Saints of the Day & More

St. Pachomius was born about 292 in the Upeer Thebaid in Egypt and was inducted into the Emperor's army as a twenty-year-old. The great kindness of Christians at Thebes toward the soldiers became embedded in his mind and led to his conversion after his discharge. After being baptized, he became a disciple of an anchorite, Palemon, and took the habit. The two of them led a life of extreme austerity and total dedication to God; they combined manual labor with unceasing prayer both day and night. Later, Pachomius felt called to build a monastery on the banks of the Nile at Tabennisi; so about 318 Palemon helped him build a cell there and even remained with him for a while. In a short time some one hundred monks joined him and Pachomius organized them on principles of community living. So prevalent did the desire to emulate the life of Pachomius and his monks become, that the holy man was obliged to establish ten other monasteries for men and two nunneries for women. Before his death i...

Born in Valence, on the banks of the Isar, in Dauphiné, in the year 1053. Almost everything in her life happens infrequently. His father Odilon, after fulfilling their patriotic duties, he retired with the consent of his wife at the Charterhouse and at the end of his days he received from his son's hand the last rites. So the son was educated exclusively by his mother. Young still get the perk of a canonry and happy career in the church is promised by his friendship with the papal legate. As they see it is good and pious bishop to do twenty-seven very much against their will not be considered for the job qualities, and it seems that he was right, "but once set there was no remedy provided attributed their refusal to excessive humility. Grenoble consecrated him bishop to Pope Gregory VII in the year 1080, and coasted the Countess Matilde costs. Arriving at his diocese in a state of depressing prevailing usury, are bought and sold church property (simony), clerical concubinage a...

The only historical source on the life of St. Scholastica, sister of St. Benedict, is Chapters 33 and 34 of the second book of the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. The news, which added legendary enrich some simple and intense image of the saint. But Gregory was not interested in presenting a story full biography of St. Scholastica, but completing the internal profile of the father of Western monasticism. It seems that the birth year of the two holy matches: 480. Therefore, Benedict and Scholastica were probably twins, and if it were anagrafica, yes they were spiritually, since their lives were parallel to the death, in 547, 40 days away. Scholastica was born in Nursia very young and devoted himself to God, then followed his brother to San Benito Subiaco and Monte Cassino. In Piumarola, at the foot of the mountain, he established his monastery, as if humbly wanted to stop at the foot of the mountain, whose summit's brother had set his room. But despite being so close in place an...