Our Lady Of Ransom, Whose Feast Day Is Today, 24 September.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Our Lady of Ransom.
   Feast Day 24 September.

Greater-Double.

White Vestments.

Our Blessed Lady of Mercy.
Illustration: TRANSALPINE REDEMPTORISTS
The Web-Site of The Mercedarian Friars is at
THE ORDER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MERCY

The Blessed Virgin appeared in the 13th-Century to Saint Peter Nolasco (Feast Day 28 January), to Saint Raymund of Pennafort (Feast Day 23 January), and to James, King of Aragon, requesting them to found a Religious Institute with the object of delivering Christian captives from the barbarous Saracens (Collect), who then held a great part of Spain.

In consequence of this, on 10 August 1218, King James of Aragon established The Royal, Military and Religious Order of Our Lady of Ransom (Editor: The Mercedarian Friars), and granted to its Members the privilege of bearing on their breasts his own Coat-of-Arms.

Most of them were Knights, and while the Clerics recited The Divine Office in The Commanderies, they guarded the coasts and delivered prisoners. This pious work spread everywhere and produced heroes of Sanctity and men of incomparable Charity and Piety, who devoted themselves to the collection of Alms for The Ransom of Christians, and who often gave themselves up as prisoners to deliver captives.

This Feast, originally kept only by The Order, was extended to the whole Church by Pope Innocent XII in the 17th-Century.

Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens.
Creed.
Preface: Of The Blessed Virgin Mary: "Et te in Festivitáte".

Royal, Celestial and Military Order of

Our Lady of Mercy and The Redemption

of Captives. Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede redemptionis captivorum.

English: Coat-of-Arms of The Mercedarians

Català: Escut de la Orde de la Mercè

Español: Escudo de la Orden de la Merced

Date: 6 April 2011.

Source: [1]

Author: Heralder

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom is a Roman Catholic Liturgical Marian Feast on 24 September, a Double Major Ranking of Liturgical Days in The Roman Rite, commemorating The Foundation of The Mercedarians.

On 10 August 1223, The Mercedarian Order was legally constituted at Barcelona, Spain, by King James of Aragon, and was approved by Pope Gregory IX on 17 January 1235. The Mercedarians Celebrated their Institution on the Sunday nearest to 1 August (on which date, in the year 1233, The Blessed Virgin was believed to have shown Saint Peter Nolasco The White Habit of The Order), and this custom was approved by The Congregation of Rites on 4 April 1615 (Anal. Juris Pont., VII, 136).

But The Calendar of The Spanish Mercedarians of 1644 has it on 1 August as a Double. Proper Lessons were approved on 30 April 1616. The Feast was granted to Spain (The Sunday which was nearest to 1 August) on 15 February 1680; to France, 4 December 1690. On 22 February 1696, it was extended to the entire Latin Church, and the date changed to 24 September.

The Mercedarians keep this Feast as a Double of The First-Class, with a Vigil, Privileged Octave, and Proper Office, under the Title: "Solemnitas Descensionis B. Mariæ V. de Mercede".

Our Lady of Ransom is The Principal Patron of Barcelona: The Proper Office was extended to Barcelona (1868) and to all Spain (Double of The Second-Class, 1883).

Sicily, which had suffered so much from the Saracens, took up the old date of The Feast (Sunday nearest to 1 August) by permission of The Congregation of Rites, since 31 August 1805 (Double Major), Apparition of Our Lady to Saint Peter Nolasco in The Choir of Barcelona, on The Sunday after 24 September.

In England, The Devotion to Our Lady of Ransom was revived in modern times to obtain the rescue of England as Our Lady's Dowry.

Gloucester Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter And The Holy And Indivisible Trinity). Construction Began In 1089. (Part Five).

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless stated otherwise.

Photos from Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site at http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
(Unless otherwise accredited, Photos of Gloucester Cathedral are taken by
Angelo Hornak, Richard Cann, Chris Smith, Esther Platten, Gloucester Cathedral and Gilmere Ltd)

The Cloisters, with their Fan-Vaulted Ceiling,

were used as a location in the Harry Potter films.

Photo: 17 January 2018.

