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Bonaventure, the son of a medical doctor, was born in 1221 at Bagnoreggio, near Orvieto. He became a Franciscan in 1243. His intellectual gifts were soon recognized and he was sent to Paris to study under Alexander of Hales. In 1248, he received his licence to teach, and in 1253 he became Master of the Franciscan School at Paris.

As a theologian he is regarded as being more in the line of St Augustine in contrast to his more Aristotelian contemporary, the Dominican Thomas Aquinas. He emphasised a more ‘feeling’ approach than a purely rational one in speaking of divine mysteries. His main theological teaching is contained in his commentary on the Sententiae of Peter the Lombard. One point on which he differed with Aquinas was his assertion that the creation of the world in time could be shown by human reason. He also wrote important treatises on mystical theology. His Itinerarium mentis ad Deum (The Journey of the Mind to God) became an enduring classic.

In 1257, at the early age of 36, he was elected Minister-General of the Franciscan Order. He has been called, with some justification, its second founder. The Franciscans were coming under criticism at the time as a result of a huge increase in numbers and poor organisation (sadly attributed to Francis of Assisi), with the resulting divisions into factions, each one claiming to be faithful to the Founder.

While strongly defending the ideals of Francis, Bonaventure insisted, against Francis, on the need for study, on having libraries and proper buildings. He approved of the Friars studying and teaching in universities. He saw the Franciscan role as complementing the work of the diocesan clergy through preaching and spiritual direction. The clergy of the day were often poorly educated and lacking in spirituality.

Within the Franciscans he urged a middle way. He opposed the so-called ‘Spirituals’ who promoted material poverty above all as being the true teaching of Francis. At the same time, his own ideals of a simple life of frugal poverty, hard work and detachment from the rich, as well as from riches, were a reality in his own life. He wrote a Life of Francis, which was approved by the Chapter of 1266 as the only officially authorised version.

As Minister-General he visited Italy, France, Germany, and England. In 1265, he was nominated Archbishop of York by Pope Clement IV, but declined the honour. However, in 1273, he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Albano by Pope Gregory X, with a command not to refuse. When the papal messengers called on him, he was washing dishes in the Mugello friary (near Florence) and asked them to wait until he had finished.

He played a prominent role in the Council of Lyons which was called to bring about a reunion with the Eastern churches; Thomas Aquinas died on his way to the same council. A temporary reunion of the churches was achieved, and Bonaventure preached at the Mass of reconciliation. However, he did not live to see Constantinople repudiate the reunion.

He died on 15 July, 1274, at the age of fifty-two. His achievements in theology and administration should not allow one to forget dominant traits noted by his contemporaries: a gentle courtesy, compassion, and accessibility. Bonaventure was canonised by Pope Sixtus IV in 1482 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588. He is often called the Seraphic Doctor.

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Benedict of Nursia (circa 480—547), known as the Father of Western monasticism, had a huge influence in his own time and in succeeding centuries. His monks were a source of stability in the highly disordered state of Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire and the invasions of the northern tribes (e.g. Vandals, Huns); they laid the ground for the emergence of the cultural wealth of the Renaissance from the 12th century onwards.

Benedict was born about 480, the son of a Roman noble from Nursia (modern Norcia, in Umbria), and it is believed he was a twin of St Scholastica. Little certain is known about his life, as the only source is from Gregory the Great. Dialogues, Book II. It has been described as “the biography of the greatest monk, written by the greatest Pope, himself also a monk”. It is more a spiritual portrait than a factual biography.

Benedict began studies in Rome but left before completing them to become a hermit in Subiaco. Over a period of three years in solitude, Benedict matured both in mind and character, in knowledge of himself and of his fellow-man. At the same time he became deeply respected by people in the neighbourhood, so that when the abbot of a nearby monastery died, the monks begged him to be their abbot. Although he did not agree with their lifestyle, he finally accepted.

However, it did not work out—so much so that the monks tried to poison him, and he went back to his hermit’s cave. The legend is that they tried to poison his drink but, when he blessed the cup, it shattered. They then tried to kill him with poisoned bread but, when he blessed it, a raven came and snatched it away. Many other miracles were attributed to him, and many people came to him for direction. He built 12 monasteries, each with a superior and 12 monks. He himself lived in a 13th with some whom he thought were more promising. Benedict, however, was the father or abbot of all the groups.

Benedict later left for Monte Cassino, near Naples, where he drew up the final version of his Rule. This contained much of the traditional monastic teaching of earlier monks like Cassian, Basil and probably also the so-called Rule of the Master, though much modified by Benedict. His vision was a life characterized by prudence and moderation rather than severe asceticism and lived within a framework of authority, obedience, stability, and community life. ‘Stability’ meant that a monk would generally stay permanently in the monastery which he had joined. It was a way of life which was complete, well-ordered and practical. The monk’s day was taken up with liturgical prayer, complemented by sacred reading and manual work of various kinds which took care of the community’s needs.

Benedict was not a priest, and there is no evidence that he intended to found a religious order. His principal goal and achievement was to write a Rule or way of life. Today’s Order of St Benedict (OSB) is of later origin and not a ‘religious order’ as commonly understood, but rather a confederation of congregations into which the traditionally independent Benedictine abbeys have affiliated themselves for the purpose of representing their mutual interests—without however losing any of their autonomy. Benedict’s own personality is reflected in his description of the kind of person the abbot should be: wise, discreet, flexible, learned in the law of God, but also a spiritual father to his community. Gregory’s Dialogues spoke of him as having second sight and miraculous powers.

Because of its inner qualities and the endorsement it received from secular rulers and other founders of religious institutes, Benedict’s Rule became the standard monastic code in the early Middle Ages. Because of it’s flexibility, it could be adapted to the different needs of society in different places. In a world of civil turmoil with the break-up of the Roman Empire, it was the monasteries which became centres of learning, agriculture, hospitality, and medicine in a way which Benedict himself could never have imagined.

The best known symbols connected with Benedict are a broken cup (containing poison) and a raven. He is also shown wearing a monastic cowl and holding either the Rule or a rod for corporal punishment. Benedict spent the rest of his life realising the ideal of monasticism contained in his rule.

He died at Monte Cassino, Italy, according to tradition, on 21 March, 547. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. His feast day, previously 21 March, was moved in 1969 to 11 July, a date on which his feast had been celebrated in several places. Together with Saints Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena, Bridget of Sweden, and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Benedict was declared a Patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

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Leon Mangin and Chinese martyrs – Commentary on 1 John 5:1-5; Ps 125; John 12:24-26 Read Leon Mangin and Chinese martyrs – Readings »

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Saints Leon Mangin and Companions, Martyrs, SJ (Memorial)

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Thomas is listed in the Synoptic Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles as one of the Twelve Apostles. His name in Aramaic, Te’oma, means ‘twin’, as does Didymus in Greek. What we know of Thomas comes mostly from the New Testament, although there are many other legends about him. He is mentioned just once in each of the Synoptic Gospels and always in the same context—as one of the Twelve Apostles chosen from among the disciples of Jesus. There is no other mention of him in these Gospels. He is also mentioned just once in the Acts of the Apostles, where he is simply listed among the Apostles who gather in the “upper room” immediately after the Ascension of Jesus.

However, he is mentioned four times in John’s Gospel, where something of his character appears. He comes across as somewhat aggressive and argumentative. In chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, we are told that Jesus has just received word that his friend Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, is seriously ill. But Jesus waits for two days before deciding to go to Bethany. The disciples are somewhat alarmed because there are people there who are threatening the life of Jesus, and so they try to dissuade him from going. But when it is clear that Jesus has made up his mind, Thomas says to his companions:

Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Was it just bravado or was it a statement of loyalty? Perhaps it was something of both.

Later, during the Last Supper, when Jesus speaks of leaving his disciples, but also says that he will come back to take them to himself, Jesus continues:

And you know the way to the place where I am going.

It is then that Thomas indignantly blurts out,

Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?

And we can be thankful to Thomas for eliciting one of Jesus’ most beautiful and meaningful statements:

I am the way and the truth and the life…

We next meet Thomas in chapter 20 of John. Jesus is risen. He has already appeared to his disciples on Easter Sunday, but Thomas is not there and, when told of the meeting, refuses to believe.

Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.

On the following Sunday, Jesus appears again and tells Thomas to examine his hands and put his own hands in Jesus’ side:

Do not doubt but believe.

Again, the impulsive Thomas goes to the other extreme. He falls to his knees and exclaims:

My Lord and my God!

He is the only person in the Gospel to address Jesus as ‘God’. It was an expression of deep faith.

Thomas’ last appearance in this Gospel is in the final chapter when we are told that seven disciples, after the Resurrection, went fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Of the five disciples named, one is Thomas the Twin.

Apart from the Gospel narrative, there are many legends about Thomas. For instance, there is one that he was the only witness to the Assumption of Mary and that as she rose heavenwards she dropped her ‘girdle’, the knotted textile cord used as a belt. This story was frequently depicted in the art of Florence and the supposed original girdle is a relic belonging to Prato Cathedral in Tuscany.

There is also long tradition in Edessa, Mesopotamia, that Thomas was the Apostle of India. It is said that Thomas’ bones were brought from India to Edessa. The local church of Kerala State in South India has a tradition that Thomas sailed there to spread the Christian faith.

According to tradition, Thomas landed in Kodungallur in AD 52, in the company of a Jewish merchant, named Hebban. There were Jewish colonies in Kodungallur since ancient times, and Jews continue to reside in Kerala, tracing their ancient history. In the 13th century, Marco Polo, who visited South India, mentions the Syrian Christians of Quilon and also refers to a tomb of Thomas, confirming the tradition that Thomas died in South India.

While exploring the Malabar coast of Kerala, South India, after Vasco da Gama’s arrival in Calicut in 1498, the Portuguese encountered Christians in South Western India, who traced their foundations to Thomas. On the isolated island of Socotra south of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, a community of Christians had been attested as early as 354 AD. They survived to be documented in 1542 by Saint Francis Xavier, and told him that their ancestors had been evangelized by Thomas. Francis Xavier was careful to station four Jesuits to guide the faithful in Socotra into orthodoxy. An attempt was made by the Portuguese in the 16th century to trace the original tomb of Thomas.

Finally, they settled on Mylapore, near Madras (Chennai) in south India, as the site of his martyrdom. Near Chennai stands a small hill called St Thomas Mount, where the Apostle is said to have been killed in 72 AD. Also to be found in Chennai is the Diocese of Saint Thomas of Mylapore to which his mortal remains were supposedly transferred.

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SS Bernardino Realino, John Francis Regis, Francis Jerome; Blesseds Julian Maunoir, Anthony Baldinucci, Priests, SJ Read Saint Bernardino Realino »

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Oliver Plunkett was born in Loughcrew, County Meath, Ireland in 1629 of well-to-do Anglo-Norman parentage. He was related by blood to a number of landowning families, such as the Earl of Fingall, Earl of Louth and Lord Dunsany. Until the age of 16, he was educated by his cousin, Patrick Plunkett, Abbot of St Mary’s in Dublin. Patrick was a brother of the first Earl of Fingall and later became bishop in turn of Ardagh and Meath.

In 1645, he set out for Rome under the care of Fr Scarampo of the Roman Oratory and stayed at the Irish College where he had a brilliant academic career. The Rector later said that Plunkett:

“…devoted himself with such ardour to philosophy, theology, and mathematics, that in the Roman College of the Society of Jesus he was justly ranked amongst the foremost in talent, diligence, and progress in his studies…and was a model of gentleness, integrity, and piety.”

He was ordained a priest in 1654, and deputed by the Irish bishops to act as their representative in Rome. Meanwhile, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53) had defeated the Catholic cause in Ireland and, as a result, it was impossible for Plunkett to return to Ireland for many years. He asked to stay on in Rome and, in 1657, became a professor of theology at the College of Propaganda Fide. He also pleaded successfully the case of the Irish Church. On 9 July, 1669, he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, the Irish primatial see, and was consecrated on 30 November at Ghent by the Bishop of Ghent, assisted by the Bishop of Ferns and another bishop. He finally landed in Ireland in March 1670, just as the English Restoration of 1660 was becoming more tolerant.

On his return to Ireland, he began to rebuild a ravaged Church and to build schools and seminaries. The clergy he found very weak in moral theology and in their ability to deal with religious controversies. There were also drinking problems among them. As the Penal Laws had been relaxed in accordance with the Declaration of Breda in 1660, a Jesuit school was set up in Drogheda in 1670. Within a year it had 150 students. However, three years later when the Test Act, which Plunkett refused to accept, was enacted, the school was demolished.

