March 23 – Generous Noble Missionary

March 23, 2026

St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo

(aka St. Alphonsus Turibius)

San ToribioArchbishop of Lima; b. at Mayorga, León, Spain, 1538; d. near Lima Peru, 23 March 1606. Of noble family and highly educated, he was professor of laws at the University of Salamanca, where his learning and virtue led to his appointment as Grand Inquisitor of Spain by Philip II and, though not of ecclesiastical rank, to his subsequent selection for the Archbishopric of Peru. He received Holy Orders in 1578 and two years later was consecrated bishop. He arrived at Payta, Peru, 600 miles from Lima, on 24 May, 1581. He began his mission work by traveling to Lima on foot, baptizing and teaching the natives.

Miracle of St. Toribio

Miracle of St. Toribio

His favorite topic being: “Time is not our own, and we must give a strict account of it.” Three times he traversed the eighteen thousand miles of his diocese, generally on foot, defenseless and often alone; exposed to tempests, torrents, deserts, wild beasts, tropical heat, fevers, and savage tribes; baptizing and confirming nearly one half million souls, among them St. Rose of Lima, St. Francis Solano, Blessed Martin of Porres, and Blessed Masias. He built roads, school houses, and chapels innumerable, and many hospitals and convents, and founded the first American Seminary at Lima in 1591. He assembled thirteen diocesan synods and three provincial councils. Years before he died, he predicted the day and hour of his death.

The interior of the Cathedral in Lima, Peru

The interior of the Cathedral in Lima, Peru

At Pacasmayo he contracted fever, but continued laboring to the last, arriving at Sana in a dying condition. Dragging himself to the sanctuary he received the Viaticum, expiring shortly after. He was beatified by Innocent XI in 1697 and canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726.

DE HERRERA, Life of Toribio

EDWARD L. AYME (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 23 – Jacques-Charles de Brisacier

March 23, 2026

Jacques-Charles de Brisacier

The famous Saint-Cyr boarding house that the Marquise of Maintenon, morganatic wife of Louis XIV, founded to help the numerous young ladies of the aristocracy whose parents had become impoverished.

Orator and ecclesiastical writer, b. at Bourges in 1641, d. at Paris, 23 March, 1736. At the age of twenty-five he entered the Society of the Foreign Missions at Paris, and devoted seventy years of his life to this great work. The scion of a rich and distinguished family, son of the collector-general for the Province of Berry, endowed with a remarkable talent for preaching, chaplain in ordinary to Queen Marie-Thérèse, wife of Louis XIV, he might have aspired to high ecclesiastical honors. Many bishoprics were offered to him. He refused them all, however, in order to remain in the Society of the Foreign Missions of which he was elected superior in 1681. He filled this office for eight terms, but as the rule of the Society is that no one shall be elected superior for more than three consecutive years, he filled this charge alternately with Louis Tiberge. He was also one of eight of its members who in 1698 composed the rules for its government which are still in force.

Madame de Maintenon was the second wife of Louis XIV.

Madame de Maintenon asked him to become the associate of Bourdeloue and Fénelon, in compiling the regulations for the school of Saint Cyr, which she had just founded. So pleased was she with his wisdom and judgment that she asked him again, in connection with Bourdeloue and M. Fronson, superior of Saint Sulpice, to give his opinion on the books of Madame Guyon and upon Quietism. On this point, however, the director of the Society of the Foreign Missions did not agree with the views of Fénelon.

Fr. Louis Bourdaloue (1632 – 1704), was a French Jesuit and preacher.

He took a very prominent part in the discussion on Chinese ceremonies. After having asked the advice of Fénelon and Bossuet on this question, Brisacier did not hesitate to declare himself of an opinion different from that of the Jesuits. The Bishop of Meaux wrote him three letters on this subject (30 August, 1701; 8 and 12 September, 1701). Brisacier, however, did not wait for these letters to declare himself.

François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, 1651 – 1715, was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer.

On 20 April, 1700, he published a pamphlet entitled “Lettre de MM. des Missions étrangères au Pape, sur les idolatries et les superstitions chinoises, avec une addition à la dite lettre, par MM. Louis Tiberge and Jacques Charles de Brisacier”. Brisacier pronounced the funeral orations of the Duchesse d’Aiguillon and also of Mlle de Bouillon, both benefactresses of the Foreign Missions.

LAUNAY, Histoire generale de la societe des Missions etrangeres (Paris, 1894); Histoire de Fénelon, XI, 293.

A. FOURNET (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 23 – They sought the honour of his company

March 23, 2026

Claude Bernard

Fr. Claude Bernard

A French ecclesiastic known as “the poor priest” (le pauvre prêtre), b. at Dijon 23 December, 1588; d. in Paris, 23 March, 1641. His father was a distinguished lawyer, and filled successively offices of honour and responsibility. Young Bernard was educated at the Jesuit College of Dole and was remarked for his brilliant imagination and wit. Pierre Le Camus, Bishop of Belley, urged him to enter the priesthood, but he declined, saying that he preferred the life of a poor gentleman to that of a poor priest. Shortly afterwards he went to Paris as a protégé of M. de Bellegarde, Governor of Bourgogne. For a while the social life of the capital attracted him; gradually, however, some disappointments together with the death of an intimate friend who was killed in a duel, brought about a decided change in his mode of life and led up to his entrance into the priesthood. He was ordained by the above mentioned Bishop Le Camus and invited to his first Mass the poor of the city, distributing to them all his possessions, and, later on. an inheritance of 400,000 livres, or about eighty thousand dollars.

Portrait of Fr. Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice

Henceforth Bernard devoted himself to the service of the poor, and delighted in the name of “the poor priest”. The poor, the sick and the prisoners were his special care; He fed, nursed, consoled, and instructed them with more than motherly tenderness. This life of self-sacrifice seemed rather to increase his personal charms. Wealthy and distinguished persons sought his company, and for honour of entertainment at his modest table contributed abundantly to his charities. His kindly wit never deserted him. When Cardinal Richelieu once pressed upon him the acceptance of some favours he replied that he would be pleased if stronger boards were placed in the tumbril, or cart, on which the condemned were taken to execution. “It is a pity”, said he, “that the constant dread of falling through the vehicle should distract our attention from God”.

Bernard’s methods were characterized by some as odd and reprehensible. He continued, however to enjoy the friendship and admiration of saintly priests like Bourdoise, Olier, and St. Vincent de Paul-an ample justification of his character and sacerdotal ministry. In the history of charity, he bears a striking resemblance to St. Francis of Assisi and St. Vincent de Paul, and his beatification has often been urged by the royal court and by the clergy of France. He founded at Paris, for the education of the poor candidates for the priesthood, the seminary of Trent-Trois which still exists. He contributed much to popularize the beautiful prayer to the Blessed Virgin known as the Memorare, sometimes attributed to him but certainly of an earlier date.

The life of Bernard has been written by GAUFFRE (1680); LEMPEREUR (1708); RIOM (1834); FELLER, Biog. univ.(Paris 1834), II, 244; ROHERBACHER,Hist.de l’Eglise(1850) XXV, 251-261.

CHARLES B.SCHRANTZ (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 24 – St. Gabriel the Archangel: “Strength of God”

March 23, 2026

Detail of the painting by Blessed Fra Angelico of the Archangel Gabriel.

Detail of the painting by Blessed Fra Angelico of the Archangel Gabriel.

“Fortitudo Dei”, one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible. Only four appearances of Gabriel are recorded:

  • In Dan., viii, he explains the vision of the horned ram as portending the destruction of the Persian Empire by the Macedonian Alexander the Great, after whose death the kingdom will be divided up among his generals, from one of whom will spring Antiochus Epiphanes.
  • In chapter ix, after Daniel had prayed for Israel, we read that “the man Gabriel . . . . flying swiftly touched me” and he communicated to him the mysterious prophecy of the “seventy weeks” of years which should elapse before the coming of Christ. In chapter x, it is not clear whether the angel is Gabriel or not, but at any rate we may apply to him the marvelous description in verses 5 and 6.
  • In the New Testament he foretells to Zachary the birth of the Precursor, and
  • to Mary that of the Savior.
The Annunciation in St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg, Germany

The Annunciation in St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg, Germany

Thus he is throughout the angel of the Incarnation and of Consolation, and so in Christian tradition Gabriel is ever the angel of mercy while Michael is rather the angel of judgment. At the same time, even in the Bible, Gabriel is, in accordance with his name, the angel of the Power of God, and it is worthwhile noting the frequency with which such words as “great”, “might”, “power”, and “strength” occur in the passages referred to above. The Jews indeed seem to have dwelt particularly upon this feature in Gabriel’s character, and he is regarded by them as the angel of judgment, while Michael is called the angel of mercy. Thus they attribute to Gabriel the destruction of Sodom and of the host of Sennacherib, though they also regard him as the angel who buried Moses, and as the man deputed to mark the figure Tau on the foreheads of the elect (Ezech., 4). In later Jewish literature the names of angels were considered to have a peculiar efficacy, and the British Museum possesses some magic bowls inscribed with Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac incantations in which the names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel occur. These bowls were found at Hillah, the site of Babylon, and constitute an interesting relic of the Jewish captivity. In apocryphal Christian literature the same names occur, cf. Enoch, ix, and the Apocalypse of the Blessed Virgin.

St. Gabriel, statue at the corner of The Doge's Palace in Venice, next to Porta della Carta. Photo by G.dallorto

St. Gabriel, statue at the corner of The Doge’s Palace in Venice, next to Porta della Carta. Photo by G.dallorto

As remarked above, Gabriel is mentioned only twice in the New Testament, but it is not unreasonable to suppose with Christian tradition that it is he who appeared to St. Joseph and to the shepherds, and also that it was he who “strengthened” Our Lord in the garden (cf. the Hymn for Lauds on 24 March). Gabriel is generally termed only an archangel, but the expression used by St. Raphael, “I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tob., xii, 15) and St. Gabriel’s own words, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God” (Luke 1, 19), have led some to think that these angels must belong to the highest rank; but this is generally explained as referring to their rank as the highest of God’s messengers, and not as placing them among the Seraphim and Cherubim (cf. St. Thomas, I, Q. cxii, a.3; III, Q. xxx, a.2, ad 4um).

Hugh Pope (cf. 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia – English adapted by Nobility.org)

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March 24 – A deer guarded this noble saint from the unwanted advances of men

March 23, 2026

St. Catherine of Sweden

Patroness against abortion and miscarriage.

St. Catherine of Sweden. Photo by Smas.

St. Catherine of Sweden. Photo by Smas.

The fourth child of Saint Bridget and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, born 1331 or 1332; died 24 March, 1381. At the time of her death Saint Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence the name, Catherine Vastanensis, by which she is occasionally called. At the age of seven she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg to be educated and soon showed, like her mother, a desire for a life of self-mortification and devotion to spiritual things. At the command of her father, when about thirteen or fourteen years, she married a noble of German descent, Eggart von Kürnen. She at once persuaded her husband, who was a very religious man, to join her in a vow of chastity. Both lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to the exercise of Christian perfection and active charity. In spite of her deep love for her husband, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome, where Saint Bridget went in 1349. Soon after her arrival in that city Catherine received news of the death of her husband in Sweden. She now lived constantly with her mother, took an active part in Saint Bridget’s fruitful labours, and zealously imitated her mother’s ascetic life. Although the distinguished and beautiful young widow was surrounded by suitors, she steadily refused all offers of marriage. In 1372 Saint Catherine and her brother, Birger, accompanied their mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; after their return to Rome Saint Catherine was with her mother in the latter’s last illness and death.

In 1374, in obedience to Saint Bridget’s wish, Catherine brought back her mother’s body to Sweden for burial at Wadstena, of which foundation she now became the head. It was the motherhouse of the Brigittine Order, also called the Order of Saint Saviour. Catherine managed the convent with great skill and made the life there one in harmony with the principles laid down by its founder. The following year she went again to Rome in order to promote the canonization of Saint Bridget, and to obtain a new papal confirmation of the order. She secured another confirmation both from Gregory XI (1377) and from Urban VI (1379) but was unable to gain time in the canonization of her mother, as the confusion caused by the Schism delayed the process. When this sorrowful division appeared she showed herself, like Saint Catherine of Siena, a steadfast adherent of the part of the Roman Pope, Urban VI, in whose favor she testified before a judicial commission. Catherine stayed five years in Italy and then returned home, bearing a special letter of commendation from the pope. Not long after her arrival in Sweden she was taken ill and died. In 1484 Innocent VIII gave permission for her veneration as a saint and her feast was assigned to 22 March in the Roman Martyrology. Catherine wrote a devotional work entitled “Consolation of the Soul” (Sielinna Troëst), largely composed of citations from the Scriptures and from early religious books; no copy is known to exist. Generally she is represented with a hind at her side, which is said to have come to her aid when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her.

J. P. Kirsch (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 24 – Blessed Bertha de Bardi

March 23, 2026

BLESSED BERTHA DE BARDI (ABBESS)

Born in Florence, date uncertain; died 24 March, 1163. She was the daughter of Lothario di Ugo, Count of Vernio, and is ordinarily called Bertha de Bardi, but the name should probably be d’Alberti. She joined the order of Vallombrosa, a branch of the Benedictines, at Florence, but she was soon sent to govern and reform a convent of the order at Cavriglia in Valdarno, where she lived famous for miracles until her death. (See Acta SS. for that day, and Soldani, “Vita di S. Berta”, Florence, 1731.)

Dunbar, Dictionary of Saintly Women (London, 1904); Chevalier, Repertoire des sources historiques: Bio-Bibliographie (Paris, 1905).

HERBERT THURSTON (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 25 – The Annunciation: “Of His Kingdom, there shall be no end.”

March 23, 2026

The Annunciation, by Father Thomas de Saint-Laurent

Out of love for us, the Eternal Word was made flesh in the chaste womb of Mary. His plan was marvelously arranged. From all eternity, He chose a man after His heart who would be the virginal spouse of His divine Mother, His adopted father on earth, and the guardian of His childhood. While not granting Joseph the same privileges He had granted our Blessed Mother, the Lord adorned his soul with the rarest virtues and raised him to great holiness.

When Our Lady had completed her education in the Temple, she was wed to this humble artisan. Like her, Saint Joseph belonged to the royal race of David, then fallen from its ancient splendor. Also like her, he had consecrated his virginity to God and ardently desired to see with his own eyes the promised Messias, the salvation of Israel.

The Most High had prepared this excellent union by revealing His will to these humble and obedient souls. Mary accepted Joseph as the guarantor of Divine Providence, while Joseph received Mary as a precious treasure entrusted to him by Heaven. Neither one nor the other suspected what blessings the Lord would lavish on their modest dwelling. The young spouses had lived but a short time in the little house of Nazareth when the scene of the Annunciation took place in all of its divine simplicity.

http://www.wga.hu/art/a/angelico/04/1annunc2.jpg

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary

The last days of March had brought the return of spring to the Galilean countryside. The fig trees had begun to unfold their ample leaves and the doves to build their nests in the hollows of the rocks. Flowers dotted the rejuvenated fields. Soon another flower, infinitely more precious, would blossom from the root of Jesse.

In Heaven, the Holy Ghost acclaimed the spotless conception of the Immaculate Virgin with admiration and seemed impatient for the hour when the work of His infinite charity would be fulfilled. No longer did the Divine Spouse wish to delay. He resolved to send an extraordinary messenger to her whom He called “My Spouse” —Soror mea, sponsa.17

God chose the Archangel Gabriel from among the princes of the celestial court who remained constantly before the throne of the Almighty. He entrusted to him the most important and glorious assignment ever confided to a creature, the mission of announcing to the Virgin the awesome mystery of the Incarnation. All Heaven now looked upon that simple house of Nazareth, where a profound peace reigned. Joseph probably rested from his hard labor. In the adjoining room, his virgin spouse was praying. The angel appeared and respectfully bowed before his Queen. His countenance resplendent with supernatural joy, he said to her, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”18 Saint Gabriel uttered but the strictest truth. At the moment of Mary’s conception, divine grace flooded her magnificent soul. Ever since then, this grace had grown ceaselessly in proportions far surpassing our feeble understanding. Now, at this moment, the adorable Trinity wanted this already extraordinary holiness to shine with even greater brilliance: Our Lady would shelter in her womb the very Author of grace.

Yet, the Archangel’s salutation troubled the Immaculate Virgin. By divine enlightenment she had long understood the immensity of God and the nothingness of creatures. In her prodigious humility, she considered herself the lowliest of creatures and thus wondered at receiving such praise. She pondered what hidden meaning could be shrouded in such words.

Seeing this most incomparably perfect of all creatures with such a humble opinion of herself, the celestial ambassador exulted with admiration. “Mary,” he said to the trembling Virgin, “fear not, for thou hast found grace with God.”19

Then slowly, majestically, in the name of the Eternal God, he communicated his sublime message: “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father, and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”20

These words were far too clear to Our Lady for any hesitation in grasping them. She immediately understood the incomparable honor reserved for her. It seems that she experienced no hesitation on account of her virginity. Indeed, it would be a gratuitous insult to her intelligence to suspect her of such ignorance. She was aware of the prophecy of Isaias that the Emmanuel would be born of a virgin. Rather, she simply sought to know how God, so rich in miracles, would accomplish such a marvel. “How shall this be done,” she asked the angel, “for I know not man?”21 “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. Therefore, the child which shall be born of thee shall be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who is called barren; for nothing shall be impossible with God.”22 Profound silence filled that small room in Nazareth, one of those dramatic silences wherein the world’s destiny hangs in the balance.

The angel had ceased speaking and Mary was quiet. How many thoughts crowded in upon her! In her mind’s eye, she saw the resplendent crown divine motherhood would place on her head, yet she remained too profoundly humble for any complacency about this singular grandeur. She saw the indescribable joys that would surely fill her heart when holding her dear treasure against her bosom, her Jesus, both God and infant. Yet again, her self-mortification would not allow that she be guided by the allure of joy alone, even the most holy of joys.

She also saw the awful martyrdom that would rend her soul. Through Holy Scripture she knew that the Messias would be delivered to His death like a tender lamb to the slaughter. She foresaw and heard the mournful cry: “I am a worm, and no man; the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.”23 Yet, such was her fortitude that she would not allow future sorrow to dishearten her. Above everything, she saw the extremely lofty, fatherly, and holy will of God. She owed obedience to Him; she did not hesitate.

The Immaculate Virgin at last broke the solemn silence. The angel waited to receive her consent in the name of the Holy Ghost. In accepting, she pronounced one of those sublime expressions that only the genius of humility can find. It was the most simple and modest formula of a soul completely submissive to the will of God: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.”24 At that, the grandest of all miracles took place. From the very flesh of the Immaculate Virgin, the Holy Ghost formed a small human body. To this body He joined a human soul; to this body and soul He united the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Word of God.

Although it is necessary to explain these three facts separately to make clear what took place, the three took place completely simultaneously as a single act. Not even for a second were this small body and soul separated from the Word. From that first instant the Child formed in the womb of Our Lady was the Word Incarnate. Without losing her virginity, Mary became the Mother of God, and in becoming the Mother of Christ, our Head, she also became the Mother of men—our Mother.

http://www.wga.hu/art/a/angelico/04/1annunc3.jpg

And She conceived of the Holy Ghost

In this chapter I have simply followed the Gospel narrative step by step. We will later study the nearly infinite dignity the Immaculate Virgin confers on divine motherhood. We shall see how this privilege should inspire our Christian hearts to great respect, deep gratitude, limitless confidence, and filial devotion. But let us first complete our meditation on this mystery.

Through God’s infinite love for us, the Word utterly humbled Himself in the womb of the Virgin. At the same time, other events took place in her soul. When God entrusts a mission to one of His creatures, He also provides the grace to accomplish it fully. Thus, the Most High, having granted a double motherhood to the Blessed Virgin Mary (to be mother of God and of men), conferred upon her a love that was doubly maternal. Such was the splendor in this work of grace that we will never perfectly understand it. Never will we completely understand the ardor of Mary’s love for Jesus or the merciful goodness by which the Virgin loves each one of us in particular. Indeed, were we to further reflect upon this mystery, we would pray to her with greater fervor, and serve her with greater zeal. She, in turn, would lavish torrents of grace on us.

The Incarnation had just been completed. Our Lady remained in ecstasy. Every theologian agrees that during this thrice-holy moment God raised her to the most sublime contemplation a pure creature can attain upon earth. Perhaps she was even granted a momentary glimpse of the beatific vision. The Archangel Gabriel had fulfilled his mission. Upon his arrival he had respectfully bowed before the Queen of heaven. Before departing, he prostrated himself, for Mary was no longer alone. In true justice, the Child she bore in her womb merited the adoration of the archangel, who adored the God-made-man and then returned to Heaven.

From this mystery, we must draw a stronger and deeper devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The Church, which encourages us to pay special honor to the Immaculate Mother, does not wish to place her on the same level as the Most High. While Mary reigns over all the angels and saints in Heaven, she is still but a simple creature and, accordingly, an infinite distance stands between her and her adorable Son. Nevertheless, God has united Jesus and Mary so intimately that we cannot separate Them. By consenting to the work of the eternal God, Our Lady has become ipso facto the moral cause of our salvation. She is morally necessary for us to go to Jesus.

Souls today are powerfully attracted to the Heart of Jesus. To penetrate this adorable Heart, the sanctuary of the Divinity, more fully, we must go through Mary. Let us ask Our Lady for the sovereign grace of placing us confidently in the arms of Jesus and there, upon His heart, let us rest both in time and in eternity.

[Father Thomas de Saint Laurent was born in 1879 and died in 1949. He was of noble ancestry and wrote many small books, most on religious and spiritual topics, all of which bear the mark of great unction. The above is Chapter V of his book The Virgin Mary]

17. Canticle of Canticles 4:9. [back]
18. Luke 1:28. [back]
19. Luke 1:30. [back]
20. Luke 1:31-33. [back]
21. Luke 1:34. [back]
22. Luke 1:35-37. [back]
23. Psalm 21:7. [back]
24. Luke 1:38. [back]

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March 25 – The Angels of the Battlefield

March 23, 2026

A pre-Vatican II habit. One of the many changes that were made as a result of the Second Vatican Council. Photo Bundesarchiv, Bild 121-0320 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a congregation of women with simple vows, founded in 1633 and devoted to corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Their full title is Sisters or Daughters of Charity (the founder preferred the latter term), Servants of the Sick Poor. The term “of St. Vincent de Paul” has been added to distinguish them form several communities of Sisters of Charity, animated with a similar spirit, among whom they rank in priority of origin and greatness of numbers. They have always been popularly known in France as “the Grey Sisters” from the colour of their habit, which is bluish grey, but are not to be confounded with the Grey Nuns, a community will known in Canada and New England. They are not infrequently called the sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, though a recent French congregation having this saint for their patron, bears that name.

In the United States several diocesan communities who follow a modified form of the rule of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and wear a black habit are often called the “Black Cap Sisters”, while the “White Cap” or “Cornette” Sisters are those who follow the original rule and form part of the world-wide community under the direction of the superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, or Lazarists, in Paris. These latter sisters were founded by St. Vincent de Paul and the Venerable Louise de Mérillac (1591-1660), and the widow of Antoine Le Gras, known according to a quaint usage of the time as Mlle Le Gras. The need of organization in work for the poor suggested to St. Vincent the forming of a confraternity among the people of his parish. It was so successful that it spread form the rural districts to Paris, where noble ladies often found it hard to give personal care to the wants of the poor. The majority sent their servants to minister to those in need, but often the work was slighted. St. Vincent remedied this by inducing young women from the country to go to Paris and devote themselves to the service of the poor under the direction of the Ladies of Charity. These young girls formed the nucleus of a very large community of the Sisters of Charity now spread over the world, and who have done so much to make the name of St. Vincent de Paul a household work. Mlle Le Gras, who had recently devoted herself at St. Vincent’s request to the superintendent of the various confraternities of charity, had charge of these young girls, who lodged at some convent or with the ladies of the confraternity. They met on Sundays at St. Vincent’s house for instruction and encouragement. But after three or four years Mlle Le Gras received a few of the most promising of them at her house, where, on 29 November, 1633, she began a more systematic training in the care of the sick and in spiritual life. This is looked on as the real foundation of the community. This little snowball, as St. Vincent playfully called it , was not long in increasing, and on 31 July, 1634, St. Vincent initiated a series of conferences, extending over twenty-five years, which, written sown by the sisters, have had ever since a powerful effect in their formation.

For more than twelve years St. Vincent guided them thus without written rule or constitution and without seeking approval of them as a distinct organization. Let the work grow gradually as the needs of the times demanded, and little did he imagine the vast structure he was laying the foundation of. He used to explain that neither he nor Mlle Le Gras was the founder of the Sisters of Charity, for neither he nor she had ever thought of founding such a community. It sprang from the practical need for such organization. When the idea developed it was at variance with the notions and customs of the times. Hitherto women who publicly consecrated their lives to God’s service did so in convents that cut them off from the world, but his sisters were to spend their time nursing the sick in their homes, having no monastery but the homes of the sick, their cell a hired room, their chapel the parish church, their enclosure the streets of the city or wards of the hospital, “having”, as St. Vincent says in the rule he finally gave them, “no grate but the fear of God, no veil but holy modesty”. After a few months spent with the sisters in her house, Mlle Le Gras bound herself irrevocably by vow to the work she had undertaken, 25 March, 1634. This anniversary is religiously kept in the community, for every year the sisters make their annual vows on the feast of the Annunciation. The sisters had hitherto helped the poor and the sick in their homes, but they were now called on for hospital work. A society was formed by some ladies of rank to better the condition of the sick poor in Hotel-Dieu at Paris. A community of Augustinian nuns was in charge, but the miseries of the times had overcrowded the wards, and the revenue was inadequate. It was helpers of the ladies who in turn aided the nuns of the institution that the Sisters of Charity took up hospital work which has since become so prominent a feature in their beneficent activity. A large room near by was hired for their use, where they made delicacies for the sick and also for sale, to swell the income of the hospital. During the first year the labours of the ladies and sisters were blessed by seven hundred and sixty conversions, of Lutherans, Calvinists, and even of Turks wounded in sea-fights.

War of 1870, with a general respectfully greeting the priest.

In May, 1636, Mlle Le Gras moved to more commodious quarters with her community. A house at La Chapelle was chosen because of its nearness to Saint-Lazare, the priory recently given to St. Vincent for the Congregation of the Priests of the Mission he had founded. Here the instruction of the poor children in religion and in elementary branches was taken up, the beginning of the widespread labour of the Sisters of Charity in teaching the children of the poor. The charge of foundlings so characteristic of St. Vincent and his sisters came to them through his finding out how miserably these tiny waifs were cared for by the State. The modern foundling asylums owe, of not their origin, at least their excellent system to the work of the Sisters of Charity. On 1 Feb., 1640, at Angers the sisters assumed complete charge of a hospital in which hitherto they had acted as aids to the charitable ladies. In 1641 the headquarters of the community was transferred to a house opposite Saint-Lazare. Here they remained until driven away by the French Revolution. In answer to their desire to be bound by vows, authorization was finally granted to four of the sisters, and these on 25 March, 1642, took simple vows for one year. A copy of these first vows is preserved in the archives of the mission in Paris and says:

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March 25 – The Annunciation: He is King by right, and also by conquest

March 23, 2026

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Annunciation

We will comment on this passage taken from Saint Luke:

“And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

Angel of the Annunciation, St. Gabriel, by Bl. Fra Angelico

Angel of the Annunciation, St. Gabriel, by Bl. Fra Angelico

And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Our Lady and St. Gabriel on the central doorway at Reims Cathedral.

Our Lady and St. Gabriel on the central doorway at Reims Cathedral.

*          *          *

As far as I can recall, the only thing we know of Saint Gabriel, the Archangel is found in this episode. He was sent by God to deliver this magnificent message to Our Lady. We can have some idea of what this archangel is like by looking at the nature of the task he was given. There is a correlation between the angel and his virtue on the one hand, and the mission he receives from God, on the other. Through one, we can make conjectures about the other.

Detail of the painting by Blessed Fra Angelico of the Archangel Gabriel.

Detail of the painting by Blessed Fra Angelico of the Archangel Gabriel.

Thus, what was the message that Saint Gabriel, which means “the strength of God,” took to Our Lady? It is a message that affirms the Incarnation of the Word and therefore the greatest act of power and domination that God could exercise upon the world. With the Incarnation of the Word, God was preparing to rescue the world. In doing this, He, who is king of the world by right, also became king by conquest. Thus, He – the second Person of the Blessed Trinity – entered the earth to conquer on the cross, in this special way, He established His kingship upon the world.

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March 25 – Gaudentius of Brescia

March 23, 2026

GAUDENTIUS BRIXIENSIS or BONTEMPS.)

A theologian of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins; b. at Brescia in 1612; d. at Oriano, 25 March, 1672; descended from the noble Brescian family of Bontempi; having entered the Capuchin Order, was assigned to the duties of lector of theology. In this capacity he visited the several convents of his own province of Brescia, as well as other houses of study of the different Capuchin provinces of Italy. He was taken suddenly ill at Oriano, and died there while engaged in preaching a course of Lenten sermons. His remains were later removed to the Capuchin church at Verola, where they now rest. His fame as a theologian rests mainly on his “Palladium Theologicum seu tuta theologia scholastica ad intimam mentem d. Bonaventurae Seraph. Doc. cujus eximiae doctrinae raptae restituuntur, sententiae impugnatae propugnantur”, a work in which elegance of style, depth of thought, and soundness of doctrine are admirably combined, and which ranks the author among the foremost exponents of the Franciscan school. Gaudentius’s pupil and countryman, Gianfrancesco Durantio, undertook the publication of the work after the death of the author; and under the patronage of Louis XIV of France, who subjected the manuscript to the examination of a special commission of doctors of the Sorbonne, it was published at Lyons, in seven folio volumes, in 1676.

STEPHEN DONOVAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 25 – Saint Lucy Filippini

March 23, 2026

St. Lucy Filippini

(13 January 1672 – 25 March 1732)

She was orphaned at an early age when her parents both died. From there she went to live with her aristocratic aunt and uncle who encouraged her religious inclination by entrusting her education to the Benedictine nuns at Santa Lucia.

Her career began under the patronage of Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo, who entrusted her with the work of founding schools for young women, especially the poor. With Rose Venerini to train school teachers, she co-founded the Pious Matrons, a group dedicated to the education of girls. The curriculum included domestic arts, weaving, embroidering, reading, and Christian doctrine. The success of her schools — fifty-two in total — caught the attention of Pope Clement XI, who called her to work in Rome. She died of breast cancer in 1732.

Her statue can be seen in the south nave of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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March 19 – St. Joseph

March 19, 2026

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster-father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

LIFE

Quito School

Quito School

Sources. The chief sources of information on the life of St. Joseph are the first chapters of our first and third Gospels; they are practically also the only reliable sources, for, whilst, on the holy patriarch’s life, as on many other points connected with the Saviour’s history which are left untouched by the canonical writings, the apocryphal literature is full of details, the non-admittance of these works into the Canon of the Sacred Books casts a strong suspicion upon their contents; and, even granted that some of the facts recorded by them may be founded on trustworthy traditions, it is in most instances next to impossible to discern and sift these particles of true history from the fancies with which they are associated. Among these apocryphal productions dealing more or less extensively with some episodes of St. Joseph’s life may be noted the so-called “Gospel of James”, the “Pseudo-Matthew”, the “Gospel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary”, the “Story of Joseph the Carpenter”, and the “Life of the Virgin and Death of Joseph”.
Holy FamilyGenealogy. St. Matthew (1:16) calls St. Joseph the son of Jacob; according to St. Luke (3:23), Heli was his father. This is not the place to recite the many and most various endeavours to solve the vexing questions arising from the divergences between both genealogies; nor is it necessary to point out the explanation which meets best all the requirements of the problem (see ); suffice it to remind the reader that, contrary to what was once advocated, most modern writers readily admit that in both documents we possess the genealogy of Joseph, and that it is quite possible to reconcile their data.

The Holy House of Loreto, which was moved by the angels from Nazareth.

The Holy House of Loreto, which was moved by the angels from Nazareth.

Residence. At any rate, Bethlehem, the city of David and his descendants, appears to have been the birth-place of Joseph. When, however, the Gospel history opens, namely, a few months before the Annunciation, Joseph was settled at Nazareth. Why and when he forsook his home-place to betake himself to Galilee is not ascertained; some suppose — and the supposition is by no means improbable — that the then moderate circumstances of the family and the necessity of earning a living may have brought about the change. St. Joseph, indeed, was a tekton, as we learn from Matthew 13:55, and Mark 6:3. The word means both mechanic in general and carpenter in particular; St. Justin vouches for the latter sense (Dial. cum Tryph., lxxxviii, in P.G., VI, 688), and tradition has accepted this interpretation, which is followed in the English Bible.

The Wedding of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph

The Wedding of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph

Marriage. It is probably at Nazareth that Joseph betrothed and married her who was to become the Mother of God. When the marriage took place, whether before or after the Incarnation, is no easy matter to settle, and on this point the masters of exegesis have at all times been at variance. Most modern commentators, following the footsteps of St. Thomas, understand that, at the epoch of the Annunciation, the Blessed Virgin was only affianced to Joseph; as St. Thomas notices, this interpretation suits better all the evangelical data.
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March 19 – Jesus, Mary and Joseph Were Born of Royal Stock

March 19, 2026

From a sermon of Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) about Saint Joseph:

Miraculous image at the Shrine of St. Joseph in Kalisz, Poland.

Firstly, let us consider the nobility of the bride, that is, the Most Holy Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was more noble than any other creature that had been born in human form, that could be or could have been begotten. For Saint Matthew in his first chapter, thrice enumerating fourteen generations from Abraham to Jesus Christ inclusive, shows that she descends from fourteen Patriarchs, fourteen Kings, and fourteen Princes…. Saint Luke also, writing on her nobility in his third chapter, proceeds in his genealogy from Adam and Eve until Christ God….

Secondly, let us consider the nobility of the bridegroom, that is, Saint Joseph. He was born of Patriarchal, Royal, and Princely stock in a direct line as has been said. For Saint Matthew in his first chapter established a direct line with all the aforementioned fathers from Abraham to the spouse of the Virgin, clearly demonstrating that all patriarchal, royal, and princely dignity come together in him….

Thirdly, let us examine the nobility of Christ. He was, as follows from what has been said, a Patriarch, King, and Prince, for He received just as much from His mother as others from father and mother…. From what has been said above, it is clear that the nobility of the Virgin and of Joseph is described by the aforementioned Evangelists so that the nobility of Christ be manifest. For Joseph, therefore, was of such nobility that, in a certain way, if it be permitted to say, he gave temporal nobility to God in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sancti Bernardini Senensis Sermones Eximii (Venice: in Aedibus Andreae Poletti, 1745), Vol. 4, p. 232, in Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illuminating American Social History (York, Penn.: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 1993), Documents IV, pp. 471-472.

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March 19 – Saint Joseph, Martyr of Grandeur

March 19, 2026

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

To have an idea of what Saint Joseph—the Patron of the Church—was like, we must consider two prodigious facts: he was the foster father of the Child Jesus and he was the spouse of Our Lady.

The husband must be proportional to the wife. Now who is Our Lady? She is by far the most perfect of all creatures, the masterpiece of the Most High. In her is the sum total of all the virtues of the angels, of all the saints, and of all men until the end of time. Even when we consider her in this light, we still have only a shallow idea of the sublime perfection of the Mother of God.

But a man was chosen from among all men to be in proportion to this eminent creature. He was proportional, naturally, in his love of God, in his wisdom, in his purity, in his justice, in all the virtues. This man was Saint Joseph.

*   *   *

There is still something more unfathomable: the father must be proportional to the son. A man who would bear with dignity the honor of being the foster father of God was needed. There was only one man, created especially for this role, with a soul adorned with all the virtues entirely at the height necessary for such a sublime mission. This man was Saint Joseph.

He was in proportion to Jesus Christ; he was proportional to His sublime Mother. What grandeur there is in this! We cannot imagine how far he transcended the rest of men. The human vocabulary does not have the words to adequately express the depth of his penetration into the most holy soul of Our Lady and the degree of intimacy with the Word Incarnate.

It is customary to represent Saint Anthony of Padua holding a book upon which the Child Jesus is seated. The saint is enchanted because the Child Jesus has rested for a few moments in his arms. We look admiringly at Saint Anthony because he was blessed to have been singled out for this indescribable honor! Yet how many times more did Saint Joseph hold the Child Jesus in his arms?

St. Joseph and the Christ Child Enthroned with Four Angels, c. 1700-1740, School of Cuzco

It was Saint Joseph who had sufficiently pure lips and a sufficiently grand humility to undertake the formidable task of responding to God! Let us imagine the scene: the Child Jesus comes to him and says, “I would like your advice. How should I do this?” And the Patron of the Universal Church, a mere creature, knowing it is God asking the question, gives the advice!
If you can imagine a man who had sufficient wisdom and purity to rule over God and the Virgin Mary, then you will be able to comprehend the sublime virtue of Saint Joseph.

*   *   *

We are speaking of the grandeur of Saint Joseph. Now, how did the men of his time react in face of this grandeur?

The Scriptures say: “And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

The words “there was no room for them in the inn” encompass a bitter truth: it is especially difficult for men to accept that which is grand—a fortiori, that which is divine—because of their petty selfishness. We often think that men take pleasure in dealing with things that are important, high, sublime. Some men do enjoy such things, but only superficially and selfishly.

For men are not greatly attracted to grandeur; they are attracted to mediocrity, especially if it includes a mixture of good and evil where the evil predominates. There is a profound tendency in man for the trivial, for the banal, for that which is contrary to the grandiose, to the sublime.

So we can understand why men were not willing to make room for the Holy Family. There was no room, particularly because Our Lady would have conserved, together with a demeanor of sublime kindness, an air of great majesty.

As Saint Joseph would have maintained a similar aspect, they were obviously an eminently distinctive but poor couple. This was the most profound reason for the refusal. Distinction is accepted when it is accompanied by wealth, for the latter pardons the former. And the interest in making money incites flattery, which takes the place of respect. But when someone of great distinction and salient virtue knocks at the door—above all, if he is poor—then there is no room. It would take only five minutes to arrange accommodations for a mediocre friend or for a moneybags who possessed nothing but wealth…yet accommodations that could easily have been arranged were refused to the Holy Family!

But suppose they had known that Our Lady was about to give birth to the Child Jesus?

They still would not have received her. It is fitting to remember the famous apostrophe of Donoso Cortés: “The human spirit hungers for absurdity and for sin.”

The Child Jesus resembled Our Lady. She was the prefigure of the Redeemer. Saint Joseph also looked like Him. Those people did not want Our Lady, nor Saint Joseph, nor the Child Jesus. They hungered for baseness, vulgarity and wealth. The result: this is the first refusal of the Hebrew people. This is the first time Our Lord, already on earth, knocks at the doors of men through the voice of Saint Joseph and is refused.

Saint Joseph—prince of the House of David, prince of a royal family that, although dethroned and decadent, was at its apogee because from it was born the Hope of the Nations—knocks at the door and is rejected! But in this rejection is his first glory. He represented something that the vulgar and prosaic spirit of the Jews detested. He took the first step of his martyrdom: he led Our Lady to a cave suitable only for animals, where the Child Jesus was born.

To this glory—which was certainly a negative one—were added many others: the glory of being considered a person of no consequence although all public honors were due him; the glory of taking upon himself all the humiliation, all the ignominy and all the weight of the opprobrium that was to fall upon Our Lord. From the very beginning, he had the special bliss of being refused for his love of justice and his grandeur of soul.

This is a forgotten, though salient aspect of the moral physiognomy of the Patron of the Church, whose virtue, especially rejected by modern man, induces us to say: Saint Joseph, Martyr of Grandeur, pray for us!

Taken from a lecture given by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira for young TFP members. The author was not able to review it prior to his death. Originally published in TFP Newsletter (1986), vol. IV, no. 17, p. 6.

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March 20 – St. Cuthbert

March 19, 2026

St. Cuthbert

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

Bishop of Lindisfarne, patron of Durham, born about 635; died 20 March, 687. His emblem is the head of St. Oswald, king and martyr, which he is represented as bearing in his hands. His feast is kept in Great Britain and Ireland on the 20th of March, and he is patron of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, where his commemoration is inserted among the Suffrages of the Saints. His early biographers give no particulars of his birth, and the accounts in the “Libellus de ortu”, which represent him as the son of an Irish king named Muriahdach, though recently supported by Cardinal Moran and Archbishop Healy, are rejected by later English writers as legendary. Moreover, St. Bede’s phrase, Brittania . . . genuit (Vita Metricia, c. i), points to his English birth. He was probably born in the neighbourhood of Mailros (Melrose) of lowly parentage, for as a boy he used to tend sheep on the mountain-sides near that monastery. While still a child living with his foster-mother Kenswith his future lot as bishop had been foretold by a little play-fellow, whose prophecy had a lasting effect on his character. He was influenced, too, by the holiness of the community of Mailros, where St. Eata was abbot and St. Basil prior. In the year 651, while watching his sheep, he saw in a vision the soul of St. Aidan carried to heaven by angels, and inspired by this became a monk at Mailros. Yet it would seem that the troubled state of the country hindered him from carrying out his resolution at once. Certain it is that at one part of his life he was a soldier, and the years which succeed the death of St. Aidan and Oswin of Deira seem to have been such as would call for the military service of most of the able-bodied men of Northumbria, which was constantly threatened at this time by the ambition of its southern neighbor, King Penda of Mercia.

A miniature in the British Library Yates Thomson MS 26, Bede's Prose Life of St Cuthbert, depicting St. Cuthbert's meeting with Boisil at Melrose.

A miniature in the British Library Yates Thomson MS 26, Bede’s Prose Life of St Cuthbert, depicting St. Cuthbert’s meeting with Boisil at Melrose.

Peace was not restored to the land until some four years later, as the consequence of a great battle which was fought between the Northumbrians and the Mercians at Winwidfield. It was probably after this battle that Cuthbert found himself free once more to turn to the life he desired. He arrived at Mailros on horseback and armed with a spear. Here he soon became eminent for holiness and learning, while from the first his life was distinguished by supernatural occurrences and miracles. When the monastery at Ripon was founded he went there as guest-master, but in 661 he, with other monks who adhered to the customs of Celtic Christianity, returned to Mailros owing to the adoption at Ripon of the Roman Usage in celebrating Easter and other matters. Shortly after his return he was struck by a pestilence which then attacked the community, but he recovered, and became prior in place of St. Boisil, who died of the disease in 664. In this year the Synod of Whitby decided in favour of the Roman Usage, and St. Cuthbert, who accepted the decision, was sent by St. Eata to be prior at Lindisfarne, in order that he might introduce the Roman customs into that house. This was a difficult matter which needed all his gentle tact and patience to carry out successfully, but the fact that one so renowned for sanctity, who had himself been brought up in the Celtic tradition, was loyally conforming to the Roman use, did much to support the cause of St. Wilfrid. In this matter St. Cuthbert’s influence on his time was very marked.

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March 20 – St. Wulfram

March 19, 2026

St. Wulfram

Bishop of Sens, missionary in Frisi, born at Milly near Fontainebleau, probably during the reign of Clovis II (638-56); died 20 March, before 704, in which year a translation of his body took place (Duchesne, “Fastes épiscopaux de l’ancienne Gaule”, II, Paris, 1900, 413).

The Frisian king Radbod is ready to be baptized by St. Wulfram, but at the last moment refuses.

The Frisian king Radbod is ready to be baptized by St. Wulfram, but at the last moment refuses.

His father Fulbert stood high in the esteem of Dagobert I and Clovis II. Wulfram received a good education, and was ordained priest. He intended to spend a secluded life but was called to the Court of Theodoric III of Neustria and from there was elevated to the episcopacy of Sens, 684 (690, 692).

He was present at an assembly of bishops in 693 at Valenciennes. Two years later he resigned and retired to the Abbey of Fontanelle. During the second journey of St. Boniface to Rome Wulfram is said to have preached in Frisia. He tried to convert Radbod, but not succeeding he returned to Fontanelle. Some authorities record another and longer stay in Frisia, but, as neither Bede nor Alcuin mention his missionary labour there, it is barely possible.

The relics of the saint were brought to Notre Dame at Abbeville in 1058. His feast is celebrated 20 March.

Abbey of St. Wandrille Photo by Urban

Fontenelle Abbey Photo by Urban

Acta SS., III March, 143; MABILLON, Acta SS. O. S. B., III, i, 340; BENNETT in Dict. Christ. Biog., s. v. Wulframnus, St.; DELETOILLE, Eloge de St. Wulfran (Paris, 1808); GLAISTER, Life and times of St. Wulfram, bishop and missionary (London, 1878); LA VIEILLE, ed. SAUVAGE, Abrege de la vie et miracles de St. Wulfran (Rouen, 1876); LEFRANC, L’authenticite des religues de St. Wulfran. . . reponse a. . .Sauvage (Paris, 1890).

FRANCIS MERSHMAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 20 – Saint Eithene

March 19, 2026

Saint Eithene

Styled “daughter of Baite”, with her sister Sodelbia, are commemorated in the Irish calendars under March 20. They were daughters of Aidh, son of Caibre, King of Leinster, who flourished about the middle of the sixth century. The designation “daughters of Baite” usually coupled with their names would seem not to refer to any title of their father, but might be more correctly interpreted as the “children of Divine or ardent love”. This interpretation is further strengthened by an account of a vision, accorded the two virgins, in which it is related that Christ in the form of an infant rested in their arms. In one of the legends contained in the “Acts” of St. Moling, Bishop of Ferns, it is told that Eithene and her sister were visited by this venerable saint. The abode of St. Eithene, called Tech-Ingen-Baithe, or the “House of the daughters of Baite” lay near Swords, in the present Barony of Nethercross, County Dublin. This saint is also venerated at Killnais, the former name of a townland in the same locality.

J. B. CULLEN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 20 – Homeless Noble Poet

March 19, 2026

Blessed Baptista Mantuanus

(Or SPAGNOLI). Carmelite and Renaissance poet, born at Mantua, 17 April, 1447, where he also died, 22 March, 1516.

Bl. BaptistaThe eldest son of Peter Spagnoli, a Spanish nobleman at the court of Mantua, Baptista studied grammar under Gregorio Tifernate, and philosophy at Pavia under Polo Bagelardi. The bad example of his schoolfellows led him into irregularities. He fell into the hands of usurers and, returning home, was turned out of his father’s house owing to some calumny. He went to Venice and later on to Ferrara where he carried out his resolution of entering the Carmelite convent which belonged to the then flourishing Reform of Mantua. In a letter addressed to his father (1 April, 1464), and in his first publication, “De Vitâ beatâ”, he gave an account of his previous life and of the motives which led him to the cloister.

Baptista pursued his studies at Ferrara and Bologna where he was ordained priest, received his degrees, and delivered lectures in philosophy and divinity. The Duke of Mantua entrusted him with the education of his children, and the connection with the ducal family resulted in a number of poetical works, the “Trophaeum Gonzagae” and the “Fortuna Gonzagae”, on the various misfortunes of the young duke; “Contra amorem” containing good advice to Sigismondo Gonzaga, and other poems celebrating the latter’s elevation to dignities, even to the Roman purple. Six times (each for two years with four years interval) Baptista was nominated vicar general of his congregation, and, in 1513, general of the whole order through the exertions of his former disciples, the duke and the cardinal. The chapter, however, resenting the intervention, restricted his powers. He held the office until his death, but, broken in health and energy, he exercised but little influence beyond consolidating the congregation of Albi, a French imitation of the Mantuan Reform. Baptista Mantuanus was beatified in 1890, his feast being assigned to 23 March.

His incorrupt body rests in the Cathedral of Mantua.

His incorrupt body rests in the Cathedral of Mantua.

Chiefly known as one of the most prolific Renaissance poets he excelled in almost every form of Latin verse; Virgil, however, was his favorite model. A monument represents the two poets of Mantua with Poetry hesitating to whom she is to offer the crown: “Cui dabo?” Baptista exercised too little self restraint, however, to deserve it. He was bitterly attacked concerning the good taste of his earlier works printed without his knowledge, and also, but groundlessly, with reference to the legitimacy of his birth. To the end he made too free use of pagan mythology.

 

BENEDICT ZIMMERMAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 21-22 – James Harrison

March 19, 2026

James Harrison

Priest and martyr; born in the Diocese of Lichfield, England, date unknown; died at York, 22 March, 1602.

Hanged, drawn and quartered. Many of the English, by order of Elizabeth I, were martyred this way.

Hanged, drawn and quartered. Many of the English, by order of Elizabeth I, were martyred this way.

He studied at the English College at Reims, and was ordained there in September, 1583. In the following year he went on the English mission, where he laboured unobtrusively. In the early part of 1602 he was ministering to Catholics in Yorkshire and was resident in the house of a gentleman of the name of Anthony Battie (or Bates). While there, he was arrested by the pursuivants, together with Battie was tried at York and sentenced to death for high treason. The only charge against Harrison was that he performed the functions of a priest, and that against Battie was merely that he had entertained Harrison. The judge left York without fixing the date of execution, but Harrison was unexpectedly informed on the evening of 21 March that he was to die the next morning. With Battie, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. The English Franciscans at Douai had his head as a relic for many years.

GILLOW, Bibl. Dict. Eny. Cath., s. v.; CHALLONER, Memoirs, I; Douay Diaries; Dodd-Tierney, Church History, II.

C. F. Wemyss Brown (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 22 – The soldier who fought with sword in one hand and rosary in the other

March 19, 2026

St. Nicholas of Flüe, patron of:

-Pontifical Swiss Guards 

-Switzerland

-difficult marriages

-large families

-judges

St. Nicholas of Flüe

Born 21 March, 1417, on the Flüeli, a fertile plateau near Sachseln, Canton Obwalden, Switzerland; died 21 March, 1487, as a recluse in a neighboring ravine, called Ranft. He was the oldest son of pious, well-to-do peasants and from his earliest youth was fond of prayer, practiced mortification, and conscientiously performed the labor of a peasant boy. At the age of 21 he entered the army and took part in the battle of Ragaz in 1446. Probably he fought in the battles near the Etzel in 1439, near Baar in the Canton of Zug in 1443, and assisted in the capture of Zürich in 1444. He took up arms again in the so-called Thurgau war against Archduke Sigismund of Austria in 1460. It was due to his influence that the Dominican Convent St. Katharinental, whither many Austrians had fled after the capture of Diessenhofen, was not destroyed by the Swiss confederates.

The Former Dominican Convent St. Katharinental in Switzerland. Photo by Adrian Michael.

The Former Dominican Convent St. Katharinental in Switzerland. Photo by Adrian Michael.

Heeding the advice of his parents he married, about the age of twenty-five, a pious girl from Sachseln, named Dorothy Wyssling, who bore him five sons and five daughters. His youngest son, Nicholas, born in 1467, became a priest and a doctor of theology. Though averse to worldly dignities, he was elected cantonal councillor and judge. The fact that in 1462 he was one of five arbiters appointed to settle a dispute between the parish of Stans and the monastery of Engelberg, shows the esteem in which he was held.

House of St. Nicholas of Flue

House of St. Nicholas of Flue

After living about twenty-five years in wedlock he listened to an inspiration of God and with the consent of his wife left his family on 16 October, 1467, to live as a hermit. At first he intended to go to a foreign country, but when he came into the neighborhood of Basle, a divine inspiration ordered him to take up his abode in the Ranft, a valley along the Melcha, about an hour’s walk from Sachseln. Here, known as “Brother Klaus”, he abode over twenty years, without taking any bodily food or drink, as was established through a careful investigation, made by the civil as well as the ecclesiastical authorities of his times. He wore neither shoes nor cap, and even in winter was clad merely in a hermit’s gown. In 1468 he saved the town of Sarnen from a conflagration by his prayers and the sign of the cross. God also favored him with numerous visions and the gift of prophecy. Distinguished persons from nearly every country of Europe came to him for counsel in matters of the utmost importance.

Saint Nicholas of Flüe

Saint Nicholas of Flüe

At first he lived in a narrow hut, which he himself had built with branches and leaves, and came daily to Mass either at Sachseln or at Kerns. Early in 1469 the civil authorities built a cell and a chapel for him, and on 29 April of the same year the chapel was dedicated by the vicar-general of Constance, Thomas, Bishop of Ascalon. In 1479 a chaplain was put in charge of the chapel, and thenceforth Nicholas always remained in the Ranft.

When in 1480 delegates of the Swiss confederates assembled at Stans to settle their differences, and civil war seemed inevitable, Henry Imgrund, the pastor of Stans, hastened to Nicholas, begging him to prevent the shedding of blood. The priest returned to the delegates with the hermit’s counsels and propositions, and civil war was averted. Nicholas was beatified by Pope Clement IX in 1669. Numerous pilgrims visit the chapel near the church of Sachseln, where his relics are preserved.

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MING, Der selige Nicolaus von Flüe, sein Leben und Wirken (4 vols., Lucerne, l861-78); VON AH, Des seligen Einsiedlers Nikolaus von Flue wunderbares Leben (Einsiedeln, l887); BAUMBERGER, Der sel. Nikolaus von Flüe (Kempten and Munich, 1906); Acta SS., III, March, 398-439 WETZEL, Der sel. Nikolaus von Flüe (Einsiedeln, l887; Ravensburg, l896) tr. into Italian, MONDADA (Turin, 1888); DE BELLOC, Le bienheureux Nicolas de Flüe et la Suisse d’autrefois (Paris, 1889); BLAKE, A hero of the Swiss Republic in The Catholic World, LXV (New York, 1897), 658-673.

(Catholic Encyclopedia)

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The Le Moyne: nobles of North America

March 19, 2026

Le Moyne The name of one of the most illustrious families of the New World, whose deeds adorn the pages of Canadian history. Charles Le Moyne Founder of the family, b. of Pierre Le Moyne and Judith Duchesne at Dieppe on 1 August, 1626; d. at Ville-Marie (Montreal), 1683. On reaching Canada in 1641, he […]

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March 22 – Sister of St. Patrick

March 19, 2026

St. Darerca, of Ireland, a sister of St. Patrick. Much obscurity attaches to her history, and it is not easy to disentangle the actual facts of her history from the network of legend which medieval writers interwove with her acts. However, her fame, apart from her relationship to Ireland’s national apostle, stands secure as not […]

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March 22 – St. Brendan and his voyage

March 19, 2026

St. Brendan St. Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert, known also as Brendan the Voyager, was born in Ciarraighe Luachra, near the present city of Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, in 484; he died at Enachduin, now Annaghdown, in 577. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert, by Bishop Erc. For five years he was educated under […]

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March 22 – Converted by Chivalry

March 19, 2026

Kenelm Henry Digby Miscellaneous writer, b. in Ireland, 1800; d. at Kensington, Middlesex, England, 22 March, 1880. He came of an ancient English stock branching, in Elizabeth’s reign, into Ireland, by the marriage of Sir Robert Digby, of Coleshill, Co. Warwick, with Lettice FitzGerald, only daughter and heir of Gerald, Lord Offaly, eldest son of […]

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March 22 – He stared Hitler in the face and didn’t blink

March 19, 2026

Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen “Lion of Münster” Born     March 16, 1878 Dinklage Castle, Dinklage, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, German Confederation Died     March 22, 1946 (aged 68) Münster, Province of Westphalia, Germany Beatified     9 October 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI Feast     22 March The Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen […]

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March 16 – Chancellor to Italy and Germany

March 16, 2026

St. Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne Born at Worms, c. 970; died at Cologne, 16 March, 1021. His father was Duke Hugo of Worms. After receiving his education at the cathedral school of Worms, he spent some time as guest at the monastery of Gorze, after which he became provost at the cathedral of Worms. In […]

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March 16 – Edmund O’Donnell

March 16, 2026

The first Jesuit executed by the English government; b. at Limerick in 1542, executed at Cork, 16 March, 1575. His family had held the highest civic offices in Limerick since the thirteenth century, and he was closely related to Father David Woulfe, Pope Pius IV’s legate in Ireland. He entered the Society of Jesus at […]

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March 16 – St. Jean de Brébeuf

March 16, 2026

Jean de Brébeuf Jesuit missionary, born at Condé-sur-Vire in Normandy, 25 March, 1593; died in Canada, near Georgian Bay, 16 March, 1649. His desire was to become a lay brother, but he finally entered the Society of Jesus as a scholastic, 8 November, 1617. According to Ragueneau it was 5 October. Though of unusual physical […]

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March 17 – Enemy of Bismarck

March 16, 2026

Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst Social reformer, b. at Heringhausen, Westphalia, 21 Oct., 1825; d. at Alst, 17 March, 1895. He received his early education at home from the domestic chaplain and then studied as a cadet at the Royal Saxon Military College at Dresden. After this he was a Prussian officer in an Uhlan regiment, […]

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March 17 – Joseph of Arimathea

March 16, 2026

Joseph of Arimathea All that is known for certain concerning him is derived from the canonical Gospels. He was born at Arimathea — hence his surname — “a city of Judea” (Luke, xxiii, 51), which is very likely identical with Ramatha, the birthplace of the Prophet Samuel, although several scholars prefer to identify it with […]

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March 17 – The Great and Noble Patrick

March 16, 2026

St. Patrick Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. He had for his parents Calphurnius and Conchessa. The former belonged to a Roman family of high rank and held the office of decurio in Gaul or Britain. Conchessa was a […]

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March 17 – Peacemaker pioneer

March 16, 2026

Armand de La Richardie Born at Perigueux, 7 June, 1686; died at Quebec, 17 March, 1758. He entered the Society of Jesus at Bordeaux, 4 Oct., 1703, and in 1725 was sent to the Canada mission. He spent the two following years helping Father Pierre Daniel Richer at Lorette, and studying the Huron language. In […]

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March 17 – St. Gertrude of Nivelles

March 16, 2026

St. Gertrude of Nivelles Virgin, and Abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Nivelles; born in 626; died 17 March, 659. She was a daughter of Pepin I of Landen, and a younger sister of St. Begga, Abbess of Andenne. One day, when she was about ten years of old, her father invited King Dagobert and […]

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March 18 – Saint Edward the Martyr

March 16, 2026

Saint Edward the Martyr King of England, son to Edgar the Peaceful, and uncle to St. Edward the Confessor; born about 962; died March 18, 979. His accession to the throne on his father’s death, in 975, was opposed by a party headed by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, who was bent on securing the crown […]

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March 12 – The Mistaken Chronicler

March 12, 2026

St. Theophanes Chronicler, born at Constantinople, about 758; died in Samothracia, probably 12 March, 817, on which day he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. He was the son of Isaac, imperial governor of the islands of the White Sea, and of Theodora, of whose family nothing is known. After the early death of his […]

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March 12 – St. Gorgonius

March 12, 2026

Martyr, suffered in 304 at Nicomedia during the persecution of Diocletian. Gorgonius held a high position in the household of the emperor, and had often been entrusted with matters of the greatest importance. At the breaking out of the persecution he was consequently among the first to be charged, and, remaining constant in the profession […]

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March 13 – Though not a learned man, he established a school known today as Oxford

March 12, 2026

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa Friar Minor and founder of the English Franciscan Province, born at Pisa c. 1195, of the noble family of the Agnelli; died at Oxford, 7 May, 1236. In early youth he was received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis himself, during the latter’s sojourn in Pisa, and soon became an […]

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March 13 – St. Nicephorus

March 12, 2026

St. Nicephorus Patriarch of Constantinople, 806-815, b. about 758; d. 2 June, 829. This champion of the orthodox view in the second contest over the veneration of images belonged to a noted family of Constantinople. He was the son of the imperial secretary Theodore and his pious wife Eudoxia. Eudoxia was a strict adherent of […]

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March 14 – Patroness of Those Falsely Accused

March 12, 2026

St. Matilda, Queen of Saxony Queen of Germany, wife of King Henry I (The Fowler), born at the Villa of Engern in Westphalia, about 895; died at Quedlinburg, 14 March, 968. She was brought up at the monastery of Erfurt. Henry, whose marriage to a young widow, named Hathburg, had been declared invalid, asked for […]

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March 14 – Martyr of the Albigenses

March 12, 2026

Blessed Pierre de Castelnau Born in the Diocese of Montpellier, Languedoc, now Department of Hérault, France; died 15 Jan., 1208. He embraced the ecclesiastical state, and was appointed Archdeacon of Maguelonne (now Montpellier). Pope Innocent III sent him (1199) with two Cistercians as his legate into the middle of France, for the conversion of the […]

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García Moreno Refuses to Be Silent and Is Exiled for Denouncing His Country’s Rape

March 12, 2026

From that moment Ecuador was treated as a conquered country. Thefts, pillage, sacrilege, murders, became the order of the day. The “Tauras,” a guard of mamelukes whom Urbina called his “canons,” armed with daggers, went up and down the country, attacking inoffensive men, insulting women, and assassinating all who would not be robbed without a […]

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March 15 – Pope St. Zachary

March 12, 2026

Pope St. Zachary (ZACHARIAS.) Reigned 741-52. Year of birth unknown; died in March, 752. Zachary sprang from a Greek family living in Calabria; his father, according to the “Liber Pontificalis”, was called Polichronius. Most probably he was a deacon of the Roman Church and as such signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732. […]

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March 15 – Her nuns earned the name “Angels of the Battlefield”

March 12, 2026

St. Louise de Marillac Le Gras Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, born at Paris, 12 August, 1591, daughter of Louis de Marillac, Lord of Ferrieres, and Marguerite Le Camus; died there, 15 March, 1660. Her mother having died soon after the birth of Louise, the education of the latter […]

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March 9 – She Could Detect Diabolical Plots

March 9, 2026

St. Frances of Rome One of the greatest mystics of the fifteenth century; born at Rome, of a noble family, in 1384; died there, 9 March, 1440. Her youthful desire was to enter religion, but at her father’s wish she married, at the age of twelve, Lorenzo de’ Ponziani. Among her children we know of […]

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March 9 – The Nun who was expert in war

March 9, 2026

St. Catherine of Bologna Poor Clare and mystical writer, born at Bologna, 8 September, 1413; died there, 9 March, 1463. When she was ten years old, her father sent her to the court of the Marquis of Ferrara, Nicolò d’Este, as a companion to the Princess Margarita. Here Catherine pursued the study of literature and […]

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Euthanasia Brings End to Belgian Monarchy

March 9, 2026

by Marie Meaney There has been no coup, no abdication, no revolution. It is an event that has gone largely unnoticed. The media have hardly spoken about it. Yet it is a reality. The monarchy in Belgium is done with, over, kaput. The king of Belgium has turned himself out of his royal throne by […]

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Saint John Ogilvie: Hero For Our Times Part I

March 9, 2026

by Neil McKay   “In times of great crisis there are two types of men: those who are overwhelmed by the crisis and those who resist the trend of events and so change the course of history.”—Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira   “REFORM THE CHURCH!” “MARRIED PRIESTS NEEDED!” “70% OF CATHOLICS DENY REAL PRESENCE!” “SECRET […]

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March 10 – George Ashby

March 9, 2026

George Ashby Monk of the Cistercian Monastery of Jervaulx in Yorkshire, executed after the Pilgrimage of Grace, in the year 1537. His name is found in several English martyrologies, but there is the utmost uncertainty as to the right form of his name, and as to the place and mode of his death. After the […]

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March 11 – Constantine the Great

March 9, 2026

His coins give his name as M., or more frequently as C., Flavius Valerius Constantinus. He was born at Naissus, now Nisch in Servia [Nis, Serbia —Ed.], the son of a Roman officer, Constantius, who later became Roman Emperor, and St. Helena, a woman of humble extraction but remarkable character and unusual ability. The date […]

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March 11 – Saint Sophronius

March 9, 2026

Saint Sophronius Patriarch of Jerusalem and Greek ecclesiastical writer, b. about 560 at Damascus of noble parentage; d. probably March 11, 638, at Jerusalem. In company with John Moschus he traveled extensively through the East and also went to Rome. He probably became a monk in Egypt about 580 and later removed to Palestine. From […]

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March 5 – St. John Joseph of the Cross

March 5, 2026

St. John Joseph of the Cross Born on the Island of Ischia, Southern Italy, 1654; died 5 March, 1739. From his earliest years he was given to prayer and virtue. So great was his love of poverty that he would always wear the dress of the poor, though he was of noble birth. At the […]

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A Japanese Noble Family Is Martyred for the Faith

March 5, 2026

A generous servant of God, named Damian, had sacrificed his life for the faith in 1622. All his property having been confiscated, the house where his mother Isabella, his wife Beatrice, and his children dwelt was assigned to them as their prison. Guards were constantly watching over them, and did not cease to importune them […]

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At Judgment, the joking knight’s rendering of accounts will be more severe than a prostitute’s

March 5, 2026

By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira See for example the story of the Orders of Chivalry. From one standpoint it was a synthesis of the history of the Middle Ages. Imagine a heroic knight eventually wounded in the Crusades, who returns to the monastery in a handicapped condition and is thus prevented from repeating his deeds. […]

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March 6 – Bishop Prime Minister

March 5, 2026

St. Chrodegang Bishop of Metz, born at the beginning of the eighth century at Hasbania, in what is now Belgian Limburg, of a noble Frankish family; died at Metz, 6 March, 766. He was educated at the court of Charles Martel, became his private secretary, then chancellor, and in 737 prime minister. On 1 March, […]

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March 6 – Of Kings and Princesses

March 5, 2026

Saints Kyneburge, Kyneswide, and Tibba The two first were daughters of Penda, the cruel pagan king of Mercia, and sisters to three successive Christian Kings, Peada, Wulfere, and Ethelred, and to the pious prince Merowald. Kyneburge, as Bede informs us, (1) was married to Alcfrid, eldest son of Oswi, and in his father’s life-time king […]

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March 7 – Pope Innocent XIII

March 5, 2026

Pope Innocent XIII (Michelangelo Dei Conti) Born at Rome, 13 May, 1655; died at the same place, 7 March, 1724. He was the son of Carlo II, Duke of Poli. After studying at the Roman College he was introduced into the Curia by Alexander VIII, who in 1690 commissioned him to bear the blessed hat […]

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March 7 – Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart

March 5, 2026

Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart Born July 15, 1747. Died March 7, 1770 in Florence. She was born Anna Maria Redi to a large noble family in Arezzo, Italy. She was the daughter of Count Ignatius Redi and Camilla Billeti. After attending the boarding school of the Benedictine nuns of St. Apollonia’s in […]

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March 8 – They buried him with all the honors of a prince

March 5, 2026

St. John of God Born at Montemor o Novo, Portugal, 8 March, 1495, of devout Christian parents; died at Granada, 8 March, 1550. The wonders attending the saints birth heralded a life many-sided in its interests, but dominated throughout by implicit fidelity to the grace of God. A Spanish priest whom he followed to Oropeza, […]

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March 8 – Classmate of Innocent III

March 5, 2026

Bl. Vincent Kadlubek (KADLUBO, KADLUBKO). Bishop of Cracow, chronicler, born at Karnow, Duchy of Sandomir, Poland, 1160; died at Jedrzejow, 8 March, 1223. The son of a rich family in Poland, he made such progress in his studies that in 1189 he could sign his name as Magister Vincentius (Zeissberg, in “Archiv fur osterreichische Geschichte”, […]

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March 2 – Duc de Saint-Simon

March 2, 2026

Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon Born 16 January, 1675; died in Paris, 2 March, 1755. Having quitted the military service in 1702, he lived thereafter at the Court, becoming the friend of the Ducs de Chevreuse and de Beauvilliers, who, with Fenelon, were interested in the education of the Duke of Burgundy, grandson of […]

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