August 3 – The day the bishop cursed his country

August 3, 2026

Bl Clemens August von Galen
On August 3, 1941, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen informed his listeners in a third sermon about the continued desecration of Catholic churches, the closing of convents and monasteries, and the deportation and murder of mentally ill people (who were sent to undisclosed destinations), while a notice was sent to family members stating that the person in question had died. This is murder, he exclaimed, unlawful by divine and German law, a rejection of the laws of God. He informed them that he had forwarded his evidence to the State Attorney. “These are people, our brothers and sisters; maybe their life is unproductive, but productivity is not a justification for killing.” If that were indeed a justification for execution, he reasoned, everybody would have to be afraid to even go to a doctor for fear of what might be discovered. The social fabric would be affected. Von Galen then remarked that a regime which can do away with the Fifth Commandment (thou shalt not kill) can destroy the other commandments as well.

“A curse on men and on the German people if we break the holy commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ which was given us by God on Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning, and which God our Maker imprinted on the human conscience from the beginning of time! Woe to us German people if we not only license this heinous offense but allow it to be committed with impunity!”

The sermons were reproduced and sent all over Germany to families, and to German soldiers on the Western and Eastern Fronts. The resulting local protests in Germany broke the secrecy which had hitherto surrounded the euthanasia program Aktion T4. The local Nazi Gauleiter was furious and demanded the immediate arrest of von Galen. However, Joseph Goebbels, Bormann and others preferred to wait until the end of World War II, to avoid undermining German morale in a heavily Catholic area. Of von Galen’s remarks, perhaps the most effective was his question asking whether permanently injured German soldiers would fall under the programme as well. A year later, the euthanasia program was still active, but the regime was conducting it in greater secrecy.

Source

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Also of interest:

March 22 – He Stood Up to Hitler Without Flinching

June 8 – The Noble Countess Who Dedicated Her Life to Bringing Dissolute Women to Repentance

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August 3 – Secretive Leader

August 3, 2026

St. Nicodemus

Jesus and St. Nicodemus

Jesus and St. Nicodemus

A prominent Jew of the time of Christ, mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel. The name is of Greek origin, but at that epoch such names were occasionally borrowed by the Jews, and according to Josephus (Ant. of the Jews, XIV, iii, 2) Nicodemus was the name of one of the ambassadors sent by Aristobulus to Pompey. A Hebrew form of the name (Naqdimon) is found in the Talmud. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and in his capacity of sanhedrist, (John, vii, 50) was a leader of the Jews. Christ, in the interview when Nicodemus came to him by night, calls him a master in Israel. Judging from John xix, 39, Nicodemus must have been a man of means, and it is probable that he wielded a certain influence in the Subscription16Sanhedrim. Some writers conjecture from his question: “How can a man be born when he is old?”, that he was already advanced in years, but the words are too general to warrant such a conclusion. He appears in this interview as a learned and intelligent believer, but timid and not easily initiated into the mysteries of the new faith. He next appears (John, vii, 50, 51) in the Sanhedrim offering a word in defence of the accused Galilean; and we may infer from this passage that he embraced the truth as soon as it was fully made known to him. He is mentioned finally in John, xix, 39, where he is shown co-operating with Joseph of Arimathea in the embalming and burial of Jesus. His name occurs later in some of the apocryphal writings, e.g. in the so-called “Acta Pilati”, heterogeneous document which in the sixteen century was published under the title “Evangelium Nicodemi” (Gospel of Nicodemus). The time of his death is unknown. The Roman Martyrology commemorates the finding of his relics, together with those of Sts. Stephen, Gamaliel, and Abibo, on 3 August.

St. Nicodemus, along with Our Lady, St. Mary Magdalene, St. John and Joseph of Arimathea, placing the body of Jesus in the tomb.

Conybeare, Studia Biblica, IV (Oxford, 1896), 59-132; Le Camus, La vie de N.-S. Jesus-Christ (Paris, 1883), I, 251 sqq.; II, 24 sqq., 577 sqq., tr. Hickey (3 vols., New York, 1906-08).

JAMES F. DRISCOLL (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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August 4 – St. Eleutherius

August 3, 2026

St. Eleutherius (Fr. Eleutière), Bishop of Tournai at the beginning of the sixth century.

St. EleutheriusHistorically there is very little known about St. Eleutherius, but he was without doubt the first Bishop of Tournai. Theodore, whom some give as his immediate predecessor, was either a bishop of Tours, whose name was placed by mistake on the episcopal list of Tournai, or simply a missionary who ministered to the Christians scattered throughout the small Frankish Kingdom of Tournai. Before he became bishop, Eleutherius lived at court with his friend Medardus, who predicted that he would attain the dignity of a count and also be elevated to the episcopate. After Clovis, King of the Franks, had been converted to Christianity, in 496, with more than 3000 of his subjects, bishops took part in the royal councils. St. Remigius, Bishop of Reims, organized the Catholic hierarchy in Northern Gaul, and it is more than likely that St. Eleutherius was named Bishop of Tournai at this time.

Stained glass window of St. Eleutherius of Tournai Baptizing Converts. Exhibit in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

The saint’s biography in its present form was really an invention of Henri of Tournai in the twelfth century. According to this, Eleutherius was born at Tournai towards the end of the reign of Childeric, the father of Clovis, of a Christian family descended from Irene us, who had been baptized by St. Piatus. His father’s name was Terenus, and his mother’s Blanda. Persecution by the tribune of the Scheldt obliged the Christians to flee from Tournai and take refuge in the village of Blandinium. The conversion of Clovis, however, enabled the small community to reassemble and build at Blandinium a church, which was dedicated to St. Peter. Theodore was made Bishop of Tournai, and Eleutherius succeeded him. Consulted by Pope Hormisdas as to the best means of eradicating the heresy which threatened nascent Christianity, Eleutherius convened a synod and publicly confounded the heretics. They vowed vengeance, and as he was on his way to the church, one day, they fell on him and, after beating him unmercifully, left him for dead. He recovered, however, but his days were numbered. On his deathbed (529) he confided his flock to his lifelong friend, St. Medardus.

The Reliquary Shrine of Saint Eleutherius, 1247, in the Cathedral of Tournai. Photo by Welleschik

The Reliquary Shrine of Saint Eleutherius, 1247, in the Cathedral of Tournai. Photo by Welleschik

The motive underlying this biography invented by Canon Henri (1141), was to prove the antiquity of the Church of Tournai, which from the end of the eleventh century had been trying to free itself from the jurisdiction of the bishops of Noyon. The sermons on the Trinity, Nativity, and the feast of the Annunciation (Bibliotheca Patrum, vol. XV), sometimes attributed to St. Eleutherius, are also of a more than doubtful authenticity. His cult, however, is well established; there is record of a recovery of his relics during the episcopate of Hedilo in 897 or 898, and a translation of them by Bishop Baudoin in 1064 or 1065, and another in 1247. Relics of this saint were also preserved in the monastery of St. Martin at Tournai, and in the cathedral at Bruges. His feast is given in martyrologies on 20 or July 21, but is usually celebrated on the former date. The translation of his relics is commemorated August 25.

L. VAN DER ESSEN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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August 4 – Carthusian Martyrs: The Lone Survivor

August 3, 2026

May 4 – First Group of Carthusian Martyrs

June 19 – Second Group of Carthusian Martyrs

May-June – Third and Fourth Groups

August 4 – The Lone Survivor

For some reason Brother William Horne was kept alive. Refusing to abandon his religious habit, he was not attainted till 1540, when he was hanged, disembowelled, and quartered at Tyburn on August 4, 1540 along with five other Catholics: the two laymen Robert Bird and Giles Heron, Friar Lawrence Cook, Carmelite Prior of Doncaster, the Benedictine monk, Dom Thomas Epson, and (probably) the secular priest William Bird, Rector of Fittleton and Vicar of Bradford, Wiltshire.

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Nobility.org Editorial comment: —

These Carthusian monks, among them scions of old English families, suffered martyrdom because they refused to take the Oath of Supremacy that made Henry VIII head of the Church of England.
They remained true and loyal to the Church which teaches that the Pope is Christ’s Vicar, and that to him alone, as represented by St. Peter, Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; whatsoever you bind upon earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in Heaven” (Matt. 16:19).
The Pope has primacy over things spiritual, while the State has sovereignty over things temporal.

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August 5 – Valor in a King

August 3, 2026

St. Oswald of Northumbria, King and Martyr

The English Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was founded by Ida in 547. After his death the northern part called Bernicia was preserved by his children; but Deira, that is, the southern part, comprising Yorkshire and Lancashire, was occupied by Ælla or Alla, and after his death was recovered by Ethelfrid, grandson of Ida, who ruled the whole kingdom of the Northumbers twenty-four years. He being slain in battle by Redwald, king of the East-Angles, in 617, his sons Eanfrid, Oswald, and Oswi took refuge among the Scots, where they were instructed in the Christian faith, and received the sacrament of regeneration…

Read more here.

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Recipe – A Delicious Mistake

August 3, 2026

Chef Henri Charpentier

As with many culinary successes, a mistake led to the world famous Crepes Suzette. In 1895, Henri Charpentier, a 14-year old assistant at Monte Carlo’s Cafe in Paris, was preparing dessert for the Prince of Wales and his party. Inadvertently, the brandy and Grand Marnier liqueur he put into his crepe pan caught fire and the boy thought he had ruined the Prince’s dinner and evening.

King Edward VII of England and Queen Alexandra

His guardian angel probably inspired him to taste the burnt sauce for when he did, he tasted something sublime and realized the Prince would not be displeased. The future Edward VII gave the new culinary masterpiece its name in honor of his host’s daughter Suzette. Years later, in his autobiography, Charpentier concluded the story on the recipe’s origins, saying: “Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman.”

