Above:  Emperor John II Commenus and Empress Irene with the Madonna and Child

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED IRENE OF HUNGARY (1088-AUGUST 13, 1134)

Hungarian Princess and Byzantine Empress

Also known as Piroska

Blessed Irene of Hungary comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.

In the olden days, royal marriages were frequently political, sealing alliances between kingdoms and empires.  Thus, in 1105, the new alliance between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Byzantine Empire (which always called itself the Roman Empire) came into existence with the marriage of the Hungarian princess Piroska and the heir to the Byzantine (Roman) throne, the future Emperor John II Comnenus (reigned 1118-1143).  The immediate threat to the Byzantine (Roman) Empire in the west came from Normans, and the threat in the east came from the Seljuk Turks.

Above:  Map of Southeastern Europe in 1105

Image in the Public Domain

Piroska, born in Esztergom, Hungary, was a daughter of Queen Adelaide of Swabia and King St. Ladislaus I (reigned 1077-1095; feast days = June 27 and 30).  Piroska, as Irene, was the Byzantine (Roman) Empress from 1118 to 1134.  She gave birth to eight children, including the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (reigned 1143-1180).  A grandson was Manuel I’s son, Emperor Alexius II Comnenus (reigned 1180-1183).  Andronicus I Comnenus (reigned 1183-1185), descended from Isaac, brother of John II.  Subsequent rulers of that dynasty descended from Theodora, sister of John II and Isaac.

(Aside:  My source for the family tree of Emperor John II Comnenus and Empress Irene, within the Comnenus Dynasty, is a dynastic family tree chart on page 232 of the sixth edition of The Encyclopedia of World History (2001), Peter N. Stearns, General Editor.   Certain sources on the internet disagree with the genealogical chart in this reference work.  They list other Byzantine (Roman) Emperors as being sons of our saint.  Not all sources are equal.)

Blessed Irene also gave generously to worthy causes.  She gave to help to poor, finance the construction of Christ Pantocrator Monastery in Constinople, and to fund the hospital (open to all) associated with that monastery.

Blessed Irene, aged about 46 years, died in Constantinople on August 13, 1134.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 4, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHARLES SIMEON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND PROMOTER OF MISSIONS; HENRY MARTYN, ANGLICAN PRIEST, LINGUIST, TRANSLATOR, AND MISSIONARY; AND ABDUL MASIH, INDIAN CONVERT AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF HENRY SUSO, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, PREACHER, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN EDGAR PARK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEN CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF PAUL CUFFEE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO THE SHINNECOCK NATION

THE FEAST OF THOMAS HORNBLOWER GILL, ENGLISH UNITARIAN THEN ANGLICAN 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 example of your servant Blessed Irene of Hungary,

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

until at last we may with her 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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For the Name of Jesus and the protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death.

Above:  King Henry II and St. Thomas Becket

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT THOMAS BECKET (DECEMBER 21, 1118-DECEMBER 29, 1170)

Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1170

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–The last words of St. Thomas Becket, December 29, 1170

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St. Thomas Becket was a controversial figure during his lifetime.  He has continued to be one.

(“Controversial” is a word that prompts me to roll my eyes.  Who or what is not controversial during polarized times?)

Many of the details of Becket’s family have not survived in the historical record we have.  Becket, born in London on December 21, 1118, was a son of Gilbert Becket, apparently prosperous and well-connected.  Gilbert was, at different stages of life, a knight and a merchant.  Our saint grew up distracted from his studies; courtly pursuits including hunting, were more interesting.

Becket made his own important connections.  Circa 1142, he joined the household of Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Our saint became Theobald’s clerk.  The two men attended the Council of Rheims (1148).  Becket also studied canon law at Bologna and Auxerre before becoming a deacon in 1154.  He served as the Archdeacon of Canterbury to the new king, Henry II (reigned 1154-1189).  Theobald had secured the position for his former clerk.

Theobald regretted his decision.  Becket, as Chancellor, befriended Henry II and sided with the monarch in church-state controversies.  Henry II disagreed with the independence of the Church, a large landowner with its own court system.  The Church answered to the Bishop of Rome, not the Plantaganet monarch.  Theobald died in 1161.  Henry II recognized the opportunity to appoint a compliant Archbishop of Canterbury.

The elevation of Becket, a priest for just one day in 1162, to the highest clergy office in England was a political move.  Henry II soon realized that Becket would not take orders from him.  When Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury, he became a new man.  He lived austerely, ate simply, and defended ecclesiastical privileges against actions of the crown.  The relationship between Becket and Henry II deteriorated rapidly.  In 1164, the Archbishop of Canterbury, labeled a traitor and stripped of his financial assets, fled to France.

Becket was busy during his exile.  Aside from continuing his studies of canon law, he corresponded with allies and foes regarding his case.  Our saint asserted his rights and sought a negotiated settlement, in which Pope Alexander III was instrumental.

Becket returned to England in 1170.  His reconciliation with Henry II was brief.  Becket excommunicated Archbishop of York Roger de Pont LEvêque, who had crowned Henry, the heir-apparent.  (Crowning the heir-apparent was a task reserved for the Archbishop of Canterbury.)  On December 25, 1170, Henry II, livid, shouted,

Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?

Some knights took him literally.  Four days later, they murdered the Archbishop at Canterbury Cathedral.

Becket’s cultus started immediately.  The murder at the cathedral backfired on the monarch and tainted his reputation permanently.  Pope Alexander III canonized Becket as a martyr in 1173.

In a way, Henry II won, though.  The office of Archbishop of Canterbury remained vacant for years at a time.  Furthermore, Becket’s immediate successors generally did the monarch’s bidding.

The stain on Henry II’s reputation has remained as stubbornly as the “damned spot” on the hands of Lady MacBeth.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 5, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONIO MARY ZACCARIA, FOUNDER OF THE BARNABITES AND THE ANGELIC SISTERS OF SAINT PAUL

THE FEAST OF GEORGES BERNANOS, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC NOVELIST

THE FEAST OF HULDA NIEBUHR, CHRISTIAN EDUCATOR; HER BROTHERS, H. RICHARD NIEBUHR AND REINHOLD NIEBUHR, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST THEOLOGIANS; AND URSULA NIEBUHR, EPISCOPAL THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH BOISSEL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIEST AND MARTYR IN LAOS, 1969

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O God, our strength and our salvation, you called your servant Thomas Becket

to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church:

Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us

faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel;

through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

2 Esdras 2:42-48

Psalm 125

1 John 2:3-6, 15-17

Mark 11:24-33

—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 145

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If all bishops were like my Lord of Lincoln, not a prince among us could lift up his head against them.

Above:  St. Hugh of Lincoln

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN (1135-NOVEMBER 16, 1200)

Roman Catholic Bishop and Abbot

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–King Richard I

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St. Hugh of Lincoln, a reluctant abbot then a reluctant bishop, served God, confronted his king, and left a fine legacy.

St. Hugh was noble in two senses of that word.  His father was William, Lord of Avalon.  Our saint, born in Avalon Castle, Burgundy, France, in 1135, was eight years old when his mother, Anna, died.  St. Hugh, educated at a monastery in Villard-Benoit, France, became a monk at the age of 15 years and a deacon four years later.  Our saint, a Carthusian since 1160, became a priest five years later, having already been the Prior of Saint-Maxim since 1159.

St. Hugh reluctantly became the abbot of the new monastery (the first Carthusian abbey in England) at Witham, Somerset, in 1175.  King Henry II (reigned 1154-1189), penitent over the murder of St. Thomas Becket (December 29, 1170), had ordered the construction of that monastery.  St. Hugh, renowned for his piety, actively cared for the poor and attracted many recruits to the Carthusian order.

St. Hugh was an even more reluctant Bishop of Lincoln (1186-1200).  He was no less faithful, though.  After an earthquake destroyed the cathedral, St. Hugh presided over the reconstruction of the structure.  He also helped to transform the cathedral school into one of the greatest institutions of learning in England.  St. Hugh fearlessly confronted King Richard I (reigned 1189-1199), criticizing him for mistreating subjects.  Our saint also refused to raise funds for foreign wars.  Furthermore, St. Hugh criticized the monarch for leaving certain sees vacant, for the sake of collecting income.  Our saint also risked his life to resist the persecution of Jews (1190-1191); he confronted mobs and forced the release of captives.

St. Hugh died in London on November 16, 1200.  His health had been failing since the previous year, after a diplomatic mission for King John (reigned 1199-1216) to France.

The Church recognized St. Hugh in 1220, when Pope Honorius III made him the first canonized Carthusian.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 31, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA SKOBTSOVA, ORTHODOX MARTYR

THE FEAST OF ERNEST TRICE THOMPSON, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND RENEWER OF THE CHURCH

THE FEAST OF JOHN DONNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET

THE FEAST OF JOHN MARRIOTT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Holy God, our greatest treasure, you blessed Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln,

with wise and cheerful boldness for the proclamation of your Word to rich and poor alike;

Grant that all who minister in your Name may serve with diligence, discipline, and humility,

fearing nothing but the loss of you and drawing all to you through Jesus Christ our Savior;

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

Micah 4:1-4

Psalm 61

Titus 2:7-8, 11-14

Luke 12:35-44

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 685

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Above:  St. Hildegard of Bingen

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED JUTTA OF DISIBODENBERG (CIRCA 1084-DECEMBER 22, 1136)

Roman Catholic Abbess

Her feast transferred from December 22

mentor of

SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN (1098-SEPTEMBER 17, 1179)

Roman Catholic Abbess, Mystic, Theologian, Poet, Playwright, and Composer

One of my goals in renovating this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, as I keep repeating, is to emphasize relationships and influences.  Therefore, I merge the feasts of St. Hildegard of Bingen (September 17) and her mentor, Blessed Jutta of Disibodenberg (December 22).

Blessed Jutta, born circa 1084 in Spanheim, was a German noblewoman.  Her brother was Meganhard, the Count of Spanheim.  She became a hermitess on November 1, 1106.  Blessed Jutta lived near the Abbey of Saint Disibod, Disibodenberg.  She taught children and became the center of a female community before beginning to serve as the first abbess of the new convent at Disibodenberg in 1116.  One member of that community then convent was St. Hildegard, born in Böckelheim, near Spanheim, in 1098, and also of German nobility.  She, raised and educated at Disibodenberg, succeeded Blessed Jutta as abbess in 1136.  St. Hildegard held that post until 1147.  That year she and eighteen nuns founded a new, independent convent near Bingen.  She served as the abbess there for the rest of her life.

St. Hildegard was a mystic; she had been one since childhood.  From 1141 to 1150 she published accounts of 26 of her visions in Scivas (Know the Ways).  Our saint’s visions were consistent with theological orthodoxy, according to the Archbishop of Mainz, a group of theologians, and Pope Eugenius III.  After 1150 St. Hildegard continued to report and write about her visions.

St. Hildegard was a remarkable person, especially by the standards of her time and place.  In 1152-1162 she made preaching tours in the Rhineland.  She corresponded with monarchs and popes, wrote at least one drama, composed religious texts and music, and wrote treatises on science and medicine.  She was, by the standards of her time and place, unusually scientifically astute.  St. Hildegard, as a theologian, belonged to the school of Creation Spirituality.  The Church has recognized her as a Doctor of the Church, a title it bestows on few saints.  The only other women so honored were St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), and St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897).

Despite St. Hildegard’s respected status in the Church during her lifetime, she ran afoul of ecclesiastical authorities toward the end of her life.  She permitted the burial of an excommunicated man in the convent’s cemetery.  Then our saint disobeyed an order to disinter the corpse; the deceased had reconciled with God before he died, she said in her defense.  St. Hildegard’s defiance led to the Archbishop of Mainz placing the convent under an interdict, a penalty she protested.  Eventually the archbishop lifted the interdict.

