OTHER MARTYRED WOMEN OF THE THIRD CENTURY
Though not nearly so celebrated as the various martyred women whose tragic fate has been related in the last chapter, Saints Eulalia, Leocadia, Cyprilla, Eugratia, Victoria, Anatolia, Columba, Reine, Reparata, Susanna, and Daria, all of whom suffered in the third century, deserve brief notice on account of their steadfast courage under their terrible sufferings and […]
SAINTLY MATRONS AND MAIDENS OF THE THIRD CENTURY
Not less eager than the men were the women converts of the third century to show their zeal for the faith, and many were the matrons and maidens who willingly laid down their lives for Christ after heroically enduring terrible sufferings. Amongst the most celebrated of these noble and courageous women were Saints Perpetua and […]
MARTYRED SOLDIERS AND LAYMEN OF THE THIRD CENTURY
A REMARKABLE phenomenon of the third century was the great number of conversions which took place amongst the Roman soldiers whose duty it was to carry out the cruel orders of the authorities with regard to the Christians. Of these soldiers, the most widely celebrated were Sebastian, Quintin, Hippolytus, Romanus, and Maurice, all of whom, […]
MARTYRED PRIESTS AND DEACONS OF THE THIRD CENTURY
The noble example of devotion and fortitude set by the Pop^ and Bishops of the early Church was eagerly followed by their subordinate priests and deacons, who were as ready as their leaders to endure all things for the cause of Christ, whilst many young soldiers and other laymen who held no official position amongst […]
MARTYRED POPES AND BISHOPS OF THE THIRD CENTURY
The third century opened very gloomily for the Christians, who had now become numerous throughout Europe and Asia, for there was scarcely a town or a remote village where some martyr had not fallen a victim to the fury of the heathen. The very fact that the Roman Empire was breaking up led the authorities […]
ST. STEPHEN AND OTHER FIRST-CENTURY MARTYRS
St. Stephen, whose name signifies crowned, is generally supposed to have been of Greek origin, though some claim for him that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the stock of Abraham. The facts related of him in the Acts of the Apostles are few, but full of pregnant significance. He was the first […]
SAINT JOAN OF ARC, VIRGIN—1412-1431
Feast: May 8Savior of France and the national heroine of that country, Joan of Arc lives on in the imagination of the world as a symbol of that integrity of purpose that makes one die for what one believes. Jeanne la Pucelle, the Maid, is the shining example of what a brave spirit can accomplish […]
Catholic Martyrs of the Holocaust
Matthew E. Bunson Catholics are constantly confronted with the claims that Pope Pius XII was complicit in the Holocaust, that vast numbers of Catholics collaborated with Hitler’s diabolical regime, and that Catholic priests, nuns, and bishops were ardent members of the Nazi Party and supporters of its policies. It is true that many Catholics turned […]
Bl. Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943)
Layman and martyr Franz Jägerstätter was born on 20 May 1907 in St Radegund, Upper Austria, to his unmarried mother, Rosalia Huber, and to Franz Bachmeier, who was killed during World War I. After the death of his natural father, Rosalia married Heinrich Jägerstätter, who adopted Franz and gave the boy his surname of […]
Cuthbert Maine, Priest. — Martyred in 1577.
He was the first missionary priest that suffered in England for religious matters, and the protomartyr of Douay college, and all the seminaries. I have a short account of his life and death in English, published in 1582: I have also a more ample account of him in a Latin manuscript of Douay college. I […]