Saints of the Week: Mother Mary, Teresa, Ignatius, Callistus, Margaret Mary, Longinus, Gall, F.Borgia, Deacon Philip, Edward Confessor &More
Happy Sunday! Today I was in Scotland, a country that long ago was taken over by heretics, but where the Catholic faith is still strong in some communities. Like the saints we celebrated this week, Scottish Catholics have kept alive the faith in the face of historical persecution and present anti-Christian wokism.
Oct. 11 was the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating Mary’s physical motherhood of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and her spiritual motherhood of all Christians (see John 19:25-27). Jesus performed His first miracle at Mary’s behest (John 2) and spent most of His earthly life living with her. Mary’s status as the Mother of God (since Jesus’s Divine and human natures were fully united in one person) was defined dogmatically after centuries of belief by the Council of Ephesus in 431.
Also celebrated this week was Our Lady of the Pillar (Oct. 12): “[Catholicsaints.info] Tradition says that in the early day of the Church, Saint James the Greater was spreading the Gospel in Spain, but making very little progress. He was dejected and questioning his mission. About 44 [AD], the Virgin Mary, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, bi-located [i.e. the miracle of a person appearing in two places at once] and appeared to him in a vision to boost his morale. In it, she was atop a column or pillar, which was being carried by angels. That pillar is believed to be the same one venerated in Zaragoza, Spain today. Miraculous healings reported at the scene.”
The third Marian feast this week was Our Lady Aparecida (Oct. 12), the name of a statue miraculously recovered by three Brazilian fishermen in 1717. Unable to bring up any fish, the fishermen hauled up a statue of Mary instead, after which their nets were full of fish. The statue quickly drew many pilgrims and many of those who prayed before it received great graces. The pope named Our Lady Aparecida the Patroness of Brazil in 1930.
St. Teresa of Avila (Oct. 15) was born to the Spanish nobility. A pious child, she tried to run away from home to become a martyr. She became more worldly as she grew older, but then returned to her piety, and under stiff opposition from her widowed father she became a Carmelite nun at the age of 17. A serious illness left her with poor health for her whole life, but she never lost her zeal, joy, and love. “God, deliver me from sullen saints,” she said. Her sense of humor is apparent in such quotes as her address to God after an accident, “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder why You have so few of them!” Teresa received visions and produced mystical work, particularly The Interior Castle—she is a Doctor of the Church. She also founded a reformed branch of the Carmelites.
St. Ignatius of Antioch (Oct. 17) was a pagan convert to Christianity who succeeded St. Peter as bishop of Antioch. He survived the persecution of Roman Emperor Domition but during Trajan’s persecution was taken to Rome to be martyred by being thrown to wild beasts. During his journey to Rome, he wrote a series of letters to the churches of which he was in charge. He was the first writer to use the term “Catholic Church.” Father of the Church, mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. One legend says Ignatius was the child Jesus embraced in the Gospel of Mark (9:35-36). St. Canice (Oct. 11) was an Irish monk, a successful missionary whose activities extended across Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Italy.
Pope St. Callistus I or Callistus (Oct. 14) was a slave entrusted with opening a bank, and when the bank failed, Callistus tried to flee in fear, but he was caught. Wrongly accused of stealing instead of losing the money, he ended up working in the Roman tin mines. Callistus was later ransomed with other Christians and put in charge of the Roman Christian burial area still known to this day as the Cemetery or Catacombs of Callistus. He later became the sixteenth pope. Callistus was opposed by the anti-pope Hippolytus, who objected to Callistus forgiving penitents of certain sins and his strict orthodoxy. Hippolytus later reconciled with Callistus’s successor while they were slaves in the mines. Callistus’s mercy to repentant sinners and his insistence that social and economic class were not barriers for marriage appear to have angered some critics. He was martyred c. 223 AD.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (Oct. 17):
“[Catholicsaints.info] Healed from a crippling disorder by a vision of the Blessed Virgin, which prompted her to give her life to God. After receiving a vision of Christ fresh from the Scourging, she was moved to join the Order of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial in 1671.
