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The gift of tears!
Not all that long ago I used to think it was no gift at all but rather, an embarassement!
How much I have to learn.
O
odhiambo
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September 23
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Among many other Saints.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSkyvElPHmVo0PexPAbWCp5qmnVLwZh1tAz6HWQyv6SZ-V99Qr4GDyC6g
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Among many other Saints.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSkyvElPHmVo0PexPAbWCp5qmnVLwZh1tAz6HWQyv6SZ-V99Qr4GDyC6g
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odhiambo
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Saint Padre Pio.
Also known as Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and Pio of Pietrelcina.
Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, a small town in southern Italy. His parents were Grazio Mario Forgione, a shepherd, and Maria Guiseppa de Nunzio Forgione. He was baptized the day following his birth. They gave him the baptismal name of Francesco. This was a special name in the family. It was given in honor of Saint Francis of Assissi; It was also the name of one of his brothers who had died in infancy. Two other children had also died in infancy. Other children in the family were an older brother, Michele; three younger sisters: Felicita, Pellegrina and Grazia.
Padre Pio grew up among people that had religion as the center of their lives. The little town of Pietrelcina had many celebrations throughout the year in honor of different saints.
The family attended Mass daily, prayed the Rosary every night and fasted. Although Padre Pio’s grandparents and parents could neither read nor write, they memorized Sacred Scriptures and told the children Bible stories. Padre Pio grew up in this pious family.
From his early childhood, it was evident for all to see that the child had a deep piety. He loved singing hymns and preferred to be on his own to read and pray. It is said that he consecrated himself to Jesus at the young age of five years!
Francesco felt drawn to the priesthood at an early age. Aged about 10 years, he felt drawn to a young Capuchin monk who was seeking donations from the community. He told his parents "I want to be a friar… with a beard.”
His father had to travel to America to look for a job so that the family could pay for him to be tutored privately to meet the standard of education that was needed for entrance into the Capuchin order. At age 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars in Morcone, a community thirteen miles north of Pietrelcina. On his admission, he took the name of Pio in honor of Saint Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina. He was called Fra Pio which means brother Pio.
Then on August 10, 1910, the much-anticipated day finally arrived. The twenty-three year old Fra Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Padre Pio celebrated his first Mass four days later, at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.
Within a month of his ordination, on Friday, September 7, 1910, as Padre Pio was praying in the Piana Romana, Jesus and Mary appeared to him and gave him the wounds of Christ, the Stigmata.
Padre Pio asked Jesus to take it away. He said he wanted all his sufferings to be in secret. The wounds dissappeared, for a while that is.
On November 28, 1911, Padre Agostino, who was a contemporary, friend, and confidant, was advised that Padre Pio was ill. He rushed into Padre Pio’s room to care for him. Padre Agostino observed what he thought was a dying man and rushed to the chapel to pray. When he finished praying, he returned to Padre Pio’s room and found his friend alert and full of joy. This was the beginning of Padre Pio’s documented ecstasies.
Padre Pio had always suffered ill health. Because of his health issues, he was sent home to recuperate and was separated from his religious community from the end of 1911 to 1916.
On September 4, 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return to his community life and was assigned to San Giovanni Rotondo, an agricultural community, located in the Gargano Mountains, Our Lady Of Grace Capuchin Friary was approximately a mile from town.
On Friday September 20, 1918, while he was praying before a crucifix and making his thanksgiving after Mass, the marks of the Stigmata appeared on his body. He was 31 years old. He reportedly became the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. This time Padre Pio, resigned to his fate, accepted the painfull wounds in his hands, feet and side and lived with them for the rest of his life. The blood from his stigmata gave off a scent perfume.
Padre Pio had the gift of bilocation. He was also said to levitate, and heal by touch.
He was able to read hearts and many people flocked to him for confession. He would enumerate the sins those confessing to him had forgotten. He heard confessions ten or twelve hours a day. He also had the gift of tongues, understanding languages he never learnt.
He had the grace to see angelic beings in form. As an adult, Padre Pio commented that in his younger years he had conversed with Jesus, the Madonna, his guardian angel, and had suffered attacks by the devil.
Padre Pio founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves about 60,000 a year.