Chef Henri Charpentier preparing Crêpe Suzette

Chef Henri Charpentier preparing Crêpe Suzette

 Never made crepes before and not sure how, check out this video:

Recipe:

Crepes

  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoon sugar
  • vegetable oil for oiling pans

Sauce

  • ½ cup butter
  • 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
  • Peels from 2 oranges, sliced (not minced or grated)
  • Peels from 1 lemon, sliced  (not minced or grated)
  • ¼ cup orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
  • ¼ cup of Brandy

 

Crepes Suzette Photo by katyrlynch

Directions:

Crepes:

Measure all ingredients except flour into large mixing bow. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed gradually adding flour, until all ingredients are combined. No lumps should be present.

Lightly oil 1 (6-inch) crepe pan and set over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan and swirl until the pan is coated. Cook crepes until the top begins to look dry, about 60 seconds. Turn and cook the other side 30 seconds, wiping the pan with an oiled paper towel if crepes begin to stick.

It’s best to make all the crepes first, layering them on top of each other.

Flambé crepes

Sauce:

In large skillet, melt the butter. When foamy, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add rinds and simmer until peels become soft – about 20 minutes. Remove orange and lemon rinds. Turn heat to lowest settings. Place one crepe in sauce, covering it completely with the sauce. Fold crepe in half and fold in half again. Put the first crepe to the side of the dish and add another. Repeat until all crepes have been added. Work quickly so the first crepes do not absorb all the sauce. Make sure all the crepes are still in the pan.

Add both liqueurs and pour over the pan of crepes. Remove pan from heat. Using a long match, ignite the sauce. When flames subside (it should stay light for one minute), place crepes on dessert plates. Dust with confectioners sugar; garnish with orange slices and serve.

Voilà! Enjoy!

 

You can use this same crepe recipe for any other dessert crepes you wish to make, filled with all kinds of fruits, jams or sauces….you’ll have a delicious meal anytime!

Top crepe is filled with kiwi, mango, coconut creme, almonds. Bottom crepe is filled with lemon curd and strawberries.

The above recipe is from http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/262/Crepes_Suzette22688.shtml  & from various other sources.

 

Also: Nutella Crepes

 

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Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

July 30, 2026

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

In 1900, the Catholic Church was healthy and growing in China. There were forty bishops, about 800 European missionaries, 600 native Chinese priests, and the number of native Catholics throughout the whole of China proper was estimated at 700,000.

It was during this time that the Boxer Uprising (1898-1900) started which ushered in a period of animosity against all things European.

Catholic defenders in front of the Beitang Cathedral in Beijing. August, 1900, after 2-months siege.

Catholic defenders in front of the Beitang Cathedral in Beijing. August, 1900, after 2-months siege.

It was from this hatred that the Boxer Rebellion was born. In June, 1900 the Boxers besieged the Beitang Cathedral. Directing the defense during the siege was the French Lazarist Bishop Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier, C.M. of Peking. Bishop Favier, who designed the cathedral, kept a journal during the siege and gave vivid accounts of what was endured not only before, but during the siege. He provides the following account of the Boxer revolt:

Lieutenant Paul-Charles-Joseph Henry, 1876-1900. Lt. Paul Henry told Bishop Favier. "I shall be happy to die in so worthy a cause. I hope that God will open Paradise to me. If I am to die, I shall not die until you no longer need me." He was killed on July 30, 1900.

Lieutenant Paul-Charles-Joseph Henry, 1876-1900. Lt. Paul Henry told Bishop Favier. “I shall be happy to die in so worthy a cause. I hope that God will open Paradise to me. If I am to die, I shall not die until you no longer need me.” He was killed on July 30, 1900.

“The Boxers are a truly diabolical sect; invocations, incantations, obsessions, and even possessions, are common among them. Savants may attribute their extraordinary doings to magnetism or hypnotism or may look upon them as victims of hysteria and fanaticism, but to us they seem to be even more directly instruments of the devil. The hatred of the name Catholic drives them to the greatest excesses. Established as they are in every village they unite on a day specified to attack any one Catholic settlement, destroying and murdering everything and everyone in it. Small children were quartered, women were burned in church or run through with a sword, men were stabbed or shot and some were even crucified. The conduct of the Catholics is admirable; apostasy is proposed to them, but they prefer flight, ruin, even death.”[1]

Xishiku church, Beijing, China, built in 1890, under the direction of Lazarist missionary Bishop Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier (1837-1905), who designed it. In June, 1900 the Boxers besieged the Beitang Cathedral. Photo by Peter Potrowl.

Beitang Cathedral, Beijing, China, built in 1890, under the direction of Lazarist missionary Bishop Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier (1837-1905), who designed it. In June, 1900 the Boxers besieged the Beitang Cathedral. Photo by Peter Potrowl.

The cathedral, which was the Lazarists’ usual place of residency, was besieged by 10,000 Boxers and soldiers from the regular army. Behind the walls of the church, were over 3,000 Chinese Catholics, 30 French seamen led by a 23-year-old Lt. Paul Henry (who died in the siege,) 11 Italian soldiers led by a 22-year-old Lt. Olivieri, and numerous French and Chinese priests and sisters. This siege resulted in the deaths of more than 400 people. Over the two month siege, the Catholics endured continuous bombardment, mine attacks, flaming rockets, and starvation. Many of the children died from smallpox.

Sister Hélène de Jaurias was a noble and her grandfather was one of the first company of the bodyguard of Louis XVI.

Sister Hélène de Jaurias, the granddaughter of Lord François-Denis Aubin de Jaurias, one of the first of Louis XVI King’s Guard.

Among the admirable figures in the siege was Sister Helen de Jaurias, the Superior of the Sisters of Charity in Beitang, of whom it is said that she possessed the virtue and character of their foundress, Saint Louise de Marillac. Her siege diary provides proof of this: despite having to lodge and feed 1,800 women and children, she overcame the burden of old age and fatigue, she recorded the daily events of the siege until her death on August 20. She went, as she expressed it, “to observe from Heaven the triumph of Holy Church and the conversion of China.”[2] A few days before her death, a company of French marines arrived to rescue the heroic defenders of Beitang.

Bishop Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier-Duperron C.M.

Bishop Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier-Duperron C.M.

In 1901, at the Lazarists’ mother house in Paris, Bishop Favier would recount events of this dramatic siege:

“… Every night during those two months, the Chinese [Boxers] directed heavy gunfire at the roofs of the cathedral and the balustrade surrounding it. Why? wondered [Lieutenant] Paul Henry and the missionaries. There was no one there to defend the cathedral. After the liberation, the pagans provided the key to this mystery: ‘How is it,’ they said, ‘that you did not see anything? Every night, a white Lady walked along the roof, and the balustrade was lined with white soldiers with wings.’ The Chinese [Boxers], as they themselves affirm, were firing at the apparitions.”[3]

Their miraculous survival was attributed to the appearance of a woman in white, Our Lady of Deliverance. Bishop Favier had a chapel erected in thanksgiving, in the church of Beitang in her honor. She is represented as the Empress of China holding in her arms the Child Jesus, Who is depicted as an imperial prince.

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

Bishop Favier expressed his absolute confidence in Providence which thus manifested Its protection:

“The good God wishes to save the missions of China. The persecution had been so cleverly organized, that it seemed that the Catholic religion in China was going to be extinguished. However nothing of the kind happened. Thanks be to God. Death gives birth to life. Blessed are those who succumb to death, they prepare the way for the final triumph, they are martyrs crowned by God.”[4]

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1. Favier, Alphonse, Edited by Joseph Freri. The Heart of Pekin: Bishop A. Favier‘s Diary of the Siege, May-August 1900. Boston: Marlier, 1901. Page 9 & 10.

 

2. Mazeau, Henry The Heroine Of Pe-Tang; Helen De Jaurias, Sister Of Charity 1824-1900. Sr. Helen de Jaurias died on August 20, 1900.
Note from the book: “In China the power of the devil is manifested visibly by the number of persons who are possessed of evil spirits. We often hear Satan speaking by the mouths of possessed people. A holy Missionary, who has been here for 22 years, told me that he heard him declaring through a woman who was possessed that China was his chosen Empire, and that there was not a single spot of this country where he was not worshiped!” They were told (also by the devil) not to build any buildings higher than 99 feet high.

 

3. http://www.jesuit.org/wp-content/uploads/Studies_Autumn_09.pdf

 

4. J-M Planchet C. M., Documents sur les martyrs de Pekin pendant la persecution des Boxeurs, Peking, Imprimerie des Lazaristes, 1920, p. 101.

 

 

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July 30 – Patron of Charcoal

July 30, 2026

St. Theobald

St. Theobald of Provins

Born at Provins in the Province of Champagne, France, in 1017; died at Salanigo in Italy 30 June, 1066. He was a member of a noble family. In 1054 without the knowledge of his parents he and his friend Walter gave themselves to the life of hermits at Sussy in the Ardennes, then at Pittingen (now Pettingen) in the Diocese of Trier, a district that today belongs to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. From this place the two made a pilgrimage to Compostella in Spain, and afterwards returned into the territory of Trier. They made a second pilgrimage to Rome. As they returned they desired to go to Palestine by way of Venice, but Walter’s strength failed near Salanigo in the Diocese of Vicenza. They therefore settled in a solitary place near Salanigo. After two years Walter died. A large number of disciples eager for salvation gathered around Theobald, who severed himself more and more from all earthly things. The bishop ordained him priest. His mother, who came to visit him, did not wish to leave him again, and led thenceforth under his direction a religious life.

Shortly before his death he entered the Camaldolese Order. Numerous miracles, some occurring before and some after his death, are reported of him. Alexander II (1061-1073) permitted the public veneration of St. Theobald. His veneration spread especially in Italy, France, Belgium, and Luxemburg. He is the patron saint of charcoal-burners.

Acta SS., June, V, 588-606; Bibliotheca hagiogr. lat. (Brussels, 1898-1900), 1163-4; WEICHERDING, Der hl. Theobald (Luxemburg, 1879); ALLOU, Vie de saint Thibaud (Meaux, 1873).

KLEMENS LOFFLER (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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July 30 – St. Peter Chrysologus

July 30, 2026

St. Peter Chrysologus

St. Peter ChrysologusBorn at Imola, 406; died there, 450. His biography, first written by Agnellus (Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis) in the ninth century, gives but scanty information about him. He was baptised, educated, and ordained deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola, and was elevated to the Bishopric of Ravenna in 433. There are indications that Ravenna held the rank of metropolitan before this time. His piety and zeal won for him universal admiration, and his oratory merited for him the name Chrysologus. He shared the confidence of Leo the Great and enjoyed the patronage of the Empress Galla Placidia. After his condemnation by the Synod of Constantinople (448), the Monophysite Eutyches endeavoured to win the support of Peter, but without success.

A collection of his homilies, numbering 176, was made by Felix, Bishop of Ravenna (707-17). Some are interpolations, and several other homilies known to be written by the saint are included in other collections under different names. They are in a great measure explanatory of Biblical texts and are brief and concise. He has explained beautifully the mystery of the Incarnation, the heresies of Arius and Eutyches, the Apostles’ Creed, and he dedicated a series of homilies to the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Baptist. His works were first edited by Agapitus Vicentinus (Bologna, 1534), and later by D. Mita (Bolonga, 1634), and S. Pauli (Venice, 1775)-the later collection having been reprinted in P.L., LII. Fr. Liverani (“Spicilegium Liberianum”), Florence, 1863, 125 seq.) edited nine new homilies and published from manuscripts in Italian libraries different readings of several other sermons. Several homilies were translated into German by M. Held (Kempten, 1874).

BARDENHEWER, Patrology, tr. SHAHAN, 526 sqq.; DAPPER, Der hl. Petrus von Ravenna Chrysologus (Posen, 1871); LOOSHORN, Der hl. Petrus Chrysologus und seine Schriflen in Zeitschrift f. kathol. Theol., III (1879), 238 seq.; WAYMAN, Zu Petrus Chrysologus in Philologus, LV (1896), 464 seq.

Ignatius Smith (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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July 31 – Militant Means Something

July 30, 2026

St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Youngest son of Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñez y Loyola and Marina Saenz de Lieona y Balda.

Born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola above Azpeitia in Guipuscoa; died at Rome, 31 July, 1556.

The saint was baptized Iñigo, after St. Enecus (Innicus), Abbot of Oña: the name Ignatius was assumed in later years, while he was residing in Rome.

I. CONVERSION (1491-1521)

Basilica of St. Ignatius in Loyola, built over his birthplace.

At an early age he was made a cleric. We do not know when, or why he was released from clerical obligations. He was brought up in the household of Juan Velásquez de Cuellar, contador mayor to Ferdinand and Isabella, and in his suite probably attended the court from time to time, though not in the royal service. This was perhaps the time of his greatest dissipation and laxity. He was affected and extravagant about his hair and dress, consumed with the desire of winning glory, and would seem to have been sometimes involved in those darker intrigues, for which handsome young courtiers too often think themselves licensed. How far he went on the downward course is still unproved. The balance of evidence tends to show that his own subsequent humble confessions of having been a great sinner should not be treated as pious exaggerations. But we have no details, not even definite charges. In 1517 a change for the better seems to have taken place; Velásquez died and Ignatius took service in the army. The turning-point of his life came in 1521. While the French were besieging the citadel of Pampeluna, a cannon ball, passing between Ignatius’ legs, tore open the left calf and broke the right shin (Whit-Tuesday, 20 May, 1521). With his fall the garrison lost heart and surrendered, but he was well treated by the French and carried on a litter to Loyola, where his leg had to be rebroken and reset, and afterwards a protruding end of the bone was sawn off, and the limb, having been shortened by clumsy setting, was stretched out by weights. All these pains were undergone voluntarily, without uttering a cry or submitting to be bound. But the pain and weakness which followed were so great that the patient began to fail and sink. On the eve of Sts. Peter and Paul, however, a turn for the better took place, and he threw off his fever.

St. Ignatius wounded at Pamplona.

So far Ignatius had shown none but the ordinary virtues of the Spanish officer. His dangers and sufferings has doubtless done much to purge his soul, but there was no idea yet of remodelling his life on any higher ideals. Then, in order to divert the weary hours of convalescence, he asked for the romances of chivalry, his favourite reading, but there were none in the castle, and instead they brought him the lives of Christ and of the saints, and he read them in the same quasi-competitive spirit with which he read the achievements of knights and warriors. “Suppose I were to rival this saint in fasting, that one in endurance, that other in pilgrimages.” He would then wander off into thoughts of chivalry, and service to fair ladies, especially to one of high rank, whose name is unknown. Then all of a sudden, he became conscious that the after-effect of these dreams was to make him dry and dissatisfied, while the ideas of falling into rank among the saints braced and strengthened him, and left him full of joy and peace. Next it dawned on him that the former ideas were of the world, the latter God-sent; finally, worldly thoughts began to lose their hold, while heavenly ones grew clearer and dearer. One night as he lay awake, pondering these new lights, “he saw clearly”, so says his autobiography, “the image of Our Lady with the Holy Child Jesus”, at whose sight for a notable time he felt a reassuring sweetness, which eventually left him with such a loathing of his past sins, and especially for those of the flesh, that every unclean imagination seemed blotted out from his soul, and never again was there the least consent to any carnal thought. His conversion was now complete. Everyone noticed that he would speak of nothing but spiritual things, and his elder brother begged him not to take any rash or extreme resolution, which might compromise the honour of their family.

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July 31 – St. Germain

July 30, 2026

St. Germain

Statue of St. Germain at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois Church in Paris.

Bishop of Auxerre, born at Auxerre c. 380; died at Ravenna, 31 July, 448. He was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the distinguished schools of Arles and Lyons, and then went to Rome, where he studied eloquence and civil law. He practised there before the tribunal of the prefect for some years with great success. His high birth and brilliant talents brought him into contact with the court, and he married Eustachia, a lady highly esteemed in imperial circles. The emperor sent him back to Gaul, appointing him one of the six dukes, entrusted with the government of the Gallic provinces. He resided at Auxerre and gave himself up to all the enjoyments that naturally fell to his lot. At length he incurred the displeasure of the bishop, St. Amator. It appears that Germain was accustomed to hang the trophies of the chase on a certain tree, which in earlier times had been the scene of pagan worship. Amator remonstrated with him in vain. One day when the duke was absent, the bishop had the tree cut down and the trophies burnt. Fearing the anger of the duke, who wished to kill him, he fled and appealed to the prefect Julius for permission to confer the tonsure on Germain. This being granted, Amator, who felt that his own life was drawing to a close, returned. When the duke came to the church, Amator caused the doors to be barred and gave him the tonsure against his will, telling him to live as one destined to be his successor, and forthwith made him a deacon.

Stained glass window of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois in Paris.

A wonderful change was instantly wrought in Germain, and he accepted everything that had happened as the Divine will. He gave himself up to prayer, study, and works of charity, and, when in a short time Amator died, Germain was unanimously chosen to fill the vacant see, being consecrated 7 July, 418. His splendid education now served him in good stead in the government of the diocese, which he administered with great sagacity. He distributed his goods among the poor, and practised great austerities. He built a large monastery dedicated to Sts. Cosmas and Damian on the banks of the Yonne, whither he was wont to retire in his spare moments. In 429 the bishops of Britain sent an appeal to the continent for help against the Pelagian heretics who were corrupting the faith of the island. St. Prosper, who was in Rome in 431, tells us in his Chronicle that Pope Celestine commissioned the Church in Gaul to send help, and Germain and Lupus of Troyes were deputed to cross over to Britain. On his way Germain stopped at Nanterre, where he met a young child, Genevieve, destined to become the patroness of Paris. One of the early lives of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, tells us that he formed one of St. Germain’s suite on this occasion. Tradition tells us that the main discussion with the representatives of Pelagianism took place at St. Alban’s, and resulted in the complete discomfiture of the heretics. Germain remained in Britain for some time preaching, and established several schools for the training of the clergy. On his return he went to Arles to visit the prefect, and obtained the remission of certain taxes that were oppressing the people of Auxerre. He constructed a church in honour of St. Alban about this time in his episcopal city.

Portion of a stained glass window in Truro Cathedral, donated by a benefactor in 1907.

In 447 he was invited to revisit Britain, and went with Severus, bishop of Trèves. It would seem that he did much for the Church there, if one can judge from the traditions handed down in Wales. On one occasion he is said to have aided the Britons to gain a great victory (called from the battle-cry, Alleluia! the Alleluia victory) over a marauding body of Saxons and Picts. On his return to Gaul, he proceeded to Armorica (Brittany) to intercede for the Armoricans who had been in rebellion. Their punishment was deferred at his entreaty, till he should have laid their case before the emperor. He set out for Italy, and reached Milan on 17 June, 448. Then he journeyed to Ravenna, where he interviewed the empress-mother, Galla Placidia, on their behalf. The empress and the bishop of the city, St. Peter Chrysologus, gave him a royal welcome, and the pardon he sought was granted. While there he died on 31 July, 450. His body, as he requested when dying, was brought back to Auxerre and interred in the Oratory of St. Maurice, which he had built. Later the oratory was replaced by a large church, which became a celebrated Benedictine abbey known as St. Germain’s. This tribute to the memory of the saint was the gift of Queen Clotilda, wife of Clovis. Some centuries later, Charles the Bald had the shrine opened, and the body was found intact. It was embalmed and wrapped in precious cloths, and placed in a more prominent position in the church. There it was preserved till 1567, when Auxerre was taken by the Huguenots, who desecrated the shrine and cast out the relics. It has been said that the relics were afterwards picked up and placed in the Abbey of St. Marion on the banks of the Yonne, but the authenticity of the relics in this church has never been canonically recognized. St. Germain was honoured in Cornwall and at St. Alban’s in England’s pre-reformation days, and has always been the patron of Auxerre.

