PrayTheRosary Apostolate

MARCH 2010

MONTH OF SAINT JOSEPH

March 1st -St. Albinus (Bishop) -St. Albinus, Bishop of Angers, was popularly known for his charity and power to work miracles. He died ill 550 A.D.

March 2nd -St. Basileus (Martyr) -Put to death at Rome, along with St. Jovinus during the persecution of Gallienus and Valerian about 258 A.D.

March 3rd -St. Marinus (Martyr) -A Roman noble- man in Palestine, he was denounced as a Christian by a rival and then executed about 262 A.D.

March 4th -St. Casimir (Confessor) -Son of King Casimir IV of Poland he led a life of mortification and self-denial at court .Drawn by great love of the poor, he died in 1484.

March 5th -St. John Joseph of the Cross (Martyr) -(1654-1734) Born near Naples, he became a Franciscan Friar at age 16. Later, he was ordained, became an outstanding confessor, and superior. He was renowned for his visions, ecstasies and gift of prophecy.

March 6th -St. Petpetua and Felicitas (Martyrs) -They were condemned to the wild beasts and, at last, courageously died by the sword in the third century.

March 7th -St. Thomas Aquinas (Confessor and Doctor) -(1225-1274) Thomas, a Dominican, taught philosophy and theology and was outstanding for his innocent purity, thus earning him the title "Angelic Doctor". He is the patron of schools and universities.

March 8th -St. John of God (Confessor) -Born in Portugal, John lived impiously as a shepherd and soldier until his conversion at age 40. He founded the Order of Brothers Hospitalers and died in 1550. He is patron of nurses.

March 9th -St. Frances of Rome (Widow) -(1384-1440) A model of Christian virtue, St. Frances entered the Benedictan monastery of Oblates after the death of her husband. She was blessed with the vision of her guardian angel with whom she conversed familiarly.

March 10th -The Forty Holy Martyrs -Under the persecution of Emperor Licinus, 320 A.D., forty soldiers of Sebaste in Armenia were exposed to die on a frozen pond after refusing to sacrifice to pagan idols.

March 11th -St. Eulogius (Martyr) -A priest of Cordoya, Spain, Eulogius suffered imprisonment and was later beheaded because of his writings encouraging Christians to remain steadfast under the Moorish occupation around 859 A.D.

March 12th -St. Gregory the Great (Pope and Doctor) -Pope Gregory is one of the four great doctors of the Latin Church. He is responsible for England's conversion by the missionaries he sent and is known for his development of "Gregorian Chant." He died in 604.

March 13th -St. Euphrasia (Virgin) -She spent her youth with her widowed mother in an Egyptian hermitage. She gave up her inherited wealth to remain an ascetic until she died in the fifth century.

March 14th -St. Matilda (Widow) -Married to Otto of Saxony she led a life of great charity. At the King's death she suffered much from her sons' disputes. She had built four religious houses and retired to one of them until her death in 968 A.D.

March 15th -St. Louise de Marillac (Widow) -After the death of her husband, Louise co-founded the Sisters of Charity with St. Vincent de Paul for assisting the poor as nurses, teachers and charity organizers. She died in 1660 and her body is preserved in Paris.

March 16th -St. Abraham Kidunaia -Born of a wealthy family in Edessa, Mesopotamia, he fled an arranged marriage to live celibate in the desert. He left his-solitude to convert a colony of unbelievers, then returned to his cell where he died in the sixth century.

 March 17th -St. Patrick (Bishop) -As a youth Patrick was kidnapped by pirates from his home and sold as a slave in Ireland in the fifth century. He escaped only to return as a bishop to convert it. He is patron of Ireland.

March 18th -St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Bishop and Doctor) -This great doctor of the fourth century defended the divinity of Christ a~ainst the Arian heresy at the Council of Constantinople in 381.

March 19th -St. Joseph (Spouse of Blessed Virgin Mary) -St. Joseph faithfully carried out his mission as guardian of Mary and foster father of the Child Jesus. As protector of the Head of the Mystical Body, he is the patron of the Universal Church.

March 20th -St. Eugene (Martyr) -Eugene was an Armenian who suffered death under Diocletian in the 4th century.

March 21st -St. Benedict (Abbot) -(480-547) He founded the Benedictan Order and wrote the rule for his monasteries. His motto was "Ora et labora" - pray and work.

March 22nd -St. Nicholas Von Flue -(1417-1487) "Bruder Klaus" was a loving husband and father, who under divine inspiration, became a hermit in Switzerland:

March 23rd -St. Victorian (Martyr) -A wealthy citizen of Carthage he was slain under the Arian king, Huneric, along with four others in 484.

March 24th -St. Gabriel the Archangel -Gabriel is one of the seven spirits who stands before God. His name means "Power of God." He was chosen as messenger to Mary at the Incarnation.

March 25th -Annunciation of Blessed Virgin Mary -God chose Mary to be the Mother of the Savior at the message of the angel Gabriel.

March 26th -St.  Dismas (Penitent) -Christ hung on the cross between two thieves, one of which, Dismas, repented of his crimes to hear these words: "This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."

March 27th -St. John Damascene (Confessor and Doctor) -During the persecution of the Iconoclasts in the eighth century, St. John defended the veneration of images in his writings. Condemned to have his right hand cut off it was miraculously restored.

March 28th -St. John Capistrano (Confessor) -(1386-1456) St. John, a Franciscan, was a famous preacher known for leading an army against the Turks.

March 29th -St. Rupert (Bishop) -Of Frankish descent, Rupert labored in Austria, building churches and making numerous converts before his death in 710.

March 30th -St. Regulus (Bishop) -Regulus was a Greek who accompanied St. Dionysius to France and was made first bishop of Senlis. He died about 250 A.D.

March 31st -St. Benjamin (Martyr) -A deacon in Persia who was imprisoned and tortured in the fifth century for refusing to cease his preaching.