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St. Veridiana was born at
Castelfiorentino in Tuscany, Italy (on the outskirts of Florence) in 1182 to
an impoverished noble family. At age 12 she went to live with an uncle. She
performed housekeeping duties and admistrative work in his grain business.
Later, she abandoned all she had and dedicated her life to religion. Then she
went on a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Santiago in Compostela, Spain. After
visiting Rome and the tombs of Peter and Paul, she returned home and,
thereafter, lived as a recluse in a hermitage near the Vallumbrosan Abbey
about 20 miles from Florence. Her cell is said to have been next to a chapel
dedicated to Saint Anthony. Here, she led a life of great austerity until her
death 34 years later in the year 1242. St. Francis of Assisi visited her in
1211, at which time she is said to have become a Franciscan tertiary. Devotion
to Saint Veridiana was approved by Pope Clement VII in 1533.
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Jan. 19 -
St. Eustochia Calafato |
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Foundress and Poor Clare. She was born circa 1435, the daughter
of Countess Matilda Carafata, at Messina, Sicily. Betrothed,
Eustochium lost her fiance before they could wed. When her
father died in 1446, she became a Poor Clare at Bascio convent
and devoted herself to penance and charitable activities. Her
mother and sister were at Monte Vergine Convent, and Eustochium
went there for the stricter observances. She became abbess in
1462. She was canonized in 1988. In some lists her name is
Eustachia or Smaragda. (Source: Catholic Online)
Jan 20. Bl. John Baptist Triquerie, a
Conventual Franciscan priest, was martyred for the faith in
Lavel, France for refusing to take the “Oath of Citizenship”
during the French Revolution. Died at age 56. Was beatified with
others as the Martyrs of Laval.
Jan 24. St. Francis
de Sales, Doctor of the Church
Born at the Château de Sales in Thorens,
Savoy, August 21, 1567; died in Lyons, France, December 28,
1622; formally beatified the same year (1622) in Saint Peter's
Basilica (the first solemn beatification to occur there);
canonized 1665; named a Doctor of the Church in 1877; declared
patron saint of journalists and the Catholic press in 1923;
feast day formerly on January 29. Francis de Sales was a
prolific writer and his books are well known. He began as a
Franciscan Tertiary. |
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Jan 29 - Bl. Roger of Todi
| Died at Todi, Italy, in
1237; cultus confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV. Blessed Roger
was one of the early Franciscans who was admitted to the
order by the founder himself. St. Francis appointed him
spiritual director of the convent of Poor Clares at Rieti. |
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Feb 8 -
St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph |
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Saint Giles Mary
lived from 1729-1812 during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. He led a life of
humility in servitude to his Franciscan friary and service to the people of
Naples. He is known as the "Consoler of Naples" as his went his way begging
and telling everyone "Love God, love God." |
Feb 15 - Transfer of
the Body of St. Anthony of Padua
When St. Anthony died on June 13, 1231, his body
was buried in the little Franciscan Church of St. Mary in Padua. By 1263, the
building of the present great basilica was advanced far enough so that his
remains could be placed beneath the high altar. When the coffin was opened on
the occasion, it was found that the saint's body had been reduced to ashes
except for a few bones, but his tongue was intact and life-like. St.
Bonaventure, who was present as minister general of the Friars Minor, took the
tongue reverently into his hands and exclaimed, "O blessed tongue, which has
always blessed God and caused others to bless Him, now it appears evident how
great were your merits before God!" The tongue of St. Anthony was placed in a
special reliquary, and can still be seen today in a separate chapel on the
epistle side of the basilica. In 1310 the basilica was almost finished, and
the remains of St. Anthony were transferred to a tomb in the middle of the
nave. The final transfer of the relics of St. Anthony to their present chapel
on the Gospel side of the basilica took place in 1350. It is the latter
transfer that is commemorated on February 15.
from:
The Franciscan Book
of Saints, ed. by
Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald
Press
Feb.
17 - Bl. Luke Belludi
Bl. LUKE BELLUDI, Franciscan friar. B.
1200; d. 1285. In 1220, St. Anthony was preaching conversion to
the inhabitants of Padua when a young nobleman, Luke Belludi,
came up to him and humbly asked to receive the habit of the
followers of St. Francis. Anthony liked the talented,
well-educated Luke and personally recommended him to St.
Francis, who then received him into the Franciscan Order.
Luke, then only 20, was to be Anthony's companion in his travels
and in his preaching, tending to him in his last days and taking
Anthony's place upon his death. He was appointed guardian of the
Friars Minor in the city of Padua. In 1239 the city fell into
the hands of its enemies. Nobles were put to death, the mayor
and council were banished, the great university of Padua
gradually closed and the church dedicated to St. Anthony was
left unfinished. Luke himself was expelled from the city but
secretly returned. At night he and the new guardian would visit
the tomb of St. Anthony in the unfinished shrine to pray for his
help. One night a voice came from the tomb assuring them that
the city would soon be delivered from its evil tyrant.
After the fulfillment of the prophetic message, Luke was elected
provincial minister and furthered the completion of the great
basilica in honor of Anthony, his teacher. He founded many
convents of the order and had, as Anthony, the gift of miracles.
Upon his death he was laid to rest in the basilica that he had
helped finish and has had a continual veneration up to the
present time.
(Source: Believed to be
from AmericanCatholic.org)
Feb 27
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Bl. Sebastian of Aparicio
Sebastian lived
from 1502 to 1600, and he was a bridge builder mostly in Mexico.
At age 72, he distributed all he had among the poor and entered
the Franciscans as a brother. He is known as the "Angel of
Mexico" and is the patron of travelers.
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