CALENDAR FOR THE MONTH OF MAY

MAY

04, MAY Blessed Emily Bicchieri

At Vercelli, in Italy, Blessed Emily Bicchieri, sister and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Emily was born at Vercelli, Italy on May 3, 1238. Upon the death of her father, she took her portion of the inheritance and used it to erect a convent of the Order of Penance of St. Dominic, the first of such in the annals of the Order. There she retired with some friends to lead of life of prayer and dedicate themselves to some form of ministry.   At the age of 20, she became the prioress of the community which she governed with great prudence and charity, using her most earnest endeavors to promote contemplative life and maintain regular discipline. She was especially devoted to the Passion of our Savior. She died on her birthday, May 3, 1314 and was beatified by Clement XIII in 1769.

04, MAY Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The cult of the Passion of the Lord, which has been continuously and wonderfully cultivated among the Christian faithful began to flourish in the eleventh century along with the new religious awareness of the humanity of Christ.  Many very beautiful testimonies to this special form of piety exist which derive especially from the monks, and significantly in the thirteenth century with the assistance of the Friars Minor and the Friars Preachers. In the history of the Order, there is ample evidence of a special piety towards the suffering Savior and his mother of mercy.

Indeed the wish to become a witness to Jesus risen from the dead implies and demands a share in his passion, for we do not know the times by which we are led and what may happen to us. Accordingly we understand the mind of the ministers of the Gospel and ought to continually bring our hearts to the suffering Christ knowing the necessity of love and contemplation.

Liturgical note: “Commemoratio”

05, MAY Saint Vincent Ferrer

At Vannes, in Brittany, France, Saint Vincent Ferrer, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Saint Vincent was born at Valencia, Spain in 1350 and entered the Order at the age of seventeen. In the troubled times in which he lived, he was an angel of peace. 

For a time he assisted Peter de Luna, the cardinal legate, and John I, King of Aragon, in reconciling both civil and ecclesiastical disputes. All the while he preached, first at Avignon and then in France and Italy. During the great Western Schism he worked tirelessly for the peace and unity of the Church. At first he supported an antipope, Benedict XIII, but later tried in vain to obtain his abdication.

In 1399 he gave himself totally to itinerant preaching when he travelled throughout Spain, France and Italy, preaching the word of God with special stress on penance and the Last Judgment.  He was a charismatic preacher who travelled throughout Western Europe carrying out his preaching mission. Although he preached in his own native tongue to people who spoke different languages he was clearly understood by all because of his extraordinary gift of tongues.  He was also outstanding for his gift of prophecy, worked astonishing miracles and brought back thousands to the practice of their faith. His authority helped to bring the Great Schism to an end. He embraced a strict spiritual life and was later to write of it in his treatise On the Spiritual Life. He died at Vannes in France, On April 5, 1419, and in 1455 he was canonized by Callixtus III.  Due to liturgical considerations, the memory was transferred from April 5 to this date, the anniversary of the translation of his relics.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”

07, MAY Blessed Albert of Bergamo

At Cremona, in Italy, Blessed Albert of Bergamo, lay person and married man of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Albert was born in Valle d’Ogna near Bergamo, Italy in 1214. His father a farmer taught young Albert many practices of prayer and piety which bore fruit in a holy life.  He married at an early age, but did not neglect his works of charity and self denial, despite the strong objections of his wife. While laboring in the fields, he learned to see God in all things and to listen to his voice in nature.  Upon the death of his wife, being childless, he left his father’s farm and made various pilgrimages to various holy places: Rome, Santiago de Compostella and Jerusalem. Eventually he came to Cremona where he lived in poverty. His poverty was a witness to a group of heretics there who boasted of their own poverty. Attracted by the life of Saint Dominic he joined the Brothers of Penance of Saint Dominic, and there he died on May 7, 1279.  Pope Benedict beatified him in 1748.

08, MAY Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the entire Order of Preachers

It has been customary for the Church to invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary under titles such as Mediatrix, thereby indicating the continuing saving role of her maternity in the order of grace, for “by her many acts of intercession she continues to gain for us gifts of eternal salvation.” (Lumen gentium, 62)

Humbert of Romans declares that “the Blessed Virgin was of great help in beginning the Order…and it is to be hoped that she will bring it to a good end.” (Opera II, 70-71) From its foundation the Order has not hesitated to acknowledge the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin, to continuously experience it and to commend it to the hearts of the brothers and sisters, so that encouraged by this maternal help they might adhere more closely to their Mediator and Redeemer as they labor to carry out their mission of salvation in the world. ( Lumen gentium, 62)

Until the recent restoration of the liturgical calendar, the Order celebrated the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 22, the anniversary of the approval of the Order by Pope Honorius III (December 22, 1216). Keeping in mind the special character of the weekdays of Advent which take precedence over all other memorials, it is suggested that the commemoration of this Patronage be celebrated on May 8—during the month which is specially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and on the day when she is honored under similar titles in other proper liturgical calendars.

Liturgical note: “Commemoratio”

10, MAY Saint Antoninus of Florence

At Florence, in Italy, Saint Antoninus Pierozzi, friar and bishop of the Order of Preachers.

Saint Antoninus  Pierozzi was born in Florence in 1389 and in 1405 was received into the Order “for the future priory of Fiesole” by Blessed John Dominici after having memorized the entire Decretales to prove his ability.

He served the friars in various priories in Italy, often as local superior, and became a distinguished master of canon law. In these houses he labored with great wisdom and firmness to raise the standard of regular observance. Returning to Florence, he founded the celebrated Priory of San Marco in 1435 which was to become a center of Renaissance spirituality and culture. Under his leadership Fra Angelico decorated the priory and an outstanding library was collected. His wisdom and pastoral zeal made him a natural choice for Archbishop of Florence in 1446. Known for his prudence and counsel, it hustly earned the title of Antoninus the counselor. He was noted for his service to the poor and established a society under the patronage of Saint Martin of Tours to assist him in this work. Among his writings the best known is his Summa Theologiae Moralis. His whole life was mirrored in his last words, “to serve God is to reign.” He passed to his eternal reward on May 2, 1459.  His uncorrupt body lies uncorrupt inside  the conventual Church of San Marco in Florence, where he is held in high veneration by the people.  Saint Antoninus was canonized by Pope Clement VII in 1523.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”

12, MAY Blessed Jane of Portugal

In the Dominican Monastery of  Aveiro, in Portugal, Blessed Jane, the Infanta of Portugal,  nun and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Jane, the only daughter of Alphonso V of Portugal, was born in Lisbon in 1452. She desired to embrace religious life and despite the violent opposition of her brother and father. Though at the end, she was able to enter the Dominican monastery of Aveiro in 1472 shewas continually harassed with offers of marriage and was never permitted to make solemn vows. Blessed Jane dedicated herself to prayer and penance she lived for the conversion of sinners and the liberation of the Christian captives in Africa. She lived a life of humility and simplicity and died at the monastery on May 12, 1490. Her long standing cult was ratified by Innocent XII in 1693.

13, MAY Blessed Imelda Lambertini

At Bologna in Italy, Blessed Imelda Lambertini, nun and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

According to tradition, Blessed Imelda, a member of the noble Lambertini family, was born at Bologna about 1321. At the age of nine she was placed in the Dominican monastery St Mary Magdalene at Val di Pietra, near Bologna. Her status there is uncertain, although she wore the habit of the nuns. She had a special devotion to the eucharistic presence of our Lord, but because of her age was not allowed to actually receive communion. She was consumed with so great a longing to be united with Jesus in the Eucharist that she merited to communicate miraculously. She died on the feast of the Ascension, May 13, 1333. Pope Leo XII confirmed her cult in 1826 and Pope Pius X named her patron of first communicants.

15, MAY Blessed Giles of Portugal

At Santarem, in Portugal, Blessed Giles Vouzella, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Giles was born at Vouzella, near Coimbra, Portugal about the year 1184. He studied philosophy and medicine at Coimbra and later at Paris where he achieved a reputation as a brilliant physician.  At the same time his personal life was so sinister that he was rumoured to have made a pact with the devil. Converted by the grace of God, Blessed Giles entered the newly founded Order of Preachers at Palencia in 1220.  There he did heroic penance for his former way of life becoming a celebrated preacher and an able superior.  At the same time he was noted for his spirit of humility and service for his brethren. Humbert of Romans knew him personally and often testified to his holiness.  He died on the feast of the Ascension, May 14, 1265. Benedict XIV confirmed his cult in 1748.

15, MAY Blessed Andrew Abellon

At Aix in Provence, France, Blessed Andrew Abellon, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Andrew was born in 1375 at Saint Maximin, France and received the habit at the priory of Saint Mary Magdalene there. He was outstanding for his teaching, for his preaching throughout Provence, and for his zeal in restoring regular observance. He was known by his contemporaries as a learned teacher, a prudent administration, a Christian artist and a glorious wonder worker. He did much to restore the shrine of St. Mary Magdalene to its former prominence as a place of pilgrimage both by the buildings he erected there and by the sermons he preached.  He died at Aix-en-Provence on May 15, 1450 and was buried in the Church of the Magdalene.  Leo XIII confirmed his cult in 1902.

19, MAY Saint Francis Coll Guitart

At Vich, in Catalunya, Spain, Saint Francis Coll Guitart, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers, founder of a religious congregation.

Saint Francis Coll was born at Gombreny in the Catalan Pyrenees. Spain in 1812 and, after studying at the diocesan seminary at Vich, entered the Order at the priory of Gerona in 1830. In 1835 the anticlerical government closed the house of studies at Gerona and dispersed the Dominican students. From that day until his death he maintained a heroic fidelity to his Dominican vocation without the support offered by Dominican community life. Eventually he was ordained in 1836. After several years of parish ministry he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret in the Catalunyan region of Northeastern Spain. He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the villages where he preached. In December, 1869, Saint Francis suffered a stroke which left him completely blind. He died at Vich on April 2, 1875. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October of 2009.

Liturgical  note: “Memoria”

21, MAY Blessed Columba of Rieti

At Perugia in Italy, Blessed Columba of Rieti,  sister and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Columba was born in Rieti, Italy in 1467. Age the age of 12 she made a vow of virginity and at nineteen she was clothed with the habit of the Sisters of Penance at Rieti. By this time, she had already lived for many years a life of intense prayer and penance, and had achieved a wide reputation as a mystic. Following in the footsteps of Saint Catherine of Siena, she showed an admirable charity towards the poor, the sick and the dying. Under divine inspiration, and despite many obstacles, she founded a convent of Third Order sisters in Perugia where she made profession and became prioress in 1490. Renowned for her purity, patience and gifts of prayer, she was noted for her work of reconciliation for which she received the name “Dove of Peace.” She died on the eve of the Ascension, May 20, 1501. Urban VII approved her cult in 1697.

21, MAY Blessed Hyacinth Marie Cormier

At Rome, in Italy, Blessed Hyacinth Marie Cormier, friar and priest, the seventy sixth Master of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Hyacinth Cormier was born in Orleans on December 18, 1832. He entered the Seminary of Orleans and was ordained on May 17, 1856. He chose to enter the Order of Preachers following the example of Blessed Agnes de Langeac, O.P. to whom he attributed his vocation. His charity was universal. It was said of him; "he gives peace to everything he touches." In the Order or outside it, he was a man of God, son of Dominic, and an artisan of peace. He was also a faithful interpreter of the mind and directives of the Church during the difficult time of "Modernism". At the end of his mandate as Master of the Order, he retired to San Clemente in Rome where he died a few months later on December 17, 1916. This date marks his election as Master of the Order.

Liturgical note: “Memoria optativa”

24 MAY Translation of the Relics of Our Holy Father Saint Dominic

This memoria recalls the first translation of the remains of Saint Dominic, who had been buried in the church of Saint Nicholas of the Vineyards at Bologna. This translation took place on Pentecost Tuesday, May 24, 1233, during the General Chapter, The Master of the Order Jordan of Saxony presided together with Archbishop of Ravenna, representing the Pope .  When the sacred remains were unearthed, they emitted a marvelous perfume which spread throughout the church and lingered for a long time afterwards.  The relics were placed in a marble sarcophagus in the new church of the friars preachers and a solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated in the presence of the civil magistrates and the people of the city. Many people were healed at his tomb, yet his brethren were reluctant to acknowledge these miracles. The solemn translation and prodigies that took place afterwards marked the beginning of the canonization process which led to the holy founder’s solemn canonization on July 3, 1234 by Pope Gregory IX. Our Holy Father’s relics were translated twice  more after that, first in 1267 and then in 1469 to the present shrine in the Church of St. Nicholas in Bologna, is the work of Nicholas Pisano.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”

27, MAY Blessed Andrew Franchi

At Pistoia, in Italy, Blessed Andrew Franchi, friar and bishop of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Andrew, a member of the noble Franchi Boccagni family, was born in Pistoia, Italy in 1335 and at the age of fourteen entered the Order in Florence. He excelled in his studies and became a famous preacher, leading many sinners to repentance and confirming the just in the ways of holiness. Elected prior in the houses of Pistoia, Lucca and Orvieto, he worked tirelessly to restore regular observance after the devastating effects of the Black Death. He strove always to govern in the spirit of the Rule of St. Augustine being loved rather than feared by his subjects.

He was appointed bishop of Pistoia in 1382 but continued to live a life of religious poverty and simplicity as far as possible. As pastor of his flock, he was an active promoter of peace among warring factions of the city and was known for his personal austerity and his preaching. He had a special devotion to the Infant Jesus and His Mother. He resigned his office in 1400 and retired to the priory of Pistoia where he died on May 26, 1401. Benedict XV declared him Blessed in 1921.

28, MAY Blessed Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi

At Florence in Italy, Blessed Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi, sister and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi was born in Florence on August 15, 1514, So determined was she to dedicate herself entirely to God that when at age 16, her father suggested that she get married, she fell violently ill and remained so for the rest of her life.

Not understanding the probable psycho-somatic nature of her illness, Mary Bartholomew could only accept it, uniting her suffering with those of the Crucified Christ in a spirit of radiant joy.  At age thirty-three, she received the habit of a Sister of Penance in 1547. For forty-five years she was confined to her bed and with great courage bore the pains she suffered. By her spirit of faith and acceptance of God’s will, she was able to encourage and console many who came to her. She advanced to a very high degree of contemplative prayer and received many special favors from God. Mary Bartholomew died on May 28, 1577 at the age of 63 and was buried at the Carmelite monastery in Florence which she had always wished to enter.  There her incorrupt body is enshrined next to that of St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi who had a great devotion to her. Pius VII beatified her in 1804.

29, MAY Blessed William Arnaud, Friar and Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

At Avignonet in Languedoc, Southern France, Blessed William Arnaud, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers and companions. Martyrs

Among the eleven martyrs commemorated this day, three were Dominicans. They were part of a band of preachers whose success at Avignonet, to the southwest of Toulouse, induced a number of Albigensian heretics to ambush the group and treacherously murder them on May 29, 1242. As they died they gave witness to the faith by singing the Te Deum. The Dominicans in this group were: Blessed William Arnaud, one of the first Dominicans to be appointed an inquisitor in the diocese of Toulouse; Blessed Bernard of Rochefort, a Dominican priest; and Blessed Garcia d’Aure of Orense, a Dominican brother.

30, MAY Blessed James Salomoni

At Forli, Italy, Blessed James Salomoni, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed James Salomoni, patron of cancer patients, was born of noble parents in Venice in 1231. He first met the Dominicans in Castello, a city remembered for the heroic life of Blessed Margaret.  In 1248, he entered the novitiate in Venice and had as a companion, Nicholas Boccasini, the future Pope Blessed Benedict XIII.  From Venice, James was transferred to Forli and remained there until his death. He progressed in intimate union with Christ by fastings, penances, works of mercy and exact observance of the Constitutions of the Order.  His infused gift of counsel drew many to his confessional and many were converted. A white dove was often seen over his head in the confessional. He was a father to the poor in whom he discerned the poor Christ. Even before entering the Order, he gave his considerable inheritance to the poor. He was noted for his devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and praying the rosary. In Ravenna, when he prayed the rosary outdoors in winter beautiful roses sprung up in his path.

Sick and dying invalids in the hospital of Forli eagerly welcomed the tender-hearted man of God. In his latter years Blessed James endured a painful cancer which he concealed.

James died in Forli, May 31, 1314, at age eighty-three. His body lies in the Dominican basilica of Saints John and Paul in Venice. More than 338 cures have since been authenticated at the shrine. He was beatified in 1526.