St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

April 24 is the feast of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622), the Capuchin friar and martyr. Born Mark Rey at Sigmaringen, in Germany, he was a lawyer and professor of law at the University of Freiburg before entering the Capuchins in 1612, taking the name Fidelis — "faithful." He served as guardian of the Capuchin friaries at Freiburg and Feldkirch, and in 1622 was sent by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to preach to the Calvinists of the Grisons, in Switzerland.

He preached in the valleys of the Rhine and the Inn, disputing with the Calvinist ministers, and was killed at Seewis on April 24, 1622, by a band of Calvinist soldiers who had ambushed him after a Mass. He was the first martyr of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. He was canonized in 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV. From Sigmaringen, where he was born, to Seewis, where he died, the April 24 feast is the feast of the lawyer who became the Capuchin missionary.