SAINT FEAST DAY FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 29th of March Prayer to the Angels and the Saints Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation. In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven. Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses. Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, ...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 28th of March WELCOME! SAINT CONON OF NASO, ABBOT Born in 1139, son of Count Anselmo Navacita, governor of Naso, Italy, Saint Conon chose poverty for the Lord by becoming a monk at the Fragala Abbey in Frazzano. Ordained to the Priesthood, he was chosen abbot after a spell as a hermit in a cave at the Rock of Almo.  HOLINESS AND MIRACLES His reputation for holiness and miracles spread: for instance, whilst on  Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, he received a vision in which he saw a priest he knew being suffocated by a snake. Having returned from the Holy Land, he went directly to this priest and told him what he had seen. The priest at once admitted to St Conon that he was taking church funds and keeping them for himself. St Conon then persuaded his fellow priest to change his ways. In 1236, St Conon died a most holy death while in prayer. That day the bells in the town of Naso began ringing on their own. PRAYER: Grant, we bes...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 27th of March WELCOME! SAINT MATTHEW OF BEAUVAIS, KNIGHT A nobleman of Beauvais, France, Saint Matthew took the cross from Bishop Roger of Beauvais and set off as a member of the First Crusade which had been called by  Pope Urban II to free the Holy Land.  A MEMBER OF THE FIRST CRUSADE While on the crusade, he was captured by the  Saracens in 1098, imprisoned, and was offered freedom on the condition that he renounce the Catholic Faith and become a Mahometan. When he steadfastly refused, he was beheaded. PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who know how courageously your holy martyr Matthew confessed the faith, may experience his goodness as he intercedes for us with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 26th of March WELCOME! SAINT LUDGER, BISHOP OF MÜNSTER Saint Ludger was born in Friesland about the year 743. His father, a nobleman of the first rank, at the child's own request, committed him very young to the care of Saint Gregory , the disciple of Saint Boniface , and his successors in the government of the see of Utrecht.  EDUCATED BY ST GREGORY Saint Gregory  educated him in his monastery and gave him the clerical tonsure. Ludger, desirous of further improvement, passed over into England, and spent four years and a half under St Alcuin, who was rector of a famous school at York. In 773 he returned home, and  Saint Gregory  dying in 776, his successor, Alberic, compelled him to receive the holy order of priesthood, and employed him for several years in preaching the Word of God in Friesland, where he converted great numbers, founded several monasteries, and built many churches.  The pagan Saxons ravagi...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 25th of March WELCOME! SAINT DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF Jesus was crucified between two thieves. One of them, whose name is Dismas, repented while Jesus was in Agony on the Cross and said, “We deserve our punishment, but Jesus has done no wrong”; then he said to Jesus: “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, and Jesus replied: “This day, you shall be with me in Paradise”. The first Saint to be canonised while still alive! This is the traditional story as recorded by the Evangelists. We often heard, “There is honour among thieves”. PRAYER: Lord, have mercy on all prisoners around the world who are incarcerated for their crimes against humanity, especially those who are to face execution for their crimes. We beseech thee, grant them the grace of repentance . O Lord, help us too to always observe the seventh commandment, and grant us to keep thy holy example always before our eyes, that we may despise the nothingness of this...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 24th of March   WELCOME! SAINT CATHARINE OF SWEDEN, ABBESS Saint Catharine of Sweden was daughter of Ulpho, [Ulf], Prince of Nericia in Sweden, and of St Bridget of Sweden. The love of God seemed almost to prevent in her the use of her reason. At seven years of age she was placed in the nunnery of Risburgh, and educated in piety under the care of the holy abbess of that house.  A VOW OF PERPETUAL CHASTITY Being very beautiful, she was, by her father, contracted in marriage to Egard, a young nobleman of great virtue; but the virgin persuaded him to join with her in making a mutual vow of perpetual chastity. He became desirous only of heavenly graces, arid, to draw them down upon his soul more abundantly, he readily acquiesced in the proposal. The happy couple, having but one heart and one desire, by a holy emulation excited each other to prayer, mortification, and works of charity.  SHE ACCOMPANIED HER MOTHER O...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 23rd of March WELCOME! SAINT JOSEPH ORIOL, PRIEST Saint Joseph Oriol was born at Barcelona, November 23 , 1650 . He studied in the University of Barcelona, receiving the degree of Doctor of Theology, August 1 , 1674 . Ordained priest, May 30 , 1676 , he visited Rome in 1686 and was granted a benefice in the church of Nuestra Señora del Pino, in Barcelona. His priestly life was remarkable for a spirit of penance, profound humility, and prudence in directing souls. PRUDENCE IN DIRECTING SOULS Impelled by a desire of martyrdom, he went to Rome in April, 1698, to offer himself for the foreign missions, but, falling sick at Marseilles, he returned to Barcelona. God bestowed upon him prophetic and miraculous power. The dying, the blind, the deaf and dumb, the lame, and the paralytic, were instantly cured by him. He died March 23 , 1702 . He was beatified by Pope Pius VII , September 5 , 1806 , and canonized by  Pope Pius X , May 20 ...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 22nd of March WELCOME! SAINT NICHOLAS OWEN, JESUIT LAY BROTHER AND CARPENTER  Nicholas, known as "Littlejohn" because of his short stature, was born 1550 at Oxford, England. A  Jesuit  lay brother, he was an extremely skilled carpenter who constructed priest holes for priests during the time when celebrating Holy Mass carried the death sentence. These places enabled priests to hide when Mass houses and mansions were raided by the government during clandestine Masses.  HE CONSTRUCTED HIDING PLACES FOR PRIESTS St Nicholas built hiding places for several decades, despite weak health and a hernia. He was arrested for some time in 1594 with Father John Gerard , and despite prolonged torture would not give the names of any Catholics. Nicholas is believed responsible for  Father Gerard 's dramatic escape from the Tower of London in 1597.  THE GOVERNMENT SUBJECTED HIM TO TORTURE In 1606, with  Fath...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 21st March WELCOME! SAINT ENDA OF ARAN, PRIEST One of the most significant of the early Irish saints, Saint Enda of Aran was a warrior who was converted by his sister, the abbess Saint Fanchea . Born in 484 or thereabouts, he established Ireland’s first monastery on the Aran Islands. VIEWING A CORPSE He was the son of a leading Ulster warlord. When his father died he had to fight his clan enemies, but his sister pacified him, on condition she find him a wife. His fiancee died before he could get married. To teach him about death and judgment, Fanchea forced her brother to view the girl’s corpse. Enda at this point decided to study for the priesthood, heading to south-western Scotland, where he took vows, returning to found a monastery at Innish. A GRUELLING LIFE Enda and his monks were inspired by the asceticism of the Egyptian desert hermits. The religious lived hard, gruelling lives of labour, fasting and prayer, and they...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 20th of March WELCOME! SAINT CUTHBERT, BISHOP ➡️ The Translation of Saint Cuthbert Saint Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, patron of Durham, was born about 635; died March 20, 687. His emblem is the head of St Oswald, king and martyr, which he is represented as bearing in his hands. He was probably born in the neighbourhood of Mailros (Melrose) of lowly parentage, for as a boy he used to tend sheep on the mountain-sides near that monastery. HE USED TO TEND SHEEP While still a child living with his foster-mother Kenswith his future lot as bishop had been foretold by a little play-fellow, whose prophecy had a lasting effect on his character. In the year 651, while watching his sheep, he saw in a vision the soul of St Aidan carried to heaven by angels, and inspired by this became a monk at Mailros.  Yet it would seem that the troubled state of the country hindered him from carrying out his resolution at once. Certain it is ...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 19th of March Prayer to the Angels and the Saints Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation. In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven. Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses. Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, ...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 18th of March WELCOME! SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ⬅️ Doctors of the Church - Complete List Saint Cyril, born in 315, became Bishop of Jerusalem in 348 when the Arian controversy was at its height, and he was exiled several times. In his ‘Catecheses’ he set out the true teaching of Christianity and scripture and the tradition of the Church. He died in 386. PRAYER: Father, through Cyril of Jerusalem you led your Church to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of salvation. Let his prayers help us to know your Son better and to have eternal life in all its fullness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 17th of March WELCOME! SAINT GERTRUDE OF NIVELLES, VIRGIN AND ABBESS [Saint Gertrude's intercession is invoked against rats and mice since at least the 15th century, and, more recently, her prayers are asked in her function of patron saint called upon for cats.] Saint Gertrude was daughter of Pepin of Landen , mayor of the palace to the French Kings of Austrasia, and younger sister to Saint Begga . She was born in 626.  