Source: Own work.

Author: Christopher JT Cherrington

(Wikimedia Commons)

Gloucester Cathedral's Lady Chapel.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Photo taken by Mattana, January 2008.

ARCHITECTURE.

Although all periods of Mediæval Church Architecture are represented at Gloucester Cathedral, its two main building phases – Romanesque and Perpendicular, are of outstanding interest and importance.

Gloucester Cathedral.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Choir, Gloucester Cathedral.

Photo: 9 July 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0".

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

THE ROMANESQUE ABBEY.

The Romanesque East End is not just the earliest surviving of any great English Church, but also has the oldest extant Chancel, with Ambulatory, in either Normandy or England - "Alan Brooks".

Built by Abbot Serlo, The Foundation Stone was laid in 1089. The Eastern Arm was ready for Dedication in 1100, and The Nave was probably completed about 1130. A very great deal of this Romanesque Church survives, including the entire Crypt, much of The East End above it, the great Nave Piers and most of The North Aisle. The Norman Chapter House also mostly survives.

King Edward II's Tomb, Gloucester Cathedral.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Taken by Auximines, March 2001.

The Early-English Style is represented by The Nave Vault of 1242 and The Screen at The North End of The North Transept. Window Tracery in The South Aisle is typical of The Decorated Style, as are the thousands of Carved Ball-Flowers and the elaborate Stonework of the tomb of Edward II.

THE BIRTH OF PERPENDICULAR.

The remodelling of The East End at Gloucester was carried out between 1331 and about 1355 and arose from the burial in The Abbey of King Edward II. The Courtiers, who surrounded the young Edward III, and the Pilgrims, who came to the Shrine-like tomb, provided the funds to make it possible.

The French “Rayonnant” Style had graduations of tracery which followed a vertical line through window and gallery openings. It seems likely that this came to London through Kentish masons and was tried at St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster, and in the Chapter House of Old St Paul’s (neither building still surviving).

These design experiments developed into “full-blown Perpendicular” at Gloucester, where The South Window of The South Transept can be seen as the oldest surviving Perpendicular Window anywhere. The first Four-Centred Arch (which later became so popular as “The Tudor Arch”) is also found here. The magnificent Quire and Presbytery were then remodelled in what became the standard English Style of Architecture for more than 200 years.

Gloucester’s other great contribution to English Architecture is Fan-Vaulting, which is now believed to have been invented here in the 1350s. The Fan-Vaulted Cloisters, built for the Monks to live and study in, are now open every day for all to enjoy.

King Edward II's Coat-of-Arms.

He is buried in Gloucester Cathedral.

Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), called Edward of Cærnarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife, Isabella, in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet King, in a line that began with the Reign of Henry II.

Between the strong Reigns of his father, Edward I, and son, Edward III, the Reign of Edward II was considered by some to be disastrous for England, marked by alleged incompetence, political squabbling and military defeats.

Widely rumoured to have been either homosexual or bi-sexual, Edward also fathered at least five children by two women. His inability to deny even the most grandiose favours to his male favourites (first a Gascon Knight, named Piers Gaveston, later, a young English Lord, named Hugh Despenser) led to constant political unrest and his eventual deposition.

Edward I had pacified Gwynedd and some other parts of Wales and the Scottish Lowlands, but never exerted a comprehensive conquest. However, the Army of Edward II was devastatingly defeated at Bannockburn, freeing Scotland from English control and allowing Scottish forces to raid unchecked throughout The North of England.

In addition to these disasters, Edward II is remembered for his probable death in Berkeley Castle, allegedly by murder, and for being the first Monarch to establish Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge: Oriel College at Oxford and King's Hall, a predecessor of Trinity College, at Cambridge.

Gloucester Cathedral's Cloister Garth.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL.

Saint Thecla. Virgin And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 23 September.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Thecla.
   Virgin and Martyr.
   Feast Day 23 September.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saint Thecla.

Virgin and Martyr.

Illustration: CATHOLIC HARBOR OF FAITH AND MORALS

"In Lycaonia," says The Roman Martyrology, "Saint Thecla, Virgin and Martyr, who, brought to The Faith by The Holy Apostle Paul, at Iconium (Asia Minor), victoriously underwent the torments of flames and wild beasts, under the Emperor Nero". Having recovered, she died in peace at Seleucia.

Mass: Loquébar.

English: Saint Thecla (Mar Takla) Monastery, Ma'loula, Syria.

Français: Vue du monastère de Sainte-Thècle (Mar Takla), Maaloula, Syrie.

Photo: 1 April 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernard Gagnon

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia.

Thecla, or Tecla (Ancient Greek: Θέκλα, Thékla), was a Saint of The Early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul The Apostle. The earliest record of her life comes from the ancient apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla.

The Acts of Paul and Thecla is a 1st- or 2nd-Century A.D. Text, which forms part of The Acts of Paul, but also circulated separately. According to the Text, Thecla was a young noble Virgin from Iconium, who listened to Paul's "discourse on Virginity", espoused the teachings and became estranged to her fiancé, Thamyris, and her mother. They became concerned Thecla would follow Paul's demand, "one must fear only one God and live in Chastity", and turned to the authorities to punish both Paul and Thecla.

Thecla was miraculously saved from burning at the stake by the onset of a storm and travelled with Paul to Antioch of Pisidia. There, a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to take her by force. Thecla fought him off, assaulting him in the process, and was put on trial for assaulting a nobleman. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts, but was again saved by a series of Miracles when the female beasts protected her against her male aggressors. While in the arena, she Baptised herself.

She rejoined Paul in Myra, and travelled to preach The Word of God and became an icon encouraging women to also live a life of Chastity and follow The Word of The Lord. She went to live in Seleucia, Cilicia. According to some versions of The Acts, she lived in a cave there for seventy-two years. Becoming a healer, the Hellenistic physicians in the City lost their livelihood and solicited young men to attack her. As they were about to take her, a new passage was opened in the cave and the stones closed behind her. She was able to go to Rome.

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

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Saint Linus. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 23 September.

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The Cupola of the Basilica of Saint Peter, Rome.

Italiano: Città del Vaticano - Cupola della Basilica di S. Pietro.

Photo: January 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: MarkusMark

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Linus (+ 79 A.D.)

Date: Copied from en: to he: by he:User:Ches

Source: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Linus2.jpg

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Linus (+ 79 A.D.) was, according to several early sources, the second Bishop of Rome and is listed by The Catholic Church as the second Pope.

His Papacy lasted from circa 67 A.D., to his death, circa 79 A.D. According to other early sources, Pope Clement I was the second Pope; per the Annuario Pontificio, Clement was the fourth Pope. Among those considered by The Catholic Church to have held the position of Pope, only Clement, Linus and Peter are specifically mentioned in The New Testament.

The earliest witness, to Linus's status as Bishop, was Irenaeus, who, about the year 180 A.D., wrote: "The Blessed Apostles, then, having Founded and built up The Church, committed into the hands of Linus, The Office of The Episcopate."

The Oxford Dictionary of Popes interprets Irenaeus as classifying Linus as the First Bishop of Rome. Linus is presented, by Saint Jerome, as "the first, after Peter, to be in charge of The Roman Church", and, by Eusebius, as "the first to receive the Episcopate of The Church at Rome, after the Martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul". Saint John Chrysostom wrote: "This Linus, some say, was second Bishop of The Church of Rome, after Peter", while The Liberian Catalogue presents Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and Linus as his successor in the same Office.

The Liber Pontificalis also presents a List that makes Linus the second in the Line of Bishops of Rome, after Peter, while also stating that Peter Ordained two Bishops, Linus and Cletus, for the Priestly Service of the Community, devoting himself instead to Prayer and Preaching, and that it was to Clement that he entrusted The Church as a whole, appointing him as his successor.

Tertullian, too, wrote of Clement as the successor of Peter. Jerome classified Clement as "the fourth Bishop of Rome, after Peter" (i.e., fourth in a series that included Peter), adding that, "most of the Latins think that Clement was second after The Apostle."

