Though there are many Pauline Saints, none are officially canonised since the Church has never raised any Pauline to the status of a saint because the Pauline Fathers never pursue the canonisation of our members, following a tradition where we never seek their earthly glory. Indeed even our founder, Blessed Eusebius, was only officially given the title Blessed recently and at the request of the Hungarian Bishops. Nevertheless, we still remember all these saints when we commemorate them on November 7th, as we celebrate the Memorial of All the Saints of the Pauline Order. Instead, during the rest of the liturgical year, we celebrate other saints that are in some way connected to the Pauline Fathers, such as St. Agustine of Hippo, who wrote the Monastic Rule we follow, or that have inspired us in our Charism.
January
Saint Paul, The First Hermit, Father of the Order
January 15th – Solemnity
St. Paul was born around AD 228 in Thebes. When he was sixteen, the persecution of Christians began. Hiding in the desert, he resolved to spend the rest of his life in solitude and prayer.
Feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Hermits and Patroness of the Order
January 16th – Feast
As the Pauline Fathers have drawn inspiration in their history from the Desert Fathers who lived as hermits and as their Charism calls them to spread devotion to Our Lady, they have naturally sought the intercession of the Mother of God under the title of the Queen of Hermits. The Australian Province of the Order is dedicated to Our Lady under this title.
St. Anthony, Abbot
January 17th – Feast
Anthony the Abbot, or Anthony the Great, was born in Egypt in 251. The Life of St. Paul the First Hermit, written by St. Jerome, tells us that Anthony came to seek him towards the end of his life. Without St. Anthony, St. Paul of Thebes would likely have passed away without anyone knowing. St Anthony is known as the Father of Monasticism for his importance among the Desert Fathers.
Saint Macarius the Great, Abbot
January 19th – Optional Memorial
Macarius was born in Alexandria circa AD 300. In his youth, he went to the desert near Thebes, where he spent 29 years. Next, he moved to the Scetic Desert, giving himself to an even more rigorously penitential life. He was then ordained a priest. Living in prayer and fasting, here received the gift of prophecy and the ability to work miracles.
Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom, Priest, Founder of the Order
January 20th – Feast
Eusebius was born around 1200. He received Priestly orders and was made a Canon of the Cathedral of Esztergom. In 1216, after receiving his bishop’s permission, he began to live an eremitical life in the Pilis Mountains. In 1246, he renounced his Canonry and lived with brother hermits near Pilisszántó. He founded a monastic community under the patronage of the Holy Cross. In 1256, the community elected him as the first Provincial of the Pauline Order.
February
Saint John Cassian, Abbot
February 28th – Memorial
John Cassian was born around AD 360, most likely in modern Romania. When he was twenty, he came to Palestine and became a monk in one of the monasteries in Bethlehem. Next, he spent ten years in Egypt among the monks there, where he came to know renowned masters of the eremitical life. Then, in the years following, he lived in Rome. There he received priestly orders and befriended the future Pope Leo the Great. Finally, around 415, he founded two monasteries, one for monks (Saint Victor’s) and another for virgins (The Saviour’s).
March
Saint Joseph Bilczewski, Bishop
March 20th – Optional Memorial
Joseph Bilczewski was born on the 26th of April 1860 in Wilamowice near Kęty. He was the Archbishop of Lviv, the professor of Dogmatic Theology and the Rector of Lviv University. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland. He believed her cult to be the most significant cause in the unification and rebirth of the Polish nation in the years of the Partitions of Poland.
April
Saint Mary of Egypt, Hermit
April 1st – Memorial
Mary was born in Egypt between the fourth and sixth Centuries. At age twelve, she ran away from home and gave herself to loose living. After a sin-filled seventeen years, when she could not enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, she converted and abandoned her life thus far. She left for the Jordan Desert, where she spent many penitential years in solitude, with various mortifications and fasts.
May
Saint Pachomius, Abbot
May 9th – Memorial
Pachomius was an Egyptian Monk, the writer of the first rule of religious life and of cenobitism. He was born around AD 287 in Egypt. In his youth, he was recruited into the Roman army. During his service, under the influence of the selfless help of Christians, he converted to the faith. He resolved to give himself to the exclusive service of God. He went into the desert, where he lived a life of austere asceticism under the guidance of Saint Palemon, following which he lived a life of solitude in Tabenna, where he founded a monastic community.
June
Mary, Mother of the Church
Monday after Pentecost – Feast
Saint Hedwig, Queen
June 8th – Optional Memorial
Hedwig, born in 1374, was the daughter of King Louis, the king of Hungary and Poland. She inherited the Polish Throne from her father and was crowned in 1384. Marrying the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław Jagiełło, she contributed to the conversion of Lithuania to Christianity. She supported the creation of the Krakow Theological Institute as well as the renewal of the university. Her entire life, she was marked by generosity to the poor. She died in Krakow on July 17, 1399. The Pauline Fathers venerate her as a great benefactor of the Order.
August
Solemnity of Our Lady of Częstochowa
August 26th – Solemnity
Władysław, The Duke of Opole, built the monastery of Jasna Góra for the Pauline Order and entrusted to their care the Icon of Our Lady venerated at his castle. Quickly the icon was renowned for being miraculous. Its fame increased considerably following the defence of Jasna Góra from the Swedes. In 1717, the icon was solemnly crowned, and Jasna Góra became the chief centre of devotion to Our Lady in Poland.
Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
August 28th – Feast
He was born at Thagaste in Africa in the year 354. As a young man, he led a troubled life both in the philosophy he professed and in his moral behaviour, but later in the year 387, he was converted and received baptism in Milan from the bishop Saint Ambrose. He returned to his own country and led the life of an ascetic. Elected Bishop of Hippo, for thirty-four years, he was an exemplary bishop to his flock, teaching his people by his sermons and writings, striving to combat the errors of the time and to make the faith understood. He died in the year 430.
September
Saint Thecla, Virgin and Martyr
September 24th – Optional Memorial
Saint Thecla is thought to have come from Iconium. She was said to have received Baptism from Saint Paul the Apostle during his first journey through Asia Minor (45-49 AD). She made a vow of chastity and remained unmarried. She accompanied Saint Paul on his travels, ministering to him. She supposedly lived a long life, well into her eighties, of which she spent a significant amount as a hermit.
The Holy Guardian Angels
October 2nd – Feast
The scriptures tell us that God, in His Providence, sends Angels to protect His people and to guide them to their determined goal. The Church invites us to render thanks for the presence of the Angels among us and to turn to them for protection in the dangers of life and temptation.
Consecration of the Church if the date is unknown
Last Sunday of October
November
Commemoration of all the Departed of the Order
November 3rd – Memorial
All the Saints of the Order
November 7th – Memorial