To visit the website of the bronx division of the ADU of the Holy Name click on the above link.
To see the lastest Bulletin of the ArchdiocesanUnion of the Holy Name Society click on AUBULLEYIN on left. .
The Holy Name Society has its Holy Name Mass at Sunday 10:00 am Mass on the second Sunday of each month. They have a monthly meeting in the rectory immediatley after the Mass. Meetings have been suspeneded. The date of the next next meeting will be determined is when ever the Virus Quarantine is lifeted.
The men of the holy name society go together on retreat each year all men of the parrish are welcome to join us on retreat each year. Retreat dates Feb 21-23 2020 at Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamacia Queens
For more information about this years retreat contact Tom Tronconi at (718) 794 1861
Blessed John of Vercelli (c. 1205-1283)
Sources: Hughes, Very Reverend Reginald (O.P.) “A Man of Destiny: Blessed John of Vercelli, Founder of the Holy Name Society.” New York: National Headquarters- Holy Name Society, 1950.
Saint of the Day: Blessed John of Vercelli (c. 1205-1283) Beliefnet.com 5 Dec. 2009. Web.
The 735th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Name Society was celebrated on September 20, 2009. On the 675th anniversary in 1949, the directors of the Holy Name Society petitioned the Holy Father to begin the campaign of prayer and investigation to raise the founder of the Holy Name Society, Blessed John of Vercelli, to the level of sainthood. At the present time, men from each chapter of the Holy Name Society in parishes throughout the world pray for John of Vercelli’s canonization and honor the Holy Name of Jesus through doing works of charity and refraining from blasphemous and obscene speech.
Blessed John of Vercelli served as the sixth Master General of the Order of St. Dominic, a group of itinerant preachers that traveled throughout the world, spreading the word of God and imploring all people to hold the most holy name of Jesus with special reverence. He was born in the small village of Mosso Santa Maria near Vercelli in Italy. He was educated in a monastery school near his village and eventually went to the University of Paris, where, by age twenty-one, he received doctorates in civil and canon law. For several years, he taught as a professor of law at the University of Paris. During the time of his teaching there, he met Blessed Jordan of Saxony, who was the second Master General of the Dominicans, having been the successor of St. Dominic. Blessed John of Vercelli was so inspired by the preaching of Blessed Jordan of Saxony that he left his teaching post to become a Dominican friar.
The superiors of the Dominican order noticed quickly the intelligence, zeal, energy, humility, and devout nature of Blessed John of Vercelli. He was given more responsible assignments at every level of his ministry. Blessed John of Vercelli served under thirteen different popes and became a trusted friend and advisor to seven of them. Two popes gave him special assignments. Pope Innocent IV asked for his help in settling disputes among the States of Italy. Pope Gregory X sent him to mediate a dispute between the Church and King Philip III of France. In 1274, prior to the start of the Second Council of Lyons, Pope Nicholas commissioned him and the Dominican Order to preach that church members refrain from blasphemous and obscene speech and stay faithful to the church’s teachings and not to be seduced by the political and social turmoil of the times. Out of this mission, the Holy Name Society was born.
Blessed John of Vercelli was sent to Hungary to restore the Church there after the martyrdom of many Christians at the hands of the Tartars of Russia. He was asked to preach in other parts of the world against heresies and to restore fealty to Church teachings. He was appointed Master General of the Dominican order in 1264 and served for nearly two decades until his death. Toward the end of his life, Blessed John of Vercelli was appointed Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Nicholas III, a very high honor. However, Blessed John of Vercelli declined the appointment choosing to live the rest of his life as a friar.
In 1283, despite his advanced age, Blessed John of Vercelli was still active in visiting and preaching at Dominican foundations throughout Europe. On November 28, 1283, he collapsed and died on his way back to Italy after a mission to Montpelier in France. His body was buried at the Dominican Convent in Montpelier. His feast day is celebrated on December 1. In 1903, Pope Pius X declared him a Blessed of the Church.
Respectfully submitted by: Peter G. Ulrich