TILLEMONT, Mémoires, XV, 8; BRIGHT in Dict. Christ. Biog., s. v.; Gallia Christiana, XII, 262; GUÉRIN, Vies des Saints (Paris, 1880), IX, 132-45; Acta SS., VII, July, 184-200; CONSTANTIUS, Vie de S. Germain d’Auxerre, tr. franç. avec une étude (1874); and for his connection with St. Patrick, HEALY, Life of St. Patrick (Dublin, 1905); Vita Tripartita in Rolls Series, ed. Whitley Stokes (London, 1905), passim; O’CONNOR, Rerum Hibern. Script. (1825), II, 92.

A.A. MACERLEAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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August 1 – From impoverished Neapolitan nobility to Doctor of the Church

July 30, 2026

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de’ Pagani, 1 August, 1787.

The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. Alphonsus Liguori.

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Alphonsus Mary Antony John Cosmas Damian Michael Gaspard de’ Liguori was born in his father’s country house at Marianella near Naples, on Tuesday, 27 September, 1696. He was baptized two days later in the church of Our Lady of the Virgins, in Naples. The family was an old and noble one, though the branch to which the Saint belonged had become somewhat impoverished. Alphonsus’s father, Don Joseph de’ Liguori was a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys. The Saint’s mother was of Spanish descent, and if, as there can be little doubt, race is an element in individual character, we may see in Alphonsus’s Spanish blood some explanation of the enormous tenacity of purpose which distinguished him from his earliest years. “I know his obstinacy”, his father said of him as a young man; “when he once makes up his mind he is inflexible”…

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August 2 – St. Pierre-Julien Eymard

July 30, 2026

Founder of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, and of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, born at La Mure d’Isere, Diocese of Grenoble, France, February 4, 1811; died there August 1, 1868.

From early childhood he gave evidence of great holiness and most tender devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. In 1829, he entered the novitiate of the Oblates of Mary, but illness compelled him to return home. At the age of twenty he entered the grand seminary of Grenoble, and was ordained priest July 20, 1834. He returned to the Marist novitiate in 1839. In 1845 he was appointed Provincial of the Oblates of Mary. His entire spiritual life was centered round the Eucharist. It was the subject of his sermons and exhortations, the object of his worship and prayers. Those who fell under his spiritual direction were taught by his counsel to fix their attention on the Blessed Sacrament.

St Peter Julian EymardIn January of 1851 Pere Eymard made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Fourvieres, and there promised Mary to devote his life to founding a congregation of priests whose principal duty should be to honor the Blessed Sacrament. Having obtained the necessary ecclesiastical permission, he procured a small house in Paris, in which he and his single companion took up their abode. Here, on January 6, 1857, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, and the nascent community of two members commenced the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as prescribed by their rule. Their founder received his first encouragement for the work in a laudatory Brief, blessing the work and its author, and signed by Pius IX, in 1857. Five years after, in 1862, Pere Eymard had enough spiritual sons to open a regular novitiate. From this date the congregation spread rapidly, until now its houses may be found in Rome, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Canada, the United States, and South America.

The Main Altar at the church of SS. Claudius and Andrew of the Burgundians in Rome. St. Pierre-Julien Eymard, founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, is buried here.

The Main Altar at the church of SS. Claudius and Andrew of the Burgundians in Rome. St. Pierre-Julien Eymard, founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, is buried here.

The Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, a congregation of cloistered women who carry on perpetual adoration in their convents, were also founded by him in 1858. The Priests’ Eucharistic League and the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament are evidences of his zeal among priests and the faithful. Pere Eymard’s writings have been collected, and form four volumes: “The Real Presence”, which has been translated into English; “Retreat at the Feet of Jesus Eucharistic”, “La Sainte Communion”, and “L’Eucharistie et la Perfection Chretienne”. These writings have received the approbation of the Holy See.
A. Letellier (cfr. Catholic Encyclical)

[Nobility.org note: He was canonized 9 December 1962 by Pope John XXIII]

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July 27 – Hunted Priest

July 27, 2026

John Gerard

Jesuit; born 4 October, 1564; died 27 July, 1637. He is well known through his autobiography, a fascinating record of dangers and adventures, of captures and escapes, of trials and consolations. The narrative is all the more valuable because it sets before us the kind of life led by priests, wherever the peculiar features of the English persecution occurred. John was the second son of Sir Thomas Gerard of Bryn, for a time a valiant confessor of the Faith, who, however, in 1589, tarnished his honour by giving evidence against the Ven. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel (q.v.). Different opinions are held (by Morris and Gillow) as to the permanence of his inconsistancy. John left his father’s house at New Bryn at the age of thirteen, and went first to Douai seminary; matriculated at Oxford (1579), and thence proceeded to the Jesuits’ College at Paris (1581). Having come to England for his health’s sake, he was arrested on 5 March, 1584, and suffered two years’ imprisonment in the Marshal-sea. He was bailed out in 1586, and, with the consent of his sureties, once more made his way to the Continent, and was received at the English College, Rome, 5 August, 1586. At first he paid for himself, but in April, 1587, he became a scholar to the pope. Next year, 15 August, 1588, he entered the Jesuit novitiate; but so great was the dearth of missionaries in England that he was dispatched thither in the ensuing September.

John Gerard

His romantic adventures began on landing, for he was set ashore alone on the Norfolk coast at a moment when the country was in a turmoil of excitement after the defeat of the Armada, and when feeling against Catholics ran so high that fifteen priests had been butchered in two days in London, and twelve others sent to the provinces for the same purpose, though half of these eventually escaped death. Gerard, being an accomplished sportsman and rider, succeeded in making his way about the country, now as a horseman who had lost his way in the chase, now as a huntsman whose hawk had strayed. Before long he had won the steadfast friendship of many Catholic families, with whose aid he was able to make frequent conversions, to give retreats and preach, and to send over many nuns and youths to the convents, seminaries, and religious houses on the Continent. Dr. Jessopp, a Protestant writes:

The extent of Gerard’s influence was nothing less than marvellous. Country gentlemen meet him in the street and forthwith invite him to their houses; highborn ladies put themselves under his direction almost as unreservedly in temporal as in spiritual things. Scholars and courtiers run serious risks to hold interviews with him, the number of his converts of all ranks is legion; the very gaolers and turnkeys obey him; and in a state of society when treachery and venality were pervading all classes, he finds servants and agents who are ready to live and die for him. A man of gentle blood and gentle breeding – of commanding stature, greate vigour of constitution, a master of three or four languages, with a rare gift of speech and an innate grace and courtliness of manner – he was fitted to shine in any society and to lead it. From boyhood he had been a keen sportsman, at home in the saddle, and a great proficient in all country sport. His powers of endurance of fatigue and pain were almost superhuman; he could remain in hiding days and nights in a hole in which he could not stand upright, and never sleep, and hardly change his position: he could joke on the gyves that were ulcerating his legs. He seems never to have forgotten a face or a name or an incident. Writing his autobiography twenty years after the circumstances he records, there is scarcely an event or a name which recent research has not proved to be absolutely correct. As a literary effort merely, the Life is marvellous. (“Academy”, 9 July, 1881.)

Augustus Jessopp, 1823-1914, was an English cleric and writer.

Augustus Jessopp, 1823-1914, was an English cleric and writer.

In those times of danger, no prudence could always effectually ensure a priest against capture. Gerard was taken prisoner, July, 1594, through a servant, whose secret treachery was not suspected. He passed two years in smaller prisons, and was then sent to the Tower, where he was cruelly tortured, being hung up by his hands, of which torment he has left a very vivid description. His courage and firmness, however, were such, that his examiners lost hope of extracting secrets from him, and he was relegated to the Salt Tower, where he cleverly contrived to say Mass. In 1597, he managed to escape by means of a string thrown one night by a friend from Tower Wharf into the Cradle Tower. By this string a rope was drawn across the moat, and with its assistance he managed eventually to get across, but with great difficulty, as his hands were still helpless from the torture.

map-tower-of-londonUntil the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot (q.v.), at the end of 1605, he continued his adventurous life as a missioner in England, but he was then obliged to slip away disguised as a footman in the train of the Spanish Ambassador. The rest of his life was spent in the English colleges on the Continent. He wrote, in 1607, “A Narrative of the Gunpowder Plot”, and afterwards his autobiography, “Narratio P. Joannis Gerardi de Rebus a se in Anglia gestis”. He strongly befriended Mary Ward (q.v.) in her attempt to found an active religious order for women, and passed the last ten years of his life as spiritual director of the English College at Rome.

J. H. POLLEN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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July 27 – St. Pantaleon

July 27, 2026

St. Pantaleon

St. PantaleoneMartyr, died about 305. According to legend he was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and had been instructed in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula. Afterwards he became estranged from Christianity. He studied medicine and became physician to the Emperor Maximianus. He was won back to Christianity by the priest Hermolaus. Upon the death of his father he came into possession of a large fortune. Envious colleagues denounced him to the emperor during the Diocletian persecution. The emperor wished to save him and sought to persuade him to apostasy. Pantaleon, however, openly confessed his faith, and as proof that Christ is the true God, he healed a paralytic. Notwithstanding this, he was condemned to death by the emperor, who regarded the miracle as an exhibition of magic. According to legend, Pantaleon’s flesh was first burned with torches; upon this Christ appeared to all in the form of Hermolaus to strengthen and heal Pantaleon. The torches were extinguished. After this, when a bath of liquid lead was prepared, Christ in the same form stepped into the cauldron with him, the fire went out and the lead became cold. He was now thrown into the sea, but the stone with which he was loaded floated. He was thrown to the wild beasts but these fawned upon him and could not be forced away until he had blessed them. He was bound on the wheel, but the ropes snapped, and the wheel broke. An attempt was made to behead him, but the sword bent, and the executioners were converted. Pantaleon implored heaven to forgive them, for which reason he also received the name of Panteleemon (the all-compassionate). It was not until he himself desired it that it was possible to behead him.

A reliquary containing some blood and flesh of St. Pantaleon. The reliquary, along with other relics, is housed at the Royal Convent of La Encarnación in Madrid, Spain.

A reliquary containing some blood and flesh of St. Pantaleon. The reliquary, along with other relics, is housed at the Royal Convent of La Encarnación in Madrid, Spain.

The lives containing these legendary features are all late in date and valueless. Yet the fact of the martyrdom itself seems to be proved by a veneration for which there is early testimony, among others from Theodoret (Graecarum affectionum curatio, Sermo VIII, “De martyribus”, in Migne, P. G., LXXXIII 1033), Procopius of Caesarea (De aedificiis Justiniani I, ix; V, ix), and the “Martyrologium Hieronymianum” (Acta SS., Nov., II, 1, 97). Pantaleon is venerated in the East as a great martyr and wonderworker. In the Middle Ages he came to be regarded as the patron saint of physicians and midwives, and became one of the fourteen guardian martyrs. From early times a phial containing some of his blood has been preserved at Constantinople. On the feast day of the saint the blood is said to become fluid and to bubble. Relics of the saint are to be found at St. Denis at Paris; his head is venerated at Lyons. His feast day is 27 July, also 28 July, and 18 February.

Klemens Löffler (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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July 27 – Wanted: Noble Men for the Missions, Never to Return Home

July 27, 2026

Martyrs of Cuncolim

On Monday, 25 July, 1583 (N.S.), the village of Cuncolim in the district of Salcete, territory of Goa, India, was the scene of the martyrdom of five religious of the Society of Jesus: Fathers Rudolph Acquaviva, Alphonsus Pacheco, Peter Berno, and Anthony Francis, also Francis Aranha, lay brother.

Fr. Rodolfo Acquaviva (right in yellow) with Mughal emperor Akbar the Great and his court.

Rudolph Acquaviva was born 2 October, 1550, at Atri in the Kingdom of Naples. He was the fifth child of the Duke of Atri, and nephew of Claudius Acquaviva, the fifth General of the Society of Jesus, while on his mother’s side he was a cousin of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. Admitted into the Society of Jesus 2 April, 1568, he landed in Goa 13 September, 1578. Shortly after his arrival he was selected for a very important mission to the court of the Great Mogul Akbar, who had sent an embassy to Goa with a request that two learned missionaries might be sent to Fatehpir-Sikri, his favourite residence near Agra. After spending three years at the Mogul court, he returned to Goa, much to the regret of the whole Court and especially of the emperor. On his return to Goa, he was appointed superior of the Salcete mission, which post he held until his martyrdom.

Alphonsus Pacheco was born about 1551, of a noble family of New Castile, and entered the Society on 8 September, 1567. In September, 1574, he arrived in Goa, where he so distinguished himself by his rare prudence and virtue that in 1578 he was sent to Europe on important business. Returning to India in 1581, he was made rector of Rachol. He accompanied two punitive expeditions of the Portuguese to the village of Cuncolim, and was instrumental in destroying the pagodas there.

Peter Berno was born of humble parents in 1550 at Ascona, a Swiss village at the foot of the Alps. After being ordained priest in Rome, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1577, arrived in Goa in 1579, and was soon appointed to Salcete. He accompanied the expeditions to Cuncolim, and assisted in destroying the pagan temples, destroyed an ant-hill which was deemed very sacred, and killed a cow which was also an object of pagan worship. He used to say constantly that no fruit would be gathered from Cuncolim and the hamlets around it till they were bathed in blood shed for the Faith. His superiors declared that he had converted more pagans than all the other fathers put together.

Anthony Francis, born in 1553, was a poor student of Coimbra in Portugal. He joined the Society in 1571, accompanied Father Pacheco to India in 1581, and was shortly afterwards ordained priest in Goa. It is said that whenever he said Mass, he prayed, at the Elevation, for the grace of martyrdom; and that on the day before his death, when he was saying Mass at the church of Orlim, a miracle prefigured the granting of this prayer.

Brother Francis Aranha was born of a wealthy and noble family of Braga in Portugal, about 1551, and went to India with his uncle, the first Archbishop of Goa, Dom Gaspar. There he joined the Society of Jesus, 1 November, 1571. Being a skilled draughtsman and architect, he built several fine chapels in Goa.

This image is of a 17th century painting in a church in Colva depicting the martyrdom of the five Jesuits in Cuncolim, Goa on July, 25, 1583.

These five religious met in the church of Orlim on the 15 of July, 1583, and thence proceeded to Cuncolim, accompanied by some Christians, with the object of erecting a cross and selecting ground for building a church. Seeing an opportunity of doing away with these enemies of their pagodas, the pagan villagers, after holding a council, advanced in large numbers, armed with swords, lances, and other weapons, towards the spot where the Christians were. Gonçalo Rodrigues one of the party, levelled his gun, but Father Pacheco stopped hirn, saying: “Come, come, Senhor Gonçalo, we are not here to fight.” Then, speaking to the crowd, he said in Konkani, their native language, “Do not be afraid”. The Pagans then fell upon them; Father Rudolph received five cuts from a scimitar and a spear and died praying God to forgive them, and pronouncing the Holy Name. Father Berno was next horribly mutilated, and Father Pacheco, wounded with a spear, fell on his knees extending his arms in the form of a cross, and praying God to forgive his murderers and send other missionaries to them. Father Anthony Francis was pierced with arrows, and his head was split open with a sword. Brother Aranha, wounded at the outset by a Scimitar and a lance, fell down a deep declivity into the thick crop of a rice-field, where he lay until he was discovered. He was then carried to the idol, to which he was bidden to bow his head. Upon his refusal to do this, he was tied to a tree and, like St. Sebastian was shot to death with arrows. The spot where this tree stood is marked with an octagonal monument surmounted by a cross, which was repaired by the Patriarch of Goa in 1885.

The bodies of the five martyrs were thrown into a well, water of which was afterwards sought by people from all parts of Goa for its miraculous healing. The bodies themselves, when found, after two and a half days, allowed no signs of decomposition. They were solemnly buried in the church of Our Lady of the Snows at Rachol, and remained there until 1597, when they were removed to the college of St. Paul in Goa, and in 1862 to the cathedral of Old Goa. Some of these relics have been sent to Europe at various times. All the bones of the entire right arm of Blessed Rudolph were taken to Rome in 1600, and his left arm was sent from Goa as a present to the Jesuit college at Naples. In accordance with the request of the Pacheco family, an arm and leg of Blessed Alphonsus were sent to Europe in 1609. The process of canonization began in 1600, but it was only in 1741 that Benedict XIV declared the martyrdom proved. On the 16th of April, 1893, the solemn beatification of the five martyrs was celebrated at St. Peter’s in Rome. It was celebrated in Goa in 1894, and the feast has ever since then been kept with great solemnity at Cuncolim, even by the descendants of the murderers. The Calendar of the Archdiocese of Goa has fixed 26 July as their feast day.

Bom Jesu Cathedral, Old Goa, India

Along with the five religious were also killed Gonçalo Rodrigues, a Portuguese, and fourteen native Christians. Of the latter, one was Dominic, a boy of Cuncolim, who was a student at Rachol, and had accompanied the fathers on their expeditions to Cuncolim and pointed out to them the pagan temples. His own heathen uncle dispatched him. Alphonsus, an altar-boy of Father Pacheco had followed him closely, carrying his breviary, which he would not part with. The pagans therefore cut off his hands and cut through his knee-joints to prevent his escape. In this condition he lived till the next day, when he was found and killed. This boy, a native of either Margao or Verna, was buried in the church of the Holy Ghost at Margao. Francis Rodrigues, who was also murdered, used to say, when he was reproached by the fathers for slight faults, that he hoped to atone for them by shedding his blood as a martyr. Paul da Costa, another of those who died at the hands of the pagans, was an inhabitant of Rachol, and had been distinguished by his desire of dying for the Faith. Speaking of these fifteen courageous Christians, Father Goldie says:

For reasons which we have now no means of judging, the Cause of these companions of the five Martyrs was not brought forward before the Archbishop of the time, nor since then has any special cultus, or the interposition of God by miracle, called the attention of the Church to them. But we may hope that their blood was in the odour of sweetness before God.

D’ Souza, Oriente Conquistado; Goldie, First Christian Mission to the Great Mogul, The Blessed Martyrs of Cuncolim; Gracias, Uma Donna Portuegueza na Corte do Grao-Mogol (1907).

A.X. D’SOUZA (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Nobility.org Editorial comment: —

In reading this post, how can we not remember the many Catholics being martyred today by Hindus, Islamists, and Communists? In both Asia and Africa, the blood of martyrs is being poured out in several countries. The Catholic presence in Iraq dates back to apostolic times, but that may soon change as hundreds of thousands of Chaldean Catholics flee the growing persecution. Catholics are fleeing Syria, Sudan, and Libya too. In Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other sub-Saharan African countries, Islamists kill Catholics with seeming impunity.
May the blood of these 16th century martyrs whose feast we celebrate today intercede before the throne of the Most High beseeching new and extraordinary graces for today’s nobility and analogous traditional elites. They are called to lead, and Christian civilization needs their leadership, both in the spiritual and temporal fields, for our days are increasingly tumultuous.

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July 28 – Nepotism Sometimes Bears Good Fruit

July 27, 2026

Pope Victor II

(GEBHARD, COUNT OF CALW, TOLLENSTEIN, AND HIRSCHBERG.)

Pope Victor IIBorn about 1018; died at Arezzo, 28 July, 1057. The papal catalogues make him a native of the Bavarian Nordgau, while most German sources designate Swabia as his birthplace. His parents were Count Hartwig and Countess Baliza; the Emperor Henry III recognized him as a collateral kinsman, and he was a nephew of Bishop Gebhard III of Ratisbon, who at the court Diet of Goslar presented him (Christmas Day, 1042) to Henry III as a candidate for the episcopal see of Eichstätt. The emperor hesitated at first because Gebhard was only twenty-four years old, but, on the advice of the aged Archbishop Bardo of Mainz, he finally consented to invest him with this important see. Gebhard proved to be a good bishop and a prudent statesman. He was in the emperor’s retinue when the latter was crowned at Rome in 1046; he took part in the synod presided over by Leo IX at Mainz in October, 1049, and in the consultations between the pope and the emperor at Ratisbon and Bamberg in 1052. By this time he had become the most influential councillor of Henry III. It was upon his advice that in 1053 a German army, which was on its way to join Leo IX in his war against the Normans, was recalled, an advice which he is said to have regretted when he was pope (Leo Marsicanus in his “Chronaicon Casinense”, II, 89, in P.L., CLXXIII, 692). Early in the same year he became regent of Bavaria for the three-year old Henry IV. In this capacity he had occasion to prove his loyalty towards the emperor by defind the rights of the empire against the deposed Duke Conrad, the counts of Scheyern, and his own uncle, Bishop Gebhard of Ratisbon.

Pope Victor IIAfter the death of Leo IX (19 April, 1054) Cardinal-subdeacon Hildebrand came to the emperor at the head of a Roman legation with the urgent request to designate Gebhard as pope. At the Diet of Mainz, in September, 1054, the emperor granted this request, but Gebhard refused to accept the papal dignity. At a court Diet held at Ratisbon in March, 1055, he finally accepted the papacy, but only on condition that the emperor restored to the Apostolic See all the possessions that had been taken from it. The emperor consented to this condition and Gebhard accompanied Hildebrand to Rome, where he was formally elected and solemnly enthroned on Maundy Thursday, 13 April, 1055, taking the name of Victor II. Even as pope he retained the Diocese of Eichstätt. Victor II was a worthy successor of Leo IX. With untiring zeal he combated, like his predecessor, against simony and clerical concubinage. Being well supported by the emperor, he often succeeded where Leo IX had failed. On Pentecost Sunday, 4 June, 1055, he held a large synod at Florence, in presence of the emperor and 120 bishops, where former decrees against simony and incontinence were confirmed and several offending bishops deposed. To King Ferdinand of Spain he sent messengers with threats of excommunication if he should continue in his refusal to acknowledge Henry III as Roman Emperor. Ferdinand submitted to the papal demands. Before the emperor returned to Germany he transferred to the pope the duchies of Spoleto and Camerino. Early in 1056 Victor II sent Hildebrand back to France to resume his labours against simony and concubinage, which he had begun under Leo IX. He appointed the archbishops Raimbaud of Arles and Pontius of Aix papal legates to battle against the same vices in Southern France. Late in the summer of the same year he accepted the urgent invitation of the emperor to come to Germany, arriving at Goslar on 8 September. He accompanied Henry III to Botfeld in the Hartz Mountains where on 5 October he witnessed the untimely death of the emperor. Before his death, the emperor entrusted his six-year-old successor, Henry IV, and the regency of the kingdom to the pope. On 28 October, after burying the emperor in the cathedral at Speyer, he secured the imperial succession of Henry IV by having him solemnly enthroned at Aachen. He still further strengthened the position of the boy-king by recommending him to the loyalty of the princes at the imperial Diet which he convened at Cologne early in December, and at the court Diet of Ratisbon on Christmas Day.

Subscription3Leaving the regency of Germany in the hands of Agnes mother of Henry IV, Victor returned to Rome in February, 1057, where he presided over a council at the Lateran on 18 April. On 14 June he created Frederick, whom he had a month previously helped to the abbacy of Monte Cassino, Cardinal-priest of San Crisogono thus gaining the friendship of the powerful Duke Godfrey of Lorraine, a brother of the new cardinal. He then went to Tuscany, where he settled (23 July) a jurisdictional dispute between the Bishops of Arezzo and Siena at a synod held in the palace of St. Donatus near Arezzo; five days later he died. His attendants wished to bring his remains to the cathedral at Eichstätt for burial. On their way thither, the remains were forcibly taken from them by some citizens fo Ravena and buried there in the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda, the burial place of Theodoric the Great.

The chief sources for the life of Victor II are the narrations of an anonymous writer of Herrieden, ANONYMUS HASERENSIS, a contemporary of Henry IV; they are printed in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script., VII, 263 sq.; MANN, The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages, VI (London, 1910), 183-206; JORIS, Victor II, pape et regent de l’empire in Revue du monde catholique (1862-3), IV 560-72; V, 46-61; HÖFLER, Die deutsch. Papste, II (Ratisbon, 1839), 217-68; STEINDORFF in Allgemeine deutsch. Biographie, XXXIX (Leipzig, 1895), 670-3; IDEM, Jahrbucher des deutsch. Reiches unter Heinrich III’, I, II (Leipzig, 1874-81); MEYER VON KNONAU, Jahrb. des deutsch. Reiches unter Heinrich IV. u. Heinrich V, I (Leipzig, 1890); LEFFLAD, Regesten der Bischofe von Eichstädt, I (Eichstadt, 1871); SAX, Die Bischofe u. Reichsfursten von Eichstädt, I (Landshut, 1884), 39, 43; WILL, Victor II als Papst und Reichverweser in Tubinger Theol. Quartalschrift (1862), 185-243; JAFFE, Regesta Pontif. Rom. (Leipzig, 1885-8), I, 549-553; II, 710-1, 750; WATTERICH, Pontif. rom. vitae, I (Leipzig, 1862), 177-88; Liber pontif., ed. DUCHESNE, II, 277.

MICHAEL OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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July 28 – St. Samson

July 27, 2026

St. Samson

Bishop and confessor, born in South Wales; died 28 July, 565 (?). The date of his birth is unknown.

Statue of St. Samson of Dol on Caldey Island. Photo by Humphrey Bolton.

Statue of St. Samson of Dol on Caldey Island. Photo by Humphrey Bolton.

His parents whose names are given as Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble, but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the care of St. Illtyd, by whom he was brought up in the monastery of Llantwit Major. He showed exceptional talents in his studies, and was eventually ordained deacon and priest by St. Dubric. After this he retired to another monastery, possibly after that on Caldy Island, to practise greater austerities, and some years later became it abbot. About this time some Irish monks who were returning from Rome happened to visit Samson’s monastery. So struck was the abbot by their learning and sanctity that he accompanied them to Ireland, and there remained some time. During his visit he received the submission of an Irish monastery, and, on his return to Wales, sent one of his uncles to act as its superior. His fame as a worker of miracles now attracted so much attention that he resolved to found a new monastery or cell “far from the haunts of men”, and accordingly retired with a few companions to a lonely spot on the banks of the Severn. He was soon discovered, however, and forced by his fellow-countrymen to become abbot of the monastery formerly ruled by St. Germanus; here St. Dubric consecrated him bishop but without appointment to any particular see.

Dol Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Samson de Dol), in Dol-de-Bretagne, Brittany, dedicated to Saint Samson.

Now, being warned by an angel, he determined to leave England and, after some delay, set sail for Brittany. He landed near Dol, and there built a monastery which became the centre of his episcopal work in the district. Business taking him to Paris, he visited King Childebert there, and was nominated by him as Bishop of Dol; Dol, however, did not become a regular episcopal see till about the middle of the ninth century. Samson attained the age of 85 years, and was buried at Dol. Several early lives of Samson exist. The oldest, printed by Mabillon in h is “Acta Sanctorum” from a MS. at Citeaux, and again by the Bollandists, claims to be compiled from information derived from Samson’s contemporaries, which would refer it to about 600. Dom Plaine in the “Analecta Bollandiana” has edited another and fuller life (from MS. Andeg., 719), which he regards as earlier than Mabillion’s. Later lives are numerous.

G. ROGER HUDLESTON (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Father Jean Le Vacher: Hero and Missionary, Blasted to Death by Muslims

July 27, 2026

Fr. Jean le Vacher

Fr. Jean le Vacher

In 1647, St. Vincent de Paul sent Father Jean Le Vacher to do missionary work among the Catholics enslaved by the Barbary Coast’s Muslim corsairs and he arrived in Tunis during an epidemic of the plague and did much to comfort the captives. Upon the death of the French consul, the Bey appointed Father Le Vacher as his replacement. For many years the Vincentian priest brought the comforts of the Faith to this most abandoned group of the faithful and in 1652 was named Vicar Apostolic by the Holy See.

In July 1683, obeying orders from Louis XIV, the French Admiral Abraham Duquesne bombarded Algiers to punish the Muslim corsairs for their pirate raids, destroying houses, mosques and ships. Father Le Vacher, who was exercising his ministry in the city, was seized with other Frenchmen by the despairing Muslims who were intent on killing them in reprisal for the French bombardment.

St. Vincent sends out Fr. Le Vacher to Algiers on the left and on the right, his martyrdom.

St. Vincent sends out Fr. Le Vacher to Algiers on the left and on the right, his martyrdom.

—    “You will not die if you choose to wear a turban,” the commanding officer told the missionary.

—    “Keep your turban,” replied the priest, “and let it perish with you. Know that I am a Christian, and at my age, one does not fear death. I abhor the false law of Mohammed and I recognize only the Roman, Catholic, and apostolic faith as the one true faith. I profess it, and in its defense, I am ready to shed my blood to the very last drop.”

Baba Merzoug, a bronze cannon of twelve tons built in 1542 and renamed La Consulaire by the French in 1830.

The twelve ton cannon, Baba Merzoug, built in 1542, was renamed La Consulaire by the French in 1830.

He was attached to the mouth of a cannon called Baba Merzoug and the Muslims looked around for someone to light the fuse. They tried to get a volunteer from a group of Jews who were there but they all refused. They found a renegade Christian who accepted the satanic responsibility, but his arm was struck by Divine punishment and paralyzed when he tried to fire the cannon. Eventually the Muslims were able to fire the cannon and the heroic missionary was blasted to death on July 29, 1683.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 426

 

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Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch

July 27, 2026

THE BATTLES OF LA NAVAL DE MANILA

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch Fleet

Inside the Dominican church of Santo Domingo in Quezon City sits in celestial splendor and glory one of the most venerated and beloved image of the Most Holy Virgin in the Philippines. Among an impressive array of twenty-eight canonically crowned statues of  the Mother of God in this Catholic nation in the Far East, Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval de Manila, also known as La Gran Señora de Filipinas and Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, stands out preeminently in terms of grandeur and beauty. It holds the most singular distinction as the first Marian image to be officially and solemnly crowned as such in the country and Asia (1907).[1]

ORIGIN

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila in Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City, Philippines. Photo by Interaksyon

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila in Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City, Philippines. Photo by Interaksyon

One can trace the statue’s origin (circa 1593) to the auspices of a Spanish governor-general of the island nation, Luis Perez Dasmariñas (1593-1596) who commissioned its creation (under the supervision of Captain Hernando de los Ríos Coronel) to honor his deceased father and to serve as a memento to his regime. He entrusted the statue in the hands of Dominican friars who enshrined it in a simple primitive chapel made of cogon grass and nipa palm within the walled city of Intramuros of Old Manila.

Utilizing hardwood for the torso and elephant ivory for the face and hands, a pagan Chinese artisan, who according to pious tradition converted later to Catholicism through Our Lady’s intercession, skillfully carved and fashioned its unique and indigenous Oriental features that stood out when the white ivory took on a shade of brown through the patina of time.

Luis Pérez Dasmariñas

Luis Pérez Desmariñas

The Blessed Mother’s image measures 4 feet and 8 inches and is depicted carrying the Child Jesus in her right arm while holding a scepter in her left arm.  Both images have a rosary slung on the right hand. From the very beginning, the faithful especially those belonging to Manila’s elite and aristocratic families have traditionally adorned both the Virgin and Child with elaborate raiment, ornate crowns and precious jewels.  It now stands as the oldest ivory carving and the most resplendent example of traditional Marian iconography in the archipelagic nation.

The first Dominicans, who reached Philippine shores in 1587, established in the following year a confraternity in honor of Our Lady under the title of the Rosary. Upon receipt of the prized carved image from the benevolent Spanish governor-general, the Dominicans installed it in the aforementioned chapel within Intramuros effectively replacing a 2-foot statue of Our Lady of the Rosary that the pioneering friars brought from Mexico to be venerated there. Thus, began a special devotion that would transcend centuries of signal graces and favors granted to the Holy Virgin’s throng of ever increasing devotees.

In a decisive series of sea battles in the middle of the 17th century, the Virgin’s intercessory powers would prove crucial in staving off the attacks of the invading Dutch fleets, a heavenly prodigy that would earn her the title of La Naval in the annals of Philippine history.

THE SPANISH-DUTCH CONFLICT REACHES THE PHILIPPINES

The Eendracht and a Fleet of Dutch Men-of-war, painting by Ludolf Bakhuizen.

The Eendracht and a Fleet of Dutch Men-of-war, painting by Ludolf Bakhuizen.

From the late fifteenth century to mid-sixteenth century, Spain and the Dutch Netherlands locked horns in a bitter and protracted war in Europe that came to be known as the Eighty Years war or the Dutch War of Independence (1568-1648).

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July 29 – When he finished preaching, the nobles and knights responded with a thunderous “Deus Vult”

July 27, 2026

Pope Blessed Urban II (Otho, Otto or Odo of Lagery), 1088-1099, born of a knightly family, at Châtillon-sur-Marne in the province of Champagne, about 1042; died 29 July, 1099. Under St. Bruno (afterwards founder of the Carthusians) Otho studied at Reims, where he later became canon and archdeacon. About 1070 he retired to Cluny and […]

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July 29 – He only regained the hearts of his people after his death

July 27, 2026

St. Olaf Haraldson Martyr and King of Norway (1015-30), b. 995; d. 29 July, 1030. He was a son of King Harald Grenske of Norway. According to Snorre, he was baptized in 998 in Norway, but more probably about 1010 in Rouen, France, by Archbishop Robert. In his early youth he went as a viking […]

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We’ve all forgotten our manners, so I asked a former royal butler to teach me some

July 23, 2026

h/t: www.telegraph.co.uk Enter Julius F Smith, a man who spent three decades gliding around royalty with a silver tray in hand. He served Elizabeth II on countless occasions, managed aristocratic households and looked after heads of state visiting the UK… But now he’s turned his attention to a far greater challenge: teaching Gen Z how […]

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July 23 – St. Bridget of Sweden

July 23, 2026

St. Bridget of Sweden The most celebrated saint of the Northern kingdoms, born about 1303; died 23 July, 1373. She was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the wealthiest landholders of the country, and, like her mother, distinguished by deep […]

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July 24 – St. John Boste

July 23, 2026

St.  John Boste (Or JOHN BOAST.) Priest and martyr, born of good Catholic family at Dufton, in Westmoreland, about 1544; died at Durham, 24 July, 1594. He studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, 1569-72, became a Fellow, and was received into the Church at Brome, in Suffolk, in 1576. Resigning his Fellowship in 1580, he went […]

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July 24 – Chaste Queen

July 23, 2026

Saint Kinga of Poland (also known as Cunegunda, Kunigunda, Kunegunda, Cunegundes, Kioga, Zinga; Polish: Święta Kinga, Hungarian: Szent Kinga) Poor Clare and patroness of Poland and Lithuania; born in 1224; died 24 July, 1292, at Sandeck, Poland. She was the daughter of King Bela IV and niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and from her infancy […]

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July 24 – She Was Fearless, Courageous, and Unswerving

July 23, 2026

Matilda of Canossa Countess of Tuscany, daughter and heiress of the Marquess Boniface of Tuscany, and Beatrice, daughter of Frederick of Lorraine, b. 1046; d. 24 July, 1114. In 1053 her father was murdered. Duke Gottfried of Lorraine, an opponent of the Emperor Henry III, went to Italy and married the widowed Beatrice. But, in […]

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July 25 – St. Apollinaris

July 23, 2026

St. Apollinaris The most illustrious of the Bishops of Valence, b. at Vienne, 453; d. 520. He lived in the time of the irruption of the barbarians, and unhappily Valence, which was the central see of the recently founded Kingdom of Burgundy, had been scandalized by the dissolute Bishop Maximus, and the see in consequence […]

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St. Joachim and Confidence

July 23, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira (*) The excerpts about Our Lady’s father, Saint Joachim, are taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Gueranger, OSB. Joachim’s wealth, like that of the first patriarchs, consisted chiefly in flocks and herds. The holy use he made of it drew down God’s blessing upon it. But the greatest of […]

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July 26 – Blessed John Ingram

July 23, 2026

Blessed John Ingram English martyr, born at Stoke Edith, Herefordshire, in 1565; executed at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 26 July, 1594. He was probably the son of Anthony Ingram of Wolford, Warwickshire, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Hungerford. He was educated first in Worcestershire, then at the English College, Reims, at the Jesuit College, Pont-a-Mousson, and at […]

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July 26 – St. Anne

July 23, 2026

Anne (Hebrew, Hannah, grace; also spelled Ann, Anne, Anna) is the traditional name of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All our information concerning the names and lives of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, is derived from apocryphal literature, the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and […]

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July 20 – Carolingian Reformer

July 20, 2026

St. Ansegisus Born about 770, of noble parentage; died 20 July, 833, or 834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Fontanelle (also called St. Vandrille after the name of its founder) in the diocese of Rouen. St. Girowald, a relative of Ansegisus, was then Abbot of Fontanelle. From the beginning […]

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July 21 – He raised the king’s son back to life, but wished to be buried among the criminals

July 20, 2026

St. Arbogast (Gaelic Arascach). St. Arbogast has been claimed as a native of Scotland, but this is owing to a misunderstanding of the name “Scotia”, which until late in the Middle Ages really meant Ireland. He flourished about the middle of the seventh century. Leaving Ireland, as so many other missionaries had done, he settled […]

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July 22 – The Siege of Belgrade (1456)

July 20, 2026

The Siege of Belgrade (or Battle of Belgrade, or Siege of Nándorfehérvár) occurred from July 4 to July 22, 1456. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II was rallying his resources in order to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary. His immediate objective was the border fort of the town of […]

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July 22 – With his lady’s permission, this lord left court to become a monk, then abbot

July 20, 2026

St. Wandrille, or Wandregisilus, Abbot [Abbot of Fontenelles, in Normandy.]  He was nearly related to Pepin of Landen and Erchinoald, the two first lords in the kingdom of Austrasia; and in his youth was made count of the palace under Dagobert I. He was humble on the highest pinnacle of honors, and mortified amidst pleasures. […]

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The Traditional Burial Ceremony of a Hapsburg Prince

July 16, 2026

This traditional ceremony for the burial of Hapsburg emperors and princes is a glorious specimen of the profound influence of Christianity on this “first family of Christendom” and a luminous example of faith for Christians not just in Austria, but throughout the world. It will be used on July 16, 2011 for the burial of […]

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July 19 – Her whole family became saints

July 16, 2026

St. Macrina the Younger Born about 330; died 379. She was the eldest child of Basil the Elder and Emmelia, the granddaughter of St. Macrina the Elder, and the sister of the Cappadocian Fathers, Sts. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa. The last-mentioned has left us a biography of his sister in the form of a […]

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July 19 – Penitent Nobility

July 16, 2026

St. Arsenius Anchorite; born 354, at Rome; died 450, at Troe, in Egypt. Theodosius the Great having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, they made choice of Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, member of a noble Roman family, and […]

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July 18 – After he captured Jerusalem, he refused the crown

July 16, 2026

Godfrey of Bouillon Duke of Lower Lorraine and first King of Jerusalem, son of Eustache II, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida, daughter of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lower Lorraine; b. probably at Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1060; d. at Jerusalem, 18 July, 1100 (according to a thirteenth-century chronicler, he was born at Baisy, in Brabant; see […]

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July 18 – “Don’t drink water, drink beer” said the bishop

July 16, 2026

Saint Arnulf of Metz Statesman, bishop under the Merovingians, born c. 580; died c. 640. His parents belonged to a distinguished Frankish family, and lived in Austrasia, the eastern section of the kingdom founded by Clovis. In the school in which he was placed during his boyhood he excelled through his talent and his good […]

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Moving God, Moving History

July 16, 2026

Written by John Horvat II There are times when history is seen from an all-too-human perspective. Granted, man is the principal agent in history. His great deeds and misdeeds fill the history books, blending fact, myth, and legend to intrigue future generations. However, man is not the only agent. There are times when men perform […]

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July 17 – “You Do Not Know What You Do”

July 16, 2026

Execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family In the early hours of 17 July 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2:00 am, told to dress, and led down into a half-basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house. The pretext for this move was the family’s safety — that anti-Bolshevik forces were […]

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July 16 – Alfonso VIII of Castile crushes the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa

July 16, 2026

The Almohads, the new dynasty of Moroccan fanatics who had subdued all the Moslems in al Andalus, launched an all-out attack on the Christians by moving a huge army north into south central Spain. The impetuous Alfonso VIII of Castile, without waiting for reinforcements, attempted to bar the way at Alarcos. On July 18, 1195, […]

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July 16 – Catholic Spain’s fate in the balance at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

July 16, 2026

The following year was a memorable one for all Spain. King Alfonso of Castile, in face of the Almohade danger, had launched an alert to Christendom; answering it, the Christian princes had assembled not only from Spain but also from other countries. Pope Innocent III proclaimed a Crusade against the Moors of Spain and bestowed […]

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July 13 – Saintly Elite

July 13, 2026

Blessed Marie-Azélie “Zélie” Martin née Guérin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) was a French laywoman and the mother of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. Her husband was Blessed Louis Martin. Marie-Azélie Guérin was born in Saint-Denis-sur-Sarthon, Orne, France and was the second daughter of Isidore Guérin and Louise-Jeanne Macé. She had an older sister, […]

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July 13 – Good King Henry

July 13, 2026

St. Henry II German King and Holy Roman Emperor, son of Duke Henry II (the Quarrelsome) and of the Burgundian Princess Gisela; b. 972; d. in his palace of Grona, at Gottingen, 13 July, 1024. Like his predecessor, Otto III, he had the literary education of his time. In his youth he had been destined […]

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July 13 – Saint Mildthryth

July 13, 2026

Saint Mildthryth (694–716 or 733), also Mildrith, Mildryth or Mildred, was an Anglo-Saxon abbess. Mildthryth was the daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsaete, a sub-kingdom of Mercia, and Eormenburh (Saint Eormenburga), herself the daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent, and as such appearing in the so-called Kentish royal legend. Her sisters Milburh (Saint Milburga of […]

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July 14 – The Lily of the Mohawks

July 13, 2026

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks Kateri Tekakwitha was daughter of Kenneronkwa, a Mohawk chief, and Tagaskouita, a devout Roman Catholic Algonquian woman. She was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Kateri’s mother was baptized and educated by French missionaries in Trois-Rivières, like many of Abenaki […]

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July 14 – St. Francis Solanus

July 13, 2026

South American missionary of the Order of Friars Minor; born at Montilla, in the Diocese of Cordova, Spain, 10 March, 1549; died at Lima, Peru, 14 July, 1610. His parents, Matthew Sanchez Solanus and Anna Ximenes, were distinguished no less for their noble birth than for their virtue and piety. When Francis was twenty years […]

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July 14 – St. Vincent

July 13, 2026

St. Vincent (MALDEGARIUS). Founder and abbot of the monasteries of Hautmont and Soignies, born of a noble family at Strepy les Binche, Hainault, early in the seventh century; died at Soignies, 14 July, 677. That he was not of Irish descent, as stated by Jean du Pont and some Irish writers, has been proved by […]

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July 15 – After conversion, he ordered the statues of the pagan gods chopped up and burned

July 13, 2026

St. Vladimir the Great Grand Duke of Kiev (Kieff) and All Russia, grandson of St. Olga, and the first Russian ruler to embrace Christianity, b. 956; d. at Berestova, 15 July, 1015. St. Olga could not convert her son and successor, Sviatoslav, for he lived and died a pagan and brought up his son Vladimir […]

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July 9 – At the center of the controversy, when the Pope deposed King John of England

July 9, 2026

Stephen Langton Cardinal and Archbishop of Canterbury, b. in the latter half of the twelfth century; d. at Slindon Manor, Sussex, July 9, 1228. Although the roll of English churchmen has few names more illustrious, Langton’s fame is hardly equal to his achievements. Even among his own countrymen too few have an adequate knowledge of […]

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July 9 – St. Veronica Giuliani

July 9, 2026

St. Veronica Giuliani Born at Mercatello in the Duchy of Urbino, Italy, 1660; died at Città di Castello, 9 July, 1727. Her parents, Francesco Giuliana and Benedetta Mancini, were both of gentle birth. In baptism she was named Ursula, and showed marvelous signs of sanctity. When but eighteen months old she uttered her first words […]

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July 10 – Charlemagne Was Stricken for His Rudeness to Her

July 9, 2026

St. Amalberga A virgin, very much revered in Belgium, who is said to have been sought in marriage by Charles, afterwards Charlemagne. Continually repulsed, Charles finally attempted to carry her off by force, but though he broke her arm in the struggle he was unable to move her from the altar before which she had […]

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July 10 – Seven Holy Noble Brethren

July 9, 2026

Saints, martyred in Rome, in 150. According to legend, they were the sons of Saint Felicitas, and suffered martyrdom under Emperor Antoninus. Januarius, Felix, and Philip were scourged to death; Silvanus was thrown over a precipice; Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis were beheaded. Feast, Roman Calendar, 10 July. St. Felicitas, Martyr The earliest list of the […]

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July 11 – Worthy descendant of St. Elizabeth

July 9, 2026

Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode A Belgian prelate and statesman, born at Brussels, 1820; died at Rome, 1874. The son of Félix de Mérode-Westerloo who held successively the portfolios of foreign affairs, war, and finances under King Leopold, and of Rosalie de Grammont, he was allied to the best names of France, — Lafayette, Montmorency, Clemont-Tonnerre, […]

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July 11 – The noble saint who fled the world, but the world ran after him

July 9, 2026

Saint Benedict of Nursia Founder of western monasticism, born at Nursia, c. 480; died at Monte Cassino, 543. The only authentic life of Benedict of Nursia is that contained in the second book of Saint Gregory’s “Dialogues”. It is rather a character sketch than a biography and consists, for the most part, of a number… […]

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July 12 – Irish-American Aristocrat Physician

July 9, 2026

William James MacNeven Distinguished Irish-American physician and medical educator, b. at Ballynahowna, near Aughrim, Co. Galway, Ireland, 21 March, 1763; d. at New York, 12 July, 1841. His ancestors were driven by Cromwell from the North of Ireland where they held large possessions to the wilds of Connaught. William James MacNeven was the eldest of […]

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July 12 – Thomas Tunstall

July 9, 2026

Ven. Thomas Tunstall Martyred at Norwich, 13 July, 1616. He was descended from the Tunstalls of Thurland, an ancient Lancashire family who afterwards settled in Yorkshire. In the Douay Diaries he is called by the alias of Helmes and is described as Carleolensis, that is, born within the ancient Diocese of Carlisle. He took the […]

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Astonishing adult literacy rates in France before the 1789 French Revolution

July 9, 2026

From studying signatures of wills Daniel Roche has discovered astonishing figures of adult literacy in the capital at the end of the old regime [France, before the French Revolution of 1789]. In Montmartre, for example, where 40 percent of the testators belonged to the artisan or salaried classes, 74 percent of men and 64 percent […]

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