Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive

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Patron Archive
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April 1

Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/April 1

Mary of Egypt (ca. 344 – ca. 421) is revered as the patron saint of penitent women, most particularly in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. The primary source of information on Saint Mary of Egypt is the Vita written of her by St. Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem (634 - 638). Most of the information in this section is taken from this source.Saint Mary was born somewhere in Egypt, and at the age of twelve ran away to the city of Alexandria where she lived an extremely dissolute life. Some authorities refer to her as a prostitute during this period, but in her Vita she states that she often refused the money offered for her sexual favors. She was, she said, driven "by an insatiable desire and an irrepressible passion," and that she mainly lived by begging, supplemented by spinning flax. After seventeen years of this lifestyle, she travelled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. She undertook the journey as a sort of "anti-pilgrimage," stating that she hoped to find in the pilgrim crowds at Jerusalem even more partners in her lust. She paid for her passage by offering sexual favors to other pilgrims, and she continued her habitual lifestyle for a short time in Jerusalem. Her Vita relates that when she tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the celebration, she was barred from doing so by an unseen force. Realizing that this was because of her impurity, she was struck with remorse, and on seeing an icon of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary) outside the church, she prayed for forgiveness and promised to give up the world (i.e., become an ascetic). Then she attempted again to enter the church, and this time was permitted in. After venerating the relic of the true cross, she returned to the icon to give thanks, and heard a voice telling her, "If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest." She immediately went to the monastery of St. John the Baptist on the bank of the River Jordan, where she received Holy Communion. The next morning, she crossed the Jordan and retired to the desert to live the rest of her life as a hermit. She took with her only three loaves of bread, and once they were gone, lived only on what she could find in the wilderness.

April 7

April 8

Saint Perpetuus

Saint Perpetuus (French: Saint-Perpetue) (d. December 30, 490 AD) was the sixth Bishop of Tours, from 460 to 490. He succeeded his relative, probably an uncle, Eustochius, and was succeeded by another close relative, Saint Volusianus. Born of a senatorial family, he became bishop of Tours around 460. It is said of him that he dedicated the revenues of his estates to the relief of those in need. Appointed about 460, he guided the Church of Tours for thirty years, and it is apparent, from what little information we have, that during his administration Christianity was considerably developed and consolidated in Touraine. Shortly after his elevation, St. Perpetuus presided at a council in which eight bishops who were reunited in Tours on the Feast of St. Martin had participated, and at this assembly an important rule was promulgated relative to ecclesiastical discipline. He maintained a careful surveillance over the conduct of the clergy of his diocese, and mention is made of priests who were removed from their office because they had proved unworthy.
Attributes:Depicted as a bishop directing the building of a church. Sometimes the sick may be shown being healed at his tomb or as his relics are carried in procession.
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April 9

Saint Frances of Rome (or Saint Francesca Romana) (b. Rome, 1384 – d. Rome, March 9, 1440), like many saints, was born of wealthy Italian parents.When she was eleven years old, St. Frances decided to be a nun, but within two years her parents married her off to Lorenzo Ponziano (or de Ponziani), commander of the papal troops of Rome. Although the marriage had been arranged, it was a happy one, lasting for forty years, partly because Lorenzo admired his wife and her sister, Vannozza, and partly because he was frequently away at war. The women prayed, visited the poor, and took care of the sick, inspiring other wealthy women to do the same. Francesca became widely known among the poor by the nickname "la Ceccolella".Francesca and Lorenzo lost two of their three children to the plague. In their case, it sensitized them to the needs of the poor. During the wars between the legitimate pope and various antipopes, Lorenzo served the former. However, in his absence, much of his own property and possessions were destroyed. Eventually he would return, wounded, to Francesca's care, dying in 1436.According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "With her husband's consent St. Frances practiced continency, and advanced in a life of contemplation. Her visions often assumed the form of drama enacted for her by heavenly personages. She had the gift of miracles and ecstasy, (as) well as the bodily vision of her guardian angel, had revelations concerning purgatory and hell, and foretold the ending of the Western Schism. She could read the secrets of consciences and detect plots of diabolical origin. She was remarkable for her humility and detachment, her obedience and patience.
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Patronage:Benedictine oblates; automobile drivers
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April 10

Blessed Anthony Neyrot (in Italian: Antonio) (1425 – 1460) was an Italian Dominican priest, apostate, reconvert, and martyr. Anthony Neyrot was born in Rivoli, in Piedmont, Italy, and entered the Dominicans. After completing his studies, he was ordained and lived for a while at San Marco in Florence where he studied under Antoninus of Florence. Restless, he asked for a change of mission and was sent to Sicily. Still unhappy, he left for Naples. On this voyage, his ship was captured by Moorish pirates, and along with the other passengers, was taken to North Africa. It would appear that the Muslim Caliph of Tunis seemed to have liked Anthony, as he was treated kindly, and was not even confined, until his arrogance angered his captors. Antony was impatient and resented the idea of being a prisoner. Living on a diet of bread and water, he soon collapsed. He then denied his faith in order to buy his freedom.
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April 11

Stanisław Szczepanowski or Stanislaus of Szczepanów (July 26, 1030 – April 11?, 1079) was a Bishop of Kraków known chiefly for having been slain by Polish King Bolesław II the Bold. Stanisław is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus the Martyr (as distinct from Saint Stanislaus Kostka).There is little credible information about Stanisław's life. The only almost contemporary source was a chronicle of Gallus Anonymus, but the author purposely evaded writing details about a conflict with the king. Later sources are the chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek, and two vitae (hagiographies) by Wincenty of Kielce, but all are strongly biased and contain much legendary and hagiographic matter.According to tradition, Stanisław was born at Szczepanów, a village near the town of Bochnia in southern Poland, the only son of the noble and pious Wielisław and Bogna. He was educated at a cathedral school in Gniezno (then Poland's capital) and later, according to different sources, in Paris or Liège. On return to Poland, Stanisław was ordained a priest by Lambert Suła, Bishop of Kraków. After the Bishop's death (1072), Stanisław was elected his successor but accepted the office only at the explicit command of Pope Alexander II. Stanisław was one of the earliest native Polish bishops. He also became a ducal advisor and had some influence on Polish politics.Stanisław's major accomplishments included bringing papal legates to Poland, and re-establishment of a metropolitan see in Gniezno. The latter was a precondition for Duke Bolesław's coronation as king, which took place in 1076. Stanisław then encouraged King Bolesław to establish Benedictine monasteries to aid in the Christianization of Poland.
Attributes:Episcopal insignia, sword, resurrected Piotr
Patronage:Poland, Kraków, moral order
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April 12

Sabbas the Goth is a martyr and Christian saint.He was born in 334 to Christian parents in a village in the Buzău river valley and lived in Wallachia in what is now Romania. His Act of Martyrdom states that he was a Goth by race. He may have been a cantor or a reader there. In the year 371, a Gothic ruler started repressing Christianity in his area. When his agents came to the village where Sabbas lived, they forced the villagers to eat sacrificial meat. Pagan villagers wanting to help their Christian neighbours had tricked the authorities by exchanging the sacrificial meat by meat that had not been sacrificed. However, Sabbas made a conspicuous show a rejecting the meat altogether. His fellow villagers then exiled him, but after a while he was allowed back. When the Gothic noble returned and asked if there were any Christians about, Sabbas stepped forward and said, “'Let no-one swear an oath on my behalf. I am a Christian.” Sabbas neighbours then said that he was a poor man of no account. The leader then dismissed him, saying, “This one can do us neither good nor harm.”
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April 13

Hermenegild

Saint Hermenegild (ca. 564 - April 13, 585), or Saint Ermengild (Spanish: San Hermenegildo) (from Gothic Ermen Gild: "inmense tribute"), was a member of the Visigothic Royal Family in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising both modern Spain and Portugal). His ultimate martyrdom was the catalyst in the Visigoths conversion from Arianism to Catholicism.St. Hermenegild was the son of King Leovigild and brother to Reccared. He was brought up in the Arian belief, but married Ingund (the daughter of the Frankish King Sigebert I of Austrasia), who was a Catholic. Ingund was pressured by Leovigild's wife Goiswinth to abjure her beliefs, but she would not abandon her faith.Under Ingund's influence, and that of St. Leander, Hermenegild was converted to Catholicism. His family demanded that he return to the Arian faith, but he refused. As a result, he led a revolt against Leovigild. He asked for the aid of the Byzantines, but he was left without aid. After some time he sought sanctuary in a church. Leovigild would not violate the sanctuary, but sent Reccared instead inside to speak with St. Hermenegild and to offer peace. This was accepted, and peace was made for some time. Goiswinth, however, brought about another alienation within the family. St. Hermenegild was imprisoned in Tarragona or Toledo. He subjected himself to mortifications, and asked God to aid him in his struggles.
Attributes:Martyr, King
Patronage:Seville, Spain
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April 14

Saint Lidwina (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (April 18, 1380 – April 14, 1433) was a Dutch saint. At age 14, Lidwina was ice skating when she fell and broke a rib. She never recovered and became progressively invalid for the rest of her life. Her biographers state that she became paralyzed except for her left hand and that great pieces of her body fell off, and that blood poured from her mouth, ears, and nose. Saint Lidwina is thought to be one of the first known multiple sclerosis patients and her fall and consequent disability are attributed to the effects of the disease.
Her grave became a place of pilgrimage after her death. A chapel was built in 1434 over it. Thomas à Kempis wrote her biography and veneration for her increased. In 1615 her relics were taken to Brussels, but in 1871 they were returned to Schiedam. On March 14, 1890, Leo XIII officially canonized her. She is the patron saint of sickness and ice skaters and her feast day occurs on April 14th. Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a biography of her in 1901.
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Patronage: sickness and ice skaters
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April 15

Father Damien (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889), born Joseph de Veuster and aka Saint Damien of Molokai, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order. Damian is known for love and ministering to people with what was then widely known as leprosy, forced by government-sanctioned medical segregation, living on the island of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii. In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, as well as other denominations of Christianity, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for Hansen's Disease, HIV and AIDS patients as well as outcasts. As the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii, Father Damien Day is celebrated statewide on April 15. Upon his beatification by Pope John Paul II in 1995, Damien was given a memorial feast day, celebrated on May 10 on the church calendar; Damien was canonized as Saint Damien of Molokai by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Several memorials have been made to Damien worldwide. The Father Damien Statue honors the priest in bronze at the United States Capitol while a full size replica stands in front of the Hawaii State Capitol. In 2005, Damien was honored with the title of De Grootste Belg, chosen as The Greatest Belgian throughout Belgian history in polling conducted by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT.

Attributes:leprosy
Patronage:people with leprosy, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, the State of Hawaii.
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April 16

Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/April 16

April 17

Pope Alexander of Alexandria (died April 17, 326) was the nineteenth Pope of Alexandria from 313 to his death. During his patriarchate, he was forced to deal with a number of issues relevant to the church's positions on issues facing the church. These included the dating of Easter, the actions of Meletius of Lycopolis, and the issue of Arianism among them. He was the leader of the opposition to Arianism at the First Council of Nicaea, at which he had been called to preside. He also is remembered for being the mentor of the man who would be his successor, Athanasius of Alexandria, who would become one of the leading saints of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the majority of Christianity in general.Comparatively little is known of Alexander's early years. During his time as a priest he experienced the bloody persecutions of Christians by Galerius, Maximinus, and others.Alexander became patriarch on the passing of Achillas of Alexandria, whose own remarkably short reign was thought by some to have been brought about by his breaking the command of his own predecessor, Peter of Alexandria, to never readmit Arius into communion.Alexander himself faced three primary challenges during his term as patriarch. The first of these was a schismatic sect, led by Erescentius, which was disputing the timing of Easter. Alexander found himself put in the position of writing a special treatise on the controversy, in which he cited earlier statements regarding the matter by Dionysius of Alexandria. Alexander's own efforts, while they did serve to quiet the dispute, were not enough to quiet the controversy themselves, although the First Council of Nicaea, held during his tenure, did resolve the matter.
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April 18

Marie of the Incarnation, (born in Paris, February 1, 1566; died at Pontoise, April 1618) known also as Madame Acarie, was foundress of the French Carmelites. By her family Barbara Avrillot belonged to the higher bourgeois society in Paris. Her father, Nicholas Avrillot was accountant general in the Chamber of Paris, and chancellor of Marguerite of Navarre, first wife of Henri IV of France; while her mother, Marie Lhuillier was a descendant of Etienne Marcel, the famous prévôt des marchands (chief municipal magistrate). She was placed with the Poor Clares of Longchamp^{[disambiguation needed]} for her education, and acquired there a vocation for the cloister, which subsequent life in the world did not alter. In 1584, through obedience she married Pierre Acarie, a wealthy young man of high standing, who was a fervent Christian, to whom she bore six children. She was an exemplary wife and mother.Pierre Acarie was one of the staunchest members of the Catholic League, which, after the death of Henry III of France, opposed the succession of the Huguenot prince, Henry of Navarre, to the French throne. He was one of the sixteen who organized the resistance in Paris. The cruel famine, which accompanied the siege of Paris, gave Madame Acarie an occasion of displaying her charity. After the dissolution of the League, brought about by the abjuration of Henry IV, Acarie was exiled from Paris and his wife had to remain behind to contend with creditors and businessmen for her children's fortune, which had been compromised by her husband's want of foresight and prudence.
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April 19

Saint Emma of Lesum (stained glass window in St. John's Church, Bremen)

Emma of Lesum or Emma of Stiepel (also known as Hemma and Imma) (b. in about 975-980 in Saxony; d. 3 December 1038 in Lesum, now Bremen-Burglesum, Germany) was a countess popularly venerated as a saint for her good works; she is also the first female inhabitant of Bremen to be known by name.Emma was born into the Saxon noble family of the Immedinger, descendants of Widukind. She was the daughter of Count Immed from the diocese of Utrecht and also, according to Adam of Bremen, the sister of Meinwerk, Bishop of Paderborn. She married Liudger, a son of the Saxon duke Hermann Billung and brother of Bernard I, Duke of Saxony. Emperor Otto III made the couple a present in 1001 of the Pfalz or palatium in Stiepel (now Bochum-Stiepel), where in 1008 Emma had a church built dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which later became a popular place of pilgrimage. The only child of the marriage was Imad, consecrated Bishop of Paderborn in 1051.After the early death of her husband in 1011, Emma withdrew to the estate of Lesum and with her fortune generously supported Bremen Cathedral, where Archbishop Unwan was another of her relatives, and granted the cathedral chapter her property at Stiepel with its church.
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April 20

Saint Agnes of Montepulciano (in Italian: Agnese Segni di Montepulciano) (1268 – 1317) was born into a noble family in Gracciano, a small village near Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy where, at the age of nine she entered the monastery. Some four years later the administration of the castle of Proceno, a fief of Orvieto, invited the nuns of Montepulciano to send some of their sisters to Proceno to found a new monastery. In 1288 Agnes, despite her youth, was selected as prioress. There she gained a reputation for performing miracles: people suffering from mental and physical ailments seemed cured by her mere presence and she was reported to have multiplied loaves—recalling the miracle of the loaves and fishes—on a number of occasions.
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April 21

Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 – April 21, 1109) was an Italian medieval philosopher, theologian, and church official who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God and as the archbishop who openly opposed the Crusades.Anselm was born in the city of Aosta in the Kingdom of Burgundy (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley in Northern Italy). His family was noble and owned considerable property. His father, Gundulph, was by birth a Lombard and seems to have been harsh and violent. Ermenberga, his mother, was regarded as prudent and virtuous. She gave young Anselm careful religious instruction.At the age of fifteen, Anselm desired to enter a monastery but could not obtain his father's consent. Disappointment brought on apparent psychosomatic illness. After recovery, he gave up his studies and lived a carefree life. During this period, his mother died and his father's harshness became unbearable.In 1059, he left home, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France. Attracted by the fame of his countryman Lanfranc (then prior of the Benedictine Abbey of Bec), Anselm entered Normandy. The following year, after some time at Avranches, he entered the abbey as a novice at the age of twenty-seven.
Attributes:Bishop; Confessor; Doctor of the Church; Philosopher; Theologian; Portrayed with a ship, representing the spiritual independence of the Church.
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April 22

