Today, October 11, is the memorial of Pope Saint John XXIII. The future pope was born Angelo Roncalli in 1881 to an Italian peasant family. He studied at Bergamo and the Pontifical Roman Seminary. He was ordained in 1904 and became secretary to the bishop of Bergamo, Italy from 1904 to 1914, during which he …
Today, October 10, is the memorial of Saint Daniel Comboni. Founder of the Comboni Missionaries. Daniel was born in Limone, Italy in 1831. He became an Italian bishop who served in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. He …
Today, October 8, is the memorial of St. Reparata. The saint lived in the 3rd century AD in Caesarea Maritima, Palentine. Different sources peg Reparata’s age between 11 to 20 years when she was arrested for her Christian faith during the persecution of the Emperor Decius. The arresting officers tried to burn Reparata alive, but …
Today, October 7, is the memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. October 7, 1571 was a Sunday when the Christian fleets under John of Austria reached a major naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were freed. The Turkish fleet was destroyed, and they suffered their first …
Today, October 6, is the memorial of Saint Bruno. Founder of the Order of Carthusians (O.Cart.). In 1030, Bruno was born to a principal family in Cologne. He studied in Paris and Rheims, France. He was ordained in 1055 and taught theology. In fact, one of his students became Blessed Pope Urban II. He was …
Today, October 5, is the memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska. The Apostle of Divine Mercy. Faustina was the third of 10 siblings and managed to attend only three years of schooling. When she was a teenager, she became a housemaid. Initially rejected by religious congregations, she eventually joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our …
Today, October 4, is the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis was the son of a rich cloth merchant, enjoyed a good education, and worked in his father’s business. The downside was, he had a rather wayward youth. He engaged in street fighting and even became a soldier. When he became a prisoner of …
Jesús Emilio was born in Santo Domingo, Colombia, in 1916. His parents were craftsman Alberto and Cecilia Monsalve. He entered seminary at the age of 13 and was ordained a priest in 1940. He joined the Xaverian Missionaries. While pursuing his Ph.D. in Bogotá, he served as a chaplain in a women’s prison, a spiritual …
Memorial of Blessed Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve Read More »
Today, October 1, is the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church. Patron saint of missionaries. Thérèse was the daughter of St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azelie Guérin Martin. She had four sisters, all of whom became nuns. Marie-Azelie died of breast …
Today, September 30, is the memorial of Saint Jerome. Doctor of the Church. Born to a rich pagan family, Jerome led a wild youth. He studied in Rome and became a lawyer. He converted and joined the Church in theory, and was baptized in 365, but it was only when he began his study of …