April 20 – “I beg your Lordship…that my lips and…fingers may be cut off…”

April 16, 2015

Blessed Fr. James Bell Priest and martyr, b. at Warrington in Lancashire, England, probably about 1520; d. 20 April, 1584. For the little known of him we depend on the account published four years after his death by Bridgewater in his “Concertatio” (1588), and derived from a manuscript which was kept at Douay when Challoner […]

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April 20 – Blessed Richard Sergeant

April 16, 2015

Bl. Richard Sergeant English martyr, executed at Tyburn, 20 April, 1586. He was probably a younger son of Thomas Sergeant of Stone, Gloucestershire, by Katherine, daughter of John Tyre of Hardwick. He took his degree at Oxford (20 Feb., 1570-1), and arrived at the English College, Reims, on 25 July, 1581. He was ordained subdeacon […]

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April 14 – She suffered for the moral corruption and decay of her time

April 13, 2015

Saint Lydwine In 1380, Saint Lydwine was born in the small town of Schiedam in Holland. Her father was a wealthy noble named Peter, and her mother was from a poor family who worked their own farm. Her father’s family lost their fortune, and the whole family was reduced to poverty. At that time, all […]

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April 14 – St. Peter Gonzalez (aka St. Elmo)

April 13, 2015

St. Peter Gonzalez Popularly known as St. Elmo, b. in 1190 at Astorga, Spain; d. 15 April, 1246, at Tuy. He was educated by his uncle, Bishop of Astorga, who gave him when very young a canonry. Later he entered the Dominican Order and became a renowned preacher; crowds gathered to hear him and numberless… […]

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December 20 – Her church ranks third in Rome

April 13, 2015

St. Anastasia This martyr enjoys the distinction, unique in the Roman liturgy, of having a special commemoration in the second Mass on Christmas day. This Mass was originally celebrated not in honour of the birth of Christ, but in commemoration of this martyr, and towards the end of the fifth century her name was also […]

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April 16 – Martyred in the name of Equality

April 13, 2015

Just a few of the many martyrs during the French Revolution († 1792-1799) 16 April 1794 in Avrillé, Maine-et-Loire (France) Pierre Delépine layperson of the diocese of Angers born: 24 May 1732 in Marigné, Maine-et-Loire (France) Jean Ménard layperson of the diocese of Angers; married born: 16 November 1736 in Andigné, Maine-et-Loire (France) Renée Bourgeais […]

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Prince Harry Urges People To Stop Selfies

April 9, 2015

According to The Guardian: Prince Harry has declared “selfies are bad”, during a jovial walkabout as he greeted hundreds of well-wishers who gathered to catch a glimpse of him as he arrived in Australia. The prince, who spent around 20 minutes shaking hands and speaking to those who braved the rain to see him, advised […]

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‘Kandia Regal’ Named After Romanian Royals

April 9, 2015

According to The Royal Forums: Three new lines of chocolate – ‘HRH Princess Margarita’, ‘HRH Prince Radu’ and ‘Peles Castle’ – were launched during a presentation at the Elisabeta Palace today. They have been produced by the company Kandia Dulce, forming the ‘Kandia Regal’ range, and each have a different cocoa content. “Each generation, starting […]

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The Catholic Password

April 9, 2015

On the day of the famous battle of Bull-Run, General Smith, who commanded the army of the South, arrived along with his division too late to know what was the password. He foresaw that if he advanced without it he would be fired upon by his own army, and if he remained where he was […]

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That Which Is Marvelous Is For Everyone

April 9, 2015

We ought to desire smaller things because of the greater things, and in function of the latter. It is necessary that the soul be formed in such a way that a person may, in meditating on Charlemagne, at the same time be able to stop and become enthused and enchanted when, in a park, his […]

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April 10 – Friend of Cluny

April 9, 2015

St. Fulbert of Chartres Bishop, born between 952 and 962; died 10 April, 1028 or 1029. Mabillon and others think that he was born in Italy, probably at Rome; but Pfister, his latest biographer, designates as his birthplace the Diocese of Laudun in the present department of Gard in France. He was of humble parentage […]

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April 11 – He excommunicated the king, who murdered him as he celebrated Mass

April 9, 2015

Saint Stanislaus of Cracow In pictures he is given the episcopal insignia and the sword. Larger paintings represent him in a court or kneeling before the altar and receiving the fatal blow. His parents, Belislaus and Bogna, pious and noble Catholics, gave him a religious education. After the death of his parents he distributed his… […]

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April 12 – St. Teresa of the Andes

April 9, 2015

Saint Teresa of the Andes, O.C.D. (July 13, 1900 – April 12, 1920), also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes (Spanish: Teresa de Jesús de los Andes), was a Chilean nun of the Discalced Carmelite order. She was born Juana Enriqueta Josefina de los Sagrados Corazones Fernández y Solar in Santiago, Chile […]

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April 12 – Crusader in every sense of the word

April 9, 2015

Bl. Angelo Carletti di Chivasso Moral theologian of the order of Friars Minor; born at Chivasso in Piedmont, in 1411; and died at Coni, in Piedmont, in 1495. From his tenderest years the Blessed Angelo was remarkable for the holiness and purity of his life. He attended the University of Bologna, where he received the […]

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April 12 – Pope St. Julius I

April 9, 2015

(337-352) The immediate successor of Pope Silvester, Arcus, ruled the Roman Church for only a very short period – from 18 January to 7 October, 336 – and after his death the papal chair remained vacant for four months. What occasioned this comparatively long vacancy is unknown. On 6 February, 337, Julius, son of Rustics […]

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April 13 – This Prince Defied His Family

April 9, 2015

St. Hermengild Date of birth unknown; died 13 April, 585. Leovigild, the Arian King of the Visigoths (569-86), had two sons, Hermengild and Reccared, by his first marriage with the Catholic Princess Theodosia. Hermengild married, in 576, Ingundis, a Frankish… Read more here.

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April 13 – Born blind, lame, deformed, hunchbacked and dwarfed

April 9, 2015

Blessed Margaret of Castello (1287–1320) is the patroness of the poor, crippled, and the unwanted. She was born blind, lame, deformed, hunchbacked and a dwarf, into a family of nobles in the castle of Metola, in southeast of Florence. As a child, her parents Parisio and Emilia imprisoned her for 14 years so no one […]

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April 13 – Pope St. Martin I

April 9, 2015

Pope St. Martin I Martyr, born at Todi on the Tiber, son of Fabricius; elected Pope at Rome, 21 July, 649, to succeed Theodore I; d at Cherson in the present peninsulas of Krym, 16 Sept., 655, after a reign of 6 years, one month and twenty six days, having ordained eleven priests, five deacons […]

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April 7 – Father of Modern Pedagogy

April 6, 2015

St. John Baptist de la Salle Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, educational reformer, and father of modern pedagogy, was born at Reims, 30 April, 1651, and died at Saint-Yon, Rouen, on Good Friday, 7 April, 1719. The family of de la Salle traces its origin to Johan Salla, who, […]

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April 8 – Together with a noble who escaped the Terror, she founded the Sisters of Notre Dame

April 6, 2015

St. Julie Billiart (Also Julia). Foundress, and first superior-general of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Namur, born 12 July, 1751, at Cuvilly, a village of Picardy, in the Diocese of Beauvais and the Department of Oise, France; died 8 April, 1816, at the motherhouse of her institute, Namur, Belgium. She was […]

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April 9 – She persuaded her husband the Count to become a monk

April 6, 2015

St. Waudru She was daughter to the princess St. Bertille, elder sister to St. Aldegondes, and wife to Madelgaire, count of Hainault, and one of the principal lords of King Dagobert’s court. After bearing him two sons and two daughters, she induced him to embrace the monastic state at Haumont, near Maubeuge, taking… Read more […]

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April 9 – Mary of Cleophas

April 6, 2015

Mary of Cleophas This title occurs only in John, xix, 25. A comparison of the lists of those who stood at the foot of the cross would seem to identify her with Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joseph ( Mark, xv, 40; cf. Matt., xxvii, 56). Some have indeed tried to identify […]

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St. Peter Chrysologus

April 6, 2015

St. Peter Chrysologus Born at Imola, 406; died there, 450. His biography, first written by Agnellus (Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis) in the ninth century, gives but scanty information about him. He was baptised, educated, and ordained deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola, and was elevated to the Bishopric of Ravenna in 433. There are indications […]

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The King’s Hand

April 2, 2015

St. Oswald, King of Northumbria, was one day at table with the holy Bishop Adrian. It was the great festival of Easter. During dinner a servant came and said to the King: “My lord, a multitude of poor people have just come to the gates, and are asking an alms. What am I to do […]

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New Succession Rules for United Kingdom and its realms

April 2, 2015

According to The Royal Forums: The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 came into effect…March 26… Marriage to Roman Catholics is now allowed while retaining rights to the throne (the monarch must be Anglican however). Several members of the extended royal family will see the new Act impact upon their succession rights: Prince Michael of […]

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The Heron and His Little World

April 2, 2015

The heron has that white body from which protrudes that delicate and elegantly curved breast, with a small head and a very large beak, which symbolizes the capacity to captivate, foresee, and act from a distance. We only perceive it move when, with those long legs and an elegant gait, it raises its broad foot […]

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April 3 – The man they trusted to collect the Crusader tax

April 2, 2015

St. Richard of Wyche Bishop and confessor, born about 1197 at Droitwich, Worcestershire, from which his surname is derived; died 3 April, 1253, at Dover. He was the second son of Richard and Alice de Wyche. His father died while he was still young and the family property fell into a state of great delapidation. […]

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April 4 – Grandmother of the Templars

April 2, 2015

Saint Aleth of Dijon Mother of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, she belonged to the highest nobility of Burgundy. Her husband, Tescelin, was lord of Fontaines. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was the third of her seven children.  At the age of nine years, Bernard was sent to a much renowned school at Chatillon-sur-Seine, kept by the […]

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April 4 – Patron Saint of Transitions

April 2, 2015

St. Isidore of Seville Born at Cartagena, Spain, about 560; died 4 April, 636. Isidore was the son of Severianus and Theodora. His elder brother Leander was his immediate predecessor in the Metropolitan See of Seville; whilst a younger brother St. Fulgentius presided over the Bishopric of Astigi. His sister Florentina was a nun, and […]

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April 5 – St. Æthelburh and the Rose Named After Her

April 2, 2015

Saint Æthelburh (died 647), also known as Ethelburga, Ædilburh and Æthelburga (Old English: Æþelburh), was an early Anglo-Saxon queen consort of Northumbria, the second wife of King Edwin. As she was a Christian from Kent, their marriage triggered the initial phase of the conversion of the pagan north of England to Christianity… Read more here.

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April 5 – Soul on Fire

April 2, 2015

St. Vincent Ferrer Famous Dominican missionary, born at Valencia, 23 January, 1350; died at Vannes, Brittany, 5 April, 1419. He was descended from the younger of two brothers who were knighted for their valor in the conquest of Valencia, 1238. In 1340 Vincent’s father, William Ferrer, married Constantia Miguel, whose family had likewise been ennobled […]

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April 6 – With his head split open, he wrote on the ground with his own blood: “Credo”

April 2, 2015

St. Peter of Verona Born at Verona, 1206; died near Milan, 6 April, 1252. His parents were adherents of the Manichæan heresy, which still survived in northern Italy in the thirteenth century. Sent to a Catholic school, and later to the University of Bologna, he there met St. Dominic, and entered the Order of the […]

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April 6 – He wrote the genealogy of the Danish kings to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity

April 2, 2015

St. William of Ebelholt (Also called William of Paris, or William of Eskilsöe) Died on Easter Sunday, 1203, and was buried at Ebelholt. He was educated by his uncle Hugh, forty-second Abbot of St-Germain-des-Pres at Paris; and having been ordained subdeacon received a canonry in the Church of Ste-Geneviève-du-Mont. His exemplary life did not commend […]

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Cornelius, the first baptized Gentile

March 30, 2015

(Kornelios) A centurion of the Italic cohort, whose conversion at Cæsarea with his household is related in Acts 10. The Roman name Cornelius would indicate that he was either a member of the distinguished gens Cornelia, or a descendant of one of its freedmen – most likely the latter. The cohort in which he was […]

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April 1 – Precursor of Our Lady of Fatima

March 30, 2015

St. Nuno De Santa Maria Álvares Pereira (1360-1431) NUNO ÁLVARES PEREIRA was born in Portugal on 24th June 1360, most probably at Cernache do Bomjardin, illegitimate son of Brother Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira, Hospitalier Knight of St. John of Jerusalem and prior of Crato and Donna Iria Gonçalves do Carvalhal. About a year after his birth, […]

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April 1 – St. Hugh of Grenoble

March 30, 2015

Bishop and Confessor The first tincture of the mind is of the utmost importance to virtue; and it was the happiness of this saint to receive from his cradle the strongest impressions of piety by the example and care of his illustrious and holy parents. He was born at Chateau-neuf, in the territory of Valence […]

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April 1 – Blessed Karl, Emperor of Austria

March 30, 2015

(Also known as Carlo d’Austria, Charles of Austria) Born August 17, 1887, in the Castle of Persenbeug in the region of Lower Austria, his parents were the Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josephine of Saxony, daughter of the last King of Saxony. Emperor Francis Joseph I was Charles’ Great Uncle… Read more here.

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April 2 – St. Francis of Paola and the Bartlett Pear

March 30, 2015

The Bartlett pear is called “The Good Christian” in France, after St. Francis of Paola introduced it ‘poire bon chretien’ (good Christian pear) “Said to have originated in Calabria in southern Italy, Bartletts probably were introduced to France by St. Francis of Paola. St. Francis brought a young tree as a gift for King Louis […]

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Special edition – St. Teresa of Avila was born on this day 500 years ago

March 28, 2015

This is the story of her amazing life. St. Teresa of Avila Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, born at Avila, Old Castile, 28 March, 1515; died at Alba de Tormes, 4 Oct., 1582. The third child of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda by his second wife, Doña Beatriz Davila y Ahumada, who died when […]

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Barbados plans to oust Queen as head of state

March 26, 2015

According to The Guardian: …the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados looks set to sever links with the Queen, drawing up plans to replace her as head of state with a president. Freundel Stuart, the prime minister, told supporters of the ruling Democratic Labour party (DLP) that the island was functioning as a republic, according to […]

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The ‘Crown of Saint Wenceslas’ will appear in public in 2016

March 26, 2015

According to the Prague Post: The Crown of Saint Wenceslas, the most valuable of the Czech crown jewels, will be displayed on the occasion of the 700th birth anniversary of Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316–78) in 2016, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said today. He said this was agreed on by the […]

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Anecdotes of Louis XVI

March 26, 2015

It is related of the unfortunate Louis XVI, King of France, that when he was a youth of twenty years, he said one day to his courtiers, “I have not done much in the way of keeping Lent this year, but next year it will be different, for I shall have to fast.” “Sire,” said […]

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Was Youth Made for Pleasure or Heroism?

March 26, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira With the guitar hanging around his neck and the microphone in his hand, Elvis Presley is shown in the photo singing and dancing before a frenzied public. In man, the intelligence ought to direct the will, and both of them should in turn enlighten the sensibility, guiding it and supporting […]

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March 27 – Royal Simplicity

March 26, 2015

St. Rupert (Alternative forms, RUPRECHT, Hrodperht, Hrodpreht, Roudbertus, Rudbertus, Robert, Ruprecht). First Bishop of Salzburg, contemporary of Childebert III, king of the Franks (695-711), date of birth unknown; died at Salzburg, Easter Sunday, 27 March, 718. According to an old tradition, he was a scion of the Frankish Merovingian family… Read more here.

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March 28 – Noble deeds make noble men

March 26, 2015

Josef Speckbacher A Tyrolean patriot of 1809, born at Gnadenwald, near Hall, in the Tyrol, 13 July, 1767; died at Hall, 28 March, 1820. Speckbacher was the son of a peasant and spent his youth in roaming, and he did not learn to read and write until later in life. At the age of twelve […]

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March 28 – Grandson of King Clovis

March 26, 2015

St. Gontran, King and Confessor He was son of King Clotaire, and grandson of Clovis I and St. Clotilda. Being the second son, whilst his brothers Charibert reigned at Paris, and Sigebert in Austrasia, residing at Metz, he was crowned King of Orleans and Burgundy in 661, making Challons on the Saone his capital. When […]

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March 28 – “I have fought for God and king, and it is for them that I am going to die”

March 26, 2015

The capture and death of the fearless Charette On the 21st February his troop, now reduced to less than two hundred men, was attacked by General Travot, one of the ablest officers of Hoche. The Vendeans behaved with the greatest courage, but they were overwhelmed with numbers. The eldest brother of the general, Charette la […]

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March 29 – One of many Irish missionaries who labored to convert Central Europe

March 26, 2015

St. Eustace Date of birth unknown, died March 29, 625. He was second abbot of the Irish monastery of Luxeuil in France, and his feast is commemorated in the Celtic martyrologies on the 29th of March. He was one of the first companions of St. Columbanus, a monk of Bangor (Ireland), who with his disciples […]

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March 30 – St. John Climacus

March 26, 2015

St. John Climacus Also surnamed SCHOLASTICUS, and THE SINAITA, born doubtlessly in Syria, about 525; died on Mount Sinai. 30 March, probably in 606, according the credited opinion — others say 605. Although his education and learning fitted him to live in an intellectual environment, he chose, while still young, to abandon the world for […]

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March 24 – A deer guarded this noble saint from the unwanted advances of men

March 23, 2015

St. Catherine of Sweden Patroness against abortion and miscarriage. The fourth child of Saint Bridget and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, born 1331 or 1332; died 24 March, 1381. At the time of her death Saint Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence the name, Catherine Vastanensis, by which she […]

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March 25 – “Of His Kingdom, there shall be no end.”

March 23, 2015

The Annunciation, by Father Thomas de Saint-Laurent Out of love for us, the Eternal Word was made flesh in the chaste womb of Mary. His plan was marvelously arranged. From all eternity, He chose a man after His heart who would be the virginal spouse of… Read more here.

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March 25 – He is King by right, and also by conquest

March 23, 2015

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira We will comment on this passage taken from Saint Luke: “And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was […]

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March 25 – Saint Lucy Filippini

March 23, 2015

St. Lucy Filippini (13 January 1672 – 25 March 1732) She was orphaned at an early age when her parents both died. From there she went to live with her aristocratic aunt and uncle who encouraged her religious inclination by entrusting her education to the Benedictine nuns at Santa Lucia… Read more here.

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March 26 – One of the distinguished men of his age

March 23, 2015

Geoffrey of Vendôme (GOFFRIDUS ABBAS VINDOCINENSIS.) A cardinal, b. in the second half of the eleventh century of a noble family, at Angers, France; d. there, 26 March, 1132. At an early age he entered the Benedictine community of the Blessed Trinity at Vendôme in the diocese of Chartres; and in 1093, while still very […]

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March 26 – St. Ludger

March 23, 2015

St. Ludger (Lüdiger or Liudger) Missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, first Bishop of Munster in Westphalia, b. at Zuilen near Utrecht about 744; d. 26 March, 809. Feast, 26 March. Represented as a bishop reciting his Breviary, or with a swan at either side. His… Read more here.

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March 26 – Sheriff’s daughter, but God’s first.

March 23, 2015

St. Margaret Clitherow Martyr, called the “Pearl of York”, born about 1556; died 25 March 1586. She was a daughter of Thomas Middleton, Sheriff of York (1564-5), a wax-chandler; married John Clitherow, a wealthy butcher and a chamberlain of the city, in St. Martin’s church, Coney St., 8 July, 1571, and lived in the Shambles, […]

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The Refractory Priests

March 19, 2015

During the French Revolution, refractory priests was the name then given to those who had the courage to refuse taking oaths which their conscience did not justify them in taking. These generous confessors of the faith were nearly all banished, imprisoned, or even cruelly put to death. Four of them were going quietly to Havre […]

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The Peacock, Or, The Charm Of Superfluity

March 19, 2015

The peacock acts according to its instincts, but these instincts were granted it by God. It was God who gave it that beautiful tail, and the instinct to unfold it, fan it out, and to walk showing it off. Everything takes place by means of the pure Will of God. The first impression, when a […]

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March 20 – Homeless Noble Poet

March 19, 2015

Blessed Baptista Mantuanus (Or SPAGNOLI). Carmelite and Renaissance poet, born at Mantua, 17 April, 1447, where he also died, 22 March, 1516. The eldest son of Peter Spagnoli, a Spanish nobleman at the court of Mantua, Baptista studied grammar under Gregorio Tifernate, and philosophy at Pavia under Polo Bagelardi. The bad example of his schoolfellows […]

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March 20 – St. Wulfram

March 19, 2015

St. Wulfram Bishop of Sens, missionary in Frisi, born at Milly near Fontainebleau, probably during the reign of Clovis II (638-56); died 20 March, before 704, in which year a translation of his body took place. His father Fulbert stood high in the esteem of Dagobert I and Clovis II. Wulfram received a good education, […]

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