WOMEN SAINTS AND MARTYRS AUGUST 15-21
August 15
St. Limbania, 1294 A.D. Benedictine nun and hermitess of Genoa, Italy. She was a Cyprian by birth who remained in a cave in Genoa.
August 16
St. Beatrix da Silva, 1490 A.D. Cistercian abbess born in Portugal in 1424. The daughter of a nobleman, Beatrix accompanied Princess Isabel of Portugal to the court of Spain. There she entered a Cistercian convent of Santo Domingo de Silos in Toledo. Also, she founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception. Her cult was confirmed in 1926, and she was canonized in 1976.
St. Serena, 290 A.D. According to the Acts of St. Cyriacus, the wife of Emperor Diocletian. It is known that Prisca was the wife of that particular emperor.
Bl. Mary Magdalen Kiota, 1620 A.D. Martyr of Japan. A princess of Japan and relative of a local lord, she was a Dominican tertiary. Arrested for sheltering missionaries, she was burned alive at Nagasaki. Mary was beatified in 1867.
August 17
St. Clare of Montefalco. Clare was born at Montefalco, Italy, around 1268. As a young woman she joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries. This group established Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290, adopting the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare's sister Joan was the abbess of this community, but at her death Clare succeeded her. She led an austere life, being particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross. When Clare died in 1308, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart and her body remained incorrupt. She was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. Her feast day is August 17th. The life of St. Clare reminds us that we are all called to a life of prayer and dedication. Still, we must not expect or anticipate special favors. We are to be satisfied with the simple relationship we establish with God.
Bls. Caspar and Mary Vaz, 1627 A.D. Martyrs of Japan. They were husband and wife and tertiaries of St. Francis. Both were martyred in Nagasaki. Caspar was burned alive, and Mary was beheaded.
St. Frances Bizzocca, 1627 A.D. Martyr of Japan. A Third Order Dominican, the wife of Blessed Leo Bizzocca, Frances sheltered missionaries in her home, an act that brought about her arrest. She was burned alive in Nagasaki, Japan. Frances was beatified in 1867.
Sts. Paul and Juliana, 270 A.D. Martyred brother and sister. According to legends, they were put to death at Ptolemais, in Palestine, during the persecution launched by Emperor Aurelian.
August 18
St. Helena, 330 A.D. Empress and mother of Constantine the Great. She was a native of Bithynia, who married the then Roman general Constantius I Chlorus about 270. Constantine was born soon after, and in 293, Constantius was made Caesar, or junior emperor. He divorced Helena to marry co Emperor Maximian’s stepdaughter. Constantine became emperor in 312 after the fateful victory at Milvian Bridge, and Helena was named Augusta, or empress. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. She is believed to have died in Nicomedia. Her porphyry sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum. Geoffrey of Monmouth, England, started the legend that Helena was the daughter of the king of Colchester, a tradition no longer upheld. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross.
Sts. Leo and Juliana. Martyrs. Leo suffered martyrdom at Lycia. Juliana was martyred at Stribylum, in Asia Minor. She may be identified with the martyr of Ptolemai s, perhaps in modem Egypt.
Bl. Mary Guengoro, 1620 A.D. Martyr of Japan. The wife of Blessed Thomas Guengero, she was crucified at Kokura with her husband and son, James. She was beatified in 1867.
August 19
Bl. Emily Bicchieri. Emily Bicchieri was born at Vercelli in 1238, and having lost her mother at an early age, put herself under the special protection of the all-holy Mother of God. She refused her father's plans for her to marry and convinced him to build a convent, the first of Dominican regular tertiaries, of which she became abbess when twenty. Having been elected prioress against her will, Blessed Emily governed with tact and ability, and was careful to tell no one to do what she would not do herself. She was noted for her frequent communions (uncommon in those days), her ecstasies and visions, and the miracles attributed to her. She died on her birthday, May 3, at the age of seventy-six, and her cult was approved in 1769.
St. Namadia. Widow and nun. The wife of St. Calminius, she entered a convent after his death and lived at Marsat.
August 21
St. Bassa and Companions, 304 A.D. Martyrs in Edessa. Bassa was the wife of a pagan priest. When her sons, Theogonius, Agapius, and Fidelis were condemned during the persecution of Emperor Diocletiall, Bassa joined them, encouraging their bravery and loyalty to the end.
St. Cyriaca, 249 A.D. Widowed Roman martyr and patroness of St. Laurence, sometimes called Dominica. St. Laurence, deacon and martyr, used Cyriaca’s villa in Rome to distribute alms to the poor. She was scourged to death for the faith. The church of St. Mary in Dominica was named after her.
St. Limbania, 1294 A.D. Benedictine nun and hermitess of Genoa, Italy. She was a Cyprian by birth who remained in a cave in Genoa.
August 16
St. Beatrix da Silva, 1490 A.D. Cistercian abbess born in Portugal in 1424. The daughter of a nobleman, Beatrix accompanied Princess Isabel of Portugal to the court of Spain. There she entered a Cistercian convent of Santo Domingo de Silos in Toledo. Also, she founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception. Her cult was confirmed in 1926, and she was canonized in 1976.
St. Serena, 290 A.D. According to the Acts of St. Cyriacus, the wife of Emperor Diocletian. It is known that Prisca was the wife of that particular emperor.
Bl. Mary Magdalen Kiota, 1620 A.D. Martyr of Japan. A princess of Japan and relative of a local lord, she was a Dominican tertiary. Arrested for sheltering missionaries, she was burned alive at Nagasaki. Mary was beatified in 1867.
August 17
St. Clare of Montefalco. Clare was born at Montefalco, Italy, around 1268. As a young woman she joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries. This group established Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290, adopting the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare's sister Joan was the abbess of this community, but at her death Clare succeeded her. She led an austere life, being particularly devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross. When Clare died in 1308, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart and her body remained incorrupt. She was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. Her feast day is August 17th. The life of St. Clare reminds us that we are all called to a life of prayer and dedication. Still, we must not expect or anticipate special favors. We are to be satisfied with the simple relationship we establish with God.
Bls. Caspar and Mary Vaz, 1627 A.D. Martyrs of Japan. They were husband and wife and tertiaries of St. Francis. Both were martyred in Nagasaki. Caspar was burned alive, and Mary was beheaded.
St. Frances Bizzocca, 1627 A.D. Martyr of Japan. A Third Order Dominican, the wife of Blessed Leo Bizzocca, Frances sheltered missionaries in her home, an act that brought about her arrest. She was burned alive in Nagasaki, Japan. Frances was beatified in 1867.
Sts. Paul and Juliana, 270 A.D. Martyred brother and sister. According to legends, they were put to death at Ptolemais, in Palestine, during the persecution launched by Emperor Aurelian.
August 18
St. Helena, 330 A.D. Empress and mother of Constantine the Great. She was a native of Bithynia, who married the then Roman general Constantius I Chlorus about 270. Constantine was born soon after, and in 293, Constantius was made Caesar, or junior emperor. He divorced Helena to marry co Emperor Maximian’s stepdaughter. Constantine became emperor in 312 after the fateful victory at Milvian Bridge, and Helena was named Augusta, or empress. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. She is believed to have died in Nicomedia. Her porphyry sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum. Geoffrey of Monmouth, England, started the legend that Helena was the daughter of the king of Colchester, a tradition no longer upheld. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross.
Sts. Leo and Juliana. Martyrs. Leo suffered martyrdom at Lycia. Juliana was martyred at Stribylum, in Asia Minor. She may be identified with the martyr of Ptolemai s, perhaps in modem Egypt.
Bl. Mary Guengoro, 1620 A.D. Martyr of Japan. The wife of Blessed Thomas Guengero, she was crucified at Kokura with her husband and son, James. She was beatified in 1867.
August 19
Bl. Emily Bicchieri. Emily Bicchieri was born at Vercelli in 1238, and having lost her mother at an early age, put herself under the special protection of the all-holy Mother of God. She refused her father's plans for her to marry and convinced him to build a convent, the first of Dominican regular tertiaries, of which she became abbess when twenty. Having been elected prioress against her will, Blessed Emily governed with tact and ability, and was careful to tell no one to do what she would not do herself. She was noted for her frequent communions (uncommon in those days), her ecstasies and visions, and the miracles attributed to her. She died on her birthday, May 3, at the age of seventy-six, and her cult was approved in 1769.
St. Namadia. Widow and nun. The wife of St. Calminius, she entered a convent after his death and lived at Marsat.
August 21
St. Bassa and Companions, 304 A.D. Martyrs in Edessa. Bassa was the wife of a pagan priest. When her sons, Theogonius, Agapius, and Fidelis were condemned during the persecution of Emperor Diocletiall, Bassa joined them, encouraging their bravery and loyalty to the end.
St. Cyriaca, 249 A.D. Widowed Roman martyr and patroness of St. Laurence, sometimes called Dominica. St. Laurence, deacon and martyr, used Cyriaca’s villa in Rome to distribute alms to the poor. She was scourged to death for the faith. The church of St. Mary in Dominica was named after her.
Comments
Post a Comment