The Ave Maria Hour Radio Show: Recent Episodes
Ave Maria Hour Radio Show
This show is hosted by Fr. Bob Warren S.A., of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. Since its inception in 1898, reconciliation and healing through at-one-ment — the unity of men and women with God and one another — has been the mission of the Friars' work and ministries to people of every race, religion, and walk of life.
The social ministries of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement serve the poor, the needy, and the homeless, people living with HIV/AIDS, those in hospitals and prisons, and people seeking recovery from alcoholism and chemical dependency. The ecumenical work makes them leaders of the international movement to heal the divisions within Christianity, and among all faiths. Finally, their pastoral ministry is the vigorous outreach that brings atonement to diverse peoples worldwide.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Dramatization of the beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 5:3.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Bernardino was born in 1530 in Capri, Italy. At the age of 34, he became acquainted with priests of the Society of Jesus and made an eight-day retreat with them. During this retreat, he felt a strong call to religious life and asked to be admitted to the Jesuits. He was accepted and ordained a priest in 1567. For ten years he served in Naples, preaching, teaching catechism, visiting the sick, the poor and those in prison. He was eventually sent to Lecce, Italy.
Bernardino was well-known and loved for his work in Leece. He was a model confessor, a powerful preacher, a diligent catechist to the youth, as well as a Rector of the Jesuit college and Superior of the Community there. His charity to the poor and the sick knew no bounds and his kindness brought about the end of vendettas and public scandals.
St. Bernardino died in 1616, speaking the names of Jesus and Mary with his last breath. He was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1895 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947. His feast day is celebrated on July 2nd.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In the Acts of the Apostles, the Bible says that the apostles of Jesus needed helpers to care for widows and the poor. They ordained seven deacons to that task, and St. Stephen is the most famous of these. He is described as a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, who worked great miracles among the people.
Stephen preached forcefully and with wisdom about Jesus, telling all who would listen that Jesus is the Savior that God had promised to send. He scolded local Jewish authorities for not believing in Jesus. At that rebuke, they rose up in great anger and accused Stephen of blasphemy. They dragged him outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death. The saint prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and begged God not to punish his enemies for killing him.
St. Stephen is often depicted with stones, a Gospel Book, a miniature church and a martyr's palm frond. He is the patron saint of altar servers, bricklayers, casket makers and deacons. His feast day is celebrated on December 26.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Julia was a pious Carthaginian girl who, after being captured from her city, was sold as a slave to a pagan merchant. She accepted her slavery without complaint and remained fervent in her devotion to God.
One day while accompanying her master on a trip to France, Julia refused to attend a pagan festival, saying she wanted nothing to do with those superstitious ceremonies. The governor of that region was very angry with her for not joining in the pagan feast. "Who is that woman who dares to insult our gods?" he cried. Julia's master answered that she was a Christian and, although she would not give up her religion, Julia was an exemplary servant. The governor attempted to trade other slaves for Julia, but her master refused.
When the merchant was asleep, however, the wicked governor tried to force Julia to make a sacrifice to the gods. Although the governor promised to set her free, Julia refused. She said she was as free as she wanted to be as long as she could serve Jesus. The governor, in great anger, had her tortured and put to death.
St. Julia’s feast day is May 23rd.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is the story of Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, a pious and charitable ruler.
Amadeus was the son of Duke Louis I of Savoy. He was born in 1435 in Thonon, Savoy and betrothed as an infant to Princess Yolanda, the daughter of Charles VII of France. They were married in 1451, and Amadeus succeeded his father as Duke of Savoy.
Duke Amadeus proved to be a wise and fair ruler who strived for peace and was known for his compassion and generosity to the poor. On one occasion when a visiting ambassador bragged to Amadeus of all the fine hunting dogs that his monarch possessed, the Duke replied by pointing to a terrace filled with tables at which the hungry were being fed. "These," he said, "are my packs and my hunting dogs. It is with the help of these poor people that I chase after virtue and hunt for the kingdom of heaven."
Duke Amadeus was a lifelong victim of epilepsy. Around 1471, his seizures became so incapacitating that he entrusted the rule of his duchy to his wife Yolanda. His subjects became discontented and started a revolution, imprisoning the Duke. Only the intervention of King Louis XI of France, his brother-in-law, secured his release.
Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy died on March 30, 1472 at the age of 37. In 1677, Pope Innocent XI proclaimed the generous ruler "blessed."
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born into a peasant family at Riva, Italy, young Dominic joined St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians, as a student at the Oratory in Turin at the age of 12. He impressed John Bosco with his desire to be a priest and to help him in his work with neglected boys. A peacemaker and an organizer, young Dominic founded a group he called the Company of the Immaculate Conception which, besides being devotional, aided John Bosco with the boys and with manual work.
As a youth, Dominic spent hours rapt in prayer during which he would experience visions. Even in play, he said that at times, “It seems heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh.” Dominic would say, “I can’t do big things. But I want all I do, even the smallest thing, to be for the greater glory of God.”
Dominic’s health, always frail, led to lung problems and he was sent home to recuperate. As was the custom of the day, he was bled in the thought that this would help, but it only worsened his condition. He died on March 9, 1857, after receiving the Last Sacraments.
Some thought that Dominic was too young to be considered a saint. Saint Pius X declared that just the opposite was true, and went ahead with his cause. Dominic was canonized in 1954. His feast day is celebrated on May 6.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Rose Hawthorne was born on May 20, 1851, in Lenox, Massachusetts, to American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia. Rose married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871. In 1876, they had a son, Francis, who lived only until the age of 5. The couple eventually separated. George Lathrop died in 1898.
Rose’s search for meaning in life inspired her extensive charity work. The death of a dear friend from cancer moved Rose to work with people with incurable illnesses. In the summer of 1896, she trained as a nurse at the New York Cancer Hospital, the first institution in the United States to provide training in treating cancer while general hospitals in the city did not admit patients with cancer. Later that year, she founded a charitable organization named after Saint Rose of Lima, Sister Rose's Free Home, to care for impoverished cancer patients. In 1900, she founded a new religious order, the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. Rose became its first Mother Superior, taking the name Mother Mary Alphonsa. The order, now known as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, opened a facility called St. Rose's Home on Water Street in Manhattan. The facility was later moved north of New York City to what is now Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne.
Mother Mary Alphonsa died in her sleep on July 9, 1926. She was buried on the grounds of the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters in Hawthorne, N.Y. In 2003, Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, approved the movement for her canonization. Mother Mary Alphonsa now has the title "Servant of God" in the Catholic Church.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Sebastian de Aparicio y del Pardo, OFM (1502 – 1600) was born in Spain and moved to Mexico in 1533. His background in ranching led him to work rounding up wild cattle, and he became known as the first Mexican cowboy, or charro. His experience moving cattle made him realize that Mexico needed a road system. He constructed highways from Veracruz to Puebla, Zacatecas, Mexico City, and other places.
After a lifetime of successful work as a rancher and road builder, Sebastian gave all his wealth and possessions to the poor and entered the Order of Friars Minor as a lay brother at the age of 72. He spent the next 26 years of his life as a beggar for the Order and had a reputation for great holiness.
Sebastian died at the age of 98. He was beatified by Pope Pius VI in 1789 and is known as a patron of travelers. His feast day is celebrated on February 25.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Valentine is a third-century Roman saint. Few facts about his life are known, but one of the legends attributed to him involves a miraculous healing. Valentine was a priest arrested for trying to convert people to Christianity, a crime punishable by death. While under house arrest in the home of a local judge, Valentine was introduced to the judge’s blind daughter. Valentine prayed to God to restore the girl’s sight, if it be His will. The girl’s vision was restored.
St. Valentine was martyred on February 14, 269 AD.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born to a noble and wealthy family in the town of Piacenza, Italy, Conrad’s early life was marked by privilege and leisure but also a deep faith in the Lord. Having married quite young, both he and his wife were recognized for their piety and charity.
During a hunting outing, Conrad ordered his attendants to scatter some brush and light it on fire in attempts to smoke out some game hiding there. Without warning, a great wind arose, spreading the fire and causing severe damage to neighbors’ homes and land. Authorities mistakenly arrested a mendicant friar living in the area, and the man was tried and sentenced to death. Conrad confessed to the crime and sold all his possessions to pay restitution to those who had lost property. Now destitute, he and his wife separated, Conrad entering a monastery of the Franciscan Order, and his wife entering the Order of Poor Clares.
St. Conrad spent the remainder of his life in Rome, and then in Sicily, living a life of repentance, penance, and austerity. As news of his piety and holiness spread, he received many visitors which forced him to relocate numerous times, preferring the solitude of penitence. He fled to the valley of Noto, Italy, where he lived as a hermit for 36 years.
Numerous miracles have been attributed to St. Conrad during his lifetime and also at his tomb in Noto, Italy after his death. Conrad died while praying before a crucifix in 1350. While he is recognized and referred to as saint, Conrad has never been officially canonized.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
A powerful episode demonstrating the virtue of charity by which we love God above all things.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome in 1795 and began studies for the priesthood very early in life. He was ordained at 23 years of age and earned a doctorate in theology soon afterward. He was given an assistant professorship at the Sapienza University but resigned it soon after to devote himself to pastoral work.
Pallotti organized schools for shoemakers, tailors, coachmen, carpenters, and gardeners so that they could better work at their trade, as well as evening classes for young farmers and unskilled workers. He gave away his books, his possessions, and even his clothes to the poor. In 1835, he founded his two congregations and was instrumental in the founding of a missionary order in England and several colleges for the training of missionaries.
St. Vincent Pallotti died in 1850 at the age of 55 and his body lies incorrupt in the church of San Salvatore in Rome. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1963.His feast day is celebrated on January 22nd.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The story of a young girl who is in conflict with her mother over whether she should return to a convent school after her holiday visit home.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blandina Segale, S.C., more commonly known as Sister Blandina, was an Italian-born American religious sister and missionary who became widely known through her service on the American frontier in the late 19th century.
Born in Italy in 1850, Sr. Blandina came to America at the age of 4 and grew up to become a Sister of Charity of Cincinatti. Her ministry led her to the frontier West, where she challenged Billy the Kid, calmed angry mobs and worked as a teacher and social worker. She taught poor and immigrant children in Ohio, Colorado and New Mexico. Her encounters with Old West outlaws were so legendary that the CBS series "Death Valley Days" aired an episode based on her life called "The Fastest Nun in the West." Sr. Blandina founded St. Joseph's Hospital in Albuquerque before returning to Cincinnati in 1897 to start Santa Maria Institute, which served immigrants.
Sr. Blandina died in 1941. In 2014, Archbishop Michael Sheehan of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe received permission from the Vatican to open a “Cause for Sainthood” for Sr. Blandina Segale. The Cause is currently ongoing.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
"As Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him." (Matthew 4:18-20) Andrew and Simon were the first disciples of Jesus.
As in the case of all the apostles except Peter and John, the Gospels tell us little about the holiness of Andrew. He was an Apostle, personally chosen by Jesus to proclaim the Good News, to heal with Jesus’ power and to share his life and death. Andrew preached in what is now modern Greece and Turkey and was crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross. The feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle is celebrated on November 30.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This episode illustrates the biblical Book of Job. In the scriptures, Job is described as a blessed man who lives righteously in the Land of Uz. The Lord's praise of Job prompts Satan to suggest that Job serves God simply because God has been generous with him. God removes Job's protection and gives permission to Satan to take his wealth, his children, and his physical health but not his life.
As these afflictions become almost unbearable, Job does not curse God, but rather curses the day of his birth. And although he anguishes over his plight, he stops short of accusing God of injustice. Job’s friends argue with him whether the punishments are justified and offer him solutions. Job rebukes his friends, saying that he accepts that his affliction is God's will even though he despairs at not knowing why. Job’s faith in God is rewarded with his being restored to an even better condition than his former wealthy state.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Daniel, Franciscan provincial of Calabria, Italy, led a contingent of Franciscan friars who were inspired by the example of St. Berard to preach the Gospel in North Africa in 1227. The six other friars were Angelo, Domnus, Hugolino, Leo, Nicholas, and Samuel. They came to Ceuta, Morocco, where the Christian merchants warned them against preaching.
The friars, however, were so enthusiastic they preached openly and were immediately imprisoned. Unpersuaded by bribes, threats, and torture, they refused to renounce their faith and were martyred. All were canonized in 1516. Their feast day is celebrated on October 10.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Paola Elisabetta was born Costanza Cerioli in 1816 in Soncino, Italy, the last of 16 children born into a noble family. A frail child, she lived at home until she was 11 years old, when she was sent off to school in Bergamo, where she learned to depend on God and to find her comfort in him.
At age 19, she married a 59-year-old widower, Gaetano Busecchi. Her difficult marriage lasted 19 years. Three of her four children died prematurely. The fourth, Carlo, lived only to age 16 and died the same year as her husband.
Costanza, now 38, began to visit and assist the sick and to share her belongings with the poor and orphans. In 1856, she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Young women asked to join her, forming the Sisters of the Holy Family. Costanza took the name Sister Paola Elisabetta. Mother Paola’s her special care was to form her religious sons and daughters to love and educate the neglected and lost ones under their care. She died on December 24, 1865.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in Avila, Spain in 1515. Her parents were pious Catholics and in some ways inspired their daughter to take up a life of prayer. As a young child, Teresa showed signs of a deeply religious nature; she would often retreat into silence for prayer and would enjoy giving alms to the poor.
At the age of 16, Teresa’s father sent her to a convent school to be educated. There Teresa found her calling to a spiritual life and became a nun of the Carmelite Order. Shortly after becoming a nun, Teresa suffered a severe bout of malaria, which left her in great pain for a long period. At one point it was feared that her illness was so severe that she would not be able to recover. However, during this period of intense physical pain, she began to experience divine visions and an inner sense of peace.
At the age of 43, St. Teresa decided to found a new order recommitting to the values of poverty and simplicity. She founded the convent of Discalced Carmelite Nuns and devoted much of the rest of her life to travelling around Spain setting up new convents.
St. Teresa of Avila died in 1582 at the age of 67. She was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. Her feast day is celebrated on October 15.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Roman Catholics and Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.
According to legend, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Lady Richeldis and transported her soul from England to Nazareth during a religious ecstasy to show her the house where the Holy Family once lived. Our Lady tasked Lady Richeldis to build a replica of the home in which the Annunciation of Archangel Gabriel occurred. The task was accomplished as requested. The building structure came to be known as the "Holy House," and later became a shrine and place of pilgrimage.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
As a thirteen-year-old shepherd of Sisan, Turkey, Simeon heard a Gospel reading of the Beatitudes that greatly affected him. Entering a nearby monastery, he learned all the Psalms by heart and began to manifest the extraordinary spirit of self-denial that was to become a hallmark of his spirituality.
Thereafter Simeon lived as a hermit. In the year 423 he imposed on himself the unusual mortification of living atop a pillar only a few feet in diameter and about ten feet high. Later a much taller pillar over sixty-five feet high was built for him. The local bishops and abbots tested his virtue by commanding him to come down from the pillar, a command they immediately rescinded after the hermit demonstrated his humble willingness to obey them. One bishop even brought him Holy Communion.
Simeon devoted himself to prayer, but also gave exhortations twice daily to those who gathered around the pillar to hear him. His words won the conversion of pagans in the audience. Simeon would urge his listeners to pray for the salvation of souls.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, was born in Hungary in 1207 to the Hungarian King Andrew II and Gertrude of Merania. At the age of four, Elizabeth was betrothed to Ludwig IV of Thuringia, a German nobleman.
In 1221, Elizabeth and Ludwig were married. Together the couple had three children. At around the same time period, Franciscan friars arrived in Thuringia and taught 16-year-old Elizabeth all about Francis of Assisi's ideals. She made a decision to live her life mirroring his. Ludwig, who was now one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported and encouraged Elizabeth's religious endeavors even though she was a part of the royal court. The couple lived with a remarkable generosity toward the poor.
Tragedy struck when Ludwig died in 1227. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and in 1228, renounced the world, joining the Third Order of St. Francis. Having received her dowry, Elizabeth founded a hospital in honor of St. Francis, where she personally devoted herself to the care of the sick.
Elizabeth died at the age of 24 on November 17, 1231 in Marburg, Hesse. She was canonized in 1235 by Pope Gregory IX.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Rose of Lima is remembered for her piety and chastity. Born in 1586 in Lima, Peru to Spanish colonists, and named Isabel Flores de Olivia, she was exceptionally beautiful. Her beauty was so great that she was nicknamed "Rose."
From an early age, Rose wanted to become a nun. She often prayed and fasted in secret. Rose kept herself cloistered in her room, spending long periods in prayer. It was said she slept only two hours per night so as to have more time for prayer. When she turned 20, Rose was permitted to join the Third Order of St. Dominic. She continued a life of extreme prayer, fasting and penance.
St. Rose died in 1617 at the age of 31. Pope Clement IX beatified her in 1667 and Pope Clement X recognized her as a saint, canonizing her in 1671. Her feast day is celebrated on August 23.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born in Bithynia, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), circa 248, St. Helena was married to Roman Emperor Constantius and had a son who would become Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to become a Christian. St. Helena, who converted as well, oversaw the construction of churches on Holy Land sites. She would later be credited with discovering the cross upon which Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified.
St. Helena was renowned for helping entire communities through her works of charity. She helped the poor and destitute. She visited churches and left them rich donations. St. Helena was a very devout servant of God. Through her influence and work, Christianity continued to spread throughout the known world.
St. Helena died circa 328 in Nicomedia (present-day Turkey). Her feast day is celebrated on August 18.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Joan of Aza was born in the Old Castile region of Spain. The date of her birth is unrecorded. She married Felix de Guzman, governor of Calaruega, Burgos, Spain circa 1165.
Joan and her husband had three grown children together. While pregnant with her fourth child, Joan had a dream of a dog carrying a torch in his mouth. When she shared this dream with her spiritual director, he suggested that this meant that the child she carried would grow to become the watchdog of the Church. She gave birth to a son and named him Dominic. That child grew up to be St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers, the first order within the Church to focus on study and spreading of the Word of God.
Joan of Aza died circa 1190 in Celeruga, Spain. Popular devotion to Joan sprang up almost immediately upon her death. She was beatified in 1828 by Pope Leo XII. Her memorial day is celebrated on August 2.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Francis Ignatius Vincent Peis was born in Laconi, Italy on December 17, 1701 to a poor farming family. His mother named him Francis because she attributed his safe delivery after a difficult pregnancy to the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi. In her petitions, she promised the saint that she would name her baby Francis and that he would join the Capuchins as an adult.
Since his early childhood, Francis demonstrated a capacity for hard work in the fields and a strong piety. He would often be seen in prayer and was known to wait at the church doors every morning in prayer until they were opened. Francis wanted to join the Capuchins as a teenager, but his father would not allow him to because the family depended on his labor to survive. However, on surviving a riding accident through God’s intervention at the age of 20, he decided to enter the Capuchin monastery at once, and took his vows a year later, taking his second name, Ignatius, as his religious name.
Ignatius spent his first 15 years as a Capuchin doing various menial jobs around the monastery and for the last 40 years of his life he was appointed questor, or official beggar for the monastery. He would travel around the town collecting food and donations for the friars. He was particularly well-loved by the poor and by children, and was often given alms by those who barely had anything to give. He refused them from the very poor, saying that it was better that they keep it for themselves. He tended to the sick during his daily rounds through town, and many miracles of healing were said to have occurred through his intercession.
St. Ignatius of Laconi died in 1781. He was canonized 1951 by Pope Pius XII.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Bridget of Sweden was born circa 1303 to a prestigious family. From an early age, she had remarkable religious visions that prompted her to lead a simple and pious life. In 1316 she married Ulf Gudmarsson, later governor of the province of Nericia, and bore eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden.
Following the death of her husband in 1344, Bridget retired to a life of penance and prayer near the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra. To the prior, Peter Olafsson, she dictated the revelations that came to her, and he translated them into Latin. One was a command to found a new religious order. In 1370, she founded the Birgittines, also known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Bridget ministered among the rich and poor, sheltering the homeless and sinners, and worked tirelessly for the return of the papacy from Avignon to Rome.
St. Bridget of Sweden died in 1373 and was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX. Her feast day is celebrated on July 23.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born on July 5, 1773 in Le Blanc, France, Elizabeth was the daughter of Antoine Bichier, the Seigneur of Ages and a public official, and Marie Augier de Moussac, whose father was a politician. She spent much of her childhood at the convent at Poitiers.
In 1792, after the death of her father, Elizabeth and her mother went to live in La Guimetière. Near their new home was a parish left in chaos because of the French Revolution. Elizabeth dedicated herself to rebuilding the community. Every night she gathered parishioners for prayers and hymns. Elizabeth became friends with a local priest, André-Hubert Fournet (who later became a saint), and together they reestablished religion in the area.
With Fr. Fournet’s spiritual guidance and assistance, Elizabeth found her true vocation. In 1806, she established a religious congregation of women to care for the sick and aged, for the education of children, and to offer reparation for the blasphemies and sacrileges committed against the Most Blessed Sacrament during the French Revolution. The congregation was officially recognized by the diocese in 1816 and named Daughters of the Cross. During her lifetime, Elizabeth established over sixty convents under the rule of the Daughters of the Cross.
In 1836, Elizabeth fell seriously ill. After ten days of intense suffering, she died on August 26. She was canonized in 1947.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Thomas was born a Jew and was called to be one of the twelve Apostles. His birth and death dates are unknown, but his feast day is celebrated July 3. He lived before the formal establishment of the Catholic Church but is recognized as the patron saint of architects.
He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities.
At the Last Supper, when Christ told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday earned him the title of "doubting Thomas."
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Aloysius Gonzaga was born the eldest of seven children in Castiglione, Italy into the illustrious House of Gonzaga. As the first-born son, he stood to inherit his father's title and status. However, by the age of 9 Aloysius had decided on a religious life. Wishing for a strong heir to perpetuate the family name, his father violently objected.
Eventually, his father relented. In 1585, Aloysius gave up all rights of inheritance and was accepted into the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Rome. In 1587, he took his religious vows and began studying theology to prepare for ordination.
In 1591, a plague broke out in Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital for the stricken, and Aloysius volunteered to work there. He begged for alms and washed and fed the victims. He soon contracted the disease and died in 1591 at the age of 23. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was beatified in 1605 by Pope Paul V and canonized in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. His feast day is celebrated on June 21.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Anthony of Padua was born on August 15, 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal to a prominent family. At 15 years of age, St. Anthony, then-called Ferdinand, entered the Order of St. Augustine. The young monk, viewing a solemn funeral procession for five Franciscans who were martyred in Morocco, was inspired to leave the Augustinian monastery to become a Franciscan. He took the name Anthony.
The life of St. Anthony of Padua was filled with great and holy experiences. A nobleman who lived close to Padua, Italy had a large property which housed a chapel and a hermitage for the friars. St. Anthony often stayed at there. One night, his small room filled up with light. Jesus appeared to Anthony in the form of a tiny child. Passing by the hermitage, the nobleman saw the light shining from the room and St. Anthony holding and speaking with the infant. The nobleman fell to his knees upon seeing this wondrous sight. When the vision ended, St. Anthony saw the man kneeling at the open door and begged him not to reveal what he had seen until after Anthony’s death. Artwork depicting St. Anthony of Padua frequently shows him holding the infant Jesus in his arms.
St. Anthony of Padua died on June 13, 1231 in Padua, Italy at the age of 36. He was canonized less than one year later by Pope Gregory IX.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Damien of Molokai, also called Father Damien, was born Jozef De Veuster on January 3, 1840 in Tremelo, Belgium. He was educated at the college of Braine-le-Comte, and in 1858 he joined the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at Leuven, Belgium. In 1863, Fr. Damien went as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands. Moved by the miserable condition of the lepers whom the Hawaiian government had deported to the island of Molokai, he volunteered to take charge of the settlement.
Fr. Damien served as both pastor and physician to the colony and undertook many projects to better the conditions there. He improved water and food supplies and housing and founded two orphanages.
After sixteen years in the colony, Fr. Damien succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889 at the age of 49. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Joan of Arc was born on January 6, 1412 in Domremy, France to a peasant family. She was only 12 when she experienced a vision and heard voices that she later identified as Saints Michael the Archangel, Catherine of Alexandria, and Margaret of Antioch. Joan believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its Hundred Years’ War with England.
With no military training, Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orleans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by the English and tried for witchcraft and heresy. She was found guilty and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19. She was posthumously acquitted at a retrial 25 years later. Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Lutgarde was born in 1182 in Tongres, Belgium. When she was twelve she was placed in St. Catherine's Benedictine Convent at Saint Trond because her family did not have the necessary dowry for marriage.
During her teenage years, a young man fell in love with her and began paying her frequent visits. One day, while Lutgarde was speaking with her admirer, a vision of Jesus appeared before her and revealed the spear wound in His side. Her eyes fixed upon the wound in the Heart of Christ, she lost all consciousness of her surroundings and indicated to her visitor that something extraordinary had happened. This vision of Christ compelled Lutgarde to become a Benedictine nun.
St. Lutgarde had many mystical experiences, levitated, and had a form of the stigmata. She was blind for the last eleven years of her life, and died of natural causes on June 16, 1246 at the age of 64. She is revered as one of the leading mystics of the 13th century.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born near Aosta in Italy in 1033, St. Anselm began his education under the tutelage of the monks of a local Benedictine monastery. At age 27, he fulfilled his desire to be a monk. He entered the monastery of Bec in Normandy and was elected Prior three years later. St. Anselm was later named Abbot of the monastery. In 1093 he was summoned to England to become the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The brilliance of St. Anselm's thinking and writing about the nature of faith and of God has influenced scholars since the Middle Ages. His written works have been studied and praised by many of the world's greatest theologians and philosophers.
St. Anselm died in the year 1109. We celebrate his feast day on April 21.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City on August 28, 1774 to a prominent Episcopal family. At the age of 19, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman. The couple’s happy life turned tragic when William's business went bankrupt and his health failed. William died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving Elizabeth penniless with five small children to support.
After discovering Catholicism in Italy, where she had lived for a short period of time, Elizabeth returned to New York and joined the Catholic Church in 1805. In 1809, she made her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the Sisters of Charity, the first community for religious women established in the United States. She also began St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, planting the seeds of Catholic education in the United States. Her legacy now includes religious congregations in the United States and Canada, whose members work to meet the needs of people living in poverty.
Elizabeth Ann Seton died on January 4, 1821 at the age of 46. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1963 and canonized on September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
John Baptist de la Salle was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Born to a wealthy family in Rheims, France in 1651, La Salle felt called to the priesthood very early in life. La Salle received the tonsure at age 11 and was named canon of Rheims Cathedral when he was 16. He was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 26.
Inspired by a fellow Frenchman who had opened four schools for poor boys, Fr. LaSalle founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools. They were the first religious order established to educate the poor. La Salle was one of the first to emphasize classroom teaching over individual instruction and age-level grades. He taught students in their native language instead of instructing them in Latin, as was commonly done. Students were also encouraged to learn a trade so they could support themselves and a family after they completed their education.
John Baptist de la Salle died in 1719 and was canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. He was named "Patron Saint of Teachers" by Pope Pius XII in 1950. We celebrate his feast day on April 7.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In this powerful episode, the story of Jesus’ trip from Bethany to Jerusalem is told through the lens of two people in the desert.
A crippled Bedouin Arab chieftain, traveling through the desert to find the "Miracle Worker," is abandoned by his caretaker brother and left to die so he could take over the tribe. Rachel, a follower of the Nazarene, finds the chief near death in the desert, hungry and thirsty. She learns the chief was on the road seeking Jesus’ healing. She reveals that she has already been healed from a sinful life by Jesus. Rachel leaves to find food and returns worried that the townspeople are plotting to imprison the so-called Messiah. She wants to warn Jesus of what awaits Him in Jerusalem. The chief is more interested in finding Jesus so he will cure his lameness.
Jesus tells the chief that he must first forgive his brother before he can be truly healed.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Patrick of Ireland was born in Britain around the year 386. Around the age of fourteen, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream in which God told him to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain and was reunited with his family.
Patrick entered the priesthood and, inspired by a vision, he returned to Ireland, then a land of Druids and pagans. Patrick spent 40 years preaching the Gospel and converting people throughout Ireland. He built churches across the country, and many miracles were attributed to him. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. We observe the Feast of St. Patrick on March 17.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Catherine de Vigri was born on September 8, 1413 in Bologna, Italy. She was a member of an aristocratic family and the daughter of a diplomat to the Marquis of Ferrara. Catherine received a wonderful education in reading, writing, singing and drawing while being raised at the court of the Marquis. She excelled in painting, Latin and the viola. When the Marquis’ daughter eventually married, she wanted Catherine to remain in her service, but Catherine instead became a Franciscan Tertiary. Eventually, the community to which Catherine belonged adopted the second rule of the Franciscans, joining the Order of the Poor Clares.
Catherine was graced with many spiritual gifts throughout her life. A mystic, she frequently experienced visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christ at the hour of His crucifixion, and Satan. In the most remarkable of her visions, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Catherine with the swaddled baby Jesus in her arms. The Mother of God handed the Infant to Catherine, who joyously held Him and kissed His cheek.
St. Catherine of Bologna lived a Christian life of perfect piety, charity, and kindness. She died in 1463 at the age of 50. She was canonized on May 22, 1712 by Pope Clement XI. Her feast day is celebrated on March 9.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The valiant woman who became world-renown as Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Macedonia. At the age of 18, she joined the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland and took the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux. In 1929, she was sent to Calcutta, India to become a teacher. In 1946, Mother Teresa, as she was now called, received inspiration to leave her job as a teacher and minister among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. She established the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, a community dedicated to that cause. Today their foundations are located all over the world. Mother Teresa received worldwide recognition for her work and, in 1979, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She humbly received awards and accolades "for the glory of God and in the name of the poor."
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Orsola Giuliani was born on December 27, 1660 in Mercatello, Italy. At the age of 17, Orsola was received into the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Città di Castello in Umbria, Italy, taking the name of Veronica in memory of the Passion. At the conclusion of the ceremony of her reception, the bishop said to the abbess: "I commend this new daughter to your special care, for she will one day be a great saint."
After 17 years in various offices in her community, she was entrusted with the guidance of the novices. It was at this time in her life when Veronica began to experience mystical revelations and she received the stigmata. Veronica was examined and tested by a local bishop. At the conclusion of these trials, the bishop reported to Rome that his tests had proved the admirable manifestations to be the work of God.
St. Veronica Giuliani died on July 9, 1727. She was canonized by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839. Her feast day is July 9.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Hildegard, also called Hildegard of Bingen, was born in 1098 in Bockelheim, Germany to noble parents. She was educated at the Benedictine cloister of Disibodenberg by the holy woman, Blessed Jutta. She received her habit at age 15 and began a religious life. Hildegard succeeded Jutta as prioress in 1136. Having experienced visions since she was a child, at age 43 she consulted her confessor, who in turn reported the matter to the Archbishop of Mainz. A committee of theologians subsequently confirmed the authenticity of Hildegard’s visions, and a monk was appointed to help her record them in writing. The finished work, Scivias (1141–52), consists of 26 visions that are prophetic and apocalyptic in form and in their treatment of such topics as the church, the relationship between God and humanity, and redemption. About 1147 Hildegard left Disibodenberg with several nuns to found a new convent at Rupertsberg, where she continued to exercise the gift of prophecy and to record her visions in writing.
St. Hildegard died on September 17, 1179 at the age of 81. Although she was long considered a saint, Hildegard was not formally canonized until May 10, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. Later that year, Benedict proclaimed St. Hildegard a Doctor of the Church, one of only four women to have been so named.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Alfred Bessette was born in Quebec on August 9, 1845. Alfred was a sickly and frail child, but from an early age he had a deep faith in God and a strong devotion to St. Joseph. His pastor encouraged Alfred to consider a vocation to religious life. With the assistance of the Archbishop of Montreal, he was received into the Congregation of Holy Cross at the age of 25.
Alfred took the name Andre in religious life. Brother Andre was assigned as doorkeeper of Notre Dame College in Montreal where he greeted visitors and tended to their needs. Many people began to experience physical healings after praying with Brother Andre, and he became to be known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal." His desire to increase devotion to St. Joseph inspired Brother Andre to found Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal in Quebec.
Brother Andre died on January 6, 1937 at the age of 91. He became the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross when he was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Angela Merici was born on March 21, 1474 in Desenzano, Italy. At just 10-years-old, Angela and her older sister were orphaned and went to live with their uncle in Saló. There they led a quiet and devout Catholic Christian life. After the untimely death of her sister, Angela was saddened by the fact that she had not had the opportunity to receive her last Sacraments and was concerned for her sister's eternal salvation. Angela was inspired by the Holy Spirit to dedicate herself to the Lord and to give her life in service to the Church to help everyone grow closer to the Lord. In a vision, Angela saw her sister in the company of the saints in Heaven. She became increasingly more devout and joined the secular Third Order of St. Francis.
When Angela was 20-years-old, she returned to her hometown of Desenzano. She found there were many young girls who had no education at all, and her heart was moved to find a way to help them. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Angela founded the Ursulines, a religious community of women with a teaching ministry. The Ursulines opened schools and orphanages and in 1537, Angela was elected "Mother and Mistress" of the group.
St. Angela Merici died on January 27, 1540 and was canonized on May 24, 1807 by Pope Pius VII. Her feast day is celebrated on January 27.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Genevieve was a peasant girl born around 422 in Nanterre, France. When Genevieve was only 7 years-old, St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre visited Nanterre on his way to Britain. While he was there, many people flocked to receive his blessing. The child Genevieve stood amid a crowd which had gathered around the Bishop, and he singled her out and foretold her future sanctity.
Encouraged by Germanus, Genevieve dedicated her life to prayer, practices of devotion and a acts of penance. When she was only 15-years-old, she met with the Bishop of Paris and asked to become a nun. From this moment, she also began praying continuously and fasting, eating only twice a week, as a sign of her devotion to God.
Her dedicated Christian way of life was filled with the signs of the Holy Spirit working through her. The signs included miracles and spiritually-inspired predictions. She frequently had visions of heavenly angels and saints. However, when she shared those visions and experiences of the Lord, people began to turn against her. They called her a hypocrite and accused her of being a false visionary.
When Attila and his army of Huns came upon Paris, the Parisian Christians were prepared to run, but Genevieve spoke to them and convinced them to stay within their homes, fast and pray to the Lord. She assured them they would have the protection of Heaven. Her prediction came true as Attila suddenly changed his path and turned away from Paris. The people no longer doubted Genevieve’s holiness.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In today’s episode, a troubled woman is unable to move on from her painful past. Her priest reminds her that our Lord’s grace and strength indwells and sustains us when we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Alexandre De Rhodes (1591 -1660) was a Jesuit missionary and the first Frenchman to visit Vietnam. De Rhodes was admitted to the Society of Jesus at Rome in 1612 and in 1619 went to Indochina to establish a mission. He later estimated that he had converted some 6,700 Vietnamese to the Roman Catholic faith.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In today’s episode, an American reporter is sent to Portugal to write an updated story on the miraculous Marian apparitions that occurred in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Jude is the Patron Saint of Hope and Impossible Causes. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he made profound differences in people’s lives as he offered them the Word of God.
St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus. This recalls one of his miracles in which the King of Edessa, stricken with leprosy, is cured after looking at a cloth with the image of Jesus impressed upon it. This event is the subject of today’s broadcast.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. http://www.AtonementFriars.org
Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish knight and a freed slave from Panama. Martin's father abandoned the poverty-stricken family when Martin was very young. Martin attended school for only two years before being apprenticed to a barber/surgeon where he learned to cut hair and was also trained in medical practices.
In Peru, by law, mixed-race persons were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. Martin, who spent long hours in prayer, begged the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a volunteer laborer. Eventually, he became a lay brother in the order. Martin worked in the infirmary where he was praised for his unconditional care of all people, regardless of race or wealth. Martin’s life reflected his great love for God, and many miracles were attributed to him during his lifetime.
St. Martin de Porres died on November 3, 1639 at the age of 60. He was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on October 29, 1837 and canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962. His feast day is November 3.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s episode illustrates the admonition in Matthew 6:19: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume."
A man believes his material wealth, which affords him power and influence over others, is the epitome of success. However, when faced with the loss of his money and status and in mortal danger, the man comes to realize that his pursuit of worldly treasures has come at a cost to his spiritual life.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Olaf II Haraldsson was born c. 995. The son of King Harald Grenske of Norway, he spent most of his youth as a Norse raider until 1010 when he was baptized at Rouen. He ascended to the throne in 1015 and worked to advance the Christianization of the country, bringing clergy from England to organize the Church of Norway. By the end of the 11th century, the country was primarily Christian.
Olaf II was killed in battle on July 29, 1030. His popularity, church work, and the aura of legend that surrounded his death, which was supposedly accompanied by miracles, led to his canonization in 1031. His popularity spread rapidly; churches and shrines were constructed in his honor in England, Sweden, and Rome.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Today’s episode tells the story of Christopher Columbus’ efforts to convince King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance a sailing expedition to find a western route to the Orient. Columbus finally obtained royal support in 1492. This was achieved with the intervention of Juan Pérez, Superior of the Franciscan friars of La Rábida, near Huelva, with whom Columbus had stayed in the summer of 1491.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Francis of Assisi was born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, in Umbria, Italy in 1181 to a wealthy cloth merchant and his wife. One day as he prayed in the Church of St. Damian, near Assisi, for guidance and direction in his life, Francis heard the voice of the Lord telling him to, "Go and repair my house, which you see is falling down." He understood this to mean the physical building in which he knelt. Later he came to realize that the brokenness he was called to repair was the Holy Church itself. Francis encouraged people to turn away from materialism and sin. He trusted God to provide the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. He founded the mendicant Franciscan religious order in 1209.
Francis died on October 3, 1226 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228. His feast day is celebrated on October 4.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is the dramatic story of Andy Ahearn, a young husband and father who is injured in an accident and told he would be crippled for the rest of his life. After years of struggling to survive with his disability, Andy learns of a shrine dedicated to St. Anne de Beaupre, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the many cases of people who were healed after praying to St. Anne.
Andy scrapes together the money needed for the trip and journeys from his home in Massachusetts to the shrine in Quebec. At the foot of St. Anne’s statue, Andy prays for a miracle and promises that if he is cured, he will organize annual pilgrimages to the site so that others can bring their prayers of intercession to the grandmother of Jesus.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s episode dramatizes the Christian virtue of veracity. Don Taylor, a television script editor, is pressured by his producer to give false testimony in a dispute with a writer. Don knows that the writer is entitled to compensation from the producer, who reneged on an agreement to purchase the man’s script.
Siding with the writer will cost Don his job and harm his family financially. Can Don maintain his integrity when his very livelihood is at stake?
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Olympias was born around the year 368 into a wealthy Constantinople family. She was orphaned as a child and raised by a governess. At age 16 Olympias married a rich nobleman but was widowed a few years later. The Roman Emperor Theodosius arranged a second marriage for Olympias, but she refused to consent to it, choosing instead to dedicate her life to Christian works. She was a devout follower of St. John Chrysostom, who was a profound influence on her life.
As punishment for her refusal to remarry, the Emperor seized Olympias’ family fortune and put it into a trust until her thirtieth birthday. When her fortune was restored to her, Olympias organized a community of women to help the needy. Under her leadership, the women dedicated themselves to generosity to the poor and care for the sick. She established a hospital and an orphanage and was tireless in her charitable works.
St. Olympias died around the year 410. Her feast day is December 17.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s episode tells the story of Blaise Marmoiton (1812 – 1847), French missionary and professed brother of the Society of Mary (Marists). Brother Blaise accompanied other Marist missionaries to New Caledonia, a French territory comprising dozens of islands in the South Pacific, to found a new mission station in 1843. He and the other missionaries ministered to the native population, most of whom were distrustful of the foreigners.
Blaise Mormoiton was martyred at the age of 35 during an attack by a hostile local tribe.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In this week’s episode, a medical doctor forgoes a prestigious career to practice in a poor neighborhood and to treat a population who would not normally have access to good medical care. The doctor personifies the Good Samaritan from the parable in Luke 10:25-37 – a man who showed mercy to another in need instead of ignoring his plight.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is the poignant story of a Polish army lieutenant during WWII. He is taken captive by the Nazis and imprisoned at Auschwitz, a sentence of certain death. Surrounded by unspeakable horror unfolding every day at the prison, the man plans to either escape or die trying. The officer’s life is changed by a fellow prisoner, a priest who demonstrates perfect faith in God’s will for his life.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is a dramatization of the Gospel stories written in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9. It is a beautiful retelling of the Lord’s impact on the lives of Martha of Bethany, her sister Mary Magdalene, and her brother Lazarus, a family whose faith and love for "the Prophet from Nazareth" impacted their lives in remarkable ways.
St. Martha’s feast day is July 29.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Lawrence was born on July 22, 1559, in the town of Brindisi, Italy. When he was just 16, he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Venice. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained a priest at 23.
St. Lawrence was elected major superior of the Capuchin Franciscan province of Tuscany at the age of 31 and was responsible for great growth and expansion of the Order. Famous for his oratory skills and diplomacy, St. Lawrence was appointed papal emissary and peacemaker, a job which took him to a number of foreign countries.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi died on his sixtieth birthday, July 22, 1619. He was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959. His Feast Day is July 21.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Bonaventure was born in 1217. He was a gifted teacher of philosophy and theology and an eloquent speaker who was recognized in his day for his wisdom and ability to reconcile opposing views. In 1256 he successfully defended the Franciscan ideal of the Christian life against a fellow university professor who sought to bar mendicants (friars who begged for a living) from attaining teaching positions.
At the age of 35, St. Bonaventure was chosen as the seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor. During his tenure, St. Bonaventure composed the definitive biography of St. Francis of Assisi. He was named Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Italy by Pope Gregory X in 1273.
Saint Bonaventure died on July 15, 1274. He was canonized in 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Roman Catholic missionaries to China first arrived from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. They had little success in establishing the Church in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Missionaries in the 1930’s encountered fierce opposition from the political parties and warlords who fought with each other for power. Northern Tibet was forbidden to westerners, and priests were tortured and killed for traveling to the region.
