Mary Queen
“At your right is seated the Queen, shining with gold and gems”. The liturgical re-enactment of Psalm 44 reminds us that the Church today celebrates Mary Queen. The celebration falls in the octave of the Assumption, to underline the very close link between these two glorious mysteries meditated on in the Holy Rosary.
Saint Pius X
“Restoring everything in Christ” was the inspiring principle of the 11 years of the pontificate of Saint Pius X (1835-1914), the Pope of humble origins who was able to analyse lucidly and condemn the errors of Modernism. He recognized its evil roots and prophesied that it would lead to an atheistic society.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
In 1112 the Cistercian Order was in serious danger of disappearing. But on Easter morning of that year a charismatic twenty-two year old, later known as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153), with thirty companions, asked to be allowed to wear the Cistercian habit. Their entry was like an overabundance of grace that revitalized the Order.
Saint John Eudes
The great precursor of the liturgical cult of the Sacred Hearts, Saint John Eudes (1601-1680), was one of the protagonists of the Catholic Restoration during the 17th century in France, a century in which the nation experienced an exceptional flowering of holiness.
Saint Helena
She was the mother of the emperor Constantine and the woman rich in faith who found the True Cross.
Saint Beatrix da Silva
Those who after her death became known as Franciscan Conceptionists were from the order founded by Saint Beatrix da Silva (1424-1492), a Portuguese mystic who lived during the period of the great explorers' journeys and the the Reconquista.
Saint Stephen of Hungary
The first Hungarian king was a pivotal player in the Christianization of the Magyar country. He encouraged the establishment of Christianity with various laws and availed himself of the help of the Cluniac monks for the evangelization of the country.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On 1 November 1950, Pius XII solemnly defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary: “We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”
Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe
The “martyr of love” reminded the world, in the midst of the destruction of mankind in the Nazi concentration camps, of all the fruitfulness and power of faith, sacrificing himself to save a family man.
Saints Pontian and Hippolytus
Before being deported together to Sardinia, at the beginning of the persecution of Maximinus the Thracian, the holy martyrs Pontian and Hippolytus (†235) had found themselves on opposite sides. Pontian was in fact the legitimate Pope, while Hippolytus was an anti-pope.
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
The name of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641) is linked to that of St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) for the spiritual bond that was established between these two blessed souls, who co-founded the Order of the Visitation.
Saint Clare of Assisi
Before following the example of St. Francis and continuing his work by founding the Poor Clares, a female branch of his order, Saint Clare of Assisi (c. 1193-1253) had been able to ask in prayer and meditate in her heart about what God was calling her to do.
