Saints of the Day & More

Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born to Mamma Peppa and Grazio Forgione in the little town called Pietrelcina, in Southern Italy, during the month of flowers, May 25th 1887. He was fifth of eight children. His Mamma Peppa confided he was different from other boys: “he was never impolite or misbehaved”. He had celestial visions and diabolical oppressions from the age of five years and he saw and spoke with Jesus and Our Lady and with his Guardian Angel, but unfortunately this heavenly life was interwoven with hell and with the devil. In 1903, Discipline and ill health had been woven together to crown the youth of Pio. Doctors diagnosed him as consumptive and were sure he would die. Strong in spirit Pio received the Capuchin Franciscan garb initialling religious life and therefore; Noviciate with its intense study, prayer, austerity, penance and finally vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. In 1909, we find him at Pietrelcina because of his illness, at his mother’s side. Now another inte...

St. Clare was born in the town of Assisi, in the Umbrian region of Italy, in 1193. Chiara or Clare meaning clear-radiant light was born of nobility and grew up with the privileges of wealth. Francis was born twelve years earlier. We can't tell the story of Clare without including Francis. He was her greatest inspiration, her mentor, her model. The only thing that Clare and Francis had in common at this time was that they were both from Assisi. There was a great distinction in those days placed on those who were nobility and those who were rich. They were not always the same people. Clare's family was noble; Francis' family was rich. The nobility always looked down upon the rich as being beneath them; while the rich knew they could very often buy and sell the nobility. Clare had two sisters, Agnes and Beatrice. Her mother was Ortulana and her father Faverone Offreduccio. There is not too much know about Clare's childhood and teenage years. We do know that Clare w...

St John Vianney, is the patron saint of parish priests. He can; however, be an inspiration for all of us, especially when we are shy, have a hard time in school and find it tough to be good. John Vianney grew up in France during the French Revolution. His parents were hard-working farmers who taught him prayer, piety and charity. John was blessed with a great love of God, and prayed constantly as he worked in the fields. His parents shared what little they had with beggars. No beggar was ever turned away from his home, and John, when he was a little older, tried to teach the little children because there were no priests to instruct them. By the time he was eighteen, he knew that he wanted to be a priest and was encouraged in his ambition by his parish priest. After some years, he was admitted into the Seminary. He had a very hard time with his studies, particularly Latin. He was slow to understand ideas and had a poor memory. Sometimes he was teased by his classmates because of this, b...

St. Ignatius was born in the family castle in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the youngest of 13 children, and was called Iñigo López de Recalde. When he was old enough, he became a page, and then a soldier of Spain to fight against the French. Eventually he found himself at the age of 30 in May of 1521 as an officer defending the fortress of the town of Pamplona against the French, who claimed the territory as their own against Spain. The Spaniards were terribly outnumbered and the commander of the Spanish forces wanted to surrender, but Ignatius convinced him to fight on for the honor of Spain, if not for victory. During the battle a cannon ball struck Ignatius, wounding one leg and breaking the other. Because they admired his courage, the French soldiers carried him back to recuperate at his home, the castle of Loyola, rather than to prison. His leg was set but did not heal, so it was necessary to break it again and reset it, all without anesthesia. Ignatius grew worse and was finally told by the...

What a marvelous life of Saint Catherine of Siena is not unusual for both the role played in the history of his time, but how exquisitely feminine with what worked. The Pope, whom she called by the name of "sweet Christ on earth," he complained the little courage and invited him to leave Avignon and return to Rome, with most human words as these: "Courage, manfully, Father! I tell him not to be shaking. " A young man who sentenced to death and had accompanied her to the scaffold, he said at the last moment "to weddings, sweet my brother! soon you'll be in the long life. " But the voice of submissive women changed in tone and often resulted in that "I want" that brooked no misrepresentations when it came into play the good of the Church and harmony among citizens. Catherine was born in Siena (Italy) on March 25, 1347 and was the twenty-fourth daughter of James and Lapa Benincasa. At seven years held its mystical marriage with Christ. This was ...