42: Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43: But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44: Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46: Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 47: Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48: But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,' 49: and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, 50: the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, 51: and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.    

2: Every day I will bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever. 3: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4: One generation shall laud thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 5: On the glorious splendor of thy majesty, and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate. 6: Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness. 7: They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

  1: Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sos'thenes, 2: To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4: I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5: that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge -- 6: even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you -- 7: so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8: who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9: God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Augustine was born at the town of Tagaste ( now Souk-Ahras, in modern day Algeria) on 13 November, 354. He grew to become one the most significant and influential thinkers in the history of the Catholic Church, and his teachings were the foundation of Christian doctrine for a millennium.The story of his life, up until his conversion, is written in the autobiographical Confessions, the most intimate and well known glimpse into an individual's soul ever written, as well as a fascinating philosophical, theological, mystical, poetic and literary work.He was the first son of Saint Monica and a pagan father named Patricius, who was baptized just before his death, leaving his mother the widow whose tears and prayers for the conversion of her wayward son are known to us through the Confessions.Augustine, though being brought up in early childhood as a Christian, delayed being baptized, lived a dissolute life of revelry and sin, and soon drifted away from the Church - thinking that he wasn't necessarily leaving Christ, of whose name he acknowledges "I kept it in the recesses of my heart; and all that presented itself to me without that Divine name, though it might be elegant, well written, and even replete with truth, did not altogether carry me away" (Confessions, I, iv).He went to study in Carthage and became well known in the city for his brilliant mind and rhetorical skills and sought a career as an orator or lawyer. But he also discovered and fell in love with philosophy at the age of 19, a love he pursued with great vehemence.He was attracted to Manichaeanism at this time, after its devotees had promised him that they had scientific answers to the mystery of nature, could disprove the Scriptures, and could explain the problem of evil. Augustine became a follower for nine years, learning all there was to learn in it before rejecting it as incoherent and fraudulent.He went to Rome and then Milan in 386 where he met Saint Ambrose, the bishop and Doctor of the Church, whose sermons inspired him to look for the truth he had always sought in the faith he had rejected. He received baptism and soon after, his mother, Saint Monica, died with the knowledge that all she had hoped for in this world had been fulfilled.He returned to Africa, to his hometown of Tagaste, "having now cast off from himself the cares of the world, he lived for God with those who accompanied him, in fasting, prayers, and good works, meditating on the law of the Lord by day and by night."On a visit to Hippo he was proclaimed priest and then bishop against his will. He accepted it as the will of God and spent the rest of his life as the pastor of this north African town, from where he spent much time refuting the writings of heretics.  Augustine also wrote, The City of God, against the pagans who charged that the fall of the Roman empire, which was taking place at the hands of the Vandals.On August 28, 430, as Hippo was under siege by the Vandals, Augustine died, at the age of 76. His legacy continues to deeply shape the face of the Church to this day.

Born of Christian parents at Tagaste, North Africa, in 333, St. Monica died at Ostia, near Rome, in 387. Probably the second most famous mother of all, after the Mother of God, Monica's life can never be separated from that of her son, the great Saint Augustine, convert, bishop, and doctor of the Church. What we know of her for the most part is the account that Augustine gives of her in his Confessions.We are told but little of her childhood. She was married early in life to Patritius who held an official position in Tagaste. He was a pagan, though like so many at that period, his religion was no more than a name; his temper was violent and he appears to have been of dissolute habits. Consequently Monica's married life was far from being a happy one, more especially as Patritius's mother seems to have been of a similar disposition. There was, of course, a gulf between husband and wife; her almsgiving and her habits of prayer annoyed him, but it is said that he always held her in a sort of reverence. Monica was not the only matron of Tagaste whose married life was unhappy, but, by her sweetness and patience, she was able to exercise a veritable apostolate amongst the wives and mothers of her native town; they knew that she suffered as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect. Monica had three children, Augustine the eldest, Navigius the second, and a daughter, Perpetua. Monica had been unable to secure baptism for her children, and was greatly grieved when Augustine fell ill; in her distress she besought Patritius to allow him to be baptized; he agreed, but on the boy's recovery withdrew his consent.All Monica's anxiety now centered on Augustine; he was wayward and, as he himself tells us, lazy. He was sent to Madaura to school and Monica seems to have literally wrestled with God for the soul of her son. Monica did receive a great consolation during this time as her husband, Patritius, became a Christian shortly before dying.  At Carthage, where Augustine had now gone to study, he had become a Manichean, news which caused Monica to kick him out of her house.  She went tearfully to the bishop to ask him to help and he responded famously "the child of those tears shall never perish." Augustine left to Rome undercover of night in order not to hurt his mother, but she followed him all the way to Rome where she met Saint Ambrose and was able to see the conversion and baptism of her son after 17 years of tears and prayer. Monica died at Ostia, on the way back to Africa with Augustine. The most moving the pages of his Confessions were written as the result of the emotion Augustine experienced at the parting of his mother.

Born July 1773 at La Blanc, France; 26 August, 1838; canonized 1947 by Pope Pius XII. Born to nobility, and educated in a convent school, Jeanne Elizabeth witnessed closely and was personally affected by the events of the French Revolution which rocked France when she was 16 years old. On her father’s death she moved to La Guimetiere with her mother, and in 1796, realizing that she needed to do something to defend the Church and keep the faith alive amidst the attacks of the revolutionaries, she decided to begin a ministry of teaching and serving the poor. She gathered groups of faithful in the town – which was at this point without a priest or community of religious – and organized meetings of prayer and Scripture study. The town still suffered the effects of the French Revolution; it didn't even have a priest, much less religious communities. Jeanne Elizabeth gathered the remaining faithful together to pray, read Scripture, and sing hymns. She entered a Carmelite convent on her mother’s death in 1804 and later the Society of Providence, on the advice of Saint Andrew Fournet, an underground priest who was forced to remain clandestine because he refused to make a pledge of allegiance to the government of the new republic. He realized that she was the one God had called to lead a community of women he had gathered, and she cofounded the Daughters of the Cross with him in 1807 to care for the sick and poor and teach the faith. By the time of her death in 1838, the community had more than 60 houses all over France.

St. Louis was born to King Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, at Poissy, April 25th 1215.  died near Tunis, 25 August, 1270. Louis was made King at only 11years of age and was the father of 11 children,  St. Louis of France led an exemplary life, bearing constantly in mind his mother's words: "I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin." His biographers have written of long hours he spent in prayer, fasting, and penance, without the knowlege of his people. The French king was a great lover of justice, who took great measures to ensure that the process of arbitration was carried out properly. All of 13th century Christian Europe willingly looked upon him as an international judge. He was renowned for his charity. "The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor," he would say. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor. He founded many hospitals and houses: the House of the Felles-Dieu for reformed prostitutes; the Quinze-Vingt for 300 blind men (1254),  as well as hospitals at Pontoise, Vernon, Compiégne. St. Louis was a patron of architecture. The Sainte Chappelle, an architectural gem, was constructed in his reign as a reliquary for the Crown of Thorns, and it was under his patronage that Robert of Sorbonne founded the "Collège de la Sorbonne," which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris, the most illustrious seat of learning in the medieval period. St. Louis died of the plague near Tunis, August 25th, 1270, during the Second Crusade.  He is the patron of masons and builders.

Saint Bartholomew is one of the Twelve Apostles, mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13). The name (Bartholomaios) means "son of Talmai" which was an ancient Hebrew name.Besides being listed as an Apostle, he is not otherwise mentioned in the New Testament. At least not under the name Bartholomew: many ancient writers, and Catholic tradition have identified Bartholomew as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John (John 1:45-51, and 21:2). The Gospel passage read at Mass on the feast of Saint Bartholomew is precisely this passage from John (1:45-51) where Nathaniel is introduced to Jesus by his friend Phillip, and Jesus says of him "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him (1:47)." We are presented with the Apostle's character in this brief and beautiful dialogue with the Lord Jesus. He is a good Jew, honest and innocent, a just man, who devotes much time to quiet reflection and prayer - "under the fig tree (1:48)" - and has been awaiting the Messiah, the Holy One of God. At Jesus' mention that "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you (1:48)," Nathaniel responded "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (1:49)!"  Being "a true child of Israel," Nathaniel was a man well-read in the Scriptures and knew what they said of the Messiah and where he would come from. This is why he is skeptical of Phillip's claim that Jesus is the Messiah, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth (1:46)?" But Nathaniel was lacking "duplicity" - that is, his heart was undivided, his intentions pure - his openness to reality was always ready to recognize and surrender to the truth when he encountered it. He remained open to his friend Phillip's invitation to "Come and see (1:46)." In encountering Jesus and hearing His words, he found himself face to face with the Truth Himself, and, like John the Baptist's leap in his mother's womb at the Lord's presence, Nathaniel's words lept out of his own heart in a clear and simple confession of faith, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus, in Matthew 5:8, says, "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." In Nathaniel we have an example of the pure man who sees - recognizes -  God when confronted with Him, and on seeing Him believes in Him, and upon believing in Him follows Him. Nothing is known for sure about the life of Nathaniel/Bartholomew after the Ascension of Jesus. But tradition has it that he preached in the East and died a martyr's death in Armenia, being flayed alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus.

