October

October 1
Saint Remigius (Remi) Bishop and Confessor (-c 439 – c 530)

A great problem in studying the lives of the saints is to separate fact from fiction. This is important, since legends usually grow up around persons of great valor or holiness.  This was true of Saint Remigius.  Yet Remigius is far from being a legendary figure.  He was bishop, perhaps the fifteenth in line, of Rheims, a city that under the Romans had been a military center and the site of an imperial residence.  By the fourth century the Roman Empire ceased to have effective control over the Western provinces, and the Gauls, the Franks, and various Germanic tribes were maneuvering for power and the expansion of territories.  In these circumstances the bishops of the West were stabilizing factors who contributed much to the preservation of order and the cultural heritage of the Roman world.

Remigius (also called Remy or Remi) was born about 439 of a noble family, and educated at Rheims. He became bishop when very young and throughout his long administration strove for the conversion of the barbarians.

As soon as he heard that Clovis had become king of the Franks (481-482) Remigius sent his good wishes and exhorted Clovis to govern with moderation and in accordance with the ideals of Christian justice and mercy.

His fame in succeeding centuries was centered on the fact that he figured prominently in the conversion of this same (pagan king of the Franks, as well as in the conversion of members of the king’s household and thousands of his subjects. This spiritual victory, regarded as the birthday of France as a Catholic nation, did not come easily, even though Clovis was favorably disposed toward the Church.  The king was particularly anxious about what reaction his warrior would have to his conversion.

Much of the credit for Clovis’ conversion is due to his Christian wife, Saint Clotilde, whom he sharply reproached when their first child died shortly after being baptized. “If he had been consecrated in the name of my gods,” he said angri1y, “he would not have died; but having been baptized in the name of yours, he could not live.”

A second son also fell sick after christening, but his recovery failed to sway the irascible king. It was only when Clovis victoriously drove back the invading Alemanni from across the Rhine, after reluctantly invoking the name of God that he was moved.  Queen Clotilde did not hesitate to apply practical psychology to her spiritual appraisal of the situation.  She immediately sent for Remigius in order that he might prepare Clovis for baptism while his disposition was still favorable.  The baptism was an impressive public ceremony which so moved the senses of the barbarian Franks that many of them instantly accepted the Christian faith.  All the bishops of Gaul learned of this baptism with joy and enthusiasm.  One of them wrote to the king, “Your faith is our victory.”  The memory of Remigius remained glorious; he had captured for Christianity a powerful force, Clovis and his army.

After more than sixty years as bishop, Remigius died about 530.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  563-564.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 1
Saint Romanus the Melodist Confessor (-c 525)

Saint Romanus was a composer of liturgical poetry and is regarded as the greatest of Byzantine hymn writers; for this reason he is called “the Melodist.” He was born in Syria of a Jewish family and was converted to Christianity at an early age.  Some say he became deacon of the Church of the Resurrection in Beirut.  He later settled at Constantinople, probably in the reign of Anastasius I (491-518), at the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God.  Eighty hymns that have come down to us are attributed to him.  The sources of his inspiration were the Scriptures, Old and New, the poetic works of his fellow Syrian Saint Ephraem, oratorical works of Greek Christians, and lives of saints and martyrs. He created a poetry new in form and in spirit, adapted to the needs of the Byzantine liturgy, and thus gave a voice to the prayer and adoration rising in Christian hearts.

It was one Christmas Eve that he received his inspiration and gift of song: the Blessed Virgin appeared to him in his sleep.  He rose to take part in the Christmas liturgy and was moved to sing an impromptu hymn:  “On this day the Virgin gives birth to the one who is above all creatures.”  From that time on he continued to express in poetry and music the profound truths of faiths as they were celebrated in turn throughout the Church year.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  565.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 2
Saint Leodegarius (Leger) Bishop and Martyr (c 616-679)

Leodegarious’ life began calmly enough, but as a bishop in a troubled world he had a tragic end. Of the Frankish nobility, he was born about 616 and was educated at the court of Clotaire, who at that time was the single ruler of the three territories of the Frankish kingdom.

The bishop of Poitiers was Leodegarius’ uncle; in 636 he ordained the young man a deacon, and about 653 made him archdeacon of Poitiers, and gave him the monastery of Saint Maxentius, with title of abbot.

In the meantime the kingdom had once more been divided among Clotaire’s descendants, and in 656 the two territories of Neustria and Burgundy fell to his grandson Clotaire III, who was still a child. His mother, Saint Bathildis, was to rule in his name.  In this same year she called Leodegarius to her court as counselor, for he was known to be an excellent teacher, a learned canon lawyer and a man of high standards who had ruled his monastery well.  In 663 Bathildis asked him to accept the bishopric of Autun in Burgundy, for she believed he could overcome the divisions that political wrangling was causing in that diocese.

He repaired the cathedral, supplied new vestments and whatever else was needed. He founded an institution of charity to care for the poor and endowed it with some of his own properties.  Spiritual needs were not forgotten and he called a synod to deal with monastic discipline, recommending that the Rule of Saint Benedict be adopted.

Leodegarius became involved, upon the death of Clotaire III in 673, in a bloody struggle for power. Having strong influence at court and among his own Burgundian fellow noblemen, the bishop contributed effectively to the election of Childeric II of Austrasia, against the “mayor of the palace” Ebroin, who sought power for himself.  But certain jealous men made false accusations and the bishop was exiled to the Abbey of Luxeuil.  He was able to return some months later, but soon found himself besieged in his city of Autun by the troops of Ebroin; to save his people from injury, he surrendered.  The enemy seized him, put out his eyes and tortured him further.  Ebroin forced a synod to condemn him, and Leodegarius was beheaded–October 3, 679–in a forest near Arras, lest the people honor him as a martyr.  A later assembly of bishops did declare this execution a martyrdom, and devotion to Leodegarius became widespread in France and Belgium.  The modern French form of his name is Leger.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  566-567.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 3
Saint Therese of Lisieux Virgin (1873-1897)

The quiet figure of a Carmelite nun, a girl in her twenties shivering in her cell, is, from a public relations viewpoint, unnewsworthy and, by poetic standards, unheroic. But the girl has, in the space of a few years, gained a worldwide popularity that the greatest saints have seldom equaled and rarely surpassed.

Outwardly her life was so much like that of any other nun that, when she lay dying, she overheard two nuns saying that they wondered what Reverend Mother would find to say about her in her obituary notice.

It might be said, if one understands the world rightly, that she became a saint by being ordinary.  She herself describes he method of the spiritual life as the “Little Way.”  Her name of course, is Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face–the Little Flower, as she is affectionately called.

Her “Little Way” had three great points–so great that in their effects, the little Carmelite becomes a giant of the spirit. The first point, though comforting, should not be misconstrued.  That is, that sanctity does not have to be spectacular surrender–spectacular as used in the way the world understands it.  The second point, and perhaps the core of her plan, is to maintain a relationship with God like that of a small child.  Childish?  Not at all.  A shrewd calculation, really.  Sanctity is not something to gamble on.  Thérèse had read the words: “Let the little children come to me, … for of such is the kingdom of God”  (Luke 18:16).  The third point of her program is one that has frequently been over looked by many students of her life; it is her devotion to the Holy Face, the essence of which was an attempt to draw close to the suffering of her Beloved and to see in all forms of suffering His own.  With serene confidence she offers her spiritual teaching to all who will listen:  “Holiness is not found in such and such a practice; it consists in a disposition of heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God, conscious of our weakness, and confident-even boldly so of His fatherly goodness.”

Thérèse’s home life in Lisieux resembles in some ways the suburban life of our own time, and perhaps some of her appeal lies in the fact that ordinary people see in her a living proof that even the most ordinary things of life can be the raw material of great holiness. Thérèse was the youngest of nine children born to Louis Martin and Zélie Guerin.  Two brothers and two sisters died in infancy, and four of her sisters became nuns.

Thérèse was a young woman of great courage for whom the conquest of self and the road to heaven were anything but easy tasks. Thérèse had to struggle for virtue every inch of the way. In her autobiography, which she wrote at the command of her superior, she admits that she was inclined from her childhood to be selfwilled to the point of stubborness.  At school, her rapid progress in her studies set her apart from her classmates, and the unpopularity she suffered as a result wounded her deeply.

When their older sister Leonie offered a doll and some playthings to Céline and Thérèse, Céline chose some silk braid, but Thérèse said, “I’ll have the lot!” Later she wrote, “My whole life can be summed up in this little incident.  Later … I cried out, ‘My God, I choose all!  I don’t want to be a saint by halves.’”

When she wanted to enter Carmel at the age of fourteen, both the Carmelite authorities and the bishop of Bayeux regarded her as too young and refused their permission. On a pilgrimage to Rome with her father a few months later, at a public audience with Pope Leo XIII, she boldly broke the rule of silence and begged him, “In honor of your jubilee, allow me to enter Carmel at fifteen.”  Impressed by the girl’s ardor, but respecting the decision of her immediate superiors, the Holy Father said, “You shall enter if it is God’s will.”  Apparently, God favored the impulsive little girl, for on April 9, 1888, Thérèse Martin was permitted to join two older sisters at the convent at Lisieux, when she fifteen.  Two years later she was professed as a Carmelite nun.

In the convent, her vocation was put to a severe test. If she was seen in a free moment taking a breath of air, audible remark would be made by another sister as to skillful the young girl was at wasting time.  If she performed a task slightly less than efficiently, barbed remarks were made about “this child’s uselessness.”  Not only did Thérèse bear these “pinpricks,” as she called them, but she strove assiduously to live the Carmelite rule in every detail.  If bell called her to duty when she was writing, she would break off in the middle of a word.  With silent patience kindness she waited on an old nun who found fault everything she did.  Every small irritation and every rebuff was made use·of–offered to God as if it were a flower.  In addition to this quiet heroism, she underwent a great deal physical suffering from tuberculosis and the cold dampness of the convent.

Perhaps the most severe test of her endurance occurred when her father’s mind gave way following two paralytic attacks and he had to be removed to a private asylum, where he remained for three years. But “the three years of my father’s martyrdom,” wrote Saint Thérèse, “seem to me dearest and most fruitful of my life. I would not exchange them for the most sublime ecstasies.”

At various times in her life, Thérèse had wanted to martyr or to be sent to mission lands. Indeed, she almost responded to the appeal of the Carmelites at Hanoi in Indochina (now Vietnam), who wished to have her, but her health took a turn for the worse, and the last eighteen months of her life were a time of bodily suffering and spiritual trials.  She died September 30, 1897.

It is a paradox of divine providence that this cloistered nun should have been named by the Holy See co-patron, with Saint Francis Xavier, of the foreign missions. Yet it is not strange when one considers that her prayers were almost exclusively for priests, especially missionaries, that a great many missionaries invoke her aid, and that in so honoring her the Church wishes to teach us that prayer, not traveling, is the chief missionary task.  Thérèse was also named patroness of France with Saint Joan of Arc, who was canonized in 1920, just five years prior to her own canonization.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  567-571.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 4
Saint Francis of Assisi Confessor (1181-1226)

Rightly or wrongly, the thirteenth has been called “the greatest of centuries.” It has, at any rate, given Christianity two of its most influential and beloved saints:  Saint Thomas Aquinas, who with his brilliant works of philosophy and theology enriched the mind not only of his own·century but also of those that followed, and Saint Francis of Assisi, his counterpart and contemporary, who gave Christianity a heartbeat that can still be felt.