St. Hildegard died a few months later, on September 17, 1179.

Pope John XXII beatified St. Hildegard in 1326.  She was informally “St. Hildegard” for centuries until Pope Benedict XVI made it official in 2012.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 19, 2018 COMMON ERA

PROPER 15:  THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIXTUS III, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF BLAISE PASCAL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCIENTIST, MATHEMATICIAN, AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MAGNUS AND AGRICOLA OF AVIGNON, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AVIGNON

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HAMMOND, ENGLISH MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER

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God of all times and seasons:

Give us grace that we, after the example of your servant Hildegard, a student of Jutta,

may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of your creation,

and show forth your glory not only with our lips but in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 43:1-2, 6-7, 9-12, 27-28

Psalm 104:25-34

Colossians 3:14-17

John 3:16-21

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 589

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Above:  Cluny Abbey

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED AMADEUS OF CLERMONT (DIED 1150)

French Roman Catholic Monk

His feast transferred from January 14

father of

BLESSED AMADEUS OF LAUSANNE (1110-AUGUST 27, 1159)

French-Swiss Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop

One of my goals in renovating my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days is to emphasize relationships and influences.  Writing about a father and a son in the same post is consistent with that purpose.

Blessed Amadeus of Clermont was a member of the Franconian royal family.  The native of Hauterives, Dauphine (then part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France),  became a widower.  He and sixteen of his men became monks at Bonnevaux Abbey.  He and his son, Blessed Amadeus of Lausanne (b. 1110), lived at Bonnevaux Abbey before moving to the great Cluny Abbey.  Blessed Amadeus of Clermont founded monasteries at Tamis, Montperout, Mazan, and Léoncel, in Dauphine (in France as of 2018), before dying at Bonnevaux circa 1150.

Blessed Amadeus of Lausanne, born in Dauphine in 1110, studied at the abbeys of Bonnevaux and Cluny.  He was, for a time, a courtier in the household of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (reigned 1111-1125).  In 1124 our saint became a monk at Clairvaux Abbey, were St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), the abbot from 1115 to 1128, became his mentor.  Blessed Amadeus transterred to Hautecombe Abbey, Savoy.  Five years later, against his will, our saint became the Bishop of Lausanne; he insisted that he was inadequate for the office.  The diocese was extremely difficult.  One day, when St. Amadeus tried in vain to prevent a murder, wound up with blood on his vestments.  Regardless of how capable a bishop Blessed Amadeus was, he was a fine homilist.  He wrote eight, enduring (still published) homilies in praise of St. Mary of Nazareth.

Blessed Amadeus of Lausanne also held other positions.  He was the tutor of and regent for Blessed Humbert III (1136-1189), Count of Savoy (1148-1188).  Blessed Amadeus was also the Chancellor of Burgundy under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (reigned 1155-1190).  Blessed Amadeus died in Lausanne on August 27, 1159.

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, you have brought us near to an immeasurable company of angels,

and to the spirits of just men made perfect:

Grant us during our earthly pilgrimage to abide in their fellowship,

and in our heavenly country to become partakers of their joy;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

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

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9

Psalm 34 or 34:15-22

Philippians 4:4-9

Luke 6:17-23

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 725

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Above:  Kingdom of France, 1140

Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor from the Rand McNally World Atlas–Imperial Edition (1968)

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BLESSED LAMBERT PÉLOGUIN OF VENCE (1084-1154)

Roman Catholic Monk and Bishop

Blessed Lambert Péloguin was a humble and pious monk.  Our saint, born in Bauduen, France, grew up without his mother; she had died while giving birth to him.  At the age of 12 years Blessed Lambert began to live among the Benedictine monks at Lérins.  After two years he joined that order.  Being a monk satisfied our saint, who left that life behind only reluctantly in 1114 to become the Bishop of Vence.  For the rest of his life Blessed Lambert, as a bishop, earned his reputation for piety, humility, and Christian charity.  His charitable acts included overseeing the construction of hospitals and the functioning of programs to support widows and orphans.  Our saint’s reputation for probity was such that he was in demand as an arbiter.

Accounts of people who have been guilty of serial perfidy and who have cloaked themselves in self-righteousness, therefore in the stench of hypocrisy, are as old as antiquity and as recent as current events.  In such a context to ponder the life of a man of integrity and humility is a great pleasure.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 7, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PHILIP AND DANIEL BERRIGAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

THE FEAST OF ANNE ROSS COUSIN, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF GERALD THOMAS NOEL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER; BROTHER OF BAPTIST WRIOTHESLEY NOEL, ANGLICAN PRIEST, ENGLISH BAPTIST EVANGELIST, AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS NIECE, CAROLINE MARIA NOEL, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MARIA JOSEPHA ROSSELLO, COFOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF OUR LADY OF PITY

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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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Above:  St. Ivo of Chartres

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES (CIRCA 1040-DECEMBER 23, 1115/1116)

Bishop of Chartres

Alternative feast day = December 23

St. Ivo, Bishop of Chartres, lived his faith during treacherous political times.  Our saint, born into French nobility in Beauvais circa 1040, studied in Paris then at the Abbey of Bec, Normandy.  In 1080 his Bishop appointed him to be the Prior of St. Quentin, Beauvais.  In that capacity St. Ivo became one of the best teachers in France.  He transferred to Chartres in 1090.  There our saint succeeded one Geoffrey, the previous Bishop of Chartres, deposed for committing simony.  St. Ivo, an opponent of simony, was also a consultant in the fields of theology and canon law.

Two great controversies confronted St. Ivo.  King Philip I (reigned 1059-1108) created one of these in 1092, when he married Bertrada de Montfort, wife of Fulk, the Count of Anjou.  Not only was Bertrada married, so so was Philip I.  His wife (until her death in 1094) was Queen Bertha.  Pope Urban II (in office 1088-1099) excommunicated the French monarch, lifted the order Bertha died, then reimposed it several times.  Pope Paschal II (in office 1099-1118) lifted the excommunication on the condition that Philip I have no more relations with Bertrada.  St. Ivo, like the Popes, opposed Philip I.  Our saint, unlike the Supreme Pontiffs, went to prison.

The other great controversy related to the lay investiture of bishops and abbots.  Popes and monarchs argued about this matter for a long time.  St. Ivo proposed a moderate position that presaged the Concordat of Worms (1122), concluded after his death.  In that agreement monarchs retained the right to attend consecrations and to invest bishops and abbots with symbols of temporal authority, but relinquished the right to invest bishops and abbots with symbols of spiritual authority.  Monarchs also agreed to guarantee free and canonical elections.

Pope Pius V beatified St. Ivo in 1570.

The status of St. Ivo’s canonization seems to be in doubt.  CatholicSaints.Info lists our saint as “Blessed Ivo of Chartres” and lists Pope Benedict XIV (in office 1740-1758) as having added him to the martyrology.  Omer Englebert, in The Lives of the Saints (1951), lists our saint as “St. Ivo of Chartres.”

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 22, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROBERT SEAGRAVE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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O God, our heavenly Father, who raised up your servant Saint Ivo of Chartres,

to be a bishop and pastor in your Church and to feed your flock:

Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit,

that they may minister in your household as true servants of your divine mysteries;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84 or 84:7-11

Ephesians 3:14-21

Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 719

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Above:  St. Ubaldo Baldassini

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT UBALDO BALDASSINI (CIRCA 1085-MAY 16, 1160)

Bishop of Gubbio

Also known as Saint Ubaldus Baldassini

St. Ubaldo Baldassini, born circa 1085 at Gubbio, near Ancona, Umbria, Italy, came from nobility.  Our saint, related to St. Sperandia (died in 1276; feast day = September 11), an abbess and a mystic, was a son of Rovaldo Baldassini.  Rovaldo died when St. Ubaldo was young.  Our saint’s mother was, unfortunately, an invalid afflicted with a neurological disorder, so an uncle raised him.

St. Ubaldo, educated at the cathedral school at Gubbio, turned to the Church.  He, a monk at the Monastery of St. Secondo, Gubbio, became a priest in 1115.  Later he became the dean of the cathedral.  Our saint began to serve as the Bishop of Gubbio in 1128.  St. Ubaldo, a friend of St. Francis of Assisi, had a reputation for being patient and kind.  Our saint also delivered the city from the wrath of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (reigned 1152-1190), whom he bribed not to sack Gubbio.  St. Ubaldo died of natural causes at Gubbio on May 16, 1160.  He was about 75 years old.

Pope Celestine III canonized our saint in 1192.

St. Ubaldo is the patron saint of autistic people, possessed persons, sick children, obsessive compulsives, and Gubbio and Montovi, Italy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 24, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY CLAY SHUTTLEWORTH, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF DANIEL C. ROBERTS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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

including your servant Saint Ubaldo of Baldassini.

May the memory of his life 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

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

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

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Above:  Blessed John Cacciafronte

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED JOHN CACCIAFRONTE (CIRCA 1125-MARCH 16, 1183)

Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, Bishop, and Martyr

Also known as Blessed John de Surdis, John Sordi, and Giovanni de Surdis Cacciafronte

Blessed John Cacciafronte, born circa 1125, was a native of Cremona, Italy.  He spent time as a monk at St. Lawrence Abbey there.  In 1155 he became the abbot.  Cacciafronte sided with Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) in the dispute with Antipope Victor IV (1159-1164).  This fact placed Cacciafronte in conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (reigned 1155-1190), whom Alexander III had excommunicated in 1160 for supporting Victor IV.  Barbarossa exiled our saint, who became a hermit near Sordi.  In 1174 our saint became the Bishop of Mantua, replacing a man removed from office due to transgressions.  Three years later the penitent bishop sought to return to office, so Cacciafronte willingly returned to life as a hermit.  He was a hermit at Vicenza, Italy.  On March 16, 1183, Cacciafronte was rebuking a man who had embezzled church funds.  That man murdered our saint.

The Roman Catholic Church lists our saint as a martyr.

Pope Leo XII beatified him in 1824.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 20, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FABIAN, BISHOP OF ROME AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DEICOLA AND GALL, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS; AND OTHMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AT SAINT GALLEN

THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT AND THEOCRISTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS

THE FEAST OF HARRIET AUBER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER

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Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of Blessed John Cacciafronte,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 59

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Above:  St. Wulfric of Haselbury

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT WULFRIC OF HASELBURY (1080-FEBRUARY 20, 1154)

Roman Catholic Hermit

Also known as Saint Ulric, Ulrich, and Ulfrick

St. Wulfric of Haselbury, born at Compton Martin, near Bristol, England, in 1080, was one of the saints who changed his ways.  St. Wulfric became a priest at Deverill (near Warminster) yet preferred to go hunting with local nobles to performing his ministerial duties.  However, he repented and became a hermit in 1125.  Our saint resided near the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Haselbury Plucknett, Somerset, where he remained for the rest of his life.  St. Wulfric’s activities included copying and binding books, as well as making objects for use in the Mass.  Our saint, who never joined any religious order, advised King Henry I (reigned 1100-1135), allegedly predicting the date of his death, and rebuked King Stephen (reigned 1135-1154).  St. Wulfric died on February 20, 1154.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 6, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETIUS OF TRIER, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP; AND SAINT AREDIUS OF LIMOGES, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM OF KRATIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND HERMIT

THE FEAST OF HENRY USTICK ONDERDONK, EPISCOPAL BISHOP, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF MYRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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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 St. Wulfric of Haselbury,

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), page 722

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