April

St. Benedict the Moor

Son of Slaves, Guardian of Friars

Benedict was born in Sicily to Christian parents who had been brought from Africa as slaves. Their master freed their son before he was born. As a boy he worked as a shepherd, gave much of his small wages to the poor and never learned to read.

For reflection: Benedict answered insult with patience and rose from the kitchen to lead his brothers. Dignity is not given by others; it comes from God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Mary Crescentia Höss

The Weaver of Kaufbeuren

Anna Höss was the daughter of a poor weaver in the Bavarian town of Kaufbeuren and learned her father’s trade. She longed to join the Franciscan sisters of the town, but she could not pay the dowry the convent expected.

For reflection: Crescentia was received as a charity case and became a counselor to princes. Humility patiently endured becomes wisdom.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Lucien Botovasoa

Teacher, Husband and Martyr of Madagascar

Lucien Botovasoa was the eldest of nine children in a family of southeastern Madagascar. He was educated by the Jesuits, earned his teaching diploma and spent his life as a teacher in the parish school of his hometown, teaching both religion and ordinary subjects.

For reflection: Lucien was a teacher, a husband and a father, and a martyr. Every state of life can be a path to holiness.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Lady Pica

Mother of St. Francis

Very little is known for certain about the mother of St. Francis. Her name was Pica, and she was the wife of Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant of Assisi. Later tradition says that she came from Provence, in southern France, where her husband traveled on business. When her son was born, around 1181, Pica had him baptized with the name John, while his father was away in France. On his return Pietro called the boy Francesco, “the Frenchman,” the name by which the world would know him.

For reflection: Pica freed her son to follow a path she did not fully understand. Sometimes love means letting go.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Benedict Joseph Labre

Pilgrim and Beggar of Rome

Benedict Joseph Labre was the eldest of fifteen children of a shopkeeper in northern France. From boyhood he wanted to give his life to God in a monastery. He tried the Trappists, the Carthusians and the Cistercians, but each time he was sent away, judged too young, too sickly or unsuited to community life.

For reflection: Benedict Joseph was rejected by every monastery and found his cloister on the open road. God’s plan may look very different from our own.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Conrad of Parzham

Porter of Altötting

Johann Birndorfer was one of a large family of devout and prosperous farmers in Bavaria. He worked on the family farm into his thirties, known for his prayer, his long pilgrimages on foot to Marian shrines and his kindness to the poor.

For reflection: For forty-one years Conrad opened the door to whoever came. Every interruption can be a meeting with Christ.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Giles of Assisi

Companion of St. Francis

Giles was a young man of Assisi who heard that two of his fellow citizens, Bernard of Quintavalle and Peter Catanii, had given away everything to follow Francis. On April 23, 1208, he went to find them. He met Francis on the road near the Porziuncola, knelt and asked to be received. Francis took him in as the third of his brothers.

Read more: Brother Giles · The Golden Sayings of Blessed Brother Giles · The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Lawyer, Capuchin and Martyr

Mark Roy studied law and philosophy at the University of Freiburg and earned a doctorate. For several years he traveled through Europe as tutor to a group of young noblemen, and then practiced law at Ensisheim in Alsace. He became known as the “advocate of the poor” because he took up their cases without charge.

For reflection: Fidelis lived up to his name, faithful in the courtroom, in the pulpit and on the road. Faithfulness is the work of a whole lifetime.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Luchesius of Poggibonsi

The First Secular Franciscan

Luchesius was a merchant of Tuscany who made his money selling grain and provisions to travelers on the road through Poggibonsi. His early biographers describe him as ambitious and greedy, a man whose heart was set on gain. He married a woman named Buonadonna, who shared his worldly outlook.

For reflection: Luchesius and Buonadonna show that married life can be a path of Gospel holiness. Every home can become a place of welcome.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Benedict of Urbino

Lawyer and Missionary Capuchin

Marco Passionei was the seventh of eleven children of a noble family of Urbino. He studied law at Padua and earned a doctorate in civil and canon law in 1582. A promising career lay before him, but he felt called to religious life.

For reflection: Benedict was turned away for poor health and went on to serve in missions far from home. Weakness is no barrier to God’s work.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds