Fidelis of Sigmaringen
St. Fidelis was born at Sigmaringen in Swabia in 1577. He practiced at first as a lawyer and so took to heart the cause of the needy that he was known as the poor man's lawyer. Then he joined the Capuchin Friars Minor and was sent by the Holy See to the Grisons in order to bring back the inhabitants of this canton from Protestantism to the Catholic faith. His great influence earned him enemies; he was murdered at Seewis on April 24, 1622.
St. Fidelis
Fidelis has been called the "protomartyr of the Capuchin Order and of the Propaganda in Rome." He was born in 1577, became a renowned lawyer. But feeling that this profession endangered the salvation of his soul, he decided to join the Capuchin Order and employ his extraordinary gift of eloquence in urging the faithful to lead holy lives and in bringing heretics back to the true faith. An ardent admirer of the founder of his Order, he was a great friend of poverty. Severe with himself, he was most considerate towards others, "embracing them like a mother does her children." When the Austrian army was stricken by plague, he cared for the spiritual and bodily needs of the soldiers in such a manner that he was honored with the title, "Father of the Fatherland."
His devotion toward the Mother of God was truly remarkable. Trusting in her intercession and that of other saints, he often begged God for the grace of sacrificing his life in vindication of the Catholic faith. The occasion came when he was appointed to lead the mission for the conversion of Grisons (in Switzerland); heroically he suffered a martyr's death and sanctified with his blood the first-fruits of martyrdom in the Capuchin Order (1622).
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch
Symbols and Representation: With a club set with spikes; with a whirlbat or hurl bat; heretics; with Saint Joseph of Leonissa; trampling on the word heresy; with an angel carrying a palm of martyrdom; the Morning Star
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Read more about St. Fidelis:
- Since St. Fidelis was an excellent preacher and was chosen by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to combat the heresy of Calvinism maybe you might study a little apologetics to prepare yourself to defend the Faith. You can start with this article: A Tiptoe through TULIP.
- From Wikipedia regarding St. Fidelis' relics:
It is said that a Catholic woman lay concealed near the place of Fidelis' martyrdom as the saint was slain. After the soldiers had left, she came out to assess the incident and found the martyr's eyes open, fixed on the heavens. He was buried by Catholics the next day.
The rebels were soon after defeated by the imperial troops, an event which the martyr had foretold. The Protestant minister who had participated in Fidelis' martyrdom was converted by this circumstance, made a public abjuration of Calvinism and was received into the Catholic Church.
After six months, the martyr's body was found to be incorrupt, but his head and left arm were separated from his body. The body parts were then placed into two reliquaries, one sent to the Cathedral of Coire, at the behest of the bishop, and laid under the High Altar; the other was placed in the Capuchin church at Weltkirchen, Feldkirch, Austria.