Saints of the Week: Peter& Paul, Our Lady, John Baptist, Jesus’ Blood, Cyril, Esther, Plunkett, J.Serra, Aaron, Irenaeus &More
This past week we celebrated multiple major feasts, particularly of figures from both the Old and New Testaments. Throughout all the centuries, both before and after the Messiah’s coming, God has watched over His people and been adored by holy men and women.
July 1 is the feast of Jesus’s Precious Blood. “The Precious Blood was shed in the Circumcision, the Agony, the Scourging, the Crowning with thorns, and supremely in the Curcifixion of our Savior. It is offered daily in the Sacrifice of the Altar,” the Eucharist. Christ said (Jn.6:54), “Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” Read my full piece for more. On June 27 is Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a medieval Byzantine icon of Mary and Jesus known for the miracles and healings obtained by praying before it. Read my full piece. Mary is also honored June 25 as Our Lady of Grace.
Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles (June 29) were 1st century Jews. Simon was a fisherman, appointed by Christ as head of the Church and given the name “Peter” or Rock (Matt.16). He betrayed Christ, but repented. He led the Church and established the papacy in Rome, where he was crucified. Paul (also June 30), or Saul, originally persecuted the Church but was converted by a vision of Christ. He became the Apostle to the Gentiles, wrote much of the New Testament, and was martyred at Rome. The First Martyrs of Rome (June 30), Christians also murdered like the Apostles in the first persecution by Nero, are celebrated as a group; possibly included Lucina of Rome.
June 24 is the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, commemorating his miraculous birth to the barren Elizabeth and elderly Zachary. “The Precursor of Christ was filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb. After an austere life as a hermit, he announced the Advent of Christ, preached penance, and baptized in the Jordan [including Christ]. He was beheaded during the reign of Herod” after rebuking the incest of Herod and Herodias. John was the last Old Testament prophet (see my full article). On July 1 we also commemorated Aaron the Patriarch, the Old Testament brother of Moses, for whom he acted as spokesman. Though Aaron assisted in making the Golden Calf he repented, and became the first Jewish high priest under the Mosaic Law. Queen Esther, heroine of the Biblical book of Esther, is remembered July 1 too. Chosen by King Assuerus (Xerxes) of Persia to be his queen, she interceded with the king to save her people the Jews from the bloody plots of Aman.
St. Cyril of Alexandria (June 27) was a staunch champion of orthodoxy and a Doctor of the Church. An archbishop and the pope’s representative at the Council of Ephesus in 431, he was imprisoned partly for defending Mary as “God-bearer” or Mother of God. St. Joanna the Myrrhbearer (June 27) was the wife of King Herod’s steward, a disciple of Christ, and one of the women who discovered the empty tomb on Easter. The Martyrs of Eastern European Communist Regimes (June 27) were Catholics—lay, religious, and clerics—killed in the 20th century.
St. Oliver Plunkett (July 1) was an Irish bishop of Armagh, a reformer, educator, and specially a minister to Gaelic speaking Catholics, all amidst English Protestant oppression. Plunkett was finally arrested, falsely charged with conspiracy against the British king, acquitted, but later convicted. Hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1681 at Tyburn, England. St. Junipero Serra (July 1) was an 18th century Spanish missionary to North America who overcame injuries and ill health to help and evangelize the natives in Mexico and then in what is now California. Taught the natives agriculture, cattle raising, religion, and crafts, and founded 21 missions.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons (June 28) was a 2nd century scholar and bishop who particularly targeted the heresy of Gnosticism. His Scripturally-based arguments struck a blow at Gnosticism, and he is a Doctor of the Church. Traditionally listed as a martyr.1 St. William of Vercelli (June 25) “spent his life in meditation on divine things. In view of the number of his disciples he founded the Congregation of Monte Vergine, a branch of the Order of St. Benedict. He died in 1142.” St. Mary, mother of Mark (June 29): “Mother of Saint Mark the Evangelist. Mentioned in Acts 12:12 when a meeting of the Church was held at her home.”
Sts. John and Paul (June 26): “These two brothers were officers under Constantius. After the death of this Christian Emperor, they became martyrs at Rome in the persecution of Julian the Apostate in 362.” Mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. St. Josemaria Escriva (June 26) was a Spanish priest and writer who founded Opus Dei in 1928. He tried to help everyone attain holiness through everyday duties. St. Terence (June 26), first Bishop of Iconium, was one of Jesus’s 72 disciples and a scribe for St. Paul, writing down the Epistle to the Romans.
St. Donatus of Münstereifel (June 30) was a successful 2nd century Roman soldier and captain. Cut off from supplies and water while fighting Germanic tribes, Donatus and his fellow Christians prayed and a storm brought water—and lightning strikes to the enemy camp. But though their prayer led to a Roman victory, Donatus was still executed for being Christian. St. John Southworth (June 28) was an English priest condemned to death but saved by mediation of Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria. Southworth returned from exile to minister secretly in England, was arrested and released several times, and finally executed in 1654 under Cromwell’s tyranny.
St. Moloc of Mortlach (June 25), b.c.530, sailed on a rock from Ireland to the isle of Lismore. He evangelized the Picts in Scotland and founded up to 100 monasteries. Bl. Raymond Lull (June 30) was a married courtier who became a Franciscan tertiary. Worked to convert Muslims, who repeatedly deported him. Wrote theology, logic, philosophy, fiction, and poetry and reportedly solved the “lead-into-gold” alchemical formula (d.1300s). Bl. Hemma of Gurk and William of Sann (June 29) were happily married Austrian nobles whose lives were changed by their sons’ murder. William died c.1015 on pilgrimage, and Hemma built Benedictine houses and retired to one.
