Feast Day: 6 July Maria Goretti was the daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer. She had no chance to go to school, never learned to read or write. When Maria made her First Communion not long before her death, she was one of the larger and somewhat backward members of the class. On a
Feast Day: 29 June On 29 June the Church celebrates the feast day of two great saints, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Peter and Paul are known as the two pillars of the Church. Their lives were very different but both overcame weakness; St Peter denied Christ and St Paul persecuted the Church. Both repented
Feast Day: 22 June John Fisher was born in Yorkshire, England in 1469, the son of a cloth dealer. He was educated at Cambridge University beginning at age 14, and became a distinguished scholar. He was ordained a priest in 1491 at age 22, and became vice-chancellor of the university ten years later. John Fisher
Feast Day: 22 June St Thomas More is known as one of the more famous martyrs of Henry VIII’s reign. The popular image is of a man – principled, steadfast, courageous – who placed his own conscience above his king’s demands. Thomas More was an English statesman and writer of the early 16th century. Thomas
Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. – Matthew 11:11 This Thursday, 24 June, is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.
Feast Day: 13 June St Anthony of Padua is one of the Catholic Church’s most popular saints. Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost and stolen articles, was a powerful Franciscan preacher and teacher. He’s typically portrayed holding the child Jesus — or a lily — or a book— or all three — in
Feast Day: 22 May St Rita was an Augustinian nun from 14th-century Cascia, Italy. She is the patroness of impossible causes and hopeless circumstances because of her difficult and disappointing life. Through her trials God used her in remarkable ways. Now she assists from heaven those who plead for her intercession for their own seemingly
Feast Day: 29 April St Catherine of Siena was born during the outbreak of the plague in Siena, Italy on 25 March 1347. She was the 25th child born to her mother, although half of her brothers and sisters did not survive childhood. Catherine herself was a twin, but her sister did not survive infancy.
Feast Day: 28 April Gianna Beretta Molla was born in Magenta near Milano, the tenth of Alberto and Maria Beretta’s 13 children. An active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a leader in the Catholic Action movement, Gianna also enjoyed skiing and mountain climbing. She earned degrees in medicine and surgery from
Feast Day: 23 April St George is the patron saint of England. In the familiar story, he is depicted as a noble knight who saved a town and princess from a dragon. In the epic battle he proved victorious only when he consecrated himself to the sign of the cross. The story is not based
