Daily Martyrology for September 14

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which recalls the story of St. Helena (August 18) finding the relics of the holy cross, and their recovery from the Persians in 628.

In Jerusalem, in 1214, St. Albert, bishop. Albert was a canon regular, who was made bishop first of Bobbio and then of Vercelli. He was an effective diplomat and peacemaker, and for that reason in 1205 he was sent to Palestine as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and papal legate. From his episcopal see in Acre he worked to keep peace among the crusaders and between them and the Muslims. He wrote a rule for some hermits who lived on Mount Carmel, who became the nucleus of the Carmelite Order. He was murdered during a procession on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

St. Peter of Tarentaise, bishop. His devout family was hospitable to monks, and Peter became acquainted with the Cistercians. He joined them and became abbot of the monastery of Tamié. He was appointed bishop of Tarentaise. He was an exemplary bishop and mediated in various disputes. He was a strong supporter of Pope Alexander III against the antipope Victor IV.

In China, in 1815, Blessed Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, martyr. He was ordained in 1774 and the next year went to China as a missionary. He worked energetically for eight years, was arrested and then released. In 1800 he was appointed a bishop; in 1815 he was arrested and beheaded.

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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.