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Monday, August 31, 2009
Saint Fina was born in a small town near Tuscany called San Geminiano in the year 1238. She was also known to some as Seraphina. Saint Fina is remembered as the patron saint of the physically challenged, due to the struggles that she battled during her lifetime.

Saint Fina's parents were a wealthy couple about ten years prior to her birth. However, by the time St. Fina was born they had fallen upon some rough times and were extremely impoverished. Fina was a pretty, young girl and was also extraordinarily kind. She hardly had enough food to nourish herself, but her parents found her many times sharing her food with other children who received even less to eat than she did.

Fina spent a lot of her time sewing, and in prayer. When Fina was still very young, her father would pass away. After her father's death is when Fina began to suffer from a plethora of different illnesses.

Fina's entire body started to ache one day, and these aches and small pains would turn into full paralysis eventually. Fina would spend six full years on a board of wood in one position, unable to move. Her mother kept her company when she was not working or out begging for food. This did not discourage Fina though, she kept her spirituality and kindness through the tough times. She became even closer to God, and spent more time in prayer than ever before.

A sad moment in Fina's life would strike at possibly the worst time however. Her mother passed away and she was left alone in the world. Her friend, Beldia was her only help and company left. Her condition was problematic because not many other than her own mother would want to care for her. Fina had open sores all over her body that were contagious and made others very sick. This made even sympathetic friends and neighbors not want to help her.

Saint Fina had been told of Saint Gregory the Great, who had also suffered from a life full of sickness. She prayed to him often and had a vision of him one day. Gregory told her that she would find peace and rest on his feast day, which at that point was coming in eight days. Eight days later Fina would pass away, the year was 1253. Under her body on the board she had laid upon, violets were found. Her feast day is celebrated on March 12th each year.

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Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saint Fiacre was born in the seventh century in Ireland, but moved over to France while he was still quite young. He wished to live alone and lead a life dedicated to God, and he felt that that France would provide a better opportunity for him to do that. Saint Fiacre is known as the patron saint of drivers.

While in France, Fiacre went to Meaux. While he was there he met Saint Faro, who was at that time a local bishop there. Saint Faro had heard of Fiacre and his devotion to God and wanted to offer him a plot of land to live in. He told him that he could have all the land he could plow in a days time. He took enough land to build a small house and a garden, and a few shrines in honor of Mary.

Saint Fiacre had visitors often in Meaux because people valued his advice and would seek him out to try and solve their problems. He always accepted his visitors into his house and fed them. He even helped sick visitors gain their health back. Fiacre always treated his guests with respect and hospitality and tried to help them with their problems in any way that he could. Saint Fiacre was known all over France for his healing miracles and good advice.

Anne of Austria meditated to Saint Fiacre to try and help the declining health of Louis XIII. Her prayers were answered and Louis made a full recovery. She also prayed to him because she wished to have a son and was having trouble conceiving. She would eventually give birth to a son, Louis XIV. Fiacre is remembered for helping the ill battle against any kind of bodily sickness they suffered.

Cab drivers in France are named after Fiacre because the original horse drawn coaches were first used by the Saint Fiacre hotel in Paris.

Saint Fiacre would pass away on August 18, 670 and his feast day falls on September 15th every year.

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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saint Emily was born on September 12, 1797 in Gaillace, France. Her parents' names were James and Antoineete, and Emily was their only child. Emily would grow up as a typical child during those times and start attending school when she reached the proper age. However at age fifteen, her mother would pass away. This caused her father to pull Saint Emily de Vialar out of school. Her father wished for her to take part in a marriage him and take her mother's place because he was lonely. Emily loved her father but felt that was wrong and rejected her father's wishes.

After this rift between them her father and St. Emily would separate for a while, and Emily would begin to take care of young kids whose parents had left them. She also did a lot of work to help out the underprivileged in her area.

In the year 1832, Emily's grandfather would pass away. This deeply saddened Emily. Her grandfather left her a nice sized fortune in his will. She used the money to purchase a home nearby where she grew up.

In this house is where Emily formed the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition. Their main purpose in forming the congregation was to teach children, and take care of the sick and poor. The congregation had seventeen members including Saint Emily.

Saint Emily would remain in charge of her group for twenty two years after its formation. The congregation purchased more houses to use as headquarters, and it is said the number of houses was around forty. Emily was mainly responsible for most of these houses, and stayed at each one for a while to get things going there before handing it off to a trusted member of her congregation to take care of.

When Emily was just a child she had suffered a hernia. Around the year 1850 the problem returned and began to worsen drastically with each day. Emily would hang onto life for a few years, though she was in great pain nearly all the time. On August 24, 1856 she would pass away. In 1951, Saint Emily was canonized by Pope Pius XII.

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Friday, August 28, 2009
Saint Elizabeth was born just before the start of the American Revolution in New York City. She was brought up in the higher society of the city and was a very well read woman. Although Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton grew up around a lot of rich, influential people, she hardly got to know many of them and really just became absorbed in her reading. This was due to the tragic deaths of her mother and younger sister. That is why Saint Elizabeth is remembered as the patron saint of those who lose their parents or family. Elizabeth grew very fond of the Bible because she read it so often and it became the sense of direction that she would live by for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth would continue her life in the same direction for a few years and eventually settle down and celebrate marriage. Elizabeth married William Seton, who was a very rich man. They loved each other very much and their wedding had been expected by most of their friends and family for a while before it happened.

Things did not go well for Elizabeth and William after their marriage though. William's father became very ill and passed away. This made Elizabeth and William responsible for his seven younger siblings. The amount of time and money they had to spend taking care of the kids caused William's flourishing business to go bankrupt and also brought up health problems ofr William. He would pass away due to tuberculosis in just a few months time, leaving Elizabeth widowed and still in charge of all the kids.

After William's death is when Elizabeth became extremely religious and faithful to the Catholic church. She visited Italy and her friends there saw her great faith and sensed potential in her to became a believer in God. They led her into the faith eventually.

Saint Elizabeth took very much to the idea that the Virgin Mary was her mother because of the fact that she had not had a mother in a very long time. It gave her a sense of peace to know she had a mother again. Elizabeth would officially join the church in the year 1805.

Elizabeth would start a school in Baltimore soon after joining the faith completely. The plan for the school was to construct a free Catholic school, it was to be the first in America.

Elizabeth took a vow on March 25, 1809 to become a nun and promised to live a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. She was known to most as Mother Seton in her time running the school and living her religious life style.

Saint Elizabeth would come down with tuberculosis just like her husband William, and sadly pass away in the year 1821. She was the first American born saint to be canonized when she was on September 14, 1975.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saint Edward was born in the year 1003 in Oxford, England. His father was King Ethelred II, and his mother's name was Emma. Saint Edward the Confessor is known as the patron saint of separated parents because him and his mother were forced to flee to Normandy in 1013 when the Danes raided England.

The Danes' leader Canute took over England and would go on to become married to Edward's mother, Emma. This made him the new King of England. Eventually after the death of his half brother, he Edward would take over the throne in England.

Around the year 1044, Edward would celebrate marriage himself, to a woman named Edith. Edward was known as a good king, for his was just to his subjects and treated them all with respect. The only problem people had with him was his favoritism towards the Norman religion over the Saxons.

Saint Edward would banish his friend, Godwin, in 1044 as well. This led to a problem between the group put together by Godwin and Edward's army. Before a real fight broke out, Godwin and Edward resolved their differing views.

The struggle with Godwin may have been done at this point, but Godwin's sons still had issues with Edward. Edward would eventually name Harold, one of Godwin's sons, his successor. However he banished Tostig, the other son, because he was the worst of the two brothers.

This is the point in Edward's life where he became more religious. He had Saint Peter's Abbey constructed in Westminster. This is where he would be buried eventually after his death on January 5, 1066 in London, England. Pope Alexander III would canonize Edward a saint in 1161.

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Monday, August 24, 2009
Saint Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891 in Breslau, Silesia. Her hometown fell under the rule of Germany during that time. Stein was raised to be Jewish by her parents, and while she was younger she looked up to her mother and really wanted to be as faithful as her when she grew up. However by the time Saint Edith Stein was a teenager she was an atheist.

By the year 1916 Stein had become a doctor and received a degree in philosophy from a German University. She would go on to teach at her alma mater as an assistant to one of her favorite professors. She could not gain a higher position than that because of the fact that she was a woman. Even her doctorate degree was not enough to qualify her as a full time professor.

While on a vacation in Göttingen, Stein was bored and wanted something to read. The only available book she could find was the autobiography of Saint Teresa, so she read it. The book would end up changing her life greatly. It made her want to convert to Catholicism.

On January 1, 1922 St. Edith Stein had her baptism. She ceased to teach as an assistant and began teaching full time at a Dominican school, which she would do for the following eleven years. While she taught at the school, Stein adapted Thomas Aquinas's letter into German, and studied the philosophy of the Catholic religion deeply.

After teaching Stein would go on to become a renowned public speaker for a year until the Nazi's began gaining power around 1933. Stein could sense the evil surrounding the Nazi's and wanted no part of their doings. She sent a letter to the pope begging him to gain support from Catholic's all over the world against Nazism.

In 1933, Stein would join a monastery and change her name to Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. In the monastery is where she would write her well known, philosophical book.

Since Stein had gone into the monastery the Nazi's had continued to gain power, so she was forced to changed her location to the Netherlands due to safety issues in Germany. The change in location would not bring the safety it was intended to though.

The Netherlands had anti-Nazi propaganda read in every single one of their churches in July of 1942, and word got out to the Nazi's. They did not like this one bit, and sought revenge on the Netherlands. On July 26, 1942 all the Jewish converts who had previously been spared from trips to concentration camps were arrested. Stein and her sister were captured and sent to Auschwitz where they would die due to gas on August 9, 1942.

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Saturday, August 22, 2009
Saint Dymphna was born in the thirteenth century sometime, in Ireland. St. Dymphna was the daughter of the king of Ireland at the time. She is remembered as the patron saint against mental illness.

Saint Dymphna's father was royalty in Ireland, and was also a pagan. He did not wish for his daughter to be baptized, however she was given the sacrament of baptism without his knowledge.

Dymphna's mother would pass away during Dymphna's teenage years, and her father, who was a sick man, wished to marry Dymphna to replace her mother. This disgusted Dymphna and she told a local priest about it and the priest decided to help her make a getaway so she would not have to marry her own father. They fled to a nearby town called Gheel.

Due to her father's powerful position though, he was able to hire men to find out where Dymphna had ran off to. When her father arrived he put forth his offer for marriage again, and was refuted by Dymphna.

This did not please her father so he had his men kill the priest she was in hiding with, and he beheaded her personally.

The men then buried the bodies in the church where they were and left them there. They were later discovered and moved to Xanten.

Not much else is known about Saint Dymphna. She was canonized a saint pre-congregation and her feast day falls on May 15th.

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Friday, August 21, 2009
Saint Dominic was born in the year 1842 in Italy. His parents had ten children and their names were Carlo and Birgitta. His parents worked hard to have enough money to support their family. His father worked as a blacksmith, and his mother also worked as a seamstress. Saint Dominic Savio is known as the patron saint of falsely accused people and of choir boys.

St. Dominic went missing one day when he was just four years old. His mother became very worried and rushed off to find him. When she saw Dominic he was in a corner praying. At the age of just four, Dominic knew all the prayers his parents had said to him.

When Saint Dominic turned five he began to partake in altar serving at Mass each day at his local church. Dominic received his First Communion at the age of seven, which is earlier than most children in those days. Dominic vowed on the day of his Communion that he would not sin.

Dominic would meet Don Bosco when he turned twelve. The reason behind their meeting was Bosco's interest in recruiting Dominic to join into his special group for boys. It was called the Company of the Immaculate Conception. Bosco's intentions were to acquaint the boys with the lifestyle of his order, and see if they handled the younger group well. If they did, he planned to bring them into his group when they reached the proper age.

Dominic was well liked at his school, although everybody knew he was much different than the rest of them. They would watch Dominic pray for hours on end each day, and listen to the wise words he had to offer at such a young age. Dominic tried to help the other boys at the school as much as possible. He tried to guide them away from sin and in the right direction as much as he could. Dominic tried his best to keep everybody around him from sinning, while still keeping himself in line as well.

There are many stories of Dominic breaking up fights at school through simple words and kind actions. The boys payed attention to Dominic because they knew that he was almost always right when explaining to them why they were wrong in their doings.

Dominic is the patron saint of the falsely accused because one time at school two boys filled a stove with garbage and other items. The teacher came back to the class and wanted to know who had done the deed. The two boys who really did it blamed Dominic for their actions. However, Dominic did not tell on the two boys. He took his punishment in silence, and he explained later why he did so. He said that Jesus did not complain or speak up when he was being wrongly tortured and crucified.

When Saint Dominic turned fifteen years old, he was infected with tuberculosis and had to leave school. The school sent him home in hopes that he would recover, but Dominic would not. He would pass away on March 9, 1857. His feast day is celebrated on March 9th each year.

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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Saint Dominic was born in the year 1170 to couple of wealthy Spaniards. His mother was well known for being blessed, her name was Joan of Aza. She had problems trying to conceiving a child, so she prayed to Saint Dominic of Silos. That is why Saint Dominic de Guzman is named Dominic.

While his mother was pregnant with him, she had visions of what Dominic would do for the world. She saw in one vision that Dominic was a dog with a torch to light the world on fire. This later became the logo for Dominic's order. Dominic is known as the patron saint of astronomy because at his baptism his mother saw a start radiating off his chest.

Dominic grew up similar to most children of his time, and eventually went off to study at the University of Palencia. He studied theology and philosophy while there. After school, Dominic became a priest at a church in Osma. During his time as a priest, Dominic would found his Order of Friars Preachers, otherwise known as the Dominicans.

Dominic is well known for spreading the tradition of saying the rosary. He had a vision one day, while distraught due to lack of faith he saw from the people surrounding him. In his vision the Virgin Mary told him not to worry and to say the rosary each day and eventually the true good in people would prevail.

