August 25, ST LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE, PATRON OF THE THIRD ORDER

August 25
St. Louis IX, King, Patron of the Third Order

Louis was born April 25, 1214. He became king of France at the age of twelve years old when his father died in 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral. Because of Louis's youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority. His mother was determined that he be educated not only for the earthly kingdom, but for the kingdom of heaven. Several Franciscan friars were among his instructions and as a young king he joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.

He married at age the age of twenty and had eleven children to whom he gave excellent training. He was particularly noted for his spirit of penance and prayer and his love for the poor. In ruling his kingdom, he showed concern not only for the peace of his people but also for their spiritual welfare. He avoided all luxury at court so more help could be given to the poor. His wardrobe was simple as it fittingly could be and he wore the insignia of the Third Order under his outer garments. On special occasions he publicly wore the habit of the Tertiaries.

He went on two crusades, in his mid-30s in 1248 (Seventh Crusade) and then again in his mid-50s in 1270 (Eighth Crusade). He died near Carthage in the year 1270. Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the canonization of Louis in 1297. He is the only French monarch to be declared a saint.

St. Roch Montpellier, Confessor, Third Order

August 17
St. Roch Montpellier, Confessor, Third Order

Roch, the only son of a wealthy nobleman in France who was governor of the town of Montpellier. His parents raised him in a devote manner, and upon the death of both parents when he was twenty years old, he sold all the personal property and distributed the proceeds among the poor. He transferred the ownership of the real estate this uncle. Once this was accomplished, he joined the Third Order of St. Francis and put on a pilgrim’s garb.

He intended to travel to Rome, but when he arrived in Northern Italy around 1315, he found an epidemic was ravaging the area. He did not fear for his life, but following the example of Christ and admonition of St. Francis, he offered his life in the service of his brethren in Christ. Serving day and night, he worked in the hospital of St. John filled with the plague stricken and visited individual home seeking the sick. God rewarded his heroic charity by causing many he tended to be cured at the mere Sign of the Cross Roch made over them. When the plague was over, Roch continued his journey to Rome.

In Rome he found and epidemic there too. Roch again devoted him self to the care of the sick and again many were miraculously cured by him. Eventually Roch became sick, and in the very hospital he had served the sick, he was looked upon as an intruder. So as not to be a burden, Roch left, dragging himself to the neighborhood woods. Finding an old hut he thanked God for the safety of the lodging. God also provided his nourishment by sending him bread by way of a neighborhood dog. When he recovered, he was divinely inspired to return to his home town.

War was raging in the area of his home town and he was thought to be a spy. He was led before his uncle, who did not recognize him in his emancipated state, and cast into prison. Roch said no word in his defense following Christ’s example and accepted in silence what heaven had ordained for him. Forgotten, he languished in prison for five years. Feeling the end near, he requested a priest come and administer the last sacraments. Upon entering, the priest found the prison to be supernaturally lighted and poor Roch surrounded with a special radiance. As death claimed Roch, a tablet appeared on the wall and an angelic hand wrote in golden letters the name of Roch and the prediction that all who invoked his intercession would be cured of the plague.

Informed of these events, Roch’s uncle and grandmother went to the prison and identified the dead man by the birthmark of the red cross on his breast. Roch was given a grand funeral and a church was built in his honor in which his body was entombed. His veneration was approved by several popes. Pope Urban VII canonized him.

Prayer of the Church:

O God, who granted to St. Roch the promise, which an angel recorded on a table, not to permit anyone who sought his intercession to be afflicted with a contagious disease, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who celebrate his memory, may be preserved from every contagion of soul and body. Through Christ our Lord Amen.

Source: The Franciscan Book of Saints, Marion A. Habig, OFM, Franciscan Herald Press

St. Clare of Montefalco, Virgin, Third Order

August 16
St. Clare of Montefalco, Virgin, Third Order

Clare Damiani born about 1268 in Montefalco in Umbria north of Assisi was placed in the convent of St. Illuminata, where her sister Jane was superior. From the beginning she followed the rule of the Third Order of St. Francis.

Clare, who distinguished herself by her spirit of prayer and penance, was chosen superior in 1298. She was not only an exemplary superior, but she exerted influence on the outside world. She confronted heretics, converted sinners, reconciled families at odds, made peace between neighboring warring towns, drove out devils, foretold future events, healed the sick, raised the dead. During the latter part of her life, she also received the gifts of ecstasy and supernatural knowledge.

Our Lord, carrying His Cross, appeared to her and said: “I have been searching for a long time, daughter to find a firm and solid place on which to plant My Cross, and I have not found one more suitable than your heart. You must receive it and allow it to take root.” There is good evidence that when her heart was opened after her death, the Cross and other instruments of the Passion were found within, formed solidly in some fibrous tissue. For this reason she is also called St. Clare of the Cross.

Clare died August 17, 1308. Her incorrupt is in the church next to the Santa Croce convent. It also claimed that the miracle of liquefaction and ebullition of her blood has taken place.

Source: The Franciscan Book of Saints, Marion A. Habig, OFM, Franciscan Herald Press

SAINT LAWRENCE of BRINDISI, Doctor of the Church, Confessor, First Order

St. Lawrence of Brindisi was born at Brindisi in southern Italy on July 22, 1559. Exactly 60 years later on July 22, 1619 he died. Among the Capuchin sons of St. Francis, he holds a position of preeminence as a preacher and writer. He was only 6 years old when he preached in the cathedral of his native town with such force and point that many were deeply affected and entered into a more Christian life. He preached in seven different languages - Italian, French, Spanish, German, Greek, Hebrew and Latin. He wrote 15 large volumes, mostly sermons. One is a masterful exposition of Catholic doctrine about Mary.

Train Your Soul - Saint Bonaventure

 Train your soul with unflagging zeal for prayer.

To make progress in the spiritual life it is especially important for a bride of Christ to train her soul in the flagging zeal for prayer. If a religious lacks devotion and is lukewarm, and prays only infrequently, she is miserable and unprofitable. As a matter of fact, in God’s sight her soul is dead through her body is still alive.

The power of persevering prayer is such that it is efficacious under all circumstances We can derive profit from it at all times: in winter and summer, in fair weather and foul, day and night, on holy days and work days, in sickness and in health, while standing, sitting or walking, when in choir and out of choir. In fact, through an hour’s prayer one can gain more than the world is worth. By single devout prayer, a man can gain the kingdom of heaven.

Now, there are three requisites for perfect prayer. First, when at prayer close your senses and concentrate with all your being, body and soul, and calmly dwell with sorrow and contrition on all your weaknesses past, present and future.

The second requisite in prayer for a bride of God is thanksgiving. Thank the creator in all humility for blessings already conferred and those still to be granted by him. Nothing renders man so worthy of God’s gifts as to thank him always for those that have been received.

The third requisite from perfect prayer is for the mind to think of nothing else except that for which prayer is being offered. In speaking with God it is very improper to speak one thing with the lips and another with the heart so that only half one’s heart is directed to heaven while the other half remains on earth.

Make no mistake, be not mislead, nor lose the rich fruit of prayer. Do not forfeit its sweetness, nor cheat yourself of the delight you should derive from prayer. Prayer is the cup for drinking the grace of the Holy Spirit from the abundant fountain of delight, the Blessed Trinity. Be recollected during prayer, enter the chamber of your heart with your beloved and tarry there alone with him. Forget everything outside and with all your heart, all your mind, all your longing, all your devotion rise above yourself. You must not grow weary of praying but soar aloft in ardent prayer till you enter the wonderful dwelling place, the house of God.

Saint Bonaventure on the Life of Perfection

ST. FELIX OF CANTALICE, Religious, First Order - May 18

SAINT FELIX OF CANTALICE
• Born 1515, Cantalice
• Died May 18, 1587, Rome, Italy
• Beatified October 1, 1625 by Pope Urban VIII
• Canonized May 22, 1712by Clement XI
• Buried under the altar of the Immaculate Conception Church, Rome; miracles reported at his tomb

