September 7–Bl. Eugenia Picco, Virgin

 

Blessed Eugenia Picco

“As Jesus has chosen bread, which is very common, so must my life be, common ... approachable by all and, at the same time, humble and hidden, like bread.” “These words of Eugenia Picco flow from long contemplation of Jesus, Bread of life, broken for all. Eugenia arrived at this synthesis after a long and painful journey.”

Born in 1867 in Milan, Italy; “[a]fter the mysterious disappearance of her father, she remained with her mother and grew up in an irreligious and morally corrupt environment.” “‘Dangers and occasions at home and outside’, Eugenia said when recalling those troubled years and that ‘instinctive’ strength to pray….” In 1887 she fled from her home and joined the Ursuline Sisters. Thereafter, she took on some important offices, including Superior General. She died in 1921 of tuberculosis.

Pope St. John Paul II said: “The vital synthesis between contemplation and action, assimilated in the daily participation in the Eucharist, was the foundation of the spiritual experience and the burning charity of Bl. Eugenia Picco. In her life she made every effort to listen to the word of the Lord …, never drawing back from the service which love of neighbour required. At Parma she took upon herself the poverty of the people responding to the needs of the young and of needy families and assisting the victims of the war that in this period made Europe suffer. Even in the face of suffering, with the inevitable moments of difficulty and bewilderment that it entails, Bl. Eugenia Picco knew how to transform the experience of suffering into an occasion of purification and inner growth. From Bl. Eugenia we can learn the art of listening to the voice of the Lord in order to be credible witnesses of the Gospel of charity ....” Bl. Eugenia, pray for us.

July 4--Bl. Pier Giorgio Frasatti, Third Order Dominican

 

Pier Giorgio Frassati, in the mountains from the book A Life in Pictures by Luciana Frassati.

An ordinary man is going to be canonized! He wasn’t a cleric. He did no miracles in his lifetime. He wasn’t a visionary or a mystic. He went to school to become an engineer. He helped the poor. He was a mountain climber. He protested against injustice. He opposed Italian fascism. He is Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. St. John Paul II said he was a “man of the Beatitudes,” “a young man filled with a joy that swept everything along with it, a joy that also overcame many difficulties in his life”. Pope Francis said: “Pier Giorgio said that he wanted to return the love of Jesus that he received in Holy Communion by visiting and helping the poor.”

Frassati (1901-1925) was the son of an agnostic newspaper publisher and an artist. He became a member of the Catholic Federation of University Students and Catholic Action in Italy as a college student and also a member of the Third Order Dominicans. “He often said: ‘Charity is not enough; we need social reform’. He helped establish a newspaper entitled Momento whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's Rerum novarum.” He died of polio in 1925. “His parents expected Turin's elite and political figures to come to offer their condolences and attend the funeral and expected to find many of his friends there as well. All were surprised to find the streets lined with thousands of mourners as the cortege passed out of the reverence felt for him among the people he had helped.”

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati was an ordinary man with an extraordinary dedication to God, love, and holiness. This is the purpose of canonization, to show that God’s love can be exemplified in our normal, everyday lives by loving others extraordinarily. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us!

May 25--St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, Virgin

 

Ecstasy of St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi by Allesandro Rossi

Mystics are a special breed of saint. They receive amazing visions and ecstasies that most people cannot even imagine. Some famous mystics are St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, and in the 20th century, St. Faustina Kowalska and St. Pio of Pietralcina. Today’s saint, St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, was blessed with ecstatic visions on a daily basis for numerous years. Her confessor required them to be transcribed and preserved as a safeguard against deception. For six years five volumes were transcribed. However, she not only experienced great love for God, but also great trials. One was five years long!

St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi was born to a noble and wealthy Florence family during the Italian Renaissance in 1566. She made her first communion at the early age of ten, vowed virginity that same year, and at the age of twelve experienced her first ecstasy. She was allowed to enter a Carmelite convent at seventeen. It was during her novitiate that she became critically ill and thus allowed to take religious vows, after which she went into ecstasy for about two hours and then the following 40 days after receiving communion. She died in 1607 at the age of 41 and canonized a saint in 1669.

“Intimate union, God’s gift to mystics, is a reminder to all of us of the eternal happiness of union he wishes to give us. The cause of mystical ecstasy in this life is the Holy Spirit, working through spiritual gifts.” We may not have the gift of ecstasy, but we can meet Jesus in every person as Jesus tells us: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt. 25:40). St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, pray for us!

May 18--St. John I, Pope and Martyr

 

St. John I

“Habemus Papam!”  At the time of this writing, May of 2025, the conclave of cardinals in Rome elected Robert Prevost, of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., Pope Leo XIV.  We pray for him and his successful tenure as 267th pope and shepherd of the Catholic Church.  Well and good!

We also honor St. John I, pope and martyr, who was elected in AD 523 and was martyred in AD 526 at the hands of a heretic king.  St. Martin I was the last pope to be martyred in AD 653.  Nonetheless, every pope is the successor to Peter, the Rock, who was told by Jesus:  “‘Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

Pope St. John I was martyred because he succeeded in accomplishing what Theodoric, the Arian King of Italy, requested of him:  accommodations with the Byzantine emperor to avoid persecution of the Arians in the East.  Such was St. John’s success that Theodoric suspected him of conspiracy with the emperor and thus imprisoned him upon his return to Italy with the favorable news!  St. John died in prison.  

Every pope is called to witness the faith.  Pope Leo XIV stated: “I also want to … walk together with you, as a united Church always seeking peace, justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.”  St. John I, pray for us!

October 13--Bl. Maddalena Panattieri, Third Order Dominican

Portrait of Beata Maddalena Panattieri painted by Luigi Morgari, chiesa di San Domenico, Trino, Vercelli, Italy.

Child care, or babysitting as it is also known, is not seen as a glamorous job in our society. Taking care of little kids, who may be screaming and running and hitting and throwing temper tantrums, can be difficult. Nonetheless, today’s Blessed started her saintly career by teaching little ones the faith. As she was quite good at it, their mothers and then fathers and then the clergy, came to listen to her. Her teaching became preaching, which then drew crowds, and she became one of the most famous preachers in Italy at the time.

Bl. Maddalena Panattieri (1443-1503) lived in northern Italy and, at the age of twenty, became a Third Order Dominican, much like her hero, St. Catherine of Siena. That allowed her to be affiliated with the religious order while still living in the world. She received many spiritual gifts as well, including visions, transportation spiritually to the Holy Land, prophecy, and the stigmata, which she kept secret. She also served the poor and the sick and was known for her ascetic life. She was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1827 after confirming her cultus, or the following of those who were devoted to her through the centuries.

The teaching of children in the faith, catechesis, is a noble endeavor and allows the Church to help the children grow in faith: “Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it” (Prv. 22:6). However, there is another grace-filled benefit to teaching children, teaching their parents. When we teach children the faith, they carry that home to connect with what their parents say and do. If parents do support the faith, they will grow in their own faith along with their children.

Bl. Maddalena Panattieri, pray for us!

October 12--Bl. Carlo Acutis, Holy Man

Photograph of Bl. Carlo Acutis, Copyrighted

He is a saint for the 21st century! Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) “was an Italian website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions, and catalogued both on a website he designed before his death from leukaemia. Acutis was noted for his cheerfulness, computer skills, and devotion to the Eucharist, which became a core theme of his life.” Even though he died at the age of 15, he was beatified in 2020 and has been approved for canonization, possibly in 2025.

Here are some of his inspiring quotations:

• “The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.”
• “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
• “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.”
• “Continuously ask your guardian angel for help. Your guardian angel has to become your best friend.”
• All people are born as originals but many die as photocopies.”
• To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan”.
• “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.”
• “Not me, but God.”
• “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven".
• “The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”
• “Our soul is like a hot air balloon. If by chance there is a mortal sin, the soul falls to the ground. Confession is like the fire underneath the balloon enabling the soul to rise again. . . It is important to go to confession often.”
• “Our goal must be infinite, not the finite. The infinite is our homeland. Heaven has been waiting for us forever.”
• “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”

Bl. Carlo Acutis, pray for us!

June 25--St. Maximus of Turin, Bishop

 

English: Maximus of Turin, medieval book painting

“It is obvious that we preach willingly and do the work of God joyfully. But when we see many of the brethren coming to church sluggishly and particularly on Sundays not taking part in the heavenly mysteries, we preach reluctantly–not because we dislike speaking but because our preaching oppresses the negligent rather than changes them. Therefore we preach reluctantly and cannot be silent. For our preaching brings either the kingdom or punishment to our congregation–the kingdom to believers but punishment to the faithless. For when a brother does not participate in the sacraments of the Lord, he is, before God, necessarily a deserter from the divine camp. And how can one excuse himself who, on the day of the sacraments, scorns the heavenly meal while preparing a meal at home for himself and, in seeing to his stomach’s needs, neglects his soul’s medicine?”

These blunt words are from a homily from today’s saint, St. Maximus of Turin. St. Maximus was bishop of an outlying town subject to barbarian incursions in the late fifth century. He is known for his sermons and homilies that have survived through the ages. He did not water down his message. He knew his flock and preached to their needs. He spoke about almsgiving: “Giving alms promises refreshment to people withered near to death by sin, like moisture revives what has been dried up.” He spoke about sin: “I indignantly press upon you your wrongdoing, first correcting you with spiritual blows and then enriching you with gifts of the pearl. I have chosen, I say, to lay blame on your sin with bitter accusation rather than to foster it with kindling dissimulation. For whoever does not reprove his brother when he sins is encouraging him, in a certain way, to sin.” St. Maximus, pray for us!

March 27--Bl. Francesco Faà di Bruno, Priest and Founder

Faà di Bruno’s Formula

“Science and faith do not mix.” Wrong! We have many giants of science and mathematics who were faithful members of the Catholic Church, including Galileo, Pasteur, Mendel, Copernicus, Pascal, Bacon, and ​​Lemaître, who developed the Big Bang Theory. We can also include today’s saint, Bl. Francesco Faà di Bruno, among them as a mathematician for whom Faà di Bruno’s Formula is named. Born in northern Italy in 1825 to parents of nobility, he had a wide-ranging career as an army officer, a professor of mathematics and recipient of a Doctor of Science degree from the Universities of Paris and Turin, a friend of St. John Bosco, social reformer, and overseer of the construction of a church in Turin, Italy. However, that was not enough for him! He discerned a vocation to the priesthood and was finally ordained at age 51. He founded the Minim Sisters of St. Zita in 1881 to provide aid to maids and domestic servants, later unmarried mothers, and then, prostitutes.

Pope St. John Paul II said of him in his beatification homily: “He used to say: ‘Giving oneself to God is equivalent to giving oneself to a superior activity, which drags us along like the swollen and tumultuous waters of a raging torrent. . .’. From the love for God came that love for ‘neighbor’, which pushed Francesco Faà di Bruno onto the path of the poor, the humble, the defenseless, making him a giant of faith and charity. Thus was born a whole series of works and welfare activities which are not easy to list. Even in the scientific field he was able to bear his coherent testimony as a believer, in a period in which dedication to science seemed incompatible with a serious commitment to faith.” Science and faith DO mix! Bl. Francesco, pray for us!

March 21--St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello, Religious

St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello by Unknown Artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Where do we hear the word of Christ? First, from our parents in the domestic church of the family. Then from our priests in the parish church. But many of us have received the privilege of hearing the word of Christ in our schools! Catholic education has been central to the mission of the Church. Today’s saint provided another way in which to enrich the faith of children, and especially, girls, through the word of Christ.

St. Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello was born in 1791 in Italy and died on March 21, 1858. Her Vatican biography states: “She was wife, religious and foundress. She let the Holy Spirit guide her through married life to the work of education and religious consecration. She founded a school for the formation of young women and also a religious congregation, and did both with the generous collaboration of her husband. This is unique in the annals of Christian sanctity. Benedetta was a pioneer in her determination to give a high quality education to young women, for the formation of families for a ‘new Christian society’ and for promoting the right of women to a complete education.” “Along with instruction, she joined formation in catechesis and in useful skills like cooking and sewing, aiming to transform her students into ‘models of Christian life’ and so assure the formation of families.” She was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002.

