Daily Martyrology for April 8

At Corinth, about 170, St. Dionysius, bishop. Excerpts from some of his letters are preserved in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.

At the abbey of Pontoise, in 1095, St. Walter, abbot. He was a professor before becoming a monk. He was appointed abbot of the new monastery of Pontoise. He didn’t like the job and fled three times: first to Cluny, then to an island in the Loire River, and finally to Pope Gregory VII, who told him to return to his post as abbot. Walter was an energetic promoter of the Gregorian Reforms.

In 1816, in France, St. Julie Billiart. She was an energetic young woman, active in her parish. When she was in her early 20s, someone attempted to murder her father, and the shock made her an invalid. During the French Revolution she had to go into hiding. In 1804 she was one of the first members of a new order, which became the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. The new congregation was devoted to education; there was no distinction between lay and choir sisters, and there was no enclosure. Their main form of self-discipline was class preparation and teaching. Under her inspiration and that of her colleague, Francoise Blin de Bourdon, the congregation flourished. Several members of the order were active in St. Paul, OR, shortly before 1850.

Previous Day   |   Next Day   |   Pick a Day...

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