Welcome to our daily rosary meditation.

Let's begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for.

Today, we are in the Church of Saint Iranaeus in Lyon.

Now, very few people know who Ironaeus is, but he is extremely important to the Catholic

faith. Irinaeus was a disciple of Polycarp.

Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna in Turkey.

Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle.

So think about that.

Ironaeus was taught by someone who got everything straight from the apostles.

So Ironaeus learned the Catholic faith from someone who learned the Catholic faith directly from the apostles.

And the whole mission of Ironaeus was simply to hand on faithfully what the apostles taught. Now at some point, Ironaeus moved here to Lyon, France.

And during the persecution of Marcus Aurelius,

Iranes was a priest here in the church.

And the bishop, and many of the clergy, and many of the faithful, just like you, were imprisoned

for their faith at that time.

In the year 177, the Bishop of Leon gave a letter to Ironaeus, and he took it to Rome,

urging the Pope to have mercy on the Montanus here, a Christian heresy, but also to share with the Pope about all of the Catholics who were imprisoned

and were being tortured here for their faith.

And when he returned, they had all been marty being tortured here for their faith.

And when he returned, they had all been martyred,

...