Pope Saint Martin I

Feastday: April 13

Death: 655

Elected pope in 649, Pope Saint Martin I had gotten in trouble for refusing to condone silence in the face of wrong. At that time there existed a popular heresy that held that Christ didn’t have a human will, only a divine will. The emperor had issued an edict that didn’t support Monothelism (as it was known) directly, but simply commanded that no one could discuss Jesus’ will at all.

Monothelism was condemned at a council convened by Saint Martin I. In his anger, the emperor sent his soldiers to Rome to bring the pope to him. When Saint Martin I arrived in Constantinople after a long voyage he was immediately put into prison. There he spent three months in a filthy, freezing cell while he suffered from dysentery. He was not allowed to wash and given the most disgusting food. After he was condemned without being allowed to speak in his defense he was imprisoned for another three months.

From there he was exiled to the Crimea where he suffered from the famine of the land as well as the roughness of the land and its people. But hardest to take was the fact that the pope found himself friendless. His letters tell how his own church had deserted him and his friends had forgotten him. They wouldn’t even send him oil or corn to live off of.

He died two years later in exile in the year 656, a martyr who stood up for the right of the Church to establish doctrine even in the face of imperial power.

St. Julius

Feastday: April 12

From catholic.org

Saint Julius was the son of a Roman named Rusticus. He was elected Pope to succeed Pope St. Mark on February 6, 337. He was soon involved in the Arian controversy when Eusebius of Nicomedia opposed the return of Athanasius to the See of Alexandria in 338. Eusebius and his followers elected George, whereupon the Arians elected Pistus.

Saint Julius convened a synod in Rome in 340 or 341 that neither group attended, and in a letter to the Eusebian bishops, Julius declared that Athanasius was the rightful bishop of Alexandria and reinstated him. The matter was not finally settled until the Council of Sardica (Sofia), summoned by emperors Constans and Constantius in 342 or 343, declared Julius’ action correct and that any deposed bishop had the right of appeal to the Pope in Rome.

Saint Julius built several basilicas and churches in Rome and died there on April 12.

St. Sixtus I

Feastday: April 6

From catholic.org

Not much is known about Pope Saint Sixtus.
St Sixtus was a Roman whose name suggests he was of Greek descent, Pope/St. Sixtus led the Roman see during the reign of Hadrian. The probable dates of Sixtus’ papacy are c.115 – c.125. Legends say he was a martyr, but modern scholars think martyrdom during a time when persecution had ceased unlikely.

St. Vincent Ferrer

Feastday: April 5

Patron of Builders

From catholic.org

St. Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of builders because of his fame for “building up” and strengthening the Church: through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser.

He was born on January 23, 1357 at Valencia in Spain to St. Dominic. In 1374, he entered the Order of St. Dominic in a monastery near his native city. Soon after his profession he was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy.

On being sent to Barcelona, he continued his scholastic duties and at the same time devoted himself to preaching. At Lerida, the famous university city of Catalonia, he received his doctorate. After this he labored six years in Valencia, during which time he perfected himself in the Christian life.

In 1390, he was obliged to accompany Cardinal Pedro de Luna to France, but he soon returned home. When, in 1394, de Luna himself had become Pope at Avignon he summoned St. Vincent and made him Master of the sacred palace. In this capacity St. Vincent made unsuccessful efforts to put an end to the great schism. He refused all ecclesiastical dignities, even the cardinal’s hat, and only craved to be appointed apostolical missionary.

Finally, crowned with labors, he died April 5, 1419. His feast day is April 5.

St. Abban

Feastday: March 16

Death: 620

From catholic.org

Saint Abban was the son of King Cormac of Leinster. He is listed as the nephew of St. Ibar.
He founded many churches in the old district of Ui Cennselaigh, in modern County Wexford and Ferns. His main monastery is Magheranoidhe, in Adamstown, Ireland.

Abban is also associated with Kill-Abban Abbey in Leinster, serving as abbot there until March 16, 620. H
e is revered in Adamstown, which was once called Abbanstown.

St. Louise de Marillac

Feastday: March 15

Death: 1660

Saint Louise de Marillac was born probably at Ferrieres-en-Brie near Meux, France, on August 12, 1591. She was educated by the Dominican nuns at Poissy.

She desired to become a nun but on the advice of her confessor, she married Antony LeGras, an official in the Queen’s service, in 1613.

After Antony’s death in 1625, she met St. Vincent de Paul, who became her spiritual adviser. She devoted the rest of her life to working with him. She helped direct his Ladies of Charity in their work of caring for the sick, the poor, and the neglected.

In 1633 she set up a training center, of which she was Directress in her own home, for candidates seeking to help in her work. This was the beginning of the Sisters (or Daughters, as Vincent preferred) of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (though it was not formally approved until 1655).

She took her vows in 1634 and attracted great numbers of candidates.She traveled all over France establishing her Sisters in hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions. By the time of her death in Paris on March 15, the Congregation had more than forty houses in France.

She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934, and was declared Patroness of Social Workers by Pope John XXIII in 1960. Her feast day is March 15th.

St. Bosa of York

Feastday: March 9

Died: 705

From catholic.org

Saint Bosa was a Benedictine monk at Whitby, England in a monastery ruled by St. Hilda. In 678, he was consecrated a bishop by St. Theodore.

He was involved in St. Wilfrid’s refusal to accept the division of the see of York. Saint Bosa became the bishop in 691, when Wilfrid was exiled by King Aldfrid.

St. Bede called Bosa a man of unusual merit and sanctity, “a man beloved of God.”

St. Senan

From catholic.org

Feastday: March 8

Saint Senan was born of Christian parents at Munster, Ireland. He was a soldier for a time and then became a monk under Abbot Cassidus, who sent him to Abbot St. Natalis at Kilmanagh in Ossory.

Saint Senan became known for his holiness and miracles and attracted great crowds to his sermons. He made a journey to Rome, meeting St. David on the way back. He built several churches and monasteries, and then settled on Scattery Island, where he built a monastery that soon became famous.

He died at Killeochailli on the way back from a visit to St. Cassidus monastery. His feast day is March 8.

St. Jeremy

Feastday: February 16

From catholic.org
Elias and four companions, Daniel, Isaias, Jeremy, and Samuel were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned to work in the mines of Cilicia during Maximus’s persecution, to comfort them. Apprehended at the gates of Caesarea, Palestine, they were brought before the governor Firmilian, and accused of being Christians. They were all tortured and then beheaded.

When Porphyry, a servant of St. Pamphilus, demanded that the bodies be buried, he was tortured and then burned to death when it was found that he was a Christian. Seleucus witnessed his death and applauded his constancy in the face of this terrible death; whereupon he was arrested by the soldiers involved in the execution, brought before the governor, and was beheaded at Firmilian’s order. Feast day is February 16.

Blessed Jordan

Feastday: February 15

Died: 1237

Saint Jordan also known as Gordanus or Giordanus was born in Saxon. He received his bachelor of divinity degree at Paris. He met St. Dominic there and in 1220, became a Dominican.

He was elected prior provincial of Lombardy the next year, and in 1222, on the death of Dominic, was elected second master general of the Dominicans. He expanded the Order, establishing many new foundations in Germany and Switzerland. He sent missionaries to Denmark, and frequently preached at universities to young students.

He was on his way to the Holy Land in 1237 when his ship was wrecked on the coast of Syria and all aboard perished. He is the author of a life of St. Dominic that is one of the main sources of information about the founder of the Dominicans.

His feast day is February 15th.