Visiting Saints for All Hallows Eve
We had a delightfully large crowd of saints attend our Halloween party last night! Starting with the front row of kneeling sisters, from L to R we have Bl. Fra Angelico (Sr. Maria Mercedes), St. Cecilia (Sr. Lucia Marie), and St. Thomas Aquinas and the Summa (Siena our dog with Sr. Mary Veronica). Then in the back row, we have a festive pilgrim traveler (Sr. Mary John), St. Kateri Tekakwitha (Sr. Maria of Jesus), St. Martin de Porres (Sr. Mary Faith), St. Josephine Bakhita (Sr. Mary Jacinta), Bl. Emily Bicchieri (Sr. Maria Julia), St. Gianna Beretta Molla (Sr. Maria Johanna), our Grotto (Sr. Dominic Mary), Jonah about to be swallowed by the whale (Sr. Mary Ana), Bl. Raymond of Penyafort (Sr. Mary Magdalene), St. Juan Diego (Sr. Bernadette Marie), and just off the camera, St. Therese (our aspirant).
You can learn a bit more about some of these saints below!
Bl. Fra Angelico
Bl. Fra Angelico, beatified by St. John Paul II in 1983, is the patron saint of artists. Preaching the truth through his artwork, Fra Angelico was commissioned to decorate many of the rooms of the priory of San Marco, as well as numerous works of art for patrons outside of the priory, including two popes. He is known not only for his talent as an artist but for his holiness, known as a man of deep prayer and humility. Fra Angelico prayed as he worked, and as the painting above depicts, according to tradition, wept continuously as he painted several of his crucifixion scenes. Sr. Maria Mercedes painted the icon she is holding, a replica of a Fra Angelico icon of St. Catharine of Alexandria.
St. Cecilia
St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, was an early Christian martyr. There is a great deal of legend surrounding her which is difficult to verify, but it is certain that she did in fact exist, was martyred in Rome, and was buried in the catacombs of St. Callixtus. Devotion to her developed very early on. According to legend, St. Cecilia had made a vow of virginity, but was to be married to a pagan named Valerian. At the wedding ceremony, while the musicians played, Cecilia sang to God in her heart, from which she became the patron saint of musicians. She convinced Valerian not only to respect her vow of chastity, but to become a Christian himself, and according to tradition, he too died a martyr. In 1599 her tomb was opened, and the witnesses found her body completely incorrupt. Her tomb was left open for public veneration for five weeks, before it was resealed. A sculptor named Stefano Maderno was commissioned to create a sculpture of her body as they found it. He inscribed on it: “So I show to you in marble the representation of the most holy virgin Caecilia, in the same position which I myself saw her incorrupt lying in her sepulchre.”
St. Josephine Bakhita
Born in Sudan around 1869, St. Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped at an early age and sold into slavery. Moving to Italy with her last owner and his family, she encountered Christianity for the first time through the Canossian Daughters of Charity. Obtaining her freedom, she later entered the Canossian Sisters, where she was known for gentleness, calmness, and cheerfulness. She died in 1947, to universal acclaim of her holiness. Her cause began soon afterward, and she was formally canonized in October of 2000. One of her quotes: “In God’s will, there is great peace.”
St. Raymond of Penyafort
St. Raymond of Penyafort was a Dominican friar in 13th century Spain, responsible for the first codification of Canon Law, which was standard until the new 1917 Code of Canon Law was promulgated. His most famous miracle, depicted in the painting above and represented by Sr. Mary Magdalene’s costume, was when he sailed 160 miles on his cappa to reach Barcelona from the island of Majorca after the king forbade any ship to give him passage.
Our Grotto
Sr. Dominic Mary got very creative and arrived as our grotto! The image of Our Lady she is wearing is the icon inside the grotto. If you look carefully, you can see that the design on her bandeau (forehead) is the motif over the grotto door.
