Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen
Priest and Martyr
- Feast Day
- April 24
- Life
- 1578–1622
- Canonized
- 1746
- Order
- Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
- Born
- Sigmaringen, Swabia, Holy Roman Empire
Mark Roy was born in 1578 at Sigmaringen in Swabia. He studied philosophy and law at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, where he received the doctorate in both civil and canon law in 1611, and practiced as a lawyer earning the popular title of advocate of the poor.
In 1612 he abandoned the legal profession, was ordained priest, and entered the Capuchin reform of the Franciscan Order, taking the religious name Fidelis. After serving as a preacher and confessor in several Swiss and German friaries, he was named in 1621 the first head of a Capuchin mission to the Grisons (Graubunden) in eastern Switzerland, an area where Calvinism had become predominant and where the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith had charged the Capuchins with the work of reunion.
His preaching at Seewis on April 24, 1622, was interrupted by an armed band who attacked the church. Refusing to renounce the Catholic faith, he was struck down outside the building and died of his wounds. His body was eventually brought to Feldkirch in Austria.
He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIII on March 24, 1729, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIV on June 29, 1746. He is the protomartyr of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and is considered the first Capuchin to be canonized as a martyr.
Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen is honored as the protomartyr of the modern Catholic missionary office. His martyrdom at the hands of those whom he had come to win for the Catholic faith is a witness to the cost of the Counter-Reformation effort at religious reunion in Central Europe. His own previous career in law makes him a particular patron of lawyers who undertake the defense of the poor.
Patronages
the Capuchin Order · lawyers
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen
19 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- Saint Fidelis Roman Catholic Church — Chicago, IL
- St. Fidelis — Arenzville, IL
- The Basilica of St. Fidelis — Victoria, KS
- Basilica of Saint Fidelis — Victoria, KS
- St. Fidelis Kirche
- St. Fidelis — Darmstadt
- St. Fidelis — Stuttgart
- St Fidelis — Aidlingen
- St. Fidelis — Offenburg
- Sankt Fidelis — Regensburg
- St. Fidelis — Villingen-Schwenningen
- Pfarrkirche Heiliger Fidelis — Zwischenwasser
- Klosterkirche St. Fidelis — Neuötting
- Sankt Fidelis — Burladingen
- Virgo Fidelis
- Virgo Fidelis e ai Santi e Beat Alpini — Sangineto
- Fideliskapelle
- Fideliskapelle
- Saint Fidelis — Mahanoy City, PA
Sources