St. Cloud

St. Cloud Feast date: Sep 07 On Sept. 7, the Catholic Church honors the memory of Saint Clodoald, popularly known as Saint Cloud, who escaped from violent political intrigue to pursue holiness as a monk and priest. Born in 522, Clodoald was the grandson of the Frankish King Clovis I, whose conversion to orthodox Christianity – rather than the Arian heresy – made him the first Catholic ruler of present-day France. After Clodoald’s father Clodomir was killed in 524, he and his brothers Theudovald and Gunthar were raised by their grandmother Queen Clothilde, whom the Church now honors as St….

Blessed Thomas Tzugi

Blessed Thomas Tzugi Feast date: Sep 06 Born to nobility and educated by the Jesuits of the Arima province around 1571, Thomas entered the Jesuit order upon the completion of his schooling at around 17 years old. He quickly developed a reputation for his excellent preaching and evangelical zeal.   He was exiled to the island of Macao during a persecution of Christians, yet he managed to return to Japan in disguise and continue his priestly ministry.   He was recaptured and sentenced to death, yet he refused to seek his freedom through his family’s political connections.   He was…

St. Teresa of Kolkata

St. Teresa of Kolkata Feast date: Sep 05 The Church celebrates on Septermber 5 the feast of Mother Teresa, a universal symbol of God’s merciful and preferential love for the poor and forgotten. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, the youngest of three children. She attended a youth group called Sodality, run by a Jesuit priest at her parish, and her involvement opened her to the call of service as a missionary nun. She joined the Sisters of Loretto at age 17 and was sent to Calcutta where she taught at a high school….

Saint Boniface I, Pope

Saint Boniface I, Pope Feast date: Sep 04 Though few details are known of Boniface’s early life, he was elected Pope on December 28, 418. He is believed to have been ordained a priest by Pope Damasus I (366-384) and to have served as representative of Innocent I at Constantinople (c. 405). Boniface was highly esteemed for his charitable and learned personality, which were clearly seen and lived through the service of his priestly duties. At the death of Pope Zosimus in 418, two Popes were elected, Boniface and Eulalius. They were sent away from Rome by the emperor until the difficulty would be…

Saint Gregory the Great

Saint Gregory the Great Feast date: Sep 03 St. Gregory the Great, a central figure of the medieval western Church and one of the most admired Popes in history, is commemorated in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Catholic liturgy today, September 3. Born near the middle of the sixth century into a noble Roman family, Gregory received a classical education in liberal arts and the law. He also had strong religious formation from his devout family, particularly from his mother, Silvia, also a canonized saint. By around age 30, Gregory hadadvanced to high political office in Rome, during what…

Martyrs of September

Martyrs of September Feast date: Sep 02 The September Martyrs are a group of 191 faithful Christians who were martyred at the hands of the French Revolution on September 2 and 3, 1792. After refusing to take an oath in support of the civil consititution of the clergy, an act condemned by the Vatican which placed Catholic priests under the authority and control of the state, these priests and religious brothers and sisters were imprisoned in a Carmelite convent and then massacred in the space of two days by bloodthirsty revolutionary mobs. They were beatified on October 17, 1926 by…

Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses

Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses Feast date: Sep 01 St. Beatrice was born to Portuguese nobility in Cuerta, Portugal, in 1424.  She was the daughter of the Count of Viana, and the sister of Saint Amadeus of Portugal. She was raised in the household of the future Queen Isabel of Portugal and spent some time in her royal court in Castile following the Queen’s marriage to John II. She soon got tired of the empty life at court and joined a Cistercian convent in Toledo.  She lived at the convent until 1484, when she answered a summons from God to…

Saint Aristides

Saint Aristides Feast date: Aug 31 Not much is known about the life of St. Aristides, excpet that he lived during the second century and was an avid confessor of the faith and Athenian philosopher. He wrote an Apologia for Christianity, which he presented to Emperor Hadrian in 125. His text was included in a work by Sts. Barlaam and Josaphat. His feast day is August 31. Printed with permission from Catholic-Defense.

Saint Jeanne Jugan

Saint Jeanne Jugan Feast date: Aug 30 On Aug. 30, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint Jeanne Jugan, also known as Sister Mary of the Cross. During the 19th century, she founded the Little Sisters of the Poor with the goal of imitating Christ’s humility through service to elderly people in need. In his homily for her canonization in October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI praised St. Jeanne as “a beacon to guide our societies” toward a renewed love for those in old age. The Pope recalled how she “lived the mystery of love” in a way that remains “ever timely while…

The Beheading of John the Baptist

The Beheading of John the Baptist Feast date: Aug 29 On this day, the universal Church marks the beheading of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. As an adult, he lived as a hermit in the wilderness. After the Spirit inspired him, he went about preaching that the people should repent of their sins and be baptized in order to prepare for the Messiah. Herod imprisoned John because he had condemned Herod for committing adultery by living with his brother’s wife, Herodias.  At he celebration for Herod on his birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him, and Herod was…

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