Vigil of St. James the Greater

Vigil (1954 Calendar): July 24

The following is an excerpt from The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles.  This can serve as a meditation as we prepare for the Feast of St. James the Greater

Catholics know that death is not the end but the beginning of a new life and so it proved with St. James.   His tomb in Spain is a place of religious pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of people every year.  In the past, the Spanish people were inspired by St. James as they reconquered their country from the Muslims.

In 711, General Tariq Ibn-Ziyad led a force of Islamic Moors of Arab and Berber descent to conquer most of Iberia.  Fortunately, the Islamic force was halted by Charles Martel and his army at the Battle of Tours in 732.  Yet most of Spain was still under foreign rule and, according to legend, Charlemagne (742-814) was recruited to rectify this situation.

“Charlemagne saw a path of stars in the sky, beginning in the Frisian Sea and extending through Germany and Italy, Gaul and Aquitaine, passing directly over Gascony, Vasconia, Navarre and Spain to Galicia, where the body of Saint James lay buried and undiscovered.  Looking upon this stellar path several times every night, he began to mediate its meaning.  A knight of splendid appearance, more handsome than words can describe, appeared to Charlemagne one evening in a vision as he sat in deep meditation.

“What are you doing, my son?” the knight asked.

“To which the king responded, “Who are you, sir?”

“I am Saint James the Apostle, disciple of Christ…and whose body lies forgotten in Galicia, a place still shamefully oppressed by the Saracens.  I am deeply disturbed by the fact that you, who have conquered so many cities and nations, have not liberated my lands from the Saracens…  The path of stars that you have contemplated in the sky is the sign indicating that you must take a great army from here to Galicia to do battle with those perfidious pagans, to free my path and my lands and to visit my basilica and my tomb.  After you, all peoples from sea to sea will walk there as pilgrims, begging forgiveness for their sins and proclaiming the greatness of the Lord…”

(Kevin R. Poole, editor and translator of The Chronicle of Pseudo-Turpin, Book IV of the Liber Sancti Jacobi (New York: Italica Press, 2014) pgs. 5-6)

The historical Charlemagne was forced to retreat from the Muslims in Spain and then tragically, the Basques attacked his baggage train and killed Roland, the warden of the Breton March.  The incident inspired the Song of Roland but brought the Spanish people no closer to freedom.  However, the Reconquista had already begun in 718 when Pelagius defeated an Islamic Umayyad patrol in the Battle of Covadonga in Galencia.  Although there were occasional forays into Galencia, the Muslims never controlled this part of Spain.   Galencia was incorporated into Asturias, a Christian kingdom in the northwest of Spain.

In 812, Bishop Teodomiro, Bishop of Iria Flavia in Galencia, Spain, was visited by a group of men in his diocese.  They told him that the anchorite Palagio with other devote men had seen a bright star over the hill of Libredon.  Not only this, but they had seen lights moving among the forest while unseen voices sang religious chants.  Stirred by this miracle, the Bishop determined to investigate the area with his canons and some prominent citizens on July 25th.  After clearing away the underbrush, the men discovered a cave.  Inside of the cave were three stone coffins.  The largest of the coffins was in the middle with its occupant identified as Saint James – “Here lies Santiago, son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of St. John, whom Herod beheaded in Jerusalem.  He came by sea borne by his disciples to Iria Flavia of Galicia…”

King Afonso II of Asturias, with the nobles of his court, journeyed to the shrine and ordered that a church be built to honor Saint James.   Pope Leo III informed the Archbishops and the Bishops of the discovery.  A small town grew up near the cave called Santiago de Compostela and the body of Saint James was moved there in 829.  A beautiful Church was constructed during the reign of Afonso III in 893. (Catherine Gasquoine Hartley The Story of Santiago de Compostela (London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1912) pgs. 22-27)

The pilgrimage of St. James became very popular – third in popularity after Jerusalem and Rome.   Even a Moorish ambassador was astonished at the crowds:

“When Ali-ben-Yussuf, the Almoravide, sent an embassy to Dona Urraca about 1121, the ambassadors were amazed at the throngs of pilgrims who choked the road.  They asked the subaltern detailed to escort and assist them, the Centurion Peter..: ‘Who is it the Christians so revered, for whom so great a multitude comes and goes, from this side and the other of the Pyrenees, so that the road is scarcely cleared for us?’  And Peter answered with a fine gesture: ‘He who deserves such reverence is St. James whose body there is buried…’” (Georgiana Goddard King, The Way of Saint James, Volume 1 (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1920) pg. 107)

In 1122, Pope Calixrus II granted a Holy Year to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela when July 25th (Saint James’ feast day) falls on a Sunday.  On that year, the Holy Door is open from January 1st to December 31st and pilgrims are granted special indulgencies.  The years 2004, 2010, 2021 and 2027 were or will be Holy Years and there are usually more pilgrims during these years.  The Codex Calixtinus, an illustrated manuscript of the 12th century, is a description of the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and includes music, stories of St. James, miracles and advice about the route.  Despite its name, it was not written by Pope Calixrus II but by unknown authors and organized by Aymeric Picaud, a French scholar. 

St. Francis of Assisi, like many others, went to Santiago de Compostela with a few of his companions:

“A the beginning and commencement of the Order, when as yet there were few brothers and the Houses had not been taken into possession, Saint Francis for his devotion went to Saint James’s of Galicia… Having won thither, while he was spending the night in prayer in the church of St. James, it was revealed by God unto Saint Francis, that it behooved him to take possession of many places throughout the world, because his Order must needs grow and increase into a vast multitude of brothers” (The Little Flowers of Saint Francis translated by T.W. Arnold (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1907) pg. 11)

Throughout the ages, pilgrims have had different reasons to visit the tomb of St. James.  Some came to worship, others to fulfil a vow, still others petitioned the saint to alleviate their or other’s distress.  Fray Miguel Capeller and Fray Leonardo de Gratia, for instance, were sent to ask St. James to stop the plague in Barcelona in 1465 (The Way of Saint James, pg. 123).

Church authorities sometimes required penitents to make the pilgrimage to atone for their sins.  There were several official roads to Santiago – the one from France being one of the most popular.  Most pilgrims purchase a credencial - a small book which is marked by the local church or town hall with an official St. James stamp as the pilgrim progresses on his or her journey.  The pilgrim must travel at least 100 km by foot or 200 km by bicycle (about 62 and 127 miles respectively) to receive the compostela.  The compostela is a certificate of achievement given by the Pilgrim’s Office to those who arrive at Santiago de Compostela after traveling the required distance.  According to the Confraternity of Saint James, the pilgrimage is still popular with 272,135 receiving the compostela in 2010 (a Holy Year) and 262,469 in 2015.

St. James is often shown with a seashell and a pilgrim’s hat and staff to emphasize his protection over the pilgrims who visit Santiago.  However, St. James represents more than a protector of pilgrims.  As we saw above, St. James appeared to Charlemagne as a great knight.  St. James was an inspiration to the Spanish as they attempted to reconquer their land from the Moors.  The great warrior El Cid invokes St. James as his army of four thousand prepares to fight the Moorish force of fifty thousand:

“Our bishop, good Don Jerom, an early mass shall say, And give us absolution before the dawn of day. Then we shall sally forth and assault them in the names Of the Lord and His Apostle our worthy good St. James”

There are legends of St. James on his white horse leading the Spanish to victory against the Moors.  The Spanish achieved their final victory in 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the last Moorish army and Spain was finally free.

Collect:

Sanctify and protect Your people, O Lord. Let the assistance of Your apostle James strengthen them that they may serve You with confidence and please You by their conduct. Through our Lord . . .

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St. James the Greater, Apostle

Apostle Saint James the Greater" by El Greco, 1606, oil on canvas, Museo del Greco, Toledo, Spain

Feast (1969 Calendar): July 25

Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): July 25

Today we celebrate the Feastday of St. James. He is called St. James the Greater in order to distinguish him from the other St. James, who was the author of the Epistle of St. James and another disciple of Our Lord. He is called "the Greater" simply because he became a disciple before the other James. According to some historians and legends, St. James the Greater may have been a cousin to Jesus. However, it is certain that St. James the Greater, who we remember today, was the brother of John and son of Zebedee.

James, John, Peter, and Andrew were all fishermen in Bethsaida, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord called to Simon Peter and Andrew and said, "Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mt. 4:19). And, then Our Lord turned to James the Greater and his brother John, and both of them instantly left their nets and followed Our Lord.

St. James the Greater, along with Peter and John, was one of the few that witnessed Our Lord's Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and Our Lord’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane before His passion.

And while St. James abandoned Our Lord during His Passion along with the other disciples, he repented and returned to the faith. And, not only that, but he went out and proclaimed the Gospel. According to legend St. James went to Spain and evangelized there for seven years. St. James and St. John asked Our Lord to be at His right hand in Heaven, and Our Lord said they would be with Him in a far more different and wonderful way than they could have expected.

St. James the Greater died a martyr for Jesus. He was killed by the sword by the order of King Herod Agrippa in c. 44 AD, and his martyrdom is the only one of the apostles that are recorded in the Bible (Acts 12:2). He was the first apostle to be murdered for the faith.

Each year on July 24, many people make a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostela in Spain, the 3rd largest shrine in all of Christendom. According to legend, his body was taken by angels when he was murdered, and it was sailed in an unattended boat to Spain where a massive rock closed around it. In the ninth century, a star in the sky revealed the location of the tomb of St. James, and that was were the Shrine was built. Below the altar rests the remains of St. James the Greater. Some people do not believe the remains are truly his; however, Pope Leo XIII in 1884 in Omnipotens Deus accepted the authenticity of the relics at Compostela. As the feast of all of the other apostles, the Feast of St. James was in times past a holy day of obligation.

For more on the lives of all the Apostles, pick up a copy of "The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles" on paperback or as part of the online course on the Apostles, which includes a Certificate of Completion.

Excerpt from Dom Gueranger's Liturgical Year:

LET us, today, hail the bright star which once made Compostella so resplendent with its rays that the obscure town became, like Jerusalem and Rome, a centre of attraction to the piety of the whole world. As long as the Christian empire lasted, the sepulchre of St. James the Great rivalled in glory that of St. Peter himself.

Among the saints of God, there is not one who manifested more evidently how the elect keep up after death an interest in the works confided to them by our Lord. The life of St. James after his call to the apostolate was but short; and the result of his labours in Spain, his allotted portion, appeared to be a failure. Scarcely had he, in his rapid course, taken possession of the land of Iberia, when, impatient to drink the chalice which would satisfy his continual desire to be close to his Lord, he opened by martyrdom the heavenward procession of the twelve, which was to be closed by the other son of Zebedee. O Salome, who didst give them both to the world, and didst present to Jesus their ambitious prayer, rejoice with a double joy: thou art not repulsed; He who made the hearts of mothers is thine abettor. Did He not, to the exclusion of all others except Simon His Vicar, choose thy two sons as witnesses of the greatest works of His power, admit them to the contemplation of His glory on Thabor, and confide to them His sorrow unto death in the garden of His agony? And to-day thy eldest-born becomes the first-born in heaven of the sacred college; the protomartyr of the apostles repays, as far as in him lies, the special love of Christ our Lord.

But how was he a messenger of the faith, since the sword of Herod Agrippa put such a speedy end to his mission! And how did he justify his name of son of thunder, since his voice was heard by a mere handful of disciples in a desert of infidelity?

This new name, another special prerogative of the two brothers, was realized by John in his sublime writings, wherein as by lightning flashes he revealed to the world the deep things of God; it was the same in his case as in that of Simon, who having been called Peter by Christ, was also made by Him the foundation of the Church; the name given by the Man-God was a prophecy, not an empty title. With regard to James, too, then, eternal Wisdom cannot have been mistaken. Let it not be thought that the sword of any Herod could frustrate the designs of the most High upon the men of His choice. The life of the saints is never cut short; their death, ever precious, is still more so when in the cause of God it seems to come before the time. It is then that with double reason we may say their works follow them; God Himself being bound in honour, both for His own sake and for theirs, to see that nothing is wanting to their plenitude. As a victim of a holocaust, He hath received them, says the Holy Ghost, and in time there shall be respect had to them. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall judge nations, and rule over peoples; and their Lord shall reign for ever.[1] How literally was this divine oracle to be fulfilled with regard to our saint!

Nearly eight centuries, which to the heavenly citizens are but as a day, had passed over that tomb in the north of Spain, where two disciples had secretly laid the apostle's body. During that time the land of his inheritance, which he had so rapidly traversed had been overrun first by Roman idolaters, then by Arian barbarians, and when the day of hope seemed about to dawn, a deeper night was ushered in by the Crescent. One day lights were seen glimmering over the briars that covered the neglected monument; attention was drawn to the spot, which henceforth went by the name of the field of stars. But what are those sudden shouts coming down from the mountains, and echoing through the valleys? Who is this unknown chief rallying against an immense army the little worn-out troop whose heroic valour could not yesterday save it from defeat? Swift as lightning, and bearing in one hand a white standard with a red cross, he rushes with drawn sword upon the panic-stricken foe, and dyes the feet of his charger in the blood of 70,000 slain. Hail to the chief of the holy war, of which this Liturgical Year has so often made mention! Saint James! Saint James! Forward, Spain! It is the reappearance of the Galilean fisherman, whom the Man-God once called from the bark where he was mending his nets; of the elder son of thunder, now free to hurl the thunderbolt upon these new Samaritans, who pretend to honour the unity of God by making Christ no more than a prophet.[2] Henceforth James shall be to Christian Spain the firebrand which the Prophet saw, devouring all the people round about, to the right hand and to the left, until Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.[3]

And when, after six centuries and a half of struggle, his standard bearers, the Catholic kings, had succeeded in driving the infidel hordes beyond the seas, the valiant leader of the Spanish armies laid aside his bright armour, and the slayer of Moors became once more a messenger of the faith. As fisher of men, he entered his bark, and gathering around it the gallant fleets of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Albuquerque, he led them over unknown seas to lands that had never yet heard the name of the Lord. For his contribution to the labours of the twelve, James drew ashore his wellfilled nets from west and east and south, from new worlds, renewing Peter’s astonishment at the sight of such captures. He, whose apostolate seemed at the time of Herod III to have been crushed in the bud before bearing any fruit, may say with St. Paul: I have no way come short of them that are above measure apostles, for by the grace of God I have laboured more abundantly than all they.[4]

[1] Wild. iii. 6-8.
[2] Battle of Clavijo, under Ramiro I, about 845.
[3] Zach. zii. 6.
[4] 2 Cor. xii. 11, and 1 Cor. xv. 10.