Despite the constant threat of death, Father Nussbaum strongly felt the spirit of God in the harsh mountainous environment and he faithfully set about planting the seeds of Christianity. He established a rescue post in the Tibetan mountains, where he lived simply and peacefully brought the Gospel of Christ to all who wished to receive it. Father Nussbaum converted hundreds of people to Christianity and, for this, he was martyred by a brutal warlord in 1941.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Louise of Savoy was born on December 28, 1461 to Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy and his wife Yolande of Valois. (Amadeus, a pious and charitable ruler, was himself beatified by the Church in 1677). Despite her family’s wealth and status, Louise was drawn to prayer and solitude. Although she desired to become a nun, her family arranged a marriage to the Prince of Chalon.
Louise was only 27 years old when her husband died. She declined all offers of a second marriage, and instead devoted herself to works of penance, piety, and charity. Desiring to live in close union with God, she entered the convent of the Poor Clares at Orbe, now part of modern-day Switzerland.
Blessed Louise of Savoy died on July 24, 1503. She was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
A frail and ill elderly woman asks her caretaker daughter to invite their parish priest to their home to administer the blessed sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. She desperately wishes for the comfort and peace of mind that the sacrament bestows. Her fearful daughter struggles with denial and her belief that accepting the Anointing of the Sick means “giving up all hope.”
It is a poignant story, as relevant today as when it was originally broadcast many decades ago.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. René Goupil was born on May 15, 1608 in Saint-Martin-du-Bois, Anjou, France. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Paris but his frail health prevented St. René from joining the Order. Instead, he studied medicine and, in 1639, offered to work as a medic for the Jesuit missionaries in the French colonies in North America.
St. René arrived at Quebec in 1640 and worked in a hospital, treating French settlers and members of the various tribes of the Algonquin nation who were friendly to the French. In July 1642, St. René met Father Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit priest who was recruiting volunteers to work with him among the Hurons. Goupil eagerly offered his services. The men and their Indian guides set out for the mission and were quickly ambushed and captured by a war party of Mohawks. During their two-month captivity, the two Frenchmen endured brutal torture. Near death, St. René asked Father Jogues to accept his vows as a Jesuit lay brother. Father Jogues agreed, and St. René recited the vows that made him a member of the Society of Jesus.
St. René Goupil was martyred by the Indians on September 29, 1642 in Ossernenon, New France (modern-day Auriesville, New York). He was canonized June 29, 1930 by Pope Pius XI.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Mother Mary Walsh, OP was born in 1950 to Irish parents living in London. Orphaned in her infancy, she was raised in Ireland by her paternal grandmother. At 19, she immigrated to America and worked as a domestic servant in Manhattan.
In the summer of 1876, Mary was approached by a young girl desperate for help. The girl's mother was sick with fever and her father was in jail. Mary began begging on the street for food and money for the girl's family. She nursed the mother back to health and spent time caring for the family. In the process, Mary lost her own job but found her life's work.
Mary became a Dominican Tertiary -- a layperson who lives out a religious order's charism in their daily lives. She and other young women rented rooms near a local church and took in laundry to finance their work with the poor. For thirty years, Mary Walsh and her companions lived and worked as a religious community without formal Church approval. Believing that "Love can turn a flame into a lamp," Mary worked selflessly to spread the warmth of her flame to the needy.
In 1910, the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor were officially received into the Roman Catholic Church. Mother Mary Walsh, OP died on November 6, 1922.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is the story of St. Bernardine of Siena, Franciscan preacher and missionary, known for his fervent devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus.
St. Bernardine was born in 1380 in Massa, Italy to the noble family of Albizeschi, in the republic of Sienna. Tragedy stuck, and both of his parents died by the time St. Bernardine was 7 years old. He was raised by a loving and nurturing aunt who inspired in him great devotion to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At 17 years of age, St. Bernardine joined the Confraternity of Our Lady, attached to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, to minister to the sick. A dreadful plague reached Siena in 1400. Sometimes as many as twenty people died in one day at the hospital. St. Bernardine recruited other young men to help run the hospital and care for the patients. Through God’s mercy, St. Bernardine escaped the plague but was left so exhausted that he had to be confined to his home for several months. He then spent a year caring for a beloved aunt. It was during this time that St. Bernardine began to discern God’s will for him.
At the age of 22, St. Bernardine entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained two years later. For twelve years, he lived in solitude and prayer but felt a strong call to preach and to proclaim the Holy Name of Jesus. He traveled on foot from town to town throughout Italy, powerfully preaching the word of God to heal and transform broken lives.
St. Bernardine died in 1444 at the age of 63. He was canonized by Pope Nicholas V in 1450. The Feast Day of St. Bernardine of Siena is May 20.
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This week’s broadcast is the story of St. Vincent Strambi, a Catholic bishop and member of the Passionist Congregation.
Vincenzo Domenico Salvatore Strambi was born on January 1, 1745 in Civitavecchia, Italy, to wealthy parents. St. Vincent entered the seminary at the age of 17 and was ordained in 1767. He joined the Passionists in 1768 following an inspirational retreat led by the Passionists’ founder, St. Paul of the Cross.
St. Vincent was Roman provincial and successor to St. Paul after the founder’s death. He was later appointed Bishop of Macerata-Tolentino. During the Napoleonic Wars, St. Vincent was exiled for five years for refusing to swear allegiance to Napoleon.
In retirement, St. Vincent was appointed personal advisor to Pope Leo XII. When the pope fell ill and was near death, St. Vincent prayed to God to take his life rather than that of the pope. The pope recovered and St. Vincent died shortly after on his 79th birthday, January 1, 1824. St. Vincent Strambi was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
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A husband and wife on vacation in Spain debate the merits of visiting the sacred pilgrimage site Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial site of St. James the Greater. They retell the story of St. James, who is believed to be the first apostle to suffer martyrdom. In 44 A.D. Herod Agrippa beheaded him. (Acts 12:1-2)
Saint James and his brother, John the Apostle, were called Sons of Thunder by Jesus, because of their fiery style of preaching. Jesus chose to reveal the mystery of the Transfiguration to St. Peter and these two sons of Zebedee, James and John, for the great love they demonstrated. They were meant to bear witness of Jesus’ radiant glory to the others.
St. James is the patron saint of Spain and, according to legend, his remains are held in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The traditional pilgrimage to the grave of the saint, known as the "Way of St. James", has been the most popular pilgrimage for Western European Catholics from the Early Middle Ages to this day.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org.
Jesus has died on the Cross, and His followers are grieving the brutal death He suffered at the hands of His persecutors, that is until He appears to tell them that He is risen.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org.
At a Passover Seder, Jesus gathers His disciples to tell them they have reached the end of their road together. He had come forth from God and was returning to God. He gives the disciples a new commandment—to love one another.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Mary Magdalene, the sinful woman who was forgiven by Jesus, is central to the New Testament’s message of God’s forgiveness. Mary Magdalene’s was redeemed from her sinful life by Jesus’ mercy. After choosing to follow Christ, she became an eyewitness to the risen Christ, and the first to bear witness to him before the Apostles.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org.
This week’s episode is of a libertine woman with no concern for her reputation or for others, Maria Luisa, who disdains the love of God. Franco, a man who loves her, and his friend, Sister Catherine, try to urge her to change her ways. The townspeople want to punish her for her heresy. They drag her to a swamp, strip her of her finery and dress her in sack cloth, shear off her hair, and banish her forever.
Franco, who fears for the loss of Maria Luisa’s soul, becomes a monk so he can devote his life to praying for her return to the faith and the salvation of her soul. He goes to the swamp to visit Maria Luisa after a year. She has been living on berries. Her sinfulness has driven every other living thing out of the swamp. At first, she is happy to see him. Franco begs her to turn to the Mother of Heaven and ask her to give her compassion. Still faithless, she angrily drives him away.
The miracle of Our Lady’s compassion for even the worst sinner is provided through the power of prayer, as the end of this episode of Ave Maria Hour will illustrate.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The Corporal Work of Mercy—To Feed the Hungry—is illustrated in this dramatic radio play about an early Christian Roman woman, Caterina, wishing to feed a hungry man, against the wishes of her Roman husband. The Corporal Works of Mercy are taken directly from the teachings of Christ and give us a model for how we should treat all others, as if they were Christ in disguise.
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Father Sorin, (1814-1893), a French priest of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, founded Notre Dame University and the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the United States. His mission was integral to the growth of the country, to education, and to the role of the Catholic Church in America.
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Father Basil Anthony Marie Patrice Moreau, CSC (February 11, 1799 – January 20, 1873) was the French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross from which three additional congregations were founded, namely the Marianites of Holy Cross, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and the Sisters of Holy Cross. Father Moreau was proclaimed Venerable on September 15, 2007 in Le Mans, France by Pope John Paul II.
From the beginning of his life as a priest, Father Moreau was concerned about Catholic education. At 22, he was ordained a priest. An exception was made for this early ordination to compensate for the large number of priests killed during the French Revolution. Much of Fr Moreau's work aimed to repair the damage done by the French Revolution, first by giving the seminarians a solid formation, and second by preaching popular missions to the faithful.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Kateri Tekakwitha was born in Ossernenon in the year 1656. She was born into this world a child of mixed anchestry, her mother was an Algonquin and her father a Mohawk. Kateri became an orphan in the year 1660, when the smallpox epidemic nearly destroyed the entire village, taking the lives of Kateri’s parents and her brother. On Easter in 1676, Kateri was baptized a Christian.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Francis Thompson, English poet of the 1890s, whose most famous poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” describes the pursuit of the human soul by God.
Thompson was educated in the Roman Catholic faith at Ushaw College, a seminary in the north of England. He studied medicine at Manchester, but not conscientiously, and began to take opium; he then went to London, where from 1885 to 1888 he lived in destitution. In 1888 the publication of two of his poems in Wilfrid Meynell’s periodical, Merry England, aroused the admiration of Robert Browning. Meynell and his wife, Alice, befriended Thompson, induced him to enter a hospital, nursed him through convalescence, and in 1893 arranged publication of a collection, Poems. Thompson is chiefly associated with rhapsodic accounts of religious experience written in a diction much influenced by 17th-century Catholic verse.
From 1892 to 1896 Thompson lived near a Franciscan priory in north Wales, during which period he wrote Sister Songs (1895) and New Poems (1897). Thompson died of tuberculosis.
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St. Marguerite d'Youville - Foundress of the Sisters of Charity, the Grey Nuns of Canada. St. Marguerite D'Youville was born at Varennes, Quebec, on October 15, Marie Marguerite Dufrost de La Jemmerais. She studied under the Ursulines, married Francois D'Youville in 1722, and became a widow in 1730. She worked to support herself and her three children, devoted much of her time to the Confraternity of the Holy Family in charitable activities.
In 1737, with three companions, she founded the Grey Nuns when they took their initial vows; a formal declaration took place in 1745. Two years later she was appointed Directress of the General Hospital in Montreal, which was taken over by the Grey Nuns, and had the rule of the Grey Nuns, with Marguerite as Superior, confirmed by Bishop of Pontbriand of Quebec in 1755.
She died in Montreal on December 23, and since her death, the Grey Nuns have established schools, hospitals, and orphanages throughout Canada, the United States, Africa, and South America, and are especially known for their work among the Eskimos. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1959 and canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Venerable Matt Talbot - (1856 - 1925) From his early teens until age 28 Matt's only aim in life had been liquor. But from that point forward, his only aim was God. Matt Talbot was born May 2, 1856, the second of twelve children born to Charles and Elizabeth Talbot. In Matt's early years he knew little security or stability. Compulsory school attendance was not in force, and Matt never attended any school regularly.
At the age of twelve Matt ot his first job; it was in a wine bottling store and that is when his excessive drinking began. One evening when he was 28 he went out and found a priest, went to confession and "took the Pledge" for three months. Many times he felt he would not be able to hold out for three months, but within the year he renewed the pledge for life, never touching alcohol again (41 more years). His resolve was maintained by a new life of much prayer, daily Mass, hard work and much penance. Matt Talbot collapsed and died of heart failure on June 7, 1925. Penitential chains were found on his body after his death.
After Matt's death his reputation for holiness became widespread, and by 1931 the first inquiry into his life had begun. The decree on his virtues was issued October 3, 1975.
St. Nicholas of Flue
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Hermit and Swiss political figure. Born near Sachseln, Canton Obwalden, Switzerland, he took his name from the Flueli river which flowed near his birthplace. The son of a peasant couple, he married and had ten children by his wife, Dorothea Wissling, and fought heroically in the forces of the canton against Zurich in 1439. After serving as magistrate and highly respected councilor, he refused the office of governor several times and, in 1467, at the age of fifty and with the consent of his wife and family, he embraced the life of a hermit, giving up all thought of political activity. Nicholas took up residence in a small cell at Ranft, supposedly surviving for his final nineteen years entirely without food except for the Holy Eucharist. Renowned for his holiness and wisdom, he was regularly visited by civic leaders, powerful personages, and simple men and women with a variety of needs. Through Nicholas' labors, he helped bring about the inclusion of Fribourg and Soleure in the Swiss Confederation in 1481, thus preventing the eruption of a potentially bloody civil war. One of the most famous religious figures in Swiss history, he was known affectionately as "Bruder Klaus," and was much venerated in Switzerland. He was formally canonized in 1947. He is considered the patron saint of Switzerland.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The Reverend James Sheeran, a Catholic priest, served with the 14th Louisiana Regiment from New Orleans in General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Writer and historian Bruce Catton once said he wished he had met Sheeran. Sheeran perplexed “Stonewall” Jackson by his tenacity and self assurance. Robert E. Lee and Phil Sheridan both backed down in the face of Sheeran’s logic and determination.
Father Sheeran ministered to those in need of religious support, cared for the sick and wounded, and performed innumerable acts of kindness for his fellow man. Sheeran’s determination and righteousness, grounded in God, inspired common soldiers and generals alike. In the face of all kinds of adversity, Sheeran displayed real backbone.
Three things seemed to guide Sheeran in every action, every disagreement and every situation. He believed in duty, the word of the Lord, and his home in the Confederacy.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa.
Highly educated, a famous orator, he became a Christian as an adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who did not have the true spirit of faith. When the Decian persecution began, many Christians easily abandoned the Church. It was their reinstatement that caused the great controversies of the third century, and helped the Church progress in its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.
During a plague in Carthage, Cyprian urged Christians to help everyone, including their enemies and persecutors.
A friend of Pope Cornelius, Cyprian opposed the following pope, Stephen. He and the other African bishops would not recognize the validity of baptism conferred by heretics and schismatics.
He was exiled by the emperor and then recalled for trial. He refused to leave the city, insisting that his people should have the witness of his martyrdom.
Cyprian was a mixture of kindness and courage, vigor and steadiness. He was cheerful and serious, so that people did not know whether to love or respect him more. He waxed warm during the baptismal controversy; his feelings must have concerned him, for it was at this time that he wrote his treatise on patience. Saint Augustine remarks that Cyprian atoned for his anger by his glorious martyrdom.
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Blessed Columba Marmion O.S.B., was the third abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium and a noted spiritual author and retreat master. He died in 1923 and was beatified as a Blessed of the Church by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. His feast day is observed on October 3, the date of his blessing as abbot.
As an Irish diocesan priest in the Dublin Archdiocese he felt called to the monastic way of life. He entered Maredsous Abbey several years after being ordained a priest. In 1909 he was elected abbot of Maredsous Abbey and served in that capacity until his death on January 30, 1923. He authored three books based upon his extensive retreats. These works give a deep insight into his spirituality: Christ, the Life of the Soul (1917), Christ in His Mysteries (1919), and Christ the Ideal of the Monk (1922). His is a spirituality centered on Christ and our divine adoption as children of God. These works have been translated into many languages and are considered spiritual classics.
Beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000, Marmion was one of the most popular and influential Catholic writers of the 20th century.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org.
The timeless story of the birth of Jesus.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
A simple and touching story of a Franciscan Priest located in the province of Strasbourg who cared for others in the spirit of St. Francis. He especially cared for and worked with a young handicapped boy named Otto. Together they learn about heartache, hope, friendship and encouragement.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Bl. Titus Bradsma was a Carmelite martyr who died at the hands of the Nazis. He was born in Bolsward in the Netherlands. Becoming a Carmelite as a young man, he displayed a dazzling intellect and scholarship, receiving ordination as a priest in 1905 and earning a doctorate in philosophy at Rome. Titus then taught in Dutch universities and lectured in many countries on Carmelite spirituality and mysticism. lie also served as rector magnificus at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. In 1935 he became an ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. His academic and spiritual studies were also printed and widely read. When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands,Titus was singled out as an enemy because he fought against the spread of Nazism in Europe. Arrested, Titus was sent to various concentration camps where he demonstrated charity and concern. In 1942, he was martyred in Dachau. Titus was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 3, 1985.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born Michel Carlier in France, Frater Maxime Carlier, O.C.S.O., was a Trappist monk of Our Lady of Scourmont Abbey at Forges in the municipality of Chimay, Belgium. He entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance at Chimay in 1911, having already served two years in the army, and professed simple vows in 1913. In August of 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, he was once again pressed into military service. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant, and during the intense fighting he often rescued his fellow soldiers without concern for his own safety. Frater Maxime was twice wounded in battle, and he was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal for bravery. After three years of bloody conflict, just before leaving his post to go on furlough, he was killed in action during a German bombardment at the Yser River in 1917, and he died at the age of 26.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Antonio Grassi - Oldest child in a devout family. Antonio’s father, Vincenzo Grassi, died when the boy was only 10 years old, but he managed to pass on his devotion to Our Lady of Loreto. Antonio, who attended Mass each day as a boy, joined the Oratorian Fathers at age 17 where he showed a natural talent for the study of theology and Scripture.
At age 29, while praying in the church of the Holy House of Loreto, Antonio was struck by lightning; he was not expected to survive, but recovered completely. He took his survival as a gift from God, to be used in God‘s service; he also donated his scorched clothes to the church of the Holy House as an offering, and he made a yearly pilgrimage to the Holy House. He devoted himself entirely to his priestly vocation, especially hearing confessions, and was given the gift of reading consciences.
Pilgrim to Rome, Italy in 1625. Elected superior of the Oratory in Fermo, Italy in 1635; he was re-elected every 3 years for the next 36 years. With penitents he insisted on adherence to the laws of God, with brother Oratorians he added the constitutions of the Order, but he was alway supportive and kind everyone, never severe, and encouraged the same behavior in priests and parishioners. Instead of social engagements to which his position entitled him, Antonio spent his evenings visiting the sick and dying.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. In Bergamo’s diocesan seminary, he joined the Secular Franciscan Order.
After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for canon law studies.
His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a firsthand knowledge of war. In 1921, he was made national director in Italy of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1925, he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and finally in France.
His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international.
On his deathbed, he said: “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.”
“Good Pope John” died on June 3, 1963. Saint John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.
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When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother brought up her twelve children well, even though they were very poor. "Oh, if I could only have the joy of seeing one of you become a saint!" she used to say.
When he was twenty, Peter became a hermit and spent his days praying and reading the Holy Bible. If he was not praying or reading, he would copy books or do some hard work so that the devil would not find him doing nothing, and tempt him. Because other hermits kept coming to him and begging him to guide them, he started a new Order.
Peter was an old monk, eighty-four years of age when he was made Pope. It came about in a very unusual way. For two years, there had been no Pope, because the Cardinals could not decide whom to choose. St. Peter sent them a message to decide quickly, for God was not pleased at the long delay. Then and there, they chose the holy old hermit himself! He accepted and took the name Celestine V.
He was Pope only about five months. Because he was so humble and simple, everyone took advantage of him. He could not say "no" to anyone, and soon matters were in great confusion. At last, the Saint decided that he had better give up his position as Pope. He did so and then threw himself at the feet of the Cardinals for not having been capable of governing the Church.
St. Celestine hoped to live in one of his monasteries in peace. But the new Pope thought it would be safer to keep him where wicked people could not take advantage of him. The saint was put in a cell and died there.
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The fictional story of Flora, her invalid husband David Hudson and a Doctor friend of Flora. The story depicts the meaning of the Corporal Act of Mercy, To Visit the Sick. Those who are sick are often forgotten or avoided. In spite of their illness, these individuals still have much to offer to those who take the time to visit and comfort them.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Margaret was born into a family of nobles in the Castle of Metola, near Mercatello sul Metauro, then under the rule of the autonomous town of Città di Castello. She was born blind, with severe curvature of the spine, had difficulty walking, and was a dwarf. Though she was hid from all by her parents, soon after she was born a kindly maid found her and gave her the name of Margaret meaning "Pearl".
When she was about twenty, Margaret's parents took her to a shrine in the Franciscan church in Castello, where miracles were reportedly being wrought, to pray for a cure for her birth defects. When no miracle happened, they abandoned her. She was eventually given hospitality in a local monastery of nuns. Their lax way of life, however, soon conflicted with Margaret's intense spirituality and she was expelled from the monastery. She then took up residence in the town, where the townsfolk resumed caring for her. To thank them for their kindness, Margaret opened a small school for the children of the town, where she instructed them in the faith, and the psalms, which she had learned by heart from her time with the nuns.
