Calendar Saints - The Month of March Quiz

Answer: Poor Clares

Agnes of Bohemia was born in 1211 as daughter of King Ottokar I. For political motives, she was betrothed to various potential grooms. But the first of her fiancés died before the marriage ceremony could be planned, and the second one chose to marry someone else. Finally Agnes was betrothed to Emperor Frederick II of Germany, but she decided to stay a virgin and dedicate her life to serving God.
She had erected a Franciscan hospital and a Franciscan abbey, and took up correspondence with Saint Clare of Assisi. Then she built the Saint Saviour convent in Prague, and entered this convent together with five disciples chosen by Saint Clare herself.
Agnes stayed in this Poor Clares convent for the rest of her life, almost fifty years. She became abbess of this convent, but still preferred to undertake humble domestic tasks (such as cooking for the lepers).
The Missionaries of Charity were founded by Mother Teresa in 1950.
The Daughters of Charity were founded in 1633 by Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac.
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament were founded in 1891 by Saint Katharine Drexel.

Answer: Saint Cecilia Church in Rome

There is very little information on Saint Lucius' life, and the scarce information we do have might be false. The fact is that Saint Lucius became the 22nd Pope in 253, at a time when the Roman Empire did not yet have religious freedom. Christians were persecuted from time to time, and Pope Lucius was briefly exiled from Rome. Pope Lucius was named in the Roman Martyrology, but according to historic research this is an error: he never was persecuted nor martyred.
Some of the ideas promulgated during his pontificate were that clerics and deaconesses should not live under the same roof, and that unrelated people of different gender could not live together either. Furthermore, he insisted that repentant apostates should be readmitted into the Church, without having to undergo a second baptism.
Pope Lucius I was buried in the catacombs of Callixtus. Later his relics were transferred to the Saint Cecilia Church. His remains were not left alone there: his head was sent to Roskilde (Denmark) around 1100, and ended up in Copenhagen in the National Museum.
Jukkasjärvi Church is a wooden church constructed in 1607 in Swedish Lapland. There have been found some eighty-odd graves, but none contained the relics of any known saint. Oh, by the way: I've omitted the umlaut in the possible answers to avoid some very weird rendering in Flash Mode.
Saint Basil's Cathedral is a complex of several churches: one church surrounded by eight other churches and enlarged with two annexes, one of which contains the tomb with the relics of Saint Basil.
Canterbury Cathedral is notorious as the site where Saint Thomas Becket was assassinated. Saint Thomas' relics were buried over there.

Answer: Actor

Philemon of Antinoe is not the Philemon mentioned in the New Testament (and to whom Saint Paul sent an Epistle). The Philemon who gave his name to a book in the New Testament lived at the end of the First Century, and his name day is November 22nd (in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations) or February 15th (in the Lutheran churches).
The Saint Philemon venerated on March 8th was an actor, dancer and musician in Antinoe (Egypt) at the end of the Third Century. When he heard Saint Apollonius preaching, he immediately converted to Christianity. A few years after his conversion, Philemon was apprehended by the Romans and executed for not sacrificing to the ancient Roman deities. He was wrapped in chains and thrown overboard.
During the Roman Empire, most actors were seen as prostitutes and thus despised. This was not entirely without reason, but generalisations usually are hazardous. Nowadays actors occasionally still have roles colliding with Christian principles: some roles are too violent, too sexually explicit or otherwise unworthy.
Firefighters have several patron saints. Some of the best known are Saint Barbara (her father was consumed by fire) and Saint Florian (who is said to have extinguished a fire in an entire city by praying and throwing one bucket of water).
Shepherds have even more patron saints than firefighters. An incomplete list would include Saint Bernadette Soubirous (a shepherdess) as well as Saint Raphael the Archangel (who "moved the waters of the healing sheep pool". This quote refers to John 5:1-4, but the Gospel doesn't mention Raphael's name).
Astronauts have only one patron saint: not Saint Christopher as I would expect (the patron saint of travellers), but Saint Joseph of Cupertino (one of the few saints who was said to levitate).

Answer: I see wonderful things

Dominic Savio was born in a small village in Piemonte (Italy) in 1842. When he was five, he could recite many prayers and became a choir boy.
During primary school, Dominic was frequently seen rebuking his comrades for their mischief, and explaining to them clearly why their behaviour was reprehensible.
Dominic entered the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales to receive an education leading up to priesthood. Dominic's mentor was Giovanni Bosco, who later became a saint for his educational work.
Once, when some friends of Dominic's started a fight by throwing stones, Dominic interceded and reminded the two enemies of the gospel. "Let he who is free of sin, throw the first stone".
Dominic fell ill in February 1857. He asked for a priest to hear his ultimate confession and to administer the Anointing of the Sick. As soon as Dominic had received the last sacrament, he exclaimed "I see wonderful things over there" (meaning in heaven) and he expired.
Dominic's father could not believe his son was dead at such an early age. But then the deceased Dominic appeared in a vision to his father, consoling him by saying how wonderful it was in heaven.
"I'll be back" is a recurring quote out of the "Terminator" movie series.
"I like to be in America" is sung in the musical "West Side Story".
"Play it, Sam, just play it" is one of the most misremembered quotes from the movie "Casablanca". People insist on hearing "Play it again".

