Saints of the Week: Mary’s Sorrows, Joseph, Gabriel, Catherine of Sweden, Benedict, N.Von Flue, Isidore &More
Today is Palm Sunday, the day on which we recall Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred period of the year. Inspired by the saints we celebrated this past week, let us take this time to reassess our lives and determine if God really is our main focus and primary love, as He should be.
March 22 is the pre-Vatican II commemoration of the Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Throughout her life, Mary had to endure great suffering as part of her role in her Son’s great work of salvation. It is helpful if we meditate daily on the seven sorrows: the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of Jesus in the Temple for 3 Days, Jesus Carrying the Cross, the Crucifixion, Jesus Taken Down from the Cross, and Jesus’s Burial. Through Mary, we learn to suffer with and for Christ as she did.
St. Joseph (March 19) was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. He witnessed Christ’s birth, took Him to safety in Egypt and to the Temple for worship, taught Jesus, and cared for Jesus and Mary until his own death. Joseph’s feast is an important holiday for Italians and some Italian-Americans. Read more here.
St. Gabriel (March 24) “was chosen by God to announce to Mary that she was to be the Mother of Christ” at the Annunciation (Missal); also appeared in a vision to the Old Testament Daniel. One of the greatest archangels along with Michael and Raphael.
St. Catherine of Sweden (March 24), daughter of St. Bridget, was married, but she and her husband took a vow of chastity. Catherine and Bridget prayed, traveled, and worked together. After her mother’s death, Catherine became superior of the Brigittine Order and wrote a devotional work. Bl. Brian O'Carolan, also March 24, was an Irish priest martyred in Meath in 1606.
St. Benedict (March 21, Latin Mass): “Sent to Rome for his studies, he gave up both them and his career in the world, and retired to the solitude of Subiaco. He founded there twelve monasteries, among them that of Monte Cassino, and wrote the Holy Rule which bears his name. He is revered as the Founder of the [hugely influential] Benedictine Order. He died in 543 [Missal].” Brother of St. Scholastica.
St. Nicholas von Flue (March 21) was a Swiss farmer, soldier, husband, and father of ten. A vision spurred him to seek the life of a hermit. With his wife’s permission, he turned to the contemplative life, still receiving visions and providing political and spiritual advice. Saved Switzerland from civil war in 1481. St. Augustine Tchao (March 21) was a Chinese soldier who converted to Christianity and became a priest. Arrested and jailed, he died in prison while ministering to his fellow inmates in 1815.
St. Isidore the Farmer (March 22) was a married Spanish farmer who went to daily Mass and prayed as he worked. He cared for the poor, even miraculously supplying them with food. Once an angel was seen plowing the field so Isidore could do his devotions. St. Nicholas Owen (March 22) was an English carpenter and Jesuit brother who fashioned an unknown number of “priest-holes” to hide Catholic priests from Anglican authorities. Captured, Owen was tortured so brutally that his abdomen burst open and he died. St. Darerca (March 22) was the married sister of St. Patrick, reportedly the mother of up to 17 bishops.
St. Jan Nepomucene (March 20) was a priest and preacher in 14th century Prague who became the queen’s confessor. The king, who treated his wife badly, demanded to know what she said in Confession. Jan (or John) refused to break the sacramental seal of Confession, and so the king killed him. Known as the “martyr of the confessional” and patron of Czechoslovakia.
St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (March 20) was an English shepherd inspired by a vision to become a monk. Cuthbert survived the plague to become a prior, miracle-worker, and evangelizer. After leading the Lindisfarne monastery, he became a hermit, but was recalled to serve as bishop (d.687). St. Herbert of Derwentwater, Cuthbert’s friend and disciple, is also celebrated March 20.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18) was a bishop, confessor, and Doctor of the Church. “When he was a simple priest, St. Cyril used to instruct the catechumens during Lent. He is still renowned for these admirable homilies, full of divine wisdom, precious documents for Catholic theology. The Arians exiled him thrice. He died in 386.” (Missal)
St. Turibius of Mogroveio (March 23) was a Spanish bishop and Inquisitor who, as archbishop of Lima, Peru, organized synods and founded the Western hemisphere‘s first seminary. Turibius also fought for the Peruvian natives’ rights against the Spanish (d.1606). St. Rafqa (March 23) was a Lebanese religious sister who suffered painful and debilitating health problems but saw it all as a path to union with Christ. Miracles reported at her grave (d.1914). St. Edward the Martyr (March 18) was a holy 10th century English king murdered by his step-mother and proclaimed a martyr by popular acclaim.
The Ulma Family (March 24) were Poles martyred by Nazis for hiding a Jewish family—all were killed, from the parents down to the newborn baby. Bl. Sibyllina Biscossi (March 19) was a blind Italian girl who became a Dominican recluse. Many came to visit her cell for healing and advice. She was devoted to the Holy Spirit and could sense the presence of the Holy Eucharist (d.1367). St. Walter of Pontoise (March 23) was an 11th century French abbot who fought simony, lax discipline, and clerical corruption. He was imprisoned and beaten for this work, but survived to continue his reforms.
