Francis Sintaro, a Young Japanese Lord, Is Martyred for the Faith

February 16, 2026

The princes who were the least hostile to the Christians, to please the emperor did not cease to go in search of them and to persecute them. At Firoxima, a young lord called Francis Sintaro having learned that during his absence the guardian of the house had declared to the officers of justice that it harbored no Christian, hastened to write to the governor that the guardian had imposed on them, because he was a Christian and was resolved to remain such till death. This letter gave great pain to the governor, who very much regretted having to lose so distinguished an officer. He therefore engaged all the relatives and friends of Sintaro to unite their efforts in inducing him to deny the faith. They did all that they could for this purpose, but they gained nothing. The principal personages of the court wrote to him to make him on behalf of the emperor the most brilliant offers; but when he perceived what they were aiming at, he threw their letters into the fire. The courier having remarked to him that those lords would feel themselves insulted if they heard what he had done, he said: “My friend, you are a courier, and not a counselor; your duty is to bring the letters, not to give advice. You have done your duty; all you have now to do is to depart.”

Kyoto, Japan

A short time after there presented themselves four officers, who had been sent by the governor to ask whether he was willing to embrace the religion of the prince. He answered that he desired to follow till death the religion of Jesus Christ, the King of heaven and earth. After this declaration, the governor ordered three other officers to put him to death if he persisted in his resolution, and would not yield. The latter having arrived at his house communicated to him the grief that the governor felt at seeing himself obliged to treat him rigorously according to the law, and represented to him the ruin of his whole family which his obstinacy would cause. Francis, full of intrepidity, answered: “The governor may order what he pleases: I am ready to obey him in all that is not contrary to the law of God; but it is unreasonable for him to demand of me that I should disobey the Sovereign of kings, who forbids me to adore any other god except him.” The officers replied: “If you refuse to do what you are asked, you must make up your mind to die.” “I am resolved to die,” he replied; “and I assure you that you could not have brought me more welcome news.” They then said to him: “Since you are tired of living, die at least like a man of honor. Slit open your body, as people of your rank are accustomed to do.” To this the Christian nobleman rejoined: “I would do so if the law of God permitted me, but it forbids me to take away my life. You have the sword in your hands; you may kill me, if you wish. I shall look upon him as my father who inflicts death upon me, because he will furnish me with a better life than that which he takes from me.”

Various Martyrs of Japan with their heads being put on display.

Having said this, he asked their permission to go to bid farewell to his mother; and on reaching her apartments he spoke thus to her: “My mother, the hour for which I have so much longed, and which I have asked of God to grant me, has at last come; I am going to die. Forgive me all the displeasure that I have caused you, and give me your blessing.” Then he knelt down to receive this last favor. His mother tenderly embraced him, and said: “My dear son, may the Lord bless you, and give you the strength to die a holy death. It greatly afflicts me to lose you; but I console myself in thinking that you are dying for Jesus Christ. May he be always praised for the grace that he is granting you!” He also took leave of his young wife, and returned to the place where he was to be executed. Whilst entering he saluted the officers, prostrated himself, and, after having prayed, he presented his head, which one of the officers cut off immediately. Francis Sintaro died in this manner, February 16, 1624, in the flower of his age, being only twenty-four years old.

 

Rev. Eugene Grimm, ed. Victories of the Martyrs, vol. 9, The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri (New York: Benzinger Brothers, 1888), 384–6.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 743

{ 0 comments }

February 16 – Ven. Luis de Lapuente

February 16, 2026

Ven. Luis de Lapuente

(Also, D’Aponte, de Ponte, Dupont).

Born at Valladolid, 11 November, 1554; died there, 16 February 1624. Having entered the Society of Jesus, he studied under the celebrated Suarez, and professed philosophy at Salamanca. Endowed with exceptional talents for government and the formation of young religious, he was forced by impaired health to retire from offices which he had filled with distinction and general satisfaction. The years that followed were devoted to literary composition. Though not reckoned among Spanish classics, his works are so replete with practical spirituality that they claim for him a place among the most eminent masters of asceticism. Ordaind priest in 1580, he became the spiritual director of the celebrated Marina de Escobar, in which office he continued till his death. In 1599 he devoted himself with great charity to the care of the plague-stricken in Villagarcia. Of remarkable innocence of life, he not only avoided all grievous sin, but bound himself by vow, some years before his death, to avoid as far as human weakness permitted even venial faults. Besides a mystical commentary in Latin on the Canticle of Canticles, he wrote in Spanish: ” Life of Father Baltasar Alvarez”; “Life of Marina de Escobar”; “Spiritual Directory for Confession, Communion and the Sacrifice of the Mass”; “The Christian Life” (4 vols.), and “Meditations on the Mysteries of Our Holy Faith”, by which he is best known to English readers. This last work has been translated into ten languages, including Arabic. A few years after his death, the Sacred Congregation of Rites admitted the cause of his beatification and canonization.

HENRY J. SWIFT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 16 – Founded and ruled a religious order as his family Manorhouse, but only joined that order in his old age

February 16, 2026

St. Gilbert of Sempringham

St. Gilbert of Sempringham with two Gilbertine nuns

St. Gilbert of Sempringham with two Gilbertine nuns

Founder of the Order of Gilbertines, born at Sempringham, on the border of the Lincolnshire fens, between Bourn and Heckington. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it lies between 1083 and 1089; died at Sempringham, 1189.

A nun of the Order of St. Gilbert of Sempringham

A nun of the Order of St. Gilbert of Sempringham

His father, Jocelin, was a wealthy Norman knight holding lands in Lincolnshire; his mother, name unknown, was an Englishwoman of humble rank. Being ill-favoured and deformed, he was not destined for a military or knightly career, but was sent to France to study. After spending some time abroad, where he became a teacher, he returned as a young man to his Lincolnshire home, and was presented to the livings of Sempringham and Tirington, which were churches in his father’s gift. Shortly afterwards he betook himself to the court of Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln, where he became a clerk in the episcopal household. Robert was succeeded in 1123 by Alexander, who retained Gilbert in his service ordaining him deacon and priest much against his will. The revenues of Sempringham had to suffice for his maintenance in the court of the bishop; those of Tirington he devoted to the poor. Offered the archdeaconry of Lincoln, he refused, saying that he knew no surer way to perdition. In 1131 he returned to Sempringham and, is father being dead, became lord of the manor and lands. lt was in this year that he founded the Gilbertine Order, which he was the first is “Master”, and constructed at Sempringham, with the help of Alexander, a dwelling and cloister for his nuns, at the north of the church of St. Andrew.

St. Gilbert of Sempringham, sculpture at Essen (Belgium)

St. Gilbert of Sempringham, sculpture at Essen (Belgium)

His life henceforth became one of extraordinary austerity, its strictness not diminishing as he grew older, though the activity and fatigue caused by the government of the order were considerable. In 1147 he travelled to Citeaux, in Burgundy, where he met Eugene III, St Bernard, and St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh. The pope expressed regret at not having known of him some years previously when choosing a successor to the deposed Archbishop of York. In 1165 he was summoned before Henry II’s justices at Westminster and was charged with having sent help to the exiled St. Thomas a Becket. To clear himself he was invited to take an oath that he had not done so. He refused, for, though as a matter of fact he had not sent help, an oath to that effect might make him appear an enemy to the archbishop. He was prepared for a sentence of exile, when letters came from the king in Normandy, ordering the judges to await his return. In 1170, when Gilbert was already a very old man, some of his lay-brothers revolted and spread serious calumnies against him. After some years of fierce controversy on the subject, in which Henry II took his part, Alexander III freed him from suspicion, and confirmed the privileges granted to the order. Advancing age induced Gilbert to give up the government of his order. He appointed as his successor Roger, prior of Malton. Very infirm and almost blind, he now made his religious profession, for though he had founded an order and ruled it for many yeas he had never become a religious in the strict sense. Twelve years after his death, at the earnest request of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, he was canonized by Innocent III, and his relics were solemnly translated to an honourable place in the church at Sempringham, his shrine becoming a center of pilgrimage. Besides the compiIation ot his rule, he has left in little treatise entitled “De constructione monasteriorum”.

cfr. R. Urban Butler (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Subscription4

{ 0 comments }

February 17 – He established the first charitable loan-institution for the poor

February 16, 2026

Barnabas of Terni

(Interamna)

The hermitage of Eremo delle Carceri at Monte Subasio, in Umbria, Italy.

Friar Minor and missionary, d. 1474 (or 1477). He belonged to the noble family of the Manassei and was a man of great learning, being Doctor of Medicine and well versed in letters and philosophy. Despising the honours and vanities of the world, he entered the Order of Friars Minor in the Umbria province of the order and practised, with unusual fervour, every virtue of the religious life. After devoting himself assiduously to the study of theology, Barnabas began to preach with wonderful success, but a severe illness obliged him to abandon this work. Although gifted with the grace of prayer and contemplation in an eminent degree, he was almost continually employed in different offices of importance, for which his prudence, kindness, and affability well fitted him. By word and example he proved himself a zealous promoter of that branch of the order known as the Observance. He died at the hermitage of the Carceri on Mount Subiaco at an advanced age and his remains were deposited there in the Chapel of St. Mary Magdelene. He is commemorated in the Franciscan martyrology on 17 February. To Barnabas belongs the honour of having established the first of the celebrated monti di pietà, or charitable loan-institutions, designed to protect poor people against the outrageous usury of the Jews. After consulting his fellow religious Fortunatus Coppoli, who had been an eminent jurisconsult, and with the generous co-operation of the wealthy Perugians, Barnabas established the first monte di pietà in their city in 1462. Violent opposition ensued, but Barnabas and Fortunatus prevailed over their enemies at a public disputation. Barnabas next extended his work to other cities; it was enthusiastically taken up by several great Franciscan missionaries, and in their day, the monti di pietà wonderfully improved the social conditions of Italy.

Wadding, Annales Minorum (2d ed.), XIV, 93, XV, 318; Holzapfel, Die Anfanger der Montes Pietatis (Munich, 1903), 35 passim.

Thomas Plassmann (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 17 – Marvelous Apparition of Our Lady To Seven Young Nobles

February 16, 2026

St. Alexis Falconieri

Saint Alexis FalconieriBorn in Florence, 1200; died 17 February, 1310, at Mount Senario, near Florence.

He was the son of Bernard Falconieri, a merchant prince of Florence, and one of the leaders of the Republic. His family belonged to the Guelph party, and opposed the Imperialists whenever they could consistently with their political principles.

Alexis grew up in the practice of the most profound humility. He joined the Laudesi, a pious confraternity of the Blessed Virgin, and there met the six future companions of his life of sanctity. He was favored with an apparition of the Mother of God, 15 August, 1233, as were these companions.

St. Juliana FalconieriThe seven soon afterwards founded the Order of the Servites. With consistent loyalty and heroism Alexis at once abandoned all, and retired to La Camarzia, a house on the outskirts of the town, and the following year to Mt. Senario. With characteristic humility, he traversed, as a mendicant, in quest of alms for his brethren, the streets of the city through which he had lately moved as a prominent citizen. So deep and sincere was his humility that, though he lived to the great age of hundred and ten years, he always refused to enter the priesthood, of which he deemed himself unworthy. The duties of our Saint were confined principally to the material needs of the various communities in which he lived. In 1252 the new church at Cafaggio, on the outskirts of Florence, was completed under his care, with the financial assistance of Chiarissimo Falconieri. The miraculous image of the Annunciation, still highly venerated in Italy, had its origin here.

St. Juliana Falconieri, his niece, was trained in sanctity under his personal direction. The influence exerted on his countrymen by Alexis and his companions may be gathered from the fact that in a few years ten thousand persons had enrolled themselves under the banner of the Blessed Virgin in the Servite Order.

At his death he was visited by the Infant Jesus in visible form, as was attested by eye-witnesses. His body rests near the church of the Annunciation, in Florence.

Seven Founders of the Order of Servites

Seven Founders of the Order of Servites

Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servites

This order was founded on the feast of the Assumption, 1233 when the Blessed Virgin appeared to seven noble Florentines, Buonfiglio dei Monaldi (Bonfilius), Giovanni di Buonagiunta (Bonajuncta), Bartolomeo degli Amidei (Amideus), Ricovero dei Lippi-Ugguccioni (Hugh), Benedetto dell’ Antella (Manettus), Gherardino di Sostegno (Sosteneus), and Alessio de’ Falconieri (Alexius). They belonged to seven patrician families of that city, and had earlier formed a confraternity of laymen, known as the Laudesi, or Praisers of Mary.

Seven Servite OrderOur Lady bade them leave the world and live for God alone. On the following feast of her Nativity, 8 September, they retired to La Camarzia, just outside the walls of the city, and later on to Monte Senario, eleven miles from Florence.

Here again they had a vision of the Blessed Virgin. In her hands she held a black habit; a multitude of angels surrounded her, some bearing the different instruments of the Passion, one holding the Rule of St. Augustine, whilst another offered with one hand a scroll, on which appeared the title of Servants of Mary surrounded by golden rays, and with the other a palm branch. She addressed to them the following words: “I have chosen you to be my first Servants, and under this name you are to till my Son’s Vineyard. Here, too, is the habit which you are to wear; its dark colour will recall the pangs which I suffered on the day when I stood by the Cross of my only Son. Take also the Rule of St. Augustine, and may you, bearing the title of my Servants, obtain the palm of everlasting life.”

Among the holy men of the order was St. Philip Benizi, who was born on the day the Blessed Virgin first appeared to the Seven Founders (15 August), and afterwards became the great propagator of the order. The order developed rapidly not only in Italy but also in France and Germany, where the holy founders themselves spread devotion to the Sorrows of Mary. Their glorious son St. Philip continued the work and thus merited the title of Eighth Founder of the Order. The distinctive spirit of the order is the sanctification of its members by meditation on the Passion of Jesus and the Sorrows of Mary, and spreading abroad this devotion.

The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, Italy, the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata.

The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, Italy, the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata.

The order consists of three branches. Concerning the First Order or Servite Fathers, see . The Second Order (cloistered nuns) was probably founded by Blessed Helen and Blessed Rose shortly after the death of St. Philip in 1285. This branch has houses in Italy and Austria as well as one at Bognor, England. The Third Order of Mantellate was founded by St. Juliana Falconieri to whom St. Philip gave the habit in 1284. This branch occupies itself with active works after the example of its holy foundress. From Italy it spread into other countries of Europe. The Venerable Anna Juliana, Archduchess of Austria, founded several houses and became a Mantellate herself. In 1844 it was introduced into France, and was thence extended into England in 1850. The sisters were the first to wear the religious habit publicly in that country after the so-called Reformation. Subscription8 They are at present one of the leading religious orders for women in what was once “Mary’s Dowry”, having been active missionaries under Father Faber and the Oratorians for many years. In 1871 the English province sent sisters to American, but they were recalled in 1875. The superior general being very desirous to see the order established in the United States sent sisters a second time in 1893. They have now a novitiate at Cherokee, Iowa, and mission houses in other states. They devote themselves principally to the education of youth, managing academies and taking charge of parochial schools and workrooms. They also undertake works of mercy, such as the care of orphans, visiting the sick, and instructing converts, etc. Above all, in imitation of their holy foundress, St. Juliana, they do all in their power to instill into the hearts of those under their care a great love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. At the last general chapter held in London, 31 July, 1906, a vicaress general for America was appointed.

cfr. Catholic Encyclopedia

{ 0 comments }

February 18 – Fra Angelico brought part of heaven to earth

February 16, 2026

Blessed Fra Angelico

Posthumous portrait of Bl. Fra Angelico by Luca Signorelli

Posthumous portrait of Bl. Fra Angelico by Luca Signorelli

A famous painter of the Florentine school, born near Castello di Vicchio in the province of Mugello, Tuscany, 1387; died at Rome, 1455. He was christened Guido, and his father’s name being Pietro he was known as Guido, or Guidolino, di Pietro, but his full appellation today is that of “Blessed Fra Angelico Giovanni da Fiesole”. He and his supposed younger brother, Fra Benedetto da Fiesole, or da Mugello, joined the order of Preachers in 1407, entering the Dominican convent at Fiesole. Giovanni was twenty years old at the time the brothers began their art careers as illustrators of manuscripts, and Fra Benedetto, who had considerable talent as an illuminator and miniaturist, is supposed to have assisted his more celebrated brother in his famous frescoes in the convent of San Marco in Florence. Fra Benedetto was superior at San Dominico at Fiesole for some years before his death in 1448. Fra Angelico, who during a residence at Foligno had come under the influence of Giotto whose work at Assisi was within easy reach, soon graduated from the illumination of missals and choir books into a remarkably naive and inspiring maker of religious paintings, who glorified the quaint naturalness of his types with a peculiarly pious mysticism. Blessed Fra Angelico He was convinced that to picture Christ perfectly one must need be Christlike, and Vasari says that he prefaced his paintings by prayer. His technical equipment was somewhat slender, as was natural for an artist with his beginnings, his work being rather thin dry and hard. His spirit, however, glorified his paintings. His noble holy figures, his beautiful angels, human but in form, robed with the hues of the sunrise and sunset, and his supremely earnest saints and martyrs are permeated with the sincerest of religious feeling. His early training in miniature and illumination had its influence in his more important works, with their robes of golden embroidery, their decorative arrangements and details, and pure, brilliant colours. As for the early studies in art of Fra Angelico, nothing is known. His painting shows the influence of the Siennese school, and it is thought he may have studied under Gherardo, Starnina, or Lorenzo Monaco.

Bl. Fra Angelico

On account of the struggle for the pontifical throne between Gregory XII, Benedict XIII, and Alexander V, Fra Giovanni and his brother, being adherents of the first named, had in 1409 to leave Fiesole, taking refuge in the convent of their order established at Foligno in Umbria. The pest devastating that place in 1414, the brothers went to Cortona, where they spent four years and then returned to Fiesole. There Fra Angelico remained for sixteen years. He was then invited to Florence to decorate the new Convent of San Marco which had just been allotted to his order, and of which Cosmo de’ Medici was a munificent patron.

Read More

{ 0 comments }

February 18 – Charlemagne’s envoy to the pope

February 16, 2026

St. Angilbert

Abbot of Saint-Riquier, died 18 February, 814.

St. AngilbertAngilbert seems to have been brought up at the court of Charlemagne, where he was the pupil and friend of the great English scholar Alcuin. He was intended for the ecclesiastical state and must have received minor orders early in life, but he accompanied the young King Pepin to Italy in 782 in the capacity of primicerius palatii, a post which implied much secular administration. In the academy of men of letters which rendered Charlemagne’s court illustrious Angilbert was known as Homer, and portions of his works, still extant, show that his skill inverse was considerable. He was several times sent as envoy to the pope, and it is charged against him that he identified himself with the somewhat heterodox views of Charlemagne in the controversy on images. In 790 he was named Abbot of Centula, later known as Saint-Riquier, in Picardy, and by the help of his powerful friends he not only restored or rebuilt the monastery in a very sumptuous fashion, but endowed it with a precious library of 200 volumes. In the year 800 he had the honour of receiving Charlemagne as his guest. Subscription It seems probable that Angilbert at this period (whether he was yet a priest is doubtful) was leading a very worldly life.  The circumstances are not clear, but modern historians consider that Angilbert undoubtedly had an intrigue with Charlemagne’s unmarried daughter Bertha, and became by her the father of two children, one of whom was the well-known chronicler Nithard. This intrigue of Angilbert’s, sometimes regarded as a marriage, has been disputed by some scholars, but is now generally admitted. We should probably do well to remember that the popular canonizations of that age were very informal and involved little investigation of past conduct or virtue. It is, however, stated by Angilbert’s twelfth-century biographer that the abbot before his death did bitter penance for this “marriage”, and the historian Nithard, in the same passage in which he claims Angilbert for his father, also declares that Angilbert’s body was found incorrupt some years after his burial. Angilbert has been claimed as the author of a fragment of an epic poem on Charlemagne and Leo III, but the authorship is disputed. On the other hand, Monod believes that he is probably responsible for certain portions of the famous “Annales Laurisenses.”

Herbert Thurston (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

Picturesque and The Real In Daily Life

February 12, 2026

Photograph of Carl Spitzweg.

Carl Spitzweg is a relatively little known Bavarian painter of the last century (1808-1885). Or at least so it would appear, for his name, like that of Hector Roesler Franz, another German painter of the turn of the century, is not mentioned in the celebrated books on the history of art.
Nevertheless, the paintings of the two artists, which have many features in common, are of such a quality as to entitle them to appear in manuals of the history of art. Indeed, few painters have depicted the picturesque in daily life with so much charm and penetrating observation.
Roesler specialized in painting scenes typical of the Rome of his time. Between 1870 and 1907, he executed 120 watercolors, now exhibited in the Museum of Palazzo Braschi. His works became popular in our times, especially in the Eternal City, through a series of picture albums and postcards entitled Roma Sparita (The Rome That Has Vanished).
Although he was not an Italian, Roesler successfully depicted with his brush aspects of the daily life of Rome the last century; and he did it in a lively, fascinating, and even delightful manner. It is indeed a delight for one endowed with artistic, psychological, or sociological sense to analyze his watercolors.

Photograph of Ettore [Hector] Roesler Franz. Photo by Finarts.

Spitzweg was equally successful in depicting the picturesque scenes of daily life, though the ambiences he painted were quite different from that of Rome. All of his themes are taken from the daily life that was typical of the small cities and countryside of nineteenth century Germany.In the first picture — one of the artist’s most well known and appreciated — Spitzweg presents, with a fine sense of irony, the hardships in the life of a man of letters. Its title, “The Poor Poet,” expresses very well the idea that the painter wished to convey. The poet lives in a miserable attic without even a bed, his mattress being simply stretched out on the floor. Above the head of the poet, which is wrapped in a white night cap, an open umbrella is perched, presumably to protect him from some uncomfortable leak in the roof. . .Near the small window, a cloth is hanging from a wire that stretches from the wall to the wooden garret. The chimney of the wood stove is used as a hat hanger for the top hat of the poet. On the wall, under the chimney, a nail holds his coat.

“Der arme Poet” or “The poor poet” by Carl Spitzweg.

What is most delightful to the observer, however, is the contrast between the misery and prosaism of the whole ambience and the attitude of the poet, who is immersed in his own work, wrapt in admiration, and oblivious to his surroundings. Thick volumes leaning against the wall or piled in disorder beside him give the impression of a poet who is absorbed in his work. And in order to give emphasis to the attitude of the poet, the painter placed his writing pen in his mouth, because his two hands are occupied: with the right one he is counting the metrics of his verses, while the left one holds the paper. . .
The second painting, entitled “Art and Science,” depicts the enchanting square in a small German town. At the left, alongside a stone fountain where she has gone to draw water, a woman, carrying her water pitcher, watches the work of an artist above her. Sitting on a scaffold raised to the third floor of the prominent building in the background, he is painting the Blessed Virgin with the Child Jesus, on its wall. On the basis of the style of its windows and the turret in its corner, the building seems to belong to the baroque period. Its roof, with the small window just below it, is characteristically baroque. A ledge separates the upper portion of the small tower from its central body, which displays a large window adorned with flowers. The turret has another ledge too, below which one can see its gracious base.
At the window of the attic, which is also embellished with typically German flowers, a feminine figure is interestedly observing the work of the painter and the movement in the square.

“Kunst und Wissenschaft” or “Art and Science” by Carl Spitzweg.

Almost directly over the fountain where the woman pauses before filling her pitcher, one can discern a picturesque emblem — a device for designating old inns characteristic of several European countries. The emblem is held by an artistic pole of wrought iron, and displays a two headed eagle inside of a circle. On the ground, pigeons are strolling, a very common event in the squares of many cities.
A book peddler has erected his stand in the middle of the square. In it one can see several books as well as some prints hanging from wires. As a finishing touch in a painting filled with so many savory details, an expressive personage, dressed in a top hat and tails, is examining a book the peddler has offered him. One has the impression that slender man must be one of the intellectual celebrities of the town: a respected professor, a celebrated writer, a doctor, or perhaps a lawyer famous only in that small, secluded corner of Germany. . .
Perhaps our reader lives in one of those huge modern cities where hustle and bustle, pollution, and artificiality of life are mixed from the most different standpoints so as to interpenetrate the whole environment. If so, let him imagine himself living in the small German town so well depicted by Spitzweg’s brush. Instead of being disturbed by streets agitated by the feverish movement of pedestrians and modern vehicles, the reader would find the calmness reflected in the small square that we have described above; instead of being frustrated by the artificial life in the modern cities, he would enjoy the temperate pleasures and happiness of an organic, natural life. Finally, being freed from the physical, psychological, and moral pollution resulting from antinatural concentrations, unbridled industrialization, and the modern transit of large urban areas, he could immerse himself in a wholesome ambience that is preserved both materially and morally.
In which of these two worlds would you rather live, dear reader?

Crusade For A Christian Civilization, #2, 1980, pg. 22 & 23.

{ 0 comments }

St. Frideswide – February 12

February 12, 2026

St. Frideswide

(FRIDESWIDA, FREDESWIDA, Fr. FRÉVISSE, Old Eng. FRIS).

Stained glass window of Saint Frideswide hides from King Algar amongst swines.

Stained glass window of Saint Frideswide hides from King Algar amongst swines.

Virgin, patroness of Oxford, lived from about 650 to 735. According to her legend, in its latest form, she was the child of King Didan and Safrida, and was brought up to holiness by Algiva. She refused the proffered hand of King Algar, a Mercian, and fled from him to Oxford. It was in vain that he pursued her; a mysterious blindness fell on him, and he left her in her cell. From this eventually developed the monastery, in which she died in 19 October (her principal feast), and was buried. The earliest written life now extant was not composed until four hundred years after her death, but it is generally admitted that the substance of the tradition has every appearance of verisimilitude. From the time of her translation in 1180 (commemorated 12 Feb.) from her original tomb to the great shrine of her church, her fame spread far and wide; for the university was now visited by students from all parts, who went twice a year in solemn procession to her shrine and kept her feasts with great solemnity. Cardinal Wolsey transformed her monastery into Christ Church College, King Henry made her church into Oxford cathedral, but her shrine was dismantled, and her relics, which seem to have been preserved, were relegated to some out-of-the-way corner. In the reign of Edward VI, Catherine Cathie was buried near the site of her shrine. She was a runaway nun, who had been through the form of marriage with Peter Martyr, the ex-friar. The Catholics, as was but natural, ejected her bones in the reign of Queen Mary. But after Elizabeth had reinstated Protestantism, James Calfhill, appointed Canon of Christ Church in 1561, dug up Cathie’s bones once more, mixed them up (in derision of the Catholics) with the alleged remaining relics of the saint, and buried them both together amid the plaudits of his Zwinglian friends in England and Germany, where two relations of his exploit, one in Latin and one in German, were published in 1562. The Latin relation, which is conveniently reprinted in the Bollandists, is followed in the original by a number of epitaphs on the theme Hic jacet religio cum superstitione, but it does not seem that these words were incised on the tomb, though it is often said that they were. The episode strikingly illustrates the character of the continuity between the ancient faith and the reformed religion of England.

Acta SS., Oct., VIII, 533-564; MABILLON, Acta SS. Ben. (1672), III, I, 561; HOLE in Dict. Christ. Biog., s. v.; HUBERT, Historia Bucerii, Fagii, item C. Vermiliæ (1562); PARKER, Early Oxford, 727-1100 (1885); PLUMMER, Elizabethan Oxford (1887).

J.H. POLLEN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

Saint Eulalia of Barcelona – February 12

February 12, 2026

Saint Eulalia of Barcelona

Santa EulàliaA Spanish martyr in the persecution of Diocletian (February 12, 304), patron of the cathedral and city of Barcelona, also of sailors. The Acts of her life and martyrdom were copied early in the twelfth century, and with elegant conciseness, by the learned ecclesiastic Renallus Grammaticus (Bol. acad. hist., Madrid, 1902, XLI, 253-55). Their chief historical source is a Latin hymn of the middle of the seventh century by Quiricus, Bishop of Barcelona, friend and correspondent of St. Ildephonsus of Toledo and of Tajo, Bishop of Saragossa. This hymn, identical with that of Prudentius (Peristephanon, III) for the feast of St. Eulalia of Merida (December 10, 304), was preserved in the Visigothic Church and has reached us through the Mozarabic Liturgy.

The tomb of St. Eulàlia in Barcelona Cathedral. Photo by Xavier Caballé.

The tomb of St. Eulàlia in Barcelona Cathedral. Photo by Xavier Caballé.

There is no reason to doubt the existence of two distinct saints of this name, despite the over-hasty and hypercritical doubts of some. The aforesaid Quiricus of Barcelona and Oroncius of Merida were present at the tenth council of Toledo (656). The latter had already founded (651) a convent of nuns close by the basilica of the celebrated martyr of his episcopal city, had written a rule for its guidance, and given it for abbess the noble lady Eugenia. Quiricus now did as much for the basilica and sepulchre of the martyr of Barcelona, close to whom he wished to be buried, as we read in the last lines of the hymn. The inscriptions on many Visigothic altars show that they contained relics of St. Eulalia; except in the context, however, they do not distinguish between the martyr of Barcelona and the one of Merida. On an altar in the village of Morera, Province of Badajoz, we find enumerated consecutively Sts. Fructuosus and Augurius (Tarragona), St. Eulalia (Barcelona), St. Baudilius (Nimes), and St. Paulus (Narbonne). The Visigothic archaeology of Eastern Spain has been hitherto poor in hagiological remains; nevertheless, a trans-Pyrenean inscription found at Montady near Beziers mentions a basilica dedicated to the martyrs Sts. Vincentius, Ines, and Eulalia (of Barcelona). Until November 23, 874, the body of the Barcelona martyr reposed outside the walls of the city in the church of Santa Maria del March On that date both the body and the tomb were transferred to his cathedral by Bishop Frodoinus. In memory of this act he set up an inscription yet preserved in the Muséo Provincial of Barcelona (no. 864); see also volume XX of Florez, “España Sagrada”, for a reproduction of the same. Not long before this the martyr, St. Eulogius, having occasion to defend the martyrs of Cordova for their spontaneous confession of the Christian Faith before the Mussulman magistrates, quoted the example of St. Eulalia of Barcelona, and referred to the ancient Acts of her martyrdom. Her distinct personality is also confirmed by the existence of an ancient church and monastery in Cordova that bear the name of the Barcelona martyr; this important evidence is borne out by the Mozarabic calendars examined by the learned Dom Ferotin.
F. FITA (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 13 – Mystic and Counselor to Future Popes

February 12, 2026

St. Catherine de Ricci, Virgin

(AD 1522 – 1589)

Fiammetta da Diacceto, St. Catherine and her brothers.

Fiammetta da Diacceto, St. Catherine and her brothers.

The Ricci are an ancient family, which still subsists in a flourishing condition in Tuscany. Peter de Ricci, the father of our saint, was married to Catherine Bonza, a lady of suitable birth. The saint was born at Florence in 1522, and called at her baptism Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine at her religious profession. Having lost her mother in her infancy, she was formed to virtue by a very pious Godmother, and whenever she was missing she was always to be found on her knees in some secret part of the house.

St. Catherine de Ricci

When she was between six and seven years old, her father placed her in the Convent of Monticelli, near the gates of Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. This place was to her a paradise: at a distance from the noise and tumult of the world, she served God without impediment or distraction. After some years her father took her home. She continued her usual exercises in the world as much as she was able; but the interruptions and dissipation, inseparable from her station, gave her so much uneasiness that, with the in consent of her father, which she obtained, though with great difficulty, in the year 1535, the fourteenth of her age, she received the religious veil in the convent of Dominicans at Prat, in Tuscany, to which her uncle, F. Timothy de Ricci, was director.

The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Ricci by Pierre Subleyras

The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine of Ricci by Pierre Subleyras

God, in the merciful design to make her the spouse of his crucified Son, and to imprint in her soul dispositions conformable to his, was pleased to exercise her patience by rigorous trials For two years she suffered inexpressible pains under a complication of violent distempers, which remedies themselves served only to increase. These sufferings she sanctified by the interior dispositions with which she bore them, and which she nourished principally by assiduous meditation on the passion of Christ, in which she found an incredible relish and a solid comfort and joy. After the recovery of her health, which seemed miraculous, she studied more perfectly to die to her senses, and to advance in a penitential life and spirit, in which God had begun to conduct her, by practicing the greatest austerities which were compatible with the obedience she had professed; she fasted two or three days a week on bread and water, and sometimes passed the whole day without taking any nourishment, and chastised her body with disciplines and a sharp iron chain which she wore next her skin. Her obedience, humility, and meekness were still more admirable than her spirit of penance. The least shadow of distinction or commendation gave her inexpressible uneasiness and confusion, and she would have rejoiced to be able to lie hid in the centre of the earth, in order to be entirely unknown to and blotted out of the hearts of all mankind, such were the sentiments of annihilation and contempt of herself in which she constantly lived. It was by profound humility and perfect interior self-denial that she learned to vanquish in her heart the sentiments or life of the first Adam—that is, of corruption, sin, and inordinate self-love. Subscription21 But this victory over herself, and purgation of her affections, was completed by a perfect spirit of prayer; for by the union of her soul with God, and the establishment of the absolute reign of his love in her heart, she was dead to and disengaged from all earthly things. And in one act of sublime prayer she advanced more than by a hundred exterior practices in the purity and ardor of her desire to do constantly what was most agreeable to God, to lose no occasion of practicing every heroic virtue, and of vigorously resisting all that was evil. Prayer, holy meditation, and contemplation were the means by which God imprinted in her soul sublime ideas of his heavenly truths, the strongest and most tender sentiments of all virtues, and the most burning desire to give all to God, with an incredible relish and affection for suffering contempt and poverty for Christ. What she chiefly labored to obtain, by meditating on his life and sufferings, and what she most earnestly asked of him, was that he would be pleased, in his mercy, to purge her affections of all poison of the inordinate love of creatures, and engrave in her his most holy and divine image, both exterior and interior—that is to say, both in her conversation and her affections, that so she might be animated, and might think, speak, and act by his most Holy Spirit.

The saint was chosen, very young, first, mistress of the novices, then sub-prioress, and, in the twenty-fifth year of her age, was appointed perpetual prioress. The reputation of her extraordinary sanctity and prudence drew her many visits from a great number of bishops, princes, and cardinals—among others, of Cervini, Alexander of Medicis, and Aldobrandini, who all three were afterwards raised to St. Peter’s chair, under the names of Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI.

The Incorrupt body of St. Catherine de Ricci

The Incorrupt body of St. Catherine de Ricci

Something like what St. Austin relates of St. John of Egypt happened to St. Philip Neri and St. Catherine of Ricci. For having some time entertained together a commerce of letters, to satisfy their mutual desire of seeing each other, whilst he was detained at Rome she appeared to him in a vision, and they conversed together a considerable time, each doubtless being in a rapture. This St. Philip Neri, though most circumspect in giving credit to or in publishing visions, declared, saying that Catherine de Ricci, whilst living, had appeared to him in vision, as his disciple Galloni assures us in his life.(1) And the continuators of Bollandus inform us that this was confirmed by the oaths of five witnesses.(2) Bacci, in his life of St. Philip, mentions the same thing, and Pope Gregory XV, in his bull for the canonization of St. Philip Neri, affirms that whilst this saint lived at Rome he conversed a considerable time with Catherine of Ricci, a nun, who was then at Prat, in Tuscany.(3) Most wonderful were the raptures of St. Catherine in meditating on the passion of Christ, which was her daily exercise, but to which she totally devoted herself every week from Thursday noon to three o’clock in the afternoon on Friday. After a long illness she passed from this mortal life to everlasting bliss and the possession of the object of all her desires, on the feast of the Purification of our Lady, on the 2nd of February, in 1589, the sixty-seventh year of her age. The ceremony of her beatification was performed by Clement XII in 1732, and that of her canonization by Benedict XIV in 1746. Her festival is deferred to the 13th of February.

____________

Note 1. Gallon. apud Contin. Bolland. Acta Sanctorum, Maii, t. 6. p. 503. col. 2. n. 146.

Note 2. Gallon. apud Contin. Bolland. Acta Sanctorum, Maii, t. 6. p. 504. col. 2.

Note 3. In Bullar. Cherubini, t. 4. p. 8.

 

See her life, written by F. Seraphin Razzi, a Dominican friar, who knew her, and was fifty-eight years old when she died. The nuns of her monastery gave an ample testimony that this account was conformable partly to what they knew of her, and partly to MS. memorials left by her confessor and others concerning her. Whence F. Echard calls this life a work accurately written. It was printed in 4to. at Lucca, in 1594. Her life was again compiled by F. Philip Guidi, confessor to the saint and to the duchess of Urbino, and printed at Florence in two vols. 4to. in 1622. FF. Michael Pio and John Lopez, of the same order, have given abstracts of her life. See likewise Bened. XIV. de Can. Serv. Dei. t. 5. inter Act. Can. 5. SS. Append.

cfr. The Lives of the Saints, by Rev. Alban Butler, 1866. Volume II: February, p. 406-408.

_____________________

[Nobility.org note: The biblical account of Abel and Cain in Genesis teaches us that we should give God the very best we have. The nobility is the best society has to offer God in the strictly human plane. When to this natural primacy is added the perfume of supernatural grace and nobles truly give themselves to God–be it sacrificing themselves for the common good amidst the hardships and trials of temporal society, be it in the spiritual battlefields, deserts and Calvaries of clerical or religious life–true marvels are seen, as in the life of St. Catherine de Ricci, a noble virgin from a noble family of Tuscany.]

