July 1

The commemoration of Aaron, Moses’ brother.

About 466, in Egypt, St. Shenute, abbot of the White Monastery. He emphasized obedience, discouraged all study, and cautioned against extreme asceticism.

At Tyburn, in 1681, St. Oliver Plunkett, bishop and martyr. Born of a prominent Irish family, he went to Rome with Fr. Pier Francesco Scarampi, who was the papal envoy to the Confederation of Kilkenny. He was ordained in Rome in 1654 and worked there till 1669 when he was appointed archbishop of Armagh. He returned to Ireland and worked tirelessly to consolidate the organization and pastoral effectiveness of the church, sometimes clandestinely, sometimes openly. He was arrested in 1679 and taken to England where he was tried, convicted, hanged, drawn and quartered in 1681. His 230 surviving letters show him to have been a learned and devout pastor, who courageously followed his conscience.

In Malta, in 1865, Blessed Ignatius Falzon. While studying law, he began teaching catechism at the local church and preaching to the soldiers in the English garrison on the island. He was also very active in caring for the poor. He studied theology and later received minor orders, but declined to become a priest, because he felt unworthy.

July 2

At Winchester, in 862, St. Swithin, bishop and advisor to Aethelwulf, King of Wessex. Swithin was an exemplary bishop who was known for his humility and charity to the poor.

In 1139, St. Otto, bishop of Bamberg. He sought to mediate between the Pope and the German emperors during the investiture conflict. He founded a number of monasteries and organized the evangelization of Pomerania.

On 1616, St. Bernardino Realino. He trained in both medicine and law, but then entered the Society of Jesus. He was ordained in 1567 and served his order in many capacities. He was particularly dedicated to ministering to prisoners and slaves.

July 3

St. Thomas the Apostle. There are several traditions about where he went after Pentecost, the strongest possibility being the Malabar coast of southern India, which he could have reached via trading ship. The Malabar Christians are descended from both natives and Jews from the diaspora who converted in the earliest days of Christianity; the language of their liturgy is Syriac, though their vernacular is Malayalam. They maintained strong ties with the East Syrian Christians of Mesopotamia. According to the Christians of Malabar, Thomas was martyred near Madras in 73 AD.

July 4

In 1336, St. Elizabeth of Portugal. The daughter of King Pedro II of Aragon, she was married to King Diniz of Portugal. He was an able ruler, but fathered a number of children out of wedlock. Elizabeth saw to their upbringing. She tried to mediate between her husband, their son Alfonso, and King Ferdinand IV of Aragon. She was very active on behalf of the poor, and when her husband died she went to live with the Poor Clares at Coïmbra.

In 740, St. Andrew of Crete. He was born in Damascus and became a monk of Saint Sabas. Around 700 he was appointed archbishop of Crete. He is renowned for his sermons and hymns.

In 973, St. Ulrich of Augsburg, bishop. He was educated at Saint Gall, where he knew St. Wiborada. He became a priest and in 923, bishop of Augsburg. After the Magyars invaded in 926, murdering St. Wiborada and plundering Augsburg, Ulrich set about rebuilding the city. He founded the monastery of St. Stephen in 968 and restored the monastery of Saint Afra. Each day he visited the hospital in Augsburg to wash the feet of twelve poor people and distribute alms. He resigned his see in 972 to become a monk, and died the next year. He was the first person to be formally canonized by a pope.

In 1836, at Mauriac, in France, Blessed Catherine Jarrige. She was a lacemaker, who begged funds from the rich and gave them to the poor. During the French Revolution she helped many priests escape the guillotine.

In 1925, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. The son of a prominent political figure, he studied engineering in Turin and became active in Catholic Action and in anti-Fascist movements. He contracted polio and died in 1925.

July 5

In 1530, St. Antony Zaccaria. He studied medicine and practiced as a doctor in Cremona for a while. He became a priest and ministered in Milan. There he founded the Clerks Regular of St. Paul, known as the Barnabites. Like the Theatines, Somaschi, Oratorians and Ursulines, his order was dedicated to church reform. He preached effectively, promoted devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and lived austerely.

In 1091, Blessed William of Hirsau. A monk of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, he was sent to Hirsau, which had recently been resettled by monks from Einsiedeln. He modeled monastic life there on the observances of Cluny. Hirsau became a center of monastic reform in its own right. William wrote treatises on music and astronomy which survive.

July 6

In 1902, near Rome, St. Maria Goretti, martyr. Her father died when she was 10, and she took care of her younger siblings while her mother worked in the fields. When she was 12, a twenty-year old neighbor, Alessandro, tried to rape her. When she resisted, he stabbed her. She was taken to the hospital, and died there of her wounds. Before she died, she forgave Alessandro, who repented his sin and testified on behalf of her canonization.

In 1922, at Rome, Blessed Teresa Ledóchowska. Her father was a Polish count, her mother, Swiss; her uncle, a cardinal; her brother, general of the Jesuits; and her sister, founder of a religious order. Interested in the Catholic missions in Africa. Teresa became committed to the abolition of slavery, and devoted her literary gifts to this cause. She founded and joined a religious group, the Sodality of St. Peter Claver, dedicated to the African Missions.

July 7

Around 200, St. Pantaenus, who taught at the Christian school at Alexandria and was revered by St. Clement of Alexandria, who was his pupil.

In 1304, Pope Benedict XI. He was a Dominican and succeeded Boniface VIII in 1303. His one year as pope was devoted to dealing with the complex political situation he inherited from his predecessor. Benedict was not particularly effective, but he was a humble and austere friar who did his best.

In Nicaragua, in 1977, Blessed María Meneses. She was born and raised in Nicaragua, where she joined the Salesian sisters. She spent most of her life working in Costa Rica, where her primary concern was to encourage those who were wealthy to help those who had little. She founded a school, a clinic, recreation centers, food distribution centers, and even established a village to provide decent homes for the poor.

July 8

In the first century, Sts. Aquila and Prisca, disciples of St. Paul. This couple lived in Corinth, Ephesus and Rome, and in each place they were prominent contributors to the Christian community.

About 674, St. Disibod, bishop and Irish missionary to Germany. According to St. Hildegard’s telling of his life, with two companions he founded a monastery near Bingen, which became a center of evangelization in the region. The monastery was resettled from Hirsau in the twelfth century. It was a double community, and St. Hildegard lived there for over twenty years before moving to Bingen to found her own community for women. She wrote a life of Disibod.

Around 689, St. Kilian, bishop, an Irish missionary who with some companions evangelized the area around Wúrzburg. He and two companions were murdered, reportedly for criticizing a royal marriage.

In 1153, blessed Pope Eugene III. He was from the area around Pisa and became a monk at Clairvaux in 1137, then abbot of a Cistercian monastery outside of Rome. He was elected pope in 1145, which St. Bernard thought was a mistake, because Eugene had so little experience. However, he proved to be a vigorous church leader. He had to deal with many complex political issues. He also called the Second Crusade, which was a failure. When Eugene died, Peter the Venerable wrote of him to St. Bernard: “Never have I known a truer friend, a more trustworthy brother, a kinder father.” St. Bernard wrote his treatise On Consideration for Eugene to guide him in his responsibilities as pope.

July 9

In China, between 1648 and 1930, 120 martyrs, who were canonized on October 1, 2000. Christianity had been brought to China by Nestorian missionaries in the seventh century, and by Franciscans in 1294. In the late 16th century Jesuits and later other missionaries reached the country. The first Chinese priest was ordained in 1658. The Jesuits missionaries had tried to integrate the Christian liturgy into Chinese culture, particularly by incorporating veneration of ancestors. A Vatican decision against these Chinese rites in 1704 was a major setback to the missionary effort in China. Beginning in 1748 there was a series of sporadic persecutions culminating in the death of 25,000 Catholics during the Boxer rebellion at the end of the 19th century. Many of these martyrs were catechists.

In the Netherlands, in 1572, St. Nicholas Pieck and companions, the martyrs of Gorcum. A group of Calvinists successfully besieged the town and rounded up the Catholic clergy. Nineteen of them were killed: eleven Franciscans led by Nicholas Pieck, four secular priests, and four other religious priests. Not all of these priests had led exemplary lives, but in the end they chose to die rather than renounce their Catholic faith.

In 1794, at Orange in France, thirty-two nuns, who were arrested in April, and executed one or two at a time during July. Their crime was that they would not take the Republican oath of the French Revolution, which they judged irreligious.

In 1942, in Brazil, St. Pauline Wisenteiner. She was from a poor family, but found time to teach catechism classes and visit the sick. Encouraged by some Jesuit missionaries, she began a religious congregation, which she led from 1895-1909. She lived the rest of her life as a simple sister, and devoted her life especially to the care of elderly poor people.

In 1966, in Rome, Blessed Marija Petkovic. She was born in 1892 in southern Croatia, the sixth of thirteen children. She went to a Catholic school and was active in various Catholic organizations. She started a religious community in 1920, the Daughters of Mercy, which aimed at spreading knowledge of God’s mercy through the exercise of works of mercy. The community expanded rapidly, opening children’s homes, nursing homes, hospitals and schools. In 1961, after forty years as superior, Maria retired to a life of prayer.

July 10

`About 770, in Belgium, St. Amalburga, who was invested as a nun by St. Willibrord (November 7).. Her relics were kept by the monks of Saint Peter in Ghent.

In 1073 and 1074, St. Antony Pechersky and St. Theodosius Pechersky, who were both abbots of the monastery of the Cave of Kiev and contributed significantly to the establishment of monasticism in Russia. Theodore led the monastery in efforts to serve the poor and to evangelize the surrounding region. He wrote: “[Christ] sought us out, found us, carried us on his shoulders, and set us at the right hand of the Father. Is he not merciful and the lover of humankind.”

In 1860, Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz and companions, who were martyred at Damascus, in a persecution in Syria in which about 14,000 Christians were killed.

July 11

About 550 AD, at Monte Cassino, St. Benedict, abbot. This was the date on which it was claimed that his relics were transferred to the abbey of Fleury-sur-Loire. It is celebrated as Benedict’s feast day, because March 21, the date commemorating his death, falls in Lent.

In 155, St. Pius I, pope. The Muratorian Canon says he was the brother of Hermas, who wrote The Shepherd. Pius was pope when Marcion was excommunicated and when Justin Martyr was teaching in Rome.

In the early eighth century, at Disentis, in Switzerland, St. Placidus, martyr, and St. Sigisbert, abbot. Sigisbert went from the monastery of Luxeuil to be a missionary on the Rhine and then founded a hermitage at Disentis. Placidus was an influential friend of Sigisbert. In or around 720, the local ruler had Placidus killed, and Sigisbert died shortly thereafter. About 750 a monastery which still exists was established on the site of Placidus’ murder.

In 969, at Kiev, St. Olga. She succeeded her pagan husband, Igor, as ruler of the new Russian kingdom of Kiev. She converted to Christianity, but was not notably successful in persuading her subjects to embrace the new faith. Still, with her grandson, St.Vladimir (July 15), she is regarded as the founder of Russian Christianity.

July 12

In the first century, St. Veronica, who is said to have wiped Jesus' face with a cloth when he was on the way to Calvary. The first report of this event is from the fourth century. Her story was connected with a widespread devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus in the Middle Ages.

In 1073, St. John Gualbert, abbot of Vallombrosa. John entered the monastery of San Miniato in Florence, but left after four years to seek a more austere was of life. He visited St. Romuald’s hermitage at Camaldoli, and then set up his own monastery at Vallombrosa, about twenty miles east of Florence. His monks were to live austere lives devoted to contemplation. He incorporated lay brothers into the life of his monastery. His congregation grew to fifty monasteries and joined the Benedictine Confederation in 1966.

July 13

The commemoration of the prophet Joel and the scribe Ezra.

In the first century, St. Silas, a Jewish Christian who went on a mission from the church of Jerusalem to Antioch, and later accompanied Paul on some of his missionary work. He seems to be the Silvanus mentioned in the First Epistle of Peter as a brother whom Peter knew and could trust.

