Saints of the month: April by Go to Mary

Saints of the Month: April

GO TO MARY

Contents Introduction ................................................................................ II Saint Anacleto González Flores ............................................ 3 Saint Francis of Paola ........................................................... 5 Saint Richard of Chichester .................................................. 8 Saint Isidore of Seville ........................................................ 11 Saint Vincent Ferrer ........................................................... 13 Saint Juliana of Liège .......................................................... 16 Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle .......................................... 19 Saint Julie Billiart ............................................................... 21 Blessed Katarzyna Celestyna Faron ................................... 23 Saint Bademus .................................................................... 25 Saint Gemma Galgani ......................................................... 28 Saint Teresa of the Andes ................................................... 30 Saint Margaret of Castello ................................................. 32 Saint Lidwina ...................................................................... 34 Saint Hunna ........................................................................ 37 Saint Bernadette Soubirous ................................................ 38 Saint Donnán of Eigg .......................................................... 40 Saint Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur ............................ 42 Saint Timon ........................................................................ 44 Saint Agnes of Montepulciano ............................................ 45 Saint Anselm of Canterbury ............................................... 47 Pope Saint Soter ................................................................. 50 Saint George ....................................................................... 52 Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen .............................................. 55 Saint Mark the Evangelist .................................................. 57 Pope Saints Cletus and Marcellinus ................................... 60 Saint Zita of Lucca .............................................................. 63

Saint Louis de Montfort ...................................................... 65 Saint Catherine of Siena ..................................................... 67 Pope Saint Pius V ................................................................ 70 Appendix .................................................................................... 72

Introduction

For more information see www.gotomary.

For Our Ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intentions.

Saint Anacleto González Flores

he 1st of April is the feast day of Blessed Anacleto González Flores (July 13, 1888 – April 1, 1927). He was a Mexican Catholic layman, a lawyer and a martyr of the faith and was executed during the Church’s persecution under the presidency of Plutarco Elias Calles. He was the second of twelve children of a poor family in Jalisco, Mexico. The day after his birth, he was baptised and as he was growing up, a priest recommended he enter the seminary. Anacleto studied for sometime in the seminary but then discerned he was not called to be a priest. He married and became an attorney and was an activist for the Catholic faith. He attended mass daily, wrote prolifically and was a dedicated catechism teacher. He joined the Catholic Association of Young Mexicans (ACJM) and started another Catholic lay organisation to help resist the persecution of the Church. Four members of the ACJM were murdered in 1926, after this Anacleto supported the armed resistance movement. He did not take up arms but made speeches encouraging Catholics to support the Cristeros, which 3

Saints of the Month: April

was the army fighting against Calles. Anacleto was captured in 1 April 1927 in the Cristero War and was tortured before being martyred by the firing squad.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Francis of Paola

Saint Francis of Paola, in an engraving by Marco Pitteri, after Federiko BenkoviÄ&#x2021;

he 2nd of April is the feast day of Saint Francis of Paola (27 March 1416 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 April 1507). He is also known as Francesco di Paola or Saint Francis the Fire Handler. He was an Italian 5

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mendicant friar and he founded the Order of Minims. He was never ordained a priest. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: AT the age of fifteen Francis left his poor home at Paula in Calabria, to live as a hermit in a cave by the sea-coast. In time disciples gathered round him, and with them, in 1436, he founded the “Minims,” so called to show that they were the least of monastic Orders. They observed a perpetual Lent, and never touched meat, fish, eggs, or milk. Francis himself made the rock his bed; his best garment was a hairshirt, and boiled herbs his only fare. As his body withered his faith grew powerful, and he “did all things in Him Who strengthened him.” He cured the sick, raised the dead, averted plagues, expelled evil spirits, and brought sinners to penance. A famous preacher, instigated by a few misguided monks, set to work to preach against St. Francis and his miracles. The Saint took no notice of it, and the preacher, finding that he made no way with his hearers, determined to see this poor hermit and confound him in person. The Saint received him kindly, gave him a seat by the fire, and listened to a long exposition of his own frauds. He then quietly took some glowing embers from the fire, and closing his hands upon them unhurt, said, “Come, Father Anthony, warm yourself, for you are shivering for want of a little charity” Father Anthony, falling at the Saint’s feet, asked for pardon, and then, having received his embrace, quitted him, to become his panegyrist and attain himself to great perfection. When the avaricious King Ferdinand of Naples offered him money for his convent, Francis told him to give it back to his oppressed subjects, and softened his heart by causing blood to flow from the illgotten coin. Louis XI. of France, trembling at the approach of death, sent for the poor hermit to ward off the foe whose advance neither his fortresses nor his guards could check. Francis went by the Pope’s command, and prepared the king for a holy death. The successors of Louis showered favors on the Saint, his Order spread throughout Europe, and his name was reverenced through the Christian world. 6

Saints of the Month: April

He died at the age of ninety-one, on Good Friday, 1507, with the crucifix in his hand, and the last words of Jesus on hiss lips, “Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” Reflection.—Rely in all difficulties upon God. That which enabled St. Francis to work miracles will in proportion do wonders for yourself, by giving you strength and consolation.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Richard of Chichester

A wall painting of St. Richard of Chichester

he 3rd of April is the feast day of Saint Richard of Chichester (1197 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 April 1253). He is also known as Richard de Wych. He is the patron saint of Coachmen; Diocese of Chichester; 8

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and Sussex, England. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: RICHARD was born, 1197, in the little town of Wyche, eight miles from Worcester, England. He and his elder brother were left orphans when young, and Richard gave up the studies which he loved, to farm his brother’s impoverished estate. His brother, in gratitude for Richard’s successful care, proposed to make over to him all his lands; but he refused both the estate and the offer of a brilliant marriage, to study for the priesthood at Oxford. In 1235 he was appointed, for his learning and piety, chancellor of that University, and afterwards, by St. Edmund of Canterbury, chancellor of his diocese. He stood by that Saint in his long contest with the king, and accompanied him into exile. After St. Edmund’s death Richard returned to England to toil as a simple curate, but was soon elected Bishop of Chichester in preference to the worthless nominee of Henry III. The king in revenge refused to recognize the election, and seized the revenues of the see. Thus Richard found himself fighting the same 1 battle in which St. Edmund had died. He went to Lyons, was there consecrated by Innocent IV. in 1245, and returning to England, in spite of his poverty and the king’s hostility, exercised fully his episcopal rights, and thoroughly reformed his see. After two years his revenues were restored. Young and old loved St. Richard. He gave all he had, and worked miracles, to feed the poor and heal the sick; but when the rights or purity of the Church were concerned he was inexorable. A priest of noble blood polluted his office by sin; Richard deprived him of his benefice, and refused the king’s petition in his favor. On the other hand, when a knight violently put a priest in prison, Richard compelled the knight to walk round the priest’s church with the same log of wood on his neck to which he had chained the priest; and when the burgesses of Lewes tore a criminal from the church and hanged him, Richard made them dig up the body from its unconsecrated grave, and bear it back to the sanctuary they had violated. Richard died in 1253, while preaching, at the Pope’s command, a 9

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crusade against the Saracens. Reflection.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;As a brother, as chancellor, and as bishop, St. Richard faithfully performed each duty of his state without a thought of his own interests. Neglect of duty is the first sign of that self-love which ends with the loss of grace.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Isidore of Seville

St. Isidore, depicted by Murillo

he 4th of April is the feast day of Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 April 636). He is regarded as the last of the Fathers of the Church. He is the patron saint of the Internet, computer 11

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users, computer technicians, programmers, and students. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ISIDORE was born of a ducal family, at Carthagena in Spain. His two brothers, Leander, Archbishop of Seville, Fulgentius, Bishop of Ecija, and his sister Florentina, are Saints. As a boy he despaired at his ill success in study, and ran away from school. Resting in his flight at a roadside spring, he observed a stone, which was hollowed out by the dripping water. This decided him to return, and by hard application he succeeded where he had failed. He went back to his master, and with the help of God became, even as a youth, one of the most learned men of the time. He assisted in converting Prince Recared, the leader of the Arian party; and with his aid, though at the constant peril of his own life, he expelled that heresy from Spain. Then, following a call from God, he turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of his friends, and embraced a hermit’s life. Prince Recared and many of the nobles and clergy of Seville went to persuade him to come forth, and represented the needs of the times, and the good he could do, and had already done, among the people. He refused, and, as far as we can judge, that refusal gave him the necessary opportunity of acquiring the virtue and the power which afterwards made him an illustrious Bishop and Doctor of the Church. On the death of his brother Leander he was called to fill the vacant see. As a teacher, ruler, founder, and reformer, he labored not only in his own diocese, but throughout Spain, and even in foreign countries. He died in Seville on April 4, 636, and within sixteen years of his death was declared a Doctor of the Catholic Church. Reflection.—The strength of temptation usually lies in the fact that its object is something flattering to our pride, soothing to our sloth, or in some way attractive to the meaner passions. St. Isidore teaches us to listen neither to the promptings of nature nor the plausible advice of friends when they contradict the voice of God.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Vincent Ferrer

Vincent Ferrer by Giovanni Bellini (c. 1465)

he 5th of April is the feast day of Saint Vincent Ferrer (23 January 1350 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 April 1419). He is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Valencia, builders, prisoners, construction 13

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workers, plumbers, fishermen, and Spanish orphanages. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: This wonderful apostle, the “Angel of the Judgment,” was born at Valencia in Spain, in 1350, and at the age of eighteen professed in the Order of St. Dominic. After a brilliant course of study he became master of sacred theology. For three years he read only the Scriptures, and knew the whole Bible by heart. He converted the Jews of Valencia, and their synagogue became a church. Grief at the great schism then afflicting the Church reduced him to the point of death; but Our Lord Himself in glory bade him go forth to convert sinners, “for My judgment is nigh.” This miraculous apostolate lasted twenty-one years. He preached throughout Europe, in the towns and villages of Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland. Everywhere tens of thousands of sinners were reformed; Jews, infidels, and heretics were converted. Stupendous miracles enforced his words. Twice each day the ” miracle bell ” summoned the sick, the blind, the lame to be cured. Sinners the most obdurate became Saints; speaking only his native Spanish, he was understood in all tongues. Processions of ten thousand penitents followed him in perfect order. Convents, orphanages, hospitals, arose in his path. Amidst all, his humility remained profound, his prayer constant. He always prepared for preaching by prayer. Once, however, when a person of high rank was to be present at his sermon he neglected prayer for study. The nobleman was not particularly struck by the discourse which had been thus carefully worked up; but coming again to hear the Saint, unknown to the latter, the second sermon made a deep impression on his soul. When St. Vincent heard of the difference, he remarked that in the first sermon it was Vincent who had preached, but in the second, Jesus Christ. He fell ill at Vannes in Brittany, and received the crown of everlasting glory in 1419. Reflection.—”Whatever you do,” said St. Vincent, “think not of yourself, but of God.” In this spirit he preached, and 14

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God spoke by him; in this spirit, if we listen, we shall hear the voice of God.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Juliana of Liège

Sainte Julienne du Mont-Cornillon (Juliana of Liège) and the institution of the feast of the Holy Sacrament by Englebert Fisen (1690)

he 6th of April is the feast day of Saint Juliana of Liège (c. 1192 or 1193 – 5 April 1258). She is also known as Juliana of Mount-Cornillon. She is the patron saint of the 16

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devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The following is from the Catholic Encyclopedia: Nun, b. at Retinnes, near Liège, Belgium, 1193; d. at Fosses, 5 April, 1258. At the age of five she lost her parents and was placed in the convent of Mont-Cornillon, near Liège. She made rapid progress, and read with pleasure the writings of St. Augustine and St. Bernard. She also cultivated an ardent love of the Blessed Virgin, the Sacred Passion, and especially the Blessed Sacrament. In 1206 she received the veil, and devoted herself to the sick in the hospital in charge of the convent. She very early exerted every energy to introduce the feast of Corpus Christi. In 1230 she was chosen superioress by the unanimous vote of the community. But soon God sent heavy trials. Her convent was under the supervision of a general superior, Roger, a man of vicious and scandalous habits; he secured this position in 1233 by intrigues and bribery. Disliking the virtues and piety of Juliana, and much more her entreaties and reproaches, he incited the populace against her. She fled to the cell of St. Eve of Liège, and then to a house given her by John, a canon of Lausanne. Vindicated in the courts through the influence of Robert de Thorate, Bishop of Liège, she was restored to her position in the community, and Roger was deposed. But in 1247 Roger was again in power, and succeeded once more in driving out the saint. Juliana found refuge at Namur and then at Fosses, where she passed the last years of her life in seclusion. She died in 1258, and at her own request she was buried at Villiers. After her death a number of miracles occurred at her intercession (Acta SS., April, I, 435 sq.). In 1869 Pius IX ratified her veneration and permitted the office and Mass in her honour. Her feast is on 6 April. Messenger of the Sacred Heart (1898), 221; Irish Eccl. Record (1893), 1010; MONCHAMP, Les réliques de Ste-Julienne de Cornillon (Liège, 1898); SCHöRMANS in Ann. soc. archéol. Nivelles, VII (Nivelles, 1899), 1-68; CHEVALIER, Bio-Bibl.

Saints of the Month: April

FRANCIS MERSHMAN

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle

Official portrait of de La Salle by Pierre Leger

he 7th of April is the feast day of Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle (30, April, 1651 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7, April, 1719). He is the patron saint of the Teachers of Youth, (May 15, 1950, Pius XII), Institute of the 19

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Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian educational institutions, educators, school principals, and teachers. Saint John Baptist de La Salle was born in Rheims, France to noble parents. He was a smart and pious boy, and he entered the seminary when he was 27 years old. During his era good education was only accessible by the noble and wealthy class. He established a home and school for illiterate orphan boys which became very successful and a second one was started. He dedicated his life to educating, and gave his wealth to the poor, resigning his position as canon at Rheims. He trained men to become teachers in free schools for the poor. This became the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as Christian Brothers. They did not take the vow of Holy Orders but took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The Christian Brothers sent men as schoolmasters in villages in parts of France. His method of education became standard in France and spread internationally.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Julie Billiart

Saint Julie Billiart painted in 1830, by an unknown artist

he 8th of April is the feast day of Saint Julie Billiart (12 July 1751 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 8 April 1816). She is the patron saint against poverty; bodily ills; and disease. 21

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Born in Cuvilly, France, Saint Julie Billiartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family were large and prosperous farmers. She memorised the catechism by heart by the age of 7 years old and would teach it to her fellow playmates. At the age of nine, she received her first communion and took a vow of chastity. In her teens, she already had the reputation of being a saint. She worked in the fields when her family was in financial strife. However, when she was twenty-two she became paralysed and was bedridden for the next 22 years. She received Holy Communion daily, made altar laces and linens, and catechised the children in the village who stood by her bedside. During the French Revolution, she helped the priests and was smuggled to safety while hidden in a hay cart. She hid in the home of a countess and soon had young and noble ladies around her bed whom she taught the interior life. From this group of ladies, she founded the Institute of the Sisters of Notre Dame, who educated girls and trained catechists. She made her vows in 1804 and was cured of her paralysis. She then made over a hundred journeys, founding 15 convents of her order.

Saints of the Month: April

Blessed Katarzyna Celestyna Faron

he 9th of April is the feast day of Blessed Katarzyna Celestyna Faron (1913-1944). She is also known as Catherine Celestine Faron. She was born in Zabrzez, Poland, was an orphan at the age of 5 and was raised by pious relatives who had no children of their own. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in 1930 and served as a kindergarten teacher and catechist. After World War II started, she led the religious house, ran an orphanage and helped the poor. In 1943 on the feast of the Epiphany, she was arrested by the Gestapo, charged with conspiracy against the Nazis and was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. There she was assigned to dig ditches, though she praised God in her suffering. There she developed typhoid fever and tuberculosis. Since she had completed the First Fridays devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she believed she would not die without Holy Communion, promised by Our Lord. 23

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On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on the 8th of December 1943, a priest brought secretly the Holy Communion and she received it as viaticum. She prayed on a rosary made of bread and offered her sufferings for the conversion of a priest who had fallen away from the Church. He later returned to the Faith. On Easter morning, she died and is recognised as one of the 108 beatified Polish Catholic Martyrs martyred during World War II by the Nazi Germans.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Bademus

Saint Bademus (Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1878)

he 10th of April is the feast day of Saint Bademus (d. 10 April 376). He is also known as Bademe or Vadim. The following is from Butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lives of the Saints: BADEMUS was a rich and noble citizen of Bethlapeta in Persia, who founded a monastery near that city, which he governed with great sanctity. He conducted his religious in 25

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the paths of perfection with sweetness, prudence, and charity. To crown his virtue, God permitted him, with seven of his monks, to be apprehended by the followers of King Sapor, in the thirty-sixth year of his persecution. He lay four months in a dungeon, loaded with chains, during which lingering martyrdom he every day received a number of stripes. But he triumphed over his torments by the patience and joy with which he suffered them for Christ. At the same time, a Christian lord named Nersan, Prince of Aria, was cast into prison because he refused to adore the sun. At first he showed some resolution; but at the sight of tortures his constancy failed him, and he promised to conform. The king, to try if his change was sincere, ordered Bademus to be introduced into the prison of Nersan, which was a chamber in the royal palace, and sent word to Nersan that if he would despatch Bademus, he should be restored to his liberty and former dignities. The wretch accepted the condition; a sword was put into his hand, and he advanced to plunge it into the breast of the abbot. But being seized with a sudden terror, he stopped short, and remained some time without being able to lift up his arm to strike. He had neither courage to repent, nor heart to accomplish his crime. He strove, however, to harden himself, and continued with a trembling hand to aim at the sides of the martyr. Fear, shame, remorse, and respect for the martyr made his strokes forceless and unsteady; and so great was the number of the martyrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wounds, that the bystanders were in admiration at his invincible patience. After four strokes, the martyrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head was severed from the trunk. Nersan a short time after, falling into public disgrace, perished by the sword. The body of St. Bademus was reproachfully cast out of the city by the infidels, but was secretly carried away and interred by the Christians. His disciples were released from their chains four years afterward, upon the death of King Sapor. St. Bademus suffered on the 10th of April in the year 376. Reflection.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Oh! what ravishing delights does the soul taste which is accustomed, by a familiar habit, to converse in the heaven of its own interior with the Three Persons of the adorable Trinity! Worldlings wonder how holy solitaries can pass their whole time buried in the most profound 26

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solitude and silence. But those who have had any experience of this happiness are surprised, with far greater reason, how it is possible that any souls which are created to converse eternally with God should here live in constant dissipation, seldom entertaining a devout thought of Him Whose charms and sweet conversation eternally ravish all the blessed.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Gemma Galgani

he 11th of April is the feast day of Saint Maria Gemma Umberta Galgani (March 12, 1878 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 11, 1903). She is the patron saint of students, pharmacists, paratroopers and 28

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parachutists, loss of parents, those suffering back injury or back pain, those suffering with headaches/migraines, those struggling with temptations to impurity and those seeking purity of heart. She was born in Italy, the fifth child of eight children to a pharmacist. When she was young, her mother and three of her siblings died. When she was 18 years old, her father died too, and she had to take care of her younger siblings. Rejecting two marriage proposals, she tried to enter the Passionist as a religious. But she was rejected because of her bad health. She instead became a Tertiary member of the Order. She developed spinal meningitis and was miraculously healed, attributing this to the intercession of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She experienced suffering as she united herself with the Passion of Christ and had many visions, being visited often by her guardian angel, Jesus and His Mother, Mary. She is known as a mystic and developed the stigmata at the age of 21, according to her spiritual director. She died on the Vigil of Easter, aged 25 years old.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Portrait of Saint Teresa of the Andes

he 12th of April is the feast day of Saint Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes (13 July 1900 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 April 1920). She was born as Juana FernĂĄndez Solar. She is the patron saint against disease, against 30

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illness, ill people, young people, Santiago and Los Andes. She was born in Chile, her family were upper class. As a child, she was very pious and was deeply spiritually being devoted to Jesus and Mary. However, she was stubborn and self-centred which she sought to overcome while preparing herself for her First Communion at the age of 10 years old. After reading the autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux, she decided to become a Carmelite nun. Five years later in 1919, when she was 19 years old she entered the Carmelite monastery of Los Andes. She wrote letters where she mentioned her spiritual life. After praying it was revealed to her that she would die at a young age and she accepted this with joy. Only a few months after entering the monastery, she contracted typhoid fever and died in April 1920 during Holy Week. She was permitted to profess her vows before her death. In 1993 Pope St John Paul canonised her, and she was the first Chilean and first Discalced Carmelite nun outside of Europe to be recognised as a saint.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Margaret of Castello

he 13th of April is the feast day of Blessed Margaret of Castello (1287 – 12 April 1320). She is the patron saint of Pro-life movements, disabled people and blind people. Her parents were noble Italians who wanted her to be the child of their dreams. However, she was blind, a dwarf, lame and a hunchback. Her parents were horrified at her appearance when she was a newborn and tried to hide her hoping to keep her existence private. A servant took pity on her and had her baptised, naming her Margaret which meant “Pearl.” At the age of six years old she was almost discovered. Her father then put her in a cell inside the wall of a church, providing necessities to her through a window. The parish priest educated Maraget and she lived this way until she was 16 years old. Her parents took her on a pilgrimage to a shrine hoping to have her miraculously healed. They prayed for her to be cured of her deformities. When it became obvious that she would not be cured, they abandoned her on the streets, returning home and she never saw them again. She begged for food and the town’s poor sheltered her in their 32

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homes taking turns to do so. She became a Dominican Tertiary and served the sick, dying and the imprisoned. She had mystical experiences and was known for her joy and sanctity. She died when she was 33 years old and hundreds of miracles attributed to her intercession occurred before and after her death, her body is incorrupt.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Lidwina

Lidwina’s fall on the ice, Wood drawing from the 1498 edition of John Brugman’s Vita of Lidwina

he 14th of April is the feast day of Saint Lidwina (March 18, 1380 – April 14, 1433). She is also known as Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam. She is the patron saint of the chronically ill, ice skaters, and the town of Schiedam.

Saints of the Month: April

The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: Born at Schiedam, Holland, 18 April 1380; died 14 April, 1433. Her father, Peter by name, came of a noble family while her mother Petronella, born at Kethel, Holland, was a poor country girl. Both were poor. Very early in her life St. Lidwina was drawn towards the Mother of God and prayed a great deal before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. During the winter of the year of 1395, Lidwina went skating with her friends, one of whom caused her to fall upon some ice with such violence that she broke a rib in her right side. This was the beginning of her martyrdom. No medical skill availed to cure her. Gangrene appeared in the wound caused by the fall and spread over her entire body. For years she lay in pain which seemed to increase constantly. Some looked on her with suspicion, as being under the influence of the evil spirit. Her pastor, Andries, brought her an unconsecrated host, but the saint distinguished it at once. But God rewarded her with a wonderful gift of prayer and also with visions. Numerous miracles took place at her bed-side. The celebrated preacher and seer, Wermbold of Roskoop, visited her after previously beholding her in spirit. The pious Arnold of Schoonhoven treated her as a friend. Hendrik Mande wrote for her consolation a pious tract in Dutch. When Joannes Busch brought this to her, he asked her what she thought of Hendrik Mande’s visions, and she answered that they came from God. In a vision she was shown a rose-bush with the words, “When this shall be in bloom, your suffering will be at an end.” In the spring of the year 1433, she exclaimed, “I see the rose-bush in full bloom!” From her fifteenth to her fifty-third year, she suffered every imaginable pain; she was one sore from head to foot and was greatly emaciated. On the morning of Easter-day, 1433, she was in deep contemplation and beheld, in a vision, Christ coming towards her to administer the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. She died in the odour of great sanctity. At once her grave became a place of pilgrimage, and as early as 1434 a chapel was built over it. Joannes Brugmann and Thomas à Kempis related the history of her life, and veneration of her on the part of the people increased 35

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unceasingly. In 1615 her relics were conveyed to Brussels, but in 1871 they were returned to Schiedam. On 14 March, 1890, Leo XIII put the official sanction of the Church upon that veneration which had existed for centuries. COUDURIER, Vie de la bienheureuse Lidwine (Paris, 1862); RIBADENEIRA, La vie de s. Lidwine, vierge (Valenciennes, 1615); THOMAS Ă&#x20AC; KEMPIS, Vita Lidewigis virginis in Opera Omnia, iv (Freiburg, 1905); HUYSMANS, Sainte Lydwine de Schiedam (Paris, 1901).

