At Rome, in 752, St. Zachary, pope. The last of a line of Greek popes, he supported St. Boniface’s missionary efforts in Germany and the claims of Pepin to sovereignty over the Franks. He tried to find a peaceful diplomatic path in the conflicts between the Lombards and the Byzantines on the Italian peninsula. He translated the Dialogues of Gregory the Great into Greek and consecrated the church at Monte Cassino.
In France, in 1660, St. Louise de Marillac. The illegitimate daughter of a lesser nobleman, she was educated at the Dominican convent of Poissy, then was entrusted to the care of a poor spinster who took in orphan girls. Her family arranged her marriage to a secretary of the queen. She was an excellent wife and mother. When her husband became ill, she went through a time of deep spiritual crisis. After his death she associated herself with the work of St. Vincent de Paul (September 27), flourished, and went on to found the Sisters of Charity.
In Italy, in 1915, Blessed Placid Riccardi. After studying at the Angelicum in Rome, he entered the Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls in 1865. After spending time in prison for not reporting for army duty, he was ordained in 1871. He served as a convent chaplain and novice master, and then for twenty years took care of the ruins of the once-great abbey of Farfa.
In Patagonia, in 1951, Blessed Artemide Zatti. Born of poor Italian immigrants, he entered the Salesians at the age of 20. He became a pharmacist and spent his life tirelessly running an exemplary hospital and living as a devoted member of his religious community.
Our daily martyrology was written by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB. Copyright © 2008 by the Monastery of the Ascension, Jerome, ID 83338.