Mother

Mary is Jesus’ mother and before Jesus died He gave her to us to be our mother too. God chose Mary to be Jesus’ mom because she loved God very much and always said yes to whatever God asked her to do.  When Mary was still quite young, God sent the Archangel Gabriel to Mary to tell her the wonderful news that God had chosen her to be the mother of His Son Jesus.  Mary was amazed that God would choose her, but she trusted in God and she said YES!  Mary, and Jesus’ dad Joseph, loved Jesus very much.  They took care of him when he was a little baby and taught him all about God as he grew up.  Mary believed that Jesus could do lots of amazing things, like make sick people better and turn water into wine at a wedding party.  Mary helped Jesus’ friends (his Apostles) to be more like Jesus and she can help us too. Today we celebrate that she is God’s Mother, because Jesus is God, and she wants to be our mother too.

St Sylvester

St. Sylvester became Pope in 314 when Emperor Constantine ruled.  It was a time of change for the church because the rule of Emperor Diocletian had just ended.  Diocletian hated Christians and had many of Jesus’ followers killed.  Emperor Constantine did not like Christians either, at first.  Many were afraid he would be mean like the emperor before him.

Emperor Constantine found out he had leprosy, a very bad skin disease that had no cure in those days. One night the emperor had a dream he was visited by St. Peter and St. Paul.  The saints told him to go visit Pope Sylvester and that he would be healed.  Emperor Constantine hurried to see the pope and asked to be baptized.  Pope Sylvester gladly did as the emperor asked and, during the baptism, the emperor was healed. Emperor Constantine then did everything he could to help spread the Good News of Jesus.

St. Sylvester continued to be pope until his death in 335.  He was a very wise and strong leader. With the help of Emperor Constantine, he was able to build up Christ's Church after it had been through such hard times.

St Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was born in London, England.  He was very well liked and had many friends, one of whom was the King of England, King Henry II. Thomas was studying to become a priest when the king asked him to be his chancellor. As chancellor, he was very prayerful and gave a lot of what he had to the poor.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury died, King Henry II wanted his friend Thomas to finish his studies to become a priest so he could make Thomas the archbishop. Thomas warned his friend that it was not a good idea and that it would be hard on their friendship, but the king did not listen.

As time went on, Thomas served God’s Church well but the king kept trying to take over more power in the church.  At first, Thomas almost gave in to his friend but he stood for his faith in the Church instead.  King Henry became so mad at Thomas that he sent out four of his knights to “rid him of this archbishop”.

On December 29th, 1170, Thomas was killed in his own cathedral for defending Jesus and His Church.

Holy Innocents

During the time when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, three Wise Men from the East came to visit Him.  They did not know where to find Jesus so they visited King Herod to see if he knew.  When King Herod heard that they were looking for Jesus, the Messiah, he started planning a very evil plan.  He was worried that this new king would take over his kingdom, so he wanted to get rid of Jesus.

Herod asked the Wise Men to return to him once they found Jesus so that he could also visit him.  Once the Wise Men found Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod.  Joseph was also warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

When Herod found out that the Wise Men had disobeyed, he was very angry.  He ordered his men to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and younger, hoping to get rid of Jesus.

Today we remember and honor all those innocent babies who were martyred.  They are called the Holy Innocents.

St. John Apostle

St. John lived during the time of Jesus.  His parents were Zebedee and Salome. He and his brother James were fishermen and were both called to be Jesus' apostles. John was the youngest of Jesus' apostles and is the only one who did not leave Jesus during his crucifixion and death.

After Jesus' resurrection, the apostles had been out on their boat fishing but did not catch any fish.  A man from the shore told them to cast out their nets and they came up full of fish.  It was John who recognized the man as Jesus.

After Pentecost, John was filled with the Holy Spirit and went out preaching the Good News of Jesus.  He performed many miracles and hundreds of people became followers of Jesus.  John lived to be over one hundred years old and never stopped preaching about Jesus' great love.

St Stephen

St. Stephen was the first person to be killed for his faith in Jesus. He is the first martyr.  Stephen lived in the time of Jesus.  All we know of him is from chapters 6 and 7 in the Book of Acts in the Bible.  The apostles had made him a deacon and had asked him to care for the widows and children.

