Easter: May 25th
Optional Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor; St. Gregory VII, pope; St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, virgin
Other Commemorations: St. Madeline Sophie Barat, religious (RM)
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St. Bede was born in England. A Benedictine, he was "the most observant and the happiest of all monks." His writings were so full of sound doctrine that he was called "Venerable" while still alive. He wrote commentaries on Holy Scripture and treatises on theology and history. He died at Jarrow, England.
St. Gregory VII was a monk of Cluny. Before ascending to the papacy, he fought against the abuse of lay investiture, the source of the evils from which the Church was suffering. His energetic stance as Pope Gregory VII earned for him the enmity of the Emperor Henry IV. He was exiled to Salerno where he died.St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was born in Florence and joined the Carmelites when she was nineteen. She practiced great mortification for the salvation of sinners; her constant exclamation was, 'To suffer, not to die!' With apostolic zeal, she urged the renewal of the entire ecclesiastical community.Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar, today was the feast of St. Urban I, a Roman, successor of Callistus in the papal chair (222-230) and St. Madeline Sophie Barat, foundress in France of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Their feasts are no longer celebrated in the United States.St. Bede the VenerableBede occupies an important niche in Church history by bridging the gap between patristic and early medieval times, the era when the Germanic nations had just been Christianized. Through him Christian tradition and Roman culture came to the Middle Ages. He is also honored as the "father of English history." His writings were read publicly in churches while he was still alive; but since he could not be called "Saint," the title of Venerable was attached to his name, a usage which continued down through the centuries.
Often portrayed as: Monk writing at a desk; old monk dying amidst his community; old monk with a book and pen; old monk with a jug.Things to Do:
- Learn more about monasticism and about the Benedictine Order.
- Watch this video of the life of St. Bede or this video.
- Read the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by St. Bede or listen to the Audiobook here
- Learn more about St. Bede here.
St. Gregory VII
Gregory VII—his name had been Hildebrand before becoming Pope—was born about the year 1020. For two years he was a Benedictine monk of Cluny (1047-1049), then he became a cardinal, and finally, in 1073, Pope. A strong character with a remarkable personality, he easily takes a place with the greatest popes in the Church's history.

- As we recall this great pope, we should spend some time reading the writings of our current pope and thanking God for the gift of the papacy to the Church.
- Read more about St. Gregory here and here.
- Read Give me the scoop on Gregory VII.
- Read about Emperor Henry IV and the Internecine wars here.
- Watch this video about the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV.
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, a highly gifted mystic, had made a vow of chastity at the age of ten. She entered the convent of the Discalced Carmelite nuns in Florence, because the practice of receiving holy Communion almost daily was observed there. For five years her only food was bread and water. She practiced the most austere penances and for long periods endured complete spiritual aridity. Her favorite phrase was: "Suffer, not die!" Her body has remained incorrupt to the present day; it is preserved in a glass coffin in the church of the Carmelite nuns at Florence.
- Contemplative nuns and monks spend their whole lives praying for the needs of the world and doing penance for the sins of others, but they also need our prayers. Say a prayer today for someone you know who is a contemplative religious or for a contemplative community which is in your area.
- Read more about St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi here and here.
- Read Who Was St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi? at the Divine Mercy.
- Read St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi - Biographical profile at the Order of Carmelites.
- Watch this video on St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi.
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Under the guidance of her brother Madeleine Sophie Barat became at an early age proficient in Latin, Greek, Spanish and Italian. The brother, nine years her senior, was a stern disciplinarian. If her work was bad, she was punished—sometimes by a box on the ears—but if she did well, no word of praise was uttered. She was never allowed to relax from this discipline—even walks were forbidden unless they were strictly necessary for exercise; and when, in a moment of mistaken tenderness, she gave her brother a present, he threw it on the fire. She was ten when the French Revolution occurred in 1789. Afterwards, and still under the influence of her brother, she met Father Varin who desired to found a female counterpart of the Jesuits which should do for girls' education what they did for boys' education. On November 21, 1800, Madeleine with three companions dedicated herself to the Sacred Heart and so the New Congregation was begun. From the first house at Amiens it was to spread in the lifetime of its foundress all over Europe and to Africa and America, and its boarding schools have become famous.
- Read more about St. Madeleine Sophie Barat at FaithND and at Catholic Ireland and at EWTN.
- Read In Paris Walking with Saint Madeleine-Sophie Barat. This pdf file gives St. Madeleine-Sophie's life and the history of the religious family she found as well as the history of Paris just after the French Revolution.
- Watch this short video of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat.