SAINT OF THE DAY TUESDAY, 6 JANUARY, 2026 SAINT ANDRE BESSETTE RELIGIOUS (9 August 1845 - 6 January 1937) Brother André expressed a saint's faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph. Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of twelve children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at twelve, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith-all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War. At twenty-five, he applied for entrance into the Congregation of the Holy Cross. After a year's novitiate, he was not admitted because of his weak health. But with an extension and the urging of Bishop Bourget (see Marie-Rose Durocher, October 6), he was finally received. He was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. "When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained forty years." In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, "Some day, Saint Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!" When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread. When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. "I do not cure," he said again and again. "Saint Joseph cures." In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the eighty thousand letters he received each year. For many years the Holy Cross authorities had tried to buy land on Mount Royal. Brother André and others climbed the steep hill and planted medals of Saint Joseph. Suddenly, the owners yielded. André collected two hundred dollars to build a small chapel and began receiving visitors there-smiling through long hours of listening, applying Saint Joseph's oil. Some were cured, some not. The pile of crutches, canes and braces grew. The chapel also grew. By 1931 there were gleaming walls, but money ran out. "Put a statue of Saint Joseph in the middle. If he wants a roof over his head, he'll get it." The magnificent Oratory on Mount Royal took fifty years to build. The sickly boy who could not hold a job died at ninety. He is buried at the Oratory and was beatified in 1982. On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a decree recognizing a second miracle at Blessed André's intercession and on October 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI formally declared sainthood for Blessed André. PATRON: family caregivers. QUOTES FROM ST. ANDRE 'When you invoke St Joseph, you don't have to say much. Say, ‘If you were in my place, St Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this on my behalf.'“ ~St. André Bessette “It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures,” ~St. Andre Bessette PRAYER: Lord our God, friend of the humble, you blessed your servant, Brother Andre with a great devotion to St. Joseph and a real concern for the needy and the afflicted. Through his intercession fill our hearts with compassion, and lead us in the ways of prayer and love that we may enter with him into your glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
SAINT OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY, 7 JANUARY, 2026 SAINT RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT ABBOT AND CONFESSOR (1175 – January 6, 1275) St. Raymond was born in Barcelona, of the noble family of Penyafort. Having been inculcated with the rudiments of the Christian faith, the admirable gifts he had received, both of mind and body, were such that even when quite a boy he seemed to promise great things in his later life. Whilst still young, he taught humanities in Barcelona. Later on, he went to Bologna, where he applied himself with much diligence to the exercises of a virtuous life, and to the study of canon and civil law. He there received the Doctor's cap, and interpreted the sacred canons so ably that he was the admiration of his hearers. The holiness of his life becoming known far and wide, Berengarius, the Bishop of Barcelona, when returning to his diocese from Rome, visited Bologna in order to see him; and after most earnest entreaties, induced Raymond to accompany him to Barcelona. He was shortly after made Canon and Provost of that Church, and became a model to the clergy and people by his uprightness, modesty, learning and meekness. His tender devotion to the Holy Mother of God was extraordinary, and he never neglected an opportunity of zealously promoting the devotion and honor which are due to her. When he was about forty-five years of age, he made his solemn profession in the Order of the Friars Preachers. He then, as a soldier but just entered into service, devoted himself to the exercise of every virtue, but above all to charity to the poor, and this mainly to the captives who had been taken by the infidels. It was by his exhortation that St. Peter Nolasco (who was his penitent) was induced to devote all his riches to this work of most meritorious charity. The Blessed Virgin appeared to Peter, as also to blessed Raymond and to James the First, King of Aragon, telling them that it would be exceedingly pleasing to herself and her divine Child, if an Order of Religious men were instituted whose mission it should be to deliver captives from the tyranny of infidels. Whereupon, after deliberating together, they founded the Order of our Lady of Mercy for the Ransom of Captives; and blessed Raymond drew up certain rules of life, which were admirably adapted to the spirit and vocation of the said Order. Some years after, he obtained their approbation from Gregory the Ninth, and made St Peter Nolasco, to whom he gave the habit with his own hands, first General of the Order. Raymond was called to Rome by the same Pope, who appointed him to be his Chaplain, Penitentiary, and Confessor. It was by Gregory's order that he collected together, in the volume called the Decretals, the Decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, which were to be found separately in the various Councils and Letters. He was most resolute in refusing the Archbishopric of Tarragona, which the same Pontiff offered to him, and, of his own accord resigned the Generalship of the Dominican Order, which office he had discharged in a most holy manner for the space of two years. He persuaded James the King of Aragon to establish in his dominions the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He worked many miracles; among which is that most celebrated one of his having, when returning to Barcelona from the island of Majorca, spread his cloak upon the sea, and sailed upon it, in the space of six hours, the distance of a hundred and sixty miles, and having reached his convent, entered it through the closed doors. At length, when he had almost reached the hundredth year of his age, and was full of virtue and merit, he slept in the Lord, in the year of the Incarnation 1275. He was canonized by Pope Clement the Eighth. PATRON: Attorneys; barristers; canonists; lawyers; medical record librarians. PRAYER: O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Raymond with the virtue of outstanding mercy and compassion for sinners and for captives, grant us, through his intercession, that, released from slavery to sin, we may carry out in freedom of spirit what is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I will tell you the event in St Andre's life that most touched me. When he was young a old, saintly priest passed through on his way in exile from his native France. He was being intensely persecuted as Andre would be by the religious authorities. He spoke to Andre of the Dark Night of the soul and told him how to set up devotion to St Joseph. This poor priest, this unknown saint was again exiled to a remote freezing part of Canada where no doubt he died alone there in darkness and cold.
