On December 25, we members of the Catholic Church family celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We also honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Adalsindis of Hamay (French, daughter of two saints and sister of another, Benedictine nun, c. 715)
St. Alburga of Wilton (British, widow, Benedictine nun, d. 810)
St. Anastasia of Sirmium (Italian, matron, named in Eucharistic Prayer I, martyred in what is now Serbia c. 304)
St. Eugenia of Rome (Italian, noblewoman, martyred probably by beheading c. 258)
St. Fulk of Genoa (French, Cistercian abbot, bishop of Toulouse, helped St. Dominic found his order, died at about age 76 in 1231)
St. Matthew of Rheims [Mathieu] (French, Benedictine prior, cardinal archbishop of Albano, papal legate, d. 1134)
Bl. Michael Nakajima of Machiai (Japanese, associate of Jesuit missionaries, martyred [scalded in hot springs] at about age 45 in 1628 [beatified 1867])
Bl. Nera of Siena (Italian, Dominican tertiary, nurse, died at about age 57 in 1287)
Holy Martyrs of Nicomedia (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], thousands martyred [burned in basilica when gathered for worship] in 303)
St. Romulus of Berry (French, priest, c. 700)

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

[Why does the Church have saints' feast days on Christmas?]
One of the most common ways (but not the only way) that the Church chooses a day on which to commemorate a saint is to consider the day of the saint's death. This is sometimes called the saint's "birthday into eternal life." The only saints whose birthdays into earthly life are celebrated are Our Lady and St. John the Baptist. I haven't checked to see on which day of the year the above-listed saints died, but I would have to guess that at least some of them died on December 25. Perhaps, however, for one or more of them, the Nativity was a feast of particular importance -- and the Church took note of this fact by linking the saint forever with Christmas Day.

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 22, 2004

Answers

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 25, 2004.