Wednesday’s Woman: St. Tarbula

The Basics: Birth date and place unknown; died 345 in what is now Iran; canonized pre-congregation; feast day, April 22. Martyr. The Story: Tarbula’s brother, the bishop Symeon, already had been executed by King Shapur II. Symeon’s martyrdom had been particularly cruel; on the day he was beheaded, he was the last of one hundred Christians to… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: St. Tarbula

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Restituta

The Basics: Born May 1, 1894, in what is now the Czech Republic; died March 30, 1943, in Austria; beatified June 21, 1998, by John Paul II; feast day, October 29. Woman religious, surgical nurse. The Story: It certainly wasn’t safe to say no to the Nazis in Austria in the 1940s. But that didn’t concern this… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Restituta

Blessed Pierina Morosini: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

Blessed Pierina Morosini was born on January 7, 1931, in Italy, the oldest child in a large family, and died on this date in 1957. One of the highlights of her short life came when she was sixteen, and she traveled from her village in northern Italy to Rome for Maria Goretti’s beatification. Pierina was… Continue reading Blessed Pierina Morosini: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

Blessed Olympia Bida: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

Blessed Olympia Bida was born in Ukraine in 1903 and died on January 28, 1952 in Russia. Her feast day is April 2. Olympia and another St. Joseph sister got into trouble for facilitating surreptitious religious services and catechization and were exiled to Siberia. She spent more than a year in a prison camp before dying… Continue reading Blessed Olympia Bida: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections