On September 15, we members of the Catholic Church family celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (the title from which comes the name "Dolores").
We also honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- “saints” and “blesseds” whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Adam of Caithness (Scottish, Cistercian abbot, bishop, martyred by burning in 1222)
St. Aichard of Jumièges (French, nobleman, Benedictine abbot, c. 687)
Bl. Aichard of Clairvaux (French, Cistercian monk under St. Bernard, c. 1170)
St. Albinus of Lyons (French, bishop, c. 390)
Bl. Anthony Mary Schwartz of Baden [Anton Maria] (Austrian, founded Pious Workers of St. Joseph Calasanz of the Mother of God, died at age 77 in 1929 [beatified 1998])
St. Aprus of Trier (German, lawyer, bishop of Toul, d. 507)
St. Catherine Fieschi of Genoa [Caterinetta] (Italian, widow, Franciscan tertiary, mystic, died at about age 63 in 1510 [beatified 1675, canonized 1737])
Sts. Emilas and Jeremias of Cordova (Spanish, deacon and friend, martyred [beheaded] by Moslems in 852) St. Eutropia of Auvergne (French, widow, 5th century)
St. Hernan of Brittany (British, hermit in France)
St. Joseph Abibos of Alavendi (Syrian, abbot in Georgia, c. 590)
Bl. Ladislaus Miegon of Samborzec [Wladyslaw] (Polish, priest, chaplain of Military Ordinariate, martyred by Nazis at age 49 in 1942 [beatified 1999])
St. Leobinus of Chartres (French, hermit, abbot, bishop, d. 556)
St. Mamilian of Palermo (Sicilian, bishop, exiled for opposition to Arian heresy, d. 460)
Sts. Maximus, Theodore, and Scelpiodotus, of Marcianopolis (Bulgarian, martyred c.310)
St. Melitina of Marcianopolis (Bulgarian, virgin, martyred by the sword in 2nd century)
St. Mirin of Bangor (Irish, abbot in Scotland, c. 620)
St. Nicomedes of Rome (Italian, priest, martyred by scourging c. 90)
Bl. Paul Manna of Avellino [Paolo] (Italian, missionary priest in Burma, in Italy promoted the Mission Societies for the Propagation of the Faith and Holy Childhood, founded Pontifical Missionary Union, founded Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Mary, died at age 80 in 1952 [beatified 2001])
St. Porphyrius (horse trader, actor, martyred in 362)
St. Ribert of Saint-Valèry (French, Benedictine abbot, 7th century)
St. Ritbert of Varennes (French, Benedictine abbot, preached countryside missions, c. 690)
Bl. Roland de' Medici of Florence [Orlando] (Italian, renounced inheritance of famed family's power, forest hermit for 26 years, died at about age 56 in 1386 [beatified 1852])
St. Valerian of Lyons (French, bishop, martyred by beheading in 178)
St. Vitus of Pontida [Vito] (Italian, Benedictine monk, d. 1095)

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), September 15, 2004

Answers

Mary, under the title, "Our Lady of Sorrows," is invoked as a special patroness by the people of Slovakia, the land of my four late grandparents. Slovak-Americans sponsored a side altar honoring Our Lady of Sorrows in the nation's largest Catholic church, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C.. Surrounding a "Pieta" are small depictions of Mary's traditional "Seven Sorrows."

[A thought from St. Catherine of Genoa:]
"If it were given to a man to see virtue's reward in the next world, he would occupy his intellect, memory, and will in nothing but good actions, careless of danger and fatigue."


-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 15, 2004.

[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]

May "Our Lady of Sorrows" pray for the souls' of your grandparents, and all the holy souls' that need our prayers.

-- David -- September 15, 2003.

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Thank you, David.
I ask Our Lady of Sorrows to intercede for the repose of the souls of the departed who were especially dear to you.

-- JFG -- September 16, 2003.

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I start to study the meaning of purgation and purgatory mentioned in st. catherine of genoa 's writing. i think it help a lot for us who still have to be purged and still have to live in this world to endure our own weakness. pray for each other and thanks for st. catherine 's inspiration

-- cheungwing yee -- November 02, 2003.

-- ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 15, 2004.