Stephen was a wise man who was  filled with God's grace and power. When he preached about Jesus, many people would ask him difficult questions but  Stephen always had an answer.  This made many people very angry and, one day, they carried Stephen outside.  They formed a circle around him and threw stones at him until he died.  While he was being stoned, he prayed “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He then forgave the men that were stoning him and he died.

Christmas

The Roman emperor wanted a count of the people living in his empire. Mary and Joseph were part of the royal family of King David and had made the long and hard journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted.  When they came to Bethlehem, the city was very busy and there was no place to stay. Mary was pregnant and it was time for the baby to be born.  An innkeeper did not have room for them in his inn but he let them stay in the stable where he kept his animals.  And so it was when the fullness of time had come, Mary gave birth to baby Jesus, God's only Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. God showed His great love for us by sending  His only Son, Jesus.

St Charbel

Youssef Zaroun Makhlouf was born in a mountain village in Lebanon.  He lived a simple life with his parents.  He loved Jesus and always hoped to become a monk when he grew up.  His parents wanted him to get married, so Youssef asked Mother Mary to help him to become a monk.  When he was twenty-three, his parents gave their permission for him to join the monastery of Our Lady. He chose the name Charbel, who was a martyr in the early church.
Charbel spent many years of his life as a hermit.  He took a vow of silence and prayed for long hours during the day.  He ate very little and slept on the hard ground.  He was a very peaceful and prayerful man.  He lived a very simple life like he had when he was a boy.  He did not look to money or things for happiness; instead he found joy in living with very little to show his love for Jesus.

St John Kanty

John was born in Kanty, Poland.  His parents were farmers and taught their son about Jesus. John was a smart boy and his parents were able to send him to Krakow to go to university when he was old enough.  He studied to be a priest and a teacher.

He worked at the university for a while but then some bad men told lies about him and he was fired from his job.  He was sent to a small town of Olkusz to be their parish priest.  At first, the people did not like him because he was from the big city.  John decided to just be himself and he showed kindness and love to the people of his parish.  He soon won their hearts.

After seven years as their parish priest, he was asked to return to the city of Krakow.  The people of his parish were so sad to see him go that they journeyed half way back to the city with him.

Back in Krakow, John became well-known for his preaching.  He was always helping the poor.  He ate very little and always shared what he had with people who were in need. He died when he was 83 years old.

Chaeremon

In the third century, people who were Christians suffered terribly for the beliefs they had. Many were killed or lived in such terrible conditions that they ended up dying. Chaeremon was the bishop of a place called Nilopolis. When he was getting old, the persecution of Christians was getting verybad, and he and a friend went and hid in some nearby mountains. No one ever saw them again.

Ischyrion lived in an Egyptian city, and the people he worked for wanted him to worship an idol. He refused because he knew that God commanded us not to do that; we are only supposed to worship Him. The person in charge of him was so mad that he refused to worship the idol, that he had Ischyrion killed. There were many others in Egypt and other places nearby who were killed because of their strong belief in Jesus, but they knew that even if they died here on earth, Jesus would be waiting to meet them in heaven.

St Peter Canisius

Peter was born in Holland and was very smart. By age 19, he had completed his schooling to become a lawyer. But once he started working, he knew that being a lawyer wasn’t for him. He attended a Jesuit retreat one day and realized that joining the Jesuits was what he wanted. He joined the order, studied and prayed for many years, and eventually became a priest.
After that, he went to Germany to share the Good News about Jesus with the people there. He travelled all around the land, by horse or by foot, for 40 years sharing Jesus’ message. He was well-respected throughout the land and, when the Church leaders needed someone for a secret mission, they asked him. He travelled all throughout the land, even though it was very risky, with the important Church writings that he delivered to the Bishops. Even with all his travelling, he still found time to write some books about the Christian faith. People liked his books so much that they were translated into 15 different languages, so that people from all over the world could read them.

St Dominic of Silos

St Dominic was born in Spain.  His parents raised sheep and did not have much money.  Dominic spent many hours in the fields looking after the sheep.  He enjoyed the peace and quiet and spent a lot of time praying.

