stream for the space of forty miles to the place in which the companions of the Ewalds were residing. As they floated along, says the Encyclopedia, "a heavenly light, like a column of fire, was seen to shine above them." One of the appeared in vision to a monk (a companion of the Ewalds), and told him where the bodies would be found: "that the spot would be there where he should see a pillar of light reaching from earth to heaven". A spring of water is said to have gushed forth in the place of the martyrdom.

Monument of the Ewalds standing in Dortmund-Aplerbeck, Germany October 4 – St. Francis of

In 1882 St. Francis was baptized Giovanni after . But his father wanted his son to be a cloth merchant. So he renamed his son Francesco. Francis had a life of wealth and permissiveness. He loved to party. Francis himself said, "I lived in sin" during that time. Even as a dreamer, Francis was good at business, but not holiness! Francis wanted to be a noble, a knight. Battle was the best place to win the glory and prestige he longed for. He got his first chance when Assisi declared war on their longtime enemy, the nearby town of Perugia.

Most of the troops from Assisi were butchered in the fight. He spent a year in captivity and he was ransomed. Strangely, the experience didn't seem to change him. He continued to party with as much joy and abandon as he had before the battle. Francis' conversion did not happen overnight. God had waited for him for twenty-five years and now it was Francis' turn to wait. Francis started to spend time in prayer. Sometimes God's grace overwhelmed him with joy. But life couldn't just stop for God. There was a business to run, customers to wait on. His search for conversion led him to the ancient church at San Damiano. While he was praying there, he heard on the speak to him, "Francis, repair my church." Francis assumed this meant church with a small c -- the crumbling building he was in. He took fabric from his father's shop and sold it to get money to repair the church. His father saw this as an act of theft. He dragged Francis before the bishop and in front of the whole town demanding that Francis return the money and renounce all rights as his heir. The bishop was very kind to Francis; he told him to return the money and said God would provide. And so he did. He not only gave back the money but stripped off all his clothes -- until he was wearing only a hair shirt (a shirt of haircloth, worn by penitents.) In front of the crowd that had gathered he said, "Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father.

Francis went back to where this all began and begged for stones and rebuilt the San Damiano church with his own hands. Soon Francis started to preach. (He was never a priest, though he was later ordained a under his protest.) Francis was not a reformer; he preached about returning to God and obedience to the Church. Francis never wanted to found a religious order -- this former knight thought that sounded too military. He thought of what he was doing as expressing God's brotherhood. He practiced true equality by showing honor, respect, and love to every person. Francis really felt that nature, all God's creations, were part of his brotherhood. The sparrow was as much his brother as the pope. In one famous story, Francis preached to hundreds of birds about being thankful to God for their independence and for God's care. The story tells us the birds stood still as he walked among him, only flying off when he said they could leave. Francis was a man of action. His simplicity of life extended to ideas and deeds. If there was a simple way, no matter how impossible it seemed, Francis would take it. So when Francis wanted approval for his brotherhood, he went straight to to see Pope Innocent III. Francis' final years were filled with suffering as well as humiliation. Praying to share in Christ's passion he had a vision receiving the stigmata, the marks of the nails and the lance wound that Christ suffered, in his own body. Years of poverty and wandering had made Francis ill. He began to go blind, receiving surgery. Through this suffering he wrote his beautiful of the Sun that expresses his brotherhood with creation in praising God. Francis never recovered from this illness. He died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45. Francis is considered the founder of all Franciscan orders in Umbria, in 1181.

October 5 – St.Faustina Kowalski

Saint Maria of the Blessed was born as Helena Kowalska, in on August 25, 1905. She was the third of 10 children to a poor and religious family.

Faustina first felt a calling to the religious life when she was just seven-years-old and attended the Exposition of the . After finishing her schooling, Faustina wanted to immediately join a convent. However, her parents refused to let her. Instead, at 16-years- old, Faustina became a housekeeper to help her parents and support herself.

In 1924, Faustina experienced her first vision of Jesus. While at a dance with one of her sisters, Faustina saw a suffering Jesus and then went to a Cathedral. According to Faustina, Jesus instructed her to leave for immediately and join a convent. She did as she was instructed, arrived in Warsaw and entered Saint James Church in Warsaw, the first church she came across, and attended . While in Warsaw, Faustina approached many different convents, but was turned away every time. She was judged on her appearances and sometimes rejected for poverty. Finally, the mother superior for the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of decided to take in Faustina on the condition that she could pay for her own . Working as a housekeeper, Faustina began to save her money and make deposits to the Convent.

Two years later, she finally received her habit and took the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament and in 1928, she took her first as a . In 1931 she was visited by Jesus, who presented himself as the "King of " wearing a white garment with red and pale rays coming from his heart. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world.

In 1965, of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, who would later become Pope John Paul II, opened up the first investigations into Faustina's life and virtues. He submitted a number of documents on her life to the Vatican and requested the official process to start.

St. Faustina Kowalska was beatified on April 18, 1993 and canonized on , 2000, both by Pope St. John Paul II. October 6 – St.

Bruno was born in Cologne about 1030, of the prominent Hartenfaust family. He studied at the Cathedral school at Rheims, but it wasn’t until he returned to Cologne that he was ordained and became a at St. Cunibert's. He then went back to Rheims as professor of , became head of the school the following year, and remained there until he was appointed of Rheims by its archbishop, Manasses. Bruno was forced to flee Rheims when he and several other priests denounced Manasses in 1076 as unfit for the office of Papal Legate. Bruno later returned to Cologne but went back to Rheims in 1080 when Manasses was deposed, and though the people of Rheims wanted to make Bruno archbishop, he decided to live the life of a eremite ( or recluse) under Abbot St. Robert of Molesmes (who later founded Citeaux village, site of a famous abbey in France. The abbey, largely through the activities of the 12th-century churchman and mystic St. , became the headquarters of the Cistercian order, which had abbeys scattered all over Europe.) However, he moved on to Grenoble with six companions in 1084. They were assigned a place for their hermitages in a desolate, mountainous, alpine area called La Grande , by Bishop St. Hugh of Grenoble, who became Bruno’s . They built an oratory and individual cells, roughly followed the rule of St. Benedict, and began the Carthusian Order. They embraced a life of poverty, manual work, prayer, and transcribing manuscripts, though as yet they had no written rule. The fame of the group and their founder spread, and in 1090, Bruno was brought to Rome, against his wishes, by Pope Urban II (whom he had taught at Rheims) as Papal Adviser in the of the clergy. Bruno persuaded Urban to allow him to resume his eremitical state, founded St. Mary's at La Torre in , declined the Pope's offer of the archbishopric of Reggio, became a close friend of Count Robert of , and remained there until his death on October 6. He wrote several commentaries on the and on St. Paul's epistles. He was never formally canonized because of the ' aversion to public honors but granted the Carthusians permission to celebrate his feast in 1514, and his name was placed on the Roman calendar in 1623.

October 7 – St. Artaldus

Artaldus (also called Arthaud) was born in the castle of Sothonod in Savoy, a region in the Western Alps. At the age of eighteen, he went to the court of Duke Amadeus III, but a year or two after, he became a Carthusian priest at Portes. After many years, being a priest and an experienced and holy religious, he was sent by the of the to found a charterhouse near his home, in a valley in the Valromey significantly called "the cemetery". Here Artaldus established himself with six of his brethren from Portes. The community was no sooner settled in and built, when there buildings were destroyed by fire, and St. Artaldus had to begin all over again. He chose a fresh site on the Arvieres River, and his second foundation was soon built and occupied. But a Carthusian cell could not contain the ever-increasing reputation of Artaldus: like his master St. Bruno, he was consulted by the Pope, and when he was well over eighty, he was called from his monastery to be bishop of Belley, in spite of his vehement and reasonable protest. However, after less than two years of his appointment as Bishop, his resignation was accepted, and he thankfully returned to Arvieres, where he lived in for the rest of his days. During his last years, he was visited by St. , who had come into France, and who, while he was prior of the charterhouse of Witham, had induced Henry II to become a benefactor of Arvieres. The Magna vita of St. Hugh recorded a gentle rebuke administered by Hugh when Artaldus asked him for political news in the presence of the community who had turned their backs upon the world to give themselves entirely to God. The cultus of St. Artaldus, called simply Blessed by the Carthusians, was confirmed for the diocese of Belley in 1834. He was 105 years old when he died.

October 8 – St. Pelagia (Margaret)

Pelagia, more often called Margaret, on account of the magnificence of the pearl jewelry she loved and wore. She was an actress of Antioch and thought of as a loose woman, she was equally celebrated for her beauty, her wealth and the disorder other life. During a synod at Antioch, she passed Bishop St. Nonnus of Edessa, who was struck with her beauty; the next day she went to hear him preach and was so moved by his sermon that she asked him to baptize her which he did. She gave her wealth to Nonnus to aid the poor and left Antioch dressed in men's clothing.

She became a hermitess in a cave on Mount of Olivette in , where she lived, performing penances and known as "the beardless monk. " Pelagia died as a result of extreme (her severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of ), which had emaciated her to the point she could no longer be recognized. According to Orthodox tradition, she was buried in her cell. Upon the discovery that the renowned monk had been a woman, the "holy fathers" tried to keep it a secret, but the gossip spread and her drew from everywhere. Though a young girl of fifteen did exist and suffer martyrdom at Antioch in the fourth century, the story here told is a pious fiction, which gave rise to a whole set of similar stories under different names. Pelagia died as a result of extreme asceticism (her severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence), which had emaciated her to the point she could no longer be recognized. According to Orthodox tradition, she was buried in her cell. Upon the discovery that the renowned monk had been a woman, the "holy fathers" tried to keep it a secret, but the gossip spread and her relics drew pilgrims from everywhere. October 9 – Sts. Denis, Rusticus & Eleutherius

The first mention we have of these three martyrs who died around 258 A.D. comes in the sixth century in the writings of Saint Gregory of .

Denis (or Dionysius as he is also called) is the most famous of the three. Born and raised in , he was sent as a to Gaul (now France) circa 250 A.D. by Pope St. Clement along with five other bishops.

Denis made his base of missionary activity an island in the Seine near the city of Lutetia Parisorium -- what would become . For this reason he is known as the first bishop of Paris and the Apostle of France. There he was captured by the Parisians along with Rusticus and Eleutherius. Later writers have referred to these as Denis' priest and deacon, or his deacon and sub deacon, but we have no further information on them.

After a long imprisonment and several aborted executions, the three martyrs were beheaded with a sword and their bodies were thrown into the river. Denis' body was retrieved from the Seine by his converts and buried. The chapel that was built over his tomb grew into the abbey of Saint-Denis.

In the ninth century, Denis' story and identity became fused and confused with Dionysius the Areopagite and Pseudo-Dionysius, but later scholarship has re-established his identity as a separate saint. Recognized since the time of St. Gregory as a special saint of Paris, Denis is the of France. Denis is pictured as he was martyred -- headless (with a vine growing over the neck) and carrying his own mitered head and not pictured with Rusticus & Eleutherius.

Saint Eleutherius Saint Rusticus October 10 – Francis Borgia

Francis was a young nobleman at the court of the King of . He became a Duke when he was only thirty-three and lived a happy, peaceful life with his wife Eleanor and their eight children. But unlike so many other powerful nobles, Francis was a perfect Christian gentleman, a true man of God and his great joy was to receive Holy Communion often.

This happy life ended when his beloved wife died. Francis did something that astonished all the nobles of Spain; he gave up his Dukedom to his son Charles and became a Jesuit priest. So many people came to his first Mass that they had to set up an outdoors.

His Superior tested him by treating him in exactly the opposite way he had been used to all his forty-one years of life. He who had once been a Duke had to help the cook, carrying wood for the fire and sweeping the kitchen. When he served food to the priests and brothers, he had to kneel down in front of them all and beg them to forgive him for being so clumsy! Still he never once complained or grumbled. The only time he became angry was when anyone treated him with respect as if he was still a Duke. Once a doctor who had to take care of a painful wound Francis had gotten said to him: "I am afraid, my lord, that I have to hurt your grace." The saint answered that he would not hurt him more than he was right then by calling him "my lord" and "your grace." It was not too long before the humble priest accomplished wonderful works for God's glory as he preached everywhere and advised many important people. He spread the all over Spain and in . When he was made Superior General of the Jesuits, he sent missionaries all over the world. Under his guidance, the Jesuits grew to be a very great help to the Church in many lands. Through all such success, Borgia remained completely humble.

October 11 – St. John XXIII

The man who would be Pope John XXIII was born in the small village of Sotto il Monte in Italy, on November 25, 1881. He was the fourth of fourteen children born to poor parents who made their living by sharecropping. Named Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the baby would eventually become one of the most influential in recent history, changing the Church forever. Roncalli's career within the Church began when he graduated from university with a doctorate in theology. He was ordained a priest thereafter and soon met in Rome. By the following year, 1905, Roncalli was appointed to act as secretary for his bishop, Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi. He continued working as the bishop's secretary until the bishop died in . The bishop's last words to Roncalli were, "Pray for peace." These words mattered in August 1914 as the world was on the brink of I. Italy was eventually drawn into the war and Roncalli was drafted into the Italian Army as a stretcher bearer and chaplain. Roncalli did his duty and was eventually discharged from the army in 1919. Free to serve the Church in new capacities he was appointed to be the Italian president of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, handpicked by Pope Benedict XV. Then in February 1925, Roncalli was summoned to the Vatican and given a new mission. This time he was sent to as the to that country. Later, he was appointed aspostolic delegate to Turkey and Greece and made archbishop of Mesembria.

Beginning in 1935, racial tensions and anti-Jewish sentiment began to explode into actual acts of violence against the Jews and other ethnic minorities. Roncalli started using his influence to save what people he could from the depredation of both local authorities and later the Nazis. During his tenure as archbishop, Roncalli saved thousands of Jews, enough that he was named a "Righteous Gentile" following the war. In late 1944, the Church was anxious to remove clergy in France that had collaborated with the Nazis in various forms. Roncalli was appointed as the new papal Nuncio and sent to France to negotiate the retirement of bishops who were involved with the Nazis. In 1952, Roncalli was offered a new position, this time as of . At the same time he assumed his new title, Roncalli became the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca. He assumed his new responsibilities in 1953. Roncalli's papal predecessor died on October 9, 1958 and he was soon summoned to Rome where he was to participate in the process of selecting a new pope. The College eventually settled on Roncalli for election and he accepted, saying "I will be called John," a surprising choice because of that name's association with .

He was Beatified September 3, 2000 by Pope John Paul II and Canonized April 27, 2014 in Saint 's Square, by .

October 12 – St. Wilfrid

Born in Northumberland in 634, St. Wilfrid was educated at Lindesfarne and then spent some time in Lyons and Rome. Returning to England, he was elected abbot of Ripon in 658 and introduced the Roman rules and practices in opposition to the Celtic ways of northern England. In 664, he was the architect of the definitive victory of the Roman party at the Conference of Whitby. He was appointed Bishop of York and after some difficulty finally took possession of his See in 669. He worked very hard and founded many of the Benedictine Order, but he was obliged to appeal to Rome in order to prevent the subdivision of his diocese by St. Theodore, Archbishop of . While waiting for the case to be decided, he was forced to go into exile, and worked hard and long to evangelize the heathen south Saxons until his recall in 686. In 691, he had to retire again to the Midlands until Rome once again vindicated him. In 703, he resigned his post and retired to his monastery at Ripon where he spent his remaining time in prayer and penitential practices, until his death in 709. St. Wilfrid was an outstanding personage of his day, extremely capable and possessed of unbounded courage, remaining firm in his convictions despite running afoul of civil and ecclesiastical authorities. He helped bring the discipline of the English Church into line with that of Rome. He was also a dedicated pastor and a zealous and skilled missionary; his brief time spent in Friesland in 678-679 was the starting point for the great English mission to the Germanic peoples of continental Europe. October 13 – St.

Edward the Confessor was the son of King Ethelred III and his Norman wife, Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy. He was born at Islip, England, and sent to Normandy with his mother in the year 1013 when the Danes under Sweyn and his son Canute invaded England. Canute remained in England and the year after Edward’s father’s death in 1016, Canute married Emma, who had returned to England, and he became King of England. Edward remained in Normandy, was brought up a Norman, and in 1042, on the death of his half-brother, Hardicanute, son of Canute and Emma, and largely through the support of the powerful Earl Godwin, he was acclaimed king of England. In 1044, he married Godwin's daughter Edith. His reign was a peaceful one characterized by his good rule and remission of taxes, but also by the struggle, partly caused by his natural inclination to favor the Normans, between Godwin and his Saxon supporters and the Norman barons, In the same year, Edward banished Godwin, who took refuge in Flanders but returned the following year with a fleet ready to lead a rebellion. Armed revolt was avoided when the two men met and settled their differences. Edward's difficulties continued after Godwin's death in 1053 with Godwin's two sons: Harold who had his eye on the throne since Edward was childless, and Tostig, Earl of Northumbria. Tostig was driven from Northumbria by a revolt in 1065 and banished to Europe by Edward, who named Harold his successor. After this Edward became more interested in religious affairs and built St. Peter's Abbey at Westminster, the site of the present Abbey, where he is buried. His piety gained him the surname "the Confessor". He died in London on January 5, and he was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III. October 14 – St. Callistus I

Imagine that your biography was written by an enemy of yours. And that its information was all anyone would have not only for the rest of your life but for centuries to come. You would never be able to refute it -- and even if you could no one would believe you because your accuser was a saint.

That is the problem we face with Pope Callistus I who died about 222. The only story of his life we have is from someone who hated him and what he stood for, an author identified as Saint Hippolytus, a rival candidate for the chair of Peter.

Trying to weed out the venom to find the facts of Callistus' life in Hippolytus' account, we learn that Callistus himself was a slave. His master, Carporphorus made him manager of a bank in the Publica Piscina sector of Rome where Callistus took in the money of other . The bank failed -- according to Hippolytus because Callistus spent the money on his own pleasure-seeking. It seems unlikely that Carporphorus would trust his good name and his fellow Christians' savings to someone that unreliable.

Whatever the reason, Callistus fled the city by ship in order to escape punishment. When his master caught up with him, Callistus jumped into the sea (according to Hippolytus, in order to commit suicide). After Callistus was rescued he was brought back to Rome, put on trial, and sentenced to a cruel punishment -- forced labor on the treadmill. Carporphorus took pity on his former slave and manager and Callistus won his release by convincing him he could get some of the money back from investors. Callistus' methods had not improved with desperation and when he disrupted a synagogue by shouting for money, he was arrested and sentenced again. This time he was sent to the mines. Not willing to carry the case further the Pope gave Callistus an income and situation -- away from Rome.

About nine or ten years later, the new recalled Callistus to Rome. Zephyrinus was good-hearted and well-meaning but had no understanding of theology. This was disastrous in a time when heretical beliefs were springing up everywhere. One-minute Zephyrinus would endorse a belief he thought orthodox and the next he would embrace the opposite statement. Callistus soon made his value known, guiding Zephyrinus through theology to what he saw as . (Needless to say, it was not what Hippolytus felt was orthodox enough.) To a certain extent, according to Hippolytus, Callistus was the power behind the Church before he even assumed the bishopric of Rome.

When Zephyrinus died in 219, Callistus was proclaimed Pope over the protests of his rival candidate Hippolytus. Callistus came to power during a crucial time of the Church. Was it going to hang on to the rigid rules of previous years and limit itself to those who were already saints or was it going to embrace sinners as Christ commanded? Was its mission only to a few holy ones or to the whole world, to the healthy or to the sick? We can understand Hippolytus' fear -- that hypocritical penitents would use the Church and weaken it in the time when they faced persecution. But Callistus chose to trust God's mercy and love and opened the doors. By choosing Christ's mission, he chose to spread the to all. October 15 – St. Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Avila was born Teresa Ali Fatim Corella Sanchez de Capeda y Ahumada in Avila, Spain. As a result of her mother’s fanciful ideas, her childhood ideas were lighthearted, despite her father’s discipline. She led a fairly ordinary life, though she was convinced that she was a horrible sinner. As a teenager, she cared only about boys, clothes, flirting, and rebelling. When she was 16, her father decided she was out of control and sent her to a convent. At first she hated it but eventually she began to enjoy it -- partly because of her growing love for God, and partly because the convent was a lot less strict than her father. Still, when the time came for her to choose between marriage and religious life, she had a tough time making the decision. Teresa suffered the same problem that did -- she was too charming. When she finally chose religious life, she did so because she though that it was the only safe place for someone as prone to sin as she was. Once installed at the Carmelite convent permanently, she started to learn and practice mental prayer, in which she "tried as hard as I could to keep Jesus Christ present within me....My imagination is so dull that I had no talent for imagining or coming up with great theological thoughts." Teresa prayed this way off and on for eighteen years without feeling that she was getting results. Part of the reason for her trouble was that the convent was not the safe place she assumed it would be. Teresa fell ill with malaria. When she had a seizure, people were so sure she was dead that after she woke up four days later she learned they had dug a grave for her. Afterwards she was paralyzed and was never completely well. Yet instead of helping her spiritually, her sickness became an excuse to stop her prayer completely. When she was 41, a priest convinced her to go back to her prayer, but she still found it difficult. As she started to pray again, God gave her spiritual signs. Sometimes her whole body was raised from the ground. If she felt God was going to levitate her body, she stretched out on the floor and called the to sit on her and hold her down. Far from being excited about these events, she "begged God very much not to give me any more favors in public." Teresa felt that the best evidence that the signs that came from God was that the experiences gave her peace, inspiration, and encouragement. "If these effects are not present I would greatly doubt that the raptures come from God; on the contrary I would fear lest they be caused by rabies." At the age of 43, she became determined to found a new convent that went back to the basics of a contemplative order: a simple life of poverty devoted to prayer. When plans leaked out about her first convent, St. 's, she was denounced from the pulpit, told by her sisters she should raise money for the convent she was already in, and threatened with the . At 51, she felt it was time to spread her reform movement Teresa looked on these difficulties as good publicity. Soon she had clamoring to get into her reform convents. Soon her ideas about prayer swept not only through Spain but all of Europe. She is the founder of the . In 1970 she was declared a for her writing and teaching on prayer, one of two women to be honored in this way.

October 16 – St.

St. Gerard Majella was born in 1726 in Muro, Italy to a family of seven. Majella grew up in a poverty with a great respect for the poor. He was just 12 when his father passed away and his mother sent him away to live with his uncle and learn to become a tailor, like his father. After a few years of working as a sewing apprentice, Majella took on a with the local Bishop of Lacedonia as a servant. Once Majella began earning money as a journeyman at the age of 21, he split his earnings with his mother, the poor of Muro and the rest in offerings for the poor souls. As the days passed, Majella began to grow pale and thin, often and in prayer at a nearby Cathedral. He applied to the Capuchin monastery at Muro twice, but was turned down both times. Majella was told his health was not well enough for such a strenuous life. However, Majella did not give up. In 1749, at the age of 23, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer and just three years later became a professed . Majella lived with the three vows of Poverty, Chasity and Obedience. He stayed close with the poor and worked many different jobs. He served as sacristan, gardener, porter, infirmarian, and tailor. However, because of his great piety, extraordinary wisdom, and his gift of reading consciences, he was permitted to counsel communities of religious women. Majella was often called on by the poor and the sick. Wherever his presence was demanded he graciously presented himself. He was there to "do the Will of God." Throughout his years of life, several reported miracles are tied to Majella including, restoring a boy's life after he fell from a high cliff; blessing a poor farmer's crops, ridding it of mice; blessing a poor family's supply of wheat, causing it to last until the next harvest; and he multiplied bread for the poor on several occasions. Along with his miracles effected through prayers for woman in labor, Majella's last recorded is one that many credit toward his becoming the patron of expectant mothers. Shortly before his death, Majella encountered a young girl. He had dropped his handkerchief and she set out to return it, only to be told to keep it. Majella told her she "may need it someday." Years after Majella's passing, the young girl became married and with child. She unexpectedly went into labor and was on the verge of losing her baby. She called for Majella's handkerchief to be applied to her. Almost immediately, her pain stopped and she proceeded to give birth to a healthy child. Even as Majella became ill with tuberculosis, he only desired to live in God's will. His one last request was that a small placard be placed on his door stating, "Here the will of God is done, as God wills, and as long as God wills." Majella was told the Will of God wanted him to get better, and almost at once he became well. However, this only lasted for a month and quickly he became very ill once again. St. Gerard Majella died of disease on October 16, 1755 at the age of 29, living in the religious life for only six years. Due to the numerous miracles performed through Majella's prayers, proceedings for his canonization began shortly after his death. In 1893, Majella was beatified by Pope Leo XIII and on December 11, 1904, Pope Pius X canonized the man of God.

October 17 – St.

Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to and eventually became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and the renouncing of their religion. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome.

Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. Five of these letters are to churches in Asia Minor; they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to obey their superiors. He warns them against heretical doctrines, providing them with the solid truths of the Christian faith.

The sixth letter was to , bishop of Smyrna, who was later martyred for the faith. The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not to try to stop his martyrdom. “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.”

Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus.

Ignatius’s great concern was for the unity and order of the Church. Even greater was his willingness to suffer martyrdom rather than deny his Lord Jesus Christ. He did not draw attention to his own suffering, but to the love of God which strengthened him. He knew the price of commitment and would not deny Christ, even to save his own life.

October 18 – St. Luke

Luke, the writer of the Gospel and the Acts of the , has been identified with St. Paul's "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). We know few other facts about Luke's life from Scripture and from early Church historians. It is believed that Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile. Colossians 10-14 speaks of those friends who are with him. It first mentions all those "of the circumcision" -- in other words, Jews -- and does not include Luke in this group. Luke's gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian (Lk.4:25-27), and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan (Lk.17:11-19). According to the early Church historian Luke was born at Antioch in Syria. Scholars have argued that Luke might have been born a slave. It was not uncommon for families to educate slaves in medicine so that they would have a resident family physician. Not only do we have Paul's word, but Eusebius, Saint , Saint and , a second-century writer, all refer to Luke as a physician. We have to go to Acts to follow the trail of Luke's Christian ministry. We know nothing about his conversion but looking at the language of Acts we can see where he joined Saint Paul. Luke first joined Paul's company at Troas at about the year 51 and accompanied him into Macedonia where they traveled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi. Luke then switches back to the third person which seems to indicate he was not thrown into prison with Paul and that when Paul left Philippi Luke stayed behind to encourage the Church there. Seven years passed before Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5, the switch to "we" tells us that Luke has left Philippi to rejoin Paul in Troas in 58 where they first met up. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, to Jerusalem. Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is Luke that we have to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace" spoken at the Annunciation and "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus" spoken by her cousin Elizabeth. Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father, the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus' feet with her tears. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God's mercy. Reading Luke's gospel gives a good idea of his character as one who loved the poor, who wanted the door to God's kingdom opened to all, who respected women, and who saw hope in God's mercy for everyone. The reports of Luke's life after Paul's death are conflicting. Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died at 84 Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel. He is often shown with an ox or a calf because these are the symbols of sacrifice -- the sacrifice Jesus made for all the world. October 19 - Sts. Jogues and Rene Goupil In 1642 the Huron country (in Canada) was in great distress. Harvests were poor, widespread sickness and even clothing was scarce. Quebec was the only source of supplies, and was chosen to lead an expedition. The goods were gathered and ready to transport back. Jogues worked with the Indian Nations in but none the less, the Iroquois were bitter enemies of the Hurons, and fiercest of all Indian tribes, who were on the war-path and ambushed the returning expedition. The story of the ill-treatment and of the captives was extraordinary. Suffice it to say that Jogues and his assistant, Rene Goupil, were beaten to St. Isaac Jogues the ground and assailed several times with knotted sticks and fists, had their hair, beards and nails torn off and their forefingers bitten through.

St. Renè Goupil But what saddened them even more, was the cruelty practiced on their Christian converts. The first of all the martyrs to suffer death was Rene Goupil, who was tomahawked on September 29, 1642, for having made the Sign of the Cross on the brow of some children. Rene was a remarkable man. He had tried hard to be a Jesuit and had even entered the , but his health forced him to give up the attempt. He then studied surgery and found his way to Canada, where he offered his services to the missionaries.

Jogues, Goupil, and 5 other martyred missionaries, all Jesuit priests or laymen associated with them, were Both Jogues and Goupil were beatified on June 21, 1925, in Rome, Italy by Pope Pius XI. These martyrs were canonized by the in 1930;. Sts. René Goupil, Isaac Jogues and Jean de Lalande are considered the first U.S. saints because they were martyred in upstate and are known as "The North American Martyrs". A was built in their honor at Auriesville, New York, at a site formerly believed to be that of the Mohawk village.

Interesting note: Jogues is also credited with naming Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement (Lake of the Blessed Sacrament). October 20 – St.

St. Paul of the Cross was born at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa, Italy, January 3, 1694. As a youngster, he was kind, innocent and pius. He was inspired from on high to found a congregation; in a time that he was lifted up by God, he saw the habit which he and his companions were to wear.

After consulting his director, Bishop Gastinara of Alexandria in Piedmont, he reached the conclusion that God wished him to establish a congregation in honor of the Passion of Jesus Christ. On November 22, 1720, the bishop vested him with the habit that had been shown to him in a vision, the same that the wear at the present time. From that moment the saint applied himself to repair the Rules of his institute; and in 1721 he went to Rome to obtain the directives for his ministry from the .

At first he failed, but finally succeeded when Benedict XIV approved the Rules in 1741 and 1746. Meanwhile St. Paul built his first monastery near Obitello. Sometime later he established a larger community at the Church of St. John and Paul in Rome. For fifty years St. Paul he worked tirelessly in his missionary duties in Italy. God lavished him the greatest gifts in the supernatural order, but he treated himself with the greatest of restraint, and believed that he was a useless servant and a great sinner. His saintly death occurred at Rome in the year 1775, at the age of eighty-one. He was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

October 21 – St. of Gaza

Hilarion the Great (291–371) was a religious hermit who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of (c. 251–356). While St Anthony is considered to have established in the Egyptian desert, St Hilarion is considered by some to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism and venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox and the Church. The chief source of information regarding Hilarion is the biography written by St. Jerome. The life of Hilarion was written by Jerome in 390 in Bethlehem. Its object was to further the ascetic life to which he was devoted. It contains information that is legendary with some statements that attach to genuine history in the 4th century. Hilarion was born in Thabatha, south of Gaza in Syria Palaestina of pagan parents. He successfully studied rhetoric with a grammarian in Alexandria. It seems that he was converted to Christianity in Alexandria. After that, he shunned the pleasures of his day—theatre, circus and arena—and spent his time attending church. According to St. Jerome, he was a thin and delicate youth of fragile health. After hearing of Saint Anthony, whose name (according to St. Jerome), "was in the mouth of all the races of Egypt", Hilarion, at the age of fifteen, went to live with St.Anthony in the desert for two months. As Anthony's hermitage was busy with visitors seeking cures for diseases or demonic affliction, Hilarion returned home along with some . At Thabatha, his parents having died in the meantime, he gave his inheritance to his brothers and the poor and left for the wilderness. After he had lived in the wilderness for 22 years, he became quite famous in Syria Palaestina. Visitors started to come, begging for his help. The parade of petitioners and would-be disciples drove Hilarion to retire to more remote locations. But they followed him everywhere. First he visited Anthony's retreat in Egypt. Then he withdrew to Sicily, later to Dalmatia, and finally to Cyprus. He died there in 371. The first miracle attributed to him was when he cured a woman from a Roman city in Syria Palaestina who had been barren for 15 years. Later, he cured three children of a fatal illness, healed a paralysed charioteer, and expelled demons.

October 22 – St. Pope John Paul II

Karol J. Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in Poland. He made his First Holy Communion at age 9 and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation he enrolled in Cracow's in 1938 and in a school for drama. The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany.

In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine of Cracow, run by Cardinal Stefan , archbishop of Cracow. At the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the pioneers of the "Rhapsodic Theatre," also clandestine.

After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major seminary of Cracow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly in Cracow on November 1, 1946.

Soon after, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. . At that time, during his vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium and Holland.

Later he became professor of moral philosophy and social ethics in the major seminary of Cracow and in the Faculty of philosophy at the Catholic University of Lubin (where he became the Director of the Chair of Ethic, and lectured for 25 years until his election for the Pope in 1978).

On July 4, 1958, he was appointed of Cracow by Pope Pius XII, and was consecrated September 28, 1958, in , Cracow, by Archbishop Baziak. On January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.

Besides taking part in Vatican Council II with an important contribution to the elaboration of the Constitution Gaudium et spes, Cardinal Wojtyla participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. He was born in 1920, died in 2005. He was beatified in 2011 in 's Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI and canonized in 2014, in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Francis. Since the start of his Pontificate on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has completed 95 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 142 within Italy . As Bishop of Rome he has visited 301 of the 334 parishes. October 23 – St. John of Capistrano

St. John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight in that city. He studied law at the University of Perugia and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of . King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town he was betrayed and imprisoned. Upon his release he entered the Franciscan community at Perugia in 1416. He and St. James of the March were fellow students under St. Bernardine of , who

inspired him to institute the devotion to the holy Name of Jesus and His Mother. John began his brilliant preaching apostolate with a deacon in 1420. After his ordination he traveled throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia preaching penance and establishing numerous communities of Franciscan renewal. When Mohammed II was threatening and Rome, St. John, at the age of seventy, was commissioned by Pope Callistus III to preach and lead a crusade against the invading Turks. Marching at the head of seventy thousand Christians, he gained victory in the great battle of Belgrade against the Turks in 1456. Three months later he died at Illok, Hungary. He is the patron of jurists. October 24 – St.

It is unfortunate that some of the most holy has very little historical information to inform us of their piety. St Anthony Mary Claret is one of them. Anthony was born in Salient in , Spain, in 1807, the son of a weaver. He took up weaving but then studied for the priesthood, desiring to be a Jesuit. His ill health prevented his entering the Order, and he served as a secular priest. In 1849, he founded the Missionary Sons of the , known today as the , and the Apostolic Training Institute of the , Claretian nuns. From 1850 to 1857, Anthony served as the archbishop of Santiago de , Cuba. He returned to the court of Queen Isabella II as confessor, and went into exile with her in 1868. In 1869 and 1870, Anthony participated in the . He died in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide in southern France on October 24, 1870. Anthony Mary Claret had the gift of prophecy and performed many miracles. He was opposed by the liberal forces of Spain and Cuba and endured many trials.

October 25 – Sts. Daria & Chrysanthus

There is very little known about her as well as St. Chrysanthus like St. Anthony Claret, celebrated yesterday. Chrysanthus was an Egyptian, son of a Patrician. He was brought to Rome from Alexandria during the reign of Numerian, and despite the objections of his father, who had brought him to Rome, was baptized by a priest named Carpophorus. Chrysanthus refused his father's attempts to get him married, finally married Daria, a Greek and a priestess of Minerva, converted her, and convinced her to live with him in chastity. When they converted a number of Romans, Chrysanthus was denounced as a Christian to Claudius, the tribune. Chrysanthus' attitude under torture so impressed Claudius that he and his wife, Hilaria, two sons, and seventy of his soldiers became Christians, whereupon the Emperor had them all killed. Daria was sent to a brothel, where she was defended by a lion, brought before Numerian, who ordered her execution, and was stoned and then buried alive. When several followers of Daria and Chrysanthus were found praying at their crypt, among them Diodorus, a priest, and Marianus, a deacon, they were all entombed alive.

October 26 - St. Bean of

On December 16, there is named in the and in certain Irish calendars a Saint Bean Kirk of Ireland, who had been confused with the St. Bean whose feast is still observed in the Scottish diocese of Aberdeen. On October 26, as founder of the bishopric of Mortlach in Banff, which was the forerunner of that of Aberdeen we recognize St. Bean of Scottish descent. Nothing else is known about him. The fourteenth century chronicler Fordun, states that he was made bishop by Pope Benedict VIII, at the request of Malcolm Canmore, who is said to have founded an episcopal monastery at Mortlach. If true, this would be between 1012 and 1024; but the See of Mortlach is generally said to date from 1063. St. Bean's dwelling place is supposed to have been at Balvanie, near Mortlach (Bal-beni-mor, "the dwelling of Bean the Great").

October 27 - St. Frumentius

Called "Abuna" or ‘the father' of Ethiopia, sent to that land by St. Athanasius. Frumentius was born in Lebanon. While on a voyage on the Red Sea with St. Aedesius, possibly his brother, only Frumentius and Aedesius survived the shipwreck. Taken to the Ethiopian royal court at Aksum, they soon attained high positions. Aedesius was royal cup bearer, and Fruementius was a secretary. They introduced Christianity to that land. When Abreha and Asbeha inherited the Ethiopian throne from their father, Frumentius went to Alexandria, Egypt, to ask St. Athanasius to send a missionary to Ethiopia. He was consecrated a bishop and converted many more upon his return to Aksum. The people called Frumentius Kesate Birhan (Revealer of Light) and Abba Salama (Father of Peace). He became the first Abune, a title given to the head of the Ethiopian Church.

Frumentius and Aedesius are considered the apostles of Ethiopia. The 4th-century church historian Rufinus of , by meeting Aedesius later in Lebanon, was able to document Frumentius’ achievements, noting that the Ethiopians addressed him as abuna, or “Our Father,” a title that is still used for the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopian traditions credit him with the first Ge'ez translation of the , and being involved in the development of Ge'ez script from an abjad (consonantal-only) into an abugida (syllabic).

October 28 - St. Jude Thaddaeus

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. He was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. Images of St. Jude often include a flame around his head, which represent his presence at , when he accepted the alongside the other apostles. Sometimes he can also be seen holding a carpenter's ruler or is depicted with a scroll or book, the Epistle of Jude. Biblical scholars agree St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his mother Mary was the Mary's cousin. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in , Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, , and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. , as Bishop of Jerusalem. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa and could have been martyred with St. Simon in Persia. He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. Though Saint has been credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians," the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are believed to have brought Christianity to Armenia, where Jude was rumored to have later been martyred. There is some debate about where Jude died, though most Biblical scholars agree he was martyred. He is believed to have been martyred either in Armenia or Beirut. Following his death, St. Jude's body was brought to Rome and left in a crypt in St. Peter's . Today his bones can be found in the left transept of St. Peter's Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph in a tomb he shares with the remains of the apostle . Pilgrims came to St. Jude's grave to pray and many reported a powerful intercession, leading to the title, "The Saint for the Hopeless and the Despaired." Two Saints, St. and St. Bernard, had visions from God asking them to accept St. Jude as "The Patron Saint of the Impossible."

Roman Catholics invoke St. Jude when in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances -just as their forefathers had done before them; therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases.

October 29 - St. Narcissus St. Narcissus was born towards the end of the first century in AD 99. He was almost 80-years-old when he was placed at the head of the church of Jerusalem, making him the 30th bishop of that see. In 195, he and Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, presided together in a council of the bishops of Palestine held at Caesarea regarding the time is celebrated. It was then decreed that the feast of Easter is to be kept always on a Sunday. Bishop and historian, Eusebius says this particular Easter miracle can be attributed to Narcissus "One year on Easter-eve the did not have any oil for the lamps in the church, which was necessary at the solemn divine office on that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighboring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water. Then he bade them pour it into the lamps; which they did. The water was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of all the faithful." However, not even the veneration of all good men could shelter Narcissus from the hatred around him. Three persistent sinners, fearing Narcissus' severity in the observance of religious discipline, accused him of an unimaginable crime. The sinners maintained they were telling the truth by adding additional security into their claims. If they were not speaking the truth, one wished he might perish by fire, another, that he might be struck with a leprosy, and the third, that he might lose his sight. Nevertheless, their accusations were found to be false and Divine Retribution was called upon them.The first was burnt in his house, along with his whole family, by an accidental fire in the night. The second was struck with a universal leprosy; and the third, terrified by these examples, confessed the conspiracy and slander, and by the abundance of tears which he continually shed for his sins, lost his sight before his death. Soon after, Narcissus decided to leave Jerusalem for a life of solitude. His reasons for doing so weren't clear. Some believed he left because he could not bear the shock of the bold slander, and others believed leaving had always been a wish of his. He spent several years undiscovered in his retreat, where he enjoyed all the happiness and advantage which a close conversation with God can bestow. After he departed, the neighboring bishops chose a new pastor for Narcissus' church until he decided to return. Once Narcissus returned, years later, the faithful rejoiced and convinced Narcissus to once again assume the administration of the diocese. He accepted. As Narcissus started to reach an extreme old age, he made St. Alexander his . A coadjutor is a bishop appointed to assist a , and often also designated as his successor. St. Narcissus continued to serve his flock, and even other churches, by his diligent prayers and his persuasive attitudes on unity, as St. Alexander testifies in his letter to the Arsinoites in Egypt, where he says that Narcissus was at that time about 116 years old. St. Narcissus passed away soon after in AD 216, at the age of 117.

October 30 - St.

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Confessor and lay brother, was also called Alonso. He was born in , Spain, on July 25, 1532, the son of a wealthy merchant, and was prepared for by Blessed Peter Favre, a friend of Alphonsus' father. While studying with the Jesuits at Alcala, Alphonsus had to return home when his father died. In Segovia he took over the family business, was married, and had a son. That son died, had two other children, who also died, and then his wife. Alphonsus sold his business and applied to the Jesuits. His lack of education and his poor health, undermined by his austerities, made him less than desirable as a candidate for the religious life, but he was accepted as a lay brother by the Jesuits on January 31, 1571. He underwent novitiate training and was sent to Montesion College on the island of Majorca. There he labored as a hall porter for twenty-four years. Overlooked by some of the Jesuits in the house, Alphonsus was a strong influence on many. Not only the young students, such as St. , but local civic and social leaders came to his porter's lodge for advice and direction. Obedience and penance were the hallmarks of his life, as well as his devotion to the Immaculate Conception. He experienced many spiritual consolations, and he wrote religious treatises, very simple in but sound in doctrine. Alphonsus died after a long illness on October 31, 1617, and his funeral was attended by Church and government leaders. He was declared Venerable in 1626, and was named a patron of Majorca in 1633. Alphonsus was beatified in 1825 and canonized in September 1888 with St. Peter Claver.

October 31 - St. Wolfgang

Wolfgang, Bishop and reformer was born in Germany. He studied at Reichenau under the and at Wurzburg before serving as a teacher in the cathedral school of . He soon entered the Benedictines at Einsiedeln (964) and was appointed head of the monastery school, receiving ordination in 971. He then set out with a group of monks to preach among the Magyars of Hungary, but the following year he was named bishop of Regensburg by Emperor Otto II. He brought the clergy of the diocese into his reforms, restored monasteries, promoted education, preached enthusiastically, and was renowned for his charity and aid to the poor, receiving the title Eleemosynarius Major (Grand Almoner). He also served as tutor to Emperor Henry II while he was still king. Wolfgang died at Puppingen near Linz, Austria. At his request, he was carried into the chapel of Saint Othmar at Pupping, where he died. His body was taken up the Danube by his friends Count Aribo of Andechs and Archbishop Hartwich of Salzburg to Regensburg, and was solemnly buried in the crypt of Saint Emmeram. Many miracles were performed at his grave.

He was canonized in 1052 by Pope St. Leo IX. Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg was bishop of Regensburg in from Christmas 972 until his death. He is regarded as one of the three great German saints of the 10th century, the other two being Saint Ulrich and Saint Conrad of Constance.

November 1 - St. Valentine Berrio-Ochoa

There are many St. Valentine’s. In all, there are about a dozen St. Valentines, plus a pope. He should not to be confused with Valentinus (Gnostic) or Valentine of Passau. Unfortunately, there is little known of St. Valentine Berrio- Ochoa. He was a Bishop and martyr of Vietnam. A native of Ellorio, Spain, he entered the and was sent to the . From there he went to Vietnam in 1858, serving as a vicar apostolic and until betrayed by an apostate. He was martyred by beheading with St. Jerome Hermosilla and Blessed Peter Amato, by enemies of the Church. He is the most recently Valentine to be beatified. Pope John Paul II canonized Berrio-Ochoa in 1988.

November 2 - St. St. Victorinus of Pettau was a Bishop and martyr. Born in Greece. Due to its military character, Victorinus spoke Greek better than , which explains why, in St. Jerome's opinion, his works written in Latin were more remarkable for their matter than for their style. He became bishop of Pettau, in Pannonia (later Styria, Austria). He was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor (r. 284-305). Victorinus was also the author of several biblical commentaries such as Genesis, Exodus,Leviticus, , , , Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of , St. Matthew, and the Apocalypse, (bible commentaries aid in the study of Scripture by providing explanation and interpretation of Biblical text.) Although he may have been an adherent of Millenarianism, a of that time. (Millenarianism is the belief or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed.”) All that has survived is his Commentary on Apocalypse.

Sketch of St. Vitorinus doing penance.

November 3 - St.

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru. When Martin was young his father, a Spanish nobleman, abandoned the family and left them in poverty. Martin wanted to become a priest, however, Peruvian law prohibited descendants of Africans and Native Americans from becoming full members of religious orders. At fifteen Martin chose to become a servant at the Dominican Convent of the in Lima. Martin eventually became a Dominican lay brother, never ordained in the Catholic church. However, at that time, age 24, he spent the rest of his life caring for the sick. He is also known for his work with the poor and the establishment of an orphanage and children’s hospital. Martin ex-tended unconditional compassion and care to all people regardless of race or status. He is the patron saint of the poor, public health, and racial harmony and his feast day is November 3rd.

November 4 - St. Who was our patron Saint Charles Borromeo? Charles Borromeo was born on October 2, 1538, near the Alps in Lake Maggiore, Italy. He was the second son of distinguished and wealthy parents who raised him in an extremely religious atmosphere. When he was twelve, he was given , which is the cutting of hair on top of the head. This marked him for the priesthood and he was educated with that goal in mind. Charles studied theology and also earned his degree in law at the University of in . Three weeks after he received his degree, his mother’s brother became Pope and called his brilliant young nephew to Rome. Almost immediately, Pope Pius IV made Charles, aged 22, a Cardinal of the Church. Because of his skills of organization and dealing with people, the Pope promoted Charles Borromeo to the office of Secretary of State, the Cardinal Protector of several countries and of six religious orders as well as naming him Archbishop of Milan. He had many friends, played the violin, went hunting and enjoyed his life. In 1562, Charles was appointed by the Pope to help him organize the upcoming . During this planning, Charles’ brother died, forcing Charles to look at the meaning and purpose of his life. He decided to be holy and make the Church, if he could, a holier place, too. He made several changes: 1) rewrote the that the people learned; 2) started reforms in the preparation of candidates for the priesthood; 3) ordered changes in the prayer book of the Church; and 4) asked the Pope to decree that political appointments could no longer be made in the Church. Many of these reforms, and others with which Charles is credited, grew out of the Council of Trent. In 1566, the Pope sent Charles back to Milan to be full-time Archbishop. He continued his work with the people, caring for them in the streets when the plague hit Milan. He nursed the sick and even saw that the curtains in his palace, his clothes and other possessions were turned into money for medicine for the poor. Charles, the Archbishop of Milan, was usually seen in rags. He taught catechism, found the sick and elderly places to stay, established schools and ran the diocese. He lived a life of prayer, slept little and ate less. He once said, “Here all kinds of poor will be housed, outsiders as well as Milanese; men, women, children because charity knows no distinction of nations, and we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.” Toward the end of October in the year 1584, Charles had been traveling to some outlying districts in his diocese. On the way home he fell ill with a heavy fever and had to be brought back to Milan on a stretcher. He died a few days later. The Church that he had worked so hard to make more human recognized him as a saint in 1610.

November 5 - St. Elizabeth

What we know of St. Elizabeth comes from the Gospel, the book of Luke, in particular. In Luke, Elizabeth, a daughter of the line of Aaron, and the wife of Zechariah, was "righteous before God" and was "blameless" but childless. Elizabeth is also a cousin to .

Zechariah, desiring a child, went to pray in the temple and was told by the angel , "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born." (Luke 1:13-15).

Zechariah was skeptical because both himself and his wife were elderly. For his skepticism, Zechariah was rendered mute until the prophecy had been fulfilled.Elizabeth became pregnant shortly thereafter and she rejoiced.

Gabriel then visited the Virgin Mary at Nazareth, telling her that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and become the mother of Jesus.

Mary then visited Elizabeth, and her baby leapt in her womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaimed to Mary, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (Luke 1:41-45).

Mary visited with Elizabeth for three months, both women pregnant with child. After Mary returned home, Elizabeth gave birth to a son and named him John. This child was chosen by God to be John the Baptist. John would baptize Christ as an example to all, that all must be reborn of water and spirit.

Although Elizabeth's neighbors assumed the child would be named Zechariah, her husband insisted that John be his name. This astonished the neighbors for there were no men named John in Elizabeth's family, but Zechariah's insistence ended the debate. At the moment, Zechariah insisted that they obey the will of God, and name him John, his speech returned.

After this, there is no more mention in the Bible about Elizabeth.

November 6 - St. Leonard

Saint Leonard was a Frankish (Germanic tribe) nobleman in the court of King . It was through , Bishop of , that Saint Leonard together with the king were converted to Christianity on Christmas day in the year 496. He has been considered the patron saint of prisoners of war because of how he sought the king’s permission to visit and liberate prisoners he found worthy of freedom during his time.

Saint Leonard is also said to be the patron saint of pregnant women in childbirth labor because of how his prayers helped the queen of the safely deliver her male child. As a form of gratitude, the king gave him a portion of the royal lands which he could reach by riding around on his donkey for a day. In the lands granted him, he founded a monastery, the Noblac Abbey, which grew into a town named after him- “Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.” He spent the rest of his life evangelizing the people in that village.

November 7 - St. Achillas

St. Achillas was a Bishop and theologian who lived in an era of dispute in the Church. Achillas was the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the most powerful cities in the world at the time. Pope Theonas had ordained him priest and appointed him head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria upon the departure of Pierius. Achillas was the 18th Pope and , reigning from 312 to 313.

When Achillas recognized the untruths in Arius' preaching, he took steps to defend the faith and was attacked by Arius and another heretical group called the Meletians. Achillas remained firm in the faith. A council held in Alexandria condemned Arius and forced him to flee to Palestine. Achillas, however, did not live to see this condemnation. After his death, Arius nominated himself to become Bishop of Alexandria, but the clergy and the people chose Alexander instead.

November 8 - St. Castorius St. Castorius is the patron saint of sculptors and his feast day is November 8th. Castorius, Claudius, Nicostratus, and Symphorian are called "the " who were tortured and executed in Pannonia, Hungary during the reign of Diocletian. According to legend, they were employed as carvers IN Yugoslavia and impressed Diocletian with their art, as did another carver, Simplicius. Diocletian commissioned them to do several carvings, which they did to his satisfaction, but they then refused to carve a statue of Aesculapius (is a hero and god of medicine in religion and mythology), as they were Christians. The emperor accepted their beliefs, but when they refused to sacrifice to the gods, they were imprisoned. When an officer of Diocletian who was trying to convince them to sacrifice to the gods and suddenly died, his relatives accused the five of his death; to placate the relatives, the emperor had them executed. Another story has four unnamed Corniculari (an officer of the Roman legions who served as the adjutant to a centurion, so named for wearing a cornicule - a small, horn-shaped badge), beaten to death in Rome with leaden whips when they refused to offer sacrifice to Aesculapius. They were buried on the Via Lavicana and were later given their names by Pope Militiades. Probably they were the four Pannonian martyrs (not counting Simplicius) whose remains were moved to Rome and buried in the Four Crowned Ones basilica there.

Florence - Church of Four Crowned Martyrs or Four Saints

November 9 - St. Benignus

There is little know of the life of Benignus of Dijon. Benignus proselytized openly in different parts of Gaul, and performed numerous miracles despite the persecution of Christians. Denounced to the Emperor Aurelian, he was arrested and put on trial. Benignus refused to sacrifice to pagan deities or to Caesar, and refused to deny Christ. The authorities savagely tortured him, to which he responded with new miracles; he did not change his mind. Eventually, Benignus was clubbed to death with a bar of iron and his heart pierced. "He was buried in a tomb which was made to look like a pagan monument in order to deceive the persecutors".

According to the common people reverenced his grave, but Gregory's great-grandfather, Saint Gregory, wished to put an end to this veneration, because he believed the grave to belong to a heathen. However, when he learned through a vision one night that the burial spot (in a large necropolis outside the Roman city) was in fact the previously overlooked grave of the holy martyr Benignus, the bishop had the tomb in which the sarcophagus lay restored, and he built a basilica over it. Despite the damage to, the destruction during the and eventual rebuilding, a cathedral is still there, with his purported sarcophagus can still be seen in the crypt.

November 10 - St. Leo the Great

Saint Leo the Great, also known as Pope Saint , was born into a Roman aristocratic family. His response to the call of the Lord transformed him into one of the greatest popes of Christian history. In fact, he was the first pope to be given the title "the Great." Details pertaining to Leo's place of birth are not known, but it is believed his ancestors come from .

St. Leo the Great became a very well-known deacon of the Church by 431, serving the church under the pontificate of . Leo was widely respected for his love for the Lord, intelligence and persuasive nature. He was also gifted in bringing reconciliation between disputing groups of Christians.

That is why he was often sent out to settle disputes, both secular and theological. Following the pontificate of Pope Celestine, the next Pope was Pope Sixtus III.

Pope Sixtus III passed away while Leo was visiting Gaul. His task was to bring peace between one of Gaul's chief military commanders and the chief magistrate. Leo was then unanimously elected as the next pope to succeed Pope Sixtus III in 440. His swift election reflected the respect he had garnered among the people from his service to the Lord and the affection the faithful had this pastoral and wise servant of the Lord.

Pope Leo I focused his pontificate on four main areas. He continuously worked to oppose and root out numerous heresies which were threatening the Western Church. Among them were , which involved denying and failing to understand the necessity of God's grace for .

Along with his dynamic faith and outstanding theological wisdom, was also courageous. He led Rome's defense against the Hun's barbarian invasion on Italy in 452, by taking on the role of peacemaker. Pope St Leo focused heavily on the pastoral care of his people. He inspired and helped to foster charitable work in areas of Rome affected heavily by famine, refugees and poverty

Pope Leo I was renowned for his profoundly spiritual sermons. With his words, Leo could reach the everyday needs and of his people. It was his reputation as an "instrument of the call to holiness, well-versed in Scripture and ecclesiastical awareness" that helped him become one of the greatest popes in the history of the Church.

Patron Saint of Cairano Statue in Cairano Italy Cathedral

November 11 - St. Martin of Tours

Saint Martin of Tours was born in in Savaria, today’s Hungary, around 336 AD. His father, a tribune, was assigned to a post in Northern Italy where Martin would grow up.

Just before Martin was born, Christianity was legalized in the and the bloody persecution of Christians soon came to an end. It was not the official religion of the State, but it could be practiced and proclaimed openly. The Gospel message soon flourished in , transforming the empire. Martin's parents were pagans, but at the age of 10, Martin chose to respond to the call of the Gospel and become a Christian.

At the age of fifteen, Martin was required to follow his father into the cavalry corps of the Roman military. As a young soldier, Martin encountered a beggar in . The beggar was unclothed and it was very cold. Martin removed his cloak and with his sword, he cut it in half. He gave this half to the beggar and dressed himself in the remnant. That night, Martin had a vision in which Christ appeared to him. The vision spoke to him, "Martin, a mere catechumen has clothed me." A catechumen is one who is being instructed in the Christian faith. In the early centuries of Christianity, that was a long process of instruction - and Martin was deeply dedicated to it.

Very quickly, Martin made clear to his superiors that he would no longer fight. He refused his pay prior to a battle and announced he would not join in the combat. He became the first recognized conscientious objector in recorded history.

Martin established a monastery which would be inhabited by the Benedictines. Established in 361, the Liguge Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution, then reestablished in 1853. The abbey remains to this day. From the site of his abbey, Martin worked to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ and into His Church in the surrounding areas. He was an extraordinary evangelist.

November 12 - St. Josaphat of Polotsk

Born in what is now Belarus, Joann (as he was christened) worked for a trader who offered him a partnership and his daughter’s hand in marriage. But Joann was also interested in learning Church Slavonik, the liturgical language of the Eastern Church and encouraged by two Jesuits, he became a monk in the monastery of the Holy in taking the name Josaphat. Here he met a kindred spirit, John Benjamin Rutsky, a convert from Calvinism, and both started a movement that developed into the Order of St Basil.

Anti-Roman sentiment was strong in the city of Vitebsk. Josaphat decided to go there in person to try to effect reconciliation. But followers of the rival archbishop assembled a hostile crowd. In the confusion a mob broke into the palace where Josaphat was staying and attacked his servants. When Josaphat tried to appeal to them, two men attacked him, one hitting him with a club the other splitting his head open with an axe. The hostile crowd seized his body and, weighting it with stones, threw it in the local River Dzvina.

Josaphat was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867. A huge basilica modelled on St Peter’s in Rome was built in his honor in , Winsconsin, and St. Josaphat Cathedral is a Ukrainian Catholic cathedral in Edmonton, Alberta, one of the best examples of church architecture in Canada.

November 13 - St. Frances Xavier Cabrini The youngest of thirteen children, Frances Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850 in a small village called S’ant Angelo Lodigiano near the city of Milan, Italy. She grew up enthralled by the stories of missionaries and made up her mind to join a religious order. Because of her frail health, she was not permitted to join the Daughters of the who had been her teachers and under whose guidance she obtained her teaching certificate.

However, in 1880, with seven young women, Frances founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was as resourceful as she was prayerful, finding people who would donate what she needed in money, time, labor and support. She and her sisters wanted to be missionaries in China; she visited Rome to obtain an audience with Pope Leo XIII. The Pope told Frances to go “not to the East, but to the West” to New York rather than to China as she had expected. She was to help the thousands of Italian immigrants already in the .

In 1889, New York seemed to be filled with chaos and poverty, and into this new world stepped Mother Frances Cabrini and her sister companions. Cabrini organized catechism and education classes for the Italian immigrants and provided for the needs of the many orphans. She established schools and orphanages despite tremendous odds.

Soon, requests for her to open schools came to Frances Cabrini from all over the world. She traveled to Europe, Central and South America and throughout the United States. She made 23 trans-Atlantic crossings and established 67 institutions: schools, hospitals and orphanages.

Her activity was relentless until her death. On December 22, 1917, in , she died. In 1946, she was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII in recognition of her holiness and service to mankind and was named Patroness of Immigrants in 1950.

Today the Missionary Sisters, their lay collaborators and volunteers work as teachers, nurses, social workers, administrators and members of institutional boards of trustees. They can be found on six continents and 15 countries throughout the world – wherever there is a need. November 14 - St. Lawrence O'Toole

St. Lawrence, it appears, was born about the year 1125. When only ten years old, his father delivered him up as a hostage to Dermod Mac Murehad, King of Leinster, (in Ireland) who treated the child with great inhumanity, until his father obliged the tyrant to put him in the hands of the Bishop of Glendalough, in the county of Wicklow. The holy youth grew to be a model of virtues. On the death of the bishop, who was also abbot of the monastery, St. Lawrence was chosen abbot in 1150, though he was only twenty-five years old, and governed his numerous community with wonderful virtue and prudence. In 1161, St. Lawrence was unanimously chosen to fill the new metropolitan See of Dublin. About the year 1171 he was sent to England on the affairs of his diocese. He met with King Henry II, who was then at Canterbury. The Saint was received by the Benedictine monks of Christ Church with the greatest honor and respect. On the following day, as the holy archbishop was going to the altar to officiate, a maniac, who had heard much of his sanctity, and who was led on by the idea of making so holy a man another St. Thomas, struck him a violent blow on the head. All present concluded that he was mortally wounded; but the Saint came to himself, asked for some water, blessed it, and having his wound washed with it, the blood was immediately stopped, and the Archbishop celebrated Mass. In 1175 Henry II of England became offended with Roderic, the monarch of Ireland, and St.Lawrence undertook another journey to England to negotiate a reconciliation between them. Henry was so moved by his piety, charity, and prudence that he granted him everything he asked, and left the whole negotiation to his discretion. Our Saint ended his journey on the 14th of November, 1180, and was buried in the church of the abbey at Eu, on the confines of Normandy. His feast day is November 14th.

The metal-encased heart of St Lawrence O’Toole, was stolen from Christ Church Cathedral in March 2012 and returned in April 2018. Some say it is cursed.

November 15 - St. Albert the Great The saint and doctor of the Church who would be known as Albertus was born sometime before the year 1200. He was probably born in Bavaria, a fact that is inferred because he referred to himself as "Albert of Lauingen," a town which still stands today in southern Germany. We do not know for sure all the details of his family origins, but we know he was well educated. He attended the University of where he learned about Aristotle and his writings. This instruction in philosophy would become the foundation of his later work. Sometime around the year 1223 or so, Albert experienced an encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This encounter moved him so much that he chose to become a member of the Dominican Order. He thereafter studied theology. He excelled in his studies and later became a lecturer for the Dominicans at Cologne. In 1245, Albert became a master of theology under Gueruc of Saint-Quentin. He was the first German Dominican to achieve the title. He later went on to teach theology at the University of Paris, and became the Chair of Theology at the College of St. James. One of his students was the famous who would also become a doctor of the Church and a saint. Albert was very interested in Aristotle, and he made commentary on nearly all of Aristotle's works. He also studied the teachings of several Muslim scholars. At this time, the Islamic world led Europe in terms of scholarship, science, and medicine. He, along with Thomas Aquinas and several other contemporary leaders created a program of study for the Dominican order and developed a curriculum for philosophy. From this course of study would later arise the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in Rome. Today, the university which is known as the "Angelicum," is one of the foremost theological colleges in the world. It is still run by the Dominican order. In 1260, impressed with his acumen, Pope Alexander IV appointed Albert as bishop of Regensburg. In his later years, Albert became renowned as a mediator. He mediated disputes between individuals as well as resolving a dispute between the people of Colonge and their bishop. He also founded Germany's oldest university in that city. Before his death, he mourned the early passing of his great student, Thomas Aquinas, who would later be recognized as a saint and doctor of the Church. Aquinas died in 1274. Albert spent his last years defending the work of Aquinas which is among the most important work in the Church. Albert became ill in 1278 and he died on November 15, 1280. Three years after his death, his grave was opened and his body found to be incorrupt. When his grave was again opened centuries later in 1483, they only found his skeleton. His relics are presently found in the St. Andreas church in Colonge. Albert was beatified in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. He was canonized and recognized as a doctor of the Church in 1931, by Pope Pius IX. He is the patron saint of scientists.

November 18 - St. Philippine Duchesne

St., Virgin was born in Grenoble, France, in 1769, Rose joined the Society of the Sacred Heart. In 1818, when she was forty-nine years old, Rose was sent to the United States. She founded a boarding school for daughters of pioneers near St. Louis and opened the first free school west of the Missouri. At the age of seventy-one, hardy as any of the pioneer women in the wagons rolling west, cold and hunger drove them out—to Florissant, Missouri, where she began a school for Native Americans. Finally at age 72, retired and in poor health, Rose got her lifelong wish. A mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, among the Potawatomi and she was taken along. Though she could not learn their language, they soon named her “Woman-Who-Prays-Always.” While others taught, she prayed. Legend has it that Native American children sneaked behind her as she knelt and sprinkled bits of paper on her habit, and came back hours later to find them undisturbed. Rose Duchesne died in 1852, at the age of 83. Her biographers have stressed her courage in frontier conditions, her singlemindedness in pursuing her dream of serving Native Americans, and her self-acceptance. This holy was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988. November 17 - St. Elizabeth of Hungary

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, was born in Hungary on July 7, 1207 to the Hungarian King Andrew II and Gertrude of Merania. As soon as her life began, royal duties were given to her. While Elizabeth was very young, her father arranged for her to be married to German nobleman. Because of this plan, Elizabeth was sent away at the age of four for education at the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia. Elizabeth's mother, Gertrude, was murdered in 1213, when Elizabeth was just six-years-old. According to history, the murder was carried out by Hungarian noblemen due to the conflict between Germans and the Hungarian nobles. From this point on, Elizabeth found great satisfaction in peace with prayer. She did marry and together, they had 3 children. Two became members of nobility and the third went into the religious life, becoming of a German convent. Elizabeth continued to live a life full of prayer and a service to the poor. Ludwig, who was now one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported all of Elizabeth's religious endeavors even though she was a part of the royal court. She began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. She used her royal position to advance her mission for charity. In 1223, Franciscan arrived in Thuringia and taught 16-year-old Elizabeth all about Francis of Assisi's ideals. She then forth decided to live her life mirroring his. She wore simple clothing and set aside time every day to take bread to hundreds of poor people in her land. Ludwig and Elizabeth were politically powerful and lived with a remarkable generosity toward the poor. Ludwig passed away in 1227. His remains were entombed at the Abbey of Reinhardsbrunn. Elizabeth vowed to never remarry. Her vows included celibacy and an agreement of complete obedience to her confessor and spiritual director, Master Conrad of Marburg. His treatment of Elizabeth was very strict and often harsh. He held her to a standard that many saw as impossible to meet. He provided physical beatings and sent away her children. However, she continued to keep her vow, even offering to cut off her own nose, so she would be too ugly for any man to want. In 1228, Elizabeth joined the of St. Francis. Elizabeth, having received her dowry, founded a hospital in honor of St. Francis, where she personally attended to the ill. She ministered to the sick and provided support to the poor. Elizabeth's life was consumed deeply by her devotion to God and her charitable labor. She passed away at the age of 24, on November 17, 1231 in Marburg, . There were miracles that occurred while she was alive. Even after her death, miraculous healings began to occur at her graveside near her hospital. Examinations were held for those who had been healed from 1232 to 1235. The investigations, along with testimony from Elizabeth's handmaidens and companions and the immense popularity surrounding her, provided enough reason for her canonization. Pope Gregory IX canonized her on May 27, 1235.

November 18 - St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

St.Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin was born in Grenoble, France, in 1769, Rose joined the Society of the Sacred Heart. In 1818, when she was forty-nine years old, Rose was sent to the United States. She founded a boarding school for daughters of pioneers near St. Louis and opened the first free school west of the Missouri. At the age of seventy-one, hardy as any of the pioneer women in the wagons rolling west, cold and hunger drove them out—to Florissant, Missouri, where she began a school for Native Americans. Finally at age 72, retired and in poor health, Rose got her lifelong wish. A mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, among the Potawatomi and she was taken along. Though she could not learn their language, they soon named her “Woman-Who-Prays-Always.” While others taught, she prayed. Legend has it that Native American children sneaked behind her as she knelt and sprinkled bits of paper on her habit, and came back hours later to find them undisturbed. Rose Duchesne died in 1852, at the age of 83. Her biographers have stressed her courage in frontier conditions, her singlemindedness in pursuing her dream of serving Native Americans, and her self-acceptance. This holy servant of God was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988. November 19 - St. Nerses the Great As we explore the lives of saints, during the 1st thru 5th centuries, we find another with little historical information on their good works or way in which they lived their lives. Nerses was a Bishop and martyr, the father of St. Isaac the Great. A native of Armenia, he studied in Cappadocia and wed a princess who gave birth to Isaac. After she died, he served in the court of King Arshak of Armenia. In 353 he was made Catholicos of the Armenians. Nerses devoted much effort to reforming the Armenian Church, including convening a synod in 365 based on the principles he had studied under St. Basil at Caesarea. Though he established hospitals and monasteries, his reforms and denunciation of King Arshak's murder of the queen led to his exile. He returned after Arshak's death in battle, but relations were not much better with the new Armenian ruler, Pap, whose dissolute lifestyle caused Nerses to refuse him admission into church. Nerses was invited to a royal banquet at Khakh, on the Euphrates River, and was assassinated by poison.

November 20 - St. Edmund Rich or Edmund of Abingdon

Edmond was Archbishop of Canterbury England, who battled for discipline and justice, also called Edmund of Abingdon born in Abingdon in 1180. Edmund's life was one of self-sacrifice and devotion to others. From boyhood he practiced asceticism; such as fasting on Saturdays on bread and water, and wearing a hair shirt. After just a few hours of sleep, most of the night he spent in prayer and meditation. (A hair shirt is a shirt made of rough uncomfortable cloth which some religious people used to wear to punish themselves. If you say that someone is wearing a hair shirt, you mean that they are trying to punish themselves to show they are sorry for something they have done.)

He studied at , England, and in Paris. He taught art and mathematics at Oxford and was ordained. He spent eight years teaching theology and became Canon and treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral. An eloquent speaker, Edmund preached a crusade for Pope Gregory IX and was named Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an advisor to King Henry III and presided in 1237 at Henry's ratification of the Great Charter. When Cardinal Olt became a papal legate with the patronage of King Henry, Edmund protested. A long-lasting feud between Edmund, the king, and his legate led him to resigning his See in 1240. He went to Pontigny, France, where he became a Cistercian. He died at Soissons, on November 16. Edmund was canonized in 1246 or 1247. A hall in Oxford bears his name.

Edmund's body was never translated to Canterbury, because the Benedictine community there resented what they regarded as Edmund's attacks on their independence. After his death he was taken back to Pontigny Abbey, where his main relics are now found in a reliquary tomb dating to the 17th century.

November 21 – St.

In 1565, the Vatican was looking for a someone with no fear of reprisal, to carry out simple errands but dangerous in many ways in the 16th century. The first envoy who tried to carry decrees through territory of hostile Protestants and vicious thieves was robbed of the precious documents. Rome needed someone courageous but also someone above suspicion. They chose Peter Canisius. At 43 he was a well-known Jesuit who had founded colleges that even Protestants respected. They gave him a cover as official "visitor" of Jesuit foundations. But Peter couldn't hide the decrees the same way we think of doing this today. Peter traveled from Rome and successfully crisscrossed through Germany loaded down with the Tridentine tomes -- 250 pages each -- not to mention the three sacks of books he took along for his own university!

For many years during the Reformation, Peter saw the students in his universities swayed by the flashy speeches and the well-written arguments of the Protestants. Peter was not alone in wishing for a Catholic catechism that would present true Catholic beliefs undistorted by fanatics. Finally, King Ferdinand himself ordered Peter and his companions to write a catechism. A friend and colleague of Peter’s Father Lejay was obviously the logical choice, being a better writer than Peter to carry out the directive. When Father Lejay died, King Ferdinand would wait no longer. Peter said of writing: "I have never learned to be elegant as a writer, but I cannot remain dumb on that account." The first issue of the Catechism appeared in 1555 and was an immediate success. Peter approached Christian doctrine in two parts: wisdom -- including faith, hope, and charity -- and justice -- avoiding evil and doing good, linked by a section on . Because of the success and the need, Peter quickly produced two more versions: a Shorter Catechism for middle school students which concentrated on helping this age group choose good over evil by concentrating on a different virtue each day of the week; and his shortest Catechism for young children which included prayers for morning and evening, for mealtimes, etc. to get them used to praying. Peter died December 21, 1597. He is known as the Second Apostle of Germany and was named a Doctor of the Church. November 22 - St. Chaeromon

It’s always disappointing when information on the personal and/or spiritual life a saint has not been duly noted. St. Chaeromon is definitely one of those saints. He was a Bishop of Nilopolis, in Egypt. When the persecution was instituted by Emperor Trjanus , Chaeromon was quite elderly. He and several companions fled into the Arabian desert and were never seen again. The bishop and his companions are listed as martyrs.

November 23 - Blessed Miguel Pro

\Born on January 13, 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico, Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez was the eldest son of Miguel Pro and Josefa Juarez.

Miguel was particularly close to his older sister and after she entered a cloistered convent, he came to recognize his own vocation to the priesthood. Although he was popular with the senoritas and had prospects of a lucrative career managing his father's thriving business concerns, Miguel renounced everything for Christ his King and entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1911.

He studied in Mexico until 1914, when a tidal wave of anti-Catholicism crashed down upon Mexico, forcing the novitiate to disband and flee to the United States, where Miguel and his brother seminarians treked through Texas and New Mexico before arriving at the Jesuit house in Los Gatos, California.

In 1915, Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain, where he remained until 1924, when he went to Belgium for his ordination to the priesthood in 1925. Miguel suffered from a severe stomach problem and after three operations, when his health did not improve, his superiors, in 1926, allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the grave religious persecution in that country.

The churches were closed and priests went into hiding. Miguel spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the by assisting the poor in Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many interesting disguises in carrying out his secret ministry. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Communion\ to condemned Catholics.

Falsely accused in the bombing attempt on a former Mexican president, Miguel became a wanted man. Betrayed to the police, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.

On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely, refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live !" Information courtesy of ProVision and Brother Gerald Mueller.

November 24 - St. Andrew Dung Lac

Through the missionary efforts of various religious families beginning in the sixteenth century and continuing until 1866, the Vietnamese people heard the message of the gospel, and many accepted it despite persecution and even death.

On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 persons martyred in the eighteenth century. Among these were ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven missionaries born in Spain and belonging to the Order of Preachers, and ten French missionaries belonging to the Paris Foreign Mission Society. Among these saints are eight Spanish and French bishops, fifty priests (thirteen European and thirty-seven Vietnamese), and fifty-nine lay people. These martyrs gave their lives not only for the Church but for their country as well. They showed that they wanted the gospel of Christ to take root in their people and contribute to the good of their homeland. On June 1, 1989, these holy martyrs were inscribed in the liturgical calendar of the Universal Church on November 24th.

Vietnamese martyr, companion of St. Peter Thi. Andrew, born in 1785, was a priest in Vietnam, his homeland. He was arrested and beheaded on December 21 with Peter Thi. He was canonized in 1988.

November 25 – St. Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a canonized saint in the Catholic Church who, per Christian tradition, was martyred around 305 in Alexandria, Egypt. Of course, the Church of the first Millennium was undivided. She is also recognized as the and Saint by the Orthodox Church. There are no surviving primary sources attesting to her existence, but the fact that her memory, and the stories about her, have been kept alive - and handed down in the tradition - certainly confirm her existence, and her life of heroic virtue and holiness. The young saint was born around 287 in Alexandria, Egypt. Christian tradition states she was of noble birth, possibly a princess. As a member of the nobility, she was also educated and was an avid scholar. Around the age of fourteen, she experienced a moving vision of Mary and the infant Jesus, and she decided to become a Christian. Although she was a teenager, she was very intelligent and gifted. When the emperor Maxentius began persecuting Christians, Catherine visited him to denounce his cruelty. Rather than order her execution, Maxentius summoned fifty orators and philosophers to debate her. However, Catherine was moved by the power of the Holy Spirit and spoke eloquently in defense of her faith. Her words were so moving that several of the pagans converted to Christianity and were immediately executed. Unable to defeat her rhetorically or to intimidate her into giving up her belief, the emperor ordered her to be tortured and imprisoned. Catherine was arrested and scourged. Despite the torture, she did not abandon her faith. Word of her arrest and the power of her faith quickly spread and over 200 people visited her. According to some legends, the emperor's own wife, Valeria Maximilla was converted by Catherine. The emperor angrily ordered her to be executed on a breaking wheel. The breaking wheel is an ancient form of torture where a person's limbs are threaded among the spokes and their bones are shattered by an executioner with a heavy rod. It is a brutal punishment that results in a slow and painful death, normally reserved for the worst criminals. When Catherine was presented before the wheel, she touched it and a miracle occurred that caused the wheel to shatter. Unable to torture her to death, the emperor simply ordered her beheaded. One account claimed that angels took her body to Mt. Sinai. In the sixth century, the Emperor Justinian ordered a monastery established in her name. The monastery, Saint Catherine's, remains to this day and is one of the oldest in the world. Around the year 800, a legend spread that her body has been found with her hair still growing and a constant stream of oil coming from her body. Nothing exists to this day of her remains, and her very existence has been called into question.

November 26 - St.

Eldest son of a shoemaker, John was born in the . He knew early in his life that he wanted to be a priest. In 1615, he entered the newly founded Jesuit College at Malines, and the following year became a Jesuit . He was sent to Rome in 1618 to continue his studies, and was known for his diligence and piety, impressing all with and stress on perfection in little things. He died there on August 13.

Many miracles were attributed to him after his death, and he was canonized in 1888. He is the patron of altar boys. His feast day is November 26.

There are so many miracles attributed to St. John Berchmans, that they had to be categorized under five headings outlined in the book, The Life of St. John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus (Fr. Boero, S.J., 1866), written in gratitude for his beatification on May 28,1865 by Pope Pius IX and canonized January 15, 1888.

As he was dying, people throughout Rome spoke of the holiness of the young Jesuit scholastic, John Berchmans. Engravings were made of John Berchmans shortly after his death and copies were printed. In a few days, 24,000 of these engravings were sold in his native country.

There are so many miracles attributed to St. John Berchmans, that they had to be categorized under five headings.

November 27 - St. James Intercisus

James was a favorite of King Yezdigerd I of Persia and a Christian. He abandoned his religion when Yesdigerd launched a persecution of the Christians. When the king died, James repented of his apostasy and declared himself to be a Christian to the new king, Bahram. When James refused to apostasize, he was executed by having his body cut apart piece by piece, beginning with his fingers (hence his surname Intercisus - cut to pieces), and then beheaded. His feast day is November 27. Saint James Intercisus, also known as Saint James the Mutilated (died 421) was a Syriac Christian saint born in Beth Huzaye (Syriac: $% ܙ ܗܘ &'( ) in Persia. His epithet, Intercisus, is derived from the Latin word for "cut into pieces," which refers to the manner of his martyrdom: he was slowly cut into twenty-eight pieces. His death started the Roman-Sassanid War (421-422).

Reliquary of St. James Intercisus

November 28 -St. Catherine Laboure

St. Catherine Labouré was born in France on May 2, 1806 as the ninth of 11 children. In 1815, Catherine's mother passed away, leaving her 9-year-old daughter with the responsibility of caring for the household. After her mother's funeral, Catherine returned home and picked up a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Holding it close, she said, "Now you will be my mother."

A couple of years after her mother's death, Catherine experienced a dream of an old priest motioning her to a room of sick people. "It is a good deed to look after the sick. God has designs on you. Do not forget it." Years later, during a visit to the Daughters of Charity hospital, Catherine saw a picture of the old priest on the wall. She discovered it was of their founder, St. Vincent de Paul. Catherine immediately knew she would become a member of St. Vincent's order.

In January 1830, Catherine Labouré entered the novitiate of the Daughters of Charity. Months later, on July 19, 1830, Catherine woke from her sleep after hearing a child's voice calling her to the chapel as the Blessed Virgin Mary was waiting for her. As Catherine approached the chapel, the door swung open revealing a brilliant light. The Blessed Virgin told Catherine she would be given a mission with all the graces necessary to complete it. Our Lady said, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."

In November 1830, the Blessed Mother visited Catherine a second time during evening meditations. She showed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe with rays of light coming from her hands toward the globe. Around the frame were the words, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Mary asked Catherine to take these images to her father confessor, Father Jean Marie Aladel, telling him they should be placed on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great graces."

At first, the priest did not believe Catherine, but after two years, he brought her story to the Archbishop. The Archbishop ordered 2,000 medals struck.

The medals were dispersed so rapidly and effectively it was said to be miraculous.

November 29 – St. Saturinus

St. Saturninus went from Rome by the direction of , about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul. In the year 250, when Decius and Gratus were consuls, St. Saturninus fixed his episcopal see at . He converted a great number of idolaters by his preaching and miracles. This is all the account we have of him till the time of his holy martyrdom. The author of his acts, who wrote about fifty years after his death, relates, that he assembled his flock in a small church; and that the capitol, which was the chief temple in the city, lay in the way between that church and the saint's habitation.

The priests spied him one day going by, and seized and dragged him into the temple. declaring that he should either appease the offended deities by offering sacrifices to them, or ward off the crime with his blood. Saturninus boldly replied: "I adore one only God, and to him I am ready to offer a sacrifice of praise. Your gods are devils, and are more delighted with the sacrifice of your souls than with those of your bullocks. How can I fear them who, as you acknowledge, tremble before a Christian?"

The infidels, incensed at this reply, abused the saint with all the rage that a mad zeal could inspire, and after a great variety of indignities, tied his feet to a wild bull, for him to to be sacrificed. The beast being driven from the temple, ran violently down the hill, so that the martyr's scull was broken. The bull continued to drag the sacred body, till the cord broke leaving his remains in plain sight at the gates of the city.

Two devout women laid the sacred remains on a bier, and hid them in a deep ditch, to secure them from any further insult, where they lay in "wooden coffin" till the reign of . Then Hilary, bishop of Toulouse, built a small chapel over this his holy predecessor's body. Sylvius, bishop of that city towards the close of the fourth century, began to build a magnificent church in honor of the martyr, which was finished and consecrated by his successor Exuperius, who placed relics into it. This precious treasure remains there to this day with due honor. The martyrdom of this saint probably happened m the reign of Valerian, in 257.

November 30-St.

St. Andrew, also known as Andrew the Apostle, was the older brother to St. Peter. According to the New Testament, Andrew was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee during the early first century. Much like his younger brother, Simon Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman. Andrew's very name means strong and he was known for having good social skills. In the Gospel of Matthew, it is said Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing. It is then he asked the two to become disciples and "fishers of men."

In the Gospel of Luke, Andrew is not initially named. It describes Jesus using a boat, believed to be solely Simon's, to preach to the multitudes and catch a large amount of fish on a night that originally was dry. Later, in Luke 5:7, it mentions Simon was not the only fisherman on the boat, but it is not until Luke 6:14 that there is talk of Andrew being Simon Peter's brother. However, the Gospel of John tells a separate story, stating Andrew was a of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John the Baptist stated, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" It is then that Andrew and another made the decision to follow Jesus. Little else is said about Andrew in the , but it is believed Andrew was one of the closer disciples to Jesus. It was he who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, according to John 6:8. When Philip wanted to speak to Jesus about Greeks seeking him, he spoke to Andrew first. Andrew was also present at the last supper. As with Christian tradition, Andrew went on to preach the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as "crux decussata," which is an X-shaped cross or a "saltire." Today this is commonly referred to as "St. Andrew's Cross." It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself "unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus." Andrew's remains were originally preserved at Patras, in Greece. However, some believe St. Regulus, who was a monk at Patras, received a vision telling him to hide some of Andrew's bones. Shortly after Regulus' dream, many of Andrew's relics were transferred to Constantinople by order of Roman emperor Constantius II around 357. Regulus later received orders in a second dream telling him to take the bones "to the ends of the earth." He was to build a shrine for them wherever he shipwrecked. He landed on the coat of Fife, Scotland. In September 1964, Pope Paul VI had all of St. Andrew's relics that ended up in Vatican City sent back to Patras. Now, many of Andrew's relics and the cross on which he was martyred are kept in the Church of St. Andrew in Patras. December 1 - St. Eligius

Eligius (also known as Eloi) was born around 590 near in France. He became an extremely skillful metalsmith and was appointed master of the mint under the King of Paris. Eligius developed a close friendship with the King and his reputation as an outstanding metalsmith became widespread. With his fame came fortune. Eligius was very generous to the poor, ransomed many slaves, and built several churches and a monastery at Solignac, in Central-West France. He also erected a major convent in Paris with property he received from Clotaire's son, King Dagobert I. In 629, Eligius was appointed Dagobert's first counselor. Later, on a mission for Dagobert, he persuaded the Breton King Judicial, to accept the authority of Dagobert. Eligius later fulfilled his desire to serve God as a priest, after being ordained in 640. Then he was made bishop of Noyon and Tournai. He preached in Flanders, especially Antwerp, Ghent, and Courtai, in West Belgium, where he made many converts. Eligius died on December 1, around 660, at Noyon. The use of one's talents and wealth for the welfare of humanity is a very true reflection of the image of God. In the case of St. Eligius, he was so well liked that he attracted many to Christ. His example should encourage us to be generous in spirit and kind and happy in demeanor.

December 2 – St. Bibiana

There is nothing certain about this saint except her name St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr. However, we have the following account from a later tradition.

In the year 363, Julian the Apostate made Apronianus Governor of Rome. St. Bibiana suffered in the persecution started by him. She was the daughter of a Christian Roman knight and his wife. Her father was tortured and sent into exile, where he died of his wounds. Her mother was beheaded, and their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and left to suffer poverty. However, they remained in their house, spending their time in fasting and prayer.

Apronianus, seeing that hunger and poverty they were suffering had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her Faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. St. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored to change her. She used blows as well as persuasion, but the Christian virgin remained faithful.

Enraged at the constancy of this saintly virgin, Apronianus ordered her to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges, laden with lead plummets, until she died. The saint endured the torments with joy, and died under the blows inflicted by the hands of the executioner.

December 3 - St.

St. Francis Xavier was a Navarrese-Basque Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre on April 7, 1506. His father was a privy counselor and finance minister to King John III of Navarre. He was the youngest in his family and resided in a castle which still partially stands today and is in the possession of the Jesuit order.

When Francis came of age, he was sent to study at the University of Paris. While there he roomed with his friend, Peter Favre. The pair met and were heavily influenced by , who encouraged Francis to become a priest.

In 1534, Francis Xavier along with Peter Favre, and several other friends, made vows of poverty, chastity, and obedie nce. The men planned to travel to the to convert non-believers. Francis Xavier started his study of theology that same year and was ordained on June 24, 1537. Pope Paul III approved the formation of their order in 1540, which became The Society of Jesus. The order is more popularly became known as the Jesuits. Through his many years as a Jesuit, traveling far and wide, he was traveling to China by sea. Xavier's ship reached China, but first stopped at an island off the Chinese coast. At that stopover, Xavier was on his own. He managed to find a man to agree to take him to China for a large fee, but while he was waiting for his boat to arrive became ill with a fever. Xavier died on December 3, 1552. Xavier was buried on the island until February 1553 when his body was removed and taken to Malacca where it was buried at a church for a month. Then one of Xavier’s companions moved his body to his own residence for the rest of the year. In December, his body was moved to again. Xavier remains buried in a silver casket enclosed in a glass case in Goa. everal of his bones have been removed. His right arm, used to bless converts, is on display in Rome. Another arm bone is kept on Coloane island, in Macau, which today is part of China. Xavier was beatified by on Oct. 25, 1619, and canonized by Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 at the same ceremony as Ignatius of Loyola. He is the patron of . December 4 - St.

Saint John Damascene has the double honor of being the last but one of the fathers of the Eastern Church, and the greatest of her poets. It is surprising, however, how little that is authentic is known of his life. The account of him by John of Jerusalem, written some two hundred years after his death, contains a mixture of legends, and it is not easy to say where truth ends and fiction begins.

The ancestors of John, according to his biographer, when Damascus fell into the hands of the Arabs, had alone remained faithful to Christianity. John was baptized immediately on his birth, probably by Peter II, bishop of Damascus, afterwards a sufferer for the Faith.

The attainments of the young John of Damascus commanded the veneration of the Saracens; he was compelled reluctantly to accept an office of trust and dignity. As the Iconoclastic controversy became more violent, John of Damascus entered the field against the Emperor of the East, and wrote the first of his three treatises on the Veneration due to Images. This was probably composed immediately after the decree of Leo the Isaurian against images, in 730.

Before he wrote the second, he was apparently ordained priest, for he speaks as one having authority and commission. The third treatise is a recapitulation of the arguments used in the other two. These three treatises were disseminated with the utmost activity throughout Christianity.

His three great hymns or "canons," are those on Easter, the Ascension, and Satin Thomas's Sunday. Probably also many of the Idiomela an Stichera (music sources) which are books under the title of "John" and "John the Hermit," are his. His eloquent defense of images has deservedly gotten him the title of "The Doctor of ." The date of his death cannot be fixed with any certainty; but it lies between 754 and before 787.

December 5 - St. Sabas Sabas was born near Caesarea in Turkey. He was the son of an army officer there who when assigned to Alexandria, left him in the care of an uncle. Mistreated by his uncle's wife, Sabas ran away to another uncle, though he was only eight. When the two uncles became involved in a lawsuit over his estate, he again ran away, this time to a monastery nearby. In time the uncles were reconciled and wanted him to marry, but he remained in the monastery. In 456, he went to Jerusalem and there entered a monastery under St. Theoctistus. When he was thirty, he became a hermit under the guidance of St. Euthymius. After Euthymius' death, he spent four years alone in the desert near Jericho. Despite his desire for solitude, he attracted disciples, organized them into a monastic settlement in 483, and when his one hundred fifty monks asked for a priest and despite his opposition to monks being ordained, he was obliged to accept ordination by Patriarch Sallust of Jerusalem in 491. He attracted disciples from Egypt and Armenia, allowed them a liturgy in their own tongue, and built several hospitals and another monastery near Jericho. He was appointed archimandrite of all in Palestine who lived in separate cells, but his custom of going off by himself during caused dissension in the monastery, and sixty of his monks left to revive a ruined monastery at Thecuna. He bore them no ill will and aided them with food and supplies. In 531, when he was ninety-one, he again went to Constantinople, this time to plead with Emperor Justinian to suppress a Samaritan revolt and protect the people of Jerusalem from further harassment by the Samaritans. He fell ill soon after his return to his settlement from this trip and died on December 5, after naming his successor. Sabas is one of the most notable figures of early monasticism and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism. The settlement (or laura, as it was called) that he founded in the desolate, wild country between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, named Mar Saba after him, was often called the Great Laura for its preeminence and produced many great saints. It is still inhabited by monks of the and is one of the three or four oldest monasteries in the world.

December 6 - St. The great veneration with which St. Nicholas has been honored and the number of altars and churches all over the world that are dedicated in his memory are testimonials to his wonderful holiness and the glory he enjoys with God. As an episcopal see, and his childhood church falling vacant, the holy Nicholas was chosen bishop, and in that station became famous by his extraordinary piety and zeal and by his many astonishing miracles. The Greek histories of his life agree he suffered an imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Dioletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicaea and there condemned . It is said that St. Nicholas died in Myra, and was buried in his cathedral. St. Nicholas, also known as "Nikolaos of Myra," was a fourth century saint and Greek bishop of Myra. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire as an only child to Christian parents. Nicholas would take nourishment only once on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that in the evening according to the canons. "He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and trod piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church, enlightened his mind and encouraged his thirst for sincere and true religion." Both of his parents tragically died during an epidemic when he was a young man, leaving him well off, but to be raised by his uncle - the Bishop of Patara. Nicholas was determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity, and his uncle mentored him as a reader and later ordained him as a presbyter (priest). The accounts are unanimous that St. Nicholas died and was buried in his episcopal city of Myra, and by the time of Justinian, there was a basilica built in his honor at Constantinople. When Myra and its great shrine finally passed into the hands of the Saracens, several Italian cities saw this as an opportunity to acquire the relics of St. Nicholas for themselves. There was great competition for them between Venice and Bari. Bari won and the relics were carried off under the noses of the lawful Greek custodians and their Mohammedan masters. On May 9, 1087 St. Nicholas' relics safely landed in Bari, a not inappropriate home seeing that Apulia in those days still had large Greek colonies. A new church was built to shelter the relics and the pope, Bd. Urban II, was present at their enshrining. Devotion to St. Nicholas has been present in the West long before his relics were brought to Italy, but this happening greatly increased his veneration among the people, and miracles were as freely attributed to his intercession in Europe as they had been in Asia. The image of St. Nicholas is, more often than any other, found on Byzantine seals. In the later nearly four hundred churches were dedicated in his honor in England alone, and he is said to have been represented by Christian artists more frequently than any saint, except our Lady.

St. Nicholas became recognized as a saint long before the Roman Catholic Church began the regular canonizing procedures in the late 10th century. Therefore, he does not have a specific date of canonization, rather records of him exist in a spread until his stories became widely known and celebrated. St. Nicholas' feast day is December 6.

December 7 – St. Maria Giuseppe Rossello

Foundress of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy. She was born at Albisola Marina, Liguria, Italy, in 1811, and was baptized Benedetta. At sixteen she became a Franciscan tertiary (a member of a monastic third order especially of lay people), and in 1837, she and three companions, Pauline Barla, Angela, and Domenica Pessio, found a community in Savona. The congregation was devoted to charitable works, hospitals, and educating poor young women. In 1840, Maria Giuseppe, also called Josepha, was made superior. By the time she died on December 7, 1888, she had made sixty-eight foundations. She was canonized in 1949.

December 8 – St. Romaric

In the account of St Amatus of Remiremont, a commune in France, it is related how he brought about the conversion to God of a Merovingian nobleman named Romaric, who became a monk at Luxeuil (another commune in France); and how they afterwards went together to the estate of Romaric at Habendum in the region, and established the monastery which was later known as Remiremont (Romarici Mons). The father of Romaric had lost his life and his lands at the hands of Queen Brunehilda, and his young son became a homeless wanderer; but at the time of his meeting St Amatus, Romaric was a person of distinction at the court of Clotaire II, with considerable property and a number of serfs. These he enfranchised, and it is said that when he was tonsured at Luxeuil several of these newly freed men presented themselves to the abbot for the same purpose. (Tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility.) Remiremont was founded in 620 and St Amatus was its first abbot, but his duties soon devolved upon St Romaric, who at the time of his death had governed for thirty years. Among the early recruits was the friend of Romaric, St Arnulfus of Metz, who about 629 came to end his days in a nearby hermitage. Shortly before his death St Romaric was disturbed by the news that Grimoald, the son of another old friend, Blessed Pepin of Landen, was plotting to exclude the young prince Dagobert from the Austrasian throne. The aged abbot made his way to Metz, where he protested with Grimoald and warned the nobles who supported him. They heard him quietly, treated him with courtesy, and sent him back to his monastery. Three days later St Romaric died. No photographs or paintings of St. Romaric have been located.

SAINT ROMARIC: STONE STATUE, XVI CENTURY, CHARLES DE BRUYÈRES MUSEUM, REMIREMONT

December 9 – St. Juan Diego Saint Juan Diego was born in 1474 as Cuauhtlatoatzin, a native to Mexico. He became the first Roman Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas. Following the early death of his father, Juan Diego was taken to live with his uncle. From the age of three, he was raised in line with the Aztec pagan religion, but always showed signs of having a mystical sense of life. He was recognized for his religious fervor, his respectful and gracious attitude toward the Virgin Mary and his Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, and his undying love for his ill uncle. When a group of 12 Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico in 1524, he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism and were among the first to be baptized in the region. Juan Diego was very committed to his new life and would walk long distances to receive religious instruction at a Franciscan mission. On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to make it to Mass and celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, he was stopped by the beautiful sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the "ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God." Mary told Juan Diego she was the mother of all those who lived in his land and asked him to make a request to the local bishop. She wanted them to build a chapel in her honor there on Tepeyac Hill, which was the site of a former pagan temple. When Juan Diego approached Bishop Juan de Zumarraga telling of what happened, he was presented with doubts and was told to give the Bishop time to reflect on the news. Later, the same day, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary a second time and told her he failed in granting her request. He tried to explain to her he was not an important person, and therefore not the one for the task, but she instead he was the man she wanted. Juan Diego returned to the Bishop the next day and repeated his request, but now the Bishop asked for proof or a sign the apparition was real and truly of heaven. Juan Diego went straight to Tepeyac and, once again, encountered the Virgin Mary. After explaining to her what the Bishop asked, she agreed and told him she'd provide him with proof on the next day, December 11. However, on the next day, Juan Diego's uncle became very sick and he was obligated to stay and care for him. Juan Diego set out the next to find a priest for his uncle. He was determined to get there quickly and didn't want to face the Virgin Mary with shame for missing the previous day's meeting. But the Virgin Mary intercepted him and asked what was wrong. He explained his situation and promised to return after he found his uncle a priest. She looked at him and asked "No estoy yo aqui que soy tu madre?" (Am I not here, I who am your mother?) She promised him his uncle would be cured and asked him to climb to the hill and collect the flowers growing there. He obeyed and found many flowers blooming in December on the rocky land. He filled his tilma (cloak) with flowers and returned to Mary. The Virgin Mary arranged the flowers within his cloak and told him this would be the sign he is to present to the bishop. Once Juan Diego found the bishop, he opened his cloak and the bishop was presented with a miraculous imprinted image of the Virgin Mary on the flower-filled cloak. The next day, Juan Diego found his uncle fully healed from his illness. His uncle explained he, too, saw the Virgin Mary. She also instructed him on her desires to have a church built on Tepeyac Hill, but she also told him she wanted to be known with the title of Guadalupe. News of Juan Diego's miracle quickly spread, and he became very well-known. However, Juan Diego always remained a humble man. Juan Diego moved into a little hermitage on Tepeyac Hill, and lived a solidarity life of prayer and work. He remained there until his death on December 9, 1548, 17 years after the first apparition. St. Juan Diego was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on July 31, 2002.

December 10 – Pope Saint Gregory III

Pope St. Gregory III was the son of a Syrian named John. The date of his birth is not known. His reputation for learning and virtue was so great that the Romans elected him pope by acclamation, when he was accompanying the funeral of his predecessor, 11 February, 731. He made it a point of paying special honor to images and relics, giving particular attention to the subject of St. Peter's. Fragments of inscriptions, to be seen in the crypts of the Vatican basilica, bear witness to this day of an oratory he built therein, and of the special prayers he ordered to be there recited. In the midst of wars and rumors of war, Gregory died, and was buried in the oratory of our Lady which he had himself built in St. Peter's. He died in 741, but whether in November or December is not certain. It is however, on 28 November that he is commemorated in the Roman martyrology.

December 11 – Pope Saint Damasus I

All those who love the Scripture have reason to celebrate this day. Damasus was the pope who commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin, the version of the Bible. Damasus was a sixty-year-old deacon when he was elected bishop of Rome in 366. His reign was marked by violence from the start when another group decided to elect a different pope. Both sides tried to enforce their selections through violence. Though the physical fighting stopped, Damasus had to struggle with these opponents throughout his years as pope. Damasus may not have won this battle directly, but he won the war by initiating works that outlasted all his opponents. Not only did he commission the Vulgate translation but he also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He worked hard to preserve and restore the , the graves of the martyrs, and relics. Damasus was a writer -- but he didn't author many-volumed treatises as other Christian writers did. Damasus liked to write in verse: short sayings that capture the essence of what needed to be said. He wrote many verses on martyrs and saints. And he wrote one about himself that shows his humility and the respect he had for the martyrs. In a Roman cemetery is the papal crypt he built. All that is left of him there, however, is this: " I, Damasus, wished to be buried here, but I feared to offend the ashes of these holy ones." Instead, when he died in 384, he was buried with his mother and sister.

December 12 –

It marks the date in 1531 when the Virgin Mary purportedly appeared to an indigenous Mexican, in the last of several apparitions. To the present day, Our Lady of Guadalupe remains a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith, and her image is associated with everything from motherhood to feminism to social justice.

An elder Mexican man makes his way to Mass in the early morning twilight of December 9, 1531. He is a peasant, a simple farmer and laborer, and he has no education. Born under Aztec rule, he is a convert to Catholicism, and each step he takes this morning is a step into history. The morning quiet is broken by a strange music that he will later describe as the beautiful sound of birds. Diverting his path to investigate the sound, Juan Diego comes face to face with a radiant apparition of the Virgin Mary. Does this sound familiar? Yes, we have read this story before just a few short days ago on December 9. The story of St. Juan Diego. The story of this gift is complete with this image: she stands as she appeared, a native princess. Her head is bowed and her hands are folded in prayer to God. On her blue cloak, the stars are arranged as they appeared in the morning darkness at the hour of her first apparition. On October 12, 1945, Pope Pius XII, decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be "Patroness of all the Americas." Her feast day is December 12, and it is a in Mexico.

December 13 – St. Lucy

Lucy's history has been lost and all we really know for certain is that this brave woman who lived in Syracuse lost her life during the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognized her courage in defense of the faith. Because people wanted to shed light on Lucy's bravery, legends began to crop up. The one that has passed the test of time tells the story of a young Christian woman who vowed to live her life in service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan and Lucy knew her mother could not be swayed by a young girl's vow, so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was the better partner for life. After several prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, Lucy saw the saint in a dream. St. Agatha told Lucy her mother's illness would be cured through faith, which Lucy used to persuade her mother to give the dowry money to the poor and allow her to commit her life to God. While Lucy and her mother were grateful to God, the rejected bridegroom was deeply angered and betrayed Lucy's faith to the governor. The governor attempted to force her into defilement at a brothel, but the guards who came to take her away were unable to move her, even after hitching her to a team of oxen. The guards heaped bundles of wood around her but it wouldn't burn so they finally resorted to their swords, and Lucy met her death. Though details of her life remain unknown, it is widely known that during her lifetime Christians were persecuted for their faith. They were forced to endure horrific torture and often met painful ends during Diocletian's reign. Though the details surrounding her death remain only as legends, it is all modern-day Christians can rely on.

Lucy's legend did not end with her death. According to later accounts, Lucy warned the governor he would be punished. When the governor heard this he ordered the guards to gouge out her eyes; however, in another telling, it was Lucy who removed her eyes in an attempt to discourage a persistent suitor who greatly admired them. When her body was being prepared for burial, they discovered her eyes had been restored. Lucy's body as remained undisturbed in Sicily for 400 years until it was seized and transferred to Abruzzo, Italy. It was later removed by Emperor Otho I in 972 to Metz and left in the church of St. Vincent. There is much confusion about what happened to her body after its stay at St. Vincent's, but it is believed that several pieces of her body can be found in Rome, Naples, Verona, , Milan, Germany, France and Sweden. In 1981, thieves all but her head but police were able to recover them on her feast day. Lucy, whose name can mean "light" or "lucid," is the patron saint of the blind. She is often seen with the emblem of eyes on a cup or plate. In paintings, she is often depicted with a golden plate holding her eyes and often holds a palm branch, which is a symbol of victory over evil.

December 14 - St. John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, in Spain in 1542. As a result of his family's poverty, John's family suffered greatly. As a child, John was sent to a boarding school for poor and orphaned children, given a religious education and he chose to follow, even as a child. He served as an acolyte at an Augustinian monastery. As he grew older, he went to work in a hospital while attending a Jesuit school. In 1563, he was joined a Carmelite Order taking the name, "John of St. Matthias." He After making vows he studied theology and philosophy. He became an expert in the Bible and dared to translate the “Song of Songs” into Spanish, an act which was controversial since the Church forbade the translation of the Bible from Latin. It was a way to protect the original meanings in the scripture. He became a Priest and considered joining the Carthusian Order where monks lived cloistered in individual cells. But he met Theresa of Avila, a charismatic Carmelite nun. Theresa asked John to follow her which he did. She founded a new monastery and on the same day, John changed his name again to John of the Cross. Within a couple years, John and his fellow friars, relocated to a larger site for their monastery. He remained at this location until 1572. John then traveled to Avila at the invitation of Theresa to become her confessor and spiritual guide. While there, he had a vision of Christ and made a drawing that remains to this day called, "Christ from Above." The little drawing shows Christ on the cross, looking down on him from above. The image has been preserved for centuries. In 1591, John became ill with a skin condition that resulted in an infection. He died on December 14, 1591, John of the Cross died. Shortly following his burial, there was a dispute over where he should be buried. The dispute was resolved by removing his legs and arms. Over the years, parts of his body were placed on display or buried across several places. Saint John of the Cross was beatified by in 1675, and Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.

December 15 - St. Mary (Paula) Di Rosa

As the stories are told, here is an example of St. Mary Paula’s life:

The pounding on the barricaded door of the military hospital sent every heart thudding in terror. In the middle of the war in (Italy) in 1848, the wounded, sick, and those who cared for them knew what that pounding meant. The shouts from beyond the door came from soldiers, not obeying any command but their inner desire to destroy and plunder. Who could do anything to stop them? The only people here were some Sisters, the , who devoted themselves to helping the sick. The doctors had not even wanted them there. The doctors wanted medical people who were secular and military, not nuns. And in the face of this new danger they were even more useless! Worse than useless -- because that Paula (as she was known) di Rosa was actually moving to open the door! When the door swung wide, the soldiers saw their way blocked with a great crucifix held by Paula and two candles held by two of the six sisters who stood by her. They were stunned at the sight, feeling shame while watching such courage and faith. They disappeared. Always working hard for others, when she was only twenty-four she was asked to be supervisor of a workhouse for poor girls. After two years, she became concerned because there was no place for the girls to go at the end of the day. So she quit the workhouse to set up a boardinghouse for poor girls while helping her brother with a school for the deaf . She died in 1855.

December 16 - St.