Pope St. Paul I (June 28) was an 8th century Roman noble and papal advisor amidst the Empire’s decline and the Papal States’ development of sovereignty. As pope, Paul I allied himself with the Frankish monarchy and fought the heresy of iconoclasm in the East. St. Bartholomew of Farne (June 24) was a Scandinavian priest, visionary, and monk who became a hermit on the isle of Farne. He practiced many penances and studied Scripture (d.1183). Bl. Yakym Senkivsky (June 28) was a Greek Catholic priest from Ukraine boiled to death by Communists in 1941.
Bl. Sabas Ji Hwang (June 28) was a Korean who orchestrated missionary efforts and was martyred in 1795. Sts. Ilud Ferch Brychan and Ciwg ap Arawn (June 29), a bard, were the daughter and grandson of saintly Welsh king Brychan of Brycheiniog. Bl. Pierre of Tarentaise the Elder (June 29) was one of the first Cistercian monks, an archbishop and founder of religious houses (d.1140). St. Crescens of Galatia (June 27) was a companion of St. Paul, mentioned in 2 Timothy. St. Paulus Wu Anju (June 29) was a married Chinese layman, martyred with his son St. Ioannes Baptista Wu Mantang in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. St. Basilides of Alexandria (June 30) was a pagan Roman soldier who defended martyr St. Potomiana, received visions of her, converted, and was beheaded c.205 in Egypt. St. Martial of Limoges (June 30) was a miracle-worker and missionary bishop in Gaul who worked with Sts. Alpinian and Austriclinian. St. Khalil Al-Haddad (June 26) was a Lebanese monk who cared for the needy.
St. Vincentia Gerosa (June 28) founded the Sisters of Charity of Lovere in 1832 to aid and educate the poor. Bl. Severian Baranyk (June 28) was a Greek Catholic priest from Ukraine martyred in 1941 by Communists; corpse found with a cross slashed in his chest. Bl. Gennaro Maria Sarnelli (June 30) was an 18th century Italian priest dedicated to helping boys out of forced labor and girls out of prostitution. Sts. Thomas Maxfield, Momford Scott, and George Beesley (July 1) were English priests martyred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bl. Nazju Falzon (July 1) was a Maltese cleric who ministered to soldiers and sailors. St. Dorothy of Montau (June 25) was a 14th century Prussian wife, mother, mystic, stigmatist, and anchoress. St. Huailu Zhang (July 1) was a Chinese layman and martyr during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. St. Marguerite Bays (June 27) was a Swiss stigmatist and mystic. St. Theodgar of Vestervig (June 24) was a German courtier, cleric, and missionary who converted pagans by causing a spring of water to well up (d.1065).
St. Nicasius of Jerusalem (July 1) was a Crusader martyred for refusing to convert to Islam in 1187. St. Tigre of Maurienne (June 25) was a laywoman who achieved her life goal of bringing a relic of John the Baptist back to Gaul (France). St. Vigilius of Trent (June 26) was a 4th century bishop who worked to convert Arian heretics. St. Gall of Clermont (July 1), uncle of Gregory of Tours, was a 6th century Gallo-Roman bishop. St. José Maria Robles Hurtado (June 26) was a Mexican parish priest martyred in 1927. Bl. Teresa Maria Mastena (June 28) founded the Institute of Sisters of the Holy Face in 1930. St. Veep (July 1), sister of St. Samson, was a 6th century Cornish princess; relative of St. Gwenyth (July 1). St. Ferdinand of Aragon (June 27) was a hermit, bishop, and healer (d.1092). St. Alena (June 24) was a Belgian royal convert from paganism martyred in 640. Bl. Paolo Giustiniani (June 25) was a reformer, “Priest, Monk and Founder of the Congregation of the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona[d.1528].”
Also celebrated this week were Rumold, Gohardus of Nantes and martyrs, Iosephus Yuan Zaide, Amphibalus, Hermit Ivan, Barbara of Bavaria, Colman Oilithir, and Henry the Hagiographer (June 24); Domingo Henares, Febronia of Nisibis, Prosper of Reggio, Solomon III of Bretagne, Maximus of Turin, Phanxico Ðo Van Chieu, Henry Zdick, Cyneburga, Solomon I, Adalbert of Egmond, Eurosia, and John of Spain (June 25); Anthelm of Belley, Andrea G. Longhin, Giuseppina Catanea, Andrii Ischak and WWII martyrs, Pelagius of Oviedo and Hermogius, and Iosephus Ma Taishun (June 26); Ladislas, Louise de Montaignac, Arialdus of Milan, Davanzato, Tôma Toán, and Didier Gourdon (June 27).
Also this past week were Heimrad, Maria Chi Yu, Lucia Wang Cheng, Benignus, Maria Du Zhauzhi, Matthaeus Choe In-gil and Paul Yun Yu-il, Cyrus and John, Argymirus, Austol, and Attilio of Trino (June 28); Salome of Niederaltaich and Judith, Magdalena Du Fengju and Maria, Cassius of Narni, Paulus Wu Wanshu, Syrus of Genoa, Benedicta of Sens, Anastasius& Marcellus of Bourges, Cocha, and Our Lady of Linares (June 29); Philip Powel, Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovskyi, Otto of Bamberg, Ostian, Vihn Son Ðo Yen, Lucina of Rome, Peter of Asti, Zenon Kovalyk, Adolphus of Osnabrück, Theobald, Bertrand of Le Mans, Arnulf of Villers, and Raimundus Li Quanzhen (June 30); and Antonio Rosmini-Serbati, Juthware, Jan N. Chrzan, and Fleuret of Estaing (July 1).
Have a blessed week!
Quotes without links are from the Latin Mass Missal.