Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest, Martyr

From a eulogy for Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr

Faithful in name and in truth

Pope Benedict XIV praised Fidelis as a confessor of the Catholic faith in these words: “He practiced the fullness of charity in bringing consolation and relief to his neighbors as well as strangers. With a father’s love he embraced all those who were in trouble. He supported great numbers of poor people with the alms he had collected from every quarter.

  “With wealth collected from the powerful and from princes, he comforted widows and orphans in their loneliness. He was always helping prisoners in their spiritual and bodily needs. He showed constant zeal in visiting and comforting the sick whom he would win back to God and prepare for their last struggle.

  “The most outstanding example of this meritorious way of life occurred when the Austrian army, stationed in the area of Raetia, was almost totally destroyed by an epidemic. To show compassion he used to bring food for the weak and the dying.”

  In addition to this charity, he was faithful in truth as well as in name. His zeal for defending the Catholic faith was unsurpassed and he preached it tirelessly. A few days before he shed his blood to bear witness to his preaching, he gave his last sermon. These are the words he left as a testament: “O Catholic faith, how solid, how strong you are! How deeply rooted, how firmly founded on a solid rock! Heaven and earth will pass away, but you can never pass away. From the beginning the whole world opposed you, but you mightily triumphed over everything. This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. It has subjected powerful kings to the rule of Christ; it has bound nations to his service.

  “What made the holy apostles and martyrs endure fierce agony and bitter torments, except faith, and especially faith in the resurrection?

  “What is it that today makes true followers of Christ cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind, and endure difficulties and pain? It is living faith that expresses itself through love. It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future.”