Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Born Markus Roy at Sigmaringen in 1578, he studied law and philosophy, accompanied young noblemen on a long study tour across Europe, then set up as a lawyer in Alsace. There he was called the advocate of the poor, because he pleaded without taking a fee; he gave up the profession when he understood he could not stay honest in it. Entering the Capuchins in 1612 under the name Fidelis, he preached, nursed soldiers through an epidemic, and in 1621 was given charge of a mission in the Grisons, in Reformed country. The region was at war and his preaching passed for the vanguard of an Austrian reconquest. On 24 April 1622, coming out of the church at Seewis, he was struck down by armed peasants. He was the first martyr of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, founded a few months earlier.