Today, 26 April, is the feast of ...
Cletus, pope and martyr (91)
Marcellinus, pope and martyr (304)
Peter, bishop of Braga (?): A disciple of St James the Greater.
Consecrated as the first bishop of Braga. Suffered martyrdom after he
had cured the leprosy of a king's daughter.
Richarius or Riquier, abbot (645)
Paschasius Radbertus, abbot of Corbie (860): Radbertus was adopted by
the nuns of Notre-Dame at Soissons after he had been left on their
doorstep as a motherless babe. He grew up to be one of the most prolific
writers of the ninth century. Amongst his works are commentaries on
Matthew and on the forty-fourth psalm, a treatise on the book of
*Lamentations*, the vitae of the abbot St Adalhard and his brother Wala,
and *De corpore et Sanguine Christi*.
John I, bishop of Valence (1146)
Franca of Piacenza, abbess (1218): As a young woman, Franca became
abbess of the Benedictine convent St Syrus of Piacenza. For a short time
all went well. But the zealous young abbess soon began to tighten the
reins of discipline, prohibiting such practices as the cooking of
vegetables in wine. She was deposed. Eventually she moved to a
Cistercian foundation where her austere practices were venerated by her
community.
Dominic and Gregory, Dominican friars (1300): Preached the Gospel in
Aragon. Their labours were carried out in remote districts among the
hill folk inhabiting the steep southern spurs of the Pyrenees. Barefoot,
they went from hamlet to hamlet preaching. They had taken refuge under a
cliff in a severe thunderstorm where they became victims of a rock
avalanche. The ringing of bells startled the inhabitants of the nearest
villages, and a strange light revealed the scene of the catastrophe. The
bodies of the two missionaries were recovered and buried at Besiano
where they have ever since been venerated.
Alda or Aldobrandesca, widow (1309): After her husband's death she gave
away all her possessions and devoted herself to nursing the sick and
poor. She often experienced ecstasies. When she was first seen in a
state of trance resembling catalepsy, some people were sceptical and
started to pinch her, pierce her with needles and apply lighted candles
to her hands. When she recovered consciousness she felt intense pain
from the wounds that had been inflicted, but all she said to her
tormentors was: "God forgive you."
Stephen, bishop of Perm (1396): Stephen was a very worthy successor of
SS Cyril and Methodius, and his missionary methods are reminiscent of
theirs. He believed that every people should worship God in its own
tongue, since languages also are from God. One of his first undertakings
was to translate the liturgical services into the language of the
Zyriane.
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Dr Carolyn Muessig
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Bristol
Bristol BS8 1TB
UK
phone: +44(0)117-928-8168
fax: +44(0)117-929-7850
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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