Worn out by over a half century of intense suffering and constant apostolic activity, the saint died of natural causes on 23 September 1968 in San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
He was pronounced venerable on 18 December 1997 by Pope John Paul II. He was beatified on 2 May 1999 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on 16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy.
Saint Padre Pio,
Pray for us!
Also known as Francesco Forgione, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and Pio of Pietrelcina.
Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, a small town in southern Italy. His parents were Grazio Mario Forgione, a shepherd, and Maria Guiseppa de Nunzio Forgione. He was baptized the day following his birth. They gave him the baptismal name of Francesco. This was a special name in the family. It was given in honor of Saint Francis of Assissi; It was also the name of one of his brothers who had died in infancy. Two other children had also died in infancy. Other children in the family were an older brother, Michele; three younger sisters: Felicita, Pellegrina and Grazia.
Padre Pio grew up among people that had religion as the center of their lives. The little town of Pietrelcina had many celebrations throughout the year in honor of different saints.
The family attended Mass daily, prayed the Rosary every night and fasted. Although Padre Pio’s grandparents and parents could neither read nor write, they memorized Sacred Scriptures and told the children Bible stories. Padre Pio grew up in this pious family.
From his early childhood, it was evident for all to see that the child had a deep piety. He loved singing hymns and preferred to be on his own to read and pray. It is said that he consecrated himself to Jesus at the young age of five years!
Francesco felt drawn to the priesthood at an early age. Aged about 10 years, he felt drawn to a young Capuchin monk who was seeking donations from the community. He told his parents "I want to be a friar… with a beard.”
His father had to travel to America to look for a job so that the family could pay for him to be tutored privately to meet the standard of education that was needed for entrance into the Capuchin order. At age 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars in Morcone, a community thirteen miles north of Pietrelcina. On his admission, he took the name of Pio in honor of Saint Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina. He was called Fra Pio which means brother Pio.
Then on August 10, 1910, the much-anticipated day finally arrived. The twenty-three year old Fra Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Padre Pio celebrated his first Mass four days later, at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.
Within a month of his ordination, on Friday, September 7, 1910, as Padre Pio was praying in the Piana Romana, Jesus and Mary appeared to him and gave him the wounds of Christ, the Stigmata.
Padre Pio asked Jesus to take it away. He said he wanted all his sufferings to be in secret. The wounds dissappeared, for a while that is.
On November 28, 1911, Padre Agostino, who was a contemporary, friend, and confidant, was advised that Padre Pio was ill. He rushed into Padre Pio’s room to care for him. Padre Agostino observed what he thought was a dying man and rushed to the chapel to pray. When he finished praying, he returned to Padre Pio’s room and found his friend alert and full of joy. This was the beginning of Padre Pio’s documented ecstasies.
Padre Pio had always suffered ill health. Because of his health issues, he was sent home to recuperate and was separated from his religious community from the end of 1911 to 1916.
On September 4, 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return to his community life and was assigned to San Giovanni Rotondo, an agricultural community, located in the Gargano Mountains, Our Lady Of Grace Capuchin Friary was approximately a mile from town.
On Friday September 20, 1918, while he was praying before a crucifix and making his thanksgiving after Mass, the marks of the Stigmata appeared on his body. He was 31 years old. He reportedly became the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. This time Padre Pio, resigned to his fate, accepted the painfull wounds in his hands, feet and side and lived with them for the rest of his life. The blood from his stigmata gave off a scent perfume.
Padre Pio had the gift of bilocation. He was also said to levitate, and heal by touch.
He was able to read hearts and many people flocked to him for confession. He would enumerate the sins those confessing to him had forgotten. He heard confessions ten or twelve hours a day. He also had the gift of tongues, understanding languages he never learnt.
He had the grace to see angelic beings in form. As an adult, Padre Pio commented that in his younger years he had conversed with Jesus, the Madonna, his guardian angel, and had suffered attacks by the devil.
Padre Pio founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves about 60,000 a year.
Worn out by over a half century of intense suffering and constant apostolic activity, the saint died of natural causes on 23 September 1968 in San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy.
He was pronounced venerable on 18 December 1997 by Pope John Paul II. He was beatified on 2 May 1999 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on 16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy.
Saint Padre Pio,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
September 24
Today we commemorate the Feast of
** Our Lady of Walsingham.**
Today we commemorate the Feast of
** Our Lady of Walsingham.**
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odhiambo
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Our Lady of Walsingham.