Another one of Dominic's visions led him to meet his good friend Saint Francis of Assisi. He had a vision one night that he would meet a beggar who would aspire to do great things for the world just like him. He saw the man the next day on the street and convinced him to come along with him. Believe or not that man was Saint Francis of Assisi.

Saint Dominic de Guzman would pass away on August 6, 1221 in Italy. He was canonized thirteen years later by Pope Gregory IX on July 13, 1234. His feast day is celebrated each year on August 8th.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saint Denis was born around the year 250 AD in Italy. Not much is known of his early life, and the first we truly know of him is when he traveled from Italy to France to preach and spread God's word. He was named bishop in France, and he was the first ever bishop there. St. Denis is known as the patron saint against conflict and animosity. So if you or anybody you know needs help resolving a problem or calming somebody down, they should pray to Saint Denis.

Not too much is known for sure about Saint Denis' life. However we do know that upon his arrival in France, he had quite a few churches built. This went well for Saint Denis and his companions and they spread the word of God to the French, who had rarely heard of Christianity before then.

While Saint Denis and his men were building churches and spreading God's word, the king in France was getting angered by their acts. He did not like foreign men coming into his country and bringing a new religion and view on life overall with them. He wished to have all of them killed.

So the king sent out men to find Saint Denis and his companions. They were found and arrested and brought before the king. He told them they were to be put to death later that day.

Saint Denis and his followers were all beheaded. They died as martyrs sometime around the year 272.

Story tells it that Saint Denis was beheaded, and almost immediately after he stood and picked up his own head and traveled for quite some distance. He apparently was preaching still on his walk while holding his head under his arm. He eventually stopped walking and handed over his head to a woman named Catullus. He proceeded to fall over and die. He was buried on the spot where he collapsed and a church was built there to honor him.

Saint Denis' feast day is celebrated each year on October 9th.

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saint Columbanus was born in the year 540 in Ireland. His parents were fairly wealthy and could afford to give him a good education when he was young. Saint Columbanus was well known in his area for his charm, intelligence, and good looks. While he knew he was blessed, he also had many temptations due to the good fortune he was given. This is what drew him to live a holy life. St. Columbanus is remembered by most as the patron saint against flooding, as well as motorcyclists.

Columbanus led a typical life, until he found his calling at the old age of fifty one. He wished to leave his home and spread the word of God in Gaul. Gaul had previously been religious, but had fallen away from it's old habits. Columbanus wanted to revive their faith by preaching.

So Columbanus traveled to the site of an old pagan temple near Gaul, proceeded to build a brand new church and monastery to help get his mission started. In a few months time Columbanus would build another monastery in Luxeuil, not too far from his first one. Not too long after that another monastery was built in Fontaine.

These three monasteries were to base of Columbanus' plan to revive Christianity in Gaul. All the monks that lived with Columbanus in his monasteries followed his old fashioned, Celtic rules.

The king of that time, Theodoric II, did not like Columbanus or followers and had them removed from the country around the year 610.

By the time all of this had happened, Saint Columbanus was already seventy years old, and he still wished to find a new home for himself and his followers. They first went to Switzerland, but were unfortunately kicked out due to the pagans who resided there. They finally found a home in Lombardy and set up a monastery there. Saint Columbanus would pass away there in the year 615 on November 23.

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Monday, August 17, 2009
Saint Colette was born on January 13, 1381 in France. Her father and mother were both very old when she was born, and by the age of seventeen St. Colette was already an orphan. This is why she is known as the patron saint for anybody who has lost their parents. Her parents had thought this might happen so they left instructions for her to be cared for by an abbot at a local church.

Since she was brought up by an abbot, Saint Colette was really religious and wanted to continue into adulthood in the religious manner that she had been brought up in. Her elders at the church prompted her to marry, but she really wanted to live a life devoted to God so she became a Franciscan tertiary.

When she was just twenty one years old, she chose to be an anchoress, which meant she was locked into a cell with only a small window that looked inside of the church.

While in the cell, she saw visions of Saint Francis of Assisi, he told her that she must make an attempt to rejuvenate the Rule of Saint Clare to how it used to be in the old days. Saint Colette pondered the thought first and did not act. This caused her to become blind and it lasted for three days. When she had not acted again she became mute for the next three days. She then decided she must act on her orders and regained her sight and speech.

Saint Colette did not really know how she was supposed to follow the orders of Saint Francis, so she told people about it hoping for help and received none. She then walked barefoot to meet Pope Benedict XIII. The Pope was impressed by her determination and made her a Poor Clare, and also named her head of all convents so she could make the changes she was meant to.

At first Colette's reforms were met with great antinomy by almost all the convents she went to. Most of the members did not want to change or think it was Colette's place to tell them to do so. However she did gain results in Savoy and Burgundy first, then to more afterwords.

Saint Colette was known for her complete dedication to God, and was also known for her loving care for animals. She was known to have many visions, typically on Friday afternoon after meditating and receiving the Eucharist. Her meditations and deep prayer led to her predicting the date of her death. She was correct when she said it would be the 6th of March in 1447. Saint Colette was canonized a saint by Pope Pius VII on May 24, 1807, and her feast day is on March 6th.

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Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saint Clare was born on July 16, 1194 in Assisi, Italy. Saint Clare of Assisi's mother was a countess, known as Blessed Orsolana, and her father was a count. Little is known of her father due to his death, which occurred early on in her life. St. Clare became interested in leading a Christian life devoted to God after hearing Saint Francis of Assisi speak near her house one day. If you ever desire good weather, Saint Clare is the saint to pray to because she is the patron saint of good weather.

In the year 1212, Clare went to Mass on Palm Sunday. The local bishop gave her a palm when she exited the church and she believed this to be a sign that she should begin her religious life that she had thought about for a few years. That night she ran away from her parent's home and made to find the nearest convent. She entered into her new life at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, under the watch of Saint Francis.

Clare's best known achievement for the church was creating the Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the "Poor Clares". The group is still around today, and started out as the sister program of the Franciscans. They traveled all over Europe helping whoever they could. Eventually Clare's sister and mother would find her and join the "Poor Clares".

Every day of her life Saint Clare reflected deeply on the Passion of Jesus. She saved her convent one day by her deep prayer and relationship with God. Her life triumphs were extremely impressive.

When Saint Clare was too sickly to attend Mass later in her life, she would have visions of the services on the wall of her room. Saint Francis comforted her on her deathbed and lead her to comfortably accepting that it was her time to go. This happened in August of 1253. Saint Clare was canonized by Pope Alexander IV on September 26, 1255, and her feast day is celebrated on August 11th.

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Saturday, August 15, 2009
Saint Christina was born around the year 1150. Her family was not well off, and she grew up as a peasant living in the streets. Saint Christina the Astonishing was left to fend for herself at the young age of fifteen. She is remembered by most as the patron saint of therapists because of the help she provided to those in need.

When Saint Christina was about twenty years of age, she had a terrible seizure. Everybody who had seen her have the seizure believed her to be dead. Christina's funeral was held, but half-way through the services she arose and was alive. Everybody was extremely shocked by the turn of events.

Saint Christina had seen visions of purgatory, heaven, and hell while she was unconscious. She went on to explain what she had seen to the crowd. Christina's visions she saw while she was unconscious really had an impact on her life.

She returned to life completely inspired by God, for she believed she had been dead and that God let her come back to do his will.

Christina is known for doing wild acts such as entering a lit furnace and remaining there for long periods of time. However, she always returned unscathed from her escapades. Christina was very in touch with God and would do these strange things while in deep prayer, and it is believed that that is why she never was injured from her actions.

Christina died in 1224 of natural causes, aged 74. In the year 1224, Christina would pass away. Her feast day falls on July 24th every year.

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Friday, August 14, 2009
Saint Cecilia was born in Rome in the 2nd century A.D. Cecilia was the daughter of a Christian, and affluent Roman couple. Saint Cecilia was given away in matrimony by her parents because it was customary back then. St. Cecilia is known as the patron saint of music due to the songs made about her during the Middle Ages.

Cecilia had no intentions of losing her virginity even in marriage, for she had made her mind up years before then that her life was going to be lived for God. She told her husband, Valerian, right before they were married that she had an angel that followed her and protected her virginity. He doubted her and demanded to see the angel if it really existed. So Valerian was sent on a journey by Cecilia. He was to go see the Pope.

When Valerian arrived to see the Pope, the Pope baptized him and sent him back to Cecilia. When he returned he could see the angel and they were given heavenly crowns by it.

Valerian converted his brother to Christianity as well. They both made it their purpose in life to find any persecuted Christians, and make sure they received a proper burial. They were seen doing this one day though, and put immediately to death for it. Cecilia was a big preacher back then, and was scared after seeing her husband and his brother put to death. However she needed to spread the word of God so she kept on doing it. She even planned that her home be made into a church when she passed away.

One day, Cecilia was caught for preaching Christianity to others and arrested. The ruling was made that Cecilia must die a painful death of suffocation. So the men put her in a small room in a house and lit it on fire. After a full day, the men went in and Cecilia was still alive, unscathed. The men decided that they must just do it quickly and easily and chop off her head. However, when they tried the blows would not behead Cecilia and the execution got freaked out and fled the scene.

