Tuesday of the 3rd week of Eastertide, or Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Bishop, Doctor Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Anselm (1033 - 1109)) Anselm was born in Aosta, in northern Italy, and became a monk of Bec in Normandy, where he taught theology and devoted himself to the spiritual life. After some years as abbot, he succeeded his master Lanfranc as archbishop of Canterbury. His bitter disputes with the kings of England over the independence of the Church resulted in his twice being exiled. He died at Canterbury on 21 April 1109. He is remembered for his theological learning and writings, and for organising and reforming church life in England.(Saint Maelrubha (642-722)) St Máelrubai or Maelrubha was descended from Niall, King of Ireland, on the side of his father Elganach. His mother, Subtan, was a niece of Saint Comgall of Bangor. Maelrubha was born in the area of Derry and was educated at Bangor. In 671 he sailed from Ireland to Scotland with a group of missionary monks. For two years he travelled around the area, chiefly in Argyll, perhaps founding some of the many churches still dedicated to him.In 673 he settled in Pictish territory in the west of Ross opposite the islands of Skye and Raasay, at a place which became known as Applecross, from the Gaelic “A’ Chomraich”, ‘The Sanctuary’. He founded a monastery there and from that base set out on missionary journeys: westward to the islands of Skye and Lewis, eastward to Forres and Keith, and northward to Loch Shin, Durness, and Farr.He died in 722. Some traditions say that he was martyred but their historical foundation is uncertain.

Monday of the 3rd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saints Marcellinus, Vincent and Domninus (- 374)) Marcellinus with two fellow missionaries, Vincent and Domninus, left their native Africa in order to bring the faith to Gaul (now France). So many people welcomed their preaching that soon it became necessary to establish a diocese in order to coordinate the missionary ministry. Marcellinus was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Embrun on account of his missionary zeal and holiness. Later on he suffered verbal and physical persecution from the Arians. He died in 374.(St Beuno (- 640)) He was a holy man and Abbot of Clynnog Fawr in Gwynedd, on the Llyn peninsula. See also the articles in Wikipedia and Early British Kingdoms.(St. Agnes of Montepulciano OP (1268 - 1317)) Dominican Nun and Virgin.Saint Agnes was born at Gracciano, Italy, in 1268 and entered a monastery at Montepulciano at the age of nine. At the age of fifteen by indult of the Holy See she was appointed superior of a monastery of nuns at Viterbo. In response to the entreaties of the people of Montepulciano she returned there in 1306 to take charge of a newly-founded monastery which followed the Rule of Saint Augustine. A few years later she placed this monastery under the direction of the Order of Preachers, and sought evangelical perfection according to the way of Saint Dominic. Agnes was devoted to the Infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary, manifested the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and was a model of prayer and charity. She worked for civil peace and unity. Saint Catherine of Siena regarded her as her “glorious mother.” She died on April 20, 1317.

3rd Sunday of EasterOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Alphege (- 1012)) Alphege (Old English Ælfheah) became a monk at Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, about 970, and eventually Abbot of Bath. In 984 he became Bishop of Winchester where he was known for his personal austerity and almsgiving. The king sent him to parley with the Danish raider Anlaf, and this he did with such success that Anlaf never raided England again. In 1005 Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. The Danes were raiding once more and in 1011 they besieged Canterbury and captured it. Alphege was imprisoned and an enormous ransom was asked for his release, which he forbade to be paid. On 19 April 1012, at Greenwich, his captors, drunk with wine, and enraged at ransom being refused, pelted him with bones of oxen and stones, till one of them, called Thurm, dispatched him with an axe. He was buried in St. Paul’s and by his death he became a national hero. As an act of reconciliation Canute, king of Denmark, England and Norway, in 1023 translated the body to Canterbury where it was buried near the high altar. Later Lanfranc confirmed the cult, and had a Life and Office written in his honour, and Thomas Becket just before his death commended his cause to God and Alphege.(Bl. Isnard of Chiampo OP ( - 1244)) Dominican Friar and Priest.Blessed Isnard was born at Chiampo, near Vicenza, Italy, toward the end of the twelfth century and entered the Dominican Order at Bologna around 1218. He was known as “a fervent religious, a grace-filled preacher, and a virgin in body and mind,” as well as a worker of miracles. He founded the priory of Pavia which he wisely governed until his death on March 19, 1244.(Bl. Sibyllina Biscossi OP (c.1287 - 1367)) Lay Dominican and Virgin.Blessed Sibyllina, born at Pavia, Italy, about 1287, was left an orphan when quite young and at the age of twelve was afflicted with total blindness. The Sisters of Penance befriended her and clothed her in the habit of the Dominican Order. She had a special devotion to Christ crucified and to the Holy Spirit. She lived as a recluse at the church of the Preachers where many people sought her out, asking for her prayers. She died on March 19, 1367.

Saturday of the 2nd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint Laserian or Molaise (- 639)) He was born in Ireland, became a monk on Iona, and was ordained priest in Rome by St Gregory the Great. Returning to Ireland, he entered the monastery at Leighlin, of which he became abbot a few years before his death. He was active in promoting harmony between the Celtic and Roman churches, notably in the matter of the date on which Easter should be celebrated.(Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin (1809-1890)) Esther Blondin was born in Terrebonne (Quebec, Canada) on 18 April 1809, to a family of deeply Christian farmers. Esther and her family were victims of illiteracy so common in French Canadian milieux of the nineteenth century. Still illiterate at the age of 22, Esther worked as a domestic in the Convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, which had been recently opened in her own village. A year later, she registered as a boarder in order to learn to read and write. She then became a novice in the Congregation but ill health forced her to leave. In 1833, Esther became a teacher in the parochial school of Vaudreuil. Little by little, she found out that one of the causes of widespread illiteracy was a Church ruling that girls should not be taught by men, nor boys by women. As a result of this ruling, many parish priests, not able to finance two separate schools, had no schools at all. In 1848, under an irresistible call of the Spirit, Esther presented to her Bishop, Ignace Bourget, a plan she long cherished: that of founding a religious congregation “for the education of poor country children, both girls and boys in the same schools”. Bishop Bourget authorised this revolutionary move, not least because the State was in favour of such schools and the Church should not be left behind. The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne was founded in Vaudreuil on 8 September 1850 and Esther, now named “Mother Marie-Anne”, became its first superior. The community grew rapidly and in the summer of 1853 Bishop Bourget transferred the Motherhouse to Saint Jacques de l’Achigan and appointed a new chaplain, Father Louis Adolphe Maréchal.Father Maréchal set about getting absolute control of the Community he was meant to serve. He took it on himself to change the pupils’ boarding fees while the Foundress was absent, and forbade the Sisters from confessing to any priest but him. Mother Marie-Anne, as was her duty, fought to protect the rights of her Community, until on 18 August Bishop Bourget instructed Mother Marie-Anne to resign, called for new elections, and warned Mother Marie-Anne “not to accept the superiorship, even if her sisters wanted to reelect her”. Even though she could be reelected, according to the Rule of the Community, Mother Marie-Anne obeyed her Bishop, whom she considered God’s instrument. And she wrote: “As for me, my Lord, I bless Divine Providence a thousand times for the maternal care she shows me in making me walk the way of tribulations and crosses”. Mother Marie-Anne was moved to the convent at Sainte-Geneviève, where she was named director of the school. Father Maréchal and the new leaders of the Congregation continued to persecute her and in October 1858 she was accused of mismanagement and recalled to the Motherhouse, where the Bishop warned the authorities to ensure that “she will not be a nuisance to anyone.” Mother Marie-Anne never exercised authority again. For the rest of her life she was kept to domestic chores, mostly in the laundry and ironing room. The General Chapters of the congregation in 1872 and 1878 showed their respect for her by electing her as General Assistant; but the General Council barred her from attending any of its meetings.Mother Marie-Anne led a life of total self-denial and thus ensured the growth of the Congregation. In the Motherhouse basement laundry room in Lachine, where she spent her days, many generations of novices received from the Foundress a true example of obedience and humility, imbued with authentic relationships which ensure true fraternal charity. To a novice who asked her one day why she, the Foundress, was kept aside in such lowly work, she simply replied with kindness: “The deeper a tree sinks its roots into the soil, the greater are its chances of growing and producing fruit”.As she felt the end approaching, Mother Marie-Anne left to her daughters her spiritual testament in these words which are a résumé of her whole life: “May the Holy Eucharist and perfect abandonment to God’s Will be your heaven on earth”. She then peacefully passed away at the Motherhouse of Lachine, on 2 January 1890, “happy to go to the Good God” she had served all her life.Mother Marie-Anne remained ignored by the congregation she had founded for almost another generation, due to long-held prejudices about her character. It was only in 1917, after a chaplain at the Motherhouse had come to know the details of her life and gave a series of talks about her to the community, that enthusiasm arose among the Sisters for honouring her. The Sisters began to collect the information necessary for having Mother Marie-Anne canonized. In 1950 the Archbishop of Montréal gave permission to introduce the cause of Mother Marie-Anne in Rome. Her first complete biography was published in 1956, entitled Martyre du silence. The Sacred Congregation of Rites approved the writings of Mother Marie-Anne on 15 December 1964. Pope John Paul II granted her the title of Venerable in 1991 and beatified her on 29 April 2001.The attitude of Mother Marie-Anne, who was a victim of so many injustices, allows us to bring out the evangelical sense she gave to events in her life. Just as Jesus Christ, who passionately worked for the Glory of His Father, so too Mother Marie-Anne sought only God’s Glory in all she did. “The greater Glory of God” was the aim she herself gave her Community. “To make God known to the young who have not the happiness of knowing Him” was for her a privileged way of working for the Glory of God. Deprived of her most legitimate rights, and robbed of all her personal letters with her bishop, she offered no resistance and she expected, from the infinite goodness of God, the solution to the matter. She was convinced that “He will know well, in his Wisdom, how to discern the false from the true and to reward each one according to his deeds”. Prevented from being called “Mother” by those in authority, Mother Marie-Anne did not jealously hold on to her title of Foundress; rather she chose annihilation, just like Jesus, “her crucified Love”, so that her Community might live. However, she did not renounce her mission of spiritual mother of her Community. She offered herself to God in order “to expiate all the sins which were committed in the Community”; and she daily prayed Saint Anne “to bestow on her spiritual daughters the virtues so necessary for Christian educators”. Like any prophet invested with a mission of salvation, Mother Marie-Anne lived persecution by forgiving without restriction, convinced that “there is more happiness in forgiving than in revenge”. This evangelical forgiveness, guarantee of “the peace of soul which she held most precious”, was ultimately proven on her death bed when she asked her superior to call for Father Maréchal “for the edification of the Sisters”.(Bl Mary of the Incarnation) Barbe Avrillot was born in Paris in 1566. At the age of sixteen she married Pierre Acarie, by whom she had seven children. Through her household duties and many hardships, she attained the heights of the mystical life. Under the influence of Saint Teresa’s writings, and after mystical contact with the saint herself, she spared no effort in introducing the Discalced Carmelite Nuns into France. After her husband’s death, she asked to be admitted among them as a lay sister, taking the name of Mary of the Incarnation; she was professed at the Carmel of Amiens in 1615. She was esteemed by some of the greatest men of her time, including Saint Francis de Sales; and she was distinguished by her spirit of prayer and her zeal for the extension of the Catholic Faith. She died at Pontoise on April 18, 1618.Carmelite Breviary

Friday of the 2nd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint Donan) St Donan, or Donnan, came from Ireland and established a monastery on the Isle of Eigg in the Inner Hebrides. On Easter Sunday 617 he and his 52 companions were celebrating Mass when Danish pirates arrived. The pirates allowed them to finish the Mass and then beheaded them all. Donan is the patron saint of Eigg.(Bl Baptist Spagnoli of Mantua (1447-1516)) Baptist came from a family who served the Dukes of Mantua, in a northern region of Italy. He entered a Carmelite community in Ferrara and professed his religious vows in 1464. This community was part of what would later be known as the ‘Mantuan Reform’, living a stricter observance of the Carmelite Rule and seeking a spirituality of integrity amidst laxity and lethargy that characterised many religious groups of the time. It was during his studies and doctoral work at the University of Bologna (completed in 1475) that Baptist discovered his passion for poetry in the style of classic Latin antiquity. In the wake of the rise of Christian Humanism in literature, his passion drew him into friendships with many writers. The great humanist, Erasmus of Rotterdam, reading Baptist’s work, gave him the nickname “the Christian Vergil”. In addition to his poetic works, Baptist also used his writing skill to critique the violent political situation of Renaissance Italy. He used his pen to encourage his fellow Carmelites in their interior lives of solitude, prayer and recollection, and he also wrote prayers and poems that honoured Mary and the saints.Baptist also demonstrated a gift for leadership. Six times he was elected Vicar General for the Reformed Congregation (the Mantuan Reform). He was well known for his direct and eloquent condemnation of the corruption and immorality that was prevalent in the Church of the time. In 1513 Baptist was elected Prior General for the whole Order, a role that lasted until his death in 1516.MT (Bl. Clara Gambacorta OP (1362 - 1419)) Dominican Nun and Widow.Blessed Clara was born in Pisa in 1362, married at the age of twelve and widowed at the age of fifteen. She longed to join a religious order, but her family objected. When at last they relented, upon the advice of Saint Catherine of Siena she received the Dominican habit at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Pisa. In 1385 along with Blessed Maria Mancini she founded the Monastery of Saint Dominic in Pisa where regular observance was strictly maintained. She was noted for her great prudence and charity, especially in pardoning the assassin of her father and brothers. She prized study and urged her sisters to do likewise. She died on April 17, 1419.(Bl. Maria Mancini OP ( - 1431)) Dominican Nun and Widow.Catharine Mancini was born at Pisa around the middle of the fourteenth century. By the time she was twenty-five she had been widowed twice and left bereft of all her children. At the urging of Saint Catherine of Siena she became a Sister of Penance and later entered the monastery founded by Blessed Clara Gambacorta where she took the name Maria. There she devoted herself to contemplation and penance, and upon the death of Blessed Clara, became prioress. She died there on January 22, 1431.

Monday of the 2nd week of Eastertide, or Saint Martin I, Pope, Martyr Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Pope St Martin I (- 655)) He was born in Todi in Umbria and elected Pope in 649. He called a synod to combat the Monothelite heresy concerning the nature of Christ. One of the people whose teachings were condemned was supported by the Byzantine Emperor, who in 653 had Martin kidnapped from Rome, taken to Constantinople, imprisoned and eventually exiled to the Crimea, where he died on 1 September 655. See the articles on Martin and Monothelitism in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and the article on Martin in Wikipedia.(St. Margaret of Castello OP (1287 - 1320)) Virgin and Lay Dominican.Margaret was born at Città de Castello, Italy, in 1287. Blind from birth and abandoned by her parents at an early age, she faithfully placed her trust in God and lived under the Rule of Penance of the Order of Saint Dominic. She had great compassion for the poor and especially cherished the mystery of the Incarnation. She died on April 13, 1320.(Blessed Miles Gerrard of Ince, Martyr)

Thursday of the 2nd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)) She was born in 1844 to a destitute family in Lourdes, in France. On 11 February 1858 she went down to the river Gave with her sister and a friend, to look for firewood and bones. There she received the first of a series of visions of the Mother of God which led to Lourdes becoming a place of pilgrimage and healing. In 1866 she became a nun at Nevers, where she died on 16 April 1879.It is a rule of the Church that saints are to be celebrated for what they are and what they do – to serve as examples of heroic virtue for us all – and not merely for what happens to them. There is no way that we can all go off and have visions of Our Lady, and the world would be a madhouse if we tried. So what of Bernadette? What heroic virtue has she that we should imitate? There are two: suffering, and humility. Bernadette was seriously ill with asthma all her life and she died young; but she never let illness be an excuse for anything – how many times do we, feeling a little unwell, use that as an excuse for being bad-tempered or simply not doing what we ought? To move away from Bernadette for a moment: imagine that you are a poor working-class boy with little education who happens to be good at kicking a ball about. Within a few years you find yourself earning more, annually, than your father earned in his entire lifetime. You receive attention, adulation, status – all that you could possibly desire. People emulate you. They hang on your every word. How would you feel? How would you act?Next, imagine that you are a poor girl – not even working-class, because your father hardly ever has any work – poor in a way that we can hardly conceive of – unintelligent and uneducated, and suddenly something happens to you. Overnight you are famous. People come in crowds to see you (sometimes the police have to control them). Everyone treats you with respect and admiration. They hang on your every word and ask you, over and over, questions about even the tiniest detail of your experience. They press coins into your family’s hands. You shut yourself up in a convent far from home, but even there you are constantly visited by bishops and other eminent persons who just want a quick look at you.Wouldn’t that turn your head? Just a little? Wouldn’t you think that there must be something about you that made you worth seeing? However tiny that something was?Here is Bernadette’s response, in conversation with one of the nuns:“What do you do with a broom?”“Why, sweep with it, of course.”“And then?”“Put it back in its place.”“Yes. And so for me. Our Lady used me. They have put me in my corner. I am happy there, and stay there.”Saint Bernadette Soubirous is patron saint of the sick, and rightly so. But if there is to be a patron saint of celebrities and footballers, Bernadette would be a wise choice for that task too.(Note: St Bernadette’s feast is celebrated on 16 April by most of the world but on 18 February in France. Some people called “Bernadette” celebrate their name-day on 11 February, which is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the date of the first vision).(Saint Magnus of Orkney, Martyr)

Wednesday of the 2nd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass

Tuesday of the 2nd week of EastertideOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Blessed Lucien Botovasoa (1908-1947)) Lucien Botovasoa was born in 1908 in Vohipeno, a small village in the Diocese of Farafangana, on the south-eastern coast of Madagascar, more than one thousand kilometres from the nation’s capital. His parents were poor farmers, like many others in this region, always struggling with weather-related risks.They followed the traditional religion but were open-minded. When the villagers discovered the Christian faith, many converted and asked for baptism. Among them was Lucien, baptized at the age of 13 on Holy Saturday, April 15, 1922. His parents converted to the Christian faith much later. Lucien was confirmed the following year, April 2, 1923.Lucien studied in Ambzontany Fianarantsoa, at Saint Joseph College, for four years. After he obtained a teacher’s diploma, he returned to Vohipeno as teacher and assistant director of the parish school. Even then, he still had the desire to read and continue to learn everything. He was a wonderful educator and an exceptional, competent, conscientious, and zealous teacher, explaining all the school subjects to his students with clarity and kindness.But he was also a Christian teacher and always concerned himself with the religious education of children, to whom he taught catechism both during school hours and after classes. Every evening, after school, he read the stories of the saints to those who wanted to hear them.On October 10, 1930, Lucien married Suzanne Soazana. The couple had eight children, of whom only five survived. Lucien loved his children, educated them, and taught them to pray. But he also spent a great deal of time taking care of the children of others, visiting the sick, teaching in the evening, leading various groups to learn the catechism. He spent much time at church, playing the harmonium and conducting the choir, not only during Sunday Mass, but also weekdays at the early morning six o’clock Mass.Around 1940, looking for a book on the life of a married saint to be taken as a model, Lucien discovered the Franciscan Third Order (since 1978, called the Secular Franciscan Order) and studied the Rule. With Marguerite Kembarakala, who had formed him to the faith, he established a first community of brothers in Vohipeno.The rule was demanding, and Lucien applied it to the letter. Lucien Botovasoa began to excel in piety and poverty. Every night he got up several times to pray kneeling at the foot of the bed, then he went to church at six for an hour of meditation before the tabernacle.In October 1945 and then in June 1946, political elections were held in Madagascar. The two political parties wanted Lucien Botovasoa as their candidate. But Lucien categorically refused their invitation, insisting, “Your politics are nourished by lies and can only end in blood.” Sunday, March 30, 1947, Palm Sunday, Lucien’s father sent Lucien and his brother into the forest. The two took refuge there as insurgents attacked the city.The fighting lasted until Wednesday. The massacres carried out by the political party known as the Parti des déshérités de Madagascar resulted in a bloody Holy Week. The result was a total massacre, with eighteen churches and five schools burned. Naturally, on Easter, it was not possible to celebrate the Eucharist in the parish church.On the Second Sunday of Easter, Lucien returned to the city after having taken his family to safety in the forest. Here he succeeded in bringing all the refugees together in a common prayer, in which Catholics, Protestants, and Muslims participated. Lucien commented on the Gospel, urging everyone to revive their faith and to have the courage to face martyrdom in the event that it was necessary. He spoke and led the song with intense joy.On April 16, 1947, King Tsimihono, the local leader of the Malagasy Democratic Renewal Movement (MDRM), summoned everyone to eliminate all the party’s enemies from the city, including Lucien. On Thursday, April 17, the king offered a key position to Lucien Botovasoa, inviting him to become the secretary of the MDRM. Meanwhile Lucien had communicated to his wife that they would condemn him. Suzanne wanted him to hide, but Lucien refused and, taking a picture of St. Francis from the wall, said, “He will guide me.”After a quiet lunch with his family and some prayer, Lucien replied to those who had come to arrest him without the slightest hesitation, “I am ready.” He was taken without the least resistance. He knew he would die and when they called him, he came forward. Sitting at the king’s right hand, in the place of honour, he said aloud, “I know you are going to kill me, and I cannot fight it. If my life can save others, do not hesitate to kill me. The only thing I ask of you is not to touch my brothers.” If he had accepted the role as MDRM secretary, he would have saved his life. But he said, “You kill, you burn the churches, you forbid prayer, you let the crucifixes be trampled, and you destroy the sacred images, rosaries, and the scapulars. You want to desecrate our church, turning it into a ballroom. Yours is a dirty work. You know how important religion is to me. I cannot work for you.”About thirty boys from Ambohimanarivo, mostly his old students, accompanied him to the Mattatoio, the place where executions took place, at the south exit of the city, in a place called Ambalafary. Lucien said, “Tell my family not to cry, because I am happy. It is God who takes me. May your hearts never abandon God! ” He walked like a free man, a conqueror. The group of boys arrived at the place of execution.Three men designated by the king were already in place. To reach them, the procession had to cross a canal. Before crossing it, Lucien asked for time to pray and was given it. He prayed, “O my God, forgive my brothers, who now have a difficult task to face. May my blood be shed for the salvation of my country! ” Lucien repeated these words several times. He also prayed in Latin, and perhaps intoned the song of Lent that he loved so much: “Save, O Lord, save your people, may your wrath not remain forever upon us! ”Then they wanted to tie his hands, but he refused, saying, “Do not bind me to kill me. I bind myself.” And he crossed his wrists one on top of the other, holding the cross of the rosary in his hand.Once on his knees, he prayed again, repeating the words already spoken before: “O my God, forgive my brothers.” He forgave the executioners first and interceded for them, while they mocked him: “Your prayer is too long! Do you think it will save you?” Some of those who had remained on the other side of the canal were shouting insults. But Lucien answered, “I have not finished! Leave me a moment longer.”He raised his hands to heaven and prostrated himself three times on the ground, like Jesus during the Passion, then turned to them saying, “Hurry up now, because the spirit is ready but the flesh is weak.” While they killed him, the executioners mocked him, saying, “Now go play your harmonium.” Given up for love of Christ and his Church, Lucien’s body was thrown into the Matitanana River. Recognizing his martyrdom and his witness to his faith, the Catholic Church beatified him on April 15, 2018, in Vohipeno, Madagascar.Comboni Missionaries (Bl. Peter Gonzalez OP ( - 1246)) Dominican Friar and Priest.Blessed Peter was born at Palencia, Spain, towards the end of the twelfth century. He pursued an ecclesiastical career and became dear to the Church of Palencia. Moved by the grace of God, he asked for the habit of the Dominican Order and became as renowned for his humility as he had previously been renowned for his greed for glory. He was notable for his life of prayer and for his service to his neighbor, especially those who were in peril on the sea. Sailors have invoked his intercession under the name “Saint Elmo.” He died at Tuy, Spain, on April 14, 1246.

Pope Francis' top diplomats met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 19, where the two sides discussed migrants and refugees following months of clashes between U.S. church leaders and the Trump administration over immigration policy and foreign aid.