Feast Day of Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX (13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest reigning Pope in Church history, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed Papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she lived a life completely free of sin.

Giovani Maria Mastai Ferretti came from the Marche region of Italy. His election to the papal throne in 1846 was soon followed by the first signs of a turbulent age. His prime minister, Count Rossi, was assassinated and the Pope himself forced to flee Rome and take refuge in Gaeta in southern Italy.

The short-lived Republic of Rome disintegrated shortly after Pius IX left, and the Pope was able to return to his home on the Quirinal Hill in 1850. But the "Risorgimento," or the unification of Italy, was under way.

For 20 years Pius IX struggled to defend the territories of the Church while Camillo Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi, the brains and brawn of the Italian Nationalist movement, picked away at his lands; closing monasteries and selling sacred art as they went.

On September 20, 1870, they invaded Rome and Pius IX was once again forced to flee from the Quirinal, this time taking refuge in the Apostolic Palace attached to Saint Peter's Basilica. Victor Emmanuele II, the first King of Italy, occupied the Quirinal Palace, and Pius IX died eight years later imprisoned within the Vatican walls.

Pius IX holds the record as the longest reigning Pope, having sat on the throne of Saint Peter for 32 years. (In fact, many superstitious Romans claimed the fall of the Papal States was due to Pius' outliving his tenure of 25 years -- the time Peter himself had been Bishop of Rome.)

Pius IX's great contributions to the universal Church are well known: He declared the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and published the "Syllabus Errorum," a list of 80 censured propositions; this document foresaw the future trials the Church would suffer.

He also called the important First Vatican Council in 1869-70, which formulated the doctrine of papal infallibility on questions of faith and morals in the Church. It also spoke of man's ability to know God through the use of reason, a very apt teaching for today's world.

But here in Rome, Pius IX's international persona and historical protaganism are almost eclipsed by the ubiquitous evidence of his indefatigable service as Bishop of Rome.

During his long reign, train tracks were laid to connect the Eternal City with the rest of Italy. For the first time Romans walked at night through gas-lit streets and the Jewish Ghetto was abolished. Laymen were invited to join the papal government and countless new jobs were created to restore the flagging Roman economy.

Very few churches in Rome do not bear a plaque commemorating a restoration financed by Pope Pius IX, who sought to revive the great historical sanctuaries of the Eternal City, which languished after years of neglect.

His generosity continued despite the growing hostility of the Roman followers of Cavour, who had already chased him out of the city once.

Feast Day of Saint Agatha

Although we have evidence that Agatha was venerated at least as far back as the sixth century, the only facts we have about her are that she was born in Sicily and died there a martyr.

In the legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family. When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before the judge - - himself. He expected her to give in to when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God by praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil."

Legend tells us that Quintian imprisoned her in a brothel in order to get her to change her mind. Quintian brought her back before him after she had suffered a month of assault and humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had never wavered, proclaiming that her freedom came from Jesus. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to the brothel -- a move intended to make her more afraid, but which probably was a great relief to her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured. He refused her any medical care but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured again, she died after saying a final prayer: "Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."

Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was to have her breasts cut off, she was often depicted carrying her breasts on a plate. It is thought that blessing of the bread that takes place on her feast may have come from the mistaken notion that she was carrying loaves of bread.

Because she was asked for help during the eruption of Mount Etna she is considered a protector against the outbreak of fire. She is also considered the patroness of bellmakers for an unknown reason -- though some speculate it may have something to do with the fact that bells were used as fire alarms.

Prayer:
Saint Agatha, you suffered sexual assault and indignity because of your faith. Help heal all those who are survivors of sexual assault and protect those women who are in danger.

Padre Pio’s Secret:His Shoulder Wound

Shortly after World War II was over, a young Polish priest who was studying in Rome, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, visited Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. This encounter took place around 1947 or 1948. The young priest spent almost a week in San Giovanni Rotondo during his visit, and was able to attend Padre Pio’s Mass and make his confession to the saint (who died in 1968, and was canonized in 2002).

Apparently, this was not just a casual encounter, and the two spoke together at length during Fr. Wojtyla’s stay. Their conversations gave rise to rumors in later years, after the Polish prelate had been elevated to the Papacy, that Padre Pio had told him he would become Pope. The story persists to the present day, even though on two or three occasions "Papa Wojtyla" denied it.

Recently, new information about this visit has come to light, according to a new book in Italian published by Padre Pio’s Friary, Il Papa e Il Frate, written by Stefano Campanella. As reported in this book, the future Pope and future Saint had a very interesting conversation. During this exchange, Fr. Wojtyla asked Padre Pio which of his wounds caused the greatest suffering. The priest expected Padre Pio to say it was his chest wound, but instead the Padre replied, "It is my shoulder wound, which no one knows about and has never been cured or treated."

Centuries earlier, Our Lord himself had revealed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux in a vision, that his shoulder wound from carrying the heavy wooden cross caused him his greatest suffering, and that the cross tore into his flesh right up to the shoulder bone.

At one time, Padre had confided to Brother Modestino Fucci that his greatest pains occurred when he changed his undershirt. (Brother Modestino is currently the doorkeeper at Padre Pio’s friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.) Modestino, like Fr. Wojtyla, thought Padre Pio was referring to pains from the chest wound. Then, on February 4, 1971 Modestino was assigned the task of taking an inventory of all the items in the deceased Padre’s cell in the friary, and also his belongings in the archives. That day he discovered that one of Padre Pio’s undershirts bore a circle of bloodstains in the area of the right shoulder.

On that very evening, Brother Modestino asked Padre Pio in prayer to enlighten him about the meaning of the bloodstained undershirt. He asked Padre to give him a sign if he truly bore Christ’s shoulder wound. Then he went to sleep, awakening at 1:00 AM with a terrible, excruciating pain in his shoulder, as if he had been sliced with a knife up to the shoulder bone. He felt that he would die from the pain if it continued, but it lasted only a short time. Then the room became filled with the aroma of a heavenly perfume of flowers – the sign of Padre Pio’s spiritual presence – and he heard a voice saying "This is what I had to suffer!"

What is the mystical and spiritual significance of the shoulder wound of St. Padre Pio? The book by journalist Saverio Gaeta, Sulla Soglia del Paradiso (2), reports that Padre Pio said this of his spiritual children: "When the Lord entrusts a soul to me, I place it on my shoulder and never let it go." From this statement, it can reasonably be inferred that the saint offered up the suffering and the extreme pain of his shoulder wound for his spiritual children.

Frank M. Rega

(Published in "The Voice of Padre Pio," March-April 2008, pp. 23-23.)

Saint John Vianney

The body of St. John Mary Vianney is still exposed incorrupt in the Basilica of Ars.


As a priest, Saint John Mary Vianney took upon himself many of the projects parish priests take on. He set about to restore the parish church, he founded an orphanage and did acts of charity for the poor. He also did some pretty extraordinary things. He had supernatural knowledge of the future and the past, and he performed healing miracles, particularly on children. But it was in the basic duties of parish life that he excelled, namely preaching, offering spiritual direction, and, most notably, hearing confessions.

John Mary Vianney was born in Dardilly, near Leon, in 1786. His early faith formation took place within the context of the French Revolution, which pushed the practice of the Catholic faith underground. Later in his ministry, he would deal with the consequences of the revolution, which led many of the faithful to leave the Church.

The road to the priesthood wasn’t an easy path for Vianney. After finally getting his father’s permission to pursue his calling, he still needed to get caught up on his studies, as the revolution had interrupted his education. If he wanted to be a priest, he’d have to go back to school with children half his age to learn the basics of reading, writing, and Latin.

Almost nine years later, in 1815, Vianney was ordained. He was 29. Less than three years later, in 1818, the young priest was assigned as the assistant pastor of the church in Ars, a small country village located about 25 miles from Lyon in eastern France. This is where he would spend the rest of his priestly life.

Arriving in Ars, the young priest noticed the loss of Christian faith and morals around him, a lingering by-product of the French Revolution. Father Vianney soon began to awaken the faith of his parishioners through his preaching, but most of all by his prayer and his way of life. His notoriety as a holy priest grew slowly, and Father Vianney soon became known as, simply, the Curé d’Ars (parish priest of Ars).

By the 1830s, his popularity swelled to the extent that the holy priest became somewhat of a prisoner in the confessional, held there by the hundreds of faithful arriving daily to the village to see the holy curé. Between 1830 and 1845, sometimes as many as 300 people a day would pass through Ars for a chance to confess with Father Vianney.

Overwhelmed with his own sense of unworthiness and weakness in the face of such a great mission, the holy priest tried three times to escape, but all attempts failed. On the third attempt his parishioners actually sent out a search crew in the middle of the night to find him and put him back in the confessional. He stayed there until the wee hours of the morning – hearing confessions.

In 1853, a group of diocesan missionaries came to the aid of the overworked parish priest, who couldn’t seem to get out of his confessional, let alone out of his own parish to take a holiday. His own bishop even told him not to attend diocesan retreats, as Father Vianney had too many souls to attend to in Ars.

By 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached 20,000 a year, and some 100,000 in 1858. There are reports that during the last 10 years of his life, he spent as many as 18 hours a day in the confessional, and that toward the end of his life, he confessed up to 80,000 penitents a year.

Father Vianney spent the last five days of his life hearing his confessions from his deathbed. Exhausted, the Curé d’Ars died Aug. 4, 1859. He was 73.

The parish priest was beatified in 1905, and declared the patron of the priests of France that same year. He was canonized 20 years later in 1925, and declared the patron saint of all parish priests in 1929.

Taken from an article of Karna Swanson, editor of the English edition of zenit.org (June 19, 2009)

Macau pilgrimage - Cathedral Square

Situated near Rua de S. Domingos, the Cathedral is located on the top of the nearby paved hill. Here, Midnight Mass is held at Christmas and the Procession of the Passion of Our Lord is enacted every year. Next to the Cathedral stands the timelessly beautiful Bishop's Palace. Although the Cathedral is not the biggest church in Macau, it is certainly one of the grandest.

In 1575, the Catholic church was established in Macau - named the City of the Name of God - and promptly became the centre of Catholicism in Asia. In 1576, the Cathedral was built and many important relics of the 16th & 17th Century are stored here.

The Cathedral square has recently been refurbished, and an imposing fountain added, providing a convenient spot for residents and visitors to relax in comfort. Less than 2 minutes walk from the Cathedral lie the major thoroughfares of Rua de S. Domingos, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro and Avenida de Praia Grande.

Macau Pilgrimage -Saint Dominic's Church

Standing on the site of a chapel and convent built by the Dominicans in the 1590's St. Dominic's Church dates from the early 17th century. It has an imposing facade of cream-coloured stone with white stucco mouldings and green-shutted windows. Inside, white pillars support a flat ceiling and apron balconies trim the walls. The great baroque altar contains a cream and white statue of the Virgin and Child and a painting of Christ. The church has a fine collection of exquisitely-carved ivory and wood saints.

St. Dominic's Church has a violently dramatic past. In 1644 a military officer who supported the Spanish against the Portuguese was murdered at the altar during Mass. In 1707 the Dominicans sided with the Pope against Macau's bishop in the Rites Controversy. When local soldiers tried to enforce an excommunication order on them, the friars locked themselves in the church for three days and pelted the soldiers with stones. In 1834 the monastic orders were suppressed and for a time the church was used by the government as barracks, stable and public works office.

St. Dominic's Church was renovated in 1997 and opened to the public with a museum, on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. The museum shows paintings, sculptures and liturgical ornaments that illustrate the history of the Roman Catholic church in Asia.

Pilgrimage in Macau-Ruins of Saint Paul

All that remains of the greatest of Macau's churches is its magnificent stone facade and grand staircase. The church was built in 1602 adjoining the Jesuit College of St. Paul's, the first Western college in the Far East where missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall studied Chinese before serving at the Ming Court in Beijing as astronomers and mathematicians. The church, made of taipa and wood, was brilliantly decorated and furnished, according to early travelers. The facade of carved stone was built in 1620-27 by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola.

After the expulsion of the Jesuits, the college was used as an army barracks and in 1835 a fire started in the kitchens and destroyed the college and the body of the church. The surviving facade rised in 4 colonnaded tiers, and is covered with carvings and statues which eloquently illustrate the early days of the Church in Asia. There are statues of the Virgin and saints, symbols of the Garden of Eden and the Crucifixion, angels and the devil, a Chinese dragon and a Japanese chrysanthemum, a Portuguese sailing ship and pious warnings inscribed in Chinese.

After restoration work, lasting from 1990 to 1995, the back side of the Ruins of St. Paul's was turned into a museum. The ruins are regarded as the symbol of Macau and now offer visitors a new site where they can view the remains of the former Church of the Mother of God, visit a Crypt where the relics of the Martyrs of Japan and Vietnam rest, and a museum of Sacred Art where there are exhibits of paintings, sculptures and liturgical objects from churches and monasteries in the City.

Painting by unknown artist depicting the matrys of Nagasaki

The crpyt contains skeletons of the matrys of Nagasaki