Today, 26 April, is the feast of ...
Cletus, pope and martyr (91)
Marcellinus, pope and martyr (304)
Peter, bishop of Braga (350): 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 the *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.
Carolyn Muessig
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