August 17 – St. Clare of Montefalco

August 17, 2026

Christ implanting His Cross in the heart of Saint Clare.

Born at Montefalco about 1268; died there, 18 August, 1308. Much dispute has existed as to whether St. Clare of Montefalco was a Franciscan or an Augustinian; and while Wadding, with Franciscan biographers of the saint, contends that she was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, Augustinian writers, whom the Bollandists seem to favour, hold that she belonged to their order. It seems, however, more probable to say that St. Clare, when she was still a very young girl, embraced the rule of the Third Order of St. Francis (secular), together with her older sister and a number of other pious young maidens, who wore the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis and followed that particular mode of life in community which their piety and fervour suggested. When later, however, they became desirous of entering the religious state in its strict sense, and of professing the three vows of religion, they petitioned the Bishop of Spoleto for an approved rule of life; and, the Third Order of St. Francis (regular) not being then in existence as an approved religious institute, the bishop imposed upon them in 1290 the rule of the Third Order (regular) of St. Augustine.

Statue of Santa Clara de Montefalco Parish Church (Pasay City) Founded 1864. 150th Founding Anniversary Clare of Montefalco Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Vicariate. Photo by Judgefloro.

From her very childhood, St. Clare gave evidence of the exalted sancity to which she was one day to attain, and which made her the recipient of so many signal favours from God. Upon the death of her older sister in 1295, Clare was chosen to succeed her in the office of abbess of the community at Santa Croce; but it was only in obedience to the command of the Bishop of Spoleto that she could be prevailed upon to accept this new dignity. Kind and indulgent towards others, she treated herself with the most unrelenting severity, multiplying her fasts, vigils, and other austeri ties to such an extent that at one time her life was even feared for. To these acts of penance she added the practice of the most profound humility and the most perfect charity, while the suffering of her Redeemer formed the continual subject of her meditation.

Shortly after the death of St. Clare, inquiry into her virtues and the miracles wrought through her intercession was instituted , preparatory to her canonization. It was not, however, until several centuries later that she was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.

STEPHEN M. DONOVAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

August 17 – Her great beauty aroused the jealousy of the queen

August 17, 2026

St. Beatrix da Silva

A Portuguese nun, died 1 September, 1490. In Portuguese she is known as Blessed Brites. She was a member of the house of Portalegre and descended from the royal family of Portugal. She accompanied the Portuguese Princess Isabel to Spain, when she married John II of Castile. There Beatrix seems to have aroused the jealousy of her royal mistress and was imprisoned for three days without food. After a vision of Our Blessed Lady, whom she saw attired in the blue mantle and white dress of the Conception Order which she was afterwards to found, Beatrix was allowed to retire to Toledo where she entered the Dominican Order.

There she lived forty years, being specially honored and frequently visited by Queen Isabel the Catholic. The latter aided her to found an order in honor of the Immaculate Conception, which adopted the Franciscan Rule. It was approved by Innocent VIII in 1480 and with some modifications by Julius II in 1511. Beatrix died ten days before the solemn inauguration of her new order. She is much honored in Spain, and there is a life of her by Bivar. (See also the “Anal. jur. pont.”, III, 549.)

She was canonized 3 October, 1976, by Pope Paul VI.

St. Beatrix da Silva with Queen Isabella the Catholic

{ 4 comments }

August 18 – She lead the search for the True Cross

August 17, 2026

Saint Helena

(also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople)

Constantine the Great and St. Helena

The mother of Constantine the Great, born about the middle of the third century, possibly in Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) on the Nicomedian Gulf; died about 330. She was of humble parentage; St. Ambrose, in his “Oratio de obitu Theodosii”, referred to her as a stabularia, or inn-keeper. Nevertheless, she became the lawful wife of Constantius Chlorus. Her first and only son, Constantine, was born in Naissus in Upper Moesia, in the year 274. The statement made by English chroniclers of the Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine’s marriage with Fausta, that Constantine, oriendo (i. e., “by his beginnings,” “from the outset”) had honoured Britain, which was taken as an allusion to his birth, whereas the reference was really to the beginning of his reign.

Statue in Erfurt, Germany

In the year 292 Constantius, having become co-Regent of the West, gave himself up to considerations of a political nature and forsook Helena in order to marry Theodora, the step-daughter of Emperor Maximianus Herculius, his patron, and well-wisher. But her son remained faithful and loyal to her. On the death of Constantius Chlorus, in 308, Constantine, who succeeded him, summoned his mother to the imperial court, conferred on her the title of Augusta, ordered that all honour should be paid her as the mother of the sovereign, and had coins struck bearing her effigy. Her son’s influence caused her to embrace Christianity after his victory over Maxentius. This is directly attested by Eusebius (Vita Constantini, III, xlvii): “She (his mother) became under his (Constantine’s) influence such a devout servant of God, that one might believe her to have been from her very childhood a disciple of the Redeemer of mankind”. It is also clear from the declaration of the contemporary historian of the Church that Helena, from the time of her conversion had an earnestly Christian life and by her influence and liberality favoured the wider spread of Christianity. Tradition links her name with the building of Christian churches in the cities of the West, where the imperial court resided, notably at Rome and Trier, and there is no reason for rejecting this tradition, for we know positively through Eusebius that Helena erected churches on the hallowed spots of Palestine. Despite her advanced age she undertook a journey to Palestine when Constantine, through his victory over Licinius, had become sole master of the Roman Empire, subsequently, therefore, to the year 324. It was in Palestine, as we learn from Eusebius (loc. cit., xlii), that she had resolved to bring to God, the King of kings, the homage and tribute of her devotion. She lavished on that land her bounties and good deeds, she “explored it with remarkable discernment”, and “visited it with the care and solicitude of the emperor himself”. Then, when she “had shown due veneration to the footsteps of the Saviour”, she had two churches erected for the worship of God: one was raised in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the Nativity, the other on the Mount of the Ascension, near Jerusalem. She also embellished the sacred grotto with rich ornaments. This sojourn in Jerusalem proved the starting-point of the legend first recorded by Rufinus as to the discovery of the Cross of Christ.

The Vision of Saint Helena by Paolo Veronese

Her princely munificence was such that, according to Eusebius, she assisted not only individuals but entire communities. The poor and destitute were the special objects of her charity. She visited the churches everywhere with pious zeal and made them rich donations. It was thus that, in fulfilment of the Saviour’s precept, she brought forth abundant fruit in word and deed. If Helena conducted herself in this manner while in the Holy Land, which is indeed testified to by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, we should not doubt that she manifested the same piety and benevolence in those other cities of the empire in which she resided after her conversion. Her memory in Rome is chiefly identified with the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme. On the present location of this church formerly stood the Palatium Sessorianum, and near by were the Thermae Helenianae, which baths derived their name from the empress. Here two inscriptions were found composed in honour of Helena. The Sessorium, which was near the site of the Lateran, probably served as Helena’s residence when she stayed in Rome; so that it is quite possible for a Christian basilica to have been erected on this spot by Constantine, at her suggestion and in honour of the true Cross.

Finding the True Cross Painted by Agnolo Gaddi

Helena was still living in the year 326, when Constantine ordered the execution of his son Crispus. When, according to Socrates account (Hist. eccl., I, xvii), the emperor in 327 improved Drepanum, his mother’s native town, and decreed that it should be called Helenopolis, it is probable that the latter returned from Palestine to her son who was then residing in the Orient. Constantine was with her when she died, at the advanced age of eighty years or thereabouts (Eusebius, “Vita Const.”, III, xlvi). This must have been about the year 330, for the last coins which are known to have been stamped with her name bore this date. Her body was brought to Constantinople and laid to rest in the imperial vault of the church of the Apostles. It is presumed that her remains were transferred in 849 to the Abbey of Hautvillers, in the French Archdiocese of Reims, as recorded by the monk Altmann in his “Translatio”. She was revered as a saint, and the veneration spread, early in the ninth century, even to Western countries. Her feast falls on 18 August.

The Reliquary of Saint Helena, which contains her skull, in the crypt of Trier cathedral.

J.P. KIRSCH 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

{ 3 comments }

August 19 – St. John Eudes

August 17, 2026

St. Jean Eudes

French missionary and founder of the Eudists and of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity; author of the liturgical worship of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; born at Ri, France, 14 Nov., 1601; died at Caen, 19 Aug., 1680.

He was a brother of the French historian, François Eudes de Nézeray. At the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity. After brilliant studies with the Jesuits at Caen, he entered the Oratory, 25 March, 1623. His masters and models in the spiritual life were Fathers de Bérulle and de Condren. He was ordained priest 20 Dec., 1625, and began his sacerdotal life with heroic labours for the victims of the plague, then ravaging the country. As a missionary, Father Eudes became famous. Since the time of St. Vincent Ferrer, France had probably not seen a greater. He was called by Olier “the prodigy of his age”. In 1641 he founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, to provide a refuge for women of ill-fame who wished to do penance. The society was approved by Alexander VII, 2 Jan., 1666. With the approbation of Cardinal de Richelieu and a great number of others, Father Eudes severed his connection with the Oratory to establish the Society of Jesus and Mary for the education of priests and for missionary work. This congregation was founded at Caen, 25 March, 1643, and was considered a most important and urgent work (see EUDISTS, below).

The Eudistes Seminary at Caen, France.

The Eudistes Seminary at Caen, France.

Father Eudes, during his long life, preached not less than one hundred and ten missions, three at Paris, one at Versailles, one at St-Germaine-en-Laye, and the others in different parts of France. Normandy was the principal theatre of his apostolic labours. In 1674 he obtained from Clement X six Bulls of indulgences for the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart already erected or to be erected in the seminaries. He also established the Society of the Heart of the Mother Most Admirable — which resembles the Third Orders of St. Francis and St. Dominic. This society now numbers from 20,000 to 25,000 members. Father Eudes dedicated the seminary chapels of Caen and Coutances to the Sacred Hearts. The feast of the Holy Heart of Mary was celebrated for the first time in 1648, and that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1672, each as a double of the first class with an octave. The Mass and Office proper to these were composed by Father Eudes, who thus had the honour of preceding the Blessed Margaret Mary in establishing the devotion to the Sacred Hearts. For this reason, Pope Leo XIII, in proclaiming his virtues heroic in 1903, gave him the title of “Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary”. Father Eudes wrote a number of books remarkable for elevation of doctrine and simplicity of style. His principal works are:–“Le Royaume de Jésus”; “Le contrat de l’homme avec Dieu par le Saint Baptême”; “Le Mémorial de la vie Ecclésiastique”; “Le Bon Confesseur”; “Le Prédicateur Apostolique”; “Le Cœ;ur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu”. This last is the first book ever written on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts. His virtues were declared heroic by Leo XIII, 6 Jan., 1903. The miracles proposed for his beatification were approved by Pius X, 3 May, 1908, and he was beatified 25 April, 1909.

St. John Eudes with fathers and sisters of the congregation founded by himself. Painted for the ceremony of beatification of Eudes, 1909

St. John Eudes with fathers and sisters of the congregation founded by himself. Painted for the ceremony of beatification of Eudes, 1909

Œuvres Complètes du Vén. J. Eudes (1905-); Montigny, Vie du R. P. Jean Eudes (Paris, 1827); Hé, Le Père Eudes, ses vertus (Paris, 1869); Martine, Vie du P. Eudes (Caen, 1880); Boulay, Vie du V. Jean Eudes (Paris); Joly, Le Vén. Père Eudes (Paris, 1907); Le Doré, Le Père Eudes, Premier Apôtre des Sacrés Cœ;urs de Jésus et de Marie (Paris, 1870); Les Sacrés Cœ;urs et le V. P. Eudes (Paris, 1891); Ory, Les Origines de Nôtre Dame de Charité (Abbeville, 1891); Nilles, De Rationibus festorum SS. Cordium Jesu et Mariæ (Innsbruck, 1889).

Charles Lebrun (Catholic Encyclopedia)

[Nobility.org note: He was canonized in 1925.]

____________________________

Eudists, or Society of Jesus and Mary, an ecclesiastical society instituted at Caen, France, March 25, 1643, by the Venerable Jean Eudes. The principal works of the society are the education of priests in seminaries and the giving of missions. The end which Father Eudes assigned to his society made him decide not to introduce religious vows. He was persuaded that, better than religious, priests, finding in the very dignity with which they were invested the reason and means of rising to eminent perfection, were in a position to inspire young clerics with a high idea of the priesthood and of the sanctity which it required. He also felt that bishops would not so willingly give their seminaries over to priests who were not entirely subject to them. Father Eudes shared the opinions of Cardinal de Berulle and Father Olier, who did not think it proper to admit religious vows in the orders which they founded. Even St. Vincent de Paul did so only after great hesitation and on the condition, ratified by the sovereign pontiff, that the Priests of the Mission should not form a religious order, properly so called, but an ecclesiastical society.

Emblem of the Eudist Order

Emblem of the Eudist Order

The Society of Jesus and Mary is not, therefore, a religious order, but an ecclesiastical body under the immediate jurisdiction of the bishops, to aid in the formation of the clergy. It is composed of priests, and of postulants who are admitted after a probation of three years and three months. There are also lay brothers employed in temporal affairs, but who do not wear the ecclesiastical habit. To develop the spirit of Jesus Christ in the members of the society, Father Eudes caused to be celebrated every year in his seminaries the feast of the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ and of all Holy Priests and Levites. After the feast of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary it is one of the principal in the community. The solemnity begins on November 13 and is celebrated with an octave. It thus serves as a preparation for the renewal of the clerical promises on November 21, the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. As early as 1649 Father Eudes had prepared an Office proper to the feast. Some years later the feast and office were adopted by the Sulpician Fathers. Although not a religious order, the Society of Jesus and Mary is subject to discipline which does not differ from that of orders with simple vows. The administration is modeled on that of the Oratory to which Father Eudes had belonged for twenty years. The supreme authority resides in a general assembly which names the superior general and which is called, at intervals, to control his administration. It alone can make permanent laws. In the intervals between the general assemblies, the superior general, named for life, exercises full authority in matters spiritual and temporal. He has the right to name and depose local superiors, to fix the personnel of each house, to make the annual visit, to admit, and, in case of necessity, to dismiss, subjects, to accept or to give up foundations, and, in general, to perform, or at least to authorize, all important acts. He is aided by assistants, named by the general assembly, who have a deciding vote in temporal affairs, and a consulting vote only in other questions.

The Sacré-Coeur College in Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1910.

The Sacré-Coeur College in Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1910.

During the lifetime of Father Eudes, the society founded seminaries at Caen (1643), Coutances (1650), Lisieux (1653), Rouen (1658), Evreux (1667), and Rennes (1670). These were all “grand” seminaries; Father Eudes never thought of founding any other, He admitted, however, besides clerical students, priests with newly granted benefices who came for further study, those who wished to make retreats, and even lay students who followed the courses of the Faculty of Theology. After his death directors were appointed for the Seminaries of Valognes, Avranches, Doi, Senlis, Blois, Domfront, and Séez. At Rennes, Rouen, and some other cities seminaries were conducted for students of a poorer class who were called to exercise the ministry in country places. These were sometimes called “little” seminaries. The postulants were admitted early and made both their profane and ecclesiastical studies. During the French Revolution, three Eudists, Fathers Hébert, Potier, and Lefranc, perished at Paris in the massacres of September, 1792. The cause of their beatification with that of some other victims of September has been introduced in Rome. Father Hebert was the confessor of King Louis XVI, and shortly before his death he made the king promise to consecrate his kingdom to the Sacred Heart if he escaped from his enemies.

Fr. François-Louis Hébert 1735-1792, confessor to King Louis XVI.

Fr. François-Louis Hébert 1735-1792, confessor to King Louis XVI.

After the Revolution the society had great difficulty in establishing itself again, and it was only in the second half of the nineteenth century that it began to prosper. Too late to take over again the direction of seminaries formerly theirs, the Eudists entered upon missionary work and secondary education in colleges. The “Law of Associations” (1906) brought about the ruin of the establishments which they had in France. Besides the scholasticates which they have opened in Belgium and in Spain, they direct seminaries at Carthagena, at Antioquia, at Pamplona, at Panama (South America), and at San Domingo, West Indies. In Canada they have the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a seminary at Halifax, N. S., a college at Church Point, N. S., and at Caraquet, N. B., and a number of other establishments less important. They number about fifteen establishments and about one hundred and twenty priests in Canada. In France, where the majority still remains, the Eudists continue to preach missions and to take part in various other works.

CHARLES LEBRUN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Subscription10

 

{ 0 comments }

August 19 – The prince who was made bishop at age 22

August 17, 2026

St. Louis of Toulouse

St. Louis of Toulouse by Antonio Vivarini in the Louvre.

Bishop of Toulouse, generally represented vested in pontifical garments and holding a book and a crosier, b. at Brignoles, Provence, Feb., 1274; d. there, 19 Aug., 1297. He was the second son of Charles II of Anjou, called the Lame, King of Naples (1288- 1309), and nephew of St. Louis IX of France; and of Mary of Hungary, whose great-aunt was St. Elizabeth of Hungary. If in some and even early sources (Analecta Franciscana, IV, 310) he is called primogenitus, it is only because he succeeded to the rights of his eldest brother, Charles Martel (d. 1295). In 1288 Louis was sent with two of his brothers to the Kingdom of Aragon as hostage for his father, who had been defeated and captured in a naval battle off Naples by the Sicilians and Aragonians (1284). During the seven years of their captivity (1288-95) in the castle of Sciurana, Diocese of Tarragona, and partly in Barcelona, the education of the three princes was entrusted to some Franciscan friars, among whom were Ponzius Carbonelli, Peter of Falgar, and Richard of Middleton. Peter John Olivi, the great Franciscan Spiritual, was also one of their friends, who on 18 May, 1295, wrote them a long letter, published by Ehrle in “Archiv f. Litt. u. Kirchengesch.”, III, 534- 40. Louis outstripped his brothers both in holiness and learning, and, during a severe illness, made the vow to become a Friar Minor.

Reliquary of St. Louis of Toulouse

He was still in captivity when Celestine V entrusted to him the administration of the Archbishopric of Lyons, on 7 Oct., 1294, having previously granted Francis of Apt, O.F.M., the saint’s confessor, the faculty of giving him the clerical tonsure and minor orders. Neither Bull seems to have been carried out. From John of Orta it appears that he was tonsured only on 1 Nov., 1295, after his release. Louis then returned to Naples. After renouncing all the rights of succession in favour of his brother Robert, he was ordained subdeacon in Rome by Boniface VIII, and in 1296 deacon and priest at Naples. Boniface VIII appointed the saintly young priest Bishop of Toulouse, but Louis, wishing first to become a Friar Minor, received the Franciscan habit in Rome from the minister general, John Minio of Murro, on 24 Dec., 1296, and immediately made solemn profession. He was consecrated Bishop of Toulouse by Boniface VIII on 29 (30?) Dec., 1296. After the Feast of St. Agatha (5 Feb.), 1297, on which day he appeared for the first time publicly in the Franciscan habit, he betook himself to Toulouse, where his mild figure and his virtues were admired by everybody. He was the father of the poor and a model of administration. But his episcopate was very brief, for on his return journey from a visit to his sister, the Queen of Aragon, he was seized by fever and died at Brignoles.

The St. Louis of Toulouse, his brother Robert of Anjou is crowned King of Naples, predella with scenes from the saint’s life by Simone Martini.

We have scarcely any record of literary work of St. Louis. Recently, however, Amelli, O.S.B., published in the “Archivium Franciscanum Historicum”, II, 378-83, a small treatise on music written by the saint, and from this it appears that he is also the author of a “Liber de Musicae Commendatione”. Sbaralea ascribes to him also some sermons. His canonization, promoted by Clement V in 1307, was solemnized by John XXII on 7 April, 1317. His relics reposed in the Franciscan church at Marseilles till 1423, when they were taken by Alfonso V of Aragon to the cathedral church of Valencia, of which town Louis became patron saint. His feast, celebrated in the Franciscan Order on 19 Aug., was decreed by the general chapter held at Marseilles in 1319, and the rhythmical office, beginning Tecum, composed by the saint’s brother, King Robert of Naples, was inserted in the Franciscan Breviary by the General Chapter of Marseilles in 1343, but seems to have been abolished by the Tridentine reform of the Breviary under Pius IV [sic, i.e., St. Pius V], 1568 .

San Luis Obispo Mission in California which is named after St. Louis of Toulouse.

The best contemporary life is by the saint’s chaplain, JOHN DE ORTA in Anal. Boll., IX (Paris and Brussels, 1890), 278-340; ibid., 341-51 (miracles); and in Anal. Ord. Min. Cap., XIII (Rome, 1897), 338-51, 360-72; XIV (1898), 16-27, 83- 92; some appendixes, ibid., 92-4, 120-6, 156-8, 181-3. A second old life is by PETER CALO, of which extracts are given in Acta SS., Aug., III, 781-97, passim; a compendium edited by PRESUTI in Archiv. Franc. Hist., I (Quaracchi, 1908), 278- 80; cf. ibid., 569-76 (miracles). BARTHOLOMEW OF PISA in Anal. Franc., IV (Quaracchi, 1906), 309-17; Chronicle of the XXIV Generals in Anal. Franc., III (Quaracchi, 1897), 447-52; BLUME AND DREVES, Anal. Hymnica Medii Aevii, XXVI (Leipzig, 1897), 265-74, give three rhythmical offices formerly used in Franciscan Breviaries. For some samples of notable hymns see EUSEBE CLOP, Cantus varii in usu apud nostrates (Tournai, 1902), 177-88. LEON, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of St. Francis (Taunton, 1886), 26-49, tr. from the Aureole Seraphique, III. The best modern life is: VERLAQUE, Saint Louis, prince royal, eveque de Toulouse (Paris, 1885); DA PALMA, Vita di S. Lodovico d’ Angio (Naples, 1855). On the iconography, see SALTER, Franciscan Legends in Italian Art (London, 1905), 180-182; BERTAUX, Les saints Louis dans l’art italien in Revue des Deux Mondes, CLVIII (Paris, 1900), 616-44; KLEINSCHMIDT, St. Ludwig von Toulouse in der Kunst in Archivium Franc. Hist., II (Quaracchi, 1909), 197- 215. Concerning the sixth centenary see the richly illustrated work, S. Lodovico d’Angio. . .e Sua Santita Leone XIII, Ricordo del VI Centennario della morte del Santo 1297-1897 e del LX Anniversario del Giubileo Sacerdotale di Sua Santita 1838-1898 (Rome, 1898).

LIVARIUS OLIGER 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

{ 1 comment }

August 18 – Soldier in every battlefield

August 17, 2026

Théophile-Louis-Henri Wyart

(In religion DOM SEBASTIAN).

Abbot of Cîteaux and Abbot-General of the Order of Reformed Cistercians, b. at Bouchain, Department of Nord, France, 12 Oct., 1839; d. in Rome, 18 Aug., 1904. Of a pious and studious disposition, he made rapid progress in the usual branches of learning, under private tutors and at both the petits and grands séminaires of the Archdiocese of Cambrai. Feeling an attraction for both the clerical and military calling, he hesitated long and was for some time professor in the college at Tourcoing, before making his final choice of a state of life. However, at the appeal of Pius IX, he put off the soutane for the pontifical uniform, serving in the pope’s army from 24 Aug., 1860, until 20 Sept., 1870, having risen to the rank of major. After the dissolution of the pontifical army, he served his native country during the Franco-Prussian War, receiving the medal of the Legion of Honour for bravery, particularly on the fields of Patay and Le Mans. His service completed, he laid aside all further military ambition to enter the Trappist Monastery of S. Marie du Mont. After he profession he was sent to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, was ordained priest, 31 March, 1877, and finally made doctor in theology in 1880.

Cîteaux Abbey

Returning to his abbey, he was sent to found a monastery at Tilbourg, in Holland, whence he was recalled to fill the office of prior at St. Marie du Mont, and afterwards (1883) elected its abbot. In 1887 the choice fell on him to succeed to the abbatial chair of Septfons and become vicar-general of the congregation of Rancé. He had long had the desire of seeing the three congregations united in one order, and it was principally due to him that this was effected in 1892. In recognition of this he was elected the first “General of the Order of the Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe”. After untiring efforts he succeeded in recovering possession of Cîteaux, the cradle of the order, and making it anew the mother-house, himself becoming its abbot, after resigning that of Septfons (1899). His deep learning and unceasing labours, as well as his tried fidelity, gave him great influence at the Roman Court, where both Pius IX and Leo XIII showed him constant signs of esteem and appreciation, particularly by assigning to him various important missions.

Abbaye de St. Marie du Mont (Chateauroux, 1898); DE PREVILLE, Zouave du Pape et soldate de Dieu (Paris, s. d.); FICHAUX, D. Sebastian Wyart, Abbe-General de l’Ordre Cist. Ref. (Lille, 1910); IDEM, Sermon au service funebre du Revme. D. Sebastian Wyart (Lille, 1906); CHAZELLES, Allocuton au service funebre du Revme. D. Sebastian Wyart a la Grace Dieu (Besancon, 1904); ORBRECHT, The Trappists of the Three Fountains in Messenger of the Sacred Heart; Histoire abregee de l’ordre de Cîteaux (St. Brieuc, 1897); Notes sur D. Sebastian Wyart extrait de l’histoire du College de Turcoing, MSS.

EDMOND M. OBRECHT (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

August 13 – St. Maximus of Constantinople

August 13, 2026

St. Maximus of Constantinople

Known as the Theologian and as Maximus Confessor, born at Constantinople about 580; died in exile 13 August, 662. He is one of the chief names in the Monothelite controversy one of the chief doctors of the theology of the Incarnation and of ascetic mysticism, and remarkable as a witness to the respect for the papacy held by the Greek Church in his day. This great man was of a noble family of Constantinople. He became first secretary to the Emperor Heraclius, who prized him much, but he quitted the world and gave himself up to contemplation in a monastery at Chrysopolis, opposite Constantinople. He became abbot there- but seems to have left this retreat on account of its insecurity from hostile attacks. He speaks of the Palestinian ascetic St. Sophronius afterwards Patriarch of Jerusalem, as his master, father, and teacher (Ep. 13), so that he probably passed some time with him, and he was with him in Africa with other monks during the preparations which issued in the “watery union” by which Cyrus the…

Read more here

{ 0 comments }

August 13 – The Pope Who Resigned

August 13, 2026

Pope St. Pontian

Pope St. Pontian

Dates of birth and death unknown. The “Liber Pontificalis” (ed. Duchesne, I, 145) gives Rome as his native city and calls his father Calpurnius. With him begins the brief chronicle of the Roman bishops of the third century, of which the author of the Liberian Catalogue of the popes made use in the fourth century and which gives more exact data for the lives of the popes. According to this account Pontian was made pope 21 July, 230, and reigned until 235. The schism of Hippolytus continued during his episcopate; towards the end of his pontificate there was a reconciliation between the schismatic party and its leader with the Roman bishop. After the condemnation of Origen at Alexandria (231-2), a synod was held at Rome, according to Jerome (Epist. XXXII, iv) and Rufinus (Apol. contra Hieron., II, xx), which concurred in the decisions of the Alexandrian synod against Origen; without doubt this synod was held by Pontian (Hefele, Konziliengeschichte, 2nd ed., I, 106 sq.).

In 235 in the reign of Maximinus the Thracian began a persecution directed chiefly against the heads of the Church.

St Pontianus, painted by Spinello Aretino

Pope St. Pontianus, painted by Spinello Aretino

One of its first victims was Pontian, who with Hippolytus was banished to the unhealthy island of Sardinia. To make the election of a new pope possible, Pontian resigned 28 Sept., 235, the Liberian Catalogue says “discinctus est”. Consequently Anteros was elected in his stead. Shortly before this or soon afterwards Hippolytus, who had been banished with Pontian, became reconciled to the Roman Church, and with this the schism he had caused came to an end.

How much longer Pontian endured the sufferings of exile and harsh treatment in the Sardinian mines is unknown. According to old and no longer existing Acts of martyrs, used by the author of the “Liber Pontificalis”, he died in consequence of the privations and inhuman treatment he had to bear.

Pope Fabian (236-50) had the remains of Pontian and Hippolytus brought to Rome at a later date and Pontian was buried on 13 August in the papal crypt of the Catacomb of Callistus. In 1909 the original epitaph was found in the crypt of St. Cecilia, near the papal crypt. The epitaph, agreeing with the other known epitaphs of the papal crypt, reads: PONTIANOS, EPISK. MARTUR (Pontianus, Bishop, Martyr). The word mártur was added later and is written in ligature [cf. Wilpert, “Die Papstgräber und die Cäciliengruft in der Katakombe des hl. Kalixtus” (Freiburg, 1909), 1 sq., 17 sq., Plate III]. He is placed under 13 Aug. in the list of the “Depositiones martyrum” in the chronographia of 354. The Roman Martyrology gives his feast on 19 Nov.

Liber Pontificalis, ed. Duchesne I, Introd., xxiv sq., 145 sq.; DE ROSSI, Roma Sotteranea, ii, 73 sqq.

J. P. Kirsch (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

August 14 – Founding Father

August 13, 2026

Pierre Chastellain

The mouth of the Trois-Rivières in Quebec, Canada. The Three Rivers trading post, an up-river settlement, was consecrated by the Jesuits to the Immaculate Conception in 1634.

The mouth of the Trois-Rivières in Quebec, Canada. The Three Rivers trading post, an up-river settlement, was consecrated by the Jesuits to the Immaculate Conception in 1634.

Missionary among the Huron Indians, born at Senlis, France, in 1606; died at Quebec, 14 August, 1684. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1624 and at the age of thirty sailed from France with two future martyrs, Fathers Isaac Jogues and Charles Garnier, and the new Governor of Canada, Montmagny, the successor in that post of Champlain. In July, 1636, Chastellain and Garnier left Three Rivers with the Indian trading canoes to join the mission in the Huron country. In the September following, both were attacked by smallpox, but recovered.

Jesuit Missionaries to the HuronsFor nearly fifty years Chastellain toiled on the mission of Canada at different stations among the Hurons as well as in Quebec. With great strength of character he combined a gentleness that was never ruffled and an unfailing charity towards others. During his laborious mission work he composed his book “Affectus amantis Christum seu Exercitium amoris erga Dominum Jesum pro totâ hebdomadâ,” a quarto of 483 pages (Paris, 1647).

EDWARD P. SPILLANE (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

August 14 – St. Eusebius, Roman patrician and priest

August 13, 2026

St. Eusebius of Rome

A presbyter at Rome; date of birth unknown; d. 357(?). He was a Roman patrician and priest, and is mentioned with distinction in Latin martyrologies. The ancient genuine martyrology of Usuard styles him confessor at Rome under the Arian emperor Constantius and adds that he was buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Some later martyrologies call him a martyr.

St. Eusebius of RomeThe “Acta Eusebii”, discovered in 1479 by Mombritius and reproduced by Baluze in his “Miscellanea” (1678-1715), tell the following story: When Pope Liberius was permitted by Constantius to return to Rome, supposedly at the price of his orthodoxy, by subscribing to the Arian formula of Sirmium, Eusebius, a priest, an ardent defender of the Nicene Creed, publicly preached against both pope and emperor, branding them as heretics. When the orthodox party who supported the antipope Felix were excluded from all the churches, Eusebius continued to hold Divine service in his own house. He was arrested and brought before Liberius and Constantius. Here he boldly reproved Liberius for deserting the Catholic Faith. In consequence he was placed in a dungeon, four feet wide (or was imprisoned in his own house), where he spent his time in prayer and died after seven months. His body was buried in the cemetery of Callistus with the simple inscription: “Eusebio homini Dei”. This act of kindness was performed by two priests, Gregory and Orosius, friends of Eusebius. Gregory was put into the same prison and also died there. He was buried by Orosius, who professes to be the writer of the Acts.

Subscription17

It is generally admitted that these Acts were a forgery either entirely or at least in part, and written in the same spirit if not by the same hand, as the notice on Liberius in the “Liber Pontificalis”. The Bollandists and Tillemont point out some grave historical difficulties in the narrative, especially the fact that Liberius, Constantius and Eusebius were never in Rome at the same time. Constantius visit Rome but once, and remained there for about a month, and Liberius was then still in exile. Some, taking for granted the alleged fall of Liberius, would overcome this difficulty by stating that, at the request of Liberius, who resented the zeal of the priest, the secular power interfered and imprisoned Eusebius. It is not at all certain whether Eusebius died after the return of Liberius, during his exile, or even much before that period.

Sant'Eusebio Church on the Esquiline in Rome is said to have been built on the site of his house. Photo by LPLT.

Sant’Eusebio Church on the Esquiline in Rome is said to have been built on the site of his house. Photo by LPLT.

The feast of St. Eusebius is kept on 14 August. The church of the Equiline in Rome dedicated to him, said to have been built on the site of his house, is mentioned in the acts of a council held in Rome under Pope Symmachus in 498 (Manai, VIII, 236-237), and was rebuilt by Pope Zacharias. Formerly it had a statio on the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. It once belonged to the Celestines (an order now extinct); Leo XII gave it to the Jesuits. A good picture representing the triumph of Eusebius, by Anton Raphael Mengs, 1759 is on the ceiling. San Eusebio is the title of the cardinal-priest. The title was transferred by Gregory XVI, but restored by Pius IX.

Francis Mershman (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 0 comments }

August 15 – Prester John

August 13, 2026

Prester John

Name of a legendary Eastern priest and king.

FIRST STAGE

Prester John, King of Ethiopia. Prester John was reportedly a descendant of one of the Three Magi, said to be a generous ruler and a virtuous man, presiding over a realm full of riches and strange creatures, in which the Patriarch of The Saint Thomas Christians resided.

The mythical journey to Rome of a certain Patriarch John of India in 1122, and his visit to Callistus II, cannot have been the origin of the legend. Not until much later, in a manuscript dating from the latter part of the fifteenth-century “Tractatus pulcherrimus” (Zarncke), do we find the patriarch and priest united in one person. The first combination of the two legends appears at the end of the twelfth century, in an apocryphal book of devotions called the “Narrative of Eliseus”. The first authentic mention of Prester John is to be found in the “Chronicle” of Otto, Bishop of Freising, in 1145. Otto gives as his authority Hugo, Bishop of Gabala. The latter, by order of the Christian prince, Raymond of Antioch, went in 1144 (after the fall of Edessa) to Pope Eugene II, to report the grievous position of Jerusalem, and to induce the West to send another crusade. Otto met the Syrian prelate at Viterbo, where in the pope’s presence he learned that a…

Read more here

{ 0 comments }

August 15 – The Knights of St. John capture Rhodes and establish their sovereignty

August 13, 2026

On 15 August, 1310, under the leadership of Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, the Knights of St. John captured the island in spite of the Greek emperor, Andronicus II.

Foulques de Villaret, 25th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.

Foulques de Villaret, 25th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.

The Knights of Rhodes, the successors of the Hospitallers of St. John, were distinguished from the latter in many ways. In the first place, the grand master of the order was thenceforward a temporal sovereign in that island, which constituted a true ecclesiastical principality, under the nominal suzerainty of the Emperors of the East. Secondly, although Villaret’s first care was to build a new infirmary, the care of the sick took a secondary place, as the members of the order had scarcely occasion to devote themselves to any save the members of the community. The name knights then prevailed over that of hospitallers. This character was accentuated by the fusion of the Hospitallers with the remaining Knights Templars subsequent to the suppression of the latter (1312). This fusion at the same time increased the wealth of the order, to which the pope assigned the property of the Templars in every country except Aragon and Portugal. In France, where Philip the Fair had sequestrated this property, the order obtained restitution only by paying large indemnities to the king. From this time its organization took its definitive form, the whole body being divided into tongues, priories, and commanderies. The tongues, or nations, were eight in number, each having its own bailiff; and one of the eight supreme dignities was reserved to each tongue — to Provence, that of the grand commander; to Auvergne, that of marshal; to France, grand hospitaller; to Italy, admiral; to Aragon, standard-bearer; to Castile, grand chancellor; to Germany, grand bailiff; to England, turcoplier. (On these dignities see .) The grand master might be elected from any of the various tongues; he exercised supreme authority, but under control of the grand chapter and with the aid of several councils. Each tongue was subdivided into priories, and the head of each priory had the right to receive new knights and to visit the commanderies. The priories number twenty-four, and the commanderies, which were subdivisions of the priories, 656. All these posts were held according to seniority, the commanderies after three campaigns, which were known as “caravans”.

Main entrance to Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes on the Island of Rhodes, Greece.

Main entrance to Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes on the Island of Rhodes, Greece.

A most important change in the character of the order was the transformation of the knights into corsairs. The piracy practiced by the Muslims was the scourge of the Mediterranean and especially of Christian commerce. The Knights of Rhodes, on their side, armed cruisers not only to give chase to the pirates, but to make reprisals on the Turkish merchantmen. With increasing audacity they made descents on the coast and pillaged the richest ports of the Orient, such as Smyrna (1341) and Alexandria (1365). However, a new Muslim power arose at this period — the Ottoman Turks of Iconium — and took the offensive against Christianity. After the fall of Constantinople, Mahomet II directed his attention to the task of destroying this den of pirates which made Rhodes the terror of the Muslim world. Henceforth the order, thrown on the defensive, lived perpetually on the alert. Once, under its grand master, Pierre d’Aubusson, it repulsed all the forces of Mahomet II in the siege of 1480. In 1522 Solyman II returned to the attack with a fleet of 400 ships and an army of 140,000 men. The knights sustained this great onslaught with their habitual bravery for a period of six months under their grand master, Villiers de l’Isle Adam, and capitulated only when their supplies were completely exhausted. Their lives were spared, and they were permitted to withdraw. Solyman II, in homage to their heroism, lent them his ships to return to Europe. They dispersed to their commanderies and begged Charles V to grant them the island of Malta, which was a dependency of his kingdom of Sicily, and this sovereignty was granted them in 1530, under the suzerainty of the kings of Spain.

Subscription5

_______________________

Also of interest:

{ 0 comments }

In order to have the spirit of chivalry, love the sublimity of the fight

August 13, 2026

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The problem is, for you to have the spirit of chivalry you need to be fully imbued with the sublimity of what you do, and to love this sublimity. If you do not do that, you will not have the true spirit of the knight.

Oklahoma City Black Mass Protest on Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15, 2016.

You may say: “If we see ourselves in this light, we will become proud.”

No you won’t. You won’t because he who loves true sublimity, not the sublimity of his person, but the sublimity of his [fighting] vocation – and here is the question – the sublimity of that for which he was made, for which he was called, of what he has to do; he who was invited to this by grace and says yes, elevates himself instead of falling into pride.

Traditional Marriage, Pro-Life, Protesting Socialist Health Care Mandates and various Blasphemous plays and “art work”. Rosary Rallies across this country….this is our Crusade.

It would be pride for him to imagine, “Look how formidable I have become! I am now a boss in this or that!” Then he falls into pride. But this is not chivalry.

Chivalry is for man to think, “I am a knight of God and of the Virgin and am here facing the adversaries, I’m in the battle.” This is chivalry.

A special delivery to Fatima! Results of the America Needs Fatima Rosary Rally, with a red rose in the name of every Rosary Rally captain and white roses in the name of each Rosary Rally sponsor.

It was much easier for a knight of the Middle Ages to become proud than for you. Because a man all decked up in armor, riding a horse in the street with everyone looking and finding it beautiful, would be like a man today riding around in a Rolls Royce or something of the sort. A great horse with a beautiful armor was the equivalent to a Rolls Royce today, but with much more elevation than even a Rolls Royce today. Well, while that man was still moving about in Christian lands, he would feel the object of general admiration, and so it was very easy for him to become proud.

Today you almost run the opposite risk: that of losing your combativeness for not having the courage to look at the sublimity of your [fighting] vocation and be conscious of your dignity, walking with your heads high knowing that others will mock and despise you, etc. This is what we must do.

Well, so in order for you to acquire the spirit of chivalry you need to acquire more and more the notion of the marvel that you are carrying out.

_________________________

 

(Excerpt from a Tea, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 1989 – Nobility.org translation)

 

{ 0 comments }

August 16 – His incorrupt right hand is treasured as the most sacred relic in Hungary

August 13, 2026

St. Stephen of Hungary

Statue of King Stephen I and Queen Gisela in Veszprém.

Statue of King Stephen I and Queen Gisela in Veszprém.

First King of Hungary, born at Gran, 975; died 15 August, 1038. He was a son of the Hungarian chief Géza and was baptized, together with his father, by Archbishop St. Adalbert of Prague in 985, on which occasion he changed his heathen name Vaik (Vojk) into Stephen.

In 995 he married Gisela, a sister of Duke Henry of Bavaria, the future Emperor St. Henry II, and in 997 succeeded to the throne of Hungary.

St. Stephen of Hungary

St. Stephen of Hungary

In order to make Hungary a Christian nation and to establish himself more firmly as ruler, he sent Abbot Astricus to Rome to petition Pope Sylvester II for the royal dignity and the power to establish episcopal sees. The pope acceded to his wishes and, in addition, presented him with a royal crown, addressing him with these words:

“Sylvester, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Stephen, king of the Hungarians, greeting and apostolic benediction. Your ambassadors, especially our dear brother, Astricus, bishop of Colocza, were received by us with the greater joy and accomplished their mission with the greater ease, because we had been divinely forewarned to expect an embassy from a nation still unknown to us. …

“Surely, according to the apostle : ‘ It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy’ [Rom. 9 :16] ; and according to the testimony of Daniel : ‘He changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings and setteth up kings; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness’ [Dan. 2:21, 22]; for in him is that light which, as John teaches, ‘lighteth every man that cometh into the world’ [John 1 :9].

“Therefore we first give thanks to God the Father, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, because he has found in our time another David, and has again raised up a man after his own heart to feed his people Israel, that is, the chosen race of the Hungarians. Secondly, we praise you for your piety toward God and for your reverence for this apostolic see, over which, not by our own merits, but by the mercy of God, we now preside. Finally, we commend the liberality you have shown in offering to St. Peter yourself and your people and your kingdom and possessions by the same ambassadors and letters.

“For by this deed you have clearly demonstrated that you already are what you have asked us to declare you [i.e., a king]. But enough of this; it is not necessary to commend him whom God himself has commended and whose deeds openly proclaim to be worthy of all commendation.

“Now therefore, glorious son, by the authority of omnipotent God and of St. Peter, the prince of apostles, we freely grant, concede, and bestow, with our apostolic benediction, all that you have sought from us and from the apostolic see; namely, the royal crown and name, the creation of the metropolitanate of Gran, and of the other bishoprics. Moreover, we receive under the protection of the holy church the kingdom which you have surrendered to St. Peter, together with yourself and your people, the Hungarian nation; and we now give it back to you and to your heirs and successors to be held, possessed, ruled, and governed. And your heirs and successors, who shall have been legally elected by the nobles, shall duly offer obedience and reverence to us and to our successors in their own persons or by ambassadors, and shall confess themselves the subjects of the Roman church, who does not hold her subjects as slaves, but receives them all as children. They shall persevere in the catholic faith and the religion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and strive always to promote it.

Statue of Stephen I of Hungary - Stephen I of Hungary, Millenium Monument on Heroes' square, Budapest, Hungary.

Statue of Stephen I of Hungary – Stephen I of Hungary, Millenium Monument on Heroes’ square, Budapest, Hungary.

“And because you have fulfilled the office of the apostles in preaching Christ and propagating his faith, and have tried to do in your realm the work of us and of our clergy, and because you have honored the same prince of apostles above all others, therefore by this privilege we grant you and your successors, who shall have been legally elected and approved by the apostolic see, the right to have the cross borne before you as a sign of apostleship, after you have been crowned with the crown which we send and according to the ceremony which we have committed to your ambassadors. And we likewise give you full power by our apostolic authority to control and manage all the churches of your realm, both present and future, as divine grace may guide you, as representing us and our successors.

“All these things are contained more fully and explicitly in that general letter which we have sent by our messenger to you and to your nobles and faithful subjects. And we pray that omnipotent God, who called you even from your mother’s womb to the kingdom and crown, and who has commanded us to give you the crown which we had prepared for the duke of Poland, may increase continually the fruits of your good works, and sprinkle with the dew of his benediction this young plant of your kingdom, and preserve you and your realm and protect you from all enemies, visible and invisible, and, after the trials of the earthly kingship are past, crown you with an eternal crown in the kingdom of heaven.”

St. Stephen I of Hungary in Makó, Hungary.

St. Stephen I of Hungary in Makó, Hungary.

Stephen founded a monastery in Jerusalem and hospices for pilgrims at Rome, Ravenna, and Constantinople. He was a personal friend of St. Bruno of Querfurt and corresponded with Abbot St. Odilo of Cluny. The last years of his life were embittered by sickness and family troubles. When on 2 September, 1031, his only son, St. Emeric, lost his life on a bear hunt, his cherished hope of transferring the reins of government into the hands of a pious Christian prince were shattered.

During his lifetime a quarrel arose among his various nephews concerning the right of succession, and some of them even took part in a conspiracy against his life. He was buried beside his son at Stuhlweissenburg, and both were canonized together in 1083.  In Hungary his chief festival is observed on 20 August, the day on which his relics were transferred to Buda. His incorrupt right hand is treasured as the most sacred relic in Hungary.

L. The Incorrupt hand of St. Stephen of Hungary. R. The Reliquary that holds the Incorrupt hand (also called “The Holy Right”) of St. Stephen I of Hungary.

 

(Catholic Encyclopedia)

____________________

Also of interest:

Wallpapers

God will laugh at them…

St. Stephen of Hungary in Budapest

{ 1 comment }

August 16 – Apostle of the North

August 13, 2026

St. Hyacinth

Statue of St Hyacinth overlooking Rosary Square in Lourdes.

Dominican, called the Apostle of the North, son of Eustachius Konski of the noble family of Odrowacz [or Odrowaz]; born 1185 at the castle of Lanka, at Kamin, in Silesia, Poland…; died 15 August, 1257, at Cracow. Feast, 16 Aug.

A near relative of Saint Ceslaus, he made his studies at Cracow, Prague, and Bologna, and at the latter place merited the title of Doctor of Law and Divinity. On his return to Poland he was given a prebend at Sandomir. He subsequently accompanied his uncle Ivo Konski, the Bishop of Cracow, to Rome, where he met St. Dominic, and was one of the first to receive at his hands (at Santa Sabina, 1220) the habit of the newly established Order of Friars Preachers. After his novitiate he made his religious profession, and was made superior of the little band of missionaries sent to Poland to preach. On the way he was able to establish a convent of his order at Friesach in Carinthia.

In Poland the new preachers were favourably received and their sermons were productive of much good. Hyacinth founded communities at Sandomir, Cracow, and at Plocko on the Vistula in Moravia. He extended his missionary work through Prussia, Pomerania, and Lithuania; then crossing the Baltic Sea he preached in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. He came into Lower or Red Russia, establishing a community at Lemberg and at Haletz on the Mester; proceeded into Muscovy, and founded a convent at Dieff, and came as far as the shores of the Black Sea. He then returned to Cracow, which he had made the centre of his operations. On the morning of 15 August he attended Matins and Mass, received the last sacraments, and died a saintly death. God glorified His servant by numberless miracles, the record of which fills many folio pages of the Acta SS., August, III, 309. He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1594. A portion of his relics is at the Dominican church in Paris.

The body of St. Hyacinth in the former Cistercian abbey church of St. Mary. Fürstenfeld Fürstenfeldbruck.

BUTLER, Lives of the Saints; KNOPFLER in Kirchenlex.; HEIMBUCHER, Die Orden u. Kongreg., II (Paderborn, 1907), 110, 154; BERTOLOTTI, Vita di San Giacinto (Monza, 1903); Lebensbeschr. der Heil. und Sel. des Dominikanerordens (Dulmen, 1903); FLAVIGNY, H. et ses compagnons (Paris, 1899).

FRANCIS MERSHMAN (Catholic Encyclopedia)

{ 1 comment }

August 10 – Defiant under torture, he inspires noble souls until today

August 10, 2026

St. Lawrence

Martyr; died 10 August, 258.

St. Lawrence Print by Wenzel Hollar

St. Lawrence, one of the deacons of the Roman Church, was one of the victims of the persecution of Valerian in 258, like Pope Sixtus II and many other members of the Roman clergy. At the beginning of the month of August, 258, the emperor issued an edict, commanding that all bishops, priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death (“episcopi et presbyteriet diacones incontinenti animadvertantur” — Cyprian, Epist. lxxx, 1). This imperial command was immediately carried out in Rome. On 6 August Pope Sixtus II was apprehended in one of the catacombs, and executed forthwith (“Xistum in cimiterio animadversum sciatis VIII id. Augusti et cum eo diacones quattuor.” Cyprian, ep. lxxx, 1). Two other deacons, Felicissimus and Agapitus, were put to death the same day. In the Roman Calendar of feasts of the fourth century their feast day is on the same date. Four days later, on the 10th of August of that same year, Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, also suffered a martyr’s death. The anniversary of this holy martyr falls on that day, according to the Almanac of Philocalus for the year 354, the inventory of which contains the principal feasts of the Roman martyrs of the middle of the fourth century; it also mentions the street where his grave is to be found, the Via Tiburtina (“III id. Aug. Laurentii in Tibertina”; Ruinart, “Acta sincera”, Ratisbon, 1859, 632). The itineraries of the graves of the Roman martyrs, as given in the seventh century, mention the burial-place of this celebrated martyr in the Catacomb of Cyriaca in agro Verano (De Rossi, “Roma Sott.”, I, 178).

St. Lawrence before Valerianus. Painting by Bl. Fra Angelico

Since the fourth century St. Lawrence has been one of the most honoured martyrs of the Roman Church. Constantine the Great was the first to erect a little oratory over his burial-place, which was enlarged and beautified by Pope Pelagius II (579-90). Pope Pope Sixtus III (432-40) built a large basilica with three naves, the apse leaning against the older church, on the summit of the hill where he was buried. In the thirteenth century Honorius III made the two buildings into one, and so the basilica of San Lorenzo remains to this day. Pope St. Damasus (366-84) wrote a panegyric in verse, which was engraved in marble and placed over his tomb. Two contemporaries of the last-named pope, St. Ambrose of Milan and the poet Prudentius, give particular details about St. Lawrence’s death. Ambrose relates (De officiis min. xxviii) that when St. Lawrence was asked for the treasures of the Church he brought forward the poor, among whom he had divided the treasure, in place of alms; also that when Pope Sixtus II was led away to his death he comforted Lawrence, who wished to share his martyrdom, by saying that he would follow him in three days. The saintly Bishop of Milan also states that St. Lawrence was burned to death on a gird-iron (De offic., xli). In like manner, but with more poetical detail, Prudentius describes the martyrdom of the Roman deacon in his hymn on St. Lawrence (“Peristephanon”, Hymnus II).

The grill of St. Lawrence and his mortal remains, along with the body of St. Stephen the proto-martyr at the Basilicia of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walls.

However, in spite of this criticism of the later accounts of the martyrdom, there can be no question that St. Lawrence was a real historical personage, nor any doubt as to the martyrdom of that venerated Roman deacon, the place of its occurrence, and the date of his burial.

Pope Damasus built a basilica in Rome which he dedicated to St. Lawrence; this is the church now known as that of San Lorenzo in Damaso. The church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, also dedicated to this saint, still exists. The feast day of St. Lawrence is kept on 10 August.

(cfr. Catholic Encyclopedia)

____________________________

Meeting of Pope Sixtus II and St. Lawrence.

St Lawrence is especially honoured in the city of Rome, where he is one of the city’s patrons. There are several churches in Rome dedicated to him, including San Lorenzo in Panisperna, traditionally identified as the place of his execution. He is invoked by librarians, archivists, cooks, and tanners as their patron. His celebration on 10 August has the rank of feast throughout the entire Catholic world. On this day, the reliquary containing his burnt head is displayed in the Vatican for veneration.

El Escorial

The Escorial Palace, situated at the foot of Mt. Abantos in the Sierra de Guadarrama, was built by King Philip II of Spain to commemorate the victory of Spanish forces over those of King Henry II of France at the Battle of St Quentin, which took place on the feast of St Lawrence on 10 August 1557. To honour the martyr, the entire floor plan of this imposing edifice was laid out in the form of a gridiron, the means by which St Lawrence was martyred.

St. Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, Canada

French explorer Jacques Cartier gave the name of Saint Lawrence to the widest river estuary in the world. At the mouth of this river is the large Gulf of Saint Lawrence, surrounded by all the Canadian Maritime provinces. Closer to the source of this river are the Laurentian mountains (north of the city of Montreal), the major Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent (borough), as well as the famed Saint Lawrence Boulevard that spans the full 11.25 km width of the island of Montreal. Further upstream, on the south side of the river near its source at Lake Ontario, is St. Lawrence County, New York.

{ 0 comments }

August 10 – His sister founded the Conceptionists

August 10, 2026

João Mendes de Silva

Blessed Amadeu da Silva, also called Amadeus of Portugal.

Better known as Amadeus of Portugal, O.F.M., (1420–1482), was a Portuguese nobleman who became first a monk, then left that life to become a friar of the Franciscan Order. Later he became a reformer of that Order, which led to his founding of a distinct branch of the Friars Minor that was named after him, later suppressed by the Pope in order to unite them into one great family of Friars Minor Observants (1568).

He was born João de Menezes da Silva in 1420 in Campo Maior, Portugal, the youngest of the eleven children of Rui Gomes da Silva, the first Magistrate of Campo Maior, on the border of Spain and Portugal, and of Isabel de Menezes, an illegitimate daughter of Dom Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real and 2nd Count of Viana do Alentejo, under whom Silva served in Ceuta. One of his sisters was Saint Beatrice of Silva, a noted Marian mystic and the foundress of the monastic Order of the Immaculate Conception.

His sister was Saint Beatrice of Silva, a noted Marian mystic and the foundress of the monastic Order of the Immaculate Conception.

He began his religious life in the Hieronnymite monastery of Notre-Dame de Guadalupe (Spain), where he spent about ten years. Desirous of joining the Franciscans, he went to Italy, where after some delay he was received into the order and, living in various convents, chiefly at Milan, attracted attention by his virtue and miracles.

Under the protection of the Archbishop of Milan, he established the convent of Notre-Dame de la Paix (1469) which became the centre of a Franciscan reform. The minister general of the order Francesco della Rovere, later pope under the name of Sixtus IV, extended his protection to him. Other foundations were made in Italy, among one at Rome.

Supernatural favours obtained through his intercession aided in the spread of his cult, and the Bollandists testify to the authenticity of the title “Blessed” bestowed on him. He composed a yet published treatise entitled “De revelationibus et prophetiis”, two copies of which are mentioned by Nicholas Antonio. The work of another Amadeus, “Homilies on the Blessed Virgin”, has been erroneously attributed to him.

Notre-Dame de la Paix, Milan

The convents he founded continued after his death to form a distinct branch of the Franciscans, the friars were called the Amadeans or Amadists, and they had twenty-eight houses in Italy, the chief one, Saint Peter de Montorio, in Rome. Innocent VIII gave them the convent of Saint Genesto near Cartagena in Spain (1493). The successors of Blessed João, Georges de Val-Camonique, Gilles de Montferrat, Jean Allemand, Bonaventura de Cremona, preserved his foundation in its original spirit until Saint Pius V suppressed it along with similar branches of the Franciscan Order uniting them into one great family of Friars Minor Observants (1568).

(Cfr: Catholic Encyclopedia, Acta SS., August. II, .562-606; ANTONIO, Bibliotheca vetus hispana, II, 217-18; WADDING, Annales Minorum, VI, VII, VIII; HELYOT, Histoire des ordres religieux, VII, 106-12.)

{ 1 comment }

Many members of the Society of the Cincinnati were killed during the Terror

August 10, 2026

Marshal of France Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, pictured with the medal from the Society of the Cincinnati.

One of the more agreeable duties that took [the Count of] Rochambeau to Paris was the organization of the French members of the Society of the Cincinnati…. Some difficulties had to be ironed out, since no foreign order was then allowed in France, but the King was so much interested in the whole proceeding that he waived all objections….

Rochambeau distributed the golden eagles…. It was the kind of ceremony he liked, commemorating as it did the links of friendship forged on the battlefield. Rochambeau took great pride in the Cincinnati, but not everybody in France or in America agreed with him about its importance. Benjamin Franklin indulged in some ridicule of the institution and condemned the members as “forming an order of Hereditary Knights….” Jefferson felt that the Society was incompatible with the natural equality of men, and advised the members to “distribute their funds, renounce their existence, and melt up their eagles….”

The Society of the Cincinnati Insignia

By the time Robespierre came into power, when every sign of personal and hereditary distinction was being wiped out, any man known to be in possession of the eagle of the Cincinnati was in grave danger. A Society with so many aristocrats on its rolls was obviously a threat to the Republic. With the overthrow of the French monarchy on August 10, 1792, l’Ordre de Cincinnatus dropped out of sight, not to be heard of again until it was officially reconstituted in 1923. Many of the original members, including the President, Admiral d’Estaing, perished on the scaffold.

Charles Henri Jean-Baptiste, Comte d’Estaing

Arnold Whitridge, Rochambeau: America’s Neglected Founding Father (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1965), pp. 259-260.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 202

 

{ 0 comments }

Paris pours out its heart in welcoming the brother of the King it executed

August 10, 2026

King Charles X of France in his coronation robes by Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin.

Meanwhile, Monsieur [the Count of Chambord, the future Charles X], invested with the Lieutenancy-general of the kingdom, slowly advanced from Nancy to Paris. The formation of a royal guard greatly occupied the capital. Such devotion was shown that it was improvised in a week. In seven days seven hundred men belonging the best families in France were accepted, equipped, clothed, and furnished with horses, all at their own expense, and were in fairly good exercise. The handsome Duc de Mouchy sought after the command—to what do you not aspire when you are a Noailles? But Comte Charles de Damas was preferred to him. As regards myself, military glory consisted in putting on again that coat of a national guardsman which I had take off on August 10, 1792.

Charles X Enters Paris

It was on Easter Sunday, April 10, that Monsieur entered Paris. He came by way of the Rue Saint Denis, escorted by his new guard. The number of windows and roofs were insufficient to hold the enthusiastic crowd that was shouting itself hoarse. Everything was adorned with flags and flowers, and every handkerchief was waving. It was a touching spectacle, and one full of hope for the future had people only wished. I went with the crowd to see it at the Porte Saint Denis, where the prince stopped and saluted the figure of his ancestor. This act of homage was loudly applauded. As the procession turned on to the boulevards, I ran at full speed to Mme. De Vindé’s to get a place on her terrace, where I could once more see it at my ease. Everybody there was of one heart and voice.

Arthur Chuquet, ed., Recollections of Baron de Frénilly, Peer of France (1768-1828) (London: William Heinemann, 1909), p.248.

Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 207

Nobility.org Editorial comment: 

How can one explain the Terror? France was the heart of culture, refinement, civilization. How could it sink into such barbarity? A determined and organized minority carried out the Revolution, while a “silent majority” let it happen. It would seem that most Frenchmen were under anesthesia or something during the revolutionary years, for this enthusiastic acclaim to welcome the brother of Louis XVI into Paris and the Restoration of the Throne in 1814,  was undoubtedly sincere and general.

 

{ 0 comments }

August 11 – St. Attracta

August 10, 2026

St. Attracta

(Or ST. ARAGHT).

Stained glass window of St. Attracta in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ballymote, County Sligo, Ireland. Photo taken by Andreas F. Borchert.

Stained glass window of St. Attracta in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ballymote, County Sligo, Ireland. Photo taken by Andreas F. Borchert.

A contemporary of St. Patrick from whom she received the veil. She is known as the foundress of several churches in the Counties of Galway and Sligo, Ireland. Colgan’s account of her life is based on that written by Augustine Magraidin in the last years of fourteenth century, and abounds in improbable statements. However, the fact of St. Attracta receiving the veil from St. Patrick is corroborated by Tirechán, in the “Book of Armagh”, as is evident from the following passage in the “Documenta de S. Patricio” (ed. Edmund Hogan, S.J.): “Et ecclesiam posuit in cella Adrachtae, filiae Talain, et ipsa accepit pallium de manu Patricii.” A native of the County Sligo, she resolved to devote herself to God, but being opposed by her parents, fled to South Connacht and made her first foundation at Drumconnell, near Boyle, County Roscommon, whence she removed to Greagraighe or Coolavin, County Sligo. At Killaraght, St. Attracta established a hospice for travellers, which existed as late as 1539. Her name was so great that numerous places were named after her, e.g. Killaraght (Cill Attracta), Toberaraght, Cloghan Araght, etc., and a large village which grew up around her oratory at Killaraght in Coolavin. Colgan gives an account of the Cross of St. Attracta which was famed during the Middle Ages, and of which the O’Mochain family were hereditary keepers. A striking confirmation of the existence of this relic in the early years of the fifteenth century is afforded by an entry in the “Calendar of Papal Letters” (VI, 45l) from which we learn that in 1413 the cross and cup of St. Attracta (Crux ac Cuach Aracht) were then venerated in the church of Killaraght, in the Diocese of Achonry. By an Indult of 28 July, 1864, Pius IX authorized the Office and Mass of St. Attracta, which had lapsed into desuetude, to be again celebrated in the Irish Church. The feast of St. Attracta, on 11 August, is given special honour in the Diocese of Achonry, of which she is the patroness. The prayers and proper lessons for her Office were drawn up by Cardinal Moran.

W. H. Grattan-Flood (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Subscription4

{ 0 comments }

August 11 – Feast of the Crown of Thorns and the Five Sacred Wounds

August 10, 2026

Feast of the Crown of Thorns The first feast in honour of the Crown of Thorns (Festum susceptionis coronae Domini) was instituted at Paris in 1239, when St. Louis brought thither the relic of the Crown of Thorns, which was deposited later in the Royal Chapel, erected in 1241-8 to guard this and other relics […]

Read the full article →

August 11 – Charcoal Burner

August 10, 2026

Alexander, Saint, known as “The charcoal burner,” was Bishop of Comana, in Pontus, Whether he was the first to occupy that see is open to discussion. The Bollandists have also a long paper as to the exact location of Comana as there were several places of that name, but decide for Pontus, near Neo-Cæsarea. The […]

Read the full article →

Columbus, and how to make Key Lime Pie

August 10, 2026

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World on October 12, 1492–a feat that earned for him the title of Admiral of the Indies and for his grandson Louis and his descendants in perpetuity the noble title of Duke of Veragua–he introduced into the Americas the greatest treasure possible: the Catholic Faith. However, his epic Atlantic […]

Read the full article →

August 12 – St. Jane Frances de Chantal

August 10, 2026

Born at Dijon, France, 28 January, 1572; died at the Visitation Convent Moulins, 13 December, 1641. Her father was president of the Parliament of Burgundy, and leader of the royalist party during the League that brought about the triumph of the cause of Henry IV. In 1592 she married Baron de Chantal, and lived in […]

Read the full article →

August 12 – His pontificate was spent in opposing royal absolutism

August 10, 2026

Pope Blessed Innocent XI (Benedetto Odescalchi) Born at Como, 16 May, 1611; died at Rome, 11 August, 1689. He was educated by the Jesuits at Como, and studied jurisprudence at Rome and Naples. Urban VIII appointed him successively prothonotary, president of the Apostolic Camera, commissary at Ancona, administrator of Macerata, and Governor of Picena. Innocent […]

Read the full article →

Battle of Petrovaradin

August 6, 2026

The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburg-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy (today Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia). The Ottomans attempted to capture Petrovaradin, the so-called Gibraltar on the […]

Read the full article →

August 6 – He told his assassins “God does not die!”

August 6, 2026

Garcia Moreno Ecuadorean patriot and statesman; born at Guayaquil, 24 December, 1821; assassinated at Quito, 6 August, 1875. His father, Gabriel García Gomez, a native of Villaverde, in Old Castile, had been engaged in commerce at Callao before removing to Guayaquil, where he married Dona Mercedes Moreno, the mother of the future Ecuadorean martyr president. […]

Read the full article →

August 6 – Garcia Moreno: Heroic President of Ecuador

August 6, 2026

by José Maria dos Santos Manly Catholic of intransigent principles, slain by the enemies of the Faith because of his consistency and courage in defense of the Church and Papacy Gabriel Garcia Moreno was born in Guayaquil, in southern Ecuador on December 24, 1821. His father, Gabriel Garcia Gómez was Spanish, while his mother, Doña […]

Read the full article →

August 7 – Octogenarian martyr

August 6, 2026

Ven. Nicholas Postgate English martyr, b. at Kirkdale House, Egton, Yorkshire, in 1596 or 1597; d. at York, 7 August, 1679. He entered Douay College, 11 July, 1621, took the college oath, 12 March, 1623, received minor orders, 23 December, 1624, the subdiaconate, 18 December, 1827, the diaconate, 18 March, 1628, and the priesthood two […]

Read the full article →

August 7 – Three martyrs of Lancaster

August 6, 2026

Ven. Edward Bamber (Alias Reading). Priest and martyr, b. at the Moor, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire; executed at Lancaster 7 August, 1646. Educated at the English College, Valladolid, he was ordained and sent to England. On landing at Dover, he knelt down to thank God, which act, observed by the Governor of the Castle, was the cause […]

Read the full article →

August 7 – Pope St. Sixtus II

August 6, 2026

Pope St. Sixtus II (XYSTUS) Elected 31 Aug., 257, martyred at Rome, 6 Aug., 258. His origin is unknown. The “Liber Pontificalis” says that he was a Greek by birth, but this is probably a mistake, originating from the false assumption that he was identical with a Greek philosopher of the same name, who was […]

Read the full article →

August 8 – They hated him because he enforced celibacy of the clergy

August 6, 2026

Bl. Altmann The friend of Gregory VII and Anselm, conspicuous in the contest of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, as Bishop of Passau and Papal Legate. He was born at Paderborn about the beginning of the eleventh century, presided over the school there, was chaplain at the court of Henry III, and then became Bishop of […]

Read the full article →

August 8 – The Rosary is really a weapon

August 6, 2026

St. Dominic Founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order; born at Calaroga, in Old Castile, c. 1170; died 6 August, 1221. His parents, Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, undoubtedly belonged to the nobility of Spain, though probably neither was connected with the reigning house of Castile, as some of […]

Read the full article →

August 9 – Pope St. Victor I

August 6, 2026

Pope St. Victor I (189-198 or 199), date of birth unknown. The “Liber Pontificalis” makes him a native of Africa and gives his father the name of Felix. This authority, taking the “Liberian Catalogue” as its basis, gives the years 186-197 as the period of Victor’s episcopate. The Armenian text of the “Chronicle” of Eusebius […]

Read the full article →

August 3 – The day the bishop cursed his country

August 3, 2026

On August 3, 1941, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen informed his listeners in a third sermon about the continued desecration of Catholic churches, the closing of convents and monasteries, and the deportation and murder of mentally ill people (who were sent to undisclosed destinations), while a notice was sent to family members stating that […]

Read the full article →

August 3 – Secretive Leader

August 3, 2026

St. Nicodemus A prominent Jew of the time of Christ, mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel. The name is of Greek origin, but at that epoch such names were occasionally borrowed by the Jews, and according to Josephus (Ant. of the Jews, XIV, iii, 2) Nicodemus was the name of one of the ambassadors sent […]

Read the full article →

August 4 – St. Eleutherius

August 3, 2026

St. Eleutherius (Fr. Eleutière), Bishop of Tournai at the beginning of the sixth century. Historically there is very little known about St. Eleutherius, but he was without doubt the first Bishop of Tournai. Theodore, whom some give as his immediate predecessor, was either a bishop of Tours, whose name was placed by mistake on the […]

Read the full article →

August 4 – Carthusian Martyrs: The Lone Survivor

August 3, 2026

May 4 – First Group of Carthusian Martyrs June 19 – Second Group of Carthusian Martyrs May-June – Third and Fourth Groups August 4 – The Lone Survivor For some reason Brother William Horne was kept alive. Refusing to abandon his religious habit, he was not attainted till 1540, when he was hanged, disembowelled, and […]

Read the full article →

August 5 – Valor in a King

August 3, 2026

St. Oswald of Northumbria, King and Martyr The English Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was founded by Ida in 547. After his death the northern part called Bernicia was preserved by his children; but Deira, that is, the southern part, comprising Yorkshire and Lancashire, was occupied by Ælla or Alla, and after his death was recovered […]

Read the full article →

Recipe – A Delicious Mistake

August 3, 2026

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

Read the full article →

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China

July 30, 2026

Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China In 1900, the Catholic Church was healthy and growing in China. There were forty bishops, about 800 European missionaries, 600 native Chinese priests, and the number of native Catholics throughout the whole of China proper was estimated at 700,000. It was during this time that the Boxer Uprising […]

Read the full article →

July 30 – Patron of Charcoal

July 30, 2026

St. Theobald Born at Provins in the Province of Champagne, France, in 1017; died at Salanigo in Italy 30 June, 1066. He was a member of a noble family. In 1054 without the knowledge of his parents he and his friend Walter gave themselves to the life of hermits at Sussy in the Ardennes, then […]

Read the full article →

July 30 – St. Peter Chrysologus

July 30, 2026

St. Peter Chrysologus Born at Imola, 406; died there, 450. His biography, first written by Agnellus (Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis) in the ninth century, gives but scanty information about him. He was baptised, educated, and ordained deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola, and was elevated to the Bishopric of Ravenna in 433. There are indications […]

Read the full article →

July 31 – Militant Means Something

July 30, 2026

St. Ignatius Loyola Youngest son of Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñez y Loyola and Marina Saenz de Lieona y Balda. Born in 1491 at the castle of Loyola above Azpeitia in Guipuscoa; died at Rome, 31 July, 1556. The saint was baptized Iñigo, after St. Enecus (Innicus), Abbot of Oña: the name Ignatius was assumed […]

Read the full article →

July 31 – St. Germain

July 30, 2026

St. Germain Bishop of Auxerre, born at Auxerre c. 380; died at Ravenna, 31 July, 448. He was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the distinguished schools of Arles […]

Read the full article →

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

July 30, 2026

St. Alphonsus Liguori Born at Marianella, near Naples, 27 September, 1696; died at Nocera de’ Pagani, 1 August, 1787. The eighteenth century was not an age remarkable for depth of spiritual life, yet it produced three of the greatest missionaries of the Church, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Paul of the Cross, and St. […]

Read the full article →

August 2 – St. Pierre-Julien Eymard

July 30, 2026

Founder of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, and of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, born at La Mure d’Isere, Diocese of Grenoble, France, February 4, 1811; died there August 1, 1868. From early childhood he gave evidence of great holiness and most tender devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. In 1829, he entered the […]

Read the full article →

July 27 – Hunted Priest

July 27, 2026

John Gerard Jesuit; born 4 October, 1564; died 27 July, 1637. He is well known through his autobiography, a fascinating record of dangers and adventures, of captures and escapes, of trials and consolations. The narrative is all the more valuable because it sets before us the kind of life led by priests, wherever the peculiar […]

Read the full article →

July 27 – St. Pantaleon

July 27, 2026

St. Pantaleon Martyr, died about 305. According to legend he was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and had been instructed in Christianity by his Christian mother, Eubula. Afterwards he became estranged from Christianity. He studied medicine and became physician to the Emperor Maximianus. He was won back to Christianity by the […]

Read the full article →

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

July 27, 2026

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

Read the full article →

July 28 – Nepotism Sometimes Bears Good Fruit

July 27, 2026

Pope Victor II (GEBHARD, COUNT OF CALW, TOLLENSTEIN, AND HIRSCHBERG.) Born about 1018; died at Arezzo, 28 July, 1057. The papal catalogues make him a native of the Bavarian Nordgau, while most German sources designate Swabia as his birthplace. His parents were Count Hartwig and Countess Baliza; the Emperor Henry III recognized him as a […]

Read the full article →

July 28 – St. Samson

July 27, 2026

St. Samson Bishop and confessor, born in South Wales; died 28 July, 565 (?). The date of his birth is unknown. His parents whose names are given as Amon of Dyfed and Anna of Gwynedd, were of noble, but not royal, birth. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the […]

Read the full article →

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

July 27, 2026

In 1647, St. Vincent de Paul sent Father Jean Le Vacher to do missionary work among the Catholics enslaved by the Barbary Coast’s Muslim corsairs and he arrived in Tunis during an epidemic of the plague and did much to comfort the captives. Upon the death of the French consul, the Bey appointed Father Le […]

Read the full article →

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

July 27, 2026

THE BATTLES OF LA NAVAL DE MANILA Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Saves the Philippines from the Invading Dutch Fleet Inside the Dominican church of Santo Domingo in Quezon City sits in celestial splendor and glory one of the most venerated and beloved image of the Most Holy Virgin in the Philippines. Among […]

Read the full article →

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

July 27, 2026

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

Read the full article →

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

July 27, 2026

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

Read the full article →

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

July 23, 2026

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

Read the full article →

July 23 – St. Bridget of Sweden

July 23, 2026

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

Read the full article →

July 24 – St. John Boste

July 23, 2026

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

Read the full article →

July 24 – Chaste Queen

July 23, 2026

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

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries