Saint of the Day
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to an invitation from God to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.
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Blessed John Duns Scotus (November 8, 2009)
A humble man, John Duns Scotus has been one of the most influential Franciscans through the centuries.
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St. Didacus (November 7, 2009)
Didacus is living proof that God "chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).
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St. Nicholas Tavelic and Companions (November 6, 2009)
Nicholas and his three companions are among the 158 Franciscans who have been martyred in the Holy Land since the friars became custodians of the shrines in 1335.
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Venerable Solanus Casey (November 5, 2009)
Barney Casey became one of Detroit's best-known priests even though he was not allowed to preach formally or to hear confessions!
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St. Charles Borromeo (November 4, 2009)
The name of St. Charles Borromeo is associated with reform. He lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation, and had a hand in the reform of the whole Church during the final years of the Council of Trent.
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St. Martin de Porres (November 3, 2009)
"Father unknown" is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. "Half-breed" or "war souvenir" is the cruel name inflicted by those of "pure" blood. Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his …
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Feast of All Souls (November 2, 2009)
The Church has encouraged prayer for the dead from the earliest times as an act of Christian charity. "If we had no care for the dead," Augustine noted, "we would not be in the habit of praying for them." Yet pre-Christian rites for the deceased kept such a strong hold on the superstitious imaginati …
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Feast of All Saints (November 1, 2009)
The earliest certain observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of "all the martyrs." In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagonloads of bones and reinterred them …
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St. Wolfgang of Regensburg (October 31, 2009)
Wolfgang was born in Swabia, Germany, and was educated at a school located at the abbey of Reichenau. There he encountered Henry, a young noble who went on to become Archbishop of Trier. Meanwhile, Wolfgang remained in close contact with the archbishop, teaching in his cathedral school and supportin …
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St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (October 30, 2009)
Tragedy and challenge beset today's saint early in life, but Alphonsus Rodriguez found happiness and contentment through simple service and prayer.
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St. Narcissus of Jerusalem (October 29, 2009)
Life in second- and third-century Jerusalem couldn't have been easy, but St. Narcissus managed to live well beyond 100. Some even speculate he lived to 160.
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Sts. Simon and Jude (October 28, 2009)
Jude is so named by Luke and Acts. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except, of course, where all the apostles are referred to. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently …
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Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza (October 27, 2009)
Dominicans honor one of their own today, Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza. This was a man who used his skills as a preacher to challenge the heresies of his day.
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Blessed Contardo Ferrini (October 26, 2009)
Contardo Ferrini was the son of a teacher who went on to become a learned man himself, one acquainted with some dozen languages. Today he is known as the patron of universities.
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Blessed Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão (October 25, 2009)
God's plan in a person's life often takes unexpected turns which become life-giving through cooperation with God's grace.
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St. Anthony Claret (October 24, 2009)
The "spiritual father of Cuba" was a missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen's chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop and refugee. He was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris and to the First Vatican Council.
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St. John of Capistrano (October 23, 2009)
It has been said the Christian saints are the world's greatest optimists. Not blind to the existence and consequences of evil, they base their confidence on the power of Christ's redemption. The power of conversion through Christ extends not only to sinful people but also to calamitous events.
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St. Peter of Alcantara (October 22, 2009)
Peter was a contemporary of well-known 16th-century Spanish saints, including Ignatius of Loyola and John of the Cross. He served as confessor to St. Teresa of Avila. Church reform was a major issue in Peter's day, and he directed most of his energies toward that end. His death came one year before …
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St. Hilarion (October 21, 2009)
Despite his best efforts to live in prayer and solitude, today's saint found it difficult to achieve his deepest desire. People were naturally drawn to Hilarion as a source of spiritual wisdom and peace. He had reached such fame by the time of his death that his body had to be secretly remo …
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St. Maria Bertilla Boscardin (October 20, 2009)
If anyone knew rejection, ridicule and disappointment, it was today's saint. But such trials only brought Maria Bertilla Boscardin closer to God and more determined to serve him.
Saint of the Day