Plunkett now had to travel in disguise and refused to register with the authorities for deportation. In 1678, the Titus Oates plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament led to further repression of Catholics. The Privy Council in London was also told that Plunkett was plotting a French invasion of Ireland. He had a price on his head but refused to abandon his flock.

He took refuge in a Clogherhead parish church, about 10 km outside Drogheda. He was finally arrested in Dublin in December, 1679 and held in Dublin Castle, where he gave absolution to the dying Archbishop Peter Talbot of Dublin, who had also been arrested. He was tried at Dundalk for conspiring against the state by plotting to bring thousands of French soldiers into the country, and for levying a tax on the priests to support a local force for rebellion. This was not proved, but there were fears that another rebellion was being planned. Because Lord Shaftesbury knew Plunkett would never be convicted in Ireland, he had him moved to Newgate prison in London. After two very dubious trials, Plunkett was found guilty of high treason “for promoting the Catholic faith” and condemned to death.

On 1 July 1681, Plunkett became the last Catholic martyr to die in England when he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. His body was initially buried next to five Jesuits, who had died earlier, in the courtyard of St Giles. Two years later the remains were moved to the Benedictine monastery at Lamspringe, near Hildesheim in Germany. His head was brought to Rome, and from there to Armagh and eventually to Drogheda where, since 29 June, 1921, it has rested in Saint Peter’s Church. Most of the other remains are now in Downside Abbey, England, with some still at Lamspringe. There are also other relics in different locations.

Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint in almost 700 years and the first Irish martyr to be beatified. He has since been followed by 17 other Irish martyrs who were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992. During his short and difficult ministry, Oliver Plunkett confirmed more than 48,000 people over a period of four years.

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Note: Today we also celebrate the memorial to Blessed Francisco Pacheco and Companions martyred in Japan.*

The celebration of the Irish Martyrs includes hundreds who are remembered for giving their lives for the Catholic faith in Ireland between the years 1537 and 1714. A huge number of priests and lay people suffered much in Ireland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and that of her immediate successors, as well as during the era of Oliver Cromwell. However, the details of their endurance in most cases have been lost. Religious persecution of Catholics in Ireland began under Henry VIII, when the English Parliament adopted the Acts of Supremacy, which established the king’s supremacy over the Church, independent of the pope. In England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, bishops, priests and lay people who continued to recognise the pope were tortured and killed. Further legislation laid down that any act of allegiance to the pope was to be considered treason. Many Catholics were imprisoned on this basis.

The number of Irish martyrs alone is very large and grew over several reigns. They began, as mentioned, under King Henry VIII (who died in 1547), but continued under Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), James I (1603-25) and Charles I (1625-49). Then under Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth (1649-59) and followed by the Restoration (Charles II, William of Orange, Queen Anne, 1660-1714). In 1714, King George I came to the throne.

There was a long delay in starting the investigations into the causes of the Irish martrys for fear of reprisals. In addition, investigation was hampered by a lack of records which were either destroyed or not drawn up, because of the danger of keeping such evidence.

Following Catholic Emancipation in Ireland in 1829 when the Catholic religion could again be freely practised, the cause of Oliver Plunket was taken up. This resulted in a whole series of writings covering the period of persecution. The first to complete the process was Oliver Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh, who was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

On 27 September 1992, the 17 martyrs we commemorate today were beatified by Pope John Paul II. They include:

Dermot O’Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel
He was born in Emly, County Tipperary about 1530. He went to study at the University of Leuven and became professor of philosophy and Canon Law at the University of Rheims, moving to Rome about 1570. In 1581 O’Hurley was appointed Archbishop of Cashel by Pope Gregory XIII. Two years later he was smuggled into Ireland, but was soon arrested and imprisoned in Dublin Castle. With Elizabeth I’s approval he was tried in one day and sentenced to death. He was hanged outside the city walls. He was almost immediately revered as a martyr throughout Europe.

