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Guido di Pietro, known as John of Fiesole, or better, Fra Angelico, was a Dominican friar with a great talent for painting.
He was known as Angelico because of the great message of faith that imbued his works and the humility that distinguished them, and for the mystical value he gave to light.
Seven merchants met in an oratory in Florence on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary in 1233. They were all wealthy and part of the old nobility of Florence. Their names were Bonfilius Monaldi, Bonajunta Manetti, Manettus dell'Antella, Amidius Amidei, Hugo Uguccioni, Sosthenes Sostegni and Alexis Falconieri.
They shared a great devotion to Our Lady and belonged to a confraternity, whose aim was to pay homage to Mary. Known as “Laudesi”, members of the confraternity felt called to be at the service of Our Lady and follow Christ. After seeking the advice of the Bishop of Florence, Ardingo, who encouraged their project, they began their new lives.
Cyril and Methodius are known for being the evangelizers of the Slavs, for whom they created an alphabet that was understandable to a large part of the people, in order to pass on the teachings of the Scriptures. The two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, were from Thessalonica, today known as Salonika, in Greece, but then part of the Byzantine Empire. Methodius was born around 825, while Cyril was born two years later. Cyril’s original name was Constantine, but he changed his name when he became a monk on his deathbed.
The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church are united in their celebration of the Nativity of Mary. This feast was born in the East and was introduced to Rome by Sergius 1, in the seventh century. On that day, a procession would leave from the Church of Sant’Andrea al Foro, and head to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. According to the liturgical Calendar, the Feast Day was celebrated on 8 September. In the East, the Nativity of Mary had been celebrated since the 4th century and was linked to the construction of the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem, which was built on the site of Anne and Joachim’s house, where Mary was believed to be born. From Jerusalem the recollection of the nativity of Mary spread to Constantinople, where the Eastern Church linked it to the Conception. It should be noted that the Church celebrates the birth on earth and in heaven only of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist.
“Our new Blessed lived that way: in the joy of the Gospel, without compromises, loving to the very end. He embodied the poverty of the disciple, which is not only detachment from material goods, but also victory over the temptation to put oneself at the centre, to seek one’s own glory”, Pope Francis said in his homily for the Beatification of John Paul I, in the world, Albino Luciani, held in Saint Peter’s Square on 4 September 2022.
Bartholomew was one of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus after the Baptism in the Jordan River. His name is included in the Synoptic Gospels as one of the Apostles linked to his contemporary Philip. We know little about this Apostle, whose Feast Day is celebrated on 24 August, the day Catholic tradition dates as his martyrdom. He was originally from Cana in Galilee, near Nazareth. Jesus said of him: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (Jn 1:47). In his Gospel, John speaks of Nathanael, who is Bartholomew, at least according to the exegetes.
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