Cecilia would live for another three days past her "beheading", and would continue to preach non-stop during these three days. Eventually Cecilia passed away though. Her feast day is celebrated on November 22nd. Saint Cecilia gained a huge following in the Middle Ages, when poetry and songs were often written about her.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009
Saint Catherine was born in the year 1331 in Sweden. Her mother was Saint Bridget of Sweden. Saint Catherine of Sweden was the fourth child conceived by Saint Bridget and her husband Ulf. St. Catherine is remembered by many as the patron saint of pregnant mothers, but more specifically against abortion.

When Saint Catherine of Sweden was seven years old, Bridget and Ulf sent her away to school in Risberg. She was taught at a convent there, and she liked it very much and wished to stay their to further her education and eventually lead a religious life.

Her parents had agreed to give her hand in marriage to a noble man from Germany though. When Catherine was thirteen she married the noble man, Eggard Lydersson von Kürnen. The two vowed they would keep chastity even while married. They pledged their time and efforts to helping the Christian community.

In the year 1348, Catherine's father, Ulf, passed away. This made her and her mother very sad. Her husband understood this and let the two of them go on many religious journeys together without him. Saint Bridget and Catherine visited many churches and religious sites, while still practicing their kind and giving ways.

While Catherine was away in 1349, Eggard would die. She was shocked and upset, and returned home for a few months to mourn the loss. After this Catherine would never marry anybody again, even though many sought her hand in matrimony.

Catherine and Bridget were alone now and did many things together to keep each other company. In 1373, Saint Bridget would pass away. Catherine was terribly upset by this loss and went home to Sweden for quite some time after it. For the remaining years of her life, Catherine would live in a monastery in Vatzan. She kept to herself mostly, and prayed a lot but also still helped those who came to her seeking it.

In March of 1381, Saint Catherine passed away of natural causes. In 1484 Catherine was canonized by Pope Innocent VIII.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Saint Catherine was born on March 25, 1347 in Siena. Saint Catherine of Siena was one of twenty-six children in her family. Her family was not wealthy, but certainly not poor either. Saint Catherine is remembered as the patron saint of philosophers.

St. Catherine grew up as a peculiar child, she spent a lot of her time praying and had visions of Christ every so often. This was all before she was even nine years old! At age seven Catherine decided that she would remain a virgin for life, and would dedicate herself to Jesus.

When Catherine was twelve, her parents decided they wanted her to be married despite all of her talk of being devoted to God. Catherine pleaded with her parents to change their minds. They did but made her do a ridiculous amount of work around the house as punishment, and to try and get her to rethink her vow to God.

This lasted for several years and her parents accepted that she would not be moved from her decision and that she was truly dedicated to God. Catherine joined the Third Order of Dominicans, and spent three years locked inside a room in her parent's house. This spiritual time brought many visions for Catherine. One vision she had was of Jesus as a baby, presenting her with a wedding ring.

When Catherine was done and out of the room, she began to do more for her community than ever before. She helped the poor and ill people in her area, and taught anybody who would listen about God. Catherine was still having visions too during these times. She was told through one that she should help out the leaders of the world and church in their decision making process. So she did so and began advising officials in government, as well as religion.

Catherine sent many letters to the Pope to try and get him to restructure the Papal States. She also convinced him they should take the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the Muslims. Her most famous writing is her book titled the Diaologue of a Conversation. The book spoke of many spiritual acts that she was the first to bring up.

Sadly, Saint Catherine of Siena would pass away on April 29, 1380. In 1461, Pope Pius II would canonize Catherine a saint.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Saint Catherine was born in the year 1413 in Bologna. Saint Catherine of Bologna is remembered by most as the patron saint of artists. Her father was an important diplomat, and Catherine's family was fairly well off.

When St. Catherine was just eleven years old, her father sent her to gain knowledge at a local school that was well known. After only a few years of school, Catherine decided that she wanted to join a convent. She decided to come to be a Franciscan Tertiary.

Even in the convent, Catherine was known by her peers as being extremely religious. She was looked up to because of her great spirituality. Catherine had many visions in her life, usually of conflicts between Jesus and Satan. Her visions were heard of by Pope Nicholas V, and she was summoned to Rome. The Pope met with Catherine there, he listened to what she had seen and decided that she should head her own convent.

So the Pope made that happen, and Catherine left to run her new convent. It became well known for being one of the holiest convents around.

In the early months of 1463, Catherine got extremely sick. This would lead to her death on March 9th, which is now remembered as her feast day. Her remains are preserved today in her convent in Bologna. Saint Catherine of Bologna was canonized a saint in the year 1712.

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Monday, August 10, 2009
Saint Catherine was born around the year 282 in Alexandria, Egypt. Saint Catherine of Alexandria's parents were of some sort of nobility in the region and she lived an easy life during her early years. She is known as the patron saint of potters, mechanics, and students.

St. Catherine began her life as a Christian when she was eighteen years old. She heard of Egypt's ruler, Emperor Maximinus, torturing and killing many Christians. This upset Catherine and caused her to act, she went to the Emperor and confronted him about his unrighteous killing of Christians, and also told him he was being unwise by worshiping numerous gods at once.

The Emperor was impressed by Catherine's knowledge and wisdom, but refused to admit that he was in the wrong. He locked Catherine away, and had many of his brightest men come and try to change her mind to see things their way. Catherine would have none of their persuasive attempts, however she did manage to convert several of the men to Christianity before they left her alone. The Emperor immediately killed these men, and became enraged with Catherine and her ways.

So, in all the Emperor's rage he had Catherine beaten unmercifully by his guards. Even the Emperor's wife was interested in meeting Catherine because of all she had heard of her great kindness and knowledge. And the beatings would not stop Catherine from converting more and more people to Christianity, while she was still imprisoned.

The Emperor had had enough of Catherine and her knowledge and spreading of Christianity, and ordered her to a slow, painful death on the wheel. As soon as the men brought her out to the wheel, it completely collapsed though. The Emperor was angry beyond belief and personally cut off Catherine's head himself. This took place in the year 305.

It is said that angels descended from heaven came and took Catherine's body immediately upon her death. They brought her to Mount Sinai, and Christians from all over traveled there to pay respects and eventually build a church in her honor.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saint Casimir was born in Poland in the year 1461. He was raised by his father the King of Poland and his mother the Queen of Austria. Saint Casimir of Poland was taught that he would one day take over the throne and lead Poland to much prestige. St. Casimir's deeds to his country are what make him remembered as the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania.

Casimir did not have much of a normal childhood at all, and by age 7 or 8 he had come to terms with the fact that his father would be running his life. Casimir understood that this is how his father thought, and was just trying to do the best for him. However he knew his life needed to be devoted to God, not to his father's wishes.

Casimir's mentor and friend growing up was John Dlugosz. John was an extremely religious man and taught Casimir much about Christianity, as well as numerous other things. Along with John's influence and his own strong will, Casimir would grow into a very spiritual young man.

Casimir had a hard time living a life that many can only dream of. He saw all the great oppuritunities and riches offered to him as bait to lead an outlandish life, which is the opposite of what he truly wanted. Casimir disappointed his family often by wearing old, plain clothing and not partaking in their frugal lifestyle with them.

Casimir was constantly mocked by many people who thought his life choices were odd, given the circumstances he was born into. He never let the cynics get to him, and lived his life in his own way. Some of his decisions involved sleeping on the floor, as opposed to his huge bed.

Casimir's father still tried to get him to enjoy the way of life he was intended to have. He made Casimir the leader of an army sent to take over the sovereignty in Hungary. Casimir agreed to go because he did not want to let down his father, but was extremely hesitant to do so because he knew that Pope Sictus IV, and ultimately God did not approve of him doing so. Soldiers began to leave the brigade along the journey because Casimir really did not care, his heart wasn't into it. So he gave up eventually and returned home knowing he made the right decision according to his conscience and God.

When he returned home, his father was very agitated at Casimir's failure, and banned him from returning home again. He sent him to a secluded castle in a not too far away town. Casimir was to live alone there as a result of his actions. Casimir grew further from his father and closer to God while living in confinement. He realized that he did not need to give in to his father's demands anymore. His father attempted to arrange a marriage for him, and he did not accept it, for he wanted to give his life to God.

Saint Casimir would pass away at the young age of 23 from a lung related problem. This was in the year 1484. His feast day is celebrated each year on March 4th.

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Friday, August 7, 2009
Saint Camillus was born in Naples in the year 1550. His father was a high ranking officer in the French army, and his mother passed away while he was still very young. Camillus' youth was one of neglect because his father traveled so often. Saint Camillus took after his father and joined an order of troops in Venice when he was of age. During his time in the army he became a gambling addict and lost a lot of money. This problem would stick with Camillus for quite some time. After reading St. Camillus' story you will know why he is the patron saint of those hoping for second chances and nurses.

During a break from the army, Camillus ran into a local monk he knew. The monk had heard of his gambling issues and tried very hard to convince Camillus that he should join his Franciscan order to set his life straight. Camillus refused, and left to head to Rome where he started working at a hospital. This only lasted a while though because of his gambling issues and injuries from being in the army.

Camillus then did the only thing he knew how to and joined the army once again. This time he joined as a Venetian soldier. He battled against the Turkish in the mid 1500's. After the war Camillus found work in construction at Manfredonia. He was again dismissed from his work because of gambling problems. He saw the error in his ways and decided that he should take the monk's advice from years before and join a religious order. He was let into an order, but was asked to leave because he did not seem truly dedicated.

Camillus went back to Rome to nurse his nagging injuries from the war and try to get a new life going. He was healed after a few weeks, and was given a position once again at the hospital. He took advantage of it this time though and was eventually appointed to be the head of the hospital.

This led to the portion of Camillus' life he is better known for. He truly enjoyed running the hospital and had found his calling in life. Camillus began an order called the Fathers of a Good Death around 1584, and the order took care of those infected by the plage. The members visited hospitals to tend to them, as well as doing house visits. The order really took care of a large amount of people, who otherwise would have been neglected from getting proper care.

Camillus started to build many other small houses that were used by the Father of a Good Death to tend to the sick. These were houses where the sick who had no home could come and stay. Camillus is said to have worked many miracles on these people who were devastatingly ill. It was mainly for those who would not be accepted into hospitals because of the seriousness of their illness or their vagrant appearance.
Camillus would pass away in the year 1614, and would be canonized by Pope Benedict XIV.

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Thursday, August 6, 2009
Saint Bruno was born in the year 1035 to the then highly important Hartenfaust family. He was always a smart child and attended school in his hometown of Cologne. Saint Bruno would go on to become a professor this is why he is known as the patron saint of educators. The school in Cologne that Bruno was taught at was called the Cathedral school.

After his education was over, St. Bruno was ordained a priest at his local parish of Saint Cunibert. He would also teach several classes at his old school such as theology. Bruno remained there long enough to be named chancellor of the school by the local archbishop of the times.

Bruno and a handful of other priests would be commanded to leave the area they lived in around the year 1076. This happened because the priests had decided that a local archbishop was not ready to take on a higher position in the church and they sought to stop his promotion. The archbishop did not like this so arranged for them to be kicked out of the area. So Bruno and the other priests obeyed their superior's
wishes and left.

After the archbishop passed away, Bruno and the other men came back. Bruno had gained much recognition in the few years he had been gone, and many of the locals wanted to see him become archbishop. Saint Bruno did not want to take the position though, he would refuse it and ended up becoming a hermit and living a life of chastity.

Bruno and a group of men set out to live in the highly elevated La Grande Chartreuse region. In the mountains, Bruno and his companions constructed a room for preaching purposes and several individual rooms. This is where the Carthusian Order was started. The men spent their days doing a lot of hard work, praying, writing, and living a life free of money or possessions.

Pope Urban II called for Bruno to come to Rome in the year 1090, and although he did not want to leave his mountain home he did so. The pope had heard of Bruno's doings and wanted to meet with him. The pope wanted to offer Bruno the position of archbishop once more, and Bruno would yet again decline stating he wanted nothing more than to return to his life in the mountains. The pope understood and allowed Bruno to do just that.

Saint Bruno would pass away in 1101 in the mountains where he spent his life, and was canonized pre-congregation like only a handful of other saints were too. Saint Bruno's feast day is celebrated each year on October 6th.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Saint Brigid was born in the year 451 in Ireland. Her and Saint Patrick are known as the patron saints of Ireland. Saint Brigid of Ireland was the daughter of the then Scottish king and a Christian slave. Brigid was raised by her mother as a Christian, but always was told that once she was of age she would live to serve her father the king.

Saint Brigid lived her life as any other small child did then, happily and without a care in the world. Her mother made sure she was taught proper religion, and Brigid even heard Saint Patrick speak one day at their church which had a lasting impact on her. When her father deemed her of age to serve him she did so. However this did not last long because Brigid had a habit of giving away her father's valuable possessions to the poor and hungry. She was always trying to help them out whenever she could. This angered her father and he tried to sell her to another king. While the selling was about to happen, Brigid gave away a sword of her father's to a leper. He was predictably angry and went to hit Brigid. The other king, a good Christian, made him stop stating that Brigid was a better person than either of them.

The problem of Brigid giving away his possessions was later solved by giving her freedom, instead of keeping her as a slave. Brigid then sought out to find her mother, whom she had not seen in years. She succeeded in finding her, but she was still a slave in charge of a dairy farm. Brigid started to work with her mother, trying to make enough money to buy her freedom. Brigid, again, gave away much of the farm's produce, but the farm still flourished. She would eventually bargain with the man who owned her mother, and gain her freedom. Brigid and her mother were then summoned to meet her father.

He had put together a marriage, as was common then, for her and expected her to take part in it. Brigid wanted to give her life to God, so went immediately to a monastery and took the steps necessary to becoming a nun. The story tells it that Brigid prayed to God to take her beauty to that no man would wish to marry her. God did as Brigid asked him to, and took away her stunning looks. However once she completed her final vows to become a nun, they came back!

Brigid would go on to start several convents all over Ireland! The first of which would be finished in the year 468. Saint Brigid led a great life and was known all over Ireland for her great works. She passed away in the year 525, and her feast day is celebrated on February 1.

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