This Week's Feasts and Saints

10th February - Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin.

Born - c. 480 Nursia, Umbria, Italy

Died - 10 February 543 near Monte Cassino

Canonized - Pre-Congregation by St. Peter III

Attributes - nun with crozier and crucifix; nun with dove flying from her mouth, also patron Saint of book fairs.

Patronage - Patroness of Benedictine women's communities; school; tests; books; reading; convulsive children; nuns; invoked against storms and rain; Le Mans

Scolastica, who died in c. 543, was the twin sister of Benedict of Nusria and the first Benedictine nun. All that we know of her life comes from the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. Her nunnery was at Plombariola, about five miles from Monte Cassino and Benedict and Scholastica used to meet once a year at a house some distance from his monastery. On his last visit to her, so the story goes, she asked him to stay longer to discus ‘the joys of heaven’. When he refused she prayed for rain. The resulting thunderstorm was of such violence that Benedict was forced to stay the night – as Scholastica had intended. She died three days later and was buried in the tomb that Benedict had prepared for himself.

Butler, in his "Lives of the Saints", has a fuller account of the last days and death of St. Scholastica: "The saint was the sister to the great St. Benedict. She consecrated herself to God from her earliest youth, as St. Gregory testifies. Where her first monastery was situated is not mentioned; but after her brother was removed to Monte Cassino she chose her retreat at Plombariola, in that neighbourhood. where she founded and governed a nunnery about five miles distant to the south from St. Benedict's monastery. St. Bertharius, who was Abbot of Cassino three hundred years after, says that she instructed in virtue several of her own sex. And whereas St. Gregory informs us that St. Benedict governed nuns as well as monks, his sister must have been their abbess under his rule and direction. She visited her holy brother once a year, and as she was not allowed to enter his monastery, he went out with some of his monks to meet her in a house at some small distance. They spent these visits in the praises of God, and in conferring together on spiritual matters. St. Gregory relates a remarkable circumstance of the last of these visits. Scholastica having passed the day as usual in singing psalms and pious discourse, they sat down in the evening to take their reflection. After it was over, Scholastica, perhaps foreknowing it would be their last interview in this world, or at least desirous of some further spiritual improvement, was very urgent with her brother to delay his return till the next day, that they might entertain themselves till morning upon the happiness of the other life. St. Benedict, unwilling to transgress his rule, told her he could not pass a night out of his monastery, so desired her not to insist upon such a breach of monastic discipline. Scholastica finding him resolved on going home, laying her hands joined upon the table, and her head upon them, with many tears, begged of Almighty God to interpose in her behalf. Her prayer was scarce ended when there happened such a storm of rain, thunder, and lightning that neither St. Benedict nor any of his companions could set a foot out of doors. He complained to his sister, saying, "God forgive you, sister; what have you done?" She answered, "I asked you a favour, and you refused it me; I asked it of Almighty God, and he has granted it me." St. Benedict was therefore obliged to comply with her request, and they spent the night in conference on pious subjects, chiefly on the felicity of the blessed, to which both most ardently aspired, and which she was shortly to enjoy. The next morning they parted, and three days after St. Scholastica died in her solitude, St. Benedict was alone in contemplation on Monte Cassino, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he saw the soul of his sister ascending thither in the shape of a dove. Filled with joy at her happy passage, he gave thanks for it to God, and declared her death to his brethren, some of whom he sent to bring her corpse to his monastery, where he caused it to be laid in the tomb which he had prepared for himself. She must have died about the year 543."

Butler continues: "Louis of Granada, treating on the perfection of the love of God, mentions the miraculous storm obtained by St. Scholastica to show with what excess of goodness God is always ready to hear the petitions and desires of his servants. This pious soul must have received strong pledges and most sensible tokens of his love, seeing she depended on receiving so readily what she asked of him. No child could address himself with so great confidence to his most tender parent. The love which God bears us, and his readiness to succour and comfort us, if we humbly confess and lay before him our wants, infinitely surpasses all that can be found in creatures. Nor can we be surprised that he so easily heard this prayer of this holy virgin, since at the command of Joshua he stopped the heavens, God obeying the voice of a man!"(Joshua 10: 12-13).

Almighty and ever living God, grant that following the example of your holy virgin Scholastica, we may serve you with a pure love and happily receive whatever comes from you.

Locally, St. Scholastica's Day, Tuesday the 10th of February 1355 saw one of the worst outbreaks of town and gown disturbances in Oxford. A dispute over the quality of the wine served at the Swydelstock Tavern at Carfax between the landlord and some students quickly escalated into mass violence with the numbers involved on both sides rapidly increasing reinforcements by the ringing of the bells of St. Martin's and St. Mary the Virgin. The disturbances continued for a number of days and when finally quelled several of the rioters were sent to prison and heavy fines were exacted on the Mayor and bailiffs who were ordered to attend a Mass for the dead every St. Scholastica's Day and to swear an oath to observe the privileges of the University. This ceremony was not abolished until 1825.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Scholastica_Day_riot

https://catholicsaints.info/saint-scholastica/

https://www.bartleby.com/210/2/101.html

https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2014/02/st-scholastica.html

14th February - Feast of St. Cyril, monk and St. Methodius, bishop.

Born - 826 or 827 and 815, Thessalonica, Byzantine Empire (present-day Greece)

Died - 14 February 869 and 6 April 885, Rome and Velehrad, Moravia

Venerated in - Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism

Feast - 11 and 24 May (Eastern Orthodox Church), 14 February (present Roman Catholic calendar); 5 July (Roman Catholic calendar 1880–1886); 7 July (Roman Catholic calendar 1887–1969), 5 July (Roman Catholic Czech Republic and Slovakia)

Attributes - brothers depicted together; Eastern bishops holding up a church; Eastern bishops holding an icon of the Last Judgment. Often, Cyril is depicted wearing a monastic habit and, Methodius vested as a bishop with omophorion.

Patronage - Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Transnistria, Serbia, Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Europe, Slovak Eparchy of Toronto, Eparchy of Košice

The Apostles to the Slavs, Constantine, later called Cyril (826 – 869) and Methodius (c. 815 – 885) were brothers born into a senatorial family in Thessalonica. Both became priests and travelled to Constantinople where Constantine, who would later change his name to Cyril on becoming a monk, became the librarian at Santa Sophia. In c. 863 the Emperor sent them to Moravia as Christian missionaries at the request of the local ruler Rostislav, who wanted them to teach in the vernacular. They accepted this commission with enthusiasm, translated some of the Scriptures and Liturgy into Slavonic and even invented the Glagolithic alphabet, from which Cyrillic would later be derived, in order to write them. They are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Unfortunately their apostolate was hampered by German missionaries who had also been invited by Rostislav and who refused to ordain them or their followers. They returned towards Constantinople reaching Venice at the time of the Photian schism. They were sent for by the pope and they brought with them the relics of St. Clement, one of the early popes. They were received with great honour. Cyril became a monk but died soon afterwards and is buried in the Basilica of San Clemente. Methodius was consecrated archbishop of Sirmium (Pannonia) and returned to Moravia. Once again opposed by the local bishops he was imprisoned for two years and was only freed by papal intervention but instructed to cease the use of a vernacular liturgy. In 879 he was summoned back to Rome to answer charges of heterodoxy and disobedience. He was cleared of both charges and returned confirmed as archbishop of Moravia. He died in Velehrad in the Czech Republic. Pope John Paul II nominated them, along with St. Benedict, as joint Patrons of Europe.

Almighty and ever living God, you caused the good news to be brought to the Slavic peoples by the brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius; grant that our hearts may be open to the words of your teaching that we may be perfected as a people of one accord in the true faith.

Saints and Feast Days this week.

Beginning Sunday, 8th February 2026, The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Day for Victims of Human Trafficking.