LITURGICAL CALENDAR FOR JULY

LITURGICAL CALENDAR FOR THE MONTH OF JULY

JULY

04, JULY Blessed Catherine Jarrige
At Mauriac, France, Blessed Catherine Jarrige, lay person and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Catherine was born in 1754 and spent most of her life near her birthplace in Mauriac, France. The youngest of seven children, she was an embroiderer by profession. At the age of twenty-two Catherine became a Dominican Tertiary. When Catherine was thirty-two the French Revolution erupted in France. During the Revolution (1789-1799), Catherine shared persecutions, trials and imprisonment with many priests who did not adhere to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. In Mauriac, Catherine found refuge and food for priests, and the bread and wine necessary for the celebration of Mass. At night she would hide the priests in the woods of the Auze Valley and accompany them to the families who needed the administration of the sacraments.

When the revolution was over, Catherine continued her works of charity. She went in and out of prisons at will, and no jailer would think of stopping her. She supervised the restoration of the parish church after revolutionaries had partially destroyed it She organized processions, saw that marriages were regularized, and arranged for children to receive their instructions.  Catherine finally ceased her labors at the age of eighty-two. She died on July 4, 1836 and was beatified on November 24, 1996 by Pope John Paul II.

04, JULY Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

At Turin, in Italy, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,  lay person of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was born on April 6, 1901 in Turin, Italy to a family of political and social means. He attended the university of Turin as an engineering student. Giorgio was a popular student, a known social activist, and a servant to the poor and oppressed in fascist Italy.  He joined the Dominican Order as a layman on May 28, 1922. He was known for his commitment to prayer and study, his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and a tender love of the Blessed Mother. He died on July 4, 1925 of polio and was beatified May 20, 1990. He was given the title "Man of the Beatitudes" by Pope John Paul II at his beatification. He was declared as the patron of the Dominican Youth Movement.

Liturgical note: “Memoria optativa”

07, JULY Blessed Benedict XI

At Perugia in Italy, Blessed Benedict XI, friar and pope of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Nicholas Boccasini was born at Treviso, Italy in 1240 and entered the Order as a young man. He was renowned for both his great compassion and his love for the common life. He served as provincial of Lombardy and was elected the ninth Master of the Order in 1296.  His administrative skills were noted by Pope Boniface VIII who appointed him a cardinal. Nicholas stood by the pope when he was ill-treated by William Nogaret, the ambassador of the French King, Philip the Fair. In 1303, Blessed  Nicholas himself was elected pope and took the name Benedict. In the nine months of his pontificate he made great effort to bring peace to England and Germany and to reconcile France with the Papacy. He died suddenly at Perugia on July 7, 1304. Pope Clement XII declared him Blessed in 1736.

08, JULY Blessed Adrian Fortescue

At London, England, Blessed Adrian of Fortecue, lay person and married man of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue was born in 1476 in Devonshire, England, of a family closely related to Anne Boleyn. He was a husband and father of outstanding virtue, a justice of the peace for the county of Oxford and a professed member of the Lay Fraternity of Saint Dominic at Oxford. He led an ascetic life and tried to follow God’s Will in all things, daily seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After King Henry VIII broke with Rome, Sir Adrian observed the obligations of his religion and served the king as faithfully as he could. Although arrested in 1534, no charge was made, nor was any reason given for his subsequent release. In 1539 he was again arrested and placed in the Tower. The sentence of death was passed upon him and he was beheaded on July 8 or 9, 1539.
 

09, JULY Saint John of Cologne, and Companions, Martyrs

At Brielle in Holland, Saint John of Cologne friar and priest of the Order of Preachers and companions, martyrs.

 
John Heer was born in Cologne, Germany, at the beginning of the sixteenth century and entered the Order in his native city. He was sent to Holland where he served as parish priest at Hoornaer. In 1572 the Calvinist forces took the city of Gorcum and imprisoned its Catholic clergy. Saint John learned of their plight and went to minister to them, but was himself captured. For several days their captors treated the prisoners with incredible cruelty. They were then taken to Brielle, Holland, where they were offered their freedom if they would deny the primacy of the pope and abandon the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, which they refused to do. Saint John and his companions were hanged on the night of July 8-9, 1572. Beside St John, there were eighteen others: eleven Franciscans, one Augustinian, two Premonstratensian canons, and four secular priests. They were solemnly canonized by Pope Pius IX on the XVIII centenary of the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, 1867.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”; For the Churches in the Greater China Region, the memory is moved to the 10 July to give way to the “Festum” of the Martyrs of China.

 

13, JULY Blessed James of Varazze

At Genoa, Blessed James of Varazze (or Voragine), friar and bishop of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed James was born at Varazze, near Genoa, Italy about the year 1226 and entered the Order in Genoa. He taught theology and scripture in various houses of the Order and held several positions of responsibility, including that of provincial of Lombardy. He is best known for his vernacular preaching and for his collection of the lives of the saints, entitled “Legenda Aurea”, a work which had a significant influence on Western spirituality as it became one of the most widely read books during the Middle Ages. Pope Nicholas IV made him accept the office as Archbishop of Genoa in 1292 after he had refused it once. He exerted himself tirelessly to restore peace to a city torn apart by warring factions and became known for his open-handed generosity to the poor. He died on July 13, 1298 and was beatified by Pope Pius VII in 1816.

17, JULY Blessed Ceslaus Odrowaz of Poland

At Wroclaw in Poland, Blessed Ceslaus of Poland, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Ceslaus Odrowaz was born near Wroclaw in upper Silesia (Poland) about the year 1180 and 1190. Ordained a priest in Krakow, he became the dean of the canons at Sandomierz. In 1221 while accompanying his bishop, Ivo Odrowatz to Rome, he met Saint Dominic who received him into the Order along with Saint Hyacinth. The General Chapter of 1221 sent him and several other friars to evangelize Eastern Europe[1]. He was instrumental in establishing the Province of Poland was sent by the Provincial Chapter of 1225 to Prague in Bohemia, where he founded a priory for the friars and a monastery of nuns. He also founded the famous Priory of St. Adalbert in Wroclaw (Breslau) and making it as the base for his missionary expansion in Moravia, Saxony, Prussia and Pomerania. He is credited with the miraculous deliverance of Wroclaw from the Tartars in 1241 and died there on July 15, 1242. His cult was confirmed by Pope Clement XI in 1712.

Liturgical note: “Memoria optativa”

17 JULY,. Blessed Bartholomew Fernandes of the Martyrs

At Viana do Castelo in Portugal, Blessed Bartholomew Fernandes of the Martyrs, friar and bishop of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Bartholomew Fernandes was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on 3 May 1514.  He entered the Dominican Order in 1528 and made his profession on 20 November 1529. Having completed his philosophical and theological studies brilliantly, in 1538 he began teaching philosophy in the college of St Dominic of Lisbon, and then in 1540 theology in the college of Batalha for 11 years. At Évora he became the royal tutor and preacher. He was appointed as Archbishop of Braga and the Primate of Portugal in 1559 which he had accepted out of obedience. He exercised his apostolic mission in his vast Archdiocese maintaining his austere life style and devoting himself to the good of his priests and people. The outstanding features of his ministry were his pastoral visits; his commitment to evangelization which led him to draft a Catechism of Christian doctrine and spiritual practices ; his deep care for the culture and holiness of the clergy which led him to set up schools of moral theology for them in many parts of the archdiocese; and his doctrinal writings He died there on 16 July 1590, and recognized and acclaimed by the people with the title, Holy Archbishop, Father of the poor and of the sick.

22, JULY Saint Mary Magdalene

Holy woman, Patroness of the Order

Mary Magdalene, who was healed by the Lord Jesus, followed Him with great love and ministered to Him (Lk 8:3). Later when the disciples fled, Mary Magdalene stood at the cross with the Mother of the Lord, John and some of the women (Jn 19:25). On Easter Morning Jesus appeared to her and sent her to announce the news of his resurrection to the disciples (Mk 16:9; Jn 20:11-18).

Her cult spread throughout the western Church especially in the eleventh century, and flourished in the Order of Preachers. As Humbert of Romans attests: “After Magdalene was converted to penitence the Lord bestowed such great grace upon her that after the Blessed Virgin no woman could be found to whom greater reverence should be shown in this world and greater glory in heaven.”

The Order of Preachers numbers her among its patrons. Its brothers and sisters of every age have honored her as the “Apostle to the Apostles”—for thus is she celebrated in the Byzantine liturgy—and have compared the mission of Magdalene in announcing the Resurrection to their own mission.

The first friars of the Holy Rosary province arrived in Cavite on the eve of the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, thus she has been considered as the secondary patroness of the Province of the Holy Rosary.

Liturgical note: “Memoria”, “Festum” for the Holy Rosary Province

24, JULY Blessed Jane of Orvieto

At Orvieto, in Italy, Blessed Jane of Orvieto,  a sister and virgin of the Order of Preachers.

Blessed Jane was born at Carnaiola, near Orvieto, Italy about the year 1264 and was orphaned at an early age. She joined the sisters of the Fraternity of Saint Dominic and was known for her life of prayer. She received many extraordinary spiritual favors, including the grace of experiencing physically the Passion of Christ. Honor and praise were for her the greatest humiliations, while her best friends were those who insulted her. She died July 23, 1306. She was beatified by Benedict XIV in 1754.

 

24, JULY Blessed Augustine of Biella

At Venice, in Italy, Blessed Augustine Fangi of Biella, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Augustine Fangi was born at Biella in Piedmont, Italy in 1430 and received the habit in his native city. As prior of several houses he was concerned about restoring and maintaining regular observance. He was noted for his life of prayer, his preaching, his patient endurance of suffering, and his ministry as a confessor. He died at Venice on July 22, 1493. His cult was confirmed by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1872.

27, JULY Blessed Robert Nutter

At Lancaster, in England, Blessed Robert Nutter, friar and priest of the Order of Preachers.

Robert Nutter was born at Reidley Hallows, near Burnley in Lancashire, England around 1555; he studied at the English College in Rheims and was ordained there in 1581. After ordination, he ministered in England for two years, was captured, held in the Tower of London and banished. In 1586 he returned to England and was taken prisoner.  After a few years at Newgate Prison, he and several other priests were transferred to an island prison for over a decade. It was during this time that he made profession as a Dominican Tertiary. Around 1600 he escaped with a number of other priests, returned to England, was captured and executed in Lancashire on July 26, 1600. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987.

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[1] The friars were, among others, his kinsman, St. Hyacinth Odrowaz, Henry of Moravia and Herman of Teutonia.