SAINT OF THE DAY THURSDAY, 8 JANUARY, 2026 SAINT ANGELA OF FOLIGNO (1248 – January 4, 1309) Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction. Around the age of 40, she recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God's help in the Sacrament of Penance. Her Franciscan confessor helped Angela to seek God's pardon for her previous life and to dedicate herself to prayer and the works of charity. Shortly after her conversion, her husband and children died. Selling most of her possessions, she entered the Secular Franciscan Order. She was alternately absorbed by meditating on the crucified Christ and by serving the poor of Foligno as a nurse and beggar for their needs. Other women joined her in a religious community. At her confessor's advice, Angela wrote her Book of Visions and Instructions. In it she recalls some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion; she also expresses her thanks to God for the Incarnation of Jesus. This book and her life earned for Angela the title “Teacher of Theologians.” She was beatified in 1693, and canonized in 2013. REFLECTION: People who live in the United States today can understand Saint Angela's temptation to increase her sense of self-worth by accumulating money, fame or power. Striving to possess more and more, she became more and more self-centered. When she realized she was priceless because she was created and loved by God, she became very penitential and very charitable to the poor. What had seemed foolish early in her life now became very important. The path of self-emptying she followed is the path all holy men and women must follow. The Liturgical Feast of Saint Angela of Foligno is January 7. PATRON: Those afflicted by sexual temptation and widows. NOVENA TO SAINT ANGELA OF FOLIGNO St. Angela, you were born into a wealthy family and married at a young age, having several children. You were a very worldly woman, enjoying fine clothes, jewelry, parties, and affairs. However, at the age of forty you had a vision of St. Francis and turned your life around. Not long after your conversion, your mother, husband, and sons died. You became a Third Order Franciscan and obtained a Franciscan friar for your spiritual director. He wrote at your dictation the visions you received from God. Your penitential life attracted followers, and you became leader of a community without enclosure so that the group could perform acts of charity in the surrounding neighborhoods. Towards the end of your life you saw Jesus who promised to come for you shortly. You died in your sleep in early January. St. Angela, you led a life of selfishness and sin before making a confession that changed your life forever. Pray that more people may be led to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive God's mercy and healing. St. Angela, you believed in a life spent in penance, prayer, and service to neighbor. Pray that we may devote ourselves to others with selfless generosity and out of love for God. St. Angela, you are called a “Teacher to the Theologians”. Intercede for us this day, that we may come to know Christ through the grace and wisdom of the Gospels. Amen. Saint Angela, obtain for me the favour that I seek through the pious exercise of this Novena. Intercede for me before the Throne of God for the following favour if it be the Will of God... [Mention your intention(s) here...] Say 1 Our Father...Say 1 Hail Mary...Say 1 Glory Be... St. Angela of Foligno, Pray for us. St. Angela of Foligno, Pray for us. St. Angela of Foligno, Pray for us.
St Angela was one of the greatest mystics of the Church. Mystical theologians used to always quote her especially her description of her own Mystical Marriage (the final stage of prayer) . I haven't thought of St Angel for years. It's lovely to be reminded of her. https://medium.com/@paddymurf/angel...-of-who-embraced-the-divine-fire-416b631c59f3
I was unaware of her. I am going to read her writings. She is the example that even grave sinners can reach sublime union through grace. https://archive.org/details/divineconsolatio00angeuoft/page/n9/mode/1up free audio book... https://librivox.org/the-book-of-divine-consolation-of-the-blessed-angela-of-foligno/ I also see her body is incorrupt.
SAINTS OF THE DAY FRIDAY, 9 JANUARY 2026 SAINTS JULIAN AND BASILISSA MARTYRS (3rd & 4th Century A.D.) St. Julian and St. Basilissa, though married, lived, by mutual consent, in perpetual chastity; they sanctified themselves by the most perfect exercises of an ascetic life, and employed their revenues in relieving the poor and the sick. For this purpose they converted their house into a kind of hospital, in which they sometimes entertained a thousand poor people. Basilissa attended those of her sex, in separate lodgings from the men; these were taken care of by Julian, who from his charity is named the Hospitalarian. Egypt, where they lived, had then begun to abound with examples of persons who, either in the cities or in the deserts, devoted themselves to the most perfect exercises of charity, penance, and mortification. Basilissa, after having stood seven persecutions, died in peace; Julian survived her many years and received the crown of a glorious martyrdom, together with Celsus, a youth, Antony, a priest, Anastasius, and Marcianilla, the mother of Celsus. Many churches and hospitals in the East, and especially in the West, bear the name of one or other of these martyrs. Four churches at Rome, and three out of five at Paris, which bear the name of St. Julian, were originally dedicated under the name of St. Julian, the Hospitalarian and martyr. In the time of St. Gregory the Great, the skull of St. Julian was brought out of the East into France, and given to Queen Brunehault; she gave it to the nunnery which she founded at Étampes; part of it is at present in the monastery of Morigny, near Étampes, and part in the church of the regular canonesses of St. Basilissa at Paris. REFLECTION: God often rewards men for works that are pleasing in His sight by giving them grace and opportunity to do other works higher still. St. Augustine said, "have never seen a compassionate and charitable man die a bad death". Sts. Julian and Basilissa: Pray for us!
Wonderful people, what a great story and their lives would make an amazing film of book. A married couple of saints too, you don't get to see this recorded back then. All our Catholic hospitals all over the World. Doing so much good. I wish the people who attack the Church would give us more credit for this.
SAINT OF THE DAY SATURDAY, 10 JANUARY, 2026 SAINT WILLIAM OF BOURGES CONFESSOR, BISHOP AND ABBOT (1155 – January 10, 1209) William Berruyer, of the illustrious family of the ancient counts of Nevers, was educated by Peter the hermit, archdeacon of Soissons, his uncle by the mother's side. He learned from his infancy to despise the folly and emptiness of the riches and grandeur of the world, to abhor its pleasures, and to tremble at its dangers. His only delight was in exercises of piety and in his studies, in which he employed his whole time with indefatigable application. He was made canon, first of Soissons, and afterwards of Paris: but he soon took the resolution of abandoning all commerce with the world; and retired into the solitude of Grandmont, where he lived with great regularity in that austere order, till seeing its peace disturbed by a contest which arose between the fathers and lay-brothers, he passed into the Cistercian, then in wonderful odour of sanctity. He took the habit in the abbey of Pontigny, and shining as a perfect model of monastic perfection, was after some time chosen prior of that house, and afterwards abbot, first of Fountaine-Jean, in the diocess of Sens, (a filiation of Pontigny, founded in 1124, by Peter de Courtenay, son of king Lewis the Fat,) and some time after, of Chaalis, near Senlis, a much more numerous monastery, also a filiation of Pontigny, built by Lewis the Fat in 1136, a little before his death. St. William always reputed himself the last among his brethren. The universal mortification of his senses and passions, laid in him the foundation of an admirable purity of heart, and an extraordinary gift of prayer; in which he received great heavenly lights, and tasted of the sweets which God has reserved for those to whom he is pleased to communicate himself. The sweetness and cheerfulness of his countenance testified the uninterrupted joy and peace that overflowed his soul, and made virtue appear with the most engaging charms in the midst of austerities. On the death of Henry de Sully, archbishop of Bourges, the clergy of that church requested his brother Eudo, bishop of Paris, to come and assist them in the election of a pastor. Desirous to choose some abbot of the Cistercian Order, then renowned for holy men, they put on the altar the names of three, written on as many billets. This manner of election by lots would have been superstitious, and a tempting of God, had it been done, relying on a miracle without the warrant of divine inspiration. But it deserved not this censure, when all the persons proposed seemed equally worthy and fit, as the choice was only recommended to God, and left to this issue by following the rules of his ordinary providence, and imploring his light, without rashness, or a neglect of the usual means of scrutiny; prudence might sometimes even recommend such a method, in order to terminate a debate when the candidates seemed equally qualified. God, in such cases, is said sometimes to have miraculously interposed. Eudo, accordingly, having written three billets, laid them on the altar; and having made his prayer, drew first the name of the abbot William, on whom, at the same time, the majority of the votes of the clergy had made the election fall, the 23rd of November, 1200. This news overwhelmed William with grief. He never would have acquiesced, had he not received a double command in virtue of obedience, from the Pope, and from his general, the abbot of Citeaux. He left his dear solitude with many tears, and was received at Bourges as one sent by heaven, and soon after was consecrated. In this new dignity his first care was to conform both his exterior and interior to the most perfect rules of sanctity; being very sensible that a man's first task is to honour God perfectly in his own soul. He redoubled all his austerities, saying, it was now incumbent on him to do penance for others, as well as for himself. He always wore a hair-shirt under his religious habit, and never added, nor diminished, any thing in his clothes either winter or summer. He never ate any flesh-meat, though he had it at his table for strangers. His attention to feed his flock was no less remarkable, especially in assisting the poor both spiritually and corporally, saying, that he was chiefly sent for them. He was most mild to penitent sinners; but inflexible towards the impenitent, though he refused to have recourse to the civil power against them, the usual remedy of that age. Many such he at last reclaimed by his sweetness and charity. Certain great men abusing his lenity, usurped the rights of his church; but the saint strenuously defended them even against the king himself, notwithstanding his threats to confiscate his lands. By humility and resolution he overcame several contradictions of his chapter and other clergy. By his zeal he converted many of the Albigenses, contemporary heretics, and was preparing himself for a mission among them, at the time he was seized with his last illness. He would, notwithstanding, preach a farewell sermon to his people, which increased his fever to such a degree, that he was obliged to set aside his journey, and take to his bed. Drawing near his end, he received first extreme-unction, according to the discipline of that age; 1 then, in order to receive the viaticum, he rose out of bed, fell on his knees melting in tears, and prayed long prostrate with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross. The night following, perceiving his last hour approach, he desired to anticipate the nocturns, which are said at midnight; but having made the sign of the cross on his lips and breast, was able to pronounce no more than the two first words. Then, according to a sign made by him, he was laid on ashes in the hair-cloth which he always privately wore. In this posture he soon after expired, a little past midnight, on the morning of the 10th of January, in 1209. His body was interred in his cathedral; and being honoured by many miracles, was taken up in 1217; and in the year following he was canonized by Pope Honorius III. His relics were kept with great veneration till 1562, when they were burnt, and scattered in the winds by the Huguenots, on occasion of their plundering the cathedral of Bourges, as Baillet and Bollandus mention. A bone of his arm is shown with veneration at Chaalis, whither it had been sent soon after the saint's body was taken up; and a rib is preserved in the church of the college of Navarre, at Paris, on which the canons of St. Bourges bestowed it in 1399. 2 His festival is kept in that church with great solemnity, and by a great concourse of devout persons; St. William being regarded in several parts of France as one of the patrons of the nation, though his name is not mentioned in the Roman Martyrology. The celebrated Countess Maud, his niece, out of veneration for his memory, bestowed certain lands in the Nivernois, on the church of Bourges. 3 B. Philip Berruyer, a nephew of St. William, was archbishop of Bourges from the year 1236 to 1260, in which he died in the odour of sanctity. Nangi ascribes to him many miracles, and other historians bear testimony to his eminent virtue. PATRON: University of Paris. PRAYER: God our father, in Saint William, your bishop, you gave a light to your faithful people. You made him a pastor of the church to feed your sheep with his word and to teach them by his example. Help us by his prayers to keep the faith he taught and follow the way of life he showed us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Good point. My brown scapular has a rough surface to the back of it. Sometimes it irritates my chest or tummy and I complain to myself about it lol! Poor St. Francisco wore a hairy belt although Our Lord told him to take it off at night. When he was dying he was still wearing it until finally he took it off as he could bear it no longer - as Saint Lucia relates in her memoirs.
FEAST OF THE DAY SUNDAY, 11 JANUARY, 2026 BAPTISM OF THE LORD The mystery of Christ's baptism in the Jordan by St. John, the Precursor, proposes the contemplation of an already adult Jesus. This mystery is infinitely linked to the Solemnities of the Lord's birth and the Epiphany that we have just celebrated, as in some ways it takes up and represents their significance to us. At Christmas we have contemplated the human birth of the Word incarnate by the Virgin Mary. In the 4th century, the Fathers of the Church deepened the understanding of the faith with regard to the Christmas mystery in the light of Jesus' Humanity. They spoke of the Incarnation of the Word already working like the ‘Christification' of that humanity that he had assumed from His mother. Or put in simpler terms: Jesus is the Christ from the first instant of conception in Mary's spotless womb because He Himself, with His Divine Power, consecrated, anointed and ‘Christified' that human nature with which He became incarnate. In the mystery of the Epiphany, we then meditated on Christ's manifestation to all nations that was represented by the Magi, the wise men from the East, who came to adore the Child. Now, in the mystery of Christ's Baptism in the Jordan River, we again encounter and represent the truth of the Lord's incarnation and His manifestation as the Christ. Jesus' Baptism is in fact His definitive manifestation as the Messiah or Christ to Israel, and as the Son of the Father to the entire world. Here we find the dimension of the Epiphany which was His manifestation to all nations. The Father's voice from heaven shows that Jesus of Nazareth is the eternal Son and the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove shows the Trinitarian nature of the Christian God. The true and unique God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shows Himself in Christ, through Him, with Him and in Him. The Baptism in the Jordan returns to the great Christmas theme of ‘Christification,' Jesus of Nazareth's spiritual anointing, His presentation as the Anointed One par excellence, the Messiah or the One sent by the Father for the salvation of mankind. The Spirit that descended on Jesus shows and seals in an incontrovertible way the ‘Christification' of Jesus' humanity that the Word had already fulfilled from the first moment of His miraculous conception by Mary. Jesus, from the very beginning, was always the Lord's Christ, He was always God. Yet, His one, true humanity, that which is perfect in every way, as the Gospel records, constantly grew in natural and supernatural perfection. ‘And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with men' (Lk2:52). In Israel at 30 years of age, one reached full maturity and therefore could become a master. Jesus came of age and the Spirit, descending and remaining on Him, definitively consecrated His whole being as the Christ. The same Spirit, that descended on the water of the River Jordan wafted over the waters during the first creation (Gen 1:2). Therefore, the Baptism in the Jordan presents yet another truth: that Jesus has started a new creation. He is the second man (1 Cor 15:47) or the last Adam (1 Cor 15:45), that comes to repair the first Adam's guilt. He does this as the Lamb of God that takes away our sins. ‘Looking at the events in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realised what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind's guilt upon His shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners' (Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, Bloomsbury 2007, p 18). PRAYER: Almighty ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I don't even know what a hair shirt is to be honest. Never seen one, I have seen the whips that people used to flagellate themselves with though. But allegedly only the pillows would feel their strikes. I do sleep on the floor though and prefer it, not as a form of penance but I find my body is stronger for it.
I think it might look a bit like the under lay that people lay carpets on. In the monastery I did to my surprise see the whip that people used. This very much surprised me as I thought people had long since stopped using them. I would guess that in the Eastern Churches they still use such things but they are much tougher than we in the West.
Since the Baptism of the Lord is the First Luminous Mystery and I say the rosary every day I might well have hoped to be an expert and at home with this. But I must admit that I never ever got much good at the Luminous mysteries as I did with the others. The two things that occur to me is how Jesus lowered Himself to become totally one with us. Also the huger of the Ages for the coming Messiah. When Padre Pio talks of the different Mysteries how beautifully he does so. We can see he spent his whole life studying them. I really admire the way someone like Bishop Barron can talk so freely and wisely about a mystery like this,something that would cause me to pause and stutter.
I do like the Luminous Mysteries which seem to fill, as I am sure they were intended to, that large gap between Christ's return from the Temple aged 12 and His entrance into His agony in the Garden of Getsemani. In the Hebrew Bible the river Jordan had a kind of mystical significance to it. It was the water which one had to be immersed in and cross before taking ownership of the promised land. I seem to remember the Jordan had a miracle associated with it when the current was halted, a bit like the parting of the waters of the Red Sea. Bishop Barron emphasises the embarassing aspect of the Messiah getting down and dirty with sinful humanity. Whenever I contemplate this mystery I always see in my mind's eye John the Baptist objecting to Jesus being baptised, the one whose sandal he was not fit to untie. And then I hear in almost audible form Jesus's firm reply - "Allow it now! So that all righteousness may be fulfilled."
I learned a few years back when my wife and I were blessed to visit the Holy Land, we went to the place on the Jordan where Jesus was baptized. I went in ip yo my waist. I recall the priest we were with saying this is one of the lowest places on earth. And to reflect that God chose the lowest level to reveal His Son. He comes to meet us when we are at our lowest points-perhaps in our losses, doubts and fears. And in our own baptism, the supernatural graces united with our Jesus can help transform us into his brother and sister. With all its warts, thank God for the holy Roman Catholic Church which provides this baptism for us
SAINT OF THE DAY MONDAY, 12 JANUARY, 2026 SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS VIRGIN AND FOUNDRESS (17 April 1620 - 12 January 1700) Marguerite Bourgeoys was born in Troyes, France in 1620 and died in Montreal in 1700. As one of the older girls of a Christian, middle-class family, Marguerite had to assume the responsibility for the household when her mother died. At the age of twenty, she had a conversion experience during a religious procession that profoundly influenced her future mission and focused her values. She felt singled out by the Blessed Virgin. In response, she joined a local group of women who gathered to do charitable work as an extension of a cloister in Troyes. Marguerite served as leader of this extern group and, as her service, taught the children in the poor section of town. In 1653 Paul de Maisonneuve, founder of Montreal, passed through Troyes and invited Marguerite to join him in Ville Marie as a lay teacher to instruct the children of the colonists and the Native Americans. In June 1653, she sailed from Nantes on a three-month voyage to the New World. Marguerite's humanitarian and Christian work in Canada was principally as educator and founder. The wilderness was so hard on the colonists that she had to wait for five years before children survived until school age. In the interim, she instructed the Indian children. In 1658 she opened her first school in a stone stable given her by the town leaders. Marguerite had a broad concept of education. She saw the school as a vehicle of religious and social development. Unique to her time, she provided education for all, giving special attention to girls, the poor and the natives. Education in Marguerite's schools consisted in the basics of literacy, religious instruction, home economics, and the arts. Beyond the classroom, she worked with families, assisted in faith formation in the parish, and addressed the social service needs of the colonists. Noteworthy among her contributions to the colony is the special vocational schools she established to provide the domestic skills a young woman would need to run a home in the wilderness. She became the official guardian to the "filles du roi," young orphan girls sent by the monarch to establish new families. She lodged them in her own home, served as a matchmaker, and prepared them for their new life as pioneers. Her signature appears as a witness on many of the early marriage contracts in Montreal. As a result of these activities she was affectionately referred to as "the Mother of the Colony." Marguerite made three trips back to France to recruit other women to join her in her work of education and to obtain civil approbation from the king. Marguerite's apostolic spirituality was a special gift to the Church. She was a woman of action inserted into her time as is attested to by the mark she left on the history of Montreal and education in Canada. She was a woman of faith, deeply committed to the service of the Gospels. She was personally motivated by the missionary journeying of Mary in service to her cousin, Elizabeth, and desired to form a group of uncloistered women who would imitate Mary in this mystery of the Visitation. Marguerite had an exceptional and practical love of God and neighbor. She had a great desire to serve the Church in its most local form, the parish. She exhorted her extern congregation of educators to be "daughters of the parish" - to worship with the people and use the local church as a source of spiritual nourishment. Her Congregation received Church approbation in 1698 and at that time pronounced vows as uncloistered religious. Today the Congregation de Notre Dame numbers 2600 sisters in North America, Japan, Latin America, and the Cameroons in service to the people of God in the spirit of the Visitation. On November 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII beatified Marguerite Bourgeoys. Canonizing her October 31, 1982, Pope John Paul II gave the Canadian Church its first woman saint. PATRON: Against poverty; impoverishment; loss of parents; people rejected by religious orders; poverty. PRAYER: O Mother Bourgeoys, you, whose compassionate power is ever increasing, show us your way of Truth, Faith and Holiness. Make us humble enough to abandon ourselves to the Will of God, generous enough to find in the Cross the joy of the Loving Giver. May your fidelity to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament lead us ever nearer to this source of light and peace. May your spirit of openness help us to be concerned for our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Finally, may Our Lady of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bring us to this unity of eternal grace to which God has called you for all eternity. Amen.
