May 13 – St. John the Silent

May 11, 2015

St. John the Silent (Hesychastes, Silentiarius). Bishop of Colonia, in Armenia, b. at Nicopolis, Armenia, 8 Jan., 452; d. 558. His parents, Encratius and Euphemia, wealthy and honoured, belonged to families that had done great service in the State and had given to it renowned generals and governors, but they were also good Christian… Read […]

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May 14 – The Right to Revolt

May 11, 2015

May 14, 1264: Simon de Montfort Defeats King Henry III at Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons’ War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de […]

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May 15 – Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac

May 10, 2015

Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac (December 27, 1556 – February 2, 1640) was founderess of the order The Company of Mary Our Lady. She was born in Bordeaux, France in 1556 to a prominent family. Her father, Richard de Lestonnac, was a member of the French Parliament while her mother, Jeanne Eyquem, was the sister of […]

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“Be Kind To Your Mother”

May 7, 2015

Frederick, King of Prussia, one day rang his bell, and, no one answering, he opened the door and found his page fast asleep in his elbow-chair. He advanced towards him, and was about to waken him, when he perceived a letter hanging out of his pocket. Curiosity prompted him to know what it contained; so […]

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2: The Law of Contrast

May 7, 2015

In order for their beauty to be more complete, things diverse among themselves should manifest a certain contrast, a certain opposition. There is [in the Catholic Church] a magnificent contrast between the Pope, who is at the pinnacle of power and before whom all kneel, and a humble lay brother, who would protest were anyone […]

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May 8 – When St. Michael Appeared

May 7, 2015

Well known is the apparition of St. Michael the Archangel (a. 494 or 530-40), as related in the Roman Breviary, 8 May, at his renowned sanctuary on Monte Gargano, where his original glory as patron in war was restored to him. To his intercession the Lombards of Sipontum (Manfredonia) attributed their victory over the Greek […]

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May 8 – Matriarch of the Carolingian family

May 7, 2015

Saint Itta (or Itta of Metz) (also Ida, Itte or Iduberga) (592–652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was abbess Saint Severa. There is no direct record of their parents, but it has been suggested that she was […]

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May 9 – Known personally to the King, he was falsely accused of conspiring to murder him

May 7, 2015

Ven. Thomas Pickering Lay brother and martyr, a member of an old Westmoreland family, born circa 1621; executed at Tyburn, 9 May, 1679. He was sent to the Benedictine monastery of St. Gregory at Douai, where he took vows as a lay brother in 1660. In 1665 he was sent to London, where, as steward […]

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May 9 – St. Nicholas Albergati

May 7, 2015

Cardinal and Bishop of Bologna, born at Bologna in 1357; died at Sienna, 9 May, 1443. He entered the Carthusian Order in 1394, served as prior in various monasteries, and was made Bishop of Bologna, against his will, in 1417. In this office he still followed the Rule of his Order, was zealous for the […]

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May 9 – Isaias, Prophet and Historian, Sawn in Two

May 7, 2015

From the Prophet himself (i, 1; ii, 1) we learn that he was the son of Amos. Owing to the similarity between Latin and Greek forms of this name and that of the Shepherd-Prophet of Thecue, some Fathers mistook the Prophet Amos for the father of Isaias. St. Jerome in the preface to his “Commentary […]

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May 10 – Saint Damien: A Hero Who Died on the Battlefield of Honor

May 7, 2015

Born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, he took the religious name of Damien when he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. There are few places on Earth more beautiful than Hawaii. While this idyllic paradise may be the destination spot for tourists and honeymooners, Joseph de Veuster was eager […]

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May 11 – Holy Merovingian

May 7, 2015

St. Aldegundis Virgin and abbess (c. 639-684), variously written Adelgundis, Aldegonde, etc. She was closely related to the Merovingian royal family. Her father and mother, afterwards honored as St. Walbert and St. Bertilia, lived in Flanders in the province of Hainault. Aldegundis was urged to marry, but she chose a life of virginity and, leaving […]

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May 11 – Martyr of the House of Rochester