When he was old enough, he entered the Benedictine monastery and became a monk.  He was appointed abbot of the monastery and he was a very good and loving leader.

The King of Spain had a disagreement with Dominic over some land that the monks owned.  The king wanted the land for his property but Dominic would not let him have it.  The king was very angry and ordered Dominic and 2 other brothers to leave his kingdom.

Dominic and the 2 other monks left their land and were welcomed in the neighboring kingdom.  There, the new king gave them an old monastery called St. Sebastian of Silos, which became one of the  most well known monasteries in Spain.

100 years after Dominic died, a young woman named Joan made a pilgrimage to his tomb.  Dominic appeared to her and told her she was going to have another son.  The woman, who we know as Blessed Joan of Aza, did have another baby and she called him Dominic after Dominic of Silos.  Her son grew up and became the great St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order.

St Urban V

William de Grimoard was born in France and became a Benedictine monk. He was a very good leader and was appointed to lead the monastery he had entered.  The Queen of France could see he was a wise man and she appointed him as her Advisor to help with important decisions.

In 1362, the cardinals elected a new pope,  The cardinal elected did not feel he was able to do the job so he declined the position.  The cardinals could not find another man among them so they elected William de Grimoard.  He humbly accepted and became Pope Urban V.

As Pope, he served his people humbly and justly.  He worked hard to bring the Eastern and Western Churches and their differences together.  He lived a simple life and gave much of what he had to the poor.  He reminded people of Jesus' great love and that they needed nothing else but Him.

He was Pope for eight years and died in 1370.  He was sixty years old.

St Flannan

Flannan was the son of an Irish Chieftain (King).  Flannan studied with monks as a child and wished to become a monk when he grew up.  His family didn’t want him to be a monk, but he knew this is what God wanted him to do and so he left and joined a monastery.   As a monk, he went on missionary trips to share the Gospel in many countries.  He then went on a pilgrimage (a trip) to Rome and the Pope made him the first Bishop of Killaloe in Ireland.  He led his people well, teaching them to have a closer relationship with Jesus.  His father learned to love Jesus so well through Bishop Flannan’s teachings that he also became a monk.  Bishop Flannan served his people well and many people came to know Jesus through him.

St Olympias

Olympias was born into a rich and important family.  Both her parents died when she was only little and she was given to a very kind woman, Theodosia, to be taken care of.  She married an important man but he died soon after they were married.  Her parents had left her a lot of money and, because of that, many people tried to get her marry again, but she would always say no.  She even had her money taken from her until she was 30 because she would not marry.  Olympias only wanted to serve God and take care of His poor people.  She was good friends with St. John Chrysostom, who became Archbishop of the Church in Constantinople, and he helped her to get closer to Jesus and serve Him. When her money was returned to her, she used it to build hospitals, orphanages, a chapel and to take care of monks who had nowhere else to live.  A man named Arsacius wanted to be Archbishop of the Church, and he took the place of St. John Chrysostom, kicking him out of Constantinople.  Olympias helped many Christians who were being kicked out of Constantinople by the new Archbishop, giving them a place to live and food.  She refused to accept the new Archbishop; she believed he was not ruling the Church the way God wanted to and, because of this, she was also kicked out of Constantinople.  The Archbishop stopped all the good things that Olympias was doing and she lived the rest of her life not being able to return to her home.  She spent the rest of her life in prayer being guided and comforted by St. John Chrysostom through letters, helping her to stay close to God.

St Adelaide

Adelaide was born a princess to the King and Queen of Upper Burgundy in France.  When she was only 2 years old, her father promised that Adelaide would marry the Prince of Italy when she grew up; this promise brought peace between the two countries.  As promised, when Adelaide turned 16 years old she was married to the Prince who had become the King of Italy.  Sadly, the King died after only 3 years of being married.  King Berengar took his place and was not kind to Adelaide.  He wanted her to marry his son, but she refused because she believed that King Berengar had poisoned her husband so that he could become King.  Since she would not marry his son, he had her thrown into prison.  She was rescued by Otto the Great and they were married and then became the Holy Emperor and Empress of Rome.  They ruled the Holy Roman Empire (which included countries like Germany, Bohemia, Italy and Bergundy) in union with the Church, helping to make the Church strong and helping the Church grow.  Together they had 4 children; one of them later became Emperor of Rome, Otto II.  She held a lot of power as the Holy Roman Empress for many years, helping her husband, then her son and then her grandson, rule.  She was devoted to the Holy Empire and to the Church and helped bring many people closer to Jesus.

St Maria crocifissa

Maria was named Paula Frances Mary when she was born.  Her family was rich and sent her to study with the Visitation Sisters.  When her mother died, Paula was 17 years old and she left her studies to go home to help her father.  She never wanted to get married; she only wanted to be a sister.  So while she helped her father, she also taught the young girls working at her father’s mills about Jesus and helped at the hospital in town.  She later started a home for girls who didn’t have anywhere else to live and for people who could not hear or speak.  She was asked to lead a group of sisters who took care of the sick.  She became a sister and took the name Maria Crocifissa di Rosa because she loved to pray and reflect on Jesus being crucified to save us from our sins.  The sisters were called the Handmaids of Charity (which means to give to those in need).  The sisters took care of the poor, the sick and the soldiers that got hurt during war.  They did their work as if they were caring for Jesus who was suffering on the Cross, and they cared for the people that they served with the same love that they had for Jesus.

St John of the Cross

John was born into a poor family, and he learned the importance of giving and sacrificing for other people from his mother and father.  His father had given up many riches and importance from his family when he married John’s mother, who was poor and a weaver.  When his father died and left his mother to care for John and his two brothers, she had to work hard to provide for her family.  When John was only 14 years old he went to work at a hospital to help feed his family.  These experiences taught John that even if this world only offers us suffering, Jesus always has joy and beauty to give us.   His love for God called him to join the Carmelite order of priests; together with St. Teresa of Avila, he was called to bring the priests and sisters of this Order closer to Jesus.  St. Teresa and St. John worked to bring prayers and order back to the Carmelite Order and many of the priests and sisters did not want this because they liked the easy life they had been living.  John was treated badly for the work that he was trying to do, and even thrown into prison for 9 months.  He managed to escape and continued with his work, starting a separate Order of Carmelites that was very strict and spent most of its time in prayer with Jesus.  He wrote many amazing poems and books (some of them he wrote while he was in prison) and his writings are still read today.  His writing has helped many people journey closer to Jesus, even through difficult times.  He is called a Doctor of the Church because of the amazing teachings he left us.

St Lucy

Lucy was born into a rich and important family, but her father died when Lucy was young leaving her and her mother with no one to take care of them.  When Lucy was very young she promised Jesus that she would live her life only for Him and no one else.  Lucy’s mother became sick, and was sick for many years. This made their situation even harder.  Her mother wanted Lucy to get married, because if she got married then they would be taken care of again.  Her mother wanted Lucy to marry someone who did not believe in God and Lucy refused to marry him.  Lucy wanted to tell her mother that she had given her life to Jesus, but she was afraid that this would make her mother angry.  Since her mother was still sick, she asked God to heal her so that she would believe in Him and allow Lucy to save her life for Jesus.  She took her mother to the shrine of St. Agatha and together they prayed for her mother’s healing and God answered their prayers.  Her mother believed and when Lucy told her about her promise to Jesus, her mother agreed that she should not marry.  This made the man that Lucy was supposed to marry very angry.  He told the ruler of the land that Lucy was a Christian, which was against the law during this time.  Lucy was arrested and treated very badly, but she never gave up her faith in Jesus and never gave her life to anybody but Jesus.  She died a martyr for her faith in Jesus.  Since her name means light, and she lived her short life in the light of Christ, some celebrate her feast day with lighting a wreath of candles.  In Sweden, the oldest daughter in a family wears the wreath of lit candles on her head.

Our Lady Of Guadalupe

Missionaries had gone to Mexico to share the gospel with the Mexican people there, but they were not able to bring many people to Jesus.  Jesus and His Mother Mary loved the Mexican people so much and wanted them to understand who Jesus was, so Mary decided she would help the Missionaries.  On December 9th, 1531, she appeared to a Mexican man named Juan Diego and told him she wanted to take care of the people of Mexico and lead them to her Son, Jesus.  She asked Juan to tell the Bishop to build a Church where she appeared so that people could get to know Jesus.  When Mary appeared to Juan Diego, she came as an Aztec Princess speaking his language.  She came in a way that the Mexican people would know, understand, and love.  Jesus healed Juan’s uncle from a very bad illness and let roses grow out of the frozen ground where Mary had appeared so that the people would believe that all that Juan said was true.  Mary left her picture on Juan’s cloak so that many people would get to know her and, through her, get to know her Son, Jesus.  These miracles brought 6 million Mexican people to Jesus; they were baptized and joined God’s family.  Even today many people go to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe to get to know Jesus and His Mother.

St Damasus

Damasus grew up serving in the Church.  His father was a priest for the Church and Damasus spent many hours there with his father, helping in the Church however he could.  When he grew up he became a Deacon (the first step to becoming a priest) and, when Pope Liberius died, he was chosen to be the next Pope.  At this time in the Church there was a lot of fighting between Rulers in Rome and Rulers of the Church.  There ended up being two Popes: one in Rome (the true Pope following St. Peter) and one in Constantinople, as people fought to have control over the Church.  Pope Damasus fought hard to keep the Catholic Church following the teaching of Jesus.  He hired St. Jerome to translate the bible into Latin so that more people could read it.  He also had the language of Mass changed from Greek into Latin so that people could understand what was happening during Mass.  He wrote many short sayings that helped people learn more about God and get closer to Him.  One of the things he wrote were short explanations about the names of Jesus – “Son” because He is the only Son of God; “Shepherd” because he is a guardian; “Life” because he is the Creator; “Lion” because he is the King; “Rock” because He is firm.

St. John Roberts

John was born in England, which was a Protestant (another group of Christians that does not follow the Pope) country ruled by the King of England.  He was raised in the Protestant faith, although as a child he was taught by a Catholic monk.  Catholics were not treated well in England during this time and they were regularly martyred because of their faith.  He was studying to become a lawyer when he decided to travel to Europe.  It was during his visit to France, at the Notre Dame Cathedral, that he decided to become Catholic.  He left his study of the law, joined the monastery of St. Benedict, and studied to become a priest.  Once he was ordained a priest he went back to England to care for the Catholics in England who were not allowed to practice their faith freely.  He knew it would be dangerous and he was thrown into prison many times for teaching the Catholic faith and celebrating Mass with Catholics.  He was kicked out of England many times and told never to come back, but he always went back because he wanted to help the people of his country get closer to Jesus.  The last time he returned to England to continue his mission and service to the Catholic people he was arrested for the last time.  He was martyred for being a Catholic priest serving his people in England.

St Juan Diego

Juan Diego lived a very simple life and he was a very humble man.  He loved God very much and he spent as much time in prayer as he could.  He would attend Mass everyday, having to walk 15 miles to the go to Church.  On December 9th, 1531, he was on this walk to Church and, as he was passing a hill named Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud with a rainbow around it.  He heard a woman calling him to go up the hill and, when he got there, he saw a beautiful woman who was dressed like an Aztec Princess.  She explained that she was Mary, Jesus’ Mother, and she had come to give Juan a message for the Bishop.  She wanted the Bishop to build a Church in that spot so that she could be with the people that come to the Church, help them in their life, and let them know how much she loves them because she is their Mother.  When Juan told the Bishop what had happened, he didn’t believe Juan and he asked for a sign that what he was saying was true.  Juan was on his way to meet with Mary again when he heard that his uncle was dying.  Instead of going to meet with Mary, Juan went to look for a priest to visit his uncle.  On his way to get the priest, Mary appeared to him on the side of the road and said not to worry about his uncle, because his uncle was healed.  Then she told Juan to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill again and, when he got there, he was amazed at what he saw.  There were beautiful Castilian roses, that do not grow in Mexico, growing all over the hilltop in the frozen ground, for it was winter.  He gathered up all the flowers he could in his cloak and brought them to the Bishop as a sign that what he was saying about Mary was true.  When he opened up his cloak to show the Bishop the roses, the Bishop saw that Mary had left her picture on Juan’s cloak.  The Bishop believed what Juan was saying and he did what Mary asked and built a Church on the hill.  Many people have come to know Jesus through this miracle on Tepeyac Hill and through Juan’s example of deep and humble faith.  People still go to the Church that Mary had built on the hill, to see her picture on Juan’s cloak, and to get closer to Jesus through his Mother.

Immaculate Conception

Today we celebrate that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, never had any sin from the very beginning of her life in St. Anne’s womb.  All of us carry with us the effect of original sin (that Adam and Eve turned away from God and listened to the serpent in the Garden).  We are saved from this sin by being baptized; saying yes to Jesus and joining God’s family.  Because He created her, God knew that Mary would say yes to Jesus. Since God created Mary to carry His Son Jesus in her womb, He wanted her to be free from all Sin. So God saved Mary from original sin right at the moment of her creation - she was saved from sin before she was even born!  This is a very important teaching of the Catholic Church but it is sometimes hard for people to believe.  Mary wanted people to believe in this teaching because she knows that it can help people understand Jesus better, and so she appeared to St. Bernadette and called herself the Immaculate Conception.  This helped a lot of people to believe in the Immaculate Conception.

St Ambrose

Ambrose was born and raised in the Roman Empire. His father was a very important Roman Govenor (ruler) of a big area of the Roman Empire.  His father died when Ambrose was young and his mother and sister decided to move back to Rome.  His mother, sister, and brother loved God. His sister was a nun and also became a Saint (St. Marcellina), and they brought Ambrose up to know, love, and serve God, too.  Ambrose got a good education and he became a lawyer. Soon after, he became a Governor (ruler) like his father had been; he was the Governor of Milan in Rome (now in Italy).  As a lawyer and Governor he was always very gentle, caring, and loving to everyone that he encountered; he was very respected by everyone that he worked with.  During this time, the Bishop of Milan was ruling the Catholic Church very badly.  He did not like some of the teachings and faith of the Catholic Church and did many things against the teaching of Jesus and the Church.  When he died and it was time to elect a new Bishop, there was a lot of fighting among Catholics who wanted to follow the true teaching of the Church and the Catholics that liked how the Bishop had been running Milan.  Since Ambrose was a lawyer, he was asked to speak to the people to try and find peace so that they could make a good decision of who to have as Bishop.  He did such a great job working with the people that they decided that they wanted HIM to be the new Bishop.  Ambrose was shocked, but accepted his calling by God.  He gave up everything he owned and gave his whole life to serving the Church.  He made sure that the teachings of the Church were true and, because of that, he is called a Doctor of the Church.

St nicholas

Nicholas was born to rich parents who believed in God and taught Nicholas, their only child, to follow God too.  Nicholas loved God from the time that he was a young child; he prayed, fasted, and went to Church regularly to get closer to God.  When Nicholas was still young, his parents died, leaving him an orphan.  His uncle, also named Nicholas, was a Bishop and he took care of his nephew and helped him to follow God. Nicholas' parents had left him a lot of money when they died and he used that money to help the poor whenever he could.  He would give this money and gifts in secret because he did not want people to thank him but only to praise God for the gifts given to them.  His Bishop Uncle made Nicholas a priest and then Nicholas became a Bishop; he was one of the Bishops to sign the Nicene Creed, which we sometimes say at Church instead of the Apostles Creed.  Bishop Nicholas was very well loved by the people he served. Everyone knew how much he loved God, how very generous he was, and how many miracles were performed through him by God’s power.  He was thrown into prison because of his faith but he never stopped loving God and, when he was released, he returned to his duties as Bishop of Myra.  He continued to take care of the Catholic Church, making sure people followed the right teachings.  He continued to perform miracles.  He continued to give away what he had, in secret, so that people would thank God for the gifts and not him.

