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Saint Leo shares with Pope Saint Gregory the title of “the Great.” He was born at the end of the 4th century in Etruria. Initially a deacon in Rome, he was ordained a priest and carried out a mission in Gaul before being elected Pope in 440, serving for twenty years during a time of great difficulty.
The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, commonly known as Saint John Lateran, is the Cathedral of Rome. Mater et Caput of all the Churches in the Urbe and Orbe, it is a point of reference for the Universal Church. On 9 November, we celebrate its dedication by Pope Sylvester, which took place in 324, 1,700 years ago.
Elizabeth Catez was born in 1880 at Camp d’Avor, near Bourges. As a child she showed a strong temperament—at times impulsive and even prone to anger—but her character changed profoundly when her mother explained the meaning of First Communion: to receive Jesus, one needed to offer a gentle and willing heart.
Willibrord was born around 658 in the English region of Northumbria. His education began at the monastery of Ripon, where he received a solid religious formation. At the age of twenty, he decided to deepen his theological studies in Ireland under the guidance of an abbot named Egbert. Around the age of thirty, he was ordained a priest and, together with a group of eleven companions, set out for the continent to spread Christianity in the still pagan lands of Frisia and northern Germany.
Leonard was born at the end of the 5th century in a castle near Orléans, in what is now France. His family, connected to the Frankish court, had ancient roots and probably Roman origins. He received solemn baptism from Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims, who became a deeply influential spiritual guide for him. Clovis, King of the Franks, served as his godfather and granted him the power to free prisoners whom he deemed innocent; Leonard used this privilege to help many oppressed people.
His two most well-known mottos — In Omnibus Christus (Christ in all things) and Caritas Christi urget nos (The love of Christ compels us) — perfectly sum up the heart of Monsignor Guido Maria Conforti’s work and spirituality. He was a leading figure in the revival of the Church’s missionary commitment between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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