St Luke the Evangelist-Feast Day October 18th. St Luke is the third evangelist of the Canonical Gospels. Both theof Acts and the Gospel of Luke are ascribed to him.He is believed to have been born in Antioch in Syria some time in the first century. It was assumed that he was a Greek Gentile that converted to Christianity andclose disciple andloyal companionSt Paul whom he accompanied on various journeys. He is referred to only 3 times in the NT by name ,each mention is in a letter form Saint Paul. It was beleived that he was most probably a doctor , in Colossians 4.14 ,St Paul refers to him as » the most dear physicain».Lukes Gospel was wriiten primarily with the Gentiles in mind. Having not known Christ personallyrefers to the events having been recorded in his Gospel as having been delivered to him by those » who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word». Reading Lukes Gospel gives us a clear insight in to his Character, he was one who loved the poor who wanted Gods Kingdom opened to all , he respected women and saw hope in Gods mercy for everyone.Gospel is often referred to as» the Gospel of Mercy.» and is the only Gospel that contains the parable of «The Prodigal Son.»The reports of his death are conflicting some say he was martyred others suggest he lived a long life. The earliest tradition we have says that he died in AD 84 in Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel. He is the patron Saintphysicians, surgeons and artists.
St Peter of Alcantara-Feast Day October 19th. St Peter was a Franciscan friar and mystic born in Alcantara in Extremadura in 1499 to a noble family .His father was the governor of Province andthe university ofSalamanca where he studied law.When he finished his studies he joined the Franciscans and was ordianed in 1524 as a priest.In 1538 he became Superior of St Gabriels province where he tried to establish a stricter order but met with opposition. Eventually he resigned from the post and lived an hermetic life ,but after he secured the approval of Pope Julias 111 he established a new community known as the «Alcantarines»,who followed the strict discipline and ascetic life of St Francis.The new order was based at Pedrosa but various communities soon spread rapidly throughout the country. Saint Peter was a charasmatic man and an excellent preacher who had a great affinity with the poor. He was sent as an advisor to Saint Teresa of Avila and helped her establish her first convent before he died in 1562. Peter was canonized in 1699 by Pope Clement 1X . The town San Pedro de Alcantara in the province of Malaga is named after him. He is the patron Saint of Extremedura, Brazil and of nocturnal Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
St John Paul II-Feast Day October 22nd. He was born Karol JosefinWadowice in Poland in 1920one of two surviving boys born to a deeply religious captain in the Polish army. Karol´s mother died when he was 8 years old and his surviving brother Edmund died when the future Pope was just 12. Karol was an extremely talented young man with many strings to his bow including,sports and a wide variety of languages which served him well during is time as Pontiff.grew up in a strictly Nazi regime and due to his kind heart helped many Jews to escape this tyranny which he referred to as » bestiality».1941 Karol decided to join a seminary after his fathers death. Ordained in 1946 he received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from Jagiellonian University and in 1958 he became the Bishop of Ombi. In 1964 he was appointed Archbishop of Krakow and in 1967 rose to the rank of Cardinal. After John Paul the 1 died a mere month after his election in 1978 ,Karol aged only 58 became the first non Italian Pope within 400 years.John Paul 11 was a strong vocal advocate for human rights and his used his influence to effect political change including the down fall of communism. At his death from Parkinson´s disease aged 84 in 2005 he had travelled to 129 different countries. He was canonized in April 2014 by Pope Francis, the Vatican had by then already attributed 2 miracles to his intercession.
