Above:  Blessed Maria Antonia Bandres y Elosegui

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED MARIA ANTONIA BANDRÉS Y ELÓSEGUI (MARCH 6, 1898-APRIL 27, 1919)

Spanish Roman Catholic Nun

Blessed Maria Antonia Bandrés y Elósegui comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.

Blessed Maria, born in Toloso, Guipúzoca, Spain, on March 6, 1898, came from a large and devout Roman Catholic family.  She was the second of fifteen children of Teresa Elósegui and attorney Ramon Bandrés.  Antonita, as the family called our saint informally, was an attentive big sister.  She, educated by the Daughters of Jesus, demonstrated Christ’s love for poor people in her hometown as a child.  Blessed Maria tended to poor people on the outskirts of town.

Blessed Maria joined the daughters of Jesus at Salamanca on December 8, 1915, when seventeen years old.  She made her profession on May 31, 1918, when twenty years old.  Our saint, strong in faith and weak in health, remained a model nun until she died, aged twenty-one years, while singing a Marian hymn, on April 27, 1919.

Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Blessed Maria.  Pope John Paul II declared her a Venerable in 1995 then added her to the beati the following year.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PHILANDER CHASE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF OHIO, AND OF ILLINOIS; AND PRESIDING BISHOP

THE FEAST OF C. H. DODD, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT, JULIA ANNE ELLIOTT, AND EMILY ELLIOTT, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF JUSTUS FALCKNER, LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF STEPHEN G. CARY, U.S. QUAKER HUMANITARIAN AND ANTIWAR ACTIVIST

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O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:

Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world,

that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Blessed Maria Antonia Bandrés y Elósegui,

may serve you with singleness of heart,

and attain to the riches of the age to come;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Song of Songs 8:6-7

Psalm 34

Philippians 3:7-15

Luke 12:33-37 or Luke 9:57-62

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 722

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Above:  St. Zita, by Leon Biedronski

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY (1218-APRIL 27, 1272)

Worker of Charity

Also known as Saint Zita of Lucca

St. Zita of Tuscany/Lucca comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church and The Episcopal Church.  Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 lists her as a “Worker of Charity.”

St. Zita, born in Bozzanello, Monte Sagrate, Tuscany, in 1218, performed her work for God and helped many of the less fortunate.  Her family was devout and impoverished.  Our saint became a domestic servant of the Fatinelli family of Lucca when she was 12 years old.  Initially, her work ethic, although excellent, did not prevent Fatinellis from heaping scorn upon St. Zita.  Eventually, however, she earned respect, as well as a promotion to housekeeper, head of the domestic staff.  Our saint lived according to the Golden Rule, treating staffers accordingly and giving most of her money to poor people.

St. Zita died in Lucca on April 27, 1272.  She was about 54 years old.

The Roman Catholic Church formally recognized our saint.  Pope Innocent X beatified her in 1652.  Pope Leo X canonized St. Zita in 1696.

St. Zita is the patron of, among other goals, finding lost keys.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 13, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF YVES CONGAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT HELDRAD, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF JAMES THEODORE HOLLY, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF HAITI, AND OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC; FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN BISHOP IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PLATO OF SYMBOLEON AND THEODORE STUDITES, EASTERN ORTHODOX ABBOTS; AND SAINT NICEPHORUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH

THE FEAST OF SAINT RODERIC OF CABRA AND SOLOMON OF CORDOBA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 857

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Merciful God, who has given to us all things necessary for life and godliness;

Grant that we may be faithful in the exercise of our duties,

and that what you give us to do, we may do heartily,

as something done for you, O Lord, and not for human beings;

through him who has called us to glory and virtue,

Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen.

