Jmj

On September 5, 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:

Bl. Albert of Pontida [Alberto] (Italian, soldier, Benedictine abbot, d. 1095)
St. Albert of Butrio [Alberto] (Italian, Benedictine abbot, d. 1073)
St. Alvito of Galicia (Spanish, Benedictine monk, bishop of León, c. 1073)
St. Bertin of Sithiu (French, abbot, 7th century)
Sts. Eudoxius, Zeno, Macarius, and about 1,000 companions, of Melitene (Armenian, soldiers, martyred in 2nd century)
St. Genebald of Laon (French, bishop, c. 555)
Bl. Gentilis of Matelica (Italian, Franciscan missionary to Muslims, martyred in Persia in 1340)
St. Herculanus of Porto (Italian, martyr, c. 180)
St. Jordan of Pulsano [Giordano] (Italian, Benedictine abbot, d. 1152)
St. Joseph Hoang Luong Canh of Tonkin (Vietnamese, physician, Dominican tertiary, martyred by beheading at about age 74 in 1838 [beatified 1900, canonized in 1988])
Holy Martyrs of Košice (martyred [beheaded] by Transylvanian Calvinists in Slovakia in 1619 [beatified 1905, canonized 1995])
----- St. Melchior Grodziecki of Czeszyn (Polish, Jesuit priest, died at about age 35)
----- St. Steven Pongracz of Alvincz [Istvan] (Hungarian, Jesuit priest, died at about age 36)
----- St. Mark Križevcanin of Križevci [Marko] (Croatian, nobleman, parish priest, died at about age 31)
St. Lawrence Giustiniani of Venice [Lorenzo] (Italian, bishop, writer on mystical contemplation, died at age 73 in 1455 [beatified 1524, canonized 1690])
St. Madrona of Barcelona (Spanish, orphan, virgin in Rome, tortured and martyred by starvation in 300)
Bl. Mary of the Apostles von Wüllenweber of Monchengladbach [baptized Theresia] (German, noblewoman, co-founder and superior of Sisters of the Catholic Teaching Society and superior general of Sisters of the Divine Savior, died at age 74 in 1907 [beatified 1968])
Bl. Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu of Skopje [baptized Agnes Gonxha] [better known as "Mother Teresa of Calcutta"] ["Saint of the Gutters"] (Albanian born in Ottoman Empire, member of Sisters of Loreto in Ireland, schoolteacher and principal in India, founded Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity [sisters, brothers, priests -- active and contemplative] to serve "the poorest of the poor," mother superior for almost 50 years, winner of Nobel Peace Prize, died at age 87 in 1997 [beatified 2003])
St. Obdulia of Toledo (Spanish, nun)
Sts. Quintius, Arcontius, and Donatus, of Capua (Italian, early martyrs)
St. Romulus of Rome (Italian, courtier, martyred c. 112)
Sts. Urban, Theodore and about eighty companions (priests and others, martyred [left on burning ship] by Arian heretics in 370)
St. Victorinus of Como (Italian, bishop, d. 644)
St. Victorinus of Ponza (martyred in Rome in 2nd century)
Bl. William Browne of Northamptonshire (English, layman, martyred [hanged] under James I in 1605 [beatified 1929])

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), September 03, 2004

Answers

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 03, 2004.

[From "Mother Teresa," whose baptismal names mean "lamb" and "flower bud":]

"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, I am an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 03, 2004.