All saints

Today’s feast day is a time to celebrate the Communion of Saints, which we say we believe in when we pray the Apostles’ Creed. The Communion of Saints is made up of three groups of people: all the people who have made it to Heaven; all the people that are waiting to get into Heaven but are still in purgatory (where your soul is made pure before entering Heaven); and all the people that belong to the Church here on earth and are living their life the way Jesus asked us to. So this means that all of us are on a journey to sainthood. The saints that have made it into Heaven already are praying for us, to help us live our lives the way Jesus asks so that we can join them in Heaven. We pray for those saints who are waiting to get into Heaven and we ask the Saints already in Heaven to pray for us. All together we make up the wonderful Communion of Saints that belong to God’s family. Just like the stories of the Saints of the Day that are written here, we will have our own story of how we made it into Heaven.

St Wolfgang

As a young boy, Wolfgang studied with the Benedictines. He became a teacher when he grew up and, after teaching for a little while, felt Jesus was asking him to join the Benedictines. When he entered the monastery, he was put in charge of the school. He later became a priest and spent a year in Hungary with a group of monks, preaching and sharing the Gospel message. The Church could see what a good and smart man Wolfgang was and so, even though he had not been a priest for very long, he was made Bishop of Regensburg in Germany. He was very well known as a smart and energetic servant of the Church. He worked hard to make changes in the Church so that Christians could get closer to Jesus, more people could get into school, and the poor would be helped. He even taught the King, Emperor Henry II, and helped him to rule his country fairly and with faith in Jesus. Near the end of his life, Bishop Wolfgang became a hermit, leaving the city and going to a hidden spot to be alone with Jesus.

St Alphonsus Rodrigues

Alphonsus was born into a rich family and he was able to go to school with the Jesuit priests. While he was away at school, his father died and so, even though he was very young, Alphonsus had to go back home to take care of his father’s business. Eventually, he got married and had 3 children. Sadly, his children and wife died and Alphonsus decided that, instead of continuing his life as a business man, he wanted to live the rest of his life for Jesus. Because he had studied with the Jesuits, he wanted to join the Jesuit order. But because he had not studied very much before leaving school when his father died, and he was not a very healthy man, the Order did not have him study to become a priest. Instead he served the Order as a lay person (someone who is not a priest, brother, or nun). The Order sent him to the Island of Majorca to become a porter (someone who serves others by carrying their luggage or other loads). He did this job without complaining for 24 years and people came to know him and love him and ask for his advice. Even though Alphonsus did not hold an important position in the Jesuit Order, many people would come to him to hear his thoughts on God, ask him questions, and get help in becoming closer to Jesus. He was very obedient to the leaders of his Order and always did what he was told. He offered up sacrifices for his sins and the sins of the world, and he had a big devotion to Mary and her Immaculate Conception.

St Narcissus

From the time that Narcissus was a young boy, he loved Jesus and learning about Him through the preaching of other Christians. He grew up during the very early times of the Church and he became the 30th Bishop of Jerusalem when he was 80 years old. Even though he was quite old, he had so much energy to serve Jesus that he never slowed down. He performed miracles because of his great faith in Jesus. Once, when his Church had run out of oil to fill the lamps for the Easter Vigil, he changed water into oil so Mass could continue. Although Narcissus was loved by the Christian people of Jerusalem, there were still those who did not like him because he wouldn’t change the laws of the Church, and so they tried to harm him. Three of these people made up a horrible lie about Narcissus and claimed to be telling the truth. One said that if he was lying he would die by fire; another said he would get a sickness called leprosy; and the last person said that if he was lying he would go blind. After this happened, Bishop Narcissus escaped to the desert to spend time alone with Jesus. He was tired of all the unbelief and evil that was around him and he enjoyed being only with God. But the three men were indeed lying, and the horrible things that they had said would happen to them if they lied did occur, proving to all that Bishop Narcissus was innocent. Even though Bishop Narcissus could have stayed in the desert, he knew that the Christians of Jerusalem needed him and so he returned to serve the Church with all the energy of a young man, even though by this time he was very old. St. Alexander came to help Bishop Narcissus when he got too old to be Bishop by himself. Narcissus lived until he was 116 years old, serving the Church through prayer and teachings until He went to meet Jesus in Heaven.

Sys Simon and Jude

Jude and Simon were both one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. Jude was one of Jesus’ cousins and he knew Jesus very well and loved him. He was in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and Mary and they were given the gifts they needed to preach the Gospel to the whole world. Jude shared the Gospel with many people as he traveled to many places, including Persia, with Simon. He wrote a letter, which is in the New Testament of the Bible, encouraging Christians to be strong and to always believe in Jesus no matter what. He also tells us to help each other to follow Jesus because sometimes it is hard and we need support to follow our beliefs. Simon is called the Zealot, which means he followed the Jewish laws very closely. When Jesus called Simon to follow him and be his Apostle, he said yes because he believed that Jesus was the Saviour the Jewish people were waiting for. After Jesus died and rose from the dead, Simon became a great preacher of the Gospel, going to Persia with Jude to tell people about Jesus. There in Persia, Simon and Jude were killed for their faith, making them martyrs for Jesus.

St Gaudiosus

Gaudiosus was a Bishop in North Africa during a time when the King ruling the country kicked all the Christians out. Gaudiosus left North Africa in a boat with other Christian men and women and they went to Naples in Italy. Gaudiosus shared the teachings of St. Augustine with the people of Naples and he also brought some relics of saints (very special things which remind us of Jesus or saints) to Naples to help people get closer to Jesus. Even though he spent much of his life in Italy and died there, he is still remembered as “the African”.

St Evaristus

Evaristus was born in Greece shortly after Jesus died. His parents followed the Jewish faith and raised Evaristus to know and follow God. When Evaristus was grown up, he heard the Good News about Jesus’ life and he became Christian. He loved the Christian faith so much that he chose to become a priest. He was a priest during the very beginning of the Catholic Church and, when the 4th Pope of the Church, St. Clement, died, Evaristus was chosen to be the next Pope. He was Pope during a time when the ruler of Rome was treating Christians very badly and putting them to death. He was Pope for 8 years and served the Church and her followers as a good and faithful servant. No one is sure how he died, but some believe that he died as a martyr for believing in Jesus.

Bl. Richard Gwyn

Richard lived in England when Queen Elizabeth I was the ruler. Queen Elizabeth was trying to get rid of the Catholic Church in England and she treated all Catholics very badly. Richard was not born Catholic but learned about the Catholic faith as an adult. When he heard the Good News about Jesus, he began to believe and was baptized. Once he started to follow the Catholic faith, people tried to catch him to throw him into prison. He was put into prison because of his faith and he was treated very badly. Still, he refused to give up his faith. No matter what the prison guards did to him, he always stood up for his faith in Jesus through the Catholic Church. He wrote beautiful poems, which we can still read today, about his faith and his hope that one day his country of England would accept the Catholic faith again. The Queen’s guards tried to get Richard to tell them who the other Catholics were so that they could also throw them into prison, but Richard refused. He was taken to the Queen’s court and people made up lies about him so that the judge would sentence him to death. He was martyred for his faith and suffered very much, but while he was dying he proclaimed, “Jesus, have mercy on me!” He never gave up on his faith no matter what happened.

St Anthony Claret

Anthony’s father was a weaver, making things out of wool. When Anthony was old enough, he became a weaver like his father and then he went to study in the big city of Barcelona. When he was in his twenties, he began to feel called to become a priest and missionary. He wanted to join the Jesuits, and was studying in a Jesuit seminary when he became sick. Because of this, he went back home to be a priest. He served the poor there and worked hard as a parish priest. He still felt called to be a missionary and was sent to the Canary Islands to give retreats and share the Gospel. When he came back to Spain, he started an order called the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, now called The Claretians. The Queen of Spain, Queen Isabella, then asked Anthony to be the Archbishop of Cuba to help the people grow in their faith and make the Catholic Church stronger in that country. In only the first 2 years he was there, he helped make the priests in Cuba stronger, celebrated 9,000 weddings, and helped make the seminary better for the men studying to become priests. He also built schools, Churches, and hospitals and helped the poor in Cuba learn to make a living for themselves. He travelled throughout Cuba sharing the Gospel with everyone he could. He then went back to Spain where he served Queen Isabella as her confessor, helped the poor, and encouraged people to keep learning and growing in their faith. He wrote more than 100 books so that people could continue to learn after he was gone.

St John Capistrano

John’s father was a German knight and he died when John was very young. When John grew up, he studied in the city of Perugia in Italy and became a lawyer and governor of the city. A man called Sigismondo Malatesta started a war with Perugia and John was sent to Malatesta to try to make peace and end the war. Instead, John was sent to prison. During his time in prison, John began to study theology, which is all about trying to figure out the meaning of life. When he was released from prison, he gave up being a lawyer and governor and he joined a Franciscan community. St. Bernadine of Siena taught him about Jesus and encouraged him to start a devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary. He began to preach and share the Good News and everyone loved to hear him speak. He became a priest and traveled all over Europe, preaching about forgiveness and starting new Franciscan communities wherever he went. When John was 70 years old, the Pope asked him to lead a group of 70,000 soldiers to fight against the Turks who wanted to take over Rome. John led the group into battle and they won, keeping Rome and the Catholic Church safe. He died shortly after this battle after a life of service to Jesus.

St Joseph Moscati

When Pope John Paul was born, he was named Karol J. Wojtyla. He was the youngest of two boys and one girl. He loved playing sports, and he especially liked to be goalie in football (soccer). Unfortunately, Karol did not have an easy life. His sister died before he was born, his mother died when Karol was only 9 years old, his brother died when Karol was 12, and his father died when he was 21. He also grew up during a very difficult time in Europe, when the Nazi army was trying to take over all of Europe and make everyone live under their rules. Karol had gone to university to study acting, but the Nazis closed the university down after a few years and Karol had to work in a stone quarry and chemical factory for 4 years so he wouldn’t have to go to Germany and serve in the Nazi army. He soon started to feel that God was calling him to be a priest. However, the Nazis would not allow people to be Catholic, so he had to study to be a priest in hiding. He also loved to act, and he helped to start a drama group called the “Rhapsodic Theatre”. He acted in the theatre and even wrote some plays. After World War II was over and the Nazis had been defeated, he continued to study to be a priest and was ordained in 1946. As a priest he tried to help families and young people get to know Jesus more. He became Pope in 1978 and took the name John Paul II; he was Pope for 27 years until he died in 2005. He was such a well-loved Pope because he loved to spend time with the people of the Catholic Church all over the world. He also continued working with young people and families, and he started a gathering called World Youth Day where hundreds of thousands of young people came to be with him and learn about Jesus. When he first became Pope, and all throughout his years of being the Pope, he always reminded people to “Be not afraid”. He always told people to open the doors of our hearts wide for Jesus to come and be at the centre of our lives.

St Hilarion

Hilarion grew up in a family who did not believe in God. When he was a teenager, he went to study in Alexandria in Egypt, one of the places where there were first Christians. While he was there, he heard about Jesus. After hearing the good news, he fell in love with Jesus, was baptized, and started to live a Christian life. He turned away from evil and spent his time learning about Jesus and going to Church. He wanted to get away from the distractions of the world around him, so he decided to go to the desert to spend time with St. Anthony. St. Anthony was very popular during that time; many people would visit him to learn about Jesus and ask for healing from sickness. After being with St. Anthony, he went back home to see his family. He learned that his parents had died while he was away, so he gave all his money to his brothers and went to the wilderness in order to find a peaceful place where he could focus on Jesus. He moved from place to place, never calling anywhere home and living very simply with only the clothes he was wearing and eating one small meal a day. When he finally did settle in one place, he made a very small hut where he lived with only the little he had. He would make many sacrifices to try to get closer to Jesus and to fight the temptation to sin. He performed miracles, healing a women who could not have children, curing 3 children who were very sick, and casting out evil spirits in people.

