St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish
648 JAY ST., UTICA, NY 13501 – 315-735-1482
(1696-1796) When St. Alphonsus was bishop he had to deal with one of his priests who was leading an entirely too “worldly” lifestyle. He invited the priest to see him. When he arrived, the priest found a large crucifix lying in the threshold of Alphonsus’ study. When the bishop saw the priest hesitate to enter, […]
(1491–1556) Iñigo Lopez de Loyola was born in the Basque region of Spain, in the town of Loiola (in his day it was spelled “Loyola,” hence, his name as we know it). He was the 13th child in his noble family and enjoyed all its advantages and vices. His education was limited but prepared him […]
(406–450) Today’s saint was known for his silver tongue — “golden words” actually, is what Chrysologus means. So how did he get this moniker? St. Peter was born in the town of Imola, near Bologna, Italy. We know little of his formative years but he was baptized, educated and ordained deacon by Cornelius, bishop of […]
When the bodies of her martyred brothers, Simplicius and Faustinus, were tossed into the waters of the Tiber River, Beatrice did not hesitate to try to recover their bodies to give them a proper burial. Aided by two priests, she managed to recover them from the river. She gave them burial in the place, where […]
(C. 155–199) Pope Victor I was the 14th leader of the church. He was a Berber from North Africa who held the papal throne for more than a decade. He continued to use his given name after becoming the pope and inspired two other men to also use the name Victor. Before becoming the pope, […]
(Died 432) St. Celestine I was a Roman deacon when elected pope in 422. A major campaign of his pontificate was his vigorous attack on Nestorianism, the unorthodox teaching of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, which stressed that Christ’s human and divine natures were independent and which denounced the Virgin’s title Theotokos (God-bearer). Celestine also challenged […]
We know almost nothing of today’s saints, Anne and Joachim, who were the parents of the Blessed Mother. We really can’t even be sure that those were there true names. They never are mentioned in the Bible. Surely, Mary did have parents and if a child is a reflection of the parents who raised him/her, […]
Story of St. Anne (Adapted from the Church of St. Anne, Rockhill, SC) St. Anne was born in Bethlehem and married Joachim from Nazareth in Galilee. Joachim was a shepherd given the task of supplying the temple of Jerusalem with sheep for sacrifices. After 20 years of marriage Anne and Joachim had no children. Once, […]
(3 A.D.-44 A.D.) James was among the first 12 Apostles of Jesus. The son of Zebedee, James was the older brother of John and is called “the Greater” to distinguish him from the Apostle James “the Less,” who probably was shorter in stature. Some scholars believe that Salome, the mother of James and John, was […]
(4th century) St. Christina is one of our youngest saints. She was the daughter of, Urbain, a wealthy magistrate and pagan. When Christina was 11-years-old she was well-known for her beauty and attracted the attention of several suitors. Her father, however, wanted his daughter to become a pagan priestess. Urbain demanded that his daughter pay […]