Saint of the Day: Bl. Thomas of Tolentino

Martyr (ca. 1260-1322)

His life

+ Thomas was born in Tolentino, Italy.

+ He entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) as a young man and was known for his strict adherence to the Franciscan Rule.

+ Following his ordination to the priesthood, he was sent as a missionary to Armenia and, later, to Iran.

+ In 1320, he was sent with other friars to serve as a missionary in India.

+ Blessed Thomas was martyred with Blessed James of Padua, Blessed Peter of Siena, and Blessed Demtrius of Triflis in Thana, India, in 1322. Devotion to this martyrs was approved by the Holy See in 1809.

For prayer and reflection

“How precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his holy ones, alleluia.”—Communion Antiphon for the Mass of a Martyr during the Easter Season

Spiritual bonus

On this day, the Church also remembers Blessed Lindalva Oliveira, a Daughter of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul who was stabbed to death in 1993 by a patient at a hospital where she was serving in Salvador, Brazil. Honored as a martyr, she was beatified in 2007.

Prayer

O God, who were pleased to give light to your Church by adorning blessed Thomas with the victory of martyrdom, graciously grant that, as he imitated the Lord's Passion, so we may, by following in his footsteps, be worthy to attain eternal joys. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Martyr During the Easter Season)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.