Prayer:

Be Thou, O Lord, the Sanctifier and Protector of Thy people: so that defended by the aid of Thine Apostle James, they may please Thee in their manner of life, and serve Thee in peace of soul. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Sts. Philip and James, Apostles

Double of the II Class (1954 Calendar): May 1
1st Class Feast (1962 Calendar): May 11
Feast (1969 Calendar): May 3

Back when the Feasts of the Apostles were kept as Holy Days of Obligation, this day was a Holy Day of Obligation on May 1st. It was kept as such in Rome longer than in other places, but some localities kept the day as well. 

With the advent of the 1955 Calendar, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of “St. Joseph the Worker” on May 1 (moving the feast of “Saints Philip and James” from May 1, where it had been since the sixth century, to May 11; and suppressing the Patronage of St. Joseph that, since Pope Pius IX’s decree of September 10, 1847, had been celebrated on the second Wednesday after the Octave of Easter).

For more on the lives of all the Apostles, pick up a copy of "The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles" on paperback or as part of the online course on the Apostles, which includes a Certificate of Completion.

St. Philip

St. Philip was one of the first disciples that Jesus called. Jesus said, "Follow Me" and Philip didn't ask questions. He knew the Lord and He followed. St. Philip didn't just use nice words, but rather, he acted and followed Jesus. Action is what is important.

"The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: 'Follow Me'. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth'. And Nathanael said to him: 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him: 'Come and see'" (John 1:43). St. Philip suffered martyred in c. 80 AD at Hierapolis, Phrygia.

Patron: Hatters; Luxembourg; pastry chefs; Uruguay.

Traditional Breviary Reading:

Philip was born in Bethsaida, and was one of the twelve Apostles that were first called by Christ our Lord. It was from Philip that Nathanael learned that the Messias who was promised in the Law had come; and by him also he was led to our Lord. We have a clear proof of the familiarity wherewith Philip was treated by Christ, in the fact that the Gentiles addressed themselves to this Apostle when they wished to see the Saviour. Again when our Lord was about to feed the multitude in the desert, he spoke to Philip, and said: ‘Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?' After having received the Holy Ghost, he went into Scythia, which was the country allotted to him, wherein to preach the Gospel; and converted almost the entire people to the Christian faith. Having finally reached Hierapolis in Phrygia, he was crucified there for the name of Christ, and then stoned to death on the Kalends of May (May I). The Christians buried his body in the same place; but it was afterwards taken to Rome, and, together with the body of the Apostle St James, was placed in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles.

St. James the Lesser

He is called "the Lesser" simply to distinguish him from the other St. James. The other St. James is called "St. James the Greater" only because he was called by our Lord before this St. James. St. James the Lesser was a brother of the St. Jude the Apostle, and he would later write the Epistles of St. James, part of the New Testament. After the dispersion of the apostles, St. James was made the bishop of Jerusalem. St. James loved Jesus so much that he gave up his life. Because he refused to deny Christ's divinity, the Jews cast him down from a temple and clubbed him to death in c. 62 AD.

Traditional Matins Reading:

James, the brother of our Lord, was called the Just. From his childhood he never drank wine or strong drink; he abstained from flesh meat: he never cut his hair, or used oil to anoint his limbs, or took a bath. He was the only one permitted to enter the Holy of holies. His garments were of linen. So assiduous was he in prayer, that the skin of his knees was as hard as that of a camel. After Christ’s Ascension, the Apostles made him bishop of Jerusalem; and it was to him that the Prince of the Apostles sent the news of his having been delivered out of prison by an angel. A dispute having arisen in the Council of Jerusalem concerning the Mosaic Law and circumcision, James sided with Peter, and in a speech which he made to the brethren, proved the vocation of the Gentiles, and said that the absent brethren were to be told not to impose the yoke of the Mosaic Law upon the Gentiles. It is of him that the Apostle speaks in his Epistle to the Galatians, when he says: Bat other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James, the brother of the Lord.

Such was James's holy life, that people used to strive with each other to touch the hem of his garment. At the age of ninety-six years—of which he had spent thirty governing the Church of Jerusalem in the most saintly manner—as he was one day preaching, with great courage, Christ the Son of God, he was attacked by stones being thrown at him; after which he was taken to the highest part of the Temple, and cast headlong down. His legs were broken by the fall; and as he was lying half dead upon the ground, he raised up his hands towards heaven, and thus prayed for his executioners: ' Forgive them, O Lord! for they know not what they do.’ Whilst thus praying, he received a blow on the head with a fuller’s club, and gave up his soul to his God, in the seventh year of Nero's reign. He was buried near the Temple, from which he had been thrown down. He wrote a Letter, which is one of the seven Catholic Epistles.

Patron: Apothecaries, druggists, dying people, fullers, hatmakers, hatters, milliners, pharmacists, Uruguay.

Prayer:

O God, Who dost gladden us by the yearly festival day of Thine Apostles Philip and James: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who rejoice in their merits, may be taught by their example. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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A History of Holy Days of Obligation & Fasting for American Catholics: Part 1

Note: I would like to thank Tyler Gonzalez for helping considerably with the research for this article. This two-part article was rearranged and published in two pieces by Latin Mass Magazine and is also maintained here by their permission. For those pieces in LMM, see "The Forgotten History of Fasting for American Catholics" (Christmas 2020) and "Oases in Modern Life: The History of American Holy Days of Obligation" (Fall 2021).

The American Catholic Quarterly (ACQ) Review, Volume 11 offers an insightful series of reflections on Holy Days with a call for us to observe these as our forefathers in the life gladly did:

"The Church by one of her positive commandments requires the faithful to sanctify certain holydays in the year by taking part in the offering of the great sacrifice of the Mass and by abstaining from servile works. To many, it has doubtless seemed strange that the holydays thus prescribed were not the same throughout the world fixed irrevocably and known by all in every country on the face of the earth. Still more strange has it seemed that in a republic like our own where the Church though the oldest of all the institutions existing can boast of little more than three centuries and a half of history there have been diversities before the recently held Third Plenary Council of Baltimore [in 1884] made a step towards absolute uniformity.

... 

"In the days of faith and fervor not only were the great festivals prescribed by the Church, those associated with the life of our Lord and His Blessed Mother, those intimately connected with the work of redemption, and the feasts of the holy apostles by whose ministry the Church was established and the channels of grace led through the world - not only were these kept reverently but the patronal feast of each country, diocese, and church, the days of the most famous local saints were similarly honored. The devotion was general, and whoso refused to lay aside his implements of trade or traffic on their days was so condemned by public opinion that custom made the law."

Interestingly, because the Church enjoined on the Faithful both the obligation to hear Mass as well as to refrain from servile work, the number of holy days, which included Sundays, was significant. Some people began to revolt against the Church claiming that these practices only increased poverty. But as the Journal notes, an interesting phenomenon occurred:

"Protestantism therefore at once swept away all the holydays and Christmas remained almost alone to represent the Church calendar, and the Puritans even punished those who kept Christmas.With men working all the year round except on Sunday, wealth was to be general, the poor would thrive and prosper and be happy and contented, no longer lured from great and ennobling labor by being called away every week to idle some days in church and prayer. It was again unfortunate that this excellent theory did not work well. The poor seemed to grow actually poorer with all these days of labor than they had been before."

The first catalog of Holy Days comes from the Decretals of Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days. In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull "Universa Per Orbem" which altered the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 35 such days as well as the principal patrons of one's locality.

1. Nativity of Our Lord
2. Circumcision of Our Lord
3. Epiphany of Our Lord
4. Monday within the Octave of the Resurrection
5. Tuesday within the Octave of the Resurrection
6. Ascension
7. Monday within the Octave of Pentecost
8. Tuesday within the Octave of Pentecost
9. Most Holy Trinity
10. Corpus Christi
11. Finding of the Holy Cross (May 3)
12. Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
13. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
14. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
16. Dedication of St. Michael
17. Nativity of St. John the Baptist
18. SS. Peter and Paul
19. St. Andrew
20. St. James
21. St. John (the December feast day)
22. St. Thomas
23. SS. Philip and James
24. St. Bartholomew
25. St. Matthew
26. SS. Simon and Jude
27. St. Matthias
28. St. Stephen the First Martyr (the December feast day)
29. The Holy Innocents
30. St. Lawrence
31. St. Sylvester
32. St. Joseph
33. St. Anne
34. All Saints
35. Principle Patrons of One’s Country, City, etc.

Some of the Holy Days of Obligation removed between 1234 and 1642 included Holy Monday through Holy Saturday in addition to Easter Wednesday through Easter Saturday.

In 1708, Pope Clement XI added the Conception of the Blessed Virgin to the list in his papal bull Commissi Nobis Divinitus. Before the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, the feast was often referred to as the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary without the word "Immaculate."

Holy Days of Obligation in the Colonies:

Not long after the proclamation of this bull do we see changes occurring for those living in the colonies in the New World as American Catholic Review illustrates:

"The Diocesan Synod held in 1688 by Bishop Palacios of Santiago de Cuba fixed as holydays for that diocese in which Florida was then embraced and from 1776 to 1793 Louisiana also the following: All the Sundays of the year, Circumcision, Epiphany, Purification, St Mathias, St Joseph, the Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, the Finding of the Holy Cross, St John Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, St Thomas, Christmas, St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Easter Sunday and the two following days, Ascension, Whit Sunday and two following days, Corpus Christi. A bull of Pope Clement X added St Ferdinand, St Rose 'National Patroness of the Indies', and a bull of Innocent XI added St Augustine, August 28th."

Fasting & Abstinence Days in the South East Colonies:

The Church's Liturgical Year is a harmonious interplay of feasts and fasts interwoven in both the temporal and sanctoral cycles that define the rhythm and rhyme of Catholic life. Our ancestors in the New World in Florida and Louisiana would have known the following days of fast:

"The fasting days were all days in Lent; the Ember days; the of eves of Christmas, Candlemas, Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints, the feasts of the Apostles except St Philip and St James and St John, nativity of St John the Baptist; all Fridays except within twelve days of Christmas and between Easter and Ascension, and the eve of Ascension" (ACQ).

For abstinence from meat, they would have observed:

"All Sundays in Lent, all Saturdays throughout the year, Monday and Tuesday before Ascension, and St Mark's day were of abstinence from flesh meat" (ACQ).

It should be noted that in 1089 Pope Urban II granted a dispensation to Spain from abstinence on Fridays, in virtue of the Spanish efforts in the Crusades. After the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Pope St. Pius V expanded that privilege to all Spanish colonies. That dispensation remained in place in some places as late as 1951 when the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the last territory to invoke it, rescinded the privilege.

Fasting & Abstinence Days in the Western Colonies:

In Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California which were included in the ecclesiastical province of Mexico, the feasts and were regulated by the Third Council of Mexico in 1585, as American Catholic Quarterly Review states:

"In these parts besides those already [mentioned above for Florida], the faithful observed as holy days of obligation St Fabian and St Sebastian (January 20th), St Thomas Aquinas (March 7th), St Mark (April 25th), St Barnabas (June 1), the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin (July 2), St Mary Magdalene (July 22), St Dominic (Aug 4), the Transfiguration (Aug 6), St Francis (Oct 4), St Luke (Oct 18), St Catharine (Nov 25), the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin (Dec 18). 

"The fast days were all days in Lent except Sunday; eves of Christmas, Whit Sunday, St Mathias, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Matthew, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, and St Thomas."

Holy Days & Fasting Days for Native Americans:

The papal bull "Altitudo Divini Concilii" of Pope Paul III in 1537 reduced the days of penance and those of hearing Mass for the Indians out of pastoral concern due to the physically demanding lifestyle that they lived and also largely due to the fact that they fasted so much already. As a result, the natives were required to only hear Mass on a much smaller number of days: Sundays, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Annunciation, Sts Peter and Paul, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. And the only fasting days were the Fridays in Lent, Holy Saturday, and Christmas Eve. Pope Paul III also dispensed them from the precept of abstaining from dairy, egg, and flesh meat on certain days as well.

Holy Days in Canada & the Midwest:

Bishop François de Laval, the first Bishop of Quebec, on December 3, 1667, set the required Holy Days for Canada in accord with the bull of Pope Urban VIII. To those he added St. Francis Xavier, and in 1687, he likewise added St. Louis IX. Bishop François de Laval was declared a saint by equipollent canonization in April 2014 and is known to us now as Saint Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval.

Quoting from the archives of Quebec, the American Catholic Quarterly Review lists the Holy Days in place as 1694:

"The holy days of obligation as recognized officially in 1694 were Christmas, St Stephen, St John, the Evangelist, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, St Matthew, St Joseph "patron of the country," Annunciation, St Philip and St James, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Louis "titular of the Cathedral of Quebec," Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, St Francis Xavier, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin "titular the Cathedral," St Thomas, Easter Monday and Tuesday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday and Tuesday, Corpus Christi, and the patronal feast of each parish."

These holy days were likewise in force in many current American states under Quebec's jurisdiction as the journal elaborates:

"These were the holydays observed in the French settlements in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as in Louisiana, Mobile, and the country west of the Mississippi till that district passing under the Spanish rule was reclaimed about 1776 as part of the diocese of Santiago de Cuba. East of the Mississippi they continued to be in force certainly till the Holy See detached those parts of its territory from the diocese of Quebec and annexed them to the newly erected diocese of Baltimore. 

Thus, we see that little more than 100 years after Universa Per Orbem the observance of various holy days and fast days in the life of Catholics in the New World was already significantly reduced from those observed in Rome.

Significant Changes Occur in the 1700s for the Universal Church:

In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV, who lamented the decline in the Lenten observance, issued Non Ambigimus on May 31, 1741, granting permission to eat meat on fasting days while explicitly forbidden the consumption of both fish and flesh meat at the same meal on all fasting days during the year in addition to the Sundays during Lent. The concept of partial abstinence was born even though the term would not appear until the 1917 Code of Canon Law.

