St. Anthony & Our Lady of Fatima

All Saints of the Seraphic Order (Feast) Feast date: Nov 29 On November 29, the Church celebrates the many Franciscan saints who followed in the footsteps of St. Francis. It is a special day for all Franciscans to celebrate the feast of ‘All the Saints of the Seraphic Order.’ According to tradition, St. Francis of Assisi prayed the following prayer: “O Lord Jesus Christ, two favors I beg of you before I die. The first is that I may, as far as it is possible, feel in my soul and in my body the suffering in which you, O gentle…

Saint Catherine Laboure Feast date: Nov 28 On November 28, the Church honors St. Catherine Labouré, the humble Daughter of Charity to whom Mary appeared, requesting that the Miraculous Medal be stamped so that all who wear it would receive great graces. Saint Catherine Labouré was born in France on May 2, 1806. She was the ninth of 11 children. Upon her mother’s death, when Catherine was eight years old, the young girl assumed the responsibilities of the household. It was said of her that she was a very quiet and practical child. Eventually she became a Daughter of Charity, and when…

St. James of the Marches Feast date: Nov 28 St. James of the Marches was a Franciscan priest in the 15th century. He was born into a poor family in Monteprandone, Italy in 1391 and was educated by his uncle who was a priest. He continued his education, eventually achieving the degree of Doctor in Canon and Civil Law from the University of Perugia. He worked for some time as a tutor in a noble family, but on July 26, 1416, he was received into the order of Friars Minor in the Chapel of the Portiuncula in Assisi. After completing his novitiate,…

St. Francesco Antonio Fasani Feast date: Nov 27 St. Francesco (Francis) Antonio Fasani was born as Giovanneillo in Lucera, Italy in 1681, the son of Giuseppe Fasani and Isabella Della Monaca. He entered the Conventual Franciscans in 1695 and took the names of St. Francis and St. Anthony. He spent much of his time studying, and was ordained a priest 10 years after entering the order. He then taught philosophy to younger friars, served as the guardian of his friary, and later became provincial of his order. When his term of office as provincial ended, Francesco became a novice-master, and…

St. James Intercisus Feast date: Nov 27 A soldier and courtier to King Yezdigerd I of Persia in the early fifth century, James was a Christian who, during Yezdigerd’s persecution of Christians, renounced his faith for fear of death. His family, who had not apostacized, contacted James upon the death of the king, and thus the end of the persecution, and chastised him for having renounced his Heavenly King before the worldy king of Persia. Upon hearing the rebukes of his family for the denial of his faith, James was thrown into a deep crisis of conscience, and he went…

St. Leonard of Port Maurice Feast date: Nov 26 St. Leonard was born on December 20, 1676 in Porto Maurizio, Italy. He was given the name Paul Jerome Casanova by his father, Domenico Casanova, a sea captain, and his mother, Anna Maria Benza. When he was 13, he was placed with his uncle Agostino to study for a career as a physician, but when the boy decided against medicine, his uncle disowned him. He then began to study at the Jesuit College in Rome. On October 2, 1697, he joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance and took the name Brother Leonard….

Blessed Santiago Alberione Feast date: Nov 26 Santiago Alberione was born on April 4, 1884, the fourth of six children in a devout working class family in San Lorenzo di Fossano, Cuneo, Italy. From a young age, he felt God calling him, and on his first school when the teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he responded, “I want to be a priest.” This desire of his came true when he entered the seminary in Alba. During the night of December 31 1900 to January 1 1901 while still in the seminary, he prayed…

St. Peter of Alexandria Feast date: Nov 26 Local commemorations of the fourth-century martyr Saint Peter of Alexandria will take place on Nov. 25 and 26. Although his feast day in the Western tradition (on the latter date) is no longer a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s universal calendar, he remains especially beloved among Catholic and Orthodox Christians of the Egyptian Coptic tradition. Tradition attests that the Egyptian bishop was the last believer to suffer death at the hands of Roman imperial authorities for his faith in Christ. For this reason, St. Peter of Alexandria is known as the…

St. Catherine of Alexandria Feast date: Nov 25 Catholics and other Christians around the world celebrate today, Nov. 25, the memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a revered martyr of the fourth century. St. Catherine was the subject of great interest and devotion among later medieval Christians. Devotees relished tales of her rejection of marriage, her rebuke to an emperor, and her decision to cleave to Christ even under threat of torture. Pope John Paul II restored the celebration of her memorial to the Roman Catholic calendar in 2002. Catherine’s popularity as a figure of devotion, during an era of…

St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions Feast date: Nov 24 During his papacy, Pope John Paul II canonized a group of 117 martyrs who died for the Roman Catholic Faith in Vietnam during the nineteenth century. The group was made up of ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spaniards, and ten French. Eight of the group were bishops, fifty were priests and fifty-nine were lay Catholics including a 9-year-old child. Some of the priests were Dominicans, others were diocesan priests who belonged to the Paris Mission Society. This feast day, and the witnesses of the lives of the martyrs, give testament to the sufferings…