P. Albers.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Hunna

he 15th of April is the feast day of Saint Hunna (d. 679). She is also known as Una. She is the patron saint of laundresses, laundry workers, and washerwomen. Saint Hunna was born in Alsace France and was a daughter of a Duke. She married a nobleman though both did not indulge themselves in luxuries. Instead, they opened their home to the poor. Saint Deodatus, the bishop, when he resigned from his See, lived with them and they grew in sanctity from his religious instruction. Hunna had a son, whom he named after Saint Deodatus. Her son joined the monastery and is also a saint. After her husband died, Saint Hunna continued spending her life serving the poor, especially the women in Strasbourg, France. She tended the sick and poor, doing their laundry and mending. She was known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holy Washerwoman.â&#x20AC;? She gave away her wealth and property in order to build churches and monasteries. Many miracles were attributed to her, and she was canonised by Pope Leo X in 1520.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Bernadette Soubirous

St Bernadette of Lourdes

he 16th of April is the feast day of Saint Bernadette Soubirous (7 January 1844 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16 April 1879). She is the patron saint of bodily illness, Lourdes, France, shepherds and shepherdesses, against 38

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poverty, and people ridiculed for their faith. The eldest of nine children, her parents were very poor and they lived in Lourdes, France. She suffered from severe asthma throughout her life. At the age of 14 years old, while collecting firewood on February 11, 1858, she saw an apparition of Our Lady in the grotto on the banks of Gave River. Our Lady appeared to her 18 times and Bernadette had much opposition and was interrogated by both civil and ecclesiastical authorities because of this. A spring was revealed to Saint Bernadette during one of the visions. Our Lady eventually told Bernadette that She was the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Immaculate Conceptionâ&#x20AC;? which resulted in the local bishop acknowledging the visions to be authentic. A church was erected at the site of the grotto and the spring, today it is a popular Catholic pilgrimage site. There have been many medically documented cures in both body and soul resulting from the water at Lourdes. Saint Bernadette became a nun and died on April 16, 1879, in the convent at Nevers, France when she was 35 years old. In 1933 she was canonised by Pope Piux XI.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Donnán of Eigg

he 17th of April is the feast day of Saint Donnán of Eigg (died 17 April 617). He is also known as Donan and is the patron saint of Eigg. The following is from Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. DONNAN, ABBOT OF EIGG, and ST. DONNAN OF AUCHTERLESS are regarded by both the Bollandists and Dempster as different personages, but there is so much confusion in their chronology and repetition in what is known of them, that it seems more probable that they were identical. Reeves (Adamnan’s Life of St. Columba), moreover, accepts them as the same without discussion. According to Irish annals St. Donnan was a friend and disciple of St. Columba, who followed him from Ireland to Scotland toward the end of the sixth century. Seeking a solitary retreat, he and his companions settled on the island of Eigg, off the west coast of Scotland, then used only to pasture sheep belonging to the queen of the country. Informed of this invasion, the queen ordered that all should forthwith be slain. Her agents, probably a marauding band of Picts, or pirates according to one account, arrived during the celebration of Mass on Easter eve. Being requested to wait until the Sacrifice was concluded, they did so, and then 40

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St. Donnan and his fifty-one companions gave themselves up to the sword. This was in 617. Reeves mentions eleven churches dedicated to St. Donnan; in that at Auchterless his pastoral staff was preserved up to the Reformation and is said to have worked miracles. The island of Eigg was still Catholic in 1703 and St. Donnanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory venerated there (Martin, Journey to the Western Islands, London, 1716).

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur

Statue of St. Peter of St. Joseph in the Cave of Santo Hermano Pedro, Tenerife, Spain

he 18th of April is the feast day of Saint Peter of Saint Joseph 42

Saints of the Month: April

Betancur (March 21, 1626 – April 25, 1667). He is also known as Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt or more simply Hermano Pedro, Santo Hermano Pedro, or San Pedro de Vilaflor. He is the patron saint of Canary Islands, Guatemala, Central America, catechists of Guatemala, Honorary Mayor of municipalities in the south of Tenerife and Honorary Mayor of Antigua Guatemala, and of the homeless. Saint Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, was born in the Canary Islands to poverty. He was a shepherd until he was 24 years old when he decided to travel to Guatemala, which was then the capital of New Spain. He had hoped to meet a relative and begin his training as a priest. The trip greatly impoverished him and he entered a bread line served by the Franciscans. He then worked in a textile factory and entered a Jesuit college hoping to become a priest. He was a poor student and had to leave school. He became a lay Third Order Franciscan and dedicated his life serving the poor and oppressed in jails and hospitals as well as the African slaves, Native Americans and anyone else that needed help. He founded a hospital and school for the poor, and a shelter for the homeless. He preached to the rich, telling them to repent. He was known as the “St Francis of the Americas.” He gained a following and there founded the Bethlehemite Brothers and Sisters. Their charism involved a devotion to the Divine Child and the Blessed Virgin and they offered prayers and sacrifices to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Every night, Saint Peter carried a wooden cross through the streets as a form of penance and a way to evangelise. He is thought to have started the Posadas procession in Advent. He died in 1667 and Pope Saint John Paul II canonised him, becoming the first saint from Central America. 43

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Timon

he 19th of April is the feast day of Saint Timon the Deacon (1st c.). Saint Timon lived during the 1st Century and is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles in 6:5 by name. He was part of the 70 disciples who followed Jesus during His ministry. Saint Timon was later one of the first 7 Deacons chosen by the Apostles after Pentecost and Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ascension into heaven. He baptised many Greeks and Jews according to tradition. He also is said to have the ability to cast out devils and heal the sick. He died by crucifixion after they unsuccessfully tried to throw him into the furnace but he was unharmed by the fire.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Agnes of Montepulciano

Saint Agnes miraculously receiving the Blessed Sacrament from an angel

he 20th of April is the feast day of Saint Agnes of Montepulciano (1268 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1317).

