St. Narcissus
St. Narcissus Feast date: Oct 29 St. Narcissus was born towards the end of the first century, and he was nearly 80 years old when he was named as the 30th bishop of Jerusalem. In 195, he and Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, presided together over a council of the bishops of Palestine held at Caesarea around Easter. There it was decreed that the feast be kept always on a Sunday, and not continually with the Jewish Passover. The bishop and historian Eusebius says the following miracle can be attributed to him: One year on Easter-eve the deacons did not have any…
St. Abraham Kidunaia
St. Abraham Kidunaia Feast date: Oct 29 St. Abraham Kidunaia was born to a wealthy family during the third century. After receiving an excellent education, Abraham was encouraged to get married. He followed the wishes of his parents, but after the wedding ceremony, he told his bride his desire to remain a virgin and dedicate his life to God. His bride accepted this resolution and Abraham retired to a hermitage near Edessa, a city near Mesopotamia. Ten years after he retreated from the world, his parents died and left a great amount of wealth to Abraham. As soon as he…
St. Jude Thaddeus and St. Simon the Zealot, Apostles
St. Jude Thaddeus and St. Simon the Zealot, Apostles Feast date: Oct 28 St. Jude Thaddaeus St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Lesser, and a relative of Jesus. Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62 and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem. He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, in particular the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of…
St. Frumentius of Ethiopia
St. Frumentius of Ethiopia Feast date: Oct 27 St. Frumentius helped in a great capacity to bring Christianity to Ethiopia. He was born in Lebanon, and was shipwrecked in East Africa while voyaging on the Red Sea. Only he and his brother, Aedeius, survived. They were taken to the king at Axum, Ethiopia, and became members of the court. When the king died, the two brothers stayed on as part of the queen’s court. She permitted them to introduce Christianity to the country, as well as opening up trade between Ethiopia and the west. Frumentius convinced St. Athanasius to send missionaries…
St. Evaristus, Pope
St. Evaristus, Pope Feast date: Oct 26 St. Evaristus was the son of a Greek Jew, originally from Bethlehem, and was the sixth Pope of the Catholic Church. He is traditionally considered a martyr, but there is no documentation of the event. He is buried in the Vatican, near Saint Peter. Saint Evaristus succeeded Saint Anacletus as pope. The text of the Liber Pontificalis, says of him: “Evaristus, born in Greece of a Jewish father named Juda, originally from the city of Bethlehem, reigned for thirteen years, six months and two days, under the reigns of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan, from the Consulate…
St. Crispin and St. Crispinian
St. Crispin and St. Crispinian Feast date: Oct 25 Sts. Crispin and Crispinian were brothers. Together, they evangelized Gaul in the middle of the third century. Working from Soissons, they preached the streets by day and made shoes by night. Their charity, piety, and contempt of material things impressed the locals and many were converted to Christianity. The brothers refused to yield to the persecutors of the Faith who wanted Crispin and Crispinian to apostatize. They were both beheaded in Rome ca. 286 A.D. They are the patrons of cobblers, glove makers, lace makers, lace workers, leather workers, saddle makers,…
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Feast date: Oct 25 This feast, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, honors the hundreds of British men and women who died for their faith in wake of the dispute between the Pope and King Henry VIII during the 16th century. Many loyal Catholics were tortured and killed by the British state from 1535 to 1679. In 1970, the Vatican selected 40 martyrs, men and women, lay and religious, to represent the full group of about 300. Each martyr has their own day of memorial, but they are all remembered as…
St. Anthony Claret
St. Anthony Claret Feast date: Oct 24 Anthony Claret was born in Spain in 1807 and like his father, he was a weaver by trade. In his spare time, he studied Latin, and at the age of 22, he entered the seminary, and was ordained in 1835. He preached and worked in the missions for 10 years and then, in 1849, he founded the Claretians. Shortly thereafter, he was named Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba. While he was archbishop, he successfully reformed the clergy and the laity. He returned to Spain to be Queen Isabella II’s confessor, to oversee his congregation, and…
St. John of Capistrano
St. John of Capistrano Feast date: Oct 23 On Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of Saint John of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career, extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome and a historically important turn at military leadership. Invoked as a patron of military chaplains, St. John of Capistrano was praised by St. John Paul II in a 2002 general audience for his “glorious evangelical witness,” as a priest who “gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of souls.” Born in Italy during 1385, John lost his…
Pope Saint John Paul II
Pope Saint John Paul II Feast date: Oct 22 Saint John Paul II is perhaps one of the most well-known pontiffs in recent history, and is most remembered for his charismatic nature, his love of youth and his world travels, along with his role in the fall of communism in Europe during his 27-year papacy. Karol Józef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometers from Krakow, on May 18, 1920. He was the youngest of three children born to Karol…