June

St. Felix of Nicosia

“Let It Be for the Love of God”

Filippo Giacomo Amoroso was born to a poor family in Nicosia, in the mountains of Sicily. As a boy he worked in a shoemaker’s shop near the Capuchin friary and came to know the friars well.

For reflection: Felix knocked for eight years before the door opened. Perseverance in good desires is itself a gift of grace.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Nicholas of Gesturi

“Brother Silence”

Giovanni Angelo Salvatore Medda was born into a poor farming family in Sardinia. He grew up working in the fields, quiet, devout and hard-working.

For reflection: Nicholas preached without words. A life lived close to God can speak more loudly than any sermon.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Thomas Saleh

Capuchin Martyr of Lebanon

Jirjis Hanna Saleh was born in the village of Baabdat in the mountains of Lebanon. He entered the Capuchins, took the name Thomas and was ordained a priest in 1904. He and his fellow villager Leonard Melki were ordained together.

For reflection: Thomas risked everything to shelter a hunted brother. Christian love does not ask whether it is safe.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Leonard Melki

Capuchin Martyr of Mardin

Yusuf Habib Melki was born in the village of Baabdat, Lebanon. He entered the Capuchins, taking the name Leonard, and was ordained a priest in 1904, together with Thomas Saleh, his fellow villager. He was sent to Mardin, in the southeast of the Ottoman Empire, where the Capuchins served the local Christian communities. He taught and preached there and became director of the Capuchin school, where he taught French and music.

For reflection: Leonard and Thomas grew up together, were ordained together and were beatified together. Holy friendships lead us toward God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Jolenta of Poland

Princess, Duchess and Poor Clare

Jolenta, also called Yolanda or Helen, was a daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary. She grew up in a family of saints: her aunt was St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and her sisters were St. Kinga and St. Margaret of Hungary. As a child she was sent to Poland to be raised at the court of her sister Kinga.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Florida Cevoli

Disciple of St. Veronica Giuliani

Lucrezia Elena Cevoli was born to a noble family of Pisa and given a fine education. At eighteen, against her family’s hopes, she entered the Capuchin Poor Clares at Città di Castello in Umbria, taking the name Florida.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Antonine Bajewski

Companion of St. Maximilian Kolbe

Jan Bajewski entered the Conventual Franciscans, taking the name Antonine. He was ordained a priest and assigned to Niepokalanów, the “City of the Immaculate,” the great friary near Warsaw founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe.

For reflection: Antonine shared both the work and the cross of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Those who labor together for God may also share His suffering.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Pius Bartosik

Martyr of Auschwitz

Ludwik Bartosik entered the Conventual Franciscans as a young man and took the name Pius. After his ordination he was assigned to Niepokalanów, the friary near Warsaw founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe. There he became one of Fr. Kolbe’s closest helpers. He took an active part in the friary’s great work of Catholic publishing and in the life of the community.

For reflection: Pius died quietly in the shadow of a great saint. God sees every hidden sacrifice.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Anthony of Padua

Doctor of the Church

Fernando Martins was born to a noble family in Lisbon and joined the Augustinian canons as a young man, studying at their great monastery of Holy Cross in Coimbra. In 1220 the relics of the first Franciscan martyrs, killed in Morocco, were brought to Coimbra. Fernando was so moved that he joined the friars, took the name Anthony and set out for Morocco himself.

Read more: Saint Anthony of Padua · The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. John of Parma

Minister General and Contemplative

John Buralli of Parma was a learned friar who taught theology at Bologna, Naples and Paris. In 1247 he was elected Minister General of the Friars Minor, the seventh successor of St. Francis.

For reflection: John gave up high office without bitterness and spent thirty years in prayer. Letting go can be the beginning of deeper life.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Anicet Koplinski

“Father of the Poor” of Warsaw

Adalbert Kopliński was born in a town in West Prussia, in a family of Polish and German background. He entered the Capuchins and took the name Anicet. After his ordination he served for some years in Germany and then, in 1918, was sent to the Capuchin friary in Warsaw. In Warsaw he found his life’s work among the poor. For more than twenty years he walked the streets of the city begging for food, money and clothing, then distributed them to the hungry, the unemployed and the homeless. He became one of the best-known figures in Warsaw, and the people called him the “Father of the Poor.” He was also a sought-after confessor.

For reflection: Anicet begged for the poor until the end. Love for those in need is the clearest sign of love for God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Patrick O’Healy and Companions

Martyrs of Ireland

Patrick O’Healy was born in the 1540s in the west of Ireland and entered the Franciscans. Because Catholic education was forbidden in Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I, he was sent abroad to study, in Rome and in Spain, where he earned a reputation as a scholar at the University of Alcalá.

For reflection: Patrick returned home knowing what awaited him. Faithful shepherds do not abandon their flock.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Andrew Hyacinth Longhin

Capuchin Bishop of Treviso

Giacinto Bonaventura Longhin was born to a farming family near Padua. Despite his father’s opposition, he entered the Capuchins at sixteen, taking the name Andrew, and was ordained a priest in 1886. He served as a teacher, director of studies and provincial minister of the Venetian province.

For reflection: Bishop Longhin stayed with his people when danger came. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Jacob of Ghazir

“Abouna Yaacoub,” Apostle of Lebanon

Khalil Haddad was born in the town of Ghazir in Lebanon, the third of five children. After working for a time as a teacher of Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt, he entered the Capuchins in 1893, took the name Jacob, and was ordained a priest in Beirut in 1901.

For reflection: Abouna Yaacoub saw Christ in the people no one else wanted. Mercy begins where others turn away.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Raymond Lull

Philosopher, Missionary and Mystic

Raymond Lull was born on the island of Majorca, soon after it was taken from Muslim rule. He grew up at the royal court, married and had children, and lived a worldly life as a courtier and troubadour. Around the age of thirty he had a series of visions of Christ crucified that changed his life. He resolved to devote himself to the conversion of Muslims, to write the best book in the world for that purpose and to found schools where missionaries could learn Arabic. He provided for his family, sold his property and spent nine years studying Arabic and philosophy.

For reflection: Raymond turned all his genius to sharing Christ through reason and love. The mind, too, can be a missionary.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds