February

St. Joseph of Leonessa

Capuchin Missionary to Constantinople

Eufranio Desiderio was born in the mountain town of Leonessa in central Italy. As a teenager he recovered from a serious fever and, against the wishes of relatives who had planned a good marriage for him, joined the Capuchins, taking the name Joseph. He made his profession in 1573.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Sts. Peter Baptist, Paul Miki and Companions

The Martyrs of Japan

In 1593 the Spanish Franciscan Peter Baptist, a veteran missionary of Mexico and the Philippines, came to Japan as an envoy from the Spanish governor of Manila. With his brothers he built a church, a friary and a hospital for lepers in Kyoto.

For reflection: Craftsmen, catechists, friars and children died singing. Courage in faith is not reserved for the few; it is offered to all.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Colette of Corbie

Reformer of the Poor Clares

Nicolette Boellet was the daughter of a carpenter at the abbey of Corbie in northern France. Her parents, who had long prayed for a child, named her after St. Nicholas. After their deaths she searched for her place in religious life, trying first the Beguines and then the Benedictines, before taking the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis in 1402 and living as an anchoress in a small cell beside the church at Corbie.

For reflection: Colette began alone in a tiny cell and ended by renewing an entire order. God can do great things through one heart given wholly to Him.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Giles Mary of St. Joseph

The “Consoler of Naples”

Francesco Postillo was born to a poor family in the southern Italian port of Taranto. When his father died, Francesco, then eighteen, took on the support of his mother and younger brothers and sisters, working at a trade to keep them fed.

For reflection: For fifty-three years Giles walked the same streets with the same message: love God. The simplest words, lived faithfully, can console a whole city.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. John of Triora

Martyr of China

Francesco Maria Lantrua was born in a mountain village of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. In 1777 he entered the Friars Minor in Rome, taking the name John, and was ordained a priest in 1784. He taught for some years and served as guardian of a friary, but his heart was set on the missions.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Lady Jacoba of Settesoli

“Brother Jacoba,” Friend of St. Francis

Jacoba was a Roman noblewoman, the widow of Graziano Frangipani, of one of the great families of Rome, and the mother of two sons. When St. Francis came to Rome she became one of his closest friends and supporters, and he stayed in her house on his visits to the city. Her strength of character so impressed him that he called her “Brother Jacoba.”

For reflection: Francis made room for his friend even at the end. Faithful friendship is itself a gift of God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Leopold of Alpandeire

“The Beggar of the Three Hail Marys”

Francisco Tomás Márquez Sánchez grew up on a small farm in the hills of Málaga, in southern Spain, where his family grew grain and almonds and kept goats. He worked the land all through his youth, interrupted only by military service. He was known for his kindness, and it was said that he would give away his own wages to beggars on the road. In 1899, at the age of thirty-five, he entered the Capuchins at Seville, taking the name Leopold, and made his vows the following year. After several assignments, he came in 1914 to the Capuchin friary in Granada, where he would spend the remaining forty-two years of his life. His work was to go out each day through the city and the surrounding villages to beg alms for the friars. Walking the streets of Granada in his worn habit and sandals, he became one of the best-known figures in the city. People of every class stopped him to ask for his prayers and his advice. His answer was always the same: he would pray three Hail Marys with them, and so he became known as the “beggar of the three Hail Marys.”

For reflection: Leopold had no learning or office, only three Hail Marys and a kind heart. The simplest prayer, offered with love, can draw a whole city to God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Conrad of Piacenza

Nobleman, Penitent and Hermit

Conrad Confalonieri belonged to one of the leading noble families of Piacenza in northern Italy and married a young noblewoman named Euphrosyne. According to the story handed down about him, one day while hunting he ordered brushwood set alight to drive out the game. The wind spread the flames, and the fire destroyed fields and woods. Conrad slipped away in fear. A poor man found near the scene was accused, tortured into confessing and condemned to death. As he was being led to execution, Conrad could bear it no longer. He came forward, admitted his guilt and paid for the damage with nearly all he owned. The experience changed his life. He and his wife agreed to give themselves to God. Euphrosyne entered the Poor Clares, and Conrad joined the Third Order of St. Francis and became a hermit. As his reputation for holiness grew and visitors came seeking him, he left for Sicily and settled in the valley of Noto, where he lived for decades in prayer and penance in a cave and cared for the sick in the town hospital. He died kneeling before a crucifix on February 19, 1351. His relics rest in the cathedral of Noto, and he is invoked for relief from hernia. F O R R E F L E C T I O N Conrad’s conversion began when he refused to let an innocent man pay for his sin. Owning our faults is often the first step toward God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Sebastian of Aparicio

Road-Builder and Friar of Mexico

Sebastian was born to a poor peasant family in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, and worked as a farmhand and servant as a young man. In 1533 he sailed for New Spain, today Mexico, and settled near Puebla.

For reflection: Sebastian built roads for others and in old age set out on the road to God. It is never too late to give everything to Him.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Jeremiah of Wallachia

Capuchin Infirmarian of Naples

Ioan Costişte was born to a devout peasant family in Moldavia, in present-day Romania. His mother often spoke to him of Italy as a land of holy people, and he grew up longing to go there. At nineteen, with his parents’ blessing, he set out on foot.

For reflection: Jeremiah crossed a continent to find holiness, then found it at the bedside of the sick. Our calling is often nearer than we think.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds