On May 23, the liturgy commemorates priests, religious and various groups of martyrs. Among the former are St. John Baptist Rossi and the blessed Polish priests Joseph Kurzawa and Vincent Matuszewski, killed by the Nazi police. And among the religious, the Capuchin Saint Crispin of Viterbo.
The Church also celebrates on this day Saints Lucius and his companions martyrs in Carthage (Tunisia), in the time of Emperor Valerian, for confessing the religion and faith learned from St. Cyprian.
The saints martyrs of Cappadocia (Turkey), Christians whose names are not recorded, tortured and killed in 303 for their faith, during the persecution of Emperor Maximian, are also in the saints' calendar of the day. And the martyrs of Mesopotamia, executed under the same emperor.
St. John the Baptist, apostle in poor health
St. John Baptist Rossi was born near Genoa (Italy) in 1698. As a young man he moved to Rome, to the home of an uncle who was a priest. He studied with the Jesuits and was ordained a priest. As a student he suffered his first epileptic seizures, which lasted his whole life. He showed a generous apostolic commitment in Rome in spite of his illness, in the confessionspiritual accompaniment, spiritual accompaniment, care for the poor in Rome and in the hospices.
St. Crispin, cheerful Capuchin
St. Crispin (Viterbo, Italy, 1668), was called Peter. He approached the Capuchin Order, and there he discovered his path of sanctification. In the face of problems, he was optimistic, and his joy He made himself felt at every moment, helping the sick who came to see him. Like St. Francis of Assisi, he discovered the presence of the Lord in created things and in nature. He died in 1750 and is the first saint canonized by St. John Paul II.
