January 7

St. John de Ribera, Bishop, of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity

Optional memorial

He was born in Seville, Spain, around 1532. After his humanities studies, he looked forward to the study of sacred disciplines at the University of Salamanca. Ordained a priest, for his exalted virtues, he was elevated first to the episcopal see of Badajoz, and then to that of Valencia.

He fulfilled the task entrusted to him admirably; in particular, he promoted the improvement of morals and carefully provided for a sound formation of the clergy, both in the doctrinal and in the spiritual and pastoral fields.

Full of virtue, he died in Valencia on January 6, 1611.

January 13

Blessed Frances of the Incarnation, Virgin and Martyr

Optional memorial

Maria Francesca Espejo Martos was born in Martos (Jaén, Spain) in 1873. An orphan, she was admitted to the community of Trinitarian sisters in her hometown as an educator. Feeling a religious vocation, she entered the novitiate and took holy vows in 1894. She performed the jobs of nurse, sacristan and porter with a spirit of service and dedication. After being expelled from the Trinitarian community of her monastery (July 1936), Sister Frances was arrested, suffering martyrdom on the night of January 12-13, 1937 in the locality of Casillas de Martos.

January 22

St. Vincent Pallotti, Priest, of the Secular Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Optional memorial

He was born in Rome in 1795. Ordained a priest, he taught theology in the Roman seminary and founded the Society of the Catholic Apostolate for the purpose of strengthening the faith especially through works of charity.

He died in 1850.

January 28

St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, principal patroness of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Feast

He died in Rome in the second half of the 3rd century or, more likely, in the early 4th century. Pope Damasus composed verses for her tomb, and many Fathers, after St. Ambrose, celebrated her with praise. On this day, Holy Father John de Matha, while celebrating his first Mass, was illuminated by the heavenly vision of Christ the Redeemer between two slaves. The Holy Founder understood that the Lord was calling him to found the Order of the Holy Trinity.

In memory of that event, St. Agnes is venerated as the Order’s principal patron saint.

February 4

B. Elisabetta Canori Mora, family mother, of the Secular Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Memorial

she was born in Rome in 1774. At age 22, with carefully matured choice, she married and had four girls.

Although humiliated and abused in a thousand ways by her unfaithful husband, she endured everything with admirable patience and gentleness; to physical and psychological violence she responded with total fidelity, absolutely refusing separation.

She devoted herself to prayer and works of mercy, particularly among the poor and the sick; she welcomed anyone who came to her for spiritual and temporal needs, paying special attention to families in need.

She gave herself for her husband’s conversion, for the Pope, the Church and her city of Rome, where she died in 1825.

Her remains rest in the Church of St. Carlino alle Quattro Fontane.

February 14

St. John Baptist of the Conception, Priest, Reformer of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Feast

He was born in Almodovar del Campo, Spain, in 1561. He entered the Order of the Most Holy Trinity in Toledo and brilliantly exercised the office of preacher. Moved by the Holy Spirit, he began the Reformation of the Order and completed it, with the approval of Clement VIII, in 1599. He wrote various spiritual works, rich in wisdom and piety.

He died in Cordova, Spain, in 1613.

March 24

B. Didacus Joseph of Cadiz, priest, of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity

For the Commemoration

He was born in Cadiz, Spain, in 1743. Accepted into the Capuchin friars and appointed preacher, he traveled almost all over Spain. By the efficacy of the divine Word and the exemplary witness of his life, he induced men of all conditions and ages to honesty of morals and Christian piety. He was an exalted propagator of devotion to Our Lady and worship of the Holy Trinity.

He died on March 24, 1801.

April 16

St. Benedict Joseph Labre, of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity

Optional memorial

He was born in France to a humble family in 1748. In vain he tried several times to enter the convent. He then took to pilgrimage, visiting many shrines particularly in Italy; everywhere he was an example of prayer and a model of Christian life.

He spent his last years in Rome and died there in 1783. His body is preserved in the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti.

May 7

Translation of relics

of St. John de Matha

Optional memorial

The body of St. John de Matha, which had been buried with honor on Dec. 21, 1213, in the church of St. Thomas in Formis in Rome, was privately taken to Madrid in 1655. Presented to the Apostolic Nuncio of Spain, the Sacred Congregation of Rites, after a new reconnaissance, decreed, with the approval of Innocent XIII, that it constituted his identity. Most of the saint’s remains were moved on Oct. 9, 1966, to Salamanca, to the college of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, while another part was left in Madrid with the contemplative nuns of the same Order, where the holy relics had been kept since the time of the 1835 suppression.

May 11

B. Dominic Iturrate, of the Blessed Sacrament, priest

Optional memorial

He was born in Dima (Vizcaya) on May 11, 1901. Christianly educated by his parents, he soon felt the attraction for religious and priestly life. He entered the Trinitarian Order and enthusiastically lived its spirituality. As soon as he became a priest, he was irreparably struck by consumption. Without sadness or regret, but with love and joyful submission to God’s value, he accepted illness, suffering and death. He passed away on April 7, 1927.

His remains rest in Algorta (Vizcaya), in the Church of the Trinitarians.

June 8

St. Michael of the Saints, priest, protector of Trinitarian youth

Feast

He was born in Vich, Spain, in 1591. He entered the Order of the Most Holy Trinity among the stockadees; he then passed among the reformed Trinitarians, where he admirably traveled the path of perfection, living in strict observance and immersed in contemplation.

The Lord clothed him with precious mystical gifts.

He died in Valladolid on April 10, 1625; his feast is celebrated on June 8, the day of his canonization in 1862.

June 9

B. Anna Maria Taigi, Mother of the Family, Patroness of the Trinitarian Secular Order

Memorial

She was born in Siena, in 1769; coming to Rome she married there and had seven children. Although taken by such a large family, she did not neglect works of mercy, particularly among the poor and the sick. Rich in virtues, she was often asked for advice. “She burned so much with the love of God that she was forced to moderate it; although her life was so supernatural and hidden in Christ, nevertheless she was not a stranger to her time, but benefited her neighbor and the entire town community. She was poor, yet she always sought to help other destitute people; indeed in various public and private calamities, inspired from above, she offered herself as a victim of divine justice, and by her endless praying she endeavored to remove chastisements from those who had deserved them.”

She died in 1837. Her remains rest in the parish basilica of St. Chrysogonus.

August 12

B. Innocent XI, Pope, of the Secular Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Optional memorial

He was born in Como in 1611. He graduated from Naples with a degree in civil and canon law. He came to Rome and was ordained a priest, first held positions in the curia then was created a cardinal. Destined for the church in Novara, he was its good and solicitous pastor. Recalled to Rome, in 1676 he was elected to the supreme government of the Church, which he led wisely and with a firm hand, even amid painful opposition and in hard times.

He died in 1689.

August 25

St. Louis, King of France, of the Secular Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Memorial

He was born in 1214 and became king of France at the age of 12. Married to Margaret of Provence, he had eleven children, whom he himself raised sanctimoniously. He distinguished himself by his spirit of penance, prayer and love for the poor. In government he cared not only for the peace of the peoples and the temporal good of his subjects, but also for their spiritual usefulness. Undertook two crusades (1248, 1270) for the liberation of the Holy Land.

He died in 1270 near Tunis, assisted by the Trinitarian Fr. Giovanni de Donai.

September 12

Holy Name of Mary

Memorial

The devotion to the Most Holy Name of Mary was introduced in the Spanish Provinces by St. Simon de Rojas in the sec. XVI; it immediately spread throughout the Order as early as 1622, with its own Mass and office. Entered and held in the tradition of the Order, said celebration was always confirmed, until the last revision in 1973.

September 24

B. Mark Criado, priest and martyr

Memorial

He was born in Andujar, Spain, around the year 1522. He entered the Trinitarian Order and exercised the apostolate of preaching, taking himself as far as the provinces of Almeria and Granada, where he proclaimed the Word of God to both Moors and Christians.

The Moors caught and killed him in hatred of the faith near the village of “La Peza” in 1549.

September 28

Saint Simon de Rojas, priest

Memorial

He was born in Valladolid, Spain, around 1552. Educated in piety from childhood, he later entered the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, where he spent almost his entire life in teaching and governing the brothers. He devoted himself at the same time with love to spiritual direction, works of mercy and piety and to propagating, in a special way, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whose honor he founded the Congregation of the “Hail Mary.”

He died on September 29, 1624.

October 8

Blessed Mary Virgin of Good Remedy, Patroness of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Solemnity

Devotion to Our Lady has always been alive in the Trinitarian Order since its founding.

As tradition has it, the Order has found in the title of “Good Remedy” a harmonious consonance with its aims. For this reason, the General Chapter of 1959 requested and obtained from the Holy See that the Trinitarian Family have as its Patroness the Blessed Virgin under the title of “Good Remedy” and celebrate her solemnity on October 8 each year.

October 23

Most Holy Redeemer

Feast

Devotion to the Most Holy Redeemer harkens back to the proper redemptive activity of the Trinitarian Order, and is linked to the historical event of a redemption, in which, with the slaves, a statue of Jesus the Nazarene was also redeemed, whose image immediately had, and continues to have to this day, great popular devotion. The feast already celebrated in the Order, by decree of Dec. 22, 1787, was always confirmed until the last revision in 1973.

November 4

Saint Felix de Valois, Priest

Memorial

Toward the end of the 12th century, he led an anchorite life with other hermits in Cerfroid, in the territory of Meaux-France. When John de Matha came there and manifested his intention to establish a religious institute to free Christian slaves, they all “gave themselves and their possessions to God and the Order.” Under the name of Felix de Valois, he is believed in tradition to be a principal collaborator of John de Matha and confounder of the Friars of the Order of the Holy Trinity.

He died around 1212.

November 13

All the saints of the order, of the Holy Trinity

Feast

On this day in one feast we celebrate, together with the canonized saints of our Trinitarian Family, all our other brothers and sisters from every place and condition, whose names are written in the book of life.

November 14

Commemoration of all the dead, of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity

From its origins, the Order has cultivated the memory of the dead with great piety, also following what is written in the Rule. On this day, after the celebration of All Saints, we are called to remember all deceased brothers and sisters of the Order and the Trinitarian Family.

December 17

St. John de Matha, priest, Founder of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Solemnity

He was born in Faucon in Provence, France, around 1154. He completed his studies at the University of Paris, where he later taught theology. Ordained a priest, while celebrating his first Mass in a vision of Christ the Redeemer between two slaves, he understood that the Lord was calling him to the redemption of slaves; to this end, in 1194 he founded in Cerfroid the Order of the Holy Trinity, whose proper Rule was approved by Innocent III, Dec. 17, 1198. She guarded the Rule with ardor, worked redemptions of slaves and devoted herself tirelessly to works of mercy, living by God the Trinity, whose mystery of redemption and love she had set as the source and end of the Institute.

He died in Rome on December 17, 1213, in the house of St. Thomas in Formis on the Caelian.