Jmj

On August 8, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- "saints" and "blesseds" whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Dominic de Guzman of Calaruega [Domingo] (Spanish, nobleman, Augustinian priest, founder of Order of Friars Preachers [Dominicans], visionary, opposed Albigensian heresy, died in Italy at about age 51 in 1221 [canonized 1234])

St. Altman of Paderborn (German, emperor's chaplain, bishop of Passau, died in Austria at about age 71 in 1091)
Bl. Bonifacia Rodríguez Castro of Salamanca (Spanish, cord-maker, founded Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Saint Joseph, died at age 68 in 1905 [beatified 2003])
Sts. Eleutherius and Leonides of Constantinople (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], early martyrs by burning)
St. Ellidius (Welsh, 7th century)
St. Emilian of Cyzicus (bishop on Turkish island, exiled for opposing iconoclast heresy, d. 820)
St. Famianus of Cologne (German, hermit in Spain for 25 years, Cistercian monk, died on pilgrimage in Italy at about age 60 in 1150)
Bl. Francis Ingleby of Ripley and Bl. John Fingley of Barmby-in-the-Marsh [also known as Finglow] (English, diocesan priests, martyred [drawn, hanged, and quartered] under Elizabeth I in 1586 [beatified 1987])
St. Gedeon of Besançon (French, bishop, c. 796)
St. Hormisdas (Persian, nobleman, lost rank due to his religion, camel driver, martyred in 420)
Bl. Joan of Aza [Juana] (Spanish, noblewoman, mother of St. Dominic and three other children, c. 1190 [beatified 1828])
Bl. John Felton of Bermondsey (English, layman, tortured and martyred [drawn, hanged, and quartered] under Elizabeth I in 1570 [beatified 1886])
St. Leobald of Fleury (French, abbot, d. 650)
Bl. Mary Margaret Caiani of Poggio [Maria Margarita] [baptized Maria Ana Rosa (Mary Ann Rose)] (Italian, virgin, founded Institute of the Third Order of Minims Franciscans of the Sacred Heart, died at age 57 in 1921 [beatified 1989])
Bl. Mary of the Cross MacKillop of Fitzroy [baptized Maria Ellen] (Australian, teacher, co-founded Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart [to educate the poor], died at age 67 in 1909 [beatified 1995])
St. Mummolus of Fleury (French, abbot, c. 678)
St. Myron the Wonder Worker of Raucia (Cretan, farmer, bishop, died at about age 100 in 350)
Bl. Robert Bickerdike of Low Hall (English, layman, martyred [drawn, hanged, and quartered] under Elizabeth I in 1586 [beatified 1987])
St. Ternatius of Besançon (French, bishop, d. 680)
Bl. Vladimir Laskowski of Rogozno [Wlodzimierz] (Polish, diocesan priest, martyred by Nazis at Gusen [Poland] at age 54 in 1940 [beatified 1999])
Bl. Zephyrinus Gimenez Malla of Benavent de Segria [Ceferino] (Spanish, layman, martyred in Civil War at age 75 in 1936 [beatified 1997, first Gypsy ever beatified])

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Additional information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 07, 2004

Answers

[Note: I am copying the following several (indented) messages from the old, obsolete "saints" thread for this day of the year, so that the old thread can later be deleted. JFG]

John,

Thank you for the dedication you put into providing these lists of saints.

August 8th was the day my beautiful little girl was born. We always refer to her as the little wonder, because we wonder where she gets her theatrical talent from. She loves to entertain.....singing, dancing, and acting.

Therefore, I choose St. Myron the Wonder Worker as her saint. Three reasons: The word "Wonder" that follows St. Myron and the fact that we call her the little wonder, second, I hope that she is as charitable and giving as St. Myron, and to have the ability to recognize the need to give as St. Myron did, and third....the date of course!

Your hardwork and dedication to the Saints is to be rewarded. It is because you do this, that I will be teaching my daughter about this Saint, that I otherwise would not have known about.

May you be richly blessed John,

-- Kathy ... August 19, 2002.

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A belated "happy birthday" to your daughter, Kathy!
And thanks so much for telling me what you did. It feels so nice to know that my little effort has been somehow helpful. I hope that your daughter grows up to be just as kind and faith-filled as you are.
John

-- August 19, 2002.

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John, I also want to thank you for all the time he spent working on the Saints of the Day threads. I hope that you've got your work stored on your own disk. I'd hate to see the Greenspun site go down one day and lose all your work!

God bless,

Mateo

-- August 11, 2003.

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Sorry, ... Mateo. I must have overlooked your message last year. ... Thanks for what you said, Mateo. I do have all the information saved on disk and CD. ...
JFG

-- May 07, 2004.

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 07, 2004.