SAINT OF THE DAY

(1033-1109) St. Anselm was born in Aosta, Italy, and died in Canterbury, England. He is remembered for three important contributions to the Church as we know it. First, as Archbishop of Canterbury he defended the rights and liberties of the Church against the encroachments of the English kings, who plundered the Church’s lands, impeded the […]

(956 –997) Adalbert was born into a noble family in Bohemia and received part of his education from St. Adalbert of Magdeburg. At the age of 27, he was chosen as bishop of Prague. Those who resisted his program of clerical reform forced him into exile eight years later. In time, the people of Prague requested […]

(280-303) George, whose name in Greek means “farmer,” was born to a Christian family in Cappadocia at about the year 280. After moving to Palestine, he joined the army of the Roman emperor Diocletian. When the emperor issued the edict of persecution against Christians in 303, George gave all his belongings to the poor and, […]

(1577-April 24, 1622) Born with the name Mark Ray, today’s saint became a lawyer, championing the causes of the poor and oppressed people. He became known as “the poor man’s lawyer” but soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining […]

(Died 68 AD) Mark was the son of Mary of Jerusalem who provided a place in her home for the Apostles to meet. He also was the cousin of St. Barnabas. He was the writer of one of the four Gospels even though he never knew Jesus personally and was not one of the original […]

(March 19, 1626-April 25, 1667) The story of St. Pedro proves that with persistence and conviction a person of modest intellectual capacity and little means can achieve great things. He was born extremely poor on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands and was a simple shepherd until he was 24 years old. He […]

(Died 107 AD) Simeon was the son of Cleophas, also called Alpheus, brother to St. Joseph, and of Mary, sister to the Blessed Virgin. He was therefore nephew to St. Joseph and to the Blessed Virgin, and cousin to Jesus. Simeon was an early follower of Christ, and probably received the Holy Ghost on the […]

(1802-1841) Pierre-Louis-Marie was born at Cuet, Diocese of Belley, France. He was ordained priest in 1827 and engaged in the parochial ministry for a few years, but intrigued by the work of missionaries in far-away lands, he resolved to devote his life to the Apostolate. In 1831 he joined the Society of Mary (Marist), and […]

(1347-1380) Catherine was born in Siena, Italy in 1347, into an exceptionally large family. When Catherine was 16 years old, motivated by a vision of St. Dominic, she entered the Third Order of the Dominicans, the female branch known as the Mantellate. She confirmed her vow of virginity and dedicated herself to prayer, penance and works […]

(1786-1842) Joseph was born to parents of modest means, the eldest of 12 children (six of whom survived childhood), and one of three to become a priest. He became a priest in 1811 and received a Doctorate in Theology in 1818. The times were difficult in Northern Italy, which was experiencing the Napoleonic invasion. The […]