CatholicSaints.Info

Also known as

• the poor man’s lawyer
• Mark Rey
• Fidel de Sigmaringa

Memorial

• 24 April

Profile

Lawyer and philosophy teacher. Disgusted by the greed, corruption, and lack of interest in justice by his fellow lawyers, Mark Rey abandoned the law, became a priest, became a Franciscan friar with his brother George, changed his name to Fidelis, and gave away his worldly wealth to poor people in general and poor seminarians in particular. He was served his friary as guardian, and worked in epidemics, especially healing soldiers. He led a group of Capuchins to preach to Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. The success of this work, and lack of violence suffered by mission was attributed to Fidelis spending his nights in prayer. He was, however, eventually martyred for his preaching.

Born

• 1577 at Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern, Germany as Mark Rey

Died

• murdered 24 April 1622 at Grusch, Grisons, Switzerland

Beatified

• 24 March 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII

Canonized

• 29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV

Representation

• heretics
• the Morning Star
• trampling on the word heresy
• with a club set with spikes
• with a whirlbat
• with a hurlbat
• with an angel carrying a palm of martyrdom
• with Saint Joseph of Leonissa

Readings

Woe to me if I should prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain. – Saint Fidelis

MLA Citation

• “Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen“. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 June 2020. Web. 25 February 2021. <>