Saint Francis of Assisi. Feast Day Oct 4rd. An Indulgent youth, Giovanni de Pietro Bernadone was born in 1182 and nicknamed Francesco from an early age . His father was a wealthy silk merchantand Francesco livedmisspent youth.going of to fight for his home town in 1204 he had a vision that directed him to Assisi, in a rundown church » San Damiano»while he was in prayer he heard the voice ofasking him to repair «His», which wasin to disrepair.first he took this literally but later realised that God was talking about His universal Church and the importance of the conversion of the soul. Francis abandoned al his worldly wealth and adopted a life of poverty and chastity devoting his heartGod the sickthe mission he had been assigned.was a charismatic preacher and soon attracted a large band of followers that adopted a similar way of life style including St Clare and her sister St. He set up various religious communities including the order of the Friars Minor later known as the ),Poor Clare´s and theand sisters of penance. In 1223 he arranged the first nativity scene ,in the following year he became the first person to be recorded as having signs of stigmata. He died in 1226,years later listening to psalm 142 .He is the patron saint of welfare societies, animals and ecology.
Saint Faustina Feast Day October 5th. Helena Kowalska was born in 1905 in a small village called Glogowiec in central Poland in 1905 to a poor but devout family. When Helena was 7 she heard Gods voice calling her for the first timeThroughout the years the voice became stronger and eventually at the age of 19left home under her own esteem and joined the convent of» The sisters of Mercy».was then transferred to a convent at Plock where she received her first vision of Christ and Divine Mercy. Later she was moved to Vilinius where she continued to receive numerous revelations.with the help of her Confessor Michael Sopocko she began to compose a diary consisting of her conversations with Christ on the topic of Divine Mercy. These conversations where eventually published in a book » The Dairy of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in my soul». Jesus also instructed her to paint a picture of himas how he appeared to her in her visions with red and pale rays emanating from His bodyhe her to dedicate a feast to Divine Mercy which is celebrated the first Sunday after Easter. Faustina died at the age of 38 in Cracow from tuberculosis having spent her last 2 years here and it is where he major shrine is situated.
Feast of our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Feast Day October 7th. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is the title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the Holy Rosary.Our Lady of Fatima told the shepherd childrenLucia , Jacinta and Francesco in 1917 at Cova de Iria , » I am the Lady of the Rosary» and she impressed the importance upon them of praying the Holy Rosary for the conversionand liberation of Souls andpeace in orderbring about the end of the second world war .The feast was previouslyfor several centuries by the alternate title of » Our Lady of Victory»,in honour of a 16th century navel victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope Pius Vthe victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.Holy Rosary enables us to connect with the Immaculateof the Virgin Mary allowing us to experience the life of her beloved Son Jesus through her eyes. It has been described as a» stair way to heaven» , «medicinethe soul» and is one of the strongestinstruments against satanic forces, war and evil.promises that she will not refuse anyone who seeks her intercession through the Holy Rosary.
