SAINT FEAST DAY FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY Saints celebrated on the 26th of January WELCOME! SAINT ALBERIC, ABBOT Saint Alberic receives the white robe from the Blessed Virgin  The blessed Alberic, Abbot and co-founder of the Order of Citeaux [Cîteaux] (Cistercium) , was one of the noblest disciples of  Saint Robert , for which reason the latter appointed him Prior at the Monastery of Molesme. But when the greater part of the monks opposed  Robert 's pious intentions in observing the Holy Rule, and he founded a new settlement in Citeaux, a marshy desert near Châlons in Burgundy, Alberic was his inseparable companion and shared with him all the hardships and difficulties of the first foundation. He and 18 companions renewed their oath of allegiance to the Rule of  Saint Benedict  on March 21, 1098, and when Robert returned to Molesme, he was elected Abbot of Citeaux. Alberic equipped the new Order of the Cistercians with the white cowl and the constitutions, which, ...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY Saints celebrated on the 26th of January WELCOME! THE FIRST ABBOTS OF CÎTEAUX The first three abbots of Cîteaux are regarded as the Founders of the Cistercian Order:  Saint Robert of Molesme , Saint Alberic , and  Saint Stephen Harding  were the pioneers of the monastery in Cîteaux, France. Their way of life was based on a particular interpretation of the Rule of  Saint Benedict . The Cistercian Order celebrates their joint feast ( January 26 ) as a solemnity. PRAYER: Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the first abbots of Cîteaux may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. 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 DECEMBER Saints celebrated on the 24th of December 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 live...

  ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY Saints celebrated on the 21st of July WELCOME! SAINT ALBERIC CRESCITELLI, PRIEST AND MARTYR Born in 1863 near Naples, Italy, Alberic joined the Milan Foreign Missionary Society. On completion of his studies and formation, he was consecrated a priest in 1887 in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran . Fr Alberic was received by  Pope Leo XIII   and given the missionary crucifix. On April 2, 1888, he left Rome for Marseille where he boarded the steamship to China.  HIS ARRIVAL AT THE MISSION He arrived at his mission in August 1888. The Vicariate of Hanzhong (which is now the diocese of Hanchung and the mission site of Fr Alberic) was almost all non-Christian at the time, with a myriad of problems, including opium smokers who also infected the pious Christian minority. Fr Alberic learned the language remarkably quickly and made a point of blending in with the locals in appearance.  FR ALBERIC'S MARTYRDOM He worked in schools and mission...