God’s love smiled through him.

Above:  Venerable John Paul I

Image in the Public Domain

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ALBINO LUCIANI (OCTOBER 17, 1912-SEPTEMBER 28, 1978)

Bishop of Rome

Venerable John Paul I comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.  This Ecumenical Calendar is my project, one of my hobbies.  Therefore, I reserve the right to establish feast days as I see fit.  I see fit to set this feast on August 26, for Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I on August 26, 1978.

Luciani was the third son and the fourth child of Bortola Tancon (c. 1879-1947) and bricklayer Giovanni Luciani (c. 1872-1952).  Our saint, born in Forno di Canale (now Canale d’Agordo), Belluno, Italy, perceived his priestly vocation as a boy.  After graduating from seminary and getting turned away from the Society of Jesus, Luciani received the sacrament of Holy Orders on July 7, 1935.

Father Luciani spent the next 35 years serving in various capacities.  He was a curate in his hometown until 1935.  Next, our saint served as a professor of several subjects (from theology to sacred art) and vice-rector of the Belluno seminary, his alma mater.  Luciani worked on his Doctorate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, from 1941 to 1947.  Then, in 1947, our saint began to serve on the diocesan level in the Diocese of Belluno.  He was the chancellor (1947-1954) then the Vicar General (1954-1959).  Opportunities for promotion to bishop came and went.  Luciani’s fragile health was one reason for his delayed promotion.  In the meantime, our saint developed ideas he carried forward in his ministry in the subsequent years.  For example, Luciani argued for proper catechesis, in language and methods all people can understand.

Pope St. John XXIII appointed Father Luciani the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto.  This appointment took effect on January 11, 1959.  Bishop Luciani vowed on that day to be both a teacher and a servant.  As the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, our saint participated in the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II).

Pope St. Paul VI appointed Bishop Luciani the Patriarch of Venice, effective February 1969.  As the Patriarch of Venice and, as of March 5, 1973, Cardinal Luciani, our saint affirmed Roman Catholic social teaching.  He acknowledged that the developed world owed the Third World a financial and moral debt.  Therefore, in 1971, he suggested that dioceses in the developed world give one percent of their income to dioceses in the developing world as “reparation for social sin.”  Cardinal Luciani also opposed the liberalization of divorce laws, as well as the participation of priests in the Italian Communist Party.  Furthermore, our saint led by example when he sold a gold cross and its gold pectoral chain to raise funds to help disabled children.  The cross and chain, formerly property of Pope Pius XII, had been a gift from Pope St. John XXIII.  Cardinal Luciani, generally on the side of the poor, was not on their side as much as he should have been, though.  For example, he opposed the worker priest movement and labor strikes.

Pope St. Paul VI died on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 1978.  He was the first of three Popes that year.  Cardinal Luciani expressed his desire that the conclave not elect him.  He even said that he would refuse election.  Yet the conclave elected him on that August 26, and he accepted election.

The new Pope was too conservative for some and too liberal for others.   A conspiracy theory grew up around his election.  Yet the consensus position became that Venerable John Paul I was “God’s candidate.”  The new Supreme Pontiff, also known as the “Smiling Pope” and “the Smile of God,” had a down-to-earth style.  He spoke of himself as “I,” eschewing the royal “we.”  He refused the Papal crown and referred to his installation as an inauguration, not a coronation.

Pope John Paul I was an orthodox Roman Catholic.  (This should not surprise anyone.)  His change was one of style; he was more pastoral than his illustrious immediate successor had been.  Divine mercy, manifested by people in society, was the new Pope’s main theme.  He encouraged the faithful to behave mercifully and to transform society for the better.

Upon election on August 26, 1978, Pope John Paul I had said his papacy would be brief.  He was objectively correct.  He died on September 28, 1978.  His papacy had lasted a mere 33 days.  The application of Ockham’s Razor has established that he died of natural causes.  Conspiracy theories have continued to flourish, though.

According to reports, Pope John Paul I died with a smile on his face.

Pope Francis declared Pope John Paul I a Venerable in 2017.

Pope Francis seems to have modeled himself after Pope John Paul I.  The current Supreme Pontiff is an orthodox Roman Catholic, despite what some very conservative Roman Catholics claim.  Like Pope John Paul I, Pope Francis’s major difference relative to his immediate predecessor is stylistic–smiling.  I mean no disrespect to Pope St. Paul VI and Pope Benedict XVI, by the way.

A good friend–a devout Presbyterian in Athens, Georgia–died in early 2013.  His epitaph has remained engraved on my memory:

God’s love smiled through Pope John Paul I.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 20, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN

THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPALIAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF JESUS

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER

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Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people,

we thank you for your servant Venerable John Paul I,

who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock;

and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,

we may by your grace grow into the full stature

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   Amen.

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

Psalm 84

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

John 21:15-17 or Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 38

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Above:  St. Teresa of Jesus, Jornet y Ibars

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, JORNET Y IBARS (JANUARY 9, 1843-AUGUST 26, 1897)

Catalan Roman Catholic Nun, and Cofoundress of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly

Also known as Saint Teresa Jornet Ibars

St. Teresa of Jesus, Jornet y Ibars, dedicated much of her life to caring for vulnerable elderly people.  She, born in Aytona, Lleida, Spain, on January 9, 1843, was a daughter of Francisco José Jornet and Antoineta Ibars, farmers.  St. Teresa, as a girl, cared actively for local poor people.  At the age of 19 years she began to teach in Barcelona.  In 1868, at the age of 25 years, our saint applied to join the Poor Clares, but political turmoil in Spain led to the rejection of that request.  St. Teresa joined the Secular Carmelites instead in 1870.  Two years later she and her sister Maria founded their first home for the care of abandoned elderly people in Barbastro.  In 1873, with help from her spiritual advisor, Father (now Venerable) Saturnino Lopez Novoa (1830-1905), she founded the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly.  St. Teresa became Teresa of Jesus and the first superior of the order.  Our saint persevered in the good work for the rest of her life.  In 1897 she ministered to victims of an outbreak of cholera.  St. Teresa died of tuberculosis in Liva, Valencia, Spain, on August 26, 1897.  She was 54 years old.

Pope Pius XII declared our saint a Venerable in 1957 then a Blessed the following year.  Pope Paul VI canonized her in 1974.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 4, 2018 COMMON ERA

INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBERO AND ULRIC OF AUGSBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL, QUEEN AND PEACEMAKER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC SERVANT OF THE POOR AND OPPONENT OF FASCISM

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O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the life of the world.

Lead us by his love and serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help.

Through us give hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary,

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

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

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60

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ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC HUMANITARIANS

 

Above:  Blesseds Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi

Images in the Public Domain

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BLESSED LUIGI BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI (JANUARY 12, 1880-NOVEMBER 8, 1951)

His feast transferred from November 9 and November 25

husband of 

BLESSED MARIA CORSINI BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI (JUNE 24, 1884-AUGUST 26, 1965)

Alternative feast day = November 25

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[They] made their family an authentic domestic church, open to life, prayer, witness to the Gospel, the social apostolate, and solidarity with the poor, and friendship.

–Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, on our saints

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Tony Hendra, in Father Joe, quoted Father Joe as telling him that the Roman Catholic Church had not canonized enough married couples. Holy Mother Church has not canonized Luigi and Maria Corsini Beltrame Quattrocchi yet, but it has beatified them–together.  Pope John Paul II declared them Venerables on July 7, 2001, and Blesseds on October 21, 2001.  The three surviving children–including a priest and a monk-priest–attended the beatification ceremony.

Luigi Beltrame, born in Catatania, Italy, on January 12, 1880, was a son of Carlo and Francesca Beltrame.  For most of his youth, however, his childless uncle Luigi and aunt Stefania Quattrocchi raised him.  Uncle Luigi worked for Royal Customs, a career path that took the family to Rome in 1890.  Our saint lived in the Eternal City for the rest of her life.  He graduated from law school in 1902 and went to work in the banking industry.

Maria Corsini, born in Florence, Italy, on June 24, 1884, was a daughter of Giulia Salvi and soldier Angiolo Corsini.  The family moved frequently because of military reassignments.  The pious family made sure that Maria received a fine education.  She met Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi in Rome in 1901.  On November 25, 1905, in the Chapel of St. Catherine, at the Basilica of St. Maria Maggiore, Rome, she married Luigi.  Maria became an educator–even a professor of education.

The couple had four children from 1906 to 1914.  Filippo (b. 1906) became a priest.  Stefania (b. 1908) became a nun.  Cesare (b. 1909) became a monk-priest.  Enrichietta (b. 1914) and her mother almost did not survive that difficult pregnancy.  Maria was more devout than Luigi during the early years of their marriage, but he became more religious by 1914.  Enrichietta, who remained a lay person and cared for her aging parents, helped to solidify Luigi’s faith.

