Upcoming Feasts

The Twenty-Second Day of December. Twenty-First Day of the lunar month. 🌗

Saint Chaeremon, bishop of Nilopolis, and companions, martyrs

Commemoration of Saint Chaeremon, bishop of Nilopolis, and many other holy martyrs in Egypt: some, during the persecution of Emperor Decius, forced to flee and wander in the desert, were killed by wild beasts, others exhausted by hunger, cold and weakness, others finally killed by barbarians and brigands, so that all, albeit with different kinds of deaths, were crowned by the same glorious martyrdom.

Saint Ischyrion, martyr in Egypt

Commemoration of Saint Ischyrion, martyr in Egypt, who, in the same period, having refused to sacrifice to idols in the face of calls and ill-treatment, was killed by being pierced in the bowels by a sharp stake.

30 holy martyrs of Via Labicana at Rome

At Rome on Via Labicana in the cemetery at Duas Lauros, thirty holy martyrs, who all attained the crown of glory on the same day.

43 holy monks, martyrs of Rhaitum

In the Raithu region of Egypt, forty-three holy monks, killed by the bedouins for their Christian faith.

Saint Hunger, bishop of Utrecht

At Utrecht in Lotharingia, in the present-day Netherlands, Saint Hunger, bishop.

Blessed Thomas Holland, Jesuit priest and martyr of England

At London in England, Blessed Thomas Holland, priest of the Society of Jesus and martyr, who, condemned to death under King Charles I for having carried out his ministry clandestinely, gave up his spirit to God by hanging.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin, founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

At Chicago, Illinois in the United States of America, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin, who founded the Institute of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and worked in every way to assist emigrants with outstanding charity.

℣. Precious in the sight of the Lord
℟. Is the death of his Saints.

The Twenty-Third Day of December. Twenty-Second Day of the lunar month. 🌗

Saint John Cantius, priest

Saint John Cantius, priest, who, after ordination to the priesthood, taught for many years at the University of Krakow. After receiving the assignment of the pastoral care of the parish of Olkusz, he added to his virtues the testimony of an upright faith and was for his collaborators and disciples a model of piety and charity towards others. On the day following this, at Krakow in Poland, he passed to the celestial banquet.

Saints Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Euporus, Gelasius, Zeticus, Pontius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evaristus, martyrs at Gortyna

At Gortyn on the island of Crete, ten holy martyrs, Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Euporus, Gelasius, Zeticus, Pontius, Agathopus, Basilides and Evaristus, who, during the persecution of Emperor Decius, for publicly refusing to obey the order to offer sacrifices on the day of the dedication of the Temple of Fortuna, suffered torture and finally died, beheaded.

Saint Servolo, beggar

At Rome, commemoration of Saint Servolo, who, lying paralytic since childhood under the portico of the Church of Saint Clement, always tried, as Saint Gregory writes, even in suffering, to give thanks to God and distributed to the poor everything he collected from alms.

Saint Yves, bishop of Chartres

At Chartres in France, Saint Yves, bishop, who re-established the order of canons and worked and wrote much to promote harmony between the clergy and the civil power and for the good of the Church.

Blessed Hartmann, canon regular, bishop of Bressanone

At Bressanone in Alto Adige, Blessed Hartmann, bishop, who, already as a canon regular, governed this Church with wisdom and fidelity.

Saint Thorlak Thorhallsson, bishop of Skálholt

In Iceland, Saint Thorlak Thorhallsson, bishop of Skálholt, who worked for the moral renewal of the clergy and the people.

Saint John Stone, Augustinian priest and martyr of England

At Canterbury in England, commemoration of Saint John Stone, priest of the Order of the Friars of Saint Augustine and martyr, who, as a staunch defender of the Catholic faith, suffered martyrdom on the scaffold under King Henry VIII.

Blessed Nicolás Fattore, Francisan priest

At Valencia in Spain, Blessed Nicolás Fattore, priest of the Order of Friars Minor, who, burned with fervent zeal for God, was often carried away in ecstasy.

Saint Marguerite d’Youville, religious, founder of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal

At Montreal in Canada, Saint Marguerite d’Youville Dufrost de Lajemmerais, religious, who, as a widowed mother of family, piously educated two of her sons on the path to the priesthood and worked with all her might to assist the sick, the elderly and to the needy of all kinds, for whom she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity.

Saint Antônio de Sant’Ana Galvão, Franciscan priest

At Sao Paulo in Brazil, Saint Antônio de Sant’Ana Galvão, priest of the Order of Friars Minor, who fruitfully dedicated himself to preaching and the ministry of penance and founded the “Retreat of Light”, in which he led a community of Sisters under his exemplary spiritual direction.

Saint Iosephus Cho Yun-ho, martyr of Korea

In the territory of Tjyen-Tiyon in Korea, Saint Iosephus Cho Yun-ho, martyr, who, while still young, following in the footsteps of his father Saint Peter Cho Hwa-sŏ, was beaten to death for the name of Christ.

Blessed Pablo Meléndez Gonzalo, father of family and martyr of Spain

In the territory of Valencia in Spain, Blessed Pablo Meléndez Gonzalo, martyr, who, as father of family, during the persecution against religion, conforming in everything to the example of Christ, reached the eternal kingdom by his grace.

℣. Precious in the sight of the Lord
℟. Is the death of his Saints.

The Twenty-Fourth Day of December. Twenty-Third Day of the lunar month. 🌗

All holy ancestors of Jesus Christ

Commemoration of All Holy Ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham, or of those fathers who pleased God and who, found righteous, even without having received the promises, but having only looked at them and greeted them from afar, died in the faith: from them Christ, who is above all creation, God blessed for ever, was born according to the flesh.

Saint Delphin, bishop of Bordeaux

At Bordeaux in Aquitaine, France, Saint Delphin, bishop, who was united with Saint Paulinus of Nola by intimate familiarity and worked strenuously to combat the Priscillian heresy.

Saint Tarsilia, virgin

At Rome, commemoration of Saint Tarsilia, virgin, whose assiduous prayer, rigour of life and singular spirit of penance are praised by Saint Gregory the Great, her nephew.

Saint Irmina, abbess of the monastery of Öhren

Near Trier in Austrasia, Germany, Saint Irmina, abbess of the monastery of Öhren, who, as a matron consecrated to God, donated to Saint Willibrord a small monastery she founded in her villa in Echternach and was a generous dispenser of her goods.

Birth of Saint John Cantius, priest

At Krakow in Poland, the anniversary of the death of Saint John Cantius, whose memorial is celebrated the day before this.

Blessed Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte, priest

At Bologna, Blessed Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte, priest, who preached the word of God to the Christian people and clergy in many regions of Italy and with this aim established the Pious Society of the Missions.

Saint Paola Elisabetta Cerioli Buzecchi-Tasis, widow, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Bergamo

At Comonte near Bergamo, Saint Paola Elisabetta Cerioli Buzecchi-Tasis, who, having lost all her children prematurely and then becoming a widow, committed her resources and strength to the education of the children of farmers and orphans without hope of a future and lived the joys of a mother in the Lord, founding the Institute of the Sisters and the Congregation of the Fathers and Brothers of the Holy Family.

Birth of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, priest

At Annaya in Lebanon, the anniversary of the death of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, whose memorial is celebrated on July 24.

℣. Precious in the sight of the Lord
℟. Is the death of his Saints.

The Twenty-Fifth Day of December. Twenty-Fourth Day of the lunar month. 🌗

The Nativity of the Lord

When ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, and formed man in his own likeness; when century upon century had passed since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood, as a sign of covenant and peace; in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; in the thirteenth century since the People of Israel were led by Moses in the Exodus from Egypt; around the thousandth year since David was anointed King; in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the year seven hundred and fifty-two since the foundation of the City of Rome; in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus, the whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to consecrate the world by his most loving presence, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and when nine months had passed since his conception, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

Saint Anastasia, martyr at Sirmium

At Rome, commemoration of Saint Anastasia, martyr at Srijem in Pannonia, in present-day Croatia.

Saint Eugenia, martyr at Rome

Also at Rome in the cemetery of Apronian on Via Latina, Saint Eugenia, martyr.

Saints Giovino and Basileo, martyrs at Rome

Also at Rome on Via Latina, Saints Giovino and Basileo, martyrs.

Saint Pierre-Maurice, abbot of Cluny

In the monastery of Cluny in Burgundy, in present-day France, Saint Pierre-Maurice, abbot, who governed the monastic order according to the precepts of primitive observance and composed numerous treatises.

Blessed Bentivoglio de Bonis, Franciscan priest

At San Severino in the Marches, Blessed Bentivoglio de Bonis, priest of the Order of Minims, distinguished preacher.

Blessed Michaël Nakashima Saburōemon, Jesuit religious and martyr of Japan

At the city of Unzen in Japan, Blessed Michaël Nakashima Saburōemon, religious of the Society of Jesus and martyr, who, as a catechist, was immersed in boiling water for his faith in Christ and thus obtained the crown of martyrdom.

Blessed Maria von den Aposteln von Wüllenweber, virgin, founder of the Sisters of Divine Word

At Rome, Blessed Maria von den Aposteln von Wüllenweber, virgin, of German origin, who, kindled by missionary ardour, founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Divine Saviour at Tivoli in Lazio.

Saint Albert Chmielowski, priest, founder of the Albertine Brothers and Sisters Servants of the Poor

At Krakow in Poland, Saint Albert Chmielowski, religious, who, as an illustrious painter, consecrated himself to the poor, proposing to be available to them in everything, and founded the Congregations of the Friars and Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis at the service of the needy.

℣. Precious in the sight of the Lord
℟. Is the death of his Saints.

The Twenty-Sixth Day of December. Twenty-Fifth Day of the lunar month. 🌘

Saint Stephen, protomartyr

Feast of Saint Stephen, protomartyr, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, first of the seven deacons chosen by the Apostles as their collaborators in the ministry, who was also the first among the disciples of the Lord to shed his blood in Jerusalem, where, stoned as he was praying for his persecutors, he bore his testimony of faith in Christ Jesus, claiming to see him seated in glory at the right hand of the Father.

Saint Dionysius, pope

At Rome in the cemetery of Callixtus on Via Appia, Saint Dionysius, pope, who, full of every virtue, after the persecution of Emperor Valerian, consoled his afflicted brethren with his letters and his presence, ransomed the prisoners from tortures and taught the foundations of faith to those who ignored them.

Saint Zenon, bishop of Maiumas of Gaza

Commemoration of Saint Zenon, bishop of Maiuma in Palestine, who built a basilica for the holy martyrs Eusebius, Nestabius and Zeno, his cousins, and until the end of his life practised the trade of weaver to obtain food and help the poor.

Saint Zosimus, pope

At Rome on Via Tiburtina near Saint Lawrence, deposition of Saint Zosimus, pope.

Saint Eutimio, bishop of Sardes and martyr

At Sardis in Lydia, in present-day Türkiye, Saint Eutimio, bishop and martyr, who, condemned to exile by the iconoclast emperor Michael for the cult of sacred images, finally consumed his martyrdom under the empire of Theophilus, cruelly flogged with ox sinews.

Saint Vicenta María López i Vicuña, virgin, founder of the Religious of Mary Immaculate

At Madrid in Spain, Saint Vicenta María López i Vicuña, virgin, who founded and spread the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate to offer spiritual and material help to girls separated from their families and employed as domestic workers.

Blesseds Aknaet Phila, Lusia Khambang, Akatha Phuttha, Sesilia Butsi, Bibiana Khamphai and Maria Phon, martyrs of Thailand

At the village of Song-Khon in Thailand, the blessed martyrs Aknaet Phila and Lusia Khambang, virgins of Sister Lovers of the Cross, and Akatha Phuttha, Sesilia Butsi, Bibiana Khamphai and Maria Phon, shot in the local cemetery for refusing to renounce the Christian faith.

Blessed Secondo Pollo, priest of Vercelli

At Dragali in Montenegro, Blessed Secondo Pollo, priest from Vercelli, who, as a military chaplain during the Second World War, was seriously injured while giving aid to a dying soldier and shortly afterwards, now bloodless, gave up his spirit to God.

℣. Precious in the sight of the Lord
℟. Is the death of his Saints.