Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Martyr (1577-1622)

Feast- April 24

To restore the moral integrity of the clergy and end the investiture of bishops by lay rulers, the Church enacted the Gregorian Reforms of the late 11^th century. These reforms reduced the Church’s dependence on local rulers, making it a powerful player in world affairs.

At the time, books were hand copied by monks, which meant they were expensive and primarily accessible to churches and monasteries. This enabled the Catholic Church to guard against accidental or intentional misinterpretation while also educating society. This situation changed after 1440, when the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press. Soon thereafter, the printing press was used to publish books and documents besides the bible and salvation-oriented literature. Soon after Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Thesis to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517, his wealthy friends had it translated from Latin into German, printed and spread across the Holy Roman Empire. By 1519, Luther’s teachings had spreading across France, England and Italy. Many local rulers and nobility, seeking freedom to pursue unholy desires without risking condemnation by the Church, and consequently their subjects, happily sponsored Luther’s “reformation.”

After refusing to renounce all his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X, Martin Luther was excommunicated on the 3rd of January, 1521. The Edict of Worms (a formal deliberative assembly of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V on the 25th of May, 1521), declared Luther an outlaw, banned his literature, and required his arrest. However, under the protection of the powerful Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, Luther was free to attack the Catholic Church, undermine its teachings and authority while promoting obedience to the local overlords.

While Martin Luther led the Protestant Revolution in modern day Germany, Ulrich Zwingli led the revolt in Switzerland, John Calvin in France, John Knox in Scotland, Thomas Cranmer (under Henry VIII) in England, and many others. This led to violent riots and wars, and savage atrocities were committed in the name of reformation. In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent began the Catholic Counter-Reformation in 1545. This council was a comprehensive effort composed of apologetic, polemic documents, and ecclesiastical configuration. This effort included codification of the uniform Roman Rite Mass; foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church; and public defense of the sacraments and pious practices, which were under attack by the Protestant reformers. Jesuits under St. Ignatius of Loyola and many faithful from other religious orders undertook the educational and missionary work to bring back the lost sheep to the faith.

Capuchin, St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen is one of those who answered the call and like Our Lord Jesus sacrificed his life to save others.

Mark Rey was born in 1577 to noble parents in the Swabian (southern Germany) town of Sigmaringen, the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, where his father Johann Rey was burgomaster (mayor). His mother, Genovefa Rosenberger was from the protestant city of Tübingen. She had become a Catholic when she married Johann on 28 December 1567. Mark, who would later become St. Fidelis, was the fifth of six children in the family. He was raised, as he would describe, “in the one, apostolic, Roman, and true faith” transmitted to him by his beloved parents. Educated in good manners, discipline and the fear of God he frequently approached the Sacraments, visited the sick and the poor, and spent many hours on his knees in Adoration.

For higher studies, Mark went to Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). In this Jesuit college he advanced in classical studies, receiving a degree in philosophy in 1601. Subsequently he taught philosophy at this university while following courses in jurisprudence. During his time as a student, he was known for his modesty, meekness, and chastity. He was always generous to the poor, sometimes giving them the very clothes off his back.

In 1604 he accompanied, as preceptor (teacher-mentor), three young Swabian gentlemen on their travels through the principal parts of Europe. They were to visit the Low Countries under Spanish dominion as well as France and Italy to broaden the horizons of their human experiences. He lived this journey as a true and proper pilgrimage, exemplifying and encouraging a more spiritual way of life among his friends. Later he returned to the university and earned his Doctorate of Law around 1611.

For a time, he followed the legal profession. While nominated an assessor in the supreme court he opened a legal office and came to be known as the ‘poor man’s lawyer’. Adhered to the requirements of absolute honesty, he scrupulously refrained from all invectives, detractions, and whatever else might affect the reputation of any adversary. After a series of negative experiences and the unscrupulous attitude of his colleagues he found it was difficult to be both a good lawyer and a good Christian.

Leaving his legal practice behind, St. Fidelis decided to give his life directly to the service of Christ and the Church. After reading Jesuit Girolamo Piatti’s works on the consecrated life, St. Fidelis decided to join his brother George who had become a Capuchin in 1604, going by the name Br. Apollonius.

Around June 1612 he asked the Minister of the Swiss Capuchin Province, Alexander von Altdorf, to be admitted to the Order. The superior had him wait and suggested he be ordained priest first. In short order he received ordination and was accepted by Br. Angelo Visconti da Milano into the novitiate in Freiburg im Breisgau in October 1612, receiving the name Fidelis (faithful in Latin).

During the year of probation, there was no shortage of temptations to return to the world. In that period, he wrote a collection of prayers and meditations for personal use, (Exercitia spiritualia seraphicae devotionis) which revealed the affective and contemplative tone of his spirituality. After a year of religious formation at Freiburg, before taking vows on the 4th of October 1613, he wrote his will in which he provided scholarships for poor young Catholics of the Rey family and other relatives. Then he began four years of theology in Konstanz under the guidance of a friar of Polish origins, Br. Johann Baptist Fromberger. As soon he concluded these studies at Frauenfeld in 1618 he was immediately employed in preaching and in hearing confessions.

Through prayer, fasting, hair shirts, iron-pointed girdles, and disciplines St. Fidelis became known for his piety, while by caring for his neighbors he dutifully fulfilled the commandment of love. In 1621 when during a severe epidemic in town of Feldkirch, he cared for and cured many sick, and was especially revered for his work among Austrian soldiers, taking care of their bodies and souls. Many residents of the town and neighboring places were reformed by his zealous labors, and numerous Calvinists were converted. Soon he gained a reputation as an indefatigable preacher.

To counteract the spread of Calvinist Protestantism, a Swiss Catholic bishop sought help from the Capuchins. Having become well known for his fervor and holiness, St. Fidelis and eight other Capuchin friars were appointed by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome to preach, teach, and write in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland, with the goal of exhorting the people to return to the embrace of the Mother Church which had given them birth. Full of zeal they went from town to town, from village to village preaching in the pulpits of Catholic churches, in public places, and even in the meeting-places of the Calvinists themselves. Some Swiss Protestants responded with hostility, but many others, among them some prominent Calvinists like Rudolf von Gugelberg or Ralph de Salis were brought back to the Church. This made St. Fidelis an official enemy of the Calvinists who controlled much of that land. Being incensed at his success in converting their brethren, they loudly threatened St. Fidelis’ life, but he was ready to brave every peril to rescue souls from the errors of Calvin.

On 24 April 1622 under the protection of some Austrian imperial soldiers, St. Fidelis preached in the Church of the village of Seewis where, with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to constancy in the faith. After Calvinists began an attack on the church, one of whom discharged a musket at St. Fidelis, he was persuaded by the Catholics to immediately flee with the Austrian troops. After leaving Seewis, the Austrian soldiers withdrew, but St Fidelis pressed on to preach at the village of Grüsch. On his way he was confronted by 20 Calvinist soldiers led by a minister. The Calvinists knew exactly who stood before them, called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He answered: “I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I do not fear death.” His skull was then cracked open with the butt of a sword. Then St.Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, said with a feeble voice “Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!” Another sword stroke cloved his skull and the saint collapsed. Still furious, the Calvinists proceeded to viciously stab the dying saint, and his left leg was hacked off in retribution for the numerous journeys he had made into Calvinist territory.

His body was quickly found and local Catholics buried him the next day. Six months later, the martyr’s body was exhumed and found incorrupt, but his head and left arm were separated from his body. The body parts were then placed into two reliquaries, one sent to the Cathedral of Coire at the behest of the bishop and laid under the High Altar; the other was placed in the Capuchin church at Weltkirchen, in Feldkirch, Austria. The rebels were soon after defeated by the imperial troops. The Protestant minister who had participated in Fidelis’ martyrdom was converted by this circumstance, made a public abjuration of Calvinism, and was received into the Catholic Church.

A few days before he affirmed his faith with his blood, in his last speech, St. Fidelis spoke of the Catholic faith in these words:

“Catholic faith, how stable, how firm you are, how well‐rooted, how well‐founded on a strong rock. Heaven and earth will pass away, but you can never perish. From the beginning the whole world has spoken against you, but you have triumphed mightily overall.

For this is the Victory which overcomes the world, our faith; this is what has brought the most powerful kings under Christ’s rule, and made peoples the servants of Christ.

What was it that made the holy apostles and martyrs undergo fierce struggles and terrible agonies, if not faith and above all faith in the resurrection?

What is it that has made hermits spurn pleasure, honors and wealth, and live a celibate life in solitude, if not living faith?

What is it that in these days causes true Christians to turn aside from what is easy and pleasant and undergo hardship and labor?

Living faith working through love – this is what leads men to put aside the goods of the present in the hope of those of the future, and to look to the future, rather than to the present.”

Canonized in 1746, St. Fidelis is the youngest Capuchin saint. He died at the age of forty-five, only ten years after entering religious life. Over three hundred miracles were attributed to his intercession during his canonization process.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          CNA, “St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen,” Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-fidelis-of-sigmaringen-448 (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Martyr.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_fidelis_of_sigmaringen.html (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[3]          “Memorial of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr,” My Catholic Life! https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/april-24-saint-fidelis-of-sigmaringen-priest-and-martyr/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[4]          “Saint Fidelis von Sigmaringen, Capuchin martyr,” CapDox. https://www.capdox.capuchin.org.au/saints-blesseds/saint-fidelis-von-sigmaringen/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2023).

[5]          “Fidelis of Sigmaringen,” Wikipedia. Jan. 19, 2023. Accessed: Apr. 15, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fidelis_of_Sigmaringen&oldid=1134618057

Saint Simplicius

Pope († 483)

Feast -March 2

The city-state of Rome was founded around 753 BC, and through treaties and military strength took control of its neighbors. It evolved from an elective monarchy to a classical republic in 509 BC, then into an autocratic military dictatorship by 27 BC, forming the Roman Empire. At its height in 117 AD, it covered around 1.9 million square miles with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants.

The massive scale of the Roman Empire allowed the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ to reach over 20% of the world’s population. Typically empires collapse within two hundred years, once the founding principles are forgotten and the people become complacent. Instead God allowed the Roman Empire to stand and spread Christianity for over four hundred years. However, the luxuries of Rome made its citizens lax in faith and the accumulated wealth brought the envy of the world. The Empire became ridden with heresy and an invasion target for the plunder hungry, especially the Germanic tribes described as barbarians.

Emperor Constantin the Great, who reigned from 306 AD to 337 AD, reorganized the Roman army to consist of mobile units (comitatenses) and garrison troops (limitanei) to countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. To maintain unity in the empire Constantin convened the Council of Christian bishops in an ancient Greek city of Nicaea in 325. The main purpose of the Council was to resolve disagreements arising from within the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in his relationship to the Father; in particular, whether the Son had been ‘begotten’ by the Father from his own being, and therefore had no beginning, or was created out of nothing, and therefore had a beginning. St. Alexander of Alexandria and St. Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. The Council decided that the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls.

In 380 CE, emperor Theodosius the Great, a champion of Christian orthodoxy, signed the Edict of Thessalonica and Catholicism became the official religion of the state. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over a unified Roman Empire, prior to the split between east and west in 395 AD. During his reign, growing political and religious divisions limited the empire’s ability to fight its enemies, driving the Romans to hire mercenaries from allied states (foederati) and barbarian tribes in exchange for legal residency and other benefits. This developed into a migration event, with various Germanic tribes settling into the empire. While useful in protecting the empire from external threats, the migrants were loyal to their chieftains first, resulting in frequent rebellions.

In the fifth century a heated controversy arose between the theological schools of Antioch and Alexandria about how divinity and humanity existed in Christ.

Nestorius, the Archbishop of Constantinople from April 428 to August 431, in his teachings indicated a preference for the concept of a loose union of two natures (divine and human) in Christ, over the concept of their full union. Consequently he rejected the title of Mother of God, used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was condemned and deposed from his see by the Council of Ephesus in 431, but continued to strenuously defend his heretical views resulting in his excommunication in 451 during the Council of Chalcedon.

During the Council of Ephesus, Eutyches, a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople, was noticed for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius. His condemnation of Nestorianism as heresy led him to an equally extreme although opposite view. Eutyches taught that the human nature of Christ was overcome by the divine, and His human natures had united and blended in such a manner that although Jesus was “same in essence” with the Father, he was not “same in essence” with the man. This idea known as Eutychianism, was rejected at the Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon, which declared that Jesus is one “person” in two “natures” a divine nature and a human nature.

The Council in Chalcedon led to the schism with Oriental Orthodoxy. Patriarch Dioscorus I of Alexandria was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 for insisting that, contrary to the Chalcedonian position, Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature. After the death of Dioscorus I in 454, Timothy II Aelurus, a Miaphysite monk at the Eikoston, was elected and consecrated bishop. He was expelled in 460 by a Chalcedonian Patriarch, but in 475 he returned and remained to be Patriarch of Alexandria until his death in in 477. His deacon Peter III of Alexandria, also known as Peter Mongus, succeeded him.

During these difficult times of division and tribulation St. Simplicius was called to lead Catholic Church.  He was born near Rome in the city of Tivoli to a Roman citizen by the name of Catinus. Very little is known about his early life, including the year in which he was born. Not much is known of his career before becoming pope either. He gained recognition and respect under Pope St. Leo “the Great” and later Pope St. Hilarius. After the death of St. Hilarius in February 468, St. Simplicius was elected and consecrated Pope within 10 days without controversy.

As pope and Bishop of Rome, St. Simplicius struggled to maintain his authority within the Eastern church. In 471, Peter Gnapheus, a Monophysite, became Patriarch of Antioch. (Monophysitism rejects that Jesus Christ had both a divine and human nature, claiming that Jesus only had divine nature) Gnapheus was originally a monk at the monastery of the Acoemetae in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, but was expelled from his monastery on account of his dissolute life and heretical doctrines. Afterwards Gnapheus travelled to Constantinople where he courted persons of influence, through whom he was introduced to the future Emperor Zeno.

Zeno obtained for Peter the position of presbyter at the Church of St. Bassa in Chalcedon. Peter’s beliefs quickly became apparent, resulting with his flight. He followed Zeno, who set out for Antioch as commander of the East. Arriving at Antioch in 463, Peter greatly desired the patriarchal throne. He quickly befriended the populace, with whom he raised suspicions against patriarch Martyrius as a concealed Nestorian (denying Mary the title of Mother of God), thus causing Martyrius’ tumultuous expulsion and his own election to the throne. When established as patriarch, Peter immediately declared himself openly against the Council of Chalcedon.

St. Simplicius appealed to the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I to take action to restore the Catholic bishop. An imperial decree was issued to exile Peter to the Oasis, but he fled and dwelt at Constantinople.

Emperor Leo I died on the 3^rd of February, 474, and shortly thereafter his six year old grandson Leo II died as well. Zeno who had assumed the throne as the son of Leo I, was deposed and Emperor Basiliscus, a Monophysite, took control from January 475 AD to August 476. Emperor Basiliscus issued an edict to the churches of the Eastern Empire, revoking the Council of Chalcedon and recognizing the Second Council of Ephesus, except for the approval of Eutyches whom Basiliscus condemned. He required his edict to be signed by each bishop. Among the signatures he obtained were three of the four Eastern Patriarchs. Peter gladly complied, and in 476 was rewarded by being restored to the see of Antioch. Peter Gnapheus retained the patriarchate till his death in 488.

Acacius, the Patriarch of Constantinople from 472 to 489, labored to restore unity to Eastern Orthodoxy to magnify the authority of his see by extending its influence over Alexandria and Antioch and asserting independence from Rome. Meanwhile in 476 in the Battle of Ravenna, the Roman Army in the West suffered a serious defeat at the hands of Odoacer and his Germanic foederati. Odoacer forced the deposition of emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the first King of Italy. When the patriarchal sees of Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch were occupied by men of ruse, there was not one Catholic king in the entire world to oppose them. Fortunately, Odoacer and his regime, mostly Arian heretics who were opposed to the Catholic Church, recognized the importance of St. Simplicius as a moral asset to their reign. Odoacer made a few changes to the administration in Rome, but left the city firmly in the hands of its bishop.

During his pontificate, Pope St. Simplicius fought heresy, strove to maintain Papal Authority and stood fast against the chaos caused by Germanic barbarian invasions. In response to the Suevi’s conquest of the Iberian province of Lusitania (the Suevi are a Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe River region) and the consequent domination of the Arian church in the region, St. Simplicius appointed Archbishop Zeno of Merida to be his Papal Vicar to Spain. In 478, he held a synod in Rome, which pronounced anathemas against eastern heretical bishops. When in 482 Archbishop Joannes I of Ravenna consecrated Gregory of Modena a bishop without Papal approval, St. Simplicius sent Joannes a sharp rebuke. St. Simplicius also expanded the consecration of bishops to months other than December before Christmas.

He dedicated four major churches of Rome: the Basilica of Santa Bibiana near the ‘palatium Licinianum’, the Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill, the church of St. Andrea near St. Maria Maggiore, and a church dedicated to St. Lawrence in the Campo Verano.

After serving as Pope for nearly sixteen years, St. Simplicius in 483 went to receive the reward of his labors. He was buried in Saint Peter’s Basilica on the 2nd of March.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “About: Peter the Fuller.” https://dbpedia.org/page/Peter_the_Fuller (accessed Apr. 04, 2023).

[2]          “Ancient Rome,” Wikipedia. Apr. 04, 2023. Accessed: Apr. 04, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Rome&oldid=1148155485

[3]          “Saint Simplicius, Pope.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_simplicius.html (accessed Apr. 04, 2023).

[4]          “Saint Simplicius.” https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q77883064 (accessed Apr. 04, 2023).

[5]          “Pope St. Simplicius – PopeHistory.com,” Jan. 28, 2017. https://popehistory.com/popes/pope-st-simplicius/ (accessed Apr. 04, 2023).

[6]          “Pope Simplicius,” Wikipedia. Jan. 25, 2023. Accessed: Apr. 04, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pope_Simplicius&oldid=1135601090

Saint Peter Damian

Cardinal Bishop (988-1072)

Feast – February 23

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matt 5:13)

The words of a holy priest, supported with a good example, has the power to change hearts. The words of a hypocrite have no force, this is why earthly powers work hard to influence and corrupt the Church. It is a constant struggle.

To combat evil influences causing corruption from within, the Church has gradually made a series of adjustments. One of the largest were the eleventh century (1050–80) Gregorian Reforms, which are also known as the Hildebrand Reforms. To pave the way for these reforms, God sent St. Peter Damian.

Born around 1007 in Ravenna, the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, St. Peter was the youngest of a large noble family. He lost both his parents at an early age. Left in the hands of his eldest brother, he was mistreated and used as a swineherd. When his other brother, Damian, who was archpriest (pastor of the principal parish among several local parishes) at Ravenna, learned about this he took St. Peter away to be educated. Having found a father in this brother he adopted from him the surname of Damian. He made rapid progress in his studies, first at Ravenna, then at Faenza, and finally at the University of Parma. At the age of 25, he became highly regarded for his knowledge and piety among the professor at Parma. He had already begun to inure himself to fasting, watching and prayer, and wore a hairshirt under his clothes to arm himself against the allurements of pleasure and the wiles of the devil. Not only did he give away much in alms, but he was seldom without some poor persons at his table and took pleasure in serving them. Tired of the distractions at a busy university, he decided to retire from the world and give himself completely to prayer. While meditating on his resolution he encountered two hermits. Charmed with their spirituality and detachment, he joined them on a forty-day retreat in a small cell. After the experience St. Peter Damian left his friends secretly and made his way to the Benedictines of the reform of Saint Romuald hermitage of Fonte Avellana (The Venerable Hermitage of the Holy Cross) in the Marche region of Italy.

The monks lived two to a hermitage and occupied themselves chiefly in prayer and reading. Both as a novice and as a monk, St. Peter’s fervor was remarkable but led him to such extremes of self-mortification in penance that he developed severe insomnia, which was cured with difficulty and taught him to use more moderation. Acting upon this experience, he now devoted considerable time to Sacred studies, and became so proficient in the Holy Scriptures that was appointed to lecture to his fellow monks and often requested to talk in the neighboring monasteries. About 1042 he wrote a biography on the life of St. Romuald.

By the unanimous consent of the hermits, he was ordered to take upon himself the government of the Community in the event of the superior’s death. St. Peter’s extreme reluctance obliged the abbot to make it a matter of obedience. Accordingly, after the abbot’s death about the year 1043, he assumed the direction of that holy family, and remained in charge until his death in February 1072. His chief care was to foster in his disciples the spirit of solitude, charity, and humility. A zealot for monastic and clerical improvements, leading by his own example he introduced a more-severe discipline, including the regular practice of flagellation (used in moderation) into the house. This custom quickly became a model for other foundations, among them the great abbey of Monte Cassino. The daily siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office was added to monks’ daily routine.

During his tenure, a cloister was built, silver chalices and a silver processional cross were purchased, and many books were added to the library. He also founded hermitages at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri, in which he placed Priors under his own general direction.

Although living in the seclusion of the cloister, St. Peter was aware of the problems and challenges the Church was facing, so he wrote over 170 letters addressing corruption (simony), lack of discipline, doctrinal ignorance of the clergy as well as intrusion of local civil authorities into Church matters. In letters he preferred examples and stories rather than pure theory, which make them persuasive. One of his first letters was written in 1045 to the new pope, Gregory VI, in which he hailed the change with joy and urged him to deal with the scandals of the church in Italy, singling out the wicked bishops of Pesaro, Città di Castello and Fano. About 1051, he wrote Liber Gomorrhianus, a book addressed to Pope Leo IX, containing a scathing indictment of the practice of sodomy, which was threatening the integrity of the clergy.

The Holy See began to view St. Peter Damian as a peacemaker. He would be called to settle disputes between two abbeys or clerics, as well as disagreements with government officials. Soon, the most delicate and difficult missions were placed in his hands. Seven Popes in succession made him their constant adviser.

In 1057, Cardinal Frederick of Lorraine, abbot of Monte Cassino, was elected Pope as Stephen IX. He determined to make St Peter a cardinal. St Peter resisted the offer but eventually was forced to accept, being consecrated Cardinal Bishop of Ostia on the 30th of November, 1057. This came with the charge of administrating the Diocese of Gubbio. He would later solicity Nicholas II to grant him leave to resign his bishopric and return to solitude, but the Pope had always refused.

The new Cardinal wished to restore primitive discipline among religious and priests, warning against needless travel, violations of poverty, and living too comfortably. He encouraged his priests to observe celibacy, urged them to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance. He also wrote a letter to his brother-cardinals, exhorting them to shine by their example before all. When four months later Pope Stephen died in Florence, St. Peter Damian, as a vigorous opponent to the antipope Benedict X, had to temporarily retire to Fonte Avellana. After Benedict’s surrendering the papacy in the autumn of 1059, Pope Nicholas II sent St Peter Damian with Bishop Anselm of Lucca as legates to Milan where benefices were openly bought and sold, and clergy being publicly married became normal. The party of the irregular clerics denied Rome’s authority over Milan. St. Peter boldly confronted them in the cathedral and proved to them the authority of the Holy See with such effect that all parties submitted to his decision.

In 1061 He withstood Henry IV of Germany and labored in defense of the newly elected Pope Alexander II against the antipope Cadalous. His long argument by was read at council in Augsburg and greatly contributed to the decision in favor of Alexander II.

In 1063 he was appointed legate to settle the dispute between the Abbey of Cluny and the Bishop of Mâcon. He proceeded to France, summoned a council at Chalon-sur-Saône, resolved the issues and returned in the autumn to Fonte Avellana. In 1067, he was sent to Florence to settle the dispute between the bishop and the monks of Vallombrosa. Having served the papacy as legate to France and to Florence, he was finally was allowed to resign his bishopric in 1067, but Pope Alexander II reserved the power to employ him in Church matters of importance, as he might hereafter have need of his help.

In 1069 he proceeded as papal legate to Germany and persuaded emperor Henry IV to give up his intention of divorcing his wife, Bertha. Then in early in 1072 he was sent to adjust the affairs of the Church at Ravenna. After completing these tasks, upon his return he was seized with fever and lay ill for a week in a monastery outside Faenza. On the night of the feast of the Chair of St. Peter on February 22, 1072, with the monks gathered around him saying the Divine Office, he died.

St. Peter is one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St. John Baptist, to remind men in a lax age of the error of their ways and to bring them back to the narrow path of virtue.

He often condemned philosophy. He argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers (theoreticians) as disciples, and so philosophy concerned with the validity of argument, rather than the full nature of reality is unnecessary and may become an obstacle for salvation. He was a man of great vehemence in all he said and did; it has been said of him that “his genius was to exhort and impel to the heroic, to praise striking achievements and to record edifying examples…an extraordinary force burns in all that he wrote.”

In 1828, Pope Leo XII declared St Peter Damian as a Doctor of the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI described him as “one of the most significant figures of the 11th century, … a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform.”

References and Excerpts:

[1]          F. Media, “Saint Peter Damian,” Franciscan Media, Feb. 21, 2020. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-damian/ (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[2]          C. Online, “St. Peter Damian – Saints & Angels,” Catholic Online. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=780 (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[3]          “Saint Peter Damian, Cardinal Bishop.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_peter_damian.html (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[4]          “Optional Memorial of St. Peter Damian, bishop and doctor – February 21, 2015 – Liturgical Calendar.” https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2015-02-21 (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[5]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Peter Damian.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11764a.htm (accessed Feb. 10, 2023).

[6]          “Peter Damian,” Wikipedia. Nov. 26, 2022. Accessed: Feb. 10, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Damian&oldid=1123860394

 

Saint John Bosco

Founder (1815-1888)

Feast- January 31

One day St. Francis of Assisi went to city of Arezzo. He beheld the demons dancing with joy on the walls of the city, and exciting in the hearts of its people the fire of hatred against each other. Calling to him Brother Sylvester, a man of dove-like simplicity, he said, “Go to the gate of the city, and in the name of Almighty God command the devils, in virtue of holy obedience, to depart immediately.” The Brother hastened to fulfil his orders, and cried out in a loud voice, “All you evil spirits who are gathered together in this place, I command you, in the name of Almighty God and of His servant Francis, depart hence.” No sooner had he uttered these words than the discordant voices were hushed, the people’s angry passions were calmed, the fratricidal feud ceased, and peace was restored to Arezzo. The wisdom of the humble St. Francis saved the city from destruction. The wisdom of the humble St. John Bosco saved the city kids.

Farming has always been physically demanding work. All year long, from sunrise to sunset, in the scorching sun, rain or snow there is always something to do on farm. In 1764 James Watt made a critical improvement to the fuel efficiency of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine. With this change, factories were no longer limited by the availability of waterpower and could spring up in more convenient locations. These factories offered job opportunities with the promise of a better life, leading many to move to urban areas. Two new classes of citizens, wealthy businesses owners – the Bourgeoisie – and working class – the Proletariat – grew rapidly. In the countryside people knew each other and knew what to expect from their neighbors; in the city it was easy to stay anonymous, and this anonymity attracted many questionable characters. This anonymity coupled with high population density created opportunities for sinful activities leading to a decline in morality among the general public. Then came the French Revolution of 1789, followed by the Napoleonic Wars in 1803–1815, and finally the Communist Revolutions of 1848 (the Springtime of Nations) further entrenching this degradation. Cities were flooded with homeless, fatherless kids raised by the streets. Many youths, especially boys, would be incarcerated with adults and the resulting abuse would further strip them of morality. but good God didn’t give them life and Jesus didn’t suffer and die on the cross to let them waste such a great gift, so He sent St. John Bosco to the rescue.

Giovanni Melchior Bosco was born as the youngest of three sons of a poor farmer in a little cabin at Becchi, a hill-side hamlet near Castelnuovo in the Piedmont district of Italy on 16 August 1815 and was raised on his parents’ small farm. St. John’s knowledge of poverty was firsthand. He was little more than two years old when his father died; Margaret Bosco and her three sons found it harder than ever to support themselves, and while John was still a small boy he had to join his brothers working the farm. His early years were spent as a shepherd. Although his life was hard, he was a happy, imaginative child.

He received his first instruction at the hands of the parish priest who taught him to read and write. He possessed a ready wit, a retentive memory, and as years passed his appetite for study grew stronger.

A dream that little Giovanni had at the age of nine revealed to him his vocation. He seemed to be surrounded by a mob of fighting and swearing children whom he tried in vain to pacify, at first by arguments and then by hitting them.

Suddenly there appeared a mysterious woman who said: “Softly, softly . . . if you wish to win them! Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to pasture.” Even as she spoke, the children were transformed first into wild beasts and then into gentle lambs. From that time on, Giovanni concluded his duty was to lead and help other boys.

St. John found innocent fun compatible with religion. He would grab the attention of the local kids with acrobatic and conjuring tricks and then teaching them the Catechism and bringing them to church.

As he grew older, he considered becoming a priest, but poverty and the lack of a formal education made this seem impossible. By taking odd jobs in the village and with the combined help of the local priest, his mother, and some neighbors, St. John managed to get through school. In 1835 he entered the diocesan seminary at Chieri nearby Turin. When, he entered the seminary he was so poor that the village mayor contributed a hat; one friendly person gave him a cloak; another a pair of shoes and money for his maintenance; and his remaining clothes were supplied by charity.

As a seminarian he devoted his spare time to looking after the ragamuffins who roamed the slums of the city. Every Sunday, he taught them catechism, supervised their games and entertained them with stories and tricks. Before long his kindness had won their confidence, and his Sunday School became a ritual with them. In 1841 after six years of study St. John was ordained a priest on the eve of Trinity Sunday by Archbishop Luigi Franzoni of Turin.

After taking Holy Orders, his first appointment was as an assistant chaplain for a home for girls, founded by the Venerable Marchesa (marquis) Juliette Colbert Falletti de Barolo, a wealthy and philanthropic woman.

This post left St. John free on Sundays to devote himself to his group of boys. He set up for them a sort of combined Sunday School and recreation center on grounds belonging to the orphanage which he called “the festive Oratory.” In 1842, the Oratory numbered twenty boys, in March of the same year, thirty, but this position was short-lived. St. John resigned his post after permission to use the orphanage grounds by the boys was annulled.

One of St. John’s duties was to accompany his spiritual director St. Joseph Cafasso upon his visits to the prisons of the city. After witnessing the condition of the children confined in these places, abandoned to the most evil influences, he redoubled his effort to save their souls and began looking for a permanent home for them. Unfortunately, no decent neighborhood would accept the noisy crowd. For more than a year the group was regarded as a nuisance and sent from pillar to post. No property owner would put up with them for long.

Eventually, in a rather tumbledown section of the city where no one was likely to protest, upon the site of an old shed St. John established an oratory named after Saint Francis de Sales. St. John went to live in some poor rooms adjoining the new Oratory. At the new place he was joined by his mother known as “Mama Margaret.” She gave the last ten years of her life in devoted service to the little inmates of this first Salesian home, which quickly reached seven hundred members.

The Sunday gathering would start with Mass at the local church with a short instruction on the Gospel; breakfast would then be eaten, followed by games. In the afternoon Vespers would he chanted, a lesson in Catechism given, and the Rosary recited. It was a familiar sight to see St. John in the field surrounded by kneeling boys preparing for confession. His next step was to build for his flock a small church which he placed under the patronage of his favorite saint, Francis de Sales. Once completed, he started to build a home for his steadily growing family. No one knew just how he managed to raise the money for these various projects. Enrollment grew so rapidly that by 1849 he had to opened two more youth centers in other parts of Turin.