The couple lived their faith.  Maria helped victims of the earthquake at Avezzano in 1914.  That year she became a catechist among women at St. Vitale parish, Rome.  She was a Red Cross nurse in 1915-1918, a Franciscan tertiary from 1917, a member of the female branch of Catholic Action from 1920, and a Red Cross nurse during World War II.  She and Luigi, active in scouting programs for youth in Rome, were once supporters of Benito Mussolini and the Fascist Party, but they renounced that position.  (Mussolini and his fellow fascists wanted to make Italy great again.)  During World War II they took refugees, including Jews, into their home, at great risk to themselves.

Luigi died of a heart attack in Rome on November 9, 1951.  He was 71 years old.

Maria died at Serravalle, Arezzo, Italy, on August 26, 1965.  She was 81 years old.

Pope John Paul II, when recognizing these saints, acknowledged their heroic virtue.  They had it in spades.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 3, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS FLAVIAN AND ANATOLIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCHS; AND SAINTS AGATHO, LEO II, AND BENEDICT II, BISHOPS OF ROME; DEFENDERS OF CHRISTOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY

THE FEAST OF CHARLES ALBERT DICKINSON, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND MUSICIAN; HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JACOB VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS BROTHER, CARL ANTON VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS DAUGHTER. LISETTE (LIZETTA) MARIA VAN VLECK MEINUNG; AD HER SISTER, AMELIA ADELAIDE VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN CENNICK, BRITISH MORAVIAN EVANGELIST AND HYMN WRITER

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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

Blessed Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Blessed Maria Corsini Beltrame Quattrocchi,

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), 724

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Above:  Blessed Levkadia Harasymiv

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED LEVKADIA HARASYMIV (SEPTEMBER 30, 1911-AUGUST 28, 1952)

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Nun, and Martyr, 1952

Alternative feast days = April 2 and August 28

Alternative feast day (as one of thee Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe) = June 27

The political-geographical changes during the lifetime of Blessed Levkadia Harsymiv meant that she lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (until 1918), West Ukraine (1918-1919), Poland (1919-1939), the Soviet occupation zone (1939-1945), and the Soviet Union (1945f).  She, born in Rudnyky (now in Ukraine) on September 30, 1911, joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1931 and made her vows two years later.  Agents of the NKVD arrested her for her faith in 1951.  She, sent first to Borislav, Ukraine, ended up a prisoner in Siberia–first in Tomsk then in Kharsk.  Harasymiv died of tuberculosis on August 28, 1952.  She was 40 years old.

Pope John Paul II declared Harasymiv a Venerable then a Blessed in 2001.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 3, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS FLAVIAN AND ANATOLIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCHS; AND SAINTS AGATHO, LEO II, AND BENEDICT II, BISHOPS OF ROME; DEFENDERS OF CHRISTOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY

THE FEAST OF CHARLES ALBERT DICKINSON, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND MUSICIAN; HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JACOB VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS BROTHER, CARL ANTON VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS DAUGHTER. LISETTE (LIZETTA) MARIA VAN VLECK MEINUNG; AD HER SISTER, AMELIA ADELAIDE VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN CENNICK, BRITISH MORAVIAN EVANGELIST AND HYMN WRITER

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Almighty God, who gave to your servant Blessed Levkadia Harasymiv

boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world,

and courage to die for this faith:

Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us,

and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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

2 Esdras 2:42-48

Psalm 126 or 121

1 Peter 3:14-18, 22

Matthew 10:16-22

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 713

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Above:  Flag of Missouri

Image in the Public Domain

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FREDERICK WILLIAM HERZBERGER (OCTOBER 23, 1859-AUGUST 26, 1930)

U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Translator

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Christ is arisen

From death’s painful prison.

Now we rejoice with gladness;

Christ will end all sadness.

Kyrieleis.

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All the world had ended

Had Jesus not ascended

From grave and death triumphantly.

For this, Lord Christ, we honor Thee.

Kyrieleis.

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Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Now we rejoice with gladness;

Christ will end all sadness.

Kyrieleis.

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Frederick William Herzberger (1859-1930) translated that text.  He, the son of a Lutheran minister, entered the world at Baltimore, Maryland.  At two years of age our saint became an orphan.  This background influenced his adult life.

Herzberger devoted his adult life to evangelism and to humanitarian efforts.  The 1882 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, became a minister of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States (1847-present), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States from 1919 to 1948 and The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod since 1948.  He founded six congregations in Arkansas then served at Carson, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; and Hammond, Indiana.  Next our saint became the first Missouri Synod city missionary to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1898.  He founded the Society for Homeless Children in 1903 and played a vital role in founding the Lutheran Convalescent Home of St. Louis.  He was also active in the Associated Lutheran Charities (founded in 1901), a social ministry with an emphasis on child welfare.  Herzberger aided other institutions devoted to helping sick and vulnerable children and senior citizens in other states also.  He died at St. Louis on August 26, 1930.

Our saint was also a capable poet, a translator of hymns, and a devotional writer.  Representative volumes included Pilgrim Songs (1888) and The Family Altar (1920).

As our Lord and Savior said in Matthew 25, those who aid the least of his brethren do the same for him.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 17, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE ADOLPHINE DIERKS, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN, MISSIONARY, AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS SERRANO, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MISSIONARY

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O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served,

and to give his life for the life of the world.

Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom

the world offers no comfort and little help.

Through us give hope to the hopeless,

love to the unloved,

peace to the troubled,

and rest to the weary,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94-1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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Poppies

Image Source = Santosh Namby Chandran

1 (JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

2 (Georg Weissel, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer)

• Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Translator
• Carroll O’Connor, U.S. Roman Catholic Actor and Screen Writer
• Christian Gottfried Gebhard, German Moravian Composer and Music Educator
• Frederick William Foster, English Moravian Bishop, Liturgist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Peter Julian Eymard, Founder of the Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Priests’ Eucharistic League; and Organizer of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

3 (JOANNA, MARY, AND SALOME, WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION)

4 (John Brownlie, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns)

• Frédéric Janssoone, French Roman Catholic Priest and Friar
• Lambert Beauduin, Belgian Roman Catholic Priest and Pioneer of Liturgical Renewal
• Sarah Platt Doremus, Founder of the Women’s Union Missionary Society

5 (Alfred Tennyson, English Poet)

• Adam of Saint Victor, Roman Catholic Monk and Hymn Writer
• Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, Renaissance Artists
• Francisco Zanfredini and Michelina of Pesaro, Co-Founders of the Confraternity of the Annunciation
• George Frederick Root, Poet and Composer

6 (TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

7 (Colbert S. Cartwright, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Liturgist, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Guglielmo Massaia, Italian Cardinal, Missionary, and Capuchin Friar
• John Scrimger, Canadian Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Liturgist
• Maxim Sandovich, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1914
• Victricius of Rouen, Roman Conscientious Objector and Roman Catholic Bishop

8 (Mary MacKillop, Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart)

• Altman, Roman Catholic Bishop of Passau
• Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph
• Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers
• Raymond E. Brown, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar

9 (Edith Stein, Roman Catholic Nun and Philosopher)

• Florence Spearing Randolph, First Female Ordained Minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox Monk and Missionary to the Aleut
• John Dryden, English Puritan then Anglican then Roman Catholic Poet, Playwright, and Translator
• Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers’ Union

10 (William Walsham How, Anglican Bishop of Wakefield and Hymn Writer; and his sister, Frances Jane Douglas(s), Hymn Writer)

• Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Founder of the Madonna House Apostolate
• Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Martyr at Rome, 249; and Sixtus II, His Companions, and Laurence of Rome, Roman Catholic Martyrs at Rome, 258
• Edward Grzymala and Franciszek Drzewiecki, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• John Athelstan Laurie Riley, Anglican Ecumenist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

11 (Gregory Thaumaturgus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Neocaesarea; and Alexander of Comana “the Charcoal Burner,” Roman Catholic Martyr, 252, and Bishop of Comana, Pontus)

• Equitius of Valeria, Benedictine Abbot and Founder of Monasteries
• Matthias Loy, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator; and Conrad Hermann Louis Schuette, German-American Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Maurice Tornay, Swiss Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary to Tibet, and Martyr, 1949
• Stephen Rowsham, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1587

12 (Thaddeus Stevens, U.S. Abolitionist, Congressman, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Charles Inglis, Anglican Bishop of Nova Scotia
• Jane Frances de Chantal, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Visitation
• Józef Stepniak and Józef Straszewski, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• Karl Leisner, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945

13 (Jeremy Taylor, Anglican Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore)

• Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, U.S. Presbyterian Hymn Writer
• Irene of Hungary, Hungarian Princess and Byzantine Empress
• Octavia Hill, English Social Reformer

14 (William Croft, Anglican Organist and Composer)

• G. Bromley Oxnam, U.S. Methodist Bishop
• John Bajus, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; and his nephew, John Henry Hopkins, III, Episcopal Priest and Musician

• Maximilian Kolbe, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941; and Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Episcopal Seminarian and Martyr, 1965
• Sarah Flower Adams, English Unitarian Hymn Writer; and her sister, Eliza Flower, English Unitarian Composer

15 (MARY OF NAZARETH, MOTHER OF GOD)

16 (John Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson, Prime Ministers of Canada; and Tommy Douglas, Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• Alipius, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tagaste, and Friend of Saint Augustine of Hippo
• John Courtney Murray, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian
• John Jones of Talysarn, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Minister and Hymn Tune Composer
• Matthias Claudius, German Lutheran Writer

17 (Samuel Johnson, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, President of King’s College, “Father of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut,” and “Father of American Library Classification;” Timothy Cutler, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, and Rector of Yale College; Daniel Browne, Educator, Congregationalist Minister, and Anglican Priest; and James Wetmore, Congregationalist Minister and Anglican Priest)

• Baptisms of Manteo and Virginia Dare, 1587
• Eusebius of Rome, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 310
• George Croly, Anglican Priest, Poet, Historian, Novelist, Dramatist, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• William James Early Bennett, Anglican Priest

18 (Artemisia Bowden, African-American Educator and Civil Rights Activist)

• Erdmann Neumeister, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Francis John McConnell, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Social Reformer
• Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Petter Dass, Norwegian Lutheran Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer

19 (Sixtus III, Bishop of Rome)

• Blaise Pascal, French Roman Catholic Scientist, Mathematician, and Theologian
• Geert Groote, Founder of the Brethren of the Common Life
• Ignaz Franz, German Roman Catholic Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Magnus and Agricola of Avignon, Roman Catholic Bishops of Avignon
• William Hammond, English Moravian Hymn Writer

20 (ZACCHAEUS, PENITENT TAX COLLECTOR AND ROMAN COLLABORATOR)

21 (Bruno Zembol, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942)

• Camerius, Cisellus, and Luxorius of Sardinia, Martyrs, 303
• Martyrs of Edessa, Circa 304
• Maximilian of Antioch, Martyr, Circa 353; and Bonosus and Maximianus the Soldier, Martyrs, 362
• Victoire Rasoamanarivo, Malagasy Roman Catholic Laywoman

22 (Jack Layton, Canadian Activist and Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• John David Chambers, Anglican Hymn Writer and Translator
• Hryhorii Khomyshyn, Symeon Lukach, and Ivan Slezyuk, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops and Martyrs, 1947, 1964, and 1973
• John Kemble and John Wall, English Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1679
• Thomas Percy, Richard Kirkman, and William Lacey, English Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1572 and 1582

23 (Martin de Porres and Juan Macias, Humanitarians and Dominican Lay Brothers; Rose of Lima, Humanitarian and Dominican Sister; and Turibius of Mogrovejo, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lima)

• Franciszek Dachtera, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944
• Theodore O. Wedel, Episcopal Priest and Biblical Scholar; and his wife, Cynthia Clark Wedel, U.S. Psychologist and Episcopal Ecumenist
• Thomas Augustine Judge, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest; Founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate

24 (BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

25 (Michael Faraday, English Scientist)

• Andrea Bordino, Italian Roman Catholic Lay Brother
• María del Tránsito de Jesús Sacramentado, Founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Missionaries of Argentina
• Maria Troncatti, Italian Roman Catholic Nun
• William John Copeland, Anglican Priest and Hymn Translator

26 (John Paul I, Bishop of Rome)

• Frederick William Herzberger, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Translator
• Levkadia Harasymiv, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Nun, and Martyr, 1952
• Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini Beltrame Quattrocchi, Italian Roman Catholic Humanitarians
• Teresa of Jesus, Jornet y Ibars, Catalan Roman Catholic Nun and Co-Founder of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly

27 (Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle, Episcopal Priests and Educators of the Deaf)

• Amadeus of Clermont, French Roman Catholic Monk; and his son, Amadeus of Lausanne, French-Swiss Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop
• Dominic Barberi, Roman Catholic Apostle to England
• Henriette Luise von Hayn, German Moravian Hymn Writer

28 (Ambrose of Milan, Roman Catholic Bishop; Monica of Hippo, Mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo; and Augustine of Hippo, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo Regius)

• Denis Wortman, U.S. Dutch Reformed Minister and Hymn Writer
• George Thomas Coster, English Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Humanitarian
• Laura S. Coperhaver, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Missionary Leader
• Moses the Black, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Martyr

29 (BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST)

30 (Jeanne Jugan, Founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor)

• Carlton C. Buck, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer
• Edmond L. Budry, Swiss Reformed Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Gerald Kennedy, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Hymn Writer
• John Leary, U.S. Roman Catholic Social Activist and Advocate for the Poor and Marginalized
• Karl Otto Eberhardt, German Moravian Organist, Music Educator, and Composer

31 (NICODEMUS, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

 

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