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19th May Memorial at choice of St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Installed 959 Term ended 988 Predecessor Byrhthelm Successor Æthelgar Born c. 909, Baltonsborough, Wessex Died 19 May 988 (aged about 79), Canterbury, England Buried Canterbury Cathedral Canonized 1029 Attributes man holding a pair of smith's tongs; with a dove hovering near him; with a troop of angels before him Patronage blacksmiths; Charlottetown, Canada; goldsmiths; locksmiths; musicians; silversmiths; bellringers Shrines Canterbury Cathedral (but also claimed by Glastonbury Abbey), both destroyed Dunstan was born in 909 at Baltonsborough near Glastonbury to a noble family with royal connections. Educated at Glastonbury he joined the household of his uncle Athelmus, the Archbishop of Canterbury and them the court of King Athelstan. In 935 he was accused of “studying vain poems and futile stories of the pagans and of being a magician”. He was expelled from court. Subsequently ordained by Elphege, bishop of Winchester, he returned to Glastonbury where he lived as a hermit. In 939 Edmund became king of Wessex and recalled Dunstan to court and installed him as abbot of Glastonbury. His restoration of the Rule of St. Benedict following the ravages suffered by the monastic communities following the Viking raids was one of Dunstan’ s principal achievements. Exiled again following the accession of King Edwy he was recalled and in 937 was made bishop of Worcester, in 959 bishop of London and in 960 Archbishop of Canterbury. This began a period of fruitful collaboration between himself and the king which was regarded after the Conquest as a ‘golden age’. Dunstan was personally responsible for the reform of Glastonbury, Malmesbury, Bath, Athelney, Muchelney and Westminster. Dunstan’s influence spread far wider than the monastic Order. He was a zealous diocesan bishop who insisted on the observance of the marriage laws and fasting, he built and repaired churches and inspired some of King Edgar’s laws. Following his death in 988 both Glastonbury and Canterbury claimed to have his body the matter only being finally settled when the Canterbury tomb was opened in 1508. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05199a.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan |
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20th May - Memorial at choice of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest. Born 8 September 1380 Massa Marittima, Italy Died 20 May 1444 (aged 63) Aquila, Italy Canonized 24 May 1450, Rome, Papal States by Pope Nicholas V Attributes Tablet with IHS; three mitres representing the bishoprics which he refused Patronage Advertisers; advertising; Aquila, Italy; chest problems; Italy; Diocese of San Bernardino, California; gambling addicts; public relations personnel; public relations work; Bernalda, Italy Born in 1380 at Massa di Carrera he was orphaned early in life and was brought up by an aunt. Aged twenty he and some companions took charge of the local hospital in Siena whose organisation had broken down due to an outbreak of the plague. He became a Franciscan in 1402 living at Colombaio near Siena and later at Fiesole near Florence where his cell can still be seen. In 1417 he began a spectacular career as a preacher in Milan and later all over Italy, except the kingdom of Naples, always travelling on foot and sometimes preaching for two or three hours and often several sermons on the same day. He is best remembered for his propagation of devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and at the end of his sermons he would hold up for veneration a plaque on which he wrote the initials IHS surrounded by rays. The style of his sermons was lively and emotional and like other Friars in the Middle Ages used a wide repertory of anecdotes, mimicry, acting, clowning and denunciation often moving his audience to laughter or tears. In 1437 he became vicar-general of the Observant branch of the friars to which he had belonged since 1403 and he is probably the author of the Statutes for the Observants written in 1440. In 1443 he resigned his position and returned to his favourite task of preaching travelling now on a donkey rather than on foot because of poor health. He died in 1444 and was canonised by Pope Nicolas V in 1450. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02505b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_of_Siena |
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21st May Memorial at choice of St. Cristóbal Magallanes Jara, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs. Born July 30, 1869, Totatiche, Jalisco, Mexico Died May 25, 1927 (aged 57), Colotlán, Jalisco, Mexico Beatified November 22, 1992 by Pope John Paul II Canonized May 21, 2000 by Pope John Paul II Attributes Cassock, sacerdotal vestments, Bible, rosary, and palm of martyrdom Patronage Cancer San Cristóbal Magallanes Jara was born in Totatiche, Jalisco on the 30th of July 1869. He was a priest of ardent faith and a prudent director of his brother priests. He was full of zeal in giving himself totally to the human and Christian development of his parishioners. During the persecution of the Church, and after the Seminary of Guadalajara was closed, he offered to help by establishing a seminary in his own parish with the end goal of protecting and forming future priests who would produce and abundant harvest. On the 25th of May 1927, San Cristobal made the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life. He was was shot to death by a firing squad in Colotlan, Jalisco (Diocese of Zacatecas). In front of the execution squad, he comforted his priest and companion in martyrdom, Father Agustin Caloca, saying: "Be calm, my son, only for a moment and then on to heaven." Then addressing the troops he exclaimed: "I die innocently, and I ask God that my blood may bring unity to my Mexican brothers." San Cristobal Magallanes and Companions Born Mexico Died 1926 to 1929 Mexico Beatified 25 September 1988, 22 November 1992 by Pope John Paul II, 20 November 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI Canonized 21 May 2000 Pope John Paul II, 16 October 2016 Pope Francis
Priests
Laymen Father Magallanes, your quiet witness and noble death are an inspiration to all who suffer physical violence for the faith in unknown ways and in unknown places. May your intercession and courage be an inspiration for all priests, laymen, and religious who are tempted to bend in the winds of persecution. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crist%C3%B3bal_Magallanes_Jara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_of_the_Cristero_War https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-the-mexican-revolution/ |
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22nd May - Optional memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious. Born 1381, Roccaporena, Perugia, Umbria, Italy Died 22 May 1457 (aged 75–76), Cascia, Perugia, Umbria, Italy Beatified 1626 by Pope Urban VIII Canonized 24 May 1900, Vatican City, Rome by Pope Leo XIII Major shrine Basilica of Santa Rita da Cascia, Cascia, Italy Attributes Forehead wound, rose, bees, grape vine Patronage Lost and impossible causes, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse, mothers Controversy Spousal abuse, feud, family honour, loneliness An Augustinian nun, Rita was born in 1377 at Roccaporena in Umbria and from her childhood wished to become a nun. However, in deference to her parents’ wishes, she married. Sadly the marriage was not a happy one. Her husband became notoriously violent and unfaithful. They remained married for eighteen years during which time she bore two sons. Her husband was murdered as the result of a vendetta and in c. 1407 Rita fulfilled her ambition and became a nun at S. Maria Maddalena at Cascia. She undertook a regime constant prayer and mortification that was accompanied by meditation on the Passion of Christ. This was so intense that a wound appeared on her forehead as though she had been pierced by a crown of thorns. This wound would not heal for fifteen years. Rita died in 1447 and such was her reputation for holiness and miracles that it led to her incorrupt body being transferred to the elaborate tomb where it rests today. Also contained in the tomb is the local bishop’s approbation of her cult in 1457. Rita was beatified in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII and canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13064a.htm |