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Today is Wednesday, June 11, 2008; it is now 11:09 UTC

[edit] June 1

Saint Justin Martyr (also Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea, Justin the Philosopher, Latin Iustinus Martys) (100–165) was an early Christian apologist and saint. His works represent the earliest surviving Christian apologies of notable size.Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. He was born at Flavia Neapolis (ancient Shechem in Judaea/Palaestina, now modern-day Nablus). According to church tradition Justin suffered martyrdom at Rome under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius when Rusticus was prefect of the city (between 162 and 168). He called himself a Samaritan, but his father and grandfather were probably Greek or Roman, and he was brought up a Pagan. It seems that St Justin had property, studied philosophy, converted to Christianity, and devoted the rest of his life to teaching what he considered the true philosophy, still wearing his philosopher's gown to indicate that he had attained the truth. He probably travelled widely and ultimately settled in Rome as a Christian teacher.
Attributes:Philosopher's coat, palm tree
Patronage:Philosophers
Prayer:

[edit] June 2

Saint Erasmus of Formiae is a Christian saint and martyr who died ca. 303, also known as Saint Elmo. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christian legend who were venerated especially in Central Europe as intercessors.The Acts of Saint Elmo were partly compiled from legends that confuse him with a Syrian bishop Erasmus of Antioch. Jacobus de Voragine in the Golden Legend credited him as a bishop at Formia over all the Italian Campania, as a hermit on Mount Lebanon, and a martyr in the persecutions under Eastern Roman Emperor Diocletian.According to his legend, when the persecutions of Diocletian began, Erasmus was called before a judge, beaten around the head, spat upon and "besprinkled [...] with foulness". He was then beaten with leaden mauls until his veins broke and burst. Erasmus suffered all of these punishments with tremendous willingness. Erasmus was then thrown into a pit of snakes and worms, and boiling oil and sulfur were poured on him but "he lay therein as he had lain in cold water, thanking and loving God". Then thunder and lightning came and electrocuted everyone around save Erasmus. Thus the saint was protected from the lightning. Diocletian had him thrown in another pit, but an angel came and slew all the vipers and worms.

Attributes:represented by a windlass
Patronage:sailors, Gaeta, Formia, colic in children, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labor, cattle pest, Fort St. Elmo, (Malta)
Prayer:

[edit] June 3

Carl Lwanga (or Charles Lwanga) (1865–June 3, 1886) was a Ugandan Catholic catechist martyred for his faith and revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda in the southern part of modern Uganda, and served as a page in the court of King Mwanga II.King Mwanga began to insist Christian converts abandon their new faith, and executed many Catholics between 1885 and 1887; many of them were officials in the court of the king or otherwise very close to him, including Lwanga. After a massacre of Anglicans in 1885 the court's resident Catholic priest, Joseph Mukasa, reproached the king for the deed. Mwanga had Mukasa beheaded and arrested all of his followers. Lwanga took up Mukasa's duties, and secretly baptized those of his pupils who had only been catechumens. Carl Lwanga and 21 other Catholics were burnt alive on June 3, 1886.
Attributes:
Patronage:African Catholic Youth Action, converts, torture victims
Prayer:

[edit] June 4

Saint Francis Caracciolo (October 13, 1563–June 4, 1608) born Ascanio Pisquizio, was an Italian Catholic priest who co-founded the Congregation of the Minor Clerks Regular with John Augustine Adorno.He decided to adopt a religious life after recovering from leprosy at the age of 22.He was born in Villa Santa Maria in Abruzzi, Italy; he belonged to the Pisquizio branch of the Caracciolo and received in baptism the name of Ascanio. From his infancy, he had a reputation for gentleness and uprightness. He vowed himself to an ecclesiastical life, and distributing his goods to the poor, went to Naples in 1585 to study theology. In 1587 he was ordained priest and joined the confraternity of the Bianchi della Giustizia (The White Robes of Justice), whose object was to assist condemned criminals to die holy deaths.
Attributes:
Patronage:patron saint of Naples and Italian cooks
Prayer:

[edit] June 5

Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifacius; German: Bonifatius; c. 672 – June 5, 754), the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid or Wynfrith at Crediton in the kingdom of Wessex (now in Devon, England), was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He was killed in Frisia in 754.Born at Crediton, Devon, Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. He devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. Winfrid taught in the abbey school and at the age of 30 became a priest. He wrote the first Latin grammar produced in England.In 716, Winfrid set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia, intending to convert the inhabitants. This mission failed. Winfrid again set out in 718, visited Rome, and was commissioned in 719 by Pope Gregory II, who gave him his new name of Boniface. He set out to evangelize in Germany and reorganize the church there. On November 30, 722, he was elevated to bishop of the Germanic territories he would bring into the fold of the Roman Church.
Attributes:ax, book; fountain; fox; oak; raven; scourge; sword
Patronage:brewers; file cutters; Fulda; The Netherlands and Germany; tailors; World Youth Day
Prayer:In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course. Let us stand fast in what is right, and prepare our souls for trial. Let us wait upon God's strengthening aid and say to him: "O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations." Let us trust in him who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ. For he is all-powerful, and he tells us: "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." Let us continue the fight on the day of the Lord. The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us; if God so wills, "let us die for the holy laws of our fathers," so that we may deserve to obtain an eternal inheritance with them.

[edit] June 6

Saint Norbert of Xanten (c. 1080–6 June 1134) was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertines or Premonstratensian order of canons.Norbert was born at Gennep on the Maas but grew up and was educated in Xanten on the left bank of the Rhine, near Wesel. His father, Heribert, Count of Gennep, was related to the imperial house of Germany and the house of Lorraine. Ordained as subdeacon, Norbert was appointed to a canonry at Xanten. Soon after, he was summoned to the court of Frederick of Cologne and later to that of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, whose almoner he became.In 1115, Norbert founded the Abbey of Fürstenberg, endowed it with a portion of his property and made it over to Cono of Siegburg and his Benedictine successors. He was ordained priest soon afterward and preached in France and Belgium.
Attributes:Habit of a Norbertine, monstrance, devil at his feet
Patronage:Bohemia; diocese of Magdeburg, Germany; peace
Prayer:

[edit] June 7

St. Robert of Newminster (1100–1159) was a priest, abbot, and is a canonized saint of the Roman Catholic Church.St. Robert was born in the district of Craven, near Skipton in North Yorkshire, probably in the village of Gargrave. He studied at the University of Paris, where he is said to have composed a commentary - since lost - on the Psalms. He became a parish priest, returning to serve in his hometown of Gargrave, where he was made rector. He later became a Benedictine at Whitby, joining a band of monks from Saint Mary's Abbey in York. They established a monastery in the winter of 1132 in a valley near Skeldale, on land given them by Archbishop Thurston. The first two years were difficult, and the monks struggled in extreme poverty. Initially they lived in a makeshift structure on the banks of the River Skell. But despite the hardships, the monks were known for their holiness, austerity, and dedication to the strict Benedictine way of life.
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Patronage:
Prayer:

[edit] June 8

Saint Medardus (French Médard; c. 470 - c. 545) was the bishop of Vermandois who removed the seat of the diocese to Noyon.Medardus was born at Salency (Oise), in Picardy. His father, Nectaridus, was of Frankish origin, while his mother Protagia was Gallo-Roman. The Roman Martyrology includes the fanciful tale that Saint Gildardus, Bishop of Rouen, was his brother, "born on the same day, consecrated bishops on the same day, and on the same day withdrawn from this life". A pious fiction links his childhood to his future bishoprics: "He often accompanied his father on business to Vermand and Tournai, where he frequented the schools, carefully avoiding all worldly dissipation".At the death of Bishop Alomer, when Medard was 33, he was chosen to succeed him as bishop of Vermand due to his exemplary piety and his knowledge, considerable for that time. Despite his objections, he found himself obliged to accept the heavy responsibilities of the position, to which he devoted himself zealously.Evidence for his deeds as bishop is thin. He is held to have removed the see from Vermand, a little city with no defences, to Noyon, the strongest place in that region. The year is traditionally given as 531, the year in which Clotaire marched against the Thuringii with his brother Theuderic I, but struggles with the Burgundians also troubled Frankish Neustria. He was a councillor to Clotaire, the Merovingian king at Soissons.
Attributes:Episcopal garments
Patronage:the weather; invoked against toothache
Prayer:

[edit] June 9

Saint Columba (7 December 521 – 9 June 597), sometimes referred to as Columba of Iona, or, in Old Irish, as Colm Cille or Columcille (meaning "Dove of the church") was an outstanding figure among the Gaelic missionary monks who, some of his advocates claim, introduced Christianity to the Kingdom of the Picts during the Early Medieval Period. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.Columba was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the Uí Néill house in Gartan, near Lough Gartan, County Donegal, in Ireland. On his father's side he was great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the 5th century. In early Christian Ireland the druidic tradition collapsed, with the spread of the new Christian faith. The study of Latin learning and Christian theology in monasteries flourished. Columba became a pupil at the monastic school at Clonard Abbey, situated on the River Boyne in modern County Meath.
Attributes:
Patronage:floods, bookbinders, poets, Ireland, Scotland
Prayer: