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Saint of the Day  (January 30) ✠ St. Martina of Rome ✠ Virgin and Martyr: Born: ---- Died: 228 AD Rome Venerated in: Roman Catholic Church Major shrine: Santi Luca e Martina Church, Rome, Italy Feast: January 30 Patronage: Rome, Nursing Mothers Martina of Rome was a Roman martyr under emperor Alexander Severus. A patron saint of Rome, she was martyred in 226, according to some authorities, more probably in 228, under the pontificate of Pope Urban I, according to others. Her feast day is January 30. Saint Martina, a Roman virgin, was the child of a noble Christian consul, of whom it was said that he was extremely merciful towards the poor and very zealous for faith in the Most Holy Trinity. His daughter lost both her parents while she was still very young, and for love of Christ, she distributed all she inherited to the poor, that she might be freer to hasten towards martyrdom, during the persecution which had recently begun. Under the emperor Alexander Severus, she was ...

Saint of the Day  (30 January)  ✠ Blessed Sebastian Valfrè ✠ Born: March 9, 1629 Died: January 30, 1710 Sebastian Valfrè was born on 9 March 1629 at Verduno in the southern Alps.   His background was humble – his mother and father were poor farmers and the dull routine of work in the fields with his parents and seven siblings took up much of his childhood. He felt a call to the priesthood at an early age but ran into difficulties with his family, who were loathe to lose his assistance with the farm work, however, he persevered and eventually won them over.   He left Verduno to begin his studies in 1641 at the age of twelve and again, these days were not easy for him – at one stage he had to stay up most nights copying out books, to pay for his education, which took him, in its later stages, to Turin for studies with the Jesuits. Also at Turin was the Oratory, which had in earlier years been influential, particularly on the youth of t...