Genesis 39:1-23

Psalm 16

Luke 10:38-42

—Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018, 252, altered

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Above:  The Flag of The Episcopal Church

Image in the Public Domain

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GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE (MAY 27, 1799-APRIL 27, 1859)

Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey

father of

WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE (MARCH 2, 1832-MAY 17, 1913)

Episcopal Bishop of Albany

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Above:  George Washington Doane 

Image in the Public Domain

George Washington Doane was a bishop.  He entered the world on May 27, 1799, at Trenton, New Jersey.  Bishop John Henry Hobart of New York ordained him deacon then priest in 1823.  Father Doane founded St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, New York, New York.  He also taught at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, from 1824 to 1828, and served Christ Episcopal Church, Boston, Massachusetts from 1828 to 1832, as Assistant Rector then Rector.  In 1832 Doane became Bishop of New Jersey, a position he held for the remainder of his life.  Much of his episcopal legacy rests on the founding of parochial schools.  Also, Doane was a High Churchman at a time when chanting, bowing to altars, and lighting candles could lead to major theological altercations.

Doane’s son, William Croswell Doane, became the Bishop of Albany, in the state of New York.

Bishop George Washington Doane wrote the hymns, “Thou Art the Way” and “Softly Now the Light of Day.”

He died on April 27, 1859.

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Above:  William Croswell Doane

Image in the Public Domain

William Croswell Doane was also a bishop.  He entered the world on March 2, 1832, in Boston, Massachusetts.  His father, George Washington Doane, ordained Doane, Jr., to the diaconate in 1853 and the priesthood three years later.  In the 1850s and 1860s Doane, Jr., served churches in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut; Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, was a parishioner in Hartford, Connecticut.  Doane Jr., like his father, was a High Churchman when that was controversial.  These ritualistic tendencies prompted evangelical (low church) opposition to his 1868 election as Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Albany, in the state of New York.  Bishop Doane of Albany oversaw the construction of the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany.  (J. P. Morgan contributed to the financing of the cathedral.)  Cathedrals were not commonplace in Episcopal dioceses at the time, unlike today.

William Croswell Doane died in office on May 17,  1913.

His main legacy for church members today is the hymn, “Ancient of Days.”

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF BARTHOLOME DE LAS CASAS, “APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS”

THE FEAST OF ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, ANGLICAN DEAN OF WESTMINSTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD WILLIAM LEINBACH, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH FERARD, FIRST DEACONESS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

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Almighty God, you have raised up faithful bishops of your church, including your servants

George Washington Doane and William Croswell Doane.

May the memory of their lives be a source of joy for us and a bulwark of our faith,

so that we may serve and confess your name before the world,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 or Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84

1 Peter 5:1-4 or Ephesians 3;14-21

Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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1886. chalks, 79×63.5cm

Above:  Portrait of Christina Rossetti, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Image in the Public Domain

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CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI (DECEMBER 5, 1830-DECEMBER 29, 1894)

Poet and Religious Writer

Christina Georgina Rossetti was among the greatest poets who wrote in the English language.  She was also a devout High Anglican whom The Church of England and The Episcopal Church have recognized as a saint, with April 27 as her feast day.  The churches determined that date not from her death but from April 27, 1842, the day the eleven-year-old Christina wrote her first poem, “To My Mother on the Anniversary of Her Birth.”

The Rossetti family was ethnically Italian.  Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti (1783-1854) had fled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1821, settling first in Malta then in England three years later.  He was a political refugee, for reprisals against those involved on the losing side of then Neapolitan Revolution of 1820 were swift and ruthless.  In 1826 Gabriele married Maria Francesca Polidori (1800-1886), daughter of another Italian expatriate.  The couple had four children, all talented:

1. Maria Francesca Rossetti (1827-1876), author and Anglican nun (1873-1876);
2. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), poet and painter;
3. William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919), poet and art critic; and
4. Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894).

Gabriele taught Italian at King’s College, London.  Bad health forced his resignation in 1847, harming the family’s financial status.  In 1853 and 1854 Christina and her mother operated a school at Frome, Somerset.  That venture failed, so Christina and her parents moved in with her brother, William Michael, in 1854.  Gabriele died later that year.  The family remained under one roof until 1876.  William Michael married artist and painter Lucy Madox Brown (1843-1894) in 1874.  (Maria Francesca Rossetti, Christina’s sister, had been Lucy’s governess.)  Christina and her mother moved to Bloomsbury in 1876.  There the mother died ten years later.  Christina dwelt there for the rest of her life, having never married, despite several opportunities to do so.

Christina was talented in prose and poetry.  Her grandfather, Gaetano Polidori (1764-1843), printed Verses (1847), her first book.  Dante Gabriel, for whom she had posed as a model often, drew the frontispieces for Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862) and The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems (1866).  Other published works included the following:

1. Maude:  Prose and Verse (1850);
2. Poems (1866);
3. Commonplace, and Other Short Stories (1870);
4. Sing-Song:  A Nursery Rhyme Book (first edition, 1872; second edition, 1893);
5. Verses (1873);
6. Annus Domini (1874);
7. Speaking Likenesses (1874);
8. Poems (1876);
9. Seek and Find:  A Double Series of Short Studies of the Benedicite (1879);
10. Called to Be Saints:  The Minor Festivals Devotionally Studied (1881);
11. A Pageant and Other Poems (1881);
12. Letter and Spirit:  Notes on the Commandments (1883);
13. “Dante, the Poet Illustrated Out of the Poem” (1884);
14. Time Flies:  A Reading Diary (1885);
15. Poems (1890); and
16. The Face of the Deep:  A Devotional Commentary on the Apocalypse (1892).

Posthumous volumes included the following:

1. New Poems by Christina Rossetti:  Hitherto Unpublished or Uncollected (1896);
2. The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti (1904); and
3. The Family Letters of Christina Georgina Rossetti; With Some Supplementary Letters and Appendices (1908).

Those who sing from hymnals created by committees with good taste might know some of our saint’s poems as hymn texts.  The two primary examples these days are “Love Came Down at Christmas” and “In the Bleak Midwinter.”  In the latter Rossetti wrote of the weather as it was in England, not in Palestine.

In the bleak mid-winter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter,

Long ago.

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Our God, heaven cannot hold him

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When he comes to reign:

In the bleak mid-winter

A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty

Jesus Christ.

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Enough for him, whom Cherubim

Worship night and day,

A breastful of milk,

And a mangerful of hay;

Enough for him, whom Angels

Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel

Which adore.

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Angels and Archangels

May have gathered there,

Cherubim and Seraphim

Thronged the air–

But only his mother

In her maiden bliss

Worshipped the Beloved

With a kiss.

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What can I give him

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb;

If I were a wise man

I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give him–

Give my heart.

“Love Came Down at Christmas” is also wonderful.

Love come down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Stars and angels gave the sign.

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Worship we the Godhead,

Love incarnate, Love divine;

Worship we our Jesus:

But wherewith for sacred sign?

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Love shall be our token,

Love be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and all men,

Love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina was ill for much of her life.  She found comfort in her faith, as evident in her published works.  In 1871 she came down with Graves’ Disease, a disorder of the thyroid gland.  It affected her appearance negatively.  Then, in 1891, she received the diagnosis of cancer, which caused her death three years later.

Her legacy continues, fortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 18, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE

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O God, whom heaven cannot hold, you inspired Christina Rossetti

to express the mystery of the Incarnation through her poems:

Help us to follow her example in giving our hearts to Christ,

who is love; and who is alive and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.  Amen.

Exodus 3:1-6

Psalm 84

Revelation 21:1-4

Matthew 6:19-23

— Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 349

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Above:  Caves of Kiev

SAINT ANTONY (A.K.A. ANTHONY) OF KIEV (OR PECHERSKY) (983-1073)

Russian Orthodox Hermit

His feast transferred from July 10

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SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV (OR PECHERSKY) (DIED 1065)

Russian Orthodox Abbot

His feast transferred from November 19

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SAINT THEODOSIUS OF KIEV (OR PECHERSKY) (DIED 1074)

Russian Orthodox Abbot

His feast transferred from July 10

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SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV (OR PECHERSKY) (DIED 1094)

Russian Orthodox Abbot and Bishop

His feast = April 27

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This post covers the origins of Russian Orthodox monasticism.

