Memorial of Saints (January 23)

St. Emerentiana, according to Tradition, was a foster sister of St. Agnes - one of the illustrious virgin-martyrs of the early Church. When St. Agnes was martyred because of her faith in Christ, Emerentiana prayed at the grave of her foster sister. It was while praying at the grave of St. Agnes that Emerentiana, who was just in her teenage years, was seen by an anti-Christian mob and was stoned to death (died ca. 304 A.D.).

St. Asclas was a Christian from Egypt who was arrested for his faith and tortured under the rule of governor Arrian. St. Asclas was able to miraculously convince Arrian to acknowledge the God of the Christians in writing. However, Arrian had eventually subjected Asclas to further torture and had him drowned in the river Antinoe (died ca. 3rd century).

St. Agathangelus was the deacon of St. Clement, bishop of Ancrya, Galatia. Both Clement and Agathangelus devoted themselves to the education of the young and the poverty-stricken. During the persecution of Christians, both were tortured and executed by the sword (died ca. 308 A.D.).

St. John the Almsgiver was from a noble family in Cyprus. He married early in life, but after his wife and child passed away, he entered into religious life. Because of John's holiness and charity, he was named patriarch of Alexandria in 608 A.D. He earned the title "Almsgiver" because of his well known concern and financial aid to the poor (died ca. 619 A.D.).

St. Ildephonsus of Toledo became a monk at Agalia, near Toledo in Spain. He soon became the abbot of that monastery and had occasion to attend the two councils in Toledo in 653 A.D. and 655 A.D. In 657 A.D., he was named archbishop of Toledo. Known for his devotion to the Mother of God, he also wrote several theological treatises - one of which was dedicated to Mary (died ca. 667 A.D.).

St. Barnard was raised in the court of Charlemagne. He restored the monastery at Ambronay in 800 A.D. Eventually he decided to join the Benedictines there and soon became Ambronay's abbot. Because of his gifts of leadership, he was also named archbishop of Vienne. As the prelate of Vienne, he founded the abbey of Romans in 837 A.D. (died ca. 841 A.D.).

St. Lufthildis was very charitable to the poor. Unmarried and a virgin, her charity was misunderstood by her stepmother, who always mistreated her. So she left home to become a hermitess at Cologne, Germany. Numerous miracles were known to have occured at her tomb (died ca. 850 A.D.).

St. Maimbod, also known as Mainbouef, was an Irish missionary. Tradition narrates that Maimbod was martyred by pagans while preaching near Kaltenbrunn in Alsace, northeastern France (died ca. 880 A.D.).

Blessed Henry Suso was a German Dominican mystic who wrote and preached much in his time. He wrote "Book of Eternal Wisdom" and an autobiography. In 1343 A.D., he was elected prior of Diessenhafen and lived in the Dominican house at Ulm, Germany, where he died on January 25, 1365 A.D.