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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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.
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St. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf and Companions (October 19, 2009)
Isaac Jogues (1607-1646): Isaac Jogues and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. As a young Jesuit, Isaac Jogues, a man of learning and culture, taught literature in France. He gave up that career to work among the Huron Indians in …
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St. Luke (October 18, 2009)
Luke wrote one of the major portions of the New Testament, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. In the two books he shows the parallel between the life of Christ and that of the Church. He is the only Gentile Christian among the Gospel writers. Tradition holds …
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St. Ignatius of Antioch (October 17, 2009)
Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome.
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St. Marguerite d'Youville (October 16, 2009)
We learn compassion from allowing our lives to be influenced by compassionate people, by seeing life from their perspective and reconsidering our own values.
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St. Teresa of Avila (October 15, 2009)
Teresa lived in an age of exploration as well as political, social and religious upheaval. It was the 16th century, a time of turmoil and reform. Her life began with the culmination of the Protestant Reformation, and ended shortly after the Council of Trent.
Saint of the Day
