Mary Magdalen, a sister of Lazarus and of Martha, of Bethany, was a notorious sinner in Jerusalem. Moved by the preaching of Jesus, she did public penance. She went openly into the house of the Pharisee with whom Jesus was sitting at table, threw herself at His feet, anointed them with precious ointment, washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. Jesus, knowing her contrite heart, forgave her her sins (Luke 7:37, 38), and from that time forward she became the most zealous and faithful of the women who were disciples of Our Lord. She followed Him, always ministered unto Him of her substance (Luke 8:3), and when He died was standing under the cross.

Epistle: Canticle 3:2-5; 8:6,7

I will rise and will go about the city; in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth; I sought him and I found him not. The watchmen who keep the city found me: Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him; and I will not let him go till I bring him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that bore me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved till she please. Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death; jealousy as hard as hell; the lamps thereof are fire and flame. Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it; if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.

The soul that, following the direction of the watchmen, that is, the priests, teachers, and rulers of the Church, seeks Jesus, He goes to meet, gives Himself up to, takes up His abode in, with all His love, with all His treasures. The soul which has found Christ for delight forgets all outward things, and no longer has love or joy but for and in Christ. How should it be otherwise? What can be wanting to him who truly possesses Christ? This love for Him Who loved us unto death shows itself by outward acts that are heroic. So Mary Magdalen loved Jesus. Follow her example.

Gospel: Luke 7:36-50

At that time: One of the Pharisees desired Jesus to eat with him. And He went into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman that was in the city, a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and standing behind, at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee, who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, that she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it. A certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which, therefore, of the two loveth him most? Simon answering, said: I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. And turning to the woman, He said unto Simon: Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet; but she with tears hath washed My feet, and with her hairs hath wiped them. Thou gavest Me no kiss; but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she with ointment hath anointed My feet. Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And He said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And He said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.

Magdalen, who had sinned openly, openly did penance. In like manner, he who has given public scandal must seek to make amends for it by public good example.

Magdalen confessed her sins, says Saint Ambrose, not with words, but with abundant tears of penitence. To tell her sins to Christ, the All-knowing, was not necessary; but what a confession was there in the posture of humiliation, and in the tears that flowed from the contrite sinner. Would you obtain forgiveness? Confess with contrition, like Magdalen.

The words, “Thy faith hath made thee safe,” denote a faith active as love. Faith and love are in truth never separated, for he only truly believes who also loves; and he only loves according to God’s will who believes in Him. Therefore believe in truth, love, and show your love by earnest hatred of every sin, by flying from occasions of sin, by fighting against your passions, by change of your life, and by humble confession, and as true as God lives you will be saved, as was Magdalen; the peace of God will enter into your heart.

Ceslaus Odrowatz was a near relative, probably a brother, of Saint Hyacinth, and shared with him the apostolate of Northern Europe. Little is known of his youth. He was born in the ancestral castle and educated with Saint Hyacinth, by his uncle, a priest of Cracow.

Both young men became priests and, being well-known for their holiness, were chosen to be canons in the cathedral chapter in Cracow. When their uncle received an appointment as bishop of Cracow, the two young priests accompanied him on his trip to Rome, where he would be consecrated.

It was in Rome that the two zealous young priests first heard of the work of Saint Dominic. The order was then only four years old, and its eager members had penetrated to almost all parts of Christendom and were pushing into the lands of the Tartars and the Mohammedans.

The new bishop strongly desired that some of the friars should come to Poland. Since Saint Dominic was then in Rome, they went to him for missionaries. Dominic was deeply regretful that he had no friars who were able to speak the languages of the North. However, he was much drawn to the bishop’s two young nephews, and promised to make them Dominican apostles if they would remain with him.

After their novitiate training, Hyacinth and Ceslaus went home. Ceslaus went to Prague, and other parts of Bohemia, where he founded convents of Friar Preachers and also established a group of nuns. Then he went to Silesia, where he founded the convent of Breslau that was to become his center of activities. He also acted as the spiritual director for duchess Saint Hedwig of Poland.

The life of Blessed Ceslaus, like that of Saint Hyacinth, is a record of almost countless miracles, of unbelievable distances travelled on foot through wild and warlike countries, and of miracles of grace. He cured the sick and the maimed, raised the dead to life, and accomplished wonders in building convents. His most remarkable miracle was the raising to life of a boy who had been dead for eight days.

In 1241 the Tartars swooped down upon the Christian kingdoms and laid waste the labor of centuries. Blessed Ceslaus was in Breslau at the time the Tartars laid siege to the city. He and his community fasted and prayed incessantly that the city would be saved, and when the cause looked darkest, Ceslaus mounted the ramparts with a crucifix in his hand. While the Tartars gazed in astonishment, a huge ball of fire descended from heaven and settled above him. Arrows of fire shot out from the heavenly weapon, and the Tartars fled in terror, leaving the city unmolested.

Our Lady came to receive the soul of Blessed Ceslaus, who had been tireless in preaching her glories.

Born: c.1180 at Cracow, Poland

Died: July 16, 1242

Beatified: August 27, 1712 by Pope Clement XI (cultus confirmed)

James of Voragine has been beatified by the Church for the sanctity of his life. He lives in secular history for quite a different reason-he was a creative genius of his age. His so-called Golden Legends, which has enjoyed a circulation of nearly seven centuries, is only one of several projects which in his time, as in ours, are a tribute to the versatility of the man and the zeal of a saint.

Little is recorder of the childhood of James. He entered the order, in Genoa, and soon was known both for his virtue and for a singularly alert and practical mind. Tradition says that James was the first to translate the Bible into Italian. Whether this is true or not, it is ample evidence that he was a good scholar.

As Prior, provincial, and later Arch-Bishop, James gained a reputation for strict observance, heroic charity, and sound good sense. He was a builder where war had wrecked, a peace maker where others sowed trouble. He must of had a contagious zeal, for the wealthy gave to him as readily as the poor begged from him, and under his hand ruined churches and hospitals were built again, the sick and poor were cared for , and order was restored. He was a genius at getting things done; and , fortunately his whole heart was bent on doing for the glory of God.

Like others of his calling and training, James was first of all a preacher. For those many who could not read, one of the chief means of instruction was sermons which took their key note from the feast of the day. The saints, the stories of their live and examples of their virtues , became as much part of a Christians life as the people around him. The collection of stories – later called The Golden Legend – started as a series of sermons prepared by James for the various festival of the saints. Since he preached in Italian, rather than in Latin, his sermons had immense popular appeal, and they were rapidly copied by other preachers into all the languages of Europe. The Golden Legend was , next to the Bible, the most popular book of the middle ages.

James was rigorous in his observance of the Dominican Rule, which is of itself enough to canonize him. He had also the good sense to make use of changing trends to further the work of God. Today he would be using the radio, the press, the movies, and television; then he used what his century had to offer- sermons in the vernacular, religious drama, and music. How much present day drama and music owed to him, it would be impossible to say. There is an amusing story told of his efforts to fight fire with fire. He organized a troop of jugglers and acrobats from the student novices of San Eustorgio, in Milan, who were to mingle entertainment with doctrine in an effort to combat the indecency of the secular theater. This was one scheme which left no lasting effect on the order, but it does serve to show that James was a man of his times, alert to the changing needs of a fast moving world, and whole heartedly determined to win the world to the truth of the One Holy Catholic Faith by any honest means that came to hand.

Purity, poverty and charity were the outstanding virtues of this man whom the Church has seemed fit to enroll among Her blesseds. He will always be recognized in Dominican history as a man of many and peculiar gifts, who consecrated his talents to God, and, in trading with them , gained heaven.

Born: c.1230 at Varezze (modern Voragine), diocese of Savona, Italy (near Genoa)

Died: July 13, 1298

Beatified: 1816 by Pope Pius VII

Continuing the saga of the martyrs of Tonkin, nearly a hundred years after the death of Blessed Peter Martyrs Sanz and companions, two more Dominicans bishops died for the faith . They were Bishop Ignatius Delgado and Bishop Dominic Henares. With them a tertiary catechist died, Francis Chien, and the group (beautified in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII) also includes a Spanish priest, Joseph Fernandez, Father Augustine Schoeffler of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, who was a Dominican Tertiary, and twenty-one native confraternity members.

Of the early years of these martyrs we know little. Both were born in Spain, Bishop Delgado in 1762 and Bishop Henares three years later. From the sentence of condemnation itself we learn that Bishop Delgado had labored for nearly fifty years in Tonkin, which argues that he must have been a resourceful man as well as a zealous one. In 1838 the two bishops and the catechist were captured, in a persecution recently stirred up by the mandarin. The prelates and a young priest had been hidden in the village of Kien-lao, and were accidentally betrayed by a little child who was cleverly questioned by a pagan teacher searching for the foreigners. Alarmed at the sudden activities, the captors of Bishop Delgado put him into a small cage which was locked around him, and then put into jail with criminals.

Communism had made us familiar with the type of questioning that Bishop Delgado had to face. A copy of his trial, which still existed a few years ago, showed that he answered truthfully and fearlessly where he himself was concerned, but that no amount of questioning or torture could make him reveal the whereabouts of his companions. A young priest in another place had taken to his heels when the alarm of the bishop’s arrest was heard, and was still at large. There was no proof that Bishop Henares had been caught, nor the catechists who worked with him. So Bishop Delgado, an old man of seventy six, endured the tortures rather than give any clue as to where they might be found.

The death sentence was passed on Bishop Delgado, and he was left in the open cage under the summer sun, to exist in misery until it should please the mandarin to kill him. Pagans jeered at him and threw waste in his face, and he was deprived of even the simplest necessities. Worn out by suffering but still silent as to his companions’ whereabouts, he died of dysentery before the mandarin was ready to behead him. The enraged solders cut off his head when they found that he had died, and threw the remains into a swift river. Fisherman promptly set about the dangerous business of rescuing the relics.

Bishop Henares was captured with a companion at the same time as Bishop Delgado. He had hidden himself in a boat, and the nervousness of the boatmen gave him away. Five hundred soldiers were detached to bring in the two “dangerous” criminals, the bishop and his catechist, Francis Chien. They too were questioned endlessly, and kept apart from Bishop Delgado. Two weeks after the death of the first bishop, the second was led out and beheaded in company with this catechist.

The relics of all three martyrs were recovered in part, and were honorably buried by the next Dominicans to come on the scene- Bishop Hermosilla and his companions, who would, as they knew, also be the next to die.

We have no information of the twenty-one members of the Confraternity of the Rosary who was honored with the three martyrs of 1838, nor about the Spanish Father Fernandez. Father Augustine Schoeffler of the Paris Foreign Mission Society should likewise hold a place of honor among Dominicans, as he was a Tertiary. Many of the records of these brave men were lost or deliberately destroyed, and many of them- we hope- may still be found in various neglected spots which war and trouble have caused to be overlooked.

Born: Spain: Bishop Ignatius Delgado (November 23, 1761 at Villafeliche, Spain), Dominic Henares (December 19, 1765 at Baena, Spain)

Died: July 12, 1838 of hunger and exposure in Vietnam (Ignatius Delgado), beheaded on June 25, 1838 in Vietnam (Dominic Henares, Francis Chien), Companions- various dates and unknown causes

Beatified: May 27, 1900 by Pope Leo XIII

Although Father Touron failed to give a sketch of this distinguished Friar Preacher in his First Disciples of Saint Dominic, it is certain that he belonged to them, and that he was an outstanding character in the noble galaxy. Some authors say that John was a scion of the noted Guana family, and connected with the Norman princes who long reigned over the former kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. Whilst they do not give the date of his birth, practically all hold that he first saw the light of day at Salerno, some thirty miles south of Naples; that he studied at the University of Bologna; and that he entered the Order in that educational center. With one or two exceptions who give this honor to Blessed Reginald of Orleans, the writers maintain he received the habit from Saint Dominic himself. The year 1219 is the date assigned for the ceremony.

Evidently John was then a man of mature years, for he was soon placed at the head of twelve other confrères sent to establish the Order in Florence. A few date this commission in 1219; but 1220 is the time ordinarily given. The choice of him for superior in so important a city confirms the statement that his rare virtue, which he had practiced from early youth, made a strong impression on Saint Dominic. Although very small of stature, the future blessed possessed a mighty mind and a courage that nothing could awe. Doubtless these qualities also appealed to the patriarch, who seemed to judge of the characters ‘ of men almost by intuition, for an able, fearless leader was needed in Florence. Dominic and John are said to have been intimate, trustful friends-no doubt, a relationship born of grace. That the saint formed a correct estimate of his young disciple is shown by the fact that our blessed soon became one of the most influential Friars Preacher in Italy.

A curious story is told about the first house of the fathers at Florence. It was built, so it would seem, by one Deodate del Dado (possibly a merchant) who wished to make restitution for his dishonesty by devoting it to religious purposes. Situated in the “plain of Ripoli”, two or three miles from the city limits, on the way to Arezzo, it was better suited for a contemplative order than for one of the apostolic character of Saint Dominic’s. Mamachi thinks another community had occupied it. Be that as it may, it was free when the builder beard of the wonderful preaching of the holy man from Caleruega, in Bologna. So he hurried to that city, attended one of the saint’s sermons, and then offered the place to him. Some writers say that the proffer was accepted at once, and the delighted donor accompanied the first missionaries back to Florence.

When the fathers arrived at the hermitage of Ripoli, land saw its lonely, remote location, some of them likely wondered if their prayerful, mortified superior might intend to sacrifice the active side of their institute, which they had seen brought so prominently to the fore in Bologna, to the retired and cloistered side. They did not have long to wait before learning his views. Although the house was small, John of Salerno felt that it would suffice for a start. The first few days he spent in setting the place in order. Then he called the community together, and made known his plan of action. The life of a Friar Preacher, he said, is that of an energetic apostolate. They had come to humble Hipoli, not for their own sakes, but for the spiritual welfare of the faithful in the Province of Tuscany. The work would commence on the morrow, and every man would be expected to do his duty.

Day by day the little handful of soul harvesters left their hermitage at an early hour, in bands of two, that they might preach the word of God in Florence or elsewhere. In all things the diminutive superior, with a great mind and magnanimous soul, set the example, as well as led the way, which he would have the others follow. They assembled the people in churches, public squares, market places, open plains — wherever they could procure an audience. In the evening, unless too far away, they returned to their quiet abode for prayer and meditation.

Proud, cultivated Florence was stirred to the very core by the eloquence and zeal of the new religious, in whose lives there seemed to be naught of the worldly. The effect of their sermons was enhanced by the patience with which they trudged afoot back and forth between Ripoli and the city. They were on every tongue-in every mind. Their preaching was discussed in public, no less than in private. Repentant Deodate seems to have taken care of their secluded home while they were absent, as well as to have contributed towards their maintenance. No doubt he was happy in the realization that his work of amends bore such rich fruit.

Among the band of missioners, men of God though they all were, John of Salerno shone especially for his oratory, virtue, and quest for souls. None of them appeared quite so heroic as he. Whilst his example, fatherly government, and kindly admonition ever urged his confrères on in their exertions, his fine judgment and tact won the confidence of the faithful. All this combined with his superb scholarship and rare devotion to bring him the affection of the archbishop, John di Velletri, together with that of the vast majority of the diocesan clergy. Indeed, our Friar Preacher had every qualification for a perfect superior and a successful fisherman of men. Thus it is no matter for wonder that he was retained at the helm of his Order in one of Italy’s most beautiful cities, yet ever a maelstrom of political intrigue.

Saint Dominic is said to have been so impressed with the reports of the good’ effected by his brethren in Florence that he paid them at least one visit, and was delighted with their fervor and zeal.  Their benefactor, Deodate, seems to have lived less than a year after they settled in his hermitage. His death deprived them of their principal source of support. This misfortune, together with the fatigue of walking back and forth each day between the city and the “plain of Ripoli,” caused the Florentines to obtain permission for them to use the hospice of Saint Pancratius, which stood at the side of the church of the same name within the municipal limits, until a more suitable place could be obtained for them. John of Salerno gladly acceded to the proposal, -and moved his community thither at once, for this more convenient location would be of great aid to his confr6res in their work.

From Saint Pancratius’ the fathers were soon transferred to Saint Paul’s. There, however, as was but natural, objections against their presence were raised by the clergy stationed at that church. John and his companions, while continuing their labors, bore all difficulties with admirable patience. Fortunately, no doubt in answer to their prayers, providence came to their aid. A Father Foresio, rector of Santa Maria Novella, touched by their virtue, zeal, and forbearance, offered them his church, together with the buildings attached to it, on condition that they would pay a moderate allowance each year for his support. Our blessed, in his capacity as superior, gratefully accepted the generous proffer. Cardinal Ugolino, the papal legate whom we have so often seen in the ro^le of a friend of the Order, and Archbishop di Velletri warmly approved of the project.

Santa Maria Novella passed into the hands of the Friars Preacher, November 8, 1221. Thus John of Salerno became the founder of the great convent at Florence, which was destined to become one of the most historic and beautiful in a religious institute renowned for its learning and deeds, as well as for its cultivation of the artistic. Many noted clergymen were trained and educated there. Not a few of Italy’s most famed painters, sculptors, and architects were employed there. It is still an object of delightful study for artists from every part of the world. Because of its exquisite decorations, Michael Angelo was wont to call it “The Bride.”

Florence had become one of the strongholds of the new Manicheans in Italy, whence their evil influence spread throughout Tuscany. They hesitated at nothing for the propagation of their destructive principles. In the subject of our sketch they met with a relentless foe. Day and night he opposed them, whether by deed or word. Never was he known to quail before their threats or attacks. His fearless action and preaching not only produced the most salutary effects, but even won for him the name of “hammer of heretics.” He must ever rank high amongst those brave Friars Preacher who helped to free the Italian Peninsula from the dangers of Manicheanism and Albigensianism.

The persuasive eloquence of the man of God combined with the odor of his sanctity and the fire of his zeal to draw many and brilliant subjects into his Order. They came from numerous places, but especially from Florence, Prato, and Pistoia. Among them was the noted Hugh of Sesto, a canon at Saint Paul’s who had led the opposition to the fathers at that church. Others who should not be omitted were: Roderic, a canon at Saint Peter’s; James Rabacante, who later succeeded John of Salerno as prior of Santa Maria Novella; Ottavente di Nerli; Roger Calcagni, who became the first papal inquisitor at Florence and bishop of Castro; Father Buoninsegna, a martyr at Antioch who is commonly called blessed; Ambrose of Rimini, a celebrated preacher who became bishop of his native city; Thomas Morandi, honored with the miter of Fano; and Aldobrandini Cavalcanti, entrusted with the charge of the Diocese of Orvieto. We might mention more, but those given above suffice to show the character of those whom the early disciple brought into his institute.

Blessed John had a special gift for governing others. He seemed to read dispositions almost as he would read a book. In all things he showed himself a father, brother, friend, and servant to those under his charge. He dominated their wills by kindness, quickened their zeal by his own, directed them along the path of perfection by his example and gentle words. The love which he bore them merited the affection which they gave him.

Whatever he did, the man of God was doubtless guided by the lessons which he had received from Saint Dominic. He had lived under the patriarch at Bologna, had met him in Florence, and of course bad come in contact with him at the general chapter of 1221. Some writers say he was the saint’s travelling companion on several apostolic journeys; but this statement seems doubtful. However, such was his love for the Order’s founder that he no sooner received word of his serious illness than he started in all haste for Bologna, where he arrived just in time to receive the dying man’s last blessing and the assurance that he would be more helpful to the infant institute in heaven than he could be on earth. Such is the importance which one saint attaches to the word of another, that we are justified in believing those of Dominic must have acted as an inspiration for Blessed John of Salerno the rest of his life.

God enriched the soul of this early disciple with many choice graces. One of the things which greatly aided him in the spiritual direction of others, whether in his Order or without it, was the faculty often accorded him of reading their consciences. Many a time did he make known to his penitents sins which they had forgotten. This gift, quite naturally, increased his influence; and he was careful to use it only for the spiritual betterment of those who sought his aid. Not a few miracles were also attributed to him, but these he did all in his power to conceal.

There is an adage which tells us that the ways of God are not the ways of man. Rare is it that providence does not permit even the most faithful servants of Christ to be tried in the crucible of temptation; but, as Saint Paul assures us, the temptation is always accompanied with the grace necessary to overcome it. So it was with John of Salerno. There were those who sought to lead him from the path of virtue. Yet his resistance not merely saved him from sin; it issued unto his greater glory before God and man. It made him “the good odor of Christ” even unto the conversion of those who thirsted for his ruin.

Among our Friar Preacher’s notable works for the benefit of religion in Tuscany must be placed the establisbment of the first community of Dominican Sisters in the province. These he started in the hermitage of Ripoli, built by Deodate del Dado, sometime after the fathers had left it. He had great faith in the prayers of these holy women, and trusted to their intercession as an aid to the success of his work and that of his confrères. In later years, because the neighborhood of Florence became infested with brigands, these sisters moved into the city. There they divided into two communities. One of them retained the old title of Ripoli, while the other took the name of Saint Dominic. Both long continued to edify the Florentines by their saintly lives and to bring blessings on the Church of the municipality by their perpetual orisons.

So labored on Blessed John of Salerno until the end of his useful life. Father John Caroli and other earlier writers speak of his toil and his heroic virtue in terms of the highest praise. They tell how he was loved and venerated, how his confr~res mourned his death, and how the people of Florence turned out in a body for his funeral; but they give us no further indication of its date than to say that it happened after many years of faithful labor (“quumque inultis jam annis . . . . . laborasset”). In the light of this assertion that he surrendered his pure soul to God in Florence after long years of constant service, one can not accept the statement of those later authors who say that he died in 1225. As a matter of fact, the Année Dominicaine assures us that Gregory IX, who ascended the papal throne in March, 1227, entrusted him with some reformation work in the Diocese of Chiusi, which he brought to a happy termination. The same publication, by way of guess, places the holy man’s death in the thirties of the thirteenth century. Yet it is just as probable that it occurred in the following decade.

Our blessed was buried with great honor in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, where his tomb immediately became a place of pilgrimage for the faithful. A number of miracles were attributed to him. It would seem that there were several translations of his relies, one of which doubtless took place when his body was removed from the old church to the new. On these occasions the faithful of the city and neighboring places came in immense crowds to pay honor to one whom they held in deep veneration. The last, and possibly the most notable, ceremony of the kind took place on February 18, 1571. At this time his relics were placed in a tomb and chapel specially dedicated to his memory. Pius VI, who reigned from 1775 to 1799, officially ratified the immemorial cult to John, permitted his Order to say mass and the divine office in his honor, and appointed August 9 for his feast day.

Born: c.1190 at Salerno, Italy

Died: 1272 of natural causes; buried at the church of Saint Maria Novella in Florence, Italy; relics translated several times, the last being on February 18,1571

Beatified:1783 by Pope Pius VI (cultus confirmed)

The Reformation gained its foothold in the Netherlands in opposition to the Catholicism of the Spanish princes of the country–not primarily for religious, but rather for political reasons. Anti-Spanish and Calvinist soldiers banded together into lawless armies of pirates, and, unpaid and disillusioned, foraged for themselves in the seaports, looking for plunder.

Reproached by the clergy, they turned on the Church and one band of pirates led by the Gueux laid siege to the city of Gorkum, capturing it in June 26, 1572 after a struggle. For reprisal– because of the city’s determined defense–they gathered all members of the clergy in Gorkum into one miserable prison and set about taking revenge on the priests for their own grievances against the Spanish crown.

The priests were tortured, subjected to all kinds of indignities, and offered their freedom if they would abjure Catholic teaching on the Eucharist and the primacy of the pope. Angered by the endurance of the priests, the Calvinist increased their abuses. Some of the religious were very old and infirm, but one and all, even to an aged Augustinian who was so weak he could barely stand, they bore their martyrdom with patience and sweetness for ten terrible days.

They were repeatedly asked to deny the Real Presence, and just as repeatedly refused, which brought on more and more dreadful tortures. When they continued to refuse, despite a letter from Prince William of Orange ordering their release and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum, they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship on July 6, and taken to another city to be killed in the presence of a Protestant nobleman, Admiral Luney, a man noted for his hatred of Catholicism.

After being exhibited to the curious townspeople (who paid to see the spectacle) and subjected to every type of torture, the 19 priests and religious were hanged in an old barn at deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel. Stripped of their habits and made, like their Master, “the reproach of men and the outcast of the people,” they benefited by their Christ-like sufferings and deaths. Their bodies, mutilated before or after death, were callously thrown into a ditch. The 19 martyrs included eleven Franciscans (called Recollects), two Premonstratensians, one Dominican, one canon regular of Saint Augustine, and four secular priests.

Two of those who died had led less than holy lives, but by their heroic constancy in the hour of trial blotted out the stains that might otherwise have kept them out of heaven. Sadly, there should have been 20 martyrs of Gorkum. One, who weakened and was released after he had denied the Real Presence, lived but 24 hours to enjoy his wretched freedom.

The other 19 gloriously went to heaven. The scene of the martyrdom soon became a place of pilgrimage, where all the Christian world reverenced the men who were so courageously obedient until death. Accounts of several miracles, performed by their intercession and relics, were used for their beatification and published by the Bollandists. Most of their relics are kept in the Franciscan church at Brussels to which they were secretly conveyed from Briel in 1616.

St. John’s companions were:

* Adrian Beanus, O. Praem.

* Adrian van Hilvarenbeek

* Fr. Andrew Wouters, OFM, was a priest at Heinot near Dortrecht. He led a scandalous life, but when the Calvinists tried to compel him to renounce the Catholic faith, he expiated his past by a brave confession, was imprisoned at Briel with the others and hanged.

* Fr. Antony van Hoornaer, OFM

* Fr. Antony van Weert, OFM

* Fr. Antony van Willehad, OFM, from Denmark

* Cornelius van Wyk (near Utrecht), OFM, was born at Dorestat near Utrecht. He took the Franciscan habit at Gorkum as a lay brother.

* Fr. Godefried of Mervel, OFM, was a painter and the custos of the Franciscan house at Gorkum.

* Fr. Godrey van Duynsen, native of Gorkum, was captured with Leonard Vechel and Nicholas Jannsen in Gorkum and sent to Briel, the Netherlands, where they were hanged. Previously, he had been the rector of a school in Paris.

James Lacops, O. Praem., was a native of Oudenarden, Flanders. He was a Norbertine at Middelburg and in 1566 apostatized, wrote, and preached against the Church. Then he repented, returned to his abbey, and was martyred by the Calvinists.

* Fr. Jerome Weerden, OFM, was born in Werden, the Netherlands, in 1522. He spent several years in Palestine as a Franciscan missionary. Jerome was a powerful preacher against Calvinism and at the time of his capture was the vicar of the friary of Gorkum under Saint Nicholas of Pieck.

* Fr. John van Hoornaer, OFM

* John van Oosterwyk, OSA, was a native of the Netherlands who joined the Augustinians at Briel. He was the director and confessor of a community of Augustinian nuns at Gorkum when the town was taken by the Calvinists.

* John of Cologne, OP, was a Dominican religious of his convent in Cologne, Germany who performed the duties of a parish priest in Horner, the Netherlands. When he heard of the plight of the poor priests captured in Gorkum, he left the relative safety of his parish and entered Gorkum in disguise to render whatever assistance he could. Several times he entered the city to dispense the sacraments, and to bring consolation to the priests who were being cruelly tortured. Eventually, he also was taken prisoner and subjected to torture.

* Leonard Vechel (Veehel, Wegel, Wichel), the elder pastor at Gorkum, was born in Bois-le-Duc, Holland. He studied in Louvain, where he earned a great reputation in his theological studies under the celebrated Ruard Tapper, was ordained, and became a parish priest at Gorkum known for his uncommon zeal, piety, eloquence, and learning. He had a remarkable ability to solve difficult problems. He tenderly cared for the poor, especially those that were sick, giving of himself as well as of his substance. He reproved vice without respect of persons, but his meekness and patience disarmed many who had been long deaf to remonstrations. He was in active opposition to Calvinism. He and his assistant Nicholas Jannsen Poppel of Welde, Belgium, were among those seized by a Calvinist mob at Gorkum.

* Fr. Nicholas Janssen Poppel (van Heeze), OFM, a native of Heeze, Brabant, from which he derived the name Nicasius van Heeze, was an associate pastor to Vechel. He was captured with his pastor, Leonard Vechel, and Godrey van Duynsen.

* Fr. Nicholas Pieck–Nicholas was the guardian of the Observant Franciscan house at Gorkum. This eminent, 38-year-old preacher was a native of the Netherlands who studied at Louvain and made missionary activities among the Calvinists his life’s work. He had an intense zeal for holy poverty and mortification, yet his constant cheerfulness rendered piety and penance itself amiable. He is known for repeating, “We must always serve God with cheerfulness.” Fr. Pieck had often expressed an earnest desire for martyrdom, but considered himself unworthy for that honor. He and four other priests were among the first seized when Calvinist forces opposed to the Spanish rule seized the town in June.

* Peter of Assche, OFM, from near Brussels, Belgium, was a Franciscan lay brother at Gorkum.

* Fr. Theodore van der Eem, OFM, from Amersfoort.

Born: Born in Germany in the 16th century

Died: burned, beaten, hanged and mutilated in 1572 at Gorkum, Holland

Canonized: Pope Pius IX canonized them in 1867.

Representation: elevating the Eucharist as he wears a rope around his neck