Daily Martyrology for July 26

In the first century, Sts. Joachim and Anne. They are not mentioned in the Scriptures, but their names are given in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James.

In 1644, in Vietnam, Blessed Andrew of Phú Yên. He was a catechist, trained by Fr. Alexandre de Rhodes (cf. February 2). He was arrested for being a Christian and beheaded. He was nineteen years old, the first Vietnamese Christian to die for his faith.

In 1942, Blessed Titus Brandsma. He was born in Friesland of devout parents. He earned a doctorate then joined the Carmelites. He taught at the Carmelite seminary in the Netherlands for fifteen years, then became a professor at Nijmegen, specializing in Dutch mysticism. Against the Nazis, he defended the Jews and Catholic schools. He was arrested and eventually sent to Dachau, where he was executed by lethal injection.

In Malta, in 1962, St. George Preca. He was ordained a priest and organized a group of celibate men whose aim was to spread the gospel in their places of work. Although they met with some opposition, the movement proved extremely effective. George himself tried to avoid the limelight.

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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.