{ 0 comments }

February 13 – John Fowler

February 12, 2026

John Fowler

Scholar and printer, b. at Bristol, England, 1537; d. at Namur, Flanders, 13 Feb., 1578-9. He studied at Winchester School from 1551 to 1553, when he proceeded to New College, Oxford where he remained till 1559. He became B.A. 23 Feb., 1556-7 and M.A. in 1560, though Antony a Wood adds that he did not complete his degree by standing in comitia. On Elizabeth’s accession he was one of the fifteen Fellows of New College who left of their own accord or were ejected rather than take the Oath of Supremacy (Rashdall, History of New College, 114). This disposes of the calumny circulated by Acworth in his answer to Sander, called “De visibili Romanarchia”, to the effect that Fowler took the oath to enable him to retain the living of Wonston in Hampshire. There is, indeed, no trace of any desire on his part to receive Holy orders and he subsequently married Alice Harris, daughter of Sir Thomas More’s secretary. On leaving Oxford he withdrew to Louvain, where like other scholars of his time he turned his attention to the craft of printing. His intellectual attainments were such as to enable him to take high rank among the scholar-printers of that age. Thus Antony a Wood says of him: “He was well skilled in the Greek and Latin tongues, a tolerable poet and orator, and a theologian not to be contemned. So learned he was also in criticisms and other polite learning, that he might have passed for another Robert or Henry Stephens. He did diligently peruse the Theological Summa of St. Thomas of Aquin, and with a most excellent method did reduce them into a Compendium.” To have a printing press abroad in the hands of a competent English printer was a great gain to the Catholic cause, and Fowler devoted the rest of his life to this work, winning from Cardinal Allen the praise of being catholicissimus et doctissimus librorum impressor.

The English Government kept an eye on his work, as we learn from the state papers (Domestic, Eliz. 1566-1579), where we read the evidence of one Henry Simpson at York in 1571, to the effect that Fowler printed all the English books at Louvain and that Dr. Harding’s Welsh servant, William Smith, used to bring the works to the press. He seems to have had a press at Antwerp as well as at Louvain, for his Antwerp books range from 1565 to 1575, whereas his Louvain books are dated 1566, 1567 and 1568; while one of his publications, Gregory Martin’s “Treatise of Schism” bears the impress, Douay, 1578. More thorough bibliographical research than has yet been made into the output of his presses will probably throw new light upon his activity as a printer. The original works or translations for which he was personally responsible are: “An Oration against the unlawful Insurrections of the Protestants of our time under pretence to reforme Religion” (Antwerp, 1566), translated from the Latin of Peter Frarinus, which provoked a reply from Fulke; “Ex universâ summâ Sacrae Theologiae Doctori os S. Thomae Aquinatis desumptae conclusiones” (Louvain, 1570); “M. Maruli dictorum factorumque memorabilium libri VI” (Antwerp, 1577); “Additiones in Chronica Genebrandi” (1578); “A Psalter for Catholics”, a controversial work answered by Sampson; epigrams and verses. The translation of the “Epistle of Orosius” (Antwerp, 1565), ascribed to him by Wood and Pitts, was really made by Richard Shacklock. Pitts also states that he wrote in English a work “Ad Ducissam Feriae confessionis forma”, Fowler also edited Sir Thomas More’s “Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation” (Antwerp, 1573).

Edwin Burton (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

St. Fulcran – February 13

February 12, 2026

St. Fulcran

One of the many miracles by St. Fulcran. Painting by François Matet.

One of the many miracles by St. Fulcran. Painting by François Matet.

Bishop of Lodève; died 13 February, 1006. According to the biography which Bernard Guidonis, Bishop of Lodève (died 1331), has left us his saintly predecessor, Fulcran came of a distinguished family, consecrated himself at an early age to the service of the Church, became a priest, and from his youth led a pure and holy life. When in 949 Theoderich, Bishop of Lodève, died, Fulcran, notwithstanding his unwillingness, was chosen as his successor and was consecrated by the Archbishop of Narbonne on 4 February of the same year.

Painting of St. Fulcran by François Matet.

Painting of St. Fulcran by François Matet.

He was untiring in his efforts to conserve the moral life within his diocese, especially among the clergy and the religious orders; he rebuilt many churches and convents, among them the cathedral dedicated to St. Genesius and the church of the Holy Redeemer with the Benedictine monastery attached to it. The poor and the sick were the objects of his special care; for their support he founded hospitals and endowed others already existing. The following anecdote from his life is worthy of mention. A bishop of Gaul had fallen away from the Faith and had accepted Jewish teachings. When the news reached Fulcran, he exclaimed in an excess of zeal: “This bishop should be burned!” Shortly afterwards the renegade prelate was actually seized by his incensed flock and delivered up to death by fire.

The body of St. Fulcran being desecrated by the protestant Huguenots. Painting by François Matet.

The body of St. Fulcran being desecrated by the protestant Huguenots. Painting by François Matet.

Fulcran was then filled with remorse that by his utterance he should have been the cause of the apostate’s death, and after doing severe penance, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, there to receive absolution for his supposed guilt. After his death he was buried in the cathedral of Lodève and honoured as a saint. His body, which had been preserved intact, was burned by the Huguenots in 1572, and only a few particles of his remains were saved. He is the second patron of the Diocese of Lodève, and his feast falls on 13th February.

J.P. KIRSCH (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 14 – Renounced Earthly Nobility To Obtain Heavenly Nobility

February 12, 2026

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

These brothers, the Apostles of the Slavs, were born in Thessalonica, in 827 and 826 respectively. Though belonging to a senatorial family they renounced secular honors and became priests. They were living in a monastery on the Bosphorus, when the Khazars sent to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. Cyril was selected and was accompanied by his brother. They learned the Khazar language and converted many of the people. Soon after the Khazar mission there was a request from the Moravians for a preacher of the Gospel. German missionaries had already labored among them, but without success. The Moravians wished a teacher who could instruct them and conduct Divine service in the Slavonic tongue. On account of their acquaintance with the language, Cyril and Methodius were chosen for their work. In preparation for it Cyril invented an alphabet and, with the help of Methodius, translated the Gospels and the necessary liturgical books into Slavonic. They went to Moravia in 863, and labored for four and a half years. Despite their success, they were regarded by the Germans with distrust, first because they had come from Constantinople where schism was rife, and again because they held the Church services in the Slavonic language. On this account the brothers were summoned to Rome by Nicholas I, who died, however, before their arrival. His successor, Adrian II, received them kindly. Convinced of their orthodoxy, he commended their missionary activity, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy, and ordained Cyril and Methodius bishops. Cyril, however, was not to return to Moravia. He died in Rome, 4 Feb., 869.

St. Methodius baptizing King Borivoj I of Bohemia & his wife St. Ludmila

At the request of the Moravian princes, Rastislav and Svatopluk, and the Slav Prince Kocel of Pannonia, Adrian II formed an Archdiocese of Moravia and Pannonia, made it independent of the German Church, and appointed Methodius archbishop. In 870 King Louis and the German bishops summoned Methodius to a synod at Ratisbon. Here he was deposed and condemned to prison. After three years he was liberated at the command of Pope John VIII and reinstated as Archbishop of Moravia. He zealously endeavored to spread the Faith among the Bohemians, and also among the Poles in Northern Moravia. Soon, however, he was summoned to Rome again in consequence of the allegations of the German priest Wiching, who impugned his orthodoxy, and objected to the use of Slavonic in the liturgy. But John VIII, after an inquiry, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy, decreeing, however, that in the Mass the Gospel should be read first in Latin and then in Slavonic.

Wiching, in the meantime, had been nominated one of the suffragan bishops of Methodius. He continued to oppose his metropolitan, going so far as to produce spurious papal letters. The pope, however, assured Methodius that they were false. Methodius went to Constantinople about this time, and with the assistance of several priests, he completed the translation of the Holy Scriptures, with the exception of the Books of Machabees. He translated also the “Nomocanon”, i.e. the Greek ecclesiastic-civil law. The enemies of Methodius did not cease to antagonize him. His health was worn out from the long struggle, and he died 6 April, 885, recommending as his successor Gorazd, a Moravian Slav who had been his disciple.

cfr. L. ABRAHAM (1913 Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 14 – From humble birth to the most exalted throne

February 12, 2026

Pope Honorius II

(Lamberto Scannabecchi)

Born of humble parents at Fagnano near Imola at an unknown date; died at Rome, 14 February, 1130. For a time he was Archdeacon of Bologna. On account of his great learning he was called to Rome by Paschal II, became canon at the Lateran, then Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prassede, and, in 1117, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri. He was one of the cardinals who accompanied Gelasius II into exile. In 1119 Calistus II sent him as legate to Henry V, German Emperor, with powers to come to an understanding concerning the right of investiture. In October of the same year he was present at the Synod of Reims where the emperor was solemnly excommunicated by Callistus II. A great part of the following three years he spent in Germany, endeavouring to bring about a reconciliation between the pope and the emperor. It was chiefly through his efforts that the Concordat of Worms, the so-called “Pactum Calixtinum” was effected on 23 September, 1123. In this concordat the emperor renounced all claims to investiture with staff and ring, and promised liberty of ecclesiastical elections. When the concordat was signed by the emperor, the cardinal sang a solemn high Mass under the open sky near Worms. After the Agnus Dei he kissed the emperor, who then received Holy Communion from the hands of the cardinal and was in this manner restored to communion with the Church. Callistus II died on 13 December, 1124, and two days later the Cardinal of Ostia was elected pope, taking the name of Honorius II.

Painting of the Official recognition by Pope Honorius II of the Templars at the Council of Troyes in 1128. Painting by François Marius Granet

Party spirit between the Frangipani and the Leoni was at its highest during the election and there was great danger of a schism. The cardinals had already elected Cardinal Teobaldo Boccadipecora who had taken the name of Celestine II. He was clothed in the scarlet mantle of the pope, while the Te Deum was chanted in thanksgiving, when the proud and powerful Roberto Frangipani suddenly appeared on the scene, expressed his dissatisfaction with the election of Teobaldo and proclaimed the Cardinal of Ostia as pope. The intimidated cardinals reluctantly yielded to his demand.

Read More

{ 0 comments }

February 15 – St. Claude de la Colombière

February 12, 2026

St. Claude de la Colombière

St. Claude de la ColombiereMissionary and ascetical writer, born of noble parentage at Saint-Symphorien-d’Ozon, between Lyons and Vienne, in 1641; died at Paray-le-Monial, 15 Feb., 1682. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1659. After fifteen years of religious life he made a vow, as a means of attaining the utmost possible perfection, to observe faithfully the rule and constitutions of his order under penalty of sin. Those who lived with him attested that this vow was kept with great exactitude. In 1674 Father de la Colombière was made superior at the Jesuit house at Paray-le-Monial, where he became the spiritual director of Blessed Margaret Mary and was thereafter a zealous apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

St. Claude de la ColombièreIn 1676 he was sent to England as preacher to the Duchess of York, afterwards Queen of Great Britain. He lived the life of a religious even in the Court of St. James and was as active a missionary in England as he had been in France. Although encountering many difficulties, he was able to guide Blessed Margaret Mary by letter. His zeal soon weakened his vitality and a throat and lung trouble seemed to threaten his work as a preacher. While awaiting his recall to France he was suddenly arrested and thrown into prison, denounced as a conspirator. Thanks to his title of preacher to the Duchess of York and to the protection of Louis XIV, whose subject he was, he escaped death but was condemned to exile (1679). The last two years of his life were spent at Lyons where he was spiritual director to the young Jesuits, and at Paray-le-Monial, whither he repaired for his health. His principal works, including “Pious Reflections”, “Meditations on the Passion”, “Retreat and Spiritual Letters”, were published under the title, “Oeuvres du R. P. Claude de la Colombière” (Avignon, 1832; Paris, 1864). His relics are preserved in the monastery of the Visitation nuns at Paray-le-Monial.

SEQUIN, Vie du P. de la Colombière (Paris, 1876), tr. in Quarterly Series (London, 1883); LUBEN, Der ehrwurdige Diener Gottes P. Claudius de la Colombière (Einsiedeln, 1884); LETIERCE, Le Sacre Coeur, ses apotres et ses sanctuaires (Nancy, 1886); Lettres inedites de la bienheureuse Marguerite Marie (Toulouse, 1890); CHARRIER, Histoire du V. P. Claude de la Colombière (Paris, 1894); Bougaud, Histoire de la bienheureuse Marguerite Marie (Toulouse, 1900); Oeuvres completes du R. P. de la Colombière (Grenoble, 1901); HATTLER, Lebensbild der ehrwurdige P. Claudius de la Colombière (1903); POUPLARD, Notice sur le serviteur de Dieu, le R. P. Claude de la Colombière.

GERTRUDE DANA STEELE (Catholic Encyclopedia)

[Ed. note: He was canonized on 31 May, 1992]

{ 0 comments }

February 15 – One of his last utterances was a prayer for the queen

February 12, 2026

Ven. William Richardson

This is an illustration, said to be from about 1680, of the permanent gallows at Tyburn, which once stood where Marble Arch now stands. There was a three-mile cart ride in public from Newgate prison to the gallows, with large spectator stands lined along the way, so many people could see the hangings (for a fee). Huge crowds collected on the way and followed the accused to Tyburn.

(Alias Anderson.) Last martyr under Elizabeth I; b. according to Challoner at Vales in Yorkshire (i.e. presumably Wales, near Sheffield), but, according to the Valladolid diary, a Lancashire man; executed at Tyburn, 17 Feb., 1603. He arrived at Reims 16 July, 1592 and on 21 Aug. following was sent to Valladolid, where he arrived 23 Dec. Thence, 1 Oct., 1594, he was sent to Seville where he was ordained. According to one account he was arrested at Clement’s Inn on 12 Feb., but another says he had been kept a close prisoner in Newgate for a week before he was condemned at the Old Bailey on the 15 Feb., under stat. 27 Eliz., c. 2, for being a priest and coming into the realm. He was betrayed by one of his trusted friends to the Lord Chief Justice, who expedited his trial and execution with unseemly haste, and seems to have acted more as a public prosecutor than as a judge. At his execution he showed great courage and constancy, dying most cheerfully, to the edification of all beholders. One of his last utterances was a prayer for the queen.

John B. Wainewright (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 15 – Pope Lucius II

February 12, 2026

Pope Lucius II

(Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso)

Born at Bologna, unknown date, died at Rome, 15 February, 1145. Before entering the Roman Curia he was a canon regular in Bologna. In 1124 Honorius II created him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. From 1125-1126 he was papal legate in Germany where he took part in the election of King Lothair III in 1125, was instrumental in the appointment of St. Norbert as Bishop of Magdeburg in July, 1126, and helped settle the quarrel concerning the filling of the See of Wurzburg, after Bishop Gebhard had been deposed by papal authority in 1126. During the pontificate of Innocent II (1130-43) we find him three times as legate in Germany, viz., in the years 1130-1, 1133-4, and 1136. In all these legations he loyally supported the interests of Innocent II, and it must be ascribed chiefly to his exertions that Lothair III made two expeditions to Italy for the purpose of protecting Innocent II against the antipope, Anacletus II. Towards the end of the pontificate of Innocent II he was appointed papal chancellor and librarian. He was elected and consecrated pope at Rome on 12 March, 1144, to succeed Celestine II who had reigned only five months and twelve days.

Pope Lucius II, coat of arms

The new pope took the name of Lucius II; shortly after his accession he had a conference with King Roger of Sicily at Ceperano early in June, 1144, for the purpose of reaching an understanding with the king regarding his duties as a vassal of the Apostolic See. Roger’s demands, however, were so extravagant that Lucius on the advice of his cardinals rejected them. The king now had recourse to arms and Lucius was forced to conclude a truce on terms that were dictated by Roger. In Rome affairs were even less promising. Lucius, indeed, had succeeded in dissolving the senate which had been reluctantly established by Innocent II and which had practically wrested the temporal power from the pope, but encouraged by the success of King Roger of Sicily, the republican faction now elected Pierleoni, a brother of the antipope Anacletus, as senator and demanded that the pope should relinquish all temporal matters into his hands. After vainly calling upon Emperor Conrad for protection, Lucius II marched upon the Capitol at the head of a small army but suffered defeat. If we may believe the statement of Godfrey of Viterbo in his “Pantheon” (Muratori, “Script. rer. Ital.”, VII, 461; and P.L., CXCVIII, 988) Lucius II was severely injured by stones that were thrown upon him on this occasion and died a few days later. At a synod held in Rome during May, 1144, he settled the prolonged dispute between the Metropolitan of Tours and the Bishop of Dol by making the latter suffragan of the former. He requested Abbot Peter of Cluny to send thirteen of his monks to Rome and upon their arrival gave them the monastery of St. Sabas on the Aventine on 19 January, 1145. He founded a few other monasteries in Italy and Germany and was especially well disposed towards the recently instituted Order of the Premonstratensians. His epistles and privileges are printed in P.L., CLXXIX, 823-936.

JAFFE, Regesta pontificum Romanorum (Leipzig, 1885-8); WATTERICH, Pontificum Romanorum vitae (Leipzig, 1862), 278-281; HEFELE, Conciliengeschichte, V (Freiburg, 1886), 492 sq.; GRISAR in Kirchenlex., also the histories of the city of Rome by GREGOROVIUS and VON REUMONT.

MICHAEL OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 9 – St. Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia

February 9, 2026

St. Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia

St. Paulinus II

Born at Premariacco, near Cividale, Italy, about 730-40; died 802. Born probably of a Roman family during Longobardic rule in Italy, he was brought up in the patriarchal schools at Cividale. After ordination he became master of the school. He acquired a thorough Latin culture, pagan and Christian. He had also a deep knowledge of jurisprudence, and extensive Scriptural, theological, and patristic training. This learning won him the favour of Charlemagne. After the destruction of the Kingdom of the Longobards in 774, Charles invited Paulinus to France in 776, to be royal master of grammar”. He assisted in restoring civilization in the West. In 777 Paulinus made his first acquaintance with Petrus of Pisa, Alcuin, Arno, Albrico, Bona, Riculph, Raefgot, Rado, Lullus, Bassinus, Fuldrad, Eginard, Adalard, and Adelbert, the leading men of that age. His devotion to Charlemagne was rewarded by many favours, among them the gift of the property of Waldand, son of Mimo of Lavariano, with a diploma dated from Ivrea, and his appointment by Charles as Patriarch of Aquileia in 787. Subscription22 Paulinus took a prominent part in the important matters of his day. In his relations with the churches of Istria, or with the Patriarch of Grado, the representative of Byzantine interests, he showed the greatest prudence and pastoral zeal. Paulinus obtained diplomas for the free election of the future patriarchs, and other privileges for the Church of Aquileia, viz. the monastery of St. Mary in Organo, the church of St. Laurence of Buia, the hospitals of St. John at Cividale and St. Mary at Verona. He helped in preparing the new Christian legislation, and we find some canons of his synods. In 792 he was present at the Council of Ratisbon, which condemned the heresy of Adoptionism taught by Eliphand and Felix, Bishop of Urgel. In 794 he took a leading part in the national Synod of Frankfort-on-the-Main, where Adoptionism was again condemned, and wrote a book against it which was sent to Spain in the name of the council. Leaving Frankfort Paulinus paid a visit to Cividale and accompanied Pepin against the Avars. At Salzburg he presided over a synod of bishops, in which were discussed the evangelization of the barbarians, and baptism, as we learn from letters of Charles, Alcuin, Arno, and Paulinus. Returning from the expedition the patriarch once more opposed the Adoptionists at the Synod of Cividale in 796. Paulinus expounded the Catholic doctrine about the Blessed Trinity, especially about the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son. At this synod fourteen “canons” on ecclesiastical discipline, and on the sacrament of marriage, were framed and a copy of the Acts was sent to the emperor. Paulinus is said to have assisted at the Council of Altinum, but Hefele has proved that a council was never held there. In 798 he was “Missus Dominicus” of Charlemagne at Pistoia, with Arno and ten other bishops; and afterwards he went to Rome as imperial legate to the Pope. The activity of Paulinus as metropolitan is clear from the “Sponsio Episcoporum ad S. Aquileiensem Sedem . Among his works are: Libellus Sacrosyllabus contra Elipandum ; Libri III contra Felicem ; the protocol of the conference with Pepin and the bishops on the Danube, a work very important for the history of that expedition. Paulinus was also a poet, and we till possess some of his poetical productions: “Carmen de regula fidei ; the rythmus or elegy for the death of his friend, Duke Heric, killed in battle, 799; another rhythm on the destruction of Aquileia; eight rhythms or hymns to be sung in his own church for Christmas, the Purification, Lent, Easter, St. Mark, Sts. Peter and Paul, the dedication, and “Versus de Lazaro”.

Blessing the Friulli-Slavic Army by Patriarch St. Paulinus II before the War against the Avars. Photo from the Cathedral of Aquilea.

He died revered as a saint. In MSS. prior to the Martyrology of Usuard his feast is recorded on 11 Jan. In the calendars of saints of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, used in the Church of Aquileia and Cividale, his feast has a special rubric. The first appearance of the name St. Paulinus in the Liturgy occurs in the “Litaniae” of Charles the Bald of the ninth century. It appears also in the “Litaniae Carolinae”, in the Litaniae a S. Patribus constitutae”, and finally in the Litaniae” of the Gertrudian MS. of the tenth century. Down to the sixteenth century the feast was celebrated on 11 Jan., during the privileged octave of the Epiphany. The patriarch Francesco Barbaro at the beginning of the seventeenth century translated the feast to 9 Feb. The Church of Cividale keeps his feast on 2 March. After several translations the relics of the saintly patriarch were laid to rest under the altar of the crypt of the basilica of Cividale del Friuli.

Aluigi Cossio (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

February 9 – Banished From Court

February 9, 2026

St. Ansbert

Archbishop of Rouen in 695, Confessor

St. Ansbert de RouenHe had been chancelor to King Clotair III in which station he had united the mortification and recollection of a monk with the duties of wedlock, and of a statesman. Quitting the court, he put on the monastic habit at Fontenelle under St. Wandregisile, and when that holy founder’s immediate successor St. Lantbert was made bishop of Lyons, Ansbert was appointed abbot of that famous monastery. He was confessor to King Theodoric III and with his consent was chosen archbishop of Rouen, upon the death of St. Owen in 683. By his care, good order, learning, and piety flourished in his diocese; nevertheless Pepin, mayor of the palace, banished him, upon a false accusation, to the monastery of Aumont, upon the Sambre in Hainault, where he died in the year 698.

Subscription16

See Mab. Sæc. 2. Ben. and Annal. l. 18. Rivet, Hist. Litter. t. 4. p. 33. and t. 3. p. 646. Henschenius, Feb. t. 2. p. 342.

The Lives of the Saints, by Rev. Alban Butler, 1866. Volume II: February. p. 390.

{ 0 comments }

February 9 – Patroness of those suffering from toothaches

February 9, 2026

t. Apollonia A holy virgin who suffered martyrdom in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians previous to the persecution of Decius (end of 248, or beginning of 249). During the festivities commemorative of the first millenary of the Roman Empire, the agitation of the heathen populace rose to a great height, and when […]

Read the full article →

February 9 – The bishop who converted the son of Penda

February 9, 2026

St. Finan Second Bishop of Lindisfarne; died 9 February, 661. He was an Irish monk who had been trained in Iona, and who was specially chosen by the Columban monks to succeed the great St. Aidan (635-51). St. Bede describes him as an able ruler, and tells of his labours in the conversion of Northumbria. […]

Read the full article →

February 9 – Mother of the Orphans

February 9, 2026

Margaret Haughery, “the mother of the orphans”, as she was familiarly styled, b. in Cavan, Ireland, about 1814; d. at New Orleans, Louisiana, 9 February, 1882. Her parents, Charles and Margaret O’Rourke Gaffney, died at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1822 and she was left to her own resources and was thus deprived of acquiring a knowledge […]

Read the full article →

February 10 – God Gave Her What Her Brother Would Not

February 9, 2026

St. Scholastica, Virgin (c. 480 – 10 February 547) This saint was sister to the great St. Benedict. She consecrated herself to God from her earliest youth, as St. Gregory testifies. Where her first monastery was situated is not mentioned; but after her brother removed to Mount Cassino, she choose her retreat at Plombariola, in […]

Read the full article →

February 10 – He fought socialism in both its Nazi and Soviet form, and paid for it with his life

February 9, 2026

BL. ALOJZIJE STEPINAC was born into a large Catholic family on 8 May 1898 in Krasic. After graduation from high school in 1916, he completed military service during World War I. In 1924 he decided to study for the priesthood and was sent to Rome, where he attended the Pontifical Germanicum-Hungaricum College. He earned doctorates […]

Read the full article →

February 11 – St. Benedict of Aniane

February 9, 2026

St. Benedict of Aniane Born about 745-750; died at Cornelimünster, 11 February, 821. Benedict, originally known as Witiza, son of the Goth, Aigulf, Count of Maguelone in Southern France, was educated at the Frankish court of Pepin, and entered the royal service. He took part in the Italian campaign of Charlemagne (773), after which he […]

Read the full article →

February 11 – Elected pope while on Crusade in Palestine

February 9, 2026

Blessed Pope Gregory X Born 1210; died 10 January, 1276. Pope Gregory X was declared Blessed on July 8, 1713 by Pope Clement XI. The death of Pope Clement IV (29 November, 1268) left the Holy See vacant for almost three years. The cardinals assembled at Viterbo were divided into two camps, the one French […]

Read the full article →

What One Lie Can Do

February 5, 2026

In the days when the first Catholic missionaries went to Japan to preach the Gospel to the natives, certain merchants from Holland went to the Emperor and told him that the only aim that these missionaries had was to bring the Portuguese and the Spaniards into the country, that in time they might take possession […]

Read the full article →

February 5 – St. Adelaide of Cologne

February 5, 2026

St. Adelaide (of Cologne) Abbess, born in the tenth century; died at Cologne, 5 February, 1015. She was daughter of Megingoz, Count of Guelders, and when still very young entered the convent of St. Ursula in Cologne, where the Rule of St. Jerome was followed. When her parents founded the convent of Villich, opposite the […]

Read the full article →

February 6 – “No priest, no Mass”

February 5, 2026

Edmund Plowden Born 1517-8; died in London, 6 Feb., 1584-5. Son of Humphrey Plowden of Plowden Hall, Shropshire, and Elizabeth his wife, educated at Cambridge, he took no degree. In 1538 he was called to the Middle Temple where he studied law so closely that he became the greatest lawyer of his age, as is […]

Read the full article →

February 6 – Pope Clement XII

February 5, 2026

Pope Clement XII (LORENZO CORSINI). Born at Florence, 7 April, 1652; elected 12 July, 1730; died at Rome 6 February, 1740. The pontificate of the saintly Orsini pope, Benedict XIII, from the standpoint of the spiritual interests of the Church, had left nothing to be desired. He had, however, given over temporal concerns into the […]

Read the full article →

February 7 – Liberal to Anti-liberal

February 5, 2026

Pope Blessed Pius IX (GIOVANNI MARIA MASTAI-FERRETTI). Pope from 1846-78; born at Sinigaglia, 13 May, 1792; died in Rome, 7 February, 1878. BEFORE HIS PAPACY His early years. After receiving his classical education at the Piarist College in Volterra from 1802-09 he went to Rome to study philosophy and theology, but left there in 1810 […]

Read the full article →

February 7 – Saintly King, and Father of Three More Saints

February 5, 2026

St. Richard, King and Confessor This saint was an English prince, in the kingdom of the West-Saxons, and was perhaps deprived of his inheritance by some revolution in the state: or he renounced it to be more at liberty to dedicate himself to the pursuit of Christian perfection. His three children, Winebald, Willibald, and Warburga, […]

Read the full article →

Heroic Prince Ucondono Met the Persecution Head-On

February 5, 2026

Prince [Justus] Ucondono, a distinguished general, to whom Taicosama was indebted for his empire, was living for six years in exile, because he had refused to abjure his faith. He had been stripped of his dignities, deprived of his estates, his old father, his wife, and his large family sharing in the same privations; yet […]