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Agnes was born to a noble family in Tuscany. At her birth, strange lights surrounded her dwelling, which people considered that meant this child was to be a favoured one. At only nine years of age, she requested to join the Franciscan monastery in Montepulciano. Though this was against church law, she was granted exemption from the pope. She reached a high degree of contemplative prayer and performed her duties very well. She was then asked to help found and lead a new monastery in Proceno even though she was only 15 years old. She was known as a mystic and visionary, while fostering a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and lived there for 20 years. Her fame spread due to her miracles as well as her austerities. She slept on the floor and ate only bread and drank only water and used a stone for a pillow. She eventually returned to Montepulciano and founded and led a larger monastery. A vision told her that it will be a convent for Dominican nuns dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Among her miracles, includes curing the sick, multiplying food and raising to life a child who had drowned.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Anselm of Canterbury

A mid-17th century engraving of Anselm

he 21st of April is the feast day of Saint Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21 April 1109). He is also known as Anselm of Aosta and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope 47

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Clement XI in 1720. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ANSELM was a native of Piedmont. When a boy of fifteen, being forbidden to enter religion, he for a while lost his fervor, left his home, and went to various schools in France. At length his vocation revived, and he became a monk at Bec in Normandy. The fame of his sanctity in this cloister led William Rufus, when dangerously ill, to take him for his confessor, and to name him to the vacant see of Canterbury. Now began the strife of Anselm’s life. With new health the king relapsed into his former sins, plundered the Church lands, scorned the archbishop’s rebukes, and forbade him to go to Rome for the pallium. Anselm went, and returned only to enter into a more bitter strife with William’s successor, Henry I. This sovereign claimed the right of investing prelates with the ring and crozier, symbols of the spiritual jurisdiction which belongs to the Church alone. The worldly prelates did not scruple to call St. Anselm a traitor for his defence of the Pope’s supremacy; on which the Saint rose, and with calm dignity exclaimed, “If any man pretends that I violate my faith to my king because I will not reject the authority of the Holy See of Rome, let him stand forth, and in the name of God I will answer him as I ought” No one took up the challenge; and to the disappointment of the king, the barons sided with the Saint, for they respected his courage, and saw that his cause was their own. Sooner than yield, the archbishop went again into exile, till at last the king was obliged to submit to the feeble but inflexible old man. In the midst of his harassing cares, St. Anselm found time for writings which have made him celebrated as the father of scholastic theology; while in metaphysics and in science he had few equals. He is yet more famous for his devotion to our blessed Lady, whose Feast of the Immaculate Conception he was the first to establish in the West. He died in 1109. Reflection.—Whoever, like St. Anselm, contends for the Church’s rights, is fighting on the side of God against the 48

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tyranny of Satan.

Saints of the Month: April

Pope Saint Soter

Fictional portrait (Artaud de Montor 1842)

he 22nd of April is the feast day of Pope Saint Soter (died c. 174). Pope Saint Soter is known for declaring that marriage was valid only as a sacrament blessed by a priest and for inaugurating 50

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Easter as an annual festival. The following is from Butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lives of the Saints: ST. SOTER was raised to the papacy upon the death of St. Anicetus, in 173. By the sweetness of his discourses he comforted all persons with the tenderness of a father, and assisted the indigent with liberal alms, especially those who suffered for the faith. He liberally extended his charities, according to the custom of his predecessors, to remote churches, particularly to that of Corinth, to which he addressed an excellent letter, as St. Dionysius of Corinth testifies in his letter of thanks, who adds that his letter was found worthy to be read for their edification on Sundays at their assemblies to celebrate the divine mysteries, together with the letter of St. Clement, pope. St. Soter vigorously opposed the heresy of Montanus, and governed the Church to the year 177.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint George

St. George slays the dragon (De Grey Hours, c. 1400)

he 23rd of April is the feast day of Saint George (256â&#x20AC;&#x201C;285 A.D to 23 April 303). He is the patron saint of agricultural workers, farmers, equestrians, horsemen, horses, knights, lepers 52

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and leprosy, riders, shepherds, skin diseases and many others. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ST. GEORGE was born in Cappadocia, at the close of the third century, of Christian parents. In early youth he chose a soldier’s life, and soon obtained the favor of Diocletian, who advanced him to the grade of tribune. When, however, the emperor began to persecute the Christians, George rebuked him at once sternly and openly for his cruelty, and threw up his commission. He was in consequence subjected to a lengthened series of torments, and finally beheaded. There was something so inspiriting in the defiant cheerfulness of the young soldier, that every Christian felt a personal share in this triumph of Christian fortitude; and as years rolled on St. George became a type of successful combat against evil, the slayer of the dragon, the darling theme of camp song and story, until “so thick a shade his very glory round him made” that his real lineaments became hard to trace. Even beyond the circle of Christendom he was held in honor, and invading Saracens taught themselves to except from desecration the image of him they hailed as the “White-horsed Knight.” The devotion to St. George is one of the most ancient and widely spread in the Church. In the East, a church of St. George is ascribed to Constantine, and his name is invoked in the most ancient liturgies; whilst in the West, Malta, Barcelona, Valencia, Arragon, Genoa, and England have chosen him as their patron. Reflection.—”What shall I say of fortitude, without which neither wisdom nor justice is of any worth? Fortitude is not of the body, but is a constancy of soul; wherewith we are conquerors in righteousness, patiently bear all adversities, and in prosperity are not puffed up. This fortitude he lacks who is overcome by pride, anger, greed, drunkenness, and the like. Neither have they fortitude who when in adversity make shift to escape at their souls’ expense; wherefore the Lord saith, ‘Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.’ In like manner those who are puffed up in 53

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prosperity and abandon themselves to excessive joviality cannot be called strong. For how can they be called strong who cannot hide and repress the heart’s emotion? Fortitude is never conquered, or if conquered, is not fortitude.”—St. Bruno.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen with St. Joseph of Leonessa (Tiepolo, 1752-1758).

he 24th of April is the feast day of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1622). He was a Capuchin friar and was a major figure in the Counter-Reformation. 55

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The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: FIDELIS was born at Sigmaringen in 1577, of noble parents. In his youth he frequently approached the sacraments, visited the sick and the poor, and spent moreover many hours before the altar. For a time he followed the legal profession, and was remarkable for his advocacy of the poor and his respectful language towards his opponents. Finding it difficult to become both a rich lawyer and a good Christian, Fidelis entered the Capuchin. Order, and embraced a life of austerity and prayer. Hair shirts, iron-pointed girdles, and disciplines were penances too light for his fervor; and being filled with a desire of martyrdom, he rejoiced at being sent to Switzerland by the newly-founded Congregation of Propaganda, and braved every peril to rescue souls from the diabolical heresy of Calvin. When preaching at Sevis he was fired at by a Calvinist, but the fear of death could not deter him from proclaiming divine truth. After his sermon he was waylaid by a body of Protestants headed by a minister, who attacked him and tried to force him to embrace their socalled. reform. But he said, “I came to refute your errors, not to embrace them; I will never renounce Catholic doctrine, which is the truth of all ages, and I fear not death.” On this they fell upon him with their poignards, and the first martyr of Propaganda went to receive his palm. Reflection.—We delight in decorating the altars of God with flowers, lights, and jewels, and it is right to do so; but if we wish to offer to God gifts of higher value, let us, in imitation of St. Fidelis, save the souls who but for us would be lost; for so we shall offer Him, as it were, the jewels of paradise.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Mark the Evangelist

Miniature of Saint Mark from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany (1503â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8) by Jean Bourdichon

he 25th of April is the feast day of Saint Mark the Evangelist. He is the patron saint of barristers, Venice, Egypt, and Mainar.

Saints of the Month: April

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ST. MARK was converted to the Faith by the Prince of the Apostles, whom he afterwards accompanied to Rome, acting there as his secretary or interpreter. When St. Peter was writing his first epistle to the churches of Asia, he affectionately joins with his own salutation that of his faithful companion, whom he calls “my son Mark.” The Roman people entreated St. Mark to put in writing for them the substance of St. Peter’s frequent discourses on Our Lord’s life. This the Evangelist did under the eye and with the express sanction of the apostle, and every page of his brief but graphic gospel so bore the impress of St. Peter’s character, that the Fathers used to name it “Peter’s Gospel” St. Mark was now sent to Egypt to found the Church of Alexandria. Here his disciples became the wonder of the world for their piety and asceticism, so that St. Jerome speaks of St. Mark as the father of the anchorites, who at a later time thronged the Egyptian deserts. Here, too, he set up the first Christian school, the fruitful mother of many illustrious doctors and bishops. After governing his see for many years, St. Mark was one day seized by the heathen, dragged by ropes over stones, and thrown into prison. On the morrow the torture was repeated, and having been consoled by a vision of angels and the voice of Jesus, St. Mark went to his reward. It is to St. Mark that we owe the many slight touches which often give such vivid coloring to the Gospel scenes, and help us to picture to ourselves the very gestures and looks of our blessed Lord. It is he alone who notes that in the temptation Jesus was “with the beasts;” that He slept in the boat “on a pillow;” that He “embraced” the little children. He alone preserves for us the commanding words “Peace, be still!” by which the storm was quelled; or even the very sounds of His voice, the “Ephpheta” and “Talitha cumi,” by which the dumb were made to speak and the dead to rise. So, too, the “looking round about with anger,” and the “sighing deeply,” long treasured in the memory of the penitent apostle, who was himself converted by his Saviour’s look, are here recorded by his faithful interpreter. 58

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Reflection.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Learn from St. Mark to keep the image of the Son of man ever before your mind, and to ponder every syllable which fell from His lips.

Saints of the Month: April

Pope Saints Cletus and Marcellinus

Pope Saint Marcellinus

Saints of the Month: April

Pope Saint Cletus

he 26th of April is the feast day of Saints Pope Cletus (died c. 92) and Marcellinus (died 304). Pope Cletus is also known as Pope Anacletus. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ST. CLETUS was the third Bishop of Rome, and succeeded St. Linus, which circumstance alone shows his eminent virtue among the first disciples of St. Peter in the West. He sat twelve years, from 76 to 89. The canon of the Roman Mass, Bede, and other martyrologists, style him a martyr. He was buried near St. Linus, in the Vatican, and his relics still remain in that church. St. Marcellinus succeeded St. Coins in the bishopric of Rome in 296, about the time that Diocletian set himself up for a deity, and impiously claimed divine honors. In those stormy times of persecution Marcellinus acquired great glory. He sat in St. Peter’s chair eight years, three months, and twenty-five days, dying in 304, a year after the cruel persecution broke out, in which he gained much honor. He has been styled a martyr, though his blood was not shed in the cause of religion. Reflection.—It is a fundamental maxim of the Christian 61

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morality, and a truth which Christ has established in the clearest terms and in innumerable passages of the Gospel, that the cross or sufferings and mortification are the road to eternal bliss. They, therefore, who lead not here a crucified and mortified life are unworthy ever to possess the unspeakable joys of His kingdom. Our Lord Himself, our model and our he-ad, walked in this path, and His great Apostle puts us in mind that He entered into bliss only by His blood and by the cross.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Zita of Lucca

Miracle of Saint Zita by Bernardo Strozzi

he 27th of April is the feast day of Saint Zita of Lucca (c. 1212 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 27 April 1272). She is also known as Sitha or Citha. She is the patron saint of domestic servants, homemakers, lost keys, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, single laywomen, waiters, waitresses, and the Italian City of Lucca.