Our Lady of Walsingham, also known as Virgin by the Sea.
Lady Richeldis de Faverches, was a widow, a devout noblewoman. She lived in a manor in the village of Walsingham, in Norfolk, England. In 1061. This lady wanted
to do something to honour Our Lady. In a vision she was taken to the Holy Land and shown the house at Nazareth where she was born, where she grew up and where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she was “full of grace” and was to “conceive a son”.
Our Lady asked Lady de Faverches to build a replica of this holy house in Walsingham and to dedicate it as a memorial to the Annunciation to Mary and the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. She gave this promise to Lady Richeldis de Faverches,
“Let all who are in any way distressed or in need seek me there in that small house that you maintain for me at Walsingham. To all that seek me there shall be given succour.”
Lady Richeldis de Faverches, began work on the house immediately. She constructed
a house 23’6" by 12’10" according to the plan given her.
After the establishment of the ‘Holy House’ Walsingham became known as the 'Little Nazareth’
Walsingham soon became one of the greatest pilgrimage sites in all of Europe. A church was constructed around the house.
Richeldis had a son, Geoffrey, who became Lord of the Manor and Earl of the Marches. After her death he took over responsibility for the Holy House, and it flourished as a centre for pilgrimage.
Many English kings went on pilgrimages to Walsingham, including King
Henry VIII, who reportedly made three, pilgrimages to the site before breaking with the Catholic Church in 1534 and forming the Church of England.
After the split, In 1534 Walsingham became one of the first houses to sign the Oath of Supremacy, recognizing Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Dissenters were executed. Henry ordered the destruction of all Catholic shrines and places of worship. Accordingly, in 1538 the House was stripped of its valuables, its statue of the Virgin taken to London to be burned, its buildings used as farm sheds for the next three centuries.
In 1896, things stirred up again at Little Nazareth. It was found that a small chapel, called The Slipper Chapel, named in honor of those who, in the middle Ages, removed their shoes to walk barefoot to the Holy House, had managed to escape the destruction of the Reformation. A woman named Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel and donated it to Downside Abbey. The following year, Pope Leo XIII re-founded the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The re-emergence from the ashes, as it were, of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is due to the combined efforts of both Catholics and Anglicans. The construction of the Chapel of Reconciliation which began in In 1981, was part of this joint effort.
The feast of Our Lady of Walsingham was reinstated in 2000.
Our Lady of Walsingham,
Pray for us!
Our Lady of Walsingham, also known as Virgin by the Sea.
Lady Richeldis de Faverches, was a widow, a devout noblewoman. She lived in a manor in the village of Walsingham, in Norfolk, England. In 1061. This lady wanted
to do something to honour Our Lady. In a vision she was taken to the Holy Land and shown the house at Nazareth where she was born, where she grew up and where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she was “full of grace” and was to “conceive a son”.
Our Lady asked Lady de Faverches to build a replica of this holy house in Walsingham and to dedicate it as a memorial to the Annunciation to Mary and the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. She gave this promise to Lady Richeldis de Faverches,
“Let all who are in any way distressed or in need seek me there in that small house that you maintain for me at Walsingham. To all that seek me there shall be given succour.”
Lady Richeldis de Faverches, began work on the house immediately. She constructed
a house 23’6" by 12’10" according to the plan given her.
After the establishment of the ‘Holy House’ Walsingham became known as the 'Little Nazareth’
Walsingham soon became one of the greatest pilgrimage sites in all of Europe. A church was constructed around the house.
Richeldis had a son, Geoffrey, who became Lord of the Manor and Earl of the Marches. After her death he took over responsibility for the Holy House, and it flourished as a centre for pilgrimage.
Many English kings went on pilgrimages to Walsingham, including King
Henry VIII, who reportedly made three, pilgrimages to the site before breaking with the Catholic Church in 1534 and forming the Church of England.
After the split, In 1534 Walsingham became one of the first houses to sign the Oath of Supremacy, recognizing Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Dissenters were executed. Henry ordered the destruction of all Catholic shrines and places of worship. Accordingly, in 1538 the House was stripped of its valuables, its statue of the Virgin taken to London to be burned, its buildings used as farm sheds for the next three centuries.
In 1896, things stirred up again at Little Nazareth. It was found that a small chapel, called The Slipper Chapel, named in honor of those who, in the middle Ages, removed their shoes to walk barefoot to the Holy House, had managed to escape the destruction of the Reformation. A woman named Charlotte Boyd bought the Slipper Chapel and donated it to Downside Abbey. The following year, Pope Leo XIII re-founded the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The re-emergence from the ashes, as it were, of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is due to the combined efforts of both Catholics and Anglicans. The construction of the Chapel of Reconciliation which began in In 1981, was part of this joint effort.
The feast of Our Lady of Walsingham was reinstated in 2000.
Our Lady of Walsingham,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
September 25
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Finbar
Among many other Saints
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Finbar
Among many other Saints
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odhiambo
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Saint Finbar.
Finbar, who is also known as Bairre and Barr, was born around the year 550 at Connaught in Ireland . He was baptized Lochan. Reportedly, he was the illegitimate son of a master smith, an artisan and a woman of royal background, from the Irish court. He was educated at Kilmacahil monastery, Kilkenny in Ireland. The boy reportedly had such light hair that the monks at the monastery named him Fionnbharr (white head).
Saint Finbar went on a pilgrimage to Rome with some of the monks and on the way back, he visited Saint David of Wales.
On another visit to Rome, the Pope wanted to consecrate him a bishop but Saint Finbar was deterred by a vision. He told the pope that God had reserved that honor to Himself.
Saint Finbar preached throughout southern Ireland, and as well as in Scotland. He lived as a hermit on a small island at Lough Eiroe on the river Lee. He founded a monastery that developed into the city of Cork. He was it’s first bishop. His monastery became famous in southern Ireland and attracted numerous disciples.
Many, many miracles are attributed to Saint Finbar, some really extravagant; for instance, the sun reportedly did not set for two weeks after his death.
Saint Findar died on 25 September 623 at Cloyne, Ireland. He was buried in the cathedral at Cork, Ireland. His canonization was
Pre-Congregation. He is the Patron Saint of Barra, Scotland and Cork, Ireland.
He is also the patron of immigrants.
Saint Findar,
Pray for us!
Finbar, who is also known as Bairre and Barr, was born around the year 550 at Connaught in Ireland . He was baptized Lochan. Reportedly, he was the illegitimate son of a master smith, an artisan and a woman of royal background, from the Irish court. He was educated at Kilmacahil monastery, Kilkenny in Ireland. The boy reportedly had such light hair that the monks at the monastery named him Fionnbharr (white head).
Saint Finbar went on a pilgrimage to Rome with some of the monks and on the way back, he visited Saint David of Wales.
On another visit to Rome, the Pope wanted to consecrate him a bishop but Saint Finbar was deterred by a vision. He told the pope that God had reserved that honor to Himself.
Saint Finbar preached throughout southern Ireland, and as well as in Scotland. He lived as a hermit on a small island at Lough Eiroe on the river Lee. He founded a monastery that developed into the city of Cork. He was it’s first bishop. His monastery became famous in southern Ireland and attracted numerous disciples.
Many, many miracles are attributed to Saint Finbar, some really extravagant; for instance, the sun reportedly did not set for two weeks after his death.
Saint Findar died on 25 September 623 at Cloyne, Ireland. He was buried in the cathedral at Cork, Ireland. His canonization was
Pre-Congregation. He is the Patron Saint of Barra, Scotland and Cork, Ireland.
He is also the patron of immigrants.
Saint Findar,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
September 26
Today is the Feast day of
Saint John of Meda
Among many other Saints
Today is the Feast day of
Saint John of Meda
Among many other Saints
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint John of Meda, also known as
John of Como
John was born at Meda, province of Milan, Italy. Birth date not known. He became a secular priest first in Milan and then in Como. The Saint reportedly had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Following this vision, he joined the *Humiliati *in 1134.
Humiliati was an Italian religious order of lay men, a penitential movement formed around the 12th century. Adherents of this order devoted themselves to mortification, the care of the sick, and to preaching.
On the advice of Saint Bernard, in 1134, the Order withdrew from the world and established their first monastery at Milan in which he served as abbot. Other monasteries were also founded, both in Milan and in Lombardy. John adapted the rule of Saint Benedict to their needs and had the monks recite the Little Office of Our Lady daily, a liturgical devotion to the Our Lady.
John died on 26 September 1159 at Brera, Italy. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III.
Saint John of Meda,
Pray for us!
John of Como
John was born at Meda, province of Milan, Italy. Birth date not known. He became a secular priest first in Milan and then in Como. The Saint reportedly had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Following this vision, he joined the *Humiliati *in 1134.
Humiliati was an Italian religious order of lay men, a penitential movement formed around the 12th century. Adherents of this order devoted themselves to mortification, the care of the sick, and to preaching.
On the advice of Saint Bernard, in 1134, the Order withdrew from the world and established their first monastery at Milan in which he served as abbot. Other monasteries were also founded, both in Milan and in Lombardy. John adapted the rule of Saint Benedict to their needs and had the monks recite the Little Office of Our Lady daily, a liturgical devotion to the Our Lady.
John died on 26 September 1159 at Brera, Italy. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III.
Saint John of Meda,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
September 27
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Elzear
Among many other Saints.
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Elzear
Among many other Saints.
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odhiambo
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Saint Elzear
Saint Elzear, who is also known as Elzear of Sabran as well as Eleazarus, was of noble parentage. His father was the Count of Ariano from the Kingdom of Naples, Italy.
He was born at the family castle at Ansouis, Provence in France in 1285.
Elzear was educated at St. Victor’s monastery in Marseilles by his uncle, William of Sabron, who was the abbot of the monastery. At the age of sixteen, Elzear married Delphina of Glandieves. She too was sixteen years old. Both belonged to the Third Order of St. Francis. The young couple mutually agreed to a life of continence, deciding to live their married life chastely.
On the death of his father in 1309, Elzear inherited his father’s estate in the County of Ariano. Through this inheritance, he became lord of Ansouis and Count of Ariano in the kingdom of Naples. He was twenty three years old. He went to Italy to take charge of his inheritance. He managed the estate wisely and with firmness. Elzear and Delphina were known for their holiness and piety and the two were regarded as an ideal married couple.
In 1317, they joined the court of King Robert of Naples, and Elzear became tutor to the King’s son Charles. The King named him Justiciar, or Prime Minister of southern Abruzzi. (I checked this word and according to Wikipedia, it is roughly equivalent to today’s Prime Minister). Acting as Robert’s envoy to France , Elzear was on his way there to arrange the marriage of Mary of Valois and Charles. He fell ill on the trip, and died in Paris on September 27th1323.
Elzear was canonized in 1369 by Pope Urban V. His wife, Delphina attended the canonization ceremony.
He is the patron saint of tertiaries.
Saint Elzear,
Pray for us!
Saint Elzear, who is also known as Elzear of Sabran as well as Eleazarus, was of noble parentage. His father was the Count of Ariano from the Kingdom of Naples, Italy.
He was born at the family castle at Ansouis, Provence in France in 1285.
Elzear was educated at St. Victor’s monastery in Marseilles by his uncle, William of Sabron, who was the abbot of the monastery. At the age of sixteen, Elzear married Delphina of Glandieves. She too was sixteen years old. Both belonged to the Third Order of St. Francis. The young couple mutually agreed to a life of continence, deciding to live their married life chastely.
On the death of his father in 1309, Elzear inherited his father’s estate in the County of Ariano. Through this inheritance, he became lord of Ansouis and Count of Ariano in the kingdom of Naples. He was twenty three years old. He went to Italy to take charge of his inheritance. He managed the estate wisely and with firmness. Elzear and Delphina were known for their holiness and piety and the two were regarded as an ideal married couple.
In 1317, they joined the court of King Robert of Naples, and Elzear became tutor to the King’s son Charles. The King named him Justiciar, or Prime Minister of southern Abruzzi. (I checked this word and according to Wikipedia, it is roughly equivalent to today’s Prime Minister). Acting as Robert’s envoy to France , Elzear was on his way there to arrange the marriage of Mary of Valois and Charles. He fell ill on the trip, and died in Paris on September 27th1323.
Elzear was canonized in 1369 by Pope Urban V. His wife, Delphina attended the canonization ceremony.
He is the patron saint of tertiaries.
Saint Elzear,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
28 September
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Maria Chiara
Among many other saints.
Today is the Memorial of
Saint Maria Chiara
Among many other saints.
O
odhiambo
Guest
Saint Maria Chiara
Martyr
Maria Chiara was born on 9 January 1872 at Santa Maria Maddalena in the province of Rovigo, Italy. Her given name was Clelia Nanette.
From all accounts, Clelia was a pretty girl, intelligent, high spirited, impulsive and simply bubbling with life; a girl loved by all. She had a quick grasp of everything.
After her primary school, she helped in the house. Her parents were hoping she would marry. But Clelia had already felt the call to a religious life and privately, she had made a vow of chastity.
When she was 18 years old, she asked permission to enter religious life, but her parents refused thinking she was not old enough to really know what she wanted. But Clelia knew what she wanted, so she persevered, never losing sight of this
goal. On 24 January 1892, with the help of her brother Barnabé, a Franciscan, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and took the name of Maria Chiara. “Clare” (clear).
In 1898, Francisco Fogolla , the auxiliary Bishop of Shanxi, China, requested for missionaries from the Institute. Mother Mary of the Passion, foundress of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary,responded to this cry for help. She nominated seven sisters to go to Shanxi. Their mission was to serve the poor in hospitals, and care for the unwanted or other destitutes in orphanages and to help in whatever way possible to lessen the burden of the unfortunates there. Sister Maria Chiara was one of these seven nuns.
In China, during the country’s periodic crackdown on foreign missionaries, the seven nuns all perished, martyred.
Sister Maria Chiara was beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, China. Reportedly, she was the first to receive the mortal blow.
Saint Maria Chiara is counted among the Martyrs of Shanxi whose combined memorial is on 8 July, and the Martyrs of China.
She was beatified on 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII and canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II .
Saint Maria Chiara,
Pray for us!
Martyr
Maria Chiara was born on 9 January 1872 at Santa Maria Maddalena in the province of Rovigo, Italy. Her given name was Clelia Nanette.
From all accounts, Clelia was a pretty girl, intelligent, high spirited, impulsive and simply bubbling with life; a girl loved by all. She had a quick grasp of everything.
After her primary school, she helped in the house. Her parents were hoping she would marry. But Clelia had already felt the call to a religious life and privately, she had made a vow of chastity.
When she was 18 years old, she asked permission to enter religious life, but her parents refused thinking she was not old enough to really know what she wanted. But Clelia knew what she wanted, so she persevered, never losing sight of this
goal. On 24 January 1892, with the help of her brother Barnabé, a Franciscan, she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and took the name of Maria Chiara. “Clare” (clear).
In 1898, Francisco Fogolla , the auxiliary Bishop of Shanxi, China, requested for missionaries from the Institute. Mother Mary of the Passion, foundress of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary,responded to this cry for help. She nominated seven sisters to go to Shanxi. Their mission was to serve the poor in hospitals, and care for the unwanted or other destitutes in orphanages and to help in whatever way possible to lessen the burden of the unfortunates there. Sister Maria Chiara was one of these seven nuns.
In China, during the country’s periodic crackdown on foreign missionaries, the seven nuns all perished, martyred.
Sister Maria Chiara was beheaded on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuanfu, China. Reportedly, she was the first to receive the mortal blow.
Saint Maria Chiara is counted among the Martyrs of Shanxi whose combined memorial is on 8 July, and the Martyrs of China.
She was beatified on 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII and canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II .
Saint Maria Chiara,
Pray for us!
O
odhiambo
Guest
Martyrs of Shanxi of which Saint Maria Chiara was one.
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/define0c.jpg
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/define0c.jpg
K
kelvinf
Guest
Broken link
The_Reginator
Active member
The_Reginator
Active member
Re Thursday September 29:
I received this as part of an email alert from Scott P. Richert at About.com: Catholicism.
O
odhiambo
Guest
Thank you for making this point Reginator.
I think there is somewhere I wrote of “Saint Uriel the Archangel”. From now on though, I only know Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel from Scripture, and Saint Raphael from the deuterocanonical book of the OT, Tobit.
I posted the Archangels last year, so will not do so today.
O
odhiambo
Guest
September 29
Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Richard Rolle.
Among many other Saints and Blesseds.
Today is the Feast day of
Blessed Richard Rolle.
Among many other Saints and Blesseds.
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