Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites

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 994 he was ordained priest; in the same year King Otto III appointed him chancellor for Italy and four years later also for Germany, a position which he held until the death of Otto III on 23 January, 1002. As chancellor he was the most influential adviser of Otto III, whom he accompanied to Rome in 906 and again in 997. He was still in Italy when, in 999, he was elected Archbishop of Cologne. At Benevento he received ecclesiastical investiture and the pallium from Pope Sylvester II on 9 July, 999, and on the following Christmas Day he was consecrated at Cologne.

In 1002 he was present at the death-bed of the youthful emperor at Paterno. While returning to Germany with the emperor’s remains and the imperial insignia, he was held captive for some time by the future King Henry II, whose candidacy he first opposed. As soon as Henry II was elected king, on 7 June, 1002, Heribert acknowledged him as such, accompanied him to Rome in 1004, mediated between him and the House of Luxemburg, and served him faithfully in many other ways; but he never won his entire confidence until the year 1021, when the king saw his mistake and humbly begged pardon on the archbishop.

The tomb of St. Heribert in Köln-Deutz.

Heribert founded and richly endowed the Benedictine monastery and church of Deutz, where he lies buried. He was already honored as a saint during his lifetime. Between 1073 and 1075 he was canonized by Pope Gregory VII. His feast is celebrated on 16 March.

MICHAEL OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 16 – Edmund O’Donnell

March 16, 2026

Hung, Drawn and Quartered. This barbaric form of execution, popular during the reign of Elizabeth I, where they are hanged till they are almost dead, cut down, and quartered alive; after that, their members and bowels are cut from their bodies, and thrown into a fire.

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 Rome, 11 September, 1561, but, developing symptoms of Phthisis, was removed to Flanders. In 1564 he returned to Limerick and taught, with a secular priest and a layman, in the school which Woulfe established with connivance of the civic authorities. The school was dispersed in October, 1565, by soldiers sent by Sir Thomas Cusack, and, for a short time, they taught at Kilmallock. In a few months they returned to Limerick, and were not molested again until 1568, when Brady, Protestant Bishop of Meath, visited the city as royal commissioner and made diligent search for them. O’Donnell was ordered to quit the country under pain of death and withdrew to Lisbon, where he was again a student in 1572. Venturing back to Limerick in 1574 he was apprehended soon after landing, and thrown into prison. Rejecting all inducements to embrace Protestantism he was removed to Cork, tried for returning after banishment, denying the royal supremacy, and carrying letters for James Fitzmaurice. He was found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

He has been called McDonnell, MacDonald, Donnelly, and MacDonough and Donagh. Father Edmund Hogan, S.J., Historiographer of the Irish province, found him recorded as Edmundus Daniell in the Society’s archives, and so the name usually appears in Limerick records, though as Dannel and O’Dannel. Copinger and Bruodin give the name as O’Donell (O’Donellus). The archives and a contemporary letter from Fitzmaurice confirm Bruodin’s positive assertion that he suffered in 1575, not in 1580 as generally stated.

Murphy, Our Martyrs (Dublin, 1896); Hogan, Distinguished Irishmen of the Sixteenth Century (London, 1895); Rothe, Analecta Nova et Mira, ed. Moran (Dublin, 1884); Hogan, Ibernia Ignatiana (Dublin, 1880).

Charles McNeill (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 16 – St. Jean de Brébeuf

March 16, 2026

Jean de Brébeuf

St. 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 strength, his health gave way completely when he was twenty-eight, which interfered with his studies and permitted only what was strictly necessary, so that he never acquired any extensive theological knowledge. On 19 June, 1625, he arrived in Quebec, with the Recollect, Joseph de la Roche d’ Aillon, and in spite of the threat which the Calvinist captain of the ship made to carry him back to France, he remained in the colony. He overcame the dislike of the colonists for Jesuits and secured a site for a residence on the St. Charles, the exact location of a former landing of Jacques Cartier. He immediately took up his abode in the Indian wigwams, and has left us an account of his five months’ experience there in the dead of winter. In the spring he set out with the Indians on a journey to Lake Huron in a canoe, during the course of which his life was in constant danger. With him was Father de Noüe, and they established their first mission near Georgian Bay, at Ihonatiria, but after a short time his companion was recalled, and he was left alone.

Brébeuf met with no success. He was summoned to Quebec because of the danger of extinction to which the entire colony was then exposed, and arrived there after an absence of two years, 17 July, 1628. On 19 July, 1629, Champlain surrendered to the English, and the missionaries returned to France. Four years afterwards the colony was restored to France, and on 23 March, 1633, Brébeuf again set out for Canada. While in France he had pronounced his solemn vows as spiritual coadjutor. As soon as he arrived, viz., May, 1633, he attempted to return to Lake Huron. The Indians refused to take him, but during the following year he succeeded in reaching his old mission along with Father Daniel. It meant a journey of thirty days and constant danger of death. The next sixteen years of uninterrupted labours among these savages were a continual series of privations and sufferings which he used to say were only roses in comparison with what the end was to be. The details may be found in the “Jesuit Relations”.

In 1640 he set out with Father Chaumonot to evangelize the Neutres, a tribe that lived north of Lake Erie, but after a winter of incredible hardship the missionaries returned unsuccessful. In l642 he was sent down to Quebec, where he was given the care of the Indians in the Reservation at Sillery. About the time the war was at its height between the Hurons and the Iroquois, Jogues and Bressani had been captured in an effort to reach the Huron country, and Brébeuf was appointed to make a third attempt. He succeeded. With him on this journey were Chabanel and Garreau, both of whom were afterwards murdered. They reached St. Mary’s on the Wye, which was the central station of the Huron Mission. By 1647 the Iroquois had made peace with the French, but kept up their war with the Hurons, and in 1648 fresh disasters befell the work of the missionaries – their establishments were burned and the missionaries slaughtered. On 16 March, 1649, the enemy attacked St. Louis and seized Brébeuf and Lallemant, who could have escaped but rejected the offer made to them and remained with their flock. The two priests were dragged to St. Ignace, which the Iroquois had already captured.

The Martyrdom of Fathers Brébeuf and Lalemant, painted by Joseph Légaré.

On entering the village, they were met with a shower of stones, cruelly beaten with clubs, and then tied to posts to be burned to death. Brébeuf is said to have kissed the stake to which he was bound. The fire was lighted under them, and their bodies slashed with knives. Brébeuf had scalding water poured on his head in mockery of baptism, a collar of red-hot tomahawk-heads placed around his neck, a red-hot iron thrust down his throat, and when he expired his heart was cut out and eaten. Through all the torture he never uttered a groan. The Iroquois withdrew when they had finished their work. The remains of the victims were gathered up subsequently, and the head of Brébeuf is still kept as a relic at the Hôtel-Dieu, Quebec.

His memory is cherished in Canada more than that of all the other early missionaries. Although their names appear with his in letters of gold on the grand staircase of the public buildings, there is a vacant niche on the façade, with his name under it, awaiting his statue. His heroic virtues, manifested in such a remarkable degree at every stage of his missionary career, his almost incomprehensible endurance of privations and suffering, and the conviction that the reason of his death was not his association with the Hurons, but hatred of Christianity, has set on foot a movement for his canonization as a saint and martyr. An ecclesiastical court sat in 1904 for an entire year to examine his life and virtues and the cause of his death, and the result of the inquiry was forwarded to Rome.

T.J. CAMPELL (Catholic Encyclopedia)

[Note: He was canonized by Pope Pius XI on June 29, 1930]

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March 17 – Enemy of Bismarck

March 16, 2026

Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst

Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst. Photo by Killaars.

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, and in 1849 took part in the campaign in Baden. In 1852 he left the army, married the Countess Droste zu Vischering, whose maiden name was Baroness von Imbsen, and obtained possession of the manorial estate of Alst in the circle of Burgsteinfurt. In 1862 he published his celebrated pamphlet “Die Lage des Bauernstandes in Westfalen und was ihm not thut” (The condition of the peasant class in Westphalia and what it needs). In this pamphlet he proposed the founding of an independent peasant union. In the same year the first two societies were formed, and, following the example of these, peasant unions were formed in nearly all the districts of Westphalia, so that by the end of the sixties there were nearly 10,000 members. Schorlemer worked both by speech and in writing for the development of this great undertaking. In 1863 he was made a member of the Prussian agricultural board; in 1865 he was the temporary president of the central agricultural union, and in 1867 he was made the manager of the same. As such he founded the agricultural schools at Ludinghausen and Herford. In 1870 he was also the manager of the provincial agricultural union of Westphalia.

His parliamentary career began in 1870. In the years 1870-89 Schorlemer was a member of the lower house of the Prussian Diet; in 1870-89 and 1890 a member of the imperial Reichstag. He belonged to the Centre party, and during the Kulturkampf was an indefatigable champion of the Church. He was considered one of the best speakers and debaters in each of these parliaments; possessing both acuteness and racy humor, “ruthless but honorable”, as Bismarck said; he fought unweariedly the opponents of the Church in the Kulturkampf. In 1893 he came into conflict with the Centre because he demanded a better presentation of agricultural interests.

