Saints of the Week: Martin de Porres, Charles Borromeo, Bible Matriarchs, Malachy, T. Romzha, Terrence O’Brien, Isfahan Martyrs & More
Happy Sunday! This was an important week in the Catholic Church’s liturgical year, with All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day following each other. Remember, the word “holiday” is a contraction of “holy day”! Here are some of the saints and celebrations we marked this week.
This week were the important feasts of All Saints (Nov. 1) and All Souls (Nov. 2). All Saints’ Day commemorates every holy man, woman, and child who has gone to Heaven, including those who are not officially known to and canonized by the Church. It is a day to remember that the Bible says we are surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses over our head” (Heb. 12:1). All Souls’ Day reminds us that there are some individuals who left this life forgiven of their sins but still attached to worldly cares, meaning they must be purified in Purgatory before entering Heaven. As the Bible says, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins (2 Macc. 12:46)”. Read my previous articles for more details on these feasts.
St. Martin de Porres (Nov. 3) was born in 1579 in Lima, Peru, the illegitimate son of a freed Panamanian slave woman; his father, a Spanish gentleman, abandoned the family. Martin had to struggle against racism his whole life, even when he wanted to join a religious order, as there were rules restricting black men from taking vows. But Martin’s humility and faithfulness in performing menial servants’ tasks for years at a Dominican convent inspired the prior to suspend the rule and allow Martin to take his vows as a Dominican. Martin served for many years at the convent and around the city, particularly in the infirmary treating patients. His life was a series of miracles and supernatural occurrences, as he was known for “aerial flights, bilocation, instant cures, miraculous knowledge, spiritual knowledge and an excellent relationship with animals.” He founded an orphanage and treated everyone from slaves to nobles. Martin was known to have passed through walls to treat his fellow friars during an epidemic. Martin was the first black saint of the Americas.
St. Charles Borromeo (Nov. 4) was born in 1538 and had a long and illustrious academic and clerical career, during which he held many important posts, including lawyer, papal legate, governor, prefect, archbishop of Milan, and key figure at the Council of Trent. He founded hospitals, seminaries, schools, the Collegium Helveticum, and a religious order, being especially dedicated to helping the poor and sick, especially during a plague outbreak in Milan. Charles was influential in the Catholic Reformation that was a response to the Protestant Revolt. He advised Pope Pius V and worked to reform the Church.
Rachel the Matriarch and Deborah the Prophetess are two Old Testament Jewish holy women celebrated Nov. 1. Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob, who spent years working for her father Laban so Jacob could marry her (he was tricked into marrying Rachel’s sister Leah first). While Jacob was quite devoted to Rachel, she suffered for years under her sterility, though she finally gave birth to Joseph—of the Many-Colored Coat—and then Benjamin just before she died. She is traditionally considered the Matriarch of the Israelite people. Deborah, meanwhile, was not just a prophetess but the only Biblical female Judge of Israel. Wife of Lappidoth, Deborah orchestrated an Israelite military victory (see the book of Judges).
St. Malachy O’More (Nov. 3), born 1094, was a famous Irish archbishop of Armagh, known for his miracles (including healings) and prophecies. One series of prophecies attributed to him has caused wild controversy, as he foresaw more than a hundred future popes; while the visions seem to match up accurately with the popes since his time, he foresaw only one successor to the pope whom we know as Benedict XVI.
Bl. Theodore (Teodor) Romzha (Oct. 31/Nov. 1) was a 20th century Ukrainian Catholic priest and bishop. After his ordination, he was drafted into the army to fight the German invasion, after which he was discharged and became a parish priest, then a philosophy professor and spiritual director at the Eparchial Seminary. Romzha became a bishop during the crisis of the Soviet invasion and occupation of Ukraine, and when he protested Soviet abuses he was ordered to renounce his Catholicism and become Russian Orthodox instead. “I would rather die than betray my Church!” Romzha responded. Despite harsh persecution of Catholics from the Soviets, Romzha continued to inspire and minister to his people, not only keeping Catholics firm in the faith but even converting Orthodox Christian parishes too. The Soviets staged an “accident” to kill Romzha, but he survived and was on the path to recovery when he was suddenly found dead. An investigation found that Romzha was poisoned, making him a martyr for the faith.
