St. Anthony & Our Lady of Fatima

St. Leonard of Noblac Feast date: Nov 06 St Leonard of Noblac was a Frank courtier, and during a certian invasion which they were losing, the Queen suggested to Leonard that he invoke the help of God to repel the invading army. He did, and the tide of battle turned, naming Clovis victorious. Saint Remigius, bishop of Rheims then used this miracle to convert the King, Leonard, and a thousand of thier followers to Christianity. Following his conversion, St. Leonard refused the offer of a See from his grandfather, King Clovis I. He then began a life of austerity, sanctification, and preaching. His desire…

Saint Jean-Theophane Venard Feast date: Nov 06 On November 6, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Jean-Théophane Vénard, a French missionary to Vietnam who was martyred for the faith. Famous for having inspired St. Therese of Lisieux, who said of St. Jean-Théophane that he was someone who had lived her own image of a martyr and missionary, St. Jean was born in France, became a priest in the Society of Foreign Missions, and was sent to Vietnam. Due to the persecutions of the anti-Christian emperor Minh-Menh, priests were forced to hide in the forest and live in caves. They…

Sts. Elizabeth and Zachariah Feast date: Nov 05 Sts. Elizabeth and Zachariah were the parents of John the Baptist. She was a relative of Mary the Mother of God; no one knows the exact biological relationship between them, but tradition often says that they were cousins. The Gospel of Luke states that though Elizabeth had committed no evil in the eyes of God, she was barren for most of her life. She was advanced in age when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her husband Zachariah in the temple to promise them a son. St. Elizabeth is most famous for the…

St. Charles Borromeo Feast date: Nov 04 No age of the Catholic Church’s history is without its share of confusion and corruption. Still, even in moments when disorder may seem overwhelming, individuals and movements eventually arise to propose the faith with clarity and demonstrate it in action. St. Charles Borromeo, a central figure in the Council of Trent, is remembered on November 4, as a model of such leadership in difficult times. The circumstances of Charles’ birth, in 1538, could have easily allowed him to join the ranks of corrupt Renaissance-era clergy. He was born into luxury, the son of…

St. Martin de Porres Feast date: Nov 03 St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru in 1579 as the son of Spaniard Juan de Porres, and a freed colored-woman from Panama, Ana Velasquez. Being of mixed race, Martin was of a lower social caste, though his father looked out for him and made sure the boy was apprenticed in a good trade. Martin studied to be a barber, which, at that time, meant that he also learned medicine. He became very well known for his compassion and skill as a barber, and cared for many people as well as animals. Eventually…

All Souls Day Feast date: Nov 02 The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated by the Church on November 2, or, if this falls on a Sunday or a solemnity, the feast is celebrated on November 3. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy on this day, and all the Masses are to be of Requiem except one of the current feast, where this is of obligation. The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not…

All Saints’ Day Feast date: Nov 01 The Solemnity of All Saints is celebrated on the first of November. It was instituted to honour all of the saints, both known and unknown, and, according to Pope Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feasts during the year. In the early days of the Church, the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr’s death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is…

Saint Celestine V, Pope Feast date: May 19 Celestine is a saint who will always be remembered for the unique manner in which he was elected Pope, for his spectacular incompetence in that office, and for the distinction of being the first pontiff ever to have resigned. Pietro di Murrone was born in born 1215 in the Neapolitan province of Moline to a poor family. He became a Benedictine monk at the age of seventeen and was eventually ordained priest at Rome. His love of solitude led him first into the wilderness of Monte Morone in the Abruzzi, whence his surname, and…

Feast date: May 19 St. Ives was born at Kermartin, near Tréguier, Brittany, October 17, 1253 and was the son of Helori, lord of Kermartin, and Azo du Kenquis. In 1267, Ives was sent to the University of Paris where he graduated with a degree in civil law, and he then went on to Orléans in 1277 to study canon law. Upon his return to Brittany, having received minor orders, he was appointed as the “official”, or ecclesiastical judge, of the archdeanery of Rennes (1280). In the meantime, he ardently studied Scripture, and there is strong evidence suggesting that he joined the Franciscan Tertiaries sometime later at Guingamp. He was…

St. John I, Pope Feast date: May 18 On May 18, the Catholic Church honors the first “Pope John” in its history. Saint John I was a martyr for the faith, imprisoned and starved to death by a heretical Germanic king during the sixth century. He was a friend of the renowned Christian philosopher Boethius, who died in a similar manner. Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians also honor Pope St. John I, on the same date as the Roman Catholic Church. The future Pope John I was born in Tuscany, and served as an archdeacon in the Church for…