St. Antony (or Anthony of Kiev) (983-1073) was born at Lubech, in the Ukraine, then part of Russia.  He chose to become a hermit.  The saint realized, however, that he needed to learn more about that lifestyle, so he spent several years at Espigmenou Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece.  Then the saint returned to his homeland, where he founded a hermitage at Kiev, then the Russian capital city.  He attracted many followers, who became the first monks of the Pecherskaya Laura, a.k.a. the Caves of Kiev.  St. Antony also founded a monastery at Chernigov yet returned to Kiev, where he spent the rest of his life in a cave.  He and St. Theodosius of Kiev founded Russian Orthodox monasticism.

St. Theodosius of Kiev (died 1074) came from a wealthy family.  His decisions to work in the fields with serfs and to apprentice himself to a baker (the latter to learn how to make Eucharistic bread) displeased his family.  So did the saint’s decision to become a monk at Kiev in 1032.  He succeeded St. Barlaam as abbot.

St. Barlaam of Kiev (died 1065) also came from a wealthy family.  The son of a boyar, he left behind wealth and a fiancee.  Other than some overwritten hagiographies, little information about this saint survives.

As abbot St. Theodosius modified the discipline, making it less austere, balancing prayer and physical mortification with physical work, emphasizing harmony between active and contemplative work, encouraging his monks to become active in politics on behalf of the poor, and engaging his monks as evangelists.  He also expanded the monastery, adding a hospital and a hostel.  Abbot for four decades, his tenure marked the real beginning of Russian monasticism.

St. Stephen of Kiev (died 1094), originally a monk at Kiev, succeeded St. Theodosius as abbot.  The saint’s tenure was brief–just four years.  Some sources indicate that his removal resulted from dirty politics at the laura.  Anyhow, after Kiev the saint founded a monastery at Blakhernae, serving as its abbot until 1091, when he became Bishop of of Vladimir, in Volhynia.  Skilled in singing and well-informed in corporate worship, St. Stephen of Kiev earned a reputation for holiness.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 1, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID OF WALES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MENEVIA

THE FEAST OF GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS

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O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:

Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world,

that we, inspired b the devotion of your servants

Saint Antony of Kiev,

Saint Barlaam of Kiev,

Saint Theodosius of Kiev,

and Saint Stephen of Kiev,

may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Song of Songs 8:6-7

Psalm 34

Philippians 3:7-15

Luke 12:33-37 or Luke 9:57-62

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 722

Above:  Gaul in 714 Common Era

SAINT REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT (DIED CIRCA 675)

Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop

His feast transferred from September 3

mentor of

SAINT THEODARD OF MAASTRICHT (DIED CIRCA 670)

Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop

His feast transferred from September 10

uncle of

SAINT LAMBERT OF MAASTRIHT (635-705)

Roman Catholic Bishop

His feast transferred from September 17

predecessor of

SAINT HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE (DIED 727)

Roman Catholic Bishop

His feast transferred from November 3

father of

SAINT FLORIBERT OF LIEGE (DIED 746)

Roman Catholic Bishop

His feast = April 27

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SAINT PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND (DIED CIRCA 730)

Roman Catholic Bishop

His feast transferred from July 15

worked with

SAINT WIRO (DIED 600S)

Roman Catholic Bishop

His feast transferred from May 8

worked with

SAINT OTGER OF UTRECHT (DIED 600S)

Roman Catholic Deacon

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SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN (DIED CIRCA 690)

Roman Catholic Abbess

Her feast transferred from July 8

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Once again one name–this time, St. Floribert–has led to a chain of historical discovery.  This post covers nine saints, all of whom are here for good reasons.  Shall we begin?

St. Remaclus of Maastricht (died circa 675), born in Aquitaine, studied under St. Sulpicius II of Bourges and became the first abbot of Solignac because St. Eligius appointed him.  St. Remaclus later served as Abbot of Cugnon, in Luxembourg.  After that he served in the court of Sigibert III, King of Austrasia (reigned 632-656), persuading the monarch to found the double monastery of Malmedy-Stavelot, in the Ardennes.  The saint served as abbot there before becoming Bishop of Maastricht in 652/653.  He had a reputation for holiness–certainly an excellent legacy to leave to posterity.

St. Remaclus mentored St. Theodard of Maastricht (died circa 670).  He succeeded succeeded Remaclus as abbot in 652/653 then as bishop in 662.  The saint met an unhappy and violent fate in the Bienwald Forest near Speyer, Germany.  Nobles had seized church lands, so the bishop was traveling to protest this to King Childeric II of Austrasia (reigned 662-675).  Yet robbers murdered the saint.

St. Theodard had a nephew, St. Lambert of Maastricht (635-705), whom he educated.  St. Lambert, a nobleman from Maastricht, succeeded his uncle as bishop.  Ebroin, mayor of the palace, expelled St. Lambert for supporting the murdered Childeric II, so the saint retired to the double monastery of Malmedy-Stavelot.  Pepin (II) of Heristal, Mayor of Austrasia and Neustria (687-714) and a successor of Ebroin, reinstated St. Lambert.  The reinstated bishop built a convent at Munsterbilsen and appointed St. Landrada (died circa 690), about whom we know little else, the first abbess.  He also converted many pagans and tended to his flock.  St. Lambert died because he condemned Pepin (II) for having an affair with his (Pepin’s) sister-in-law, Alpais.  The saint either died at the hands of Dodo, brother of Alpais, or relatives of Dodo.

Another interesting connection in church history pertains to St. Lambert’s missionary efforts.  He worked with St. Willibrord, a great evangelist.  Three coworkers of Sts. Lambert and Willibrord were Sts. Otger of Utrecht, Plechelm of Guelderland, and Wiro.  St. Plechelm, a monk, became missionary bishop to Northumberland then a missionary to Friesland with St. Willibrord.  St. Plechelm was martyred circa 730 while preaching.  His colleague, St. Wiro, was also a bishop.  We know little about him and even less about his fellow evangelist, St. Otger of Utrecht, a deacon.  I am surprised that we know as much as we do about these gentlemen as we do, given the passage of time.

St. Hubert of Maastricht and Liege (died 727) succeeded the murdered St. Lambert as bishop.  St. Hubert, originally a courtier in the service of Pepin (II), was married to Floribane.  She died in childbirth, but their son survived. The newly single father entered the religious life and became a priest under St. Lambert.  As bishop St. Hubert relocated the headquarters of his diocese from Maastricht to Liege.  He also converted many people and ended idol worship in his diocese.  He died on May 30, 727, during a trip to consecrate a new church building.

St. Floribert of Liege (died 746) was the surviving son of Floribane and St. Hubert.  The son succeeded his father as bishop, serving from 727 to 746.  Of St. Floribert we know little, but his reputation for holiness has survived to this day in the literature of hagiography.

If memories of you, O reader, and of me survive fourteen or fifteen centuries into the future, will they be pious ones?  For every saint of whom we know a great deal there are many of whom we know next to nothing.  And, of course, there are many more names lost forever in the sands of time.  Yet God knows them well, and that matters most of all.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 1, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID OF WALES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MENEVIA

THE FEAST OF GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS

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Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses:

Grant that we, encouraged by the good examples of your servants

Saint Remaclus of Maastricht,

Saint Theodard of Maastricht,

Saint Lambert of Maastricht,

St. Hubert of Maastricht and Liege,

Saint Floribert of Liege,

Saint Plechelm of Guelderland,

St. Wiro,

Saint Otger of Utrecht,

and Saint Landrada of Munsterbilsen,

may persevere in running the race that is set before us,

until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy;

through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 15

Hebrews 12:1-2

Matthew 25:31-40

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 724

Daisies

Image Source = WiZZiK

1 (Frederick Denison Maurice, Anglican Priest and Theologian)

• Giuseppe Girotti, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• John Gray, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Mythologist, Biblical Scholar, and Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages
• Ludovico Pavoni, Roman Catholic Priest and Educator
• Syragius of Autun and Anarcharius of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Bishops; and Valery of Leucone and Eustace of Luxeuit, Roman Catholic Abbots

2 (James Lloyd Breck, “The Apostle of the Wilderness”)

