Saints of Last Week: Lady of Sorrows, Chrysostom, A.Taegon, Cyprian, Catherine, Protus, Japan Martyrs, Nicholas, Hyacinth &More
This past week we honored the cross, the instrument of torture that Christ’s death transformed into the instrument of our salvation. Jesus told us (Matt.16:24) that we, too, must take up our crosses and follow Him, as the saints we celebrated this past week did.1
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14) commemorates the finding of the True Cross of Christ and the dedication of the original basilica built over Mt. Calvary and the tomb from which Jesus resurrected in Jerusalem. Read my full piece.
There were three recent feasts commemorating Jesus’s Mother Mary. First was the Holy Name of Mary (Sept. 12), which recognizes the power of names (hence name changes for important Biblical figures like Simon/Peter) and how Mary is eager to help us draw closer to Jesus if we call on her. Read my full piece. Our Lady of Coromoto (Sept. 11) commemorates Mary’s appearance in a vision to a native tribal chief Coromoto in Venezuela in 1652, urging conversion to Catholicism; the vision led to the conversion of the whole tribe except (ironically) the chief.
On Sept. 15 was Our Lady of Sorrows or Dolors, commemorating what Mary suffered throughout her Son’s life and how Simeon prophesied (Lk. 2:35), “And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.” Tradition holds that this mystical sword pierced Mary’s soul when her Son died on the Cross, as she silently and faithfully felt within her heart every pain of her Son’s redeeming Passion. The Seven Sorrows of Mary are traditionally listed as: the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of Jesus in the Temple, Mary’s Meeting with Jesus on the Way of the Cross, Jesus’s Crucifixion, Jesus’s Body Taken Down from the Cross, and the Burial of Jesus. Like Mary, we must learn to suffer as patiently as Jesus suffered, and in union with Him.
St. John Chrysostom (Sept. 13) was born in 344 AD and grew up to be a brilliant orator and theologian (Chrysostom means “golden-mouthed”), one of the four greatest Eastern Church Fathers. He was an anchorite for a few years, but became Patriarch of Constantinople and one of the most influential and inspiring clerics in the Church. Unfortunately, holiness tends to make enemies out of the wicked, and he was sent into exile, where he died. He is the author of one of the liturgies (for Mass) used by Byzantine Catholic rites.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon (Sept. 14) was the first native Korean priest. His parents were upper class converts to Christianity, and his father was martyred. Andrew went to seminary in the Portuguese colony of Macau and was ordained a priest in Shanghai in 1844 by his friend and mentor Bishop Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol. Andrew returned to Korea to evangelize at a time of great persecution by the Joseon Dynasty that killed many martyrs. Andrew was tortured and beheaded for his faith at the young age of 25.
St. Cyprian of Carthage (Sept. 16) was raised wealthy and well-educated, an adult convert to the faith. He was ordained in 247 AD and became bishop of Carthage, though he was forced to minister from hiding during Decius’s persecutions. He helped define the conditions under which apostates could be re-admitted to the Church and supported Pope Cornelius against an anti-pope. He was exiled and later martyred. Cyprian was “second only in importance to Tertullian as a Latin Father of the Church.”
St. Catherine of Genoa (Sept. 15) was born to Italian nobles in 1447, related to two popes. A pious child, she was forced into an arranged marriage with a nobleman whose cruelty and infidelity drove her into depression. A religious ecstasy and realization of her sinfulness caused her to lead a holy life, and she and her converted husband lived chastely, helping the sick and poor. Widowed, she became a Franciscan tertiary, visionary, and spiritual writer.
Sts. Protus and Hyacinth (Sept. 11) were brothers and early Roman martyrs whose epitaph was composed by Pope Damasus. The 205 Martyrs of Japan (Sept. 9/10) are celebrated as a group, though they were killed between 1617 and 1632, including both missionaries and natives. St. Nicholas of Tolentino (Sept. 11, Latin Mass) was an Augustinian friar, miracle-worker, and healer. He saw visions, including one that told him to go to Tolentino, he was beaten by the devil, and he raised over a hundred dead children back to life (d.1305).
St. Nicomedes of Rome (Sept.15) was an early Roman cleric who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was clubbed to death. Louis of Thuringia (Sept. 11) was the 13th century landgrave or ruler of a part of modern Germany. His beloved wife was the famous St. Elizabeth of Hungary and his youngest (and posthumously born) daughter St. Gertrude of Aldenberg. Louis, a devoted husband and good ruler, died of disease while on crusade.
St. Cornelius the Centurion (Sept. 13, Byzantine) was told in a vision to send for St. Peter, who came and baptized Cornelius and his whole household as the first Gentile converts to Christianity (see Acts. 10); Cornelius was the first bishop of Caesarea. Pope St. Cornelius (Sept. 16) became pope in the 200s amid a period of harsh persecution of Christians, but before his exile and martyrdom he called a synod, fought heresy, and welcomed back apostates.
St. Finnian of Moville (Sept. 10) was a 6th century Irish pilgrim and bishop who founded a monastery and mentored St. Columba. St. Pulcheria (Sept. 10) was a Byzantine empress who built churches, hospitals, hospices, and a university, and sponsored the 5th century Council of Chalcedon. St. Euphemia (Sept.16) was a virgin and wonder-worker who converted her executioners Sts. Sosthenes and Victor of Chalcedon (Sept. 10) before being martyred in 303. St. Ninian (Sept.16) was a British bishop who evangelized the Picts and built a famous stone church.
St. Notburga (Sept. 14) was a servant born in 13th century Austria, known for her charity and her many miracles. St. Margaret of Cashel (Sept. 13) was an Irish laywoman martyred for the faith in 1647 (one of the Irish Martyrs). St. Ludmila (Sept.16), Slavic princess and convert, evangelized her people and raised St. Wenceslaus. St. Francis Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan (Sept. 12) was a devoted husband, father, and catechist from 19th century Korea who was tortured and martyred for the faith. St. Bonaventura of Barcelona (Sept. 11) was a widower who became a Franciscan friar, reformer, and advisor to multiple popes. St. Aelia Flaccilla (Sept.14), 4th century Roman empress and mother, was a model of virtue.
St. Ambrose Edward Barlow (Sept.10) was an English Benedictine priest whose open ministry led to his cruel martyrdom in 1641. St. Joan Roig i Diggle (Sept. 11) was a pious layman and Eucharistic minister martyred in the Spanish Civil War. St. Edith of Wilton (Sept.16) was a 10th century English princess and nun. St. Nicetas (Sept.15, Byzantine) was martyred after denouncing Gothic persecution. Bl. Juan Bautista and Jacinto (Sept. 15) were both married Mexican martyrs (d.1700).
You can also read about Theodard of Maastricht, Jacques Gagnot, Peter Martinez, and Nemesius of Alexandria (Sept. 10); Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, Carlo Spinola, Franciscus Takeya, and Elijah Speleota (Sept. 11); Guy of Anderlecht, Ailbe of Emly, Apolinar Franco and Martyrs of Japan, Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge, and Eanswith (Sept. 12); María López de Rivas Martínez, Gertrude Prosperi, Claude Dumonet, and Theobald Stapleton (Sept. 13); Albert of Acre, Peter of Tarentaise, Generalis and Carthage Martyrs (Sept. 14); Paolo Manna, Mirin of Bangor, and Aicardus (Sept. 15); Pope Victor III, Juan Macias, and Louis Allemand (Sept. 16).
Have a blessed week!
Much of this article is adapted from pieces I published last year.