SHE HAD MADE UP HER MIND Her father’s virtuous palace was the sanctuary of her innocence, and the school of her tender piety. Being pressed to marry, she declared in presence of King Dagobert: "I have chosen for my spouse him, from whose eternal beauty all creatures derive their glory, whose riches are immense, and whom the angels adore." The king admired her gravity and wisdom in so tender an age, and would not suffer her to be any more disturbed on that account.  Her mother, the blessed Itta , em...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 16th of March WELCOME! “THERE’LL BE TROUBLE IF THE DEVIL ROBS ME OF A SINGLE SOUL.” In September a Beatification Mass took place to give the Church its newest Blessed. This new Blessed, Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, is known as ‘the Gaucho Priest’ who travelled around on a mule. Blessed Jose was born in 1840 in Argentinia and was ordained a priest at the age of 26. A VERY LARGE MOUNTAINOUS PARISH He was given a very large mountainous parish to look after, which contained about 10,000 impoverished parishioners. Blessed Jose travelled on the back of a mule to bring the Gospel of Jesus and the sacraments to his people. When he visited families in his vast parish they said it was ‘like getting a visit from Jesus’. Blessed Jose would bring with him and image of the Virgin Mary and a prayer book. While explaining the Faith he would ‘speak in a way that everyone understood because he spoke from his own heart.’ WELL KNOWN FOR HIS CAR...

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 15th of March WELCOME!   BLESSED WILLIAM HART, PRIEST AND MARTYR ⬅️ The English Martyrs Raised a Protestant in Wells, in Somerset, Blessed William Hart became Catholic. Following his education at Lincoln College, Oxford, he went abroad to study for the priesthood at Douai, Reims, France, and Rome.  HE WENT TO BECOME A PRIEST After being ordained a priest in 1581, he returned to England and was assigned to Yorkshire. Among his associations back at home was Saint Margaret Clitherow , and he was present at the Holy Mass when  William Lacy was captured and evaded  arrest himself by hiding outside, in the muddy moat of York Castle, submerged in water.  HE MINISTERED TO THE PRISONERS For quite some time, Blessed William ministered to Catholic prisoners in York Prison. Eventually he suffered betrayal to the English government by an apostate from  Clitherow 's estate. Arrested on Christmas Day 1582, he was t...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 14th of March WELCOME! SAINT FLORENTINA, VIRGIN A native of Cartagena, Spain, Saint Florentina (memorial: March 14 , June 20 ) was born into a family of saints. Her brothers, saints Leander of Seville , Isidore of Seville , and Fulgentius , became bishops. SHE TOOK THE BENEDICTINE VEIL After being schooled by her brothers, Florentina consecrated her virginity to God, taking the Benedictine veil. Her brother  Leander  composed a rule of religious life for her. Isidore wrote for her two treatises on the state of consecrated virginity. Traditionally Florentina has been commemorated on March 14 . She died in 633. "Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night." PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Florentina m...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 13th of March WELCOME! SAINT EUPHRASIA, VIRGIN Saint Euphrasia (Eupraxia) was the daughter of pious and noble parents. After the death of her father his widow withdrew privately with her little daughter into Egypt, where she was possessed of a very large estate. In that country she fixed her abode near a holy monastery of one hundred and thirty nuns. The young Euphrasia, at seven years of age, begged that she might be permitted to serve God in this monastery. "I CONSECRATE MYSELF TO CHRIST" The mother on hearing this wept for joy, and not long after presented her child to the abbess, who, taking up an image of Christ, gave it to Euphrasia. The tender virgin kissed it, saying, "By vow I consecrate myself to Christ" Then the mother led her before an image of Our Redeemer, and lifting up her hands to heaven said, "Lord Jesus Christ, receive this child under your special protection. You alone Both she love a...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 12th of March WELCOME! SAINT ALPHEGE THE BALD, BISHOP (10th century) Saint Alphege, of Anglo-Saxon descent, was Bishop of Winchester from 934 to 951. Monasticism had declined in England in favour of secular clergy; he played an important role in the monastic revival. A monk in the court of King Athelstan, St Alphege was the personal tutor of St Ethelwold. He ordained both St Dunstan and St Ethelwold.  "WHITE HAIR AND WISDOM" He is known as Alphege the Bald to distinguish him from other saints called Alphege. 'Bald' in the old English means 'white', denoting white hair and wisdom. He died on March 12, 951 and initially was buried in the Old Minster in Winchester. His relics were subsequently translated to the new cathedral church, and his shrine was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Alphege may increase our devotion...