SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 1: ST. VINCENT STRAMBI

(1745-1824) St. Vincent was born in 1745 in Civitavecchia, the port city of Rome, Italy. He was an only child who lived a devout life as a youth thanks to the example of the Franciscans. His religious fervor led to his entering the seminary at age 15. The Dominicans shared in his seminary formation, helping foster […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 2: ST. BASIL THE GREAT

(329-379) Basil was born in Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia. His family was quite remarkable having produced six saints over three generations. His uncle was a bishop and later two of his brothers would become bishops. He received a fine education in Caesarea, Constantinople and Athens that would have set him up to follow his […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 3: ST. GENEVIEVE

(422-512 AD) Genevieve, the patron of the city of Paris, was born in the small town of Nanterre, about four miles from Paris. She was noticed when only 7 years old by St. Germanus, who happened to be in Nanterre on his way to Britain. After preaching to the townsfolk, he addressed her parents, predicting […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 4: ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON

(1774-1821) Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born Aug. 28, 1774, the second child of Dr. Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton of New York City. As chief health officer for the Port of New York, Dr. Bayley attended to immigrants disembarking from ships onto Staten Island, and cared for New Yorkers when yellow fever swept through the […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 5: ST. JOHN NEUMANN

(1811-1860) John Neumann was born in Prachatice in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) on March 28, 1811. He studied theology in the seminary of Budweis. In his desire to lead souls to Christ, he decided to leave his homeland to dedicate himself as a missionary to the European immigrants in America, who were deprived of […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 6: ST. ANDRÉ BESSETTE

(1845-1937) André Bessette was the eighth of 12 children born to a French-Canadian couple near Montreal. At age 12, his parents had died. He was adopted and he became a farmhand. He later tried his hand at various trades: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith — all failures. He was even a factory worker in the United States […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 7: ST. RAYMOND OF PEÑAFORT

(1175-1275) St. Raymond was born into a wealthy noble family of Peñafort, Catalonia. He studied philosophy and rhetoric in Barcelona, ​​then moved to Bologna where he graduated in law and became a professor of Canon Law. A few years later, the Count of Barcelona, Berenguer IV, traveling to Italy, proposed that Raymond become professor at […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 8: ST. ANGELA OF FOLIGNO

(1248 -1309) Angela was born into a leading family in Foligno, Italy. As a member of the elite, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction. At age 40, she had an epiphany as to the emptiness of her life and […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 9: ST. ANDREW CORSINI

(Died 1374) Andrew Corsini was born in Florence at the beginning of the 14th century, one of the 12 children of Nicholas Corsini and Gemma degli Stracciabende. By 1338, he was associated with the convent of Carmel in Florence. In 1343, he was mentioned in a contract between the religious and the Company of the […]

SAINT OF THE DAY

JAN. 10: ST. AGATHO

(Died 681) St. Agatho is the oldest man ever to become pope. There is reliable information that records that he was more than 100 years old when he stepped into “the shoes of the fisherman!” Born in Sicily, he became a Benedictine monk in Palermo. He succeeded Pope Donus in 678. Shortly after Agatho became […]