Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
December 16
Saint of the day:
Saint Adelaide
Patron Saint of princesses, abuse victims; brides; empresses; exiles; in-law problems;
parenthood; parents of large families; prisoners; second marriages; step-parents; widows
Saint Adelaide's Story
The saint of the day for December 16th is St. Adelaide of Burgundy, patron of abuse victims, second marriages, and widows. St. Adelaide was a picture of grace and beauty, according to her spiritual director and biographer, St. Odilon of Cluny. She was born a princess in 1931 and was to became not only the Queen of Italy, but the Empress of Italy. More importantly, this woman of grace lived a holy life, which wasn’t an easy endeavor, given her circumstances in life, and was later canonized a saint.
The daughter of King Rupert II of Burgundy, France, at age 16, she married Lothar of Italy, who eventually became king of Italy. She was widowed in 950 while still a teenager. Lothair was thought to be poisoned by his successor to the throne, Berengarius. As part of his attempt to solidify his grip on power, Berengarius ordered Adelaide to marry his son; she refused, and was imprisoned.
It is believed that a priest came and dug a tunnel to where she was being kept and helped her escape. She remained hidden in the woods until the Duke of Canossa, who had found out about her escape, came and carried her to his castle. During this time the Italians had turned against Berengarius and had compelled the German King Otto the Great to invade Italy. His invasion was successful and while in Canossa he met Adelaide and ended up marrying her on Christmas Day, 951 at Pavia. He was crowned Emperor in Rome in 952, and Adelaide reigned with him for 20 years. Widowed in 973, she was ill-treated by her step-son, Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophano, but eventually reconciled with them.
When Otto II died in 983, he was succeeded by his infant son, Otto III. Theophano acted as regent, and since she still did not like Adelaide, used her power to exile her from the royal court. Theophano died in 991, and Adelaide returned once again to the court to act as regent for the child emperor. She used her position and power to help the poor, evangelize, especially among the Slavs, and to build and restore monasteries and churches. When Otto III was old enough, Adelaide retired to the convent of Selta near Cologne, a house she had built. Though she never became a nun, she spent the rest of her days there in prayer.
She died on December 16, 999 of natural causes and was canonized by Pope Urban II in 1097. Her feast is celebrated in many German dioceses.
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=525
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_of_Italy
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-adelaide-of-burgundy/
https://soundcloud.com/user-84758912-221844386/ep-50-st-adelaide-of-italy
Prayer:
Visit:
Meissen Cathedral in Meissen, Germany
the interior features Gothic sculptures of founder Emperor Otto and his wife Adelaide of Italy
Recipe:
Honey Glazed Roasted Pears
If you've never had a honey glazed roasted pear, you don't know what you're missing! Perfect for any princess!
Ingredients
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1 lemon
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10 medium ripe pears
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2 Tbsp butter
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¾ cup sugar
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¾ cup honey
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2 ½ cup water or wine
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 set rack towards top of oven.
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Peel lemon zest into 4 long strips
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Peel the pears and leave the stems on, if they have not fallen off
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Slice ¼ inch off the bottom of each pear so pear will stand upright in roasting pan
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Place pears in Roasting Pan and add all other ingredients, you do not need to mix them they will become a syrup while in the oven.
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Bake for about 30 minutes until tops of pears are turning brown.
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Remove from oven, push pears onto their sides and spoon syrup over pears to coat them well and return to oven for 20 minutes.
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Remove from oven and rotate pears to the other side, spoon syrup over pears to coat them well and return to oven for 20 minutes.
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The pears will continue to take on color, Pears tops may become very dark brown, we want them to caramelize.
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Pears are poached when a knife inserted into the center slides in easily and the pear is somewhat soft to the touch.
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Once the pears are poached stand them back up and continue to roast for an additional 45 minutes, every 15 minutes basting the pears with the syrup.
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The pears tops will almost be black and the flesh a shiny deep caramel color.
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Place on a tray to cool, save the caramel sauce, discard the lemon zest.
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Serve your Pear with Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce
