Second Sunday of Lent

Saint Leoluca was born around 815 in Corleone, Sicily, into a devout and prosperous family. Orphaned while still young, he tended his family’s lands as a shepherd, where solitude awakened in him a deep desire for God. Renouncing his inheritance, he sold his estate, gave the proceeds to the poor, and entered the monastery of Saint Philip at Agira. As Saracen raids troubled Sicily, Leoluca made pilgrimage to Rome to venerate the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, then crossed to Calabria to pursue the monastic life. In the rugged mountains of southern Italy he became a pillar of Italo-Greek monasticism, helping to found and strengthen communities of prayer and ascetic discipline. After years of hidden holiness, he was made abbot of the monastery on Mount Mula. Tradition remembers him as a wonderworker who healed the sick, freed the oppressed, and guided many back to the path of salvation through prayer and counsel. He died around 915 near Monteleone Calabro, today Vibo Valentia, and is honored as patron of both Corleone and Vibo Valentia. His feast day is March 1.

Saint David, or Dewi Sant, was born in Wales around the beginning of the sixth century, traditionally at Henfynyw in Ceredigion, and is remembered as the son of Saint Non. Gifted as a teacher and preacher, he founded monastic communities and churches across Wales and beyond, forming disciples who carried the Gospel into Ireland, Cornwall, and Brittany. He established his principal monastery in the quiet valley of Glyn Rhosyn in Pembrokeshire, the site of today’s St David’s Cathedral. Around 550 he attended the Synod of Brefi, where his clear defense of the faith against Pelagianism won him wide acclaim and led to his recognition as a leading shepherd of the Welsh Church. Tradition recalls a sign during his preaching: the ground rose beneath him so the crowd could hear, and a white dove—his emblem—rested upon him. David’s rule called for joyful holiness, prayer, simplicity, and hard work, urging his followers to “do the little things.” He is venerated as the patron saint of Wales and also of Aruba. His feast day is March 1.