fide et gratia February 2016 | Page 13

14-FebSt. Abraham of Carrhae

Death: 422, Hermit, bishop, and missionary who was born in Cyrrhus, Syria. He became a recluse in the desert near Mount Lebanon and tried to convert the local people. He was named the bishop of Carrhae, in Mesopotamia, where he again converted the local people.

15-FebSt. Agape

Death: 273, Martyr and follower of St. Valentine.

16-FebSt. Aganus

Death: 1100, Benedictine abbot of St. Gabriel's in Campania, Italy.

17-FebSt. Alexis Falconieri

Patron of the city of Orvieto (Italy), Birth: 1200, Death: 1310, Founder and mystic, one of the first Servants of Mary or Servites. Alexis and six companions joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin in Florence in 1225. Gathered together on the Feast of the Assumption in 1233, the group experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary which inspired them to found a new religious community dedicated to prayer. Another vision inspired Alexis and his companions to form the Servites, or the Servants of Mary.

18-FebSt. Agatha Lin

Chinese martyr. She was born in 1817 at Ma-Tchang, China. A teacher at a Christian school, Agatha was beheaded for the faith in Mao-kin on January 28, 1858. She was beatified on May 2, 1909.

19-FebBl. Alvarez of Corova

Birth: 1350, Death: 1430, He entered the Dominican convent at Cordova in 1368. he was confessor and adviser of Queen Catherine, John of Gaunt's daughter, and tutor of King John II in his youth. He successfully led the opposition to antipope Benedict XII (Peter de Luna).

February Saints