Bond of Brothers

Saint George had come from Cappadocia--Turkey--Friday's brothers, John and Paul, also spent time in the East. They were officers in the Imperial Court in Constantinople before returning to their family's home, where we celebrated our Mass over their relics. As a house their home didn't last, because it was filled with rubble and earth after the emperor, Julian the Apostate, beheaded both of them in an attempt to extinguish the Christian faith they had embraced. Destroying their bodies and their dwelling, acts of force and anger by an emperor himself brutally killed a year later--to the day--did not dim the belief which is still celebrated today in their church 1,700 years later.

This beautiful church has a connection with Sacramento as well, as Saint Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists, is buried here. The Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, whose monastery adjoins the basilica, also run the lovely retreat center of Christ the King in Sacramento, which has been a place of rest and refreshment for many priests and laity over the years (though not quite as long as this church, founded in 398).