• Carlo Carretto, Spiritual Writer
• John Payne and Cuthbert Mayne, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1582 and 1577
• Joseph Bernardin, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
• Mykolai Charnetskyi, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Titular Bishop of Lebed, and Martyr, 1959
• Sidonius Apollinaris, Eustace of Lyon, and His Descendants, Roman Catholic Bishops

3 (Luther D. Reed, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist)

• Burgendofara and Sadalberga, Roman Catholic Abbesses, and Their Relatives
• Marc Sangnier, Founder of the Sillon Movement
• Mary of Egypt, Hermit and Penitent
• Reginald Heber, Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, and Hymn Writer
• Sidney Lovett, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Chaplain of Yale University

4 (Benedict the African, Franciscan Friar and Hermit)

• Alfred C. Marble, Jr., Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi then Assisting Bishop of North Carolina
• Ernest W. Shurtleff, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Gaetano Catanoso, Founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Veronica (Missionaries of the Holy Face)
• Martin Luther King, Jr., U.S. Civil Rights Leader, and Martyr, 1968 (also January 15)
• Ndue Serreqi, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1954

5 (Emily Ayckbowm, Founder of the Community of the Sisters of the Church)

• Mariano de la Mata Aparicio, Roman Catholic Missionary and Educator in Brazil
• Pauline Sperry, Mathematician, Philanthropist, and Activist; and her brother, Willard Learoyd Sperry, Congregationalist Minister, Ethicist, Theologian, and Dean of Harvard Law School
• Ruth Youngdahl Nelson, U.S. Lutheran Renewer of Society
• William Derham, Anglican Priest and Scientist

6 (Marcellinus of Carthage, Roman Catholic Martyr, 413)

• Benjamin Hall Kennedy, Greek and Latin Scholar, Bible Translator, and Anglican Priest
• Daniel G. C. Wu, Chinese-American Episcopal Priest and Missionary
• Emil Brunner, Swiss Reformed Theologian
• Milner Ball, Presbyterian Minister, Law Professor, Witness for Civil Rights, Humanitarian
• Nokter Balbulus, Roman Catholic Monk

7 (Tikhon of Moscow, Russian Orthodox Patriach)

• André Trocmé, Magda Trocmé, and Daniel Trocmé, Righteous Gentiles
• George the Younger, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Mitylene
• Jay Thomas Stocking, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Montford Scott, Edmund Gennings, Henry Walpole, and Their Fellow Martyrs, 1591 and 1595
• Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury

8 (Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Patriarch of American Lutheranism; his great-grandson, William Augustus Muhlenberg, Episcopal Priest, Hymn Writer, and Liturgical Pioneer; and his colleague, Anne Ayres, Founder of the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion)

• Dionysius of Corinth, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Godfrey Diekmann, U.S. Roman Catholic Monk, Priest, Ecumenist, Theologian, and Liturgical Scholar
• Hugh of Rouen, Roman Catholic Bishop, Abbot, and Monk
• Julie Billiart, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame
• Timothy Lull, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Scholar, Theologian, and Ecumenist

9 (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran Martyr, 1945

• Johann Cruger, German Lutheran Organist, Composer, and Hymnal Editor
• John Samuel Bewley Monsell, Anglican Priest and Poet; and Richard Mant, Anglican Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore
• Lydia Emilie Gruchy, First Female Minister in the United Church of Canada
• Mikael Agricola, Finnish Lutheran Liturgist, Bishop of Turku, and “Father of Finnish Literary Language”
• William Law, Anglican Priest, Mystic, and Spiritual Writer

10 (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Roman Catholic Priest, Scientist, and Theologian)

• Bademus, Persian Martyr, 376
• Bonifacy Zukowski, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942
• Fulbert of Chartres, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Henry Van Dyke, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Liturgist
• Howard Thurman, Protestant Theologian

11 (Heinrich Theobald Schenck, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer)

• Charles Stedman Newhall, U.S. Naturalist, Hymn Writer, and Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister
• George Augustus Selwyn, Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, Primate of New Zealand, and Bishop of Lichfield; Missionary
• George Zabelka, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Military Chaplain, and Advocate for Christian Nonviolence
• Henry Hallam Tweedy, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Symforian Ducki, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942

12 (Henry Sloane Coffin, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Translator; and his nephew, William Sloane Coffin, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Social Activist)

• Carl F. Price, U.S. Methodist Hymnologist and Composer
• David Uribe-Velasco, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927
• Julius I, Bishop of Rome
• Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, Chilean Roman Catholic Nun
• Zeno of Verona, Bishop

13 (Joseph Barber Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham)

• Henri Perrin, French Roman Catholic Worker Priest
• John Gloucester, First African-American Presbyterian Minister
• Lucy Craft Laney, African-American Presbyterian Educator and Civil Rights Activist
• Martin I, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 655; and Maximus the Confessor, Eastern Orthodox Monk, Abbot, and Martyr, 662
• Rolando Rivi, Roman Catholic Seminarian and Martyr, 1945

14 (Edward Thomas Demby and Henry Beard Delany, Episcopal Suffragan Bishops for Colored Work)

• Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius, Martyrs in Lithuania, 1347
• George Frederick Handel, Composer
• Lucien Botovasoa, Malagasy Roman Catholic Martyr, 1947
• Wandregisilus of Normandy, Roman Catholic Abbot; and Lambert of Lyons, Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop
• Zenaida of Tarsus and her sister, Philonella of Tarsus; and Hermione of Ephesus; Unmercenary Physicians

15 (Olga of Kiev, Regent of Kievan Russia; Adalbert of Magdeburg, Roman Catholic Bishop; Adalbert of Prague, Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr, 997; and Benedict and Gaudentius of Pomerania, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 997)

• Damien and Marianne of Molokai, Workers Among Lepers
• Flavia Domitilla, Roman Christian Noblewoman; and Maro, Eutyches, and Victorinus of Rome, Priests and Martyrs, Circa 99
• Hunna of Alsace, the “Holy Washerwoman”

16 (Bernadette of Lourdes, Roman Catholic Visionary)

• Calvin Weiss Laufer, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymnodist
• Isabella Gilmore, Anglican Deaconess
• Mikel Suma, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest, Friar, and Martyr, 1950
• Peter Williams Cassey, African-American Episcopal Deacon; and his wife, Annie Besant Cassey, African-American Episcopal Educator

17 (Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church)

• Emily Cooper, Episcopal Deaconess
• Lucy Larcom, U.S. Academic, Journalist, Poet, Editor, and Hymn Writer
• Max Josef Metzger, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944
• Wilbur Kenneth Howard, Moderator of The United Church of Canada

18 (Roger Williams, Founder of Rhode Island; and Anne Hutchinson, Rebellious Puritan)

• Cornelia Connelly, Founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus
• Maria Anna Blondin, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne
• Mary C. Collins, U.S. Congregationalist Missionary and Minister
• Murin of Fahan, Laserian of Leighlin, Goban of Picardie, Foillan of Fosses, and Ultan of Peronne, Abbots; Fursey of Peronne and Blitharius of Seganne, Monks
• Roman Archutowski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943

19 (Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012)

• Emma of Lesum, Benefactor
• Olavus Petri, Swedish Lutheran Theologian, Historian, Liturgist, Minister, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and “Father of Swedish Literature;” and his brother, Laurentius Petri, Swedish Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, Bible Translator, and “Father of Swedish Hymnody”
• Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Anglican Organist and Composer

20 (Johannes Bugenhagen, German Lutheran Theologian, Minister, Liturgist, and “Pastor of the Reformation”)

• Amator of Auxerre and Germanus of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Bishops; Mamertinus of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Abbot; and Marcian of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Monk
• Chiara Bosatta, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence
• Christian X, King of Denmark and Iceland; and his brother, Haakon VII, King of Norway
• Marion MacDonald Kelleran, Episcopal Seminary Professor and Lay Leader
• Robert Seymour Bridges, Anglican Hymn Writer and Hymn Translator

21 (Roman Adame Rosales, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927)

