Saints & Feast Days

Image: Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio Saint of the Day for August 29 (1st. century) The Story of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen co...

Image: Detail | Stained glass window in the Church of Saint James the Greater in Bouxwiller | photo by GFreihalter Saint of the Day for August 27 (c. 330 – 387) Saint Monica’s Story The circumstances of Saint Monica’s life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law, and a despairin...

Image: Sant Bertolomeu | Bernat Jiménez Saint of the Day for August 24 (c. 1st century) Saint Bartholomew’s Story In the New Testament, Saint Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by P...

Image: HDR photo of the Apotheosis of St. Louis | Sculpture by C.H. Niehaus Saint of the Day for August 25 (April 25, 1214 – August 25, 1270) Saint Louis of France’s Story At his coronation as king of France, Louis IX bound himself by oath to behave as God’s anointed, as the father of his people and...

Image: San José de Calasanz | Francisco Jover y Casanova Saint of the Day for August 26 (September 11, 1556 – August 25, 1648) Saint Joseph Calasanz’ Story From Aragon where he was born in 1556, to Rome where he died 92 years later, fortune alternately smiled and frowned on the work of Joseph Calasa...

Image: Saint Rose of Lima with Child Jesus | anonymous Saint of the Day for August 23 (April 20, 1586 – August 24, 1617) Saint Rose of Lima’s Story The first canonized saint of the New World has one characteristic of all saints—the suffering of opposition—and another characteristic which is more for...

Image: Detail | Ceiling of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Santa Maria Immacolata a via Veneto, Rome | photo by Livioandronico Saint of the Day for August 15 (1st. century) The Story of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption o...

Image: Imre Varga’s statue of Saint Stephen I, Apostolic king of Hungary, 1993, along the cathedral, Aachen, Germany Saint of the Day for August 16 (975 – August 15, 1038) Saint Stephen of Hungary’s Story The Church is universal, but its expression is always affected—for good or ill—by local culture...

Image: Wooden statue of Saint Joan of the Cross | A l’école des soeurs de Jeanne Delanoue | unknown Saint of the Day for August 17 (June 18, 1666 – August 17, 1736) Saint Joan of the Cross’ Story An encounter with a shabby old woman many dismissed as insane prompted Joan of the Cross to dedicate her...

Image: Stained glass window in Saint-Pierre de Dourdain | photo by GO69 Saint of the Day for August 19 (November 14, 1601 – August 19, 1680) Saint John Eudes’ Story How little we know where God’s grace will lead. Born on a farm in northern France, John died at 78 in the next “county” or department....

Image: Saint Louis of Toulouse | Carlo Crivelli | Church of Santa Lucia, Montefiore dell’Aso, Italy Saint of the Day for August 18 (February 9, 1274 – August 19, 1297) Saint Louis of Toulouse’s Story When he died at the age of 23, Louis was already a Franciscan, a bishop, and a saint! Louis’s parent...

Image: Stained glass representing St. Bernard of Clairvaux | photo by Jastrow (2006) Saint of the Day for August 20 (1090 – August 20, 1153) Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s Story Man of the century! Woman of the century! You see such terms applied to so many today—“golfer of the century,” “composer of...