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SAINTS FOR OUR TIME, SAINTS FOR THE WORLD CANONIZED October 5, 2003  Bishop Daniel Comboni was born in Italy in 1831 and dedicated his life to the evangelization of Central Africa. As a missionary Comboni felt himself a brother of the Africans, going out to them as to members of his own family, children of the same Father. He created the innovative Plan for the Regeneration of Africa in order to counteract the exploitation and colonization of Africa and the enslavement of the African people. As the first Bishop of Sudan, he worked and died with Africa on his lips and in his heart on October 10, 1881. Thousands of Comboni Missionaries have heard the call of Christ to go and proclaim the message of God's Kingdom among the poorest and most abandoned. Today, they continue this work in 41 countries in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.Arnold Janssen, SVD is the founder of three missionary congregations: Society of the Divine Word (SVD), Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), and the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP). Ordained a diocesan priest in 1861, he began his ministry as a teacher. He began a magazine for mission awareness, The Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart, in which he promoted the idea of a seminary to train diocesan priests for the missions. Due to political conditions in Germany, Fr. Janssen began his seminary in nearby Holland, and the Society of the Divine Word was born. In 1909, the year Fr. Janssen died, there were 1,500 Priests, Brothers, and Adoration Sisters in China, Italy, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, USA, Chile, Japan and the Philippines. Today, more than 10,000 men and women from every continent are members of Fr. Janssen's great family. Joseph Freinademetz, SVD was born in 1852 and, at 23, joined Arnold Janssen, SVD in Steyl to begin studying to be a priest. Joseph became the first Divine Word Missionary and was sent to China where he gladly spent the rest of his life. His words, love is the only language, all humans understand, shaped his life and work among the people of China. Serving the people of China for 29 years until his death at 56, he wrote, I love China and its people and would gladly die a thousand deaths for them. It is here among the Chinese that I wish to be buried and in heaven I want to be Chinese. Another serving with him wrote of him, His kindly goodness was of the kind that never ceases and thus conquers hearts, his patience was inexhaustible and his love of neighbor so great that he totally forgot himself. BEATIFIED October 19, 2003 Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia and joined the Sisters of Loreto in 1929. She took the name Teresa after Saint Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the Missions. The order sent her to India where she served as a teacher for many years. Moved by the great needs of the people and following Christ's call, she petitioned and received permission to leave her convent and work among the poor of Calcutta. In 1950, she founded a religious order called the Missionaries of Charity: Like Jesus, we belong to the world, living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength. In 1971, Mother Teresa was awarded the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and in 1972 received India's Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. In 1979, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her contributions to the world. Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997. She had told others that, The work is God's work and He will see to it. The Missionaries of Charity has grown from 12 sisters in India to over 3,000 missionaries in 517 missions in 100 countries around the world continuing God's work with the poor. |
| For more information on Daniel Comboni and the Comboni Fathers visit www.comboni.com For more information on Arnold Janssen, SVD and Joseph Freinademetz, SVD and the Divine Word Missionaries visit www.divinewordmissionaries.org For more information about Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity http://home.comcast.net/~motherteresasite/mother.html |
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Lord, our God, help us to walk with you on the pathway of the beatitudes and to live out your mission in today's world. Bind us to all men and women of our time so that together we may bring the Good News to the ends of the earth. Open our hearts and our Christian communities to the needy, the afflicted, the oppressed. May we radiate the Living Christ and transform our lives in the hope of the Resurrection. This prayer we make to you who are living God now and forever. Amen. |
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Previous Saints of the Month St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Saint Francis of Assisi St. Anthony Mary Claret St. Katharine Drexel Blessed Damien of Molokai Uganda Martyrs Saint Martin De Porres Saint Mother Cabrini Saint Francis Xavier Saint Therese of Lisieux |
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