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A is for Pope St. Alexander I
Feast day: May 3
Roman by birth
6th Pope
Probably helped shaped the liturgy
Credited with starting the use of blessing water mixed with salt for the purification of Christian homes from evil influences
According to tradition recorded in the Liber Pontificalis he suffered martyrdom on the Via Nomentana in Rome
B is for St. Bond
Feast day: October 29
AKA Baldus
Spanish hermit venerated in Sens, France
Public penitent
Trained by St. Artemius
C is for St. Cleopatra
Feast day: October 19
Not to be confused with the ancient Egyptian Queen, portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor above
Widow
Witnessed the martyrdom of St. Varus, took possession of his remains, and enshrined his remains in her home
When her only son died suddenly, she received comfort through the intercession of St. Varus
D is for St. Dogfan
Feast day: July 13
Patronage: Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Wales
Descendent of Chieftain Brychan of Brecknock
Welsh Martyr
Killed by pagan invaders in Dyfed, Wales
Not known if he was a fan of dogs
E is for St. Eugène de Mazenod
Feast day: May 21
Born into French nobility
Fled France with his family at the start of the French revolution
Lived in Italy for 11 years. While their he became familiar with the teachings of St. Alphonsus Liguori whose feast the Church celebrates on St. Eugène’s birthday, August 1
Assisted the Black Cardinals (Cardinals who were not allowed to wear red because they did not get along with Napoleon Bonaparte) while in the seminary
Founded the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Bishop of Marseille for decades
Responsible for the construction of two magnificent churches in Marseille, Notre Dame de la Garde and Sainte-Marie-Majeure
F is for Blessed Francis Man
Feast: December 19
Dominican tertiary
Martyred in Vietnam
Served as a catechist
He and his four companions were strangled for the Faith in 1839
G is for St. Guy
Feast day: June 18
Successor of St. Berno as abbot of Baume Abbey
Retired to become a hermit
H is for St. Harvey
Feast day: June 17
Patronage: The blind; bards; musicians; invoked against eye problems, eye disease; sick horses
Not to be confused with Jimmy Stewart’s imaginary rabbit friend
Not to be confused with John Wall the basketball player pictured above
One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
Franciscan priest
Called Father Joachim of St. Anne
Hanged, drawn, and quartered at Redhill in 1679
K is for St. Kevin
Feast day: June 3
AKA Coemgen
Native of Ireland
Friend of St. Kieran of Clonmacnois
Baptized by St. Cronan and educated by St. Petroc
Was a Hermit for seven years
Founded a monastery at Disert-Coemgen
Raised the son of King Colman of Ui Faelain
L is for St. Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena
Feast day: October 21
Patronage: People suffering from racial discrimination, Orphans, Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary and of Saint Catherine of Siena
Born in Colombia
Combatted combat the anti-Indian bigotry in South America
Founded the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and Saint Catherine of Siena to serve the Indians peoples in South America
M is for St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
Feast day: May 25
Had her first prayer experience that included ecstasy at the age of 12
Continued to have many mystical experiences in her life
Suffered greatly healthwise
Embarrassed by her mystical experiences
Did not believe her ecstasies were a reward for her faith, but rather evidence of a great fault in her
Her incorrupt body is preserved in the Carmelite convent, in Florence.
N is for St. Narcissus
Feast day: October 29
Not to be confused with the character of Greek mythology pictured above
Became the 30th Bishop of Jerusalem at the age of 80
Eusebius attributed this miracle to him: “One year on Easter-eve the deacons did not have any oil for the lamps in the church, which was necessary at the solemn divine office on that day. Narcissus ordered those who had care of the lamps to bring him some water from the neighboring wells. This being done, he pronounced a devout prayer over the water. Then he bade them pour it into the lamps; which they did. The water was immediately converted into oil, to the great surprise of all the faithful.”
Died in 216, at the age of 117
O is for St. Odo
Feast day: November 18
Patronage: Rain
Not to be confused with the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character pictured above
Born near Le Mans, France in 878
Raised in the households of Count Fulk II of Anjou and Duke William of Aquitaine
Became a monk in 909
Served as an abbot
Pope John XI authorized him to reform the monasteries of northern France and Italy in 931.
Intervened several times to keep peace between Alberic of Rome and Hugh of Provence
Convinced secular rulers to relinquish control over monasteries
Wrote hymns, treatises on morality, an epic poem on the Redemption, and a life of St. Gerald of Aurillac.
P is for St. Procopius of Scythopolis
Feast day: July 8
Called “the Great” by Eusebius of Caesarea who wrote the account of his martyrdom
First victim of Diocletian’s persecution of the Church in Palestine
Q is for St. Quadragesimus
Feast day: October 26
Confessor
Shepherd
Subdeacon
Known for miracles. Pope St. Gregory the Great credited him with rasing a man from the dead.
R is for St. Ralph
Feast day: June 21
Not to be confused with The Simpsons character pictured above
AKA Raoul and Radulf
Son of Count Raoul of Cahors
Probably a monk and served as an abbot
Named bishop of Bourges in 840 AD
S is for St. Severus
Feast day: October 15
Not to be confused with the Harry Potter character pictured above
Born in Gaul
Missionary companion of St. Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes
Combated Pelagianism
Named Bishop of Treves in 446 AD
T is for St. Theodosia
Feast day: April 2
Not to be confused with the daughter or wife of Aaron Burr (portrayed by Leslie Odom, Jr. above)
Virgin Martyr
At the age of 18, she visited Caesarea. There, she encountered some Christians on their way to their execution. When she spoke to them, she was arrested, tortured, and murdered by being thrown into the sea.
U is for St. Ursala
Feast day: October 21
Not to be confused with the villain of The Little Mermaid pictured above
One legend states, she was the daughter of a Christian King in Britain. She and her ladies in waiting were massacred by Huns when she refused to marry their chieftain
Her legends grew around the history of a basilica that was built in honor of a group of virgins who were martyred at Cologne
V is for Victoria
Feast day: December 23
Not to be confused with Ted Mosby’s ex-girlfriend pictured above
She and her sister Antolia refused potential suitors and were imprisoned by them
Martyred when she refused to sacrifice to pagan gods
She was a real person. However, her life story may be a pious myth.
W is for St. Wolfgang
Feast day: October 31
Not to be confused with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart pictured above
Benedictine priest
Bishop of Regensburg
Reformer
Tutor to Emperor Henry II
X is for St. Xantippa
Feast day: September 23
Companion of Polyxena
Disciple of the Apostles
Died in Spain
Y is for Blessed Yvette
Feast day: January 13
Patronage: Brides, large families, and widows
Not to be confused with the maid from the movie Clue pictured above
Married at 13
Mothered three children
Widowed at 18
Despite many suitors after being widowed, she spurned them all to care for lepers
Spent final 36 years of her life as an anchoress and was responsible for many conversions (including the return of her father and one of her children to the Faith)
Z is for St. Zoe of Rome
Feast day: July 5
Married a Roman nobleman
Arrested while praying at the tomb of St. Peter
Martyred in 286 AD
Hung from a tree by her hair while she was burned to death
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