SMU Catholic Weekly Blogs

Josephine Bakhita

Darfur has suffered before. In 1877 Sudanese slave traders kidnapped Josephine Bakhita from her family's home in Darfur. Then as now there was a large market for domestic and sexual slavery, and the region's young women bore the brunt of the system. An Italian politician purchased Josephine and took her to Italy in 1885, where she was treated better as a nanny and as a convert to Catholicism. In 1896 Josephine joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity in Verona, where she spent the rest of her life serving the city's large urban underclass. In 2000 John Paul II canonized Josephine at St. Peter' s Basilica. Her surname, Bakhita, means "the lucky one," and today she is the patron saint of Darfur and the Sudan.

Sources: http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj84.htm

 

Kateri Tekakwitha

European fur traders settled Newfoundland during the early 1600s, and by 1642 French settlers and Jesuits had established a firm foothold along the St. Lawrence River at Quebec and Montreal. In 1676 a French Jesuit baptized the daughter of an Algonquin Indian woman, naming the girl Kateri. Already in poor health after surviving a smallpox epidemic, Kateri discerned her vocation to care for orphans and elderly people, Indian and French, at St. Francis Xavier mission near Montreal. Long hours of prayer and penance contributed to her poor health, and in 1680 Kateri died at age 24. She was beatified in 1980, making Kateri one of two American Indians recognized as candidates for canonization.

Sources: McBrien, Richard P. ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Pp 1243-1244.

Saint Michael

In churches and homes across the world, Christians cherish the image of St. Michael the Archangel. Michael appeared to Daniel assuring him of victory against the Persians (Daniel 10), and Revelation gives an account of a war in heaven in which Michael expelled Satan and his angels (Revelation 12:7-9). The scriptures tell us that angels are pure, created spirits who do not depend on matter for their existence or activity. Angels are the messengers of God, and they constitute a vast multitude beyond human reckoning. Each angel is a unique individual differing in perfection of nature and grace. They pray for us and are a powerful ally in the struggle against evil, since angels see God face to face and know rather than believe in the existence of God.

Sources: John A. Hardon, S.J. The Pocket Catholic Dictionary. New York: Image Books, 1980. Pp 18-19, 260.

Clement I

A fifth-century Italian martyrology lists the death of Clement I, fourth bishop of Rome after St. Peter, as circa 100 CE. Clement may have been a Jewish slave before his baptism, and it's possible that he is the Clement who St. Paul mentions in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Philippians. One colorful story describes how Roman authorities banished Clement to the unforgiving salt mines in the Crimea. There he managed to convert many of the guards and his fellow prisoners. As punishment the Romans tied Clement to an anchor and threw him into the Black Sea. Some time later, according to this legend, the waters receded and revealed a beautiful tomb built by angels. Today the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome is a popular stop for tourists and pilgrims.

Sources: Boyle, Leonard. St. Clement’s Rome. Rome: Collegio San Clemente. 1989.

St. Sebastian

A fourth-century collection of writings describing the lives and deaths of early Christian martyrs mentions Saint Sebastian. Although the details are sparse, a picture emerges of a man who was a Roman soldier in the emperor's corps of bodyguards. After secretly converting to Christianity, Sebastian relied on his power and prestige as a royal guard to assist his fellow Christians facing arrest or execution at the hands of the Roman state. Since Christians refused to worship the emperor or venerate the state gods, the emperor had outlawed Christianity and labeled Christians atheists and heretics. When members of the royal guard discovered that Sebastian was a Christian, he was arrested and executed by archers in 288 CE.

Sources: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia. "St. Sebastian." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13668a.htm

Clare of Assisi

After refusing an arranged marriage, Clare of Assisi turned her back on the affluence into she was born and sought out Francis of Assisi for spiritual direction. In 1212 Francis agreed to cooperate with Clare in the creation of the Poor Clares, a religious community for women structured according to the Franciscan rule. Together with several of her family members as well as the women in her community, Clare redefined medieval Italy's vertical society by shunning material wealth and power in favor of a more horizontal, fraternal acceptance of humanity and creation. The Poor Clares fought to maintain the Franciscan emphasis on rigorous poverty even as the friars where accepting modifications to their original rule. Clare died in 1253 and was canonized in 1255.

Sources: McBrien, Richard P., ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. P 322.

Martin of Tours

Christianity was a minority religion in fourth-century Europe, where the Roman empire's wide array of mystery cults competed with animism and Mediterranean variations of Gnosticism, Christianity, and Judaism. At the center of this diverse imaginative landscape was Martin of Tours, an officer in the Roman garrison at Amiens, France. One cold winter day Martin noticed his soldiers passing by a starving beggar shivering at the gates of Amiens. Using his sword, Martin cut his richly-embroidered officer's cloak in two, covering the emaciated man with one half. That night Martin dreamed that Jesus appeared surrounded by a multitude of angels, wearing the beggar's half cloak and saying to the angels, "Martin clothed me with his robe." Martin was baptized, became bishop of Tours, and increased the church's influence in France.

Sources: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09732b.htm

Domingo de Guzmán

A popular story tells how the Virgin Mary appeared to Dominic of Guzmán and taught him to pray the rosary. St. Dominic was born in Spain around 1170 CE, when cities were growing as people left behind farming for more lucrative urban economies. Dominic recognized the need for a more effective church ministry in the cities, and during the 1220s he traveled on foot throughout France, Italy, and Spain establishing communities of men and women devoted to this new venture. Dominicans, also known as the Order of Preachers, combined intensive study of the liturgy and scriptures with enthusiastic evangelization in the cities. Emphasis on sanctification by study is a special contribution Dominic made to the religious life.

Sources: McBrien, Richard P. ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Pp 428-431.

Felicity and Perpetua

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas is one of the earliest records of the experience of Christian women. According to the Latin and Greek texts, Perpetua belonged to the Roman aristocracy in Carthage, North Africa. Together with her slave Felicity (or "Felicitas"), Perpetua became a catechumen in defiance of emperor Lucius Septimius Severus's sanctions prohibiting conversion to Christianity. The two women were baptized before their arrest, and while in prison Felicity gave birth to a child. Perpetua nursed her own newborn infant while in prison, and eventually both young women gave their newborns to surrogate mothers in Carthage's Christian community. The Romans executed Felicity and Perpetua in 203 CE.

Sources: McBrien, Richard P. ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Pp 523, 986.

 

Teresa of Ávila

"Finally, Lord, I am a daughter of the Church." Teresa of Ávila said these words as she lay dying in 1582, expressing her deep affection for the institutional church as well as her profound humility rooted in everyday prayer to Christ. Teresa joined Spain's Carmelite order during a period when the Counter-Reformation church stressed tradition and authority, and although she emphasized contemplative prayer as the path to the mystical life, Teresa's letters and memoirs reveal a warm and down-to-earth personality that made her a favorite spiritual advisor throughout Spain. She was canonized in 1622 and in 1970 was named the first woman Doctor of the Church, a distinction held by two other women.
Sources: McBrien, Richard P., ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Pp 1245-1246.