Saints (81)
Saint John Bosco
Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
St. John Bosco (1815–1888), popularly known as Don Bosco, was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, and writer who dedicated his life to educating and providing for poor, abandoned youth in Turin, Italy. He developed a unique "Preventive System" of education based on love, reason, and religion rather than punishment. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco to continue this mission.
Personal Life
John Bosco, also known as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco and Don Bosco, was born in Becchi, Ita…
Saint John Chrysostom
Saint John Chrysostom (349-407)
John Chrysostom, or “golden-mouthed,” placed his gift with words at the service of the Word. He became the bishop of Constantinople, where his clear preaching earned him enemies. The great preacher, who died in exile, is one of the most prolific of the Fathers of the Church.
Personal Life
John was born in 347 in Antioch and was baptized there more than twenty years later. Under the pagan teacher Libanius, he learned rhetoric and Greek literature. He reportedly so impressed his teac…
Saint John of Ávila
Saint John of Ávila (1499-1569)
St. John of Ávila (1499–1569) was a renowned 16th-century Spanish priest, preacher, and mystic known as the "Apostle of Andalusia". A Doctor of the Church, he was a key figure in the Catholic Reformation, known for preaching, promoting clerical education, and providing spiritual direction to other saints.
Personal Life
John of Avila lived in the first half of the sixteenth century. He was born on 6 January 1499 or 1500 in Almodóvar del Campo (Ciudad Real, in the Archdiocese of Toledo…
Saint John Paul II
Saint John Paul II (1920-2005)
This great Pope tirelessly proclaimed the love of Christ, the “Redeemer of man,” and shepherded the Church into the third Christian millennium. His feast day is celebrated on October 22, the anniversary of the inaugural Mass in 1978 at which he cried out to the world, “Be not afraid!”
Personal Life
Karol Wojtyła – “Lolek” to his family and friends – learned a great deal from suffering. The boy, born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, lost his mother when he was nine. When he was twelve, …
Saint John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist (1 BC - 1st century AD)
Saint John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet, cousin and forerunner of Jesus Christ, known for baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River and preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ultimately being beheaded by King Herod for his condemnation of the king's marriage to Herodias. He lived an ascetic life in the wilderness, wearing camel's hair and eating locusts, and directed his followers to Jesus, whom he called the "Lamb of God".
Personal Life
When the time arrived for Elizabeth …
Saint John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist (1st century AD)
The “beloved disciple” was an impetuous fisherman who became a disciple of Jesus, the only one of the apostles not to be martyred. Tradition holds him to be the author not only of the fourth Gospel, but of the Johannine letters and the Book of Revelation.
Personal Life
When two young Jewish fishermen sat by the Sea of Galilee, mending their nets with their father, a man walked by and said, “Follow me.” Their response reveals the startled glimmer of recognition they must have had in…
Saint Josemaria Escrivá
Saint Josemaria Escrivá (1902-1975)
St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902–1975) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei in 1928, an organization dedicated to spreading the belief that everyone is called to holiness through their daily work and ordinary life. Known as the "saint of ordinary life," he emphasized finding God in professional, family, and social duties.
Personal Life
He is known as “the Saint of everyday life” because he taught that even the simplest actions of daily life can lead to holiness. This i…
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph (1st century BC - 1st century AD)
Jesus certainly loved St Joseph as a son loves his father. Which is why we celebrate St Joseph as Protector of Families and Patron Saint of Workers. That is also why St Joseph has two feast days: March 19th, as the Spouse of Mary, and May 1st, under the title of Joseph the Worker.
Personal Life
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed …
Saint Jude Thaddeus
Saint Jude Thaddeus (1st century AD)
St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, often identified as a relative (brother or cousin) of Jesus and recognized as the patron saint of lost causes, desperate situations, and hope. He preached in Mesopotamia, Libya, and Persia, ultimately being martyred.
Personal Life
Jude Thaddaeus, this is what tradition has called him, combining two different names: in fact, whereas Matthew and Mark call him simply "Thaddaeus" (Mt 10: 3; Mk 3: 18), Luke calls him "Judas, the s…
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy (3rd century - 304)
St. Lucy was martyred on December 13, 304. At her trial, the judge reportedly became enamored of her beautiful eyes, and she, to halt his passion, tore them out and sent them to him on a platter. Hence, St. Lucy - a name derived from the Latin for light, lux - is invoked as protector of the eyes.
Personal Life
Lucy’s story is told in the Acts of Martyrdom: a collection of traditions, popular tales and legends. Lucy was born at the end of the third century in Syracuse, into a wealth…
Saint Luke the Evangelist
Saint Luke the Evangelist (1st century AD)
Of the four Evangelists, St Luke is the best at drawing descriptions of individual personalities. He probably owes his reputation as an artist to this characteristic. His feast falls on 18 October.
Personal Life
St Paul speaks of St Luke – the author of the Third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles – in the Letter to the Colossians, referring to him as the “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col 4:14). According to Eusebius, the Church historian, Luke was born in Antioch, and was a G…
Saint Mark the Evangelist
Saint Mark the Evangelist (1st century AD)
St. Mark the Evangelist is traditionally recognized as the author of the second Gospel, the shortest and earliest of the four. A close associate of St. Peter and St. Paul, Mark (often called John Mark) was not one of the original twelve apostles but became a key figure in the early Church, establishing the church in Alexandria, Egypt.
Personal Life
What we know about Saint Mark comes to us through the Acts of the Apostles in some letters of Saints Peter and Paul. He was not part of t…
