On 4th February 2012 we remember...

St Andrew Corsini.
1302-1373. ~ Andrew was Italian by birth, living in Florence. He was a wild rebellious young boy, but as he grew up, he became gentler and realising the error of his ways, converted to Christianity. Soon after, he decided to join the Carmelite order at their monastery in Florence. He later trained and was ordained a priest. His first job was to work in the local parish in Florence and then he was sent to Paris and Avignon to do further religious studies. On returning to Florence, he was selected to be the bishop of Fiesole, a post to which he strongly objected. He absconded to avoid being appointed, but had to accept it in the end.
Andrew was likeable man and was highly regarded for his holiness and his total devotion to helping the sick and homeless. He had many gifts including prophecy and miracle working and because of this, he became known as “Peacemaker”. Pope Urban V sent him to Bologna to settle an argument involving a nobleman of the area and the citizens. He achieved a settlement and peace returned to Bologna.
Andrew died at Fiesole and was canonised by Pope Urban VII in 1629.

St Isidore of Pelusium.
Died 450. ~ Isidore was born in Alexandria and while still young, journeyed to Pelusium in Egypt to be a monk. He was ordained and after a number of years, he was elected abbot of the monastery. Isidore was a very hard worker and had a strong dedication to his duties. He would spend days praising God in his many writings and essays. It is said he wrote over ten thousand letters of religious and spiritual instructions in his lifetime. He was praised and admired by many, but was also disliked and his views opposed. Isidore fought passionately against the heresies of Nestorianism and Eutychianism and produced many papers on these subjects. Sadly, his work did not survive the centuries.

St Joan of Valois.
1464-1505. ~ Joan was the daughter of King Louis XI of France and sadly, she was born with the deformity of a hunchback and pox-marks on her face. She had a normal upbringing, but her father who disliked her, married her off to his cousin, the Duke of Orleans as soon as she was old enough. When the duke took the throne, the pope was persuaded to declare their marriage void by saying they were forced into it by their parents. Joan did not object or fight back against the accusations she accepted them with patience. After the annulment, she lived as a recluse, spending her time in prayer. Some years later, she formed a small group of women and founded an order of nuns, which she named “Annonciades of Bourges”. It was a meditative order given wholly to prayer and meditation.
She died in the convent. She was canonised in 1950.

St John de Britto.
1647-1693. ~ John was born in Lisbon, Portugal and his family were friends of the Portuguese royal family. John suffered a life-threatening illness as a child and his mother prayed to St Francis Xavier for his recovery. He was restored to health and in thanksgiving; his mother remained totally devoted to the saint for his intervention. John decided to become a Jesuit at fifteen and was ordained at twenty-six. His first assignment was to Goa in India, with sixteen other missionaries. This was the beginning of a lifetime’s work in India. He was put in charge of the mission at Madura and was extremely successful, mainly because he joined in with the locals, dressing and eating like them and taking part in their celebrations and customs. He was well liked by the people, but he also had many enemies. The pagans objected to him, attacking and torturing him for refusing to praise their god, Siva, but then set him free. He immediately returned home to Lisbon, but after a brief rest, he went back to Goa against his family’s wishes. On his second arrest, he was imprisoned and beheaded for preaching against the pagans. A letter he wrote to the other missionaries before he was executed is still in existence.

St Joseph of Leonessa.
1556-1612. Born in Umbria, Italy, Joseph was baptised and named Eufranio, but took the name Joseph when he became a Capuchin monk. He had a great talent for preaching so he became involved with missionary work. The first assignment was to Pera, which is just outside Constantinople. There he administered to the galley slaves and became their chaplain. At one time, he was arrested for preaching in public, but released and later re-arrested, this time he was tortured and exiled.
Joseph returned to Leonessa in Umbria, where he died of cancer some years later.

St Modan.
Died 550. ~ It is believed Modan was a monk, who when elected abbot of a monastery in Scotland, objected strongly to the appointment as he preferred to live in solitude. Nethertheless he took up the post and successfully preached in the Falkirk and Sterling areas of Scotland. Modan spent his last years in the mountains living in a hermitage.

St Nicholas Studite.
793-863. ~ Nicholas was born in Crete and as a youth, received his education at the Studite monastery in Constantinople. When he was eighteen, he joined the order of monks and in due time was elected abbot. He gave help to the people exiled by the Iconoclasts (heresy against using images in worship). Iconoclasm ended on the death of Emperor Theophilius and Nicholas exiled himself after he refused to accept the new Patriarch of Constantinople. Emperor Michael III then appointed a new abbot in Nicholas’ place. Eventually Nicholas was brought back to the monastery and imprisoned for his desertion of his post.
He died in prison in 863.

St Phileas.
Died 304. ~ Phileas, a convert to Christianity, was born in Egypt in a city named Thmuis. He was made bishop of Thmius, but soon after was arrested for his faith and put in prison in Alexandria. Although he was tortured, he would not praise the pagan gods and the emperor sentenced him to death. At the trial, the royal treasurer named Philoromus objected to the sentence given to Phileas and for this, he too was beheaded.

St Rembert.
Died 888. ~ Rembert came from the town of Bruges in Belgium and as a young man, entered the monastery at Torhout. His first task was to help St Ansgar in his missionary work. When Ansgar died, Rembert took over his role as archbishop of Hamburg and later he was elected archbishop of Bremen. In this role, he spent the rest of his life trying to convert the Northern Slavs, with some success. Several years later he wrote a biography on the life of St Ansgar.

St Theopilus the Penitent.
Date unknown. ~ The little known of of Theopilus’ life is very vague, but according to a 10th century playwright, he is portrayed as a bishop refusing to take up his bishopric because of his humility. As a result, he was deposed from his position in the church by his replacement. The story tells of Theopilus being so angry, he vowed to make a pact with the devil if he could have his church duties back. He soon realised what he had done and was apologetic for his behaviour. He prayed to Our Lady for forgiveness and performed penitence for this evil deed. He also made a public confession.

Please join with us in our prayer for today...