The Apostolic Constitutions denote that Linus, who was Ordained by Paul, was the first Bishop of Rome and was succeeded by Clement, who was Ordained by Peter. Cletus is considered Linus's successor by Irenaeus, and the others cited above, who present Linus either as the first Bishop of Rome or, if they give Peter as the first, as the second.

The Liberian Catalogue and The Liber Pontificalis date Linus's Episcopate to 56 A.D. – 67 A.D., during the Reign of Nero, but Jerome dates it to 67 A.D. – 78 A.D., and Eusebius puts the end of his Episcopate at the second year of the Reign of Titus (80 A.D.).

Irenaeus identifies Linus with the Linus mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21 as an associate of The Apostle Paul. Others, of the sources mentioned above, say the same.

According to The Liber Pontificalis, Linus was an Italian, born in Volterra, in the Tuscany Region. His father's name was recorded as Herculanus. The Apostolic Constitutions name his mother as Claudia (immediately after the name "Linus", in 2 Timothy 4:21, a Claudia is mentioned, but the Apostolic Constitutions do not explicitly identify that Claudia as Linus's mother).

According to Liber Pontificalis, Linus issued a Decree that women should cover their heads in Church, created the first fifteen Bishops, and that he died a Martyr and was buried on The Vatican Hill, next to Peter. It gives the date of his death as 23 September, the date on which his Feast is still Celebrated. His name is included in The Roman Canon of The Mass.

With respect to Linus's supposed Decree requiring women to cover their heads, J.P. Kirsch commented in The Catholic Encyclopedia: "Without doubt, this Decree is apocryphal, and copied by the author of The Liber Pontificalis from The First Epistle of Saint Paul to The Corinthians (11:5) and arbitrarily attributed to the first successor of The Apostle in Rome. The statement made, in the same source, that Linus suffered Martyrdom, cannot be proved and is improbable. For, between Nero and Domitian, there is no mention of any persecution of The Roman Church; and Irenaeus (1. c., III, iv, 3), from among the early Roman Bishops, designates only Telesphorus as a glorious Martyr."

The Roman Martyrology does not list Linus as a Martyr. The entry about him is as follows: "At Rome, Commemoration of Saint Linus, Pope, who, according to Irenaeus, was the person to whom The Blessed Apostles entrusted the Episcopal care of The Church, Founded in the City, and whom Blessed Paul the Apostle mentions as associated with him."

A tomb, found in Saint Peter's Basilica, in 1615, by Torrigio, was inscribed with the letters LINVS and was once taken to be Linus's tomb. However, a note by Torrigio shows that these were merely the last five letters of a longer name (e.g. Aquilinus or Anullinus). A Letter on The Martyrdom of Peter and Paul was once attributed to Linus, but, in fact, dates to the 6th-Century A.D.

The Feast Day of Pope Saint Linus is 23 September.

[Editor: There is a famous Character, in the Strip Cartoon "Peanuts", named Linus van Pelt, who is Charlie Brown's blanket-toting best friend and Sally's love interest. Linus is the most insecure, but the smartest, out of all the Characters.]

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Linus.
   Pope and Martyr.
   Feast Day 23 September.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

"At Rome," says The Roman Martyrology, "the triumph of Saint Linus, Pope and Martyr, who immediately succeeded Saint Peter in the government of The Church. He suffered Martyrdom, and was buried on The Vatican Hill, next to The Prince of The Apostles."

The name of Saint Linus is mentioned in The Canon of The Mass, after the names of The Apostles.

Mass: Státuit.
Collects: Of The Mass: Sacerdótes.
Commemoration: Of Saint Thecla.

“Salve, Mater Misericordiæ”. “Hail, Mother Of Mercy”. Wonderful 11th-Century Carmelite Hymn To The Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Our Lady of Peace”,

Ushaw, Durham, England.

There is a wonderful story to the sculpting of this magnificent statue of The Blessed Virgin Mary and Child. The Sculptor was a Jewish man, who was commissioned to carry out the sculpting of this statue. He was a Jewish man, when he started work. By the time that he had finished the sculpting, he had converted to The Catholic Faith. On this beautiful statue of The Blessed Virgin Mary and Child, he left a depiction of The Star of David.

Deo Gratias !

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Zephyrinus.

Salve Mater Misericordiæ.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Salve Mater misericordiæ,

Mater Dei et Mater veniæ,

Mater spei et Mater gratiæ,

Mater plena Sanctæ Lætitiæ,

Oh, Maria !

Salve decus humani generis.

Salve Virgo dignior ceteris,

quæ virgines omnes transgrederis

et altius sedes in superis.

Oh, Maria !

Salve Mater misericordiæ,

Salve felix Virgo puerpera:

Nam qui sedet in Patris dextera,

Cælum regens, terram et æthera,

Intra tua se clasit viscera.

Oh, Maria !

Salve Mater misericordiæ,

Esto, Mater, nostrum solatium:

Nostrum esto, tu Virgo, guadium,

et nos tandem post hoc exsilium,

Laetos juge choris caelestium.

Oh, Maria !

Salve Mater misericordiae,

Mater Dei et Mater veniae,

Mater spei et Mater gratiae,

Mater plena Sanctae Laetitiae,

Oh, Maria !

English Translation.

Hail, Mother of Mercy,

Mother of God, and Mother of Pardon,

Mother of Hope, and Mother of Grace,

Mother, Full of Holy Gladness.

Oh, Mary !

Hail, Honour of The Mankind.

Hail, Worthier Virgin than the other ones,

because you overcome all of them,

and, in The Heaven you occupy,

the Highest Seat of Honour.

Oh, Mary !

Hail, Mother of Mercy,

Hail, Blest Virgin, yet bearing Child:

For He, Who sits at The Father's Right Hand,

The Ruler of Heaven, of Earth, and Sky,

has sheltered Himself in your womb.

Oh, Mary !

Hail, Mother of Mercy,

Become, Oh, Mother, our solace:

Be, for us, our source of joy,

and, at the last, after this exile,

unite us, rejoicing, to The Choir of Angels.

Oh, Mary !

Hail, Mother of Mercy,

Mother of God and Mother of Pardon,

Mother of Hope and Mother of Grace,

Mother, Full of Holy Gladness.

Oh, Mary !

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with Carmelites (from Left to Right: Saint John of The Cross, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Simon Stock, Saint Teresa of Avila).

Illustration: SOCIETY OF SAINT PIUS X

The following Text is from SOCIETY OF SAINT PIUS X

This beautiful Hymn to Our Lady, attributed to The Carmelite Order, expresses our Devotion to her as Our Mother, who is solicitous to the needs of her children.

16 July is The Commemoration of The Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (a Greater-Double Feast), which also brings to mind The Carmelite Order, The Brown Scapular, and Saint Simon Stock and The Great Mystics, Saint John of The Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, and The Beloved Little Flower, Saint. Therese of Lisieux.

In connection with The Carmelites, we offer, for the consideration of our Readers, an ancient Chant of this ancient Monastic Order, the popular Latin Hymn, “Salve, Mater Misericordiæ”.

Composed in the 11th-Century, this beautiful Hymn to The Blessed Virgin Mary, exemplifies her role as Mother of All Christians, and, thus, her special role as Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix.

In addition, we would like to remind our Readers of The Traditional Discalced Carmelite Nuns, located in Spokane, Washington, and Founded by Mother Marie Christiane (Blood Sister of Archbishop Lefebvre).

Gloucester Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter And The Holy And Indivisible Trinity). Construction Began In 1089. (Part Four).

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless stated otherwise.

Unless stated otherwise, photos from Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site at http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
(Unless otherwise accredited, Photos of Gloucester Cathedral are taken by Angelo Hornak, Richard Cann, Chris Smith, Esther Platten, Gloucester Cathedral and Gilmere Ltd).

Gloucester Cathedral.

Photo: August 2019.

Source: Own work.

Author: photo by user:geni

(Wikimedia Commons)

THE DISSOLUTION AND A NEW FOUNDATION.

Henry VIII ordered the Monasteries to be Dissolved, and Gloucester Abbey surrendered in January 1540. The Abbey buildings became Gloucester Cathedral, The Seat of The Bishop of Gloucester, in 1541. No longer a Community of Monks, it was to be led by a Dean and a Chapter of Canons.

