MEMORIAL OF SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY, KING AND SAINT ROCH (ROCCO), CONFESSOR ~ FEAST DAY ~ AUGUST 16TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Stephen of Hungary, King and Saint Roch (Rocco), Confessor. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for all those who are single and seeking for life partners, may God bless them with loving and God-fearing life partners. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are sick with heart and lung diseases, knee problems, skin diseases and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for peace, love, justice and unity in our families and our world. We pray for all workers and those seeking for employment, for the poor and needy in our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world. Amen🙏
SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY, KING: St. Stephen, King of Hungary, (975-1038) was the monarch chosen by God to bring his people to embrace the Christian faith during the 11th century. St. Stephen, born Vajk, in 975 at Gran, then the capital of Hungary. The son of Geza, the fourth Duke of Hungarians, and of Sarboth, his wife, who had both been recently to converted to Christianity. Before St. Stephen’s birth, his mother, the duchess Sarboth, is said to have received a vision in which the original Saint Stephen – the Church’s first martyr – appeared telling her she would bear a son who would evangelize their land. Together with her husband, the Hungarian duke Geza, Sarboth is believed to have been converted and baptized by the bishop Saint Adalbert of Prague. The same saint baptized their son, Vajk in 985, giving him the name of Stephen. After a Christian education under the care of St. Adalbert, Bishop of Prague, and of Theodatus, a virtuous Italian Count, he succeeded his father upon the latter’s death in 997. Geza, St. Stephen’s father had desired to convert the Hungarians to the Catholic faith, a passion shared by St. Stephen once he reached adulthood and succeeded him in power. After conclusively defeating an alliance of rival pagan nobility, he used their acquired wealth to build a monastery, and invited clergy to convert the people.
St. Stephen established laws favoring Christianity over paganism, and sent an emissary to Rome with a request for the Pope to proclaim him as king. Pope Sylvester II accepted the request, sending him a crown and a gold processional cross, while also giving St. Stephen certain religious privileges. He was offered the privilege of being crowned king and the ceremony took place on December 25, 1000. His great zeal for the spread of the Catholic faith earned him the title of apostolic king and apostle of Hungary. He showed great diligence as king, while devoting the rest of his time to his religious duties – including charity toward the poor and sick, as well as the worship of God – and to his household. Gisela, St. Stephen’s wife, was the sister of the ruler later canonized as the Holy Roman Emperor Saint Henry II. Greatly devoted to the Virgin Mary, St. Stephen had several churches built in her honor both in Hungary and outside the kingdom. Her intercession is credited with preventing a war between Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad II, and stopping an assassination plot against St. Stephen himself. The Hungarian king also established a monastery in Jerusalem, and set up institutions to aid pilgrims in other major cities. St. Stephen counted saints among his friends and correspondents, and fulfilled the Pope’s charge to use his royal authority for the good of the Church.
Suffering came to the king, St. Stephen however, when only one of his children survived to adulthood. St. Stephen’s only living son Emeric received a strong Catholic upbringing, and was expected to succeed his father. But Emeric died before Stephen, after a hunting accident in 1031. Emeric was later canonized as a saint in his own right, and Stephen eventually came to rejoice that his son had been permitted to enter God’s presence before him. The king’s final years, however, were marked by illness as well as a succession dispute among his relatives. In 1038, on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, St. Stephen delivered his final words to leaders of the Church and state, telling them to protect and spread the Catholic faith. To the Virgin Mary, the king directed one of his final prayers: “To thee, O Queen of heaven, and to thy guardianship, I commend the holy Church, all the bishops and the clergy, the whole kingdom, its rulers and inhabitants; but before all, I commend my soul to thy care.” St. Stephen died on August 15, 1038, the feast of the Assumption of our Lady, to whom he had consecrated his kingdom. He was buried alongside his son St. Emeric, and the two were canonized together in 1083 and his cult was approved in 1083 by Pope Gregory VII. He is the Patron Saint of Bricklayers; death of children; Hungary; kings; masons; stone masons; stonecutters.
PRAYER: Almighty God, Your Church flourished through the efforts of St. Stephen when he reigned on earth. Grant that she may now be defended by him dwelling gloriously in heaven. Amen 🙏
QUOTE OF SAINT STEPHEN OF HUNGARY: “Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.”
SAINT ROCH (ROCCO), CONFESSOR: St. Roch, also known as St. Rocco (1295-1327), was a French noble, born in Montpellier, France, the pious son of the city’s governor. He was born with a red cross on his chest, a sign that the Virgin Mary answered his mother’s prayer to heal her barrenness. His parents died when he was twenty, he became orphaned, after which he gave his wealth to the poor and handed the government of the city over to his uncle. He rejected the luxe life, and as a young adult, donated his sizeable inheritance to the poor and sought a life as a pilgrim. Free from earthly cares, he set off as a pilgrim for Italy. When he came upon a town badly struck by the plague, he sojourned there to help the sick. He cured many people by making the Sign of the Cross over them. These miracles occurred at every plague-infested area that he passed through on his way to Rome. When he reached Piacenza he himself contracted the disease in his leg, which rendered him sick, feeble, and an outcast from society. St. Roch found a safe place to live in a deserted cave and awaited death in the remote forest hut. Providentially, a count’s hunting dog found and befriended him, brought him food, and licked his wounds. This local dog brought him bread on a daily basis, and this was how St. Roch survived until he recovered. A spring arose nearby, providing fresh water. The count, who followed his dog one day, discovered the saint and aided him in his recovery.
Slowly St. Roch’s health was restored, after which he returned to his native Montpellier, France. He refused to disclose his identity to the townspeople so that he could remain poor and unknown. This secrecy aroused suspicion that he might be a spy, and he was cast into prison by his own uncle, who did not recognize him. St. Roch died in prison five years later. His identity was then discovered by the red cross birthmark on his chest. At his funeral, many miracles attested to his sanctity, and a church was erected for his veneration. His body was afterward transferred to Venice, deposited with great honors in the church dedicated under his invocation. An archconfraternity of St. Roch still is active today. He is the Patron Saint of dogs, bachelors; invalids; surgeons; cholera; diseased cattle; epidemics; falsely accused people; invalids; knee problems; plague; relief from pestilence; skin diseases; skin rashes; surgeons; tile makers; Barano, Italy; Castropignano, Italy; Constantinople; Istanbul; Orsogna, Italy; Patricia, Italy. His feast day is August 16th.
PRAYER TO SAINT ROCH: O Blessed Saint Roch, Patron of the sick, have pity on those who lie upon a bed of suffering. Your power was so great when you were in this world, that by the sign of the Cross, many were healed of their diseases. Now that you are in heaven, your power is not less. Offer, then, to God our sighs and tears and obtain for us that health we seek through Christ our Lord…Amen. Saint Roch, pray for us, that we may be preserved from all diseases of body and soul🙏