Ordinary Time: August 8th
Memorial of St. Dominic, priest
Other Commemorations: St. Mary MacKillop, religious (RM; Solemnity, Australia); Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus, martyrs (RM); Fourteen Holy Helpers (Hist)
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At the end of the twelfth century the Church in France was ravaged by the Albigensian heresy, a doctrine which was not only entirely unchristian but which, in addition, constituted a social evil. Effective measures were required to be taken to combat it. Where others had failed, a Spanish canon, Dominic Guzman, succeeded. He was notable for his learning and love of poverty. The Order of Friars Preachers, which he founded about the year 1215, was endowed by him with these two characteristics; instead of manual labor, as practiced by the Cistercian monks, he required his friars to work with their minds by preaching and teaching. He died at Bologna on August 6, 1221. His friend, Gregory IX, canonized him three years later.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John Mary Vianney and Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus. St. Largus and St. Smaragdus are two Roman martyrs. They were buried at first on the Ostian Way. Their bodies were later transferred, after the peace of Constantine, to a church built near the baths of Diocletian by a Christian of the name of Cyriacus. The cult of St. Cyriacus has been joined to that of the two martyrs. St. Dominic's feast in this rite is celebrated on August 4. St. John Vianney's feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on August 4.The Fourteen "Auxiliary Saints" or "Holy Helpers" are a group of saints invoked because they have been efficacious in assisting in trials and sufferings. Each saint has a separate feast or memorial day, and the group was collectively venerated on August 8, until the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, when the feast was dropped.St. DominicThe original Martyrology gives the following: "At Bologna (upper Italy) the holy confessor Dominic, the saintly and learned founder of the Order of Preachers. He preserved his virginity inviolate and gained for himself the grace of raising three dead persons to life. By his word he crushed heresy in the bud and led many souls to piety and to religious life."
- Churches in Rome where St. Dominic is honored.
- Read more about St. Dominic here.
- Read about St. Dominic and the Rosary.
- Learn about the icon of Mary Advocata.
- Read about St. Dominic's Orange Tree and Santa Sabina.
- Because of St. Dominic's connection with oranges, think about serving different foods with oranges or citrus. Or use St. Dominic's Spanish origin and make some Spanish recipes. How about a dinner of a variety of tapas?
St. Mary MacKillopIf Saint Mary MacKillop were alive today, she would be a household name. It’s not that she sought the limelight. On the contrary, she simply wanted to serve the poor wherever she found them in her native Australia. But along the way, she managed to arouse the ire of some rather powerful churchmen. One even excommunicated her for a time.

- For more information about St. Mary Mackillop please visit the following sites: Catholic Culture Library, EWTN and Living Maronite.
- Watch this YouTube video about the life of St. Mary Mackillop.
Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus The Acts concerning these martyrs give many fictional details. Together with Sisinius, Largus and Smaragdus, Cyriac languished a long time in prison. Among the miracles that Cyriac worked was that of freeing through his prayer Arthemia, the daughter of Emperor Diocletian, from an evil spirit. Thereupon he was sent to the Persian king Sapor and performed a similar miracle in favor of his daughter Jobias. But after baptizing the king and 430 of his entourage, he returned to Rome. Upon orders from Maximian the Emperor, he was arrested, chained, and dragged to prison. Four days later he was taken from confinement, drenched with seething pitch, and tortured on the rack; in company with Smaragdus and twenty other Christians he finally was beheaded on the Via Salaria near the gardens of Sallust."
- Read more about these three martyrs:
The Fourteen Holy HelpersDevotion to the Fourteen "Auxiliary Saints" or Fourteen Holy Helpers began in Rhineland in the time of the Black Death.
- St. Blaise (also Blase and Blasius) (February 3), bishop and martyr. He is invoked against diseases of the throat. Blessing of the throats takes place on his feast day.
- St. George (April 23) soldier-martyr. Invoked for protection for domestic animals and against herpetic diseases. Also patron of soldiers, England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Genoa and Venice.
- St. Acathius (also Acacius) (May 8), martyr. Invoked against headaches and at the time of death's agony.
- St. Erasmus (also St. Elmo) (June 2), bishop and martyr. He is invoked against diseases of the stomach and intestine, protection for domestic animals and patron of sailors.
- St. Vitus (also St. Guy) (June 15), martyr. Invoked in epilepsy, chorea ("St. Vitus' dance"), lethargy, and the bites of poisonous or mad animals and against storms. Also protection for domestic animals. Patron of dancer and actors.
- St. Margaret of Antioch (July 20), virgin and martyr. Invoked against backache. Patron for women in childbirth.
- St. Christopher (also Christophorus) (July 25), martyr. Invoked against the plague and sudden death. He is the patron of travelers, especially motorists, and is also invoked in storms.
- St. Pantaleon (July 27), bishop and martyr. Invoked against consumption, protection for domestic animals and patron of physicians and midwives.
- St. Cyriacus (also Cyriac) (August 8), deacon and martyr. Invoked against diseases of the eye and diabolical possession. Also interceded for those in temptation, especially at the time of death.
- St. Giles (also Aegidius) (September 1), hermit and abbot. Invoked against the plague, panic, epilepsy, madness, and nightmares and for a good confession. Patron of cripples, beggars, and breastfeeding mothers.
- St. Eustace (also Eustachius, Eustathius) (September 20), martyr. Invoked against fire — temporal and eternal. Patron of hunters. Patron in all kinds of difficulties, and invoked in family troubles.
- St. Denis (also Dionysius) (October 9), bishop and martyr. Invoked against diabolical possession and headaches.
- St. Catherine of Alexandria (November 25), virgin and martyr. Invoked against diseases of the tongue, protection against a sudden and unprovided death. Patroness of Christian philosophers, of maidens, preachers, wheelwrights and mechanics. She is also invoked by students, orators, and barristers as "the wise counselor."
- St. Barbara (December 4), virgin and martyr. Invoked against fever and sudden death. Patron of builders, artillerymen and miners. Also invoked against lightning, fire and sudden death.
- Each of these saints are honored individually throughout the Liturgical Year, the traditional feast honoring them as a group is no longer on the calendar or included in the Roman Martyrology. However, there are churches dedicated to the group, such as
- in Germany, the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (German: Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) located in Bad Staffelstein in Bavaria. Translate the site to see the different statue information of the Mercy Altar.
- Franciscan Monastery of Kadaň, Czech Republic.
- Langheim Abbey in Lichtenfels, Bavaria, famous for Matthias Grünewald's "Holy Helpers" altarpiece.
- Bode Museum.
- Four Holy Marshals, Quirinus of Neuss, Hubert of Liege, Cornelius, and Anthony the Great, a subset of the 14.
- in Germany, the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (German: Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) located in Bad Staffelstein in Bavaria. Translate the site to see the different statue information of the Mercy Altar.
- In Engelbert Humperdinck's opera, Hansel and Gretel, the "fourteen angels" of the lost children's prayer are the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The English words are familiar:
When at night I go to sleep,
Fourteen angels watch do keep,
Two my head are guarding,
Two my feet are guiding;
Two upon my right hand,
Two upon my left hand.
Two who warmly cover
Two who o'er me hover,
Two to whom 'tis given
To guide my steps to heaven.