Daily Saints

Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Patron Saint of those seeking chastity and purity, engaged couples, rape victims, gardeners, young girls, and Girl Scouts, Pre-Congregation canonization

According to one tradition, the daughter of Emperor Constantine the Great—the first emperor to convert to Christianity and legalize its practice—contracted leprosy. Her name was Constantina. Seeking a cure, she approached the tomb of today’s young virgin-martyr and tearfully beseeched her intercession.

The tradition further states that Constantina was indeed healed, and, in gratitude, her father commissioned the building of a church over Saint Agnes’ grave. To this day, a church adorns that same spot. To this day, it is named in honor of Saint Agnes. And to this day, the faithful beseech Agnes’ intercession in the same fashion as Constantina in days of old.

Very little is known about Saint Agnes, except for Saint Ambrose’s brief words written many decades after her death. We do know for certain that she was martyred at the age of twelve or thirteen. Later traditions have supplied what history cannot, including what follows.

Agnes was born into a noble Christian family in Rome. She was said to have been quite beautiful, which, together with her wealth and holiness, caused many young noblemen to seek her as their bride. But Agnes’ eyes beheld One Who was the most beautiful of all—her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After taking in His beauty, she could look upon no one else. She dedicated herself to a life of virginity.

Such self-gift, however, was neither well received nor well understood by the young men of her time. Agnes was reported to the local prefect Sempronius for being a Christian, in an attempt to dissuade her from her vow of chastity.

The prefect first tried to convince Agnes to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. She refused. Her heart was firm in its devotion to her Beloved. The prefect then tried to frighten her by displaying some instruments of torture in the hands of the cruel executioner himself. Agnes showed no fear and refused to burn incense to false gods. Outraged, the prefect ordered that she be taken to brothels to be violated by immoral men.

During these ordeals, Agnes knew her Heavenly Spouse would protect her. Evil men could stain their swords with her blood, but they could never profane her body consecrated to Christ. At the brothels, the men looked at her with lust from a distance, but appeared more frightened of her than she was of them. None dared approach her. None dared defile her. It is said that only one young man did approach her, only to be immediately struck blind and brought to the ground. Through a prayer spoken by Agnes, though, his sight was restored.

The prefect, having failed to convert Agnes back to paganism, or to defile her body, then condemned her to a death by beheading. Agnes willingly offered her neck to the executioner, who trembled with fear as he approached, while she was as joyful as a bride waiting to meet her Bridegroom.

Saint Agnes, along with Saint Cecilia, was one of the earliest martyrs whose name was honored by its insertion into the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I in today’s Mass.) Her name in Latin means “lamb.” As a result, since the sixteenth century, every year on her feast day two lambs are brought to the Roman basilica built over her tomb.

Their wool is shorn and weaved into various pallia, vestments covering the shoulders. These very pallia are later placed on the shoulders of archbishops by the pope himself on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Along with his crozier, or staff, the pallium symbolizes a bishop’s role as shepherd.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-21-st-agnes-virgin-martyr/

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Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr

Daily Saints

Patron Saint of Rome, Pre-Congregation canonization, Elected pope 236

It wasn’t until 313 that Christianity was legalized by the emperor, Constantine the Great. Up until that time, Christians were widely persecuted by various emperors trying to please their gods. Fabianus (Fabian) was born into this Roman culture, most likely around the year 200. Although we know nothing about his early life, we do know that he served as pope for fourteen years.

Fabian’s election to the papacy took place in a divinely inspired way. After the death of Pope Anterus, who served for only one year, Fabian, a layman, traveled from his farm to the city of Rome to attend the election of the new Bishop of Rome with the people and clergy. It is not known what status Fabian held in the Church as he traveled to Rome. Yet no one present even considered Fabian as a possible pope, since other far more noble churchmen were being considered. During the public discussions, however, all that changed.

The fourth century Church historian, Eusebius, explains what happened next. “All of a sudden…a dove flew down from above and settled on his head as clear imitation of the descent of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove upon the Savior; whereupon the whole people, as if moved by one divine inspiration, with all eagerness and with one soul cried out ‘worthy,’ and without more ado took him and placed him on the episcopal throne” (Ecclesiastical History). Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove at His Baptism, it appears that the Father chose an unsuspecting farmer as His Son’s new vicar on Earth.

Fabian’s reign as pope began during a relatively peaceful period in Rome. Prior to that, from the time of the Apostles, there had been only sporadic persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire. Hatred of Christians first began with Nero in 64 and continued in various forms under successive emperors until the Emperor Decius rose to power in 249, thirteen years after Fabian became pope.

Within a year of Decius’ ascension to the emperor’s throne, he issued an edict that required everyone in the empire to offer sacrifice both to the Roman gods and for the good of the emperor himself. What’s more, the sacrifices had to be confirmed by the magistrate who, after witnessing the sacrifice, would issue a certificate verifying the sacrilegious deed had been completed. Those who refused could be imprisoned or killed.

In the face of persecution and the threat of death, some Christians went through the motions of offering sacrifice to save their lives. Others fled and hid. Pope Fabian was among those who looked persecution and death in the face and accepted them. Pope Fabian and many other Christians died as martyrs for the faith.

In addition to his martyrdom and his divine election as pope, Saint Fabian is also known for being a good administrator of the Church, organizing the Church into various districts with appointed leaders. He had a heart for evangelization and sent several bishops as missionaries to Christianize Gaul (present-day France). Lastly, like many other saints of his time, he stomped out heresy, working to preserve the pure and orthodox faith.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-20-saint-fabian-pope-and-martyr/

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Saint Bassian of Lodi

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Bassian was the son of Servius, prefect of Syracuse, Sicily. He was a student in Rome, Italy and he converted to Christianity. His family opposed the conversion, and when Bassian was ordered back to Syracuse, he fled to Ravenna, Italy.

Bassian became the Bishop of Lodi, Italy c.373. He attended the Council of Aquileia in 381. He was a friend of Saint Felix of Como and of Saint Ambrose of Milan; Bassian was also at the deathbed of Saint Ambrose.

Born

c.320 in Syracuse, Sicily

Died

413 in Lodi, Italy of natural causes
following a military defeat of Lodi by Milan in 1158, Bassian’s relics were taken to Milan
relics returned to Lodi in 1163

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

Bassano del Grappa, Italy
Lodi, Italy
San Bassano, Italy

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassianus_of_Lodi#/media/File:San_Bassiano_-_litografia.jpg

Saint Bassian of Lodi

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Saint Volusian of Tours

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As a layman, Volusian suffered through years of a terrible marriage. He was an Imperial Roman senator at Tours, France.

Volusian was a Bishop of Tours in 488. He was exiled to Spain in 496 by Arian Visigoths. He may have been martyred, but records are unclear.

Died

18 January 496 at Toulouse, France

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

Foix, France

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-volusian-of-tours/

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Saint Anthony of Egypt, Abbot

Daily Saints

Patron Saint of basketmakers, gravediggers, butchers, swineherds, motorists, amputees, monks, and farmers, Invoked against skin diseases and epilepsy, Pre-Congregation canonization

Anthony was born into an upper-class Catholic home. His parents raised Anthony and his younger sister in a small village in southern Egypt. He received a basic education and was twenty years old when his parents suddenly died. He was left with a large inheritance and the responsibility of caring for his sister. Some months later, Anthony was attending Mass and heard the Gospel story of Jesus’ command to the rich young man: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21).

As Anthony heard these words, he knew Jesus was speaking directly to him. Shortly after, he gave away most of his property, sold almost everything else, and kept only what he needed to care for himself and his sister. But that’s not exactly what the Lord had commanded! Jesus said that perfection is obtained only if one were to sell everything and give it to the poor.

Not long afterward, Anthony was at Mass once again and heard the Gospel passage, “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself” (Matthew 6:34). Again, he knew Jesus was speaking directly to him, so he gave away even the little he had saved back, entrusted his sister to the care of some holy women, and entered the desert to live a life of poverty, solitude, prayer, and mortification.

In that harsh desert landscape, the devil attacked him in countless ways. “Think about all the good you could have done with that money you gave away!” These were the words of the evil one, trying to deter Anthony from embracing his unique vocation as a hermit. Then the devil appeared to him in physical form and sent vile creatures to frighten him. Satan tempted Anthony with boredom, laziness, and even appeared as a female temptress to seduce him. Firm in prayer and mortification, Anthony fought off the devil and his manifestations. Though beaten senseless during these spiritual battles, he recovered in the care of some friends who visited him.

After spending fifteen years living in a desert cave once used as a tomb, Anthony retreated even deeper into solitude, spending another twenty years in self-imposed solitary confinement. He ate only bread that friends threw over the wall of the abandoned Roman fort he called home. He never opened his mouth to speak to anyone, for God called him to the unique life of complete solitude.

Eventually, Anthony’s holy example stirred up devotion and admiration in the hearts of others. Though they could not speak to him, many wanted to imitate him. They began to build huts nearby and imitate his vocation. Then, after twenty years of solitude, God directed Anthony to exit his fort and assist the other nearby hermits with their vocations. For the next five years, he instructed the new hermits on how to organize their lives.

Anthony then withdrew once again into seclusion for the last forty-five years of his very long life. However, this time he did accept visitors from time to time and even entered nearby cities to occasionally preach and teach. Most notably, he preached firmly against the rampant Arian heresy, directly opposed the emperor for persecuting Christians, and fearlessly offered himself up to be martyred.

God did not grant his desire for martyrdom, however. Instead, Anthony lived to the ripe old age of 105. He made a powerful impact upon the lives of many by his radical obedience to God’s will, through his life devoted to prayer, his embrace of poverty, his courageous preaching against heresy, and his assistance to those daring to live as hermits. He was so influential that another heroic saint of that time, the bishop Saint Athanasius, wrote a biography of Saint Anthony, supplying much of what we know about him today.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-17-st-antony-patriarch-of-monks/

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Pope Saint Marcellus I

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Nothing of Marcellus’ life before the papacy has survived the centuries. He was Pope at the end of the persecutions of Diocletian; the persecutions had so disrupted the Church that there had been a gap of over a year with no Pope.

Marcellus faced reconstituting the clergy which had been decimated and whose remnant had practiced their vocation covertly and with the expectation of martyrdom. He worked to recover and welcome back those who had denied the faith to keep from being murdered.

When a group of people apostatized before and during a period of persecution refused to do penance in order to return to the Church (they were known as the Lapsi), Marcellus refused to allow their return to the Church. This group had some political pull, and some caused such civil disruption that Emperor Maxentius exiled the Pope in order to settle the matter. Legend says that Marcellus was forced to work as a stable slave as punishment, but this appears to be fiction.

Marcellus was considered a martyr as he died of the terrible conditions he suffered in exile.

Papal Ascension

May-June 308

Died

309
initially buried in the cemetery of Saint Priscilla in Rome, Italy
relics later translated to beneath the altar of San Marcello al Corso church in Rome where they remain today

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

horses
stablemen
in Italy
Anversa degli Abruzzi
Montemarzo di Asti

Representation

pope with a donkey or horse nearby
pope standing in a stable

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Marcellus_I#/media/File:Roma-sanmarcelloalcorso2.jpg

Pope Saint Marcellus I

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Saint Arnold Janssen

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Arnold felt an early call to the priesthood, and was ordained in August 1861. Well educated, he taught science and catechism for twelve years.

Arnold was a chaplain and director of the Ursuline convent at Kempen in 1873. He was the Director of the diocesan Apostleship of Prayer in 1874, and was an editor of a journal about missionary work in 1873.

Arnold established the religious congregation Society of the Divine Word in Steyl, Netherlands in 1875; it received papal approval in 1901. The Society, which soon had houses in the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany, was composed of missionary priests who worked in Tonga, New Guinea, Japan, Paraguay, and throughout North America.

In 1889, Arnold founded the Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Ghost to assist the priests in their mission. The Sisters serve as teachers in mission lands, especially of young girls. With the help of Blessed Maria Virgo, Arnold formed the sisters a contemplative branch named Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration who devote themselves to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and prayer for the success of missionary efforts. These sisters are nicknamed Pink Sisters because of the color of their habit.

