The commemoration of the dedication of the church of St. John Lateran. The Lateran palace was part of the estate of Constantine’s wife Fausta. He donated it to the Christians of Rome in 312. Constantine financed the building of a large church next to the palace. It was dedicated to the Savior, but later it received the name of John the Baptist, probably derived from the nearby baptistery. It has been the cathedral church of the bishops of Rome ever since.
In 467, in Ireland, St. Benen. He was a disciple and successor to St. Patrick, who named him Benignus, because of his kindly disposition. He is remembered as the first to bring the gospel to Counties Clare and Kerry.
In Deventer, in 917, St. Radbod. He was the great-grandson of the King Radbod, who opposed the missionary work of St. Willibrord. He was educated at Cologne, became a monk when he was about thirty, and then was chosen bishop of Utrecht. As bishop, he lived as a monk, became a vegetarian, and continued his studies amid his pastoral and charitable work. He wrote some hymns that survive.
In 1485, in Bologna, Blessed Louis Morbioli. He came from a large middle-class family, and grew into a worldly young man. When he was thirty years old, he became ill while staying with the canons regular of San Salvatore in Venice. This occasioned a profound transformation, and he spent the rest of his life as a wandering preacher.
Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.