His permanent reputation, however, rests upon his organization of the peasants. In 1871 the various peasant unions were dissolved, and on 30 Nov., 1871 one peasant union, the Westphalian Peasant Union, as it exists at present, was founded. Its purpose is the moral, intellectual, and economic improvement of the peasant class, on a foundation of Christian principles. In 1890 the union had 20,500 members, in 1895 25,000, and now has over 30,000. The activities of the association extend in all directions; among its branches are: loan and savings banks, testing stations for agricultural machinery and implements, department of building, department of forestry, insurance against liability, association for the purchase and sale of articles necessary in agriculture, boards of arbitration and amicable adjustment of difficulties, legal bureau, etc. The association is not only a blessing to Westphalia, but also for the whole of Germany, for it has been the model for the formation of a number of other peasant associations.

Herringhausen Castle is a moated castle in the district of the same name in the city of Lippstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia. It still exists today.

Many honors were conferred upon the founder of this organization. Among other marks of distinction he was made in 1884 a member of the council of state, and in 1891 a member for life of the upper house of the Prussian Diet. The Emperor William II had a very high regard for him. The pope appointed him privy chamberlain and commander of the orders of Gregory and Sylvester. In 1902 the peasant union of Westphalia erected a monument to him in front of the parliament building of the provincial diet at Munster.

Schorlemer, as even non-Catholic newspapers admitted, was a nobleman in the true sense of the word, a harmonious and thorough man; one who successfully combined an ideal conception of life with practical aims; his motto was “Love and justice”.

SCHORLEMER-ALST Reden gehalten 1872-79 (Osnabruck, 1880); BUER Dr. Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst (Munster 1902).

Klemens Löffler (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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 the town of Ramleh. He was a wealthy Israelite (Matt., xxvii, 57), “a good and a just man” (Luke, xxiii, 50), “who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God” (Mark, xv, 43). He is also called by St. Mark and by St. Luke a bouleutes, literally, “a senator”, whereby is meant a member of the Sanhedrin or supreme council of the Jews. He was a disciple of Jesus, probably ever since Christ’s first preaching in Judea (John, ii, 23), but he did not declare himself as such “for fear of the Jews” (John, xix, 38). On account of this secret allegiance to Jesus, he did not consent to His condemnation by the Sanhedrin (Luke, xxiii, 51), and was most likely absent from the meeting which sentenced Jesus to death (cf. Mark, xiv, 64).

Glastonbury Thorn Tree on the left. The ‘Glastonbury Thorn’, (also referred to as the ‘Holy Thorn’) is a type of Hawthorn found in England and believed to originate from Palestine/Middle East. The tree is said to have been brought by Joseph Arimathea on his visit to England. Wherever Joseph travelled preaching through the UK, he carried a staff which he had acquired in Palestine. Legend tells that he visited the Isle of Avalon, (Glastonbury) Somerset, which at one time was surrounded by water. Tired from travelling he sought rest and sat down upon ‘Weary-all Hill’ now called ‘Worral Hill’. Joseph stuck the staff into the ground, it took root and a tree grew. Within the area there are now trees that are said to have been grown from the original cuttings one in the grounds of ‘Glastonbury Abbey’ and another in the churchyard of St. John’s Church. The tree blossoms at Christmas and Easter.
Photo by Ken Grainger.

The Crucifixion of the Master quickened Joseph’s faith and love, and suggested to him that he should provide for Christ’s burial before the Sabbath began. Unmindful therefore of all personal danger, a danger which was indeed considerable under the circumstances, he boldly requested from Pilate the Body of Jesus, and was successful in his request (Mark, xv, 43-45). Once in possession of this sacred treasure, he — together with Nicodemus, whom his courage had likewise emboldened, and who brought abundant spices — wrapped up Christ’s Body in fine linen and grave bands, laid it in his own tomb, new and yet unused, and hewn out of a rock in a neighbouring garden, and withdrew after rolling a great stone to the opening of the sepulchre (Matt., xxvii, 59, 60; Mark, xv, 46; Luke, xxiii, 53; John, xix, 38-42). Thus was fulfilled Isaiah’s prediction that the grave of the Messias would be with a rich man (Is., liii, 9). The Greek Church celebrates the feast of Joseph of Arimathea on 31 July, and the Roman Church on 17 March. The additional details which are found concerning him in the apocryphal “Acta Pilati”, are unworthy of credence. Likewise fabulous is the legend which tells of his coming to Gaul A.D. 63, and thence to Great Britain, where he is supposed to have founded the earliest Christian oratory at Glastonbury. Finally, the story of the translation of the body of Joseph of Arimathea from Jerusalem to Moyenmonstre (Diocese of Toul) originated late and is unreliable.

FRANCIS E. GIGOT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 17 – The Great and Noble Patrick

March 16, 2026

St. Patrick

Statue of Saint Patrick on top of the octagon in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.

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 near relative of the great patron of Gaul, St. Martin of Tours. Kilpatrick still retains many memorials of Saint Patrick, and frequent pilgrimages continued far into the Middle Ages to perpetuate there the fame of his sanctity and miracles.

In his sixteenth year, Patrick was carried off into captivity by Irish marauders and was sold as a slave to a chieftan named Milchu in Dalriada, a territory of the present county of Antrim in Ireland, where for six years he tended his master’s flocks in the valley of the Braid and on the slopes of Slemish, near the modern town of Ballymena. He relates in his “Confessio” that during his captivity while tending the flocks he prayed many times in the day: “the love of God”, he added,

and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me, such as I see now, because the spirit was then fervent within me.

In the ways of a benign Providence the six years of Patrick’s captivity became a remote preparation for his future apostolate. He acquired a perfect knowledge of the Celtic tongue in which he would one day announce the glad tidings of Redemption, and, as his master Milchu was a druidical high priest, he became familiar with all the details of Druidism from whose bondage he was destined to liberate the Irish race.

Admonished by an angel he after six years fled from his cruel master and bent his steps towards the west. He relates in his “Confessio” that he had to travel about 200 miles; and his journey was probably towards Killala Bay and onwards thence to Westport. He found a ship ready to set sail and after some rebuffs was allowed on board. In a few days he was among his friends once more in Britain, but now his heart was set on devoting himself to the service of God in the sacred ministry. We meet with him at St. Martin’s monastery at Tours, and again at the island sanctuary of Lérins which was just then acquiring widespread renown for learning and piety; and wherever lessons of heroic perfection in the exercise of Christian life could be acquired, thither the fervent Patrick was sure to bend his steps. No sooner had St. Germain entered on his great mission at Auxerre than Patrick put himself under his guidance, and it was at that great bishop’s hands that Ireland’s future apostle was a few years later promoted to the priesthood. It is the tradition in the territory of the Morini that Patrick under St. Germain’s guidance for some years was engaged in missionary work among them. When Germain commissioned by the Holy See proceeded to Britain to combat the erroneous teachings of Pelagius, he chose Patrick to be one of his missionary companions and thus it was his privilege to be associated with the representative of Rome in the triumphs that ensued over heresy and Paganism, and in the many remarkable events of the expedition, such as the miraculous calming of the tempest at sea, the visit to the relics at St. Alban’s shrine, and the Alleluia victory. Amid all these scenes, however, Patrick’s thoughts turned towards Ireland, and from time to time he was favoured with visions of the children from Focluth, by the Western sea, who cried to him: “O holy youth, come back to Erin, and walk once more amongst us.”

Stained glass window in the north transept of Carlow Cathedral of the Assumption, showing St Patrick Preaching to the Kings.

Pope St. Celestine I, who rendered immortal service to the Church by the overthrow of the Pelagian and Nestorian heresies, and by the imperishable wreath of honour decreed to the Blessed Virgin in the General Council of Ephesus, crowned his pontificate by an act of the most far-reaching consequences for the spread of Christianity and civilization, when he entrusted St. Patrick with the mission of gathering the Irish race into the one fold of Christ. Palladius (q.v.) had already received that commission, but terrified by the fierce opposition of a Wicklow chieftain had abandoned the sacred enterprise. It was St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, who commended Patrick to the pope. The writer of St. Germain’s Life in the ninth century, Heric of Auxerre, thus attests this important fact: “Since the glory of the father shines in the training of the children, of the many sons in Christ whom St. Germain is believed to have had as disciples in religion, let it suffice to make mention here, very briefly, of one most famous, Patrick, the special Apostle of the Irish nation, as the record of his work proves. Subject to that most holy discipleship for 18 years, he drank in no little knowledge in Holy Scripture from the stream of so great a well-spring. Germain sent him, accompanied by Segetius, his priest, to Celestine, Pope of Rome, approved of by whose judgement, supported by whose authority, and strengthened by whose blessing, he went on his way to Ireland.” It was only shortly before his death that Celestine gave this mission to Ireland’s apostle and on that occasion bestowed on him many relics and other spiritual gifts, and gave him the name “Patercius” or “Patritius”, not as an honorary title, but as a foreshadowing of the fruitfulness and merit of his apostolate whereby he became pater civium (the father of his people). Patrick on his return journey from Rome received at Ivrea the tidings of the death of Palladius, and turning aside to the neighboring city of Turin received episcopal consecration at the hands of its great bishop, St. Maximus, and thence hastened on to Auxerre to make under the guidance of St. Germain due preparations for the Irish mission.
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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 1728 he went to Detroit to re-establish the long-interrupted mission to the dispersed Petun-Hurons in the West. Not a solitary professing Christian did he find, but among the aged not a few had been baptized. The new Indian church, though “seventy cubits long” (105ft?) was scarcely spacious enough to contain the fervent congregation of practising Hurons. During the night, 24-25 March, 1746, the father was stricken with paralysis, and on 29 July he was placed in an open canoe and thus conveyed to Quebec.