An archbishop and scholar, Ado was born in Sens and educated at the Benedictine abbey of Ferrieres. Abbot Lupus Servatus, an outstanding humanist of the time, trained Ado, and was impressed with the obvious holiness of the young man. A noble by birth, Ado renounced his inheritance and became a Benedictine, in time assigned to the monastery of Prum, in Germany. Ado's holiness made him enemies, and he was forced to leave Prum. He went to Rome on a and remained there for two years. He then went to (France), where he found an old copy of the Roman Martyrology. Using this, Ado wrote a new version, published in 858. In Lyons, Ado was welcomed by Archbishop St. Remigius. He served as a pastor in Lyons until 860, when he became the archbishop of Vienne, appointed by . Ado reformed the clergy in Vienne and wrote the lives of St. Desiderius and St. Theuderis. He also opposed the actions of the King of Lorraine, who tried to set aside his lawful wife to marry his mistress. The king bribed officials to get a divorce from his queen, but was undone when Ado went to Rome and denounced the plot to the pope. Ado remained in Vienne until his death in 875.

December 17 - St. Olympias

Saint Olympias born into a wealthy noble Constantinople family. She was married, widowed soon after, then refused other offers of marriage. Her fortune was put in trust until she was thirty by Emperor Theodosius when she also refused his choice for a husband. When he restored her estate in 391, she was consecrated deaconess and with several other ladies founded a community. She was so lavish in her offerings of money that her good friend St. was so angry with her, he protested this. When he became Patriarch of Constantinople in 398, he took her under his direction. She established a hospital and an orphanage, gave shelter to the expelled monks of Nitria, and was a firm supporter of Chrysostom when he was expelled in 404 from Constantinople She was fined by the new prefect for refusing to accept the successor. Her charitable works in the community ended. She spent the last years of her life beset by illness and persecution but comforted by Chrysostom from his place of exile. She died in exile in Nicomedia on July 25, less than a year after the death of Chrysostom.

December 18 – ST. Rufus

Another day with very little information to write. As with many martyrs, there was so little written and not always, a lot of proof. Sometimes their stories are even said to be legendary. But St. Rufus and Zosimus (a Byzantine historian of the fifth and sixth century) were citizens of Antioch (or perhaps Philippi) who were brought to Rome with St. Ignatius of Antioch during the reign of Emperor Trajan. They were condemned to death for their Christianity and thrown to wild beasts in the arena two days before the martyrdom of Ignatius.

December 19 – St. Nemesius

Not much today but we can not dismiss this Martyr of Egypt. He was burned alive in Alexandria, Egypt, during the persecutions under Emperor Trajanus Decius. Nemesius was arrested and scourged and then burned to death. Like Christ, he was executed between two criminals.

December 20 - St. Dominic of Silos

St, Dominic of Silos was a Benedictine abbot and defender of the faith. Born in Canas, Navarre, Spain, circa 1000, he entered the Benedictines at San Millan de Ia Cogolla. King Garcia III of Navarre challenged him when he became abbot of the monastery, and Dominic refused to surrender part of the Benedictine lands to the crown. For this he was exiled. But King Ferdinand I of Castile and Leon sent him to Silos and made him abbot of St. Sebastian’s later called St. Dominic's. Dominic reformed the abbey, built the cloisters in Romanesque style, and started a scriptorium (a room apart from others in a monastery, just for writing and copying) that became famous throughout the region. One of the most beloved saints in Spain, Dominic also rescued Christian slaves from the Moors. Dominic was noted for miracles of healing.

December 21 – St. Peter Canisius

In 1565, the Vatican was looking for a someone with no fear of reprisal, to carry out simple errands but dangerous in many ways in the 16th century. The first envoy who tried to carry decrees through territory of hostile Protestants and vicious thieves was robbed of the precious documents. Rome needed someone courageous but also someone above suspicion. They chose Peter Canisius. At 43 he was a well-known Jesuit who had founded colleges that even Protestants respected. They gave him a cover as official "visitor" of Jesuit foundations. But Peter couldn't hide the decrees the same way we think of doing this today. Peter traveled from Rome and successfully crisscrossed through Germany loaded down with the Tridentine tomes -- 250 pages each -- not to mention the three sacks of books he took along for his own university!

For many years during the Reformation, Peter saw the students in his universities swayed by the flashy speeches and the well-written arguments of the Protestants. Peter was not alone in wishing for a Catholic catechism that would present true Catholic beliefs undistorted by fanatics. Finally, King Ferdinand himself ordered Peter and his companions to write a catechism. A friend and colleague of Peter’s Father Lejay was obviously the logical choice, being a better writer than Peter to carry out the directive. When Father Lejay died, King Ferdinand would wait no longer. Peter said of writing: "I have never learned to be elegant as a writer, but I cannot remain dumb on that account." The first issue of the Catechism appeared in 1555 and was an immediate success. Peter approached Christian doctrine in two parts: wisdom -- including faith, hope, and charity -- and justice -- avoiding evil and doing good, linked by a section on sacraments. Because of the success and the need, Peter quickly produced two more versions: a Shorter Catechism for middle school students which concentrated on helping this age group choose good over evil by concentrating on a different virtue each day of the week; and his shortest Catechism for young children which included prayers for morning and evening, for mealtimes, etc. to get them used to praying. Peter died December 21, 1597. He is known as the Second Apostle of Germany and was named a Doctor of the Church. December 22 - St. Chaeromon

It’s always disappointing when information on the personal and/or spiritual life a saint has not been duly noted. St. Chaeromon is definitely one of those saints. He was a Bishop of Nilopolis, in Egypt. When the persecution was instituted by Emperor Trjanus Decius, Chaeromon was quite elderly. He and several companions fled into the Arabian desert and were never seen again. The bishop and his companions are listed as martyrs.

December 23 – St. John of Kanty

John Cantius was born in Kęty, a small town near Oświęcim, Poland. He attended the Kraków Academy and in 1418 he became a Doctor of Philosophy. Upon graduation he spent the next three years conducting philosophy classes at the university, while preparing for the priesthood. After he was ordained , he became at the school of the of the Most Holy Sepulcher in Miechow. While there, he was offered a professorship of Sacra Scriptura (Sacred Scripture) back at his alma mater, the Kraków Academy, which would later be named the Jagiellonian University. He got a doctorate in theology and eventually became director of the theology department. He held the professorship until his death in 1473. Cantius spent many hours copying manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures, theological tracts, and other scholarly works. During his time in Kraków, Cantius became well known in the city for his generosity and compassion toward the poor, especially needy students at the university. He subsisted on what was strictly necessary to sustain his life, giving alms regularly to the poor. He made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem and four on foot to Rome. John Cantius was beatified in Rome by Pope Clement X on 28 March 1676. He was named patron of Poland and by Pope Clement XII in the year 1737. Ninety-one years after his beatification, John Cantius was canonized on 16 July 1767, by Pope Clement XIII.

December 24 – St. Adele

St. Adele, Widow. A daughter of King Dagobert II of Germany, St. Adele became a nun upon the death of her husband, making provisions for her son, the future father of St. Gregory of Utrecht. She founded a convent at Palatiolum near Trier and became its first Abbess, ruling with holiness, prudence, and compassion. St. Adele was among the disciples of St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, and a letter in his correspondence is addressed to her. After a devout life filled with good works and communion with God, she passed away in 730.

December 25 – St. Eugenia Here it is Christmas day. We are rejoicing for this is the day that Jesus Christ was born. And He, nor his mother, Mary of father, Joseph, are not written on this page today. They will be received in due time. But today is a day to rejoice that we have a remarkable person remembered because of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

There definitely was a Roman martyr named Eugenia but much of of her story is legend. According to it she was the daughter of Duke Philip of Alexandria, governor of Egypt during the reign of Emperor Valerian. She fled her father's house dressed in men's clothing and was baptized by Helenus, bishop of Heliopolis, who sent her to an abbey of which she later became abbot. Accused of adultery by a woman she had cured of a sickness and whose advances she had resisted, she was hailed before a judge to answer the charges; the judge was her father. Exonerated when she revealed she was a woman and his daughter, she converted him to Christianity (he later became a bishop and was beheaded for his faith). Eugenia converted many others, including her mother, Claudia, and suffered martyrdom by sword for her faith in Rome, where she had gone with her mother.

December 26 – St. Stephen (Good King Wenceslas)

The name of St. Stephen may not come to mind from the saint himself, but from a long-standing Christmas song: “Good King Wenseslas.” The song starts out “Good King Wenceslas was born on the Feast of Stephen.” In the song a miracle occurs, but not attributed to the life of our saint.

Saint Stephen was one of the first ordained deacons of the Church. He was also the first . The Greek word from which we derive the English word martyr literally means witness. In that sense, every Christian is called to bear witness to Jesus Christ, in both their words and their actions.

His behavior, even forgiving those who were taking his life while he was being stoned to death, he spoke his last words, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them." This was a beautiful reflection of how conformed he truly was to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is recorded in Chapter 7 of the (Acts 7:54-60), which immediately follows the Gospels in the New Testament.

The 6th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles contains an account of the choice of the first seven deacons of the Church. As the Apostles worked to continue the Christ as his elders, some of the Greek-speaking widows were being neglected in their practical needs. The Twelve decided to ordain seven deacons to oversee their care. In doing so, the deacons extended the pastoral care of the Apostles, the first Bishops of the early Church, enabling them to attend more to teaching. Of the seven ordained, Stephen was the oldest and given the title of "archdeacon," the chief among them. Little is known about him before this account. Like most of the early Christian leaders, he was Jewish, but may have come came from among the Greek speaking or Hellenistic believers, the ones feeling slighted in the distribution of alms.

Great preaching and miracles were attributed to Stephen. The Bible records that Stephen "full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." Stephen s popularity created enemies among some Jews, members of the Synagogue of Roman Freedmen. They debated with him, to generate evidence against him in furtherance of their persecution of the early Church.

Stephen was put on trial for blasphemy. He defended himself as best he could. While he concluded that defense, he looked up and saw a vision of Jesus standing at the right . He said, "Look, I can see heaven thrown open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." That vision was taken as the final proof of blasphemy to the Jews who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah or Son of God. For them, Jesus could not possibly be beside the Father in Heaven. The crowd rushed upon Stephen and carried him outside of the city to stone him to death. Watching the trial and execution was a Rabbi named Saul of Tarsus, a virulent persecutor of the early Church. Shortly thereafter, that Rabbi would himself encounter the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus and be dramatically converted. His encounter is recorded in the 9th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He took the name Paul as a sign of his new life in Jesus Christ and went on to become the great apostle to the Gentiles.

Stephen was buried by Christians, but the location of his tomb is not specified in the New Testament and may have been forgotten for a time. In 415 a Christian priest claimed he had a vision of the tomb and located Stephen s remains. A name inside the tomb confirmed the find.

December 27 – St. and Evangelist St. John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. John was called to be an Apostle by our Lord in the first year of His public ministry. He is considered the same person as , John of Patmos and the Beloved Disciple. John's older brother was St. , another one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles. Jesus referred to the brothers as "Boanerges," meaning "sons of thunder." John is believed to be the longest living apostle and the only not to die a martyr's death. John, along with Peter and James, were the only witnesses of the raising of Daughter of Jairus, and the closest witnesses to the Agony in Gethsemane. John was the one who reported to Jesus they had "'forbidden' a non-disciple from casting out demons in Jesus' name." This prompted Jesus to state, "he who is not against us is on our side." John and Peter were the only two apostles sent by Jesus to make preparations for the final Passover meal, the Last Supper. During the meal, St. John sat next to Jesus, leaning on him. John was the only one of the Twelve Apostles who did not forsake the Savior in the hour of His Passion. He stood faithfully at the cross when the Savior made him the guardian of His Mother. After the , John went to Ephesus, according to Church tradition. He later became banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek Island of Patmos; this is where he allegedly wrote the Book of . It is said John was banished in the late 1st century, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering no injuries. It is also said that all those who witnessed the miracle in the Colosseum were converted to Christianity. Emperor Domitian was known for his persecution of Christians. John is known as the author of the Gospel of John and four other books in the New Testament - the three Epistles of John and the . The authorship of the Gospel is credited to the "disciple whom Jesus loved," and John 21:24 claims the Gospel of John is based on the "Beloved Disciple's" testimony. However, the true authorship has been debated on since 200. St. John is called the Apostle of Charity, a virtue he had learned from his Divine Master, and which he constantly inculcated by word and example. The "beloved disciple" died after AD 98, where a stately church was erected over his tomb. It was afterwards converted into a Mohammedan . St. John is the patron saint of love, loyalty, friendships, and authors. He is often depicted in art as the author of the Gospel with an eagle, symbolizing "the height he rose to in his gospel." In other , he is shown looking up into heaven and dictating his Gospel to his disciple.

December 28 – St. Anthony the Hermit

Anthony was born about circa 468 at Valeria in Lower Pannonia, a Slavic community. When he was eight years old, his father died and he was first entrusted to the care of St. Severinus.

After the death of Severinus, an uncle, Bishop Constantius of Lorsch in Bavaria took charge of his upbringing. While in Bavaria, Anthony became a monk. He returned to Italy in 488 and joined the cleric Marius and his companions as a hermit at Lake Como. However, he gained so many disciples that he was forced to flee.

Anthony then went to Lerins in Gaul and became a monk there. However, he lived only two years at Lerins before his death, renowned for his miracles and spirituality.

December 29 – St. Aileran Monk, biographer, and scholar-also called Sapiens the Wise. Aileran was one of the most distinguished professors at the school of Clonard in Ireland. St. Finian welcomed Aileran to Clonard. In 650, Aileran became rector of Clonard, and was recognized as a classical scholar and a master of Latin and Greek. He wrote The Fourth Life of St. Patrick, a Latin-Irish Litany and The Lives of St. Brigid and St. Fechin of Fore. His last work was a treatise on the genealogy of Christ according to St. Matthew. A fragment of another of Aileran's works has survived: A Short Moral Explanation of the Sacred Names. Scholarly institutions across Europe read this work aloud annually. Aileran died from the Yellow Plague. His death on December 29, 664 is chronicled in the Annals of Ulster.

December 30 - St. Anysia of Salonika

Saint Anysia of Salonika was a Christian virgin and martyr from Greece of the 4th century. She was a wealthy woman who used her personal funds to She dedicated herself to vows of chastity and poverty, praying and aid the poor. A soldier accosted her in the street and tried to drag her to a pagan sacrifice. Anysia resisted a Roman soldier who apprehended her on the way to Mass. He discovered she was a Christian, he beat her, and intended to drag her to a pagan temple to sacrifice to Roman gods. When he tore off her veil (a reminder of her vow of chastity), she spit in his face, and he murdered her.

December 31 – St. Sylvester

St. Sylvester, born in Rome, was ordained by Pope St. Marcellinus during the peace that preceded the persecutions of Diocletian. He passed through those days of terror, witnessed the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, and saw the triumph of Constantine in the year 312. Two years later he succeeded St. Melchiades as Bishop of Rome. In the same year, he sent four assistants to represent him at the great Council of the Western Church, held at Aries. He confirmed it's decision.

The Council of Nice was assembled during his reign, in the year 325, but not being able to assist at it in person, on account of his great age, he sent his assistants, who headed the list of subscribers to its decrees, preceding the of Alexandria and Antioch. St. Sylvester was Pope for twenty-four years and eleven months. He died in the year 335.