• Conrad of Parzham, Capuchin Friar
• David Brainerd, American Congregationalist then Presbyterian Missionary and Minister
• George B. Caird, English Congregationalist then United Reformed Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Hymn Writer and Translator
• Georgia Harkness, U.S. Methodist Minister, Theologian, Ethicist, and Hymn Writer
• Simeon Barsabae, Bishop; and His Companions, Martyrs, 341

22 (Gene Britton, Episcopal Priest)

• Donald S. Armentrout, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Scholar
• Hadewijch of Brabert, Roman Catholic Mystic
• Kathe Kollwitz, German Lutheran Artist and Pacifist
• Ndoc Suma, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1958
• Vitalis of Gaza, Monk, Hermit, and Martyr, Circa 625

23 (Toyohiko Kagawa, Renewer of Society and Prophetic Witness in Japan)

• Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, Italian Roman Catholic Nun
• Martin Rinckart, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Teresa Maria of the Cross, Founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa of Florence
• Walter Russell Bowie, Episcopal Priest, Seminary Professor, and Hymn Writer

24 (Genocide Remembrance)

• Egbert of Lindisfarne, Roman Catholic Monk; and Adalbert of Egmont, Roman Catholic Missionary
• Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Capuchin Friar and Martyr, 1622
• Frank von Christierson, Finnish-American Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Jakob Böhme, German Lutheran Mystic
• Johann Walter, “First Cantor of the Lutheran Church”
• Mellitus, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury

25 (MARK THE EVANGELIST, MARTYR, 68)

26 (William Cowper, Anglican Hymn Writer)

• Adelard of Corbie, Frankish Roman Catholic Monk and Abbot; and his protégé, Paschasius Radbertus, Frankish Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Theologian
• Robert Hunt, First Anglican Chaplain at Jamestown, Virginia
• Ruth Byllesby, Episcopal Deaconess in Georgia
• Stanislaw Kubista, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1940; and Wladyslaw Goral, Polish Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr, 1945
• William Stringfellow, Episcopal Attorney, Theologian, and Social Activist

27 (George Washington Doane, Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey; and his son, William Croswell Doane, Episcopal Bishop of Albany; Hymn Writers)

• Antony and Theodosius of Kiev, Founders of Russian Orthodox Monasticism; Barlaam of Kiev, Russian Orthodox Abbot; and Stephen of Kiev, Russian Orthodox Abbot and Bishop
• Christina Rossetti, Poet and Religious Writer
• Remaclus of Maastricht, Theodore of Maastricht, Lambert of Maastricht, Hubert of Maastricht and Liege, and Floribert of Liege, Roman Catholic Bishops; Landrada of Munsterbilsen, Roman Catholic Abbess; and Otger of Utrecht, Plechelm of Guelderland, and Wiro, Roman Catholic Missionaries
• Zita of Tuscany, Worker of Charity

28 (Jaroslav Vajda, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer)

• Jozef Cebula, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941
• Louis de Montfort, Founder of the Company of Mary (the Montfort Missionaries) and Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom; and Marie-Louise Trichet, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom
• Pamphilius of Sulmona, Roman Catholic Bishop and Almsgiver
• Peter Chanel, Protomartyr of Oceania, 1841

29 (Catherine of Siena, Roman Catholic Mystic and Religious)

• Bosa of York, John of Beverley, Wilfrid the Younger, and Acca of Hexham, Roman Catholic Bishops
• Hanna Helena Chrzanowska, Polish Roman Catholic Nurse
• James Edward Walsh, Roman Catholic Missionary Bishop and Political Prisoner in China
• Simon B. Parker, United Methodist Biblical Scholar
• Timothy Rees, Welsh Anglican Hymn Writer and Bishop of Llandaff

30 (James Montgomery, Anglican and Moravian Hymn Writer)

• Diet Eman; her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, Martyr, 1945; and his brother, Hendrik “Henk” Sietsma; Righteous Among the Nations
• Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo, Founder of the Little House of Divine Providence
• James Russell Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• John Ross MacDuff and George Matheson, Scottish Presbyterian Ministers and Authors
• Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Poet, Author, Editor, and Prophetic Witness

 

Floating

• The Confession of Saint Martha of Bethany (the Sunday immediately prior to Palm Sunday; March 8-April 11)

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.