Monthly calendar
Saints honored in December
19 canonized witnesses observed throughout December on the General Roman Calendar.
Honored in December
Francis XavierMemorialDecember 3
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; 7 April 1506 – 3 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led the first Christian mission to Japan.
missionsIndiaJapan
NicholasOpt. MemorialDecember 6
Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos. It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name means "victory of the people."
childrensailorsRussia
AmbroseMemorialDecember 7
Ambrose of Milan (Latin: Aurelius Ambrosius; c. 339 – 4 April 397), canonized as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397.
beekeepersMilanlearning
Juan Diego CuauhtlatoatzinOpt. MemorialDecember 9
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌxwanˈdjeɣo]), was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill of Tepeyac and a fourth before don Juan de Zumárraga, then the first bishop of Mexico. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalup…
indigenous peoples
Damasus IOpt. MemorialDecember 11
Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384), also known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382, which established the canon, or official list, of sacred scripture.
December 12
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Virgen de Guadalupe) and as La Virgen Morena, is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when the Mexican territories were part of the Spanish Empire.
AmericasMexico
John of the CrossMemorialDecember 14
John of the Cross (Spanish: Juan de la Cruz; Latin: Ioannes a Cruce; né Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and Carmelite friar. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and he is one of the 38 Doctors of the Church.
contemplativesmysticsSpanish poets
Peter CanisiusOpt. MemorialDecember 21
Peter Canisius (Dutch: Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit priest known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and the British Isles. The restoration of the Catholic Church in Germany is largely attributed to the work there of the Jesuits, which Canisius led. He is venerated in …
John the EvangelistFeastDecember 27
John the Evangelist (c. 6 AD – c. 100 AD) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how many of these may actually be the same individual.
theologianswritersTurkey
Thomas BecketOpt. MemorialDecember 29
Thomas Becket ( ), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English cleric and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He is known for his conflict with King Henry II over the rights and privileges of the Church…
clergyExeter Collegehttp://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q52777221
Sylvester IOpt. MemorialDecember 31
Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, before 284 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death on 31 December 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, though very little is known of his life.