Photo by Alan L. Brown.

In 1747 the Hurons insisted on his returning to restore tranquillity to their nation. The father had almost completely recovered from his palsy, and willingly consented. He set out from Montreal on 10 Sept., and reached Detroit on 20 Oct. From this date until 1751, leaving the loyal Hurons in the keeping of Father Potier at the Detroit village, he directed all his energies to reclaiming Nicolas Orontondi’s band of insurgent Hurons. These had already in 1740, owing to a bloody feud with the Detroit Ottawas and to the reluctance , if not refusal, of Governor Beauharnais to let the Hurons remove to Montreal, sullenly left Detroit and settled at “Little Lake” (now Rondeau Harbour) near Sandusky. There they had been won over to the English cause, had openly revolted in 1747, and had murdered a party of Frenchmen. Early in the spring of 1748 Orontondi (not Orontony) set fire to the fort and cabins at Sandusky, and withdrew to the Riviere Blanche, not far from the junction of the Ohio and Wabash Rivers. Until his death, which occurred some time after Sepember, 1749, Orontondi continued to intrigue with the English emissaries, the Iroquois, and the disaffected Miamis. When there was no longer doubt of the renegade leader’s demise, de La Richardie resolved on a final attempt at conciliation. He had already at intervals spent months at a time among the fugitives, and now on Sept., 1750, at the peril of his life he started, with only three canoe men for the country of the ‘Nicolites” as they were then termed. The greater number remained obdurate. It is the descendants of the latter who in July, 1843, removed from their lands at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, to beyond the Mississippi, and now occupy the Wyandot reserve in the extreme north-eastern part of Oklahoma. The father’s failing strength obliged his superiors to recall him to Quebec in 1751, and on 30 June he bade a final farewell to the Detroit mission. From the autumn of 1751 until his death he filled various offices in Quebec College. His Huron name was Ondechaouasti.

Arthur Edward Jones (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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.

St. Gertrude of Nivelles

One day, when she was about ten years of old, her father invited King Dagobert and some noblemen to a banquet. When on this occasion she was asked to marry the son of the Duke of Austrasia she indignantly replied that she would marry neither him nor any other man, but that Christ alone would be her bridegroom.

After the death of her father in 639, her mother Itta, following the advice of St. Amandus, Bishop of Maestricht, erected a double monastery, one for men, the other for women, at Nivelles. She appointed her daughter Gertrude as its first abbess, while she herself lived there as a nun, assisting the young abbess by her advice. Among the numerous pilgrims that visited the monastery of Nivelles, there were the two brothers St. Follian and St. Ultan, both of whom were Irish monks and were on their way from Rome to Peronne, where their brother St. Furseus, lay buried. Gertrude and her mother gave them a tract of land called Fosse on which they built a monastery. Ultan was made superior of the new house, while Follian remained at Nivelles, instructing the monks and nuns in Holy Scripture. After the death of Itta in 652, Gertrude entrusted the interior management of her monastery to a few pious nuns, and appointed some capable monks to attend to the outer affairs, in order that she might gain more time for the study of Holy Scripture, which she almost knew by heart. The large property left by her mother she used for building churches, monasteries and hospices. At the age of thirty-two she became so weak through her continuous abstinence from food and sleep that she found it necessary to resign her office. After taking the advice of her monks and nuns, she appointed her niece, Wulfetrude, as her successor, in December, 658.

A day before her death she sent one of the monks to St. Ultan at Fosse to ask whether God had made known to him the hour of her death. The saint answered that she would die the following day during holy Mass. The prophecy was verified. She was venerated as a saint immediately after her death, and a church was erected in her honour by Agnes, the third Abbess of Nivelles.

Statue of Saint Gertrude on Gertraudenbrücke in Berlin-Mitte by Rudolf Siemering (1896). St Gertrude’s Bridge spans the Friedrichsgracht connecting the Spittelmarkt to Fisher Island. At its centre is this bronze statue of the Saint feeding a young boy a mug of beer or wine. Around the pedestal is a ring of rats and field mice.

The towns of Geertruidenberg, Breda, and Bergen-op-Zoom in North Brabant honour her as patron. She is also patron of travellers, and is invoked against fever, rats, and mice, paticularly field-mice. There is a legend that one day she sent some of her subjects to a distant country, promising that no misfortune would befall them on the journey. When they were on the ocean, a large sea-monster threatened to capsize their ship, but disappeared upon the invocation of St. Gertrude. In memory of this occurence travellers during the Middle ages drank the so-called “Sinte Geerts Minne” or “Gertrudenminte” before setting out on their journey. St. Gertrude is generally represented as an abbess, with rats and mice at her feet or running up her cloak or pastoral staff.

MICHAEL OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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.

The murder of St. Edward the Martyr, by Edwards, published 1776.

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 for her own son Ethelred, then aged seven, in which she eventually was successful. Edward’s claim, however, was supported by St. Dunstan and the clergy and by most of the nobles; and having been acknowledged by the Witan, he was crowned by St. Dunstan.

Though only thirteen, the young king had already given promise of high sanctity, and during his brief reign of three years and a half won the affection of his people by his many virtues. His stepmother, who still cherished her treacherous designs, contrived at last to bring about his death. Whilst hunting in Dorsetshire he happened (March 18, 979) to call at Corfe Castle where she lived. There, whilst drinking on horseback a glass of mead offered him at the castle gate, he was stabbed by an assassin in the bowels. He rode away, but soon fell from his horse, and being dragged by the stirrup was flung into a deep morass, where his body was revealed by a pillar of light. He was buried first at Wareham, whence three years later, his body, having been found entire, was translated to Shaftesbury Abbey by St. Dunstan and Earl Alfere of Mercia, who in Edgar’s lifetime had been one of his chief opponents.

Corfe Castle where St. Edward was murdered. Photo by David Bunting

Many miracles are said to have been obtained through his intercession. Elfrida, struck with repentance for her crimes, built the two monasteries of Wherwell and Ambresbury, in the first of which she ended her days in penance. The violence of St. Edward’s end, joined to the fact that the party opposed to him had been that of the irreligious, whilst he himself had ever acted as a defender of the Church, obtained for him the title of Martyr, which is given to him in all the old English calendars on March 18, also in the Roman Martyrology.
G. E. PHILLIPS (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 12 – The Mistaken Chronicler

March 12, 2026

St. Theophanes

in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Melkite Patriarch of Jerusalem

Fresco of St. Theophanes in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

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 parents he came to the Court of Constantine Copronimus. He was married at the age of twelve, but induced his wife to lead a life of virginity, and in 799, after the death of his father-in-law, they separated with mutual consent to embrace the religious state, she choosing a convent on an island near Constantinople, while he entered the monastery called Polychronius in the district of Sigriano near Cyzicus. Later he built a monastery on his own lands on the island of Calonymus (now Calomio). After six years he returned to Sigriano, founded an abbey known by the name “of the great acre”, and governed it as abbot. As such he was present at the second General Council of Nicaea, 787, and signed its decrees in defense of the sacred images. When the emperor Leo the Armenian again began his iconoclastic warfare, he ordered Theophanes to be brought to Constantinople and tried in vain to induce him to condemn what had been sanctioned by the council. Theophanes was cast into prison and for two years suffered cruel treatment; he was then banished to Samothracia, where, overwhelmed with afflictions, he lived only seventeen days and wrought many miracles after death.

At the urgent request of his friend George Syncellus (d. 810), Theophanes undertook the continuation of his chronicle, during the years 810-15 (P. G., CVIII, 55). He treated of the time from the year 284-813, and made use of material already prepared by Syncellus, probably also the extracts from the works of Socrates, Sozomenus, and Theodoret, made by Theodore Lector, and the city chronicle of Constantinople. The work consists of two parts, the first giving the history, arranged according to years, the other containing chronological tables, full of inaccuracies, and therefore of little value. It seems that Theophanes had only prepared the tables, leaving vacant spaces for the proper dates, but that these had been filled out by someone else (Hurter, “Nomencl.” I, Innsbruck, 1903, 735). The first part, though lacking in historical precision and criticism, which could scarcely be expected from a man of such ascetical disposition, greatly surpasses the majority of Byzantine chronicles (Krumbacher, “Gesch. der byz. Litt., 1897, 342). The chronicle was edited at Paris in 1655 by Goar; again at Venice in 1729 with annotations and corrections by Combefis. A Latin version was made by Anastasius Bibliothecarius, and both were ably edited by de Boor (Leipzig, 1883).

Francis Mershman (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 12 – St. Gorgonius

March 12, 2026

The martyrdom of St. Gorgonius and St. Dorotheus, 14th century French manuscript.

