Seven Holy Founders (1233 A.D.); Saint Eulalia of Barcelona, Virgin and Martyr (304 A.D.)

THE SEVEN FOUNDERS OF THE

SERVITE ORDER

Confessors

Saint Eulalia
Virgin & Martyr
[Historical]

DOUBLE / WHITE

In the thirteenth century, the prosperous city of Florence was torn by political struggles and troubled by heresy. Seven young Florentines offered their lives to atone for the sins of their fellow citizens. They became hermits, meditating constantly on the Passion of Jesus and the sorrows of Mary at the foot of the cross. In 1240 our Blessed Lady inspired the holy solitaries to found a new order, the Servants of Mary. The society grew amazingly and from Italy spread to France, Germany, Poland, and even Asia.

INTROIT (Sap. 10:20-21)

The just sang to Your holy name, O Lord; with one accord they praised Your victorious hand. For wisdom opened the mouths of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent.
Ps. 8:2. O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name over all the earth
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT

O Lord Jesus Christ, through the seven blessed fathers You enriched Your Church with the new Order of Servites in order to keep alive the memory of the sorrows of Your most holy Mother. May we be united in the sorrows of these saints so that we may also share in their joys; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

LESSON (Eccli. 44:1-15) [Sir.]

Let us now praise men of renown and our fathers in their generation. The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from the beginning. Such as have borne rule in their dominions, men of great power, and endued with their wisdom, shewing forth in the prophets the dignity of prophets, And ruling over the present people, and by the strength of wisdom instructing the people in most holy words. Such as by their skill sought out musical tunes, and published canticles of the scriptures. Rich men in virtue, studying beautifulness: living at peace in their houses. All these have gained glory in their generations, and were praised in their days. They that were born of them have left a name behind them, that their praises might be related: And there are some, of whom there is no memorial: who are perished, as if they had never been: and are become as if they had never been born, and their children with them. But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed: Good things continue with their seed, Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath stood in the covenants. And their children for their sakes remain for ever: their seed and their glory shall not be forsaken. Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Let the people shew forth their wisdom, and the church declare their praise.

GRADUAL (Isa. 65:23; Eccli. 44:14)

My chosen ones shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth in distress, for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity with them. V. Their bodies are buried in peace and their name lives unto generation and generation.

TRACT (Ps. 125:5-7)

They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. V. They went forth weeping to sow their seed. V. But on their return they shall come with joy; carrying their sheaves.

GOSPEL (Matt. 19:27-29)

At that time, Peter answering, said to him: "Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have?" And Jesus said to them: "Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Isa. 56:7)

I will bring them unto My holy mountain, and I will make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their holocausts and their victims shall please Me upon My altar.

SECRET

O Lord, graciously accept the sacrifice we offer You. Through the prayers of Your saints inflame us with love for the sorrowing Virgin Mother of Your Son and let us serve You in freedom of spirit. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (John 15:16)

I have chosen you from the world that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.

POSTCOMMUNION

We are refreshed by the Sacrament of Heaven, O Lord. May we follow the examples of these saints, whom we honor today, and stand faithfully beneath the cross of Jesus with Mary His Mother, in order that we may also share in the effects of His redeeming sacrifice. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord . . .

Saint Eulalia (Aulaire, Aulazia, Ollala, Eulària) (c. 290–12 February 303), co-patron saint of Barcelona, was a 13-year-old Roman Christian virgin who suffered martyrdom in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian. 

Relief of Eulalia by Bartolomé Ordóñez in the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia.

For refusing to recant her Christianity, the Romans subjected her to thirteen tortures; including:

• Putting her into a barrel with knives (or glass) stuck into it and rolling it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called Baixada de Santa Eulalia "Saint Eulalia's descent").^[2]
• Cutting off her breasts
• Crucifixion on an X-shaped cross. She is depicted with this cross, the instrument of her martyrdom.
• Finally, decapitation.

Stylized X-shaped Cross of Santa Eulalia in L'Hospitalet

A dove flew from her neck after decapitation.

Eulalia is commemorated with statues and street names throughout Barcelona.^[2] Her body was originally interred in the church of Santa Maria de les Arenes (St. Mary of the Sands; now Santa Maria del Mar, St. Mary of the Sea). It was hidden in 713 during the Moorish invasion, and only recovered in 878. In 1339, it was relocated to an alabaster sarcophagus in the crypt of the newly built Cathedral of Santa Eulalia.^[3] The festival of Saint Eulalia is held in Barcelona for a week around her feast day on February 12.^[4]