At about 10 years of age Felix was hired out to do the grueling work of a farmhand. From earliest years he exhibited signs of holiness spending leisure time in prayer. He had no learning and could not read. The lives of Desert Fathers were read to him leaving him with the desire to live as a hermit. Felix had a dream in which an angel directed him to join the Capuchins. The Capuchins brothers hesitated at accepting him, but he eventually received the habit in 1543. He professed vows on May 18, 1545. Despite his desire for seclusion, his ministry placed him in direct, daily contact with a multitude of people. It was said that his begging sack was as bottomless as his heart. His response to every benefactor was Deo gratias, which is why he is known as "Brother Deo Gratias". He was also known for never refusing a request for help. People brought their cares immediately to Felix. He would kneel at their side, saying "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary", confident that providence would take care of the rest. He had a fondness for mothers and babies. He would teach the young to say "Jesus, Jesus" or "Deo gratias". Felix gained a reputation as a healer, because he often blessed the sick with a crucifix and they would be healed. People asked him to sing because he had a talent for spontaneously creating and singing spiritual hymns. His devotion to the Blessed Mother was noted in these songs. For his personal devotion and meditation, Felix memorized prayers, liturgical & biblical texts, and spent long hours before the Blessed Sacrament. He is represented in art holding the Infant Jesus in his arms because of a vision he once had when the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and placed the Divine Child in his arms.

Sources: www.saints.sqpn.com, www.beafriar.com; www.newadvent.org

PASCHAL BAYLON, Religious, First Order - May 17

Paschal was born in Spain in the year 1540. In his youth he was employed as a shepherd and cherished special devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He was already distinguished for virtue when he joined the Order of Friars Minor in 1564 and was assigned to the menial tasks. God endowed him with special gifts and not only did he aid others by the advice but he also wrote some treatises in which he incorporated the fruits of his own religious experience. He died in 1592.

From the common of holy men; religious, 1470
Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours.

IGNATIUS OF LACONI, Religious, First Order - May 11

Ignatius Peis-Sanna (baptized Vincent) was born in the year 1701 in Laconi in Sardinia. He joined the Capuchin Friars in the year 1721. For almost forty years he was in charge of begging alms in Cagliari, highly esteemed for his humility and charity, and adorned with many gifts from God. He died in the year 1781.

saFrom the common of Holy men: religious, 1470.
Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours.

ST CATHARINE OF BOLOGNA, VIRGIN, SECOND ORDER

The birth of Catharine was foretold to her devout father by the Blessed Virgin with the announcement that the child would be a brilliant light throughout the world. Catharine was born on the Feast of the Assumption in the year 1413. She was taken to the court of the Marquis of Este to be educated in foreign languages, painting and the culture of a young woman of high rank. The court with all its splendor could not hold Catharine. When she was seventeen, she joined a pious company of young women in Ferrara who led a religious life but had not yet adopted a definite rule. Four years later a royal princess founded a convent for this society according to the rule of Saint Clare. Catharine spent twenty four years in the convent, during which she trained many sisters in the way of sanctity. She was sickly from the time she was twenty-two and never complained. She would say to herself, “O bundle of corruption, that will soon turn into dust, shy should you complain? It appears as if you had not yet learnt to be a true servant of Christ.” She died March 9, 1463. Her incorrupt body can still be seen in Bologna.

Blessed Waldo, Confessor, Third Order - May 8

Waldo, called also Vivaldo or Ubaldo, was a disciple of the saintly Tertiary priest Bartolo. They were both from San Gimignano, in northern Italy. When Bartolo was attacked with leprosy, Waldo offered his services and for twenty years until the death of Bartolo, Waldo rendered him every possible kindness. In return, Waldo received instruction toward progress in Christian perfection from they holy priest, and at his advice joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.

After the death of his spiritual father, Waldo withdrew from the world and lived as a hermit in a large forest several miles from Monteone. He found a hollow chestnut tree and turned it into a cell for himself ,where with barely enough room to kneel, he spent the remainder of his life. In May 1320, the bells of Monteone began to ring of their own accord. The bells continued to ring, although no human hand set them in motion. Soon a hunter came out of the forest and told of finding an old recluse dead on his knees in a chestnut tree. As the hunter finished his tale, the bells ceased ringing. The cell in the tree was converted to a chapel in honor of Our Lady.

BLESSED LUCHESIUS - THIRD ORDER

Luchesius, born near Poggi-Bonzi in Etruria, was at first a merchant.  Enlightened by the grace of God he distributed his possessions to the poor and was according to tradition the first to receive the habit of the Third Order of Saint Francis.  He was renowned for love of neighbor, poverty, humility and austerity of life.  He died about the year 1260 in the eightieth year of his life.

From the common of the holy men, 1452

FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, PRIEST AND MARTYR, FIRST ORDER

Feast - April 24

Fidelis was born in the town of Sigmaringen in Germany in the year 1578. He joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and lived an austere life in vigils and prayers. He was indefatigable in preaching the word of God, and at the commsand of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith the preached sound doctrine in Raetia. In the year 1622 he was attached by heretics at Sewis in Switzerland and died as a martyr.

From the common of one martyr, in the Easter Season, 1414, or of pastors, 1426.

BLESSED GILES OF ASSISI, FIRST ORDER

Feast Day - April 23

Giles, one of the first disciples of St. Francis, was a man of simplicity and meekness. Urged on by his spirit of devotion he made pilgrimages to various shrines. He earned his own livelihood, however, by helping farmers in their work. Without neglecting to work for the salvation of souls he lived as a hermit. Devoting himself to ascetical practices and contemplation, he spent the last year of his life at Perugia. He died in the year 1262.

From the common of holy men: religious 1470
([Quaracchi 1905] 62-64)


From the Sayings of blessed Giles of Assisi

It is a great thing to preserve devoutly and conscientiously till death in religious life.

Speaking about himself Brother Giles used to say: “I would prefer living in religious life with a small measure of grace to living in the world with abundant grace because there are more dangers and fewer means of assistance in the world than in religious life. A sinful man, however, fears what is good for him more than what is harmful for him because he is more afraid to do penance and enter religious life than to be burdened with sin and remain in the world.”

A man in the world asked Brother Giles’ advice whether it would be better for him to enter religious life. Holy Brother Giles answered: “If a very poor man knew that a valuable treasurer was buried in some public field would he ask another’s advice whether he should go quickly to the treasure? How much more should men hurry to dig up heavenly treasure?

Brother Giles was wont to say: “Many enter religious life and yet do not live as religious should. These men are like a simpleton who put on Roland’s armor without knowing how to do battle in it. I do not consider it a great thing to enter a king’s court, nor do I consider it a great thing to accept a gift from a king, but I do consider it a great thing to know how to conduct oneself at the king’s court. Religious life is the court of the Great King. To enter it and to receive some gifts from God is not great thing, but I do consider it a great thing to live in it and to preserve in it devoutly and conscientiously till death. I would, however, prefer to life in the world devoutly and conscientiously, and to yearn to enter religious life, rather than to live in religious life and be weary of it.”

He likewise used to say: “It seems to me that the religious life of the Friars Minor was given to the world for the great benefit of mankind. Woe to us if we are not the kind of men we ought to be. The religious life of the Friars Minor seems to me to be the poorest and the richest in the world. But this seems to me to be our greatest failing: we are willing to live in religious life with standards that are too low. He is rich who imitates a rich man; he is wise who imitates a wise man; he is distinguished who imitates a distinguished person; he is noble who imitates a noble person, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ.

CONRAD OF PARZHAM, Religious, First Order

Conrad Birndofer, previous named John, was born in Bavaria in the year 1818. After living devoutly as a young man he made religious profession in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in the year 1842. For forty-three years he reserved as porter of the friary at Alotting distinguishing himself for a very great charity, zeal and patience. He died in 1894 with a reputation for great holiness.

From the common of holy men: religious, 1470

From the letters of Saint Conrad of Parzham

I am always united with God whom I dearly love

It was God’s will that I should leave everything that was near and dear to me. I thank him for having called me to religious life where I have found such peace and joy as I could never have found in the world. My plan of life is chiefly this: to love and suffer, always mediating upon, adoring and admiring God’s unspeakable love for his lowliest creatures.

Nothing is really a hindrance to me because I am always united with our dear Lord. In fact, the more I have to do the more I feel that I am united with God. I then speak to god in a familiar way, like a son to his father. I speak in prayers and aspirations. I make known to him with childlike confidence everything that weighs on my soul.

And if at times I have sinned I humbly beg for pardon asking only to show myself a good and obedient son of a most loving father and to love him with greater love. To practice the virtues of meekness and humility I need only to look at Jesus crucified and I learn how I must act in various circumstances. So in this way I learn humility, meekness, patience, how I must carry the cross, and it become light. I gratefully accept both joy and tribulation from our heavenly Father for he knows best what is good for us.

Thus I always rejoice in the Lord having only this complain that I do not love enough . If only I had the love of one of the Seraphim! I would like to compel all creation to help me love God above all things. Love never fails.

From: Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

BENEDICT THE BLACK, First Order

Benedict was born in San Fratello near Messina, Italy in 1526. His parents were negro slaves who had been transported from Africa to Italy where they converted to Christianity. At the age of eighteen Benedict was given his freedom. He was popularly called the holy black by the poor and the sick who benefited by his charities and benevolent services. He was chosen the leader of a group of independent hermits on the death of the founder. When Pius IV disbanded this and the similar groups, Benedict was received into the Order of the Friars Minor. Though illiterate he soon became the guardian of the Franciscan Friary of Saint Mary in Palermo. Because of his extraordinary gifts of prayer and counsel people of every class sought his guidance. He died in Palerno in 1589 and is venerated as the patron of the Blacks in North America.

From the common of holy men: religious, 1470

True Brotherhood

The life of every saint presents a challenge and offers to others encouragement to holiness. The time, place and circumstances of life are peculiar to each saint, and they vary with each one. It is the use of divine grace and conformity to the divine will which consecrate the circumstances and sanctify the person using them. Use of grace and conformity to God's will constitute the challenge and the power of example that give courage to all Christians to apply the same means to achieve the same basic goal, each in his own way, in his own time, and to his own situation.

The challenge which Saint Benedict the Black presents to us is his total response to the Lord's command at the Last Supper; I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so should your love be for one another. The integration of Benedict the Black into a community of Franciscan confreres racially and ethnically different from himself, their mutual acceptance and love for one another, the choice which the Friars made to have Benedict, through illiterate, become the superior and the guardian of their religious community - these present a timely challenge. They are the source of great encouragement toward holiness through love of neighbor for the love of God. And this challenge and encouragement are further enhanced by the power of Benedict's example not only to love his neighbor as himself but to love as Christ loved, as he said to his apostles: Your love for one another must be such as my love has been for you. In this love we find the true brotherhood for all mankind.

From: Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

BLESSED DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, PRIEST, First Order

Didacus-Joseph Lopez Caamano, baptized Joseph Francis, was born in Spain in the year 1743 and made profession in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in the year 1759. After his ordination he exercised the ministry of preaching throughout Spain with great success and was called “a second Paul.” Always imbued with a great love for the cross, he combined apostolic activity with contemplation in the marvelous way. His death occurred in the year 1801.

From the letters of Blessed Didacus Joseph to his spiritual Father, Francis Xavier Gonzales
(El director perfecto el dirigido santo [Seville 1901] 126, 210, 280, 287f)

My only concern is to do what God wants of me

My spiritual father, will I be fortunate enough to effect here on earth the triumph of the holy Cross and of him who is humbly crucified? Will the day ever dawn when this monster of iniquity will love his God and bring all the world to love God?

The sins of men always weight heavily upon me, undoubtedly because I do not consider the gravity of my own sins. One day in choir with the community as I was meditating on this I was eager to be relieved of this burden. Suddenly the great seriousness of my obligation of expiation was vividly and effectively impressed upon me as I recalled what my Lord Jesus Christ, though sinless, took upon himself and endued for the sins of others. I am in the habit of recoiling from this obligation whenever temporal disasters befall my fellowmen.

How forcefully the words you frequently use in your letters strike my heart, that I am called to be “A Capuchin, a missionary and a saint!” I cannot read these words without being moved by a delightful and wonderful force deep in my heart.

From: Proper Officds of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

BLESSED AGNES OF PRAGUE, VIRGIN, Second Order

Agnes, daughter of Premislaus, king of Bohemia, was born in Prague about the year 1205. She declined an imperial marriage and in 1236 entered the monastery of the Poor Clares that she had founded and which she directed for many years. She enjoyed a close friendship with Saint Clare who wrote several letters to her dealing with Franciscan spirituality. Agnes died between the years 1280-1283.

From the common of virgins, 1441.

From a letter of Saint Clare to Blessed Agnes of Prague
(I. Omaechevarria [Madrid 1970] 324-327)

Poor virgin, embrace the poor Christ

I thank the giver of grace from whom we believe every good and perfect gift comes that he has adorned you with such virtues and made you resplendent with such perfection. You have become a diligent imitator of the perfect Father. May you attain such perfection that his eyes may see no imperfection in you. This is the perfection by which the king will unite you to himself in the heavenly bridal chamber. There he is seated in glory on his star studded throne.

You consider kingly honors of small value and the offers of royal marriage ill-suited to you as a follower of most holy poverty. In the spirit of great humility and ardent love, you follow in the footsteps of him whose bride you are found worthy to be. Since I know that you are held in honor because of your virtues, I refrain from wordiness. I do not wish to burden you with superfluous words though to you noting may seem superfluous from which you may derive a measure of consolation.

One thing however is necessary. I make it the topic of my admonition. I exhort you for the love of him to whom you have offered yourself as a pleasing gift that you be ever mindful of your resolution. Like another Rachel, always cling to your determinations. Hold fast when you have. Keep on doing what you are doing. Do not depart from your course. With swift peace, light tread and unswerving fidelity proceed safely with joy and gladness along the way that leads to salvation. Let no dust gather on your feet. Put no confidence in anything, nor consent to anything that could draw you away from your goal. Let nothing be a stumbling block to keep you from fulfilling your vows to the Most High in that perfection to which the Spirit of God called you.

If anyone tells you anything to the contrary, or suggests anything that would impede you, or seem contrary to God’s calling, even though you must respect him, do not follow his advice. As a poor virgin, embrace the poor Christ. Look at him who became contemplate for your sake and follow him. Be despised in this would for his sake.

Noble queen, fix your gaze upon him, meditate on him, contemplate him in your eagerness to imitate your spouse, the comeliest of men who became the vilest of men for your salvation, despised, buffeted, scourged and dying on the hard cross. If you suffer with him, you shall reign with him; if you mourn with him, you shall rejoice with him. If you die on the cross and him in tribulations, you will have an abode in heaven in the splendor of the saints. Your name in the book of life will be glorious among men.

In recompense for this you will forever share in the glory of heaven in exchange for the fleeting things of earth, and in eternal possessions in exchange for those that perish. And you will live forever.

From: Proper Offices of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy of the Hours

BLESSED LOUISE ALBERTONI, THIRD ORDER

Blessed Louise Albertoni was born in Rome in the year 1474 into a wealthy and distinguished family.  However, her parents were known more for their piety and they took great care in training their daughter.  As a wife and mother she always sought to please God above all things.  At the age of thirty-one she lost her husband in death.  With her three daughters provided for, she publicly took the habit of the Third Order and dedicated herself to the service of God.  She used the abundant income of her wealth to support the poor while she lacked necessities for herself.  She was drawn to the contemplation of the suffering of our Lord and they were so constantly before her mind that she wept continually.  God rewarded her with the gift of miracles and frequent ecstasy.  She died on January 31, 1533.  Her body rests in the Church of St Francis on the Tiber.  Pope Clement X beatified her in 1671.

Source:  The Franciscan Book of Saints, Marion A. Habig OFM

BLESSED SEBASTIAN OF APARICIO

Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio, born 1502 in Spain, emigrated as a young man of thirty-one to Mexico. There he contributed much to the public welfare by manufacturing plows, wagons, building roads through the forests and mountains, and transporting grain and other produce to the cities. After death had robbed him of his second wife, and at the age of 71, he gave all his possessions to the poor to become a became a Franciscan brother at Puebla. There he died in his 98th year on February 25, 1600; and there, in a large chapel adjoining the Franciscan church, lies his incorrupt body in a glass tomb. The main highway that to this day connects Zacatecas with Mexico City was first built by Blessed Sebastian.

February 25

The Franciscan Book of Saints, Marion A. Habig, OFM

BLESSED MARK MARCONI

BLESSED MARK MARCONI

Mark was born around the year 1480 in Milliarino near Mantua, Italy, to poor and simple parents. From early youth he was endowed with a deep sense of piety and his life reflected signs of extraordinary sanctity. He joined a community of the Poor Hermits of St. Jerome who observed the rule of the Third Order of St. Francis. From the beginning of his religious life Mark was admired for his cheerfulness and promptness for carrying out all spiritual exercises. His one desire was to become as perfect an imitator of Christ as possible. Mark died at age thirty on February 24, 1510. His incorrupt body is venerated in the cathedral Mantua.

February 24