Saint of the Day: Bl. Ana María Aranda Riera

Martyr (1888-1936)

Her life

+ Ana María was born in Alicante, Spain.

+ Choosing to remain in the single life, she was active in several parish organizations and charitable societies.

+ A member of Catholic Action, she attended Mass daily and she eventually became a catechist who had a special care for the poor.

+ Ana María was murdered during the religious persecutions of the Spanish Civil War. She died in Picadero de Paterna, Spain, on October 14, 1936. She was beatified with 232 other martyrs of the Spanish Civil War in 2001.

For prayer and reflection

“During those terrible years many priests, religious and lay people were killed simply because they were active members of the Church… For us they are models of consistency with the truth they professed, while at the same time they honor the noble Spanish people and the Church.”—Pope Saint John Paul II

Spiritual bonus

On October 14, we also remember Blessed Franciszek Roslaniec. A priest of the diocese of Radom, Poland, he was a notable biblical scholar who taught in the University of Warsaw. He was arrested by the Gestapo in November 1939 and imprisoned in the concentration at Dachau. Remember for his ministry to other prisoners in the camp, he died in the gas chambers on October 14, 1942, and was beatified in 1999.

Prayer

O God, who gladden us today with the annual commemoration of blessed Ana María, graciously grant that we may be helped by her merits, just as our lives are lit up by the splendor of her example of chastity and fortitude. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Virgins—For a Virgin Martyr)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.