Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Saint Braulio of Zaragoza was born around 585 in Hispania to a noble Hispano-Roman family. His father, Gregory, served as Bishop of Osma, and Braulio grew up amid a household devoted to the Church. In 610 he embraced the monastic habit, and later studied in Seville under the great Archbishop Isidore, whose passion for teaching helped strengthen the faith in a turbulent Visigothic age. Ordained by Isidore in 624, Braulio served the Church of Seville before returning to Zaragoza to assist his brother, Bishop John, as archdeacon. When John died, Braulio became bishop in 631. He was renowned for austerity, generous almsgiving, and clear preaching, and he counseled Visigothic rulers, encouraging reforms for the good of the people and the Church. He also labored with Isidore to overcome Arianism and helped shape Isidore’s great work by organizing it into twenty books. Near the end of his life he lost his sight, and he died in 651, honored as a wise pastor and learned writer. He is patron of Híjar. His feast day is March 26.

Saint Ludger was born around 742 among the Christian Frisian nobility, the son of Thiadgrim and Liafburg. As a boy he was deeply marked by seeing Saint Boniface and later hearing of his martyrdom. Sent to study at the cathedral school of Utrecht, Ludger also spent time in York, where he was formed by the learning and friendship of Alcuin. Ordained in 777, he devoted himself to missionary work in East Frisia, teaching each autumn in Utrecht while steadily preaching Christ among the people. When persecution drove the missionaries out, Ludger sought counsel in Rome and lived for a time at Monte Cassino, absorbing the spirit of Benedictine life. Recalled to the frontier lands, he evangelized the Frisians and then the Saxons with patient, peaceful methods, earning the title “Apostle of Saxony.” He founded monasteries and churches, most notably Werden Abbey, and in 805 was consecrated the first Bishop of Münster, forming clergy and giving generously to the poor. He died peacefully on 26 March 809. He is especially honored as patron of Werden, East Frisia, and Deventer. His feast day is March 26.