On February 2, 2021, Pope Francis decreed that St. Gregory of Narek be added to the General Roman Calendar. St Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church, Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher, theologian, writer and saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Catholic Church was born into a family of writers. Based in the monastery of Narek (Narekavank), he was “Armenia’s first great poet” and as “the watchful angel in human form”.
Alexander was born around the year 250 in Alexandria, Egypt. In his early years, he survived as a priest during violent persecutions that took the lives of many Christians in the Roman empire. In 313, he was named bishop of Alexandria, which was a center of learning in the ancient world.
What Is Lent?
Ash Wednesday was a few days ago, starting the Lenten countdown toward Holy Week and Easter. But maybe some of us are not completely clear as to why these weeks of preparation are there in the first place.
According to the Roman Martyrology today is the feast of St. Walburga, sister of Sts. Willibald and Winebald. She became a nun at Wimborne in Dorset under St. Tatta and followed St. Lioba to Germany at the invitation of St. Boniface. She died abbess of Hiedenheim, whence her relics were translated to Eichstatt.
Thomas Maria Fusco, the seventh of eight children, was born on 1 December 1831 in Pagani, Salerno, in the Diocese of Nocera-Sarno, Italy, to Dr Antonio, a pharmacist, and Stella Giordano, of noble descent. They were known for their upright moral and religious conduct, and taught their son Christian piety and charity to the poor.
St. Polycarp of Smyrna, was converted to Christianity by St. John the Evangelist. He was a disciple of the apostles and friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was ordained bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) and was about eighty-six when the Roman pro-consul urged him to renounce Christ and save his life. St. Polycarp said, “For eighty-six years I have served Him and he has never wronged me. How can I renounce the King who has saved me?” He suffered martyrdom in 155 by burning at the stake in the amphitheater of Smyrna.
Bl. Isabel was the sister of St. Louis and the daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. In her youth, Isabel, or Elizabeth, showed an extraordinary devotion to exercises of piety, modesty, and other virtues. She refused offers of marriage from several noble suitors in order to continue a life of virginity consecrated to God.
Franciso and Jacinta Marto were officially declared saints of the Catholic Church by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017, in Fatima, Portugal. The brother and sister who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo in the fields of Fatima, witnessed the apparitions of Mary, now commonly known as Our Lady of Fatima. Pope John Paul II beatified Francisco and Jacinta on May 13, 2000, on the 83rd anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Both under 12 years old, they were the youngest non-martyrs to be beatified in the history of the Church.
St. Barbatus was born in the territory of Benevento in Italy, toward the end of the pontificate of St. Gregory the Great, in the beginning of the seventh century. His parents gave him a Christian education, and Barbatus in his youth laid the foundation of that eminent sanctity which recommends him to our veneration.
What Is Lent?
Ash Wednesday was a few days ago, starting the Lenten countdown toward Holy Week and Easter. But maybe some of us are not completely clear as to why these weeks of preparation are there in the first place.