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Also known as: the poor
man's lawyer; Mark Rey
Memorial: 24 April
Profile
Lawyer and philosophy teacher. Disgusted by the greed, corruption, and
lack of interest in justice by his fellow lawyers, Mark Rey abandoned the
law, became a priest, became a Franciscan friar with his brother George,
changed his name to Fidelis, and gave away his worldly wealth to poor
people in general and poor seminarians in particular. He served his friary
as guardian, and worked in epidemics, especially healing soldiers. He led
a group of Capuchins to preach to Calvinists and Zwinglians in
Switzerland. The success of this work, and lack of violence suffered by
mission was attributed to Fidelis spending his nights in prayer. He was,
however, eventually martyred for his preaching.
Born: 1577 at Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern, Germany as Mark Rey
Died: 24 April 1622 at Grusch, Grisons, Switzerland
Canonized: 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
Representation
with a club set with spikes; with a whirl bat; heretics; with Saint Joseph
of Leonissa; trampling on the word heresy; with an angel carrying a palm
of martyrdom; the Morning Star
Reading
Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the
service of my thorn-crowned Captain.
-Saint Fidelis
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