Daily Martyrology for January 1

On the octave of Christmas and the day of Jesus’ Circumcision, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, whom the Fathers of the Council of Ephesus in 431 acclaimed Theotokos, because from her the Word assumed flesh and dwelt among us. As mother of Christ, she is mother of us all, and foremost of the saints.

In 533, St. Fulgentius, a monk who served as bishop of Ruspe in Tunisia. He defended orthodoxy against Arianism, which arose from the teachings of the theologian Arius and instigated the Council of Nicaea.

In 1031, St. William of Volpiano, abbot. St. Majolus, abbot of Cluny, sent him to revive monastic life at the monastery of St. Benigne in Dijon. St. Benigne became the hub of a large network of monasteries. William died at the monastery of Fécamp, which he had refounded.

In 1252, at Jablonné in Bohemia, Saint Zdislava of Lemberk, who was extremely kind to the poor. With her wealthy husband, Havel, she built a basilica now dedicated to St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava. She is a patron of Bohemia.

In 1920, at Lvov, in the Ukraine, St. Sigmund Gorazdowski, a parish priest of extraordinary pastoral creativity and dedication to the poor.

In Dachau, near Munich, in 1943, Blessed Marian Konopinski, priest and martyr.

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Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.