For All The Saints

So it's been more than 'a day or two', but I still wanted to put these saints out there for those of you who may want to know. I also wanted to provide a little insight into the saints listed in the First Eucharistic Prayer. Many will be familiar apostles, but some will be slightly more obscure:

Peter the Apostle: First Pope and companion of Christ. Martyred in 64AD in Rome, Italy.
Paul the Apostle: Pharisee who experienced a dramatic conversion and became the apostle to the Gentiles. Martyred in 65AD in Rome, Italy.
Andrew the Apostle: First disciple, brother of Peter. Missionary in Asia Minor and Greece, and possibly parts of Poland and Russia. Martyred in Greece.
James the Greater: Called the 'greater' because he became an apostle before James the Lesser. Preached in Samaria, Judea, and Spain. Brother of John and first apostle to be martyred. Martyred in 44AD in Jerusalem.
John the Apostle: The beloved apostle, Our Lady was placed in his care at the foot of the cross by Jesus. Found churches in Asia Minor and baptized converts in Samaria. Died in 101AD in Ephesus.
Thomas the Apostle: Known for doubting Jesus' appearance to the apostles after the Resurrection. Preached in Parthia, Persia, and India. Martyred in 72AD in Mylapur, India.
James the Lesser: First bishop of Jerusalem. Brother of Jude, worked with Paul. Martyred in 62AD in Jerusalem.
Philip the Apostle: Preached in Greece and Asia Minor. Shy and practical, one of the twelve. Martyred in 80AD in Hierapolis, Phrygia.
Bartholomew the Apostle: Preached in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India, and Armenia. Close friend of Philip. Writer. Martyred in Albanopolis, Armenia.
Matthew the Apostle: Former tax collector. Preached to the Jewish enclave in Ethiopia and other places in the east. Death unknown.
Simon the Apostle: Often called Zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law. Evangelized in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Martyred in unknown location.
Jude Thaddeus: Cousin of Jesus. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with St. Simon. Could exorcise pagan idols. Martyred in the first century in Persia.
Linus: Second pope. Mentioned in Paul's second letter to Timothy. Martyred in 76AD in Rome.
Cletus: Convert of St. Peter. Third pope. Martyred in 89AD.
Clement I: Fourth pope and apostolic father. One of the 70 apostles. Martyred in 101AD.
Sixtus I: Seventh pope. Concerned with the liturgy and procedures for priests and bishops. Martyred in 125AD in Rome, Italy. (Could possibly be Sixtus II)
Cornelius: 21st pope. Worked to maintain unity in the face of schism and apostasy. Martyred in 253AD.(I made an executive decision here: there is another Cornelius, the centurion who was converted by Jesus and had his whole family baptized and became a bishop; however, going with the theme of the past few being popes, I figured this is the guy they are talking about)
Cyprian of Carthage: Bishop of Carthage and Father of the Church. Martyred in 258AD in Carthage, North Africa. (again, another tricky one, but because of his dedication to preserving the faith, I believe this is the Cyprian the prayer refers to. The other Cyprian was a pagan magician that St. Justina converted then was martyred.)
Lawrence: Distributor of alms and "keeper of the treasures of the church". Martyred in 258AD in Rome, Italy.
Chrysogonus: Teacher of St. Anastasia. Arrested during the persecution of Diocletian. Comforted Anastasia with his letters. Martyred in 304AD in Aquileia, Italy.
John: Servant of the daughter of Constantine and refused to give up his faith. Secretly martyred in Rome, Italy.
Paul: Also a servant of the daughter of Constantine who refused to give up his faith. Secretly martyred in Rome, Italy.
Cosmas: Twin of St. Damian. Physician who didn't charge his patients. Martyred in 303AD.
Damian: Twin of St. Cosmas. Reported to have miraculously replaced a man's ulcered leg with a corpse's. Martyred in 303AD.
John the Baptist: Prophet who preceded Jesus. Martyred in 30AD in Machaerus.
Stephen the Martyr: Deacon and preacher. First martyr of the Church. Martyred in 33AD.
Matthias the Apostle: Replaced Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve Apostles.
Barnabas the Apostle: Not one of the Twelve, but mentioned frequently in Acts with St. Paul. Founded the church in Antioch. Martyred in 61AD in Salamis.
Ignatius of Antioch: Succeeded St. Peter as bishop of Antioch. First writer to use the term The Catholic Church. Martyred in 107AD in Rome, Italy.
Alexander: My sources have failed me. There are numerous Alexander's but from the second article cited below, the scholar says that it's an Alexander who was martyred and buried in the cemetery of the Jordani.
Marcellinus: Priest known for his piety. Martyred with St. Peter in 304AD in Rome, Italy.
Peter the Exorcist: Exorcist credited with the conversion of several saints. Martyred with St. Marcellinus in 304AD in Rome, Italy.
Felicity: Convert and friend of St. Perpetua. Martyred in 203AD in Carthage, North Africa.
Perpetua: Convert, wife and mother. Martyred in 203AD in Carthage, North Africa.
Agatha of Sicily: Protected her virginity from the magistrate who tried to exploit her for it. Martyred in 250AD in Catania, Sicily.
Lucy of Syracuse: Prayed to St. Agatha that her mother would be healed and would not force her to marry. Both happened, but her fiancé sold her out to the governor who then ordered her to be killed. Martyred in 304AD in Syracuse, Sicily.
Agnes of Rome: Consecrated herself to God. Others attempted to force her to denounce her faith and her vow of virginity through pagan rituals and marriage, but she refused. Martyred in Rome, Italy.
Cecilia: Vowed her virginity to Christ, but was forced to marry. Converted her husband who then became a martyr. Martyred in 117AD in Rome, Italy.
Anastasia of Sirmium: Married a pagan. Spiritual student of St. Chrysogonus. Martyred in 304AD in Sirmium, Dalmatia.

I know that was a lot, but it truly was a labor of love. I learned so much! I also stumbled upon these two blog entries, which explain the why of the Eucharistic prayer a little better than I did, so here is part one and here is part two. I hope you all have enjoyed exploring the saints and have a new appreciation for the lengthy Eucharistic prayer.

In other news, I have arrived at Seton Hall and will dedicate time this weekend to filling you all in on how the transition and the first week went! I am so excited to be here!