Jmj

On December 24, 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:

Sts. Adam and Eve of Eden (first parents of the human race)
Sts. Adela of Pfalzel and Irmina of Oehren (German, sister princesses, widows, Benedictine abbesses, d. 735 and c. 716)
Bl. Alberic of Gladbach (German, Benedictine monk, 10th century)
Bl. Bartholomew Mary dal Monte of Bologna [Bartolomeo Maria] (Italian, diocesan priest, founded Pious Work of Missions, died at age 52 in 1778 [beatified 1997])
St. Bruno of Ottobeuren (Bavarian, Benedictine brother, c. 1050)
St. Caran (Scottish, missionary bishop, d. 669)
St. Delphinus of Bordeaux (French, bishop, d. 404)
Sts. Emiliana and Tarsilla of Rome (Italian, aunts of St. Gregory the Great, abbess and virgin, died c.550 and c. 581)
St. Euthymius of Nicomedia (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], martyred in 303)
Forty Holy Maiden Martyrs of Antioch (from Asia Minor, virgins, martyred in 250)
St. Gregory of Spoleto (Italian, priest, martyred c. 304)
Sts. Lucian, Metrobius, Paul, Zenobius, Theotimus, and Drusus, of Tripoli (North African [Libyan], early martyrs)
St. Mochua of Timahoe (Irish, soldier, monk, c. 657)
St. Paula Elizabeth Cerioli of Soncino [Paola Elizabetta] [baptized Constanza Honorata (Constance)] (Italian, noblewoman, mother of four, widow, co-founded Sisters of the Holy Family of Bergamo to care for orphan girls, died at age 49 in 1865 [beatified 1950, canonized 2004])
St. Sharbel Makhlouf of Beqaa-Kafra [baptized Joseph Zaroun] (Lebanese, Maronite Catholic priest, Baladite hermit, died at age 70 in 1898 [beatified 1965, canonized 1977]) [incorruptible]
St. Venerandus of Auvergne (French, bishop of Clermont for 38 years, d. 423)

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

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

i would like to know if you can send me some information on saint adela of Pfalzel for my confirmation project. thank you.

-- teresa vu ... February 13, 2002.

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Jmj

Hello, Teresa. Here is the information that I was able to find concerning St. Adela of Pfalzel. I'm sorry that it could not be more.

The saint, whose day of memorial is December 24, is known as Adelie or Ethel in certain countries.
Adela was the granddaughter of the king of Austrasia (an old European kingdom), St. Sigebert.
Adela was a princess, the daughter of the king of the Franks, St. Dagobert II (though two sources call him Hugobert).
Her mother may have been an Anglo-Saxon princess named Matilda.
Adela, who was born around the year 710, had a sister, Irmina, who is also called "Saint."

Adela married a man named Odo, and they became parents of a son, Alberich, and a daughter, Gerlinde.
But Odo died when Adela was still young. Her wealth, position, and beauty brought her many suitors, but the widow Adela decided to become a nun. She was a disciple of the martyr St. Boniface (the famous Benedictine missionary and "apostle of Germany"). She founded, and became the first abbess, of the Benedictine convent of Pfalzel ["Palatiolum" in Latin] near the town of Trier, Germany [called Trèves by the French].

God bless you.
John

-- February 14, 2002.

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 22, 2004

Answers

-- J. F. Gecik ("jfgecik@hotmail.com), December 24, 2004.

Merry Christmas John.

Do you rember that thred last Christmas(I think?) where you posted that priest getting shot in a Catholic Church during the holy Mass.

That was interesting reading.

God bless you

-- - (David@excite.com), December 24, 2004.