St. Euphrasia
Feastday: March 13
420
Noble Roman raised by Emperor Theodosius I when her father, Antigonus, died. Her mother entered a convent in Egypt, and Euphrasia, at the age of five, went with her. At the age of twelve, orphaned, she was commanded by Emperor Arcadius to marry a senator but received permission to give her wealth to the poor and remain a nun. Also known as Euphraxia, she was known for her holiness.
Blessed Agnello of Pisa
Feastday: March 13
The founder of the English Franciscan province, Blessed Agnello, was admitted into the Order by St. Francis himself on the occasion of his sojourn in Pisa. He was sent to the Friary in Paris, of which he became the guardian, and in 1224, St. Francis appointed him to found an English province; at the time he was only a deacon. Eight others were selected to accompany him. True to the precepts of St. Francis, they had no money, and the monks of Fecamp paid their passage over to Dover. They made Canterbury their first stopping place, while Richard of Ingworth, Richard of Devon and two of the Italians went on to London to see where they could settle. It was the winter of 1224, and they must have suffered great discomfort, especially as their ordinary fare was bread and a little beer, which was so thick that it had to be diluted before they could swallow it. Nothing, however, dampened their spirits, and their simple piety, cheerfulness and enthusiasm soon won them many friends. They were able to produce a commendatory letter from Pope Honorius III, so that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Steven Langton, in announcing their arrival, said, "Some religious have come to me calling themselves penitents of the Order of Assisi, but I called them of the Order of the Apostles." In the meantime, Richard of Ingworth and his party had been well received in London and hired a dwelling on Cornhill. They were now ready to push on to Oxford, and Agnello came from Canterbury to take charge of the London settlement. Everywhere the Friars were received with enthusiasm, and Matthew Paris himself attests that Blessed Agnello was on familiar terms with King Henry III. Agnello is thought to have died at the age of forty-one, only eleven years after he landed at Dover, but his reputation for sanctity and prudence stood high amongst his fellows. It is stated that his zeal for poverty was so great that "he would never permit any ground to be enlarged or any house to be built except as inevitable necessity required." He was stern in resisting relaxations in the Rule, but his gentleness and tact led him to be chosen in 1233 to negotiate with the rebellious Earl Marshal. His health is said to have been undermined by his efforts in this cause and by a last painful journey to Italy. Opon his return he was seized with dysentery at Oxford and died there, after crying out for three days, "Come, Sweetest Jesus." The cult of Blessed Agnello was confirmed in 1892; his feast is observed in the Archdiocese of Birmingham today and by the Friars Minor on the eleventh.
St. Roderic
Feastday: March 13
Roderic, also known as Ruderic, was a priest at Cabra, Spain during the persecution of Christians by the Moors. Hew was beaten into unconsciousness by his two brothers, one a Mohammedan and the other a fallen-away Catholic, when he tried to stop an argument between them. The Mohammedan brother then paraded him through the streets proclaiming that he wished to become a Mohammedan. He escaped but was denounced to the authorities by the same brother as an apostate from Mohammedanism and imprisoned through he denied he had ever given up his Christianity. While in prison, he met a man named Solomon, also charged with apostasy, and after a long imprisonment, they were both beheaded. His feast day is March 13th.
St. Ansovinus
Feastday: March 13
840
Bishop and confessor of the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious. He was born in Camerino, Italy, and entered the religious life at a young age. After living as a hermit for many years, Ansovinus elected Camerino. Ansovinus' sanctity and miracles also brought him to the court of Emperor Louis the Pious where he served as confessor and spiritual counselor.
St. Heldrad
Feastday: March 13
842
Benedictine abbot, also called Eldrad, who devised ways of rescuing travelers in the Alps. He was a noble from Provence, France, who set out on a pilgrimage to Rome. Entering the abbey of Novalese in the Italian Alps, he became abbot and ruled for thirty years. Heldrad built a hospice and added to the abbey's library.
St. Nicephorus
Feastday: March 13
Patriarch of Constantinople and martyr. The son of the secretary of Emperor Constantine V, he was raised as an opponent of the Iconoclasts in the imperial capital and remembered always that his father had been tortured for opposing the Iconoclast emperor. Nicephorus became known for his intellect and his eloquence, and received the post of imperial commissioner. After founding a monastery near the Black Sea, he was chosen despite being a layman to succeed to the office of patriarch of Constantinople in 806, succeeding St. Tarasius. He was opposed for a time by St. Theodore Studites after Nicephorus forgave a priest who married Emperor Constantine VI toTheodota despite the fact the Constantine’s wife, Mary, still lived. The patriarch also challenged the Iconoclast policies of Emperor Leo V the Armenian and was deposed by a synod of Iconoclast bishops at the conniving of the emperor. Nearly assassinated on several occasions, Nicephorus was exiled to the monastery he had founded on the Black Sea, spending his remaining years there in prayer. He died on June 2 or March 13, 829. While patriarch, he brought various reforms to his large diocese and inspired the lay people. He was also the author of anti Iconoclast writings and two historical works, a Chronographia and Brevianim.
St. Mochoemoc
Feastday: March 13
656
Abbot founder of Liath Mochoemoc Monastery at Tipperary, Ireland. He was the son of Bevan and Nessa and the brother or nephew of St. Ita. Listed as Machaemhog, Puicherius, or Vuicherius, he was trained by St. Ita, at Munster, Ireland, and received ordination by St. Comgall at Bangor. Mochoemoc founded Arderin Abbey and others before he died.
