MEMORIAL OF SAINT GERMANUS, BISHOP OF PARIS, SAINT BERNARD OF MONTJOUX, PRIEST AND BLESSED MARGARET POLE, COUNTESS OF SALISBURY, MARTYR ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 28TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Germanus, Bishop of Paris; Saint Bernard of Montjoux, Priest and Blessed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this special feast, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, particularly pray for those who are terminally ill and for those going through difficulties especially during these incredibly challenging times, we pray for the poor and the needy and we also pray for the safety and well-being of all travelers. We pray for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. 🙏🏽
SAINT GERMANUS, BISHOP OF PARIS: St. Germanus (Germain), one of the glories of France in the 6th century, was born about 496 near Autun in what is now France, to noble Gallo-Roman parents. He was known as Germain d’Autun, rendered in modern times as the “Father of the Poor”. He was renouned for his miracles which were recorded by Bishop Fortunatus. St. Germain studied at Avallon in Burgundy and at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scallion, who was a priest. At the age of 35, he was ordained by Agrippinus of Autun and subsequently chosen Abbot and administrator of the nearby Abbey of St. Symphorianus in one of the suburbs of Autun. He was known for his hardworking and austere nature; however, it was his generous alms-giving which caused his monks to fear that one day he would give away all the wealth of the abbey, resulting in their rebellion against him. While in Paris in 555, Sibelius, the bishop of Paris, died, and King Childebert had him consecrated as the bishop of Paris but he continued to lead his former austere life. His example and his preaching brought about the conversion of many sinners and careless Christians. The King himself abandoned his total absorption in worldly affairs, and became a benefactor of the poor and the founder of many religious establishments.
Throughout his episcopate St. Germanus remained unwearying and fearless in his endeavors to halt civil strife, curb the licentiousness of the nobles, and check the viciousness of the Frankish Kings—but to no avail. He founded a monastery in Paris in whose church he was buried after his death on May 28, 576; it went on to become very famous under the name of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. At his death, he was mourned by the people and King Chilperic, who composed the Bishop’s epitaph, extolling his virtues, miracles, and zeal for the salvation of souls.
PRAYER: God, Light and Shepherd of souls, You established St. Germanus as Bishop in Your Church to feed Your flock by his word and form it by his example. Helps us through his intercession to keep the Faith he taught by his word and follow the way he showed by his example. Amen🙏🏽
SAINT BERNARD OF MONTJOUX, PRIEST: St. Bernard of Montjoux (c. 923–1008 A.D.), also known as St. Bernard of Menthon, was born to a wealthy and noble family in the Kingdom of Arles (present day France and Switzerland) in 923, probably in the castle Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy. He received a thorough education. As an adult he refused an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service of the Church. Placing himself under the direction of Peter, Archdeacon of Aosta, under whose guidance he rapidly progressed, St. Bernard was ordained priest in northern Italy and on account of his learning and virtue was made Archdeacon of Aosta (966), having charge of the government of the diocese under the bishop. Seeing the ignorance and idolatry still prevailing among the people of the Alps, he resolved to devote himself to their conversion. For forty two years he continued to preach the Gospel to these people and carried the light of faith even into many cantons of Lombardy, effecting numerous conversions and working many miracles.
St. Bernard spent more than four decades doing missionary work in the Alps and was the founder of the Alpine hospices of Saint Bernard. He built schools and churches, and is especially known for aiding travelers. The area where he ministered had an ancient, snowy, and dangerous pass winding through the mountains along which pilgrims traveled to and from Rome. To serve the pilgrims St. Bernard built a hospice at the highest point of the pass, 8,000 feet above sea level. Later he founded another hospice along another smaller pass. St. Bernard obtained papal approval for communities of priests to serve in the hospices, which have generously aided travnelers for more than a millennium. The priests and their well-trained dogs (the St. Bernard breed named after the saint) would seek and rescue lost pilgrims. St. Bernard is the Patron Saint of Alpinists; travelers in the mountains. mountaineers and was declared the Patron Saint of skiers and mountain climbers by Pope Pius XI in 1923.
Saint Bernard reminds us of the epistle of Saint Peter: “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever… Amen🙏🏽 ~1 Peter 4: 7-11
Saint Bernard of Montjoux, Priest ~ Pray for us🙏🏽
BLESSED MARGARET POLE, COUNTESS OF SALISBURY, MARTYR: Bl. Margaret Pole (1473-1541) was born Margaret Plantagenet on August 14, 1473, Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset, United Kingdom into the ruling dynasty. She was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence. Her father, the Duke of Clarence, was brother to both Edward IV and Richard III. This meant that all her life she was seen as a threat to the ruling monarchs, as she had a legitimate claim to the throne and was therefore a potential figurehead in any revolt against the crown. Indeed as soon as the Tudors came to power they imprisoned Bl. Margaret’s brother, the Earl of Warwick, and eventually executed him. The Tudors sought to defuse her potential threat by keeping her close to them, marrying her to Sir Richard Pole, who was related to Henry VII, and keeping her close at court. She married Sir Reginald Pole about 1487–1504 and bore five sons, including Reginald Cardinal Pole.
Bl. Margaret was widowed, named countess of Salisbury, and appointed governess to Princess Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and lady in waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon, Spain, beginning a lifelong friendship. At first Henry favoured Margaret, restoring to her lost family lands and titles, but this came to an end at the time of his divorce from Catherine. Her loyalty to Catherine, and to Mary, as well as to her Catholic faith, brought her into conflict with the King at the time of his divorce and remarriage to Anne Boleyn. She opposed Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, and the king exiled her from the court, although he called her “the holiest woman in England.” If her own opposition to Henry’s behaviour, and her position as a possible contender for the throne when the Tudor dynasty was looking shaky were not enough, her son Reginald Pole was needling the King from overseas and encouraging opposition to him. When Reginald Pole, denied Henry’s Act of Supremacy, this made Bl. Margaret’s position very dangerous indeed. Although the King described her as ‘the holiest woman in England’ she was arrested on the grounds of treason, and imprisoned for some time at Cowdray in the Tower of London, United Kingdom for two years in 1538-9, although she never faced trial and there was no credible evidence against her. In spite of this she was executed by beheadinimmg on May 28, 1541, at the age of about 70. Reportedly the inexperienced executioner took ten blows to sever her head. In 1538, her oI oll her son Reginald Pole, now a cardinal, heard of his mother’s death, he is reported to have said: “Hitherto I have thought myself indebted to the divine goodness for having received my birth from one of the most noble and virtuous women in England; but from henceforth my obligation will be much greater, for I understand that I am now the son of a martyr. May God be thanked and praised. We must rejoice, because now we have one more patron to intercede for us in Heaven.” Bl. Margaret was one of just two women in 16th-century England to be a peeress in her own right without a husband in the House of Lords. Blessed Margaret Pole was beatified with other martyrs of penal times in 1886.
Blessed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏🏽