Saint Baptista Varano (1458-1524)
Camilla Varano was the daughter of a powerful Italian prince and his mistress. Raised by the father and his lawful wife, she was groomed for a life in this highest circles of society. For many years she embraced this world of "music, dancing, dress, and other worldly...
Saint Mariana of Quito (1618-1645)
Mariana de Paredes, the patron saint of Ecuador, was born in Quito to aristocratic parents. As a child, she dreamed of joining a convent, or even carrying the Gospel to Japan. But after her parents died, she moved in with her sister and brother-in-law, and there,...
Venerable Maria of Jesus of Agreda (1602-1665)
Maria of Jesus spent her entire life within the confines of her family castle in Agreda, Spain, which her mother - when Maria was only twelve - had converted into a convent for herself and her daughters. In this Franciscan Convent of the Immaculate Conception of...
Blessed John of Prado (1631)
John of Prado was born in to a noble family in Spain. After studies at Salamanca University he became an Observant Franciscan. Though he wished to pursue mission work in North Africa, his superiors instead gave him preaching assignments at home. He filled various...
Blessed Humiliana of Cerchi (1219-1246)
Humiliana was born in Florence to a noble family. Against her wishes, when she was sixteen, she was compelled by her father to marry a local nobleman. She subsequently bore three children, but it was an unhappy match. Her husband, who made his fortune through usury,...
Saint Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587)
St. Felix was born to a peasant family in Cantalice. When he was twelve, he was hired out as a shepherd and plowman. He found such work conducive to meditation. A turning point in his life came when the team of oxen he was driving suddenly bolted, knocking him down...
Saint Paschal Baylon (1540–1592)
St. Paschal, who was born in Spain, spent his early life as a shepherd. Though he had no formal education, he taught himself to read and write, and he enjoyed the long days and nights with his flock, which afforded hours of uninterrupted prayer. At the age of...
Saint Ignatius of Laconi (1700-1781)
Francis Ignatius Vincent was born to a large family in the village of Laconi in Sardinia. He was a frail child and during one bout of illness his mother vowed, should he recover, that she would give him to the Franciscans. When he did rally, his father balked at...
Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno (1831-1900)
Benedetta Gattorno was born in Genoa to a wealthy family. Married at twenty-one, she was widowed six years later, with two young children to care for - one of them deaf and mute. Despite these challenges, she underwent what she called a "conversion" to greater love of...
Mother Mary Ignatius Hayes (1823-1894)
Elizabeth Hayes, the daughter of an Anglican priest, pursued a circuitous spiritual journey. Starting out in an Anglican religious community in Oxford, she converted to Catholicism and later joined a Franciscan community in Greenwich. Aside from the traditional three...