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Monday, September 28, 2009
Saint Ignatius was born in Spain in 1491. His family was of noble descent and was a knight early in his life. That is why he is the patron saint of soldiers.

Saint Ignatius had his leg severely injured in battle when he was a knight, and was force to drop out of the knighthood. His injury took place at the battle of Pamplona. While recovering is when Ignatius had a revelation and recognized his true meaning in life.

He began reading books for pleasure while injured, and he came across the De Vita Christi. This book alone made him realize he should lead a religious life and stop his violent life as a knight. He wanted to live a life similar to Saint Francis, who would become his idol.

He left the hospital and took up his new hermit lifestyle. While living in the wilderness he saw visions of Jesus and Mary. He decided to make a trip to the Holy Land. He wanted to make the people there into Christians as well. They did not like that at all, and he was sent back to live in a monastery.

St. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus, and gained numerous followers. There were one thousand members in the society before his death in 1556. He was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory.

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Friday, September 25, 2009
Saint Henry II was born in 972 on May 6th in Germany. Saint Henry II was the son of Henry the Quarrlsome and Gisella of Burgundy. He grew up having a great education at a local school held at a cathedral in Hildesheim. His teacher there was a bishop. Henry is remembered for being the patron saint of the physically disabled.

Henry always wanted to be a priest while growing up, but when his father passed away in 995 he became the Duke of Bavaria and that was put out of the question. Around 1002, Henry was made King of Pavia. He would celebrate matrimony after this with Saint Cunegunda. The two never had children, due to their celibacy, but were very good to the community and did many great things.

Sadly, Henry had a brother who became angry at all the power Henry had gained over the years. He and Henry tried to settle their differences, but the two would end up in battle. Henry won the battle, and there was a lot of bad blood between the two for a period of time. His brother eventually got over this conflict and the two would forgive each other for their behavior towards one another.

Henry II was given the position of Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 1014. Some of Henry's accomplishments during his years as Emperor include founding educational establishments and putting down several rebellions from unhappy citizens. While keeping the peace in his lands, Henry also made efforts to gain peace in all of Europe. He and his wife gave much to the poor during these years as well.

Saint Benedict cured Saint Henry II of an unknown sickness that nearly claimed his life. A few years after this Henry would become unable to walk, and would have to become much more laid back in his works.

His wife, Cunegunda, would pass away as well during this time. It was tough for Henry when this happened because the two had loved each other so very much.

The way Henry wanted to cope with his problems was to become closer to God. He wished to become a monk, but they refused him. The monks felt he could do much more good for the world in his position he already held. Saint Henry would pass away shortly after this on July 13, 1024. He was canonized in the year 1146, and his feast day is held on July 13th each year.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saint Helen was born around the year 250 and her place of birth is not known for certain. It is known that she lived most of her life in Asia Minor though. Saint Helen was the mother of Constantine. Constantine would name a city, Helenopolis, after his mother when she passed away to pay tribute to all the wonderful memories she left others with. Saint Helen is known as the patron saint of archaeologists.

Saint Helen's early years are not well known amongst people these days. She was not very religious then, and worked at an inn. Other than that not much has been gathered about her early life.

Saint Helen met her husband Constantius in Asia Minor while he was there working. There marriage was small and for quite some time unknown, but eventually news spread of their wedding.

Around the year 270, Helen had her only child, Constantine. However shortly after having the baby, Constantius left Helen for another woman. He left her with Constantine, and they never heard from him again.

Constantine did not care that his father had left because he and Helen had such a great bond and love for each other. Helen raised Constantine alone, she never got married again. She lost contact with many people after being left by Constantius.

Saint Helen and Constantine were never separated during their lives. When Constantine was named emperor of Rome around 306, she traveled with him and continued to live with him as well. She spent her hours praying to God, and becoming extremely religious. She advised Constantine and loved him very much. She had Constantine let prisoners go often and would attend Mass daily with the normal citizens of Rome, which was unheard of since she was royalty.

In the year 330, Saint Helen passed away due to natural causes. This devastated Constantine, who remained by her side during her final hours. Her feast day is celebrated on August 18th each year.

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Monday, September 21, 2009
Saint Gregory was born in the year 540 in Rome. His father was a powerful official in the Roman government, and his mother was named Sylvia. Saint Gregory the Great is remembered as the patron saint of singers and choir boys. Gregory did a lot of community service around Rome due to his father's prestigious position. This made him very well known in the city and earned him the spot of city prefect.

After a year of being prefect of Rome, Gregory chose to quit and take up a religious life. Gregory had seven monasteries built all around Rome. He joined one of these monasteries. The one he joined was the last one he had built, which he joined because he was able to put Saint Andrew in charge of it whom he respected to a great extent.

In the year 586, he was recalled to Rome, and with great joy returned to St. Andrew's Monastery. He became abbot soon afterwords and the monastery grew famous under his energetic rule.

In 586, Saint Andrew no longer wished to run the monastery so Gregory was given control of it. He made the monastery very well known because of the way he ran things there.

Soon after Gregory's return to the monastery, the Pope would pass away. Gregory was chosen by everybody to become the new Pope. Gregory did not think he deserved the great honor of being Pope so he ran away to hide for a long time. After just a week he was found and finally accepted the fact that he deserved to be Pope.

As Pope, Gregory changed the leadership roles of all the estates the Church owned, and began to donate more of the money the Church had to help the poor. Gregory also made deals with the Lombard barbarians. This salvaged Northern Italy from destruction. Gregory was often ill though, while he was Pope.

Gregory also allowed Saint Augustine and his followers to have enough money to travel to England. He also began writing often during his time as Pope, and produced many respected works.

Saint Gregory compiled a collection of all the old Antiphonary chants which were used during Mass. He did so because of his love for the Eucharist. Gregory founded the Schola

Saint Gregory would pass away on the 12th of March in 604. His feast day is celebrated on September 3rd each year.

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Saturday, September 19, 2009
Saint Gianna was born on October 4, 1922 in Milan. Her parents taught her good Christian values when she was young that Saint Gianna would hold with her for the rest of her life. Her three other siblings turned out to be two priests and a nun, later in their lives. Gianna really understood the reason behind her parents' efforts to instill good morals in her, and accepted them openly.

Saint Gianna was really into doing charity work during her teenage years. She especially enjoyed doing work with older people and the needy. Gianna was concerned with her grades while attending secondary school and college. She made sure that she got the best grades that she possibly could at both institutions. Gianna used her degree from the University of Pavia, which was in medicine, to start up a medical clinic specializing in help for babies, mothers, and people with insufficient funds to gain medical help elsewhere. She opened the clinic in 1950.

Although Saint Gianna was extremely religious, she chose to celebrate the sacrament of marriage. Her goal had always been to marry and create a very Christian family and teach her children the values she had been taught as a child. Gianna came upon the decision to marry by praying to God to help her find a vocation. Marriage and children was the answer that she received from him, and she never thought twice about it.

Her husband's name was Pietro Molla. Gianna and Pietro loved each other very much and were so glad to be married. The date of their wedding was September 24, 1955, and it took place in the Saint Martin church in Magenta. Gianna continued to work as a doctor at her medical clinic even after the marriage took place. In 1956, Gianna and Pietro's first child Pierluigi was born. Just a year later their next, Mariolina was born, and their third child Laura was born in 1959. Even after giving birth to three children, Gianna found time to work at the clinic once in a while.

In 1961, Gianna became pregnant again. Not too far into the pregnancy, Gianna began experiencing great pain. This pain turned out to be a fibroma, which needed to be taken care of immediately by surgery. The surgery brought the risk of losing the child in complications. Gianna was saddened by this thought, but her family insisted she try the surgery. The surgery was a success and Gianna's suffering ceased. The doctors said that there was a chance of complications during child birth though. Gianna prayed for seven months after that that the child would be born pain free and if God must decide between her life or the child's that he would chose the child.

Days before the baby was born, Gianna remained in deep prayer hoping for a easy child birth. On April 21, 1962 Gianna gave birth to her daughter Gianna Emanuela. However, Saint Gianna was in great pain after the birth and was sent to be treated by doctors. Her pain would not stop this time, and a week later on April 28, 1962 Saint Gianna would pass away at the young age of just thirty nine. In May of 2004, Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Gianna a saint.

