On May 14, the Church celebrates St. Matthias, who was chosen as an apostle in place of Judas Iscariot to witness the resurrection of the Lord, according to the Acts of the Apostles. The initiative came from San Pedro. It also celebrates St. Theodora Guérin, a missionary in Indiana.
After the Ascension of the Lord, Peter stated to the Eleven that "it is necessary that one of those who accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus lived with us (...), be associated with us as a witness of his resurrection".
They proposed two: Joseph, called Barsaba, nicknamed Justus, and Matthias. They prayed, cast lots, and "it was the turn of Matiasand they associated him with the eleven apostles". According to tradition, he evangelized Ethiopia, where he suffered martyrdom, and his relics were taken to Trier (Germany), of which he is patron.
Evangelist in the United States
The liturgy also includes several saints on this day. Among them, the French saint Theodora Guérinborn in 1798 in Brittany. At the age of 25, she joined the Sisters of Providence and dedicated herself to the education of children, the poor, the sick and the dying. In 1840 she was sent to the United States to establish a convent and found schools in Indiana.
During the hardships of the mission, he always trusted in Divine Providence, strengthened the community, and founded academies, schools and orphanages throughout Indiana. She died on May 14, 1856 at Saint Mary of the Woods. Benedict XVI canonized her in 2006.
Educators, priests and religious
Italian Maria Domenica MazzarelloBosco, very faithful to Don Bosco, and the priest Michael Garicoitzfounder in 1835 of the Congregation of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and advocate of Bernadette Soubirousthe visionary of Lourdes, are also saints of the day. They have here an excellent description of the dedication of the priest Miguel Garicoitz. He was canonized by Pius XII in 1947.
The Portuguese Blessed Gil de Vaozela or Gil de Santarem(1187), was the son of the governor of Coimbra. He was fond of necromancy and black magic, but struggled to change his life. He embraced religious life in Palencia, joined the Dominicans, was ordained a priest and converted many by preaching. He spent his last years in Santarem (Portugal).