Margaret Ball
She was born Margaret Birmingham near Skryne in County Meath in 1515. Her father, Nicholas, had left England because, with other members of his family, he did not accept the religious reforms of Henry VIII and set up a farm in Corballis, County Meath. At the age of 15, Margaret married Alderman Bartholomew Ball of Balrothery, who operated the bridge over the Dodder which still carries his name. Margaret had 10 children, though only five survived to adulthood. Her husband was elected Mayor of Dublin in 1553, making Margaret the Mayoress.

With the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, her son Walter became a Protestant. He arrived one day at his mother’s house and found Archbishop Dermot O’Hurley, celebrating Mass with the family. He had his mother arrested and thrown into Dublin Castle. She could have secured her freedom if she made the Oath of Supremacy, but she refused. She died in 1584 aged 69, crippled with arthritis after three years in the wet dungeons. She left her property to the Protestant son who had put her in prison.

Francis Taylor
Two generations later this pattern was repeated by Francis, who was a relative of Margaret. He was born about 1550 in Swords, County Dublin. He was elected Mayor of Dublin in 1595. He was later condemned to the dungeons of Dublin Castle after exposing fraud in the parliamentary elections to the Irish House of Commons. For seven years he refused to deny his Catholic faith by taking the Oath of Supremacy which could have gained his release. He died in Dublin Castle on 29 January 1621.

A statue of Francis Taylor and his grandmother-in-law, Margaret Ball, who had also died for her faith, now stands outside St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin.

Patrick O’Hely
Born in Dromahair, County Leitrim, he joined the Franciscans as a young man. After studies in Spain, he was made Bishop of Mayo (later incorporated into Tuam) in 1576. Soon after arriving in Ireland in 1579, he was betrayed, arrested, tried, tortured and then executed outside one of the gates of Kilmallock in County Limerick on 31 August 1579.

The Wexford Martyrs
These were Patrick Cavanagh, Matthew Lambert, Edward Cheevers, Robert Tyler and two others whose names are not known. In 1581, they were found guilty of treason for aiding in the escape of James Eustace, Viscount Baltinglass. Eustace, whose family had links with Clongowes Wood Castle, now a Jesuit boarding school near Dublin, joined the Earl of Desmond in the hope of putting Mary, Queen of Scots on the English throne. The attempt failed and Baltinglass had to escape to Spain in 1583, where he died. One of his brothers was executed in Dublin, two others fled the country and the Kilcullen family lost its lands and titles. Cavanagh and his companions refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and declare Elizabeth I of England to be the head of the Church. They were later hanged, drawn and quartered in Wexford, Ireland.

Conor O’Devany and Patrick O’Loughran
He was born in 1532. He became a Franciscan in Donegal and, while in Rome in 1582, was named Bishop of Down and Conor by Pope Gregory XIII and consecrated on 2 February, 1583. In 1588, he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle, but could not be convicted of a capital offence. Two years later he was released and came under the protection of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, until 1607. In 1611, when almost 80 years old, he was re-arrested and again put in Dublin Castle. On 28 January, 1612, he was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to die on 11 February. On his way to the gallows, Catholics lined the way, as well as Protestant ministers urging him to confess his crime. On the gallows, while urging Catholics to remain faithful, he was hanged, cut down while still alive and quartered.

Also executed with Conor O’Devany was a Catholic priest, Patrick O’Loughran, who had been arrested in Cork. In spite of the guards, the people seized part of these two martyrs’ bodies, clothes, and even chips of the gallows as relics. They prayed all night by the remains, a miraculous cure was reported and Masses were said all through the night. The viceroy ordered the remains to be buried immediately, but on the following night, they were exhumed and interred in St James’ churchyard.

Terence Albert O’Brien
He was born in Cappamore, County Limerick. He joined the Dominicans and studied in Limerick and Toledo, Spain. He was ordained Bishop of Emly by Archbishop Giovanni Battista Rinuccini, who was Papal Nuncio to Ireland during the Irish Confederate Wars (1645-49). Like most Irish Catholics, Terence sided with Confederate Ireland. During the war, he took care of the wounded and supported Confederate soldiers. He was a signatory of the declaration against Inchiquin’s truce in 1648 and the declaration against Ormond in 1650. In 1651, Limerick was invaded and O’Brien urged resistance. This infuriated the Ormondists and Parliamentarians. After the surrender, he was denied quarter and protection. Bishop O’Brien, Major General and Fr Wolf were brought before a court martial and ordered to be executed, by General Henry Ireton. The bishop died on 31 October 1651.

William Tirry
An Augustinian priest, his case is one of the best documented of the seventeen martyrs. Now Blessed, his cause for canonisation is being pursued because there still exists the evidence of witnesses to his endurance for the Christian Faith.

William Tirry was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1608. He was a member of a family which had been loyal to both the English king and the Catholic Church for over 200 years. The Tirry family was prominent in the life of the city of Cork, where his paternal uncle was bishop of Cork and Cloyne. William was said to have been a studious, if somewhat reserved, young man who lived the life of a well-off family of his time. He joined the Augustinians and studied philosophy at the Augustinian house of studies in Valladolid, in central Spain, and later moved to the Grand Convent of the Augustinians in Paris for his theological studies. Ordained to the priesthood in Europe about 1638, he returned to Ireland in the same year. He was a member of the Augustinian community at their Red Abbey in Cork a few years before the northern rebellion of 1641. Between 1638 and 1641 he was secretary to his uncle, the Bishop of Cork, and chaplain to his first cousin as well as tutor to the man’s sons. He is thought to have been based at different times in the Augustinian communities in Cork and Fethard, County Tipperary. In 1646, he was made secretary to the Augustinian provincial.

On 15 August 1649 Oliver Cromwell landed in Ireland. In the same year, Tirry was named prior of the friary in Skreen, County Meath, but could not live there because of the presence of Cromwellian soldiers. From 1650 to 1654, Tirry was, like other priests, in hiding and exercising his priestly ministry in secret. As a pastor he remained at his post, aware of the many dangers, when he could easily have gone to a safer place. By virtue of a law enacted on 6 January, 1653, to be a priest on Irish soil constituted a crime of treason punishable by death. It is believed that he stayed in the Fethard area, using various ‘safe houses’ and other hiding places, and much admired by the Catholics of the area.

However, it was three local people who betrayed his presence to the Cromwellians. There was a reward of £5 sterling for reporting the presence of a priest. He was arrested while actually wearing his Mass vestments and sent to the jail at Clonmel. In addition, a search of his room uncovered writings of his, one in Latin which specifically refuted some Puritan declarations and another which was a lengthy open profession of his Catholic faith.

On 26 April, 1654, he was tried for treason. During his trial he said he recognised the authority of the civil authorities, but in matters of religion and conscience could only obey the Pope and his superiors. In spite of a jury leaning in his favour, he was found guilty and condemned to death by hanging. He spent the whole night prior to his execution in prayer. Other priests jailed with him witnessed his final days and hours and wrote about his readiness to die for his faith after they themselves had been sent into exile. Tirry was executed on 12 May, 1654, on a high scaffold in Clonmel market square, wearing his Augustinian habit. He was allowed to make a final speech in which he spoke vigorously in defence of the Catholic Church’s beliefs. He publicly forgave the three people who had betrayed him for money. It was said that even Protestants were deeply moved at the manner of his death. His body was taken for burial in the grounds of the Augustinian Abbey in Fethard, but the exact location of the grave is not now known.

Churches dedicated to these martyrs include the Church of the Irish Martyrs at Ballyraine, Letterkenny, County Donegal and Church of the Irish Martyrs, Ballycane near Naas, County Kildare.

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Commemoration is also made today of Blessed Francis Pacheco and Companions:

Francis Pacheco (1565-1626), a native of Portugal, was a missionary to China and Japan. On his third entrance into Japan made in disguise, Francis was captured by the Shogun’s many spies and put in a prison with other Jesuits, catechists, and lay people. Among them were some young men preparing to enter the Jesuits.  With martyrdom imminent, Pacheco allowed them to make their vows. In 1626, they all suffered martyrdom at Nagasaki. Francis was the most experienced of all the 33 Jesuits martyred in Japan during the great persecution between 1617 and 1626 when thousands of Japanese denied their faith while others gave their lives for it.  The laymen were executed last in the hopes that they would change their minds, but it only strengthened their resolve.

