WOMEN SAINTS AND MARTYRS OCT.03-OCT 09
October 3
St. Menna, 395 A.D. Virgin of Lorraine, France, sometimes called Manna. She was related to Sts. Eucherius and Elaptius.
October 4
St. Aurea, 667 A.D. Abbess of St. Martial in Paris and disciple of St. Elegius. Aurea was a Syrian who was named abbess by St. Elegius in 633. She governed the community for thirty-three years until she and 160 nuns of her abbey died of the plague.
St. Domnina, 310 A.D. Martyr with her daughters, Berenice and Prosdoce. They died in Syria and were commemorated by Greek hagiographers.
October 5
St. Flora, 1347A.D. Patron of abandoned, converts, single laywomen, and victims of betrayal. Flora was born in France about the year 1309. She was a devout child and later resisted all attempts on the part of her parents to find a husband for her. In 1324, she entered the Priory of Beaulieu of the Hospitaller nuns of St. John of Jerusalem. Here she was beset with many and diverse trials, fell into a depressed state, and were made sport of by some of her religious sisters. However, she never ceased to find favor with God and was granted many unusual and mystical favors. One year on the feast of All Saints, she fell into an ecstasy and took no nourishment until three weeks later on the feast of St. Cecelia. On another occasion, while meditating on the Holy Spirit, she was raised four feet from the ground and hung in the air in full view of many onlookers. She also seemed to be pierced with the arms of Our Lord's cross, causing blood to flow freely at times from her side and at others, from her mouth. Other instances of God's favoring of his servant were also reported, concerning prophetic knowledge of matters of which she could not naturally know. Through it all, St. Flora remained humble and in complete communion with her Divine Master, rendering wise counsel to all who flocked to her because of her holiness and spiritual discernment. In 1347, she was called to her eternal reward and many miracles were worked at her tomb.
St. Faustina. She was born Helena Kowalska in a small village west of Lodz, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was almost twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women. The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added, "of the Most Blessed Sacrament", as was permitted by her congregation's custom. In the 1930's, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. It was not a glamorous prospect. Her entire life, in imitation of Christ's, was to be a sacrifice - a life lived for others.
St. Flavia. There is nothing known about Flavia other than she was martyred. The feast kept by the Western Church today is actually of St. Placid, "a monk and disciple of the Blessed Abbot Benedict, together with his brothers Eutychius and Victorinus, their sister, the maiden Flavia, Donatus, Firmatus the deacon, Faustus, and thirty other monks", who, we are told were martyred by pirates at Messina. The feast day is October 5th.
St. Charitina, 304 A.D. Young virgin tortured to death in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. She is believed to have been martyred at Amisus on the Black Sea.
Sts. Flaviana and Firmatus. Martyrs of Auxerre, France, listed in St. Jerome’s martytrology. Firmatus was a deacon and Flaviana a virgin.
St. Galla, 550 A.D. Widowed Roman noblewoman, praised by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. The daughter of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, she married and was widowed within a year. Galla joined a community of pious woman on Vatican Hill, Italy. She lived there, caring for the sick and poor until cancer claimed her life. Pope St. Gregory wrote about her, and St. Fulgentius of Ruspe delivered a treatise, in her honor.
October 6
St. Faith. She was hauled before Dacian, procurator at Agen, France, for her Christianity during Diocletian's persecution of the Christians. She was then tortured to death for her Christianity on a red-hot brazier. Also executed with her was St. Alberta (March 11th); when some of the spectators objected, Dacian had them beheaded.
Bl. Marie Rose Durocher. Eulalie Durocher was born on October 6, 1811, at St. Antoine in Quebec, Canada. She was the youngest of ten children. After her education at the hands of the Sisters of Notre Dame, she helped her brother, a parish priest, and in the process established the first Canadian parish Sodality for young women. In 1843, she was invited by Bishop Bourget to found a new congregation of women dedicated to Christian education. Accordingly she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and took the religious name of Marie Rose. Under her saintly and wise leadership, her community flourished in spite of all kinds of obstacles, including great poverty and unavoidable misunderstandings. She remained unswerving in her concern for the poor. Worn out by her many labors, Marie Rose was called to her heavenly reward on October 6, 1849, at the age of thirty-eight. She was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982.
St. Aurea, 8th century. Abbess of Rouen. Born in Amiens, France, Aurea entered the religious life and became abbess of a very large community. She was known for her piety and wisdom.
St. Maria Francesca Gallo. Mystic and stigmatic, and a Franciscan tertiary. She was born in Naples and became a Franciscan tertiary at the age of sixteen. Maria lived at home where she was abused until she became a priest's housekeeper in 1753. She had visions, bore the wounds of Christ's Passion, and was a known prophetess; among her predictions was the coming of the French Revolution. Maria was canonized in 1867 by Pope Pius IX.
St. Epiphania, 800 A.D. Benedictine nun of Pavia, Italy. She was reported to be the daughter of King Ratchis of the Lombards, who became a monk at Monte Cassino.
October 7
St. Justina of Padua. All that is known of Justina of Padua is from an apparent twelfth-century forgery that says she was baptized by St. Prosdocimus, a disciple of St. Peter and reputed first bishop of Padua, and was then martyred for her faith.
St. Osyth, 700 A.D. Martyred nun, also called Osith and Sytha. Known mainly through legends, she was supposedly the daughter of a chieftain of the Mercians in England and Wilburga, daughter of the powerful pagan king Penda of Mercia. Raised in a convent, Osyth desired to become a nun but was married against her will to King Sighere of Essex, by whom she had a son. Eventually, she won his permission to enter a convent, and she established a monastery on land at Chich, Essex, donated by Sighere, where she served as an abbess. She was reputedly slain by Danish raiders and is thus depicted in art as carrying her own head. There are historical difficulties associated with her existence, especially as no mention is made of her by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History.
October 8
St. Keyne. Keyne (Keyna or Cain) was one of the twenty-four children of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. She refused several suitors' offers of marriage and became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England. After living there for several years, during which she traveled widely, she was persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales, though exactly where she spent her last days is not known. During her travels, she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps Somerset.
St. Pelagia. Pelagia, more often called Margaret, on account of the magnificence of the pearls for which she had so often sold herself, was an actress of Antioch, equally celebrated for her beauty, her wealth and the disorder of her life. During a synod at Antioch, she passed Bishop St. Nonnus of Edessa, who was struck with her beauty; the next day she went to hear him preach and was so moved by his sermon that she asked him to baptize her which he did. She gave her wealth to Nonnus to aid the poor and left Antioch dressed in men's clothing. She became a hermitess in a cave on Mount of Olivette in Jerusalem, where she lived in great austerity, performing penances and known as "the beardless monk" until her sex was discovered at her death. Though a young girl of fifteen did exist and suffer martyrdom at Antioch in the fourth century.
St. Benedicta. Virgin and martyr listed in the pre-1970 Roman Martyrology. Her birthday was celebrated in Laon, France, as a martyr.
St. Thais, 4th century. Egyptian penitent According to legend, Thais was a wealthy woman raised in Alexandria, Egypt, as a Christian. She decided to become a courtesan. Repenting of her lifestyle through the influence of St. Paphnutius, she gave up her money and entered a convent where she was walled up for three years to perform extreme penance for her dissolute habits. Finally, at the urging of St. Anthony, she was released from her spiritual incarceration and permitted to join the other women of the convent, dying a mere fifteen days after her release.
St. Triduna, 4th century. Virgin who, according to tradition, assisted St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland during the fourth century. She is also listed as Trallen and Tredwall. Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation.
St. Reparata, 3rd century. Virgin martyr of Caesarea, in Palestine. Known mainly through unreliable legend, she was supposedly a twenty year old girl in Caesarea who was denounced as a Christian during the persecutions launched by Emperor Trajanus Decius. She was tortured and thrown into a furnace. Miraculously surviving the flames, she still refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and the Romans beheaded her.
Sts. Palatias and Laurentia, 302 A.D. Christian martyrs who were put to death during the persecutions launched by Emperor Diocletian. According to tradition, Palatias was a noblewoman who resided in the city of Ancona, Italy. Converted to the faith by her slave, Laurentia, she was arrested with Laurentia and put to death at Fermo, near Ancona.
St. Menna, 395 A.D. Virgin of Lorraine, France, sometimes called Manna. She was related to Sts. Eucherius and Elaptius.
October 4
St. Aurea, 667 A.D. Abbess of St. Martial in Paris and disciple of St. Elegius. Aurea was a Syrian who was named abbess by St. Elegius in 633. She governed the community for thirty-three years until she and 160 nuns of her abbey died of the plague.
St. Domnina, 310 A.D. Martyr with her daughters, Berenice and Prosdoce. They died in Syria and were commemorated by Greek hagiographers.
October 5
St. Flora, 1347A.D. Patron of abandoned, converts, single laywomen, and victims of betrayal. Flora was born in France about the year 1309. She was a devout child and later resisted all attempts on the part of her parents to find a husband for her. In 1324, she entered the Priory of Beaulieu of the Hospitaller nuns of St. John of Jerusalem. Here she was beset with many and diverse trials, fell into a depressed state, and were made sport of by some of her religious sisters. However, she never ceased to find favor with God and was granted many unusual and mystical favors. One year on the feast of All Saints, she fell into an ecstasy and took no nourishment until three weeks later on the feast of St. Cecelia. On another occasion, while meditating on the Holy Spirit, she was raised four feet from the ground and hung in the air in full view of many onlookers. She also seemed to be pierced with the arms of Our Lord's cross, causing blood to flow freely at times from her side and at others, from her mouth. Other instances of God's favoring of his servant were also reported, concerning prophetic knowledge of matters of which she could not naturally know. Through it all, St. Flora remained humble and in complete communion with her Divine Master, rendering wise counsel to all who flocked to her because of her holiness and spiritual discernment. In 1347, she was called to her eternal reward and many miracles were worked at her tomb.
St. Faustina. She was born Helena Kowalska in a small village west of Lodz, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was almost twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women. The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added, "of the Most Blessed Sacrament", as was permitted by her congregation's custom. In the 1930's, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. It was not a glamorous prospect. Her entire life, in imitation of Christ's, was to be a sacrifice - a life lived for others.
St. Flavia. There is nothing known about Flavia other than she was martyred. The feast kept by the Western Church today is actually of St. Placid, "a monk and disciple of the Blessed Abbot Benedict, together with his brothers Eutychius and Victorinus, their sister, the maiden Flavia, Donatus, Firmatus the deacon, Faustus, and thirty other monks", who, we are told were martyred by pirates at Messina. The feast day is October 5th.
St. Charitina, 304 A.D. Young virgin tortured to death in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. She is believed to have been martyred at Amisus on the Black Sea.
Sts. Flaviana and Firmatus. Martyrs of Auxerre, France, listed in St. Jerome’s martytrology. Firmatus was a deacon and Flaviana a virgin.
St. Galla, 550 A.D. Widowed Roman noblewoman, praised by Pope St. Gregory I the Great. The daughter of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, she married and was widowed within a year. Galla joined a community of pious woman on Vatican Hill, Italy. She lived there, caring for the sick and poor until cancer claimed her life. Pope St. Gregory wrote about her, and St. Fulgentius of Ruspe delivered a treatise, in her honor.
October 6
St. Faith. She was hauled before Dacian, procurator at Agen, France, for her Christianity during Diocletian's persecution of the Christians. She was then tortured to death for her Christianity on a red-hot brazier. Also executed with her was St. Alberta (March 11th); when some of the spectators objected, Dacian had them beheaded.
Bl. Marie Rose Durocher. Eulalie Durocher was born on October 6, 1811, at St. Antoine in Quebec, Canada. She was the youngest of ten children. After her education at the hands of the Sisters of Notre Dame, she helped her brother, a parish priest, and in the process established the first Canadian parish Sodality for young women. In 1843, she was invited by Bishop Bourget to found a new congregation of women dedicated to Christian education. Accordingly she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and took the religious name of Marie Rose. Under her saintly and wise leadership, her community flourished in spite of all kinds of obstacles, including great poverty and unavoidable misunderstandings. She remained unswerving in her concern for the poor. Worn out by her many labors, Marie Rose was called to her heavenly reward on October 6, 1849, at the age of thirty-eight. She was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982.
St. Aurea, 8th century. Abbess of Rouen. Born in Amiens, France, Aurea entered the religious life and became abbess of a very large community. She was known for her piety and wisdom.
St. Maria Francesca Gallo. Mystic and stigmatic, and a Franciscan tertiary. She was born in Naples and became a Franciscan tertiary at the age of sixteen. Maria lived at home where she was abused until she became a priest's housekeeper in 1753. She had visions, bore the wounds of Christ's Passion, and was a known prophetess; among her predictions was the coming of the French Revolution. Maria was canonized in 1867 by Pope Pius IX.
St. Epiphania, 800 A.D. Benedictine nun of Pavia, Italy. She was reported to be the daughter of King Ratchis of the Lombards, who became a monk at Monte Cassino.
October 7
St. Justina of Padua. All that is known of Justina of Padua is from an apparent twelfth-century forgery that says she was baptized by St. Prosdocimus, a disciple of St. Peter and reputed first bishop of Padua, and was then martyred for her faith.
St. Osyth, 700 A.D. Martyred nun, also called Osith and Sytha. Known mainly through legends, she was supposedly the daughter of a chieftain of the Mercians in England and Wilburga, daughter of the powerful pagan king Penda of Mercia. Raised in a convent, Osyth desired to become a nun but was married against her will to King Sighere of Essex, by whom she had a son. Eventually, she won his permission to enter a convent, and she established a monastery on land at Chich, Essex, donated by Sighere, where she served as an abbess. She was reputedly slain by Danish raiders and is thus depicted in art as carrying her own head. There are historical difficulties associated with her existence, especially as no mention is made of her by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History.
October 8
St. Keyne. Keyne (Keyna or Cain) was one of the twenty-four children of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales. She refused several suitors' offers of marriage and became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England. After living there for several years, during which she traveled widely, she was persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales, though exactly where she spent her last days is not known. During her travels, she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps Somerset.
St. Pelagia. Pelagia, more often called Margaret, on account of the magnificence of the pearls for which she had so often sold herself, was an actress of Antioch, equally celebrated for her beauty, her wealth and the disorder of her life. During a synod at Antioch, she passed Bishop St. Nonnus of Edessa, who was struck with her beauty; the next day she went to hear him preach and was so moved by his sermon that she asked him to baptize her which he did. She gave her wealth to Nonnus to aid the poor and left Antioch dressed in men's clothing. She became a hermitess in a cave on Mount of Olivette in Jerusalem, where she lived in great austerity, performing penances and known as "the beardless monk" until her sex was discovered at her death. Though a young girl of fifteen did exist and suffer martyrdom at Antioch in the fourth century.
St. Benedicta. Virgin and martyr listed in the pre-1970 Roman Martyrology. Her birthday was celebrated in Laon, France, as a martyr.
St. Thais, 4th century. Egyptian penitent According to legend, Thais was a wealthy woman raised in Alexandria, Egypt, as a Christian. She decided to become a courtesan. Repenting of her lifestyle through the influence of St. Paphnutius, she gave up her money and entered a convent where she was walled up for three years to perform extreme penance for her dissolute habits. Finally, at the urging of St. Anthony, she was released from her spiritual incarceration and permitted to join the other women of the convent, dying a mere fifteen days after her release.
St. Triduna, 4th century. Virgin who, according to tradition, assisted St. Regulus in his mission to Scotland during the fourth century. She is also listed as Trallen and Tredwall. Her shrine at Restalrig was long venerated until its destruction in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation.
St. Reparata, 3rd century. Virgin martyr of Caesarea, in Palestine. Known mainly through unreliable legend, she was supposedly a twenty year old girl in Caesarea who was denounced as a Christian during the persecutions launched by Emperor Trajanus Decius. She was tortured and thrown into a furnace. Miraculously surviving the flames, she still refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and the Romans beheaded her.
Sts. Palatias and Laurentia, 302 A.D. Christian martyrs who were put to death during the persecutions launched by Emperor Diocletian. According to tradition, Palatias was a noblewoman who resided in the city of Ancona, Italy. Converted to the faith by her slave, Laurentia, she was arrested with Laurentia and put to death at Fermo, near Ancona.
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