Catholic education is an efficient ministry which shares the word of Christ and brings about salvation to our children. It is not a luxury, but a necessity for the benefit of our children, our families, our society, and our future. St. Benedetta, pray for us!

February 18–Blessed Fra Angelico, Religious

San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico in the public domain.

The Italian Renaissance produced some amazing artists, including Raphael, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. The Italian Renaissance also produced some amazing saints, including St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Benedict the African, and St. Angela Merici. However, there is only one figure of the Italian Renaissance who is both an amazing artist and a saint, Blessed Fra Angelico. Born Guido di Pietro about 1395 near Florence, Italy, Brother John of Fiesole, also known as Fra Angelico, which means Angelic Brother, joined the Dominican order in 1423 and received training as an illuminator. He became famous for his art and painted frescoes, altarpieces, and other sacred artwork in Florence and Rome.

Pope St. John Paul II beatified him in 1982, and later declared him patron of Catholic artists: “Angelico was reported to say ‘He who does Christ's work must stay with Christ always’. This motto earned him the epithet ‘Blessed Angelico’, because of the perfect integrity of his life and the almost divine beauty of the images he painted, to a superlative extent those of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

“The English writer and critic William Michael Rossetti wrote…: ‘From various accounts of Fra Angelico's life, it is possible to gain some sense of why he was deserving of canonization. He led the devout and ascetic life of a Dominican friar, and never rose above that rank; he followed the dictates of the order in caring for the poor; he was always good-humored. All of his many paintings were of divine subjects, and it seems that he never altered or retouched them, perhaps from a religious conviction that, because his paintings were divinely inspired, they should retain their original form. He was wont to say that he who illustrates the acts of Christ should be with Christ.’” Praise God for beauty, art, and holiness!

December 30--Bl. Eugenia Ravasco, Religious and Foundress

Bl. Eugenia Ravasco by Unknown Artist licensed under public domain.

Bl. Eugenia Ravasco was one of the 1,344 people beatified by St. John Paul II. He wanted to show that holiness is possible for all of us. This was true for Bl. Eugenia. She had a difficult childhood due to the death of her mother at age 3 and her father at age 10. She was then raised by an aunt, and later an uncle, who died when she was 16, leading her to run the household of 12 children! She discerned a vocation to religious life, which upset the plans to have her married to nobility.

“As time went on, Eugenia felt that God was calling her to found a religious order that would form ‘honest citizens in society and saints in Heaven’. Other young women had also joined her in this effort. On 6 December 1868, when she was 23 years old, she founded the religious congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Canon (later Archbishop) Magnasco had prepared her carefully and she continued, together with the sisters, to teach catechism and to open schools.”

“Thus schools, catechism teaching, associations and oratories arose. Mother Ravasco's educational project was to educate young people and train them in a solid, industrious, open Christian life, so that they could be ‘honest citizens in the midst of society and saints in heaven’; she wanted to educate them in the faith and in reading the facts from a historical-salvific perspective, proposing holiness to them as a life goal.”

Holiness needs to be our life goal! We need to grow in holiness so we can live God’s plan for us. That plan involves loving, serving, and worshiping God and loving and serving each other, and especially those who need our love the most! Bl. Eugenia, pray for us!

December 22--"Bl." Jacopone da Todi, Religious

Bl. Jacopone da Todi by Paolo Uccello licensed under public domain.

There are quotation marks around this “blessed” because he has never been beatified by the Church. However, there have been efforts to bring his cause to the Church by the Franciscans. So who was this “blessed” man? Jacopo dei Benedetti was a lawyer from a minor noble family in Italy during the 13th century. He was married and when his wife was killed in an accident he discovered she was wearing clothing as penance for his sins. He was so mortified that he quit law, gave away his possessions and became a Third Order Franciscan. He acted the fool as a way of sharing his spiritual vision, and was nicknamed Jacopone, or “Crazy Jim”. He once wore a saddle and crawled on all fours. Another time, he appeared at his brother’s wedding tarred and feathered.

But wait, there’s more. He eventually was accepted into the Franciscan Order, despite his previous antics. Instead, his poetry showed the depth of his spirituality. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, his writings became a fount for penance. Jacopone became connected to the Spiritual Franciscans, who were suppressed by the pope. Jacopone wrote satirical verses against those who opposed the Spirituals, including the pope. He was eventually captured, imprisoned, and excommunicated. He accepted prison as penance for his sins, during which time he wrote Stabat Mater:


“At the Cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last:


“Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has pass'd.


“Oh, how sad and sore distress'd
Was that Mother highly blest
Of the sole-begotten One!”

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
~Amen~
• 
  

December 10--Our Lady of Loreto

The Miracle of the Holy House of Loreto by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo licensed under public domain.

Our Lady of Loreto actually refers to the house in which Mary was born and lived! Tradition holds that it is where she experienced the Annunciation and where the Holy Family dwelled. Veneration of the Sancta Casa, or Holy House, in Nazareth is ancient. However, Loreto is located near the Adriatic Sea northeast of Rome. How, may we ask, did the Holy House get from Nazareth to Italy? This is where the story gets interesting!

According to one story angels carried the house from Galilee to Italy. However, some theorize that this actually refers to a medieval family called the Angelos, which is translated as “angels”. This makes sense in that it appears in Loreto in the late 13th century, around the time of the last of the Crusades. So why is there a feast celebrating a house and why is it called Our Lady of Loreto?

The house is important because it connects with Mary and the Incarnation of Christ. In 1995, St. John Paul II stated in a homily: “The threads of the history of the whole of humankind are tied anew in that house. It is the Shrine of the House of Nazareth, to which the Church that is in Italy is tied by providence, that the latter rediscovers a quickening reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, thanks to which each man is called to the dignity of the Son of God.”

In 2019, Pope Francis directed this optional memorial to be celebrated and Cardinal Sarah wrote in the declaration: “This celebration will help all people, especially families, youth and religious to imitate the virtues of that perfect disciple of the Gospel, the Virgin Mother, who, in conceiving the Head of the Church also accepted us as her own.” Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us.

September 15–St. Catherine of Genoa, Holy Woman

Saint Catherine of Genoa painted by artists Inna and Denys Savchenko. Church of St. Catherine, Genoa, Italy. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What makes a saint a saint? Saints are saints because of their lives and the circumstances they face and the choices they make; and thus, the holiness derived from living their lives and giving their lives to God in love, worship, and service. St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) was a noblewoman who, although attempting to enter a convent at a young age, agreed to marry a man from a rival political family to help bring about peace. However, her husband cheated on her and wasted their money to the point of bankruptcy. She suffered terribly due to this arrangement. Then, in 1473, she experienced the overwhelming love of God in her life, which revealed to her her own sinfulness. She stopped focusing on what she could not do and dedicated her life to what she could do: love, worship, and serve the poor. Her efforts had an impact on her husband Julian, who reformed his ways, and together they served the sick at the Pammatone Hospital in Genoa, the largest charity hospital in Europe. Catherine eventually became manager and treasurer of the hospital and Julian, who had become a Franciscan tertiary, became its religious director.

“After her change of heart, Catherine wrote: ‘Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has ever grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart.’” Each of us has our own worries, difficulties, frustrations, and sufferings which afflict us. That is not what makes us saints! We become saints by how we respond to these trials with the love of Jesus. We each need to be converted each day to Jesus so he may transform us into saints. She also wrote: “We should not wish for anything but what comes to us from moment to moment exercising ourselves nonetheless for good.”

September 4--St. Rose of Viterbo, Virgin

 

The Communion of Saint Rose of Viterbo, by Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante

This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

Which comes first, freedom of speech or freedom of religion? In the United States Constitution, both are enjoined in the First Amendment, with freedom of religion taking first place and freedom of speech taking second. But Pope St. John Paul II wrote in his World Peace Day Message of 1988: “Religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason an irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole of society, as well as of the personal fulfillment of each individual. It follows that the freedom of individuals and communities to profess and practice their religion is an essential element for peaceful human coexistence. […] The civil and social right to religious freedom, inasmuch as it touches the most intimate sphere of the spirit, is a point of reference for the other fundamental rights and in some way becomes a measure of them.”

Why is this important for today’s saint? Because St. Rose of Viterbo spoke up to support the rights of religion in her day. She was born in Viterbo, Italy about 1234 and when she was seven preached against the local government when the excommunicated German emperor Frederick II, who was at war with the pope, was accepted by the people in opposition to the pope! St. Rose preached against this so heartily she and her parents were banished. She told her parents that God rewards those who are persecuted for justice’s sake. Later she prophesied the emperor was dying and all would be well. He died shortly after that. She advised: “Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening but sweet and precious.” She died in 1252, at 17.

July 4--Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Holy Man and Third Order Dominican

https://www.usccb.org/topics/youth-and-young-adult-ministries/blessed-pier-giorgio-frassati

Jesus taught the Beatitudes at the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:3-12). Pope St. John Paul II (the Great) called Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati “Man of the Eight Beatitudes.” Frassati lived from 1901-1925 in Turin, Italy. He dedicated himself to helping those in need and would say: "Charity is not enough; we need social reform.”

In his Beatification homily, Pope John Paul stated: “Today’s celebration invites all of us to receive the message which Pier Giorgio Frassati is sending to the men and women of our day, but especially to you young people, who want to make a concrete contribution to the spiritual renewal of our world, which sometimes seems to be falling apart and wasting away because of a lack of ideals. By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ’s Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed’, and that only the person who becomes a ‘man or woman of the Beatitudes’ can succeed in communicating love and peace to others. He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”

He inspires us to pray the Prayer for the Courage to be Great:

"Heavenly Father,
Give me the courage to strive for the highest goals,
to flee every temptation to be mediocre.
Enable me to aspire to greatness, as Pier Giorgio did,
and to open my heart with joy to Your call to holiness.
Free me from the fear of failure.
I want to be, Lord, firmly and forever united to You.
Grant me the graces I ask You through Pier Giorgio's intercession,
by the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen."

June 23--St. Joseph Cafasso, Priest

Enrico Reffo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the corporal works of mercy is “visit the imprisoned.” Many of us don’t get that chance very often, if at all. Today’s saint not only had that chance, he made it one of his primary ministries. St. Joseph Cafasso lived from 1811-1860 in Turin, Italy. Ordained in 1833 he became a popular lecturer in moral theology, helping people to avoid scrupulosity and the error of believing venial sins are as bad as mortal sins. He was popular as a confessor. He also became a friend and advisor to St. John Bosco.

But it was through his work with prisoners condemned to death that showed his effectiveness in converting sinners. He accompanied sixty condemned men to their executions, considering these men as “hanged saints”. He was called “Priest of the Gallows” for his ministry. One story tells of how he led forty-five hardened criminals to confession by confronting the biggest and strongest by grabbing his beard. If the prisoner had wished he could have easily overcome the small and frail priest disabled by curvature of the spine. Instead, he allowed himself to be led by the saint, by the beard, to a corner where Fr. Cafasso prepared him for and heard his confession. The huge man was so overcome that, “He told [his fellow prisoners] he had never been so happy in his life. And his experience persuaded them all to go to confession.”

We may not be priests and we may not be in prison ministry, but we can pray for those who are. The United States has the sixth highest incarceration rate in the world with 531 per 100,000 people in jail or prison. More than likely we may know of someone who has been or is currently incarcerated. We can pray for them as well!

April 4--St. Benedict the African, Religious

St. Benedict of Palermo attributed to Juan Pascual de Mena, photograph by Maia C licensed under 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

St. Benedict the African, also known as Benedetto Manasseri, was born in Messina, Sicily, Italy in 1526 to slaves brought from Africa who converted to Catholicism.  He was freed and worked as a shepherd and farmer.  At the age of 21 he was publicly insulted due to his skin color and he did not respond in kind.  Because of this, he was invited to join a group of hermits living the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi.  He served as a cook for the community and at age 28 became leader of the group.  At age 38 Pope Pius VI disbanded hermit groups and encouraged the members to join the Order of St. Francis.  St. Benedict became a lay brother to a group in Palermo, Sicily.  He started there as a cook and then became Master of Novices and Guardian of the Community even though he never became a priest.  He taught the Scriptures and had healing abilities, which attracted visitors to the monastery.  After his time as leader, he went back to being cook.  He died in 1589.

"Benedict is remembered for his patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice and taunts. He was declared a patron saint of African Americans,along with the Dominican lay brother, [St.] Martin de Porres. In the United States, at least seven historically Black Catholic parishes bear his name, including" St. Benedict the Moor Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

Injustice needs to be confronted in all its manifestations.  This is especially true for America with its history of slavery, racism, and lynchings!  However, St. Benedict showed heroism, as did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by not responding to insult with violence.  He turned the other cheek, not as a victim, but as a witness to the love of Jesus.  St. Benedict, pray for us.

January 27--St. Angela Merici, Religious

St. Angela Merici by GFreihalter licensed under CC by-3.0.

For those who grew up in the second half of the 20th century, women religious in the Catholic schools were a common sight.  They seemed to be everywhere!  They were dedicated to their faith and to sharing and living their faith in the Catholic schools as teachers and administrators, as well as sponsors of extra-curricular activities.  The first woman to begin this kind of vocation was today's saint, St. Angela Merici.  Born in 1474 in northern Italy, she was a third-order lay Franciscan and devoted herself to good works throughout her life, organizing unmarried women in various cities to live at home, but serve their neighbors.  In 1535 she organized these groups into the Company of St. Ursula, a popular medieval saint.  She structured the society in a military manner by dividing the towns they served into separate areas run by more mature members.  The Ursulines served in prisons, hospitals, and the poorest neighborhoods.  Eventually, they became the first female teaching order and the first Catholic sisters in the United States.  There are 15 Ursuline schools in the U.S. today.

St. Angela wrote the rule for the community, which included this advice:  "'Do not lose heart, . . . even if you should discover that you lack qualities necessary for the work to which you are called.  He who called you will not desert you, but the moment you are in need he will stretch out his saving hand.'"  This is truly wise for we are beset by our own sins and failings, as well as adversities God allows to challenge us.  We are called to persevere despite our weaknesses.  She also wrote:  "I ask you, Lord, to receive all my self-will that by the infection of sin is unable to distinguish good from evil.  St. Angela, pray for us!

January 18--St. Charles of Sezze, Religious

St. Charles of Sezze by Antonio Sicurezza in the public domain.

Humility is a watchword for holiness.  In the case of today's saint, it is absolutely true!  St. Charles of Sezze lived in Italy in the 17th century.  He devoted himself as a Franciscan friar to doing mundane tasks, such as being porter (person who allowed people to enter the monastery), sacristan (person in charge of setting up and caring for the altar), and gardener of his community.  He also went out into the streets as a beggar.  Remember, the Franciscans were a mendicant, or beggar, order.  He never wanted to become a priest, valuing the humility of being a lay brother.

His life was filled with such holiness that his confessor asked him to write his autobiography, which became popular.  Though he was not a priest, others came to him for spiritual advice.  Even popes requested his spiritual aid.  When Pope Clement IX was dying he requested that St. Charles come to him and bless him, which he did.  He was canonized on April 12, 1959 by Pope St. John XXIII.

Humility is a worthy virtue for us to develop.  Humility puts us at the service of others and does not ask for recognition or awards, only the honor of love in serving others as Jesus did.  In the Last Supper account in John's Gospel  Jesus washes his disciples feet, the job of a servant.  He said:  

"'I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.  Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it." (Jn 13:15-17)  St. Charles truly understood this.  We are called to serve in humility as well!