Feast of St. Bernadine of Siena

Much could be said of St. Bernadine - an eloquent Franciscan priest who once nursed the masses during a grave crisis - but devotion to the Holy Name to be what I most associate with him.

Although the Catholic IHS symbol for Christ can be found in the catacombs of Rome, it was St. Bernadine of Siena who was the first major proponent of the use of it. As a measure to ease the tensions between warring factions in medieval Siena, St. Bernadine convinced the people to replace warring symbols with the symbol of the holy name of Jesus - thereby using the Prince of Peace to bring peace.

Below is a marker still found on a Siena building:

Blessed be the Holy Name of Jesus