March

St. Agnes of Prague

Princess and Poor Clare

Agnes was the daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia and a cousin of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. As a child she was betrothed for political reasons, first to a son of the Emperor Frederick II, and later the Emperor himself sought her hand. Agnes refused every match. She had heard of the poor friars and of Clare of Assisi, and she wanted to give her life to Christ.

For reflection: Agnes refused an emperor to marry the poor Christ. What would we be willing to give up for the treasure of the Gospel?

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Liberatus Weiss and Companions

Martyrs of Ethiopia

Johann Laurentius Weiss was born in 1675 at Konnersreuth in Bavaria and became a Franciscan, taking the name Liberatus. He was ordained a priest and volunteered for the mission to Ethiopia, an ancient Christian land that had long been separated from Rome.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. John Joseph of the Cross

Reformer and Superior

Carlo Gaetano Calosirto was born on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, to a noble family. Even as a boy he was drawn to prayer and penance, and at sixteen he entered the Friars Minor in Naples who followed the strict reform of St. Peter of Alcantara. He took the name John Joseph of the Cross. He was the first Italian to join this reform. Though still young, he was sent to help found a new friary and worked on its construction with his own hands. He was later ordained a priest, though he had not sought it, and was named novice master and then superior. In each office he insisted on doing the humblest work of the house himself, washing dishes, carrying wood and serving at table. In 1702, when the Alcantarine friaries in Italy were made a separate province, John Joseph was appointed to lead them. He guided the reform through difficult years, always urging his brothers to faithfulness and charity rather than harshness.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Angela Salawa

Housemaid and Nurse of Soldiers

Aniela Salawa was one of many children of a poor farming family near Kraków. At sixteen she left home to work as a domestic servant in the city, a hard life with long hours and little pay. After the death of her sister and a period of searching, she gave herself fully to God. She organized meetings for other young housemaids, encouraging them in their faith and helping them to protect their dignity in a city where servant girls were often exploited. In 1912 she joined the Third Order of St. Francis.

For reflection: Angela had no power, money or position, only a heart open to others. Holiness is possible in every kind of work.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Salvator of Horta

Lay Brother and Wonderworker

Salvator was born in Catalonia to parents who worked as servants in a small town hospital. Orphaned at fourteen, he moved to Barcelona with his sister and worked as a shoemaker to support them both. In 1541 he entered the Franciscans in Barcelona as a lay brother. He served as cook and beggar of alms, and he lived a life of severe penance. Before long, sick people began to come to him, and many reported being healed through his prayers and the sign of the cross he made over them. Crowds grew so large, sometimes thousands in a week, that his superiors moved him from friary to friary to keep him hidden. He spent twelve years at the friary of Horta, in Catalonia, whose name he came to bear. Still the sick found him. He was denounced to the Inquisition, but nothing was found against him.

For reflection: Salvator pointed every person healed back to God. True holiness never draws attention to itself.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Diego José of Cádiz

Capuchin Preacher of Spain

José Francisco López-Caamaño was born in Cádiz, in southern Spain. He was a slow student, and when he first asked to join the Franciscans he was turned away. The Capuchins accepted him, and at fifteen he began his novitiate in Seville, taking the name Diego José. He was ordained a priest in 1766.

For reflection: Diego was once judged too slow to be a friar and became one of Spain’s greatest preachers. God does not measure as we measure.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds