"AH, ST. JOSEPH IS THE GREATEST SAINT IN HEAVEN!" In response to Don Valentin Marichalar's questions, the visionaries learned from the Blessed Virgin that St. Joseph is "the greatest of all the Saints “ Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, page 100
SAINT OF THE DAY FRIDAY, 20 MARCH, 2026 SAINT SALVATOR OF HORTA (December, 1520 – March 18, 1567) In the sixteenth century when the Faith, especially in Germany, was so mightily shaken by the so-called reformers, when the Sign of the Cross was abolished as a superstitious practice, almighty God permitted this very Sign of the Cross to shine with special power and radiance, in order to strengthen the Faith in another country. This was Spain, and it was through the great miracle worker of the sixteenth century, St Salvator of Horta. Saint Salvator of Horta was born of poor parents in the year 1520. Orphaned when still quite young, he tended cattle and was later sent as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Barcelona. His devout heart, however, was constantly prompting him to consecrate himself to God; so, when he was twenty years old, he entered the Franciscan Order as a lay brother. He distinguished himself among his brethren by rigorous mortification, profound humility, and extraordinary simplicity. Almighty God, who chooses the lowly to make known the wonders of His power, manifested His power in Salvator at the very beginning of his religious life. Saint Salvator of Horta was sent to assist the brother in the kitchen, and one day, when the cook was ill, Salvator had to undertake the entire round of duties alone. When it was close to the noon hour, the Father Guardian went to the kitchen to see what Brother Salvator had prepared. He found the kitchen locked. After looking for Salvator for a considerable time, he finally found him kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, deeply absorbed in prayer. Saint Salvator of Horta had been there since early morning without being aware of it. The superior reproved him severely, and Salvator acknowledged his guilt amid many tears, begging for a severe penance. How astonished, however, were both men when they arrived at the kitchen and found all the food ready to be served; the angels had substituted for Salvator. After pronouncing his vows, Salvator was sent to the convent at Tortosa. Although he was assigned in turn to the duties of cook, porter, and quester of alms, he was nevertheless continually recollected and intimately united with God. While gathering alms, Saint Salvator of Horta often came upon sick people for whom his prayers were requested. He would make the Sign of the Cross over them, and immediately they were healed. News of this fact soon spread abroad and may sick were brought to the convent. All were restored to health through the Sign of the Cross which Brother Salvator made over them. The concourse of sick people, however, finally became so great that it disturbed the good order in the convent. So the superiors sent Brother Salvator to the nearby convent of Horta, where he spent the greater part of his religious life; hence his surname “of Horta.” Although the transfer was made in perfect secrecy and no one had been informed of it, the sick presented themselves at the convent at Horta already in the first days after his arrival there, and their number increased daily. The deaf, the blind, the dumb, the lame, the epileptic, came; the paralytic, the dropsical, those afflicted with fevers, and sufferers of every type were brought to him on beds, so that Brother Salvator might restore their health.Usually there were as many as two thousand a week, sometimes that many in one day, and once, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, as many as six thousand made their appearance. One time the grand inquisitor, a renowned theologian, whose duty it was to guard the purity of the Faith, came in order to learn whether anything occurred there that savored of superstition. Without giving any indication of his rank, he took his station at a corner of the church were the sick were expecting the healing hand of Brother Salvator. When the good religious arrived, Saint Salvator of Horta had the sick make way for him as he passed through their ranks till he reached the grand inquisitor. There he reverently kissed the latter's hand, and begged him to come to the upper church, where he could watch the entire proceedings. Astonished at finding himself recognized, the inquisitor was already assured of the power from on high which held sway there. Nevertheless, he followed the brother. Salvator began, as usual, to admonish the sick to examine their conscience and to receive the sacraments of penance and of the Holy Eucharist worthily. Then he blessed them with the Sign of the Cross while he called upon the Blessed Trinity and imposed on them a few prayers in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whose intercession he ascribed all the cures. The sufferers were then all suddenly cured, except, as Salvator had foretold, those who were not sincere in their conversion. In order to test the humility of the brother and to preserve him in it, his superiors frequently imposed heavy trial, but he always remained an obedient, humble, and contented religious. A prominent gentleman once warned Salvator that he should be on guard against pride and presumption. The good brother answered: “I always think of myself as a sack full of straw; the sack is indifferent as to whether it lies in a stable or is brought into a magnificent room.” The last two years of his life were spent on the island of Sardinia, and there he died in the convent of Cagliari on March 18, 1567. Innumerable miracles occurred also at his grave. The uninterrupted devotion to the saint was confirmed by Pope Clement XI. Saint Salvator of Horta was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1938. SAINT SALVATOR OF HORTA: PRAY FOR US
another Saint of the Day — March 20 Feria Sexta infra Hebdomadam IV in Quadragesima Today marks the death anniversary of Saint Józef Bilczewski (1860–1923), Archbishop of Lviv, who died on this date after guiding his flock through World War I, the Polish-Ukrainian War and the Bolshevik invasion. He is patron of Lviv and of his hometown of Wilamowice, Poland. ◾His beatification miracle was the rapid, lasting and medically inexplicable healing of nine-year-old Marcin Gawlik from third-degree burns, confirmed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in June 2001. Pope Benedict XVI canonized him on 23 October 2005 in Saint Peter's Square. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph_Bilczewski Saint Józef Bilczewski, pray for us.
So many saints I have never heard of before. Wonderful. I hope to meet them all in heaven and hear their stories.
.......the “great cloud of witnesses” is not far away, within reach, a breath away the answered prayers through their intercession show this sometimes in a direct way - encouraging
SAINT OF THE DAY SATURDAY, 21 MARCH, 2026 SAINT BENEDETTA CAMBIAGIO FRASSINELLO RELIGIOUS FOUNDER (2 October, 1791 – 21 March, 1858) Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frasinello was born on 2 October 1791 in Langasco (Genoa) Italy; she died on 21 March 1858 in Ronco Scrivia in Liguria. She was wife, religious and foundress. She let the Holy Spirit guide her through married life to the work of education and religious consecration. She founded a school for the formation of young women and also a religious congregation, and did both with the generous collaboration of her husband. This is unique in the annals of Christian sanctity. Benedetta was a pioneer in her determination to give a high quality education to young women, for the formation of families for a "new Christian society" and for promoting the right of women to a complete education. CALL TO MARRIAGE, THEN TO RELIGIOUS LIFE From her parents Benedetta received a Christian formation that rooted in her the life of faith. Her family settled in Pavia when she was a girl. When she was 20 years old, Benedetta had a mystical experience that gave her a profound desire for a life of prayer and penance, and of consecration to God. However, in obedience to the wishes of her parents, in 1816, she married Giovanni Frassinello and lived married life for two years. In 1818, moved by the example of his saintly wife, Giovanni agreed that the two should live chastely, "as brother and sister" and take care of Benedetta's younger sister, Maria, who was dying from intestinal cancer. They began to live a supernatural parenthood quite unique in the history of the Church. CONGREGATION FOUNDED BY WIFE, WHO IS SUPPORTED BY HER HUSBAND Following Maria's death in 1825, Giovanni entered the Somaschi Fathers founded by St. Jerome Emiliani, and Benedetta devoted herself completely to God in the Ursuline Congregation of Capriolo. A year later she was forced to leave because of ill health, and returned to Pavia where she was miraculously cured by St Jerome Emiliani. Once she regained her health, with the Bishop's approval, she dedicated herself to the education of young girls. Benedetta needed help in handling such a responsibility, but her own father refused to help her. Bishop Tosi of Pavia asked Giovanni to leave the Somaschi novitiate and help Benedettain her apostolic work. Together they made a vow of perfect chastity in the hands of the bishop, and then began their common work to promote the human and Christian formation of poor and abandoned girls of the city. Their educational work was of great benefit to Pavia. Benedetta became the first woman to be involved in this kind of work. The Austrian government recognized her as a "Promoter of Public Education". She was helped by young women volunteers to whom she gave a rule of life that later received ecclesiastical approval. Along with instruction, she joined formation in catechesis and in useful skills like cooking and sewing, aiming to transform her students into "models of Christian life" and so assure the formation of families.BENEDICTINE SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE Benedetta's work was considered pioneering for those days and was opposed by a few persons in power and by the misunderstanding of clerics. In 1838 she turned over the institution to the Bishop of Pavia. Together with Giovanni and five companions, she moved to Ronco Scrivia in the Genoa region. There they opened a school for girls that was a refinement on what they had done in Pavia. Eventually, Benedetta founded the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence. In her rule she stressed the education of young girls. She instilled the spirit of unlimited confidence and abandonment to Providence and of love of God through poverty and charity. The Congregation grew quickly since it performed a needed service. Benedetta was able to guide the development of the Congregation until her death. On 21 March 1858 she died in Ronco Scrivia. HER EXAMPLE IS THAT OF SUPERNATURAL MATERNITY PLUS COURAGE AND FIDELITY IN DISCERNING AND LIVING GOD'S WILL Today the Benedictine Nuns of Providence are present in Italy, Spain, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Peru and Brazil. They are at the service of young people, the poor, the sick and the elderly. The foundress also opened a house of the order in Voghera. Forty years after the death of Benedetta, the bishop separated this house from the rest of the Order. The name was changed to the Benedictines of Divine Providence who honour the memory of the Foundress. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 10 May 1987. PATRON: Benedictine Sisters of Providence and Educators. SAINT BENEDETTA CAMBIAGIO FRASSINELLO : PRAY FOR US
How wonderful these nuns who had also been wives and mothers. It must have given them a very, very special insights and graces for their roles as nuns. Yesterday in the monastery the Abbess did the readings and I thought how very well she did them and how holy and severe she looked as she did them. However then her mobile phone went off for the longest time with the funniest little melody. She had a hard time finding it under her robes. Nevertheless neither herself nor anyone else present was the least bit bother ed by all this, not a red face or a nervous giggle anywhere. The same goes when the lights go out, as they frequently do. So Spanish are so laid back
Saint Benedicta's miracle— March 21 Feria. infra Hebdomadam IV in Quadragesima. ◾Her beatification miracle, confirmed unanimously by the Vatican's Consulta Medica as medically inexplicable, was the complete and lasting healing of a person suffering from typhous meningoencephalitis — a grave inflammation of the brain and its membranes caused by typhoid infection, carrying a serious risk of death and permanent neurological damage. Pope John Paul II beatified her on 10 May 1987 and canonized her on 19 May 2002. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedetta_Cambiagio_Frassinello Saint Benedicta Frassinello, pray for us.
SAINT OF THE DAY SUNDAY, 22 MARCH, 2026 SAINT LEA OF ROME (DIED AROUND 383 A. D.) St. Lea of Rome a fourth-century saint, is known only through the testimony of her beloved friend, the learned St. Jerome. A noblewoman of Rome, born into wealth and privilege, she was a contemporary of St. Jerome. However, soon after her marriage she was widowed and left very sound financially. Instead of retiring as a wealthy widow, however, she joined a convent of consecrated virgins in the city—shedding all the money and social standing she possessed. In later years she was named the prioress of the convent. It appears that she died in 384 while she was reciting Psalm 73 (alongside St. Jerome). In a letter relaying her death to others within the city of Rome, St. Jerome writes to St. Marcella that St. Lea, a woman of austerity, obedience and remarkable penances had died. He described her as “blessed,” emphasizing the woman's virtues as being worthy of heaven. St. Jerome provides no biography for Lea, for he assumes that Marcella knows Lea, and concentrates instead upon her virtues. He mentions about the fate of St. Lea in comparison with that of a consul who had recently died. "Who will praise the blessed Lea as she deserves? She renounced painting her face and adorning her head with shining pearls. She exchanged her rich attire for sackcloth, and ceased to command others in order to obey all. She dwelt in a corner with a few bits of furniture; she spent her nights in prayer, and instructed her companions through her example rather than through protests and speeches. And she looked forward to her arrival in heaven in order to receive her recompense for the virtues which she practiced on earth. JEROME DRAWS A PARALLEL WITH PARABLE OF LAZARUS AND DIVES: "So it is that thence forth she enjoyed perfect happiness. From Abraham's bosom, where she resides with Lazarus, she sees our consul who was once decked out in purple, now vested in a shameful robe, vainly begging for a drop of water to quench his thirst. Although he went up to the capital to the plaudits of the people, and his death occasioned widespread grief, it is futile for the wife to assert that he has gone to heaven and possesses a great mansion there. The fact is that he is plunged into the darkness outside, whereas Lea who was willing to be considered a fool on earth, has been received into the house of the Father, at the wedding feast of the Lamb. "Hence, I tearfully beg you to refrain from seeking the favors of the world and to renounce all that is carnal. It is impossible to follow both the world and Jesus. Let us live a life of renunciation, for our bodies will soon be dust and nothing else will last any longer." St. Jerome's use of the adjective "blessed" is taken as sufficient evidence for Lea's veneration by the Roman Catholic Church, where her feast day is March 22. PATRONESS: of women and widows. PRAYER: Lord, amid the things of this world, let us wholeheartedlybe committed to heavenly things in imitation of the example of evangelical perfection, you have given us in St. Lea. Amen.
SAINT OF THE DAY MONDAY, 23 MARCH, 2026 SAINT TORIBIO DE MOGROVEJO (16 November, 1538 - 23 March, 1606) Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born in 16 November 1538 in Mayorca, Spain, into a noble family. From childhood, his disposition was turned toward virtue and against sin. He also had a great devotion to the Most Holy Virgin. He prayed her Office and the Rosary every day and fasted on Saturdays in her honor. He had a natural inclination for academics, and studied law at Valladolid and Salamanca. In recognition of his virtue and learning, King Philip II named him chief judge of the Supreme Court of Granada, and head of the Inquisition in the same city. He carried out this office in an exceptional way for five years. In 1580 when the Episcopal See of Lima, Peru, became vacant, the King selected him to fill this position. Toribio protested he was not worthy of the honor and used his knowledge of Church law to contest the appointment. He was overruled, consented, and was ordained priest and consecrated Bishop in order to fulfil his new obligations. He arrived in Lima, Peru to assume his office in 1581 at age 43. His Diocese was immense, and the morals of the Spanish clergy and laymen were very far from being perfect. He also found that the Indian population were being exploited and persecuted. This did not discourage St. Toribio. On the contrary, he resolved to apply the decisions of the Council of Trent in order to reform the region. Gifted with an exceptional prudence and great zeal, he began with a reform of the clergy. He was inflexible regarding any moral scandal. He became the scourge of public sinners and the protector of the oppressed. For this reason he was strongly criticized and persecuted, but he received the support of the virtuous Viceroy who had recently arrived in Lima, Don Francisco de Toledo. Thus he achieved the moral reform he had set out to make. He always did everything he could to save souls, from the greatest to the smallest. He offered his protection to the Indians and, even at an advanced age, he learned many of their dialects so that he could teach them the Catechism. His vigorous action was illuminated by an intense spiritual life – offering Masses, frequent confession as well as meditations, long hours of prayers and severe penances. On a diocesan visitation, St. Toribio fell ill with fever at Pacasmayo and was only able to reach the city of Santa, far from Lima. He foresaw his death and distributed his belongings to his servants and the rest of his property to the poor. He died with the words of Jesus Christ on his lips: “Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” The great apostle of Peru died on March 23, 1606. PATRON: Peru, Latin American Bishops, Native Rights, (Also, Lawyers may seek his intercession because he was a Lawyer in Spain) PRAYER: O God, who gave increase to your Church through the apostolic labors and zeal for truth of the Bishop Saint Toribio, grant that the people consecrated to you may always receive new growth in faith and holiness. 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.
Feria secunda infra infra Hebdomadam Passionis ~ Feria major (pre 1960) another Saint of the Day — 23 March Saint Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayes (1832 - 1914) Today, March 23, is both the feast day and the death anniversary of Saint Rafqa, a Lebanese Maronite nun from Himlaya, Lebanon, who died on this day in 1914 at the Convent of Saint Joseph in Grabta. Patron of the sick, those suffering from bodily afflictions, and those who have lost a parent, Saint Rafqa spent the last three decades of her life in voluntary and total union with the sufferings of Christ, enduring blindness, paralysis, and excruciating bone pain she had prayed to received ◾Her beatification miracle, submitted to the Vatican and reviewed by the Consulta Medica, the Holy See's commission of physicians responsible for evaluating whether an alleged healing is scientifically inexplicable, concerned Elizabeth En-Nakhel, a woman from Tourza in northern Lebanon. Diagnosed with uterine cancer, she was considered medically beyond hope. After praying at the tomb of Rafqa, she recovered completely in 1938, with no natural explanation found by the examining doctors. The decree approving this miracle was promulgated on June 9, 1984 in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Rafqa was beatified on November 17, 1985, and canonized on June 10, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafqa_Pietra_Choboq_Ar-Rayès Saint Rafqa, Little Flower of Lebanon, who embraced suffering as a path to God and whose intercession brought healing where medicine had no answer, pray for all who are sick, for those in chronic pain, and for those who carry their cross in silence.
I heard of St Rafqa years ago believe it or not! The reason why was the most horrific account of an eye operation she under went by a rotten scoundrel of a supposed eye surgeon from America. He left the poor saint with her eye hanging out on her cheek and ran away leaving the poor nun in agony. Rafqua is a huge example of someone who clung to Christ through immense physical pain.
SAINT OF THE DAY TUESDAY, 24 MARCH, 2026 SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN RELIGIOUS AND ABBESS (1332 - 24 March, 1381) St. Catherine of Sweden was the fourth child of St. Bridget of Sweden and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson. At the age of seven she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg and placed under her care to receive an education and to build a foundation for her spiritual life. Catherine soon showed, like her mother, a desire for a life of self-mortification and devotion to spiritual things. At the command of her father, when about thirteen or fourteen years old, she married a noble of German descent, Eggart von Kürnen. She at once persuaded her husband, who was a very religious man, to join her in a vow of chastity. Both lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to the exercise of Christian perfection and active charity. In spite of her deep love for her husband, around the year 1349, after the death of her father, Catherine accompanied her mother on a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the relics of the Roman Martyrs. The two spent several years in Rome. Soon after her arrival in that city Catherine received news of the death of her husband in Sweden. She now lived constantly with her mother, took an active part in St. Bridget's fruitful labors, and zealously imitated her mother's ascetic life. Although the distinguished and beautiful young widow was surrounded by suitors, she steadily refused all offers of marriage. In 1372 St. Catherine and her brother, Birger, accompanied their mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; after their return to Rome St. Catherine was with her mother in the latter's last illness and death. In 1374, in obedience to St. Bridget's wish, Catherine brought back her mother's body to Sweden for burial at Wadstena, of which foundation she now became the head. It was the mother-house of the Brigittine Order, also called the Order of St. Savior. Catherine managed the convent with great skill and made the life there one in harmony with the principles laid down by its founder. The following year she went again to Rome in order to promote the canonization of St. Bridget, and to obtain a new papal confirmation of the order. She secured another confirmation both from Gregory XI (1377) and from Urban VI (1379), but was unable to gain at the time the canonization of her mother, as the confusion caused by the Schism delayed the process. When this sorrowful division appeared she showed herself, like St. Catherine of Siena, a steadfast adherent of the party of the Roman Pope, Urban VI, in whose favor she testified before a judicial commission. Catherine stayed five years in Italy and then returned home, bearing a special letter of commendation from the pope. During the final 25 years of her life, Catherine was known for her austere lifestyle and her practice of making daily use of the Sacrament of Confession. Catherine worked with the poor by teaching them life skills and religion. She followed her mother's example to love and guide others by counseling women who had suffered a miscarriage or illness during their pregnancy. Not long after her arrival in Sweden she was taken ill and died on 24 March 1381. In 1484 Innocent VIII gave permission for her veneration as a saint. Catherine wrote a devotional work entitled "Consolation of the Soul" (Sielinna Troest), largely composed of citations from the Scriptures and from early religious books; no copy is known to exist. Generally St. Catherine of Sweden is represented with a hind at her side, which is said to have come to her aid when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her. PATRON: Against abortions and Against miscarriages. PRAYER TO ST. CATHERINE OF SWEDEN: Dear Saint Catherine, patron of those who have suffered a miscarriage, you know the dangers that await unborn infants. Please intercede for me that I may receive healing from the loss I have suffered. My soul has been deprived of peace and I have forgotten what true happiness is. As I mourn the loss of my child, I place myself in the hands of God and ask for strength to accept His will in all things, for consolation in my grief, and for peace in my sorrow. Glorious Saint Catherine, hear my prayers and ask that God, in good time, grant me a healthy baby who will become a true child of God. Amen.
St Catherine and Bridget remind me of the description we give to St Therese's family, a, 'Nest of Saints. Sweden went right from being a totally Protestant country to a almost totally agnostic, atheistic, could not care less irreligious nation. Track any of the Protestant countries and look at them now. Pretty well all the same. The only big Protestant country that worked out was the USA. Even there Protestantism shows huge signs of cracking. I watched a lovely video of the Bridgetines being reestablished in Sweden. They have the most beautiful religious habit.
another Saint of the day March 24 Feria tertia infra Hebdomadam Passionis ~ Feria major -- Feast Day of Saint Oscar Romero, Martyr Beatified: May 23, 2015 -- Canonized: October 14, 2018 Today marks the anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, shot while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980. He is patron of persecuted Christians and of Christian communicators. ◾The miracle approved for his canonization concerned Cecilia Maribel Flores de Rivas, a Salvadoran woman who in 2015 was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome after giving birth -- a life-threatening condition causing hemolysis, liver failure, and critically low platelet count. She fell into a coma and was not expected to survive the night. Her husband, finding a prayer card of Blessed Romero in a Bible, prayed for his intercession. She awoke and made a full and lasting recovery. The Vatican's medical consultors (Consulta Medica) issued unanimous approval on October 26, 2017. Pope Francis signed the decree on March 6, 2018, declaring the healing scientifically inexplicable. Source: The Archbishop Romero Trust -- https://www.romerotrust.org.uk/cause-canonisation/ Saint Oscar Romero, martyr for justice and for the faith, pray for us.