In 1024, at Bamberg, St. Henry II and his wife, Kunegunda. Henry was the son of Henry the Wrangler, duke of Bavaria. After receiving a clerical eduction, he unexpectedly became Emperor in 1002. Henry and his wife Kunegunda were supporters of monasteries and benefactors of the poor. Henry was sometimes high-handed in his political dealings, but he was genuinely devoted to Christ. Pope Pius X declared him a patron of Benedictine oblates.

In 1926, in Colombia, Blessed Mariano de Jesús Euse Hoyos. He grew up at a time of anticlericalism and was home-schooled by his devout parents. He attended the seminary in Medellín and was ordained in 1872. He spent most of his life as an extremely effective and dedicated parish priest in a rural parish in the mountains.

In 1963, Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, the first Puerto Rican to be declared “blessed". He was a layman. His brother became the first Puerto Rican Benedictine abbot and his sister became a Carmelite. He devoted much of his life to promoting appreciation of the liturgy.

July 14

In 1610, in Peru, St. Francis Solano. He joined the Observant Franciscans in Spain and when he was forty was sent to Peru. He ministered in remote areas for twenty years, putting into practice the reforms ordered by St. Turibius of Mogrovejo (March 23). He spent his last years in Lima, where he was very critical of the lifestyle of the wealthy elite.

In 1920, Juanita Solar y Fernández. She became a Carmelite at the age of twenty, after reading St. Thérèse’s (October 1) Life of a Soul and the works of Elizabeth of the Trinity (November 8). She received the name of Teresa of Jesus, but died before her novitiate was over, after making profession on her deathbed. She was the first native-born citizen of Chile to be canonized.

July 15

At Lyons, in 1274, St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the church. He was born near Orvieto in 1221 and joined the Franciscans. He studied in Paris and became a professor there. He was elected minister general of the order in 1257. He worked to bring unity in the order and wrote the definitive life of St. Francis. He was made a cardinal in 1273, and in 1274 played a major part in the council of Lyons, which aimed to bring union between the Eastern and Western churches. He left to posterity a large number of writings in which theology and spirituality are inseparable.

In 1015, St. Vladimir of Kiev. He was educated under the supervision of his grandmother, St. Olga. With the help of Viking adventurers he captured Kiev. He launched a war against the Poles, which brought him into contact with the West and Christianity. He converted to Christianity and invited missionaries from Constantinople to convert his people.

In 1570, near the Canary Islands, Blessed Ignatius Azevedo and thirty-nine companions. This band of Jesuits was sailing to Brazil to serve in the missions. Their ship was captured by French Huguenot privateers who killed all the Jesuits, but spared the rest of the passengers and crew.

In 1851, in Paris, Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey. As a girl she helped Catholics escape the anticlerical revolutionaries. When religious orders were re-established she tried several religious orders before establishing her own order dedicated to education, the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cluny. The order grew rapidly both in France and in the French colonies, which eventually became their primary focus. They were particularly devoted to serving the black population.

July 16

The commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

In 784, St. Fulrad, abbot of Saint-Denis near Paris. Besides looking out for his monastery, he was an important advisor to the Carolingian court.

At Einsiedeln, in Switzerland, the commemoration of Our Lady of the Hermits.

1590, Blessed Bartholomew dos Mártires, bishop. He was a Dominican and taught philosophy for many years. He was appointed archbishop of Braga. He made regular pastoral visitations throughout his vast diocese and gave away almost all the money he had to the poor. He wrote a catechism and other books on pastoral practice. At the Council of Trent he was an energetic advocate of reform, and he implemented its reform measures in his diocese before retiring to a Dominican priory.

In 1846, St. Mary-Magdalen (Julie) Postel. She was educated at a Benedictine convent and decided to devote her life to God. She opened a school in her hometown near Cherbourg. During the French Revolution, she made a secret chapel in her home where priests could say Mass. She and some companions started a religious order and took over a dilapidated monastery.

July 17

At Milan, around 400, St. Marcellina. She was older sister and advisor of St. Ambrose. She vowed virginity before Pope Liberius, and St. Ambrose dedicated his treatise on virginity to her.

In 855, at Rome, St. Leo IV, pope. A monk of the monastery of San Martino, near St. Peter’s in Rome, he was elected pope when the Saracens were threatening Rome. He strengthened the defenses of the city by building the Leonine wall and organized a fleet that defeated the Saracens in a sea battle off Ostia in 849. He was a vigorous leader in ecclesiastical matters. He was concerned that the liturgy be properly celebrated and made many gifts to churches. He was a saintly person admired for his personal integrity.

In 1945, in Papua New Guinea, Blessed Peter ToRot. He was the son of a chief, and became a leader among the catechists in his area. He married in 1936. In 1942, the Japanese imprisoned all the Christian missionaries, but allowed Peter to organize prayer services, distribute communion, celebrate baptisms and care for the poor. In 1945 the Japanese imposed a more rigorous regime, forbidding all Christian worship and reintroducing polygamy. Opposing this, Peter was arrested and executed by lethal injection.

In 1960, Blessed Paul Peter Gojdic, bishop and martyr. He was born in Slovakia, near the Ukranian border, the son of a Greek Catholic priest. He was ordained a celibate diocesan priest, but then became a Basilian monk. Just after he made his monastic profession, he was appointed bishop in charge of the Greek Catholic eparchy of Presov. In 1948 the Communists tried to force all Greek Catholics to assimilate into the Russian Orthodox church. When Paul refused to renounce his ties with Rome, he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. After years of mistreatment he died of cancer.

July 18

In 1614, in Rome, St. Camillus de Lellis. As a youth he served in the army and gambled away his fortune. He spent some time in a hospital, and when he was well, stayed on as a nurse and then administrator. He became a priest and set about establishing his own hospitals. He founded an order which aimed to practice “old-fashioned charity but with up-to-date technical skill.”

About 390, in Nitria, St. Pambo. He was born in Egypt about 303. He was one of the first disciples of St. Ammon (October 4). He was ordained about 340 by St. Macarius of Egypt (January 2) and was known especially for his restraint in speech. He believed that the monastic life and living a charitable life in the world are “both perfect before God. There are other roads to perfection besides being a monk.”

In 1123, St. Bruno of Segni. He studied at Bologna and Siena, and was appointed bishop of Segni by Pope St. Gregory VII (May 25). He worked energetically on behalf of the Gregorian Reform and the First Crusade. After meeting opposition to his reforming efforts, he joined Monte Cassino, where he became abbot in 1107. Paschal II later told him to resign the abbacy and return to his diocese. Bruno was a leading commentator on the Bible.

July 19

In Cappadocia, in 397, St. Macrina the Younger. She was the eldest of the ten children of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. When her fiancé died, she vowed not to marry. She helped raise her brothers, St. Basil (January 2), St. Gregory of Nyssa (January 10/March 9) and St. Peter of Sebaste. She and her mother turned their home into a monastery for women, to which she welcomed impoverished women and servants.

In Egypt, in 450, St. Arsenius. He was born in Rome, but served in the court of the Emperor Theodosius in Constantinople. He left there to become a monk at Scetis in Lower Egypt, where he lived a very solitary life. Many sayings are attributed to him and one of his letters survives. He urged monks to attachment to their cells, perseverance, abstinence from food and sleep, and constant prayer.

In 1679, near Chester, St. John Plessington. He studied for the priesthood at Valladolid, and returned to England in 1662, ministering at the shrine of St. Winefride (November 3) at Holywell. He then became tutor to a Catholic family and ministered to neighboring Catholics. He was arrested in 1679, condemned, hanged, drawn and quartered. In his speech from the scaffold, he asked God “to bless the king, grant him a prosperous reign here and a crown of glory hereafter.”

In Guadalajara, Spain, in 1936, three Carmelite martyrs, María Pilar of St. Francis Borgia, Teresa of the Child Jesus, and Marîa Angela of Saint Joseph. They were shot by the Red Militia.

July 20

The commemoration of the prophet Elijah.

In 430, St. Aurelius, bishop of Carthage. Aurelius was the leader of the church of North Africa and presided over a number of synods dealing with the Donatist and Pelagian heresies. He introduced the chanting of psalms during Mass to encourage greater lay involvement. He was a friend of St. Augustine who held him in high esteem.

In 1857, in Vietnam, St. Joseph Díaz Samjuro. He was born in Spain and became a Dominican priest. He spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Vietnam. He became a bishop there and during a persecution was arrested and executed. He founded a center to look after abandoned children which is still in operation.

July 21

In 1619, while on business in Portugal, St. Laurence of Brindisi, doctor of the church. He was born of Venetian parents in Brindisi, in the Kingdom of Naples. He became a Capuchin and a scholar of languages. He was a very successful and dedicated preacher in Italy and then in Austria and Bohemia. Laurence became minister general of the Capuchins and held other offices in his order. He was chaplain of the army which repulsed the Turks at the battle of Szekes-Fehervar in 1601. His spirituality was Christ-centered and exalted Mary.

In the late third century St. Victor of Marseilles, martyr. Little is known about him, but Cassian founded a monastery dedicated to him at Marseilles. Excavations have uncovered early fourth century tombs on the site.

July 22

In the first century, St. Mary Magdalene, who was the leader of the women who accompanied Jesus and the apostles on their journeys. She was present at Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Jesus sent her to announce the resurrection to the others, and so she was called the "apostle of the apostles." In the West, her story was conflated with that of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet and with that of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Sts. Jerome and Gregory the Great accepted this identification, but St. Bernard and other early Cistercians did not. A medieval legend has it that after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene settled in France, but this has no historical basis.

In 668, at the abbey of Fontenelle in Normandy, St. Wandrille, abbot. He was a married court official when he and his wife decided to separate and become religious. He was successively a monk under St. Baudry at Montfaucon, a hermit, a visitor at St. Columban’s monastery at Bobbio, and a monk of the abbey of Romain-Moûtier. On the basis of this wide experience, he founded the monastery of Fontenelle, which followed the Rule of St. Columban.

From 1934 to 1939, during the Spanish Civil War, several hundred martyrs, killed for their faith, among the thousands of priests and religious executed during that time.

July 23

In 1373, at Rome, St. Bridget of Sweden. She was the daughter of a powerful nobleman and married another, with whom she had eight children. When her husband died, Bridget spent three years at the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra. She had visions, and as a result of one built a monastery at Vadstena, which became the beginning of the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Each monastery in the order was to include both nuns and monks. It spread throughout Europe to number 70 monasteries. Bridget moved to Rome where she worked to get the pope to return to Rome from Avignon and to bring peace between France and England. Throughout her life, Bridget was active in helping the poor.

At Ravenna, at an unknown date, St. Apollinaris, bishop and martyr.

In 435, at Marseilles, St. John Cassian. He was probably born in Eastern Europe. He went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and became a monk in Bethlehem, then went to study the monastic life of the Desert Monks in Egypt. Around 400 he was ordained a deacon by St. John Chrysostom (September 13) in Constantinople. After John Chrysostom was deposed, Cassian joined a delegation who traveled to Rome on his behalf. Around 415, Cassian founded two monasteries in Marseilles. He wrote two books on monasticism and spirituality, the Conferences and the Institutes, which were very influential.

In 1976, at Presov, in Slovakia, Blessed Basil Hopko, bishop and martyr. He was ordained in 1929 for the Greek Catholic church and served in a parish in Prague, and later in the seminary in Presov. He was made an auxiliary bishop in 1947. In 1950 the Communist Party declared the Greek-Catholic church no longer in existence and Bishop Hopko was arrested and tortured. He was sentenced to prison for fifteen years, and there was given small doses of arsenic to undermine his health. Released in 1964, he served as auxiliary bishop until his death.

July 24

In Ireland, probably in the fourth century, St. Declan, who evangelized the area around Ardmore in County Waterford.

In Russia, in 1015, Sts. Boris and Gleb. They were the sons of St. Vladimir (July 15). Their brother Svyatopolk had them killed. The Russian church honored them as martyrs because they refused to resort to violence when they were unjustly attacked.

In 1292, St. Kunegunda, Queen of Poland. She was the daughter of Margaret of Hungary (January 18). When she was to be married to Boleslaw, the future king of Poland, she asked for a salt mine as her dowry, since she knew it was something the people of Poland needed.

In 1446, in Ferrara, Blessed John of Tossignano, bishop. He studied law, then joined the Gesuati, a lay congregation dedicated to works of practical charity. He also translated parts of the Bible and writings of St. Gregory the Great (September 3) and St. Bernard (August 20) into Italian. He became bishop of Ferrara in 1431, and hosted the Council of Basel which met there in 1437-1439.

July 25

In the first century, St. James the Greater, apostle. He was John’s brother and followed Jesus with him. The two brothers witnessed the cure of Peter’s mother-in-law, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus’ transfiguration, and Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane. He was executed by Herod Agrippa about 44 AD, the first of the apostles to die. Tradition says that his body was transported to Spain and buried at Compostela, which became a great pilgrimage shrine. In his role as apostle and martyr, he is depicted with a cross or a sword. As a pilgrim, he carries a pilgrim's staff and scrip decorated with scallop shells. As patron of the reconquest of Spain from the Moors his emblem is a knight on a white horse.

Probably in the 3rd century, St. Christopher. There undoubtedly was an early Christian martyr named Christopher, but nothing is known for sure of his life. The Golden Legend told of him carrying a child across a river; the child turned out to be Christ. For this reason Christopher became the patron saint of travelers

In 408, St. Olympias. She was tutored by a well-educated and devout woman. She married, but her husband died soon afterward. At Santa Sophia in Constantinople she established a community for women who wanted to devote themselves to church service. She was a friend of St. John Chrysostom, who urged her community to found a hospital and orphanage. When John Chrysostom was sent into exile, she continued to support him, and for that his successor Atticus suppressed her community.

In 1471, at Angers, Blessed John Soreth. As prior general of the Carmelites, he worked to reform the order. He drew up a rule for Carmelite tertiaries.

July 26

In the first century, Sts. Joachim and Anne. They are not mentioned in the Scriptures, but their names are given in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James.

In 1644, in Vietnam, Blessed Andrew of Phú Yên. He was a catechist, trained by Fr. Alexandre de Rhodes (cf. February 2). He was arrested for being a Christian and beheaded. He was nineteen years old, the first Vietnamese Christian to die for his faith.

In 1942, Blessed Titus Brandsma. He was born in Friesland of devout parents. He earned a doctorate then joined the Carmelites. He taught at the Carmelite seminary in the Netherlands for fifteen years, then became a professor at Nijmegen, specializing in Dutch mysticism. Against the Nazis, he defended the Jews and Catholic schools. He was arrested and eventually sent to Dachau, where he was executed by lethal injection.

In Malta, in 1962, St. George Preca. He was ordained a priest and organized a group of celibate men whose aim was to spread the gospel in their places of work. Although they met with some opposition, the movement proved extremely effective. George himself tried to avoid the limelight.

July 27

In Nicomedia, probably in the early fourth century, St. Pantaleon, martyr, who was venerated as one of the fourteen holy helpers. Legend said he was a physician who treated the sick without requiring payment. A number of churches claim to have relics of his blood; the ones at Ravello are said to liquefy on this day. His emblem is a pharmacist's vial.

At Rome, in 431, St. Celestine I, pope. He opposed the Novatianists, a rigorist, schismatic sect. He built the basilica of Santa Sabina and restored Santa Maria in Trastevere. He exercised authority over the entire church, intervening in disputes among Christians in North Africa, Thessalonica and Gaul, and sending emissaries to England and Ireland. He held a synod in Rome in 430 which condemned Nestorius and helped prepare the way for the Council of Ephesus, which the next year declared Mary the Mother of God.

In 916, St. Clement of Ohrid and companions. Clement was the leader in the establishment of the Bulgarian church under King Boris I.

July 28

In 198 AD, St. Victor I, pope. He was an African. He urged all Christian communities to follow the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter. Victor asked Marcia, a mistress of the emperor Commodus, to secure the release of the Christians condemned to work in the mines in Sardinia.

About 565, in Brittany, St. Samson of Dol. He was ordained a priest, then became a monk, perhaps on Caldey Island. He ministered in Ireland and Cornwall before going to Brittany, where he seems to have lived and worked as a monk, bishop and missionary.

In 1936, in Spain St. Pedro Poveda Castroverde, martyr. He was ordained a priest in 1897, and after further studies ministered among the very poor in the town of Guadix. This aroused opposition, so he moved to Asturias where he devoted himself to training Catholic teachers. In spite of his forward-working educational vision, he was arrested by Republican troops, interrogated for a day, then murdered.

July 29

In the first century, St. Martha. She is mentioned three times in the gospel: when she asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her; at the raising of Lazarus; and just before the passion, when Martha, Mary and Lazarus entertained Jesus at dinner. Later legend had her travel to the south of France. As patron of householders, she is depicted with a bunch of keys or a ladle.

In Troyes, in 479, St. Lupus, bishop. He was married to a sister of St. Hilary of Arles. After some years of marriage they parted to become religious. Lupus became a monk at Lérins, and shortly afterwards, bishop of Troyes. In 429 he accompanied St. Germanus of Auxerre on a mission to England to prevent the spread of Pelagianism, a heresy which downplayed the role of grace.

In 1030, St. Olaf, the patron saint of Norway. After spending his youth as a marauding Viking, he became a Christian. In 1016 he became King of Norway. He insisted on the rule of law. He wanted to make Norway a Christian country, but his use of force alienated the people.

In 1099, Blessed Urban II, pope. He studied under St. Bruno (October 6) and became a monk, and later prior, at Cluny. When he was elected pope in 1088, he had to cope with an anti-pope and the hostility of Emperor Henry IV. He carried on the reform policies of Gregory VII by holding synods to attack simony, lay investiture and clerical marriage. In 1095 at Clermont, he proclaimed the “Truce of God” as law and, in response to a request from the Byzantine emperor, called for the First Crusade.

July 30

About 450, at Imola, St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor of the church. He was a deacon at Imola before being appointed archbishop of Ravenna. As archbishop he built churches, reformed the church, championed St. Leo the Great’s teaching on the Incarnation, and was a renowned preacher.

In 1942, St. Leopold Mandic. His parents were Croatian. He became a Capuchin priest and served in Capuchin monasteries in Venice, Zara and Padua. He had hoped to dedicate himself to the reunion of the Eastern and Western churches, but his main apostolate turned out to be hearing confessions.

In 1959, in Mexico, St. Mary of Jesus Venegas de la Torre. She was born in a village in the state of Jalisco. She joined a group of women dedicated to caring of the sick. When they became a religious order, she wrote their constitutions. She spent her life as a religious dedicated to serving the sick.

July 31

In Rome, in 1556, St. Ignatius Loyola. He was born of a prominent family in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa. He led a fairly wild life. He became a soldier and was injured in the French siege of Pamplona. During his convalescence he underwent a conversion. He visited Montserrat and spent a year as a hermit at Manresa, during which time he struggled with scruples and wrote the Spiritual Exercises. He and some companions began to study for the priesthood in Spain and then in Paris. From this core of companions emerged the Society of Jesus. Ignatius became head of the Society and lived in Rome. His body is buried in the church of the Gesù.

In 448, at Ravenna, St. Germanus of Auxerre. He studied law and became a public official. In 418 he was chosen as bishop of Auxerre. He went to England in 429 and 445 to counter the teachings of Pelagius. He died in Ravenna while on a mission to the imperial court on behalf of the Bretons.

In 1367, St. John Colombini. He married and became a successful merchant in Siena. When he was fifty, he underwent a conversion inspired by a book of saints’ lives given to him by his wife. He turned his house into a hospice and gave away large amounts of money. Others followed him, and they formed a confraternity known as the “Gesuati.” They developed into a congregation of laymen who lived austerely and were devoted to the care of the sick.

In 1860, St. Justin de Jacobis, bishop. Born in Italy, he joined the Vincentians. He was sent as a missionary to Ethiopia. He was a humble man who worked tirelessly in his mission in the midst of serious political unrest. He established a viable Catholic church of the Ethiopian rite.