Saints with Feasts and Memorials Celebrated in the Month of December

Francis Xavier: (died 1552 A.D. at age 46 on the island of Sancion off the China coast); from Navarre; one of the founding Jesuits; preached in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Japan; patron of foreign missions. (December 3)

John of Damascene: (died 749 A.D.); last of the Greek Fathers; first of the East to formulate a comprehensive synthesis of Christian dogma; defended the veneration of icons; composed hymns and preached many homilies in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially her Assumption. (December 4)

Nicholas (died 4th c. A.D.): bishop of Myra in Asia Minor; model pastor noted for charity; popularized as Santa Claus; patron of Russia, Greece, Sicily and Lorraine, and of children and sailors. (December 6)

Juan Diego: In 1531 A.D. Our Lady appeared four times to a native convert, Juan Diego Cuatitlatoatzin (meaning “the talking eagle”), at Tepayac, near Mexico City. A member of the Chichimeca people, he was perhaps a leader of his own people and may have been involved in the area’s textile industry. Known for his holiness, Juan Diego devoted himself, tradition says, to the pilgrims who came to see the miraculous image of Mary imprinted on his cloak; beatified in 1990 A.D. by Pope John Paul II in Mexico City. (December 9)

Damasus: (died 384 A.D.); preserved papal archives and was devoted to martyrs' cult; combatted the anti-pope Ursinus, Arian and Donatist heresies; defended the Roman primacy; encouraged Jerome to produce the Latin Vulgate. (December 11)

Lucy: (died probably in Sicily c. 304 A.D. under Diocletian); she is patroness of those afflicted with diseases of the eye and associated with festivals of light, especially in Scandinavia; mentioned in the Roman Canon; patroness of Syracuse and all Sicily. (December 13)

Stephen (died c. 35 A.D.); one of the seven deacons of the Acts of the Apostles; first disciple to be martyred; mentioned in the Roman Canon. (December 26)

John (died c. 100? A.D. at Ephesus): son of Zebedee, brother of James; "disciple whom Jesus loved"; authored 3(?) letters, the book of Revelation and the most spiritual of the gospels; symbolized by the eagle (cf. Ezekiel 1); patron of Asiatic Turkey; mentioned in the Roman Canon. (December 27)

Thomas Becket (died 29 Dec. 1170 A.D.); killed by order of Henry II; 8 years chancellor of England; as archbishop of Canterbury defended the freedoms and rights of the Church; canonized only 3 years after his death; considered the most famous martyr of the Middle Ages. (December 29)

Sylvester: (died 335 A.D.); as bishop of Rome (314-335 A.D.), organized public worship and dedicated the Lateran basilica; represented at the Council of Nicea which condemned Arianism; one of the first non-martyrs venerated as a saint. (December 31)