The Saints
St Francis of Assisi
Feast Day: October 4
Patron saint: Animals, the environment
Francis of Assisi took the gospel literally by following all that Jesus said and did, humbly and joyfully - he was an imitation of Christ. He was born wealthy and enjoyed a life of luxury. But he gave up all his possessions and choose poverty, and was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic. His followers were called Friars Minor because they were to consider themselves as the least among religious. Out of humility Francis never accepted the priesthood but remained a deacon all his life. Two years before his death, he received the stigmata.
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Sts Joachim & Anne
Feast Day: July 26
Patron saint: Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents,
Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence of any elements of their lives and stories about them come to us through legend and tradition. They have both been honoured since the early Christian days, especially Anne who had the great privilege of being chosen to raise the Mother of God. Legend tells us that after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God.
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Pope St Leo I - The Great
Feast Day: November 10
St Maximillian Kolbe
Feast Day: August 14
Patron saint: Drug addicts, imprisoned people, journalists, pro-life movement,
Maximilian (Raymond) Kolbe was born in Zdunska-Wola, near Lodz, in Poland. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, he was arrested with several of his brothers. He was transferred to Auschwitz and branded as prisoner 16670. Father Maximilian took the place of Francis Gajowniczek, a man condemned to die for an escaped prisoner. He was sent to the starvation chamber and died by lethal carbonic acid injection after three weeks of starvation and dehydration. His body was burned in the ovens and his ashes scattered.
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Padre Pio
Feast Day: September 23
Patron saint: Civil defense volunteers, Catholic adolescents,
When Pio was five years old, he consecrated himself to Jesus. He bore the wounds of Jesus on his hands, feet, and side for approximately 50 years. Several days before he died, however, all evidence of the wounds disappeared. He asked Jesus to take away the Stigmata saying, "I do want to suffer, even to die of suffering, but all in secret."
He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. He emphasized the importance of Mass: “It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun, than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”.
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Sts Simon and Jude
Feast Day: October 28
Patron saint: Curriers, sawyers, tanners, lost causes, desperate situations,
Very little is known about these saints beyond them being mentioned as Apostles in the New Testament. Simon is called the Canaanite or the Zealot, to distinguish him from Simon Peter. A number of legends of his life after Pentecost and his martyrdom. One story was that Simon’s throat was cut, whilst another states that he was sawn in half. Jude is commonly identified with Thaddaeus and known as the patron saint of hopeless cases since no one wanted to pray to him because his name was similar to Judas Iscariot. Only those who had tried every other option would then, in a final act of desperation, pray to him!
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St Teresa of Avila
Feast Day: October 15
Patron saint: Loss of parents, people in need of grace, sick people,
Saint Teresa of Ávila was a prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. Her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, and her seminal work, El Castillo Interior (The Interior Castle), are an integral part of the Spanish Renaissance literature, Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practices as she entails in her other important work Camino de Perfección (The Way of Perfection).
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St Vincent de Paul
Feast Day: September 27
Patron saint: Volunteers, charitable workers, hospitals, horses,
Vincent de Paul was born of a peasant family in the village of Pouy, Gascony, France. He founded the Congregation of Priests of the Mission and Daughters of Charity. At his death he had accepted the direction of eleven seminaries.
His charity reached to all the provinces in France desolated by misery and his zeal and charity also went beyond the boundaries of France, e.g. sending missionary priests to Ireland, Scotland, the Hebrides, Poland, and Madagascar. Due to his own abduction into slavery, he focused on the poor slaves of Barbary.
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