St Julie Billiart

Mary Rose Julie Billiart was born into a farming family; she had 6 brothers and sisters. Julie went to school and her favorite subject was religion. She loved Jesus and her Catholic faith. When she was only 15, she would work in the fields and teach her fellow workers about Jesus. A terrible person tried to hurt her father when Julie was just a young woman. She had seen the whole event and was so scared and shocked that she became paralyzed (unable to move). She suffered this poor health for 20 years. All that time she did not complain but offered her suffering to God to help others. She also continued to teach people about Jesus from her bed. During this time, many young women were inspired by her faith and came to visit her often. Because of this, Julie felt called to start a new religious order, The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Julie was miraculously healed through the prayers of a visiting priest and was able to walk again. She spent the rest of her time, helping young women to know Jesus and to serve Him by becoming sisters.

St John Baptist de la Salle

John Baptist De La Salle was born into a rich family and they were able to give John a good education. When he was old enough, he decided to become a Benedictine monk. As a monk, he soon discovered that God was calling him to work with the poor. He knew how important education was and decided to focus his work on teaching poor young boys. He started the religious community called the Brothers of the Christian School. The community grew quickly and they taught many young boys who came from poor families; boys who otherwise would not have been able to go to school and learn. John Baptist De La Salle tried new ways of helping people to learn. He was one of the first to teach children in a classroom instead of only one child at a time. His work in the schools he built really helped to lead the way children are taught in schools today. St. John Baptist De La Salle is considered the patron saint of teachers.

Blessed Notker Balbulbus

Notker had been very sick as a child, but with God's help he survived through his childhood. When he was old enough he followed the call God had placed on his heart and he became a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall. All his life, he talked with a stammer (which means it is hard to say the words you want to say) but he was never discouraged. He accepted himself the way he was, because it was the way that God had made him. Many people admired this about him and this humility made him very well-liked. Notker became friends with two other monks at the abbey, Tutilo (who also became a Saint) and Radpert. They were all very good musicians and used their talents to make beautiful music to worship God.

St Vincent Ferrer

Vincent was a very smart boy and loved Jesus very much. When he turned 17 years old, he entered the Dominican Order and became a priest. Vincent was an excellent preacher and he loved to share the Good News of Jesus with others in a way that was easy to understand. During this time, the Church could not agree about some very important teachings; this time in the Church was called the great schism. Fr. Vincent believed that the only way to heal the schism was to bring people back to the most important thing, faith in Jesus. He traveled around many countries in Europe and many people who heard him speak became stronger in their faith. Fr. Vincent would teach people that if they really wanted to help their friends get closer to Jesus, then they should first ask God for help. He told people to ask God to fill their hearts with charity (love), because with great charity you can do anything. For all his work to heal the divided Church, St. Vincent is known as the patron saint of builders.

St Isidore of Seville

Isidore was born to a very holy and devout family. Two of his brothers and one of his sisters also became saints. Isidore’s father died when he was small and his older brother Leander was put in charge of Isidore's schooling. Leander became frustrated and angry at his younger brother because he felt that Isidore was not trying hard enough at his studies. He was very mean to Isidore. Isidore soon realized that if he tried hard enough, he could learn all that his older brother wanted him to. He started taking his schooling more seriously and he is now remembered for being one of the smartest people to have lived during his time. Isidore used his knowledge to start seminaries and Catholic universities in every Diocese in Spain. He also wrote many books; he wrote about the heros and heroines of the Bible; he wrote a dictionary; an encyclopedia and one book was on the history of the world, starting with God’s creation. Isidore later became a priest and then the Bishop of Seville; he served for 37 years in that role. The people of Seville loved their Bishop because he showed them Jesus’ love. Poor people were always welcomed in his home and in the last year of his life, his house was crowded with the poor, as he served them with Jesus’ love until he died. Because of the great teachings he left for the Church, St. Isidore was named a Doctor of the Church.

St Richard of Chichester

Richard was orphaned when he was very young; he was able to get a good education because his parents had left him a lot of money. Richard never got married because he wanted to focus on his studies and he went to university. While he was studying, he became good friends with Edmund Rich (who later became a Saint), who was the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time. When Archbishop Edmund died, Richard moved to France to attend the Dominican House of Studies. He was ordained a priest and then later became Bishop of Chichester. As Bishop, he served his people with kindness and perseverance. The King of England, Henry III, had wanted his friend to become bishop so he worked hard at making things very difficult for Bishop Richard. He told people that if they showed kindness to the Bishop they would be punished. Eventually the Pope got involved and defended Bishop Richard, telling King Henry III that he needed to treat the Bishop with respect. St. Richard is often seen in pictures with a chalice tipped over at his feet. One time when he was celebrating mass, he dropped the chalice but nothing spilled out even though it was full. Many other miracles happened both during St. Richard's life and after his death.

St Francis of Paola

Francis was born into a very poor family, but they loved God very much. He was named after St. Francis of Assisi. When Francis was 15, he went with his parents on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. He felt God was calling him to become a hermit and live his life alone in prayer. After 5 years several other young men had come to live with him, so he started the religious order of the “Franciscan Order of Minim Friars”. Minim means “to be least of all”. Brother Francis was very humble and the brothers in his order became known for the humility they practiced. The people of Paola loved Brother Francis. He showed them Jesus’ love by his kindness and gentleness. God worked many miracles through Brother Francis. One of the most well known miracles happened when Brother Francis and some of his friends needed to sail from Italy to Sicily. The boatman refused to let them on the boat to sail across the sea. Brother Francis put his cloak on the water and tied the end of it to his staff and he and God sailed them all safely across the sea. It is for this reason that St. Francis of Paola is known as the patron saint of sailors.