This is a fairly new Commemoration, introduced in 1969. It commemorates those Christians martyred by the emperor Nero in AD 64. They were martyred in what today forms part of the Vatican gardens, and is one of the first places of Christian martyrdom. May these martyrs pray for us in our own witness to Christ, […]

Both of these saints experienced dramatic moments of conversion: St Peter, at the time of his denial of Christ, and St Paul on the Damascus Road. St Peter is also known for his profound confession of Christ: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God’. In our own conversions and trials of faith, […]

Born in the first half of the second century, St Irenaeus is known to have seen and heard the saintly Bishop Polycarp, who in turn had known the Apostle John. So his lineage is illustrious. Ordained a priest of the Church of Lyons, he later became its Bishop. His episcopate was marked by many battles […]

St Cyril was born about the year 375 and died on this day in 444. He became Bishop of Alexandria in 412. He campaigned tirelessly for orthodox doctrine in the Church, in the context of many and complex heretical movements. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1882. He said: ‘From Christ and […]

This year we have seen no less than four fox cubs, though only three were around when this image was taken! Today’s New Testament reading is taken from Galatians, and here is part of it: ‘You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through […]

Here is Pope St John Paul II’s prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: ‘Oh, Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths […]

Here are some words of the Visitandine St Margaret Mary Alacoque for the Feast: ‘The Sacred Heart is the symbol of that boundless love which moved the Word to take flesh, to institute the Holy Eucharist, to take our sins upon Himself and, dying on the Cross, to offer Himself as a victim and sacrifice […]

Here is part of the account, as told by St Luke: ‘Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her’. The hymn traditionally sung for this feast, Ut Queant […]

These two Reformation Martyrs are at the core of what it means to witness for the Faith. One, Bishop of Rochester, and the other, Chancellor of England, gave their lives for Truth in 1535. In particular, they believed that no human authority can replace the authority and power of God. As we see the rise […]

This sixteenth century Jesuit saint had a profound spiritual awakening at the age of 7. Reading about the Jesuits made him convinced that God was calling him there, but because of family pressures, it was some four years before he could enter. In 1591, the plague struck Rome, and the Jesuits opened a hospital to […]