Changes likewise occurred for Holy Days. In 1750, little more than one hundred years after "Universa Per Orbem," Pope Benedict XIV extended to the Spanish American colonies the indult previously granted to Catholic Spain reducing the days of obligation to all Sundays of the year, Christmas, St. Stephen, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Easter Monday, Annunciation, Monday after Pentecost Sunday, Corpus Christi, Ascension, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, the Assumption, St. James, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the patron of each locality.

In 1771, Pope Clement XIV abolished both Pentecost Tuesday and Easter Tuesday as days of rest, according to Weiser's Christian Feasts and Customs. In 1778, the obligation to attend Mass on these two days was abrogated by Pope Pius VI, although they were not observed as Holy Days in most places, including in America.

Holy Days in Ireland

Table is taken from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record

It must be stated that the gradual removal of Holy Days was not limited to the New World only. The Irish Ecclesiastical Record from 1882 describes a similar trend in Ireland:

"The full list of holidays of obligation as laid down in the Canon Law. This is the list drawn up by Urban VIII (Universa, September 13, 1642), with the addition of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, instituted by Clement XI in 1708. The holidays thus enumerated are 35 in number. I have of course included in the list the feast of St. Patrick, as holding in Ireland the place of the [patron] mentioned by Urban VIII in the constitution of 1642." 

There was a distinction between days of single or double precept. Days of double precept required hearing Mass and restraining from servile works, while days of half precept only required hearing Mass. Pope Benedict XIV in 1755 removed 18 feasts from double precept and reduced them to single precept. Shortly thereafter in 1778, Pope Pius VI reduced the number of holy days to 13. And as the Record states, "On this occasion, the obligation of hearing Mass was removed, as well as the obligation of abstaining from servile works."

Regarding fasting, we likewise see a reduction: "The number of those Vigils to which the obligation of fasting had been attached [as of 1778] was in fact but eight - these being the Vigils of the feast of St. Laurence the Martyr (August 9th), and of seven of the nine suppressed feasts of the Apostles." No fasting was observed beforehand on the Vigil of St. John on December 26 or the Vigil of Ss. Philip and James on account of them always falling in Christmas and Pascaltide respectively.

This reduction was likewise occurring in the British Colonies.

Holy Days & Fasting Days in England and Her Colonies:

"The Catholics of the British Isles, after the reform of Pope Urban VIII kept as obligatory: Christmas, the feasts of St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, the feasts of St Mathias and St Joseph, Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, Finding of the Holy Cross, St John the Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, Sts Simon and Jude, All Saints, St Andrew and St Thomas, and one of the principal patrons of the city, province, or kingdom. These were the holydays of obligation observed by the Catholics in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania."

Unfortunately, the practice of the Catholic Religion was illegal in England. Catholicism was made illegal in 1559 under Queen Elizabeth I, and for 232 years, except during the reign of the Catholic James II (1685-1688), the Catholic Mass was illegal until 1791. Yet most Catholics could not hold any public office and had few civil rights even after 1791. It took the Emancipation Act of 1829 to restore most civil rights to Catholics in England. To these souls, most were unable to observe the Holy Days. The penalty of observing the Catholic Faith was death as the English Martyrs bear witness to. Likewise, due to persecution from the protestants, concessions were made for Catholics under the yoke of Protestantism in the British Isles.

On March 9, 1777, Pope Pius VI "dispensed all Catholics in the kingdom of Great Britain from the precept of hearing Mass and abstaining from servile works on all holydays except the Sundays of the year, the feasts of Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Annunciation, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday, Corpus Christi, St Peter and St Paul, Assumption, and All Saints." The feast of the patron was likewise kept. These were the holy days in place at the time of the American Revolution though not all areas observed them, as was seen in the special dispensation for Catholics in Maryland from 1722.

The fasting days were also reduced at the same time to consist of the Ember Days; the forty days Lent; Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent; and the vigils of Christmas, Whitsun Sunday (i.e. Pentecost), Sts Peter and Paul, and All Saints. As the Catholic Dictionary of 1861 states in regards to the changes made in 1777: "The Vigils of the Feasts thus abrogated his Holiness transferred to the Wednesdays and Fridays of Advent, on which he ordered that fast should be kept as in Lent or Embertide, 'although it is an English custom to keep fasts and vigils on Friday.' The pope adds a power to the Vicars Apostolic to dispense from the precept of abstaining from servile works on SS. Peter and Paul falling in the hay-harvest, and the Assumption in the wheat-harvest, provided Mass has been previously heard, if possible."

Part II will cover the history of holy days and fasting from America's foundation to the present. Click here to read Part 2.

Read more >>

Candlemas: A Forgotten Holy Day of Obligation

Dominican Rite Solemn High Mass for Candlemas in 2019

Fasting on the Vigil of Candlemas

While not a liturgical vigil in the Roman Rite, the day before Candlemas historically was observed by some as a day of fasting and abstinence. For instance, our ancestors in the New World in Florida and Louisiana would have known the following days of fast: 

"The fasting days were all days in Lent; the Ember days; the of eves of Christmas, Candlemas, Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints, the feasts of the Apostles except St Philip and St James and St John, nativity of St John the Baptist; all Fridays except within twelve days of Christmas and between Easter and Ascension, and the eve of Ascension" (ACQ). 

Hearing Holy Mass on Candlemas

Candlemas, known formally as the Purification of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, always falls on February 2nd and it was kept in some places as a Holy Day of Obligation, though that practice has long since ended. For instance, the papal bull Altitudo Divini Concilii of Pope Paul III in 1537 reduced the days of penance and those of hearing Mass for the Indians out of pastoral concern due to the physically demanding lifestyle that they lived and also largely due to the fact that they fasted so much already. The natives were required to only hear Mass on a much smaller number of days: Sundays, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Annunciation, Sts Peter and Paul, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

We see this reflected in Canada as well under the Diocese of Quebec which, at the time, included some of the modern-day states in the Midwest. The American Catholic Quarterly Review lists the Holy Days in place as 1694:

"The holy days of obligation as recognized officially in 1694 were Christmas, St Stephen, St John, the Evangelist, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, St Matthew, St Joseph 'patron of the country', Annunciation, St Philip and St James, St John the Baptist, St Peter and St Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, Assumption, St Bartholomew, St Louis 'titular of the Cathedral of Quebec', Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, St Simon and St Jude, All Saints, St Andrew, St Francis Xavier, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin 'titular the Cathedral', St Thomas, Easter Monday and Tuesday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday and Tuesday, Corpus Christi, and the patronal feast of each parish."

In 1750, Pope Benedict XIV extended to the Spanish American colonies the indult previously granted to Catholic Spain reducing the days of obligation to all Sundays of the year, Christmas, St. Stephen, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Easter Monday, Annunciation, Monday after Pentecost Sunday, Corpus Christi, Ascension, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, the Assumption, St. James, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the patron of each locality. Notice that Candlemas remained.

And the Catholics of the British Isles and colonies would have observed the following days as per The American Catholic Quarterly Review:

"The Catholics of the British Isles, after the reform of Pope Urban VIII kept as obligatory: Christmas, the feasts of St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents, and St Sylvester, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, the feasts of St Mathias and St Joseph, Annunciation, Sts Philip and James, Finding of the Holy Cross, St John the Baptist, Sts Peter and Paul, St James, St Anne, St Lawrence, the Assumption, St Bartholomew, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, St Matthew, St Michael, Sts Simon and Jude, All Saints, St Andrew and St Thomas, and one of the principal patrons of the city, province, or kingdom. These were the holydays of obligation observed by the Catholics in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania."

Candlemas remained a Holy Day of Obligation in the British Isles and her colonies until the dispensation issued by Pope Pius VI on March 9, 1777, which eliminated Candlemas and a number of other days.

However, looking at our ancestors in the faith, we see both the importance of preparing for Candlemas and its importance. We may wish to observe February 1st as a day of fasting and abstinence and attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on February 2nd.

Read more >>

2019 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion

UPDATE (January 13, 2019, at 9:20 AM CST): The final 2019 Saint for the Year Drawing has now taken place and all results are now below. Thank you for all 375 people who participated. Sadly only 5 people have donated to this project which takes hours to prepare for and hours more to conduct. I hope though that everyone through this grows in grace, invokes their patron often in 2019, and makes ever great spiritual progress. To those who wish to contribute, please send in a donation below and leave any comments on what you get out of this devotion in the comments box. God bless!

UPDATE (January 7, 2019, at 11:50 AM CST): The next Saint for the Year Drawing has now taken place and all results are now below. On additional drawing will take place next Sunday on the 13th so you may still sign up if you haven't yet.  Also, for anyone looking for a prayer to your saint, you may always use the Prayer to Venerate Any Saint.

UPDATE (January 1, 2019, at 1:10 PM CST): The Saint for the Year Drawing has now taken place.  Unlike some sites that offer a similar devotion, my devotion is manually done. In a single jar I have likely around 1,000 saints name and these are drawn for you after the High Mass said for the Octave Day of Christmas. As the drawing occurs, I pray the Litany of Saints (and continue to repeat it until all names are drawn).  The saint names on paper are also blessed with Holy Water and/or Blessed Salt prior to the drawing. 

My devotion does not skew to modern saints, saints whose names we all know, or even saints celebrated on the traditional calendar. I include all canonized saints so you will likely see many names here you don't recognize.  Spend the time to learn about these holy men and women!

Please note, overseeing this devotion is very time intensive and as of yet none of the 315 names submitted has donated to help support this initiative. If you find this devotion helpful and would like to support A Catholic Life in the next year, please submit a donation.  Your donation is especially important since I am not currently working professionally aside from my writing/speaking/catechesis work so the donation is quite helpful to me and to this blog.

It is my hope that you will pray to your special patron this year, remember them on their feast day, and invoke their intercession. As mentioned in my post on the devotion, this takes up considerable time for me each year so thank you for those who have (or will) donate a small donation (even $5 - $10) for all of the time involved. Unfortunately, if few people donate I likely won't be able to continue to do this devotion in future years.

Please join me in praying the Litany of Saints and asking for a holy 2019 for all of us. For my own listing of the saints, please click here to learn more about the saints.

Lastly, those who would still like to participate may leave names in the comments box. There will be two remaining drawings: one on January 6th (Feast of the Epiphany) and the following Sunday of January 13th (Octave Day of the Epiphany).

I am very pleased to again be a facilitator for the Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.  I have been part of this annual tradition since 2006 and have helped coordinate devotions for hundreds of families.  It is my pleasure to now be part of the 2019 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion.

SPONSOR: This Devotion is being sponsored this year by CatechismClass.com.  Whether you are looking for godparent preparation courses, Sacramental preparation for your children, or just to better learn the Faith as an adult, CatechismClass.com has courses for all ages and walks of life.  Check out CatechismClass.com's affordable programs and make it a resolution in 2019 to learn and live the Faith better than ever before.

You can read about the past devotions at the following posts:

• 2006 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2007 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2008 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2010 Saint for the Year Devotion 
• 2011 Saint for the Year Devotion 
• 2012 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2013 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2014 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2015 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2016 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2017 Saint for the Year Devotion
• 2018 Saint for the Year Devotion

Again, I would like to take a few minutes to explain the devotion.

When will the saints be drawn?  This year I will start the drawing of saints on the Octave Day of Christmas after the morning's Solemn High Mass and after the recitation of both the Veni Creator Spiritus and the Litany of Saints.  Drawings will occur as the Litany of Saints are again recited.  That means results will likely be posted in the early afternoon (US Pacific Time) on January 1st.

How do I enter?  Just add the names of everyone (you and your family) that you want to be included in the drawing in the comment box below.  DO NOT also email them to me.  Please leave all entries here in the comment box.

This year, saints will be posted here after the drawing is complete.

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion? Here is my post on this from years past to clarify the matter. This is from the person that draws all of the saints. I don't draw the saints. I will merely pass on your name or screen name to her so that she will draw a saint for you. Also, I will pass on the name of any of your family or friends that would like to participate. This isn't superstition. St. Faustina did the same thing!

Last year hundreds of people received saints to be their special patron, and there were miraculous connections. It was truly amazing. We pray that this year the Holy Ghost will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year:

Saint for the Year

I want to tell you about the practice of picking a saint at random to be your “holy protector” for the year. Actually, the saint is the one who chooses us though. The tradition of letting a saint “pick you,” is not a new one. St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: ‘I am your patron. Read.’ I looked at once at the inscription and read, ‘Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist.’ My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament, where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

I have a container full of names ... I will be glad to pick out the name for you and send you the name if you prefer. I am so excited by my saint(s) ... I already picked mine. Well, I should say that they picked me ... I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain.

OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

Please pass this message on through your blogs and/or email distribution lists, letting all of the Catholic Blogsphere have the chance to participate.

So, please leave it below in the comment box when you ask to participate. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave your initials instead of your name.  Anonymous requests without names or initials will NOT be part of the drawing.  Do not add the same request more than once.  If your comment is posted below, it will count.

Note: DO NOT email me your entries.  Leave all submissions here in the comments box.

So, comment below and pass this message on throughout the entire Catholic Blogsphere!

Results of the Drawing

Name	Saint
Jay	St. Thomas the Apostle
Kelly	Blessed Jane of Aza
Emily	St. Gabriel Lalemant
Kyla	St. Adelaide of Italy
Suzanne	St. Leudwinus
Sue	St. Tironensian Order
Missy	St. Anthony of Egypt
John	Blessed Augustine Novello
Joe	Blessed John of Fiesole
Jen	St. Sigo
Josh	St. Rhipsime
Joan	St. Padre Pio
Matthew W	St. Anthony of Padua
Anna S	St. Ava of Denain
Natalia S	St. Theophilus of Corte
Sergei S	St. Jan Sarkander
Diane W	St. Hyacintha of Mariscotti
Chris W	Blessed Basil Hopko
Mark W	St. Crispin
Michelle W	Blessed James Salomonio
Michael W	St. Marcellus I
Rick	St. Quadratus of Herbipolis
Theresa (Terry)	St. Agatha
Nicole	Blessed Alvarez
Gary	St. Quintian of Rodez
Brandon	St. Gosbert of Osnabruck
Brynn	Blessed Andre Duliou
Baby to be born in May	St. Walric
Kristin	St. Cecelia
Jim	St. Richard of Vaucelles
Stephen	St. Ioannes Pak Hu-jae
Michael	St. Dominic de Guzman
Kelsey	St. Vitus
Douglas	Pope St. Silverius
Michelle	Blessed Lawrence of Ripafratta
Shaun	St. Theophilus of Corte
Stephanie	St. Hilarion
Christina	St. Martha
Bryan	Blessed Aaron of Cracow
Gianna	Blessed Columba
Leilani	St. Nonno of Porto Romano
Dominic	Pope St. Linus
Madison	Blessed Robert
Darla	St. Anthony Zaccaria
Jeff	St. Leudadd of Bardsey
Garrison	St. Jeanne-Marie de Maille
Alex	St. Albert the Great
Lucas	Blessed John of Salerno
Kiora	St. Bernadette Soubirous
Carolyn	St. Timothy
Joseph	St. Cecelia
Kathryn	St. Phililp the Apostle
Laura L.	St. Crispin
Gordon L.	St. Adelbert
Dorothea T.	St. Joan Elizabeth Bichier des Ages
Matthew L.	St. Anselm of Canterbury
Ben E.	Blessed John Liccio
Jeannie E.	St. Adelbert
Felicity E.	St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
Sarah E.	St. Jeanne de Lestonnac
Veronica E.	St. Wenceslaus
Joseph E.	St. Mary Magdalene
Patricia R.	St. Simeon, Bishop and Martyr
Monica M.	St. Adelaide of Italy
Michael Patrick M.	St. Bartholomew
Robert James M.	St. Pretextatus
Diane S.	St. Hitto of Saint-Gaul
Kellen M.	Blessed Guillaume-Nicolas-Louis Laclerq
Shannon L.	Blessed Francis de Posadas
Baby L.	The Seven Holy Brothers
jmr1979	St. Ennodius
Katie	St. Peter Chanel
Bob	Blessed Sadoc and Companions
Elizabeth L.	St. Thomas Aquinas
Barbara B.	St. Sigo
Kim L.	Blessed John Liccio
Michelle D.	Blessed Andrew of Peschiera
Janine D	St. Ennodius
Kyle D	St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
William T.	Blessed Sadoc and Companions
Julie T.	St. Rita of Cascia
Blake T.	Blessed John of Fiesole
Scott T.	St. Hitto of Saint-Gaul
Ruth S.	St. Crispin
Ryan	Blessed Robert
Jeremy	St. Adelin of Seez
Debbie	Blessed Giles of Assisi
Cathleen	St. Raymond of Toulouse
Tim W	St. Sylvester
Jeffrey D	St. Simeon-Francois Berneux
Michael D	Blessed Jane of Portugal
Francis D	Blessed William Andleby
Nicholas D	St. Hilary of Poitiers
Dominic D	Holy Maccabees
Peter D	St. Louise de Marillac
Andrew D	St. Joseph of Leonissa
Max D	St. Maturus the Novice
James D	St. Jane Frances de Chantal
Mason C	Blessed Diana
Griffin C	St. Alena
Elijah C	St. Maurice
Isaac C	St. Lambert of Vence
Nathan B	St. Boniface
Dominic B	Blessed Stephana
Kathy R	St. Colman
Lois F.	St. Crescentianus
Harry Tucci	St. Julio Alvarez Mendoza
Isabella Tucci	St. Maurice
Flikie	St. William of Pontoise
Lucy D	St. Peter of Juilly
Gemma D	St. Patrick
Anne D	Blessed Gonsalvo
Sarah K.	St. Joseph of Leonissa
Ruth K.	St. Julie Billiart
John K.	St. Catherine of Genoa
Rachel D.	Blessed Augustine of Biella
Ralph D.	St. Germana
Maggie D.	St. Ceollach
Muriella A.	St. Facundinus of Taino
Alexander	Our Lady of Carmel of the Maipu
Mary K.	St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
Mark K.	St. Polycarp
Mary Ann	St. Bruno
Lorny	St. Titus
Gary	St. Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse
Sheila	St. Norbert
Joe	St. John of Bridlington
Steve	St. Patroclus of Troyes
Chris	St. Prosper of Aquitaine
Parker	St. Sigo
Sara	St. Raymond of Barbastro
Brian	Blessed Odo of Beauvais
Brandon	St. Anthony of Padua
Shauna	St. Catherine of Genoa
Nicholas	Blessed Dalmatius
Levi	St. John Nepomucene Neumann
Milo	St. Simon of Lipnica
Josemaria Paulo Carvalho-Von Verster	St. Pierre Dumoulin-Borie
Christina	St. Padre Pio
Susan M	St. Nicholas of Myra
Richard M	St. Louis Gabriel Taurin Dufresse
Gregory M	St. Valentine of Rome
Frederick M	St. Claudian of Perga
Chad M	St. Iraenaus of Lyons
LK	St. Cosmas
TK	St. John Bosco
GAH	St. Edward the King
SF	St. Tironensian Order
CR	St. Emily de Vialar
JT	Blessed Francis de Capillas
FBA	St. Jerome
SMA	St. Guarinus of Sitten
CGA	St. Padre Pio
Brandon	Blessed Diana
Rachel	St. Paulinus of Trier
Sydnie	St. Juliana Falconieri
Kalab	St. Therese of Lisieux
Fred	Blessed Josefa Naval Girbes
Elaine	Blessed James Benefatti
Sandy	St. Juan Diego
Dick	Blessed Matthew Carrieri
Dave	St. Augustine of Canterbury
Robert	Pope St. Silverius
Sue Anne	St. Clare
Autumn	St. Venant de Viviers
Abbie	St. Benedict Joseph Labre
Austin	St. Rosa Venerini
Trey	St. Aymard of Cluny
Kierra	St. Giusta de Sardegna
Liam	St. Charles Garnier
Lincoln	St. Agatha
Leah	Blessed Odo of Beauvais
Lilly	St. Juliana of Nicomedia
Jean	St. Wenceslaus
Patrick	St. Conon, Bishop of the Isle of Man
Michele	St. Juan Diego
Amelia	St. Frances of Rome
Fiona	St. Charles Borromeo
Isabella	St. Stanislaus Kostka
Patrick Gerard	St. Emily de Vialar
Timothy	St. Joseph Marchand
Michael	St. Ebontius
Mary Ellen	St. Prosper of Aquitaine
Dylan	Holy Maccabees
Francesco	St. Andrew Fournet
Mary	Blessed Margaret of Costello
Kristine	Blessed Marcolino
Joey V	St. Iraenaus of Lyons
Sean G	St. William of Pontoise
Elizabeth "Lisa" B.	St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Marian E.	St. Florentius of Carracedo
Kim	St. Poemus of Membressa
Danny	Blessed James of Voragine
Aaron	St. Gregory of Nyssa
Sharra	Blessed Aimo
Andrew	Blessed Frances Gil
Stormy	St. Dogmael of Wales
Francesca Jameelah	St. Basil the Great
Cindy	Blessed Andre de Soveral
Dustin	St. Hugh of Novara
Lila	St. Kevoca of Kyle
Hailey	St. Raymond of Barbastro
MC	St. Guido Maria Conforti
AC	St. Elzear of Sabran
Michael B	St. Patroclus of Troyes
Matthew B	St. James the Greater
Max B	St. Rigobert of Rheims
Bruce B	Blessed Stephana
Joyce B	St. Noel Chabanel
Jennifer B	St. Antoine Daniel
Kevin B	St. Petroc
Tony B	Blessed Odo of Beauvais
Janet B	Blessed Andrew of Peschiera
Linda Q	St. John of God
BEM family	St. Theodore Guerin
MS	Blessed Filip Geryluk
RS	St. Acius of Amiens
JC	St. Anastasius
Heidi M.	St. Nazarius the abbot
Kaytlyn M.	St. Poemus of Membressa
Sara G.	St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
Bernadette F.	Blessed Terence
Heather S.	St. Ansgar
Melani T.	St. Josemaria Escriva
Cynthia S.	St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Anna	St. Vincent of Saragossa
Meg	St. Joseph, the foster Father of Jesus Christ
Catherine	St. Nazarius of Rome
Katie	St. Athanasius
Brandon	Blessed Alphonsus and Companions
Amy	St. Adelelmus of Flanders
Jocelyn	St. Polycarp
Glenna	Blessed Chiara Badano
David	St. Filippo Smaldone
Madalena	Blessed Dalmatius
Kevin	Our Lady of Fatima
ABG	St. Hugh of Novara
VBG	St. Chrysanthus
JJL	St. James the Greater
JSL	St. Pretextatus
AMBG	St. Maximilian Kolbe
JLG	St. Agatha
Roman	St. Augustin Schoeffler
Valerie V	Blessed James Benefatti
Olindo V	St. Charles of St. Andrews
Katie V	St. Guido Maria Conforti
Richard V	Blessed Francis de Posadas
Sara V	St. Magloire
Violet V	St. Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert
SRN	St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
GAN	St. Anthony of Egypt
AJN	St. Augustin Schoeffler
JMN	St. Adelelmus of Flanders
Ronald F	Blessed Francis Gil
Joan F	Blessed Francis de Capillas
George Fincik	St. Floribert of Liege
Mark Angelo	St. Phililp the Apostle
Jenna S	Blessed James of Bevagna
Christine Mac	St. Maruontus
Robert Mac	Blessed William Andleby
Casey Mac	St. Bernard of Thiron
Colin Mac	St. Mary Magdalene
Steven P.	St. Domnin
Brian P.	St. Theodosius of Antioch
Sr. Eva DiC.	St. Alexander of Jerusalem
Joseph DiC.	St. Crescentianus
Joseph P. McC.	St. Fabiola of Rome
AnnMarie	St. Martin de Porres
maribeth santos	St. Clotsindis of Marchiennes
Jan B	Blessed James Salomonio
Dennis T	St. Baldwin of Rieti
Joan T	St. Bernadette Soubirous
Charis favour	St. Joan of Arc
Christopher	Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau
Teresa	Blessed Odo of Beauvais
Marie	St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Christine	St. Anthony Zaccaria
Joshua	St. Projectus
Noah	Blessed Francis Gil
The Rohlena family	St. Anthony of Padua
Helen Bruni	Blessed Anthony della Chiesa
Katharine	St. Bede the Venerable
Terry	St. Poemus of Membressa
Katharine	St. Theodosius of Antioch
Gemma	Pope St. Sixtus II
Paul	St. John Bosco
Jenny	St. Jean-Louis Bonnard
Gemma	St. Matthias
Amy	Blessed James of Bevagna
Mia	St. Madeleine Sophie Barat
Charlotte	St. Sebastian of Aparico
Mark	St. Anthony of Egypt
Alfie	Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau
Jovita	Blessed Jane of Portugal
Katharine O'Brien	St. Joan of Arc
Daniel	St. Charles of St. Andrews
Amy	St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Elaine	Blessed Filip Geryluk
Graham	St. Peter Chanel
Andy M	St. Giles
Maryann	Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio
Steve S	Blessed Columba
Jill	St. Benedict
Steve	St. Dominic Savio
Erica	Blessed Aaron of Cracow
Dean	St. Alexis Falconieri
Chelsea S	St. Julian the Hospitaller
Judy	St. Joan of France
David	St. Paul Miki
Deanna	St. Hilary of Poitiers
Larry	St. Auspicius of Toul
Kaitlyn	St. Rita of Cascia
Jordan	St. Vincent de Paul
Jamie	St. John Cantius
David	St. Ambrose
Xavier D	Blessed Dominik Trcka
Jacob D	Blessed Julia Rodzinska
PATRICE	St. Richard of Vaucelles
RAYMOND	Pope St. Telesphorus
SAM L	St. Auspicius of Trier
KELLY S	Blessed Augustine of Biella
JENNIFER	Blessed Margaret of Costello
"THAT ONE DUDE"	St. Francis of Assisi
ALLISON	St. Leudwinus
SARAH	St. Kiaran
LAUREN	St. Catherine of Siena
COREY	St. Prosper of Aquitaine
RILEIGH	St. Aderald
AMIERA	Blessed John of Fiesole
GIOVANNI	St. Hyacintha of Mariscotti
FRANNIE	St. Julio Alvarez Mendoza
Jimmy W.	St. Guido Maria Conforti
Carolyn W.	St. Gundenis of Carthage
Andy B.	St. Kevoca of Kyle
John	St. Peter Fourier
Kathy	St. Cajetan
Mary	St. Augustin Schoeffler
Adam	Pope St. Anacletus
David	St. Jeanne-Marie de Maille
Mary Anne	St. Scholastica
Jane	St. Francis of Assisi
Thomas	St. Hugh of Novara
Daniel	Blessed Marie
Lucy	St. Colette of Corbie
Monica	St. Catherine of Siena
Nick	St. Gordian
Peter	St. Caldeoldus of Vienne
Claire	St. Willibald
Lily	St. Bernadette Soubirous
Susie	St. Barnabas
Baby #3	Blessed Margaret of Savoy
Jim	St. Alexis Falconieri
Rebecca	St. Paul of the Cross
Johnny D	St. Joan of France
Debbie	St. Henry II
Joe	St. Francis of Assisi
Thomas	St. Auspicius of Toul
David	St. Januarius
Stephanie	St. Marie of the Incarnation
Veronica A	St. Leudwinus
Kristen A	St. Damien of Molokai
Roman B	Blessed Bartholomew of Vincenza
Louise T.M	St. Gregory of Tours
Jeffrey A.M	St. Titus
Joshua J.M	St. Fugatius the Missionary
Addie M.	Blessed Andrew of Peschiera
Mischa M	St. Rhipsime
Hannah Sofia M	St. Nicholas of Myra
Jessica N	St. Joseph of Leonissa
BN	St. Frances Cabrini
Hannah K	St. Filippo Smaldone
Young K	St. Leontius
K Family	St. Adelaide of Italy
TD	St. Magnus of Fossombrone

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