St. Terrence Albert O'Brien (Oct. 30) was an Irish Dominican prior, theologian, and bishop in the 1600s, from a chieftain’s family. O’Brien firmly supported the rights of the Catholic Church and the Gaelic Irish in the face of English persecution, and his outspoken leadership for the losing side in the siege of Limerick led to his cruel execution by Cromwellian forces after the city was captured by the British, making O’Brien one of the many Irish martyrs of Protestant English persecutions.
The Martyrs of Isfahan (Nov. 2) were a group of Persian priests tortured and martyred during the persecutions of King Sapor II of Persia in the 4th century. A torturer whom the priests’ courage and miracles inspired to convert was martyred too. After being killed the first time, the priests miraculously came back to life and preached Christianity, even healing the king, who was not the least grateful. Sapor continued to try and kill them repeatedly, finally succeeding in burning the priests to death.
St. Hubert of Liege (Nov. 3) was a married noble, father of St. Floribert, and an avid hunter. On Good Friday morning, a crucifix suddenly appeared between the antlers of a stag Hubert was chasing. “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord, and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down to hell,” a voice warned the stunned hunter, who converted. After his wife’s death, Hubert became the spiritual student of St. Lambert of Maastricht, then a pilgrim, priest, and finally an evangelizing bishop. He convinced many pagans to abandon idolatry, and was particularly generous to the poor (d. 727).
St. Alonso Rodriguez (Oct. 31), born in Spain in 1532, was a married layman who, after the deaths of his wife and son, joined the Jesuits and went back to school with children. As the porter and doorkeeper at a Jesuit college for almost 50 years, he inspired and impacted many. Rodriguez could heal through prayer and had a visionary ecstasy just before he died.
St. Guido Maria Conforti (Nov. 5) had visionary conversations with Christ from childhood. He became a priest and seminary professor, then later archbishop of several Italian cities. He founded the Xaverian Missionaries and traveled to China to examine their work there not long before his death in 1931.
Sts. Cosmas and Damian (Nov. 1, Byzantine calendar) were twin brothers and physicians in Asia Minor in the 3rd century. They treated patients for free and even healed miraculously. They were arrested and tortured but refused to deny their faith, and were ultimately beheaded. They were hugely popular in the Church for centuries, and their names appear in the Canon of the Mass.
While the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) has become modernist in recent years, for many centuries it was a bastion of faithful Catholicism and effective missionary efforts. Nov. 5 is the commemoration of All Jesuit Saints.
St. Emeric of Hungary (Nov. 4): “Born a prince, the son of Saint Stephen of Hungary. Spiritual student of Saint Gerard Sagredo. Married in 1022. Known for his personal piety and austerity.” St. Joannicus of Mt. Olympus (Nov. 3) was a hermit, prophet, and miracle worker who converted from the heresy of iconoclasm (the destruction of sacred images) and fought it instead. He prophesied the restoration of sacred images, which did indeed happen under Empress Theodora. Bl. Gomidas Keumurjian (Nov. 5) was a married Armenian Catholic priest so successful at bringing people back into union with the Catholic Church that he was arrested (Orthodox Christians have long despised “unionists”). Given a choice by the Turkish Muslim ruler between becoming Muslim and being killed, Keumurjian chose martyrdom. His death inspired even more Armenians to return to Catholicism.
Bl. Bernhard Lichtenberg (Nov. 5) was a German priest whose work to defend Jews and condemn racist Nazi policies led to his arrest and martyrdom. St. Erc of Slane (Nov. 2) was a spiritual student of St. Patrick and the bishop of Slane in Ireland. St. John Zedazneli (Nov. 4) and his disciples were Syrian monks who evangelized Georgia and were considered the area’s “Fathers of the Church.” Bl. Benvenuta Bojani (Oct. 30) was pious and practiced severe penances from her childhood onwards; she became a Dominican tertiary and had many visions. St. Felix of Valois (Nov. 4) was a Cistercian monk, hermit, and priest who founded the Trinitarian order to ransom Christian slaves from the Muslims (d. 1212). Bl. Hryhorii Lakota (Nov. 5) was a Ukrainian Catholic professor and then bishop in Poland martyred by the Soviet Communists. St. Silvia of Rome (Nov. 3) was the mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great and later an anchoress.
