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About Saint Christopher
There was a martyr named Christopher who was beheaded in Lycia, in the time of the Emperor Decius (249-251). This is all we know of him. His name, however has been invoked by Christians everywhere as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, whose intercession is especially powerful.
The legend that has grown up about the name is familiar. Christopher was a Canaanite 5 cubits (7.5 feet (2.3 m)) tall and with a fearsome face. A giant of a man he was, originally called Reprobus, and determined to serve the mightiest king on earth. When the king he chose to serve showed fear of the devil, he left him and sought out Satan. Satan showed fear at the sign of the cross, however, and leaving him, Reprobus sought Christ.
He vowed for the love of Christ to carry travelers on his strong shoulders across a dangerous river. One night, being awakened by a child’s voice calling his name, Reprobus hastened to his task. Suddenly in the midst of the surging waters, the giant who had never stooped beneath the heaviest of weights, was bent down under the burden of this child, grown heavier than the world itself. “Be not astonished,” said the mysterious child, “you bear Him who bears the world.” He then disappeared, blessing his carrier and naming him Christopher, “Christ-bearer.”
He bore Christ in four ways, namely, on his shoulders when he carried him across the river, in his body by mortification, in his mind by devotion, and in his mouth by confessing Christ and preaching him. Christopher is the patron of travelers and is invoked against perils from water, tempests, and plagues.
From the Lives of the Saints Copyright 1959 by The Catholic Press
( His feast, July 25, was dropped from the Catholic liturgical calendar in 1969 )
The St. Christopher image is taken from the stain glass window over the main entrance to
St. Christopher Church
Midlothian, IL
USA
St Christopher Parish
4130 W. 147th St.
Midlothian, IL 60445
Weekend Masses:
Saturday: 5:30pm (Vigil)
Sunday: 7:30, 9:30 11:00am
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Weekday Masses:
Monday through Sat - 8:30am
" School Mass on Tuesday 8:30am "
(when school is in session)
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Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:
Mon through Sat - 7:25am until 8:25am
(In the Oratory)
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SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION:
4:00pm - 5:00pm every Saturday in the Reconciliation Room
(except Holy Saturday)
His feast day,is
July 25th
St Christopher & Baby Jesus
St Christopher Parish
4130 W. 147th St.
Midlothian, IL 60445 USA
(708) 388-8190 Fax: (708) 388-0072
stchris@stchristopherparish.com
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About Saint Christopher Magallanes and Companions
“Long live Christ the King and the Virgin of Guadalupe!”
This was the slogan of the “Cristero” uprising in the 1920’s against the anti-Catholic government of Mexico which had instituted and enforced laws against the Church in an absurd attempt to eradicate the Catholic faith in Mexico, even going so far as to ban all foreign clergy and the celebration of Mass in some regions.
St. Christopher Magallanes, along with 21 other priests and three lay companions, were martyred between 1915 and 1937, by shooting or hanging, throughout eight Mexican states, for their membership in the Cristero movement. Magallanes erected a seminary in Totatiche and he and his companions secretly preached and ministered to the faithful.
The last words heard spoken by Magallanes were from his cell, when he shouted, "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico".
Pope John Paul II beatified the Cristero martyrs in 1992 and canonized them in 2000.
He was ordained at the age of 30 at the Santa Teresa Temple in Guadalajara in 1899 and served as chaplain of the School of Arts and Works of the Holy Spirit in Guadalajara. He was then designated as the parish priest for his home town of Totatiche, where he helped found schools and carpentry shops and assisted in planning for hydrological works, including the dam of La Candelaria. He took special interest in the evangelization of the local indigenous Huichol people and was instrumental in the foundation of the mission in the indigenous town of Azqueltán. When government decrees closed the seminary in Guadalajara in 1914, Magallanes offered to open a seminary in his parish. In July 1915, he opened the Auxiliary Seminary of Totatiche, which achieved a student body of 17 students by the following year and was recognized by the Archbishop of Guadalajara, José Francisco Orozco y Jiménez, who appointed a precept and two professors to the seminary.
Feast Day - May 21
Christopher Magallanes
Born: July 30, 1869
Totatiche, Jalisco, Mexico
Died: May 25, 1927 (aged 57)
Colotian, Jalisco, Mexico
Beatified: November 22, 1992
by Pope Paul II
Canonized: May 21, 200
by Pope Paul II
Feast: May 21
BAPTISMS (Please use form)
Each Sunday of the month at 12:15PM. Arrangements for parents and godparents may be made by phoning the Parish Office —708-388-8190