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Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, about the year 1195 to a very wealthy family, the son of Martim Vicente de Bulhão and Teresa Pais Taveira, who wanted him to become a noble. However, Anthony had other ambitions. Against the wishes of his family, he entered the Augustinian Abbey of St Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St Augustine, of whom he was now a member, were known for their dedication to scholarly studies. Anthony studied Scripture and the Latin classics. During this time he was constantly visited by friends and relatives, bringing expensive gifts and news from their social world which he found very disturbing. His studies suffered and he could find no peace. He persuaded his superiors to transfer him to the Augustinian Santa Cruz Monastery (Monastery of the Holy Cross) in Coimbra, then the capital of Portugal, to continue his studies there.

Following his ordination to the priesthood, Anthony became responsible for hospitality at the monastery. It was then, in 1219, that he came in contact with five Franciscans who were going to Morocco to preach to Muslims. Anthony found the simple lifestyle of the Franciscans highly attractive. In February of the following year, it was learned that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Anthony was deeply struck by their heroism and felt called by God to leave everything and follow Jesus. He got permission from his superiors to transfer to the Franciscans.

In the summer of 1220, he received the Franciscan habit and began to study the teachings of the Founder, Francis of Assisi. He took the name Anthony in honour of St Anthony the Great, to whom the Franciscan hermitage where he was living was dedicated. Soon afterwards, he set off for Morocco with another friar with the intention of preaching the Gospel there. However, he became so ill on his arrival, that he had to return to Portugal.

On the way back, his ship was driven by a storm to the coast of Sicily and landed at Messina. From there Anthony made his way to Assisi in northern Italy and asked to be admitted to a friary there but, because of his sickly appearance, they were reluctant to accept him. And he had told them nothing about his studies. So he was sent to the rural hospice of San Paolo, near Forli in the Romagna, where a priest was needed just to say Mass for the Franciscan brothers. There he lived the life of a hermit and worked in the kitchen.

On one occasion when there was an ordination ceremony, many Dominican friars had been invited. It was expected that one of them—the Dominicans specialised in preaching—would give the homily, but they had come unprepared, presuming that one of the Franciscans would preach. The superior felt that the only person in the community who was in any way qualified to preach was Anthony and, in spite of his objections, he was called on. To everyone’s amazement, his sermon and his insights into the Gospel made a deep impression on those present—both the quality of his voice, his learning and his eloquence.

It was then that Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, sent Anthony to preach the Gospel all over Lombardy, a region of northern Italy. His skills were now widely recognised and, in addition to preaching, he taught at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse in southern France. But it was as a preacher that he was most admired.

In 1226, after attending the Franciscan chapter at Arles in France, and preaching in the French region of Provence, he returned to Italy and was sent as envoy from the Franciscan general chapter to Pope Gregory IX. At the Vatican court, his preaching was hailed as a “jewel case of the Bible” and he was commissioned to prepare a collection of Sermons for Feast Days. On 30 May, 1226, he was chosen as minister provincial of the Emilia-Romagna region.

In 1231, he became ill with dropsy and went to the woodland retreat at Camposanpiero with two other friars to recover. He lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. He died on 13 June, 1231, at the Poor Clare convent at Arcella, on his way back to Padua, at the early age of 36. When he died, it is said that children cried in the streets, all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord and angels came down to ring the bells for the death of the saint.

Pictures of Anthony most often show him holding the Infant Jesus in his arms. This refers to an apparition he is said to have had of the Infant Jesus. French writers say it took place at the Castle of Chateauneuf-la-Forêt in the province of Limousin, while the Italians claim it was at Camposanpiero near Padua. It is also said that Francis of Assisi appeared to him during a provincial chapter at Arles, in the south of France.

Anthony is buried in a chapel (once a church, now enclosed by the present building) of the large Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua. The house where he was born in Lisbon was turned into a church, the Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa. One of the Catholic Church’s most popular saints, Anthony was declared a Doctor of the Church on 16 January, 1946. He is often invoked for the recovery of things lost.

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Barnabas (whose original name was Joseph) was born of Jewish parents on the island of Cyprus about the beginning of the Christian Era. As a Levite (from which tribe the Temple priests came), he naturally spent much time in Jerusalem, probably even before the death of Jesus. He even seems to have settled there, where his relatives (the family of John Mark) had their homes (Acts 12:12). As well, he also had land which, following his conversion, he sold and donated the proceeds to the Christian community (Acts 4:36-37). Probably because of his success as a preacher he was given the name Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement or consolation” by the community. Though little is known of his early life in the Church, he seems to have been a person of some influence in the community.

When Saul, now preaching Christ as Saviour, had to flee from Jews in Damascus, he went to Jerusalem where the Christians did not want to approach him, being highly suspicious of the genuineness of his conversion. It was Barnabas who brought Saul to the leaders and guaranteed Saul’s conversion as real (Acts 9:27), although Saul (by then called Paul) said later on that he had only met Peter and James on that occasion (Galatians 1:18-19). Saul, probably feeling he was not yet accepted, then withdrew to his home town of Tarsus, while Barnabas seems to have remained in Jerusalem.

The event that brought them together again and opened to both the door to their lifework was ironically an indirect result of Saul’s own persecution. Among those who fled Jerusalem were some Christians from Cyprus and Cyrene who began preaching the Gospel to non-Jews in Antioch with great effect (Acts 11:20). When the news reached the leaders in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas (who was a Cypriot himself) to investigate. Although a Jew, he saw the hand of God in what was going on. He then went to Tarsus to look for his friend Saul and persuaded him to go back with him to Antioch. Together they spent a whole year in Antioch preaching and labouring at Antioch and “taught a great many people”.

About this time too, when a severe famine struck Jerusalem, the Christians at Antioch made a collection and sent it to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Saul. (At this point in the story, Barnabas is being mentioned before Saul.) At the end of their mission, they returned to Antioch, bringing Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark, with them.

The church at Antioch now felt emboldened to reach further afield. So Barnabas and Saul, together with John Mark, were sent on what is now called Paul’s First Missionary Journey. They went first to preach the Gospel in Barnabas’ homeland, Cyprus, and then moved to Perge in Pampyhilia on the mainland (South Turkey today). Here John Mark left them; the reason is not given, but we know Saul felt it was a kind of desertion. From here the two Apostles continued inland visiting a number of towns. They usually evangelised their fellow Jews first in each place, but often met with fierce opposition and then would turn to the Gentiles. At Lystra, after they cured a lame man, they were taken for gods (Paul for Hermes or Mercury and Barnabas for Jupiter), but when the Apostles told them to stop, the crowd turned against them and Saul was attacked and left for dead. They then retraced their route and set up Christian communities with local leaders in each place. On reaching Antioch again, they reported to their community on how God:

…had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14:27)

However, some of the Christians in Jerusalem were not happy with what they had heard and were insisting that circumcision was obligatory on all non-Jewish converts. This led to the ‘Council of Jerusalem’ where the Christians from Antioch defended their policy and in the end won the approval of the whole assembly. But it was not quite the end of the controversy. Peter, after being criticised for socialising with Gentiles, stopped doing so and so apparently did Barnabas. For this they were publicly criticised by Paul.

Soon after this, Paul (now mentioned first) and Barnabas decided to repeat their earlier missionary journey. However, Barnabas wanted to take his cousin John Mark with them. Paul disagreed strongly, so they split. Paul continued on with Silas while Barnabas with Mark went to their native Cyprus.

From this time on, we know little or nothing of Barnabas’ life story. He still seems to be working as an Apostle in the year 56 or 57. In 1 Corinthians (9:6) we learn that he is earning his own living, with the indication that he is on good terms with Paul. Later, we know that John Mark, in another sign of reconciliation, was with Paul (who was then a prisoner in Rome during the years 61-63). John Mark’s presence has been taken as an indication that Barnabas is no longer alive.

Various traditions tell of Barnabas as the first Bishop of Milan, preaching at Alexandria and Rome. He is said to have converted Rome’s fourth bishop, St Clement and, finally, to have suffered martyrdom in his native Cyprus. None of these stories can be validated. Tertullian (with little support) thinks Barnabas wrote the Letter to the Hebrews, and there is also an Epistle of Barnabas attributed to him. After the Twelve and Paul, Barnabas is one of the most esteemed figures among the first generation of Christians. Luke, in a rare moment of candour, speaks of Barnabas with affection, saying:

…he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
(Acts 11:24)

Barnabas is remembered not only for his missionary zeal but for his openness (as a Jew) to the Gentiles, and for his seeing in the former fanatical Pharisee, Saul, the potential to be a great Apostle for Christ and the Gospel.