In 1270, in Tunis, St. Louis IX, King of France. He was an extremely influential political figure, but his personal integrity, humility and restraint are the reasons he is honored as a saint. He and his wife Margaret, the oldest daughter of the count of Provence, had 11 children. He went on the Second Crusade in 1248, was captured and held prisoner, then returned to France in 1254, where he spent fifteen years implementing governmental and social reforms in France and promoting international peace. He died on the way to another crusading effort in Palestine.
In 303, St. Genesius of Arles. As a young notary. he was required to write a decree of persecution against the Christians. He quit his job on the spot and was later apprehended and beheaded.
In 1648, St. Joseph Calasanz. He was born in Aragon and educated at Lérida and Valencia. He became a priest and later went to Rome. He opened a free school there, and created a community which developed into the Piarist Order.
In 1885, in Argentina, Blessed María del Tránsito Cabanillas de Jesús Sacramentado. She was an active Catholic all her life. She tried to join several religious orders as an older woman, but was not accepted. She then helped to form the Franciscan Third Order Missionaries of Argentina, which are dedicated to the education of orphans and poor children.
Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.