Saint Benedict the Black (1526-1589)
St. Benedict was the son of African slaves, owned by a rich family in Sicily. Set free as a child, Benedict attracted attention, even as a youth, for his patience and charity. Once, as he was being taunted on account of his color, a passing Franciscan noticed him and...
Saint Francis of Paola (1416-1507)
The long-childless parents of this saint had prayed to St. Francis of Assisi for a son. When their prayers were answered, they named him Francis. No doubt their intentions exerted a powerful influence on his later vocation. At twelve, her spent a year in a Franciscan...
Blessed Restituta Kafka (1894-1943)
Restituta Kafka took her religious name from a third century martyr beheaded under the Roman Emperor Aurelian, little guessing that the age of martyrdom had not passed. She was born in Vienna. At nineteen, she entered a nursing order, the Franciscan Sisters of...
Servant of God Thea Bowman (1937-1990)
Thea Bowman was one of the great treasures of the American Catholic Church. Ablaze with the spirit of love, the memory of struggle, and a faith in God's promises, she impressed her audiences not just with her message but also with nobility of her spirit. Born Bertha...
Blessed Joan Mary de Maille (1332-1414)
Blessed Joan was born to a noble family in France. As a child, it was said that her prayers had saved a neighbor boy, Robert de Sille, after he fell into a pond and nearly drowned. When Joan turned sixteen, she and Robert were married. Although they elected to...
Blessed Mark of Montegallo (1425-1496)
Blessed Mark, who was born in Montegallo, Italy, studied medicine, married and worked as a doctor for some years. At a certain point, he and his wife both agreed that their true vocations were to religious life. So they parted, she to become a Poor Clare, while he...
Blessed Dulce Pontes (1914-1992)
Maria Rita de Souza Pontes was born in Salvador, Brazil, to a well-to-do family. As a child, the sight of homeless beggars in her neighborhood inspired her to devote her life to the poor. At eighteen, she joined the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate...
Blessed Angela Salawa (1881-1922)
Angela Salawa was born to a poor family in Krakow, Poland. At the age of sixteen, she found work as a maid and lived a carefree and worldly life. A turning point came as she was dancing during a wedding reception and suddenly perceived that Christ was standing in the...
Saint Catherine of Bologna (1413-1463)
St. Catherine was raised in luxury in a noble family in Bologna. Yet, at fourteen, she persuaded her family to let her join a community of Franciscan tertiary. From an early age she had experienced visions of Jesus, "who would enter into her soul like a radiant...
Blessed Benedetto Sinigardi (1190–1282)
Benedict Sinigardi was born to a wealthy and noble family in Arezzo. In 1211, he heard St. Francis preach in his town, and his heart was immediately won. Abandoning his life of luxury, he was welcomed into the Order of Friars Minor, receiving his habit from St....