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 of the Faith, was with his companions, Dorotheus, Peter and several others, subjected to the most frightful torments and finally strangled. Diocletian, determined that their bodies should not receive the extraordinary honours which the early Christians were wont to pay the relics of the martyrs (honours so great as to occasion the charge of idolatry), ordered them to be thrown into the sea. The Christians nevertheless obtained possession of them, and later the body of Gorgonius was carried to Rome, whence in the eighth century it was translated by St. Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, and enshrined in the monastery of Gorze. Many French churches obtained portions of the saint’s body from Gorze, but in the general pillage of the French Revolution, most of these relics were lost. Our chief sources of information regarding these martyrs are Lactantius and Eusebius. Their feast is kept on 9 Sept.

There are five other martyrs of this name venerated in the Church. The first is venerated at Nice on 10 March; the second, martyred at Antioch, is commemorated on 11 March; the third, martyred at Rome, is honoured at Tours on 11 March; the fourth, martyred at Nicomedia, is reverenced in the East on 12 March; while the fifth is one of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, whose feast is kept 10 March.

Acta SS., XLIII, 328; Analecta Bollandiana, XVIII, 5.

John F. X. Murphy (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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 accomplished model of religious perfection. Sent by St. Francis to Paris he erected a convent there and became custos. Having returned to Italy, he was present at the so-called Chapter of Mats, and was sent thence by St. Francis to found the Order in England. Agnellus, then in deacon’s orders, landed at Dover with nine other friars, 12 September, 1224, having been charitably conveyed from France by the monks of Fecamp.

A few weeks afterwards they obtained a house at Oxford and there laid the foundations of the English Province, which became the exemplar for all the provinces of the order. Though not himself a learned man, he established a school for the friars at Oxford, which was destined to play no small part in the development of the university. But his solicitude extended beyond the immediate welfare of his brethren. He sent his friars about to preach the word of God to the faithful, and perform the other offices of the sacred ministry. Agnellus wielded considerable influence in affairs of state and in his efforts to avert civil war between the King and the Earl Marshal, who had leagued with the Welsh, he contracted a fatal illness. Eccleston has left us a brief account of his death.

Agnellus’s body, incorrupt, was preserved with great veneration at Oxford up to the dissolution of the religious houses in the time of Henry VIII. The cultus of Blessed Agnellus was formally confirmed by Leo XIII in 1882., and his feast is kept in the Order on 7 May.

STEPHEN DONOVAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 13 – St. Nicephorus

March 12, 2026

St. Nicephorus

St. Nikephoros I of Constantinople trample on John VII of Constantinople, who is laying on the ground with coins/ Miniature from Chludov Psalter. Above - fragment of apostle Peter trampling Simon the Magi.

St. Nikephoros I of Constantinople trample on John VII of Constantinople, who is laying on the ground with coins, miniature from Chludov Psalter. John VII of Constantinople is depicted with untidy straight hair sticking out in all directions, which was considered ridiculous by the Byzantines. Above – fragment of the Apostle St. Peter trampling Simon the Magician.

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 the Church and Theodore had been banished by the Emperor Constantine Copronymus (741-75) on account of his steadfast support of the teaching of the Church concerning images. While still young Nicephorus was brought to the court, where he became an imperial secretary. With two other officials of high rank he represented the Empress Irene in 787 at the Second Council of Nicaea (the Seventh Ecumenical Council), which declared the doctrine of the Church respecting images. Shortly after this Nicephorus sought solitude on the Thracian Bosporus, where he had founded a monastery. There he devoted himself to ascetic practices and to the study both of secular learning, as grammar, mathematics, and philosophy, and the Scriptures. Later he was recalled to the capital and given charge of the great hospital. Upon the death of Patriarch Tarasius (25 February, 806), there was great division among the clergy and higher court officials as to the choice of his February, 806); there was great division among the clergy and higher court officials as to the choice of his successor. Finally, with the assent of the bishops Emperor Nicephorus (802-11) appointed Nicephorus as patriarch. Although still a layman, he was known by all to be very religious and highly educated. He received Holy Orders and was consecrated bishop on Easter Sunday, 12 April 806. The direct elevation of a Iayman to the patriarchate, as had already happened in the case of Tarasius, aroused opposition in the ecclesiastical party among the clergy and monks. The leaders were the abbots, Plato of Saccadium and Theodore of Studium, and Theodore’s brother, Archbishop Joseph of Thessalonica. For this opposition the Abbot Plato was imprisoned for twenty-four days at the command of the emperor.

St Theodore the Studite

Nicephorus soon gave further cause for antagonism. In 795 a priest named Joseph had celebrated the unlawful marriage of Emperor Constantine VI (780-97) with Theodota, during the lifetime of Maria, the rightful wife of the emperor, whom he had set aside. For this act Joseph had been deposed and banished. Emperor Nicephorus considered it important to have this matter settled and, at his wish the new patriarch with the concurrence of a synod composed of a small number of bishops, pardoned Joseph and, in 806, restored him to his office. The patriarch yielded to the wishes of the emperor in order to avert more serious evil. His action was regarded by the strict church party as a violation of ecclesiastical law and a scandal. Before the matter was settled Theodore had written to the patriarch entreating him not to reinstate the guilty priest, but had received no answer. Although the matter was not openly discussed, he and his followers now held virtually no church communion with Nicephorus and the priest, Joseph. But, through a letter written by Archbishop Joseph, the course which he and the strict church party followed became public in 808, and caused a sensation. Theodore set forth, by speech and writing, the reasons for the action of the strict party and firmly maintained his position. Defending himself against the accusation that he and his companions were schismatic, he declared that he had kept silent as long as possible, had censured no bishops, and had always included the name of the patriarch in the liturgy. He asserted his love and his attachment to the patriarch, and said he would withdraw all opposition if the patriarch would acknowledge the violation of law by removing the priest Joseph. Emperor Nicephorus now took violent measures. He commanded the patriarch to call a synod, which was held in 809, and had Plato and several monks forcibly brought before it. The opponents of the patriarch were condemned, the Archbishop of Thessalonica was deposed, the Abbots Plato and Theodore with their monks were banished to neighbouring islands and cast into various prisons.

Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner at Stoudios.

This, however, did not discourage the resolute opponents of the “Adulterine Heresy”. In 809 Theodore and Plato sent a joint memorial, through the Archmandrite Epiphanius, to Pope Leo III, and later, Theodore laid the matter once more before the pope in a letter, in which he besought the successor of St. Peter to grant a helping hand to the East, so that it might not be overwhelmed by the waves of the “Adulterine Heresy”. Pope Leo sent an encouraging and consolatory reply to the resolute confessors, upon which they wrote another letter to him through Epiphanius. Leo had received no communication from Patriarch Nicephorus and was, therefore, not thoroughly informed in the matter; he also desired to spare the eastern emperor as much as possible. Consequently, for a time, he took no further steps in the matter. Emperor Nicephorus continued to persecute all adherents of Theodore of Studium, and, in addition, oppressed those of whom he had grown suspicious, whether clergy or dignitaries of the empire. Moreover, he favoured the heretical Paulicians and the Iconoclasts and drained the people by oppressive taxes, so that he was universally hated. In July, 811, the emperor was killed in a battle with the Bulgarians. His son Stauracius, who had been wounded in the same fight, was proclaimed emperor, but was deposed by the chief men of the empire because he followed the bad example of his father. On 2 October, 811, with the assent of the patriarch, Michael Rhangabe, brother-in-law of Stauracius, who raised to the throne. The new emperor promised, in writing, to defend the faith and to protect both clergy and monks, and was crowned with much solemnity by the Patriarch Nicephorus. Michael succeeded in reconciling the patriarch and Theodore of Studium. The patriarch again deposed the priest Joseph and withdrew his decrees against Theodore and his partisans. On the other side Theodore, Plato, and the majority of their adherents recognized the patriarch as the lawful head of the Byzantine Church, and sought to bring the refractory back to his obedience. The emperor had also recourse to the papacy in reference to these quarrels and had received a letter of approval from Leo. Moreover, the patriarch now sent the customary written notification of his induction into office (Synodica) to the pope. In it he sought to excuse the long delay by the tyranny of the preceding emperor, interwove a rambling confession of faith and promised to notify Rome at the proper time in regard to all important questions.

St. Nikephorus sends an epistle to the Emperor Michael II in favor of the icons restoration.

Emperor Michael was an honourable man of good intentions, but weak and dependent. On the advice of Nicephorus he put the heretical and seditious Paulicians to death and tried to suppress the Iconoclasts. The patriarch endeavoured to establish monastic discipline among the monks, and to suppress double monasteries which had been forbidden by the Seventh Ecumenical Council. After his complete defeat, 22 June, 813, in the war against the Bulgarians, the emperor lost all authority. With the assent of the patriarch he resigned and entered a monastery with his children. The popular general, Leo the Armenian, now became emperor, 11 July, 813. When Nicephorus demanded the confession of faith, before the coronation, Leo put it off. Notwithstanding this, Nicephorus crowned him, and later, Leo again refused to make the confession. As soon as the new emperor had assured the peace of the empire by the overthrow of the Bulgarians his true opinions began gradually to appear. He entered into connection with the opponents of images, among whom were a number of bishops; it steadily grew more evident that he was preparing a new attack upon the veneration of images. With fearless energy the Patriarch Nicephorus now proceeded against the machinations of the Iconoclasts. He brought to trial before a synod several ecclesiastics opposed to images and forced an abbot named John and also Bishop Anthony of Sylaeum to submit. Bishop Anthony’s acquiescence was merely feigned.

Icon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council

In December, 814, Nicephorus had a long conference with the emperor on the veneration of images but no agreement was reached. Later the patriarch sent several learned bishops and abbots to convince him of the truth of the position of the Patriarch on the veneration of images. The emperor wished to have a debate between representatives of the opposite dogmatic opinions, but the adherents of the veneration of images refused to take part in such a conference, as the Seventh Ecumenical Council had settled the question. Then Nicephorus called together an assembly of bishops and abbots at the Church of St. Sophia at which he excommunicated the perjured Bishop Anthony of Sylaeum. A large number of the laity were also present on this occasion and the patriarch with the clergy and people remained in the church the entire night in prayer. The emperor then summoned Nicephorus to him, and the patriarch went to the imperial palace accompanied by the abbots and monks. Nicephorus first had a long, private conversation with the emperor, in which he vainly endeavoured to dissuade Leo from his opposition to the veneration of images. The emperor received those who had accompanied Nicephorus, among them seven metropolitans and Abbot Theodore of Studium. They all repudiated the interference of the emperor in dogmatic questions and once more rejected Leo’s proposal to hold a conference. The emperor then commanded the abbots to maintain silence upon the matter and forbade them to hold meetings. Theodore declared that silence under these conditions would be treason and expressed sympathy with the patriarch whom the emperor forbade to hold public service in the church. Nicephorus fell ill; when he recovered the emperor called upon him to defend his course before a synod of bishops friendly to iconoclasm. But the patriarch would not recognize the synod and paid no attention to the summons. The pseudo-synod now commanded that he should no longer be called patriarch. His house was surrounded by crowds of angry Iconoclasts who shouted threats and invectives. He was guarded by soldiers and not allowed to perform any official act. With a protest against this mode of procedure the patriarch notified Leo that he found it necessary to resign the patriarchal see. Upon this he was arrested at midnight in March, 815, and banished to the monastery of St. Theodore, which he had built on the Bosporus.

Leo now raised to the patriarchate Theodotus, a married, illiterate layman who favoured iconoclasm. Theodotus was consecrated 1 April, 815. The exiled Nicephorus persevered in his opposition and wrote several treatises against iconoclasm. After the murder of the Emperor Leo, 25 December, 820, Michael the Amorian ascended the throne and the defenders of the veneration of images were now more considerately treated. However, Michael would not consent to an actual restoration of images such as Nicephorus demanded from him, for he declared that he did not wish to interfere in religious matters and would leave everything as he had found it. Accordingly Emperor Leo’s hostile measures were not repealed, although the persecution ceased. Nicephorus received permission to return from exile if he would promise to remain silent. He would not agree, however, and remained in the monastery of St. Theodore, where he continued by speech and writing to defend the veneration of images. The dogmatic treatises, chiefly on this subject, that he wrote are as follows: a lesser “Apology for the Catholic Church concerning the newly arisen Schism in regard to Sacred Images” (Migne, P.G., C, 833-849), written 813-14; a larger treatise in two parts; the first part is an “Apology for the pure, unadulterated Faith of Christians against those who accuse us of idolatry” (Migne, loc. cit., 535-834); the second part contains the “Antirrhetici”, a refutation of a writing by the Emperor Constantine Copronymus on images (loc. cit., 205-534). Nicephorus added to this second part seventy-five extracts from the writings of the Fathers [edited by Pitra, “Spicilegium Solesmense”, I (Paris, 1852), 227-370]; in two further writings, which also apparently belong together, passages from earlier writers, that had been used by the enemies of images to maintain their opinions, are examined and explained. Both these treatises were edited by Pitra; the first Epikrisis in “Spicilegium Solesmense”, I, 302-335; the second Antirresis in the same, I, 371-503, and IV, 292-380. The two treatises discuss passages from Macarius Magnes, Eusebius of Caesarea, and from a writing wrongly ascribed to Epiphanius of Cyprus. Another work justifying the veneration of images was edited by Pitra under the title “Antirrheticus adversus iconomachos” (Spicil. Solesm., IV, 233-91). A final and, as it appears, especially important treatise on this question has not yet been published. Nicephorus also left two small historical works; one known as the Breviarium”, the other the “Chronographis”, both are edited by C. de Boor, “Nicephori archiep. Const. opuscula historica” in the “Bibliotheca Teubneriana” (Leipzig, 1880). At the end of his life he was revered and after death regarded as a saint. In 874 his bones were translated to Constantinople with much pomp by the Patriarch Methodius and interred, 13 March, in the Church of the Apostles. His feast is celebrated on this day both in the Greek and Roman Churches; the Greeks also observe 2 June as the day of his death.

J.P. KIRSCH (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 14 – Patroness of Those Falsely Accused

March 12, 2026

St. Matilda, Queen of Saxony

King Henry and Queen Matilda. Photo by M. Kunz.

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 Matilda’s hand, and married her in 909 at Walhausen, which he presented to her as a dowry. Matilda became the mother of: Otto I, Emperor of Germany; Henry, Duke of Bavaria; St. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne; Gerberga, who married Louis IV of France; Hedwig, the mother of Hugh Capet. In 912 Matilda’s husband succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony, and in 918 he was chosen to succeed King Conrad of Germany. As queen, Matilda was humble, pious, and generous, and was always ready to help the oppressed and unfortunate. She wielded a wholesome influence over the king. After a reign of seventeen years, he died in 936. He bequeathed to her all his possessions in Quedlinburg, Poehlden, Nordhausen, Grona, and Duderstadt.

It was the king’s wish that his eldest son, Otto, should succeed him. Matilda wanted her favorite son Henry on the royal throne. On the plea that he was the first-born son after his father became king, she induced a few nobles to cast their vote for him, but Otto was elected and crowned king on 8 August, 936. Three years later Henry revolted against his brother Otto, but, being unable to wrest the royal crown from him, submitted, and upon the intercession of Matilda was made Duke of Bavaria. Soon, however, the two brothers joined in persecuting their mother, whom they accused of having impoverished the crown by her lavish almsgiving. To satisfy them, she renounced the possessions the deceased king had bequeathed to her, and retired to her villa at Engern in Westphalia. But afterwards, when misfortune overtook her sons, Matilda was called back to the palace, and both Otto and Henry implored her pardon.

Matilda built many churches, and founded or supported numerous monasteries. Her chief foundations were the monasteries at Quedlinburg, Nordhausen, Engern, and Poehlden. She spent many days at these monasteries and was especially fond of Nordhausen. She died at the convents of Sts. Servatius and Dionysius at Quedlinburg, and was buried there by the side of her husband. She was venerated as a saint immediately after her death. Her feast is celebrated on 14 March.

Two old Lives of Matilda are extant; one, Vita antiquior, written in the monastery of Nordhausen and dedicated to the Emperor Otto II; edited by KOEPKE in Mon. Germ. Script., X, 575-582, and reprinted in MIGNE, P.L., CLI, 1313-26. The other, Vita Mahtildis reginae, written by order of the Emperor Henry II, is printed in mon. Germ. Script., IV, 283-302, and in MIGNE, P.L., CXXXV, 889-9220. CLARUS, Die heilige Mathilde, ihr Gemahl Heinrich I, und ihre Sohne Otto I, Heinrich und Bruno (Munster, 1867); SCHWARZ, Die heilige Mathilde, Gemahlin Heinrichs I. Konigs von Deutschland (Ratisbon, 1846); Acta SS., March, II, 351-65.

MICHAEL T. OTT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 14 – Martyr of the Albigenses

March 12, 2026

Blessed Pierre de Castelnau

The murder of Bl. Peire de Castelnou

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 Albigenses. Some time later, about 1202, he received the Cistercian habit at Fontfroide, near Narbonne. He was again confirmed as Apostolic legate and first inquisitor. He gave himself untiringly to his work, strengthening those not yet infected with error, reclaiming with tenderness those who had fallen but manifested good will, and pronouncing ecclesiastical censures against the obdurate. Whilst endeavouring to reconcile Raymond, Count of Toulouse, he was, by order of the latter, transpierced with a lance, crying as he fell, “May God forgive you as I do.” His feast is celebrated in the Cistercian order, by one part on 5 March, and by the other on 14 March. He is also honoured as a martyr in the Dioceses of Carcassonne and Treves. His relics are interred in the church of the ancient Abbey of St-Gilles.

Breviarium cisterciense (5 March); CHALEMOT, Series sanctorum et Beatorum s.o.c. (Paris, 1670); Annus cisterciensis (Wettingen, 1682); HENRIQUEZ, Menologium cisterciense (Antwerp, 1630); CAUVET, Etude historique sur Fontfroide (Montpellier, 1875); CARETTO, Santorale cisterciense, II (Turin, 1708).

EDMOND M. OBRECHT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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

March 12, 2026

José María Urbina Viteri, President of Ecuador.

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 struggle. Urbina in the meanwhile gave himself up to every sort of excess, exhausted the public treasury, and then exacted fabulous sums from private individuals. The smallest opposition or even remonstrance was met by imprisonment, exile, or death—one man alone there was who could not remain silent and coldly watch the destruction of his country. In a poem entitled an “Ode to Fabius,” he exposed with merciless severity the whole public and private life of Urbina. “No vice, no crime, is unknown to him,” he exclaimed. “Treason, perjury, swindling, brigandage, savage cruelty, perfidy, nothing is wanting. His ignoble life is written bit by bit in the penal code.”

Painting by Eugenio Lucas Velázquez

After describing the effect of his rule on his miserable countrymen, he concludes with the words: “I know well the fate which is reserved for me. The chalice of suffering must be drunk to the dregs—the ball of the villain will pierce my heart. But if my country, delivered from the horrible tyranny which crushes her to the earth, be once more allowed to breathe freely, joyfully I will go to my grave.”

It is difficult to imagine the effect of this satire on the inflammable nations of Ecuador. Often (as we have seen) had García Moreno made use of his powerful pen to expose vice and incite to virtue. But this time it was with the solemnity of a great judge pronouncing sentence on an infamous criminal. Urbina was furious, but so great was the effect of the pamphlet that he did not dare at once provoke an insurrection by the exile or death of the patriot. A month later García Moreno started a weekly paper called La Nación (The Nation), the first number of which appeared on March 8, 1853. “It is time,” he declared, “to tear down the veil and to show the people that under this Radical Government, the constitution is a lure, the sovereignty of the people a chimera, and all legal guarantees ridiculous fictions. You talk of progress and civilization. Where is the social progress when misery devours the whole population and revolutionary cunning alone enriches the few? What kind of civilization is that which tramples underfoot all moral law, and extinguishes the light of Divine Revelation?

Urbina felt at once that La Nación would become a powerful weapon against his Government. He consequently informed García Moreno that if he ventured to publish a second number of his paper he and his accomplices would be exiled, which meant, to be sent among the savages of Napo or shot on the way by the Tauras. The Commandant of Quito was ordered to convey this ukase to García Moreno. He replied: “Tell your master that among the numberless reasons for continuing this paper will be added now the determination not to dishonor myself by yielding to his menaces.”

The whole town was in a ferment on this subject. On the appointed day appeared the second number of the Nación more aggressive than the first. As its life was to be short, it was necessary to speak out plainly. In an article entitled “The Political Views of the Cabinet,” every act of this nefarious Government was criticized and exposed, from the ruin of the people and the exhaustion of the Treasury down to the brutal expulsion of the Jesuits and the Reign of Terror which everywhere prevailed. García Moreno had no illusions as to the results to himself of this proceeding. With the devotion worthy of an ancient Roman, he sacrificed his life and his happiness for the love of his country. He was only thirty-two years of age, he had just married a young and beautiful wife, to whom he was devotedly attached, and who was worthy of him in every way: the most brilliant future seemed to open itself before him. Yet he published the paper without a moment’s hesitation and patiently awaited the consequence. The Nación appeared on March 15, 1853. Two hours later Urbina signed the order for the arrest of García Moreno. The President’s irritation was at its height, but the people were equally excited. Warned by a friend of the order given to the police, García Moreno took leave of his wife, left his house with the two friends who, like himself, were condemned to exile, and went into the public square of the city, so as to force the police to arrest them publicly in the face of the whole population. This was done accordingly, and the three prisoners, who offered no resistance, mounted their horses and left Quito with their guards. By the deathlike silence, which followed the scene, by the indignation depicted on every face, and the tears which fell from all eyes, Urbina realized how much he was feared, but also how much he was detested. The hearts of all the people followed the great exile and simply waited for his return as their liberator.

Rev. Fr. Augustine Berthe, C.Ss.R., Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador, (1821-1875), trans. Lady Herbert (London: Burns and Oates, 1889), 46-9.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 391

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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. After the burial of his predecessor Gregory III on 29 November, 741, he was immediately and unanimously elected pope and consecrated and enthroned on 5 December. His biographer in the “Liber Pontificalis” describes him as a man of gentle and conciliatory character who was charitable towards the clergy and people. As a fact the new pope always showed himself to be shrewd and conciliatory in his actions and thus his undertakings were very successful. Soon after his elevation he notified Constantinople of his election; it is noticeable that his synodica (letter) was not addressed to the iconoclastic Patriarch Anastasius but to the Church of Constantinople. The envoys of the pope also brought a letter for the emperor. After the death of Leo III (18 June, 741) his successor was his son Constantine V, Copronymus. However, in 742 Constantine’s brother-in-law Artabasdus raised a revolt against the new emperor and established himself in Constantinople; thus when the papal envoys reached Constantinople they found Artabasdus the ruler there. As late as 743 the papal letters were dated from the year of the reign of Constantine V; in 744, however, they are dated form the year of the reign of Artabasdus. Still the papal envoys do not seem to have come into close relations with the usurper at Constantinople, although the latter re-established the worship of images. After Constantine V had overthrown his rival, the envoys of the pope presented to him the papal letter in which Zachary exhorted the emperor to restore the doctrine and practice of the Church in respect to the worship of images. The emperor received the envoys in a friendly manner and presented the Roman Church with the villages of Nympha and Normia (Norba) in Italy, which with their territories extended to the sea.

When Zachary ascended the throne the position of the city and Duchy of Rome was a very serious one. Luitprand, King of the Lomabards, was preparing a new incursion into Roman territory. Duke Trasamund of Spoleto, with whom Pope Gregory III had formed an alliance against Luitprand, did not keep his promise to aid the Romans in regaining the cities taken by the Lombards. Consequently Zachary abandoned the alliance with Trasamund and sought to protect the interests of Rome and Roman territory by personal influence over Luitprand. The pope went to Terni to see the Lombard king who received him with every mark of honour. Zachary was able to obtain from Luitprand that the four cities of Ameria, Horta, Polimartium, and Blera should be returned to the Romans, and that all the patrimonies of the Roman Church that the Lombards had taken from it within the last thirty years, should be given back; he was also able to conclude a truce for twenty years between the Roman Duchy and the Lombards. A chapel to the Saviour was built in the Church of St. Peter at Rome in the name of Luitprand, in which the deeds respecting this return of property were placed. After the pope’s return, the Roman people went in solemn procession to St. Peter’s to thank God for the fortunate result of the pope’s efforts. Throughout the entire affair the pope appears as the secular ruler of Rome and the Roman territory. In the next year Luitprand made ready to attack the territory of Ravenna. The Byzantine exarch of Ravenna and the archbishop begged Pope Zachary to intervene. The latter first sent envoys to the Lombard king, and when these were unsuccessful he went himself to Ravenna and from there to Pavia to see Luitprand. The pope reached Pavia on the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. He celebrated the vigil and the feast of the princes of the Apostles at Pavia, and was able to induce the king to abandon the attack on Ravenna and to restore the territory belonging to the city itself. Luitprand died shortly after than and after his first successor Hildebrand was overthrown, Ratchis became King of the Lombards. The pope was on the best of terms with him. In 749 the new king confirmed the treaty of peace with the Roman Duchy. The same year Ratchis abdicated, with his wife and daughter took the monastic vows before the pope, and all three entered the monastic life.

In 743 Pope Zachary held a synod at Rome which was attended by sixty bishops. This synod issued fourteen canons on various matters of church discipline. On this occasion the pope took up the question of the impediments to marriage of relationship in the fourth degree, in regard to which the Germans claimed to have obtained a dispensation from Pope Gregory II. The year previous Zachary had written on this point to the bishops and kings of that province. An active correspondence was kept up between Zachary and St. Boniface. The latter in his zealous labours had organized the Church in the German territories, and while doing this had kept in close connection with the Papal See. Early in 742, soon after his elevation, Zachary received a letter from Boniface in which the saint expressed his full submission to the possessor of the Chair of Peter and requested then confirmation of the three newly established Bishoprics of Wurzburg, Buraburg, and Erfurt; Boniface also sought authority to hold a synod in France and to suppress abuses in the lives of the clergy. The pope confirmed the three dioceses and commissioned Boniface to attend, as papal legate, the Frankish synod which Karlmann wished to hold. In a later letter Zachary confirmed the metropolitans of Rouen, Reims, and Sens appointed by Boniface, and also confirmed the condemnation of the two heretics Adelbert and Clement. Various questions in which the pope and Boniface disagreed were discussed in letters. In 745 was held the general synod for the Frankish kingdom called by Pepin and Carloman. Here decrees were passed against unworthy ecclesiastics, and the two heretics, Adelbert and Clement, were again condemned. Boniface sent a Frankish priest to Rome to make a report to the pope, and the latter held on 25 October, 745, a synod at the Lateran at which, after exhaustive investigation, an anathema was pronounced against the two heretics. Zachary forwarded the acts of the synod with a letter to Boniface. Pepin and the Frankish bishops sent a list of questions respecting the discipline of the clergy and of the Christian population to Pope Zachary, and the latter answered in a letter of 746 in which decisions respecting the various points are given. These decisions were communicated to Boniface so that he might make them generally known at a Frankish synod. The following year, 747, Carloman resigned his authority and the world, went to Rome, and was received by Pope Zachary into a monastic order. At first he lived in the monastery on the Soracte, later at Monte Cassino. Thanks to the efforts of St. Boniface all the Frankish bishops were now agreed in submission to the See of St. Peter. Zachary sent still other letters to the bishops of Gaul and Germany, and also to Boniface as the papal legate for the Church of this region. Boniface was constantly in intercourse with Rome both by letters and envoys and sent important questions to the pope for decision. An important proof of the recognition by the Franks of the high moral power of the papacy is shown by the appeal to papal authority on the occasion of the overthrow of the Merovingian dynasty. Pepin’s ambassadors, Bishop Burkard of Wurzburg and Chaplain Folrad of St. Denis, laid the question before Zachary: whether it seemed right to him that one should be king who did not really possess the royal power. The pope declared that this did not appear good to him, and on the authority of the pope Pepin considered himself justified in having himself proclaimed King of the Franks (cf. SAINT BONIFACE; and PEPIN THE SHORT). The ecclesiastical activity of the pope also extended to England. Through his efforts the Synod of Cloveshove was held in 747 for the reform of church discipline in accordance with the advice given by the pope and in imitation of the Roman Church.

Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome. Pope St. Zachary built this church over an ancient temple to Minerva near the Pantheon. The tomb of St. Catherine of Sienna and Bl. Fra Angelico are here.

St. Zachary was very zealous in the restoration of the churches of Rome to which he made costly gifts. He also restored the Lateran palace and established several large domains as the settled landed possessions (domus cultoe) of the Roman Church. The pope translated to the Church of St. George in Velabro the head of the martyr St. George which was found during the repairs of the decayed Lateran Palace. He was very benevolent to the poor, to whom alms were given regularly from the papal palace. When merchants from Venice bought slaves at Rome in order to sell them again to the Saracens in Africa, the pope bought all the slaves, so that Christians should not become the property of heathens. Thus in a troubled era Zachary proved himself to be an excellent, capable, vigorous, and charitable successor of Peter. He also carried on theological studies and made a translation of the Dialogues of Gregory the Great into Greek, which was largely circulated in the East. After his death St. Zachary was buried in St. Peters.

Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I, 426-39; JAFFE, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum (2nd ed.), I, 262-70; LANGEN, Geschichte der römischen Kirche, II (Bonn, 1885), 628-49; HEFELE, Konziliengeschichte, III, passim; NURNBERGER, Die romische Synode vom Jahre 743 (Mainz, 1898). Cf. also the bibliography to SAINT BONIFACE; and PEPIN THE SHORT.

J.P. KIRSCH (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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 devolved upon her father, a man of blameless life. In her earlier years she was confided to the care of her aunt, a religious at Poissy. Afterwards she studied under a preceptress, devoting much time to the cultivation of the arts.

Saint Vincent de Paul

Her father’s serious disposition was reflected in the daughter’s taste for philosophy and kindred subjects. When about sixteen years old, Louise developed a strong desire to enter the Capuchinesses (Daughter of the Passion). Her spiritual director dissuaded her, however, and her father having died, it became necessary to decide her vocation. Interpreting her director’s advice, she accepted the hand of Antoine Le Gras, a young secretary under Marie de Medici. A son was born of this marriage on 13 October, 1613, and to his education Mme. Le Gras devoted herself during the years of his childhood. Of works of charity she never wearied. In 1619 she became acquainted with St. Francis de Sales, who was then in Paris, and Mgr. Le Campus, Bishop of Belley, became her spiritual adviser. Troubled by the thought that she had rejected a call to the religious state, she vowed in 1623 not remarry should her husband die before her.

M. Le Gras died on 21 December, 1625, after a long illness. In the meantime his wife had made the acquaintance of a priest known as M. Vincent (St. Vincent de Paul), who had been appointed superior of the Visitation Monastery by St. Francis of Sales. She placed herself under his direction, probably early in 1625. His influence led her to associate herself with his work among the poor of Paris, and especially in the extension of the Confrérie de la Charité, an association which he had founded for the relief of the sick poor. It was this labor which decided her life’s work, the founding of the Sisters of Charity. The history of the evolution of this institute, which Mme. Le Gras plays so prominent a part, has been given elsewhere; it suffices here to say that, with formal ecclesiastical and state recognition, Mme. Le Gras’ life-work received its assurance of success. Her death occurred in 1660, a few month before the death of St. Vincent, with whose labors she had been so closely united.

She was canonized by Pius XI in 1934.

(cfr. Catholic Encyclopedia)

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March 9 – She Could Detect Diabolical Plots

March 9, 2026

St. Frances of Rome

St. Frances of Rome with her Guardian Angel, who was continually visible to her.

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 Battista, who carried on the family name, Evangelista, a child of great gifts (d. 1411), and Ages (d. 1413).

St. Frances curing the gangrenous leg of Janni, who had been ill a long time. On the right, Janni is thanking St. Frances. One of a series of frescoes in the Monastery of Tor de’ Specchi in Rome, featuring stories of the life of St. Frances of Rome painted by Antoniazzo Romano.

Frances was remarkable for her charity to the poor, and her zeal for souls. She won away many Roman ladies from a life of frivolity, and united them in an association of oblates attached to the White Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria Nuova; later they became the Benedictine Oblate Congregation of Tor di Specchi (25 March, 1433) which was approved by Eugene IV (4 July, 1433). Its members led the life of religious, but without the strict cloister or formal vows, and gave themselves up to prayer and good works.

With her husband’s consent Frances practiced continency, and advanced in a life of contemplation. Her visions often assumed the form of drama enacted for her by heavenly personages. She had the gift of miracles and ecstasy, we well as the bodily vision of her guardian angel, had revelations concerning purgatory and hell, and foretold the ending of the Western Schism. She could read the secrets of consciences and detect plots of diabolical origin. She was remarkable for her humility and detachment, her obedience and patience, exemplified on the occasion of her husband’s banishment, the captivity of Battista, her sons’ death, and the loss of all her property.

Santa Francesca Romana Church, Rome

On the death of husband (1436) she retired among her Oblates at Tor di Specchi, seeking admission for charity’s sake, and was made superior. On the occasion of a visit to her son, she fell ill and died on the day she had foretold. Her canonization was preceded by three processes (1440, 1443, 1451) and Paul V declared her a saint on 9 May, 1608, assigning 9 March as her feast day. Long before that, however, the faithful were wont to venerate her body in the church of Santa Maria Nuova in the Roman Forum, now known as the church of Santa Francesca Romana.
FRANCESCO PAOLI (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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 the fine arts; and a manuscript illuminated by her which once belonged to Pius IX is at present reckoned among the treasures of Oxford.

After the marriage of the Princess Margarita to Roberto Malatesta, Prince of Rimini, Catherine returned home, and determined to join the little company of devout maidens who were living in community and following the rule of the Third Order of St. Augustine in the neighboring town of Ferrara. Later the community, yielding to the entreaties of Catherine, adopted the Rule of St. Clare, and in 1432 they were clothed with the habit of the Second Order of St. Francis by the provincial of the Friars Minor. The increasing number of vocations, however, made it necessary to establish other monasteries of the Poor Clares in Italy, and in pursuance of the Brief of Callistus III, “Ad ea quæ in omnipotentis Dei gloriam”, convents were founded at Bologna and Cremona. St. Catherine was chosen abbess of the community in her native town, which office she held until her death.

Painting by St. Catherine of Bologna

The grievous and persistent temptations which in the early days of her religious life had tried her patience, humility, and faith, especially the latter virtue, gave place in later years to the most abundant spiritual consolation, and enjoyment of the heights of contemplation.

A large part of St. Catherine’s counsels and instructions on the spiritual life are to be found in her “Treatise on the Seven Spiritual Weapons“, which contains, besides, an account of the saint’s own struggles in the path of perfection, and which she composed with the aid of her confessor shortly before her death.

The incorrupt body of St. Catherine of Bologna

St. Catherine of Bologna appeared in the late 1500s, to one of the nuns and requested that her incorrupt body be placed in a seated position in a special part of the chapel. Her skin has darkened over time due to the candles and votive lights.

The body of St. Catherine, which remains incorrupt, is preserved in the chapel of the Poor Clares at Bologna. St. Catherine was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. Her feast is kept on the 9th of March throughout the Order of Friars Minor.

WADDING, Annales Minorum, X, 184; XII, 307; XIII, 324; and passim; Acta SS.; March, II, 35-89; LEO, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis (Taunton, 1885), I, 394-437; ZAMBONI, La Vita di Santa Caterina di Bologna (Bologna, 1877).

STEPHEN M. DONOVAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

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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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March 2 – Ercole Gonzaga

March 2, 2026

(Hercules.) Cardinal; b. at Mantua, 23 November, 1505; d. 2 March, 1563. He was the Son of the Marquess Francesco, and nephew of Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga (1469-1525). He studied philosophy at Bologna under Pomponazzi, and later took up theology. In 1520, or as some say, 1525, his uncle Sigismondo renounced in his favour the See […]

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March 3 – The work of Mother Drexel

March 2, 2026

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament One of the…congregations of religious women in the Catholic Church and one of entirely American origin, founded by Miss Katharine Drexel at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1889, for missionary work among the Indians and coloured people of the United States. The formal approbation of the Holy See was given to the […]

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March 3 – James Spencer Northcote

March 2, 2026

James Spencer Northcote Born at Feniton Court, Devonshire, 26 May, 1821; d. at Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, 3 March, 1907. He was the second son of George Barons Northcote, a gentleman of an ancient Devonshire family of Norman descent. Educated first at Ilmington Grammar School, he won in 1837 a scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where […]

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March 3 – St. Winwallus

March 2, 2026

St. Winwallus Abbot of Landevennec; d. 3 March, probably at the beginning of the sixth century, though the exact year is not known. There are some fifty forms of his name, ranging from Wynwallow through such variants as Wingaloeus, Waloway, Wynolatus, Vinguavally, Vennole, Valois, Ouignoualey, Gweno, Gunnolo, to Bennoc. The original form is undistinguishable. In […]

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March 4 – This Prince had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin

March 2, 2026

St. Casimir Prince of Poland, born in the royal palace at Cracow, 3 October, 1458; died at the court of Grodno, 4 March, 1484. He was the grandson of Wladislaus II Jagiello, King of Poland, who introduced Christianity into Lithuania, and the second son of King Casimir IV and Queen Elizabeth, an Austrian princess, the […]

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March 4 – “Your Honor, was St. Augustine also a traitor?”

March 2, 2026

Blessed Christopher Bales (Or Bayles, alias Evers) Priest and martyr, b. at Coniscliffe near Darlington, County Durham, England, about 1564; executed 4 March, 1590. He entered the English College at Rome, 1 October, 1583, but owing to ill-health was sent to the College at Reims, where he was ordained 28 March, 1587. Sent to England […]

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February 26 – St. Alexander (of Alexandria)

February 26, 2026

St. Alexander (of Alexandria) Patriarch of Alexandria, date of birth uncertain; died 17 April, 326. He is, apart from his own greatness, prominent by the fact that his appointment to the patriarchial see excluded the heresiarch Arius from that post. Arius had begun to teach his heresies in 300 when Peter, by whom he was […]

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February 26 – St. Isabel of France

February 26, 2026

St. Isabel of France Daughter of Louis VIII and of his wife, Blanche of Castille, born in March, 1225; died at Longchamp, 23 February, 1270. St. Louis IX, King of France (1226-70), was her brother. When still a child at court, Isabel, or Elizabeth, showed an extraordinary devotion to exercises of piety, modesty, and other […]

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February 27 – “Which of you Gospellers can show such a knee?”

February 26, 2026

Ven. Mark Barkworth (Alias LAMBERT.) Priest and martyr, born about 1572 in Lincolnshire; executed at Tyburn 27 February, 1601. He was educated at Oxford, and converted to the Faith at Douai in 1594, by Father George, a Flemish Jesuit. In 1596 Barkworth went to Rome and thence to Valladolid. On his way to Spain he […]

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February 27 – Patron of Youth

February 26, 2026

St. Gabriel Possenti Passionist student; renowned for sanctity and miracles; born at Assisi, 1 March, 1838; died 27 February, 1862, at Isola di Gran Sasso, Province of Abruzzo, Italy; son of Sante Possenti and Agnes Frisciotti; received baptism on the day of his birth and was called Francesco, the name by which he was known […]

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February 28 – The Gentleman instructed in the conduct of a virtuous and happy life

February 26, 2026

William Darrell Theologian, b. 1651, in Buckinghamshire, England; d. 28 Feb., 1721, at St. Omer’s, France. He was a member of the ancient Catholic family of Darrell of Scotney Castle, Sussex, being the only son of Thomas Darrell and his wife, Thomassine Marcham. He joined the Society of Jesus on 7 Sept., 1671, was professed […]

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March 1 – St. David of Wales

February 26, 2026

St. David (DEGUI, DEWI). Bishop and Confessor, patron of Wales. He is usually represented standing on a little hill, with a dove on his shoulder. From time immemorial the Welsh have worn a leek on St. David’s day, in memory of a battle against the Saxons, at which it is said they wore leeks in […]

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March 1 – Apostle of the Frisians

February 26, 2026

St. Suitbert (Suidbert). Apostle of the Frisians, b. in England in the seventh century; d. at Suitberts-Insel, now Kaiserswerth, near Dusseldorf, 1 March, 713. He studied in Ireland, at Rathmelsigi, Connacht, along with St. Egbert (q. v.). The latter, filled with zeal for the conversion of the Germans, had sent St. Wihtberht, or Wigbert, to […]

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February 23 – The responsibilities of leadership are heavy

February 23, 2026

Pope Benedict XIII (PIETRO FRANCESCO ORSINI) Born 2 February, 1649; died 23 February, 1730. Being a son of Ferdinando Orsini and Giovanna Frangipani of Tolpha, he belonged to the archducal family of Orsini-Gravina. From early youth he exhibited a decided liking for the Order of St. Dominic, and at the age of sixteen during a […]

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February 23 – St. Polycarp’s martyrdom

February 23, 2026

St. Polycarp’s martyrdom Polycarp’s martyrdom is described in a letter from the Church of Smyrna, to the Church of Philomelium “and to all the brotherhoods of the holy and universal Church”, etc. The letter begins with an account of the persecution and the heroism of the martyrs. Conspicuous among them was one Germanicus, who encouraged […]

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February 24 – Drink the Bitter Cup

February 23, 2026

Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco The seventh of eight children, he was born on 1 December 1831 in Pagani, Salerno, in the Diocese of Nocera-Sarno, Italy, to Dr. Antonio, a pharmacist, and Stella Giordano, of noble descent. They were known for their upright moral and religious conduct, and taught their son Christian piety and charity to […]

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February 24 – Second Duke of Guise

February 23, 2026

FRANÇOIS DE LORRAINE Second Duke of Guise, b. at the Château de Bar, 17 Feb., 1519, of Claude de Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon; d, 24 Feb, 1563. He was the warrior of the family, el gran capitan de Guysa, as the Spanish called him. A wound which he received at the siege of Boulogne […]

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February 24 – First Christian King Among the English

February 23, 2026

St. Ethelbert, King of Kent Born, 552; died, 24 February, 616; son of Eormenric, through whom he was descended from Hengest. He succeeded his father, in 560, as King of Kent and made an unsuccessful attempt to win from Ceawlin of Wessex the overlordship of Britain. His political importance was doubtless advanced by his marriage […]

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Excommunicating and Deposing Elizabeth I of England

February 23, 2026

Pope St. Pius V: Bull “Regnans in Excelsis,” Excommunicating and Deposing Elizabeth I of England, February 25, 1570 He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in heaven and on earth, commited one, holy, Catholike and Apostolike Church, out of which there is no salvation, to one alone upon earth, namely to […]

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February 25 – Princess, Abbess, Miracle Worker

February 23, 2026

St. Walburga Born in Devonshire, about 710; died at Heidenheim, 25 Feb., 777. She is the patroness of Eichstadt, Oudenarde, Furnes, Antwerp, Gronigen, Weilburg, and Zutphen, and is invoked as special patroness against hydrophobia, and in storms, and also by sailors. She was the daughter of St. Richard, one of the under-kings of the West […]

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King of Denmark visits Greenland

February 19, 2026

h/t kongehuset.dk The visit begins in Nuuk on Wednesday morning with arrival at Nuuk Airport, where The King will be received by The Prime Minister of The Government of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and The President of the Inatsisartut, the Parliament of Greenland, Kim Kielsen. The King will be staying in Nuuk throughout Wednesday. On Thursday, […]

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Romanée-Conti: symbol of tradition and nobility

February 19, 2026

We should not be surprised that a single bottle of Romanée-Conti sometimes sells for $10,000 and more, for the Domaine Romanée-Conti (aka DRC) is one of the oldest and finest vineyards of Burgundy, France, and its wines, a veritable symbol of tradition and nobility. In 1087—eight years before Blessed Urban II would call the nobility […]

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February 19 – St. Conrad of Piacenza

February 19, 2026

St. Conrad of Piacenza Hermit of the Third Order of St. Francis, date of birth uncertain; died at Noto in Sicily, 19 February, 1351. He belonged to one of the noblest families of Piacenza, and having married when he was quite young, led a virtuous and God-fearing life. On one occasion, when he was engaged […]

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February 20 – Pope Martin V

February 19, 2026

Pope Martin V (Oddone Colonna) Born at Genazzano in the Campagna di Roma, 1368; died at Rome, 20 Feb., 1431. He studied at the University of Perugia, became prothonotary Apostolic under Urban VI, papal auditor and nuncio at various Italian courts under Boniface IX, and was administrator of the Diocese of Palestrina from 15 December […]

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February 20 – Repeatedly racked

February 19, 2026

Ven. Thomas Pormort English martyr, b. at Hull about 1559; d. at St. Paul’s Churchyard, 20 Feb., 1592. He was probably related to the family of Pormort of Great Grimsby and Saltfletby, Lincoln shire. George Pormort, Mayor of Grimsby in 1565, had a second son Thomas baptized, 7 February, 1566, but this can hardly be […]

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St. Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne

Jean de Brébeuf

Burghard Freiherr von Schorlemer-Alst

Joseph of Arimathea

St. Patrick

Armand de La Richardie

St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Saint Edward the Martyr

St. Theophanes

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

St. Matilda, Queen of Saxony

Blessed Pierre de Castelnau

Pope St. Zachary

St. Louise de Marillac Le Gras

St. Frances of Rome

St. Catherine of Bologna

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