St Saba

Sabas was born into a military family; his father was an officer with the army.  When Sabas was only 8 years old, his father had to leave him to go to Egypt to serve in the army.  He left Sabas with an uncle who had agreed to take care of him, but Sabas’ aunt did not treat him well.  Sabas left and went to stay with another uncle, but then his two uncles started to fight over who got to have Sabas’ money and belongings.  When Sabas saw how his uncles were fighting over him, he ran away and joined a monastery.  Sabas finally found peace in the monastery and he became a monk.  Later, Sabas joined a monastery in Jerusalem and, when he was 30 years old, he became a hermit, wanting to live alone with God.  After 4 years of being alone, people started to hear about how holy Sabas was and they wanted to learn from him.  So even though Sabas really just wanted to live by himself, soon he was taking care of 150 other monks who had come to live and learn with him.  He was ordained a priest and guided his community well.  He built many hospitals, as well as another monastery in Jerusalem. He was then put in charge of all the hermits that were living throughout Palestine, helping them to get closer to Jesus.  He met with leaders of the Government at the time, helping to bring peace to his country. Under his guidance, many people came to know God very well and many Saints have come from the monasteries that he started.  His monastery in Jerusalem still has monks living in it; it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world.

St Giovanni Calabria

Giovanni was born into a very poor family with 6 older brothers.  His father died when Giovanni was only 10 years old, and he had to leave school to go to work to help his family.  Even though he didn’t have much schooling, he still wanted to be a priest when he grew up.  After serving with the Army of Italy for 2 years, he worked really hard to pass the exams needed to get into the Seminary.  While he was still studying to be a priest, he found a boy on the doorstep of his house.  This boy had run away from the gypsies (people who live on the streets and travel from place to place).  Giovanni decided to take care of the boy, as he was an orphan and had nowhere to go.  This event, as well as his experience growing up in poverty, led Giovanni to a life-long mission of taking care of the poor, sick, and orphaned.  After serving as priest for 6 years, Fr. Giovanni started his own congregation of priests called the “Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence”.  This Congregation spread quickly throughout Italy and many other countries.  He also started the “Poor Sister Servants of Divine Providence” for women who wished to serve the poor, sick, and orphaned.

St Francis Xavier

Francis was born in a castle, to a very rich and important family that lived in the Kingdom of Navarre.  This Kingdom was attacked by Spain when Francis was a child. Once the war ended 18 years later, Francis left to go study in France; he was a good student and he became a teacher.  While teaching there, he met Ignatius of Loyola, and this friendship changed the direction of Francis’ life.  Francis and Ignatius, along with 5 other men, started the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits).  This Society was approved by the Pope and the 7 men became priests.  They wanted to be missionaries, to spread the Gospel to people in other lands who did not know Jesus.  With the Society of Jesus, Francis was asked by the King of Portugal to go to the new lands that Portugal had conquered in Africa and India.  The original people of these lands did not know Jesus and the Portuguese people that were settling the lands had stopped following Jesus.  Francis worked hard to bring thousands of people to God in these countries and in many more countries that he travelled to (Moluccas, Japan, Tuticorin, Malacca, and Morotai).   He died on his way to China, never stopping his mission to spread the Gospel to the far ends of the earth!

St Bibiana

Bibiana was born into a Christian family during the early times of the Church.  Her father was a Roman knight who was kicked out of Rome after Apronianus was made Governor.  Governor Apronianus did not like Christians and he wanted to get rid of all the Christians in Rome.  He then killed Bibiana’s mother, leaving Bibiana and her sister Demetria to take care of themselves.  The Governor took everything that Bibiana and Demetria had so that they would have to suffer as poor people.  Instead of being sad about their situation and panicking, Bibiana and her sister spent their time praying and fasting (not eating very much) so that they would become closer to Jesus and be strengthened by Him.  This made the Governor mad and he had the two sisters brought to him.  Demetria told the Governor that she believed in God and she died right after.  Bibiana also told the Governor she believed in God and, as punishment, he gave her to a mean woman who tried to make her sin against God.  No matter how mean the woman was to Bibiana she never gave up her faith in God.  This made the Governor so mad that he had Bibiana put to death.  As she was being killed, she praised God and was joyful because she knew she would be going to heaven to be with Jesus.  She died a martyr for her faith in Jesus.