Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen was born in 1577 in Sigmaringen, in what is now Germany, and was baptized Mark Roy (or Rey). Gifted in mind and disciplined in heart, he studied philosophy and law at the University of Freiburg, later teaching there and earning a doctorate. Even as a student he lived with striking austerity and purity, and during years of travel as a tutor to young nobles he sought daily Mass, long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and generous service of the poor. Returning home, he practiced law in Alsace with such integrity and compassion that he was called the “poor man’s lawyer.” Yet, troubled by the moral dangers of his profession, he entered the Capuchin Franciscans, taking the name Fidelis, “faithful.” Ordained a priest, he became a zealous preacher and confessor, caring for the sick during an epidemic and drawing many back to God. Sent to strengthen the Catholic faith in eastern Switzerland, he knowingly embraced the risk of martyrdom. On April 24, 1622, after celebrating Mass and preaching, he was attacked near Seewis and killed for refusing to renounce the faith, forgiving his enemies as he died. He is venerated as a martyr of the Counter-Reformation and is patron of Monchiero, Montenerodomo, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Qinzhou. His feast day is April 24.

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.

Saint Anselmo di Bomarzo was an Italian bishop, born around the year 550 in the town of Bomarzo, which would later venerate him as its patron. Remembered as a saint, Anselmo’s life is chiefly known through this enduring witness of local faith: a shepherd of God’s people whose holiness left a lasting mark on the community that raised him. Though many details of his ministry and even the year of his death have not come down to us, his name continues to be honored in the Church’s prayer. Each year on April 24, the faithful celebrate his feast day, asking his intercession for Bomarzo and for all who seek steadfastness in their own service of Christ and His Church.

Saint Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur was born on March 21, 1626, in Vilaflor on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Raised in a poor family, he worked as a shepherd and learned to seek God in prayer, often retreating to a cave that later became a place of pilgrimage. Freed from indentured service as a young man, he left his homeland at twenty-three and journeyed to Guatemala, arriving with little more than faith and determination. In Antigua Guatemala he first hoped to study for the priesthood, but when this proved beyond him, he embraced a humbler path as a Franciscan tertiary, taking the name Peter of Saint Joseph. With tireless charity he taught poor children, visited hospitals and prisons, and begged alms for those most forgotten. In 1658 he began a small refuge for the sick poor that grew into a hospital under the patronage of Our Lady of Bethlehem, the seed of the Bethlemite Order. Exhausted by labor and penance, he died on April 25, 1667, revered as a father to the marginalized. He is patron of La Unión Zacapa. His feast is celebrated on April 24.