Daily Martyrology for October 1

In 1897, in the Carmelite convent in Lisieux, St. Thérèse Martin. Her mother died when she was four and she was raised by her sister, Pauline, who entered the Carmelites when Thérèse was nine. Two other sisters entered the same convent. After gaining special permission from the pope, Thérèse herself entered the community at the age of fifteen. She embraced a “little way” to holiness based on humility and trust in God, a way all people could follow. She devoted her life and prayer to saving souls, especially priests'. In the last months of her life, she suffered an agonizing illness and trials of faith; she died of tuberculosis at 23. She left behind three autobiographical texts, several hundred letters, poems and other writings.

In the mid sixth century, in Constantinople, St. Romanus, a convert from Judaism. He was a deacon who wrote a large body of exquisite hymns.

In 566, St. Nicetius of Trier. He was born in Auvergne, became a monk, and then was appointed bishop of Trier. He was a zealous bishop who was not afraid to criticize royalty for their lapses.

In 1900, in Italy, Blessed Luigi Maria Monti. He had a woodcarving shop where other devout men gathered. They formed a group dedicated to helping the poor and sick. Luigi spent some years as a novice in a religious congregation called the Sons of Mary Immaculate, but left to dedicate himself to caring for the poor in Rome. He studied nursing at La Sapienza University. Others joined him, and in 1904 his group, The Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception, received papal approval.

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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.