Saint Thomas is admired and looked upon with awe for his immense talents and accomplishments, but Francis is universally loved and embraced with the affection with which one caresses a child. Francis is one saint whom Protestants and non-Christians accept and sometimes claim as their own.  Francis of Assisi has stirred the imagination of the world for seven hundred years and, if the ever-growing membership of the numerous branches of the Franciscan Order and endless stream of books, magazines, and pamphlets devoted to his life and spirit are any indication, his popularity importance show no sign of diminishing.

Born at Assisi, in central Italy, in 1181, into a merchant family of substantial means, Francesco (“the Frenchman,” because of his father’s heavy trade with France) was trained to take over his father’s business. Like many a teenager today, Francis cared to learn neither the ways of business nor his lessons at school, preferring to have a good time by lavishly spending his father’s money.  Though not licentious, he was very much a playboy.  With his charming natural qualities and his love of the French courtly poetry and love songs he would have made the ideal troubador.  When Francis began giving food and money to any beggar he encountered, his father, Peter Bernardone, was far from pleased, yet did not take the boy seriously.

War broke out between the cities of Perugia and Assisi and Francis, twenty-one years old and dreaming of knighthood and glory, marched into battle. But he was soon prisoner by the Perugians and fell ill.  As he suffered, he seemed to gain spiritual strength, for afterwards he became very serious in his demeanor.  A short time later, outfitted in a handsome suit of armor and seated on a fine horse (looking much more formidable than his slight frame would indicate), he set out to join forces that were fighting for the pope against the Germans in southern Italy.  But suddenly became ashamed of his fine appearance when saw an old warrior poorly clad, and he persuaded him to exchange clothes and armor.  Francis never reached the front, for twice he was taken ill and dreamed strange dreams.  In one, he saw his father’s warehouse filled with military trappings instead of bales of cloth, and on each shield was emblazoned a cross.  In the other, a heavenly voice seemed to tell him to turn back, “to serve the master rather than the servant.”

He returned to his old life but did not enjoy it. Friends, noticing his preoccupation, told him he was in love.  “Yes,” he said, “I am going to take a wife more beautiful and worthy than any you know.”  As he courted Lady Poverty, many strange things started happening that made his parents, especially his father, worry about him.  Suddenly, he left on a pilgrimage to Rome, where he exchanged his expensive clothes with a beggar on the steps of Saint Peter’s and spent the rest of the day asking for alms.  He dropped the money he collected into the poor box at the Tomb of the Apostles and returned penniless to Assisi.

Very humanly, he loathed the sight of lepers, of whom there were many who lived like hermits in the caves among the mountains. Riding one day, he met one who was especially hideous to look upon, but resisting the impulse to flee, he dismounted and, pressing alms into the poor creature’s outstretched hand, embraced him tenderly and kissed him.  When Francis looked back, the leper had disappeared, and he understood that Christ had appeared to him in the form of a leper.

Now passionate with the fever of divine love, he visited hospitals and ministered to the sick, praying long hours to learn what God willed for him. One day, while praying at Saint Damian’s, an old ruined church outside Assisi, he heard a voice from the crucifix say three times: “Francis, go and repair my house, which is falling down.”  Francis later came to realize that the “house” which was falling down was the Catholic Church itself, not just Saint Damian’s and that he was being called to help rebuild Christendom.  But at first he took the words very literally and, selling so of his father’s goods to buy materials, set about rebuild the old church.

Peter Bernardone was furious when he heard of this. He savagely beat the twenty-five year old youth, had him jailed, and then disinherited him. The bishop of Assisi required Francis to return the purchase price of the goods he taken.  Francis did as he was told, adding, “The clothes I wear are also his,” and stripping himself, gave them to his father.  The bishop could not help admiring the youth’s fervor; he covered him with a laborer’s cloak and, shedding tears, gave him alms.  Francis thanked him, marked a cross on his garment with a piece of chalk, and went forth singing the divine praises on the highway.  There he was beset by robbers who asked him who he was.  “I am the herald of the great king,” replied Francis.  Finding him without money, the robbers threw him headlong into a ditch piled with snow.

Francis eventually repaired Saint Damian’s with his own hands, and he went around preaching penance to the people. He begged from door to door for a few scraps of food each day.  He took his way of life from the Gospel he heard on Feast of Saint Matthias,  “Freely you have received, freely give . . . Do not keep gold … nor two tunics, nor sandals nor staff . . . Behold I am sending you forth like sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:8-10, 16).

Francis did not seek men, but men began to seek him . At first three followed him, among them Bernard di Quintavalle, a rich and influential tradesman, and Brother Giles, a very simple person who was to become one of the legend figures of the early days of the Franciscan Order.

Soon there were twelve in the little body of itinerant preachers, but there was no definite plan. They slept in barns and worked in the fields for their food.  A primitive rule was drawn up, which consisted simply of the counsels of perfection:  “If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, … and come, follow me”  (Matthew 19:21).

It now seemed advisable to obtain papal approval, so the group in a body submitted their Rule to Innocent III. The pope was of the opinion that there were too many religious communities already, yet he could hardly disapprove of a group whose primary aim was to carry out the evangelical counsels.  So he reluctantly consented.  They were, in spite of their lack of theology (only one poorly trained priest among them), permitted to preach penance and receive minor orders, but Francis and most of the others never went on to the priesthood.  Thus early Franciscanism was essentially a lay movement.

The Franciscan ideal of poverty has undergone many alterations in its outward practice; indeed, changes began within Francis’ own lifetime. Absolute poverty, of course, was unattainable–the brothers had to wear at least some form of clothing and had to have some kind of food for nourishment.  To the end, however, Francis would not permit the order to own any property or temporal goods, though eventually the need for some kind of headquarters became apparent.  The group therefore settled at a place called Portiuncula (the “little portion”), a little more than two miles from Assisi (later at other places), the friars paying nominal rent (an occasional basket of fish) to the Benedictines, who held the property for them.  Eventually the order became known as Friars Minor, indicating that they should be lowly among their fellows.

In the spring of 1212, a young girl heard Francis preach in one of the churches in Assisi and left her home to be his follower. Francis established this girl (Saint Clare) with other maidens in a little house near the Church of Saint Damian, which became the first Franciscan convent for women.

Francis’ apostolic mission took him to many lands–Syria Dalmatia, and Morocco–where he made unsuccessful attempts to convert the Moslems. Meanwhile, his order spread rapidly to Spain, Germany, and Hungary.  He was horrified upon his return to learn that modifications crept into the order, and he refused to enter a monastery erected by Franciscans at Bologna because it was too fine.  His simplicity conflicted with the giant, sprawling movement his order had become, and consequently the Franciscan rule has been frequently revised.

In 1224, on Mount La Verna, where he often went to pray, occurred the miracle of the stigmata, by which Francis was marked with the wounds of our Lord’s Passion. “Nothing gives me so much consolation as to think of the life and passion of our Lord,” he once said.  “Were I to live to the end of the world, I should stand in need of no other books.”  Out of respect for the stigmata, he henceforth wore shoes and stockings and kept his hands covered.

Francis had a genuine poetic gift, and his “Canticle of Sun” is one of the finest Italian lyrics. He loved to refer to creatures as brothers:  Brother Sun, Brother Sky, Brother Fish; he called his body Brother Ass and idle members of community, Brother Fly.  Near the end of his life he cried “Welcome, Sister Death!”  On October 3, 1226, at the age of forty-five, while the Passion of our Lord was being read aloud to him, he died.  His memory is kept vivid in three branches of Franciscans:  Friars Minor, Friars Minor Capuchin, and Friars Minor Conventual, besides numerous branches in the sisterhood.  None of his followers has ever been quite like “God’s Troubador,” but they all continue his great work of love and penance and his ardent desire to be and to call others to be true followers of Christ.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  571-577.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 5
Saint Placidus Confessor (-c 550)

Placidus is known to history only through the anecdote that Saint Gregory the Great included in his Dialogues, an account of the miraculous rescue of the little boy by Saint Maur, another young disciple of Saint Benedict whose feast day is January 15.  History knows nothing of his later years, although it is presumed that he lived out his life as a faithful monk; as a result he is remembered as ever young and is honored as the patron of Benedictine novices.

Placidus’ lifetime–the sixth century–found Europe attempting to cope with the chaos wrought by the Gothic invasion of the decadent Roman Empire. One stable place in the changing society was the secluded hillside monastery of Subiaco, about forty miles from Rome, where Benedict and a growing number of monks had been living since about 503.  This community attracted the attention of two Roman noblemen, who sent their sons to Benedict for education and religious training.  Maur, the son of Equitus, was about twelve years old at the time; and Placidus, Tertullus’ son, about seven.

The single episode that Saint Gregory relates is the rescue of Placidus from drowning. The boy had gone down to river to fetch water and leaning over too far, he fell into the river and was being carried away by the swift current.  Meanwhile, as Saint Benedict was praying in his cell, informed him of Placidus’ danger.  Benedict sent Maur save the boy and Maur hurried down to the river.  There was Placidus, struggling in the rough waters.  Maur hurried right out and drew Placidus to the bank and it was only then when both were safe on land that Maur realized he walked on the water and was still perfectly dry.  Saint Gregory wanted to point out in this story both the prompt obedience of Maur and the power of Saint Benedict’s prayer.

Glimpses into the life of a child living in this new community can be taken from the Rule which Benedict set down in 529, about seven years after Placidus was placed his care. Saint Benedict’s sixth-century child psychology is a far cry from a modern approach, but at least Placidus had the security of knowing what was expected of him.  The boys of the monastery joined in the singing of the Diving Office, were busy with studies and crafts, and were be “whipped” for disobedience.  At the same time, the cellarer of the monastery was told to “take the greatest care of children.”  That Placidus was close to the heart of his “Father Benedict” is revealed in the story Saint Gregory tells.

When Placidus reached young manhood, he evidently chose to remain with the Benedictines, taking as his way of life their Rule of obedience and fraternal love. Through the undramatic, selfless living of this Rule, Placidus achieved his place among the saints.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  577-578.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 6
Saint Bruno Abbot and Confessor (1030-1101)

We think of chartreuse as a yellowish-green color or as a fine liqueur. Actually, the word’s origin is the name of a region in the French Alps, Chartreuse, where Saint Bruno settled and from which his followers took their name­-Carthusians.

This hermit was born of wealthy parents in Cologne, Germany, about 1030. On completion of his education in one of the best schools in Europe–the cathedral school of Rheims, France–Bruno was ordained at Cologne and was asked to return to Rheims as director of studies.  After eighteen years as rector, the brilliant scholar was appointed chancellor of the diocese.

In this capacity Bruno had close contact with the archbishop, Manasses, and to his sorrow discovered the man to be most unworthy of his office. When Manasses was called before a papal council for his irregular conduct, Bruno and several other priests testified against him.  As a result, Manasses had Bruno’s house plundered and Bruno so persecuted that the chancellor was forced to return to Cologne.  Meanwhile, Manasses was excommunicated, managed a deceitful reconciliation with Rome, was excommunicated again, and finally left the city.

At last Bruno could return to Rheims. His popularity was such that many expected and hoped that he would be made archbishop.  But Bruno had other plans.  For some years new spirit had been moving devout men, especially scholars and eminent personages, to forsake the riches and honor of the world for a life of solitude.  Bruno too meditated on vanities of worldly success and with a few companions settled at Seche-Fontaine under the djrection of Saint Robert of Molesme, future founder of the Cistercians.  But seeking God in prayer and penance, they desired even greater solitude, and hearing that in the region of Grenoble there were woods and isolated valleys, set out to find a suitable place.  Hugh, the holy bishop of Grenoble, welcomed them gave them a place in the wilderness. It was the Chartreuse a harsh, rocky valley with a rude Alpine climate that buried it in winter snows.  Here Bruno and his companions settled and built a hermitage.

Only six years after settling at Chartreuse, the hermit left for Rome at the order of one of his former pupils, now Pope Urban II. The pope needed Bruno’s counsel and would permit him to return to the Chartreuse.  However, he did allow him to settle as a hermit in the valley of La Torre, Italy, where he would be close at hand.  Thus La Torre became the second Charterhouse (house of Chartreuse), and through letters Bruno maintained contact with the original foundation.

In September 1101, Bruno became ill; when he saw that he was going to die, he made a public confession of his life and a profession of faith in the presence of his monks. This they carefully preserved.  Saint Bruno died at La Torre October 6.

In his wisdom, the saint had developed a pattern of life that shunned the excesses of introspection and common among the earlier hermits, yet at the same time had provided opportunities for penance, solitude, and contemplation. On Sundays and feasts, the Carthusians meet for Mass and the whole Divine Office, eat together in the refectory, and have a period of recreation in common.  During the week, however, they meet only for the community-sung Mass and for Vespers, Matins, and Lauds.  With a task strictly allotted for every hour, each monk spends all the rest of the week in his cell (actually an apartment of rooms with provision for prayer, reading, sleeping, manual work, eating, and with a tiny garden outside).  As further penance the Carthusians eat only one full, meatless meal each day with a light “snack” in the evening.

At one time a pope who felt that the Rule was too severe wanted to order the monks to modify it. The Carthusians sent twenty-seven men to plead with him.  The youngest of the delegation was eighty-eight years old and the oldest ninety-five; the Rule remained unaltered!

Even nine hundred years after Saint Bruno lived, such a life of holiness retains its appeal. The Carthusian order is considered by the Church the most perfect model of a penitential and contemplative state.  In 1951 the first Charterhouse in the United States was founded in Vermont.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  579-581.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 7
Saints Sergius and Bacchus Martyrs (-c 303)

Diocletian and his co-emperor, Maximian, created an absolute bureaucracy complete with agents, counter-agents, shake-ups, and purges. Since the emperors themselves had “come up from the ranks,” army officers for a time held a somewhat privileged position in this military state.

Two favorites of Maximian, serving under him on the Syrian frontier, were the respected commander of recruits, Sergius, and his lieutenant, Bacchus. One day these two were with the emperor when he entered the temple of Jupiter to offer sacrifice. When he saw that they remained outside, he ordered them to come in and worship.  They refused because they were Christians, and no command of a military or civil official could induce them to disobey God’s laws.

Maximian instantly forgot all their past loyalty and ordered that the officers be stripped of their arms and badges of rank, dressed in women’s clothes, and paraded through the streets. Then he sent them to be tried by the governor, who had them so severely beaten that Bacchus died under the lash, October 1.  Sergius lived to be beheaded on October 7, 303.

These two saints are still popular in the East, where Sergius, especially, is a common baptismal name.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  581-582.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 8
Saint Bridget of Sweden Holy Woman (1302-1373)

Here is a woman of vitality and versatility who captivated the hearts of rich and poor alike and who is honored as the patron saint of Sweden. Bridget was the daughter of Birgit Persson, a knight, one of the most powerful and wealthy nobles of Sweden, and seneschal or steward of the chief province of the country.  Her mother, related to the royal family, died when Bridget was an infant and her aunt, married to another provincial steward, was entrusted with her care.  Brought up in this high social and administrative circle, she did not leave it when she married. Her husband Ulf Gudmarsson, like her father, was successively knight, steward, and senator.  She was thus a grand lady of the feudal world.

Bridget and Ulf had eight children and together took a great interest in their up-bringing and education. The devout and devoted couple were returning home with their children from a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James of Compostella in Spain when Ulf fell ill.  A year later, in 1344, he died.

Bridget was then forty-two and not the least inclined to consider her job in life completed. About ten years before Ulf’s death she had been summoned to the court as lady-in­waiting to Queen Blanche of Sweden.  The frivolity of the queen and the sometimes outright wickedness of King Magnus had often provoked Bridget’s kind but firm reprimands, to which the young sovereigns paid little heed.  Although she knew she was loved and respected at court, she had felt useless there and had obtained a leave of absence in 1340.  Her experience at court introduced the saint to a problem against which she spoke boldly throughout her life: the wastefulness and bad example of the nobility in the face of the poverty and need for leadership of the people.

Following Ulf’s death, Bridget divided his estate among their children and took upon herself a life of poverty. At times she had to beg for food, but she continued traveling throughout Sweden, helping the poor by alms and education.  Seeing the need for religious institutions in her country, she organized and established a monastery at Vadstena, obtaining from King Magnus (in one of his brief reforms) an endowment for the institution.

In 1350 she made a pilgrimage to Rome for the Holy Year–but in 1350 Rome was without a pope. For forty-five years the popes had been living in Avignon, France.  Although this so-called “Babylonian Captivity” did not lessen the universality of the papacy, Christians everywhere felt disturbed and confused.  Bridget was outspoken in a series of letters and visits to three successive popes, Clement VI, Urban V, Gregory XI, urging them to return to Rome.  Although it was only after Bridget’s death that Gregory returned Rome, he acknowledged the importance of her influence.

After 1350 Bridget remained in Rome to work for the return of the papacy and to obtain papal approval for religious foundation at Vadstena. She continued her life of poverty, being assisted in her works of charity by daughter, Saint Catherine of Sweden, and a group of faithful friends.  Finally, in 1370, Urban V approved Bridget’s religgious foundation, the Order of the Most Holy Savior (commonly called Bridgettines), which has a special mission prayer for the souls in purgatory.

All these activities show only one side of Bridget’s life: they were outward manifestations of a lively spiritual participation in the sacramental life of the Church, from which she drew her spiritual strength from earliest childhood.  Throughout her life she was fervent in private prayer and meditation, and was favored with special indications of God’s presence in her soul.  Bridget’s visions and revelations have made her famous, yet she herself never gloried in them or became dependent upon them.  She was a woman deeply in love–with God, her husband, her family, and whole Church, Triumphant, Militant, and Suffering.

Bridget died in Rome on July 23, 1373, after an arduous pilgrimage to the Holy Land. First interred at Rome, her body was afterwards taken by her daughter Catherine to Sweden where it was buried in the abbey at Vadstena.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  582-585.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 8
Saint Simeon Prophet (New Testament)

Simeon was living for just one thing–“the consolation of Israel”–and so strong was his faith in God’s promises that he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. How long he waited we do not know; but when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to present Him to God, as was the Jewish custom, Simeon knew that this was the moment.  He took the Infant in his arms and thanked God for allowing him to see the Redeemer.  Simeon’s prayer, Nunc dimittis, is one of the three beautiful canticles of the New Testament.  Then he turned to Mary and foretold the mission of her Son and her own participation in His sufferings.

We know nothing more of Simeon. His whole life of patient faith, hope, goodness, and devotion are summed up in the characteristic understatement of Saint Luke: “this man was just and devout” (Luke 2:2 5).

Conjecture has identified the saint with Rabban Simeon, who became head of the Sanhedrin and was the father of the Gamaliel who pleaded for the apostles (Acts 5:38).

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  585.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 9
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite Bishop and Martyr (1st Century)

Every society provides some way for men to share ideas. In first-century Athens, the courthouse was the center of intellectual life, and when court was not in session on the Areopagus (Hill of Ares or Mars), the local philosophers were.

The people of Athens at this time still worshiped a multitude of gods. When Saint Paul arrived in the city, he began preaching in the streets and talking about the one true God to anyone who would listen.  His ideas were new and startling, so he was asked to speak to a gathering at the Areopagus.  Because many of Athens’ leisure-class philosophers were merely dilettantes playing with ideas, some of them were eager to hear more, but others mocked him when he spoke seriously of Christ as one whom God has raised up from the dead.  This is the only recorded occasion on which Saint Paul’s preaching was unsuccessful.  The experience was very discouraging to him, and it showed that intellectual pride is a greater obstacle to conversion than an immoral life.

But a few did learn to believe, one of them a woman named Damaris. Only one of the others is named.  This man was Dionysius, called the Areopagite probably because he was a judge of the Athenian court.  The scorn of his fellows did not keep Dionysius from responding to God’s grace and truth (Acts 17:34).

It is believed that after his conversion Dionysius was ordained and consecrated the first bishop of Athens, and that he suffered martyrdom under Domitian. For some time it was thought that certain important and influential theological writings were the work of the Areopagite, but critical study of these makes it clear that they do not go back to apostolic times but rather to the end of the fifth century.  The actual author is unknown and is referred to as Pseudo-Dionysius.

For many centuries Dionysius was confused with Saint Denys, the first bishop of Paris, whose feast is celebrated on this same day. It is now universally accepted that the French saint is a Dionysius mentioned by Gregory of Tours in his History of the Franks, one of seven bishops sent into Gaul about the year 250.  He died a martyr, probably during the persecution by Valerian (c.258).

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  586-587.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 9
Saint Louis Bertrand Confessor (1526-1581)

Persons of every temperament and ability-the gay, the studious, the bright, and the slow-have succeeded in attaining sanctity.

Louis Bertrand was a plodder but in the end he went far. The first of nine children of a royal notary, John Bertrand, Louis was born in Valencia, Spain, January 1, 1526.  The Bertrands were a good Christian family, and when Louis was only fifteen he knew exactly how he wanted to serve God.  Unknown to his family, the boy set off on a pilgrimage to Italy; when they managed to bring him back home, he announced that he wanted to join the Dominicans.  For three years his parents and the prior of the Dominican house delayed him, but at eighteen he was allowed to enter the order.  He made his profession and was ordained in 1547.

Typically, Louis took each obligation very seriously. Learning was a slow and laborious process for him, and at first he was anything but an interesting preacher.  But he studied hard and was so sincere in his preaching that he became most effective in expressing his earnest love for God.  His respect for the Mass was such that Louis always spent several hours in prayer before offering the Holy Sacrifice.  Within five years of his ordination he was made master of novices.  He was strict with the young men but was an exceptional example of everything he taught.

In I562, Louis left Spain for the New World. For six years he preached and baptized in Colombia, the Isthmus of Panama, and the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean.  More than once natives tried to poison him, yet he worked tirelessly for their conversion, often sleeping on the bare ground and going without food.  He is credited with many conversions during this period.

After his return to Spain in 1569, Louis served successively as prior of two Dominican houses. The last two years of his life, Saint Louis suffered from a lingering illness.  On October 9, 1581, when all the friars of the house were gathered about him, Louis Bertrand died.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  587-.588   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 10

Saint Francis Borgia Confessor (1510-1572)

The family tree of Francis Borgia is a fascinating study, for Francis had relatives who were involved in the politics of almost every country in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Francis was born on October 28, 1510, to John Borgia, duke of Gandia in the Spanish kingdom of Valencia, and his wife, Juana of Aragon.  The Borgias were a family of ability, wealth, power–and frequently, corruption.  In fact, Francis was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI.  On his mother’s side Francis could claim King Ferdinand of Spain as his great-grandfather, although here too the line was one of illegitimacy.

When at eighteen Francis was sent to Valladolid, to join the court of the emperor Charles V (whose domains included Spain, the Low Countries, and the Holy Roman Empire), he had all the talent and ability of a promising courtier. A handsome, quick-witted young man, educated in rhetoric, literature, philosophy, music, and fencing, Francis was immediately popular.  Charles and his empress Isabel became very attached to Francis, for along with all his natural charm he was prudent, charitable, and just–an excellent counselor.  Within a year of his arrival at court, Francis married a very close Portuguese friend of the empress, Eleanor de Castro.

Together, Eleanor and Francis shared a most happy life, dedicating to God their duties at court and the task of rearing their eight children. Surrounded as they were by luxury, they took care to avoid the excesses of such a life.  Francis developed his talent for music to such a degree that he learned to play several instruments and to compose music.  In this way he was able to entertain without joining in the gambling that wasted the time and energy of other courtiers.  Also, by keeping banquet-table conversation stimulating, Francis could maintain his practice of fasting without drawing attention to it.

But after ten years Francis wanted to retire from the imperial court altogether. Charles agreed to this and shortly after the death of the empress in 1538 appointed Francis the viceroy of Catalonia, Spain, a province notorious for its crime and disorder.  As viceroy, Francis managed a reform of the unjust and ineffectual judicial system, built schools, cleared the roads of bandits, and, with extraordinary charity, personally assisted debtors and the poor.  During this time he began praying the Divine Office and was faithful to daily attendance at Mass and monthly reception of Holy Communion.  This last practice caused much dispute at the time, for it was doubted that any layman could be worthy to receive Holy Communion so frequently!

At the death of his father in 1543, Francis became duke of Gandia and settled there with his family. Then in 1546, after a serious illness, Eleanor died.

With his wife’s encouragement and support in all his duties taken from him, Francis began to consider entering a religious order. He had already met Blessed Peter Faber of the Society of Jesus about 1542, and had kept up a correspondence with him.  About that same time he made arrangements with Peter Faber for the establishment of a Jesuit college at Gandia, which was opened in 1545.  Francis was impressed with the Jesuits’ work of counter-reformation and also with their vow binding them to refuse ecclesiastical dignities.  He sent a petition to Saint Ignatius Loyola in Rome asking to be admitted to the Society.  Saint Ignatius told him to study theology at Gandia; later he allowed Francis to take his solemn vows privately in the college chapel.  The pope authorized him to remain home as long as his children and the affairs of his duchy should require.

Two-and-a-half years later, in August 1550, after making arrangements for his children, Francis left for Rome. He was ordained there in 1551 and was sent to preach in the villages of Spain.  He went through the streets ringing a bell, calling the children to catechism.  For several years he preached and ministered to the people in this simple manner.  The Portuguese court received him in 1553.  When Francis learned that Pope Julius III was thinking of creating him a cardinal, he was strongly tempted, but Saint Ignatius persuaded him to avoid the honor.

In 1554, Saint Ignatius put Francis in charge of the work of the Jesuits in Spain. Francis built new houses and colleges and encouraged many young men in their vocations to the Society.  Later he spent two years working in Portugal and then went to Rome to serve in various capacities for the Society.

Francis became general of the Society of Jesus in 1564. Among his many labors were the establishment of the Roman College for the training of seminarians and the building of Jesuit colleges throughout Europe for young men who could be trained to work in countries where the Church was suffering from the activities of the Protestant reformers.  He reformed the missions of India and the Far East, and established those of North and South America.  Under his wise and talented control, the work and fortunes of the Society improved and expanded everywhere:  Italy, France, Germany, Bohemia, the Tyrol, and Poland, as well as the mission lands.

During all this time of bustling administrative work, Francis maintained and deepened his personal asceticism and life of prayer. He was revered as a living saint by all who knew him–a man who mastered his work, never allowing his work to master him.

By 1570 he was exhausted from his many activities; and he was ill. He requested that he might be relieved of his office, but his fellow Jesuits did not want to lose him as general.  His illness was serious, however, and he died on October 1, 1572.  Francis Borgia was canonized in 1670 and is one of the patron saints of Portugal.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  589-592.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 11
Blessed James of Ulm Confessor (1407-1491)

There is nothing “comic” about Dante’s Divine Comedy.  Yet in the classic sense the work is a comedy, not a tragedy.  From the complexity and confusion of the souls in hell, Dante finally leads his readers to the unity and simplicity of God.  Maturity is often viewed as just the opposite process­-from the simplicity of childhood to the complexity of adult life.  But Christ said, “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

There is no reason to think that James Griesinger was naïve or “simple” in any derogatory sense. On October 11, 1407, he was born into a socially prominent family of Ulm, Germany.  By the time he was thirty-four he had served in an Italian army, had worked five years as secretary to a wealthy Italian lawyer, and had been in military service in Germany.  He had seen quite a slice of what is loosely termed “life,” and the complexity and pointlessness of much of it disturbed him.  Finally, he chose a more purposeful way of life.

In 1441, James Griesinger joined the Dominican Order as a lay brother in the priory at Bologna, Italy. During the next fifty years he found the simplicity he desired.  Leaving behind nonessential possessions, personal ambition, and conflicting motives, he worked for just one motive–love of God.  Once, to test his response, the prior told Brother James to carry a letter to Paris.  The journey was a long and difficult one, but James just pocketed the letter and asked permission to go to his cell and get his hat.

This simplicity gave the brother a freedom of spirit that unleashed talents he had never before recognized in himself. After his profession, James developed his artistic ability for working in stained glass.  A window he made for a Bologna church remains as a testimony to his artistry and skill.  By working and praying with confidence in God’s fatherly love, this simple lay brother grew steadily in the life of divine love.  When he was eighty-four, Brother James died at Bologna.  His holiness was well recognized, and a number of miracles were attributed to his intercession.  He was beatified in 1825, and is the patron of those who work in stained glass.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  592-593.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 12
Saints Felix and Cyprian Bishops and Martyrs (-c 484)

The Nazis’ calculated displacement and annihilation of whole communities of Jews is a modern example of mass deportation with the aim of exterminating a particular group. The Jews were forced to suffer merely because of their race:  they had no choice, and their deaths were an injustice.

Move this situation back in history fifteen hundred years to the North African kingdom of the Arian Vandals. Here, orthodox Christians were the “undesirable element,” because their basic faith was opposed to the Arian position that Christ was not truly God.  About 480, Huneric, the Vandal king, ordered all Catholics exiled to the Libyan Desert.

Since Saint Felix, bishop of Abbir, was very old and half paralyzed, it was suggested that he might just as well be left to die at home. Huneric would not allow this, and the old bishop was forced to make the journey tied to a mule.  Hundreds of men, women, and children who would not renounce their faith were driven into the desert, many of them dying on the way from fatigue, hunger, and brutality.  For a time another bishop, Saint Cyprian, escaped the deportation and worked diligently, helping and encouraging those exiled in every possible way.  Finally his labors brought about his own arrest and exile.

Those who survived the journey were herded into small makeshift prisons, left without provisions, tortured, and finally killed. These courageous Christians, and their bishops Felix and Cyprian, are honored as martyrs for the faith.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  594-595.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 13
Saint Edward King and Confessor (1002-1065)

With the blood of King Duncan of Scotland fresh on his hands, Macbeth began scheming against others who might be threats to his crown and power. In Act II of Shakespeare’s play, Duncan’s sons flee Scotland. One of them, Malcolm, hurries to England where he obtains from the king the arms

and men that finally spell defeat for Macbeth at Dunsinane. The English king who thus came to the aid of a just cause is the Saint Edward of October 13 feast, whose own history resembles a Shakespearean plot.

Edward’s father, called “Ethelred the Unready”, was an ineffectual and unpopular ruler of England. To avoid war with Denmark, Ethelred submitted to the payment of an annual tribute to the Danes-the danegeld-which was raised by taxing the English people.  Hateful as this was, a worse blunder was Ethelred’s massacre, in 1002, of all the Danes in England.  Vowing vengeance, the Danes stormed England, and battles and murders became the rule of the day.  In 1012, when Edward was ten years old, he and his brother Alfred were sent to Normandy for their safety.  Finally, Canute, king of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, became king of England and married Ethelred’s widow, Emma.

Queen Emma was party to a plot against her own sons in 1036. At that time Edward and Alfred returned to England.  Canute’s son, Harold Harefoot, seized, mutilated, and killed Alfred.  Edward managed to escape back to Normandy.  Although Canute had been quite popular in England, his sons, Harold and Canute II, were ruthless and oppressive.  On the death of Canute II in 1042, Edward was acclaimed king of England.

He was in a difficult position. Bred abroad and heir to an uprooted dynasty, he was nearly forty years old, had never married, and was of a retiring disposition.  The lawlessness of the preceding years had given the nobles practically autonomous power, and even a man of more dominating character and youthful resilience would have had difficulty re-establishing authority in the kingdom.  As patient, gentle, and inclined to a life of prayer as he was, Edward assumed the task thrust upon him with amazing fortitude.

He did not hesitate to banish from England those nobles who promoted civil war. In fact, the greatest threat in this area came from Edward’s own secretary of state, Earl Godwin, and Godwin’s sons.  After a brief banishment of the family, Edward reinstated Godwin;  and (it is thought for the sake of peace only) he married Godwin’s daughter, Edith.

His abolishment of the daneqeld, his assistance to Malcolm of Scotland, his renowned charity to the poor, his untiring assistance to monasteries and churches throughout England­-all these, coupled with a personal life of prayer and habitual virtue, have enshrined Edward as a saint in the minds of all later generations of Englishmen. He died in 1065 and was canonized in 1161.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  595-596.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 14
Saint Callistus Pope and Martyr (-c 222)

Out of one difficulty into another–this was Callistus’ early life. In his youth he was the slave of a Christian in the Roman imperial household and manager of the communal funds of local Christians.  Somehow–through bad speculation, misappropriation, or carelessness–he lost their money and ran away.  He was captured and sentenced to a slave’s punishment but obtained mercy from his master.  Then, trying to recover the lost money, he foolishly followed several Jewish bankers into a synagogue and demanded payment of some debts.  For thus causing a disturbance, he was arrested and sent to the mines of Sardinia.  Again he managed an early release.  With him at Sardinia were a group of Christians who had been exiled for their faith.  In a temporarily tolerant mood the emperor ordered these Christians released, and Callistus induced the prison officials to include him with the others.

Callistus’ term at Sardinia freed him from slavery and apparently also convinced him that he should discipline his natural impetuosity. He settled in Anzio, studied there, and worked for the church.  Within ten years he had gained such a reputation for zealous hard work that Pope Zephyrinus called him to Rome, ordained him, and placed him in of the catacombs.  During the turbulent days of persecution the underground graveyards had been makeshift churches and Callistus’ task called for courage. He carefully preserved the relics of martyrs.

When Zephyrinus died, Callistus was elected bishop of Rome. In his short pontificate he denounced certain rigorists who taught that adultery and fornication were unforgiveable sins; he also condemned a current heresy which held that the Blessed Trinity was only three different relations of God to men.

Although the facts of his death are uncertain, it is quite generally held that Saint Callistus was martyred about 222.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  597-598.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 15
Saint Teresa of Avila Virgin and Doctor of the Church (1515-1582)

When Teresa was seven years old, she ran away with her brother so that the Moors might cut off her head. An uncle found the would-be martyrs not far from home and returned them to their mother.  The children did not thank him; they considered him a meddler who had ruined their plans.  This childish singlemindedness matured, and with it grew the fortitude and love that made Teresa of Avila one of the most revered women of all time.  The chivalrous spirit of Teresa’s youth remained with her all her life; but it was tempered by intelligence and successfully channeled by grace.

Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515. Her father was Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda, and her mother was Beatriz de Ahumada–good parents who reared their own nine children and the three children of Alonso’s first wife in the spirit of Christianity.

From the time she was a small girl, Teresa was considered charming, intelligent, lovely, and endowed with a lively sense of humor. Teresa, at thirteen, presents a most familiar and lovable picture.  She was a wonderful combination of practicality and idealism.  Occasionally, either quality would get out of hand.  Teresa liked to read romantic novels, charm the young men who flocked about her, and chatter with her friends.

After the death of her mother, when Teresa was only thirteen, her father decided to place her in a convent of Augustinian nuns in Avila, where many young women were studying at the time. After a year and a half in the convent school, Teresa became ill and had to return home.  It was during these days that she began to read the Letters of Saint Jerome and found in them a spirit akin to her own.  She seriously began to consider entering a convent, but was disturbed by her father’s reaction to such plans.  He withheld his consent, saying that after his death she could do what she pleased, but for the present she was to remain at home.  Teresa loved her father dearly.  She was also beginning to know herself and the world.  Fearing that a delay might easily weaken her resolve to dedicate her life, she went secretly to enter the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation in a suburb of Avila.  In her autobiography, Teresa describes this step as the most painful of her life, for the great love of God that was to permeate her later years did not yet have the first place in her soul.  Her father at once yielded, and a year later Teresa was professed.

Once again, however, Teresa was struck by illness, suffered such unskilled medical treatment that her health became permanently impaired. She attributed her partial recovery to the intercession of Saint Joseph.  The three years that she suffered were spent at home, and they were spiritually fruitful in the sense that Teresa developed her powers of mental prayer and contemplation to a remarkable degree.

When she returned to the convent, Teresa found herself a favorite. It was the custom in those days for the nuns to receive their friends in the convent parlor, and Teresa spent much time there, basking in the warmth of her friends’ admiration for her charming self.  During this time she gave up her practice of mental prayer, convincing herself that health was too poor.  But an inevitable depression of spirit always followed this waste of time, and Teresa had the sent to withdraw from the pleasures of social life, awaken somehow to the insufficiency of it for her particular soul.

Teresa cultivated her interior union with God and began to experience certain manifestations that troubled her. She received intellectual visions of divine things, her exterior senses being in no way affected, and heard inner voices.  Convinced as she was that they were from God, Teresa was understandably perplexed.  She knew her own faults and exaggerated them because of her delicate conscience.  With characteristic simplicity she sought to find an answer by confiding in confessors and friends.  The friends she bound to secrecy, but nevertheless, much to her mortification tales of her experiences were spread, along with her own exaggeration of her faults, and she found herself the object of much ridicule and disapproval.  Some even believed that her experiences were manifestations of the evil spirit.

Seeking for some help in all her troubles, Teresa asked for permission to consult a Jesuit confessor. Members of this new Society were being talked about everywhere for their remarkable preaching and apostolic fervor. ·A young Jesuit was sent to her in March 1554 and she had his guidance for four months; it was very precious and helpful.  It was he who brought Saint Francis Borgia to visit her–that famous grandee who had so startled the world by becoming a Jesuit.  His advice about prayer and meditation brought her a period of joy and tranquillity.  Other Jesuits served as her confessors until in 1560 she found as guide a Franciscan who was a contemplative himself, Saint Peter of Alcantara. He had had considerable experience in the inner life of the soul, and found in Teresa great evidence of the action of the Holy Spirit.  Teresa’s mystical life had for years been intensified and her visions increasing.  During this period, as she tells us in her autobiography, her mystical marriage with Christ took place.  An angel appeared to her and seemed to thrust a golden dart into her heart until, as she says, “. . . it left me wholly on fire with a great love of God.”

In 1562 Teresa came into the fullness of her vocation. One of the nuns at the Convent of the Incarnation began to talk about the good that might result from the founding of a stricter community.  Teresa determined to take this task upon herself.  She founded one small convent at Avila, the first of many, at the cost of much personal persecution and innumerable difficulties, including opposition from the local nobility, magistrates, and her own family.  But she persevered, seeing in her own early struggle with worldliness the dangers of laxity in convent life.  The poor and austere convents she established at Avila, Toledo, Valladolid, Salamanca, Alba, and elsewhere are the testimony of her determination.  This is especially evident when one realizes the long distances she traveled with but one companion and nearly always without money.  At Toledo, she had only three ducats (equal to about ten dollars) to begin her buiding.  “Teresa and three ducats,” she said, “are nothing; but God, Teresa, and three ducats are sufficient to make a success of everything.”  Here was the perfect fusion of her idealism and practicality.

Despite the indifference, and at times disapproval of many of her companions, Teresa did not completely lack human support. Saint John of the Cross was one of holy men who aided her in extending the reform to the the Carmelite Order.

At the age of sixty-five, though broken in health, Teresa was still traveling the country, directing her reform. On one such journey, she grew so weak that she had to take shelter at the convent in Alba.  There, in the arms of Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew, a faithful friend, Teresa died on the night of October 4, 1582.

Teresa, who forsook the admiration of the world to gain the admiration of the Lord, enjoys the wonderful paradox of sanctity. With her renunciation of the things temporal, she won universal admiration.  Her charm and intelligence and her mysticism and writings have given her a remarkable place in the world’s affection.  Teresa’s literary works, Autobiography, The Way of Perfection, the Book of Foundations, and The Interior Castle, are proof of her authority on the spiritual life, and in them is found a power and strength to inspire the world.

Teresa has also won a magnificent place in the Church Triumphant. She was canonized by Gregory XV in 1622.  She is regarded as the patron saint of lacemakers, perhaps through an association of the dart that pierced her heart with needle or crochet hook used in lacemaking.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  598-602.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 16
Saint Gerard Majella Confessor (1726-1755)

“I send you a useless brother.” This was the letter of introduction from the rector which Gerard Majella presented to the novice master of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer at Iliceto, Italy, in 1750.  Physically, the young man was not a promising candidate, for even if he was not conscious of it then, tuberculosis was already sapping his

vigor.

Gerard’s life previous to entering the Redemptorists had already been one of heroic sanctity: with God’s grace he had put himself through a rigorous novitate of his own.  He was born in 1726, in Muro Locano, a little town in southern Italy, about fifty miles south of Naples.  By the time he was ten, Gerard was receiving Communion every other day, and his mother testified later:  “My child’s only happiness was to be in church on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament.”  When his father died, Gerard’s schooling was cut short and he was apprenticed to a tailor, following in his father’s trade.  In 1745, Gerard went into business for himself, supporting his mother and three sisters with a third of his earnings, giving the rest to the poor and to the Church as stipends for Masses for the souls in purgatory.  Despite his frailty he spent several hours each night in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Seeing that Gerard was already prepared for the life, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorists, shortened his novitiate. In 1752 Brother Gerard professed. He served as community tailor and infirmarian, as a beggar for the house, and as a companion to the fathers their retreats and missions.  Because he had the ability to see through the barriers men construct to hide their true feelings many sinners were brought to repentance through contact with him.  Besides this gift of reading souls, Gerard manifested other signs of God’s special graces–unusual power inanimate nature, bilocation (that is, being seen by people at different places simultaneously), and levitation (actual physical suspension in midair).  In a sense, these things are not too important, for it was his charity, devotion, and goodness that caused both Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius IX to refer to Saint Gerard as an excellent model for men.

In Saint Gerard’s time there was little medical help for victims of tuberculosis; in spite of the suffering caused by the dread disease, he insisted upon traveling about in his mission of begging for the order. His last months were compounded of great suffering and constant prayer.  He died on October 16, 1755, when he was just twenty-nine years.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  603-604.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 16
Saint Hedwig Holy Woman (1173-1243)

Slavic peoples of several modern nations can claim ties with Saint Hedwig, better known to them as Jadwiga. She was of Moravian descent, which links her to Czechoslovakia; and her father was the duke of Croatia-Dalmatia, now part of the Serb-Croat-Slovene state of Yugoslavia.  In 1185, when she was twelve, Hedwig married young Duke Henry of Silesia and was thus brought into the Piast family, the rulers of Poland from the tenth to the fourteenth century.

By birth and marriage Hedwig was of the “privileged class”; she had advantages in upbringing, education, and leisure time that only the nobility could afford. These things she accepted not as a right but as a responsibility.  The key to her holiness lies in the wise use she made of her gifts and the willingness she showed in giving up legitimate goods and pleasures in order to be a more perfect instrument of God’s love.  An intelligent companion to her husband, a devoted mother of six children, a zealous daughter of the Church, and a wise stateswoman–Hedwig had little inclination to waste time, energy, or thought on frivolity.  She dressed and ate simply, ordering her life to accomplish as much as possible for others.

Although the Poles were Catholic, they lacked at this time the supports of faith provided by religious and educational institutions. Hedwig and Henry gave time and money for the establishment of monasteries, convents, schools, and hospitals; nor was their charity impersonal.  Once Hedwig spent eight weeks painstakingly teaching the words and meaning of the Our Father to a rather slow-witted servant.  She also personally nursed the patients of her leper hospital.  After the birth of their sixth child, the duke and duchess took a vow of perpetual continence in order to be more sensitive to the demands of charity to others.

Politically, these were difficult days for Poland. The nation was striving for unity amid the private interests of various dukes, and was threatened from East and West by powers all too ready to absorb her.  Whenever possible, Hedwig attempted to bring peace through arbitration and conciliation, but when her efforts failed she had to watch her husband go to war and even nurse him back to health after an assassination attempt.  In 1212 Henry decided to divide his estate between his two sons, Henry and Conrad.  Despite Hedwig’s strenuous attempts to settle the matter, Henry II and Conrad went to battle over the decision.  Henry II won: Conrad fled and died shortly afterwards, exiled from his family.  Hedwig’s husband died in 1237; and then, only three years Henry II was killed fighting the Tartars who had invaded Poland.

All who witnessed the saint’s reactions to this series of trials were amazed by her spiritual balance. She refused to indulge in self-pity, choosing to spend herself comforting the others bereaved by the deaths of these loved ones.  For some years Hedwig had resided mainly at the convent at Trebnitz near Breslau (Wroclaw) which she had founded, following the exercises of the community whenever possible.  She died there in October 1243.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  604-606.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 17
Saint Margaret Mary Virgin (1647-1690)

Mass and Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month is accepted as a regular practice in the lives of Catholics. But there was a time when Catholics feared to receive Christ in the Eucharist. In the seventeenth century the heresy of Jansenism denied that Christ died to save all men.  Thus, feeling unloved by God, men became unloving.  God chose a simple woman hidden in a convent in France to be one of the apostles of His universal love, His messenger of hope.

In no way was this woman’s exterior life outstanding. Born of a middle-class family of Lautecourt, a small town in Burgundy, France, in 1647, Margaret Alacoque was apparently like any other child.  However, her devotion was extraordinary enough for her to be permitted to receive her first Holy Communion when she was only nine, several years earlier than was the custom at that time.  Two years later she suffered a rheumatic infection which kept her an invalid for four years.  Margaret’s reaction to her illness was devoid of bitterness, a mortification more pleasing to God, perhaps, than any self-imposed discipline could be.

After the death of her father, a sister and brother-in-law of his ran the household, treating her mother almost as a servant. A naturally sensitive person, Margaret suffered in sympathy with her mother; and, understandably, Madame Alacoque was anxious for Margaret to marry so that they could make a new home.  Margaret felt that she was not meant to marry, yet she strongly resisted an inclination to the religious life.  This conflict continued for several years.  When she was twenty-two she was confirmed, taking the name Mary, and about this time she found the courage to enter a cloistered community of Visitation nuns.

When she signed her name to the words of her religious profession, Margaret Mary wrote at the bottom of the page: “All God, none of myself; all God’s, nothing mine; all for God, nothing for myself.”  She meant it. Despite her faults and failures she willed to become the instrument of Christ.  From then on; her life was a unique experience in love.  In return for her love, God allowed her to be conscious of His presence in her soul.  Christ appeared to her frequently throughout her life, making explicit her mission of spreading devotion to His Sacred Heart.  She knew both the extreme joy of personally experiencing the depth of God’s love for men and also the intense sorrow of the cross–clearly realizing how mediocrity and sin keep men from God’s love.

As a result of these experiences she was often very unpopular in her own convent, sometimes lonely, and often deeply sorrowful. Her ideal was simple in a way–to unite herself to Christ and to make as pure as possible her offertory at Mass.  But this meant that she, too, was a victim for sin; and all the suffering of her sensitive soul was offered in reparation for men’s offenses.

Nevertheless, all this was exteriorly unremarkable. She followed her vow of obedience and was humble, simple, and frank in her daily life in the convent.  Much to her own dismay and the displeasure of the other nuns, she was rather awkward in tasks about the monastery.  Once when sweeping the choir she was asked to lend a hand in the kitchen.  She obediently left at once, and when the nuns came to chapel for prayers, there was the mound of dust that Sister Margaret Mary had failed to sweep up.  Yet, in time, she became competent enough to serve as assistant superior and as novice mistress.

With the encouragement of Blessed Claude La Colombière, her Jesuit confessor, and an understanding superior, Margaret Mary was finally able to inform others of her visions and to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart–first in her own convent, then to other Visitation houses, and later throughout France. Through her, Christ spread anew His message of love to a world gone cold.  Margaret Mary died at Paray-le-Monial on October 17, 1690.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  606-608.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 18
Saint Luke Evangelist (New Testament)

Although Luke was not a disciple of Christ during our Lord’s lifetime, as an early convert he immediately placed all his talents at the disposal of the infant Church. He was a Greek living in Antioch, Syria, and perhaps was one of the first members of the young Church of Antioch.  By the time of his conversion he was a practicing physician.  He continued to exercise his skill as a physician whenever necessary, while at the same time traveling with Saint Paul on missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean region.  There is a tradition that he was also a skillful painter and that Mary was a favorite subject for his brush.  There is no authentic evidence of this nor does his fame and glory depend on such things.  His name is forever glorious because he used his talents as a writer for the benefit of the Church and became the inspired mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.

During Paul’s imprisonment in Palestine, Luke wrote his Gospel, which he completed about the year 60. Since he wrote only what he learned from those who had been present and involved in the history he recorded, he certainly listened at great length to the accounts of the apostles and disciples of Christ.  It is only in Saint Luke’s Gospel that we have a full account of the annunciation to Mary, her visit to Elizabeth, and the journeys to Jerusalem, so he also must have spent long hours with the Blessed Mother.  Because he opens his Gospel by mentioning the priest Zachary, Saint Luke is symbolized by an ox, the usual sacrificial victim of the Law.

Paul was released from prison in Palestine then was only to be imprisoned again in Rome. However, he was allowed free association with his friends, and Saint Luke remained as his constant companion.  During this time, in order to leave an authentic account of the work of Christ Church, the evangelist wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

After the martyrdom of Saint Paul, Luke no doubt continued to preach and teach, but of his remaining years and his death nothing is known with certainty. This evangelist and missionary is the patron of physicians and painters.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  609-610.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 19
Saint Peter of Alcantara Confessor (1499-1562)

Alcántara is just a small town in Spain, near the Portuguese border, but it can boast that in 1499 it was the birthplace of Peter Garavita, the son of the town’s governor. Peter attended school there until he was fifteen, when he went to the University of Salamanca to study law.  Garavitas numbered among their relatives the famous conqueror of Mexico, Cortez.  At that time all Spain was alive with stories of fame and fortune to be gained in the New World.  But the spirit of adventure that was in Peter sought its fulfillment in another world, for, with a spontaneous gesture of abandonment, he entered a poor and strict house of the Franciscan Friars Minor.  Spontaneity alone is not sufficient to carry through such a commitment, so, with methodical determination, Peter set about freeing his soul from attachment to comfort and convenience.  Gradually he achieved such control over his physical needs that he could spend almost all night in prayer.

He loved solitude and silence, where he could best pray and contemplate, and even while performing his duties about the house he could maintain a spirit of recollection. He was a man in love who could not keep his mind off his loved one–Christ.  In Saint Peter’s life we have an excellent example of how loving contemplation of God overflows into action.  When he was only twenty-two, even before his ordination, he was superior successively at three more friaries, and was so respected by his brothers that they made him provincial of the area in 1538.  Meanwhile he had been preaching and teaching among the poor, who loved and revered this barefoot, tattered-looking friar.

In 1540 it became evident that Peter’s spirit of poverty and contemplation had led him to a vocation different from that of his brothers. His plans for a stricter interpretation of the Franciscan way of life were strongly opposed at a chapter of the province.  Peter then resigned and, with a group of like-minded friars, settled in an isolated hermitage.  Here the men lived in tiny cells, slept on bundles of grass, prayed and worked in solitude.  Gradually other Franciscans were attracted to this strict rule, and with Peter’s aid and encouragement new friaries of this type sprang up in Spain.  Their way of life was approved by the pope in 1554 and was later called the Alcantarine observance.

Sometimes Peter of Alcantara is pictured with a star over his head, because a story tells that when he went to Avila about 1560 to counsel Saint Teresa, a star shone over the city throughout their meeting. Peter was convinced Teresa’s holiness and of her work, which he assisted in every way he could.  She in turn revered him as a saint, describing him as looking “like the roots and bark of trees” so toughened was he by penance and his constant traveling among the poor.

Saint Peter died in October 1562, and was canonized in 1669. For his many nights of watchful prayer, he is honor today as patron of night watchmen.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  610-612.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 20
Saint John Cantius Confessor (c 1390-1473)

John Cantius (Latin form of “of Kenty”) was a professor who entered the University of Cracow as a student and remained there, except for several short absences, until his death at eighty-three.

He was born at Kenty, Silesia, about 1390, when that Polish area was under Bohemian rule. After preliminary education there he entered the university.  Here he received several degrees, and immediately after his ordination to priesthood was appointed to the faculty.  While the university itself was rapidly gaining prominence as an important intellectual center, John Cantius was one of its more outstanding scholars.  He left such an academic reputation that his purple doctoral gown was long used to vest each candidate at the conferring of degrees.

The professor’s fame was no doubt increased by the charity that permeated his life. One day, while eating in the university dining hall, John saw a famished beggar pass the door.  At once he carried his own meal out to the man, to find on his return that his own plate was miraculously refilled.  For years this event was recalled at Cracow by the setting aside of a special meal for the poor each day.  This is but one example, for he was known to all the poor of the city. Anything he had was at their disposal.

Such a person gathers both devoted admirers and envious enemies. When King Ladislaus II of Poland called a conference in 1431 to discuss the question of the Hussite heresy, John’s rivals managed to prevent him from taking part.  This was a bitter disappointment to the priest, since the Hussite question was causing great disturbance among the faithful in Bohemia at the time.  These same enemies had John removed from the faculty and appointed as a parish priest.  For both his parishioners and himself this appointment was unpleasant at first, for John was inclined to a life of study and had no natural bent toward active parish work.  Gradually, his charity so captured their love that when he left, after eight years, the people held a demonstration to express their sorrow at his departure.  Many even followed him for miles on the road.

He was then recalled to the university and given a full professorship in Sacred Scripture, a position he held until his death. He made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem and four, on foot, to Rome.  After eighty-three years spent in poverty, charity, and discipline imposed by a love for truth, John Cantius died on Christmas Eve, in 1473.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  612-614.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 21
Saint Ursula and Companions Martyrs (3rd Century)

Saints were favorite heroes of the simple and uneducated peasants of earlier days, and saintly legends were a means both of instruction and of pious entertainment. Thus, told and retold, the story of Saint Ursula reached fantastic and delightful proportions.  Nevertheless, it captures some of the sentiments of its credulous audience:  respect for consecrated virginity and a deep love for the shrines of the martyrs.

Saint Ursula was one of several young girls martyred at Cologne in the third century for defending their virginity. Even before the peace of the Church decreed by Constantine (313) a church was built in Cologne in their honor.  Nothing more is actually known about them.

According to the curious legend fabricated several centuries later, Ursula was the daughter of a Christian king and queen in England. So intelligent and charming was the girl that she was constantly besieged with marriage proposals.  These she always refused because she wanted to dedicate her virginity to God.  When another powerful king proposed a match between his son, Conon, and Ursula, the girl’s father was afraid to offend him.  The princess took the matter into her own hands and set down what she thought would be impossible demands for the marriage.  First, she must have ten virgins of nobility, and each of them a thousand maids, as well as a thousand maids to wait on herself.  Second, she should be allowed three years to visit the holy shrines of the saints; and third, because she would not marry a heathen, Conon and his court would have to become Christians.

After seeing the beautiful princess, no terms were too difficult for Conon. He had himself baptized at once and sent out ambassadors to look for the required eleven thousand and ten virgins.  When they were all gathered, the young women set out by ships across the sea and up the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland.  Then they traveled by foot over the Alps to Rome.

Meanwhile, Canon grew impatient, and he met them in Rome. Here several bishops and many priests joined the band of pilgrims.  After praying at the shrines in Rome, the now enlarged company returned to the Rhine and started back to Britain.  When they reached Cologne, however, the pagan Huns attacked their ships.  Ursula went about encouraging her companions, and when she refused to abandon Christianity and marry the Hun chief, she and all her companions were killed.  With this glorious martyrdom ends the strange tale of Saint Ursula and her eleven thousand and ten virgins!

Not a word of it is true, for Ursula and her few companions are rather to be counted among the many other Christians who suffered for their faith in the cities of the Roman Empire long before the barbarian invasions of the West. When the Franks took Cologne in 355 there was already a basilica there in their honor.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  614-615.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 22
Saint Philip of Heraclea and Companions Bishop and Martyrs (-303)

Saint Philip was bishop of Heraclea, a city in the province of Thrace in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. He was an old man when Diocletian published his first edicts against Christians, but the bishop met the persecution with youthful energy and spirit.

Philip’s first conflict with the government came when officials sealed the doors of his church. Undaunted, he continued to assemble his congregation outside the church remarking to one of the officers:  “Are you so foolish as think that God lives within walls rather than in the hearts men?”  Later, the officers confiscated the sacred vessels and books, but they still could not disperse the congregation.  Then they arrested Philip along with a former magistrate of the city, Hermes.  Both were tortured at the order of the governor, and then were forced to witness the demolition of the sacred vessels to pagan army ment.  Relaxing his severity a bit, the governor kept the prisoners under guard in home of one of their friends.

When the governor died, however, he was replaced by a less lenient man, who ordered Philip and Hermes to sacrifice to Roman gods. Steadfastly refusing, even under severe beatings, the two were condemned to be burned.

Meanwhile, a priest and companion of Philip, Severus, had been in hiding in the city. When he heard of the fate of his beloved bishop he gave himself up to the officials.  The day after Philip and Hermes died at the stake, Severus was also martyred.  Even after burning, the martyrs’ bodies remained whole, and the governor ordered them thrown into a river.  The bodies were retrieved and buried with honor by the Christians of Heraclea.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  616-617.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 23
Saint Severinus Boethius Martyr (c480-524)

The Byzantine Empire had enjoyed thirty peaceful years when Michael Rhangabe, the father of today’s saint, became emperor in 811; but his reign was short-lived and tragic. Two years later, Leo the Armenian forcibly deposed Michael, cruelly mistreated his two sons, and immediately revived the iconoclast issue which had caused such turmoil in the East throughout the eighth century.  Once again came forth an imperial prohibition against giving any religious reverence to the images of saints; all statues were removed from churches, and riots and reprisals once again disrupted the empire.

Leo had imprisoned Michael’s two sons in a monastery; but when the older one, Ignatius, was just fourteen he freely changed this “prison” into a home by becoming a monk there. Unfortunately he was later placed under an iconoclast abbot and had to undergo persecution within the monastery itself.  Despite this, Ignatius held firm to his orthodox belief that representations of saints can be an aid to true devotion.  Years later, when the abbot died, the monks, having witnessed Ignatius’ steadfastness, ability, and holiness elected him their new abbot.

In 842 the persecution was brought to an end when Empress Theodora restored the use of images. Four years later Ignatius was elected patriarch of Constantinople, but this election did not protect him from further troubles.  Theodora’s brother Bardas, although a power within the government and a man to be feared, was nevertheless notorious for his evil living.  Seeing the public scandal of his life, and not intimidated by his power, Ignatius refused to give Bardas Holy Communion on the Feast of the Epiphany in 857.

Within the year Ignatius had been replaced as patriarch. There are contradictory “facts” and theories surrounding this and subsequent events.  It is not clear whether Ignatius resigned or was forcibly removed; nor is it clear whether his successor, Photius, acted in good faith or in bad.  Nevertheless, for a period of nine years Ignatius was in exile while the canonical legality of the situation was in bitter a confusing dispute.  As all through his life, Ignatius maintained his spiritual perspective even throughout the calculate cruelty of Bardas and the anguish caused by the situation itself.  Finally, in 867, Ignatius was restored as patriarch.  His open-hearted charity to Photius, apparent both throughout his exile and after his return, stood in contrast to the actions of those who had allowed emotion to rule conduct in the conflict.  Ten years after his reinstatement, on October 23, 877, Saint Ignatius died.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  617-619.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 23
Saint Ignatius of Constantinople Bishop and Confessor (-877)

The Byzantine Empire had enjoyed thirty peaceful years when Michael Rhangabe, the father of today’s saint, became emperor in 811; but his reign was short-lived and tragic. Two years later, Leo the Armenian forcibly deposed Michael, cruelly mistreated his two sons, and immediately revived the iconoclast issue which had caused such turmoil in the East throughout the eighth century.  Once again came forth an imperial prohibition against giving any religious reverence to the images of saints; all statues were removed from churches, and riots and reprisals once again disrupted the empire.

Leo had imprisoned Michael’s two sons in a monastery; but when the older one, Ignatius, was just fourteen he freely changed this “prison” into a home by becoming a monk there. Unfortunately he was later placed under an iconoclast abbot and had to undergo persecution within the monastery itself.  Despite this, Ignatius held firm to his orthodox belief that representations of saints can be an aid to true devotion.  Years later, when the abbot died, the monks, having witnessed Ignatius’ steadfastness, ability, and holiness elected him their new abbot.

In 842 the persecution was brought to an end when Empress Theodora restored the use of images. Four years later Ignatius was elected patriarch of Constantinople, but this election did not protect him from further troubles.  Theodora’s brother Bardas, although a power within the government and a man to be feared, was nevertheless notorious for his evil living.  Seeing the public scandal of his life, and not intimidated by his power, Ignatius refused to give Bardas Holy Communion on the Feast of the Epiphany in 857.

Within the year Ignatius had been replaced as patriarch. There are contradictory “facts” and theories surrounding this and subsequent events.  It is not clear whether Ignatius resigned or was forcibly removed; nor is it clear whether his successor, Photius, acted in good faith or in bad.  Nevertheless, for a period of nine years Ignatius was in exile while the canonical legality of the situation was in bitter a confusing dispute.  As all through his life, Ignatius maintained his spiritual perspective even throughout the calculate cruelty of Bardas and the anguish caused by the situation itself.  Finally, in 867, Ignatius was restored as patriarch.  His open-hearted charity to Photius, apparent both throughout his exile and after his return, stood in contrast to the actions of those who had allowed emotion to rule conduct in the conflict.  Ten years after his reinstatement, on October 23, 877, Saint Ignatius died.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  619-620.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 24
Saint Raphael Archangel

Just when God created the angels is not known, but perhaps it was before our world was made and before light and darkness established what we know as time. To man’s mind they are creatures of mystery; by nature angels are contemplatives with the ability to seize upon truth quickly and with ease, unhampered by the laborious process we call learning.  Yet, despite their natural abilities, angels, like men, depended on God’s free gift of grace to merit heaven.  And given this grace, the angels could still sin.  Lucifer and his fallen legion, for all their natural ability and despite the supernatural gift of grace, did turn from charity–from God.

What was the fault? Pride seems to be the answer, and Saint Thomas Aquinas hints that perhaps the angels were given a glimpse of the Word-made-man, which was too much for some of them to accept.  Naturally, because the angels were given so much in the way of wisdom, much was expected of them.  Some failed, but the heroic angels who chose to worship God, not themselves, were rewarded with the eternal vision and possession of Him in heaven.  Like the saints, they are our comrades for, in God’s plan, angels are to assist man in his journey to heaven.

One of the most gifted and most glorious of angels is Raphael. He is “one of the seven who stand before the Lord”– an archangel.  Yet he is also a humble servant of God, whose very name means “God heals.”  He is presented in the Book of Tobias in the Old Testament as a healer and guardian, and the story is told of his curing the blindness of old Tobias, guiding young Tobias on a long journey, and saving the youth’s bride, Sara, from the curse of the devil.  It is also thought that Raphael is the angel who moved the healing waters in the pool in Saint John’s Gospel.  And, as he offered prayers for Tobias before the throne of God, he can continue to intercede for us, his fellow creatures.  Raphael is the patron of travelers.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  621-622.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 25
Saint Crispin and Crispinian Martyrs (3rd Century)

One does not have to renounce the commerce of the world to be a saint. Saint Paul continued to earn his at the craft of tentmaking, and history shows many other examples.  Crispin and Crispinian are in this class.  They mentioned in a martyrology compiled in the sixth century according to this they died as martyrs in the city of Siossons in Gaul.  History provides nothing further, but popular legend provided a story.  According to this tradition, originating toward the end of the eighth century, Crispin and Crispian were shoemakers who came from Rome to Gaul in the third century.  They came with Saint Quentin and others to preach the gospel and, in imitation of Saint Paul, spent their nights working with their hands, fashioning shoes.  This may have been a maneuver to conceal from the government their intention to preach Christianity.  Whatever the case, they were good shoemakers, acquired a fine clientele in Soissons, and freely gave shoes to the poor.

The infidels who came to listen to the brothers speak of the Christian faith were impressed by their holiness; Crispin and Crispinian were responsible for many conversions during this time. For several years they continued their work in peace; then Maximian Hercules, co-emperor: in the West, came into Belgic Gaul and began to arrest Christians.  Crispin and Crispinian were accused of conspiracy and sent for trial before the prefect, an enemy of Christianity.  At their trial the brothers exhibited remarkable constancy and survived with fortitude the terrible tortures that were meant to kill them.  They were finally beheaded.

A church was built in honor of Crispin and Crispinian at Soissons in the sixth century. They were held in great popular veneration throughout the Middle Ages, and they are the patron saints of shoemakers and leather merchants.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  622-623.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 25
Saints Chrysanthus and Daria Martyrs (3rd Century)

From the early fourth century, when the persecutions had ended, pilgrimages to the tombs of the martyrs in Rome became a favorite devotion for Christians everywhere. Among the tombs and chapels visited along the Salarian Way was the burial place of Saints Chrysanthus and Daria.  The time and circumstances of their martyrdom, though they must have been known to the earliest pilgrims, are lost to history, and even the site of their tomb and church is now unknown.

About the eighth century someone provided a romantic tale about them. It was a love story that might be considered tragic in human terms, but no romance could hold a better promise of “living happily ever after.”  It began when the young, intelligent Chrysanthus ruined a promising career in Rome by becoming a Christian.  His father, a member of the Egyptian nobility, tried by every conceivable means to bring the young man back to the worship of the gods.  He thought he could break the will of Chrysanthus by bringing him a beautiful pagan girl, Daria.

But Daria was no temptress. On the contrary, she so admired Chrysanthus’ strong faith that she too was baptized, and gladly married him with the blessing of the Church.  Only a short time later they were arrested. Tortured, insulted in every possible way, the young couple clung firmly to their faith.  Finally Chrysanthus and Daria were stoned by a mob and buried alive in a sand pit.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  623-624.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 26
Saint Evaristus Pope and Martyr (c 105)

Evaristus is Latinized form of the Greek word euarestos, which means “pleasant” or “agreeable.”  But pleasant would be a false description for the life of any Christian living in the first century after Christ, for while the good tidings of salvation brought much joy to the souls that accepted Christ, there was much misunderstanding and hostility toward Christians.  Although, generally speaking, Roman paganism was merely a formality by this time, Christians were distrusted nonconformists because they failed in what was considered a civic duty-worshiping the emperor.  The bishop of Rome, chief pastor of the Christian community, would naturally be the chief target of both public and private ill-will.

