ST.

NICHOLAS DE TOLENTINO
PATRON SAINT OF HOLY SOULS

Born: 1245, Sant'Angelo in Pontano, Italy He was the first Augustinian to be

Died: 10 September 1305, Tolentino, Italy canonized.

Feast: September 10 Thousands of churches around the

Canonized: June 5, 1446, Vatican by world are dedicated to St Nicholas,
Pope Eugene IV including over 400 in England, 300
in Belgium, and 50 in Rome.
Nicholas Gurrutti took his name from St. Nicholas of Myra, at whose shrine his parents prayed to
have a child. Nicholas joined the Augustinian Order while a young man, after hearing the inspired
preaching of Reginaldo da Monterubbiano, Prior (local superior) of the Augustinian monastery in
Sant'Angelo, he became a monk at 18, and seven years later, he was ordained a priest. He gained a
reputation as a preacher and a confessor.

His spirit of prayer, penance, austerity of life, and devotion to the Holy Souls were notable. His
preaching brought many to Christ. As a priest and religious, he was full of charity towards his
brother Augustinians as well as towards the people to whom he ministered. He visited the sick and
cared for the needy. He was a noted preacher of the Gospel. He gave special attention to those who
had fallen away from the Church. People considered him a miracle worker.
He often fasted and performed other works of penance. He spent long hours in prayer.

The story is told that, one day, having fasted for a long time, Nicholas was physically weak. While
at prayer, Jesus told him to eat some bread marked with a cross and soaked in water in order to
regain his strength. Thus arose the Augustinian custom of blessing and distributing Saint Nicholas
Bread in his memory. Another story relates that Nicholas, while asleep in bed, heard the voice of a
deceased friar he had known. This friar told Nicholas that he was in Purgatory, and urged him to
celebrate the Eucharist for him and other souls there, so that they would be set free by the power of
Christ. Nicholas did so for seven days. The friar again spoke to Nicholas, thanking him and assuring
him that a large number of souls were now with God. Because of this Nicholas was proclaimed
patron of the souls in Purgatory.

Nicholas holds a special place on our calendar and in our history, not only because he
was the first member of the Order to be canonized, but because he exemplifies well the
balance between two essential elements of Christian - and Augustinian - life: love of God
and love of neighbor; prayer and good works; and for friars, a life of contemplation
combined with a life of generous service in ministry.
 SAINT EZEKIEL MORENO
PATRON SAINT OF CANCER PATIENTS

Born: 9 April 1848, Alfaro, Spain
Died: 19 August 1906, Spain
Feast: 19 August
Canonized: 11 October 1992, Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic by
Pope John Paul II
St. Ezekiel spent a big part of his life in the
Philippines, serving Iloilo, Mindoro, Palawan,
Las Piñas, Batangas, Manila, and other parts of
the country throughout a span of fifteen
years; that he was ordained as a priest in
Manila; that he spoke Tagalog fluently.

St. Ezekiel Moreno, an Augustinian Recollect known for his simple and open spirit. He was deeply
devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He ministered for many years in foreign lands. He strongly
defended the rights of the Church. He joined the Recollect Congregation of the Order of Saint
Augustine in Monteagudo (Navarra) in 1864 and professed vows on September 22, 1865.

St. Ezekiel spent a big part of his life in the Philippines, serving Iloilo, Mindoro, Palawan, Las Piñas,
Batangas, Manila, and other parts of the country throughout a span of fifteen years; that he was
ordained as a priest in Manila; that he spoke Tagalog fluently; and that he, along with the more well
known St. Peregrine, is the Catholic Church’s patron saint for cancer patients (the Augustinian
Recollect missionary died of cancer in Monteagudo, Spain after serving as bishop in Colombia).

He was a leader in the restoration of the Recollect Province of La Candelaria in Colombia, Vicar
Apostolic of Casanare, and in 1899 became bishop of Pasto. His life as bishop was not easy due to
the horrors of a cruel civil war, a period of rising anticlericalism, and persecution of the Church.
Nevertheless, through his simple spirit of openness and rigorous defense of the rights of the Church,
he showed himself a faithful pastor whose concern was the well-being of the Church entrusted to
his care. Struck by cancer he returned to Spain at the insistence of his priests in order to receive
treatment, and died there at Monteagudo on August 19, 1906, at the age of 58. He was beatified in
1975 and canonized in the Dominican Republic by John Paul II in 1992 at the close of the 5th
Century Celebration of the Evangelization of Latin America. Throughout his life and still, at the time
of his death, the Recollects were members of the Order with a profession made to the Prior General.

"Saint Ezekiel Moreno, by his life and evangelizing work, is a model for
pastors, especially those of Latin America, who, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit wish to respond with new zeal, new means, and a new expression to the great
challenges which confront the Church of Latin America" (John Paul II).