TURBULENT CENTURIES.

The ideological and doctrinal struggles, of the 16th- and 17th-Centuries, made their mark in Gloucester: Bishop Hooper was burned at the stake here in 1555 on the orders of the Catholic Queen Mary; in the 1620s, Bishop Miles Smith and his Dean, William Laud, held profoundly different views on what the nature and style of Church of England should be.

Gloucester Cathedral (Bishop Hooper's Monument).

Then, under Oliver Cromwell, there was a move to demolish the Cathedral building, altogether, (it was saved by the intervention of The Mayor and Burgesses of The City of Gloucester).

CALMER TIMES.

With the restoration of the monarchy (after the Civil Wars and Commonwealth period) in 1660, the Dean and Chapter resumed the running of the Cathedral and that is how it is managed today.

Throughout the 18th-, 19th- and 20th-Centuries, they have carried out repairs and conservation work, rather than rebuilding or remodelling the building.

More importantly, Gloucester Cathedral has endured through the centuries as a place of Christian witness, where God is worshipped and the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed every day.

Gloucester Cathedral's Fan Vaulting.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Photo taken by Jongleur100, September 2009.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

“The Roman Mass From The Eve Of Trent To The Present And Beyond: An Overview”. At Our Lady Of Guadalupe Seminary, Nebraska.

Illustration: NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT

Saint Maurice And His Companions. Martyrs. Feast Day 22 September.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Maurice And His Companions.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 22 September.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Meeting of Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice.

Artist: Mathias Grünewald.

Date: Circa 1520.

Current location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei

(DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202.

(Wikimedia Commons)

 

"The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice".

Artist: Romulo Cincinato (1502–1593).

Cincinnato placed emphasis on the execution scene,

which has been brought into the foreground.

Date: 1583.

Current location: El Escorial, Madrid, Spain.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.

(Wikimedia Commons)

When Emperor Maximian led his Army into Gaul, The Theban Legion, composed of 660 Soldiers under the command of Saint Maurice, refused to take part in the ceremonies in honour of the gods.

The Soldiers were massacred out of hatred for the name of Christ, about 286 A.D., at Agaunum, now called Saint Maurice (Valais, Switzerland).

Mass: Intret.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲙⲱⲣⲓⲥ) was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd-Century A.D., and one of the favourite and most-widely Venerated Saints of that group.

He is the Patron Saint of several professions, locales, and Kingdoms. He is also a highly-revered Saint in The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and other Churches of Oriental Orthodoxy.

According to the hagiographical material, Maurice was an Egyptian, born in 250 A.D. in Thebes, an ancient City in Upper Egypt that was the Capital of The New Kingdom of Egypt (1575-1069 B.C.).

Maurice became a Soldier in The Roman Army. He was gradually promoted until he became The Commander of The Theban Legion, thus commanding, approximately, a thousand men. He was an acknowledged Christian at a time when Early Christianity was considered to be a threat to The Roman Empire. Yet, he moved easily within the pagan society of his day.

The Legion, entirely composed of Christians, had been called from Thebes, in Egypt, to Gaul, to assist Emperor Maximian in defeating a revolt by the Bagaudae. The Theban Legion was dispatched with orders to clear The Great Saint Bernard Pass across The Alps.

Before going into battle, they were instructed to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods and pay homage to The Emperor. Saint Maurice pledged his men’s military allegiance to Rome. He stated that service to God superseded all else. He said that to engage in wanton slaughter was inconceivable to Christian Soldiers . He and his men refused to worship Roman deities.

However, when Emperor Maximian ordered them to harass some local Christians, they refused. Ordering The Legion to be punished, Maximian had every tenth Soldier killed, a military punishment known as Decimation. More orders followed; the men refused, as encouraged by Maurice, and a second Decimation was ordered.

In response to The Theban Christians' refusal to attack fellow Christians, Maximian ordered all the remaining members of his Legion to be executed. The place in Switzerland where this occurred, known as Agaunum, is now Saint-Maurice, Switzerland, site of The Abbey of Saint Maurice.