Archive for August 20, 2024
St. Aspren of Naples
Patronage: archdiocese of Naples, Italy. Also known as Asprenato, Aspronas, Aspremo Convert, brought to the faith by Saint Candida the Elder. Knew Saint Peter the Apostle, and one story says he was healed by him. First bishop of Naples, Italy, and devoted himself to evangelization.
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St. Anthony the Roman
Born: 1086 in Rome, Italy Died: 1148 in Novgorod, Russia of natural causes. Raised in a pious family during the time of the Great Schism; Anthony’s loyalties lay with the Orthodox Church. He gave away his goods, and became a hermit monk. Lived on a rock surrounded by the sea for fourteen months. The rock […]
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St. Gamaliel
First century Jewish Talmudic scholar. Teacher of Saint Paul the Apostle. In Acts 5:34-39 we read that his counsel saved Saint Peter and Saint John. An ancient tradition says he converted to Christianity, but there is no proof of this.
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St. Eleutherius of Bithynia
Died: beheaded c.305 in Bithynia, buried the place of executions, and a church was built over his grave. Also known as Eleutherius of Tarso, Eleutherius of Tarsius, Eleuterio Imperial Roman senator. Chamberlain to Emperor Maximian Galerius at Constantinople. Convert to Christianity, after which he withdrew from the imperial court to his country estate in Bithynia. […]
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St. Aristarchus of Thessalonica
Born: Thessalonica Died: beheaded in the 1st century in Rome, Italy. Also known as Aristarco, Aristarque, Arystarch Convert and spiritual student of Saint Paul the Apostle, he worked with Paul in Ephesus, Corinth, Jerusalem, and Rome (Acts 20:1; 27:2; Philemon 24). In the Epistle to the Colossians, Paul calls him “my fellow prisoner” referring to […]
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St. John Mary Vianney
Born: 8 May 1786 at Dardilly, Lyons, France Died: 4 August 1859 at Ars, France of natural causes, interred in the basilica of Ars Canonized 31 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI Patronage: confessors, priests (proclaimed on 23 April 1929 by Pope Pius XI), Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, Dubuque, Iowa, archdiocese […]
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St. Abel of Rheims
Born: in the British Isles, most likely in Ireland Died: c.751 at Lobbes, Belgium of natural causes. Also known as Abel of Lobbes Missionary to the European continent with Saint Boniface. Chosen archbishop of Rheims, France in 744 by Pope Saint Zachary and the Council of Soissons. He was unable to take over the see […]
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St. Margaret the Barefooted
Born: 1325 at Cesolo, San Severino, Italy Died: 5 August 1395 of natural causes Patronage: brides, difficult marriages, victims of abuse, widows. Also known as Margaret of Cesolo, Margaret la Picena, Margherita Born poor. Married at 15 to an Italian gentleman, and abused for years by her husband for her attachment to the Church and […]
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St. Emidius of Ascoli Piceno
Born: German Died: beheaded c.303, relics at Ascoli Piceno, Italy Patronage: against earthquakes, Ascoli Piceno, Italy, city of Ascoli Piceno, Italy. As a thirteen-year-old orphan, Anne Garcia Manzanas, of Almendral, Spain, tended her brothers’ sheep. Devoted to the Passion of Christ, she wanted to consecrate her virgin- ity to God, but feared she would be […]
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St. Glisente of Brescia
Died: 796 on Mount Berzo, Brescia, Italy, a parish church is built on his tomb on the side of the mountain. Soldier in the army of Blessed Charlemagne. Following the battle of Mortirolo, Glisente retired from military life to live as a hermit on Mount Berzo near Brescia, Italy, and evangelize the valley region around […]
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