St. Ðaminh Mau (Nov. 5) was a Vietnamese Dominican priest with a devotion to the Rosary, martyred in 1858. Sts. Philologus and Patrobus (Nov. 4) were early Christians mentioned by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans along with Sts. Ampliatus, Narcissus, and Urban (Oct. 31). St. Harold the King (Nov. 1) was the first Christian king of Denmark, martyred by his pagan subjects. St. Winifred of Wales (Nov. 2) was a noblewoman who was murdered, raised back to life, and became an abbess. Bl. Frances d'Amboise (Nov. 4) was a 15th century French noblewoman who reformed her husband, founded a convent, and became a Carmelite prioress. St. Germanus of Capua (Oct. 30) was a bishop and friend of St. Benedict who tried unsuccessfully to heal the Acacian schism. Bl. John Bodey (Nov. 2) was a married schoolteacher arrested and martyred for refusing to follow King Henry VIII into heresy (condemned with Bl. John Slade [Oct. 30]).
St. Cledwyn of Wales (Nov. 1) was the son of King St. Brychan and ruler of part of his father’s kingdom; brother of St. Dingad the hermit and relative of King St. Clydog. St. Foillan of Fosses (Oct. 31) was an English abbot who, after war destroyed his monastery, went to France and Belgium where he evangelized and was martyred. Bl. Thomas Bellacci (Oct. 31) was a wild youth who reformed after being falsely accused of a crime and became an influential and inspirational Franciscan friar. Bl. Margaret of Lorraine (Nov. 2) was a French wife, mother, and duchess who founded and entered a convent after her husband’s death. Bl. Peter Paul Navarro (Nov. 1) was a Jesuit missionary to Japan martyred with several Japanese converts in 1622.
St. Rumwold of Buckingham (Nov. 3) was an infant English prince who lived for only three days, during which he miraculously demanded Baptism and preached a sermon. St. Libertine of Agrigento (Nov. 3) was the first bishop of Agrigento, a noted preacher, and martyr. Bl. Rupert Mayer (Nov. 1) was a German priest and WWI military hero, arrested by the Nazis and freed by the Americans to continue his ministry post-WWII. Bl. Angelus of Acri (Oct. 30) was a Capuchin preacher, visionary, prophet, and miracle worker. Bl. Oleksa Zarytsky (Oct. 30) was a 20th century Ukrainian Catholic priest and martyr. St. Wolfgang of Ratisbon (Oct. 31) was a 10th century German monk, missionary, preacher, bishop, and educator. Bl. Narcyz Putz (Nov. 5) was a Polish priest martyred by the Nazis.
St. Victorinus of Pettau (Nov. 2) was a 3rd century bishop and Biblical scholar. St. Pirmin (Nov. 3) was a Spanish Benedictine bishop who founded abbeys in Germany. Bl. Maria del Carmen Viel Ferrando (Nov. 5) was a laywoman martyred in the Spanish Civil War. Sts. Zenobius and Zenobia (Oct. 30) were 3rd century siblings martyred under Roman Emperor Diocletian in Asia Minor. St. Bertille (Nov. 5) was a 7th century French noblewoman and abbess. St. Quentin (Oct. 31) was a missionary to Gaul (France) and martyr. Bl. Simon Ballachi (Nov. 3) was a Dominican friar, gardener, and visionary.
You can also read about Marcellus the Centurion, Egelnoth the Good, Theonestus, Saturninus of Cagliari, and Marcian of Syracuse (Oct. 30); Dominic Collins, Christopher of Romagna, Lucilla of Rome, and Leon Nowakowski (Oct. 31); Nuño Alvares Pereir, Mary the Slave, and James and John of Persia (Nov. 1); Luigi Campidello, Justus of Trieste, Maura of Scotland, and Marcian of Chalcis (Nov. 2); Quartus, Alphais of Cudot, Ida, Pierre-François Néron, Acepsimas, Saragossa Martyrs, Berardo dei Marsi, and Guénhaël (Nov. 3); Teresa Manganiello, Pierius, Birstan, and Helen Enselmini (Nov. 4); and Gerald of Beziers, Epistemis and Galation, Idda, Dominator, and Augustine of Terracina (Nov. 5).
Have a blessed week!