Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, 1303-1373; married to the Swedish king, Magnus II, mother of eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden; Magnus gave Bridget land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women, an order which was eventually known as the Bridgetines; in 1350, Bridget made a pilgrimage to Rome, never to return to Sweden; her pilgrimage to the Holy Land was marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, and eventually led to her own death
Optional Memorial of St. Apollinarius, sent by St. Peter to Ravenna, Italy, as its first bishop; his preaching was so successful, that the pagans expelled him three times; he died of injuries on his fourth try, in about 79 A,D,
Saint of the Day: St. Macrena the Younger, 330-379; granddaughter of Macrena the Elder, sister of Saints Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter of Sebastea; when her fiancé died, she dedicated her life to God; she and her mother retired to the family estate in Pontus and lived a life of prayer and contemplation in a community they formed there
Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, 1550-1614; born in Bocchianico, Italy; fought for the Venetians against the Turks; became a Capuchin novice, but was unable to make profession due to a diseased leg; cared for the sick, and became director of St. Giacomo Hospital in Rome; founded the Ministers of the Sick; attended the plague-stricken aboard ships in Rome's harbor and in Rome; sent members of his order to minister to wounded troops in Hungary and Croatia, the first field medical unit; died after a long illness in 1614
Saints of the Day: Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne, died 1794; at the beginning of the French revolution, the Carmelite monastery in Compiegne, France, was ordered closed and the nuns disbanded; sixteen nuns were imprisoned in a Visitation convent, where they openly resumed their religious life; they were taken to Paris and sentenced to death; they went to the guillotine singing the Salve Regina
Memorial of St. Bonaventure, 1221-1274; baptized John, but received the name Bonaventure when he became a Franciscan at the age of 22; St. Francis is credited with healing Bonaventure as a boy of a serious illness; Bonaventure was eventually elected to serve as General Minister of the order, at a time when it was embroiled in conflicts over the interpretation of poverty; Bonaventure structured the order through effective legislation, and offered an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis; Pope Gregory X made him a cardinal and appointed him bishop of Albano; but while participating in the Second Council of Lyon, Saint Bonaventure died suddenly on July 15, 1274
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