Pope Saint Caius or Gaius was pope from December 17, 283 to April 22, 296. Christian tradition makes him a native of the Dalmatian city of Solin (Salona), near Split, the son of a man also named Caius, and a member of a noble family related to Diocletian.Little information on Caius is available except that given by the Liber Pontificalis, which relies on a legendary account of the martyrdom of St. Susanna for its information. According to legend, Caius baptized the men and women who had been converted by Saint Tiburtius (who is venerated with St. Susanna) and Saint Castulus.About 280, an early Christian house of worship was established on the site of Santa Susanna, which, like many of the earliest Christian meeting places, was in a house (domus ecclesiae). The domus belonged, according to the sixth-century acta, to brothers named Caius and Gabinus, prominent Christians. Caius may be this Pope, or Caius the Presbyter. Gabinus is the name given to the father of Saint Susanna. Thus, sources state that Caius was the uncle of Saint Susanna.
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April 23

Adalbert of Prague

Saint Adalbert of Prague (Czech: <phonos file="Cs-svaty_Vojtech.ogg">Vojtěch</phonos>; Polish: Wojciech; c. 956–April 23, 997), a bishop of Prague, was martyred in his efforts, to convert the Baltic Prussians. He was later made the patron saint of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and Prussia.Adalbert (Vojtěch) was born in a Czech noble family of Prince Slavník and his wife Střezislava in Libice nad Cidlinou, Bohemia. His father was a rich and independent ruler of the Zličan princedom that rivaled Prague (see Slavník's dynasty). Adalbert had five full brothers: Soběbor (Slavnik's heir), Spytimir, Pobraslav, Porej, Caslav and a half-brother Radim (Gaudentius) from his father's liaison with another woman. Radim chose a clerical career as did Adalbert, and the name Gaudentius. Adalbert was a well-educated man, having studied for about ten years (970-80) in Magdeburg under Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg. Upon the death of his mentor, he took on the name Adalbert. Gifted and industrious, Adalbert soon became well-known all over Europe.In 980 Adalbert finished his studies at Magdeburg school and returned to Prague where he became a priest. In 981 his father, Prince Slavnik, and both his mentors died.
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Patronage:Bohemia; Poland; Prussia
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April 24

Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577 – April 24, 1622) is a Roman Catholic saint and martyr of the Counter-Reformation in Switzerland.He was born Mark Roy or Rey and took the name of "Fidelis" when he joined the Capuchin Order at the age of 35 in 1612. He was born at Sigmaringen, a town in Germany, in the principality of Hohenzollern. His father was John Rey. He studied law and philosophy at Freiburg.He subsequently taught philosophy there, ultimately earning a "doctor of laws". During his time as a student he did not drink wine, and wore a hair-shirt. His was known for his modesty, meekness, and chastity.In 1604, he accompanied three young gentlemen of Switzerland on their travels through the principal parts of Europe. During six years of travel, he attended Mass very frequently; in every town where he came, he visited the hospitals and churches, passed several hours on his knees in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and gave to the poor sometimes the very clothes off his back.Upon return to Switzerland, he practiced the law in quality of counsellor or advocate, at Colmar, in Alsace. He scrupulously forbore all invectives, detractions, and whatever might affect the reputation of any adversary. His charity procured him the surname of "counsellor and advocate for the poor". Disenchanted by the evils of that profession, he became determined to enter the Capuchin friars.
Attributes:sword; palm of martyrdom; heretics; the Morning Star; trampling on the word "heresy"; with a club set with spikes; with a whirlbat; with an angel carrying a palm of martyrdom; with Saint Joseph of Leonissa
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April 25

Mark the Evangelist (מרקוס, Greek: Μάρκος) (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. He also accompanied Paul and Barnabas in Paul's first journey. After a sharp dispute, Barnabas separated from Paul, taking Mark to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-40). Ironically, this separation helped bring along the creation of the Gospel of Mark. Later Paul calls upon the services of Mark, the kinsman of Barnabas, and Mark is named as Paul's fellow worker.He is also believed to be the first Pope of Alexandria by both the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Church of Alexandria, and thus the founder of Christianity in Africa. His evangelistic symbol is the lion.In 828, relics believed to be the body of St. Mark was stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants and were taken to Venice, where the Byzantine St. Theodore had previously been the patron saint. A basilica was built there to house the relics.There is a mosaic on this Venetian basilica showing how the sailors covered the body relics with a layer of pork.Since Muslims are not allowed to touch pork, this action was done to prevent Muslim intervention in the relics removal.
Attributes:Lion in the desert; bishop on a throne decorated with lions; man helping Venetian sailors; man holding a book with "pax tibi Marce" written on it; man holding a palm and book; man with a book or scroll accompanied by a winged lion; man with a halter around his neck; man writing or holding his gospel; rescuing Christian slaves from Saracens; lion.
Patronage:Barristers, Venice, and others; see [1]
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April 26

Trudpert

Saint Trudpert (d. ca. 607 or 644) was a missionary in Germany in the seventh century. He is generally called a Celtic monk from Ireland, but some consider him a German.According to legend, he went first to Rome in order to receive from the pope authority for his mission. Returning from Italy he travelled along the Rhine to the country of the Alamanni in the Breisgau. A person of rank named Otbert gave him land for his mission about 25 km (15 miles) south of Freiburg in Baden, today a part of the village Münstertal, Black Forest.Trudpert cleared off the trees and built a cell and a little church which later Bishop Martinus of Constance dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul. Here Trudpert led an ascetic and laborious life.According to a now discounted tradition, one day when he was asleep he was murdered under a pine by one of the serfs whom Otbert had given him, in revenge for severe tasks imposed. Otbert gave Trudpert an honourable burial. The Benedictine Abbey of St. Trudpert (de:St. Trudpert) was built in the next century on the spot where Trudpert was buried. The story of his life is so full of legendary details that no correct judgment can be formed of Trudpert's era, the kind of work he did, or of its success. The period when he lived in the Breisgau was formerly
Attributes:axe, palm of martyrdom
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April 27

Mummified body of Saint Zita in the Basilica di San Frediano in Lucca

Saint Zita (c. 1212 - 27 April 1272) is the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is also appealed to in order to help find lost keys. She was born in Tuscany, Italy, in the village of Monsagrati, not far from Lucca where, at the age of 12, she became a servant in the Fatinelli household. For a long time, she was unjustly despised, overburdened, reviled, and often beaten by her employers and fellow servants for her hard work and obvious goodness. The incessant ill-usage, however, was powerless to deprive her of her inward peace, her love of those who wronged her, and her respect for her employers. By this meek and humble self-restraint, Zita at last succeeded in overcoming the malice of her fellow-servants and her employers, so much so that she was placed in charge of all the affairs of the house. Her faith had enabled her to persevere against their abuse, and her constant piety gradually moved the family to a religious awakening.Zita often said to others that devotion is false if slothful. She considered her work as an employment assigned her by God, and as part of her penance, and obeyed her master and mistress in all things as being placed over her by God.
Attributes:depicted with a bag, keys
Patronage:Domestic servants, homemakers, lost keys, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, single laywomen, waiters, waitresses
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April 28

