Saint Elizabeth of Aragon – 4th July. Also known as Elizabeth of Portugal she was born in to the Spanish royal family in Zaragoza,1271 . From a young ageshowed great enthusiasm for her Christian faithHoly Mass twice daily.Her family were devout Catholics who produced many Saints including St Elizabeth of Hungry. At the young age of 10, shebetrothed to King Denis of Portugaland married at 17.The couple had 2 children but herwas adifficult man of low morals andtime his wife dedicated to the poor. Elizabeth involved herself in the politics of Portugal and often served as a peace maker between nations including Aragon and Castile.Denis died in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the monastery she had founded in the capital Coimbra ran by the poor Clare’s and joined theorder of St Francis.Here she really carried out Christ’s work funding religious projects and hospitals and providing for the starving and homeless. Elizabeth died in 1336 during a mission to prevent a war between her son and Alfonso X1Castile in the castle of Estremoz from a fever.wasburied in the Santain Coimbra but her remains were moved to the monastery of Santa Claraa- Nova also in the city. This Saint was canonized by Pope Urbanin 1625, many miracleshave been attributed to her.
St. María Goretti – 6th July. The story of this innocent little soul and her devotion to the will of God will bring tears to your eyes. Maria was born into a poor farming family in 1890 in the Ancona Province in Italy. Her father died when she was very young and her mother was forced to share lodgings with another family to make ends meet. Maria was one of 6 children and while her mother went out to farm the land with her brothers she remained at home looking after the younger children and carrying out domestic chores. One day,Maria was only 12eldest son of the family that shared her house, Alessandro repeatedly made indecent advances to Maria she refused to submit clearly stating that this was a» sin against God.» The boy was angeredstabbed Maria numerous times. On her death bed the next day she forgave Alessandro andGod to have mercy upon him. Alessandro remained unrepentant until he received a vision in a dream whereMaria handed him a bunch of lillies.The lillies representedgift of purification from GodAlessandro’s hands burned as if on fire. When he woke up he repented for his actions reformed his life and later became a lay brother of the order of the Friars Minor. This brave little Saint was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius X11 and is the patron Saint of teenage girls and young woman who have suffered abuse.
St. Augustine Zhao Rong – 9th July. Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 7th Century during the Tang dynasty, records showChristian missionaries first entered Xian, then the capital in 635 AD.on China´s relations with the outside world, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly. Today China has an estimate of 26 million Christians which excludes children and registered churches.and his 119 companions are saints of the Roman Catholic Church thatthe» Good News» of the Gospel in,martyred for their evangelizingfaith in Christ. They consisted of 87 Chinese Catholics from all walks of life and 33 western missionaries from the mid 17th century to 1930. Many died in the Boxer rebellion in which Xenophobic peasants slaughtered 30000 Chinese converts along with missionaries and foreigners. Augustine was a Chinese soldier who after his baptism was ordained as a diocesan priest, he accompanied bishop John Gabriel ,Taurin, Dufree from the» Paris Foreign Missionary Society «to his martyrdom in Beijing in 1815. The first documentation of Christianity entering China was written on the 8th century stone tablet known as the Nestorian Stele.
