Saint Anthony of Padua
In 1228, Gregory IX got to know St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), who had come to Rome to safeguard the unity of the Franciscan Order, which was at risk after the death of St. Francis (1181-1226).
Immaculate Heart of Mary
The day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church celebrates the liturgical commemoration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, awaiting with firm hope the fulfilment of the promise made by the Heavenly Mother to the three little shepherds of Fatima: “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”.
Sacred Heart of Jesus
On 27 December 1673, on the feast day of St. John the Evangelist (the apostle who at the Last Supper laid his head on the breast of Our Lord to know who would betray Him), St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) had the first great revelation about the secrets of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which filled her with His divine presence while the Visitandine (Visitation) nun was gathered in Eucharistic adoration.
Saint Landry of Paris
The first hospital in Paris, the Hôtel-Dieu (“Hostel of God”), and the oldest in the world still in operation was founded in 651 by Saint Landry (Landericus). The saint had the idea and the charity to gather the sick under one roof in order to improve their treatment and reduce the risks of contagion, at a time when epidemics were fairly frequent.
Saint Ephrem the Syrian
“The great Ephrem has awakened the numbed souls; comforted the afflicted; formed, directed and exhorted the young; mirror of monks, guide of penitents, sword and arrow against heretics, casket of virtues, temple and resting place of the Holy Spirit.” Thus a great Eastern Father and Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom (†407), wrote about St. Ephrem the Syrian (306-373), the most important of Syriac writers and himself a Doctor of the Church.
Saint James Berthieu
A shining example of what it means to give one's life for Christ, in union with His sacrifice on the cross, is offered by Saint James Berthieu (27 November 1838 - 8 June 1896). This French priest was a Jesuit missionary killed in Madagascar during the Malagasy rebellion of 1896, when he preferred martyrdom to giving in to repeated requests to deny the faith.
Saint Anthony Maria Gianelli
He was born and grew up in an era of accelerated secularisation, between the French Revolution and the Risorgimento. St Anthony Maria Gianelli (1789-1846), founder of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Garden, was an admirable example of a priest and bishop who was passionate about charity for his neighbour and aware of the urgency of relaunching an adequate Christian education aimed at the salvation of souls.
Corpus Christi
“How did you extract a piece of a living heart from a person?” is the question posed in 2005 by Frederick Zugibe (1928-2013), an expert in forensic medicine and professor at Columbia University, after analyzing a fragment of a consecrated Host, which in 1996 had turned into bleeding flesh in the parish of Santa Maria in Buenos Aires...
Saint Boniface
A tireless missionary, he was erudite and passionate about the Word of God. Out of love for the Creator he set off one last time at about 80 years of age, wishing to announce the Gospel to the pagans who would shortly afterwards martyr him.
Saint Francis Caracciolo
He is often depicted contemplating the Blessed Sacrament. Eucharistic adoration was in fact at the heart of his days and nights
Ugandan Holy Martyrs
Today the Church celebrates the memory of saint Charles Lwanga and other 21 Catholic martyrs killed on different days between 1885 and 1887 and proclaimed saints all together in October 1964 by Paul VI
Saints Marcellinus and Peter
In the early centuries of Christianity, Saints Marcellinus and Peter (†304), martyred during Diocletian's persecutions, enjoyed great popularity. We owe the oldest written record of their martyrdom to Saint Damasus (c. 305-384), the Pope who composed famous epigrams in honour of the martyrs and identified several sepulchres.
