Butler's Lives of the Saints Read online

  Broadcast radio was becoming popular, and Luigi Orione was one of the first to use it effectively for religion. He also had a printing press and published magazines and brochures.

  Heart attacks ended his life in San Remo, Italy, on March 12, 1940.

  MARCH 13

  Euphrasia (380–420)

  Faith amid uncongenial circumstances

  Fifth-century Constantinople was a difficult time and place for a young girl born into the imperial family. Euphrasia’s father died while she was an infant. The emperor Theodosius then took the child and her mother into his care. When she was five Theodosius arranged for Euphrasia to marry the son of a wealthy senator, delaying the wedding itself until she grew up.

  When she was seven, her mother took her to their family’s Egyptian property. In Egypt she was attracted to a religious community. There, she declined the marriage arrangement that had been made when she was a girl, and transferred to the emperor her fortune, specifying that it be used for charitable purposes. She remained in the convent until she died at the age of thirty. An ancient biographer records that Euphrasia possessed extraordinary meekness and humility.

  MARCH 14

  Leobin (d. ca. 556)

  Inspiration and strength

  In the early years of Christianity, there was a sharp separation between the rich and the poor. Saints emerged from both nobility and peasantry. It is worth noting that great minds and spirits are present across the full spectrum of economic status. This was true in the sixth century, and it remains true today.

  Leobin worked among peasant-saints in French agricultural fields as a child. Full of intellectual curiosity and a desire to learn, Leobin began menial labor at a monastery. He worked all day and studied at night. When the monks complained that his bright lamp was interfering with their sleep, Leobin constructed a screen to shade it from them. With continuous self-directed education, he made remarkable progress and became respected for his religious knowledge.

  Leobin eventually spent five years in an abbey near Lyons. Strife between France and Burgundy brought this to an end. The monastery was raided, and the monks fled for their lives. Only Leobin and an old man remained. The raiders were looking for hidden booty to plunder and interrogated the old man, who referred them to Leobin. Because Leobin told them nothing, they resorted to torture, performing horribly painful and inhumane acts. Discovering nothing, the raiders left Leobin for dead.

  Leobin survived, recovered, and lived a quiet life, much of it as a hermit. Ultimately, he became bishop of Chartres and participated in councils, leading the church through various reforms. His death occurred on March 14 in about the year 556, after a protracted illness.

  MARCH 15

  Louise de Marillac (1591–1660)

  Caring for the poor

  Louise de Marillac was born in France and lost her mother early. Her father took care of her and began her education at home. He died when she was only fifteen. To survive, she married Antony Le Gras, who was a secretary to the queen. It turned out to be a happy marriage, and she bore him a son, Michel. Sadly, her husband also succumbed to illness and Louise became a widow.

  One of the great meetings of souls occurred in 1623 when Louise accepted Vincent de Paul (September 27) as her spiritual director. Vincent was responsible for the establishment of a variety of charitable organizations. Louise, determined not to marry again, began to work with the sick and impoverished at one of his projects in the slums of Paris.

  Both Louise and Vincent soon realized that the work was greater than could be accomplished by part-time volunteers. They organized a community of women who devoted themselves full time to caring for the poor. They called themselves Daughters of Charity. Vincent conceived of them as a secular community whose members wore ordinary clothing. “Your convent will be the infirmary; your cell, a rented room; your chapel, the parish church; your cloister, the city streets and hospital wards; your enclosure, obedience; your grill, the fear of God; your veil, holy modesty.” In fact, the Daughters of Charity became a recognized religious congregation in spite of the fact that they lived and worked outside of a typical enclosure.

  Their purpose was service to the poor. This involved practical nursing in their homes, caring for neglected children, and managing life with abusive spouses. They were to look for Christ in the faces of the indigent. The call of any needy person would take them away from their times of prayer. Turning from worship to serving the poor, they would be going “from God to God.”

  Thousands joined the ranks of the Daughters of Charity. Louise de Marillac was a respected and inspired leader who left an organization that has flourished for centuries beyond her death in 1660.

  MARCH 16

  Abraham Kidunaia (d. ca. 366)

  Bonds of faith

  Abraham Kidunaia was a runaway groom. His wealthy Mesopotamian parents arranged marriage for him, but he slipped away on his wedding day and became a desert hermit. When his family found him he was deeply absorbed in prayer, living in a small cell with minimal possessions. He resisted their pleading to return home. When he inherited his father’s great wealth, he asked a friend to distribute all of it to the poor. He kept a bowl, a sleeping mat, and a goatskin cloak for himself.

  On rare occasions, Abraham Kidunaia exchanged his solitude for service to others. Once he accepted the challenge of leading a nearby pagan community to Christ. He was not welcomed at Beth Kiduna, however, and the villagers severely beat him for meddling in their lives. On a return visit, he spoke openly, accusing them of idolatry and pointing out their need for salvation. The result was that they nearly killed him by throwing stones at him. Not easily discouraged, Abraham continued his mission to the recalcitrant community for three years, receiving nothing but insults and abuse until the day arrived when they asked to be baptized and became devoted Christians. After teaching them for a year, Abraham returned to his hermit’s cell.

  Abraham’s niece Mary became an orphan when she was seven. He constructed a cell next to his own and began to care for her. She lived in the same environment of prayer and monastic discipline.

  Some consider the report spurious, but the legend is that when Mary was twenty, a man pretending to be a monk raped Mary. She felt polluted and ashamed and did not want to tell her uncle about it. Running away to Troas, she found shelter in a brothel.

  Two years later Abraham Kidunaia, still ignorant of what had happened, discovered her location. Dressing himself in a soldier’s uniform, he rode a borrowed horse to the brothel. The sight of his niece, dressed and painted like a harlot, devastated him. He pretended to seek her services until they were alone.

  When she recognized who he was she became speechless. Abraham asked, “Why don’t you speak to me, my heart? Haven’t I come to take you home, my child? Your sin is upon me, my daughter. On the Day of Judgment I will give an account of it for you to the Lord. I am the one responsible for this.”

  Mary protested that her sin was too great for her to think of returning to her old life with him, but Abraham continued reassuring her of God’s mercy. “Your sins might seem like mountains to you, but God’s mercy is on all he has made. If sparks could set the ocean on fire, then your sins might defile the purity of God. Sin is only a part of being human. It happened to you very quickly. Now God will help you to come out of it even more quickly. God does not will the death of sinners. He wants them to live.””

  Their conversation lasted well into the night. Her uncle’s great love finally changed her mind. “If you know of any penance I can do, tell me, and I will do it. You go first and I will kiss your footprints as I follow. You have cared enough about me to come down into this pit of filth in order to bring me out.” She wept at his feet the remainder of the night.

  The next day Abraham and Mary returned to their cells in the desert. Her prayers became even more ardent. Abraham survived ten years after their reunion, dying at the age of seventy.

  MARCH 17

  Patrick (? 390– ? 461)

  S
aint of the Emerald Isle

  People of Irish descent in many parts of the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day enthusiastically. The wearing of green clothing is observed on that day by many who have nothing to do with Ireland and have little knowledge of Patrick’s achievements. About the only thing most people can cite is the fiction that he chased all the snakes off the Emerald Isle.

  Patrick was the son of a fourth-century, Roman civil servant on the west coast of Britain. When he was sixteen, raiders kidnapped him and sold him as a slave in Ireland, where he became an unwilling and unpaid shepherd for six years. During the lonely hours of tending sheep and herding cattle in the desolate hills of the north, Patrick became devout, spending much time in prayer and meditation.

  Escaping Ireland on board a sailing ship, Patrick found his family and began to study for the priesthood in Gaul. For fifteen years he lived in a monastery. Ireland remained on his mind though, and visionary dreams convinced him his purpose in life was to return to the Irish people and preach the gospel. Only a few of the Irish people had become Christian by 432. Working with other missionaries against great difficulties, Patrick preached in remote portions of the island where the gospel had never been proclaimed. God’s love replaced natural resentment. Pagan druids and even a few Christians opposed his missionary activity, but Patrick’s preaching produced great results.

  Patrick baptized thousands, ordained hundreds of Irish clergy, and founded several monasteries. He set up a system of churches whereby the Irish would keep faith alive and revitalize the Church in Europe during the Dark Ages.

  MARCH 18

  Cyril of Jerusalem (ca. 315–86)

  Doctrinal diplomacy

  When Cyril became a bishop in 348, a heresy called “Arianism,” which denied the divinity of Jesus, was widespread in the Roman Empire. An enormous power struggle threatened to split the Church. The controversy divided ecclesiastical leadership, and individuals took firm stands on one side or the other. Compromise was out of the question. Each side considered itself correct and the other wrong. Affirming one’s faith meant condemning another’s viewpoint.

  Cyril, born in Jerusalem, had a diplomatic and conciliatory nature. He became a target of serious accusations that bordered on slander. Some of his enemies accused him of selling church property to give alms to the poor. In the Arian debate, each side thought he was too sympathetic with the other. As a result, sixteen of his thirty-five years as a bishop were lived in exile.

  Only one of his books survives, a collection of instructions for new Christians who were candidates for baptism. Cyril’s book provides one of the earliest statements of Christian theology we possess. In it, he attempts to express a positive faith, and insists on the relationship of faith and action, insisting that “Pious doctrine is not acceptable to God without good works.”

  MARCH 19

  Joseph (first century)

  Faithful support

  The carpenter Joseph is a familiar figure in the Christmas story. Joseph was engaged to Mary, who would bear our Lord. Neighbors knew Jesus as “the carpenter’s son.” While there are many biblical references to Joseph that confirm the contemporary belief that he was Jesus’ father, there is no record of anything he ever said. Matthew and Luke, the only Gospels that tell us anything about the childhood of Jesus, clearly express that while others “supposed” Joseph to be his father, they themselves affirm the Virgin Birth.

  The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph received in a dream a divine revelation regarding the birth of Jesus. Though one imagines the inner conflict and emotions Joseph and Mary must have experienced, the New Testament account does not record any hesitation. The important thing noted in the Gospels is that Joseph responded to God as obediently as Mary. He accepted his place in the divine drama.

  In all of the birth and infancy scenes, Joseph is present. We wish we could know more about the relationship of the boy Jesus to the man Joseph. Certainly Joseph and Mary must have shared an awe of this child. The Gospels make it clear that Jesus grew up in an ordinary home, accepted the discipline of his parents, and remained obedient to them.

  The last time we hear anything about Joseph is the account of Jesus’ visit to the Jerusalem temple at the age of twelve. Scholars assume Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry. It is entirely possible that Jesus took over the responsibilities of Joseph’s carpentry business in those unmentioned years before his baptism in the Jordan by John.

  It is a great tribute to Joseph that Jesus spoke of God in terms of a father. Though human fatherhood is but a dim reflection of God’s caring love, it is a starting place for comprehending the love of our Father who is in heaven.

  MARCH 20

  Maria Josefa (1842–1912)

  Charity in depth

  Maria was unusually sensitive to the poor and the sick, and had a natural inclination to meditation and prayer. Born in Vitoria, Spain, she was the eldest daughter of Bernabe Sancho and Petra de Guerra. At the age of fifteen, she went to Madrid to live with relatives while she completed her education. By the age of eighteen, she wanted to enter a full-time religious vocation.

  After brief experimentation, Maria founded the Institute of the Servants of Jesus of Charity and directed it for forty-one years. Nursing the sick in a contemplative context gripped her thoughts. “Do not believe, sisters, that caring for the sick consists only in giving them medicine and food. There is another kind of care you should never forget—that of the heart which seeks to adapt to the suffering person, going to meet his needs.” By the time of her death in 1912, forty-three houses of charity were open with more than one thousand sisters hard at work. The work of the Institute of the Servants of Jesus continues today in many countries around the world.

  MARCH 21

  Benedetta Cambiagio (1791–1858)

  Faithful parenting

  Benedetta was a pioneer in providing high-quality education for young women. With her husband’s help, she founded a school and a religious congregation in Italy. She was ahead of her time in promoting the right of women to complete an education.

  Benedetta had a mystical experience at the age of twenty that left her with a compelling desire to pray and to live a life consecrated to God. In 1818, she and her husband, Giovanni Frassinello, agreed that they should live chastely, “as brother and sister,” and take care of Benedetta’s younger sister, Maria, who was dying from intestinal cancer. They began what is now called “a supernatural parenthood unique in the history of the Church.” They worked together to promote the human and Christian formation of poor and abandoned girls. By including practical skills such as cooking and sewing, they tried to transform students into “models of Christian life” who would establish Christian families.

  MARCH 22

  Deogratias (d. 457)

  Leadership in difficult times

  The destruction of the Roman Empire was partly the work of the Vandals. Their devastation extended across the Mediterranean Sea to North Africa, resulting in the breakdown of Christian leadership. When Deogratias became bishop of Carthage in 456, there had been no bishop there for fourteen years.

  At first, Deogratias received enthusiastic support from most of the people in the area, whether or not they were Christian. Within a year, though, assassins made several attempts on his life.

  Deogratias will always be remembered for selling church art and equipment to raise funds for ransoming and taking care of slaves imported to North Africa from Rome by the Vandal leader Genseric. Deogratias did everything he could to keep families together. Deogratias converted his two largest basilicas, Fausti and Novarum, into accommodations for displaced refugees. As time permitted, he helped in the sick wards.

  Part of the population of Carthage quickly turned against him, making serious threats against his life. Exhausted by only a year of labor as the bishop of Carthage, Deogratias died a natural death at home in 457. Because it was likely that people looking for relics would rob his grave, he was buried in a secret place. The Vandals
would not allow another bishop in Carthage for another twentythree years.

  MARCH 23

  Turibius of Mongrovejo (1538–1606)

  Missionary success

  The archbishop of Lima, Peru, began his adult life as a Spanish lawyer. Outstanding in the legal profession, he became a professor of law at the University of Salamanca. In 1580, the archbishopric of Lima became vacant, and people in positions of authority thought Turibius was the perfect choice for the position in Spain’s New World colony. He resisted because as a layman he was ineligible. A good lawyer knows the rules. Church leaders eliminated his handicap by ordaining him a priest and bishop, and then sent him to Peru.

  In the sixteenth century, Lima was geographically isolated and morally lax. Peru stretched out four hundred miles along the coast, with spurs running inland among the peaks of the Andes. Travel was extremely difficult, and the behavior of the Spanish conquerors toward the native population was atrocious. An enormous task faced Turibius. He began by carefully learning the languages spoken in his territory and devoted years to visiting the various communities. Listening became as important as speaking. He visited every section of his vast territory. If threatened by marauders or faced with difficult physical obstacles, he would make comments such as, “Christ came from heaven to save us and we ought not to fear danger for his glory.” As bishop, he denounced the exploitation of the Peruvians by Spanish nobles and clergy. Against opposition, he imposed reforms. In 1591 Turibius organized the first seminary in the Western Hemisphere.

  At the age of sixty-eight, he became seriously ill but continued hard work to the very end. Making out his will, he gave his personal belongings to his servants and all the rest of his property to benefit the poor. He died on March 23, 1606, as those around him sang Psalm 122, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”