Thursday of the Lord’s Supper

Saint Abundius was born in Thessalonica in the early fifth century and later came to Northern Italy, where God would entrust him with the care of His people in Como. Around 448 he became the fourth Bishop of Como, succeeding Saint Amantius, and quickly proved himself a steadfast shepherd and defender of the true faith. He was present at the Council of Constantinople in 448 and, in 451, played an active role at the Council of Chalcedon as the representative of Pope Leo the Great, courageously opposing the Eutychian heresy and upholding the Church’s teaching on Christ. In 452 he again labored for unity and truth at the Council of Milan, convened to refute the same error. Tradition also associates Abundius with the authorship of the Te Deum, the Church’s great hymn of praise. He died in 469, and his relics rest in Como beneath the altar of the church dedicated to him, Sant’Abbondio. Saint Abundius is honored as patron of Como, Cunardo, and Mezzegra. His feast day is April 2.

Francis of Paola was born around 1416 in Paola, Calabria, to poor and deeply devout parents who named him in gratitude to Saint Francis of Assisi. As a child he was drawn to prayer, solitude, and strict fasting, and after a year with the Franciscans he returned home, eventually withdrawing to a coastal cave where he lived for years in hidden penance and contemplation. Others soon sought to share his way of life, and a small fraternity grew around him, marked above all by humility and radical self-denial. With the Church’s guidance and approval, this community developed into the Order of Minims, whose members vowed poverty, chastity, obedience, and a “fourth vow” of perpetual abstinence from meat and animal products as a living sign of continual Lent. Francis founded monasteries across Calabria and Sicily and became widely loved for preaching conversion and for miracles attributed to his intercession, including the famed crossing of the Strait of Messina on his cloak. He is honored as patron of places including Altomonte and many towns in Calabria. His feast day is April 2.

Saint Urban of Langres was born around 327 in Roman Gaul. A Gallo-Roman Christian of deep faith, he was chosen as the sixth bishop of Langres in 374, shepherding the Church in a time of unrest. Tradition recounts that soon after his episcopal ministry began, political turmoil turned against him and he was driven from his home. Forced into hiding, Urban found refuge in a vineyard, where local vine-dressers concealed him from his persecutors. In that quiet shelter he preached Christ to those who protected him, and many were converted. The same workers of the vine then became his allies in a discreet apostolate, helping him travel from town to town through the cover of vineyards so he could continue strengthening the faithful. From this bond grew a lasting devotion: Urban is honored as the patron of winegrowers, remembered with prayers for благessing on the harvest and the weather. Saint Urban died around 390. His feast day is celebrated on April 2.