Feast date: Apr 24

A former lawyer who left his profession to become a Capuchin Franciscan priest, Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen has his liturgical memorial on April 24.

Fidelis' life bridged the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a time of religious conflict in Western Europe. He died at the hands of a mob while preaching in Switzerland, where he had gone to combat the Calvinist heresy.

The future “Fidelis” received the name of Mark Rey at the time of his birth, during 1577 in present-day Germany. Mark studied at the University of Freiburg, and worked for a time as a private tutor. Eventually he went back to the university and earned his law degree around 1611.

Though he had already shown signs of devotion to God and studied canon law alongside civil law, Mark opted for a secular career as an attorney. Within a year he was known as “the poor man’s lawyer” because of his concern for the needy. Just as quickly, he became disgusted with the corrupt ways of his chosen field .

Leaving his legal practice behind, Mark decided to give his life directly to the service of Christ and the Church. In short order he received ordination as a priest, and joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Freiburg.

With his entry into the order he received the name “Fidelis,” meaning “faithful” -- after the words of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation, “Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” As he embraced radical poverty and simplicity, the attorney-turned-Franciscan left his inheritance to a scholarship fund for poor seminarians, who also received his books.

Fidelis showed his love for God through prayer and fasting, while caring for his neighbors through preaching, writing, and the celebration of the sacraments. He showed particular care for the poor and sick, and was especially revered for his work among Austrian soldiers who were suffering from a plague epidemic.

During 1614 a Swiss Catholic bishop had sought help from the Capuchins, to restore the faith and counteract the spread of Calvinist Protestantism. In 1621, Fidelis was sent on the mission. He brought just four items: a Bible, a prayer book, a crucifix and a copy of the Capuchin rule.

The winter of 1621-22 was a busy period of preaching, instruction and theological disputation for the Franciscan priest. He preached not only in the pulpits of Catholic churches, but also in public places, and even in the meeting-places of the Calvinists themselves. Some Swiss Protestants responded with hostility, but many others were also brought back to the Church.

Like many cases of religious persecution during this time, Fidelis’ treatment at the hands of the Calvinists did not stem exclusively from doctrinal disagreement. National and cultural tensions also contributed, with many Swiss Protestants suspecting that the Catholic mission was part of an Austrian plot against their nation.

This volatile situation boiled over on April 24, 1622, when Fidelis’ preaching provoked a riot at a church in the village of Seewis. Some Austrian soldiers were killed in the uproar, and a would-be assassin shot at the priest.

After declining an offer of help from a Protestant, Fidelis was confronted outside the church by a mob, and told to choose between his Catholic beliefs and his life. Fidelis was defiant: “The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages. I fear not death.”

St. Fidelis was beaten and stabbed to death. The sight of his martyrdom, however, is said to have converted one of the Protestant preachers who led the mob. A succession of attested miracles led to his canonization in 1746.

A jury has found Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Cleveland to be partially liable for the 2017 death of a four-year-old boy at the hands of his abusive mother.

A Catholic Charities caseworker was sentenced to three years in prison after she falsely stated, at least 11 times, that she had made required monthly visits to the home. Catholic Charities will pay least $960,000 in damages to the boy’s estate.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board has voted against allowing schools to fly a pro-life flag ahead of the Canadian march for life. In 2021, the board voted in favor of allowing schools to fly a gay pride flag.

In Ontario, Catholic school board members are not appointed by bishops, but are elected during municipal elections.

Félix Bolaños, the Minister for the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations in Spain’s Socialist government, has announced the establishment of a government fund to compensate the 440,000 people the government estimates have been abused by priests or laymen in Catholic institutions.

Bolaños stated that he expected the Church in Spain to finance most of the fund; the bishops’ conference countered that “it could not accept a plan that excluded victims of sexual abuse in other organizations,” Reuters reported.

Extrapolating from a survey of 8,000 people, a parliamentary commission announced in October that an estimated 230,000 Spaniards (0.6% of the population) had been abused by priests and that an additional estimated 210,000 (0.5%) had been abused by laity in Catholic institutions.

In December, an audit commissioned by the Spanish bishops, and conducted by a law firm, found that a far smaller number—at least 2,056 minors, most of them male—were abused by Spanish clergy.

Five years after the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings killed 269 people, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has initiated the beatification process for the 171 victims who were killed while attending Mass at targeted churches. (The suicide bombers also attacked hotels.)

The commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the attacks—including a moment of silence and a procession from one targeted church to the other—“was a moment of great spiritual intensity for the Catholic community of Sri Lanka,” said Father Jude Chrysantha Fernando, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo. “The memory of these heroes of the faith is alive and a source of inspiration for many.”

Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, has apologized to Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, DR Congo, for inaccurately reporting that the prelate accused the nation’s government of distributing weapons to armed groups.

“Inaccuracies (now corrected) had crept in during the transition from the original version of the interview (in Italian) to translations into other languages, leaving room for misinterpretations,” Fides reported. “We therefore apologize to the Cardinal himself and to all those who may have been perplexed or embittered by the content and catchphrases used in the reactions to the article.”

The Capuchin Franciscan cardinal is the sole African member of the Pope’s nine-member advisory Council of Cardinals.

An Ohio judge has temporarily prevented the state’s Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act from taking effect.

Ohio lawmakers, overriding the governor’s veto, enacted the law in January. The law protects minors from cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery; it also prevents boys in K-12 schools and men in colleges from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, has appealed Judge Michael Holbrook’s decision.

The chairmen of the US bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and Subcommittee of Native American Affairs have lent their support to the Native American Child Protection Act (House, Senate versions), sponsored by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM).

“Here, we lift up the particular needs, and resilience, of Indigenous families,” Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Bishop Chad Zielinski wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “This bill reauthorizes grant programs directed at prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, as well as family violence, among Indigenous communities.”

“We particularly commend the provisions extending the reach of the grants to urban areas and encouraging the use of culturally appropriate services,” they added.

“Teach Us to Pray,” a resource for the Year of Prayer published in Italian in February by the Dicastery for Evangelization, is now available in English and other languages.

Pope Francis declared 2024 to be a Year of Prayer in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Since the 15th century, it has been customary for the Church to celebrate a jubilee every 25 years.