St. John Baptist Spagnuolo (March 20) was a wild youth who converted to become a Carmelite and poet; Shakespeare called him the Good old Mantuan in Love’s Labour Lost. St. Bertrada of Laon (March 24) was the wife of King Pepin the Short and mother of Charlemagne (d.783). St. Gwinear (March 23) was a 5th century Irishman converted after meeting St. Patrick; evangelized and worked miracles in Wales and Brittany. St. Birillus of Catania (March 21) was an Antiochan traveling companion of St. Peter the Apostle; consecrated by Peter as first bishop of Catania. Our Lady of Mercy (March 18) was a 1536 apparition of the Blessed Virgin to an Italian farmer urging mercy in an ongoing war. St. Wulfram of Sens (March 20) was a 7th century Frankish courtier who became a monk, archbishop, and then missionary to the Frisians; his courage and miracles convinced them to end pagan traditions. St. Epaphroditus of Terracina (March 22) was a first century bishop, possibly one of Christ’s 70 disciples; referred to in the Epistle to the Philippians.
St. Frigidian of Lucca (March 18) was an Irish priest, hermit, and bishop who miraculously re-routed a river to end a flood. St. Archippus (March 20), first bishop of Colossae and companion of St. Paul, is referred to in the Letter to Philemon. St. Enda of Arran (March 21) was an Irish prince and warrior who became a priest and founder of a monastery that thrived for centuries (d.c.530). St. Joseph Oriol (March 23) was a Spanish confessor, prophet, healer, and miracle worker (d.1702). Bl. Clemens von Galen (March 22) was a German noble who became a priest, bishop, and cardinal and who strongly opposed the Nazis. Bl. Anton Muzaj (March 19) was an Albanian priest martyred by Communists in 1948. St. Macartan of Clogher (March 24) was the miracle-working friend and disciple of, also missionary and bishop with, St. Patrick; uncle of St. Brigid (d.c.505).
St. Serapion of Thmuis (March 21) was a catechetical teacher, monk, bishop, and brilliant theologian in the 4th century church. Bl. John del Bastone (March 24) was a crippled Benedictine monk and priest, a sought after spiritual teacher. St. Hildelith of Barking (March 24) was a well-educated Anglo-Saxon princess who became a nun, abbess, and visionary (d.c.712). Bl. Ambrose Sansedoni (March 20) was a disabled Sienese child who miraculously recovered and became a Dominican preacher, teacher, and diplomat (d.1286). St. Josef Bilczewski (March 20) was a pious and zealous Polish archbishop (d.1923). St. Alkmund of Northumbria (March 19) was an eighth century English king known for his charity; he was exiled and murdered.
Bl. Christian O'Conarchy (March 18) was an Irish Cistercian abbot and bishop (d.1186). St. Caimin of Lough Derg (March 24) was a 7th century Irish royal who became a hermit, monastery founder, scriptural commentator, and miracle-worker. St. Anselm of Lucca the Younger (March 18) was a reforming bishop and apostolic legate (d.1086). Bl. Pietro of Gubbio (March 23) was a 13th century Augustinian preacher and miracle-worker. Bl. Metodej Dominik Trcka (March 23) was a Czech Redemptorist martyred in 1959 by Communists. Bl. Marcel Callo (March 19) was a French layman conscripted into forced labor by the Nazis, who killed him.
St. Ottone Frangipane (March 23) was an Italian knight who became a hermit and cared for pilgrims (d.1127). St. Alexander of Jerusalem (March 18) was the Bishop of Cappadocia martyred in 251; the wild animals initially refused to attack him. Bl. Bertha de'Alberti of Cavriglia (March 24) was a Vallombrosan Benedictine nun and reforming abbess (d.1163). St. Benedicta Cambiagio Frassinello (March 21) was married, but she and her husband lived chastely and worked to educate young girls (d.1858). Bl. Anna Ellmerer and Luczja Heymann (March 24) were Polish religious sisters martyred by Soviets in 1945.
You can also read about Aimée-Adèle le Bouteiller, Salvator of Horta, Celestina Donati, and John Thules (March 18); Andrea Gallerani, Isnard de Chiampo, Clement of Dunblane, Jan Turchan, John of Parma, Mark of Montegallo, and John of Pinna (March 19); Photina, Nikolle Prennushi, Daniel of Ungrispach, Maria Josefa Sancho de Guerra, Martin of Braga, and Francis Palau y Quer (March 20); Elias of Orta, Alfonso de Rojas, Thomas Pilcher, Mark Gjani, Matthew Flathers, and John of Valence (March 21); Bronislaw Komorowski, Marian Górecki, Lea of Rome, Ugolino Zefferini, Benevenuto Scotivoli, and Elbod of Bangor (March 22); Victorian of Hadrumetum, Peter Higgins, and Caesarea Martyrs (March 23); and Diégo Josef of Cádiz, Seraphina Micheli, Latinus of Brescia, and Cairlon of Cashel (March 24).
Have a blessed Holy Week!