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 11th of March WELCOME! SAINT AENGUS, HERMIT Saint Aengus (The Culdee) (also known as St Oengus) is an Irish saint who flourished in the last quarter of the eighth century, and is the author of the Felire, or Festology of the Saints. Born near Clonengh, Ireland, Aengus was educated at the monastic school, founded there by St Fintan, not far from the present town of Mountrath. Becoming a hermit, he lived for a time at Disert-beagh, where, on the banks of the Nore, he is said to have communed with the angels. From his love of prayer and solitude he was named the "Culdee", or "Servant of God."  HE CONCEALED HIS IDENTITY Not satisfied with his hermitage, which was only a mile from Clonenagh, and, therefore, liable to be disturbed by students or wayfarers, Aengus removed to a more solitary abode eight miles distant. This sequestered place, two miles southeast of the present town of Maryborough, was called after him...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 10th of March WELCOME! SAINT SIMPLICIUS, POPE ⬅️ Saintly Popes - Index St Simplicius was the ornament of the Roman clergy under Saints  Leo and Hilarius , and succeeded the latter in the pontificate in 497. He was raised by God to comfort and support his church amidst the greatest storms. All the provinces of the western empire, out of Italy, were fallen into the hands of barbarians, infected for the greater part with idolatry or Arianism.  TURBULENT TIMES The ten last emperors, during twenty years, were rather shadows of power than sovereigns, and in the eighth year of the pontificate of Simplicius, Rome itself fell a prey to foreigners. Salvian, a learned priest of Marseilles in 440, wrote an elegant book on Divine Providence, in which he shows that these calamities were a just chastisement of the sins of the Christians; saying, that if the Goths were perfidious, and the Saxons cruel, they were, however, both re...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 9th of March WELCOME! SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, WIDOW Saint Frances of Rome was a noble Roman matron who at eleven had resolved to enter a convent, but complied with her parents’ will that she marry the young and rich noble, Lorenzo Ponziani. In marriage, she always observed the austerities of the religious life as far as possible, and her patience in adversities was admirable. She founded in the city the house of Oblates of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto under the Benedictine rule, to recall the married women of Rome from worldly pleasures and dress. "EVERYBODY'S SERVANT" After her husband’s death she humbly begged admittance there and after receiving it gloried in calling herself everybody’s servant and the least of women even though, as the founder of the whole community she was the mother of them all. She invariably baffled the never-idle devil and won a great victory over him with her guardian angel’s help. Sh...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 8th of March WELCOME! SAINT JOHN OF GOD, RELIGIOUS Saint John was born in Portugal in 1495. He spent an adventurous youth as a soldier. A sermon of Saint John of Avila turned his mind to the sufferings of the poor and sick, and he devoted the rest of his life to their care. He established hospitals for the outcasts of society. Gradually others joined him in his work, and his followers established the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God . He died in 1550. PRAYER: Father, you who gave John of God love and compassion for others, grant that by doing good for others we may be counted among the saints in your kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 7th of March WELCOME! SAINT PERPETUA AND SAINT FELICITY, MARTYRS Saint Perpetua was 22, of a patrician family; Saint Felicity [Felicitas] was a slave: both were martyred in the public stadium at Carthage, in A.D. 203, during the persecution of Septimus Severus. PRAYER: Father, your love gave the saints Perpetua and Felicity courage to suffer a cruel martyrdom. By their prayers, help us to grow in love of you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. (🎨 Mosaic of St Perpetua) *** FROM THE BREVIARIUM ROMANUM: "Because it is for Christ that I suffer." Perpetua and Felicitas, with Revocatus, Saturnius, and Secundulus, were arrested in Africa during the persecution of Emperor Severus and thrown into a dungeon, where Satyrus was imprisoned with them. Since they were still catechumens, they were baptised there. Then they were condemn...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH Saints celebrated on the 6th of March WELCOME! SAINT COLETTE, VIRGIN Saint Colette was born in 1381 and at the age of 17, when both her parents died, St Colette joined the Franciscan Third Order. She lived for eight years as a hermit at Corbie Abbey in Picardy, France. Towards the end of this time St Colette had a vision of St Francis who charged her to restore the Order of Poor Clares to their original austerity. When Friar Henry de Beaume came in 1406 to confirm her mission, St Colette had the door of her hut torn down, a sign that her solitude was now over and her work had begun. And then she prayed her commitment: A MISSION ‘I dedicate myself in health, in illness, in my life, in my death, in all my duties, in all my deeds so that I may never work henceforth except for your glory, for the salvation of souls, and towards the reform for which you have chosen me. From this moment on, dearest Lord, there is nothing which I am not prepared to underta...