Saint Francis of Assisi
Light years away from the insipid and belittled figure that ecology and pacifism have fashioned him into, Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was a radical witness to the Gospel, to the love of God in the first place, which inspired him to always be the neighbour ready to help anyone with material and spiritual needs.
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite
The Acts of the Apostles mention Dionysius in the famous passage on Paul's speech at the Areopagus
Holy Guardian Angels
Speaking of the help of angels, the Catechism affirms a comforting truth: “From its beginning until the hour of death, human life is surrounded by their protection and intercession” (CCC 336).
Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus
“If the good Lord grants my wishes, my Heaven will take place on Earth until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my Heaven doing good on Earth”, wrote Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus (St Thérèse of Lisieux) (1873-1897) a few months before her death....
Saint Jerome
“To ignore the Scriptures is to ignore Christ,” said Saint Jerome (347-420), one of the most erudite men of his time, to whom all Christianity owes much. Of impetuous character, he vigorously opposed Arianism and all other forms of heresy....
Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Archangels
Following the reform of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the Church commemorates together the three Archangels on the day that was previously dedicated only to Saint Michael (the feast of Saint Gabriel was 24 March and that of Saint Raphael was 24 October).
Saint Wenceslas
The life story of Saint Wenceslas (907-935) is a tangled web. Son of the Duke of Bohemia, he lived in a land where Christianity was beginning to spread thanks to the evangelization of the Slavic peoples initiated a few decades earlier by Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Saint Vincent de Paul
In Europe torn apart by the spread of Protestantism, Saint Vincent de Paul (c. 1576-1660) was one of the most shining examples of charity working through the Church, so solicitous in helping the poorest and so brilliant that his legacy lives on thanks to the institutes he founded.
Saints Cosmas and Damian
They treated the sick without asking for compensation so were nicknamed Anargyroi, a Greek word meaning “without money”.
Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás
On 25 September 1983, a mother named Gladys Quiroga de Motta, while praying the Rosary in San Nicolás de los Arroyos (Argentina), saw the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus. It was the first of a long series of apparitions.
Saint Pacificus
His favourite passage from the Gospel was taken from the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). Thus, when at the age of 17, Carlo Antonio Divini (1653-1721) joined the Franciscans of the friary of Forano, it was natural for him to choose Pacificus as his religious name.
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
“The fate of the chosen souls is to suffer”, said Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968), born Francesco Forgione, and raised in a devout family that recited the Rosary together every evening...
