The Baptism of Jesus
"It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!" Even John the Baptist, called to prepare the way for the Lord by preaching conversion through baptism, was unable to penetrate the divine mystery of the Baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan.
Saint Hyginus
Saint Hyginus, the ninth pope, was elected in 138 after the death of Saint Telesphorus, who, according to Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202), suffered a "glorious martyrdom".
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Together with his brother Basil the Great and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint Gregory Nyssen (c. 335-395) is one of the group of Cappadocian Fathers, united by their common geographical origin and, above all, by their theological and philosophical significance.
Saint Marcellinus of Ancona
The biographers of Saint Marcellinus († 9 January 577) report that he was born of the noble Boccamaiori family and that he became Bishop of the city of Conero in 551, during the pontificate of Vigilius I.
Saint Severinus Abbot
In almost thirty years of mission in Noricum, Severinus founded churches and monasteries, and by his preaching he induced many souls to abandon paganism worship and convert to Christianity
Saint Raymond of Penyafort
Nothing precise is known about the actual date of his birth but contemporary chronicles report that he died at about 100 years old. During his long life, Saint Raymond of Penyafort (c. 1175-1275), a great connoisseur of canon law and third Superior General of the Dominican Order, left a significant mark on the history of the Church.
Epiphany of the Lord
After the shepherds, the humblest among the chosen people, had glorified God at the sight of the Child Jesus lying in a manger, the Saviour "began to make himself known to the pagans" (Saint Augustine) through the Epiphany (that is, 'manifestation') to the Magi came from the east, the sign that all peoples are called to salvation.
Saint Edward the Confessor
Before being crowned King of England, Saint Edward the Confessor (1003-1066) lived most of his life in exile. Son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, when he was still a child his mother took him to Normandy with his brother Alfred to escape from the Danes, who were invading England (1013).
Saint Angela of Foligno
The first teaching left by saint Angela of Foligno, great mystic who lived in Umbria a couple of decades after Saint Francis of Assisi, is the importance of a good confession, as a source of regeneration for every Christian, which, in her case, marked the beginning of her conversion.
Most Holy Name of Jesus
"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it." The words of Our Lord in John's Gospel stress the importance of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, actually venerated from the earliest centuries of Christianity
Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus
Saints in heaven, friends on earth, both were proclaimed doctors of the Church in 1568 by Saint Pius V: because they shared their lives in Christ, the Church remembers on the same day Saint Basil the Great (c. 329-379) and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390). The Cappadocian Fathers distinguished themselves by the ability to communicate their faith to Greek-speaking intellectuals, to whom they demonstrated the perfect compatibility of Christianity with true philosophy
Mary Most Holy Mother of God
With the solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God the Church celebrates and confesses that the Blessed Virgin truly is the Theotókos (in Greek: 'She who gives birth to God') or Deipara (according to the corresponding Latin word). They defined the first Marian dogma in history, intimately linked to the divinity of the Son and the mystery of His Incarnation in the virginal womb of Mary.
