Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, ReligiousOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Elizabeth of Hungary (1207 - 1231) She was a daughter of the King of Hungary. At the age of four she was betrothed to Hermann, the eldest son of the Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia, as part of a grand scheme of alliances against the German Emperor. (A Landgrave is a Count whose status derives directly from a feudal relationship with an emperor and not with any subsidiary nobleman; Thuringia today is a small province in central Germany.)Shortly after her betrothal Elizabeth went to live at the Thuringian court. Amidst a somewhat riotous court she grew up a very religious child, given to prayer and self-mortification, with her kind mother-in-law protecting her from the more unruly elements at court. Her betrothed, Hermann, died in 1216 and Elizabeth was betrothed to the second son, Ludwig.In 1221 Ludwig succeeded his father as Landgrave and in the same year Ludwig and Elizabeth were married. The marriage was a happy one and Ludwig willingly supported Elizabeth’s many works of charity. When Thuringia was beset by floods, famine and the plague while Ludwig was away dealing with the affairs of the Empire, Elizabeth took charge of the affairs of the state, distributed alms in all parts of the territory, and built a 28-bed hospital below the castle itself. She visited the hospital every day and also gave daily support to some 900 of the poor.In 1227 Ludwig died of the plague on the way to a crusade and Elizabeth was left a widow with three children. Franciscan spirituality was spreading across the world and the Franciscans had made their first settlement in Germany in 1221. With Elizabeth’s help a Franciscan monastery was founded at Eisenach in Thuringia, and she herself lived as close to a Franciscan life as it was possible for her to live, given the significance of her position. By 1228 she was able to distribute her dowry among the poor and enter the Franciscan house she had founded, as one of the first members of the Third Order of St Francis in Germany. She built a new Franciscan hospital at Marburg in 1227. She died in 1231, at the age of 24, worn out by her penances and her charitable labours.Her husband Ludwig, who benefited so much from her influence and example, is popularly known as “Ludwig the Holy” or “Ludwig the Saint”. Elizabeth herself was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1235. She has been described as “the greatest woman of the German Middle Ages.”(St Hilda (614 - 680)) Saint Hilda (or Hild) was born in Northumbria in 614. She was the grandniece of King Edwin of Northumbria and was not baptised until the age of 13, when she was received into the Church by Paulinus at York, at the same time as King Edwin and many of his nobles. The first part of Hilda’s life was spent in the ordinary secular pursuits of the day. But these were years of constant warfare and in 655, her sister Hereswith, the wife of the King of the East Angles, suffered the loss of her husband in battle and decided to withdraw from the world to the monastery of Cale in Paris where she entered religious life. At the age of 33, Hilda decided to follow her and was only prevented from doing so by the intervention of St Aidan who directed her first to establish a small religious house on the north bank of the Wear where she stayed for a year, and then to take charge of the monastery of Hieu at Hartlepool. She proved to be an able and wise superior and, after several years at Hartlepool, she set about establishing the famous double monastery at Whitby which she governed for the rest of her life.Hilda was an extraordinary woman for her time. Her influence was widespread and her advice was valued by high and low alike. In her monastery she gave ‘a great example of peace and charity’, as Bede says ‘all who knew her called her mother, such were her wonderful godliness and grace.’ She laid emphasis on the study of the Scriptures and insisted on careful preparation for the priesthood, after the manner of St Aidan on Lindisfarne. Among her community was the first English poet, Caedmon, who had been the community’s herdsman until his poetic genius was discovered. After the death of St Aidan, when the divisions between those who held the Celtic tradition and those who supported Roman ways became critical, it was at her monastery that the important Synod of Whitby was held in 644 to decide upon a common Church order among the rival parties.Although her last seven years were a time of constant illness, she continued to lead her community to the end. Towards daybreak on 17 November 680 she asked for, and received, viaticum and died peacefully with her community around her or as St Bede says, ‘she joyfully saw death approaching… and passed from death to life.’Middlesbrough Ordo (St Hugh of Lincoln (1140 - 1200)) He was born near Grenoble in France and entered the Carthusian monastery of La Grande Chartreuse at the age of 25. In 1175 he was asked by King Henry II of England to become prior of a Carthusian house in England, and a decade later he was appointed bishop of Lincoln, a post which he accepted only when directly commanded to do so by the prior of La Grande Chartreuse. His diocese was the largest in England, and he spent the rest of his life in ceaseless work there. He delegated much authority. He was a friend (and critic) of successive kings, but also worked with his own hands on the extension of his cathedral. He gained a great reputation for justice, the care of the sick, and the support of the oppressed: he risked his life to help the Jewish community. He died in London on 16 November 1200 and was declared a saint in 1220, the first Carthusian to be canonized.(St Dionysius of Alexandria, Bishop (190 - 265)) Dionysius was born in Alexandria in 190. After studying literature and philosophy, he became a Christian and joined the catechetical school where he was taught by Origen. In 232 he became the head of that school. Fifteen years later he was appointed bishop of Alexandria and had to endure severe persecutions and even exile because of his boldness in proclaiming the faith. He involved himself in major theological disputes of the time. He died in 265.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Margaret of Scotland (1046 - 1093)) She was born in Hungary of Anglo-Saxon and Hungarian parents. When William of Normandy conquered England she found refuge with King Malcolm III of Scotland, and they were married in 1070 and had eight children. She reformed the royal court, founded monasteries, and supported major reforms of Church life. She died in Edinburgh on 16 November 1093. She is remembered for the happiness of her marriage, for her devotion to prayer and learning, and especially for her generosity to the poor.(St Gertrude (1256 - 1301/2)) She was born at Eisleben in Thuringia. As a girl she was educated by the Benedictine nuns at Helfta and was particularly talented at literature and philosophy. She turned to God and became a nun herself. She was devoted to the mystery of the Incarnation, in particular to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Eucharist. She was the recipient of many mystical experiences, and her spiritual writings had great influence in later centuries and indirectly contributed to the establishment of the feast of the Sacred Heart.See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(St Edmund of Abingdon (1175? - 1240)) St Edmund Rich was born at St Edmund’s Lane, Abingdon, on 20 November, probably in the year 1175. His father was a rich merchant, hence the surname (which he never in fact used himself). Under the influence of his mother he led an ascetic life. He studied at Oxford and Paris, and became a teacher in about 1200 or a little earlier. For six years he lectured on mathematics and dialectics, apparently dividing his time between Oxford and Paris, and winning distinction for his part in introducing the study of Aristotle. He is the first known Oxford Master of Arts, and the place where he taught was eventually renamed St Edmund Hall.Between 1205 and 1210 he changed direction, studying theology and being ordained a priest. He took a doctorate in divinity, and soon won fame as a lecturer on theology and as an extemporaneous preacher. Some time between 1219 and 1222 he was appointed vicar of the parish of Calne in Wiltshire and Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, and finally became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1233. He was a notable and effective reforming Bishop. His love for discipline and justice aroused opposition, and he found himself ranged against Rome as champion of the national Church. Eventually, like his predecessors St Thomas Becket and Stephen Langton, he retired to Pontigny, where he is buried. He died at Soisy-Bouy on 16 November 1240.Devotion to him was especially marked at Abingdon, and at Catesby where his sisters were both nuns. Edmund was canonised in 1246, and is the Joint-Principal Patron of the Diocese of Portsmouth.He is venerated as a vigorous and reforming bishop and as a peacemaker, as well as being a distinguished commentator on the Scriptures and an effective spiritual writer.(Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn) Vilnius (Wilno in Polish) is the capital of Lithuania, which was part of the multi-ethnic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until this was destroyed in 1793 by the Prussian, Austrian and Russian Empires. Lithuania was taken over by the Russian Empire; then, after a brief period of independence between the wars, it was illegally occupied by the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1989.In the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn there is a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary which has been venerated by the faithful since the 17th century, and which became a symbol of the national identity that the invaders sought to obliterate. Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn (Lithuanian: Aušros Vartų Dievo Motina, Polish: Matka Boska Ostrobramska, Belarusian: Мац Божая Вастрабрамская) is a major focus of pilgrimage from the successor states of the Commonwealth: Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.Pope John Paul II visited the chapel in 1993.(Commemoration of All Carmelite Souls) On this day the Carmelite Order remembers in prayer all the members of the Carmelite Family who have died.

Saturday of week 32 in Ordinary Time, or Saint Albert the Great, Bishop, Doctor , or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Albert the Great (1206 - 1280)) He was born at Lauingen on the Danube, in Germany, and studied at Padua and Paris before entering the Dominican Order. He taught in a number of places including the University of Paris, where St Thomas Aquinas studied under him.He was one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, coming at the beginning of the great flowering that came with the rediscovery of the works of Aristotle. He had a great interest in science and astronomy and his learning gave him the title, as a Doctor of the Church, of Doctor Universalis, the “Universal Doctor.”In 1260 the Pope made him Bishop of Regensburg, a post that he held for three years before resigning it. He made great efforts to secure peace between people and between cities. He died at Cologne in 1280.See the articles in Wikipedia and the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(Saturday memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary) ‘On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.‘Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial derives from Carolingian times (9th century), but the reasons for having chosen Saturday for its observance are unknown. While many explanations of this choice have been advanced, none is completely satisfactory from the point of view of the history of popular piety.‘Whatever its historical origins may be, today the memorial rightly emphasizes certain values to which contemporary spirituality is more sensitive. It is a remembrance of the maternal example and discipleship of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, strengthened by faith and hope, on that “great Saturday” on which Our Lord lay in the tomb, was the only one of the disciples to hold vigil in expectation of the Lord’s resurrection. It is a prelude and introduction to the celebration of Sunday, the weekly memorial of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a sign that the Virgin Mary is continuously present and operative in the life of the Church.’Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001), §188

Friday of week 32 in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Dyfrig or Dubric or Dubricius) He was born in what is now Herefordshire, the illegitimate son of the daughter of a local king. He founded monasteries in south-east Wales, was the teacher of Saints Teilo and Samson among others, and exercised the functions of a bishop. He attended a synod in 545 and is thought to have died a few years later. As with so many Welsh saints of this period, firm dates are hard to come by: some sources put his death in the year 612.(Saint Laurenc O'Toole (1128 - 1180)) Also known as Lorcán Ua Tuathail, he was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland. He was elected archbishop of Dublin in 1161 – he was the first elected archbishop, since his predecessor, Gregory, had already been bishop of Dublin when the city was raised to an archbishopric. He was the first Irish bishop of Dublin, and also the last one before the Reformation: Ireland was invaded by the Normans in 1170 and his successors were all Normans or Englishmen. He took part in the negotiations consequent on the invasion, and negotiated with Henry II of England. Forbidden for a while to return to Ireland after being made a papal legate by the Pope in Rome, he eventually persuaded Henry II to let him return, but he died on the journey, at Eu in Normandy.(The Beatified Martyrs of Clifton Diocese) Thomas Alfield, seminary priest, Douai. Born Gloucester 1552. Ministered in Gloucestershire. Executed, Tyburn 6 July 1585.Richard Bere, Carthusian Monk, was a nephew of Abbot Bere of Glastonbury, where he was born and attended the Abbey School. He was a priest of the London Charterhouse and was starved to death with eight other monks for upholding the Supremacy of the Pope. He died in Newgate prison on 9 August 1537.John Bodey, schoolmaster. Born Wells. Studied law, Douai. Executed, Andover 2 November 1583.James Fenn, seminary priest, Rheims. Probably ministered in Somerset. Arrested at Brympton. Executed, Tyburn 12 February 1584.John Gavan, Jesuit. Born London 1640, but family from Norrington, Wiltshire. Ministered in Staffordshire. Executed in connection with Popish Plot, 20 June 1679.John Hambley, seminary priest, Douai. Born St Mabyn near Bodmin, Cornwall, circa 1560. Arrested at Chard, released and again arrested. Executed Salisbury March 1587.William Hart, seminary priest, Rheims, and then English College, Rome. Born Wells. Ministered in Yorkshire. After lengthy imprisonment executed, York 15 March 1583.William Lampley, layman. Probably born at Gloucester, was tried for ‘persuading his kin to popery’. Executed at Gloucester sometime in 1588.John Pibush was born at Thirsk and ordained at Rheims and then ministered in England. He was arrested at Moreton-in-Marsh, taken to London then brought to Gloucester. He escaped from the local jail, but was recaptured and sent back to London. After five years in jail was executed in 1601.Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. Born Farleigh Castle, Somerset. Daughter of Duke of Clarence. Governess to the Princess Mary, later Mary Tudor. Mother of Cardinal Reginald Pole, last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury. Executed, Tower of London 28 May 1541.Edward Powell, seminary priest of Welsh birth. Taught at Eton and Oxford. Rector of Bleadon, Somerset. Vicar of St Mary Redcliffe. Executed, Smithfield 30 July 1540.Philip Powell, monk of St Gregory’s, Douai. Born in Breconshire. Ministered for 20 years at Leigh Barton on Exmoor. Executed, Tyburn 30 June 1646.Alexander Rawlins, seminary priest, Rheims. Rather tenuous connections with diocese. Probably born Oxford 1560. Ministered mainly in the North East. Executed, York 7 April 1595.Stephen Rowsham, seminary priest. Born in Oxfordshire circa 1555. Took orders in the established church but converted and went to Douai Abbey. Was imprisoned in The Tower, banished but returned. Executed, Gloucester 1587.John Sandys, seminary priest. Born in Lancashire between 1550 and 1555, studied at Oxford and Douai. Arrested in Gloucestershire. Executed 11 August 1586, Gloucester.Richard Sergeant, seminary priest. Born in Gloucestershire in the late 1550s. Studied at Douai Abbey. Ordained at Laon in 1583. He worked on English mission for three years, arrested and tried. Executed at Tyburn, 20 April 1586.John Storey, layman. Born Salisbury. Educated Oxford. MP for Hindon, Wiltshire. Exiled for his religion and executed for treason, Tyburn 1 June 1571.Henry Webley, layman. Born Gloucester, circa 1558. Charged with sheltering a priest, condemned and executed in London 28 August 1588.Richard Whiting, Abbot and monk of Glastonbury. Last of long line of abbots, probably born Wrington, Somerset. With John Thorne, treasurer of the Abbey, and Roger James, sacrist, executed on the Tor following trial at Wells, 15 November 1539.Clifton Ordo (The Reading Martyrs) Hugh Cook adopted the surname Faringdon when he became a Benedictine monk, at some time before 1500. Although Faringdon is the name of a town in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) to the north-west of Reading, he later adopted the arms of the Cook family of Kent and so presumably had some connection with them. He is believed to have been educated within Reading Abbey, and later served as sub-chamberlain of the community. He was elected (the last) Abbot of Reading Abbey in 1520, and served as a Justice for the Peace and on various governmental commissions in the country of Berkshire between 1526 and 1538. In 1539 he was indicted for high treason, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months. He was taken back to the abbey and hung, drawn and quartered in front of the gatehouse on 14 November 1539 along with John Eynon (Oynon), vicar of St Giles’ in Reading and the abbot’s chief councillor, and John Rugge (Rugg, Rugke, Rogke) a prebendary of Chichester Cathedral who had retired to the abbey in Reading.All three were beatified by Leo XIII in 1895.Portsmouth Ordo (Saint Joseph Pignatelli (1737-1811)) Joseph Pignatelli (1737-1811) was the link between the Society of Jesus suppressed in 1773 and restored in 1814. For almost four decades during the Suppression, he led some 600 former Jesuits from Spain living in exile in Italy. Through his various interventions, Jesuits were permitted to rejoin the surviving Society in White Russia, and the Society was restored in parts of Italy in 1793. In 1803, he was appointed provincial superior, and settled in Rome in 1807. He died in 1811, three years before the full restoration of the Society in 1814.(All Carmelite Saints) On this day the Carmelite Order celebrates the memory of all its saints, those known and those unknown.

