Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Saint Angelus of Jerusalem was born in Jerusalem in 1185 to Jewish parents. When his mother embraced Christianity, Angelus and his twin brother, John, were baptized, and after their parents’ early death they were formed in faith and learning under the care of the Patriarch. At eighteen he entered the Carmelite community near the Golden Gate, and in 1210 he was ordained a priest. Gifted in preaching and credited with miraculous healings, he sought humility and withdrew to a hermitage on Mount Carmel, desiring to avoid acclaim. Obedience drew him from solitude. Sent to Italy to preach the Gospel and to seek papal confirmation of the Carmelite rule, he journeyed through Rome—where tradition says he met Saints Francis and Dominic—and then to Sicily. In Palermo, Agrigento, and especially Licata, his words and works turned many hearts to Christ. His bold witness stirred opposition, and in Licata he was attacked while preaching; he died on 5 May 1220, forgiving his assailant and urging peace. Venerated as a martyr and wonderworker, he is patron of Licata, Osidda, and Sant’Angelo Muxaro. His feast day is May 5.

Saint Gotthard of Hildesheim was born in 960 near Niederaltaich in the diocese of Passau. Formed in the humanities and theology at Niederaltaich Abbey and later at Salzburg and Passau, he grew into a wise administrator and devoted churchman. When the community at Niederaltaich embraced Benedictine life, Gotthard entered as a novice and became a monk in 990, was ordained a priest in 993, and in 996 was made abbot. He labored to renew monastic discipline through the Cluniac reforms, strengthening fidelity to the Rule of Saint Benedict and training other abbots to restore religious life across the region. In 1022 he succeeded Saint Bernward as bishop of Hildesheim. For fifteen years he shepherded his diocese with learning and zeal, founding schools for the formation of clergy and encouraging the building of many churches. He died on 5 May 1038 at a hospice for travelers he had founded. Miracles were later attributed to his relics, and he became beloved as a patron of traveling merchants and of several towns, especially in Italy. His feast day is May 4.

Saint Irene of Lecce, also known in the East as Irene of Macedonia, is venerated as a Great Martyr from the early centuries of the Church, traditionally placed in the 1st or 2nd century. According to ancient legend, she was born Penelope, the daughter of Licinius, ruler of Mygdonia. Fearing for her safety because of her beauty, her pagan father confined her in a tower from childhood. In that solitude she came to know the true God, received Christian teaching, and was baptized by Saint Timothy. Taking the name Irene, she boldly rejected idols and shattered the images her father gave her to worship. Her witness provoked fierce persecution. When her father ordered her dragged to death, she miraculously survived; and when he later died, Irene’s prayer restored him to life, leading to his conversion in some accounts. Irene then preached Christ and converted many, until she was imprisoned and, remaining steadfast, was ultimately put to death—often said by beheading. Honored in both East and West, she is especially remembered as patron of Erchie. Her feast day is May 5.

Saint Irene of Thessalonica, born in Aquileia in 201, is honored as an early fourth-century witness to Christ. Remembered by the Church as a saint who lived in a time of trial, her life points to the quiet strength of faith amid uncertainty. Though few details of her daily work or circumstances have come down to us, her enduring veneration speaks of a holiness that outlasts the passing of centuries. Irene died in 304, and her memory continues to gather the faithful in prayer. She is especially invoked as patroness of Casal Sabini, Erchie, Magliano Nuovo, Massicelle, Trentinara, and Villalfonsina. Her feast is celebrated on May 5, inviting us to seek steadfastness and peace in the Lord.

Nunzio Sulprizio was born on 13 April 1817 in the area of Pescara, Italy, during a time of famine, and was baptized only hours after his birth. Orphaned young and marked by hardship at home, he learned to read and write through the care of local priests and, even as a child, found strength in Mass, prayer, and a quiet love for Christ. After his mother and grandmother died, Nunzio was placed with an uncle and made an apprentice blacksmith, where harsh treatment and exhausting labor weakened his fragile health. In 1831 he developed a grave illness that became gangrene in one leg. Through long hospital stays in L’Aquila and Naples, Nunzio bore intense suffering with remarkable patience, offering his pain to God and deepening his devotion, especially through the Rosary. Supported by a soldier uncle and a benefactor who treated him like a son, he prepared eagerly for First Communion. He died on 5 May 1836, clinging to the crucifix and the sacraments. Proposed as a model for workers, he is venerated as patron of Pescosansonesco. His feast day is May 5.

San Lanno, a soldier from Cologne, is remembered by the Church with quiet reverence. Though little is known of the details of his life, his witness has endured through the centuries, especially in the devotion of the faithful of Vasanello, where he is honored as patron. Tradition holds that he died in the year 296, and his feast is kept on May 5. In San Lanno, believers contemplate the strength of a life offered in service and the mystery of holiness that can shine even when history preserves only a few traces. His memory invites us to steadfastness in duty and to trust that God gathers every faithful act into His eternal glory.