Today, 25 June, is the feast of ...
* Febronia, martyr (304?) - as a young woman, she preached to the nuns of
Nisibis (in Mesopotamia) every Friday; when arrested following the edicts
of Diocletian, she was fastened to four posts over a slow fire, and
scourged: 17 of her teeth were pulled out and her breasts were cut
off, and then her limbs were cut off, and then she was well and truly
killed with more blows from an ax(e)... a very famous *passio*
* Gallicanus, martyr (352?) - a great general who converted to
Christianity, settled in Ostia but then went into exile in Egypt, where he
lived as a hermit until he had his head chopped off
* Prosper of Aquitaine (c. 465) - known as 'the Aquitainian doctor' (I wonder
why?), his writings (mostly defences of Augustine on grace and free will) were
quite popular; but little is known of his life
* Prosper, bishop of Reggio (466?) - as often happens, more than one saint
with the same name are venerated on the same day; this Prosper is
mistakenly identified with the earlier Prosper in the Roman Martyrology
* Maximus, bishop of Turin (c. 467) - although his theological
treatises are not extant, his sermons are; these sermons describe
pre-christian customs of the rural population around Turin. For an edition
of the sermons see A. Mutzenbecher, ed., *Sermonum collectio antiqua,
nonnullis sermonibus extravagentibus adiectis* (Corpus Christianorum,
Series Latina - Continuatio Mediaevalis, 23). Brepols, 1963.
* Moloc or Molluog or Murlach or Mortlach or Luan, bishop (572?) - very
popular saint in Scotland; king Malcolm II attributed his victory over the
Danes in 1010 to the intercession of Mary and Mortlach, and in
thanksgiving established in a place named after the saint an episcopal see
which was subsequently transferred to Aberdeen
* Adalbert of Egmond (early eighth century) - a deacon who assisted
Willibrord; he evangelized the area around Egmond
* Eurosia, virgin and martyr (eighth century?) - devotion to her appears
to have begun in the fifteenth century, in Jaca, Spain, and in Lombardy;
invoked against bad weather
* Gohard, bishop of Nantes, and companions, martyrs (843) - with a group
of monks, he was killed by marauding Northmen; relics taken to Angers, his
native town
* William of Vercelli, abbot of Monte Vergine (1142) - at age 14 set out
on pilgrimage to Compostela with two iron bands fastened around his body,
just to make the trip more of a challenge - the monastery he founded at
Monte Vergine (or Monte Virgiliano) followed a very austere rule: on
three days of the week, only vegetables and dry bread could be eaten
* Henry Zdik, bishop of Olomuc (1150) - during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
he took the Premonstratensian habit; a few years later, preached to
convert the Prussians
* John the Spaniard (1160) - compiled a constitution for Carthusian nuns
* Guido Maramaldi (1391) - a Neapolitan Dominican, who became inquisitor
general for the kingdom of Naples
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George Ferzoco tel ++ 44 (0)116 252 2654
Director of Italian Studies fax ++ 44 (0)116 252 3633
University of Leicester e-mail [log in to unmask]
School of Modern Languages
LEICESTER LE1 7RH
UNITED KINGDOM
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