Commemoration of Saints (April 26)

Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration

• Our Lady of Good Counsel
• Cletus (Anacletus), pope
• Richarius, abbot
• Marguerite d'Youville [1]
• Peter of Braga, bishop
• Paschasius Radbertus, abbot
• Franca of Piacenza, virgin and abbess
• Stephen of Perm, bishop [2]

Today, April 26, the Catholic Church commemorates the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel. It also commemorates 1 pope, 2 abbots, 2 bishops, 1 foundress, and 1 virgin and abbess.

The story about Our Lady of Good Counsel began in the year 1467 A.D. When a local church was in dire need of repair, the widow in charge for the project of restoration discovered that she was running out of funds. When the feast of St. Mark began, heavenly music was heard by the townsfolk. A mysterious cloud descended on the unfinished wall of the parish church. When the cloud disappeared, a beautiful fresco of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus was revealed. It was no more than 18 inches square. Many believed that it was transported miraculously from Scutari, Albania, before the Ottomans invaded the country.

The Augustinian Order spread the devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel. Then in 1753 A.D., Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel. On 22 April 1903 A.D., Pope Leo XIII included the invocation "Mater boni consilii" in the Litany of Loreto. In 1939 A.D., Pope Pius XII placed his papacy under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

The feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel is commemorated every 26 April so that it does not conflict with the commemoration of St. Mark on 25 April [3].

Prayer of Pope Pius XII to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Holy Virgin, moved by the painful uncertainty we experience in seeking and acquiring the true and the good, we cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this moment in our worldly sojourn when the double darkness of error and of evil plot our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray. Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting forces of passion and of sin. Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us our most urgent need….. (here mention your request) and secure for us from thy Divine Son the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult situations, the course agreeable to our salvation. Supported by thy hand we shall thus journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and everlasting peace. Amen [4].

What does it mean to have faith in God and to be faithful to the Catholic Church's mission for the 7 Saints commemorated today?

• For St. Cletus (d. ca. 91 A.D.), it meant to succeed St. Peter as the second pope and to also suffer martyrdom like Christ.
• For St. Richarius (d. ca. 645 A.D.), it meant founding an abbey at Celles, becoming its abbot, and then upon reaching old age, resigned to spend the rest of his life as a hermit on the spot where a monastery was also built [5].
• For St. Marguerite d'Youville (1701-1771 A.D.), it meant founding the Sisters of Charity of the General Hopital for the care of the poor, the sick, and aged women in Montreal [6].
• For St. Peter of Braga (d. ca. 350 A.D.), it meant suffering martyrdom after he baptized and cured the local ruler of Braga's daughter from leprosy.
• For St. Paschasius Radbertus (d. ca. 860 A.D.), it meant becoming a monk at Corbie, serving as master of novices, and leading Corbie as abbot for seven years.
• For St. Franca of Piacenza (1170-1218 A.D.), it meant becoming abbess first at St. Syrus Convent and then being ousted for the strictness of her rule. She then became abbess of Montelana convent which she served under the Cistercian rule.
• For St. Stephen of Perm (d. ca. 1396 A.D.), it meant becoming a monk at Rostov, Russia, and then engaging in missionary work among the Zyriane southwest of the Urals. He used his intelligence to translate the liturgy and part of the Bible into Zyriane - inventing an alphabet to do so - before being appointed first bishop of Perm [5].

Disclaimer

References: Books, Websites, Search results & AI Overviews

• [1] search query saints with feast days on april 26, Search Labs | AI Overview, Google.com
• [2] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon, p. 494
• [3] Our Lady of Good Counsel, En.Wikipedia.org
• [4] Struggling with a decision? Try this prayer, Aleteia.org
• [5] Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
• [6] Lives of the Saints, Richard P. McBrien