Jmj

On August 29, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- "saints" and "blesseds" whose souls are now in heaven:

St. John the Baptist of Judah (Israelite, kinsman and "forerunner" of Our Lord, martyred c. 30) [His beheading, by Herod Antipas for Herodias and Salome, is commemorated today.]

St. Adelphus of Metz (French, bishop, 5th century)
Bl. Alberigo of Ocri (Italian, Camaldolese hermit, c. 1050)
St. Basilla of Smyrna (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], virgin)
St. Candida of Rome (Italian, virgin, early martyr)
Bl. Dominic Jedrzejewski of Kowal [Dominik] (Polish, diocesan priest, martyred by Nazis at Dachau [Germany] at age 56 in 1942 [beatified 1999])
St. Edwold (British, prince, hermit, 9th century)
St. Euthymius of Perugia (Italian, layman, 4th century)
Sts. Hypatius and Andrew of Lydia (Turkish, deacon and priest, martyred by iconoclast heretics in 735)
St. Medericus of Autun (French, Benedictine abbot, hermit, c. 700)
Sts. Nicaeas and Paul of Antioch (Syrian, early martyrs)
Bl. Philippa Guidoni of Arezzo (Italian, Benedictine abbess, d. 1335)
Bl. Richard Herst of Lancashire [surname also spelled Hurst, Hayhurst] (English, farmer, martyred under Charles I in 1628 [beatified 1929])
St. Sabina of Rome (Italian, early martyr)
St. Sabina of Troyes (French, virgin, c. 275)
Bl. Sancja Szymkowiak of Mozdzanów [baptized Janina (Jane)] (Polish, member of Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of Sorrows [Seraphic Sisters], nursed prisoners in WWII, died at age 32 [tuberculosis] in 1942 [beatified 2002])
King St. Sebbe of Essex (British, monarch for 30 years, hermit, c. 694)
St. Velleicus of Kaiserswerth (British, Benedictine monk in Germany, abbot, 8th century)
Sts. Vitalis, Sator, and Repositus, of Velleianum (Italian, early martyrs)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Additional information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 28, 2004

Answers

[Note: I am copying the following several (indented) messages from the old, obsolete "saints" thread for this day of the year, so that the old thread can later be deleted. JFG]

Here is an interesting painting of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptizer, which is commemorated today. The dance is at the right, the beheading at the left, and the presentation of the head in the center. It was painted in 1462 by Benozzo Gozzoli.

-- August 29, 2001.

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St. John the Baptist, please pray for us sinners! John, Today is the Feastday of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and 6/24 is the actual Feastday of St. John the Baptist? I am asking does this Great Saint have 2 Feast Days? If the Catholic church has 2 feast days for St. John the Baptist, Is he the only Saint with 2 feastdays? (not counting the Blessed Virgin)? I am sorry of all the questions I ask! David

-- David -- August 29, 2001.

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Jmj

Hi, David. To be technically correct, someone could argue that every saint who has a memorial/feast on the liturgical calendar actually has two "feast days" -- the second one being November 1, All Saints Day!!!

However, I will answer your question in the spirit in which you meant it.
St. John the Baptist is one of just a few saints (other than Our Lady) who is commemorated more than once each year. [He and the BVM are the only ones whose birthdays are celebrated.] As far as I have been able to determine, the only other saints who are remembered more than once each year on the universal liturgical calendar of the Latin Rite are the following:
St. Peter (June 29, solemnity with St. Paul ... February 22, feast of the Chair of Peter, emblematic of the world unity of the Church ... November 18, feast of the dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul)
St. Paul (June 29 and November 18, with St. Peter [see above] ... January 25, feast celebrating his conversion)
St. Joseph (March 19, solemnity, as husband of Mary ... May 1, optional memorial, as patron of workers ... [December 25 and February 2, the saint is indirectly called to mind on the solemnity of the Nativity and the feast of the Presentation])
St. Gabriel (September 29, feast, with Sts. Michael and Raphael ... [March 25, the saint is indirectly called to mind on the solemnity of the Annunciation])

St. James, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- August 30, 2001.

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Hi John can you tell me if this is accurate to your knowledge "John the Baptist is the only historical saint who was neither a Christian nor a disciple of Jesus?"

-- kiwi -- August 30, 2003.

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Jmj
Hello, Kiwi.

I don't know who made that statement ("John the Baptist is the only historical saint who was neither a Christian nor a disciple of Jesus"), but I don't agree with it.

First, I don't see how anyone can state that St. John was "neither a Christian nor a disciple of Jesus." From the Bible, we know that they met as adults, and they could have met more often than is recorded. The fact that he didn't travel with Jesus doesn't mean that he was not a "disciple." How much more of a disciple did the man have to be besides saying, "Behold the Lamb of God" and "He must increase, while I must decrease"? We also read about John's disciples taking back news about Jesus's ministry to him in prison.

Next, even if someone were to insists that St. John the Baptist was not a Christian nor a disciple of Jesus, we couldn't say that he was "the only historical saint" of this kind. On December 28, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, considered Christian martyrs despite being Jewish children of the Bethlehem area who never knew Jesus on Earth.

Finally, all the great holy people of the Old Testament era were presumed to have accepted salvation on Holy Saturday, when Jesus went to visit and preach to their souls in the "limbo of the fathers." That is why, from early centuries of Christendom, they too have been referred to as saints (St. David, St. Adam, and so on), even though they never met Jesus on Earth.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik -- August 30, 2003.

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John I dont know how you dig up this sort of information but its much appreciated. Thanks and Peace!

-- Kiwi -- August 30, 2003.

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 28, 2004.