Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
St. Thomas of Villanova, Bishop and Confessor
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Season: Time after Pentecost
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
St. Thomas of Villanova, Bishop and Confessor
Rank: Double
Color: white
Commemoration: Ss. Mauritius and Companions, Martyrs.
Quote for the day
Pope Gregory XVI
“The Church is the pillar and foundation of truth, all of which truth is taught by the Holy Ghost.”
Quo Graviora, n. 10
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - September 22
At Valencia, in Spain, St. Thomas, of Villanova, archbishop and confessor, whose birthday is the 8th of September. — At St. Maurice, near Sion, in Switzerland, the birthday of the holy Theban martyrs Maurice, Exuperius, Candidus, Victor, Innocent, and Yitalis, with their companions of the same legion, whose martyrdom for the faith, in the time of Maximian, filled the world with the glory of their sufferings. — At Rome, the martyrdom of the holy virgins and martyrs Digna and Emerita, under Valerian and Gallienus. Their relics are kept in the church of St. Marcellus. — At Arpajon, near Paris, St. Jonas, priest and martyr, who went to France with St. Denis, and after being scourged by order of the prefect Julian, ended his martyrdom by the sword. — At Ratisbon, in Bavaria, St. Emmeramus, bishop and martyr, who, to deliver others, endured patiently a most cruel death for the sake of our Lord. — At Antinoopolis, in Egypt, the holy martyrs Irais, an Alexandrian virgin, and her companions. Having gone out to draw water at a fountain near by, aand seeing a boat loaded with Christian confessors, she immediately left her vessel and joined them. Being conducted to the city with them, after many torments, she was the first to have her head struck off; and after her, priests, deacons, virgins, and all others underwent the same kind of death. — At Meaux, blessed Sanctinus, bishop, disciple of St. Denis, the Areopagite, who, being consecrated by him bishop of that city, was the first to preach the Gospel there. — In the territory of Coutances, St. Lauto, bishop. — In Poitou, the holy priest Florentius. — In the territory of Bourges, St. Sylvanus, confessor. — At Laon, St. Salaberga, abbess.
Highlighted saint
St. Thomas of Villanova
Bishop, confessor, and father of the poor.
The Martyrology honors St. Thomas of Villanova, archbishop and confessor, and remembers his ardent charity for the poor.
His witness teaches that episcopal dignity must bend toward mercy. The poor are not a theme for speeches, but members of Christ to be served with sacrifice and truth.
Virtue to practice
Pastoral charity for the poor.
Error to resist
The social charity that helps bodies while neglecting truth and salvation.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask St. Thomas of Villanova for charity with a bishop's heart: generous, truthful, and ordered to the whole person.
Imitate today
- Give alms or practical help according to your state.
- Pray for bishops to love the poor rightly.
- Keep charity joined to doctrine.
Sources
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, September 22.
- Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, September 22.
Breviary Witness
A bishop with a father's charity for the poor.
Matins - St. Thomas of Villanova
Breviary witness
- The Breviary honors St. Thomas of Villanova as bishop and confessor, renowned for charity toward the poor.
- His witness teaches that pastoral dignity must bend toward mercy without losing doctrine, reverence, or zeal for souls.
For the pilgrim in exile
Let charity become practical and Catholic. The poor need more than sentiment; they need truth, reverence, and real help.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for September 22, St. Thomas of Villanova.
- Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, September 22.
Meditation
Growth After Pentecost
The Time after Pentecost teaches perseverance after the great feasts. Many souls receive light and then return to forgetfulness. The pilgrim must instead turn light into rule: morning prayer, the Angelus, Rosary, examination, custody of speech, and fidelity to the duty before him.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, give me holy fear before Thy altar. Preserve me from casualness, invention, and every worship that weakens faith in Thy sacrifice.
Thought for the pilgrim
False worship wounds souls because worship forms belief.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Make one act of reverence for the Holy Sacrifice and pray for souls misled by false worship.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts should come from Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, traditional popes before 1958, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, or received liturgical texts.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.