October 1

In 1897, in the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, St. Thérèse Martin. Her mother died when she was four and she was raised by her sister, Pauline, who entered the Carmelites when Thérèse was nine. Two other sisters entered the same convent. After gaining special permission from the pope, Thérèse herself entered the community at the age of fifteen. She embraced a “little way” to holiness based on humility and trust in God, a way all people could follow. She devoted her life and prayer to saving souls, especially priests'. In the last months of her life, she suffered an agonizing illness and trials of faith; she died of tuberculosis at 23. She left behind three autobiographical texts, several hundred letters, poems and other writings.

In the mid sixth century, in Constantinople, St. Romanus, a convert from Judaism. He was a deacon who wrote a large body of exquisite hymns.

In 566, St. Nicetius of Trier. He was born in Auvergne, became a monk, and then was appointed bishop of Trier. He was a zealous bishop who was not afraid to criticize royalty for their lapses.

In 1900, in Italy, Blessed Luigi Maria Monti. He had a woodcarving shop where other devout men gathered. They formed a group dedicated to helping the poor and sick. Luigi spent some years as a novice in a religious congregation called the Sons of Mary Immaculate, but left to dedicate himself to caring for the poor in Rome. He studied nursing at La Sapienza University. Others joined him, and in 1904 his group, The Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception, received papal approval.

October 2

The feast of the Holy Guardian Angels.

In 679, St. Leger, bishop of Autun. He was abbot of the monastery of Saint-Maxence near Poitiers, which he reformed using the Rule of St. Benedict as a guide. As bishop, he restored order to his troubled diocese and reformed the monasteries within it. He was murdered in the course of a political struggle.

In 1879, Blessed Antony Chevrier. He was a priest of the diocese of Lyons who worked among the poor. A group of other priests came to live with him and share his work.
October 3

In 1923, at Maredsous in Belgium, Blessed Columba Marmion. He was born of an Irish father and a French mother. He studied for the priesthood in Dublin and Rome and was ordained in 1881. He served as a parish priest, chaplain and seminary professor for five years, then entered Maredsous. He helped found the abbey on Mont César at Louvain, serving as prior and professor there. He preached retreats and edited several publications, including the Revue Bénédictine. He was elected abbot in 1909. He helped repopulate the Monastery of the Dormition in Jerusalem after the British expelled the German monks. His retreats formed the basis for his several popular books. He was beatified in 2000.

In 1828, in Bavaria, Blessed Utto, the founder and first abbot of Metten, which was suppressed in 1803, but repopulated in 1830. Many monks came from Metten to the United States to serve German immigrants, and from that beginning arose the American-Cassinese Congregation.

In 959, near Namur, St. Gerard of Brogne. He was ordained in 919 and founded a monastery on his estate at Brogne. He spent several decades reforming many monasteries according to the Rule of St. Benedict.

In 1281, St. Thomas Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford. He was born into a prominent family, and studied at Oxford, Paris and Orleans. He was ordained and served several terms as chancellor of Oxford, and in 1275 was appointed bishop of Hereford. He was an energetic and effective bishop, affable and austere, who worked to assure high quality pastoral care. He quarreled with Archbishop Peckam of Canterbury, who excommunicated him. He went to Rome to appeal his case and died there. He was canonized in 1320 after a thorough inquiry.

October 4

In 1226, at Assisi, St. Francis. Francis was born in 1182, the son of a cloth merchant. He was a worldly young man. At 20, he became a soldier. He spent one year as a prisoner of war, the next as an invalid. He underwent a conversion and began caring for lepers. He broke with his father and spent several years as a solitary, praying, helping the poor, begging, and rebuilding three churches: San Damiano, St. Peter’s, and St. Mary of the Angels or the Portiuncula. In 1208, in the Portiuncula, a reading from the gospel of Matthew clarified his vocation: he was to have no possessions and preach the gospel. Many followers gathered around him and the organization of the order gradually took shape. St. Clare (August 11) and Francis founded a female branch, the Second Order, in 1212, and in 1221, he founded the Third Order. He received the stigmata at La Verna in 1224. While visiting St. Clare he composed the Canticle of the Sun; he had the verse about “Sister Death” sung to him as he was dying.

About 350, St. Ammon, a monk of Nitria, who founded nearby Kellia for monks who wished to live in greater solitude. When Ammon died, St. Antony (January 17) is said to have had a vision of his soul ascending to heaven.

In 1867, in New Orleans, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. He was into born into a devout family in Bavaria. By the time he was eleven, he had decided to become a priest. Near the end of his seminary studies, he applied to the Redemptorists, who sent him to New York for his novitiate. He was ordained in 1845. He proved to be a holy, dedicated and effective priest. His first assignment was under St. John Neumann (January 5) in Pittsburgh. He served in parishes in Maryland, in a mission band, and then in parishes in Detroit and New Orleans. While ministering to victims of yellow fever, he became ill and died at the age of 48.

October 5

In 1399, at Nuremberg, Blessed Raymund of Capua. He came from a noble family, studied at Bologna, and joined the Dominicans. He served in Rome, Florence and Siena, where he met St. Catherine (April 19) and became her guide. Raymund supported her efforts to launch a crusade against the Turks and end the Western Schism. He later became Master General of the Dominicans and worked to reinvigorate the order.

In 1347, in the convent of the Hospitallers of St. John at Beaulieu, in France, St. Flora. A fifteenth-century life of the saint reports that she was devoted to prayer but suffered demonic attacks, especially temptations against chastity. One story says that the prioress challenged her as she was sneaking some of the monastery’s bread to poor people; when she opened her cloak, the bread had turned to flowers.

In 1926, Blessed Bartholomew Longo. With his wife, Countess Anna De Fusco, he worked to evangelize people in the area of Pompeii, where he established a shrine, orphanages, a printing house and other enterprises.

In 1938, in Krakow, St. Faustina Kowalska. She was born into a poor family, and after working as a maid, joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at 19. She worked as a lay sister in various jobs while developing her interior life. She had a vision of Divine Mercy, in which multi-colored rays of mercy flowed from Christ’s heart. She kept a diary, which has been published. Pope John Paul II dedicated the Second Sunday after Easter to the Divine Mercy.

October 6

In 1101, St. Bruno, the founder of the Carthusians. He was a brilliant student at Rheims, Tours and Cologne, and then became director of the school at Rheims. After twenty years at that post he became chancellor of the diocese. After unsuccessfully opposing the unworthy bishop, he decided to become a monk. He and some companions spent time at Molesmes with St. Robert (April 29), but Bruno wanted more solitude. His former pupil St. Hugh of Grenoble (April 1) gave Bruno La Chartreuse. Another former pupil, Pope Urban II, called him to Rome. He founded several communities in Italy, and died at La Torre.

At Agen in southern France, in the third century, the martyrdom of St. Faith. In the fifth century, a basilica was built for her relics at Agen. In the ninth century her relics were stolen and taken to the monastery of Conques on the route to Compostela. She was widely venerated throughout the Middle Ages.

In 1849, in Canada, Blessed Mary-Rose Durocher, She was born in 1811 into a family of ten children, six of whom took vows. In 1843 she founded the Sisters of the Most Holy Names of Jesus and Mary to provide Catholic education in Canada. They operated many schools on the west coast of the United States.

October 7

The Feast of the Holy Rosary. Members of Rosary confraternities celebrated a feast in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, usually on the first Sunday in October. When the Turks were defeated at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, the feast was celebrated in thanksgiving for that victory.

In the first centuries of the church, St. Justina, a martyr, who is venerated at Padua.

In 1152, in Spain, St. Martin of Valparaiso. He founded the monastery there and joined it to the Cistercian Order.

October 8

The commemoration of the prophet Simeon, who, when he saw the infant Christ, declared, “Now, Lord, you may dismiss your servant in peace.”

In Antioch, in the first centuries of the church, St. Pelagia, martyr. Around her a vast web of legend was woven. The stories told how she had been a great sinner, then converted and lived a life of penitence.

At Sirmium, before the fifth century, the martyrdom of St. Demetrius, a deacon.

October 9

The commemoration of the patriarch Abraham, father of all believers.

In the first century, St. Dionysius the Areopagite. He became a Christian when Paul visited Athens. Late legend has him as the first bishop of Athens. Later still he was connected with a third-century martyr named Dionysius who was a missionary bishop in Paris. Around 500, an unknown writer, perhaps a Syrian monk, wrote under the pen name Dionysius the Areopagite. These influential writings are now called the works of Pseudo-Dionysius.

In 1581, in Valencia, St. Louis Bertrán. He was a very conscientious Dominican priest. Because of his heroic work among plague victims in Valencia in 1557, St. Teresa of Avila (October 15) approached him regarding her projected reform. From 1562-1568, he worked as a missionary in Columbia and the Caribbean islands. He returned to Spain, where he lobbied on behalf of the native people in America and promoted the missions.

In 1609, in Italy, St. John Leonardi. A native of Lucca, he became a priest and served in the hospitals and prisons of the city. A group of young lay people helped him. He was assiduous in preaching and implementing the teachings and reforms of the Council of Trent. St. Philip Neri (May 26) and St. Joseph Calasanctius (August 25) helped him form a religious congregation. He promoted the Forty Hours’ Devotion and frequent communion.

In 1934, in Spain, St. Cyril Bertrand Sanz Tejedor and companions, martyrs. They were members of the Brothers of Christian Schools and were killed during a rebellion. The man in charge of their execution testified to the calm dignity they showed as they were led to execution.

October 10

In 1572, in Rome, St. Francis Borgia. He was born in Spain in 1510, the great-grandson of both Pope Alexander VI and King Ferdinand of Aragon, and cousin of Emperor Charles V. He went into imperial service when he was 18 and married the next year. The death of Empress Isabella in 1539 brought home to him the vanity of earthly honor. He was appointed viceroy of Catalonia and proved to be efficient and honest. He came under the influence of St. Peter of Alcántara (October 19) and Blessed Peter Favre (August 11), and his spiritual life deepened. When his wife died in 1546, he made provision for his eight children and then joined the Jesuits. For the rest of his life he felt a strong tension between his demanding administrative duties and his desire for seclusion. He was elected general of the Society of Jesus in 1565. He developed Gregorian University, began the building of Gesù church, established the Jesuits in several countries, and inaugurated their missionary work in America. He wrote many spiritual books both for lay people and for his fellow Jesuits.

In 644, St. Paulinus of York, bishop. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to England to help St. Augustine. He was instrumental in the conversion of the king and people of Northumbria. He died as bishop of Rochester.

In 1881, in Khartoum, St. Daniel Comboni. He was born in Brescia, in 1831, the only surviving child of a poor family. He studied theology in order to become a missionary priest in Africa. He went to the Sudan in 1857. He believed that Africa should be converted by drawing on the best aspects of indigenous culture. He shuttled back and forth between Africa and Italy and founded missionary institutes for both men and women. He was appointed bishop of central Africa in 1872, and bishop of Khartoum in 1877. He wrote learned studies on central Africa, lobbied on behalf of the African people and missions, and kept up a voluminous correspondence.

October 11

In Ireland, about 600, St. Kenneth or Canice. His legend has it that he was born in Derry, became a monk under St. Cadoc (September 23) in Wales, and studied with St. Finnian (December 12) at Clonard. He did mission work in Scotland, where he was an associate of St. Columba, and founded a monastery at Kilkenny, whose cathedral is dedicated to him.

In 965, at Rheims, St. Bruno of Cologne. He was the son of Henry the Fowler and brother of Emperor Otto I. He was made abbot of Lorsch and Corvey when he was still a young deacon, and he reformed both monasteries. He was elected archbishop of Cologne in 953, where he sought to reinvigorate the clergy and monasteries. Later, he was made Duke of Lorraine and extended his reforms there as well.

In 1592, in Italy, St. Alexander Sauli. He joined the Barnabites at seventeen and taught at Pavia. He became the leader of the Barnabite order, and then bishop of Aleria in Corsica, where he worked effectively for twenty years. He lived in great poverty. He was a friend of St. Philip Neri (May 26).

In 1887, St. Mary Soledad. She was born in Madrid, was educated by the Daughters of Charity, and eventually became head of the Handmaids of Mary, who devote themselves to nursing the sick in their homes free of charge..

Tomorrow is the name day of our confrere Fr. Kenneth Hein. He is recommended to our charitable prayers.

October 12

In 709, in England, St. Wilfrid, bishop. When he was fourteen, he went to Lindisfarne for four years. He wasn’t satisfied with the Celtic customs there and went to France and Rome, where he developed a more politically involved model of the bishop’s role. Returning to England, he became abbot of Ripon, and introduced the continental ways there. After the Synod of Whitby, he was appointed bishop of Northumbria. He endowed a large monastery at Hexham. He ran afoul of both the king and Archbishop Theodore; on his way to Rome to plead his case he did missionary work in Friesland. Upon his return to England, he had further difficulties with kings, but ended his days as bishop of Hexham.

In 709, in England, St. Wilfrid, bishop. Wilfrid spent four years in the monastery of Lindisfarne, but was unsatisfied with their Celtic customs and moved on to France and Rome, developing a politically active model of the role of the bishop. Returning to England, he became abbot of Ripon, and introduced there the monastic and liturgical practices of Rome and Gaul. After the Synod of Whitby, he was appointed bishop of Northumbria. Because of conflicts with Archbishop Theodore (September 19) and several rulers, he spent a great deal of his life in exile. He ended his days as bishop at Hexham.

In 670, St. Ethelburga, abbess of Barking.

October 13

In 1066, near Westminster, St. Edward the Confessor. Raised in Normandy, he became king of England in 1042. He was an effective king who defended his country and the crown. He appointed worthy bishops and refounded the abbey at Westminster, where his relics remain.

In 909, in France, St. Gerald of Aurillac. He was a nobleman who received a clerical education. He lived frugally, said lauds and attended Mass daily, and ruled his territory justly. He founded a monastery at Aurillac. According to St. Odo of Cluny (May 11), his biographer, “The poor and the wronged always had free access to him, nor did they need to bring the slightest gift to recommend their cause.”

In 1503, at Trino, in Italy, Blessed Maddalena Panattieri. She was a beautiful noblewoman who became a Third Order Dominican when she was twenty. She began by teaching children, but soon she was speaking to their parents and clergy. She often criticized usury.

In 1916, Blessed Honoratus Kozminski. He came from a devout family, but gave up his religion while in college. He joined the Capuchins and did pastoral work around Warsaw. Placed under house arrest by the Russian government, he devoted himself to hearing confessions and giving spiritual guidance. He founded lay confraternities for people wishing to join a religious community during a period in which the Russians had suppressed all religious orders in Poland.

October 14

In Rome, in 222, St. Callistus, pope and martyr. Although most of what we know about him is from his critics, especially St. Hippolytus (August 13), Callistus seems to have defended Catholic doctrine and church discipline, though he was no rigorist. His tomb was discovered in 1960.

About 390, St. Justus of Lyons, bishop. He was known as a severe upholder of discipline and doctrine. At one point he abdicated his episcopal office and went to live an eremitical life in Egypt.

October 15

At Alba de Tormes, in 1582, St. Teresa of Avila, doctor of the church. She was born in 1515. She had a happy childhood and was a charming young woman. Her mother died when she was thirteen, and Teresa was sent to a convent school. She joined a large, easy-going Carmelite convent. When she took ill, she left the convent to recover and was much influenced by reading Francisco de Osuna’s Third Spiritual Alphabet. After three years she returned to the convent, where she had great difficulty praying, but began developing her ideas about convent life: she wanted small, poor, enclosed communities which would pray for the unity of the church. She fought for her ideas and in 1562 founded the convent of St. Joseph in Avila, the first of many she established. As her spiritual life deepened, she began to write, and in spite of much opposition, she collaborated with St. John of the Cross in reforming the male branch of the Carmelite Order.

About 790, St. Thecla of Kitzingen. She was an associate of St. Boniface (June 5), and accompanied him to Germany on his mission to the Saxons. After living under St. Lioba (September 28) at Bischofheim, she became abbess of Ochsenfurt, and then of Kitzingen.

In 1584, the martyrdom of St. Richard Gwyn. He was married, had six children, and worked as a school teacher. He was arrested a number of times for his adherence to the Catholic faith, and eventually hanged, drawn and quartered at Wrexham. His wife told the court that condemned him that she was ready to die with him.

October 16

In 650, St. Gall, who was born in Ireland and became a monk at Bangor under St. Comgall (May 11) and St. Columban (November 23). He went with St. Columban as a missionary to Gaul. When Columban moved to Bobbio, Gall stayed behind and became a hermit in Switzerland. Gradually disciples gathered around him and a renowned monastery bearing his name later grew up at the site of one of his hermitages.

In 786, St. Lull, who accompanied his cousin, St. Boniface (June 5), on the German mission. He succeeded Boniface as bishop of Mainz. He was a zealous bishop and a promoter of learning.

At Trebnitz, in 1243, St. Hedwig. She and her husband, the duke of Silesia, founded many religious houses, including a convent for Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz.

In 1690, in France, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. When she joined the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial in 1671 she was already advanced in the ways of prayer. A series of visions of Christ instructed her to spread the love of Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Her efforts to do so met with much opposition, but she received support from Blessed Claude de la Colombière (February 15). Just before she died she declared, “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”

In 1755, in Italy, St. Gerard Majella. As a young man he was apprenticed to a tailor, but joined the Redemptorists as a lay brother. He worked many miracles, and after his death was widely revered as the patron of women in childbirth.

October 17

About 105, in Rome, St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. He was arrested and sent to Rome to be executed. On the way, he was welcomed by members of various churches and wrote seven surviving letters. One letter to the church of Rome asked Christians there not to interfere with his impending martyrdom. In his other letters, addressed to churches in Asia Minor, he urged unity with the bishop and in the Eucharist and stressed the reality of Christ’s humanity and divinity. He told the Ephesians, “You are all bearers of God, bearers of his temple, bearers of Christ, and so you are adorned with no other ornament than the counsels of Jesus Christ.”

In 409, in the Egyptian Desert, St. John Kolobos (“The Dwarf”). He was formed in monastic life at Skete under the Abba Ammoes, and when the latter became feeble, John cared for him for twelve years. Later John moved to Nitria and formed a community of disciples. John taught that a monk should stay in his cell, keep God ever before his mind, and discipline his feelings and inclinations.

In 1794, at Valenciennes, eleven Ursuline sisters, who were guillotined for operating a Catholic school.

In the same year, at Laval, nineteen priests and religious, who were among hundreds executed in that region for their faith.

October 18

In the first century, St. Luke the evangelist. Luke wrote his carefully planned Gospel for a Gentile audience. The parables of the Prodigal Son and the Crafty Steward, which occur only in his gospel, are examples of his storytelling skill. He highlights the place of Jerusalem in the plan of salvation, Jesus' mercy to sinners and his concern for outcasts. He is a patron saint of the medical profession and of painters.

In 1918, in Uganda, the martyrdom of Blessed Daudi Okelo and Jildo Irwa, catechists. They were converted as young men by Colomboni missionaries, and put in charge of a catechetical program in a dangerous area. When the two refused to quit their mission work, a group of anti-Christian thugs killed them.

October 19

In Canada, Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, four other Jesuit missionaries, and two missionary helpers. Amid great hardships, they did missionary work among the Huron Indians. They were murdered by hostile Iroquois between 1642 and 1649.

In Oxford, in 779, St. Frideswide. She was abbess of a double monastery, which was located on the present day site of Christ Church. The town grew up around her monastery.

In Spain, in 1562, St. Peter of Alcántara, He founded an extremely austere branch of Observant Franciscans. He was a friend and supporter of St. Teresa of Avila.

In 1595, St. Philip Howard, who died a prisoner in the Tower of London. He was raised a Protestant, under the tutelage of John Knox. Through the influence of his wife and the persuasion of St. Edmund Campion (December 1), he became a Catholic. He was arrested when he and his wife tried to flee to the continent.

In 1775. In Rome, St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist Order. He wanted to combine austere monastic living and preaching to the poor.


October 20

In Constantinople, in 766, St. Andrew of Crete, monk and martyr. He went to Constantinople to defend the veneration of images and was executed by Emperor Constantine V.

In 1889, in France, Blessed Mary Teresa de Soubiran. She was raised in a wealthy and devout family, and became a Beguine. In 1864 she founded the Society of Mary the Helper, inspired by the spirit of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The sisters devoted themselves to caring for young working women and orphans, and teaching poor children. In 1874, the assistant mother general convinced the congregation to expand very rapidly, and they fell into desperate financial straits. Mary Teresa was wrongly blamed for this and was expelled from the congregation. Mary Teresa eventually died as a member of another order. Later, the congregation righted itself and flourished.

In 1922, at Treviso, in Italy, Saint Bertilla Boscardin. She joined the Sisters of St. Dorothy and was sent to their hospital in Treviso. She seemd inept, so she was assigned to the kitchen. However, when a shortage of help forced her superiors to assign her to the children’s ward, she suddenly blossomed. She died of cancer at the age of thirty-four.

October 21

In 371, in Cyprus, St. Hilarion. He spent some time with St Antony (January 17) in Egypt, then lived as a hermit in his native Palestine. When too many people came to visit and live with him, he took up a wandering life, and moved successively to Egypt, Dalmatia and Cyprus. St. Jerome (September 30) wrote his life a few years after Hilarion died.

About 635, St. Fintan. He founded a monastery at Taghmon in Wexford. He was a staunch upholder of Celtic church customs.

In 1450, in Sicily, Blessed Matthew of Agrigento. He was born in Spain. As a young man he became an Observant Franciscan and a companion of St. Bernardino of Siena (May 20). He preached widely in his native Sicily and promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He also founded Observant Franciscan Houses in Spain, where he had strong support from King Alfonso V of Aragon.

October 22

About 200 AD, St. Albercius, bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia. When he was 72, he journeyed to Rome and Mesopotamia. On his tombstone, he wrote how impressed he was by the faith and Eucharistic practice of the Christians he met.

At Engelberg, the commemoration of St. Eugene, a Roman martyr whose relics are at the abbey.

About 876, in Fiesole, St. Donatus, bishop. He was an Irish monk who stopped by Fiesole on the way back from a pilgrimage to Rome. He was elected bishop there and served in the capacity for several decades. He was a writer and poet, and wrote a life of St. Brigid (February 1), to whom he had a deep devotion.

Tomorrow is the name day of our confrere Fr. Eugene Esch. He is recommended to our charitable prayers.

October 23

In 1456, St. John of Capistrano. Born in the Abruzzi, he studied law at Perugia and became governor of the city in 1412, marrying the daughter of a leading family. During a civil war he was imprisoned. When he was released he became a Franciscan, studied under St. Benardino of Siena (May 20), and became an outstanding preacher and reformer. He wrote a Mirror for the Clergy. He worked in Hungary to convert the Hussites and helped to stop the invading Turks in the battle of Belgrade.

In 524, the death of St. Severinus Boethius. He was a public figure, but retired to a life of scholarship, writing influential theological treatises and translations of Aristotelian logical works. He fell afoul of the the Ostrogoth King Theodoric and was imprisoned. While he was in prison, Boethius wrote the Consolation of Philosophy.

In 877, St. Ignatius, patriarch of Constantinople. He was the son of Emperor Michael I. He was deposed by the Emperor for political reasons and replaced by Photius, who was more amenable to state control of ecclesiastical matters. They were alternately installed and deposed as patriarch several times.

In 1478, at Rome, Blessed Catherine, Queen of Bosnia. Her son, King Tomasevic, was captured by the invading Turks. He offered to convert to Islam, but they beheaded him anyway. Catherine escaped to Rome and there spent the rest of her life praying for her country and for her two sons, who disappeared when their stepbrother was killed.

In 1890, Blessed Arnold Rèche, a Christian Brother, who served the wounded heroically during the Franco-Prussian War and later became a superior and novice-master in his order.

October 24

In 1870, at the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, St. Antony Mary Claret. He was born in Catalonia, became a priest, and worked in Spain for ten years. In 1849 he founded the Claretian Order dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was very devoted to the printed word. From 1850 to 1857 he served as archbishop of Cuba, where he was a zealous leader of the church. He was then appointed confessor to Queen Isabella II of Spain. He preached at court and, whenever he could, elsewhere.

In 446, St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople. He opposed the theological errors of Nestorius. He was known as a wise and gentle churchman, inclined to make peace rather than to argue.

In the sixth century, in Brittany, St. Maelor, an Irish monk who served as missionary there and on the Channel Islands.

In 1915, Blessed Louis Guanella. He was a parish priest in Northern Italy who founded several congregations dedicated to caring for the sick and poor.

In the same year, Blessed Joseph Baldo, who like Blessed Louis Guanella was a zealous priest in North Italy and founded a religious congregation. Blessed Joseph also faced opposition from anticlerical groups. Both men worked to empower the poor.

October 25

In England, in the 16th and 17th centuries, forty martyrs, men, women, priests, religious and lay, who were executed for their faith.

About 285, in Rome, Saints Crispin and Crispinian, martyrs. Their relics were venerated at Soissons, and they are patrons of leather workers.

In 1497, Blessed Thaddeus MacCarthy, bishop. He went to Rome to appeal for papal help when political factions kept him from acting as bishop in his diocese. The pope supported him. Bishop Thaddeus traveled back toward Ireland as a simple pilgrim. He died on the way in the Italian Alps, at a hospice maintained by the Canons Regular of St. Bernard.

October 26

About 461, St. Rusticus, bishop of Narbonne. He studied at Rome and became a monk. St. Jerome wrote him a letter giving advice on the eremitical life. In 427 he was made bishop. He was discouraged by the Arianism of the Goths and the quarrels among Catholics and asked to resign. Pope Leo the Great wrote him a letter telling him to carry on as bishop with the help of Christ.

In 664, at Lastingham, St. Cedd, a monk of Lindisfarne, who did missionary work in several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms before being consecrated bishop of the East Saxons. He founded the monastery of Lastingham and was active at the Synod of Whitby.

In 686, in Northumbria, St. Eata. He was trained by St. Aidan (August 1), and became abbot of Melrose, where he received St. Cuthbert into the novitiate. He succeeded St. Colman as abbot of Lindisfarne when Colman returned to Ireland rather than give up his Celtic customs.

October 27

About 380, in Ethiopia, St. Frumentius, bishop. His tutor took him and his brother Aedesius on a trip to Arabia. Most of the party were killed, but the brothers were taken to the royal court at Aksum. Frumentius prospered there and sought to spread the Christian faith. St. Athanasius (May 2) appointed him bishop of Ethiopia. Known as Bishop Salama, he is venerated as the Apostle of Ethiopia.

In 1902, Blessed Contardo Ferrini. He was born in Milan and was a brilliant and pious boy who had excellent priests as guides in his youth. He became very interested in poetry and mountaineering. He studied at Pavia and Berlin, returned to Pavia as a professor, and became the world’s leading authority on Roman law. He loved nature and was very active in social work.

October 28

In the first century, the Apostles Simon and Jude. Simon is referred to as “the Zealot” in the Gospel of Luke, which means he may have belonged to a radical anti-Roman group. Jude is referred to as the “son of James” in the Gospel of Luke, and in the Gospel of John he speaks with Jesus at the Last Supper. Jude is widely revered as the patron of hopeless causes.

October 29

In the twelfth century, St. Abraham of Rostov. Born in the Ukraine, he converted to Christianity when his prayer to be healed of a chronic disease was answered. He became a monk, and then proclaimed the gospel around Rostov. He built two churches for his converts. He is venerated as “the apostle of Rostov".

In 1860, Blessed Gaetano Errico. He was born near Naples and became a priest there. He was a teacher for twenty years. Then he received a vision telling him to establish a new religious congregation and build a church in his hometown. He succeeded in both enterprises. The Congregation he founded is called “The Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary".

October 30

About 540 AD, St. Germanus of Capua. He may have been one of the legates sent to heal the Acacian Schism, which concerned the relationship of the divine and human in Christ. He was a friend of St. Benedict (July11). The Dialogues of Gregory the Great tell that St. Benedict had a vision of Germanus’ soul being carried to heaven. His tomb at Cassino was destroyed during World War II.

In 1617, St. Alphonsus Rodríguez. He was born in Segovia. He married and fathered two children, but when his mother, wife and daughter died in quick succession, he joined the Jesuits as a lay brother. He worked as a spiritual director; among those he guided was St. Peter Claver (September 9). He was very devoted to Mary’s Immaculate Conception.

October 31

At Regensburg, about 994, St. Wolfgang, bishop. He was educated at Reichenau and then at Würzburg. He befriended a nobleman named Henry, and when Henry became archbishop of Trier, Wolfgang became a teacher in the cathedral school. He then became a monk at Einsiedeln. St. Ulric of Augsburg (July 4) sent him to evangelize the Magyars. In 972 Otto II appointed him bishop of Regensburg. He proved himself a keen reformer and champion of he poor. He was a tutor to St. Henry II (July 13).