Some teachers volunteered their time and a night school took shape. St. John knew that pure academic learning was insufficient, so he planned programs that combined prayer, play, song, study, and manual work. In this way, he could manage them without any formal punishment.

The evening classes swelled and gradually dormitories were provided for many who desired to live at the Oratory. Those enrolled as boarders in the school were of two sorts: young apprentices and craftsmen, and other youths in whom St. John discerned future helpers, with, possibly, vocations to the priesthood. At first, they attended classes outside, but, as more teachers were enlisted, academic and technical courses were given at the house. By 1856 a hundred and fifty boys were in residence; there were four workshops, including a printing shop, and four Latin classes, with ten young priests as instructors. Urbano Rattazzi, a local liberal, anti-clerical politician and the future Prime Minister of Italy saw an opportunity to accelerate his career by advocating for St. John’s work; and although an Italian law forbade the founding of religious communities at that time, he promised government support.

For a long time, St. John Bosco had considered founding an Order to carry on his work. On the night of January 26th, 1854, in his room he met with small group of coworkers, among them were Bl. Michael Rua and future Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero. From that evening, the name of Salesian was given to all who embarked on that form of apostolate of practical works of charity to help neighbors.

In 1858 St. John, in assistance to Bl. Michael Rua, went to Rome and received preliminary approbation from Pope Pius IX. Four years later he founded an Order for women, The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, to care for abandoned girls. Then to supplement the work of both congregations, he organized an association of lay people interested in aiding their work. Sixteen years later in 1874 he obtained full sanction, together with permission to present candidates for Holy Orders. The new society grew rapidly. Within five years there were thirty-nine Salesians; at the time of the founder’s death there were eight hundred, and by 1929 the number had increased to about eight thousand priests.

In 1868, to meet the needs of the Valdocco quarter of Turin, St. John resolved to build a church. Accordingly, a plan was drawn in the form of a cross covering an area of 1,500 sq. yards. The church was consecrated on the 9th of June, 1868, and placed under the patronage of Our Lady, Help of Christians.

Later he found means to put up another spacious and much-needed church in a poor quarter of Turin, and placing it under the patronage of St. John the Evangelist.

During the last years of Pope Pius IX, plans were drawn up to build a church in Rome in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Pius himself had donated money to buy the site. His successor, Leo XIII, was eager for the work to be carried forward, but there was difficulty in raising funds. It was suggested to the Pope that this was something that St. John Bosco did better than anyone else, and when he was asked to undertake it, he accepted the challenge. After obtaining a considerable sum in Italy, he went to France, where devotion to the cult of the Sacred Heart was particularly intense at this time. He was successful in his appeals, money came flowing in, and the early completion of the church was assured.

St. John Bosco accomplished what many people considered an impossibility; he walked through the streets of Turin, Italy, looking for the dirtiest, roughest urchins he could find, then made good men of them. His understanding of young people and their needs and dreams gave him great influence. He lived to see twenty-six houses started in the New World and thirty-eight in the Old. His outgoing personality made him popular as a preacher, and there were many requests of his time to speak to various congregations. In the few hours that remained to him, he wrote useful and popular books for boys, stories based on history, and sometimes popular treatises on the faith. In that day there were few attractive reading materials written specifically for young people.

Exhausted from touring Europe to raise funds for a new church in Rome, Don Bosco died on January 31st, 1888, but his work continues today in over a thousand Salesian oratories throughout the world. No modern Saint has captured the heart of the world more rapidly than this smiling peasant-priest from Turin, who believed that to give complete trust and love is the most effective way to nourish virtue in others.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint John Bosco, Founder.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_bosco.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[2]          “Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Picayune, MS – Devotion – Patron Saints – St. John Bosco.” http://www.scborromeo.org/saints/bosco.htm (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[3]          “St. John Bosco | EWTN,” EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/john-bosco-631 (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

[4]          “St. Francis of Assisi and his confrontations with the Devil.” http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Francis%20of%20Assisi%20and%20the%20Devil.html (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).

Saint Dominic of Silos

Abbot († 1073)

Feast – December 20

For the past two thousand years, the rich and the poor, kings and peasants, have been donating to the Holy Catholic Church. Beautiful churches and monasteries were built, while numerous schools, universities and hospitals were opened. The rulers of this world don’t like this prosperity, so when given the opportunity, they will rob the church. We’ve all witnessed the sexual abuse lawsuits which bankrupted many dioceses. Lawyers are suing while judges, instead of punishing guilty individuals, choose to redistribute the property of the Church and donations of the faithful. Likewise, the sixteenth century protestant revolution would not have occurred without the support of greedy local rulers. Another example: in the eleventh century, García Sánchez III, after the death of his father Sancho III in 1035, bypassed the late king’s eldest, illegitimate son Ramiro, and inherited the crown of Pamplona (Spain). In 1037, he joined his brother Ferdinand, the nominal Count of Castile, at the battle of Tamarón, near the river Pisuerga, against Bermudo III in which the King of León, the last scion of Peter of Cantabria, was killed and Ferdinand become new King of León. As a reward for his help Garcia took over the Castilian territories from Oca to the gates of Burgos, from Briviesca to the valley of Urbel, from Castrobarto to Bricia, and from the Nervión River to Santander. A few years later, in his greed García Sánchez III decided to annex the San Millán de la Cogolla monastery’s lands, but he met fierce resistance from its Abbot, who was not afraid of a powerful king and would not surrender. His name is St. Dominic of Silos.

St. Dominic was born in 1000 AD in Cañas, La Rioja Spain to a humble peasant family. In his youth, Dominic worked as a shepherd on his family’s farm. It is said that while caring for his father’s flocks in the foothills of the Pyrenees, he grew to love silence and solitude. Some suggest his lineage traces back to the ancient kings of Navarre. Through his life he proved to have the qualities of both a good shepherd and good king. St. Joseph, a poor carpenter, was a descendent of the King David, it’s possible that royal blood flowed in St. Dominic’s veins as well.

While watching over his father’s flock he began his own to religious studies, having virtually no teacher but the Holy Spirit. Early in his life he decided to become a monk and joined the Benedictine Monastery of San Millan de la Cogolla. Quickly he became known for his holiness. Shortly after being ordained a priest, he became master of novices and eventually elected abbot. When King García Sánchez III of Navarre tried to seize the monastery’s land, St. Dominic refused to surrender it, so the king exiled him with two other monks. In 1041 they settled in Silos in Castile. When King Ferdinand I of Leon heard of St. Dominic’s arrival, he welcomed him with open arms, took him under protection and appointed him Abbot of St. Sebastian at Silos monastery.

The monastery of St. Sebastian was founded in 954 AD and was located in a remote part of the diocese of Burgos. At the time the monastery had only six monks in residence and was in a state of decay. When St. Dominic entered the church the monk Licinian was offering Holy Mass, and by the special permission of God, when the priest turned towards the people at the Offertory to chant, “Dominus vobiscum,” he said instead, “Behold, the restorer cometh!” and the choir responded, “It is the Lord who has sent him!”

Since St. Dominic was named Abbot by the king he became fully in charge of their new home. He quickly realized that a complete makeover was necessary to restore the physical presence of the monastery, but more importantly the spiritual lives of the monks. Under St. Dominic’s leadership they immediately started refurbishing the monastery: the cloisters were rebuilt, and a scriptorium, where the bible and ancient books were copied and painted by hand, was added. This addition turned the monastery into a place of learning and knowledge. There was a gold and silversmith shop added and this brought in needed funds to help the monks in their charitable works. He renewed the Rules of Saint Benedict, which emphasized traditional monastic life, promoted sacred music, encouraged devotion to Mary and focused on the celebration of the Mass as the liturgy of heaven. The monastery became one of the centers of the Hispano-Mozarabic Rite (a variant of the Latin rite) liturgy.

Meanwhile, St. Dominic’s gift of miracles drew to the convent the blind, the sick, and the lame, curing them by the hundreds. It was said that there were no diseases known to man which had not been cured by his prayers, as it is still evident today from the ex-votos of the chapel where his relics are conserved.

Over time monastery of St. Sebastian became the most famous in Spain, like Cluny in France. Wealthy patrons of the monastery endowed St. Dominic with the funds to ransom Christians taken prisoner by the Spanish Moors (Muslims). The ball-and-chains, iron handcuffs and similar implements which are seen suspended from the vault there, demonstrate his special charity for the poor Christians held captive whom he often went to console and pay their ransom. There were even stories about the captives seeing a bright light, and the prison doors opening by themselves so the prisoners could flee. Over three hundred slaves were liberated.

After many years of good works, St. Dominic felt the moment of recompense approaching, and was advised of it by the Blessed Virgin. I spent the night near the Queen of Angels, he said one day to his religious. She has invited me to come in three days where She is; therefore, I am soon going to the celestial banquet to which She invites me. In effect, he fell ill for three days, and then his brethren saw his soul rise in glory to heaven. At the time of Dominic’s death on December 20, 1073, the monastery had been turned into a center for scholarship, learning, and liturgical preservation, as well as a place of rescue and safety. The number of monks active in the monastery had grown from six to 40, but he was done there, about a hundred years later he appeared to Blessed Juana of Aza praying at his tomb and announced her that she will have son and that he would be a shining light to the Church. She did, indeed, have a son whom she named Dominic, St. Dominic of Guzman, Founder of the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans.

Interestingly, from the time of the birth of Joan’s son, Dominic, up until the Spanish Communist Revolution of 1931, it was customary for the Abbot of Silos to always bring the staff of St. Dominic of Silos, the patron saint of pregnant women, to the royal palace when a queen was about to give birth.

By the way, the greedy king García Sánchez III perish on the 1st of September 1054, in battle against his own brother, the protector of St. Dominic and future King of Spain, Ferdinand I in the valley of Atapuerca.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          catchlight, “St Dominic of Silos,” C A T C H L I G H T. https://catchlight.blog/category/people/st-dominic-of-silos/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[2]          kathleensenior, “The fascinating story of two St. Dominics and a faith-filled mom,” Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture, Feb. 19, 2019. https://aleteia.org/2019/02/19/the-fascinating-story-of-two-st-dominics-and-a-faith-filled-mom/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[3]          L. Tiblis, “St. Dominic of Silos: the Modern Ancient Saint,” The Miraculous Medal Shrine, Nov. 30, 2021. https://miraculousmedal.org/inspire/st-dominic-of-silos-the-modern-ancient-saint/ (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[4]          “Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_dominic_of_silos.html (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[5]          “Saint Dominic of Silos, Abbot.” http://traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Calendar/12-20.html (accessed Nov. 25, 2022).

[6]          “Dominic of Silos,” Wikipedia. Mar. 30, 2022. Accessed: Nov. 25, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominic_of_Silos&oldid=1080146971

 

Saint John Berchmans

Jesuit Seminarian (1599-1621)

Feast – November 26

The French Revolution of 1789 may appear like a botched recreation of the American Revolution, but there is a major difference between them. The American Revolutionary War was a war for independence rooted in God-given rights, while the French Revolution was a coup orchestrated by opportunistic, power-hungry, atheist, anti-Catholic politicians. The American Revolution brought freedom, peace, and prosperity to millions, while the French Revolution brought bloodshed and war to the entire European continent. Many people viewed this as a terrible one-time event, one that would never recur. The devil on the other hand, viewed this as a successful attempt to divide humanity and inflict massive pain and suffering on humanity.

Fifty years later, Karl Heinrich Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, laying the groundwork for modern Communism. The same year their international secret society, the Communist League, started the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history, the Springtime of Nations. Over 50 countries were affected. Caught off-guard at first, the aristocracy and their allies organized a counter-revolution in Autumn 1848. The Communists suffer a series of defeats in the summer of 1849, and revolutionary Communist regimes were overthrown. During this time Pope Pius IX had to leave Rome. He was able to return after the revolts were suppressed by the French army in 1850. His policies and doctrinal pronouncements became increasingly conservative, seeking to stem the revolutionary tide.

In 1848, thirty-eight-year-old Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, future Pope Leo XIII, was the popular and successful Archbishop of Perugia. He had spent ten years fighting corruption and liberalism while restoring local economies, first as legate to the small papal province of Benevento, then to Perugia, the capital of Umbria in central Italy, and finally as Nuncio to Belgium where for his work the King granted him the honorary orders of knighthood in the Order of Leopold. During this time, Vincenzo witnessed firsthand the atrocities of the Communist Revolution. In 1849 he called a provincial council that met in Spoleto to reform religious life in his diocese, and during this council the need for a Syllabus of Errors was first discussed.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Ten years later, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of 1864, the Holy See issued the Syllabus of Errors which condemns a total of 80 errors or heresies, articulating the Catholic Church’s teachings on many philosophical and political questions, among them communism socialism, liberalism, modernism, moral relativism, secularization, and other Enlightenment era ideas. At first the problem appeared solved, but on October 13th, 1884, Pope Leo XIII, the successor of Pius IX, after celebrating Mass had a vision of Satan approaching the throne of God, boasting that he could destroy the Church. The Lord reminded him that his Church was imperishable. Satan then replied, “Grant me one century and more power over those who will serve me, and I will destroy it.” Our Lord granted him 100 years. The Lord then revealed the events of the 20th century to the Pope. He saw wars, immorality, genocide, and apostasy on a large scale. Immediately following this disturbing vision, he sat down and wrote the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and ordered a series of prayers to be said after Low Mass, including the prayer to St Michael.

Seeing the necessity of an ideology to oppose the evils of Socialism and Communism, Pope Leo XIII wrote the Encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which was issued to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, and bishops on the 15th of May, 1891. Rerum Novarum addressed social inequality and social justice focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labor in the spirit of love, mutual respect, and service. The Pope declared that the role of the government is to promote justice through the protection of people rights, while the Church’s duty is to teach correct social principles to ensure class harmony.

However, Leo XIII went further; to sustain a healthy society he sought out passionate examples of faith in the Catholic Church. On January 15th, 1888 he canonized the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, who were devoted to serving the Virgin Mary, and three Jesuits: Peter Claver, Alphonsus Rodriguez and John Berchmans. All these saints were soldiers of God who desired to serve the Lord and the Church. They publicly preached to defend and propagate the faith, encouraged others to grow in the Catholic life, and performed charitable works for the glory of God and for the good of those around them. Now to review the life of St. John Berchmans, one of several canonized by Pope Leo XIII as a call to action against Modernism, Communism, and the faithless brutality that had swept the European continent during and after the French Revolution.

St. John Berchmans was born on the 13th of March, 1599, named in honor of John the Baptist. He was the oldest of five children of John Charles and Elizabeth Berchmans, a very religious family of hardworking shoemakers in Diest, a northern town near Brussels, which is now the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Two of his three brothers and his father, after the death of John’s mother, became priests.

Beginning at the age of seven, he studied for three years at the local communal school with an excellent professor. He was a brilliant student manifesting piety which far exceeded the ordinary. His father placed him, when still very young, under the direction of Father Peter Emmerich, a monk of the Premonstratensian Order. Father Emmerich oversaw the Church of Our Lady of Diest, training boys who wished to become priests. St. John’s greatest pleasure was to serve the Mass. In priests, he saw the representatives of Jesus Christ and always conducted himself towards them with veneration. He was sometimes known to leave his bed before daybreak, and to have the blessing of God in his studies he would serve two or three Masses before going to school (beginning in the seventh century, priests were celebrating daily private Masses – Missa private – in a low voice at the side altars with the assistance of two servers, regardless of the presence of a congregation or religious community).

After residing there for three years, the family’s financial situation had declined owing to the long illness of the mother, and St. John was told he would have to return and learn a trade.

He pleaded to be allowed to continue his studies that he might accomplish his desire of becoming a priest. His aunts, who were nuns, found a solution through their chaplain; he proposed to take St. John into his service and lodge him with the privilege of attending school, so at the age of fifteen he went to Mechelen, not far from Diest, to fill the position. He was usually first in his classes at the large school, a sort of minor seminary, even when he had to redouble his efforts in order to catch up to his fellow students, all of whom had excellent talent and sometimes preceded him for a year or more in an assigned discipline.

In 1615, when the Fathers of the Society of Jesus opened a college in Mechelen, St. John was sent with the other boys from the Cathedral to attend classes. He soon distinguished himself in his studies, and much more by his unusual piety. Brought into contact with the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, he became acquainted with their mode of life, and found that it corresponded with all his own aspirations. First, however, he had recourse to prayer, had Masses said, and gave in alms whatever little pocket-money he had, that he might receive light from Heaven and asked the advice of his confessor to decide the important matter of his vocation. At length it became clear to him what God’s will is, then he wrote his parents that he wished to join the Society of Jesus “the hammer of all heresies, the vessel of virtue and perfection” offering himself to “Jesus Christ to fight under His colors.” His father was disappointed because a diocesan priest could contribute to the family while a Jesuit could not, but he gave his son permission to pursue his goal. On the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24, 1616, a good lay brother who was busy working in the garden around the old palace of Charles V, which was now the noviceship for the Society of Jesus at Mechelen, was surprised to receive two youthful and voluntary assistants. On seeing the good brother at work, St. John suggested to his companion that they could not better begin than by the practice of charity and humility, and so set to work with the brother until the Father Rector came out to welcome them. Already as a novice he was wining souls for Christ. He became famous in Mechelen and the surrounding area for his catechism classes to the children. He made his instructions so lively and interesting that parents would stay with their kids to hear his lessons. Children would visit the novitiate, where he distributed holy pictures and rosaries to them.

On the 24th of January 1618, he made his first vows and went to Antwerp to begin studying philosophy. After only a few weeks the decision was made to send him to Rome to continue the same studies. Before departure he was allowed to spend few days at home where he learned that his father had died a week earlier. After making the necessary arrangements to provide for the younger brothers and sister he advised them, with a premonition that he would perhaps never see them again, to “Increase in piety, in fear of God and in knowledge.” With a fellow novice, with his belongings on his back he began the two-month journey on foot to Rome, by way of Paris, Lyons. On Christmas eve the pilgrim caught the first view of the dome and towers of Loretto, and it was his privilege to assist at the midnight Mass, beneath the same roof that sheltered Mary and the child Jesus. The young Jesuits arrived in Rome on December 31st and joined the community at the Roman College. St. John, being as faithful to his studies and religious life as he had been in the novitiate, was selected by the prefect of studies to defend the entire course of philosophy in a public disputation at the end of his third year, in 1621. His health had suffered from the effort he had put into studying for his final exam, and he became steadily weaker as he prepared for the public disputation, held on July 8th.

Later, in August of the same year, he was selected again to participate in a discussion of philosophy, this time at the Greek College, which at the time was administered by the Dominicans. During an intense heat wave, he participated splendidly in discussion, debating with great clarity and profoundness, despite the fact he did not feel well. The two events sapped too much energy out of his weakened condition, and after returning to his own quarters, on August 7th he suffered an attack of dysentery, and then was seized with the Roman fever. His lungs became inflamed, and his strength diminished rapidly.

In a residence of several hundred priests and students, there was none who did not follow, with anxiety and compassion, the progress of his illness. When other scholastics came to visit, he spoke of Paradise as if he would soon be there.

When the infirmarian told his patient that he should probably receive Communion the next morning — an exception to the rule prescribing it for Sundays only, in those times — St.  John said, In Viaticum? and received a sad affirmative answer. He himself was transported with joy and broke into tears. A priest who knew him well asked him next morning if there was anything troubling or saddening him, St. John replied, absolutely nothing.

When the Rector came to give him Holy Communion he rose from his couch, dressed in his habit, and threw himself on his knees. Two lay brothers supported him, and as he knelt he made the following act of faith: “I declare that there is here really present the Son of God, the Father Almighty, and of the most Blessed Mary, ever Virgin; I protest that I wish to live and die a true son of our Holy Mother, the Catholic Apostolic, Roman Church, a true son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a son of the Society.” He then received Viaticum and Extreme Unction. At eight o-clock on Friday morning, August 13th, 1621, with his eyes on his crucifix and with the holy names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, he went to his reward.

During three years in Rome St. John had given unceasing proofs of his already perfected sanctity. Nothing that he did was left to chance, but instead everything was entrusted to the intercession of his Heavenly Mother, to whom his devotion continued to increase day by day, (to him is owed the Little Rosary of the Immaculate Conception) so his death was followed by an outburst of devotion in Rome. A large crowd gathered for several days to view his remains and to invoke his intercession. That same year, Phillip-Charles, Duke of Aarschot, sent a petition to Pope Gregory XV with a view to begin the process leading to St. John Berchman’s beatification.

He was beatified by Pope Pius IX on May 3, 1865, and canonized on January 15, 1888, by Pope Leo XIII.

References and Excerpts:

[1]          “Saint John Berchmans, Jesuit Seminarian.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_berchmans.html (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

[2]          “Saint John Berchmans | The Society of Jesus.” https://www.jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-john-berchmans/ (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

[3]          “Our Patron: St. John Berchmans,” Cathedral of St. John Berchmans. https://sjbcathedral.org/our-patron-st-john-berchmans/ (accessed Nov. 05, 2022).

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Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez

Confessor, Jesuit Coadjutor (1531-1617)

Feast – October 30

The Lombards were a Germanic people who conquered and ruled most of the Italian Peninsula starting in 568, establishing a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy. In 751, Aistulf, king of the Lombards, conquered what remained of the exarchate of Ravenna, the last vestige of the Roman Empire in northern Italy. He demanded the submission of Rome and a tribute of one gold solidus (about 4.5 grams of highly pure gold coin) per capita.

Pope Stephen II and a Roman envoy tried through negotiations to convince Aistulf to back down. When this failed, the Pope sent envoys to Pepin the Short, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, (the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks) whom, on the 28th of July, 754, he anointed in the Basilica of Saint-Denis as king of the Franks and patrician of the Romans. In the spring of 755, Pepin summoned the army and sent envoys ahead to offer Aistulf an indemnity if he restored the Roman territories he had taken. The Frankish army crossed the Mont Cénis and defeated the Lombard army near Susa. Defeated, Aistulf submitted to some form of Frankish overlordship and promised under oath to return Ravenna and the other cities he had occupied to the Pope. The peace treaty was signed by the “Romans, Franks and Lombards” As soon as the Frankish army left Italy, he disregarded the treaty. On the 1st of January 756, Aistulf besieged Rome. The Pope appealed again to the Franks. After three months, Aistulf abandoned the siege. In April, a Frankish army once again invaded Italy and defeated the Lombards. Aistulf was forced to give hostages and pay annual tribute to the Franks. He also had to promise in writing to return the occupied territories to the Pope. The territories specified in the treaty of 756 had belonged to the Roman Empire. Envoys of the Empire met Pepin in Pavia and offered him a large sum of money to restore the lands to the Empire, but he refused, saying that they belonged to St Peter and the Roman church. The official Donation of Pepin followed extending the temporal rule of the popes beyond the duchy of Rome and provided a legal basis for the creation of the Papal States.

The creation of the Papal State, its security and security of its people forced Popes to get involved in international affairs, taking sides and positions in conflicts and wars, creating coalitions to maintain balance in Catholic Europe. Few kings and local rulers were saints, so times without military conflict were rare and even during times of peace the jealousy, greed and struggle for power continued.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII, in conflict with King Ferdinand I of Naples, excommunicated and deposed Ferdinand and offered the Kingdom of Naples to Charles VIII of France, grandson Marie of Anjou of the Angevin dynasty of Naples. Pope Innocent later settled his quarrel with Ferdinand and revoked the bans before dying in 1492, but this didn’t dissuade the French from invading. In July 1494, 30,000 men under Louis d’Orleans followed by another 25,000 troops under King Charles VIII entered the territories of the Duchy of Milan, advancing into the long Italian peninsula towards Naples. As a response to the speed of the greedy and brutal French advance, Pope Alexander VI formed an alliance of opponents of French hegemony in Italy. These included the Papal States, Republic of Venice, Kingdom of Naples, Kingdoms of Spain, Duchy of Milan, Holy Roman Empire, Republic of Florence known as the Holy League of 1495, or as the League of Venice which forced the French out of Italy in 1496.

In October 1511 Pope Julius II (the Warrior Pope) formed another Holy League against France.

In 1512 Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Regent of the Crown of Castile (the Iberian Peninsula), initiated a series of military campaigns to seize the Iberian part of the Kingdom of Navarre and move the Spanish border into the Pyrenees, which were easier to defend against French aggression.

On the 20th of May, 1521, a French-Navarrese expedition force stormed the fortress of Pamplona. At the Battle a cannonball ricocheting off a nearby wall crushed the leg of knight Inigo Lopez de Loyola. After the battle the Navarrese so admired his bravery that they carried him all the way back to his father’s castle in Loyola. He underwent several surgical operations to repair the leg, where his bones were rebroken and set.

His meditations during his long recovery set him on the road of conversion, from a regular knight to a Knight of Christ, today known as St. Ignatius of Loyola. In 1540 with St. Peter Faber and St. Francis Xavier, he founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).

The purpose of the Society of Jesus, says the Summary of the Constitutions, is “not only to apply oneself to one’s own salvation and to perfection with the help of divine grace, but to employ all one’s strength for the salvation and perfection of one’s neighbor.”

Jesuit missions have generally included medical clinics, schools, and agricultural development projects as ways to serve the poor or needy while preaching the Gospel. Their educational institutions often adopt mottoes and mission statements that include the idea of making students “men and women for others.”

In addition to the vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty of other religious orders in the church, St. Ignatius instituted a fourth vow for Jesuits of obedience to the Pope, to engage in projects ordained by the pontiff.

In 1541 after attending the Diet of Ratisbon, St. Peter Faber was called by his superior “Father General” St. Ignatius Loyola to Spain. He visited Barcelona, Zaragoza, Medinaceli, Madrid, and Toledo.

When St. Peter Faber had given a mission in the city Segovia northwest of Madrid, in central Spain to preach, the Rodríguez family, a successful wool and cloth merchant family, provided him with hospitality. While staying with them he prepared the third of eleven children, then ten years old St. Alphonsus Rodriguez for his First Communion. This brought great joy to the entire family and especially to St. Alphonsus, who enjoyed serving the Jesuits when they lodged in his father’s country home. A few years later, he and his older brother were sent to the recently founded Jesuit college at Alcalá, but their studies unexpectedly ended when his father died two years later. His brother, after family affairs were settled, returned to school, but Alphonsus was obliged to remain at home to help his mother run the family business, which eventually he took over. In 1557 he married Maria Suárez with whom he had three children, a daughter and two sons. Five years later he was already a widower, with only one little boy of three years remaining for him to raise. A year later his mother died. From then on, he offered himself entirely to God and began a life of prayer and mortification. In his distress on the death of his third child, he turned to the Jesuits and offered himself as a candidate for priesthood, but his advanced age of 35, poor health and limited education made him unsuitable in the eyes of the Jesuits who interviewed him for entrance.

In 1568 St. Alphonsus left Segovia and went to Valencia where his spiritual father had been transferred and spent two years seeking the education necessary to become a priest employed as a preceptor of the young by two families of that city. When he renewed his request for admission willing to become a Jesuit brother if priesthood was out of the question the fathers who examined him came to the same negative conclusion as before. The provincial, however, recognized his holiness and said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he can enter to become a saint. He was admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother on 31 January 1571, at the age of 40. After six months, in the midst of novitiate he was sent to college of Montesion in Palma on the island of Majorca where he remained in the humble position of porter for 46 years. His duties as doorkeeper were to receive visitors who came to the college; search out the teachers or students who were wanted in the parlor; deliver messages; and run errands. Each time the bell rang, St. Alphonsus envisioned that it is Our Lord standing outside seeking admittance. Always cheerful he distributed alms to the needy, consoled and gave advice to the troubled, and greeted students with encouragement. Numerous people came to hear the porter’s advice and this trend grew. For many he became a spiritual father, among them was the patron of missionary work among black slaves, St. Peter Claver.

He had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially as the Immaculate Conception, and would produce copies of the complete text of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the private recitation of people who asked.

The Jesuit doorkeeper was always appreciated for his kindness and holiness, but only after his death did his memoirs and spiritual notes reveal the quality and depth of his prayer life. The humble brother had been favored by God with remarkable mystical graces, ecstasies and visions of our Lord, our Lady and the saints. Maxims of his life was “In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him — the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated — he says nothing. When he is forgotten — he says nothing. When no food is given him — he says nothing. When he is made to advance — he says nothing. When he is despised — he says nothing. When he is overburdened — he says nothing… The true servant of God must do likewise and say with David: Before You I have become like a beast of burden.”

For twenty years he had contented himself with a few hours of sleep on a table or in a chair until in 1591 he received an order to sleep a bed. The bodily mortifications which he imposed on himself were extreme. The demons would not leave alone this holy man. They tortured him mentally through frequent scruples and mental agitations as well as physical trauma. Twice he was thrown down a cement staircase by enemies of man’s salvation. He was afflicted with various illnesses, which plunged him into a sort of preliminary purgatory, but by casting himself into the abyss of the love of Jesus Crucified he did not change his life of modesty and service. He served a chapel where the elderly or infirm fathers celebrated late Masses. The extraordinary holiness shone out of the very ordinariness of his work as the Jesuit doorkeeper of a school.

His superiors, seeing the good work he was doing among the townspeople, were eager to have his influence spread far among his own religious community. So, on feast days they often let him into the pulpit of the refectory to have him give a lecture where entire community was sitting quietly past dinner to hear St. Alphonsus finish his preaching.

Out of obedience to his superiors in 1604 he began to write the story of his life.

He left a considerable number of manuscripts after him, they were not written with a view to publication, but put down by St. Alphonsus himself, or dictated to others.

St. Alphonsus died in 1617, already known and loved as a Saint by the population. In 1825 he was beatified and then canonized on the same day, the 15th of January, 1888, with his spiritual son St. Peter Claver, by Pope Leo XIII.

The Jesuits were instrumental in leading the Counter-Reformation, a comprehensive effort composed of apologetic and polemical documents and ecclesiastical configuration as decreed by the Council of Trent. By the mid-18th century, a flourishing Society had acquired a reputation in Europe for political maneuvering and economic success. Eager for more power, monarchs in many European states and their associates running shady businesses using slave labor in the colonies were unable to compete against areas run by the Jesuits, where bosses always cared more for workers material and spiritual wellbeing that their own, treating everybody the way St. Alphonsus did with love and kindness. The Jesuits were accused of being supranational, too autonomous, and too strongly allied to the papacy. Instead of adjusting the ways the colonies were run, political leaders pressured the papacy which reluctantly acceded to the anti-Jesuit demands of various Catholic kingdoms while providing minimal theological justification for the suppressions. The Portuguese Empire expelled Jesuits from their states in 1759, France in 1764, the Two Sicilies, Malta, Parma, the Spanish Empire in 1767, and the Society’s accumulated wealth and possessions were confiscated.

With his Papal brief, Dominus ac Redemptor on the 21st of July, 1773, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society, however, the order did not disappear. It continued underground operations in China, in Poland controlled by Russia and Prussia during the Partition era, and the United States. In 1814, a subsequent Pope, Pius VII, acted to restore the Society of Jesus to its previous provinces, and the Jesuits began to resume their work in those countries.

References and Excerpts:

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[2]          “Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, Confessor, Jesuit Coadjutor.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_alphonsus_rodriguez.html (accessed Oct. 15, 2022).

[3]          “Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez | The Society of Jesus.” https://www.jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-alphonsus-rodriguez/ (accessed Oct. 15, 2022).

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