Answer: Mathilda

Mathilda of Saxony was born in 877 in East Francia. She married Henry the Fowler in 909. Henry became King of Germany in 919.
Mathilda and Henry had five children, who all occupied important posts. Her eldest son Otto became Holy Roman Emperor.
When King Henry died in 936, his widow Mathilda founded an abbey to commemorate him. A few years later, she established three other convents and a monastery.
Mathilda died in 968. She was well known for her charitable works. Her generosity was so proverbial that her own sons accused her of squandering their heritages.
Colette, Louise (de Marillac) and Margaret (Clitherow) are some of the other female saints venerated in March. Saint Colette has her name day on the 6th of March, while Louise de Marillac is celebrated on March 15th. Margaret Clitherow finally has her feast on March 26th.

Answer: In the northern hemisphere, nice weather on her name day is good for starting spring planting

Gertrude was born in 626. At age 10 she refused to be betrothed to a nobleman, but firmly declared she would take the veil. Gertrude's mother founded a double abbey, and installed Gertrude as the first abbess of the nunnery. In 656 she resigned as abbess and concentrated on studying the Bible.
Gertrude died in 659, during Mass, on the very day she had predicted.
When March 17th is blessed with fair weather, it is time to start planting for the spring.
Gertrude never travelled to the Holy Land to see the Garden of Gethsemane. Neither did she know potatoes, which were grown in those days only in South America.
Most images of Gertrude show her with some mice. These mice are symbols for souls in Purgatory, which drew Gertrude's special attention in praying.

Answer: Lindisfarne

Cuthbert was born about 634 somewhere in the British islands (or in Brittany; sources contradict each other). He grew up as a shepherd. When he had a vision of a saint, he decided to enter the Benedictine order. After being Prior of the abbey at Melrose and later at Lindisfarne, Cuthbert decided to lead a hermit's life near Lindisfarne. But in 684 he was chosen as bishop of Lindisfarne and had to give up his hermitage. Cuthbert died in 687.
Lindisfarne is a now abandoned abbey in Northumbria, near the Scottish border.
Ascot Priory, Winkfield is a nunnery in Berkshire founded in 1861.
Ealing Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in London. It was established in 1897 and raised to the rank of abbey in 1955.
Cambridge is situated in the county Cambridgeshire. The Blackfriars Priory of Saint Michael the Archangel was founded in this university city in 1238, abandoned in 1538 and re-established in 1938.

Answer: No

The four Gospels mention Jesus was crucified amidst two other men. According to Luke, these men were two thieves. One of the thieves mocked Jesus, while the other repented.
Here is the full episode (Luke 23: 39-43, KJV):
"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
(By the way, the King James Version is the only English translation of the Bible in which these malefactors are identified as mere thieves. Other translations speak of criminals and rebels.)
The Bible doesn't mention the names of those two thieves. A manuscript from the Fourth Century (ascribed to a certain Nicodemus, but probably a joint effort of several authors) gave the Good Thief the name of Dismas (translated into Spanish as Dimas) and the Bad Thief the name of Gestas. Arabic tradition mentions Titus as the Good Thief and Dumachus as the other one. The Russian Orthodox Church uses the name of Rakh (meaning Arts) for the Good Thief.
Officially Dismas was never canonized, but his inclusion in the Calendar of Saints is based upon medieval tradition as well as the above extract from the Gospels.

Answer: John Climacus

Saint John Climacus was born probably in 525. Keep in mind that there are no dated biographies written by contemporaries of his, so we don't have many trustworthy information on his life. This reminder goes for most of the early and medieval saints.
John was born in Syria and entered a monastery soon after his sixteenth birthday. When the community life with other monks disturbed John's need for meditation, he chose to live as an hermit in the Sinai desert.
Finally the monks from Mount Sinai chose John as their abbot, and he accepted around 600. John died in 606.
Saint John Climacus is a Doctor of the Church, known for his spiritual books. The most famous of his books is written in Greek and titled "Climax". Translations into English use titles such as "The Ladder of Perfection" or "Ladder of Divine Ascent". This particular book describes thirty exercises for an ascetic life. An icon illustrating the summary of this book shows us a stairway to heaven crowded with monks trying to perfect their ascetic lifestyle, while demons shoot at the monks and try to abduct them to Hell.
Saint John Nepomucene (name day May 16th) is named after his birthplace, Nepomuk (previously Pomuk) in Bohemia.
Saint John Angeloptes (venerated November 27th) is the Bishop of Ravenna who "saw an angel".
Saint John Chrysostom is "the one with the golden mouth". He was named thus because of his eloquence. His feast day is September 13th.

Answer: Benjamin

Saint Benjamin was born in Persia, probably in 329 AD. His life until about 420 AD is not documented, but we can assume he was a Christian during the major part of his life. In 423 AD he was freed from prison, under the strict condition that he stop preaching. But Benjamin did continue to preach. So the Persian authorities arrested him once more, and tortured him to death by piercing his body with pointy sticks.
The name Benjamin is derived from the Old Testament, where it was first used for the youngest son of Jacob. The name translates to "Son of my right hand", but has come to be almost synonymous with "the youngest".
Abundantius of Fiesole (name day September 16th) was a deacon beheaded in 304. The literal translation of his name would include "great wealth".
Fortunatus of Aquileia was probably a deacon to Hermagoras, the first bishop of Aquileia. Both were beheaded, perhaps in 70 AD (other sources state 304 AD). Fortunatus means favoured by fortune. Saint Fortunatus and Saint Hermagoras are venerated July 12th.
Saint Philip the Deacon was one of the seven deacons chosen by Saint Paul to spread the Gospel. Philip is mentioned in Acts 6:5 and in Acts 21:8-9. His feast day is June 6th. Philip is Greek for "he who loves horses".