St Francis Xavier, Confessor; com. of Advent I: Missa “Loquébar“ Saint Francis Xavier was not born a saint. He had to work at it for in the dangerous days of the Reformation, as young Spanish gentleman, he was making a name for himself as a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris. He was…
Tag: bishop
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; S. Erconwald, Bishop & Confessor
St Erconwald, Bishop & Confessor: Missa “Sacerdotes tui“ Bishop of London, died about 690. He belonged to the princely family of the East Anglian Offa, and devoted a considerable portion of his patrimony to founding two monasteries, one for monks at Chertsey, and the other for nuns at Barking in Essex. Over the latter he…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Martin of Tours
St Martin of Tours, Bishop & Confessor; Com. St Mennas, Martyr: Missa “Státuit ei Dóminus” The story and history of Saint Martin of Tours. When a mere boy, Martin became a Christian catechumen against his parents’ wish; and at fifteen was therefore seized by his father, a pagan soldier, and enrolled in the army. One…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; Our holy father S. Willibrord
Our holy father St Willibrord, Bishop Confessor, Apostle to the Frisians, Founder of the See of Utrecht; Commemoration of the Octave of All Saints: Missa “Statuit ei Dominus” Today is the celebration of St. Willibrord, a British-born, Irish-trained, Roman-commissioned Benedictine who evangelized the Netherlands (or in the words of the Roman Martyrology, “Friesland and Denmark”). As…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; S. John of Beverley
St John of Beverley, Bishop Confessor, Com. SS Chrysanthus & Daria, Martyrs: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” John was one of the leaders of the Northumbrian Church following the conversion of the North to Christianity in the 620s and 630s. According to later tradition he was born at Harpham near Driffield, and he was certainly Bishop of Hexham…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; Octave Day of St Wilfrid, Apostle of the South Saxons
Octave Day of St Wilfrid of York, Apostle to the South Saxons, Co-Patron of the Sussex Mission; St. Peter of Alcantara, Confessor: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” Wilfrid (634-709) is one of the greatest and also one of the most controversial English Saints. He directly influenced the move away from Celtic to the more orderly Roman church…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; Feria in the Octaves of St Wilfrid of York, & St Edward, King & Confessor
Feria in the Octaves of St Wilfrid of York, & of St Edward, King & Confessor; Commemoration of St Heron of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” St Wilfrid spread the knowledge of the Benedictine Rule, brought religious treasures from the Continent, and helped improve the chanting of the liturgy. He was a great builder at York,…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Augustine of Hippo
St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo & Doctor of the Church; Com. of St Hermes: Missa “In medio Ecclesiae“ It was the combined efforts of two saints who had the greatest effects on the life of one of the great Doctors of the Church Saint Augustine of Hippo. Augustine’s mother Saint Monica played a major behind the…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Bonaventure, Bishop Confessor, Doctor of the Church
St Bonaventure, Bishop Confessor & Doctor of the Church: Missa “In medio” Franciscan theologian; known as the Seraphic Doctor. Born in Tuscany in 1221, Giovanni Fidanza, in consequence of a miraculous cure-entered the Franciscan Order. St. Bonaventure, known as “the seraphic doctor,” was born at Bagnorea in Tuscany, in 1221. He received the name of Bonaventure in…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; S. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop & Confessor
St Augustine, Bishop & Confessor, Apostle to the Angles: Missa “Sacerdotes tui“ “Your words are fair, but of doubtful meaning; I cannot forsake what I have so long believed. But as you have come from far we will not molest you; you may preach, and gain as many as you can to your religion”Greeting of…
Carissimi; Today’s Mass: St. Gregory the Theologian
Feast of Saint Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor of the Church: Missa “In medio Ecclesiae“ After his baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil’s invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was broken when Gregory’s father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and estate. It seems that Gregory…
Carissimi; Today’s Mass: St Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr
St Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr: Missa “Protexisti” Saint Stanislaus, a Polish martyr, was Bishop of Cracow. King Boleslaw II was outraging the whole kingdom by his acts of lust and cruelty. St. Stanislaus, finding all remonstrances useless, excommunicated him. By order of the king he was cut in pieces at the foot of the altar while…
