7 October: Sts. John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen to be proclaimed Doctors of the Church

From VIS:

ST. JOHN OF AVILA AND ST. HILDEGARD OF BINGEN TO BE PROCLAIMED DOCTORS OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH

Vatican City, 27 May 2012 (VIS) – After celebrating Mass this morning in the Vatican Basilica for the Solemnity of Pentecost, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study to pray the Regina Coeli with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Before the Marian prayer the Pope announced that on 7 October, at the start of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he will proclaim St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard of Bingen as Doctors of the Universal Church. “These two great witnesses of the faith lived in very different historical periods and cultural environments”, he said. “Hildegard was a Benedictine nun during the height of the German Middle Ages, a true master of theology and a great scholar of the natural sciences and of music. John was a young diocesan priest of the Spanish Renaissance, who participated in the travails of the cultural and spiritual renewal of the Church and society at the dawn of the Modern Age”.
The sanctity of their lives and the profundity of their doctrine mean that these two saints “retain all their importance. The grace of the Holy Spirit enabled them to experience profound understanding of divine revelation and intelligent dialogue with the world, two factors which represent the perennial goal of the life and activity of the Church”.
St. John and St. Hildegard are particularly significant on the eve of the forthcoming Year of Faith, and in light of the new evangelisation to which the Synod of Bishops will be dedicating its attention. “Also in our own day, and through their teaching, the Spirit of the risen Lord continues to make His voice heard and to illuminate the path which leads to the Truth, which is the only thing that can make us free and give full meaning to our lives”, the Pope said.

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Another item to update in the traditional Roman calendar!

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6 Comments

  1. jesusthroughmary says:

    Finally a date!

  2. benedetta says:

    I am very happy to know this. I hope our traditional Roman calendar may be updated to include these new Doctors of the Church.

  3. jesusthroughmary says:

    Still waiting for St. Louis de Montfort….

  4. irishgirl says:

    Wonderful news, indeed!
    And I echo what jesusthroughmary said regarding St. Louis de Montfort…wonder when his ‘doctorate’ will come?

  5. Eriugena says:

    Was St John of Avila a Carmelite? A Dominican? A Franciscan? Or a secular Priest? Or something else?

  6. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Eriugena — Apparently he was a secular priest, which is why he’s the patron of secular priests in Spain. His boss was the archbishop of Seville.

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