Jul. 20 Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr, Opt. Mem.
Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint Apollinaris (d. 79). Early accounts report that Apollinaris was ordained bishop by Saint Peter himself and sent as a missionary bishop to Ravenna during the reign of the emperor Claudius. Renowned for his powers to heal in the name of Christ, he was frequently exiled, tortured and imprisoned for the faith, and finally martyred. Initially, his feast day was celebrated on July 23, the day he died as a martyr, but it was transferred to July 20 to not "compete" with St. Bridget of Sweden. In the reform of the liturgical calendar of 1969, his feast day was removed due to lack of historical data, but in 2002, it was returned as an Optional Memorial on July 20. His own hometown, Port of Classe, Ravenna, Italy, still celebrates Apollinaris on July 23.