Peter Chanel (1803–1841), Catholic priest, missionary and martyr. He was declared a saint and the first martyr (protomartyr) of Oceania (the South Pacific).Pierre Louis Marie Chanel was born on July 12, 1803 in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, France. After some schooling at Cras his piety and intelligence attracted the attention of a local priest, Fr Trompier, and he was put into Church-sponsored education. He followed this with seminary training in 1819 at the minor seminary at Meximieux then in 1824 at the major seminary at Brou. He was ordained priest on 15 July 1827 and spent a brief time as an assistant priest at Amberieux. There he met Claude Bret who was to become his friend and also one of the first Marist Missionaries. From an early age Chanel had been thinking about going on the foreign missions and his intention was strengthened by the letters that arrived at Amberieux from a former curate, now a missionary in India. The following year Chanel applied to the bishop of Belley for permission to go to the missions. His application was not accepted and instead he was appointed for the next three years as parish priest of the run down parish of Crozet, which he revitalized in that short time. His zeal was widely respected and his care, particularly of those in the parish that were sick, won the hearts of the locals who began again to practice their faith. During this time Chanel heard of a group of Diocesan Priests who were hopeful of starting a religious order to be dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
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Patronage:Oceania
Prayer:St Peter Chanel you left your homeland to proclaim Jesus, Saviour of the world, to the peoples of Oceania. Guided by the spirit of God, who is the strength of the gentle, you bore witness to love, even laying down your life. Grant that like you we may live our daily life in peace, joy, and in love. May your prayer and example call forth from our midst many workers for the Gospel so that God's kingdom may reach to the ends of the earth.

April 29

Saint Catherine of Siena, O.P. (March 25, 1347 - April 29, 1380) was a Tertiary (a lay affiliate) of the Dominican Order, and a scholastic philosopher and theologian. She was born into a prosperous urban family, her parents being Giacomo di Benincasa, a cloth-dyer, and Lapa Piagenti, a daughter of a local poet. She was their 23rd child out of 25 (Catherine’s twin sister, the 24th, died at birth).A native of Siena, Catherine received no formal education. At the age of seven she consecrated her virginity to Christ despite her family's opposition. Her parents wanted her to live a normal life and marry, but against her parents' will, she dedicated her life to praying, meditating and living in total solitude into her late teens. At the age of sixteen, she took the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries. She truly shows beatitudes, such as " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" .Catherine dedicated her life to helping the ill and the poor, where she took care of them in hospitals or homes. She rounded up a group of followers, both women and men, and traveled with them along Northern Italy where they asked for a reform of the clergy, the launch of a new crusade and advised people that repentance and renewal could be done through "the total love for God." Catherine also dedicated her life to the study of religious texts. (342)
Attributes: Dominican nun's habit, lily, book, crucifix, heart, crown of thorns, stigmata, ring, dove, rose, skull, miniature church, miniature ship bearing Papal coat of arms
Patronage:against fire, bodily ills, diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA, Europe, firefighters, illness, Italy, miscarriages, nurses, people ridiculed for their piety, sexual temptation, sick people, sickness, television
Prayer: Prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy: Flow upon us!

Precious Blood, Most pure Offering: Procure us every Grace!

Precious Blood, Hope and Refuge of sinners: Atone for us!

Precious Blood, Delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.

April 30

Pope St. Pius V, O.P. (January 17, 1504 – May 1, 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri, from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Involved early on in the Inquisition, as Pope he resisted the influence of Protestants.He was born as Antonio Ghislieri at Bosco in the Duchy of Milan (now Bosco Marengo in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont), Italy. At the age of fourteen he entered the Dominican Order, taking the name Michele, passing from the monastery of Voghera to that of Vigevano, and thence to Bologna. Having been ordained priest at Genoa in 1528, he settled at Pavia, where he lectured for sixteen years. He soon gave evidence of the opinions which found a more practical expression in his pontificate, by advancing at Parma thirty propositions in support of the papal chair and against the heresies of the time. As president of more than one Dominican monastery during a time of great moral laxity in the Catholic Church, he stood against the trend of the times by insisting on strict discipline, and, in accordance with his own wish to discharge the office of inquisitor, received an appointment to that post at Como. His reformist zeal provoking resentment, he was compelled in 1550 to return to Rome, where, after having been employed in several inquisitorial missions, he was elected to the commissariat of the Holy Office.
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