May 7, 2015

Blessed John Rochester Priest and martyr, born probably at Terling, Essex, England, about 1498; died at York, 11 May, 1537. He was the third son of John Rochester, of Terling, and Grisold, daughter of Walter Writtle, of Bobbingworth. He joined the Carthusians, was a choir monk of the Charterhouse in London, and strenuously opposed the […]

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May 5 – St. Hilary of Arles

May 4, 2015

Archbishop, born about 401; died 5 May, 449. The exact place of his birth is not known. All that may be said is that he belonged to a notable family of Northern Gaul, of which in all probability also came St. Honoratus, his predecessor in the See of Arles. Learned and rich, Hilary had everything […]

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May 6 – Prince, priest, pioneer

May 4, 2015

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin Prince, priest, and missionary, born at The Hague, Holland, 22 December, 1770; died at Loretto, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 6 May, 1840. He was a scion of one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most illustrious families of Russia. His father, Prince Demetrius Gallitzin (d. 16 March, 1803), Russian ambassador to Holland at the time […]

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May 6 – Saint Francis de Montmorency Laval

May 4, 2015

St. Francis de Montmorency Laval First bishop of Canada, born at Montigny-sur-Avre, 30 April, 1623, of Hughes de Laval and Michelle de Péricard; died at Quebec on 6 May, 1708. He was a scion of an illustrious family, whose ancestor was baptized with Clovis at Reims, and whose motto reads: “Dieu ayde au primer baron […]

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May 7 – The Pope who adopted two princes

May 4, 2015

Pope St. Benedict II Date of birth unknown; died 8 May, 685; was a Roman, and the son of John. Sent when young to the schola cantorum, he distinguished himself by his knowledge of the Scriptures and by his singing, and as a priest was remarkable for his humility, love of the poor, and generosity. […]

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May 7 – Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

May 4, 2015

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa Friar Minor and founder of the English Franciscan Province, born at Pisa c. 1195, of the noble family of the Agnelli; died at Oxford, 7 May, 1236. In early youth he was received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis himself, during the latter’s sojourn in Pisa, and soon became an […]

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May 7 – St. John of Beverley

May 4, 2015

St. John of Beverley Bishop of Hexham and afterwards of York; b. at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire; d. at Beverley, 7 May, 721. In early life he was under the care of Archbishop Theodore, at Canterbury, who supervised his education, and is reputed to have given him the name of John. He […]

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Baby Princess Leonore Meets the Pope

April 30, 2015

According to the Royal Forums: During her grandmother and parents’ visit to the Vatican, Princess Leonore also met Pope Francis. The baby Princess sat on her grandmother, Queen Silvia’s, lap whilst she had an audience with the Pope at the Apostolic Palace.  To read the entire article on the Royal Forums, please click here. View […]

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The Temptation of the Two Brothers

April 30, 2015

Two noble knights* were one day passing together through a thick forest on their way to a tournament. They were brothers, and each of them possessed great riches. As they were passing through this solitary place, the demon of covetousness inspired both of them with the same wicked thought: that of killing his brother, in […]

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1: The Laws Of Variety

April 30, 2015

The Law of Characteristics Characteristics are a distinct sign of authentic variety, and in them true variety is attained. Let us consider a room with a variety of objects: armchairs, paintings, chandeliers, carpets, curtains, and so on. This variety will be authentic only when each one of these objects is typically and characteristically itself. Let […]

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May 1 – St. Sigismund, King of Burgundy

April 30, 2015

This saint was son of Gondebald, the Arian king of the Burgundians; but embraced the Catholic faith through the instructions of St. Alcimus Avitus, bishop of Vienne. (1) He succeeded to the kingdom of his father in 516, and in the midst of barbarism lived humble, mortified, penitent, devout, and charitable, even on the throne; […]

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May 2 – Two sisters of this medieval princess were also saints

April 30, 2015

St. Mafalda of Portugal In the year 1215, at the age of eleven, Princess Mafalda (i.e. Matilda), daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal, was married to her kinsman King Henry I of Castile, who was like herself a minor… Read more here.

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May 3 – Finding of the Holy Cross

April 30, 2015

In the year 326 the mother of Constantine, Helena, then about 80 years old, having journeyed to Jerusalem, undertook to rid the Holy Sepulchre of the mound of earth heaped upon and around it, and to… Read more here.