Rose is the first saint of the New World. Rose was born to Spanish parents in Lima, Peru, in 1586. At a very young age, she chose to consecrate her life to God. She practiced prayer and penance daily, sometimes depriving herself of food and sleep. She joined the Third Order of St. Dominic and lived in a little hut in her parents' garden, working to help support them. She was ill for the last three years of her life and was cared for by a government official and his wife. She died at the age of 31 in 1617 and was canonized in 1671.

In this feast, particularly cherished by the Popes of modern times, we celebrate Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the Universal Church. Pope Pius IX said of Mary's queenship: "Turning her maternal Heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of Heaven and earth, and exalted above all choirs of Angels and the ranks of Saints in Heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains what she seeks." And Pope Pius XII added the following: "We commend that on the festival there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon this there is founded a great hope that there will rejoice in the triumph of religion and in Christian peace... ...Therefore, let all approach with greater confidence now than before, to the throne of mercy and grace of our Queen and Mother to beg help in difficultly, light in darkness and solace in trouble and sorrow... . . Whoever, therefore, honours the lady ruler of the Angels and of men - and let no one think themselves exempt from the payment of that tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let them call upon her as most truly Queen and as the Queen who brings the blessings of peace, that She may show us all, after this exile, Jesus, who will be our enduringpeace and joy."

Pope Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the first Pope elected in the 20th century. He came to the papal office in 1903 and died 11 years later in 1914, just as World War I was beginning. He was born in 1835 at Riese, near Venice, and was one of eight children. His family was poor. He felt a calling to be a priest at a young age and was ordained in 1858. After 26 years, he was named bishop of Mantua, Italy, and in 1893, he became patriarch of Venice. As Pope, he issued decrees making the age of First Holy Communion earlier (at the age of 7) and advocated frequent and even daily reception of the Eucharist. He promoted the reading of the Bible among laypeople, reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple homilies, and brought back Gregorian chant. He revised the Breviary, reorganized the curia, and initiated the codification of canon law. He died in 1914 of natural causes reportedly aggravated by worries over the beginning of World War I. Pope Pius X was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

St. Bernard is a Doctor of the Church thanks to his writings and sermons which greatly influenced Europe during the 12th century, and his efforts which helped to avoid a schism in the Church in 1130. Bernard left his privileged life near Dijon, France, to join the Cistercians at the age of 22. He was well educated and so passionate about his faith that he convinced his brothers, his uncle, and many of his friends to join him at the abbey. Bernard first entered the abbey at Citeaux, but only three years later was sent with 12 other monks to establish another monastery in the Diocese of Champagne. The monastery came to be known Clairvaux (Valley of Light). He led the other monks there as the abbot for the rest of his life. He became widely known throughout Europe and was consulted by popes and political leaders. He died in 1153 and was canonized less than three decades later in 1174.

St. John Eudes was a French missionary and the founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity; St John was also the author of the liturgical worship of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.  St. John was born at Ri, France on November 14th, 1601.  At the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity and since the time he was a child he tried to live in imitation of the Lord Jesus. When he was ordained a priest in 1625, at the age of 24, he was immmediately thrust into the service of victims of the plague whom he cared for at great risk to his life. He also began preaching missions and was known as the greatest preacher of his age, preaching missions all over France, especially throughout Normandy.In 1641 he founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, to provide a refuge for prostitutes.  In 1643 he founded the Society of Jesus and Mary for the education of priests and for missionary work.He was also instrumental in encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Heart of Mary, writing the first book ever on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts, "Le Coeur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu".He died at Caen, on August 19th, 1680.His virtues were declared heroic by Leo XIII, on January 6th, 1903. The miracles proposed for his beatification were approved by Pius X, May 3rd, 1908, and he was beatified April 25th, 1909.  He was canonized in 1925.

"In Madame de Chantal I have found the perfect woman, whom Solomon had difficulty in finding in Jerusalem". - St. Francis de Sales, her spiritual directorBorn at Dijon, France, 28 January, 1572; died at the Visitation Convent Moulins, 13 December, 1641. Jane (Jeanne) was born to into nobility, her father being the president of the parliament of Burgundy. At age 20 she was married to the Baron de Chantal.  Jane had four children and loved and served her young family deeply until the death of her husband in a hunting accident at age 28.For seven years she was forced to live in the house of her father in law, a trial which she was forced to bare patiently due to his ill-disposition towards her. She took a vow of perpetual chastity during this time.In all her prayers Jane asked God to send her a guide.  In a vision He showed her the spiritual director He held in reserve for her. During Lent, in 1604, she visited her father at Dijon, where St. Francis de Sales was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle. She recognized in him the mysterious director who had been shown her, and placed herself under his guidance. Then began the famous correspondence between the two saints which produced volumes of letters of spiritual direction some of which are available today, but most of which were destroyed by her on the death of St. Francis.She went to Annecy in 1610, where she believed God was calling her to found an order for women and girls who feel called to live the life of Christian perfection, but not practice the severe asceticism of the religious orders of the time.Thus the Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, June 6th, 1610. The method of spiritual perfection of the Visitation nuns was that of St. Francis, which consisted in always keeping one's will united to the Divine will, in taking -so to speak- one's soul, heart, and longings into one's hands and giving them into God's keeping, and in seeking always to do what is pleasing to Him. There were 86 convents of the Visitation nuns at her death 31 years later.St. Jane Frances de Chantal's spirituality was a strong and resilient one; she did not like to see her daughters giving way to human weakness, and encouraged constant battle against the passions and habits which keep one from following God's will. Her trials were continuous and borne bravely; and yet she was exceedingly sensitive. She endured interior crosses which, particularly during the last nine years of her life, kept her in agony of soul from which she was not freed until three months before her death. Her reputation for sanctity was widespread. Queens, princes, and princesses flocked to the reception-room of the Visitation. Wherever she went to establish foundations, the people gave her ovations. "These people", she would say confused, "do not know me; they are mistaken". Her body is venerated with that of St. Francis de Sales in the church of the Visitation at Annecy.  She was canonized in 1767.

One of the first members of the Dominicans (the Order of Preachers) and the "apostle of the North", also called the "apostle of Poland." Hyacinth was born into nobility in 1185 at the castle of Lanka, at Kamin, in Silesia, Poland, and received an impressive education , becomng a Doctor of Law and Divinity before travelling to Rome with his uncle, Ivo Konski, the Bishop of Krakow. In Rome he met St. Dominic and decided to join the Order of Preachers immediately, receiving his habit from Dominic himself in 1220. After his novitiate he made his religious profession, and was made superior of the little band of missionaries sent to Poland to preach. In Poland the new preachers were favourably received and their sermons were productive of much good. Hyacinth also founded communities at Sandomir, Cracow, and at Plocko on the Vistula in Moravia. He extended his missionary work through Prussia, Pomerania, and Lithuania; then crossing the Baltic Sea he preached in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Russia, reaching the shores of the Black Sea. On his return to Krakow he died, on August 15, 1257 Some of his relics can be found at the Dominican church in Paris. St. Hyacinth is a patron of Poland.

Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary, was born a pagan at Gran in 975 and baptized with his father, a Magyar chieftain, by St. Adalbert of Prague when he was 10 years old. He took the name Stephen in place of his pagan name, Vaik. In 995 he married Gisela, the sister of Duke Henry of Bavaria, who later became Emperor St. Henry II.  In 1997 he was crowned king of Hungary and he immediately set about uniting the nation under the banner of Christianity. He received the poer to establish episcopal sees in Hungary from Pope Sylvester II, who also crowned him with the 'holy crown' on August 17, 1001.  He founded monasteries and hospices, most notably the monastery in Jerusalem, and was known for his kindness to beggars. He dreamed that his son, the pious and holy St. Emeric, would succeed him to the throne and rule Hungary as a Christian king as well, but this dream was shattered when Emeric was killed in a hunting accident. Saint Stephen died on August 15, 1038, while his nephews were in the midst of a battle among themselves to succeed him. The right hand of St. Stephen is kept in incorrupt state and is the most sacred relic in Hungary. The following is an excerpt of the wise and holy king's advice to his son: "My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow-countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak. Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up to much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that ;you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death. All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown, and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom."

This feast celebrates the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven, that is, that Mary was taken up into heaven body and soul at the end of her life on earth. The Western Church adopted it as an annual feast day in the year 650.

Fr. Maximilian Kolbe lived his priestly ministry spreading the Gospel message through the use of media-newspapers, magazines and radio-but he died laying down his life for another man in a Nazi concentration camp. He was born Raymond Kolbe in 1894 to poor and pious Catholic parents. At age 12, he had a vision of the Mother Mary in which she asked him to choose whether he would accept a white crown, which meant that he should persevere in purity, or whether he would accept a red crown, which meant that he should become a martyr. He told Mary that he would accept both. He entered the Franciscan seminary the following year and was tempted to leave to join the military. But he persevered and made first vows with the Conventual Franciscans in 1911. He took the name Maximilian. He was ordained a priest in 1918 at the age of 24. In 1922, he began a magazine in Poland, called Knight of the Immaculate, which at its height had a circulation of 750,000 copies per month. In 1930, he became a missionary to Japan and began a similar magazine there. Two years later, he moved to India. He had to return to Poland in 1936 due to poor health. But two years later, his monastery began a Catholic radio station. At this time, Nazism was becoming more widespread. Fr. Maximilian was first arrested with several other friars in 1939, but they were released. The friars continued their media ministry and housed 3,000 Polish refugees, most of whom were Jewish. But many of the friars were arrested again Feb. 17, 1941, including Fr. Maximilian.  He was transferred to Auschwitz in May and was assigned to harsh labor and beaten often. He was once beaten and left for dead, but the prisoners managed to get him to the camp hospital where he spent his recovery hearing confessions. When he recovered, Fr. Maximilian ministered to other prisoners by offering mass and delivering Communion using smuggled bread and wine. In July 1941, there was an escape from the camp. Camp rules required that 10 men be executed in retribution for each escaped prisoner. Fr. Maximilian volunteered to take the place of a married man with young children, who had been chosen by the Nazis to be killed. Fr. Maximilian was killed with lethal carbonic acid injection. His body was then burned and his ashes were scattered. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1982, declaring him a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, journalists and prisoners.

Pontian became Pope in the year 230, after Pope Urban I. She was exiled to the mines of the Italian island of Sardinia five years later during a period of Christian persecution. There, he decided to resign from his papal office and died a martyr for the faith. Hippolytus was a priest and well-respected theologian in the early third century. But in 217 he rebelled against the Church when Callistus became Pope. He, too, was exiled in 235 to the Sardinian mines, where he met Pontian. Pontian helped Hippolytus reconcile with the Church. Hippolytus, too, died a martyr.

Benedetto Odescalchi born at Como, 16 May, 1611; died at Rome, 11 August, 1689. He was educated by the Jesuits at Como, and studied jurisprudence at Rome and Naples. Urban VIII appointed him successively prothonotary, president of the Apostolic Camera, commissary at Ancona, administrator of Macerata, and Governor of Picena. Innocent X made him Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano on 6 March, 1645, and, somewhat later, Cardinal-Priest of Sant' Onofrio. As cardinal he was beloved by all on account of his deep piety, charity, and unselfish devotion to duty. When he was sent as legate to Ferrara in order to assist the people stricken with a severe famine, the pope introduced him to the people of Ferrara as the "father of the poor", "Mittimus patrem pauperum". In 1650 he became Bishop of Novara, in which capacity he spent all the revenues of his see to relieve the poor and sick in his diocese. With the permission of the pope he resigned as Bishop of Novara in favour of his brother Giulio in 1656 and went to Rome, where he took a prominent part in the consultations of the various congregations of which he was a member. Odescalchi was unanimously elected pope on 21 September, 1676, and took the name of Innocent XI. Immediately upon his accession he turned all his efforts towards reducing the expenses of the Curia. He passed strict ordinances against nepotism among the cardinals. He lived very parsimoniously and exhorted the cardinals to do the same. His pontificate was marked by the prolonged struggle with Louis XIV of France on the subject of the so-called "Gallican Liberties", and also about certain immunities claimed by ambassadors to the papal court. He died after a long period of feeble health on August 12, 1689. The case for his canonization was introduced in 1714 but the influence of France forced it to be suspended in 1744. In the 20th century it was reintroduced, and Pius XII announced his beatification on October 7, 1956.