St. Josaphat (1580-1623). Born in the Ukraine of Orthodox parents, he became a “western” Catholic and joined the monks of St. Basil. Becoming a priest, he was elected Bishop of Polock where he worked strenuously for the unity of the Church before suffering martyrdom at the hands of his enemies.
Picture: Martyrdom of Josaphat Kuntsevych(c. 1861) by Józef Simmler, National Museum in Warsaw
St. Damasus (305-384). Of Spanish descent, he became a cleric in Rome and in 366, during exceptionally troubled times, he was ordained Bishop of Rome, calling together a number of synods against heretics and schismatics. He promoted the veneration of martyrs whose tombs he embellished with sacred verses. Picture: Lithography of Pope Saint Damasus I (Lisboa, […]
St. Jane Frances de Chantal ( 1572-1641). Born in Dijon, France, she married a French nobleman to whom she bore six children whom she brought up religiously. After her husband’s death, she placed herself under the direction of St. Francis de Sales and made great progress along the way of perfection, performing many works of […]
St. Lucy (+ 304). Suffered martyrdom at Syracuse, probably in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Her name in mentioned in the first Mass Canon of the Church (Canon 1). Tradition states that when her suitor (whom she had rejected!) accused her to the authorities, the judge ordered her to be violated in a brothel where […]
