Daily Martyrology for March 30

In the seventh century, in Egypt, St. John Climacus. He lived for many decades as a hermit, and in his old age he became abbot of the monastic community at Mt. Sinai. He had studied the writings of Evagrios of Pontus and used them in writing his Ladder to Paradise, a very influential book in Eastern monasticism. His treatise, To the Shepherd, emphasizes humility and purity of heart.

In 1472, at Vercelli, Blessed Amadeus of Savoy. As a youth he was devout but troubled by epilepsy. He was married to Yolande, daughter of the King of France. When he was put in charge of the province of Brescia and made governor of Piedmont, he worked for peace both with his brother Philip and with the Sforzas of Milan. He was a good administrator and very generous to the poor. He died before he was forty, and his last admonition to his family and administrators was “Be just. Love the poor and the Lord will grant peace to the whole length of the land.”

In 1866, in Korea, St. Antony Daveluy and companions, who were martyred for their faith.

In 1943, in Austria, Blessed Restituta Kafka, martyr. She was born in Moravia, but her family emigrated to Vienna. She worked as a maid, then joined a nursing order in 1915. She was arrested by the Gestapo for putting up crucifixes in the hospital where she worked. She spent a year in prison, sharing her rations with those who needed them more, and was guillotined.

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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.