In 560, at Saint-Quentin, St. Médard, bishop. He became a priest when he was 33, and was an outstanding preacher and missionary. He was ordained bishop by St. Remy (January 13). Medieval tradition invoked him as an intercessor for those suffering from toothache.
In 1899, in Oporto, Portugal, Blessed Maria Droste zu Vischering. She joined he Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and was sent to Portugal to open a hostel for troubled girls. All the while she had mystical experiences. She believed that God wanted the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Christ. Pope Leo XIII made that consecration in an encyclical Annum sacrum issued a few days before she died.
In 1926, in Kerela, India, Blessed Mariam Theresia Chiramel Mankidiyan. Her mother died when Mariam was twelve, and Mariam had to leave school. She and some companions became very involved in the life of their parish. Mariam had many mystical experiences, some of them controversial. She and her companions eventually formed a religious order, which has prospered in India.
In 1958, in Sardinia, Blessed Nicholas of Gesturi. Orphaned at an early age, he lived and worked on an older sister’s farm, while attending daily Mass and devotions. When he was 29 he became a Capuchin friar, and spent over three decades walking the roads collecting alms for his friary. He was known for his silence, and became revered. People found in him the presence of God and an invitation to peace.
Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.
