Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Saint André Bessette, Religious

optional memorial Christmas Time

Selected Mass Reading

Gospel — Mark 6:34-44

And Jesus going out saw a great multitude: and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him, saying: This is a desert place, and the hour is now past: Send them away, that going into the next villages and towns, they may buy themselves meat to eat. And he answering said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said to him: Let us go and buy bread for two hundred pence, and we will give them to eat. And he saith to them: How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they say: Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them that they should make them all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves, and the two fishes: looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave to his disciples to set before them: and the two fishes he divided among them all. And they all did eat, and had their fill. And they took up the leavings, twelve full baskets of fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat, were five thousand men.

Feast Days

Andrew Corsini Carmelite friar, Catholic priest, Bishop of Fiesole, Diplomat 1301–1374

Saint Andrew Corsini was born in Florence on November 30, 1302, into the noble Corsini family. Dedicated to God before his birth, he nevertheless spent his youth in extravagance and vice, grieving his devout mother. Her firm rebuke became the turning point of his life: Andrew went to the Carmelite church of Santa Maria del Carmine and chose the hidden path of repentance, entering the Carmelites in 1318. Ordained a priest in 1328, he embraced deep mortification and a life of prayer, even offering his first Mass quietly in a hermitage. Gifted as a preacher and formed by study in Paris and Avignon, he returned to Florence to serve as prior and later as provincial for Tuscany, earning the title “Apostle of Florence.” In 1349 he was appointed Bishop of Fiesole, a burden he accepted only with reluctance and greater austerity. As bishop he became a peacemaker among rival factions, a father to the poor, and a reformer of clergy. Miracles were reported at his tomb, and he is honored as patron of Pino Torinese. His feast day is January 6.

Juan de Ribera Catholic priest, Archbishop of Valencia, Patriarch of Antioch 1532–1611

Saint Juan de Ribera was born in Seville, Spain, on March 20, 1532, into a noble family; his father served as Viceroy of Naples, and Juan lost his mother while still young. He studied at the University of Salamanca and was ordained a priest in 1557. At only thirty, he was appointed Bishop of Badajoz, where he devoted himself to strengthening Catholic faith through catechesis and resisting the spread of Protestant errors. In 1568 he became Archbishop of Valencia, and later King Philip III named him Viceroy of Valencia, uniting in him both pastoral and civic authority. Zealous for reform in the spirit of the Council of Trent, he founded the College of Saint John—known as the Museum of the Patriarch—to form priests in sound doctrine and holy discipline. His tenure also coincided with the painful conflict surrounding the Moriscos and their eventual expulsion from Spain, a decision he strongly supported. Venerated for his leadership, reforming zeal, and dedication to priestly formation, he is patron of Alfara del Patriarca. His feast day is January 6.