Received a revelation from Our Lord in 1675, which included 12 promises to her and to those who practiced a true to devotion to His Sacred Heart, whose crown of thorns represent his sacrifices. The devotion encountered violent opposition, especially in Jansenist areas, but has become widespread and popular.”
St. Longinus the Centurion (Oct. 16) was the Roman soldier who pierced Christ’s side with a lance and said (Mark 15:39), “Indeed this man was the son of God.” He converted and became a monk. Arrested and tortured under Pontius Pilate, Longinus destroyed idols and miraculously continued preaching after his tongue was cut out. Martyr. The Prophet Osee or Hosea (Oct. 17), “whose name signifies A saviour, was the first in the order of time among those who are commonly called lesser prophets, because their prophecies are short. He prophesied in the kingdom of Israel, that is, of the ten tribes, about the same time that Isaias prophesied in the kingdom of Juda.”
St. Gall (Oct. 16) was a famous Irish missionary, one of the 12 companions of St. Columban to France. Biblical scholar and co-founder of Luxeuil Monastery. Gall followed Columban in his exile to Switzerland, where Gall became a hermit. His monastery there is still a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He refused bishoprics and an abbacy and is considered an apostle to Switzerland.
St. Francis Borgia (Oct. 10) was a pious Spanish Duke, the married father of eight. After his wife’s death, he surrendered his Dukedom to his son and became a Jesuit priest, often performing the most menial tasks. Francis was extremely humble. His preaching and advice influenced many and he spread the Jesuits across Spain and Portugal. As Superior General of the Jesuits, he sent out many missionaries. St. Philip the Deacon (Oct. 11, Byzantine calendar) is mentioned multiple times in Acts of the Apostles. One of the seven original deacons ordained to help the apostles, he preached in Samaria, where he converted Simon Magus (the magician) and the Queen of Ethiopia’s eunuch. He later lived in Caesarea with his daughters and tradition says he became a bishop in Lydia.
King St. Edward the Confessor (Oct. 13) was born in 1003 AD to the Duke of Normandy, the nephew of the English king, but grew up partly in exile after the Danish seizure of England. In 1042, upon the death of the Danish king, he was offered and accepted the English throne. He worked to try and better his subjects’ lot and was said to have been able to heal people just by touching them. He married under pressure but he and his queen always lived in celibacy due to Edward’s vow of chastity.
St. Magdalena of Nagasaki (Oct. 15): “[Catholicsaints.info] Her parents were martyred when Magdalena was about nine years old. She became an Augustianian tertiary, and worked as an interpreter and catechist for Augustinian missionaries Father Francis of Jesus Terrero and Father Vincent of Saint Anthony Simoens. Martyr [d. 1634].”
St. John of Bridlington (Oct. 10): “[Catholicsaints.info] Studied at Oxford, England from age 17. Augustinian Canon Regular at age 19. Held several posts in Saint Mary’s abbey in Bridlington, England. Reluctant prior of Saint Mary’s for 17 years beginning in 1362. Highly recommended the study of the Gospel of Saint John as a source for information and inspiration on the Gospel life.” King Henry V attributed his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt to two St. Johns, one of them John of Bridlington.
Bl. Daniel Comboni (Oct. 10) was an Italian missionary to Africa in the 1800s and founder of the institutes known jointly as the Comboni Missionaries. He treated Africans as adults rather than as children in need of benevolent condescension, in contrast to so many Europeans of the time. Daniel, who became a bishop, worked to suppress the slave trade and to expand scientific and geographical knowledge of the areas of Africa where he worked. St. Hedwig of Andechs (Oct. 16) was the aunt of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She married Prince Henry I of Silesia and Poland and gave birth to seven children, including St. Gertrude of Trebnitz. She cared for the sick and founded hospitals. After being widowed, she gave away her wealth and entered the monastery where Gertrude was abbess. Sts. Gervase and Protase (Oct. 14) were two young brothers martyred for their faith in the early Roman persecutions, and whose relics were famously discovered by St. Ambrose; they are honored with the martyrs Nazarius and Celsus.
Pope St. Felix IV (Oct. 12) was a reformer, diplomatic statesman, and theologian. St. Paulinus of York (Oct. 10) was a 7th century missionary to the Anglo-Saxons, bishop of York and Rochester, and first missionary to Northumbria. Bl. Roman Lysko (Oct. 14) was a married Ukrainian Catholic priest arrested and martyred by the Soviets; he was known for singing Psalms loudly in prison. Bl. Magdalen Panattieri (Oct. 13) was an Italian Dominican tertiary, catechist to children, and mystic who received the stigmata (wounds of Christ’s Passion). King St. Edwin of Northumbria (Oct. 12) was the first Christian monarch of Northumbria and the father, grandfather, and husband of saints; he evangelized his people and was killed in battle with a pagan king. St. Fiace (Oct. 11) was an Irish bishop, hymn-writer, and disciple of St. Patrick.
St. Euthymius the Younger (Oct. 15) was a hermit, noted preacher, and founder of monasteries in Greece. St. Barsen of Edessa (Oct. 15) was a bishop in Syria; exiled for not being heretical like the emperor, he converted back many on the Phoenician island of Aruad. Bl. Richard Creagh (Oct. 14) was an Irish archbishop arrested, abused for years, and eventually killed by the Protestant English (d. 1586). St. Thecla of Kitzingen (Oct. 15) was a Benedictine nun in England who became a missionary to Germany with St. Boniface and led abbeys there. St. Alexander Sauli (Oct. 11) was an Italian bishop, writer, reformer, missionary, and teacher called the “Apostle of Corsica.” Sts. Eulampius and Eulampia (Oct. 10) were Nicomedian siblings tortured and martyred.
Bl. Augustine Thevarparampil (Oct. 16) was an Indian priest who worked with the “untouchable” caste. St. Angadresma (Oct. 14) was a 7th century French abbess and miracle-worker. St. Carpus of Troas (Oct. 13) is a first century martyr, mentioned by St. Paul in 2 Tim. 4:13. Bl. Stanislaw Mysakowski (Oct. 14) was a Polish priest and catechist tortured and executed by the Nazis in Dachau. Bl. Giovanni Fornasini (Oct. 13) was an Italian priest killed by the Nazis for ministering to war prisoners and assisting escapees and displaced persons. St. Maharsapor the Persian (Oct. 10) was imprisoned, tortured, and starved to death for his faith. St. Bertrand of Comminges (Oct. 16) was a bishop of Comminges in 12th century France, and participant in the Synod of Poitiers. Bl. Józef Jankowski (Oct. 16) was a Polish priest murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. St. Cosmas of Maiuma (Oct. 12) was a hymographer and bishop in the Holy Land.
Angela Truszkowska, Cerbonius of Populonia, Daniele Fasanella and comrades, and Leon Wetmanski (Oct. 10); María Soledad Torres Acosta, Alexander Sauli, Gummarus, James Grissinger, Bruno the Great, and Martyrs of Sicily (Oct. 11); Edisto, Fiace, Maximilian of Celeia, and Felix and companions (Oct. 12); Gerald of Aurillac, Alexandrina Maria da Costa, and Three Crowns of Cordoba (Oct. 13); Franciszek Roslaniec and Manehildis (Oct. 14); Aurelia of Ratisbon, Lucian of Antioch, and Willa (Oct. 15); Contardo Ferrini and Tarsila Cordoba Belda de Girona (Oct. 17); and Anicet Koplinski (Oct. 16).
Have a blessed week!1
Most of this article is adapted from two I published last year.