St Paul of the Cross

Paul’s family were merchants; they bought and sold things in his community. They were good people who tried hard to follow what the Catholic Church teaches. When Paul turned 19 years old, he decided to become a soldier with the Italian army. After only 1 year he knew being a soldier was not what God wanted him to do with his life. He started have visions in his dreams about beginning a new order of priests, but he didn’t know what to do about these dreams - he wasn’t a priest and he didn’t know if this was God trying to speak to him. He asked his Bishop to help him figure out what God was trying to tell him and the Bishop said that he believed God wanted him to begin this new order. So Paul started the order called the Barefoot Clerks of the Cross and the Passion (known as the Passionists). Paul, his brother, John, and two other men were ordained priests and took the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and devotion to the passion of Christ. The order grew quickly and spread throughout Italy. The priests spent their time preaching and teaching people about the passion and death of Jesus Christ, helping them see the beautiful gift that God gave us in His Son Jesus. Paul worked hard his whole life to spread the Gospel of Jesus’ love for us and he died when he was 81 years old.

St Peter Alcantara

Peter was only 16 when he left home to join the Franciscans. He was such a holy man that the Franciscans asked him to be in charge of the group of brothers he lived with. Even though this was a very important job, all Peter wanted to do was live a life of making sacrifices for Jesus. So when he was 40 years old, Peter started a stricter order of Franciscan brothers called the Congregation of St. Joseph of the Strict Observance. This group followed St. Francis’ very strict life in order to get as close to Jesus as possible and to make sacrifices for the sins of the world. Although he had a hard time getting this order started, it has spread very far around the world. Many believe that this order and their sacrifices helped to fix a lot of things that were going wrong in the Church during that time. Peter spent 40 years of his life living as simply as he could and sacrificing as much as he could. He would only eat bread and drink water, he never lay down to sleep, and he only slept for 1.5 hours a day. He was St. Teresa of Avila’s spiritual guide and helped her to become closer to Jesus and to pray more; his guidance helped her to become a Saint too. He also had a mission to place crosses in as many places as he could, to remind himself and others of the suffering of Jesus, which was so close to his heart. He would carry these crosses on his own shoulders to wherever he wanted to place one, preach beside the cross, and then pray there for many hours. He was found by many floating in the air (levitating) as he prayed next to the cross. He died while kneeling in prayer saying the bible verse, “I rejoiced when they said to me, let us go unto the house of the Lord!”

St Ignatius of Antioch

Luke lived during the time of Jesus. He was born in Greece, a gentile, not Jewish, and a doctor. Because he was a gentile he did not grow up believing in God, but when he heard Paul preaching the Good News about Jesus, Luke believed what Paul said and gave his life to Jesus. He left Greece and followed Paul wherever he went, preaching the Good News with Paul, and helping many people come to know Jesus. He spent time with Mary, Jesus’ Mother, so that he could learn all about Jesus. He wrote two books in the Bible: the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Since he had spent time with Mary listening to her, the Gospel of Luke tells us the most about the Annunciation, the birth of Jesus, and the first years of the Holy Family. The Acts of the Apostles tells us about the first few years after Jesus’ death and resurrection and how the Apostles spread the Gospel. St. Luke’s yes to Jesus meant that people all over the world could read the Good News about Jesus and say yes to Jesus.

St Margaret Mary Alacoque

When Margaret was a little girl she was sent to a school run by the Poor Clare Sisters. She grew to love Jesus and was especially devoted to Jesus in the Eucharist. When she was 11 years old, she became very sick and had to be in bed for 5 years. She made a promise to Mary that she would become a nun if she got better and, when she was 17 years old, she was healed. After this miracle, she added Mary to her name and continued to spend a lot of time in prayer. She would often have visions of Jesus, which she thought was normal! One day Jesus reminded her that she had promised His mother Mary to join a convent if she was healed and that He loved her so much that He wanted her to live her life only for Him. At the age of 24, she joined the Visitation Convent in Paray-le-Monial. She continued to have visions where Jesus taught her to love His Sacred Heart and He told her that she needed to help other people grow in love of His Sacred Heart too. He told her that in order for people to grow in love of His heart, they should go to Mass and receive Communion on the first Friday of every month. They should also spend 1 hour adoring the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday and on the feast of the Sacred Heart. During this time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus told her to think about His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was crucified. When Margaret Mary tried to get people to follow these directions, they didn’t believe she was having visions of Jesus. After struggling for many years to spread this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the new Mother Superior of her convent, as well as the confessor of the convent, St. Claude, believed her. Now many people follow this devotion and grow to love Jesus more through his Sacred Heart. After her death, her body never decayed and is still incorruptible; those who visit her tomb claim many blessings through her intercession.

St Gerard Majella

Gerard’s father died when Gerard was only 12 years old.  Because his father had been a tailor, Gerard's mother sent him to his uncle to learn the trade and make some money for the family.  But instead of becoming a tailor, Gerard always wanted to join a religious order and serve God. Gerard, however, did not have good health and so some orders would not accept him.  Finally, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer accepted him as a lay brother, meaning he was not a priest but he was part of the community.  He performed many different jobs for the community and worked hard to help his brothers.  He was given many gifts from God: he levitated (floated in the air when he prayed), he could bi-locate (be in more than one place at a time) and he performed many miracles.  He multiplied loaves of bread when he was giving them to the poor; he walked on water to help a boat full of people get to shore safely in a storm; he brought a little boy back to life after he fell off a cliff; and he blessed the small harvest of a farmer and that farmer didn’t run out of wheat all winter.  Another miracle happened after he had died - when a woman who was having a hard time delivering a baby touched a handkerchief Gerard had given her, all her pain stopped and she delivered a healthy baby.  This miracle has made Gerard the Patron Saint of pregnant women.  Gerard died when he was only 29, of tuberculosis, a sickness of the lungs.

St Teresa of Avila

Teresa was born during a very difficult time in the Church.  Christians did not always want to live the way Jesus taught; they wanted to live easy lives.  Teresa’s father was a very strict man and he wanted Teresa to live a holy life.  When Teresa was young, she tried to live this holy life and, one day, she convinced her brother to walk with her to the land of the Moors, where they didn’t believe in God, so that they could become martyrs.  Their uncle saw them walking and brought them back to their parents.

When Teresa became a teenager, she got distracted by boys and parties and being beautiful; she put all these things before God.  Her father was afraid that Teresa was turning away from God and so he sent her to a Carmelite convent.  Unfortunately the convent was not being run very well and, instead of spending time in prayer, the nuns visited, spent time with men, and tried to look beautiful.  Everyone liked Teresa and she spent her time with her friends and not in prayer. This type of life did not help Teresa get closer to Jesus.  She had a very hard time concentrating on prayer and didn’t feel close to Jesus at all.

Her life changed when she got very sick and almost died.  She became paralyzed for 3 years and, during this time, she made up lots of excuses not to pray.  She thought she was too much of a sinner to spend time with God.  When she was 41, a priest told her she had to start praying again. As Teresa struggled with spending time in prayer, she learned that she didn’t have to worry about what to think and say as she prayed. All that mattered was she was taking time to be with Jesus who loved her, and all she had to do was love Him back.  The more she prayed, the more God blessed her prayer time, giving her visions, making her float in the air (levitate), warming her up so much that she felt like she was melting into the love of God.  She didn’t think she deserved these blessings and asked God to stop, but He didn’t because He knew that the more He blessed her, the harder it would be for her to sin.  God asked her to start a new convent where the sisters spent their time in prayer and chose to be poor.  She did what God asked, even though many people were angry at her for doing it, and these convents of St. Joseph spread throughout Europe.  She wrote a book about her life and, because the book teaches us so much about praying and getting closer to God, the Church made her a Doctor of the Church.

St Callistus

Callistus was a slave in Rome; his master trusted him and liked him a lot and so he made him the Manager of his Bank.  When the Bank lost all its money, Callistus was blamed and was punished by being sent to a prison where he had to work very hard all day long.  He was released to try to get some of the money back for the Bank, but when he got into a fight he was put back into prison where he had to work in a mine.  Callistus was in prison with many Christians and, when some of these Christians were released, Callistus accidently got released, too.  He was sent away with some money and was told not to return to Rome.  When Pope Zephyrinus became Pope, he asked Callistus to come back to Rome to help him fight against the wrong teachings of the Church that were starting to spread.  Callistus helped the Pope understand which teachings were true and which were wrong.  Callistus did such a great job that, when Pope Zephyrinus died, Callistus was made the new Pope.  As Pope, Callistus helped the Church love all people - even those who were poor, slaves, and sinners.  He also helped spread the Gospel all over the world, just as Jesus had wanted.  He made sure that the Church showed everyone God’s mercy and love and welcomed anyone that wanted forgiveness and wanted to know Jesus.  St. Callistus died a martyr for his faith in Jesus.

St Edward

Edward was born a prince to King Ethelred III and Queen Emma of England.  Queen Emma was from Normandy, France.  When Prince Edward was 10 years old, Denmark invaded England and they kicked the King and Queen from their thrones.  Edward went to Normandy, France, with his mother to be kept safe until things got better in England.  He spent many years in Normandy and was told of the struggles that England was experiencing, because so many people wanted England to increase their power.  After Edward’s father died, his mother returned to England and married the Prince of Denmark, who had invaded England; this made him the King of England and Edward’s mother the Queen of England once again.  This also meant that Edward was now an heir to the throne again and, when the new King of England died, Edward became King.  He ruled England peacefully because he had learned as a young boy that wanting too much power would end up hurting people.  He stopped taxing the people of England so much and gave to the poor, and he changed laws to make sure that all the people of England were well taken care of. He also built St. Peter’s Abbey and spent a lot of his time focused on God.  After his death, King Edward’s body was placed in a tomb in St. Peter’s Abbey, and many sick people came to touch his body and were healed of their illness.  His body is believed to be incorruptible!

St Maria Teresa Fasce

Maria, whose nickname growing up was Marietta, was full of life.  Even after her mother died when she was only 8 years old, she still enjoyed her life, her family, school and especially learning about God.  The Church in her community was run by Augustine Priests and Marietta learned to love the Augustine way of praying and getting closer to Jesus.  As she got older and learned more and more about Jesus she started to feel called to become a nun.  When St. Rita of Cascia was canonized a Saint, Marietta felt even more called by Jesus to enter a convent.  She joined an Augustinian monastery, which was in her country and she became a nun.  At first she was very disappointed with the way the sisters in the convent behaved, she didn’t see them taking their vows seriously and being respectful of Jesus.  She left the convent for a while, because she thought maybe she had made a mistake and that Jesus didn’t really want her to be a nun.  But after being away from the monastery for a while and praying more about her life, she returned to the monastery because she knew that was where Jesus wanted her.  Instead of complaining about the way things were happening with the other sisters, she decided to change things.  She wrote letters about the inappropriate behaviour of the sisters and she was put in charge of taking care of and teaching the new girls that were joining the monastery.  Later she was put in charge of the whole monastery.  She led the monastery with lots of rules and taught the sisters to be respectful and to follow the teachings of Saint Augustine to get closer to Jesus.  She was also a very loving, kind and gentle leader; all the sisters in the monastery loved her very much.  She worked very hard for Jesus and built a Church in honour of St. Rita and also built an orphanage for little girls who had no one to take care of them.  She had many illnesses that caused her a lot of pain, but she never let that stop her from doing what God called her to do.

St. Maria Soledad

Maria Soledad was named Vibiana when she was born to farming parents.  She had 4 brother and sisters.  She loved Jesus and His mother Mary from the time that she was a little girl.  She used to organize processions for Mary with all the kids in her neighbourhood.  When she grew up, she would visit the lonely and sick people in her community, sharing her faith and her joy.  She wanted to join a convent and heard that Fr. Michael, a priest in her city of Madrid, was starting an Order of sisters and was looking for girls to join.  The Order would be devoted to helping the sick who could not afford to go to hospitals.  Fr. Michael accepted her and she joined the new Order, taking the name Maria Soledad.  Fr. Michael asked her to lead the new Order of Sisters and she worked hard to take care of the sick, as well as the sisters in the Order.  They became known as the Handmaids of Mary Serving the Sick.  The sisters were very poor and they didn’t always have much to eat, but they spent their time caring for the sick and praying and, slowly, their Order grew and spread all over Europe and in Latin America.  After 35 years of serving the sick and leading the Handmaids of Mary, Maria Soledad became sick and died on October 11, 1887.  Five years after she died, they wanted to move her tomb to the Chapel; when they opened up her casket, they realized that her body had not decayed like normal.  All who were there could smell a beautiful smell coming from her body.  In a few years her body did decay, and they buried her bones in the Chapel.