Read the full article →

Mary Queen of Scots

February 5, 2026

Mary Queen of Scots Mary Stuart, born at Linlithgow, 8 December, 1542; died at Fotheringay, 8 February, 1587. She was the only legitimate child of James V of Scotland. His death (14 December) followed immediately after her birth, and she became queen when only six days old. The Tudors endeavored by war to force on […]

Read the full article →

February 8 – Saint John of Matha, a strong and mighty Angel

February 5, 2026

Saint John of Matha Founder of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity. He was born into Provencal nobility in 1154 at Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, France. As a youth, he was educated at Aix-en-Provence, and later studied theology at the University of Paris. While in Paris, he was urged by a vision during his first Mass to […]

Read the full article →

Candlemas

February 2, 2026

Also called: Purification of the Blessed Virgin (Greek Hypapante), Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Observed 2 February in the Latin Rite. According to the Mosaic law a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain three and thirty days “in […]

Read the full article →

February 2 – He hastened to the king, exhibited his wounded body and related his vision

February 2, 2026

St. Lawrence Second Archbishop of Canterbury, d. 2 Feb., 619. For the particulars of his life and pontificate we rely exclusively on details added by medieval writers being unsupported by historical evidence, though they may possibly embody ancient traditions. According to St. Bede, he was one of the original missionaries who left Rome with St. […]

Read the full article →

February 2 – “Though in chains, he is as gay as a little bird”

February 2, 2026

St. Théophane Vénard (JEAN-THÉOPHANE VÉNARD.) French missionary, born at St-Loup, Diocese of Poitiers, 1829; martyred in Tonkin, 2 February, 1861. He studied at the College of Doue-la-Fontaine, Montmorillon, Poitiers, and at the Paris Seminary for Foreign Missions which he entered as a sub-deacon. Ordained priest 5 June, 1852, he departed for the Far East, 19 […]

Read the full article →

February 3 – His crime was to call the queen a schismatic

February 2, 2026

Blessed John Nelson English Jesuit martyr, b. at Skelton, four miles from York, in 1534; d. at Tyburn, 3 February, 1577-78. He went to Douay in 1573, and two of his four brothers followed his example and became priests. He was ordained priest at Binche, in Hainault, by Mgr Louis de Berlaymont, Archbishop of Cambrai, […]

Read the full article →

February 3 – Half Fierce Pagan Princess, Half Gentle Christian Princess

February 2, 2026

St. Werburgh of Chester (WEREBURGA, WEREBURG, VERBOURG). Benedictine, patroness of Chester, Abbess of Weedon, Trentham, Hanbury, Minster in Sheppy, and Ely, born in Staffordshire early in the seventh century; died at Trentham, 3 February, 699 or 700. Her mother was St. Ermenilda, daughter of Ercombert, King of Kent, and St. Sexburga, and her father, Wulfhere, […]

Read the full article →

February 3 – The Stuff of Which Saints Are Made

February 2, 2026

St. Anschar (Or Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar.) Called the Apostle of the North, was born to the French nobility in Picardy, 8 September, 801; died 5 February, 865. He became a Benedictine of Corbie, whence he passed into Westphalia. With Harold, the newly baptized King of Denmark who had been expelled from his kingdom […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Sent into Muslim lands, he sought to preach to the Sultan

February 2, 2026

St. Joseph of Leonessa In the world named Eufranio Desiderio, born in 1556 at Leonessa in Umbria; died 4 February, 1612. From his infancy he showed a remarkably religious bent of mind; he used to erect little altars and spend much time in prayer before them, and often he would gather his companions and induce […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Wild and dissolute, but then he heard this!

February 2, 2026

St. Andrew Corsini Of the illustrious Corsini family; born in Florence, in 1302; died 1373. Wild and dissolute in youth, he was startled by the words of his mother about what had happened to her before his birth, and, becoming a Carmelite monk in his native city, began a life of great mortification. He studied […]

Read the full article →

February 4 – Patron of Armenia

February 2, 2026

Gregory the Illuminator Born 257?; died 337?, surnamed the Illuminator (Lusavorich). Gregory the Illuminator is the apostle, national saint, and patron of Armenia. He was not the first who introduced Christianity into that country. The Armenians maintain that the faith was preached there by the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddaeus. Thaddaeus especially (the hero of the […]

Read the full article →

January 29 – Noble enough to cover five contemporary kings with invective

January 29, 2026

St. Gildas Surnamed the Wise; born about 516; died at Houat, Brittany, 570. Sometimes he is called “Badonicus” because, as he tells us, his birth took place the year the Britons gained a famous victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, Somersetshire (493 or 516). The biographies of Gildas exist — one written […]

Read the full article →

January 30 – Sir Everard Digby

January 29, 2026

Sir Everard Digby Born 16 May, 1578, died 30 Jan., 1606. Everard Digby, whose father bore the same Christian name, succeeded in his fourteenth year to large properties in the Counties of Lincoln, Leicester, and Rutland. Arrived at man’s estate, he was distinguished for his great stature and bodily strength as well as for his […]

Read the full article →

January 30 – Dom Guéranger

January 29, 2026

Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger Benedictine and polygraph; b. 4 April, 1805, at Sablé-sur-Sarthe; d. at Solesmes, 30 January, 1875. Ordained a priest 7 October, 1827, he was administrator of the parish of the Missions Etrangères until near the close of 1830. He then left Paris and returned to Mans, where he began to publish various […]

Read the full article →

January 31 – St. John Bosco Meets His First Noble Patroness

January 29, 2026

Juliette Colbert, a native of Vendée, had married Marquis Tancredi Falletti of Barolo, and of her it could be said, even as we read of Tabitha in the Acts of the Apostles: “This woman had devoted herself to good works and acts of charity.” Indeed, she used her abundant wealth to help the working classes […]

Read the full article →

January 31 – The Glory of the Ladies

January 29, 2026

St. Marcella (325–410)  She was a Christian ascetic in ancient Rome. Growing up in Rome, she was influenced by her pious mother, Albina, an educated woman of wealth and benevolence. Childhood memories centered around piety, and one in particular related to Athanasius, who lodged in her home during one of his many exiles. He may […]

Read the full article →

February 1 – She and Saint Patrick were “one heart and one mind”

January 29, 2026

Saint Brigid of Ireland Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth; d. 1 February, 525, at Kildare. Refusing many good offers of marriage, she became a nun and received the veil from St. Macaille. With seven other virgins she settled for a time at the foot of Croghan […]

Read the full article →

February 1 – “The sublime genius of the man”

January 29, 2026

Saint Ephraem (Ephrem, Ephraim) Born at Nisibis, then under Roman rule, early in the fourth century; died June, 373. The name of his father is unknown, but he was a pagan and a priest of the goddess Abnil or Abizal. His mother was a native of Amid. Ephraem was instructed in the Christian mysteries by […]

Read the full article →

February 1 – Adventurer Historian

January 29, 2026

François-Xavier Charlevoix Historian, born at St-Quentin, France, 24 October, 1682, died at La Flèche, 1 February, 1761. He entered the Society of Jesus, 15 September, 1698, at the age of sixteen, studied philosophy at the Collège de Louis le Grand (1700-1704), and then went to Quebec, where he taught grammar from 1705 to 1709. During […]

Read the full article →

January 26 – St. Bathilde

January 26, 2026

(Or BATILDE). Wife of Clovis II, King of France, time and place of birth unknown; d. January; 680. According to some chronicles she came from England and was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings, but this is a doubtful statement. It is certain that she was a slave in the service of the wife of […]

Read the full article →

January 27 – Foundress of the Ursulines

January 26, 2026

St. Angela Merici Foundress of the Ursulines, born 21 March, 1474, at Desenzano, a small town on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy; died 27 January, 1540, at Brescia. She was left an orphan at the age of ten and together with her elder sister came to the home of her uncle at […]

Read the full article →

January 26 – Godfrey Giffard

January 26, 2026

Bishop of Worcester, b. about 1235; d. 26 Jan., 1301. He was the son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire, and Sybil, the daughter and coheiress of Walter de Cormeilles. His elder brother Walter became Archbishop of York (d. 1279). During the earlier part of his life his success was bound up with that […]

Read the full article →

January 27 – Pope St. Vitalian

January 26, 2026

Pope St. Vitalian (Reigned 657-72). Date of birth unknown; d. 27 January, 672. Nothing is known of Vitalian’s life before he was raised to the Holy See. According to the “Liber Pontificalis” (ed. Duchesne, I, 343) he was a native of Segni in Campagna, and his father’s name was Anastasius. After the death of Pope […]

Read the full article →

January 27 – John de Pineda

January 26, 2026

John de Pineda Born in Seville, 1558; died there, 27 Jan., 1637. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1572, taught philosophy and theology five years in Seville and Cordova, and specialized in Scripture, which he taught for eighteen years in Cordova, Seville, and Madrid. He held the posts of Provost of the professed house […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – Great in every sense

January 26, 2026

Charlemagne (French for Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, or Carlus Magnus; German Karl der Grosse). The name given by later generations to Charles, King of the Franks, first sovereign of the Christian Empire of the West; born 2 April, 742; died at Aachen, 28 January, 814. At the time of Charles’ birth, his father, Pepin […]

Read the full article →

January 28 – Larochejacquelein killed by the very men whose lives he spared

January 26, 2026

While Turreau was thus devastating La Vendée, where were Larochejacquelein, Stofflet, and Charette? Had they forgotten their country and its cause—were they deaf to her cries of distress? Charette still fought in the depths of the Marais; Stofflet in the recesses of the Bocage; but Larochejacquelein, the young, the brave, the chivalrous, the peasants’ idol […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries