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Photos and Lives of the Holy
SACRED HEART OF MARY
Christians celebrate the feast of
the Sacred Heart of Mary,
but as yet no feast has been
solemnized for the whole
church.
The Sacred Heart of Mary is a
devotional title given to the
Blessed Virgin Mary it
reflects her joys and
sorrows, her virtues and
perfections, her virginal love
for God, her maternal love
for Jesus and her
compassionate love for all
mankind.
ST. PIUS X
St. Pius X, Giuseppe Melchiorre
Sarto, lived from 1835 to
1914. He was ordained in
1858. His most important
reform was to publish the first
Code of Canon Law, which
collected the laws of the
Church into one volume for
the first time. He was a
pastoral pope, encouraging
personal piety and a lifestyle
reflecting Christian values. He
was the first pope since Pius V
to be canonized. He was
canonized St. Pius X on May
29, 1954. The church
celebrates his holy life on
August 21.
ST. THOMAS MORE
He lived from 1477 to 1535. He
was a saint, knight, Chancellor
of England, author, and
martyr. He spent his early life
in prayer and penance. He
was elected a member of
Parliament in 1501 where he
opposed the large sums of
money that were being
diverted from subjects to King
Henry VII. He was a prolific
writer, whose best know work
is Utopia. Because he did not
support the monarchy, he was
eventually imprisoned in the
Tower of London for treason.
He was eventually tried, found
guilty, and beheaded. He was
canonized by Pope Pius XI in
1935.
ST. ELIZABETH
Feast Day: November 5.
Not much is known about
Elizabeth the mother of
John the Baptist. She has
the distinction of being one
of the first to know about
Mary’s great blessing as the
Mother of God. Elizabeth,
Mary’s cousin was beyond
child-bearing age. Her
husband was told by the
angel of Gabriel in a vision
that they would have a son
and should name him John.
ST. PATRICK
Feast Day: March 17.
St. Patrick was born A.D. 387 and
died March 17, 461. He was
the patron saint of Ireland,
Boston and New York. He was
born in Roman Britain and
educated in a monastery. He
went to Ireland subsequently
as a Christian missionary and
became bishop. He baptized
thousands of people,
ordained priests, and
converted many. St. Patrick is
credited with teaching the
Irish about the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity using the threeleafed shamrock to illustrate
the Christian teaching of three
persons in one God.
ST. GERARD MAJELLA
ST. GERARD MAJELLA
Feast Day: June 17
Saint Gerard Majella (April 6, 1726 –
October 16, 1755) is a Roman
Catholic saint whose intercession
is sought for children, unborn
children, childbirth, mothers,
expectant mothers, motherhood,
falsely accused people, good
confessions. Gerard Majella was a
Redemptorist brother. During his
life, he was very close to the
peasants and other outsiders who
lived in the Neapolitan
countryside.
Some of the miracles attributed to him
include: restoring life to a boy
who had fallen from a high cliff;
he blessed the scanty supply of
wheat belonging to a poor family,
and it lasted until the next
harvest; several times he
multiplied the bread that he was
distributing to the poor.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Feast Day: June 24
St. John the Baptist is the
patron saint of French
Canada. He followed the
example of previous Hebrew
prophets, living austerely,
challenging sinful rulers,
calling for repentance, and
promising God’s justice.
John is the son of Zacharias
and Elizabeth, the cousin of
Mary. His birth was foretold
the angel Gabriel. It was
John who baptized Jesus.
The baptism marks the
beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
Feast Day: December 27.
St. John the writer of the 4th Gospel
was an Apostle and Evangelist. He
was the son of Zebedee and
Salome. He was the brother of
another Apostle, St. James the
greater. By trade St. John was a
fisherman like his father. He was
first a disciple of St. John the
Baptist and later called by Jesus to
be one of His Apostles. He was
our Lord’s favorite disciple and on
of His Apostles. He was present
with Jesus in the Garden on Holy
Thursday night. He was the only
Apostle who remained with Jesus
at the foot of the cross on Calvary
together with the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Mary Magdalena and Mary
of Cleophas.
ST. JUDE
Feast Day: June 19.
St. Jude the Apostle, also known
as St. Jude Thaddeus, was a
martyr. He was born and died
in the 1st century. He is the
patron saint of lost causes,
desperate situations and
hospitals. His attribute is a
club. He is also often shown in
icons with a flame around his
head. He felt people should
persevere in difficult
situations as did their
forbearers. St. Jude suffered
martyrdom around the year
65 with the apostle Simon the
Zealot in Beirut, Lebanon. He
is not to be confused with
Judas who betrayed Jesus.
ST. JOSEPH
Feast Day: March 19
He was the spouse of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. He was
a carpenter and the foster
father of Jesus. It is believed
he prays especially for
families and is the patron
saint of the Universal
Church. St. Joseph died prior
to the Passion.
ST. THERESA OF LISIEUX
Feast Day: October 3
St. Theresa lived from 1873 to
1897. She is the patron saint
of the missions and a Doctor
of the Church. She is also
recognized as St. Theresa of
the Little Flower of Jesus.
She followed a beloved
sister into the convent at the
age of 14 and eventually
became a cloister Carmelite
nun. She was the author of
many writings in support of
the missions. In 1925 she
wrote about the Holiness in
a simple life.
ST. EDWARD
Feast Day: October 13
He was also known as St.
Edward the Confessor and
was born in 1003. He
became Kind of England at
the age of 40 and had a very
peaceful reign. He was a
saintly character. He was
canonized by Alexander II in
1161.
ST. CHRISTOPHER
Although the Roman Catholic Church still approves
devotion to him, St. Christopher is no longer
considered a saint due to the confusion of historical
records that identify him with the historical Saint
Menas.
The story of St. Christopher is built on legends that first
appeared in Greece. The story goes Christopher
was a very large and tall Canaanite with a fearsome
face. He decided his life goal was to serve "the
greatest king there was". He met a hermit who
instructed him in the Christian faith. The hermit
suggested because of his size and strength
Christopher could serve Christ by assisting people
to cross a dangerous river, where they were
perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that
this service would be pleasing to Christ.
After Christopher had performed this service for some
time, a little child asked him to take him across the
river. During the crossing, the river became swollen
and the child seemed as heavy as lead so much that
Christopher could scarcely carry him and found
himself in great difficulty. When he finally reached
the other side, he said to the child: "You have put
me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole
world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as
you were." The child replied: "You had on your
shoulders not only the whole world but Him who
made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are
serving by this work." Thus Christopher was known
as the 'Carrier of Christ'.
ST. STANISTAW KOSTKA
Feast Day November 13
Born to the Polish nobility in
Rostkowo, Przasnysz County,
Poland, on 28 October 1550,
the son of a senator, St. Kostka
attended the Viennese Jesuit
college from age 14 with his
brother Paul, who badly
mistreated him. While staying at
the home of a Lutheran, he
became gravely ill, but was not
allowed to call for a priest. He
prayed to his personal patron,
Saint Barbara, who appeared to
him in a vision with two angels,
and administered Communion.
He was then cured from his
disease by Our Lady who told
him to become a Jesuit, though
it was against his family’s
wishes. Attended the Jesuit
college in Rome, Italy. He is the
patron saint of: Poland, against
broken bones and the last
sacraments.
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
Feast Day: April 29
St. Catherine of Siena was born Caterina di
Giacomo di Benincasa March 1347
during the time of the Black Death. She
was a tertiary of the Dominican Order,
and a Scholastic philosopher and
theologian.
At age five or six she was on the way home
from a visit to a married sister, and is
said to have experienced a vision of
Christ seated in glory with the Apostles
Peter, Paul, and John. Catherine vowed
to give her whole life to God.
She also worked to bring the papacy of
Gregory XI back to Rome from its
displacement in France, and to
establish peace among the Italian citystates. She was proclaimed a Doctor of
the Church in 1970. She is one of the
two patron saints of Italy, together with
St. Francis of Assisi.
Catherine's letters are considered one of the
great works of early Tuscan literature.
Her major treatise is The Dialogue of
Divine Providence. It is a dialogue
between a soul who "rises up" to God
and God himself.
ST. JOAN OF ARC
Feast Day: May 30
Joan of Arc also Known as "The Maid of
Orleans”, is a folk heroine of France
and a Roman Catholic saint. She was
born a peasant girl in what is now
eastern France. Claiming divine
guidance, she led the French army to
several important victories during
the Hundred Years' War, which
paved the way for the coronation of
Charles VII of France. She was
captured by the Burgundians,
transferred to the English in
exchange for money, put on trial by
the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais
Pierre Cauchon for charges of
"insubordination and heterodoxy",
and was burned at the stake for
heresy when she was 19 years old.
Twenty-five years after her execution, an
inquisitorial court authorized by
Pope Callixtus III examined the trial,
pronounced her innocent, and
declared her a martyr. Joan of Arc
was beatified in 1909 and canonized
in 1920.
ST. BRIDGET
Feast Day: February 1
St. Bridget, (her name is also variously
spelled as Brigid, Bridget, Bridgit, Bríd,
and Bride and, from the importance of
her cult, she is sometimes also known
as Mary of the Gael) born 451–525 AD
was an early Irish Christian nun,
abbess, and founder of several
monasteries of nuns, including that of
Kildare in Ireland, which was
considered legendary and was highly
revered.
There is considerable controversy about the
early life of St. Bridget, but from the
start, it was clear that Brigit was holy.
Before a name had been given to her
as an infant, her father had a dream of
three clerics baptizing her. One of the
clerics told her father, “Let Brigit be
your name for the girl”. During her life
Brigit performed many miracles,
including healing and feeding the poor.
Saint Bridget is celebrated for her
generosity to the poor. According to
one tale, as a child, she once gave away
her mother's entire store of butter. The
butter was then replenished in answer
to Brigit's prayers.
ST. MICHAEL
Feast Day: September 29
Saint Michael the Archangel has
four distinct roles. First, he is
the supreme enemy of Satan
and the fallen angels. Secondly,
he is the Christian angel of
death: at the hour of death,
Saint Michael descends and
gives each soul the chance to
redeem itself before passing.
Saint Michael's third role is
weighing souls in his perfectly
balanced scales on Judgment
Day. And finally, Saint Michael is
the Guardian of the Church.
In the Catholic tradition, Saint
Michael symbolizes the victory
of good over evil.