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Friday, September 18, 2009
Saint Gertrude was born in the year 626 in Landen, Belgium. Saint Gertrude of Nivelles' father was known in Belgium as Pepin I of Landen and her mother's name was Itta. Saint Gertrude is remembered as the patron saint of travelers due to the many journeys she embarked on in her life.

When Saint Gertrude was just ten years old, her father held a banquet. After dinner had been served, Gertrude was asked if she would marry a son of one of her father's good friends. She refused to do so even though it angered her father very much. She told all the men there that she wished to live a life for God.

Sometime in the year of 640, Gertrude's father passed away. Gertrude's mother chose to have a gigantic monastery built at Nivelles. She knew Gertrude wanted to live a religious life, so she made her the head abbess of the brand new monastery. Her mother, now widowed, chose to live in the monastery as a nun.

One day, two Irish monks stopped into the monastery on their way to Peronne from Rome. Saint Gertrude bestowed upon them a nice portion of land to build a monastery on. The monastery was built in Fosse. The two monks were named Foillan and Ultan.

Follian would stay in Nivelles with Saint Gertrude and her mother to teach the nuns and monks about scripture, which he was very knowledgeable in. Ultan was put in charge of the new monastery they erected in Fosse.

In 652, Itta would pass away and leave Gertrude fully in charge of the monastery. Gertrude asked a few of the nuns to tend to the inside of the monastery, and asked several monks to make sure all the surrounding areas outside the monastery were kept in order. Gertrude wished to spend the majority of her time learning as much as possible about scripture from then on.

Her mother left Gertrude a lot of unused land to do with what she pleased. She divided up all the land and had several churches and monasteries built. Gertrude was known by many to refrain from food or drink for long periods, this led to her body becoming very frail. In 658, she was too debilitated to continue running the monastery and would hand off her duties to her niece.

Saint Ultan of the Fosse monastery predicted the death of Saint Gertrude the day before it actually happened. He told her she was going to pass away during Mass the following day. On March 17, 659 this prediction came true and Gertrude passed away. She was made a saint right after her death, and a church was built in her name.

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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Saint Germaine was born in Pibrac, France in the year 1579. Her father's name was Laurent and her mother's name was Marie. Sadly her mother passed away when Saint Germaine Cousin was just a small child. Germaine is known as the patron saint against child abuse due to her depressing childhood.

Germaine was sick a lot as a child, and her father did not give her any attention so she suffered greatly. As a result of scrofula, Germaine's right hand became unusable and misshapen. She was sent to live with a step family, and they treated her worse than her father did. Her step family beat her often and made her sleep in the barn with the animals. They also hardly fed her.

When Germaine turned nine years old she was put to work. Her step family gave her the job of tending to the sheep. Germaine had a lot of free time while doing this job and made herself a makeshift rosary out of string. She prayed the rosary often while working. Germaine always made a point to attend Mass even when her step family did not want her to. She left her sheep unattended when she went to Mass every day, but nothing every happened to them. It is said that Germaine prayed to God to send an angel to watch over the sheep while she left for Mass.

Although Germaine was poor and had no money, she gave to others in a different way. Many children came to see her when she sat in the fields watching the sheep. She would teach them about God, and share her small provisions of food her step family allotted her.

One day, Germaine's step mother was angry with her because she thought Germaine took a loaf of bread and hid it in her apron. However when Germaine opened her apron, out came a bunch of flowers. Everybody treated her nicer after this event because they all believed it to be a miracle, which it was. Her step family treated her nicer and offered her a big room and more food, but Germaine just chose to remain living the life she had led previously.

In 1601, Germaine was found by her step parents in the barn dead. This was apparently due to no reason and was deemed death by natural causes. They buried her by the local church she had attended Mass at often. Saint Germaine was canonized a saint in 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saint Gerard was born in a tiny village called Muro, which can be found in Italy, in the year 1726 on April 6th. Saint Gerard Majella was brought up by his mother only, his father had passed away before he was born. Gerard was always dedicated to doing anything he could to help his mother. His mother taught him that he should also lead a life that would be pleasing to God. Overall Gerard was a very caring person because of the values his mother instilled in him, and he was known by many as a great person. Gerard is remembered as the patron saint of motherhood.

