Today, August 23, is the memorial of Saint Rose of Lima. Secondary patroness of the Philippines. Born in 1586, Rose was a beautiful girl and devoted daughter. She was so devoted to her vow of chastity that she used pepper and lye to ruin her complexion so she would not be attractive. In emulation of …
Today, August 22, is the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marian feast day decreed by Pope Pius XII in his encyclical “Ad caeli reginam” to recognize and celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of the world, of the angels, of heaven, etc. The movement to officially recognize the Queenship of …
Today, August 20, is the memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Doctor of the Church. Born to the French nobility in 1090 in Burgundy, France, Bernard was the brother of Saint Humbeline and Blesseds Guy, Gerard, and Nivard. At age 22, fearing the ways of the world, he, four of his brothers, and 25 friends …
Today, August 19, is the memorial of Saint Ezequiel Moreno. Patron saint of cancer patients. Ezequiel was a Spanish Augustinian Recollect who was assigned as a missionary to the Philippines. He was born in 1848 in La Rioja, Spain. His first mission was in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. He was later transferred to Las Piñas. This …
Today, August 18, is the memorial of the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Rochefort. The three Discalced Carmelites were Frenchmen: Fr. Jean-Baptiste Duverneuil (Leonard in religious life) was born in 1737, other accounts contend it was 1759; Fr. Michel Louis Brulard was born in 1758; Fr. Jacques Gagnot (Hubert of St. Claude in religious life) was …
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Today, August 17, is the memorial of Blessed Angelo Agostino Mazzinghi. Carmelite provincial and reformer. Angelo Agostino was born in 1385 in Florence, Italy. He became a Carmelite in 1413 and was ordained priest. He served successively as superior of the Order’s monasteries in Le Selve, Frascati, and his native Florence. He was the first …
Today, August 16, is the memorial of Saint Roch. Patron saint invoked against epidemics and plagues. Popularly known as San Roque, he was a French nobleman who early developed a sympathy for the poor and sick; reported to have been born with the image of a red cross on his breast. Orphaned at age 20, …
Today, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Assumption completes God’s work in the Blessed Mother since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God Himself should ever undergo corruption. The Assumption is God’s crowning of His work as Mary ends her earthly …
Today, August 13, is the memorial of the Blessed Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) witnessed the killings of priests, nuns, religious, and Catholic lay leaders throughout Spain. Among those killed were 51 Claretians, most of them young seminarians who just arrived at the Claretian community in Barbastro to finish the final …
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Today, August 12, is the memorial of Blessed Isidore Bakanja. Carmelite martyr. Isidore was born in 1887 in Bokendela, Congo. He was a member of the Boangi tribe. The young Isidore had to work as a bricklayer and farmer in order to survive. He was converted to Christianity in 1906. He worked in a plantation …