The great cloud of witnesses — explore the lives, feast days, and patronages of holy men and women who shaped the Church throughout history.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…" Hebrews 12:1
Image: Our Lady of Sorrows statue in Golgotha, Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem | photo by creisor Saint of the Day for September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows The Story of Our Lady of Sorrows For a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century, the other to the 1...
Image: Our Lady of the Rosary | St. Nicholas Church, Osgood, Ohio Saint of the Day for October 7 The Story of Our Lady of the Rosary Saint Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of Victory to thank God for the Christian defeat of the Turks at Lepanto—a victory attributed to praying the rosary. Pop...
Image: Stained glass window of Saint Alphonse Liguori | Carlow Cathedral | Franz Mayer & Co. (Mayer & Co. of Munich) Saint of the Day for August 1 (September 27, 1696 – August 1, 1787) Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s Story Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly nourished by Scripture,...
Image: Sculpture of Saint Anthony Zaccaria, at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican | Cesare Aureli Saint of the Day for July 5 (1502 – July 5, 1539) Saint Anthony Zaccaria’s Story At the same time that Martin Luther was attacking abuses in the Church, a reformation within the Church was already being atte...
Image: Statue of Saint Apollinaris in Santa Maria del Suffragio, Ravenna | José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro Saint of the Day for July 20 (d. c. 79) Saint Apollinaris’ Story According to tradition, Saint Peter sent Saint Apollinaris to Ravenna, Italy, as its first bishop. His preaching of the Good News wa...
Image: Saint Augustine of Hippo | Line engraving by P. Cool after M. de Vos | Wellcome Images Saint of the Day for August 28 (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430) Saint Augustine of Hippo’s Story A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: Many people are familiar with the biographical sketch o...
Image: Stained glass window of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and companions | The Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception | photo by hugo poon Saints of the Day for July 9 (d. 1648 – 1930) Saint Augustine Zhao Rong’s and Companions’ Stories Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria...
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: Patriarch of Western Monks | Saint Benedict | photo by Lawrence, OP Saint of the Day for July 11 (c. 480 – c. 547) Saint Benedict’s Story It is unfortunate that no contemporary biography was written of a man who has exercised the greatest influence on monasticism in the West. Benedict is well...
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...
Image: The Prayer of St. Bonaventura about the Selection of the New Pope | Francisco de Zurbarán Saint of the Day for July 15 (1221 – July 15, 1274) Saint Bonaventure’s Story Perhaps not a household name for most people, Saint Bonaventure, nevertheless, played an important role in both the medieval...
Born c.610 in East Anglia (part of modern England) Died • 17 June 680 of natural causes following a lengthy illness • he died while being carried to chapel for compline services • buried at Ikanhoe
Image: Saint Bridget of Sweden | Line engraving | Wellcome Images Saint of the Day for July 23 (c. 1303 – July 23, 1373) Saint Bridget of Sweden’s Story From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather th...
Image: Saint Bruno | Girolamo Marchesi Saint of the Day for October 6 (c. 1030 – October 6, 1101) Saint Bruno’s Story This saint has the honor of having founded a religious order which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never deformed. No doubt both the founder and the...
Image: Saint Cajetan sculptor: Pedro Alonso de los Ríos Saint of the Day for August 7 (October 1, 1480 – August 7, 1547) Saint Cajetan’s Story Like most of us, Saint Cajetan seemed headed for an “ordinary” life—first as a lawyer, then as a priest engaged in the work of the Roman Curia. Saint Cajetan...
Image: Saint Camillus de Lellis in facade of church Santa Maria Maddalena | photo by Livioandronico2013 Saint of the Day for July 18 (1550 – July 14, 1614) Saint Camillus de Lellis’ Story Humanly speaking, Camillus was not a likely candidate for sainthood. His mother died when he was a child, his fa...
Image Courtesy of Associazione Amica di Carlo Acutis Saint of the Day for October 14 (May 3, 1991 – October 12, 2006) Saint Carlo Acutis’ Story Born in London and raised in Milan, Saint Carlo’s wealthy parents were not particularly religious. Upon receiving his first communion at age seven, Carlo be...
Image: Saint Clare | original painting for the Poor Clares in Cincinnati, Ohio Saint of the Day for August 11 (July 16, 1194 – August 11, 1253) Saint Clare of Assisi’s Story One of the more sugary movies made about Francis of Assisi pictures Clare as a golden-haired beauty floating through sun-drenc...