Born

5 November 1837 at Goch, North Rhein-Westphalia, Germany
His baptismal patron was Saint Arnold of Arnoldsweiler.

Died

15 January 1909 in Steyl, Netherlands of natural causes

Venerated

10 May 1973 by Pope Paul VI (decree of heroic virtues)

Beatified

19 October 1975 by Pope Paul VI

Canonized

5 October 2003 by Pope John Paul II

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Janssen#/media/File:Arnold_Janssen.jpg

Saint Arnold Janssen

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Saint Felix of Nola

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Felix was the elder son of Hermias, a Syrian soldier who had retired to Nola, Italy. After his father‘s death, Felix sold off most of his property and possessions, gave the proceeds to the poor, and pursued a clerical vocation. He was ordained by, and worked with Saint Maximus of Nola.

When Maximus fled to the mountains to escape the persecution of Decius, Felix was arrested and beaten for his faith instead. Legend says he was freed by an angel so he could help his sick bishop. Felix hid Maximus from soldiers in a vacant building. When the two were safely inside, a spider quickly spun a web over the door, fooling the imperial forces into thinking it was long abandoned, and they left without finding the Christians. The two managed to hide from authorities until the persecution ended with the death of Decius in 251.

After Maximus‘ death, Felix was chosen as bishop of Nola, but declined, favoring Quintus, a “senior” priest who had seven days more experience than Felix. He worked to farm his remaining land, and gave most of the proceeds to people even poorer than himself. Much of the little information we have about Felix came from the letters and poetry of Saint Paulinus of Nola, who served at a porter at the door of a church dedicated to Saint Felix, and who gathered information about him from churchmen and pilgrims.

Though Felix died of natural causes, he is normally listed as a martyr because of the torture, imprisonment, and privations he experienced in the persecutions.

Born

3rd century at Nola, near Naples, Italy

Died

c.255 of natural causes
buried at Nola, Italy
for centuries his tomb was the site of pilgrimages

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Patronage

against eye disease
against eye trouble
against false witness
against lies
against perjury
domestic animals
eyes
Nola, Italy

Representation

cobweb
deacon in prison
spiderweb
young priest carrying an old man (Maximus) on his shoulders
young priest chained in prison with a pitcher and potsherds near him
young priest with a bunch of grapes (symbolizes his care of the aged Maximus)
young priest with a spider
young priest with an angel removing his chains

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-felix-of-nola/

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Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor

Daily Saints

Patron Saint of children academically behind, children learning to walk, mothers, and the sick Invoked against rheumatism and snakebites, Pre-Congregation canonization, Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1851 by Pope Pius IX

Born into a wealthy pagan family in Poitiers, France, Hilary was well educated in the classics. As he looked into his own soul, however, he knew that he did not exist for the sole purpose of seeking pleasure, enjoying leisure, obtaining wealth, or merely satisfying his fleshly desires.

Hilary reasoned that the human soul did not exist simply to die. Instead, it must exist for something more, something eternal, something glorious. When his pagan culture did not suffice and philosophy fell short, Hilary finally found what he was searching for when he stumbled upon the Scriptures.

Hilary was first struck by the mysterious name of God in the Old Testament: “I AM WHO I AM.” God had revealed Himself as eternal, without beginning or end—Existence itself. Then Hilary discovered the Son of God in the Gospel of John 1:1–14. Of this discovery, Hilary said, “My soul measured the mighty workings of God, wrought on the scale of His eternal omnipotence . . .by a boundless faith . . .that God was in the beginning with God, and that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” (De Trinitate 1.12).

Hilary had the will to believe, and in the years that followed he was given the power and gift to understand the beauty, mystery, omnipotence, and nature of the Most Holy Trinity. Shortly after these discoveries of faith, Hilary was baptized a Christian and went on to defend the doctrine of the Trinity against the “insanity and ignorance of men.” He so impressed the faithful that they chose him to be their bishop, a dignity to which he reluctantly agreed.

Among those who shared in the “insanity and ignorance” of that time were a group of bishops and laity who followed the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ, instead holding that the Son was inferior to the Father. This heresy was especially strong in the Eastern Church but was starting to spread throughout France.

After Hilary was a bishop for only about five years, the emperor, an Arian himself, ordered every bishop to pledge their support for this heresy. Hilary refused. Instead, he vigorously defended the truth, and for his brave stance was exiled to Phrygia, in modern-day Turkey. In His love and providence, God used Hilary’s time of exile in powerful ways.

While in Phrygia, Bishop Hilary spent much time studying and writing. He had already composed a marvelous commentary on the Gospel of Matthew while in Poitiers, and now he set his mind to his greatest work, De Trinitate (On the Trinity). Drawing from his classical education, his knowledge of Greek, his love of the Scriptures, and from the “insanity” and “ignorance” of Arianism itself, Bishop Hilary composed a comprehensive defense of the doctrine of the Trinity as it was taught in the Nicene Creed. Bishop Hilary caused so much trouble for the Arians in Phrygia that the Arian bishops pleaded with the emperor to send him back home, a request the emperor honored.

On his return to Poitiers, Bishop Hilary took the long way home through Greece and Italy, preaching all the way, weeding out the beginnings of Arianism in the Western Church. His effectiveness came not only from his clear teaching, but also from his conciliatory approach and resolute determination. Back in Poitiers, he continued to preach, write, attend councils, and even to compose hymns. The hymns were his way of introducing the doctrines of the faith to the people of God in song. He was a true pastor who burned with a desire that everyone come to a deeper knowledge of the One God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/january-13-saint-hilary-of-poitiers-bishop-and-doctor/

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Saint Marguerite Bourgeous

Daily Saints

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Marguerite was the sixth of twelve children of devout parents. When Marguerite was 19, her mother died, and the young lady cared for her younger brothers and sisters; her father died when she was twenty-seven. After raising her family, Marguerite prayed to know what to do with her life. The governor of Montreal, Canada, was in France looking for teachers for the New World. He invited Marguerite to come to Montreal to teach school and religion classes. She agreed and spent the rest of her life in North America.

Marguerite gave away her share of her parents’ inheritance to other members of the family, and in 1653, she sailed for Canada. She began construction of a chapel to honor Our Lady of Good Help, and opened her first school in 1658. She returned to France in 1659 to recruit more teachers, and returned with four; in 1670, she went to France again, and brought back six more. These brave women became the first sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame.

Marguerite and her sisters helped people in the colony survive when food was scarce, opened a vocational school, taught young people how to run a home and farm. Marguerite’s congregation grew to 18 sisters, seven of them were Canadian. They opened missions, and two sisters taught at the Native American mission. Marguerite received the first two Native American women into the congregation.

In 1693, Mother Marguerite handed over her congregation to her successor, Marie Barbier, the first Canadian to join the order. Marguerite’s religious rule was approved by the Church in 1698, and Marguerite spent her last few years praying and writing an autobiography. On the last day of 1699, a young sister lay dying. Mother Marguerite asked the Lord to take her life in exchange. By the morning of 1 January 1700, the sister was completely well, Mother Marguerite had a raging fever, suffered 12 days, and died on 12 January 1700.

Born

17 April 1620 at Troyes, Aube, France

Died

12 January 1700 at Montreal, Quebec, Canada of fever

Venerated

19 June 1910 by Pope Saint Pius X

Beatified

12 November 1950 by Pope Pius XII

Canonized

31 October 1982 by Pope John Paul II

Patronage

against death of parents
against impoverishment
against poverty
people rejected by religious orders
poor people

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-marguerite-bourgeous/

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1373

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Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Patron Saint of those seeking chastity and purity, engaged couples, rape victims, gardeners, young girls, and Girl Scouts, Pre-Congregation canonization

Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr

Patron Saint of Rome, Pre-Congregation canonization, Elected pope 236

Saint Bassian of Lodi

Saint Volusian of Tours

Saint Anthony of Egypt, Abbot

Patron Saint of basketmakers, gravediggers, butchers, swineherds, motorists, amputees, monks, and farmers, Invoked against skin diseases and epilepsy, Pre-Congregation canonization

Pope Saint Marcellus I

Saint Arnold Janssen

Saint Felix of Nola

Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor

Patron Saint of children academically behind, children learning to walk, mothers, and the sick Invoked against rheumatism and snakebites, Pre-Congregation canonization, Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1851 by Pope Pius IX

Saint Marguerite Bourgeous

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