Christ the King
The solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, was introduced by Pius XI with the encyclical Quas Primas of 11 December 1925 to recall the kingship of God the Son over history and to remedy an evil that was already afflicting society at that time: secularism.
Saint Colomban
His life recalls in an exemplary way the Christian roots of the Old Continent. He and his monks proclaimed the Gospel and had a profound impact on European culture.
Saint Cecilia
The patron saint of music was martyred during the pontificate of St Urban I. Her story reveals her unconditional love for God, to whom she consecrated herself.
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Catholic Church commemorates the presentation of Mary as a child in the temple in Jerusalem, celebrated on the same day by the Orthodox under the title “Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple”.
Saint Edmund
He was a righteous king who, during the winters, had food taken from the royal pantries to donate to his subjects. His martyrdom occurred in 870.
Saint Matilda of Hackeborn
Her Book of Special Grace influenced devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She is also linked to the promise of the three Hail Marys.
Dedication of the basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul
Erected on the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, not far from the places where they suffered martyrdom under Nero, the basilicas dedicated to them are remembered in a single commemoration.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
The fame of sanctity that surrounded her was enhanced by miracles performed during her life.
Saint Gertrude the Great
She was a mystic who spent almost all her life in that exceptional centre of spirituality and culture that was the Monastery of Helfta, “where some of the masterpieces of Latin-German women's religious literature were born” (Benedict XVI).
Saint Albert the Great
His genius can be appreciated simply through his explanation of the perfect harmony between faith and science, his teachings transmitted to St Thomas Aquinas and his critical appreciation of Aristotle. He deserved the title of Doctor Universalis.
Saints Nicholas Tavelić and Companions
Franciscan martyrs, they spent years in the Holy Land to guard the places of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord. Imitating Saint Francis, they announced Jesus Christ to the Muslims.
Saint Agostina Pietrantoni
She lived in the years immediately following the Unification of Italy, marked by radical hostility to Catholicism on the part of power. She served God by giving herself to the sick...
