Blesseds from the United States of America
and from its territories
Bl. Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, S.C.
Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth
Teresa Demjanovich was born in 1901 to a Ruthenian family who had emigrated to New Jersey. She was a smart young woman who graduated high school at the age of 15. Her intellectual gifts were matched by her charity, as she delayed entering a convent to take care of her terminally ill parents. As a novice, Teresa took the name Miriam Teresa. Before she made her final vows, she was asked by her spiritual director to write down her spirituality for use in the training of other novices. This spiritual work was posthumously published under the title of Greater Perfection. In late 1926, Teresa fell ill and made her final vows from a hospital bed. She died on May 8, 1927. On October 4, 2014, Miriam Teresa was beatified at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ, the first beatification in the US.
Bl. Stanley Rother
Martyr, Missionary to Guatemala
An Oklahoma farm boy, Father Stanley Francis Rother was born March 27, 1935, in Okarche, Oklahoma. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa in 1963, he served in the diocese's Guatemala mission for fourteen years. He served the native Tzutuhil tribe, who are decedents of the Mayans. In order to serve his people, Fr. Rother learned both Spanish and the Tzutuhil language. Surrounded by extreme poverty, Fr. Rother ministered to his parishioners in their homes, eating with them, visiting the sick, aiding with medical problems and helping farm. While he served in Guatemala, a civil war raged between the militarist government forces and the guerillas. During this, conflict hundreds of thousands of Catholics were killed due to the Church's insistence on helping people. Eventually, Fr. Rother was targeted. For his safety, Fr. Rother returned to Oklahoma. Determined to give his life completely to his people, he stated that "the shepherd cannot run." Returning to Santiago Atitlan, he continued to minister to his people. Within days of his return, three men entered the rectory and executed Fr. Rother. Seeking justice in the midst of a protracted civil war, Fr. Rother fought courageously for the well-being of his people.
- Bl. Stanley Rother (Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine)
- Bl. Stanley Rother (National Eucharistic Revival)
- Bl. Stanley Rother (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)
- Prayer for Bl. Stanley Rother (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City)
Bl. Solanus Casey, O.F.M. Cap.
Capuchin Franciscan, Humble Servant
Fr. Solanus Casey was born on November 25, 1870, in Oak Grove, Wisconsin. He entered the Capuchin Franciscans in Detroit in 1897. Known as "The Doorkeeper" when he was porter at St, Bonaventure's monastery, he was always ready to open the doors of the monastery to listen to anyone who knocked. He faithfully and humbly served the people of Detroit, MI, Huntington, IN and New York by providing soup for the hungry, kind words for the troubled, and a healing touch for the sick. People would seek out Fr. Solanus asking for "special favors," which lead to numerous miraculous healings and answered prayers. Known for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Solanus would often play his violin for Jesus in the presence of the tabernacle. Fr. Solanus was diagnosed with erysipelas and died on July 31, 1957. His body was found incorrupt thirty years after his death. He was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II on July 11, 1995 and was beatified on November 18, 2017 in Detroit.
Bl. Michael J. McGivney
Diocesan priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus
Michael McGivney was born on August 12, 1852, the first of thirteen children born to Patrick and Mary McGivney. (Six of their children died as infants or young children.) His parents had immigrated to the United States from Ireland before Michael was born. He left school at 13 to work at the local brass mill, the same mill where his father worked.
When he was sixteen, Michael entered the seminary for the first time. Before he completed his studies and formation, however, his father died and Michael returned home to help care for his mother and younger siblings. He soon returned to the seminary and was ordained at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption in Baltimore, MD.
As a priest, Fr. McGivney was keenly aware of the struggles faced by immigrant families, having seen the difficulties firsthand. While he was assistant pastor at St. Mary Parish in New Haven, Connecticut (part of the Archdiocese of Hartford), he started a lay organization of men from the parish to unite each other in the life of faith.* If any of the members died, the other members would also support the surviving family in their faith and with necessary resources. This organization took the name the Knights of Columbus and was officially begun on February 6, 1882. Fr. McGivney died on August 14, 1980, having just turned 38 years old.
Today the Knights of Columbus continue Fr. McGivney's legacy. The order has been recognized by recent popes for their commitment to charity, apostolic zeal for preaching the Gospel, and fidelity to upholding the Church's teachings.
*In 2023, as part of the reorganization efforts in the Archdiocese of Hartford, St. Mary Parish was united with several other parishes under the name of Blessed Michael McGivney Parish of New Haven, Connecticut.
- Blessed Michael McGivney Parish
- Blessed Michael McGivney (Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center)
- Father Michael McGivney (a website from the Knights of Columbus)
Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R.
Missionary preacher
As a child, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R. used to claim that he didn't simply want to imitate his patron saint: he wanted to be another St.Francis Xavier. He entered the seminary in Augsburg after completing a degree in Philosophy. While there, he heard about the missionary activity of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and traveled to North America, specifically to become a Redemptorist priest. For nine years, he worked as the assistant of St. John Neumann in the parish of St. Philomena in Pittsburgh. He dedicated himself to the mission of preaching, and, before long, he had attained a reputation as an excellent preacher and an insightful, attentive spiritual director. He was also known for a happy availability for anyone who might need him at any time. He became pastor of the church of St. Mary of the Assumption in New Orleans, and died there of yellow fever while nursing the sick during an epidemic.
Puerto Rico
Bl. Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago
Bl. Charlie, evangelist for the Sacred Triduum and the Eucharist
Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago, known better as Charlie, was born to Manuel Baudilio Rodríguez and Hermina Santiago Esterás in Caguas Puerto Rico on November 22, 1918. When he was still very young, Carlos Manuel's family lost their house to a fire, causing them to move into his maternal grandparents' home. Carlos Manuel's grandmother regularly attended daily Mass: she instilled in him, through her example, the importance of frequent reception of Holy Communion at Mass. Carlos Manuel also became an altar boy and fell in love with Jesus in the Eucharist, fostered especially by his First Holy Communion.
From an early age, Carlos Manuel felt a call to serve Christ and his Church through a life of ministry. He attempted to study for a bachelor's degree at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, but he had to stop because of his poor health. It was at this university that he received his nickname "Charlie" from his friends. Though he was not able to complete his formal studies due to chronic illness, he continued to study diligently on his own.
Eventually he became a catechist for high school students, even using his own income to pay for the teaching aids he offered them. He had a special love for the Sacred Triduum, especially the Easter Vigil. He would often remark, "We live for that night." Charlie died on July 13, 1963, just shy of his 45th birthday. His apostolic zeal in witnessing to Christ fostered a deepening of faith for many people, and also led several people to recognize their vocational state in the consecrated religious life.
Notably, Bl. Charlie's lay apostolic activity, which reflects the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium; see nos. 9-10, 45, and 88) was performed even before the constitution had been promulgated. Sacrosanctum Concilium was not promulgated until December 4, 1963.
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