St Mary Angela

Mary Angela was named Sophia Camille when she was born. Her parents were important people in Poland and they were good Catholics.  Sophia was a very smart girl, but she was always sick and so she couldn’t go to school for very long.  Instead, she learned at home through reading her father’s books and being taught by her father who was a lawyer.  This is how she learned to care about those in her community who were not well-off like her family and who suffered because of the way they were treated.  Sophia loved to pray and she wanted to become a cloistered nun when she grew up, to spend all of her time in prayer with Jesus.  She was told that she should stay to help her father instead and so she continued to pray and to work to help those in need.  She realized that many of the problems in her community came from families who were having a hard time and so she decided to help the kids from these families learn about Jesus and get a good education.  A friend, Clothilde, joined her and together they dedicated themselves to Mary to whatever her Son Jesus asked them to do.  They formed a group of sisters called the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix, and Sophia took the name Mary Angela.  They worked hard helping all the people in their community, but they also took lots of time to pray and get to know Jesus better.  Many women joined Mary Angela and Clothilde and they did whatever the Church asked them to do: teaching, helping the sick, and helping children, adults and the elderly. Mary Angela became sick after many years of service and she suffered a lot, for many years.  During this time she grew even closer to Jesus, showing the sisters in her congregation how to love and serve God above everything else, even when it was hard.

St Denis

Denis was born and grew up in Italy, when Christianity was still very new.  When he became a priest, he was sent to France to tell people about Jesus.  He was made the first Bishop of Paris, the capital city of France.  The ruler of France began to punish the people who believed in Jesus, because he didn’t want to believe in Jesus.  So one day, Bishop Denis was put into prison with his priest and deacon, Rusticus and Eleutherius.  After a long time in jail, Bishop Denis and his companions were killed because they would not deny their faith in Jesus.  Their bodies were thrown into the river in Paris and the Christians in Paris found them and buried them.  They built a chapel over the tomb so they could remember their great Bishop and his companions and how they died because of their faith in Jesus.  That little chapel has become the very famous Abbey of St. Denis in France and the French people have never forgotten this great Saint who brought the Gospel to their country.

St Zeyne

Keyne was a princess, born to the King and Queen of Brecknock, Wales, in England.  She had 23 brothers and sisters!  Many men wanted to marry Keyne when she grew up, but she didn’t want to get married; she wanted to spend her life only with Jesus.  Keyne gave up her comfortable and rich life as a princess to live her life for God.  She left the King’s castle and became a hermit, spending many years alone in quiet places, praying and getting to know God in a very special way.  She helped to start many Churches in England, helping many people get closer to Jesus by being able to go to Mass.

Our Lady of the rosary

St. Pope Pius V made this day a feast day to celebrate that Christians had won a battle over the Turks in a place called Lepanto in Greece on this day in 1571.  This battle allowed Christians the right to cross through the Mediterranean Sea to continue preaching the Gospel all over the world.  Pope Pius had called upon all Christians to pray the Rosary during this battle and he believed that Mary helped them win the battle, through her Son Jesus.  Today, our Pope asks us to pray the Rosary, too, for the intentions of the Pope, the mission of the Church, and for peace in our world.  Praying the Rosary is not just about repeating the Hail Mary and the Our Father; to really pray the Rosary, we have to think about the words we are saying and let those words bring us closer to Jesus.  When we pray the Rosary, we should be thinking about the events in Jesus’ life so we will get to know Jesus better through the help of His Mother (and our Mother) Mary.

St Mary Frances

Mary Frances wanted to serve Jesus from a very young age.  When she was 16 years old she became a Third Order Franciscan (from the order that St. Francis started) and continued to live at home with her family.  She later left home to become a priest’s housekeeper.  She lived a very quiet and humble life, but Jesus was so close to her in some very amazing ways.  She received the stigmata, which are the 5 wounds that Jesus had when he was crucified (just like St. Francis had).  She also was given prophesies, which are words from God about things that haven’t happened yet.  People who are given prophesies are called prophets and God uses them to speak to people on earth, to give us special messages and prepare us for things to come.  St. Mary Frances was given the prophesy that the French Revolution was going to happen, which meant a lot of fighting and hard times for Christians in France.  She would ask God to give her other peoples’ sufferings so they wouldn’t have to suffer so much and God would grant her this gift.  She didn’t live a life of fame for the many amazing things God did in her life but, instead, she found great joy in quietly receiving the special gifts God gave her.