Evaristus was born in Bethlehem, of Greek parents. It is not known when he was converted to Christianity; in fact, very little is known about this fourth successor of Saint Peter.  His pontificate lasted from about 97 to 105, when he is thought to have been martyred during the persecution of Emperor Trajan.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  624-625.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 27
Saint Frumentius Bishop and Confessor (-c 380)

Perhaps educational tours were not uncommon even in the fourth century; but the one taken in 330 by two teenagers from Tyre, Frumentius and Aedesios, turned out to be most uncommon. While their ship was taking on supplies at an Ethiopian port, the students wandered off to have a look about.  Meanwhile, natives attacked the ship, killing the crew and passengers, including the young men’s teacher.  When Frumentius and Aedesios were discovered, they were taken to the king at the ancient capital of Aksum.

The king was so impressed with their manners and intelligence that he made them members of his household, gradually entrusting them with responsibility in the administration of the government, and finally making Frumentius secretary of state. When the king died, the queen induced the young men to remain until her older son could assume his role as ruler.

Although at first Frumentius and Aedesios were lone Christians in a nation that had never heard the word of God, they were able to assure the free practice of their religion for the Christian merchants who came that way, and to build oratories for them. This small group, by living a Christian life among the natives, drew interest and admiration–creating an atmosphere conducive to the acceptance of the faith.

When the prince, Abraha, reached ruling age, Aedesious returned to Tyre, where he was later ordained a priest. Frumentius went directly to Saint Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, to request him to send missionaries to Ethiopia.  After a short time Athanasius ordained Frumentius, consecrated him bishop, and sent him back as a missionary.

Shortly after his return, Frumentius baptized King Abraha and his brother and co-ruler, Atsabaha. He worked among his adopted countrymen, and they called him “Father of Peace” because he preached the peace of Christ.  At one time his mission was threatened by the Arian Roman emperor, Constantius II.  Constantius had exiled Saint Athanasius five times and also tried to capture Frumentius.  He wrote letter to Kings Abraha and Atsabaha demanding that the send Frumentius to Alexandria.  This they refused to do; and, from Constantius’ death in 361 until his own some twenty years later, Frumentius was able to carry on his work of peace among the people of Ethiopia.

Frumentius is regarded as the apostle of Abyssinia. It is from his young companion Aedesios, who had returned to Tyre and become a priest, that most of this account of the missionary bishop comes down to us.  He told his story to Rufinus, an historian, who included it in his history of the Church.  The letter of Constantius comes to us from Saint Athanasius, who incorporated it in one of his books.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  625-627.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 28
Saints Simon and Jude Apostles (New Testament)

Because the apostles, Simon and Jude, are thought to have been companions in missionary work and in martyrdom, they are commemorated on the same day. According to Western tradition, Saint Simon preached for a time in Syria, while Saint Jude was in Mesopotamia; then they met in Persia, where they were finally martyred.

Simon’s surname means “the Canaanite,” that is, the “zealot.” Misunderstanding his surname, Saint Jerome and others thought that he was born at Cana in Galilee, but “zealot” probably indicates that he was a zealous defender of the Law.  He appears in all the lists of the apostles but the New Testament reveals nothing more about the life of Saint Simon.

The same is also true of his companion, Saint Jude Thaddeus, who is believed to have been the brother of James the Less and a cousin of our Lord. The stories of life are rather confused and unreliable.  We do have Epistle from Saint Jude in which he warns Christians against heretics and those who would corrupt Christian freedom into unrestrained license.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  627-628.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 29
Saint Colman Bishop and Confessor (-c 632)

Colman MacDuach was born in Corker, Ireland, the middle of the sixth century, when the spirit of Patrick was still very much alive among the Irish people. The simplicity and strict austerity of life encouraged by that great missionary attracted Colman, and he lived for a time on Aranmore, one of the Aran Islands.  Later he set out, with a companion, for Burren, in County Clare, where they as hermits.  Still later, he established a monastery at a place which has been called after him, Kilmacduagh-the cell of Mac Duach.  He is honored as the first bishop of the diocese of Kilmacduagh, which is now united to the diocese of Galway.

According to a fanciful old Irish legend, Saint Colman kept three pets in his cell: his cock was his alarm clock to wake him for the morning office, his mouse had the task of waking him for the night office, while his fly served as a marker for his breviary.  Apparently Saint Colman had difficulties keeping his eyes open!  Fanciful as this is, a man whose will was so in harmony with God might possibly have been able to recapture some of the original harmony of Eden.  Saint Colman died at Kilmacduagh about 632.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  628-629.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 30
Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez Confessor (1533-1617)

Old Brother Alphonsus’ position at the Jesuit College of Monte Sión, at Palma on the island of Majorca, was by no means exalted; he was the hall porter for thirty-five years. Yet the boys in the school loved and respected him as did their parents, the clergy, professional men, tradesmen, and the poor who came daily through the doors of the college.  Always pleasant and cheerful, always seeking the best in others, Brother Alphonsus brought out the virtues of each person with whom he had contact.  And because of his simple and direct wisdom he was a counselor to many men of diverse abilities.

His pleasant manner was certainly not the superficial result of good health and good fortune, for his life was more full of disappointments and griefs than that of most men. Alphonsus Rodriguez was born in 1533 in Segovia, Spain, where father was a wealthy cloth and wool merchant.  He had first contact with Jesuit ideals when he was only eight years old.  Blessed Peter Faber had come to Spain on a preaching mission, and for a time was a guest at the Rodriguez country house near Segovia.  At fifteen, when his father died, Alphonsus had to leave the Jesuit school at Alcalá and return to assist his mother in the business.

His life, as the world would judge it, would seem to just a series of unhappy events. By the time he was in thirties, Alphonsus had suffered through the death of wife, his infant daughter, his mother, and finally his son.  Coupled with these sorrows was the failure business, which he had been forced to sell shortly before his son’s death.

No, it was not good fortune, but a will firmly attuned to the will of God, that gave Saint Alphonsus his spirit of joy. If God did not want him to enjoy the full pleasures of human love, He must have wanted a more single-minded dedication.  Thirty-five years old, Alphonsus went back to school, the University of Valencia; he began to think about becoming a hermit, but soon decided on the Jesuits.  Although Alphonsus was at first refused by the Jesuits, his dogged persistence going back to school to learn Latin among young boys, working as a servant to pay his way, finally gained him admittance into the Society.  In 1571 he was formally received as a “temporal coadjutor” or lay brother, and six months later was sent to the College of Monte Sian as hall porter.

Saint Alphonsus spent as much time as possible in and contemplation, but even here he found difficulties. It seems that the devil was irritated by the holy man and frequently caused him painful distractions when he tried pray.  Yet the brother never gave up praying with all strength, and he continued to bring happiness and help to all who knew him.  It was he who inspired Saint Peter Claver to offer himself to the American missions.  In 1617, when he was eighty-four, Saint Alphonsus died.  One of the fathers of the house described his holiness by saying:  “That brother is not a man-he is an angel!”

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  629-.631   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 31
Saint Wofgang Bishop and Confessor (-c 925-994)

Schooling took up the greater part of the young life of this German saint, for Wolfgang began his studies when he was seven, under a neighboring priest. He showed enough promise to be sent on to the abbey school of Reichenau and then to the cathedral school of Wurzburg, which was the equivalent of a modern university.  When his Reichenau schoolmate and friend, a young nobleman named Henry, later became the archbishop of Treves (now Trier), he called upon Wolfgang to be master of the diocesan cathedral school.

Wolfgang could shift with ease from intricate questions of philosophy to the immediate needs of those about him. He became a great help to Henry in the organization, education, and reform in the diocese of Treves.  When Henry died in 964, however, Wolfgang followed a deeper inclination and entered the Benedictine monastery at Einsiedeln, Switzerland.  Once again he was back in the academic field, as director of the abbey school; but on his own request was sent, after his ordination, to preach to the Magyars Hungary.

In 972, despite his resistance to the idea, Wolfgang was consecrated and installed as bishop of Ratisbon (now Regensburg), Bavaria, Germany. The worldly honor of the meant nothing to him, and he continued to wear his habit.  Despite the distractions of this time-consuming position, Wolfgang always maintained the rhythm of life cloister-rising for night office and continuing to fast moderately.

Although an able administrator, there was nothing of the bureaucrat in Saint Wolfgang. The bishop worked with the clergy and with the abbots and abbesses in his diocese to introduce the reform needed in those times.  He traveled extensively throughout his diocese preaching to all, and his charity to the poor was renowned.  To the students in cathedral and abbey schools, Saint Wolfgang was a well-known figure, for he personally supervised their progress with loving interest.  It was while he was on a trip through his diocese that Saint Wolfgang became ill and died in 994.  He was canonized just fifty-eight years later.

The legend of Wolfgang includes a series of incidents in which the devil seeks to disrupt the saint’s life and is, instead, forced to perform some service for the Chruch. Thus, in art Saint Wolfgang is often pictured with the devil holding a Mass book or performing some other pious work.  Less commonly, Wolfgang is shown with an axe.  This alludes to the legend that the saint once resorted to the ancient custom of casting an axe or hammer to determine where to build.  After praying, he threw his axe across a valley near Salzburg and set up his hermitage where the axe fell.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  631-632.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.

October 31
Saint Quentin Martyr (-287)

Quentin was a Roman of noble birth who, because of his for Christianity, left his native city to journey to Gaul, there to preach among the pagans. Quentin had much to renounce.  His were the privileges only given to one of a Roman senatorial family, but he rejected his right to exercise them when in 245, accompanied by Saint Lucian of Beauvais, he set out on his travels to Gaul.

The two men preached first at Amiens and after a short time they parted. Lucian went to Beauvais, where he was martyred.  Quentin stayed at Amiens, where he converted many souls through his sermons, good works, miracles, and the example of holiness.

In the reign of the co-emperor Maximian Hercules in 286, Rictiovarus, whose hatred of the Christian religion knew no bounds, was appointed prefect of the praetorium. Hearing of the progress of Christianity in Amiens, Rictiovarus determined to put to death the instigator of this progress.  Arriving at Amiens, he ordered that Quentin be seized and thrown into prison.  The following day the saint was brought to trial before the prefect, who tried to shake him from his constancy.  But Quentin remained steadfast even through the terrible beatings administered to him.

When Rictiovarus left Amiens, he ordered Quentin to be taken to the territory of the Veromandui, where the intended to stay on his return. Here, eventually, he attempted once more to weaken the saint’s faith by horrible tortures, threats, even promises.  But it availed him nothing and

in anger, he had Quentin beheaded on October 31, 287. The martyr’s body was thrown into the Somme River but it was recovered by some Christians and buried on a mountain near the town.  In the following centuries, during which the territory suffered much from wars and invasions, the martyr’s relics were transferred hither and thither.  But the city of his martyrdom, in ancient times the chief place of the Veromandui tribe, and the administrative and military center the area under the Roman Empire, now bears the name Saint-Quentin.

Information from The Lives of Saints for every day of the year The Catholic Press, Inc. 1959.  633-634.   © 1959 Reverend John P. O’Connell, STD NIHIL OBSTAT; IMPRIMATUR Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago May 5 1958.  Print.