Memorial of Saints (September 19)

Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints for September 19

• Januarius, bishop and martyr
• Peleus and Companions, martyrs;
• Sequanus or Seine, abbot;
• Goericus or Abbo, bishop;
• Theodore of Tarsus, bishop;
• Mary of Cerevellon, virgin;
• Theodore, David, and Constantine;
• Emily de Rodat, virgin;
• Alonso de Orozco

Januarius (died 305 A.D.): according to his legend, thrown to bears at Pozzuolo under Diocletian; bishop of Benevento; as early as 1389 A.D., his blood has liquefied on this and other days each year; patron of Naples. (September 19)

St. Peleus (d. ca. 310 A.D.) was an Egyptian bishop. Together with Nilus (another Egyptian bishop), Elias (a priest), and an Egyptian layman, they were all burned to death at Phunon near Petra, Palestine - persecuted and executed for their Christian faith during the time of Emperor Galerius.

Memorial of Saints (September 18)

Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints for September 18

• Joseph of Cupertino, confessor;
• Ferreolus, martyr;
• Methodius of Olympus, bishop and martyr;
• Richardis, widow;
• Ferreolus of Limoges, bishop

St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663 A.D.) was born of poor parents at Cupertino, Italy. Due to his clumsiness and below average intelligence, he found difficulty in entering religious life. But, he was eventually accepted as a servant and as a Franciscan tertiary by the Conventual Franciscans. An exposition of his life was portrayed in the movie, "The Reluctant Saint", which was produced in the 1960s. You can search for videos of this movie at YouTube. Joseph of Cupertino's life & mission is both a miracle and a wonder. Given by God the gift of levitation, he is able to levitate several feet into the air. Because of this extraordinary gift, he is the patron saint of air travelers and pilots.

Learn more details of Saints for September 18

Memorial of Saints (September 17)

Obligatory and Optional Memorials of Saints for September 17

• Robert Bellarmine, bishop and Doctor of the Church;
• Stigmata of Francis;
• Socrates and Stephen, martyrs;
• Satyrus;
• Lambert of Maestricht, bishop and martyr;
• Columba, virgin and martyr;
• Hildegard, virgin and Doctor of the Church;
• Peter Arbues, martyr;
• Francis of Camporosso

Robert Bellarmine (died 1621 A.D.): Tuscan; brilliant S.J. scholar, preacher, writer and systematic apologist of the Counter Reformation; most noted for his Catechism and Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei; involved in Galileo affair; cardinal archbishop of Capua; patron of catechists and catechumens.

St. Robert Bellarmine is one of the Doctors of the Church. Learn more of the other Saints whom the Church declared with this title.

The stigmata of St. Francis is memorialized every September 17. This is the estimated date when St. Francis of Assisi received the gift of the stigmata at Mount La Verna in 1224 A.D. One of his spiritual sons, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, also received the stigmata - the wounds of Christ in the physical body. St. Catherine of Siena also received the wounds of Christ but it is not physically visible.

St. Hildegard of Bingen was called "the Sybil of the Rhine" for her powers as a seeress and prophetess. Her best known work is Scivias which records twenty-six of her visions. Together with John of Avila, both were declared Doctors of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Francis also declared two new Doctors of the Church: St. Gregory of Narek and St. Irenaeus of Lyons.