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May 3 – Sword-bearer to the Emperor

April 30, 2015

St. Ansfried of Utrecht Ansfried (aka Ansfridus or Aufridus) was born ca. 940, and died May 3, 1010 near Leusden.) He was a nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire and sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Till 995 he was Count of Huy, then he became bishop of Utrecht. He is also the founder […]

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May 4 – They believed in the religious exemption, but only at first

April 30, 2015

The Carthusian Martyrs were the monks of the London Charterhouse, the monastery of the Carthusian Order in central London, who were put to death by the English state in a period lasting from the 19 June 1535 till the 20 September 1537. The method of execution was hanging,… Read more here.

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April 29 – The Templars, Knights of Calatrava, of St. Lazarus, of Alcantara, of Avis, of St. Maurice, all trace their existence to this austere monk

April 27, 2015

St. Robert of Molesme Born about the year 1029, at Champagne, France, of noble parents who bore the names of Thierry and Ermengarde; died at Molesme, 17 April, 1111. When fifteen years of age, he commenced his novitiate in the Abbey of Montier-la-Celle, or St. Pierre-la-Celle, situated near Troyes, of which he became later prior. […]

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April 29 – In 11th century Christendom, no king or bishop dare oppose him

April 27, 2015

Saint Hugh the Great Abbot of Cluny, born at Semur (Brionnais in the Diocese of Autun), 1024; died at Cluny, 28 April, 1109. His early life The eldest son of Count Dalmatius of Semur and Aremberge (Aremburgis) of Vergy, Hugh was descended from the noblest families in Burgundy. Dalmatius, devoted to war and the chase, […]

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April 30 – “Thank God for the victory”

April 27, 2015

Pope Saint Pius V Born at Bosco, near Alexandria, Lombardy, 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. Being of a poor though noble family his lot would have been to follow a trade, but he was taken in by the Dominicans of Voghera, where he received a good education and was […]

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Video: The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, in full dress uniform, fire a 41-gun royal salute in Hyde Park to mark the Queen’s 89th birthday

April 23, 2015

According to The Telegraph: Before the King’s Troop arrived in Hyde Park, the Band of the Royal Artillery played a selection of celebratory music close to the firing position, as crowds gathered to watch the annual display. An hour later, the Honourable Artillery Company began firing a 62-gun royal salute from the riverbank at the […]

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Danes cheer Queen Margrethe on her 75th birthday

April 23, 2015

According to RoyalBlog.nl: Denmark celebrated Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday in grand style. After the splendour of the Gala Dinner Wednesday evening, there were the more public festivities on her actual birthday, Thursday. At noon thousands had congregated at the main square of the Amalienborg Palace complex, where the queen and her family made no less […]

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The Children of St. Margaret at Mass

April 23, 2015

The historian of St. Margaret of Scotland, who had the happiness of residing in her Court for many years, has written down some of the simple instructions she daily gave her children as they stood around her or sat by her side. They are her own words, and he says he himself was often present, […]

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The Esthetics Of The Universe

April 23, 2015

We may ask ourselves why it is that God, sufficient unto Himself, wanted to create the immense quantity of beings that comprise the universe. Since He is infinitely perfect, He did not need to create them and, as nothing obliged Him not to create the cosmos, so also nothing obliged Him to do so. In […]

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April 24 – Mother Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

April 23, 2015

Mother Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, foundress of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd and canonized May 2, 1940 by Pope Pius XII. The aim of this institute is to provide a shelter for girls and women of dissolute habits, who wish to do penance for their iniquities and to lead a […]

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April 24 – “I came to extirpate heresy, not to embrace it”

April 23, 2015

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen Born in 1577, at Sigmaringen, Prussia, of which town his father Johannes Rey was burgomaster; died at Sevis, 24 April, 1622. On the paternal side he was of Flemish ancestry. He pursued his studies at the University of Freiburg in the Breisgau, and in 1604 became tutor to Wilhelm von Stotzingen, […]

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April 25 – Builder

April 23, 2015

Blessed Meinwerk Tenth Bishop of Paderborn, d. 1036: Meinwerk (Meginwerk) was born of the noble family of the Immedinger and related to the royal house of Saxony. His father was Imad (Immeth), Count of Teisterbant and Radichen, and his mother’s name was Adela (Adala, Athela). In early youth he was dedicated by his parents to […]

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April 26 – She inspired the Albanians to resist the Turks

April 23, 2015

Our Lady of Good Counsel January of 1467 saw the death of the last great Albanian leader, George Castriota, better known as Scanderbeg. Raised by an Albanian chief, he placed himself at the head of his own people. Subsequently, Scanderbeg inflicted stunning defeats on the Turkish army and occupied fortresses all over Albania… Read more […]

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April 26 – Nephew of the Duke of Maqueda

April 23, 2015

St. Rafael Arnáiz Barón (9 April 1911, Burgos, Spain – 26 April 1938, Dueñas, Palencia, Spain) Rafael Arnáiz, known in the monastery as Brother María Rafael, was born on 9 April 1911 in the city of Burgos, in north-central Spain. He was the first of four sons born to a well-to-do, deeply Christian and Catholic […]

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April 26 – Pope St. Cletus

April 23, 2015

Pope St. Cletus This name is only another form for Anacletus, the second successor of St. Peter. It is true that the Liberian Catalogue, a fourth-century list of popes, so called because it ends with Pope Liberius (d. 366), contains both names, as if they were different persons. But this is an error, owing evidently […]

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April 27 – Noble Model of Confidence

April 23, 2015

St. Peter Armengol was born in Guárdia dels Prats, a small village in the archdiocese of Tarragon, Spain in 1238. He belonged to the house of the barons of Rocafort, descendants of the counts of Urgel, whose ancestors were directly linked to the counts of Barcelona and the monarchs of Aragon and Castile. Read more […]

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April 21 – Adventurous in youth and adulthood

April 20, 2015

St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church; born at Aosta a Burgundian town on the confines of Lombardy, died 21 April, 1109.  His father, Gundulf, was a Lombard who had become a citizen of Aosta, and his mother, Ermenberga, came of an old Burgundian family. Like many other saints, Anselm learnt the first […]

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April 22 – Father of Origen

April 20, 2015

St. Leonidas (Or LEONIDES.) The Roman Martyrology records several feast days of martyrs of this name in different countries. Under date of 28 January there is a martyr called Leonides, a native of the Thebaid, whose death with several companions is supposed to have occurred during the Diocletian persecution (Acta SS., January, II, 832). Another […]

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April 22 – Cabral and the Discovery of Brazil

April 20, 2015

Pedralvarez Cabral (Pedro Alvarez.) A celebrated Portugese navigator, generally called the discoverer of Brazil, born probably around 1460; date of death uncertain. Very little is known concerning the life of Cabral. He was the third son of Fernao Cabral, Governor of Beira and Belmonte, and Isabel de Gouvea, and married Isabel de Castro, the daughter […]

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April 23 – The Original Knight in Shining Armor

April 20, 2015

St. George Martyr, patron of England, suffered at or near Lydda, also known as Diospolis, in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. According to the very careful investigation of the whole question recently instituted by Father Delehaye, the Bollandist, in the light of modern sources of… Read more here.

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April 23 – Archbishop author of war-song

April 20, 2015

St. Adalbert of Bohemia Born 939 of a noble Bohemian family; died 997. He assumed the name of the Archbishop Adalbert (his name had been Wojtech), under whom he studied at Magdeburg. He became Bishop of Prague, whence he was obliged to flee on account of the enmity… Read more here.

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St. Louis and The Holy Name Of God

April 16, 2015

St. Louis, King of France, was one of the gentlest and most pious of monarchs. One thing only did he punish with great severity, and this was disrespect to, and profanation of, the Holy Name of God. At that time, as in our own days, nothing was more dishonored than God’s holy Name. To put […]

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King of Norway commemorates those who died fighting invasion 75 years ago

April 16, 2015

According to the Royal Forums: The King of Norway today was present for a ceremony at the National Monument at the Akerhus Fortress marking the 75th anniversary of the German invasion of Norway. King Harald laid a wreath at the monument to those who gave their lives fighting for their country, before saluting and observing […]

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Queen of Denmark denies abdication

April 16, 2015

According to Hello Magazine: Margrethe, who became queen the day after her father King Frederick IX died in 1972, replied “absolutely not” when asked whether she would step down. The Danish population and members of the royal family have already been celebrating the queen’s birthday ahead of her milestone event on Thursday. A street parade […]

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Queen Elizabeth thanks Tyburn Nuns for their prayers

April 16, 2015

According to the Catholic Herald: A priest who was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace has said the Queen asked him to convey her thanks to the Tyburn Nuns after learning that they prayed for her. The Queen “showed great interest”, he said, and asked him to “convey her thanks to the nuns for […]

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Sidesaddle riding making a comeback

April 16, 2015

According to The Washington Post: Sidesaddle riding is making an unlikely comeback in the United States, greeted by many nostalgic equestrians as a delightful revival of a long-lost skill celebrating feminine modesty and elegance. “I think there’s a real craving for glamour and the sense of tradition, kind of a return to elegance and a […]

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Second Horizon

April 16, 2015

Compare the coldness of lines and substance [of modern architecture] – there is nothing “colder” than cement – to the recollection, the warmth, and the harmony of these old houses in Warwick. They all seem to consider the passerby with a smile impregnated with familiar kindness, and to contain in themselves the warmth of domestic […]

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April 17 – He rescued his country from crushing debt, yet waged incessant war

April 16, 2015

Maximilian I Duke of Bavaria, 1598-1622, Elector of Bavaria and Lord High Steward of the Holy Roman Empire, 1623-1651; born at Munich, 17 April, 1573; died at Ingolstadt, 27 September, 1651. The lasting services he rendered his country and the Catholic Church justly entitle him to the surname of “Great”. He was the son of […]

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April 17 – One of the many nobles who spread the Cluny reform

April 16, 2015

St. Robert Founder of the Abbey of Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne, born at Aurilac, Auvergne, about 1000; died in Auvergne, 1067. On his father’s side he belonged to the family of the Counts of Aurilac, who had given birth to St. Géraud. He studied at Brioude near the basilica of St-Julien, in a school open to […]

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April 17 – St. Stephen Harding

April 16, 2015

St. Stephen Harding Confessor, the third Abbot of Cîteaux, was born at Sherborne in Dorsetshire, England, about the middle of the eleventh century; died 28 March, 1134. He received his early education in the monastery of Sherborne and afterwards studied in Paris and Rome. On returning from the latter city he stopped at the monastery […]

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April 18 – Blessed Marie de l’Incarnation

April 16, 2015

Bl. Marie de l’Incarnation Known also as Madame Acarie, foundress of the French Carmel, born in Paris, 1 February, 1566; died at Pontoise, April, 1618. By her family Barbara Avrillot belonged to the higher bourgeois society in Paris. Her father, Nicholas Avrillot was accountant general in the Chamber of Paris, and chancellor of Marguerite of […]

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April 18 – St. Willigis

April 16, 2015

St. Willigis Archbishop of Mainz, d. 23 Feb., 1011. Feast, 23 February or 18 April. Though of humble birth he received a good education, and through the influence of Bishop Volkold of Meissen entered the service of Otto I, and after 971 figured as chancellor of Germany. Otto II in 975 made him Archbishop of […]

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April 19 – Captured by pirates

April 16, 2015

St. Alphege (or Elphege), Saint, born 954; died 1012; also called Godwine, martyred Archbishop of Canterbury, left his widowed mother and patrimony for the monastery of Deerhurst (Gloucestershire). After some years as an anchorite at Bath, he there became abbot, and (19 Oct., 984) was made Bishop of Winchester. In 994 Elphege administered confirmation to […]

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April 19 – The saintly warrior pope

April 16, 2015

Pope St. Leo IX Pope St. Leo IX earnestly spread the Cluny reform Born at Egisheim, near Colmar, on the borders of Alsace, 21 June, 1002, Pope St. Leo IX died on 19 April, 1054. He belonged to a noble family which had given or was to give saints to the Church and rulers to […]

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April 19 – Blessed Conrad of Ascoli

April 16, 2015

Friar Minor and missionary, born at Ascoli in the March of Ancona in 1234; died there, 19 April, 1289. He belonged to the noble family of Milliano and from his earliest years made penance the predominating element of his life… Read more here.

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