SM-May

May 30th: Blessed Thomas Cottam, SJBorn: 1549 Died: May 30, 1582 Beatified: December 9, 1886 Thomas Cottam was born in Lancashire, England, of Protestant parents and raised in the Established Church. After graduating from Brasenose College, Oxford with his bachelor’s degree, he took up a schoolmaster’s position in London. There he befriended Thomas Pound, an…

May 28th: Servant of God Anthony Criminali, SJBorn: February 7, 1520 Died: circa May 28 /June 1549 Anthony Criminali, the very first martyr of the Society of Jesus, was born in Sissa, in the diocese of Parma, Italy. He received his early education from the local parish priest and later went to Parma to study…

May 26th - Leo Ducoudray, SJ and Alexis Clerc, SJBorn: Leo Ducoudray - May 6, 1827 Alexis Clerc - December 11, 1819 Both Died: May 26, 1871 Leo Ducoudray was born in Laval, France. He studied at the minor seminary in Paris and then completed his studies at the College of Chateau-Gontier. After his law…

May 26th - Peter Olivaint, John Caubert, Anatole de Bengy, SJS.G. PETER OLIVAINT: February 22, 1816 S.G. JOHN CAUBERT: July 20, 1811 S.G. ANATOLE de BENGY: September 19, 1824 All Died: 26 May 1871 Peter Olivaint was born in Paris. His father was a retired military officer and both his parents were unbelievers although they…

May 24th - Our Lady of the WayJesuit Feast Day The image of "Our Lady of the Way" was greatly loved by St. Ignatius Loyola, his early companions, and Jesuits today. The image is enshrined in the round chapel of the Jesu, the Mother Church of the Jesuits in Rome. This is an anonymous product…

May 22nd - Blessed John Baptist Machado, SJDied : May 22, 1617 Beatified : July 7, 1867 John Baptist Machado, a Portuguese was born in Angra, on the island of Terceira in the Azores in 1581. As a child his mother told him stories about India and Japan from the published letters of Francis Xavier…

May 20th - Venerable Adolph Petit, SJBorn: May 22, 1822 Died: May 20, 1914 Fr Adolph Petit, a Belgian was born in Ghent of humble parents. His mother died when Adolph was five and as his father was unable to care for the family he was adopted by his godfather. He studied at the village…

May 19th - Blessed Peter Wright, SJBorn: 1603 Died: May 19, 1651 Beatified: December 15, 1929 Peter Wright was born in Slipton, Northamptonshire, England of poor parents with twelve children. Peter was still young when his father died and he had to work for a local lawyer in Thrapton to help support his large family.…

May 16th - Saint Andrew Bobola, SJDied : May 16, 1657 Beatified : 1853 Canonized : April 17, 1938 Andrew Bobola was born in 1591 in Strachocin, southern Poland, to a family that was part of the lesser nobility and known for its devotion to the Catholic church. At fifteen, he studied at the Jesuit…

May 12th - Servant of God Matteo Ricci, SJBorn: Oct 6, 1552 Died: May 11, 1610 Matthew Ricci, the “Apostle of China ,” was born in Macerata, Italy, of a prominent family and his father was the city’s governor. As the eldest son he was expected to continue the family’s honours of becoming a city…