Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Citing unnamed Vatican sources, the French Catholic newspaper La Croix has reported that Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to address the UN General Assembly in September of this year.

If accurate, the report would suggest an unusually rigorous travel schedule for the 87-year-old Pontiff. Pope Francis is already scheduled to make a lengthy trip to Asia in early September, with stops expected in Indonesia, Singapore, Papua New Guina, East Timor, and possibly Vietnam.

Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, has revealed that he had no prior notice about the release of Fiducia Supplicans.

Cardinal Grech told that he heard about the declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, authorizing blessings for same-sex couples, “like everybody else, when it was published.” However, he said that he saw no particular reason why he should have been consulted on the document, emphasizing that any Vatican dicastery can release statements in its own sphere.

Questioned about the impact of the controversial document on the deliberations of the Synod of Bishops, the cardinal said the statement has “nothing to do with” the Synod.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates two pope saints, Soter and Caius, separated by a century. Pope St. Soter (d. 175) was the twelfth pope, and succeeded Anicetus as Pope in 166. He died a martyr in 175, under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Pope St. Caius (d. 296) was the 28th pope. Caius governed the Church from 283 until he died on April 22, 296. The popes of the first centuries suffered the heavy anxiety of the persecutions which continually threatened their flocks; the pontificate of Caius, however, was marked by a long period of peace, some ten years before the terrible persecution under Emperor Diocletian.

I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep (Jn 10:11-15).

The Church in Wales celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Beuno or Benno (545-690), one of its greatest saints. He was a monk who founded his own community and performed numerous miracles, among them restoring St. Winifred's head after she was beheaded. He was an effective preacher who evangelized much of North Wales and founded a monastery at Clynnog Fawr (Carnavonshire). The medieval picture of this saint was that he was a wonder-worker and aristocrat, monk and master of monks, patriot, and a challenger of tyrants.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates Pope St. Leo IX (1002-1049), a cousin of the emperor Conrad the Salie, born in Alsace, and baptized Bruno. He was made bishop of Toul in 1026 and constrained to accept the papal office in 1048. He took his spiritual adviser, Hildebrand, the future Gregory VII, to Rome and began the reform of the Roman curia. Leo combated simony, condemned Berengarius, and strove to prevent the schism between the Eastern and the Western churches then being engineered by the emperor Michael Coerularius. While at Benevento, a city belonging to the Holy See, he was taken prisoner by the Normans. He was released, but shortly after died before the high altar in St. Peter's.

Today the Church in Canada celebrates the Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin (1809-1890), the foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne. Her work established universal education, so that there was a standard for both boys and girls, and men and women could teach both. She suffered greatly from persecution from the order's chaplain and from within the order, but remained humble and dedicated to God's work, instead of pushing back to be prominent in leadership. She died of natural causes at the age of 81 and was beatified on April 29, 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Robert Molesme (1027-1110), traditionally considered to be the founder of the Cistercians, the reform that developed at Citeaux.

The Roman Martyrology's commemorations today include:

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Paternus (482-586), Bishop. He first joined the monks of Ansion and later became a hermit near Coutances. Eventually he was consecrated bishop of Avranches, Normandy, France.