Memorial of Saints (April 3)

St. Richard of Chichester was elected bishop and consecrated at Lyons in 1245 A.D. He was a very kind and compassionate bishop - generous especially to those struck by famine. He promoted the Crusades with the intention of encouraging pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Many cures were reported at his shrine in Chichester Cathedral, England (died ca. 1253 A.D.).

Blessed Pedro Calungsod was a young Filipino catechist who joined the Jesuit Mission in the Marianas. Not much is known about him except for his humble and faithful work alongside Blessed Diego Luis San Vitores, SJ - superior of the Marianas Mission. The two were martyred in the island of Guam - killed by natives with spears and blows from a cutlass (died ca. 1672 A.D.).

St. Burgundofara was the daughter of a Count serving in the Frankish court, who renounced power and wealth, and decided to be a nun together with others. The King at first opposed her religious calling but eventually changed his mind and supported Burgundofara. The King built a monastery wherein St. Burgundofara became abbess for thirty-seven years. This monastery then came to be known as the Benedictine Abbey of Faremoutiers (died ca. 657 A.D.).

St. Sixtus I succeeded Pope St. Alexander I as Pope. His papacy lasted for about 10 years. Known to have suffered martyrdom, he is the seventh pope of the Church. As pope, his decree directed the faithful to join in saying the Sanctus as Mass. Another decree prohibited anyone, except the clergy, to touch the sacred vessels (died ca. 127 A.D.).

Sts. Agape, Chionia, and Irene were sisters who lived in Thessalonica. Since it was a crime in the Roman Empire at the time to possess texts of the Scriptures, the three were arrested and to be put to death. Agape and Chionia were burned alive while Irene was sent to a house of prostitution. Despite being stripped naked, Irene was miraculously unmolested. Irene was eventually also burned to the stake (died ca. 304 A.D.).

St. Nicetas was raised in a monastery when his widowed father became a monk. He eventually also grew up to be a monk, until he gained responsibility to become abbot. Because of the politics at the time, Nicetas was exiled to Anatolia. In time, he was able to go back to his monastery and supported the movement against iconoclasm. After suffering from the ensuing political conflicts that still were prevalent, Nicetas decided to live as a hermit near Constantinople until his death (died ca. 824 A.D.).

St. Luigi Scrosoppi followed his two older half-brothers to the priesthood. He worked with his brother Carlo to help the many orphans of Udine, Northern Italy. Upon reaching maturity, some of the girls who were educated by these two priests, set out to establish their own congregation in 1837 A.D. Anti-clericalism was rising at this time in Italy. Because of this, the sisters moved to Austrian territory while St. Luigi cooperated with the civil authorities to save the mission to Udine's orphans (died ca. 1884 A.D.).