Memorial of Saints (January 22)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Vincent, deacon and martyr
• Anastasius, martyr
• Blesilla, widow
• Dominic of Sora, abbot
• Berhtwald, bishop
• Valerius of Saragossa
• Vincent Pallotti, priest

St. Vincent Saragossa (d. ca. 304 A.D.) is the patron saint of Portugal. He was a deacon martyred under Dacian, governor of Spain, during the imperial reign of Maximian. How he was martyred came down to the faithful through pious stories. One account says that he was imprisoned, starved, and then racked and roasted on a gridiron. All this because he refused to hand over the sacred books and sacrifice to the pagan gods. Dying from that brutal treatment, he is now regarded also as the patron saint of vine growers and wine makers because of the protection he gives aginst frosts which often occur on, or near his feast, January 22.

St. Vincent of Pallotti (1795-1850 A.D.) was the son of a grocer before he was ordained at twenty-three. Receiving his doctorate in theology, he served in several parishes in his native city. He founded the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, also known as the Pallottines. He was canonized in 1963 A.D. by Pope John XXIII.

Related blog post:

• St. Stephen and the Martyrs of the Early Christian Eras, Learn more

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 22]

• St. Timothy, Apostle
• St. Anastasius, Venerable-Martyr of Persia

St. Anastasius the Persian (died ca. 628 A.D.) is commemorated both in the Roman Calendar and in the Byzantine Calendar on this day. He was a soldier in the Persian army whose original name was Magundat. He was attracted to Christianity when he saw the relics of the True Cross brought back to Persia during its sack of Jerusalem in 614 A.D. Converting to the faith, he was baptized in Jerusalem and took the name Anastasius. He became a monk at Jerusalem in 621 A.D. but was arrested when he began preaching against pagan worship. Tortured to shake him from his conviction to prevent pagan worship, he was strangled and then beheaded after 68 other Christians were martyred in his very presence.

Memorial of Saints (January 21)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Agnes, virgin and martyr
• Fructuosus of Tarragona, bishop and martyr
• Patroclus, martyr
• Epiphanius of Pavia, bishop
• Meinrad, martyr
• Alban Roe, priest and martyr

St. Agnes (d. ca. 305 A.D.) was killed at a very young age during the persecution of Christians by Diocletian. Her head is venerated in a chapel of the church at Sant'Agnese in Agonia on the Piazza Navona, and the rest of her remains are entombed in the church of the same name in the Via Nomentana.

St. Alban Bartholomew Roe (ca. 1583-1642 A.D.), whose original name was Bartholomew Roe, was a student at Cambridge when he met an imprisoned Catholic. He was so impressed by the Catholic's faith that he converted to Catholicism. He became a Benedictine monk in France (in 1612 A.D.) taking the name Alban. When ordained he was sent on a mission to England. St. Alban Roe was arrested many times: in 1615, 1618, and 1625 A.D. After serving 17 years in prison, he was tried and convicted for being a Catholic priest. Together with Blessed Thomas Reynolds, they were executed on January 21. Pope Paul VI canonized Alban Bartholomew Roe in 1970 A.D. as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Citation from Wikipedia.org: Blessed Thomas Reynolds (1560-1642 A.D.) was beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929 A.D. as one of the One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales. These are a group of clergy and laypersons who were executed on charges of treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1541 A.D. and 1680 A.D.

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 21]

• Maximus, Confessor
• St. Neophitus, Martyr
• Sts. Eugene, Canidius, Valerian and Aquilas, Martyrs
• Meinrad

Today, the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate the feast of St. Maximus the Confessor (ca. 580-662 A.D.) and St. Meinrad (d. ca. 861 A.D.). In the Roman Calendar, St. Maximus the Confessor is commemorated on August 13 while St. Meinrad's commemoration coincides with the Byzantine Calendar.

St. Meinrad was a hermit at Einsiedeln, who after being a hermit for 25 years, was clubbed to death by robbers. St. Meinrad's hermitage was made into a regular Benedictine monastery and still exists today.

Related blog post:

• St. Maximus the Confessor, Abbot of Chrysopolis, Learn more

Memorial of Saints (January 20)

Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints

• Fabian, pope and martyr
• Sebastian, martyr
• Euthymius the Great, abbot
• Fechia, abbot
• Eustochia Calafato

When St. Fabian (d. ca. 250 A.D.), a layman, was in the assembly to elect a new pope, a pious story says that a dove flew inside and settled on the head of Fabian. Taken as a sign from God by the clergy and people assembled, they elected Fabian pope on January 10, 236 A.D.

Though there is little knowledge of his pontificate, after being martyred in 250 A.D. under the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Decius, his tomb still exists in the cemetery of St. Callistus. St. Cyprian wrote about St. Fabian and said that the glory of this pope's death corresponded with the purity and holiness of his life.

St. Sebastian (ca. 257-288 A.D.) became a soldier in the Roman army around 283 A.D. Discovered to be a Christian, Sebastian was sentenced to be shot to death by archers. His body was pierced with arrows and was left for dead. When the widow of St. Castulus [St. Castulus was the Emperor's chamberlain who sheltered Christians in his home] came to get his body for burial, she found Sebastian still alive. So she nursed him back to health. After recovering fully from his wounds, Sebastian refused to flee from the persecution. Eventually, he was seized and beaten to death.

St. Sebastian's popularity may be attributed to his many depictions in early Christian, medieval and Renaissance art. He is always represented as pierced with arrows or holding an arrow. St. Sebastian is the patron of archers, athletes, and soldiers.

St. Eustochia Calafato (1434-1491 A.D.) entered the Poor Clare convent of Santa Maria de Basico. As a Poor Clare, she was noted for her aid to the poor, her self-imposed penances, and her austerities. St. Eustochia was canonized in 1988 A.D. She is one of the incorrupt bodies of Beati and Saints featured in a YouTube video by czarneszci (8:13 minutes)

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [January 20]

• Euthymius the Great, Hegumen-Abbot

The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches commemorate Euthymius the Great (ca. 378-473 A.D.) on January 20. It also coincides with the Roman Calendar's commemoration of his feast on this day.

Euthymius the Great was from Armenia. He spent approximately 66 to 68 years in the desert and died at the age of ninety-five after having been ordained a bishop at one point to minister to the growing numbers of Arab converts in Palestine.