October 2024
Respect for All Life Month
1International Day of Older Persons
2Birthday of Mahatma Ghandi (1869–1948): Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Assassinated January 30, 1948.
International Day of Nonviolence
4Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226, Favorite saint of Cornelia Connelly): Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and itinerant preacher. Patron Saint of the environment, animals, and birds because of the respect he gave to all God's creatures.
5World Teachers' Day
6Feast of Blessed Rose Durocher (1811–1849) Marie-Rose Durocher, SNJM was a Canadian Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. She was beatified in 1982.
7Birthday of Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931–2021): Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first Black African to hold the position.
10Birthday of Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941–1995): Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, teacher, television producer, and environmental activist.
World Mental Health Day
11Birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962): Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms as president, making her the longest-serving first lady of the United States.
Birthday of Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022): Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher, who founded the Plum Village Tradition, historically recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism. Known as the "father of mindfulness", Nhất Hạnh was a major influence on Western practices of Buddhism.
12Anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard (1976–1998)
13Celebration of Founder's Day: Cornelia Connelly, an American, founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in Derby, England, 1846
14International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
15International Day of Rural Women
Anniversary of the First Mass celebrated in the convent of the newly formed Society of the Holy Child Jesus by Cornelia Connelly, 1846 in Derby, England
16World Food Day
17International Day or the Eradication of Poverty
19Anniversary of the Assassination of Digna Ochoa (1964-2001): She was a human rights lawyer in Mexico.[3] During her career, Ochoa had represented some of Mexico's poorest constituents against government interests.[4] On October 19, 2001, she was assassinated by unknown assailants inside of her office in Mexico City. Mexican state authorities initially declared her death a suicide, however amongst objections from human rights activists the investigation into her death was reopened in 2005.[4] In 2021, Mexico admitted wrongdoing in the investigation of Ochoa's assassination.
20Feast Day of St. Maria Bertilla Boscardin
21Feast Day of St. Anthony Claret (1807–1870):a Spanish Catholic prelate and missionary who served as Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and was the confessor of Isabella II of Spain. He founded the congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, commonly called the Claretians.
24United Nations Day
31Halloween / Eve of All Saints / All Hallows Eve