About the age of fifteen, Margaret came to know the friars of the Dominican Order who had recently become established in the town. She came under their spiritual guidance, and was admitted to the local fraternity of the Third Order of St. Dominic, receiving the religious habit of the Order. She wore this for the rest of her life.
Bl. Margaret died on April 13, 1320 at the age of 33. More than 200 miracles have been credited to her intercession since her death. She was beatified in 1609. Thus, the daughter that nobody wanted is now one of the glories of the Church.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Fictional story of an unknown artist painter named Peter Grant. It was said that his artwork was so remarkable that it seemed he was seeing things through "different eyes." Indeed he was. During a difficult time creatively, he took off for a ride in the country where on his way he had a car accident and lost his ability to see. Through a dog, a very special young boy, prayer, and the encouragement of others, he regained his sight, and more importantly, learned to see through different eyes.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born into an aristocratic family in Strasbourg, France, Charles was orphaned at the age of 6, raised by his devout grandfather, rejected the Catholic faith as a teenager, and joined the French army. Inheriting a great deal of money from his grandfather, Charles went to Algeria with his regiment.
Inspired by the Jews and Muslims whom he met, Charles resumed the practice of his Catholic faith when he returned to France in 1886. He joined a Trappist monastery in Ardeche, France, and later transferred to one in Akbes, Syria. Leaving the monastery in 1897, Charles worked as gardener and sacristan for the Poor Clare nuns in Nazareth and later in Jerusalem. In 1901 he returned to France and was ordained a priest.
In early 1909 he visited France and established an association of laypeople who pledged to live by the Gospels. In 1915 Charles wrote to Louis Massignon: “The love of God, the love for one’s neighbor…All religion is found there…How to get to that point? Not a day since it is perfection itself: it is the goal we must always aim for, which we must unceasingly try to reach and that we will only attain in heaven.”
The outbreak of World War I led to attacks on the French in Algeria. Seized in a raid by another tribe, Charles and two French soldiers coming to visit him were shot to death on December 1, 1916.
Five religious congregations, associations, and spiritual institutes (Little Brothers of Jesus, Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Little Sisters of Jesus, Little Brothers of the Gospel, and Little Sisters of the Gospel) draw inspiration from the peaceful, largely hidden, yet hospitable life.. Beatified on November 13, 2005.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Born to the Italian nobility. Educated in a Franciscan convent. Franciscan tertiary at Saint Bernardine’s convent in Viterbo, Italy for ten years, though with no real enthusiasm; she used her personal funds to insure comfortable lodgings, and none of the privations of the other tertiaries. A serious illness caused Hyacintha’s confessor to bring her Communion, which allowed him to see her rooms for the first time. Scandalized at the life she provided herself, the priest told her to live more humbly. Hyacintha took his advice, became humble in her food and dress, did the most menial work in the convent, and replaced her bed with a few bare boards. She became an exceptional mistress of novices, and developed a special appeal for “those who are despised, who are devoid of self-love and who have little sensible consolation.” Over the years she developed a special devotion to the sufferings of Christ and, by her penances, became an inspiration to the sisters in her convent. Foundress of the Sacconi or Oblates of Mary, dedicated to working with the aged poor.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This episode dramatizes the 2nd Corporal Work of Mercy: "To Give Drink to the Thirsty." It speaks to how every person in need is a person to serve a drink to, and by so doing, God can minister to them as well as you.
John 4:7-14 clearly demonstrates this: There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Bl. Charles de Faucauld
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Venerable Charles de Foucauld - Charles was left an orphan by the age of six, and he and his sister were brought up by their grandfather. In 1878, his grandfather died. Love for the old man had prevented Charles from indulging in the worst excesses, but at his death, Charles began to "live." On receiving his inheritance, he set about spending it in riotous living. For a time he lived in Paris, where he took an apartment near a cousin, Marie de Bondy. Marie, who had first entered his life when he was about eleven, was a deeply spiritual young woman. Gradually, through her example, the gay and reckless young man began to change. His religion, when he rediscovered God, was a highly personal discipleship and love of the Person of Jesus Christ. For a time after his return to the sacraments, Charles lived as a Trappist monk. Although he is remembered as an exemplary religious, the conviction grew that this was not his vocation. After being released from his temporary vows, Charles went to the Holy Land where he became a servant for the Poor Clare nuns. Charles finished his studies for the priesthood and was ordained in 1901. The life of Charles de Foucauld was like the biblical seed which had to die before it sprouted into a healthy plant. Within twenty years after his death, there appeared three congregations which derived their inspiration, purpose, and Rules from Charles de Foucauld. These Little Brothers of Jesus, Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and Little Sisters of Jesus live in small groups all over the world, preaching by the lives they lead. He was declared Venerable on April 13, 1978.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Louise de Marillac was born probably at Ferrieres-en-Brie near Meux, France, on August 12, 1591. She was educated by the Dominican nuns at Poissy. She desired to become a nun but on the advice of her confessor, she married Antony LeGras, an official in the Queen's service, in 1613. After Antony's death in 1625, she met St. Vincent de Paul, who became her spiritual adviser. She devoted the rest of her life to working with him. She helped direct his Ladies of Charity in their work of caring for the sick, the poor, and the neglected. In 1633 she set up a training center, of which she was Directress in her own home, for candidates seeking to help in her work. This was the beginning of the Sisters (or Daughters, as Vincent preferred) of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (though it was not formally approved until 1655). She took her vows in 1634 and attracted great numbers of candidates. She wrote a rule for the community, and in 1642, Vincent allowed four of the members to take vows. Formal approval placed the community under Vincent and his Congregation of the Missions, with Louise as Superior. She traveled all over France establishing her Sisters in hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions. By the time of her death in Paris on March 15, the Congregation had more than forty houses in France. Since then they have spread all over the world. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934, and was declared Patroness of Social Workers by Pope John XXIII in 1960. Her feast day is March 15th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was a Roman Catholic priest and church administrator in the Buffalo, New York area.
After returning home from the Civil War, Baker started a successful feed and grain business with his friend, Joseph Meyer, another veteran. He demonstrated a strong interest in religious matters and joined the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Nelson Baker entered Our Lady of Angels Seminary (now Niagara University) on September 2, 1869. During his studies at the seminary, Baker was part of a group of 108 that went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1874 to support the creation of the Papal States. On this pilgrimage, the group stopped in Paris, France and toured the Our Lady of Victories Sanctuary. There were thousands of evidences of cures that had occurred here through Our Lady’s intercession. Although the pilgrims later visited Lourdes, the tombs of the Apostles in Rome, St. Peter’s and the Holy Father in Rome, his mind kept returning to the wonderful shrine in Paris and the possibility of honoring her in the same way in America.
Father Baker lived to be 95 years old and is heralded for building what's been called a “city of charity” in Lackawana, New York. By the time of his death in 1936, his initiatives for the poor included a minor basilica, an infant home, a home for unwed mothers, a boys' orphanage, a hospital, a nurses' home, and an elementary and high school.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Bl. Albert of Bergamo was a Dominican tertiary and miracle worker. Albert was a farmer living near Bergamo, Italy, where he became a Dominican Third Order member. Married, he was a champion of the poor in his hometown of Ogna. Sometime in his adult life, Albert went on a pilgrimage to the famous shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. He also visited Rome and Jerusalem, perilous journeys in his era. After his pilgrimages, Albert settled in Cremona, Italy, where he became known for his piety and for his many miraculous works to benefit others.
Albert is a shining example of a Dominican who did not preach to the multitudes from a pulpit, but preached the Truth he encountered in nature and work through his example and his action. Albert was born in 1214 in the fertile valley of Serriano, in Bergamo. His father was a farmer and taught Albert many practices of penance and piety. By the age of seven, Albert was fasting three days a week and giving his food to the poor. Working at hard labor in the fields, Albert learned to see God in all things and to listen for His voice in nature. To him, the beauty of the earth was a voice that spoke only of heaven.
At the end of his life, Albert fell seriously ill and asked a neighbor to fetch a priest, but there was a long delay; a dove came bringing him Holy Viaticum. When they tried to bury him, the grave-digger could not break the ground with any spade. From this it was under stood that, on account of his sanctity, God, Who loves pure and simple souls, desired that he should be buried in the choir of the church (1279).
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Daughter of Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. She was born to the imperial family of the Eastern Empire, becoming regent in 414 for her young brother Theodosius II, who became emperor following the death of their father in 408. Given the honorific title Augusta by the Senate, she took a vow of perpetual virginity and gave herself completely to the task of raising her brother to rule the Eastern Empire. Her control was considerable, including running the day to day affairs of the empire, reforming the moral and religious life of the imperial court, and watching over Theodosius' education. In 421, Theodosius wed Athenais, who was baptized, took the name Eudocia, and was declared Augusta by her husband. A protracted political struggle between the two very formidable women started immediately. Pulcheria was exiled for a time, but was recalled after Theodosius leamed of his wife's infidelity. Throughout, Pulcheria was a vocal advocate of orthodoxy against the Eutychian heresy, promoting the appeal of Pope Leo I the Great to the emperor after the decrees of the Latrocinium. In 450, following Theodosius' untimely death from a fall while hunting, Pulcheria was declared Empress, and she married General Marcian after his agreement to share power with her and to respect her virginity. Pope Leo acknowledged in a letter her instrumental role in the defeat of the heresies of Eutychianism and Nestorianism and for securing the recall of the many orthodox bishops who had been exiled by Theodosius and the heretics after gaining ascendancy in 449. Pulcheria was also responsible for the building of churches, hospitals, and the school of Constantinople, which became one of the chief universities of the Eastem Empire.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
A native of Assisi, Italy, Giles was one of the earliest followers of St. Francis, from whom he received the habit in 1208. He accompanied Francis on many of his missions around Assisi, made a pilgrimage to Compostela, visited Rome and the Holy Land, and then made an unsuccessful visit to Tunis to convert the Saracens. The Christians in Tunis, fearful of the repercussions of his religious fervor, forced him back on a boat as soon as he landed. He spent the rest of his life living in Italy, living from about 1243 at the Monte Rapido hermitage on the outskirts of Perugia, where he died in 1263. He experiences ecstacies, had a vision of Christ at Cetona, and is considered the most perfect example of the primitive Franciscan. He is spoken of at length in "The Little Flowers of St. Francis" and Francis called him his "Knight of the round table." Known for his austerity and silence, his "The Golden Sayings of Brother Giles" is noted for its humor, deep understanding of human nature, and optimism.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Genesius of Rome is a legendary Christian saint, once a comedian and actor who had performed in plays that mocked Christianity. According to legend, while performing in a play that made fun of baptism, he had an experience on stage that converted him. He proclaimed his new belief, and he steadfastly refused to renounce it, even when the emperor Diocletian ordered him to do so.
Genesius is considered the patron saint of actors, lawyers, barristers, clowns, comedians, converts, dancers, people with epilepsy, musicians, printers, stenographers, and victims of torture. His feast day is August 25.
Helen Valentini was born in Udine, northern Italy, about the year 1396. She married Antonio Cavalcanti around 1414 and bore him six children. When Antonio died in 1441 of illness contracted during a diplomatic mission to Venice, Helen became an Augustinian Tertiary. She was greatly influenced by the Augustinian, Angelo of San Severino, to devote her life thereafter to the care of the needy, in works of mercy, and in a life of penance. Her commitment to prayer was nourished by a great love for the Gospel, devotion to the Passion of our Lord and love for the Eucharist. Above all, she wished to live in imitation of Jesus Christ through a life of sacrifice and service to her neighbor. Helen had a great love for the Order and was a constant visitor to the Augustinian Church of Saint Lucy, as well as one of its most generous benefactors. During the last three years of her life she was confined to bed due to infirmity which she accepted with great patience and resignation. She died on April 23, 1458 and was buried in the Church of Saint Lucy. Since 1845 her remains have been preserved in the Cathedral of Udine. Blessed Pius IX confirmed her cult in 1848.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary in 1207, the daughter of Alexander II, King of Hungary. At the age of four she was sent for education to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia, to whose infant son she was betrothed. As she grew in age, her piety also increased by leaps and bounds. In 1221, she married Louis of Thuringia and in spite of her position at court began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity.
Her husband was himself much inclined to religion and highly esteemed her virtue, encouraging her in her exemplary life. They had three children when tragedy struck - Louis was killed while fighting with the Crusaders. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and in 1228, renounced the world, becoming a tertiary of St. Francis. She built the Franciscan hospital at Marburg and devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death at the age of 24 in 1231.
St. Elizabeth is the patron saint of bakers, countesses, death of children, falsely accused, the homeless, nursing services, tertiaries, widows, and young brides. Her symbols are alms, flowers, bread, the poor, and a pitcher.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Margaret of Cortona, penitent, was born in Loviana in Tuscany in 1247. Her father was a small farmer. Margaret's mother died when she was seven years old. Her stepmother had little care for her high-spirited daughter. Rejected at home, Margaret eloped with a youth from Montepulciano and bore him a son out of wedlock. After nine years, her lover was murdered without warning. Margaret left Montpulciano and returned as a penitent to her father's house. When her father refused to accept her and her son, she went to the Friars Minor at Cortona where she received asylum. Margaret earned a living by nursing sick ladies. Evenually, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Margaret advanced rapidly in prayer and was said to be in direct contact with Jesus, as exemplified by frequent ecstacies. Not all related to herself, and she courageously presented messages to others. In 1286, Margaret was granted a charter allowing her to work for the sick poor on a permanent basis. Others joined with personal help, and some with financial assistance. Margaret formed her group into tertiaries, and later they were given special status as a congregation which was called The Poverelle ("Poor Ones"). She also founded a hospital at Cortona and the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy. Some in Cortona turned on Margaret, even accusing her of illicit relations with Friar Giunta. All the while, Margaret continued to preach against vice and many, through her, returned to the sacraments. She also showed extraordinary love for the mysteries of the Eucharist and the Passion of Jesus Christ. Divinely warned of the day and hour of her death, she died on February 22, 1297, having spent twenty-nine years performing acts of penance. She was canonized in 1728. Her feast day is February 22nd.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Nobly born, at Epinoy in Flanders; but his father died before his birth, and his mother in child-bed. From his infancy, he was remarkable for piety and devotion, and at twenty years of age distributed his money and goods among the poor, and renounced his estates in favour of the next heirs, that he might be at liberty to serve Christ in poverty and penance. Having visited several holy places, hired himself shepherd to a virtuous lady, named Elizabeth de la Haire, at Sebourg, two leagues from Valenciennes. The retirement and abjection of this state were most agreeable to him. Six years Druon kept sheep, in great obscurity, and as the last among the menial servants; but his humility, modesty, meekness, charity, and eminent spirit of devotion and prayer, in spite of his disguise, gained him the esteem and affection of everybody, particularly of his mistress.
Many made him presents: but these he bestowed on the poor. To fly the danger of applause, at length he left his place, and visited Rome nine times, and often many other places of devotion; making these pilgrimages not journeys of sloth, curiosity, and dissipation, but exercises of uninterrupted prayer and penance. He returned from time to time to Sebourg; where, when a rupture put an end to his pilgrimages, he at length pitched his tent for the remainder of his life. He built himself a narrow cell against the wall of the church, that he might at all times adore God as it were at the foot of his altars. Here he lived a recluse for the next forty-five years. He lived in assiduous prayer and manual labour to the age of eighty-four in 1189.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Saint Anselm of Canterbury - Italian-born theologian and philosopher, known as the father of Scholasticism, a philosophical school of thought that dominated the Middle Ages. He was recognized in modern times as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God (based on the idea of an absolutely perfect being, the fact of the idea being in itself a demonstration of existence) and the satisfaction theory of the atonement or redemption (based on the feudal theory of making satisfaction or recompense according to the status of a person against whom an offense has been committed, the infinite God being the offended party and humanity the offender). There is incomplete evidence that he was canonized in 1163, though some scholars contend that he was canonized by Pope Alexander VI in 1494.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
From a family which ran a pasta factory at Secondigliano near Naples in Italy, Cajetan Errico became a diocesan priest in 1815 and was a schoolteacher for twenty years. Then he experienced a vision of St. Alphonsus Liguori, who instructed him to build a church dedicated to our Lady of Sorrows in his native village and to found a new religious congregation dedicated to mission work. he did both, and the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was founded in 1836. It is now international in scope. Bl. Cajetan died at Secondigliano and was canonized in 2008.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
“The Dark Holds No Terror” is a dramatic retelling of the story of Father Pierre of Saint Remy in France, who refused to break the seal of the confessional and was wrongly accused of murder, defrocked and sent to the notorious penal colony of Devils Island. He proclaimed his innocence, but would say nothing more, and he was convicted. Hard labor at Devil’s Island meant hours of work in the jungle, felling trees or doing whatever else the authorities demanded. Malaria and other tropical diseases were constant companions. Father Pierre always did his share and more, helping those who were weaker to finish their assigned duties.
Louis “took the cross” for a Crusade when he was 30. His army seized Damietta ini Egypt but not long after, weakened by dysentery and without support, they were surrounded and captured. Louis obtained the release of the army by giving up the city of Damietta in addition to paying a ransom. He stayed in Syria four years.
He deserves credit for extending justice in civil administration. His regulations for royal officials became the first of a series of reform laws. He replaced trial by battle with a form of examination of witnesses and encouraged the use of written records in court.
Louis was always respectful of the papacy, but defended royal interests against the popes and refused to acknowledge Innocent IV’s sentence against Emperor Frederick II.
Louis was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick and, like his patron St. Francis (October 4), caring even for people with leprosy. (He is one of the patrons of the Secular Franciscan Order.) Louis united France—lords and townsfolk, peasants and priests and knights—by the force of his personality and holiness. For many years the nation was at peace.
Every day Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him, and a large number of poor were served meals near his palace. During Advent and Lent, all who presented themselves were given a meal, and Louis often served them in person. He kept lists of needy people, whom he regularly relieved, in every province of his dominion.
Disturbed by new Muslim advances in Syria, he led another crusade in 1267, at the age of 41. His crusade was diverted to Tunis for his brother’s sake. The army was decimated by disease within a month, and Louis himself died on foreign soil at the age of 44. He was canonized 27 years later.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Paschal Baylon was a Franciscan lay brother and mystic. Born to a peasant family at Torre Hermosa, in Aragon, on Whitsunday, he was christened Pascua in honor of the feast. According to accounts of his early life, Paschal labored as a shepherd for his father, performed miracles, and was distinguished for his austerity. He also taught himself to read. Receiving a vision which told him to enter a nearby Franciscan community, he became a Franciscan lay brother of the Alcantrine reform in 1564, and spent most of his life as a humble doorkeeper. He practiced rigorous asceticism and displayed a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament, so much so that while on a mission to France, he defended the doctrine of the Real Presence against a Calvinist preacher and in the face of threats from other irate Calvinists. Paschal died at a friary in Villareal, and was canonized in 1690. In 1897 Pope Leo XIII declared him patron of all eucharistic confratemities and congresses. His Feast Day is May 17th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
According to her apochryphal tradition, she was a resident of Caesarea, Cappadocia, who when she refused to sacrifice to the gods during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of the Christians, was tortured by the governor and ordered executed. On the way to the place of execution, she met a young lawyer, Theophilus, who mockingly asked her to send him fruits from "the garden" she had joyously announced she would soon be in. When she knelt for her execution, she prayed, and an angel with a basket of three roses and three apples, which she sent to Theophilus, telling him she would meet him in the garden. Theophilus was converted to Christianity and later was martyred. Her feast day is February 6th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Redemptorist preacher and reformer. He was born on December 26,1751, at Taswitz, Moravia, the ninth child of a butcher and his wife and was baptized John. His family name was originally Dvorak, but was changed to the German Hofbauer. He was apprenticed as a baker in his youth, and later became a hermit near Bruck, Austria. As part of his so-called Josephinist policies, Austrian Emperor Joseph II abolished hermitages, and Clement went to Vienna, where he and a friend, Peter Kunzmann, received permission from Bishop Chiaramonti of Tivoli, Italy, to live in a hermitage. Bishop Chiaramonti later became Pope Pius VII. After studying at the university of Vienna, Austria, and in Rome, Clement and another friend, Thaddeus HubI, entered the Redemptorist Order and were ordained in 1785. They were stationed in Vienna, but Emperor Joseph II closed religious foundations, so they were sent to Courtland. Peter Kunzmann joined Clement as a lay brother, and the three were sent to St. Benno's Church in Warsaw, Poland, to begin two decades of missionary labors. Clement preached, built orphanages and schools, and established a vast Redemptorist presence in the city. Napoleon suppressed all religious institutions, and Clement and the Redemptorists were imprisoned in 1808, each one then exiled to his own native land. Clement went to Vienna, where he became the chaplain of the Ursulines and pastor of the adjoining parish. He became known for his holiness and zeal. Clement died in Vienna on March 15. He was canonized in 1909.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Sebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny.
Sebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of 31 he sailed to Mexico, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466-mile road from Mexico City to Zacatecas took 10 years to build and required careful negotiations with the indigenous peoples along the way.
In time Sebastian was a wealthy farmer and rancher. At the age of 60 he entered a virginal marriage. His wife’s motivation may have been a large inheritance; his was to provide a respectable life for a girl without even a modest marriage dowry. When his first wife died, he entered another virginal marriage for the same reason; his second wife also died young.
At the age of 72 Sebastian distributed his goods among the poor and entered the Franciscans as a brother. Assigned to the large (100-member) friary at Puebla de los Angeles south of Mexico City, Sebastian went out collecting alms for the friars for the next 25 years. His charity to all earned him the nickname "Angel of Mexico."
Sebastian was beatified in 1787 and is known as a patron of travelers.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The daughter of Italian nobles Nicolaus and Agnes, she is reported to have had her first mystical experience at the age of five: a vision of the Trinity, the nine choirs of angels, and Jesus as a child her own age, carrying His Cross.
Feeling called to the religious life, Osanna rejected an arranged marriage and became a Dominican tertiary at the age of 17; however, she waited 37 years to complete her vows so she could care for her brothers and sisters after the death of her parents.
At the age of eighteen she experienced mystical espousal to Jesus -- like St. Catherine of Siena, she had a vision in which Our Blessed Mother made her a bride of Christ, placing a ring on her finger.
When she was thirty she received the stigmata on her head, then her side, and finally on her feet. In her case, the stigmata do not seem to have bled, but simply to have appeared as red, intensely painful swellings. She kept them hidden from everyone except her servants, but at times the pain in her feet was so great that she was unable to walk. For years also, like St. Catherine, she lived on almost no food at all.
Her reputation for sanctity spread because of her works of charity and her constant prayer, which sometimes caused her to fall into ecstasy at Mass. Consequently, people begin to visit her for spiritual counsel and report that she sometimes proved a true prophet about their affairs. Osanna assisted the poor and the sick, served as spiritual director to many, and spent much of her family’s considerable fortune to help the unfortunate.
Osanna died in 1505 and was beatified on November 24, 1694 by Pope Leo X and Pope Innocent XII.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Mark of Montegallo was extraordinarily devout already in his youth, and undertook the study of medicine in order to be able to assist the sick poor. He received his doctor’s degree at the University of Bologna.
At the urgent wish of his father he entered the married state although he would rather have completely severed himself from the world and the things of the world. Not long afterwards his father and mother died. Again the devout longing for the religious state seized him. When he confided the fact to his wife, she told him she was of the same mind, and so both of them yielded to their pious desire, Mark entering the convent of the Friars Minor, and his wife joining the Poor Clares at Ascoli.
In a very short time Mark displayed all the virtues that are distinctive of a true Friar Minor, so that as soon as he was ordained to the priesthood, his superiors placed him in charge of the community at San Severino. There he set a most extraordinary example in mortification, prayer, and works of charity.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Paulinus of Nola - Bishop of Nola and writer. Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus was born to a wealthy Roman family at Bordeaux, in Gaul. His father was the praetorian prefect of Gaul who made certain that his son received a sound education. Paulinus studied rhetoric and poetry and learned from the famed poet Ausonius. He subsequently became a well known lawyer. He became the prefect of Rome, married a Spanish noble lady, Therasia, and led a luxury filled life. Following the death of his son a week after his birth in 390, Paulinus retreated from the world and came to be baptized a Christian by St. Delphinus in Aquitaine. With Therasia, he gave away their property and vast fortune to the poor and to the Church, and they pursued a life of deep austerity and mortifications. About 393, he was forcibly ordained a priest by the bishop of Barcelona. Soon after, he moved to an estate near the tomb of St. Nola near Naples, Italy There, he and his wife practiced rigorous asceticism and helped to establish a community of monks. To the consternation of his other relatives, he sold all of their estates in Gaul and gave the money to the poor. In 409, he was elected bishop of Nola, serving in this office with great distinction until his death. He was a friend and correspondent of virtually all of the leading figures of his era, including Sts. Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Martin of Tours, and Pope Anastasius I. Paulinus was also a gifted poet, earning the distinction of being one of the foremost Christian Latin poets of the Patristic period, an honor he shares with Prudentius. He is the author of a body of extant works including fifty one letters, thirty two poems, and several prose pieces.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The story of the crucifixion of Jesus, recounting the last stage of the journey that Jesus walked in his earthly life.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Francis was destined by his father to be a lawyer so that the young man could eventually take his elder’s place as a senator from the province of Savoy in France. For this reason Francis was sent to Padua to study law. After receiving his doctorate, he returned home and, in due time, told his parents he wished to enter the priesthood. Francis was ordained and elected provost of the Diocese of Geneva, then a center for the Calvinists. Francis set out to convert them, especially in the district of Chablais. By preaching and distributing the little pamphlets he wrote to explain true Catholic doctrine, he had remarkable success.
Besides his two well-known books, the Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, he wrote many pamphlets and carried on a vast correspondence. For his writings, he has been named patron of the Catholic Press. His writings, filled with his characteristic gentle spirit, are addressed to lay people.
In spite of his busy and comparatively short life, he had time to collaborate with another saint, Jane Frances de Chantal (August 12), in the work of establishing the Sisters of the Visitation. These women were to practice the virtues exemplified in Mary’s visit to Elizabeth: humility, piety and mutual charity. They at first engaged to a limited degree in works of mercy for the poor and the sick. Today, while some communities conduct schools, others live a strictly contemplative life.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Saint Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar Roman Catholic priest, who was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the "Doctor Angelicus" and "Doctor Communis".
He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, and political theory. Unlike many currents in the Church of the time,
Thomas embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle—whom he called "the Philosopher"—and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity. The works for which he is best known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa contra Gentiles. His commentaries on Sacred Scripture and on Aristotle form an important part of his body of work. Furthermore, Thomas is distinguished for his eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy.
The Catholic Church honors Thomas Aquinas as a saint and regards him as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood, and indeed the highest expression of both natural reason and speculative theology.
Also honored as a Doctor of the Church, Thomas is considered the Catholic Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "This (Dominican) Order ... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Joseph is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.
Joseph is also patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. John Berchmans was the eldest son of a shoemaker, John was born at Diest, Brabant. He early wanted to be a priest, and when thirteen became a servant in the household of one of the Cathedral canons at Malines, John Froymont. In 1615, he entered the newly founded Jesuit College at Malines, and the following year became a Jesuit novice. He was sent to Rome in 1618 to continue his studies, and was known for his diligence and piety, impressing all with his holiness and stress on perfection in little things. He died there on August 13. Many miracles were attributed to him after his death, and he was canonized in 1888. He is the patron of altar boys. His feast day is November 26.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
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 ofher 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.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
“God closes a door and then opens a window,” people sometimes say when dealing with their own disappointment or someone else’s. That was certainly true in Marguerite’s case. Children from European as well as Native American backgrounds in seventeenth-century Canada benefited from her great zeal and unshakable trust in God’s providence.
Marguerite at the age of 20 believed that she was called to religious life. Her applications to the Carmelites and Poor Clares were unsuccessful.
In 1654, the governor of the French settlement in Canada invited her to come to Canada and start a school in Ville-Marie.
Soon after starting a school, she realized her need for coworkers. Returning to Troyes, she recruited a friend, Catherine Crolo, and two other young women. In 1667 they added classes at their school for Indian children. A second trip to France three years later resulted in six more young women and a letter from King Louis XIV, authorizing the school.
Marguerite established a school for Indian girls in Montreal. At the age of 69, she walked from Montreal to Quebec in response to the bishop’s request to establish a community of her sisters in that city. By the time she died, she was referred to as the “Mother of the Colony.” Marguerite was canonized in 1982.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
In his early childhood, John Nepomucene was cured of a disease through the prayers of his good parents. In thanksgiving, they consecrated him to the service of God. After he was ordained, he was sent to a parish in the city of Prague. He became a great preacher, and thousands of those who listened to him changed their way of life. Father John was invited to the court of Wenceslaus IV. He settled arguments and did many kind deeds for the needy people of the city. He also became the queen's confessor. When the king was cruel to the queen, Father John taught her to bear her cross patiently. One day, about 1393, the king asked him to tell what the queen had said in confession. When Father John refused, he was thrown into prison. A second time, he was asked to reveal the queen's confession. "If you do not tell me," said the king, "you shall die. But if you obey my commands, riches and honor will be yours." Again Father John refused. He was tortured. The king ordered to be thrown into the river. Where he drowned, a strange brightness appeared upon the water. He is known as the "martyr of the confessional." He is patron of Czechoslovakia, where he is invoked against floods and against slander. His feast day is May 16.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Thomas Becket - A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December 29, 1170.
His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162), resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life!
Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven years. When he returned to England, he suspected it would mean certain death. Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops favored by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral.
Thomas Becket remains a hero-saint down to our own times.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Felix of Cantalice was born of peasant parents at Cantalice, Apulia, Italy. He was a shepherd and a farm laborer in his youth, became a Capuchin lay brother at nearby Citta Ducale Monastery in Anticoli, and became noted for his austerities and piety. He was sent to Rome in 1549 and spent the next thirty-eight years in the monastery there as questor, aiding the sick and the poor and revered by all. He was a friend of St. Philip Neri and helped in St. Charles Borromeo's revision of the rule for his Oblates. Felix was canonized in 1709. His feast day is May 18th.
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Tenth of fifteen children; his father was a farmer and merchant, and the boy was named after Saint John Francis Regis. He was raised in a pious family; one brother became a priest, one sister a nun. Studied at the Jesuit Royal College at Grenoble, France. Joined the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) in Lyons, France on 6 March 1769, making his final vows in 1771. Ordained in 1773. Professor of moral theology at the Vincentian seminary in Annecy, France. Nicknamed “the walking library” due to his encyclopedic knowledge. Rector of Annecy in 1786. Director of novices in Paris in 1788. Director of the internal seminary at mother-house of the Congregation of the Lazarists in Paris, France. His community was disbanded, and their house destroyed by the French Revolutionists. Missionary to China in 1791. Assigned to Kiang-si in October 1792, the only European in the area; in 28 years of work, he never mastered the language. In 1793 Clet moved to Hou-Kouang in the Hopei Province where he served as superior of an international group of Vincentian missioners scattered over a very large territory; his pastoral area covered 270,000 square miles. In 1811 government anti–Christian persecutions intensified; the missionaries were accused of inciting rebellion, and had to pursue their work while on the run, often hiding in the mountains. On 16 June 1819, with a bounty on his head, Francis was betrayed by a Christian schoolmaster whose behavior the missionary had tried to correct. Force marched hundreds of miles in chains to trial. On 1 January 1820 he was found guilty of deceiving the Chinese people by preaching Christianity.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Martyr of England. She was born Margaret Plantagenet, the niece of Edward IV and Richard III. She married Sir Reginald Pole about 1491 and bore five sons, including Reginald Cardinal Pole. Margaret was widowed, named countess of Salisbury, and appointed governess to Princess Mary, daughter of Hemy VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon, Spain. She opposed Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn, and the king exiled her from court, although he called her "the holiest woman in England." When her son, Cardinal Pole, denied Henry's Act of Supremacy, the king imprisoned Margaret in the Tower of London for two years and then beheaded her on May 28. In 1538, her other two sons were executed. She was never given a legal trial. She was seventy when she was martyred. Margaret was beatified in 1886.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The story of a special little girl named Nonie, who doesn't speak, but can sing. She learns the story of the Nativity only to reveal it even clearer to those around her.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Théophane Vénard studied at the College of Doué-la-Fontaine, Montmorillon, Poitiers, and at the Paris Seminary for Foreign Missions which he entered as a sub-deacon. Ordained a priest in 1852, he soon departed for the Far East. After fifteen months at Hong Kong he arrived at his mission in West Tonkin (N. Vietnam). At the time, it was illegal to proselytise in Vietnam.
Shortly after his arrival a new royal edict was issued against Christians, and bishops and priests were obliged to seek refuge in caves, dense woods, and elsewhere. Father Vénard continued to exercise his ministry at night, and, more boldly, in broad day. In November of 1860, he was betrayed and captured. Tried before a mandarin, he refused to apostatize and was sentenced to be beheaded. For three months during his captivity he lived in a cage, from which he wrote to his family beautiful and consoling letters, joyful in anticipation of his crown. His bishop, Monsignor Retord, wrote of him at this time: "Though in chains, he is as gay as a little bird".
On the way to martyrdom Father Vénard chanted psalms and hymns. To his executioner, who coveted his clothing and asked what he would give to be killed promptly, he answered: "The longer it lasts the better it will be". His head, after exposure at the top of a pole, was secured by the Christians and is now venerated in Tonkin. The body rests in the crypt at the motherhouse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society in Paris, France.
He was canonized on June 19, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
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The Catholic Church teaches in our Catechism that “the works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.”
Suffering caused by deprivation of material well-being, oppression, illness, and death are all signs of our frailty as humans. Our Catechism also teaches us that our need for salvation is a result of our original sin. All the members of Christ’s Church are required to work on behalf of those who suffer. The Corporal Works of Mercy are the seven practices of charity, based on Christ’s prediction of the Last judgment that we find in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25:41). We are reminded that in doing these things, we are serving Christ Himself.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Vincent was born of poor parents in the village of Pouy in Gascony, France, about 1580. He enjoyed his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs. Such had been his progress in four years that a gentleman chose him as subpreceptor to his children, and he was thus enabled to continue his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for theological studies, and there he was ordained priest in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell into the hands of African pirates and was carried as a slave to Tunis. His captivity lasted about two years, until Divine Providence enabled him to effect his escape. After a brief visit to Rome he returned to France, where he became preceptor in the family of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny, and General of the galleys of France. In 1617, he began to preach missions, and in 1625, he lay the foundations of a congregation which afterward became the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists, so named on account of the Prioryof St. Lazarus, which the Fathers began to occupy in 1633.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the works of this servant of God. Charity was his predominant virtue. It extended to all classes of persons, from forsaken childhood to old age. The Sisters of Charity also owe the foundation of their congregation to St. Vincent. In the midst of the most distracting occupations his soul was always intimately united with God. Though honored by the great ones of the world, he remained deeply rooted in humility. The Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, breathed his last in Paris at the age of eighty. His feast day is September 27th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Benedict the Moor was born a slave near Messina, Italy. He was freed by his master, became a solitary, eventually settling with other hermits at Montepellegrino. He was made superior of the community, but when he was about thirty-eight, Pope Pius IV disbanded communities of solitaries and he became a Franciscan lay brother. He cooked at St. Mary's convent near Palermo. He was appointed against his will, superior of the convent when it opted for the reform, though he could neither read nor write. After serving as superior, he became a novice master but asked to be relieved of his post and returned to his former position as cook. His holiness, reputation for miracles, and his fame as a confessor brought hordes of visitors to see the obscure and humble cook. He died at the convent, was canonized in 1807, and is the patron saint of blacks in the United States. The surname "the Moor" is a misnomer originating from the Italian IL MORO (the black.) His feast day is April 4th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Gerard Majella is the patron of expectant mothers. He was born in 1726 in Muro, Italy to a family of seven. Majella grew up in a poverty with a great respect for the poor. Shortly after his father's death, his mother sent him away to live with his uncle and learn to become a tailor, like his father.
Majella began earning money as a journeyman at the age of 21, splitting his earnings with his mother, and the poor of Muro. In 1749, at the age of 23, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer and just three years later became a professed lay brother.
Majella lived with the three vows of Poverty, Chasity and Obedience. He stayed close with the poor and worked very many different jobs. He served as sacristan, gardener, porter, infirmarian, and tailor. However, because of his great piety, extraordinary wisdom, and his gift of reading consciences, he was permitted to counsel communities of religious women.
Throughout his years of life, several reported miracles are tied to Majella. including, restoring a boy's life after he fell from a high cliff; blessing a poor farmer's crops, ridding it of mice; blessing a poor family's supply of wheat, causing it to last until the next harvest; and he multiplied bread for the poor on several occasions.
Along with his miracles effected through prayers for woman in labor, Majella's last recorded miracle is one that many credit toward his becoming the patron of expectant mothers.
Due to the numerous miracles performed through Majella's prayers, proceedings for his canonization began shortly after his death. In 1893, Majella was beatified by Pope Leo XIII and on December 11, 1904, Pope Pius X canonized the man of God.
St. Rita was born at Spoleto, Italy in 1381. At an early age, she begged her parents to allow her to enter a convent. Instead they arranged a marriage for her. Rita became a good wife and mother, but her husband was a man of violent temper. In anger he often mistreated his wife. He taught their children his own evil ways.
Rita tried to perform her duties faithfully and to pray and receive the sacraments frequently. After nearly twenty years of marriage, her husband was stabbed by an enemy but before he died, he repented because Rita prayed for him. Shortly afterwards, her two sons died, and Rita was alone in the world. Prayer, fasting, penances of many kinds, and good works filled her days. She was admitted to the convent of the Augustinian nuns at Cascia in Umbria, and began a life of perfect obedience and great charity.
Sister Rita had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. "Please let me suffer like you, Divine Saviour," she said one day, and suddenly one of the thorns from the crucifix struck her on the forehead. It left a deep wound which did not heal and which caused her much suffering for the rest of her life. She died on May 22, 1457. She is the patroness of impossible cases. Her feast day is May 22.
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Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Stanislaus was born of noble parents on July 26th at Szczepanow near Cracow, Poland. He was educated at Gnesen and was ordained there. He was given a canonry by Bishop Lampert Zula of Cracow, who made him his preacher, and soon he became noted for his preaching. He became a much sought after spiritual adviser. He was successful in his reforming efforts, and in 1072 was named Bishop of Cracow. He incurred the enmity of King Boleslaus the Bold when he denounced the King's cruelties and injustices and especially his kidnapping of the beautiful wife of a nobleman. When Stanislaus excommunicated the King and stopped services at the Cathedral when Boleslaus entered, Boleslaus himself killed Stanislaus while the Bishop was saying Mass in a chapel outside the city on April 11. Stanislaus has long been the symbol of Polish nationhood. He was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1253 and is the principle patron of Cracow. His feast day is April 11th.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York formally opened the Cause for Canonization of Servant of God Father Paul of Graymoor on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 in New York City. The Rev. Paul Wattson, SA, (1863-1940) was founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and a champion of Christian unity and helping the poor.
The Cardinal issued a decree initiating the Cause for Canonization of Fr. Paul of Graymoor and named the various officials who will carry out the historical research, theological evaluation and the search for those who can testify to Father Paul’s reputation for holiness. The results will be presented to the Cardinal for his judgment, and there will be a formal closing ceremony of the diocesan process of the Cause. Once completed, the Archdiocese will forward its findings to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome where the second phase, often called the “Roman” phase, will take place.
To honor Fr. Paul and to promote the vision of unity he promoted, we offer this episode of the Ave Maria Hour that tells his story.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Raymond was born at Portella, Catalonia, Spain. He was delivered by caesarean operation when his mother died in childbirth. Hence his name non natus (not born). He joined the Mercedarians under St. Peter Nolasco at Barcelona. He succeeded Peter as chief ransomer and went to Algeria to ransom slaves. He remained as hostage for several slaves when his money ran out and was sentenced to be impaled when the governor learned that he had converted several Mohammedans. He escaped the death sentence because of the ransom he would bring, but was forced to run the gauntlet. He was then tortured for continuing his evangelizing activities but was ransomed eight months later by Peter Nolasco. On his return to Barcelona in 1239, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Gregory IX, but died at Cardona a short distance from Barcelona the next year while on the way to Rome. He was canonized in 1657. He is the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives because of the nature of his own birth. Although his mother died in labor, Raymond miraculously survived the ordeal. His feast day is August 31.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Zita was born into a poor but holy Christian family. Her older sister became a Cistercian nun and her uncle Graziano was a hermit whom the local people regarded as a saint. Zita herself always tried to do God's will obediently whenever it was pointed out to her by her mother. At the age of twelve Zita became a housekeeper in the house of a rich weaver in Lucca, Italy, eight miles from her home at Monte Sagrati. As things turned out, she stayed with that family for the last forty-eight years of her life. She found time every day to attend Mass and to recite many prayers, as well as to carry out her household duties so perfectly that the other servants were jealous of her. Indeed, her work was part of her religion! She use to say: "a servant is not holy if she is not busy; lazy people of our position is fake holiness." At first, her employers were upset by her generous gifts of food to the poor, but in time, they were completely won over by her patience and goodness and she became a very close friend. St. Zita was given a free reign over her working schedule and busied herself with visits to the sick and those in prison. Word spread rapidly in Lucca of her good deeds and the heavenly visions that appeared to her. She was sought out by the important people, and at her death in 1278 the people acclaimed her as a saint. She is the patroness of domestic workers. Her feast day is April 27.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
It is believed that Saint Marcellus was born in Arzas of Galicia. A brave pagan, he entered upon the career of arms, hoping to gain a large fortune. He married a young lady named Nona and they were blessed with twelve children. Saint Marcellus was a valorous solider and was promoted to the charge of centurion; he had no thought for any advancement except the sort pertaining to his military life, when he heard the fervent preaching of a holy bishop of the church of Leon. He was converted with his entire family to the Christian religion. All of them except his wife would soon give their blood in honor of their Faith.
The birthday of the Emperor Maximian Herculeus was celebrated in the year 298 with extraordinary feasting and solemn rites. Marcellus, as a centurion of the army, a captain in the legion of Trajan then posted in Mauritania or Spain, in order not to defile himself in these impious sacrifices, left his company, throwing down his cincture and his arms and declaring aloud that he was a soldier of Jesus Christ, the eternal King. He was at once committed to prison. When the festival was over, he was brought before a judge, and having reiterated his faith, was sent under a strong guard to a prefect, Aurelian Agricolaus. This Roman officer passed upon him a sentence of death by the sword. Marcellus was immediately led to execution and beheaded on the 30th of October of the year 298. Cassian, the secretary or notary of the court, refused to record the sentence pronounced against the martyr, because of its injustice. He was immediately hurried to prison, and was beheaded in his turn on the 3rd of December.
A Church was built in his family's honor in Leon.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Saint Bertulf (died 640) was a German who converted to Christianity. He was the son of a pagan nobleman and was a near relative of Arnulf of Metz, whose example had such an influence on Bertulf that he became a Christian and in 620 entered the monastery of Luxeuil.
A few years later he became acquainted with Abbot Attala, who had come to Luxeuil on a visit, and, with permission of Abbot Eustace of Luxeuil, joined Attala's community at Bobbio in Italy. Upon the death of Attala in 627, Bertulf was elected by the monks of Bobbio as their abbot. Like his predecessor, he insisted on the observance of the austere rule introduced by St. Columban, the founder of Bobbio Abbey, and preached fearlessly against Arianism, which had gained a firm foothold in Italy under the Lombard kings.
When the Bishop of Tortona endeavoured to bring Bobbio under his own jurisdiction, Bertulf hastened to Rome, where Pope Honorius I received him kindly and granted the monastery entire exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. Jonas, a monk of Bobbio, who accompanied Bertulf on his journey to Rome, relates that, while returning to his monastery, Bertulf was attacked by a deadly fever, and cured miraculously by St. Peter. The same author ascribes a few other miracles to the prayers of St. Bertulf. Most martyrologies give him the title of saint. His feast is celebrated on August 19.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The Blessed Virgin Mary - This Ave Maria episode of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary begins with the prophecies of Isaiah and others, and takes us through her life. The angel appears to Mary and tells her she will bear a Son and call Him Jesus. Her response is to say “let it be done to me according to Thy will.” As she raised her son, she kept in her heart these words, “Teach me thy way oh Lord and I will walk in the Truth.” Mary receives the body of her Son Jesus at Calvary, shedding tears over his body and for all the dead who will die in His name so that others may live. She becomes the Queen of Martyrs, is taken into heaven and her abode is in the full assembly of Saints. Jesus gives us his gentle mother, mother of Mercy and her compassion for all who call upon Him.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Simeon the Stylite - As a thirteen-year-old shepherd of Sisan, Turkey, Simeon heard a Gospel reading of the Beatitudes that greatly affected him. Entering a nearly monastery, he learned all the Psalms by heart and began to manifest the extraordinary spirit of self-denial that was to become a hallmark of his spirituality. Thereafter Simeon lived as a hermit. In the year 423 he imposed on himself the unusual mortification of living atop a pillar only a few feet in diameter and about ten feet high. Later a much taller pillar over sixty-five feet high was built for him. The local bishops and abbots tested his virtue by commanding him to come down from the pillar, a command they immediately rescinded after the hermit demonstrated his humble willingness to obey them. One bishop even brought him Holy Communion. Simeon devoted himself to prayer, but also gave exhortations twice daily to those who gathered around the pillar to hear him. His words won the conversion of pagans in the audience. Simeon would urge his listeners to pray for the salvation of souls. Following his mother’s death, he offered particularly fervent prayers for her.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Columba - Patron of Derry, floods, bookbinders, poets, Ireland, Scotland. St. Columba 521-597, Born probaly in Donegal Ireland of royal descent he studied at Moville under St. Finnian then in Leinster at the monastery of Clonard under another St. Finnian. He was ordained before he was twenty-five and spent the next fifteen years preaching and setting up foundations at Derry, Durrow, and Kells. Possibly because of a family feud which resulted in the death of 3000 and for which he considered himself partly responsible he left Ireland at 42 and landed on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. There he built the monastery which was to become world famous. With SS Canice and Comgall he spread the gospel to the Picts; he also developed a monastic rule which many followed until the introduction of St. Benedicts. He died on Iona and is also known as Colm, Colum and Columcille. Feast day is June 9.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Julian the Hospitaler - Patron saint of boatmen, innkeepers, and travelers, also called "the Poor." Reported in the doubtful Golden Legend, Julian slew his noble parents in a case of mistaken identity. He believed his wife was with another man and struck them both. His wife returned home from church soon after. In penance, Julian and his wife went to Rome. Returning after receiving absolution, Julian built an inn and a hospital for the poor. He even put a leper into his own bed. That leper was an angel.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise.
At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate.
As the Council of Trent (1545-63) was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip’s appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome.
Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip’s followers, and composed music for the services.
Philip’s advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Paula Gambara-Costa -- Almighty God destined this holy woman to be a special pattern for Christian wives and widows in bearing the trials and difficulties of their state. Paula was born in Brescia, in northern Italy, of a very noble family. Even in her youth she showed a special love for solitude and a quiet, devout life. Prayer and spiritual reading were her delight, and she would gladly have changed her place in the world for life in a convent. But since her parents promised her in marriage to the young count Louis Costa, lord of Benasco, Paula recognized the will of God in this arrangement and complied with the wishes of her parents.
After the wedding the count conveyed his young wife in great pomp to the castle at Benasco in the province of Piedmont. He himself was quite fond of gaiety and amusement, and would have drawn his inexperienced wife into the whirl of worldly pleasures, for in the beginning she believed it a duty to yield in everything to the tastes of her husband. But Blessed Angelo of Chiavasso, whom Blessed Paula Gambara-Costa had chosen as her confessor, kept her on the path of Christian virtue. He advised her to join the Third Order, and under his direction she learned more and more to despise the pomp and pleasure of the world. As far as possible she devoted her services to the poor, even depriving herself of food in order to bring it to the sick.
She used the saints’ way of revenging herself. Ridicule and contempt she opposed with heroic patience and the meekness of an angel. The humiliations and persecutions she had to endure, she offered up for the conversion of her husband, whose disorderly life was her heaviest cross. She also prayed fervently and performed rigorous penances for the same intention. Finally her prayer was heard.
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Born in 1271, Queen Isabel was married to King Diniz (or Dinis). Like her great-aunt Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, for whom she was named, Saint Elizabeth of Portugal dedicated her life to the poor. She established orphanages and provided shelter for the homeless. She also founded a convent in Coimbra.
There are many versions of the story of Queen Isabel's miracle of turning bread into roses, but they are all fundamentally the same. She is said to have been forbidden by her unfaithful husband to give to the poor. Having hid bread to give away in her apron, she encountered King Diniz, who asked her what she was carrying. Not wanting to let on that the contents of her apron were meant for the poor, she responded that they were roses. The bread was transformed into roses, and King Dinis, who could not understand how she could have possession of fresh roses in January, did not punish his wife.
Known for settling disputes, Queen Isabel was called the Peacemaker. When her son Affonso (or Afonso) declared war on his father, jealous of the attention being paid by Diniz to his illegitimate sons, she rode between the armies, reconciling the two sides. On another occasion, she rode to Estremoz despite being ill to keep the army of Affonso, by then Affonso IV, from fighting that of Castile. Affonso, angry at the mistreatment his daughter Maria was suffering at the hands of her husband, the king of Castile, had ordered an attack. Isabel stopped the fighting, but the exertion proved to be too much for her and she fell ill, dying shortly thereafter.
Isabel was buried in Coimbra. She was canonized in 1625 by Urban VIII, and her feast day is July 4. Many Portuguese and Portuguese-American organizations bear her name.
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Pious from her childhood, Mary Bartholomea de Bagnesiis, of Florence, Italy, longed to become a nun so intently that upon learning of her father's plans to make her marry, she grieved to the point of falling gravely ill. She remained bedridden for most of the remaining years of her life. Amidst much physical suffering, Bartholomea served those who came to her bedside, converting sinners, reconciling enemies, and consoling the sorrowful. At the age of thirty-two, she became a Third Order Dominican. Bartholomea was granted the special privilege of having Mass celebrated in her own room. She received Holy Communion three to six times a week, preparing beforehand with great care and spending much time afterward in mental prayer. Deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, she was wont to call her "the Mother of my most sweet Spouse." She experienced a vision of Mary in which the Madonna appeared first with the Christ Child on her lap, and afterwards as the Pieta, with the dead Christ in her arms. At the end of Bartholomea's life, five priests at her deathbed read to her one of the Gospel accounts of the Passion.
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Ferdinand III of Castile was the son of Alfonso IX, King of Leon, and Berengaria, daughter of Alfonso III, King of Castile (Spain). He was declared king of Castile at age eighteen. Ferdinand was born near Salamanca; proclaimed king of Palencia, Valladolid, and Burgos; his mother advised and assisted him during his young reign. He married Princess Beatrice, daughter of Philip of Suabia, King of Germany and they had seven sons and three daughters. His father (the king of Leon) turned against him and tried to take over his rule. The two reconciled later, and fought successfully against the Moors. In 1225, he held back Islamic invaders; prayed and fasted to prepare for the war; extremely devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Between 1234-36, Ferdinand conquered the city of Cordoba from the Moors. Queen Beatrice died in 1236, and he overtook Seville shortly thereafter. He founded the Cathedral of Burgos and the University of Salamanca; married Joan of Ponthieu after the death of Beatrice. He died on May 30th after a prolonged illness, and buried in the habit of his secular Franciscan Order. His remains are preserved in the Cathedral of Seville and was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671. Ferdinand was a great administrator and a man of deep faith. He founded hospitals and bishoprics, monasteries, chuches, and cathedrals during his reign. Her also compiled and reformed a code of laws which were used until the modern era. Ferdinand rebuilt the Cathedral of Burgos and changed the mosque in Seville into a Cathedral. He was a just ruler, frequently pardoning former offenders to his throne. His feast day is May 30th.She was canonized in 1949 by Pope Pius XII.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Joan de Lestonnac was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1556. She married at the age of seventeen. The happy marriage produced four children, but her husband died suddenly in 1597. After her children were raised, she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse. Joan was forced to leave the Cistercians when she became afflicted with poor health. She returned to Bordeaux with the idea of forming a new congregation, and several young girls joined her as novices. They ministered to victims of a plague that struck Bordeaux, and they were determined to counteract the evils of heresy promulgated by Calvinism. Thus was formed the Congregation of the Religious of Notre Dame of Bordeaux. In 1608, Joan and her companions received the religious habit from the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Joan was elected superior in 1610, and many miracles occurred at her tomb. She was canonized in 1949 by Pope Pius XII.
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St. Justin de Jacobis -- Born at San Fele, Italy. At 18 he was ordained. After helping found a Vincentian house at Monopoly, he served as superior at Lecce and in 1839 was sent as the first prefect and vicar apostolic to the new Catholic mission at Adua, Ethiopia. His efforts to evangelize met with great opposition., but in 1841 he was included in a delegation of Ethiopian prelates to Cairo to request the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria to appoint one of his monks Abuna (patriarch) of the Ethiopian church. In Cairo, the patriarch denounced the presence of Father de Jacobis on the delegation and intrigued to a point one Salama as Abuna. Some of the delegation then accompanied Father de Jacobis to meet the Pope in Rome. On his return, Father de Jacobis founded a college and seminary at Guala, and in 1846 a vicariate apostolic of the Galla was established, with William Massaia as its first bishop. These developments caused Salama to launch an anti-Catholic campaign. The college was closed, Catholicism was proscribed, and bishop Massaia was forced to return to Aidan. In 1848, he secretly consecrated Father de Jacobis, now a fugitive, bishop at Massawa, with authority to administer the sacraments in the Ethiopian rite. By 1853, the new bishop had ordained some twenty Ethiopians, was ministering to 5000 Catholics, and was able to reopen the college. In 1860, Kedaref Kassa became king as Theodore II and in return for the backing he had received from Abuna Salama, launched a persecution of the Catholics. Bishop de Jacobis was arrested and improsoned. After release he managed to find his way to Halai in southern Eritrea. He spent the rest of his life in missionary work along the Red Sea coast and died in the valley of Alghedien.
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Alessandra di Rudini - The Marchesa Alessandra di Rudini, known in Carmel as Mother Marie of Jesus, came of an old Neapolitan family. Her privileged childhood was marred by her mother's ill-health and her father's womanizing. Perhaps it was the problems between her parents that led her to question her faith, a crisis which was reinforced by an atheistic teacher when she was thirteen. As Alessandra di Rudini became a young lady she moved in the highest circles of European society. A Russian Grand Duke wanted to marry her but Alessandra would not renounce her Catholic faith as would have been required, showing that her convictions may have been deeper than her doubts.
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Born to the Venetian nobility; his ancestors had fled Constantinople for political reasons. Against his widowed mother‘s wishes, he chose against marriage and for the religious life. Augustinian canon regular at San Giorgio, Alga, Italy in 1400. Spent his days wandering the island, begging for the poor. Ordained in 1406. Noted preacher and teacher of the faith. Held assorted administrative positions within his Order. Reluctant bishop of Castello, Italy in 1433. General of the canons regular. Bishop of Grado, Italy in 1451; the see was then moved to Venice, Italy, and Laurence was named archbishop and patriarch by Pope Nicholas V. Noted writer on mystical contemplation. Had the gift of prophecy. Miracle worker.
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Born to the nobility. Married to Euphrosyne, the daughter of a nobleman; the two led a pious life in the world. One day while hunting, Conrad ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. A strong wind carried the flames to nearby fields, forests, towns and villages, and Conrad fled in panic. An innocent peasant was imprisoned, tortured into a confession and condemned to death for the fire. Remorseful, Conrad stepped forward to confess, saving the man. He then paid for the damaged property, selling nearly all he owned in order to raise the cash.
Conrad and his wife saw the hand of God in the dramatic events, and chose to give the poor everything they had left. They then separated, she to a Poor Clare monastery, he to a group of Franciscan tertiary hermits. Conrad lived such a life of piety that his reputation for holiness spread quickly. He had the gift of healing. Visitors destroyed his solitude, so he fled to a the valley of Noto, Italy in Sicily where he lived 36 years in prayer as a hermit.
Legend says that when the Bishop of Syracuse visited him, the bishop asked if Conrad had anything to offers guests. Conrad said he would check in his cell. He returned carrying newly made cakes, which the bishop accepted as a miracle. Conrad returned the bishop‘s visit, and made a general confession to him. As he arrived, he was surrounded by fluttering birds, who escorted him back to Noto.
The Day of the Lord
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First broadcasted in the 1950's, this episode is set in the future ... a story of the future ... when the great events depicted will happen, no man can foretell. But the fact of their happening is foretold in the Bible. This is the story of The Day of the Lord.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Olaf Tryggvesson - (born c. 964—died c. 1000), Viking king of Norway (995–c. 1000), much celebrated in Scandinavian literature, who made the first effective effort to Christianize Norway.
Already a Christian, Olaf was confirmed at Andover (in modern Hampshire) in 994, with Ethelred, with whom he had been reconciled, as his godfather. Learning of the growing revolt against the Norwegian king Haakon the Great, Olaf returned to Norway and was accepted as king on Haakon’s death in 995. He forcefully imposed Christianity on the areas under his control, the coast and the western islands, but had little influence elsewhere. By commissioning missionaries and baptizing visiting dignitaries, Olaf was able to introduce Christianity to the Shetland, Faroe, and Orkney islands and to Iceland and Greenland. (Christianity was adopted by the Icelandic parliament [Althing] about 1000).
Olaf met his death in the Battle of Svolder (c. 1000) at the hands of the Danish king Sweyn I, the Swedish king Olaf Skötkonung, and Eric the Norwegian, earl of Lade.
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St. Peregrine - St. Peregrine was born in Forli, Italy, around 1265. At that time, Forli was governed by the Pope as part of the Papal States, and Peregrine grew up in a family that was actively involved in the opposition, or anti-papal party. Because of anti-papal activity, the city was under the church penalty of interdict, meaning that Mass and the Sacraments could not be celebrated there. St. Philip Benizi, Prior General of the Servants of Mary, went to Forli to preach reconciliation. Young Peregrine, very intense in his political fervor, not only heckled Philip during his preaching, but, in fact, struck him. Philip, instead of responding with anger and violence to the attack, turned and forgave Peregrine.
This encounter with Philip is said to have dramatically changed Peregrine. He began channeling his energy into good works and eventually joined the Servants of Mary in Siena, Italy. He returned to Forli, where he spent the rest of his life, dedicating himself to the sick, the poor, and those on the fringes of society. He also imposed on himself the penance of standing whenever it was not necessary to sit. This led to varicose veins, which later deteriorated into an open sore on his leg, and was eventually diagnosed as cancer.
Peregrine's leg wound became so serious that the local surgeon decided to amputate the leg. The night before the surgery, Peregrine prayed before the image of the crucified Christ, and when he awoke, the wound was healed and his leg saved. He lived another 20 years, dying on May 1, 1345, and the age of about 80. Peregrine was canonized on December 27, 1726, and has been named the Patron Saint of those suffering from cancer.
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After Jesus died, his body was placed in a tomb. This was better treatment than many crucified people would have received. Their bodies were often discarded by Roman soldiers and left exposed, unless they had families or friends nearby to care for them. The body of Jesus was fortunate enough to receive unusual attention from a man named Joseph, who was both a member of the Sanhedrin and a follower of Jesus. He made sure the body of his Master was appropriately buried, so that, later, the bones of Jesus could be finally interred in an ossuary (a special box for bones). Little did Joseph know that God had other plans for the body of Jesus.
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John Gonzales de Castrillo was born at Sahagun, Leon Spain. He was educated by the Benedictine monks of Fagondez monastery there and when twenty, received a canonry from the bishop of Burgos, though he already had several benefices. He was ordained in 1445; concerned about the evil of pluralism, he resigned all his benefices except that of St. Agatha in Burgos. He spent the next four years studying at the University of Salamanca and then began to preach. In the next decade he achieved a great reputation as a preacher and spiritual director, but after recovering after a serious operation, became an Augustinian friar in 1463 and was professed the following year. He served as master of novices, definitor, prior at Salamanca, experienced visions, was famous for his miracles, and had the gift of reading men's souls. He denounced evil in high places and several attempts were made on his life. He died at Sahagun on June 11, reportedly poisoned by the mistress of a man he had convinced to leave her. He was canonized in 1690 as St. John of Sahagun.
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St. Josepha Rosello - Benedetta Rosello was born at Liguria, Italy, in 1811, and at the age of sixteen she became a Franciscan tertiary. For nine years, she cared for an invalid, and when he died, Benedetta, along with Paula Barla, and her two cousins Angela and Domenica Pescio, established a community at Savona in 1837.
The new community was called the Daughters of Our Lady of Pity, and its members engaged in the education of poor girls, the founding of hospitals, and other charitable works. Benedetta took the religious name Josepha and was mistress of novices. She was later elected superior in 1840, and she remained in that post till her death.
In 1846, the group received diocesan approval, and the number of its foundations increased rapidly. During Josepha’s lifetime, the congregation numbered sixty-eight houses. During the last years of her life, Josepha was quite ill and her prayer life was terribly arid. Nonetheless, she persevered till the end. She died on December 7, 1880, and she was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1949.
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Henry Garnet -- English Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Heanor, Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before he moved to London in 1571, to work for a publisher. There he professed an interest in legal studies, and in 1575 he travelled to the continent and joined the Society of Jesus. He was ordained in Rome some time around 1582.
In 1586 Garnet returned to England as part of the Jesuit mission, soon succeeding Father William Weston as Jesuit superior, following the latter's capture by the English authorities. Garnet established a secret press, which lasted until late 1588, and in 1594 he interceded in the Wisbech Stirs, a dispute between secular and regular clergy.
In summer 1605 Garnet met with Robert Catesby, a religious zealot who, unknown to him, planned to kill the Protestant King James I. The existence of Catesby's Gunpowder Plot was revealed to him by Father Oswald Tesimond on 24 July 1605, but as the information was received under the seal of the confessional, he felt that Canon law prevented him from speaking out. Instead, without telling anyone of what Catesby planned, he wrote to his superiors in Rome, urging them to warn English Catholics against the use of force.
When the plot failed Garnet went into hiding, but he was eventually arrested on 27 January 1606. He was taken to London and interrogated by the Privy Council, whose members included John Popham, Edward Coke and Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury.
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St. Colette -- Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named DeBoilet at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor. She became a Franciscan tertiary, and lived at Corby as a solitary. She soon became well known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She received the Poor Clares habit from Peter de Luna, whom the French recognized as Pope under the name of Benedict XIII, with orders to reform the Order and appointing her Superior of all convents she reformed. Despite great opposition, she persisted in her efforts. She founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule and reformed several older convents. She was reknowned for her sanctity, ecstacies, and visions of the Passion, and prophesied her own death in her convent at Ghent, Belgium. A branch of the Poor Clares is still known as the Colettines. She was canonized in 1807. Her feast day is March 6th.
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St. Odillia -- About the year 300, Saint Odilia and ten other virgins set out from England on a pilgrimage to the East. By accident or plan the ship in which they sailed went up the Rhine. They were captured by some soldiers and taken to Cologne. There the young women were killed in defense of their Christian faith and their purity. St. Odilia's future role as the Patroness of the Order of the Holy Cross is pictured by the Crosier standard and her motto, "I have chosen the cross."
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St. John de Britto -- Jesuit martyr in India. He was a native of Lisbon, Portugal, was dedicated at birth to St. Francis Xavier, and was a noble friend of King Pedro. He entered the Jesuits at the age of fifteen. In his effort to promote conversions among the native Indian people as a missionary to Goa, he wandered through Malabar and other regions and even adopted the customs and dress of the Brahmin caste which gave him access to the noble classes. In 1683, John had to leave India but returned in 1691. Arrested, tortured, and commanded to leave India, he refused and was put to death. Pope Pius XII canonized him in 1947.
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Blessed Godfrey of Cappenberg -- Descendant of Charlemagne through his father, of the dukes of Swabia through his mother. Wealthy count in Westphalia with extensive lands. Layman, married to a noble woman. After being brought to an active faith by his friend Saint Norbert of Xanten, Godfrey turned his castle into a Premonstratensian abbey, and in the face of violent family opposition, gave his lands and wealth over to Norbert for use by the Church. He and his brother then joined the order as monks; Godfrey’s wife and two sisters tooks vows as nuns in a convent he founded for them nearby. Built several hospitals and other houses. Was studying for the priesthood when he died.
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Saint Brigid of Ireland -- Daughter of Dubtach, pagan Scottish king of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Just before Brigid’s birth, her mother was sold to a Druid landowner. Brigid remained with her mother till she was old enough to serve her legal owner Dubtach, her father.
She grew up marked by her high spirits and tender heart, and as a child, she heard Saint Patrick preach, which she never forgot. She could not bear to see anyone hungry or cold, and to help them, often gave away things that were Dubtach’s. When Dubtach protested, she replied that “Christ dwelt in every creature”. Dubtach tried to sell her to the King of Leinster, and while they bargained, she gave a treasured sword of her father‘s to a leper. Dubtach was about to strike her when Brigid explained she had given the sword to God through the leper, because of its great value. The King, a Christian, forbade Dubtach to strike her, saying “Her merit before God is greater than ours”. Dubtach solved this domestic problem by giving Brigid her freedom.
Saint Brigid's feast day is February 1st.
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Blessed Mary of Pisa -- More often than not, the women saints that the Church venerates have been cloistered virgins. Blessed Mary of Pisa also founded a religious order, but like St. Elizabeth Seton, she did so as a widow. Unlike our American saint, she had been married twice and borne many children.
Catherine Mancini belonged to a distinguished family in Pisa, Italy, in the days when the great Italian cities were engaged in civil war against each other. The story is told of her that when she was only five, she had a sort of vision of the torturing of one Peter Gambacorta. He had been accused of political conspiracy and sentenced to be hanged. The legend says that the child, on experiencing the vision, prayed so hard for Peter that the rope by which he was being hanged broke, whereupon the judges commuted his death penalty. Our Lady then appeared to Catherine, the story continues, and told her to say seven Our Fathers and Hail Marys for Gambacorta every day, for he was going to become her benefactor in the years to come.
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Jane of Saint Erasmus - As in many other lives we read of a woman, the epitome of all that is righteous and holy, whose marriage was difficult and loveless and whose husband was given to gambling and quarrelling, even duelling
Fulfilling her role as wife and housewife, and as mediator for her husband she endeavoured to convert him to better ways.
She was to be host to her husband’s friends and mother to the poor and sick and in doing this proved such an example to her husband that he converted to better ways.
Jane experienced a mighty impulse to enter a convent, when he returned she asked him leave to enter a convent and he refused because he now loved her and valued her as wife. While previously she had desired him to love her and now he does love her she wants to go off to a nunnery.
Her name in Religion was Jane of St. Erasmus – her husband’s name out of her gratitude to him She pledged to him the best of her merits and once his death was near, offered to suffer his purgatory.
At fifty-five years of age Jane happily observed the strictest practices of the novices and regarded herself as the lowliest one of all. During the nineteen years remaining to her Jane was a model to every one of her sisters; her extraordinary graces from god were confirmed when she was seen in ecstasy and raised above the ground.
At the very sight of the image of our Lord scourged at the pillar Jane would break out with tears in compassion for her Lord. Forbidden from gazing upon it by her superiors, Jane never looked toward it again.
Jane died whilst making the sign of the Cross as she said it.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Hotel owners, Paul and Maureen, trying to make a living and promote their business in tough times, try to figure out the best way to increase holiday bookings. A husband in wife who is expecting a baby need a room at the last second, and what ensues give the Innkeepers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Fidelis - A former lawyer who left his profession to become a Capuchin Franciscan priest, Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen has his liturgical memorial on April 24.
Leaving his legal practice behind, Mark decided to give his life directly to the service of Christ and the Church. In short order he received ordination as a priest, and joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Freiburg.
During 1614 a Swiss Catholic bishop had sought help from the Capuchins, to restore the faith and counteract the spread of Calvinist Protestantism. In 1621, Fidelis was sent on the mission. He brought just four items: a Bible, a prayer book, a crucifix and a copy of the Capuchin rule.
The winter of 1621-22 was a busy period of preaching, instruction and theological disputation for the Franciscan priest. He preached not only in the pulpits of Catholic churches, but also in public places, and even in the meeting-places of the Calvinists themselves. Some Swiss Protestants responded with hostility, but many others were also brought back to the Church.
Like many cases of religious persecution during this time, Fidelis’ treatment at the hands of the Calvinists did not stem exclusively from doctrinal disagreement. National and cultural tensions also contributed, with many Swiss Protestants suspecting that the Catholic mission was part of an Austrian plot against their nation.
Fidelis' life bridged the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a time of religious conflict in Western Europe. He died at the hands of a mob while preaching in Switzerland, where he had gone to combat the Calvinist heresy.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Emma of Austria - Hemma, also called Emma of Gurk, was born Countess of Zeltschach to a noble family called Peilenstein in present-day Pilštanj, Slovenia. They were related to the Liutpoldings of Bavaria and thus to Emperor Henry II. She was brought up at the Imperial court in Bamberg by the Empress Saint Cunigunde. She married Count Wilhelm of Friesach and of the Sanngau, by whom she had two sons, Hartwig and Wilhelm. Both of her sons and her husband were murdered, the latest of them probably in 1036. Hemma became wealthy through inheritance upon the death of her husband and sons.
Countess Hemma used her great wealth for the benefit of the poor and was already venerated as a saint during her lifetime. In addition, she founded ten churches throughout present-day Carinthia, Austria. In 1043 she founded the Benedictine double monastery of Gurk Abbey, where she withdrew during the last years of her life.
After her death, Gurk Abbey was dissolved by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Gebhard, who instead used the funds to set up the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt in 1072. Admont Abbey, another Benedictine foundation in Austria, was founded in 1074 by the same Gebhard, and also owes its existence to Hemma's wealth.
Since 1174 Hemma has been buried in the crypt of Gurk Cathedral, of which she is accounted the founder. She was beatified on 21 November 1287 and canonised on 5 January 1938 by Pope Pius XI. Her feast day is 27 June.[2]
Hemma is the patron saint of the Diocese of Gurk-Klagenfurt as well as of the Austrian state of Carinthia, and her intercession is sought for childbirth and diseases of the eye.
St. Columbanis of Bobbio
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St. Columbanis - Columbanus of Bobbio The founder of several European monasteries, St. Columbanus was born c. 543 in Leinster, Ireland, and was educated at Bangor. Late in life (c. 590), he left Ireland to establish, at the invitation of King Childebert of Burgandy, a monastery at Annegray. He founded monasteries at Luxovium (Luxeuil) and at Fountaines as well. In 603, a synod accused him of keeping Easter by the Celtic date, although the real charge seems to have been criticizing the lax morals of the Burgundian court. Columbanus appealed to Gregory the Great, but nothing is known of the outcome of this act. Seven years later, Columbanus left Burgandy to preach to the Allemani of Switzerland; when Burgandy captured Switzerland, he fled to northern Italy, where he established a monastery at Bobbio in 613. His monasteries were known for the strictness of their rules (which the Benedictines later ameliorated) and their emphasis on corporal punishment. In addition to his rule for monks, Columbanus wrote a peneteniary and poems.
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Bl. John of Parma - The seventh general minister of the Franciscan Order, John was known for his attempts to bring back the earlier spirit of the Order after the death of St. Francis of Assisi. He was born in Parma, Italy, in 1209. It was when he was a young philosophy professor known for his piety and learning that God called him to bid good-bye to the world he was used to and enter the new world of the Franciscan Order.
In 1245, Pope Innocent IV called a general council in the city of Lyons, France. Crescentius, the Franciscan minister general at the time, was ailing and unable to attend. In his place he sent Father John, who made a deep impression on the Church leaders gathered there.
And so, in 1247, John of Parma was elected to be minister general. The surviving disciples of St. Francis rejoiced in his election, expecting a return to the spirit of poverty and humility of the early days of the Order. And they were not disappointed. As general of the Order John traveled on foot, accompanied by one or two companions, to practically all of the Franciscan convents in existence. Sometimes he would arrive and not be recognized, remaining there for a number of days to test the true spirit of the brothers.
The pope called on John to serve as legate to Constantinople, where he was most successful in winning back the schismatic Greeks. Many years later, John learned that the Greeks, who had been reconciled with the Church for a time, had relapsed into schism. Though 80 years old by then, John received permission from Pope Nicholas IV to return to the East in an effort to restore unity once again. On his way, John fell sick and died.
He was beatified in 1781.
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Bl Anne Mary Javouhey - Foundress and missionary, the daughter of a wealthy farmer in Jallanges, France. Anne entered several convents but left each time, wanting to devote her life to educating the poor. In 1800, she had a vision of black children and decided to adapt her vocation to their needs. In 1807, Anne and eight other young women were given the veil in Autun, France, and the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cluny was founded. Anne founded houses in Europe, South America, and Africa. In 1828, she went to French Guyana to educate six hundred slaves who were about to be liberated. Anne Javouhey also founded houses in Tahiti and Madagascar. She died in Paris on July 15, 1851.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Saint Sabinus of Spoleto (died c. 300) was a Bishop in the Christian church who resisted the persecutions of Diocletian and was martyred.
According to legend, Venustian, governor of Etruria and Umbria, had Sabinus and his deacons arrested in Assisi. Diocletian's ordered all Christians to sacrifice to the gods or be put to death, and their estates were to be seized for the state. Venustian mocked Sabinus's faith, accusing him of leading the people to the worship of a dead man. When Sabinus said that Christ rose on the third day, Venustian invited him to do the same thing. He had Sabinus's hands cut off. The deacons were in great fear, but Sabinus encouraged them to hold to their faith, and they died after being torn apart by iron hooks.
In prison after the martyrdom of his deacons, he was tended by a woman named Serena. While in prison, he healed a man born blind. Venustian heard of the cure and sought a cure for his own eyes from Sabinus. Sabinus healed the governor and converted him to Christianity. Venustian then sheltered Sabinus. Maximianus Herculius, hearing of this, ordered the tribune Lucius to address the matter. Lucius had Venustian, his wife, and his two sons beheaded at Assisi, and he had Sabinus beaten to death at Spoleto in the year 300.
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Born in Andalusia, Juan de Padilla, was a soldier before he came a Franciscan friar. He held several positions of authority in Mexico. Padilla was one of four Franciscans to accompany Francisco Vasquez de Coronado on his expedition to colonize New Mexico in 1540. The expedition was encouraged by reports of riches from Cabeza de Vaca and his companions, the survivors of the ill fated Navarez expedition.
Padilla was guardian of a convent at Jalisco at the time the expedition began. He gave up his high position in the church in order to become a missionary to the native people to the north. It was his hope to educate and convert the people to the religion he taught.
Father Padilla was known to be kind and gentle yet full of energy. He punished those who caused unpleasantness in Coronado's camp. At first he worked with the Moqui Pueblos. He spent winter quarters with Coronado on the Rio Grande river, where the army rested before continuing the historic journey to the fabled Quivira.
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Matthew Rossi of the well known Orsini family was a knight of extraordinary piety and virtue. Once as St. Francis of Assisi was traveling through Rome, Matthew invited Francis to visit his palace in Rome and teach him how to save his soul. St. Francis’ preaching on the vanity of the world was so impressive that Mathew fell at his feet and humbly begged for admission to the Third Order to live out his life in penance. Many noble men and women soon followed his example.
During a later visit to Rome, St. Francis held Matthew’s young son, John Cajetan and declared: “This boy will at some future time be a religious not in garb but in sentiment; he will be a mighty ruler and great protector of our order.” The prophecy was fulfilled. John Cajetan became a priest, cardinal protector of the Franciscan Order and in the year of 1277 he ascended the papal throne as Nicholas III.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Lawrence O'Toole - Augustinian archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. He was born at Leinster, the Son of Murtagh, chief of the Murrays, in Castledermot, Kildare. Taken hostage by King Dermot McMurrogh of Leinster in a raid, Lawrence was surrendered to the bishop of Glendalough. Lawrence became a monk, and in 1161 was named archbishop of Dublin. He was involved in negotiating with the English following their invasion of Ireland, and in 1172 convened a synod at Cashel. He also attended the General Lateran Council in Rome in 1179, and was named papal legate to Ireland. While on a mission to King Henry II of England, Lawrence died at Eu, Normandy, France. He was canonized in 1225.
St. Leocretia
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St. Leocretia - Virgin martyr of Spain, also listed as Lucretia. She lived in Cordoba, Spain, with her Muslim Moorish parents until her conversion. St. Eulogius sheltered her. They were both scourged and beheaded, as were a total of forty-eight Christian martyrs living in the 9th century Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus, in what is now southern Spain.
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St. Mathilda - St. Mathilda von Ringelheim was a noblewoman in early 10th century Germany. Raised and educated by her grandmother in the older woman’s monastery, her beauty and virtue caught the notice of Duke Otto I of Saxony, who thereafter arranged for her to marry his son Duke Henry “the Fowler” of Saxony. Upon the death of both his father and the heirless King Conrad I, Henry succeeded Otto and became king of East Francia, with Mathilda thus becoming his queen. They had five children, including St. Bruno the Great, Otto the Great, who became Holy Roman Emperor, and Duke Henry of Bavaria. It was these two latter siblings who took up much of Mathilda’s attention for the rest of her life, for they were always fighting wars against one another, with Henry usually being the instigator. She also spent much of her time depleting both sons’ treasuries, as she was always funding some charitable effort. Indeed, this is what accounted for her reputation as a saint. When she wasn’t feeding or clothing the poor, she was building huge monasteries, convents, and abbeys. She endowed the canonries of many cathedrals, churches, and such, and she helped advance the cause of education and the arts by providing financing for these endeavors, as well. Queen Mathilda was also someone dedicated to prayer, often spending much of her free time in this fashion. Indeed, when she was finally able to retire from public life, she laid aside her crown and entered Quedlinburg Abbey as a simple nun with no special privileges or considerations given to her.
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St. Laurence - St. Lawrence (also rendered St. Laurence) was one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome and was martyred under the Emperor Valerian on the 10th of August 258, four days after Pope Sixtus II and his companions. Little is known of the life of Saint Lawrence. What is clear is that he was immensely popular with the Christians of Rome. A basilica was built over St. Lawrence’s tomb in the field of Varano near the Via Tiburtina fifty years after his death, by the Emperor Constantine, and the anniversary of his martyrdom was kept in Rome as a solemn feast. In fact, by the sixth century, the Feast of Saint Lawrence was one of the most important feasts throughout much of western Christendom. His name occurs (with Sixtus’s) in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer #1). This excerpt from a sermon delivered by St. Augustine in about 400 AD on the occasion of the Feast of St. Lawrence (Sermo 304, 1-4, PL 38, 1395-1397) is used in the Roman Office of readings on August 10 with the accompanying biblical reading taken from Acts 6:1-6 and 8:1-8, on the selection ministry of Stephen, Philip and the first deacons of the Jerusalem Church.
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St Gabriel Possenti - The eleventh of thirteen children of Sante Possenti, a lawyer and the Governor of Assisi, Italy, he was born in 1838 and was Baptized Francis, then later educated at the Jesuit college at Spoleto. His mother died when the young Saint was a small boy.
He joined the Jesuits when he was seventeen after he had vowed to do so if cured of an almost fatal illness, but delayed entering the novitiate. His father, who misunderstood the meaning of worth of a religious vocation did much to try to dissuade his son. But Francis was devoted to the Sorrowful Heart of Mary. It was Our Lady who helped him to bear up during this trial.
This handsome, intelligent and personable young man, while still in his teens, set his heart on that which transcends anything of this world. Answering the call of his Crucified Lord, he joined the Passionist Congregation in his 18th year, taking the name Br. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows [or the Sorrowful Virgin]. The heart of his spirituality was to study and imitate the virtues of our Suffering Savior as mirrored in the heart of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary.
He led an exemplary life as a religious, filled with penances and self-effacement, was stricken with tuberculosis before he could be ordained, and died at Isola di Gran Sasso in the Abruzzi on February 27, 1862: he was not yet twenty-four. Yet, he had attained such remarkable sanctity in that short time he was a Passionist that he was canonized a Saint by the Church in 1920.
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St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Franciscan Capuchin martyr. He was born Mark Rey in Sigmaringen, Germany, in 1577. A practicing lawyer, he traveled across Europe as a tutor to aristocrats, but then he started defending the poor. In 1612, he became a Franciscan Capuchin monk, taking the name of Fidelis. He was missionary to Grisons, Switzerland, and he also served as the head of the Congregation for the Spreading of the Faith.
He was so successful that local Protestants claimed that he was a spy for the Austrian Emperor. Fidelis was stabbed to death in a church in Seewis. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV.
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St. Roch or Rocco lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79, was a Christian saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August; he is specially invoked against the plague. He was probably born at Montpellier, France, son of the governor there. He was orphaned when he was twenty. He went on pilgrimage to Rome and devoted himself to caring for the victims of a plague that was ravaging Italy. He became a victim himself at Piacenza but recovered and was reputed to have performed many miracles of healing. He may also be called Rock in English, and has the designation of St. Rollox in Glasgow, Scotland, said to be a corruption of St Roch's Loch. He is a patron Saint of dogs and falsely accused people, among other.
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The Blessed Virgin Mary - This Ave Maria episode of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary begins with the prophecies of Isaiah and others, and takes us through her life. The angel appears to Mary and tells her she will bear a Son and call Him Jesus. Her response is to say “let it be done to me according to Thy will.” As she raised her son, she kept in her heart these words, “Teach me thy way oh Lord and I will walk in the Truth.” Mary receives the body of her Son Jesus at Calvary, shedding tears over his body and for all the dead who will die in His name so that others may live. She becomes the Queen of Martyrs, is taken into heaven and her abode is in the full assembly of Saints. Jesus gives us his gentle mother, mother of Mercy and her compassion for all who call upon Him.
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St. Perpetua of Carthage - Vivia Perpetua was a catchumen (i.e. a convert not yet baptized), well educated and from a prosperous family, about 22 years old, married and apparently recently widowed, with a child at her breast, and with two brothers and both parents still living. (Her father was not a Christian.) Felicity was a slave woman in advanced pregnancy. With them were Revocatus (also a slave), Saturninus, and Secundus.
They were arrested and placed in a dungeon, but after a few days two deacons visited the prison and by a gift of money to the jailers arranged (1) that they should have an interval in the better part of the prison to refresh themselves, and (2) that Perpetua should be allowed to keep her child with her.
Perpetua had a vision in which she saw a golden ladder, guarded by a fierce dragon, but she climbed it, stepping on the dragon's head to do so. At the top, she found herself in a green meadow, with many white-robed figures, and in their midst a shepherd, who welcomed her and gave her a morsel of cheese from the sheep-milk. She awakened and understood that their martyrdom was certain.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed John of Avila - The Apostle of Andalusia and the spiritual advisor of St. Teresa, St. Francis Borgia, St. John of the Cross, St. Peter of Alcantara, and others. He was born on January 6, 1499, at Almodovar del Campo, Spain. After studying law at the University of Salamanca, he left the university to be a hermit. He then went to Alcala, where he was ordained. John drew great crowds with his fiery denunciations of evil and his many sermons. A brief imprisonment by the Inquisition in Seville made him even more popular. His missionary efforts were centered on Andalusia, and his letters and other writings have become Spanish classics. John was canonized in 1970.
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St. Benedict Joseph Labre - Patron of Unmarried men (bachelors), rejects, mental illness, mentally ill people, insanity, beggars, hobos, the homeless. Called "the Beggar of Rome," a pilgrim recluse. He was born in Amettes, France, on March 25, 1748, the eldest of eighteen children. Studying under his uncle, a parish priest, at Erin, France, Benedict tried to join the Trappists, Carthusians, and Cistercians but was refused by these orders. In 1770, he made a pilgrimage to the major shrines of Europe, settling in Rome in 1774. There he lived near the Colosseum and earned fame for his sanctity. Benedict was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and attended the Forty Hours devotion in the city. He died in Rome on April 16, and was beatified in 1860. He was canonized in 1883.
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Saint Catherine of Sweden, c.1330-1381 -- This saint is the daughter of an even more famous woman-Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden. Catherine, who was born about 1330, was a married woman who, with her husband, took a vow of continence. She went to Rome in 1348, where her mother had gone after the death of Catherine's father. Catherine's husband died after she had been in Rome a short time, and for the next twenty-five years the two women used that city as a base for pilgrimages to a variety of places, including Jerusalem. When not on pilgrimage, they spent their days in prayer and meditation and in working with the poor and instructing them in religion. This seemingly quiet life was not without perils and adventures. Dissolute young lords repeatedly sought to seduce the Swedish princess, but God's providence unfailingly thwarted their efforts. After the trip to Jerusalem, Bridget died, and Catherine took her mother's body back to Sweden, burying it at Vadstena, in the convent of the Order of the Holy Savior, which Bridget had founded. Catherine became superior of the order and died on March 24, 1381, mourned like her mother by the whole of Sweden.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
The Way to Win is a story about a young boy named Jimmy who suffered from illness and bad health. He overcame great odds because he was a very determined person. He seems to get his determination from reading stories about Knights. In his early teens he moves to a new neighborhood and gets involved in a local gang of boys. He and the other boys get themselves into trouble and Jimmy finds himself transported into a world of a King, a Princess, Knights and a Dragon who eats children and soldiers. Through it all he learns the secret how to win any battle and accomplish and feat.
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St. Felicitas - Saint Felicitas (also known as Felicity) is said[8] to have been a rich and pious Christian widow who had seven sons. She devoted herself to charitable work and converted many to the Christian faith by her example. This aroused the wrath of pagan priests who lodged a complaint against her with Emperor Marcus Aurelius. These priests asserted the fire of the gods and demanded sacrifice from Felicitas and her children. The Emperor acquiesced to their demand and Felicitas was brought before Publius, the Prefect of Rome. Taking Felicitas aside, he used various pleas and threats in an unsuccessful attempt to get her to worship the pagan gods. He was equally unsuccessful with her seven sons who followed their mother's example.
Before the Prefect Publius they adhered firmly to their religion, and were delivered over to four judges, who condemned them to various modes of death. The division of the martyrs among four judges corresponds to the four places of their burial. She implored God only that she not to be killed before her sons, so that she might be able to encourage them during their torture and death in order that they would not deny Christ. According to God's Providence, it so happened. With joy, this wonderful mother accompanied her sons one by one until she had witnessed the death of all seven sons.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed John Du Lau - Blessed John was the archbishop of Arles, France. He and his companions are celebrated today because they died heroic martyrs' deaths during the French Revolution. The new constitution of 1790 was against the Church. The people were being forced to sign their agreement with an oath. If they did not, they were punished. By 1792, the punishment was more than a prison term. Now it meant death.
Many brave bishops, priests, religious and lay people would not sign the oath supporting the French constitution. They knew they would be betraying God and his Church. Pope Pius VI told them that they were right. It was a sad time for the people of France. On September 2, 1792, a crowd of several hundred people rioted and broke into a former monastery. It was now a prison for priests and religious. The mob approached several priests and told them to sign the oath. Each priest definitely refused. Each was slain on the spot.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
John of Parma - John Buralli, the seventh minister general of the Franciscans, was born at Parma in the year 1209, and he was already teaching logic there when at the age of twenty-five, he joined the Franciscans. He was sent to Paris to study and, after he had been ordained, to teach and preach in Bologna, Naples and Rome. He preached so well that crowds of people came to hear his sermons, even very important persons flocked to hear him. In the year 1247, John was chosen Minister General of the Order of Franciscans. He had a very difficult task because the members of his community were not living up to their duties, due to the poor leadership of Brother Elias. Brother Salimbene, a fellow townsman who worked closely with John, kept an accurate record of Johns activities. From this record, we learn that John was strong and robust, so that he was always kind and pleasant no matter how tired he was. He was the first among the Ministers General to visit the whole Order, and he traveled always on foot. He was so humble that when he visited the different houses of the Order, he would often help the Brother wash vegetables in the kitchen. He loved silence so that he could think of God and he never spoke an idle word.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
It's Better to Give - A story about a little boy who learns that it is better to be giving than greedy from a talking fish, who shares the story of the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Eulalia of Merida - St. Eulalia of Merida, Virgin and Martyr (Feast day - December 10) Eulalia of Merida was born in Spain in the last decade of the third century. It is almost universally accepted that she suffered martyrdom for the Faith. What little else is known of her to date is based mostly on legend. It is believed that Eulalia, as a twelve year old girl, tried to remonstrate with Judge Dacian of Merida for forcing Christians to worship false gods in accord with the edict of Diocletian. Even though Dacian was at first amused and tried to flatter her, Eulalia would not deny Christ. Finally, Dacian ordered that her body be torn by iron hooks. Fire was applied to her wounds to increase her sufferings, and in the process her hair caught fire. She was asphyxiated by the smoke and flames, gaining the crown of martyrdom around the year 304.
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Father Leo Henrichs - Franciscan priest who was born on the Feast of the Assumption, 1867, in Oestrich, now a part of Erkelenz, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany and given the name of Joseph. When he joined the Franciscans, whose friary had left the persecution of the Church under Otto von Bismarck, for Paterson, New Jersey, he took the name of Brother Leo before being ordained a priest on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1890. While assigned to St. Elisabeth of Hungary Church in Denver, Colorado, Father Heinrichs was fatally shot while distributing communion. The shooter, a Sicilian Anarchist later described his motivations as hatred of Catholicism.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Rose Hawthorne - Mother Alphonsa Lathrop – Rose Hawthorne, the second daughter of Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne, converted to Roman Catholicism in 1891 and founded a religious order to care for victims of cancer. Born in Lenox, Mass., May 20, 1851, Rose grew up moving from place to place. She lived in West Newton, Mass.; Concord, Mass.; and as an infant in Liverpool, England; then London, Paris, Rome, and Florence, Italy. Rose made her vows as a Dominican nun Dec. 8, 1900, taking the name Alphonsa. With her first companion, Sister M. Rose, she founded the Dominican Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, later called the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. In 1901, Mother Alphonsa opened Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York (now the mother home of the order). She died there July 9, 1926, the anniversary of her parents' wedding.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Maria Goretti – Born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy, in 1902 an eighteen-year-old neighbor, Alexander, grabbed her from her steps and tried to rape her. When Maria said that she would rather died than submit, Alexander began stabbing her with a knife. As she lay in the hospital, she forgave Alexander before she died. Her death didn't end her forgivness, however. Alexander was captured and sentenced to thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him flowers. When he woke, he was a changed man, repenting of his crime and living a reformed life.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Father William Corby, Chaplain – On the hot afternoon of July 2, 1863, the Union Army's Irish Brigade, a unit composed predominantly of Catholic immigrants, waited for the order to go into action. It was the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, a three-day conflagration that saw over 50,000 casualties between both sides. Just before the Irish Brigade went into the fight, its chaplain, Father William Corby, climbed up onto a boulder to give the men general absolution from their sins. Since there was no time for individual confession, he talked briefly about patriotism, bravery, and penance before pronouncing the formula. About 320 of the brigade's 530 men fell in the wheat field that day, but the tide was turning in favor of the Union.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Clare of Rimini – Born at Rimini in Italy about the year 1300, Clare lost her mother when she was but seven years old, and because her father could not devote much time and attention to the training of the vivacious girl, she grew up into maidenhood in a frivolous rather than in a Christian manner.
As a young woman, Blessed Clare of Rimini gave herself up so completely to worldly pleasures, that the few religious exercises she still practiced were a mere formality, external functions without any devotion or Christian motive. She married a man who was also a perfect child of the world.
Then, one day, as she attended holy Mass in a Franciscan church, and was gazing about in her usual distracted way, she suddenly felt an inward urge to pray at least one Our Father with devotion. She yielded to this impulse of grace, and lo, in the course of the prayer her soul was so enlightened as to show her the very sad state in which she was living.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org.
He is Risen - The story of the Resurrection of Christ.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org.
St. Helena - Empress mother of Constantine the Great. She was a native of Bithynia, who married the then Roman general Constantius I Chlorus about 270. Constantine was born soon after, and in 293, Constantius was made Caesar, or junior emperor. He divorced Helena to marry co Emperor Maximian?s stepdaughter. Constantine became emperor in 312 after the fateful victory at Milvian Bridge, and Helena was named Augusta, or empress. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. She is believed to have died in Nicomedia. Her porphyry sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum. Geoffrey of Monmouth, England, started the legend that Helena was the daughter of the king of Colchester, a tradition no longer upheld. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Mrs. Tolliver and St. Peregrine – her family’s faith in, and prayers, to St. Peregrine, the patron Saint of cancer, result in a successful operation and recovery for Mrs. Tolliver.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Raymond of Penafort – Patron saint of lawyers, barristers and canonists and was instrumental in the founding of the Mercedarian friars in 1218 and was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1601.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Bertilla Boscardin – (1888-1922) Italian nun and nurse who displayed a pronounced devotion in working with sick children and victims of the air raids during World War I. She was canonized in 1961.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Catherine Dei Ricci – was placed in a convent at age 13 by her father where she received her education. At age 14 she went to another convent, the Dominican convent of San Vincenzo in Prato, Tuscany. By age 25 she had risen to the post of perpetual prioress. She is the patron saint against illness and was canonized in 1746.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Angelina of Marsciano – Married at 15 and widowed at 17, she founded the first community of Franciscan women, other than the Poor Clares, to receive Papal approval.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Dymphna – Patron saint of mental and nervous disorders. After refusing to marry him, her father the king, beheaded her.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Our Lady of Beauraing – also known as Our Lady of the Golden Heart is the title of 33 Marian apparitions reported in Beauraing, Belgium.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Caspar Del Bufalo – (1786-1837) Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
St. Joan of France
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Joan of France – Briefly Queen consort of France as the wife of King Louis XII. She was canonized a saint on May 28, 1950.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Eliseus – A dominant figure of the IX before Christ. He succeeded Elias after his mysterious disappearance.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed (later Saint) Benildus – Educated by the De La Salle Brothers, he began his noviate at age 14. He taught at several schools, visited the sick and attracted many to the religious life. Over 200 of his students became De La Salle Brothers. He was canonized in 1967 by Pope Paul VI.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Bernard of Corleone – Born in Sicily, he cherished a special love of the Blessed Mother. He is said to have known the date of his death in advance.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Raphaela Mary – A modern Spanish nun, co-founder of The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an institute focusing on children’s education.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Thou Shalt Call His Name Jesus – The Story of the birth of Jesus and the giving of His name.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Florian – 3rd century officer in the Roman army. In addition to his military duties, he was in charge of firefighting brigades. He is the patron saint of firefighters.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Bernard of Clairvaux – Abbot of Clairvaux, was one of the most illustrious preachers and monks and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
St. Hugh of Lincoln – Patron saint of sick children, sick people, shoemakers and swans. He was canonized in 1220 by Pope Honorius III.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
Blessed Agnes of Bohemia – Also known as Agnes of Prague, she was promised in marriage to Emperor Frederick but refused in order to devote her life to God.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Anne de Beaupre – One and the same as Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Peter Fourier – A parish priest and founder of the congregation of Notre Dame. He was noted in particular for his devotion to the Mother of God and for his modesty.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blessed Beatrice of Este was one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the Italian Renaissance. Beatrice became a Benedictine nun at the age of 14 and later founded a religious house at the site of an abandoned monastery.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blessed Clare of Pisa – Widowed a short time after her marriage, and not wishing her father to negotiate her into a second arranged marriage, she fled the family home and joined the Poor Clares. Later, she joined a Dominican convent and Clare, who favored a stricter and more vigorous interpretation of Dominican life arranged for a new convent to be built for her.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Francis of Assisi – Catholic deacon and Founder of the Franciscan Order, born at Assisi in Umbria, in 1181. He is also known as the Patron Saint of animals and ecology.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Elias the Proophet - Elias is the Latinized word for the name Elijah, a famous prophet and wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Charles of Sezze – Italian friar of the Franciscan order. As a youth he felt a desire to serve as a missionary in India but never went. He was admitted to the Franciscan order in 1635. Charles had a great sense of God’s providence and was canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1959.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blessed Peter Faber – French Jesuit theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1872.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Clotilda – Burgundian princess who married the Frankish King Clovis and eventually converted him to the Catholic faith.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Roch was a Christian saint and confessor who was especially invoked against the plague and is the patron saint of invalids.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. John Vianney – the Cure’ of Ars was a French priest and the patron saint of parish priests. He was renowned as a confessor and for his supernatural powers.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Marcella – Saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. She was a Christian ascetic in the Byzantine Era of ancient Rome.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Regina – French martyr which legend has her the daughter of a pagan, Clement. She was tortured and beheaded during the third century when she refused to renounce her faith and marry the proconsul Olybrius.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Dominic – Founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Our Lady of Fatima – Another name for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was given in Portugal when she appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Our Lady of Walsingham – is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus, derived from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. John Fisher – Martyred for speaking against King Henry VIII and his reformation and was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1935.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Vincent Pallotti was an Italian ecclesiastic, born in Rome and was the founder of the Pious Society of Missions (the Pallotines). He was elevated to saint hood in 1963 by Pope John the XXIII.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Benedict – Patron Saint against poison and witchcraft. He was the founder of Western Christian Monasticism. He was born in 480 AD and died in 547 AD.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Margaret LeKeux – She led a life of self-sacrifice, known as an angel of charity, she joined the 3rd order of St. Francis in 1913.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Agatha – Although we have evidence that Agatha was venerated as far back as the sixth century, the only facts we have about her are that she was born in Sicily and died there a martyr.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Augustine of Hippo – Catholic Bishop who was born in North Africa and lived most of his life there in the late 4th and early 5th century. He taught in Carthage, Rome and Milan before becoming a Priest and then a Bishop.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blessed Maria Assunta – a missionary in China (b. 1878-d. 1905) was the first non-martyred missionary sister to be beatified in the history of the church.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Leo III - Leo III is remembered as Charlemagne's pope. The cardinal priest of Santa Susanna, Leo was unanimously elected to the papal see in 795. Four years later, a mob led by relatives of his predecessor, Pope Adrian I, tried to blind Leo and cut out his tongue; such mutilations would have rendered him unfit to rule. Having escaped physical danger, he was imprisoned in a monastery during an attempt to depose him. He escaped to Charlemagne's retreat at Paderborn, where Alcuin defended him against charges of adultery and purjury on the grounds that no earthly power can judge the successor to St. Peter.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Gomer – St. Gomer was an 8th century Germanic knight who is said to have had infinite patience. While Gomer was meek and pious, his wife was overbearing and ruthless. St. Gomer is the patron saint of henpecked husbands.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Abraham’s Sacrifice - The story of God’s testing of Abraham in requesting the sacrifice of his son, Isaac.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Germaine Cousin - Born in 1579 to poor parents. She was born with a deformed right arm and hand along with a tubercular condition. She spent much of her time praying the Rosary and teaching the village children love of God. She was canonized in 1867 and inscribed into the canon of virgins.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Catherine Laboure was a Sister of Charity in 19th century France. Her body is still incorrupt and is resting in a glass coffin in full habit.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. AtonementFriars.org St. Bartholomea Capitanio - She was the Co-founder of the Sisters of Charity and was canonized in 1950.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Paschal Baylon – the Patron Saint of Shepherds, joined the Friars Minor in 1564 and gave himself wholeheartedly to a life of penance. He was canonized in 1690.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Out of the Depths – Brother Carlo leaves the brotherhood for the love of a woman he knew from childhood. Later the Blessed Virgin appears to him and his faith and vocation are restored.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org The Martyrs of Uganda - The story of the Uganda Martyrs, Christian converts who in the late 1800s were murdered for their faith in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Father Sharbel, The Cedar of Lebanon - A Maronite monk and priest in Lebanon. During his life he obtained a wide reputation for holiness and he has been canonized by the Catholic Church.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.orgSt. Werburga – born a princess, she became a Benedictine nun and patroness of Chester, England. She was reputed to have the ability to read the minds of others.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.orgSt. James, the Almsgiver – was born wealthy and studied law but left it for the priesthood. He restored a ruined hospital, tending the sick and giving legal advice for free. He was later murdered after successfully suing the Bishop of Chiusi, Italy.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.orgThe Leper and St. Barnabas - St Barnabas was an Early Christian convert, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. He is honored with the name apostle in Acts of the Apostles.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Mother Mary Kaspar – born Catherine Kaspar in Germany in 1820, at an early age she decided to consecrate her life to God, combining a contemplative and active life in service. She founded the community of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Blessed Humberto III of Savoy, having entered the Dominican order in Paris, he became the Dominican’s Master General in 1254, advancing his order’s missionary apostolate.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org Anne of St. Bartholomew – A Carmelite who became companion and nurse to St. Teresa. She subsequently brought the Teresian spirit to France and Belgium. She had great zeal for the salvation of souls.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Mildred – rejected what could have been a titled life of ease. She had a reputation for great holiness and for generosity and compassion to the poor and rejected.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Lutgarde – A Sister of the Convent of St. Clare was one of the first mystics of the Sacred Heart. Accounts of her life state that she experienced religious ecstasies and levitated. She is also known to have shown the gifts of healing and prophecy.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Justin – Justin Martyr, also known as St. Justin, (AD 100 – ca 165) was an early Christian apologist and is considered a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org St. Efraem – Although not baptized until an adult, he wrote hundreds of hymns and poems on faith that inspired the whole Church. However, little is known about his own inspiring life. It is thought he was born in Mesopotamia in the early 4th century and died ca. 373.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org St. Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandia, was a Grandee (meaning high aristocratic title) of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit and Third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was canonized in June of 1670.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Beyond the Modern World – The story of Mother Catherine Aurelia Caouette of the Precious Blood, who established the first cloistered contemplative order of religious in Canada.
Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour,” a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org
This week’s broadcast is the story of St. Gemma Galgani, Mystic of Lucca. She has been called the "Daughter of Passion" because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ.
Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani was born on March 12, 1878 in a small town near Lucca, Italy. At a very young age, St. Gemma developed a love for prayer. As a pupil at the school run by the Sisters of St. Zita, she was loved by her teachers and her fellow pupils but had to leave school due to chronic poor health.
At the age of twenty, St. Gemma became very ill with meningitis. She prayed for help to the Venerable Passionist, Gabriel Possenti. (Gabriel was later canonized.) Through his intercession, St. Gemma was miraculously cured.
At the age of twenty-one, St. Gemma began to receive the marks of the stigmata. Each Thursday evening, she would fall into rapture and the marks would appear and remain until Friday afternoon or Saturday morning when the bleeding would stop, the wounds would close, and only white marks would remain in place of the deep gashes.
In January of 1903, Gemma was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She died on April 11, 1903 at the age of twenty-five. St. Gemma was beatified in 1933 by Pope Pius XI and canonized in 1940 by Pope Pius XII.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Blessed Joan of Aza – Lay woman known for her spiritual and physical beauty. Her youngest son was St. Dominic de Guzman. She was beatified in 1828.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org St. Ivo of Chartres – Bishop of Chartres from 1090 until his death and an important canon lawyer during the Investiture Crisis. It is not know when or whether he was ever officially canonized.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Br. Edmund Burke – Irish Christian Brother serving to spread vocations to young people in Southeast Asia, surviving World War II under Japanese rule, he was later murdered by an expelled student.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Son of Thunder, the Story of St. James the Greater - James was the first, after Peter, to be called as an apostle and the first apostle to be martyred.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Mother Emmanuela - Born Mary Emmanuela. She gave up a life of selfishness and privilege to become Mother Emmanuela and founded a Franciscan convent.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Brother Eugene Frank – the story of Francis Anthony Frank who became Brother Eugene Frank in 1922. He was sent to New Guinea as a missionary and was later killed there.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Fr. John Baptist Sidotti – Italian missionary priest sent to Japan in 1708 where he was captured and imprisoned. After performing a baptism he was placed in a subterranean cell where he later died.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org The Glories of Mary: Before her death, an immoral and godless woman turns to Our Lady for forgiveness and is saved from eternal damnation by her intercession
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Br. Francis De Sadeleer was a Jesuit missionary in Zimbabwe who spent thirty years in the African wild beginning in 1879.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org First Martyr of Oceania – The story of St. Peter Chanel, a French Marist priest and servant of Christ, who took His Gospel to the peoples of the Pacific. He was martyred in 1841 and was canonized on June 16, 1954 by Pope Pius the XII.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Carol Ross, born severely handicapped and later, rehabilitated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, Carol Ross worked with the handicapped and took a flight around the world working with disabled servicemen.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org The story of Mother Mary Alphonsa, founder of St. Rose’s Home in New York City and Rosary Hill in Hawthorne, NY, centers for the care of cancer patients.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org The story of the Franciscan martyrs including, among others, Blessed Gregory Grassi, murdered in China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian pastor and theologian, executed for contributing to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org Night Train to Palermo is the Story of Danilo Dolci ("the Ghandi of Sicily"), social activist, educator and poet. Best known for his opposition to poverty, social exclusionism and the Mafia.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
About this week's show:
A Polish teenager enters the Society of Jesus at age 17. He later foretells his own death and is beatified in 1605 and canonized in 1726. He was the first native Polish saint.
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org
Rebroadcast of the long running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour", a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.atonementfriars.org