Thursday of week 32 in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850 - 1917)) She was born in Lombardy, the youngest of thirteen children. Because of her frail health she was refused admission to two convents. She devoted herself to teaching, and founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose aim is to spread devotion to the Heart of Jesus by spiritual and corporal works of mercy, running homes for the old and the sick, orphanages, and schools. In 1889 the Pope sent her to New York, where she founded an orphanage. In all she founded 67 institutions across the United States, South America and Europe. She died of malaria at Chicago in 1917.See also the web site of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.(Saints Benedykt, Jan, Mateusz, Isaak and Krystyn, the first martyrs of Poland) (Saint Machar (8th century)) Machar was a bishop of Irish origin. He came to Iona with Columba and preached in Mull, and later ministered to the Picts around Aberdeen.(Bl Maria Teresa Scrilli (1825-1889)) Maria Scrilli was born in Montevarchi, Italy, on 15 May 1825. As a young girl, through her readings of the lives of the saints, she became familiar with St  Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi and thereby with Carmelite spirituality. She resolved to join the monastery in which the Seraphim of Carmel had lived, but only stayed there for a few weeks, as divine inspiration told her that the Lord wanted her in the world “to lead souls to Him”. Before returning to her family, she joined the Carmelite Third Order with the name Maria Teresa of Jesus. In her home village, a number of young girls were entrusted to her, and thus began her educational work, assisted by several young women with whom she shared prayers and work. This was the origin of the Institute of Our Lady of Carmel. She died on 14 November 1889, the feast of all Carmelite Saints.Carmelite Proper

Saint Josaphat, Bishop, MartyrOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSaint Josaphat (c.1580 - 1623) He was born in the Polish province of Volhynia, of Orthodox parents. In 1595 the Union of Brest brought the Ruthenian Church into communion with Catholic Rome while still preserving its own liturgy. The result was a schism within the Ruthenian church itself, with one party wanting to remain Orthodox and in the orbit of Moscow and Constantinople, while the other accepted the Union. Matters were complicated by the presence of the Greek Uniates, a remnant of a century-old attempt at church union (who remain a living church to this day).Josaphat joined the first monastery of the order of St Basil to be united to the Catholic Church: he was the first person to do so. He was ordained priest and, eventually and reluctantly, appointed bishop of Polotsk in 1617. Although Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, supported the union, the local aristocracy were against it because it threatened their control of ecclesiastical benefices. Plotting with the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, who visited the region in 1621, they stirred up trouble and as a result Josaphat was murdered by a mob in 1623 while on a pastoral visit to Vitebsk.

Saint Martin of Tours, BishopOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Martin of Tours (c.316 - 397) He was born in the Roman province of Pannonia (approximating to the western half of modern Hungary) in about 316 and was educated at Pavia in Italy. He was baptized, left the army and after spending some time as a hermit on an island off the Ligurian coast, founded a monastery at Ligugé in western France, where he lived a monastic life guided by St Hilary. Later he was ordained priest and became bishop of Tours. In his actions he gave an example of what a good shepherd should be. He founded other monasteries, educated the clergy, and preached the Gospel to the poor. He died in 397.The famous story about St Martin is that while a soldier in Amiens he gave half of his military cloak to a beggar and later had a dream in which the beggar revealed himself as Christ.See the articles in Wikipedia and the Catholic Encyclopaedia.

Dedication of the Lateran BasilicaOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassDedication of the Lateran Basilica (c.324) The Lateran Basilica was built by the Emperor Constantine on the Lateran Hill in Rome in about 324. The feast of its dedication has been celebrated in Rome on this date since the twelfth century. In honour of the basilica, “the mother and head of all the churches of the City and the World,” the feast has been extended to the whole Roman Rite as a sign of unity and love towards the See of Peter, which, as St Ignatius of Antioch said in the second century, “presides over the whole assembly of charity.”

Saint Leo the Great, Pope, DoctorOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassPope St Leo the Great (- 461) He was born in Etruria and became Pope in 440. He was a true shepherd and father of souls. He constantly strove to keep the faith whole and strenuously defended the unity of the Church. He repelled the invasions of the barbarians or alleviated their effects, famously persuading Attila the Hun not to march on Rome in 452, and preventing the invading Vandals from massacring the population in 455. Leo left many doctrinal and spiritual writings behind and a number of them are included in the Office of Readings to this day. He died in 461.See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.

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.