Saints of the Month: April

The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: ZITA lived for forty-eight years in the service of Fatinelli, a citizen of Lucca. During this time she rose each morning, while the household were asleep, to hear Mass, and then toiled incessantly till night came, doing the work of others as well as her own. Once Zita, absorbed in. prayer, remained in church past the usual hour of her breadmaking. She hastened home, reproaching herself with neglect of duty, and found the bread made and ready for the oven. She never doubted that her mistress or one of her servants had kneaded it, and going to them, thanked them; but they were astonished. No human being had made the bread. A delicious perfume rose from it, for angels had made it during her prayer. For years her master and mistress treated her as a mere drudge, while her fellowservants, resenting her diligence as a reproach to themselves, insulted and struck her. Zita united these sufferings with those of Christ her Lord, never changing the sweet tone of her voice, nor forgetting her gentle and quiet ways. At length Fatinelli, seeing the success which attended her undertakings, gave her charge of his children and of the household. She dreaded this dignity more than the worst humiliation, but scrupulously fulfilled her trust. By her holy economy her master’s goods were multiplied, while the poor were fed at his door. Gradually her unfailing patience conquered the jealousy of her fellow-servants, and she became their advocate with their hot-tempered master, who dared not give way to his anger before Zita. In the end her prayer and toil sanctified the whole house, and drew down upon it the benediction of Heaven. She died in 1272, and in the moment of her death a bright star appearing above her attic showed that she had gained eternal rest. Reflection.—”What must I do to be saved?” said a certain one in fear of damnation. “Work and pray, pray and work,” a voice replied, “and thou shalt be saved.” The whole life of St. Zita teaches us this truth.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Louis de Montfort

St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

he 28th of April is the feast day of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 April 1716). He was a French Roman Catholic Priest and confessor, known in his time as a 65

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preacher and was sent as a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. He was born in Britanny, France, his family were farmers. When he was a child, he spent a lot of time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He travelled by foot to Paris to study theology at a prestigious school when he was 19 years old. On his way there, he gave his possession away to the poor, and made a vow of poverty and to support himself on alms. He became a priest at 27 years old and at 32 years old, after his bishop tried to silence him, received the title of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apostolic Missionaryâ&#x20AC;? from the Pope. For the next 17 years, he preached in many towns and villages in France, converting many with his devotion and his skill in speech. The Jansenists tried to poison him and banished him from preaching in their dioceses, and attempted to assassinate him. He wrote many books and was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His most famous book is the True Devotion to Mary.

Saints of the Month: April

Saint Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

he 29th of April is the feast day of Saint Catherine of Siena (25 March 1347 in Siena â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 29 April 1380). She was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, a Scholastic philosopher, 67

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theologian and mystic. She is the patron saint invoked against fire; bodily ills; diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA; Europe; illness; Italy; miscarriages; people ridiculed for their piety; sexual temptation; sick people; sickness; and nurses. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: CATHERINE, the daughter of a humble tradesman, was raised up to be the guide and guardian of the Church in one of the darkest periods of its history, the fourteenth century. As a child, prayer was her delight. She would say the “Hail Mary” on each step as she mounted the stairs, and was granted in reward a vision of Christ in glory. When but seven years old, she made a vow of virginity, and afterwards endured bitter persecution for refusing to marry. Our Lord gave her His Heart in exchange for her own, communicated her with His own hands, and stamped on her body the print of His wounds. At the age of fifteen she entered the Third Order of St. Dominic, but continued to reside in her father’s shop, where she united a life of active charity with the prayer of a contemplative Saint. From this obscure home the seraphic virgin was summoned to defend the Church’s cause. Armed with Papal authority, and accompanied by three confessors, she travelled through Italy, reducing rebellious cities to the obedience of the Holy See, and winning hardened souls to God. In the face well-nigh of the whole world she sought out Gregory XI. at Avignon, brought him back to Rome, and by her letters to the kings and queens of Europe made good the Papal cause. She was the counsellor of Urban VI., and sternly rebuked the disloyal cardinals who had part in electing an antipope. Long had the holy virgin foretold the terrible schism which began ere she died. Day and night she wept and prayed for unity and peace. But the devil excited the Roman people against the Pope, so that some sought the life cf Christ’s Vicar. With intense earnestness did St. Catherine beg Our Lord to prevent this enormous crime. In spirit she saw the whole city full of demons tempting the people to resist and even slay the Pope. The 68

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seditious temper was subdued by Catherineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prayers; but the devils vented their malice by scourging the Saint herself, who gladly endured all for God and His Church. She died at Rome, in 1380, at the age of thirty-three. Reflection.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;The seraphic St. Catherine willingly sacrificed the delights of contemplation to labor for the Church and the Apostolic See. How deeply do the troubles of the Church and the consequent loss of souls afflict us? How often do we pray for the Church and the Pope?

Saints of the Month: April

Pope Saint Pius V

Pius V by Palma il Giovane

he 30th of April is the feast day of Pope Saint Pius V (17 January 1504 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1 May 1572). He was born Antonio Ghislieri and from 1518 was called Michele Ghislieri, O.P. He is the patron 70

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saint of Valletta, Malta; Bosco Marengo, Italy; Pietrelcina, Italy; Roccaforte Mondovi and the Diocese of Alessandria. The following is from Butler’s Lives of the Saints: A DOMINICAN friar from his fifteenth year, Michael Ghislieri, as a simple religious, as inquisitor, as bishop, and as cardinal, was famous for his intrepid defence of the Church’s faith and discipline, and for the spotless purity of his own life. His first care as Pope was to reform the Roman court and capital by the strict example of his household and the severe punishment of all offenders. He next endeavored to obtain from the Catholic powers the recognition of the Tridentine decrees, two of which he urgently enforced—the residence of bishops, and the establishment of diocesan seminaries. He revised the Missal and Breviary, and reformed the ecclesiastical music. Nor was he less active in protecting the Church without. We see him at the same time supporting the Catholic King of France against the Huguenot rebels, encouraging Mary Queen of Scots, in the bitterness of her captivity, and excommunicating her rival the usurper Elizabeth, when the best blood of England had flowed upon the scaffold, and the measure of her crimes was full. But it was at Lepanto that the Saint’s power was most manifest; there, in October, 1571, by the holy league which he had formed, but still more by his prayers to the great Mother of God, the aged Pontiff crushed the Ottoman forces, and saved Christendom from the Turk. Six months later, St. Pius died, having reigned but six years. St. Pius was accustomed to kiss the feet of his crucifix on leaving or entering his room. One day the feet moved away from his lips. Sorrow filled his heart, and he made acts of contrition, fearing that he must have committed some secret offence, but still he could not kiss the feet. It was afterwards found that they had been poisoned by an enemy. Reflection.—”Thy cross, O Lord, is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces: by it the faithful find strength in weakness, glory in shame, life in death.”—St. Leo. 71

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Appendix

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