St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish
648 JAY ST., UTICA, NY 13501 – 315-735-1482
(Died 1885-1887) St. Charles and many other martyrs for the faith died between Nov. 15, 1885 and Jan. 27, 1887, in Namugongo, Uganda. St. Charles and his companions were beatified in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1879, Catholicism began spreading in Uganda when the White Fathers, a congregation of priests founded […]
(Died 4th Century) In 304 AD, a great persecution of Christians was ordered by Emperor Diocletian, the last great culling of Christ’s followers before Constantine’s Edict of Milan, granting legal status to Christians throughout the Roman Empire. The second of the four edicts by which Diocletian planned the annihilation of Christians called for the arrest […]
(Died 165 AD) Justin converted to Christianity about the year 130 and he received baptism at Ephesus. Sometime after this Justin found himself in Rome, where he opened a philosophical school and tirelessly proclaimed Christ to pagan scholars. He wrote and spoke of the God he had come to know, using the language and categories […]
(1st century) Petronilla’s life story is not well documented. She is said to have been a daughter of the apostle St. Peter. We know that Peter was married before his vocation to the apostleship from the Gospel. It seems not certain however, whether St. Petronilla was any more than the spiritual daughter of that apostle. […]
The month of June is dedicated in the Catholic calendar to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose celebrated on the Friday of the third week after Pentecost (June 19, 2020) . The Sacred Heart image often depicted in art and sculpture as a wounded heart, sometimes encircled by a crown of thorns and radiating light […]
(1412-1431) Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class in the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At an early age, she was said to have heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. When she was 13 years old, she was in her […]
(1779-1865) Today’s saint received an extensive education, thanks to her brother Louis. He was 11 years older and her godfather at baptism. A seminarian, Louis decided that his younger sister would likewise learn Latin, Greek, history, physics and mathematics. Her education was without interruption and with a minimum of companionship. By age 15, she had […]
(496-576) St. Germain, Bishop of Paris, was born in Saône-et-Loire and studied at Avalon and also at Luzy under the guidance of his cousin Scapilion, a priest. He was ordained at the age of 34 and became the Abbot of Saint-Symphorien near Autun. Germain was so famous for his generosity to the poor that his […]
(Died 604) Augustine (not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo) was the prior of a monastery in Rome when chosen by Gregory the Great, who was Pope at the time, to lead a mission to England. The Christian faith had already been introduced in the 3rd or 4th century, but the gradual collapse of […]
(1515-1595) Philip Neri was born in Florence on July 21, 1515. As a child he was known for his cheerfulness and obedience. In fact, he was referred to as “good little Phil.” He received his early teachings from friars at the Dominican monastery in Florence, San Marco. At 18-years-old, while living with a wealthy relative […]