St. Dominic (8th August): Dominic was bornnoble heritageCalaruega,Spain in 117O. He was educated by his uncle an archpriest and then at the university of Palencia where he proved to be an excellent scholar . Dominic was most likely ordained at Palencia and became a canon regular at Osama cathedral in 1199, he later became prior superior and was a close adherent of the rule of St Benedict. in 1215 he founded «The order of Preachers» along with six followers and in 1216gained approval for his foundation by Pope Honorius 111. This order wasstrongly devoted to the conversion of Albigensians.established his headquarters at Rome and soon the religious order consisting of both men and women spread rapidly throughout Europe. Dominic and his followers lived an austere and simple life with strict religious rules and practices especially concerning prayer and penance . Dominic went barefoot, wore the simplest of clothes and never slept in a bed. This Saint was devoted to learning and practical poverty but above all missionary preaching. Described as an «Athlete of Christ» he passed away through exhaustion aged 51.a preaching tour in Hungry his ill health forced him to return home and he died1221 in Bologna on August 6th . He wasin 1234 and is the patron saint of astronomers.
St. Lawrence (10th August): St Lawrence was born in 225 in Huesca, Spain a town in the region of Aragon. His parents are traditionally held to be the martyrsOrentius and Patientia. He travelled alongside the future Pope Sixtus 11 to Rome and when SixtusPope in 257 he ordained Lawrence as one of the seven deacons of Rome who served the Patriarchal Church. He is often referred to as «The Archdeacon of Rome» ,this was a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and the riches of the Church and the distribution of alms among the poor. According to various Church documents it is believed after the death of Pope Sixtus 11he gave many of the Churches riches to the poor instead of surrendering them to the Prefect of Rome as he was instructed to do. His very words to the prefect were «The Church is truly rich ,far richer than your emporer».his defiance he was sentenced to death under the rule ofin Rome where he died as a martyr in 258. Several Churches in Rome are dedicated to him including San Lorenzo in Panisperna which is identified as the place of his execution. Many miracles are attributed to him according to lore St Lawrence was able to spirit away the Chalice ,Holy Grail to Huesca. He is the patron saint of Rome , librarians, archivists and cooks.
St. Clare (11th August): Clare the eldest daughter of the noble Offreducia family was born in Assisi, ItalyJuly 1194. Clare a beautiful and accomplished young lady completely dismayed her family when she refused to marry. After hearing a Lenten sermon of St Francis at the age of 18 she ran away to take the veil from him at Portiuncula renouncing all her worldly wealth. Clare was placed in in a Benedictine convent called St Angela di Pazo where she was later joined by her younger sister St. It is believed that her father sent a dozen men to retrieve Agnes but Clare’s prayers made her sister so heavy that the men could not move her. InFrancis offered Clare a house next to the church of San Damiano in Assisi and she became the first lady abbess of the community known as «The poor ladies of San Damiano» . Later a second order known as the Poor Clares was established, like Saint Francis they lived austere lives of poverty relying ongiving of alms for their only income. In 1224 the army of Frederick II came to plunder Assisi, Clare went out to meet them with the Blessed Sacrament in her hands ,suddenly a mysterious terror seized the enemies and they fled the city without harming anyone. Clare died in 1253 and in 1958 she was designated the patron saint ofon the basis that when she was too ill to attend the Holy Mass, she had been reportedly been able to see and hear it on the walls of her bed chamber.
