Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Saint Anastasius of Lleida was born in Lleida in the year 263, and the Church remembers him as a witness to Christ in the early centuries of Christianity. Though few details of his life have come down to us, his very name endures in the faith of the local Church and in the devotion of the faithful. He died in 305, and his memory is honored especially in Badalona and Lleida, where he is venerated as a patron. Celebrated each year on May 11, Saint Anastasius invites us to cherish the communion of saints and to persevere in hope, even when the particulars of a holy life are hidden from history. In his quiet legacy, we are reminded that God’s grace can shine through lives known fully only to Him.

Saint Anthimus of Rome, known in Italy as Sant’Antimo, is believed to have been born in Bithynia and to have died a martyr around the year 303. Though many details of his life come down through legend, the Church remembers him as a priest who remained steadfast during the persecutions under Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Imprisoned for his faith, Anthimus was discovered by Lucina, a charitable Christian woman devoted to aiding persecuted believers. Through Anthimus’s witness, the local governor Pinianus was converted and, according to tradition, healed of illness; in gratitude he freed imprisoned Christians and sheltered Anthimus on the Via Salaria. From there, Anthimus is said to have preached boldly in Italy, drawing many to Christ and working signs that strengthened the faithful. Accused of attacking pagan worship, he endured further arrest and suffering, and was ultimately beheaded on the consul Priscus’s order. His tomb became a place of pilgrimage, and his relics were later venerated in Tuscany near the abbey of Sant’Antimo. He is honored as a patron of Nazzano, Recale, and Sant’Antimo. His feast day is May 11.

Saint Majolus of Cluny was born around 906 to a noble family near Avignon in southern Gaul. As a boy he fled the violence of feudal wars and, orphaned young, devoted himself to study at Lyon. Ordained in Mâcon, he served as canon and archdeacon, teaching clerics freely and withdrawing often to a small riverside oratory for prayer. Known for gentleness and truthfulness, he refused the honors of a bishopric, choosing instead the hidden life of a monk at Cluny. At Cluny his learning and discipline quickly bore fruit, and he became a trusted servant of the community. Elected the fourth abbot around 954, Majolus guided the great monastic reforms of his age, strengthening houses of monks and canons and wisely linking many foundations to Cluny to safeguard their renewal. He traveled widely, counseled emperors and empresses, and even endured captivity by raiders in the Alps, an ordeal that helped stir the defense of Provence. Majolus is venerated as a reforming abbot and holy shepherd of souls, and he is patron of Veveri. His feast day is May 11.