St Faustina

When Faustina was born, she was name Helena; she had 9 brothers and sisters.  When she was 19 years old, she joined the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, and she took the name Sr. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament.  This group of Sisters helped young girls who were in trouble, helping them get on the right path and giving them an education.  In the last years of her life, God gave her a message of His great mercy for all human beings.  He told her that His mercy meant that He loved us so much that He wanted to forgive us of all our sins and be our best friend!  He asked Sr. Faustina to be his messenger on earth, and to tell everyone about how much mercy He has for them.  He asked her to write down His message so everyone could know it, and we can read her book even today.  He also asked her to be a good example of what His mercy means, to love others like He loves us and to offer up all of her suffering and struggles so other people would know His love.  She tried her best to always be joyful, no matter what was going on in her life, so that when people met her they would know the joy of Jesus.  It wasn’t easy for her to give her life for others, but she did it because God asked her.  Because she said yes to Jesus, God’s message of mercy has spread all over the world and we remember it in a special way on Divine Mercy Sunday.

St Francis of Assisi

Francis was born to a very rich and important family in Assisi, Italy.  His father wanted Francis to be as rich and important as he was when he grew up, he wasn’t concerned with Francis knowing and loving God.  Francis had a very good life growing up, he had everything he ever wanted and everyone around him loved him so much and took care of every need he had.  He was very popular with the other young people in town and he was always at the wild parties that were held.  He was not living a very good life, but he was good at business and he loved France, which is exactly what his father wanted for him.  Francis decided he was going to be a knight, to go to battle for France and to get lots of attention for the battles that he fought and won.  In his first battle he was captured and held in a dungeon for a whole year until his father paid to release him. On the way to his second battle he had a dream where God told him that he was not living for the right things and he should go back home.  Francis began to pray and looking for God, and one day while praying in a ruined Church, he heard God’s voice tell him to rebuild His Church.  Francis thought this meant to rebuild the ruined Church and so he sold some of his father’s fabric to get money for the Church.  This made his father very angry and he disowned Francis, saying he was no longer his son.  Instead of being sad, Francis was finally happy because he could now live his whole life God his Father. He began to preach and tell people to come back to God.  Many men began to follow him and they formed a brotherhood, which is now called the Franciscans.  They lived a simple life, working hard for everything they needed, living together with all the animals and people surrounding them.  Francis received the wounds that Jesus had when he died on the cross, because Francis had prayed that he would be able to share in the suffering that Jesus had suffered.  Francis lived a difficult life and this caused him to get sick and loose his sight, but this did not make Francis sad he praised God through all his sufferings and died happy because he was going to be with Jesus.

St Columba

Columba, who was named Joseph by his parents, was born into a very big and holy family.  Everyone could see that little Joseph loved Jesus and was only interested in things that had to do with God.  When he was 16 years old, he went to study in the seminary and even studied for a while in Rome.  Joseph wanted to join a monastery in Belgium and live a life of quiet prayer, but his Archbishop wanted him to come back to Ireland to run a parish, teach at a school, and be the priest for a convent near the school.  So Fr. Joseph did what his Archbishop asked and he was a wonderful priest and teacher.  He believed and he taught that the amount that we love God could be measured by the amount that we help those in need around us.  When Fr. Joseph was 27 years old, his Archbishop finally agreed to let him join the monastery in Belgium, and Fr. Joseph became a monk named Columba.  As he spent his days in prayer and thinking about Jesus, he became closer and closer to Jesus. He wrote books that teach us how we can know Jesus more.  He wrote that Jesus wants to be with us and be our friend.  Jesus is our biggest fan; he is always there for us no matter what.  He reminded us that, even though we are not perfect, God loves us, especially when we realize how much we need Jesus.  Columba helped start other monasteries and he kept teaching and writing books which remind us to keep Jesus at the centre of our lives.

Gaurdian Angels

God has given every human being at least one Guardian Angel to watch over us here on earth.  They help keep us safe, they help us get closer to God, they help us to pray and they help guide our souls to Heaven after we die.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18 verse 10, Jesus says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angel in Heaven always look upon the face of my Heavenly Father.”  Our Guardian Angels are always with God, praising Him and honouring Him, and they help us to do the same here on earth.