July 2012
11 posts
Botuid
Swedish missionary, murdered by a slave he had set free.
Seven Sleepers
These 7 men were walled up in a cave in 250 AD; their relics discovered in 479.
James
Apostle, patron of equestrians & veterinarians. Spain reinvented him as a Moor-slayer.
Mary Magdalene
Often pictured with a skull, as in this Life Magazine photo, 1944.
Life magazine, May 22, 1944, “Photo of the Week,” by Ralph Crane: Her hair is perfectly styled, pinned up behind her with a huge flower. She wears a blazer, rests her chin on her left hand while her right hand holds a poised pen. In a perfectly proportioned composition, her head and right hand make two points of a triangle; the...
Astius
Martyred; covered in honey & left to be attacked by bees & hornets.
Maria Goretti
Virgin-martyr who wouldn’t submit to her rapist; he later attended her canonization.
Anthony Zaccaria
Penance weakened him & he died of fever; afterward his body was incorruptible.
Elizabeth of Portugal
Formerly a double feast, in 1962 her day was lowered to “third-class.”
Thomas
Finger-in-the-wound Apostle, patron of builders & architects
Bernardino Realino
On his deathbed, the people of Leece asked for his help. Then, his relics bled.
Veep
From Cornwall, a saint of uncertain gender.