on April 1: Melito, bishop; Walaricus or Valery, abbot;
Macarius the Wonder-Worker; Hugh of Grenoble, bishop; Hugh of
Bonnevaux, abbot; Gilbert of Caithness, bishop; Catherine of
Palma, virgin
Pedro Calungsod was a teen-aged native of the Visayas
region of the Philippines. He was one of the Boy catechists who
went with some Spanish Jesuit missionaries from the Philippines
to the Ladrones Islands, later renamed "Marianas" - in the
western Pacific in 1668 to evangelize the Chamorros. On 2 April
1672, while helping Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, the rector
of the Mission, to recover a runaway servant and to do some
baptism at the village of Tomhon on the island of Guam, he was
killed by two natives for his being a Christian, for catechizing
the Chamorros and for helping in the administration of the
Sacrament of Baptism. His body was thrown into deep ocean
together with that of the rector who was also killed after him.
(April 2)
Francis de Paola: (died 1507); founded the Order of
Minims, a congregation of hermits, "the least in God's
household." (April 2)
also on April 2: Apphian and Theodosia, martyrs; Mary of
Egypt; Nicetus or Nizier of Lyons, bishop; Ebba the Younger,
virgin; John Paine, priest and martyr
on April 3: Pancras of Taormina, bishop and martyr; Sixtus
or Xystus I, pope and martyr; Agape, Chionia and Irene, virgin
and martyrs; Burgundofara or Fare, virgin; Nicetas, abbot;
Richard Wyche or Richard of Chichester, bishop; Luigi Scrosoppi
Isidore (died 635): succeeded his brother St. Leander,
as bishop of Seville; presided over the Council of Toledo
(633); completed the Mozarabic liturgy; combatted Arianism in
Spain; known as the "Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages",
especially for his Etymologies. (April 4)
also on April 4: Agathopus and Theodulus, martyrs;
Tigernach, bishop; Plato, abbot; Benedict the Black
on April 5: Vincent Ferrer, priest; Derfel Gadarn; Ethelburga
of Lyminge, matron; Gerald of Sauve-Majeure, abbot; Albert of
Montecorvino, bishop
on April 6: The Martyrs in Persia; Marcellinus, martyr;
Celestine I, pope; Eutychius, bishop; Prudentius of Troyes,
bishop; William of Eskhill, abbot
Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: (died 1719); from Rheims;
canon of the diocese of Paris; gave away his fortune to found
the (1680) Brothers of the Christian Schools (FSC), today
numbering some 7,200 religious; authored the "Conduct of Schools";
patron of teachers. (April 7)
also on April 7: Hegesippus Aphraates; George the Younger,
bishop; Celsus or Ceallach, bishop; Aybert; Henry Walpole,
priest and martyr
on April 8: Dionysius of Corinth, bishop; Perpetuus, bishop;
Walter of Pontoise, abbot; Julie Billiart, virgin
on April 9: Mary of Cleophas, matron; Waldetrudis or Waudru,
widow; Hugh of Rouen, bishop; Gaucherius, abbot
on April 10: Bademus, abbot; The Martyrs under the Danes;
Macarius or Macaire of Ghent; Fulbert, bishop; Paternus of
Abdinghof; Michael de Sanctis
Stanislaus: (died 1079); as bishop of Cracow he
assisted the poor; personally slain by the oppressive and
savage king, Boleslaus II; patron of Poland. (April 11)
also on April 11: Barsanuphius; Isaac of Spoleto;
Godeberta, virgin; Guthlac; Gemma Galgani, virgin
on April 12: Julius I, pope; Zeno of Verona, bishop; Sabas
the Goth, martyr; Alferius, abbot
on April 13: Martin I, pope and martyr; Hermenegild,
martyr; Agathonica, Papylus, and Carpus, martyrs; Martius or
Mars, abbot
on April 14: Tiburtius, Valerius and Maximus, martyrs;
Ardalion, martyr; Lambert of Lyons, bishop; Bernard of Tiron,
abbot; Caradoc; Benezet; Antony, Eustace and John, martyrs;
Lidwina of Schiedam, virgin
on April 15: Basilissa and Anastasia, martyrs; Padarn or
Patern, bishop; Ruadan of Lothra, abbot; Hunna or Huva, matron
on April 16: Optatus and Companions and Encratis, virgin and
martyrs; Turibius of Astorga, bishop; Paternus or Pair, bishop;
Fructuosus of Braga, bishop; Magnus, martyr; Drogo or Druon;
Contardo; Joseph Benedict Labre; Bernadette Soubirous, virgin
on April 17: Mappalicus and Companions, martyrs; Innocent
of Tortona, bishop; Donnan and Companions, martyrs; Robert of
Chaise-Dieu, abbot; Stephen Harding, abbot
on April 18: Apolonius the Apologist, martyr; Laserian,
Laisren or Molaisse, bishop; Idesbald, abbot; Galdinus, bishop
on April 19: Leo IX, pope; Expeditus; Ursmar, abbot and
bishop; Geroldus; Alphege, bishop and martyr
on April 20: Marcellinus of Embrun, bishop; Marcian or Marian;
Caedwalla; Hildegund, virgin; Agnes of Montepulciano, virgin
Anselm: (died 803); Benedictine abbot and duke. He was
born in Forum Julii, Italy. Heir to a local title but left his
titles and power, and in 750 founded a monastery at Tanano, Italy.
He went to Monte Casino for seven years, until Desiderius, the
new Lombard ruler, fell to the armies of Charlemagne. Anselm
stayed in Nonantula near Modena, Italy until his death.
(April 21)
also on April 21: Simeon Barsabae, bishop; and Companions,
martyrs; Anastasius I of Antioch, bishop; Bueno, abbot; Malrubius
or Maelrubba, abbot; Conrad of Parzham
on April 22: Epipodius and Alexander, martyrs; Leonides,
martyr; Agapitus I, pope; Theodore of Sykeon, bishop; Opportuna,
virgin and abbess
George: (died 300); Martyr and patron saint of England,
Portugal, Germany, Aragon, (Spain), Genoa and Venice. He was
venerated in England as early as the 8th c. and was the patron
of the Crusaders. The cult of St. George is part of the history
of Crusades and England. He has been a popular figure for
artists, depicted as a young knight in mortal combat with a
dragon, a Middle Ages symbol of evil. (April 23)
also on April 23: Felix, Fortunatus and Achilleus,
martyrs; Ibar, bishop; Gerard of Toul, bishop; Adalbert of Prague,
bishop and martyr [was ordained bishop of Prague in 983. During
his episcopate he encouraged the evangelization of the Magyar.
Having founded the monastery of Brevnov, he was forced into exile
by the nobility of Prague. He tirelessly preached the Gospel in
Poland, Hungary, Russia and Prussia, where he was martyred at
the age of 41]
Fidelis: (died 1622); Franciscan Capuchin martyr.
A practicing lawyer, he traveled across Europe as a tutor to
aristocrats but then started defending the poor. In 1612, he
became a Franciscan Capuchin monk. As a missionary, he was
so successful that he was taken a spy for the Austrian emperor.
He was stabbed to death in a church in Seewis. Canonized by Pope
Benedict XIV. (April 24)
also on April 24: Mellitus, bishop; Ivo, bishop; Egbert;
William Firmatus; Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, virgin
on April 25: Mark, evangelist; Anianus, bishop; Heribald,
bishop
on April 26: Peter of Braga, bishop; Richarius or Riquiet,
abbot; Paschasius Radbertus, abbot; Franca of Piacenza, virgin
and abbess; Stephen of Perm, bishop
on April 27: Anthimus, bishop; Asicus or Tassach, bishop;
Maughold or Maccul, bishop; Floribert, bishop; Stephen Pechersky,
bishop; Zita, virgin; Turibius of Lima, bishop; Theodore the
Sanctified, abbot
Peter Mary Chanel: (died 1841); French Marist missionary
on the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna where he was murdered;
destroyed cult of evil spirits; protomartyr and patron of Oceania.
(April 28)
Louis de Montfort was born to a poor family in 1673 at
Montfort-La-Carne in Britanny. Ordained at the age of 27, he was
deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin, as exemplified by his book
"The Secret of the Rosary", the first work to describe the method
by which the Rosary is prayed even to our day. During his life,
he founded both a missionary band of men (Company of Mary) and a
religious institute of women devoted to the poor (Congregation of
the Daughters of Divine Wisdom) (April 28)
also on April 28: Vitalis, martyr
Catherine of Siena: (died 1380); O.P. tertiary, mystic
and author (The Dialogues); peacemaker within the Church and
renewer of religious life; worked toward ending the Avignon
papacy under Gregory XI (1377); declared doctor of the Church in
1970; patroness of Italy. (April 29)
also on April 29: Peter of Verona; Wilfrid the Younger,
bishop; The Abbots of Cluny: Berno, Odo, Mayeul, Odilo, Hugh,
Aymard, and Peter the Venerable; Robert of Molesome, abbot;
Joseph Cottolengo
Pius V: (died 1572); O.P. who implemented the reforms
of the Council of Trent; promulgated the Roman Catechism,
the Roman Missal, and the Roman Breviary used
until Vatican II. (April 30)
also on April 30: Maximus, martyr; Eutropius of Saintes,
bishop and martyr; James and Marian, martyrs; Forannan, abbot;
Gualfardus or Wolfhard
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