Saint of the day

Saint of the day

21 March: Saint Nicholas of Flüe, Patron Saint of Switzerland and the Pontifical Swiss Guard

A hermit, worker of peace and reconciliation

Nicholas was a hermit, who mediated and advised his fellow citizens and reconciled opposing hearts. Although he lived far away from the world in the solitude of a cell nourished by the Eucharist alone, he was able to prevent the onset of war between brothers, using the Rosary he always carried with him as his only weapon. Known as Bruder Klaus and Saint Nicholas of Flüe, he was born in 1417 in the small village of Flüeli, Obwalden, which was part of the Confederation of eight Cantons of central Switzerland. His family earned a living from agriculture.

20 March: Saint John Nepomucene, Martyr

Symbol of fidelity to the truth and to the freedom of the Church

John Nepomucene was born in 1330 (or 1345, depending on the sources) in Nepomuk, currently part of the Czech Republic. He stood out for his intelligence from a young age and graduated in Canon Law from the University of Padua in 1387, but never had any personal ambitions of an ecclesiastical career, preferring instead to humbly dedicate himself to his vocation. He served in different roles, including as parish priest and canon of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, for which he received no financial benefit.

18 March: Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church

Defender of the faith against heresy

Cyril was born around 315 in Jerusalem or close to it and was well educated in literature, which became the basis for his ecclesiastical knowledge, centred on the study of the Bible.

17 March: Saint Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland

From monk to evangelizer

Saint Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat. Born around 385 in Scotland, he was the son of a Roman centurion from Great Britain.

When Maewyn was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave to a Druid in what is now Ulster, Ireland. During his six years of slavery, he worked as a shepherd for an Irish clan leader and discovered Christianity, becoming a practicing Christian.

March 16: Blessed Torello of Poppi

A Hermit for the Love of God

In the volume I lustri antichi e moderni della Città di Forlì one reads:

“Although born in Tuscany, he has been recognized as a shoot from the Forlì tree by the Sacred Congregation of Rites itself on January 28, 1752, in the decree by which it granted the Mass and the Office to the City of Forlì, which in the present year 1755, with the unanimous votes of the Councillors, acclaimed him as one of its Protectors.”