Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Easter Time

Listen to today's Mass in full

Selected Mass Reading

First Reading — Acts 8:1b-8

And at that time, there was raised a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem. And they were all dispersed through the countries of Judea, and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men took order for Stephen's funeral and made great mourning over him. But Saul made havock of the church, entering in from house to house: and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison. They therefore that were dispersed went about preaching the word of God. And Philip, going down to the city of Samaria, preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did. For many of them who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out. And many, taken with the palsy, and that were lame, were healed.

Feast Days

Adalbert of Prague Bishop of Prague, Missionary, Benedictine monk, Martyr 956–997

Saint Adalbert of Prague was born around 956 at Libice in Bohemia, into the noble Slavník clan, and was given the name Vojtěch. After surviving a grave childhood illness, he was dedicated to God and sent to study in Magdeburg, where he took the name Adalbert at Confirmation. Ordained a priest, he became Bishop of Prague in 982. Though gentle by temperament, he lived with notable austerity and charity, and he bravely challenged the slave trade, polygamy, and lingering pagan practices—reforms that stirred fierce resistance and drove him more than once into exile in Rome among the Benedictines. Released from his episcopal duties, Adalbert embraced the life of a missionary, preaching among the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe and laboring for the conversion of those who had not yet heard the Gospel. In 997 he set out from Poland to evangelize the Baltic Prussians. There, after being rejected and threatened, he continued to preach and was stoned and killed, sealing his witness with martyrdom on April 23, 997. He is honored as a patron of Poland and the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest. His feast day is April 23.

Agapetus I Pope, Bishop of Rome, Catholic priest, Writer d. 536

Saint Agapetus I was born in Rome around 489 or 490, the son of Gordianus, a Roman priest who was killed during unrest in the Church. Ordained a deacon in his youth and later serving as archdeacon, Agapetus was elected Bishop of Rome on May 13, 535, in a time of political turmoil and doctrinal tension. Though his pontificate lasted only ten months, he showed a pastor’s heart and a firm devotion to the truth, publicly healing old wounds within the Roman clergy and supporting the founding of monastic life through Cassiodorus. In 536 he undertook a perilous winter journey to Constantinople, even pledging sacred vessels to fund the mission, hoping to avert war. When peace proved impossible, he turned to safeguarding the faith, deposing the patriarch Anthimus for error and personally consecrating Menas as his successor—an act remembered for its courage and clarity. Agapetus died in Constantinople on April 22, 536, and was buried at St. Peter’s in Rome. He is venerated in both East and West, and is patron of Saint-Elizabeth of Lotbinière Parish. His feast day is April 22.