MSI Press Blog

  Today holds a quiet duality. On one side: St. Patrick , the missionary whose legacy became a global celebration of Irish identity, resilience, and spiritual courage. On the other: St. Gertrude of Nivelles , the contemplative abbess whose feast day shares the date — patron of travelers, gardeners, the recently departed, and (in modern devotion) cats . Two saints, two temperaments, one date. 🍀 St. Patrick A figure of movement, mission, and outward action Associated with journeys, exile, and the courage to return His feast day became a cultural anchor for people far from home 🐱 St. Gertrude A figure of hospitality, sanctuary, and inward care Associated with tending the vulnerable — the living and the dying Her modern association with cats reflects her legacy of gentleness and guardianship 🌿 A Day of Both Boldness and Shelter March 17 becomes more interesting when you hold both saints together: Patrick represents the road — the call outward, the courage to cross boundarie...

  It seems appropriate that today's daily excerpt, on Caturday, would from a cat book -- Saints I Know by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission -- and be about St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats. St. Gertrude of Nivelles 626-659 St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the patron saint of cats, which is why sometimes I am tempted to say that she is my favorite saint. But I really don't have a favorite, they are all very special. Well, I talk to St. Francis each morning to find out what jobs I have that day so I suppose that does make him sort of extra special—especially since he is the patron saint of animals. If you think of my jobs as a mission, you might say I am a Mission cat with a different mission every day, thanks to St. Francis. Like St. Basil, St. Gertrude came from a family with many saints. Her mother was St. Itta of Nivelles, her father was St. Pepin of Landen, her sister was St. Begga of Ardenne. Unlike many other saints, St. Gertrude didn't come from a poor or humbl...