Once Saint Gerard was done with school, he decided to join the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Here he became a brother and learned morals such as faith and obedience to God. Gerard was taught by the other brothers at the congregation and became a very smart man. Gerard never had a lot of money in his life, so he also felt obligated to help the poor because he knew what it was like to have no money.

Although Gerard was no wealthy, he gave away nearly all he had to others in need. It is said that Gerard prayed to God to have enough money and food to help the needy, and that God always made sure he had what he needed. Many people came to Gerard seeking healing, or advice because Gerard was said to have prophetic abilities. Story has it that Gerard knew the hour and day that he was to die years ahead of time.

Mothers in labor always pray to Saint Gerard because he is their patron saint. Mothers have been praying to him for quite some time now, and he has helped many mothers through the pains and struggles of child birth.

Sadly, Saint Gerard would pass away at the young age of twenty nine. He always suffered poor health, and he came down with tuberculosis. This took place on October 16, 1755.

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Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saint George was born in Malta on February 12, 1880. His father's name was Vincent and his mother's name was Nathalie. Saint George was raised to be a faithful Christian by his parents who brought up all of their nine children to be this way. George was prone to sickness a lot as a child. Saint George is known as the patron saint of equestrians because of his skill in riding horses.

Saint George nearly died from a problem with his respiratory system that he suffered just before adulthood. Saint Joseph came and interceded though, causing his recovery. Saint George would become a priest in December of 1906.

After this, Saint George formed the Society of Christian Doctrine. The society had been a long time idea of George's and he was proud of his work to get it started. The goal of the society was to spread the word of God to the entire world. They traveled all over to try and complete their goal.

At this time, trying to spread Christianity to the average person was considered strange. Saint George was called crazy for attempting to teach them. Governments made George stop his society's doings more than once over the many years it was around.

Finally in 1932 the society became approved by the local bishop in Malta, and they did not have to worry about being shut down anymore. The society George started caught on and began to inspire many more groups of the same type.

Saint George was also a very successful writer, publishing over 150 books in his life. His society is still intact today in Australia, Sudan, Kenya, England, and Albania. Saint George passed away in 1962 on July 26th, and was just recently canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in June of 2007.

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Saturday, September 12, 2009
Saint Genesius was born in Ethiopa, and was brought up to be an actor. The date of his birth is unknown. His acting career is why he is remembered as the patron saint of actors and comedians. Saint Genesius of Rome performed in a play in Rome that made fun of the Christian religion and sacrament of Baptism in general. Genesius was not Christian so it did not bother him to be making fun of the Christian faith.

One day, during a performance of the the play, Saint Genesius stopped in his tracks for a few seconds when he saw a vision. The vision was of angels and Genesius spoke to the angels apologizing for his actions in the play and asking to be baptized.

Genesius' strange actions caused quite an outrage in the community. The emperor was in attendance at the play and was furious with Genesius. He demanded that Genesius renounce his new found claims of Christian belief. However, Genesius would not speak badly of the religion anymore. He refused to go against his new faith and held his ground. This led to his beheading in the theater in front of a large crowd.

Saint Genesius of Rome was taken to a local cemetery after his death by Christians. The cemetary was the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus. Some of his personal belongings are said to be in many different places around Rome such as the Chapel of Saint Lawrence.

Saint Genesius' faith and determination, no matter the amount of time he was a Christian, is very inspiring and a great story. Saint Genesius is remembered as a martyr because he stood up for the Christian faith when it mattered most, and it cost him his life. Genesius' feast day is held on August 25th each year.

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Friday, September 11, 2009
Saint Gemma was born in a tiny village in Italy, called Lucca, on March 12, 1878. Saint Gemma Galgani was brought up to be a Catholic and always enjoyed praying and attending Mass. She made her First Holy Communion earlier than most children in her time. Gemma attended Saint Zita school and was one of the most well liked students there. The nuns who ran the school loved her, and Gemma had many friends amongst her pupils too. Before she could complete school, Gemma was forced to drop out due to por health conditions. Gemma is remembered as the patron saint of pharmacists.

Saint Gemma always held her faith even while enduring very tough tests in life. Her illnesses were just one trial, and a small one compared to losing both her parents before adulthood. Gemma mourned her loss, but remained strong and faithful to God when some others would abandon all hope.

After both her parents had passed away, Gemma had to take care of her seven younger siblings. Gemma also spent much time helping the poor. She was always looking to help others whenever she had a free minute. Gemma only desired to devote herself to prayer and becoming closer to God. When men proposed to her, which happened more than once, she kindly declined their offers to lead a life more dedicated to God.

Gemma would become very ill again for the second time in her life at this point, and would have to be put on bed rest. The illness that troubled Gemma this time was meningitis. She felt awful that her remaining family members had to take care of because she was so helpless. Saint Gabriel Possenti came to Gemma and helped to heal her back to full health.

After her recovery, Gemma wished to become a nun but was unable to due to her health issues. She still concentrated on becoming more religious even after not being able to be a nun.

The most strange part of Gemma's life would certainly be her marks of the stigmata. This meant that every Thursday until Saturday night she bled from her feet, heart, and hands. She would experience pain as well. This wondrous action would continue to occur for the rest of her life.

Although Gemma was obviously extremely blessed and holy, she did not want any attention for it. She hid alone while praying or making any type of sacrifice to God. Saint Gemma was extraordinarily humble.

On April 11, 1903 Saint Gemma would pass away after four months of battling the illness known as tuberculosis. On May 2, 1940 Gemma was canonized a saint.

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Saint Gabriel, originally named Francesco Possenti, was born on March 1, 1838 in present day Italy. He was one of thirteen children in his large family. His father's name was Sante, and his mother's name was Agnes. Agnes and Sante had Saint Gabriel Possenti baptized just hours after his birth because they were very religious. Saint Gabriel is the patron saint of students.

Saint Gabriel was very well off during his early years and liked to spend a lot of money on fancy clothes, and also liked to go out dancing in his spare time. Gabriel always liked to go to parties and enjoyed sports as well, such as archery.

Gabriel become deathly ill when he was just beginning school and had to be on bed rest for months. He prayed to God, pleading with him that if he made it through his sickness that he would pledge his life to him. God healed Gabriel, but Gabriel forgot about his promise to God.

Just months after his recovery, Gabriel became ill again and this time his family feared he would not make it. Gabriel had a vision while in Mass one day. A painting of Mary looked at him and whispered to keep his promise that he had made. Gabriel realized than what he must do as soon as school was over.

After his graduation from school, he told his family that he was going to join a monastery. He was joining a group called the Passionist monks. He left to join the monks, and his family still thought the whole thing was a joke and that he would be back relatively soon.

Gabriel did not come home, and his dedication to joining the Passionist monks was not a joke at all. He remained there through thick and thin. The town where his monastery was located was attacked by enemies shortly after his arrival there. Gabriel protected the town and saved the monastery with his good archery skills.

Gabriel then was ordained a priest, and was waiting to be sent somewhere far away to help the poor in other countries and spread the word of God. However, Saint Gabriel Possenti would pass away before that could happen. This happened on February 27, 1862. In 1920 he was canonized a saint, and his feast day was made February 28th.

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Monday, September 7, 2009
Saint Gabriel is an archangel who has appeared just four times in all of eternity. He is the patron saint of messengers because in all of his appearances that have been noted he was delivering some sort of message to a person. St. Gabriel is known as the archangel of mercy and kindness.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel's first siting was recorded in the Old Testament. He showed himself to Daniel, and explained a vision Daniel had just had to him. He told him that the vision of the ram he had just had foretold the end of the Persian Empire. He let Daniel know that Alexander the Great would be coming from Macedonia, and that he was to end the Persian rule. Daniel was also told by Gabriel about the "seventy weeks", which predicted the coming of Jesus to Earth.

Gabriel also appeared once again to Daniel and helped him to interpret the vision he had concerning the apocalypse and the end of the world.

Another appearance made by Saint Gabriel in the Bible is during the New Testament. He came to Zachariah to let him know of the birth of Saint John the Baptist. This was important because this led to the birth of Christ.

Finally, Saint Gabriel is the archangel that came to the Virgin Mary and told her that she would give birth to a son, who of course was Jesus Christ the son of God.

So as you can tell by hearing about the four instances that Saint Gabriel the Archangel has appeared, Gabriel is very important. He brings messages of the utmost importance to those who are destined to find them out.

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Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saint Francis was born on April 7, 1506 in Navarre, Spain. Saint Francis Xavier always had a big heart and his first love was any sport he could find to partake in. He is remembered as the patron saint of missionaries, due to work done in his later years.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola had a huge impact on the life of Francis, and they first met in Paris, France where Francis went to study at a university when he was nineteen years old. At first Saint Ignatius had to persuade Francis to leave his other desires behind and become religious. Ignatius spent a lot of time doing so because he saw great potential inside of Francis.

Saint Francis joined the Society of Jesus which Ignatius founded in 1534. He was one of the first five original members of the society. This led to his confirmation and ordination as a priest in 1537.

The first act Francis did once in the society was to become a missionary to a few churches in India. He did his best to convey his message of God and his goodness to the Muslims of India and saw some success. He accepted the cultures of India that he had been unaccustomed to, and tried to fit in best he could. He preached the gospel and gained many converts by being passive and not forcing the religion upon anybody.

Francis performed a large amount of miracles in his life. He had the gift of tongues, which means he could speak any language which he needed to communicate with a person. He also nursed many sickly people back to full health. His charisma is what many claim to be the greatest power he beheld. He could talk with any person and become their friend quickly. He was so kind and caring and he really converted a lot of people to Christianity by being such a good person.

Saint Francis sadly passed away with just one other person with him on December 2, 1552 in China. He came down with a high fever and could not get rid of it. His body was brought back to his home and buried there. Saint Francis Xavier was canonized in March of 1622.

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Saturday, September 5, 2009
Saint Francis was born in the year 1567 on August 21st, in France. Saint Francis de Sales is known as the patron saint of journalists because of his writings he produced during his lifetime. Francis knew from a very young age that he wanted to become a priest and lead a holy life. He never mentioned to his parents that this is what he wanted to do though because he knew they wanted him to become a soldier.

They sent him away to school to learn the trade of being a soldier and he still didn't tell his parents that it was not what he wanted to do. He trained and fought at school but still made sure he prayed every night and remained faithful to God. Francis knew the time would come for him to pursue his real dream in life, and until God made it clear when the time was he was in no rush.

One day, Francis was riding on horseback and fell. Not just once did Francis fall, but three times. All three times his swords came out of their holsters and landed in a cross formation. Later that day, Francis would be appointed provost of the diocese, which is a high ranking position. God had finally made his plans clear to Francis.

Francis started a huge movement to try and get the Calvinists to convert back to Christianity. People treated him very harshly and sometimes tried to attack him. He had not made one Calvinist convert after three years of work.

Francis tried some new methods of converting Calvinists after the three years of failure he endured. His techniques began to work and story tells it that he made forty thousand converts before he returned home.

Francis was a hard working man and did many good deeds for many different people. He worked hard with a local deaf man to make him able to receive his First Communion. He was constantly preaching and writing new pieces to share with people to try and help them better see God and his goodness.

Francis grew closer to God over the years of his life, and became wiser as well. He became more and more well renowned for his closeness with God and his spirituality. Francis became ill and died on December 28, 1622. His feast day is on January 24th.

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Thursday, September 3, 2009
Saint Francis was born in the year 1181 in Assisi, Italy. Saint Francis of Assisi came from a wealthy family, his father was a merchant who made an abundance of money. Most of Francis' friends growing up were the sons of other rich merchants and traders. Saint Francis is remembered as the patron saint of animals and the ecology.

As said, St. Francis of Assisi spent a lot of time hanging out with other well-off individuals and living in a luxurious way. They all spent money freely, without a care and had everything they wanted that money could buy.

While hanging out with his friends one day, a poor man came and asked them all for money. Francis' friends scoffed at the man, but he felt sorry for him and gave him all the money he had on him at the time. After the man thanked Francis and left, all of his friends made fun of him for helping out the man.

At this point Francis started to realize that he was wasting his life living the way he was. He saw what terrible people he had been associating himself with. Francis started giving a lot of his money to the needy after this, but his father got mad and told him he was "wasting his money".

A few weeks after this event, Francis became very ill and had to stay in bed for quite some time. Many thought he was going to die, but God saved Francis and gave him a goal to reach for the rest of his life. He recovered and decided that he was to live a life to help others.

Francis told his parents that he planned to give up his wealth and help the poor and needy for the rest of his life. His parents were highly disappointed in him and did not see why he would do such a thing. Francis' father was particularly angry. He had worked hard to earn a fortune to support his family and couldn't understand why Francis would just throw it all away.

Francis also lost all his old friends, they made fun of him and called him a fool. He was forced to live on the streets when his father kicked him out of the house and his friends would not have him stay either. In fact, his friends did more than just torment him. They all would find him and throw stones at him and physically hurt him.

Francis never became angry at them though. He found a place to live in a cave outside the city of Assisi in the mountains. He lived there for a long time and prayed and meditated for hours on end there. Francis often went hungry, although some generous folks came and gave him food sometimes.

This is when Francis became in touch with nature. He loved all animals and cared for them when he lived in the wild. He felt they were more his friends and family than the ones he had left behind.

Francis also traveled a lot during these times. He would go from town to town spreading the word of God, and his kindness. He converted many people in his travels and gained some followers in the process.

Saint Francis would go on to found the Order of Mendicant Friars. They were also known as Franciscans. The rules to join were taking vows of love, obedience, poverty, and chastity.

On October 4, 1226 Saint Francis of Assisi would pass away of natural causes.

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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Saint Frances was born in Rome around the year 1384. She is known as the patron saint of automobile drivers. Frances' parents were both extremely rich and well known in the community of Rome. When Saint Frances of Rome determined that she wished to become a nun at age eleven, her parents were not okay with it at all. They found somebody to marry her off to in less than two years and tried to force the wedding on her so she would not follow her aspirations.

Saint Frances followed through with her parents' arranged marriage though, and although she had never met her husband before marrying him it went well. Her husband was a commander in the army of Rome so he away a lot, giving Frances plenty of time to pray and devote herself to God.

Frances gave birth to six children during her marriage. She would lose two of them to sickness that most determine was probably the plague. Eventually her husband would return home from a war with devastating injuries, and he too would pass away.

Saint Frances liked helping others so much that she took part of her home later in life, and turned it into a hospital for anybody who needed care to come to. She would also create the Congregation of Pious Women and would make there meeting place in the a local church in Rome. Today that same group is known as the Oblates of Saint Frances of Rome.

On March 9, 1440 Saint Frances would pass away in Rome, and her body would be buried in the same church she founded her group in and held meetings at. In 1608 Pope Paul V canonized her a saint.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Saint Frances was born on July 15, 1850 in Italy. Her family was a large one and she had thirteen other siblings to get along with. Saint Frances Cabrini's parents' names were Stella and Agostino. They made a living by farming the land they owned and either consuming it or selling it locally. St. Frances was taught a lot growing up by her sister Rosa because her parents were very old when she was born. Frances is known as the patron saint of immigrants.

When Frances was only thirteen years old she went to the Sacred Heart at the Normal School to be taught. She aspired to be a teacher and would be authorized to due so upon her graduation at age eighteen.

Frances became infected with smallpox and got very ill. She wanted to join the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, but was not allowed to because of her health.

After being turned away from a few more groups, Frances decided to stay at home and take care of her elderly parents for the rest of their lives. She began teaching in a small, local school to get money to help her parents out.

Around the year 1877, Frances would become the head of the House of Providence orphanage, and began teaching there as well. To do so she was required to finally take her vows of chastity and obedience to God.

After the orphanage had to be shut down due to issues involving money, Frances would found her own religious society called the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her work to set up the group gained her much recognition from many people, including Pope Leo XIII.

The Pope realized what potential Frances had to become a great religious figure and had her sent to America. She arrived in New York City in 1889, and began to help out the poor Italian immigrants who had just arrived and were struggling with their new lives.

She also founded an orphanage that still exists today called the Saint Cabrini Home.

Saint Frances began to be known as Mother Cabrini and moved from New York to Chicago. Mother Cabrini would found hospitals, schools, and hotels all in the Chicago area. Finally in 1909, she would become an American citizen.

In December of 1917, Saint Frances Cabrini would pass away due to malaria. She passed away in Chicago and has a street named after her in the city still today. Her feast day is November 13th.

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