SAINT OF THE DAY

(1603-1767)           Today’s saint proves that a saint doesn’t have to be blessed with incredible intelligence in order to be in the state of grace. St. Joseph was born in 1603 at Cupertino, in the diocese of Nardo in the Kingdom of Naples. His mother often considered him a nuisance and treated him harshly. Joseph was […]

(Died 305) Januarius (or Gennaro in Italian) was an early Christian bishop who was martyred near Naples during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. According to legend, as bishop of Benevento, he was visiting some imprisoned Christians in Pozzuli, a town very near Naples, when he was arrested. The bishop and his Christian companions […]

(1821-1846; companions died 1839-1867) Christianity came to Korea during the Japanese invasion in 1592 when some Koreans were baptized, probably by Christian Japanese soldiers. Evangelization was difficult because Korea refused all contact with the outside world except for taking taxes to Beijing annually. On one of these occasions, about 1777, Christian literature obtained from Jesuits […]

(First century) When Christ first encountered Matthew, he was a publican, sitting at the custom desk at Capernaum. As a tax collector for Rome, Matthew was one of the most despised people of his community. When Jesus entered the room, he simply told Matthew, “Follow me.” The tax collector got up and changed the course […]

(Died 287) St. Maurice was a member of the Theban Legion, a Roman legion said to have been constituted by Christian soldiers from Africa, which was called to put down a revolt in Aaunum, located in modern day Switzerland, in the year 287. Two legends exist about the martyrdom of St. Maurice and his companions. […]

(1887-1968) Francesco Forgione was born May 25, 1887, into a poor Italian farm family in Pietrelcina. He was baptized in the Church of St. Ann in Pietrelcina, where he later became an altar server. By the time he was 5 years old, he had made the decision to dedicate his life to God. As a […]

(1653-1721) San Pacific (Pacificus) of San Severino was born of a distinguished family in the Italian city of San Severino. He was very young when he became an orphan, and was taken to the home of his uncle, who brought him up very strictly. Two servants in his uncle’s home could not bear the sight […]

(1823-1894; 1831-1877) Born into a military family in Bordeaux, Louis trained to become a watchmaker. His desire to join a religious community went unfulfilled because he did not know Latin. Moving to Normandy, he met the highly skilled lace maker, Zélie Guérin, who also had been disappointed in her attempts to enter religious life. They […]

Legends about Sts. Cosmas and Damian far outrun any verifiable historical details about their lives. A meager collection of long-lost documents builds a narrative that Cosmas and Damian were twins and natives of Saudi Arabia who studied medicine in Syria. They became known as the “moneyless ones” for refusing to accept payment for their healing […]

(1581-1660) St. Vincent de Paul was born to a poor peasant family in the French village of Pouy. He did so well learning at the hands of Franciscans that he was hired to tutor other children. He used the monies he earned teaching to continue his formal studies at the University of Toulose, where he […]