May
12
ST. NEREUS, ST. ACHILLEUS AND ST. PANCRAS
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers who died around
304. They were probably Praetorian guards under Emperor Trajan.
We know little else about them.
May
13
ST. ANDREW FOURNET
St. Andrew Fournet was born on December 6, 1752.
He was from Maille, a little town near Poitiers, in France.
Andrew's parents were religious people. Mrs. Fournet had her
heart set on Andrew becoming a priest.
May
14
ST. MATTHIAS
St. Matthias was one of Our Lord's seventy-two disciples.
He had been a follower of Jesus during his public life. St.
Peter asked the 120 people gathered in prayer to choose an
apostle to replace Judas.
May
15
ST.
ISIDORE THE FARMER
Saint Isidore was born in 1070, in Madrid, Spain. His parents
were deeply religious. They named their son after the great
St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville, Spain.
May
16
ST. UBALD
St. Ubald lived in twelfth-century Italy. He was
an orphan raised by his uncle, a bishop. Ubald was given a
good education. When he finished his schooling, he had the
chance to marry. But he became a priest instead. Eventually,
the pope made him bishop of Gubbio, the city of his birth.
May
17
ST. PASCHAL
BAYLON
St. Paschal, a Spanish saint, was born in 1540. From
the time he was seven, he worked as a shepherd. He never had
the opportunity to go to school. Yet he taught himself to
read and write.
May
18
ST. JOHN
I
St. John I was a priest of Rome. He became pope after
the death of Pope St. Hormisdas in 523. At that time, Italy's
ruler, Theodoric the Goth, was an Arian. (The Arians did not
believe that Jesus is God.) Theodoric let Catholics alone
at the beginning of his reign. Later, however, he changed
and became arrogant and suspicious of everyone.
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