Catholic Online > Saint of the Day Read about the lives of the saints. https://www.catholic.org Copyright 2024 Catholic Online en Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:05:45 PDT St. Joseph: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 19, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=19 Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him. We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who ... Catholic Online 2024-03-19 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=19 St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Saint of the Day for Monday, March 18, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=18 "Make your fold with the sheep; flee from the wolves: depart not from the Church," Cyril admonished catechumens surrounded by heresy. These were prophetic words for Cyril was to be hounded by enemies and heretics for most of his life, and although they could exile him from his diocese he never left his beloved Church. Cyril's life began a few years before Arianism (the heresy that Jesus was not divine or one in being with the Father) and he lived to see its suppression and ... Catholic Online 2024-03-18 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=18 St. Patrick: Saint of the Day for Sunday, March 17, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=17 St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints. He was born in Roman Britain and when he was fourteen or so, he was captured by Irish pirates during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. At the time, Ireland was a land of Druids and pagans but Patrick turned to God and wrote his memoir, The Confession. In The Confession, he wrote: "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a ... Catholic Online 2024-03-17 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=17 St. Abban: Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 16, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=16 Abbot and Irish missionary. An Irish prince, Abban was the son of King Cormac of Leinster. He is listed as the nephew of St. Ibar. Abban founded many churches in the old district of Ui Cennselaigh, in modern County Wexford and Ferns. His main monastery is Magheranoidhe, in Adamstown, Ireland. This monastery's fame is attributed in some records to another Abban, that of New Ross. Abban is also associated with Kill-Abban Abbey in Leinster, serving as abbot there until March 16, 620. He is revered ... Catholic Online 2024-03-16 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=16 St. Louise de Marillac: Saint of the Day for Friday, March 15, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=15 Louise de Marillac was born probably at Ferrieres-en-Brie near Meux, France, on August 12, 1591. She was educated by the Dominican nuns at Poissy. She desired to become a nun but on the advice of her confessor, she married Antony LeGras, an official in the Queen's service, in 1613. After Antony's death in 1625, she met St. Vincent de Paul, who became her spiritual adviser. She devoted the rest of her life to working with him. She helped direct his Ladies of Charity in their work of caring for ... Catholic Online 2024-03-15 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=15 St. Matilda: Saint of the Day for Thursday, March 14, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=14 Matilda was the daughter of Count Dietrich of Westphalia and Reinhild of Denmark. She was also known as Mechtildis and Maud. She was raised by her grandmother, the Abbess of Eufurt convent. Matilda married Henry the Fowler, son of Duke Otto of Saxony, in the year 909. He succeeded his father as Duke in the year 912 and in 919 succeeded King Conrad I to the German throne. She was noted for her piety and charitable works. She was widowed in the year 936, and supported her son Henry's claim to his ... Catholic Online 2024-03-14 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=14 Bl. Agnello of Pisa: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, March 13, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=13 The founder of the English Franciscan province, Blessed Agnello, was admitted into the Order by St. Francis himself on the occasion of his sojourn in Pisa. He was sent to the Friary in Paris, of which he became the guardian, and in 1224, St. Francis appointed him to found an English province; at the time he was only a deacon. Eight others were selected to accompany him. True to the precepts of St. Francis, they had no money, and the monks of Fecamp paid their passage over to Dover. They made ... Catholic Online 2024-03-13 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=13 St. Fina: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 12, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=12 St. Fina or Seraphina, Virgin A.D. 1253 The old town of San Geminiano in Tuscany treasures with special veneration the memory of Santa Fina, a young girl whose claim to be recognized as a saint lay in the perfect resignation with which she accepted bodily suffering. She was born of parents who had seen better days but had fallen into poverty. The child was pretty and attractive. Poor as she was she always kept half her food to give to those who were worse off than herself. As far as possible ... Catholic Online 2024-03-12 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=12 St. Constantine: Saint of the Day for Monday, March 11, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=11 Constantine was king of Cornwall. Unreliable tradition has him married to the daughter of the king of Brittany who on her death ceded his throne to his son and became a monk at St. Mochuda monastery at Rahan, Ireland. He performed menial tasks at the monastery, then studied for the priesthood and was ordained. He went as a missionary to Scotland under St. Columba and then St. Kentigern, preached in Galloway, and became Abbot of a monastery at Govan. In old age, on his way to Kintyre, he was ... Catholic Online 2024-03-11 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=11 St. John Ogilvie: Saint of the Day for Sunday, March 10, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=10 Born in 1579, John Ogilvie belonged to Scottish nobility. Raised a Calvinist, he was educated on the continent. Exposed to the religious controversies of his day and impressed with the faith of the martyrs, he decided to become a Catholic. In 1596, at age seventeen he was received into the Church at Louvain. Later John attended a variety of Catholic educational institutions, and eventually he sought admission into the Jesuits. He was ordained at Paris in 1610 and asked to be sent to Scotland, ... Catholic Online 2024-03-10 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=10 St. Frances of Rome: Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 09, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=9 Frances was born in the city of Rome in 1384 to a wealthy, noble family. From her mother she inherited a quiet manner and a pious devotion to God. From her father, however, she inherited a strong will. She decided at eleven that she knew what God wanted for her -- she was going to be a nun. And that's where her will ran right up against her father's. He told Frances she was far too young to know her mind -- but not too young to be married. He had already promised her in marriage to the son ... Catholic Online 2024-03-09 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=9 St. John of God: Saint of the Day for Friday, March 08, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=8 From the time he was eight to the day he died, John followed every impulse of his heart. The challenge for him was to rush to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit gave him, not his own human temptations. But unlike many who act impulsively, when John made a decision, no matter how quickly, he stuck with it, no matter what the hardship. At eight years old, John heard a visiting priest speak of adventures that were waiting in the age of 1503 with new worlds being opened up. That very ... Catholic Online 2024-03-08 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=8 Sts. Perpetua and Felicity: Saint of the Day for Thursday, March 07, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=7 Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were Christian martyrs who lived during the early persecution of the Church in Africa by the Emperor Severus. With details concerning the lives of many early martyrs unclear and often based on legend, we are fortunate to have the actual record of the courage of Perpetua and Felicity from the hand of Perpetua herself, her teacher Saturus, and others who knew them. This account, known as "The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions," was so popular ... Catholic Online 2024-03-07 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=7 St. Colette: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, March 06, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=6 Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named DeBoilet at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor. She became a Franciscan tertiary, and lived at Corby as a solitary. She soon became well known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She received the Poor Clares habit from Peter ... Catholic Online 2024-03-06 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=6 St. John Joseph of the Cross: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 05, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=5 St. John Joseph of the Cross was born about the middle of the seventeenth century in the beautiful island of Ischia, near Naples. From his childhood he was the model of virtue, and in his sixteenth year he entered the Franciscan Order of the Strictest Observance, or Reform of St. Peter of Alcantara. Such was the edification he gave in his Order, that within three years after his profession he was sent to found a monastery in Piedmont. He became a priest out of obedience, and obtained, as it ... Catholic Online 2024-03-05 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=5 St. Casimir: Saint of the Day for Monday, March 04, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=4 Casimir grew up in a world where his life was not his own. As a prince of Poland, the second son of King Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria, his life was scheduled to cement his father's authority and increase Poland's power. Casimir realized from an early age that his life belonged to someone else, but to a much higher King than his father. Despite pressure, humiliation, and rejection, he stood by that loyalty through his whole life. Born the third of thirteen children in 1461, ... Catholic Online 2024-03-04 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=4 St. Katharine Drexel: Saint of the Day for Sunday, March 03, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=3 St. Katharine Drexel is the second American-born saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church. This amazing woman was an heiress to a large bequest who became a religious sister and a brilliant educator. Katherine was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of a prominent and wealthy banker, Francis Anthony Drexel and his wife, Hannah Langstroth. He mother passed away just five weeks after Katharine was born. Her father remarried to Emma Bouvier in 1860 and together they ... Catholic Online 2024-03-03 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=3 Bl. Charles the Good: Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 02, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=2 In 1086, St. Canute, King of Denmark and father of Blessed Charles the Good, was slain in St. Alban's Church, Odence. Charles who was only a few years old was taken by his mother to the court of Robert, Count of Flanders, his maternal grandfather. When he grew up, he became a knight and accompanied Robert in a crusade to the Holy Land where he distinguished himself; on their return, Charles also fought against the English with his uncle. On Robert's death, his son Baldwin succeeded him and ... Catholic Online 2024-03-02 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=2 St. David: Saint of the Day for Friday, March 01, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=1 According to tradition, St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in Southwestern Wales was noted for extreme asceticism. David and his monks drank neither wine nor beer - only water - while putting in a full day of heavy manual labor and intense study. Around the year 550, David attended a synod at ... Catholic Online 2024-03-01 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=March&day=1 St. Aubin: Saint of the Day for Thursday, February 29, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=29 Albinus, also known as Aubin, entered the monastery of Tincillac when a youth, was elected Abbot when he was thirty-five, and was named Bishop of Angers in 529. He was known for his generosity to the sick and the indigent, widows, and orphans, for his work in ransoming slaves, and for his holiness and the many miracles he is reputed to have performed both during his lifetime and after his death. His feast day is March 1. Catholic Online 2024-02-29 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=29 St. Hilary, Pope: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, February 28, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=28 Pope from 461-468 and guardian of Church unity. He was born in Sardinia, Italy, and was a papal legate to the Robber Council of Ephesus in 449, barely escaping with his life from this affair. Hilary was used by Pope St. Leo I the Great on many assignments. When Leo died, Hilary was elected pope and consecrated on November 19,461. He worked diligently to strengthen the Church in France and Spain, calling councils in 462 and 465. Hilary also rebuilt many Roman churches and erected the chapel of ... Catholic Online 2024-02-28 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=28 St. Leander of Seville: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, February 27, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=27 St. Leander of Seville, Bishop (Feast - February 27th) Leander was born at Cartagena, Spain, of Severianus and Theodora, illustrious for their virtue. St. Isidore and Fulgentius, both bishops were his brothers, and his sister, Florentina, is also numbered among the saints. He became a monk at Seville and then the bishop of the See. He was instrumental in converting the two sons Hermenegild and Reccared of the Arian Visigothic King Leovigild. This action earned him the kings's wrath and exile to ... Catholic Online 2024-02-27 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=27 St. Isabel of France: Saint of the Day for Monday, February 26, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=26 Sister of St. Louis and daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, she refused offers of marriage from several noble suitors to continue her life of virginity consecrated to God. She ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of her mother, founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Longchamps in Paris. She lived there in austerity but never became a nun and refused to become abbess. She died there on February 23, and her cult ... Catholic Online 2024-02-26 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=26 St. Tarasius: Saint of the Day for Sunday, February 25, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=25 St. Tarasius was subject of the Byzantine Empire. He was raised to the highest honors in the Empire as Consul, and later became first secretary to the Emperor Constantine and his mother, Irene. When being elected Patriarch of Constantinople, he consented to accept the dignity offered to him only on condition that a General Council should be summoned to resolve the disputes concerning the veneration of sacred images, for Constantinople had been separated from the Holy See on account of the war ... Catholic Online 2024-02-25 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=25 St. John Theristus: Saint of the Day for Saturday, February 24, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=24 Benedictine monk, called Theristus or Â?Harvester.Â? He was of Calabrian lineage, born in Sicily. His mother was a slave of the Saracens. John escaped at a young age and became a monk. Catholic Online 2024-02-24 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=24 St. Polycarp: Saint of the Day for Friday, February 23, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=23 Imagine being able to sit at the feet of the apostles and hear their stories of life with Jesus from their own lips. Imagine walking with those who had walked with Jesus, seen him, and touched him. That was what Polycarp was able to do as a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. But being part of the second generation of Church leaders had challenges that the first generation could not teach about. What did you do when those eyewitnesses were gone? How do you carry on the correct teachings ... Catholic Online 2024-02-23 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=23 St. Margaret of Cortona: Saint of the Day for Thursday, February 22, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=22 Margaret of Cortona, penitent, was born in Loviana in Tuscany in 1247. Her father was a small farmer. Margaret's mother died when she was seven years old. Her stepmother had little care for her high-spirited daughter. Rejected at home, Margaret eloped with a youth from Montepulciano and bore him a son out of wedlock. After nine years, her lover was murdered without warning. Margaret left Montpulciano and returned as a penitent to her father's house. When her father refused to accept her and her ... Catholic Online 2024-02-22 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=22 St. Severian: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, February 21, 2024 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=21 Bishop and martyr. The bishop of Scythopolis in Galilee. He attended the Council of Chalcedon (451) and took part in the complete triumph of the orthodox Christian cause against the heretics of the era. On his return home he was assassinated by a group of heretics at the command of Emperor Theodosius II. Catholic Online 2024-02-21 00:00:00 https://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php?month=February&day=21