May

Bl. Thomas of Olera

Capuchin Brother and Spiritual Writer

Tommaso Acerbis was born to a poor family in the hills above Bergamo and spent his boyhood as a shepherd. He never went to school. In 1580 he entered the Capuchins at Verona as a lay brother, and only then did he learn to read and write.

For reflection: Thomas learned to read only as a friar, yet his words still kindle love for God. Grace can work through any instrument.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Catherine of Bologna

Abbess, Artist and Writer

Catherine de’ Vigri was raised at the brilliant court of Ferrara, where she served as a companion to the daughter of the Marquis Niccolò d’Este. There she learned to read and write, to paint and to play music. At about fourteen she left the court to join a small community of devout women in Ferrara. The group adopted the Rule of St. Clare in 1431, and Catherine served there for many years, much of the time as novice mistress. She passed through long years of spiritual darkness and temptation before finding deep peace.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Ignatius of Laconi

Questor of Cagliari

Francesco Ignazio Peis was born to a poor and devout farming family in the mountains of Sardinia. During a serious illness as a young man, he promised to become a Capuchin if he recovered. He recovered, but delayed. Only after a narrow escape in a riding accident did he keep his promise, entering the Capuchin novitiate in 1721.

For reflection: Ignatius begged for others for forty years without tiring. Faithfulness in small daily tasks is the stuff of holiness.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Leopold Mandić

Confessor of Padua

Bogdan Mandić was born on the Adriatic coast into a large Croatian family. He entered the Capuchin seminary at Udine at sixteen, took the name Leopold and was ordained a priest in Venice in 1890. He was barely four and a half feet tall, had a speech impediment and suffered from poor health all his life. His great desire was to work as a missionary among the Orthodox Christians of Eastern Europe for the reunion of the Church. His superiors judged him too frail.

For reflection: Leopold could not go to the missions, so he made the confessional his mission field. God’s will often meets us exactly where we are.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Margaret of Cortona

Penitent and Servant of the Poor

Margaret was a farmer’s daughter from the Tuscan countryside. Her mother died when she was a child, and she found no warmth with her stepmother. As a teenager she ran away with a young nobleman from Montepulciano and lived with him for about nine years as his mistress, bearing him a son.

For reflection: Margaret came to God from a life of sin and became a mother to the poor. No past is beyond the reach of mercy.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Paschal Baylon

Patron of Eucharistic Congresses

Paschal was born to a poor peasant family in Aragon on the feast of Pentecost, called in Spanish the “Pascua” of the Holy Spirit, from which he took his name. As a boy he tended sheep and taught himself to read, carrying a book with him into the fields so that he could pray. In 1564 he entered the Friars Minor of the strict Alcantarine reform as a lay brother. He served as porter, cook and gardener in various friaries of the Valencia region and was known for his kindness to the poor who came to the door. He always set aside the best of what he had for them. His great love was the Holy Eucharist. He spent every free moment kneeling before the tabernacle, often through the night. Once, sent on an errand to France, he was challenged by Calvinists who denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He defended the faith so firmly that he was attacked and narrowly escaped with his life.

For reflection: Paschal’s whole life was a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Time spent with the Lord is never wasted.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Felix of Cantalice

“Brother Deo Gratias”

Felix was born to a peasant family in the hills of central Italy and worked as a shepherd and farmhand until he was nearly thirty. Though he could not read, he prayed constantly as he worked in the fields.

For reflection: Felix thanked God for gifts and insults alike. A grateful heart turns every circumstance into praise.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Theophilus of Corte

Preacher and Founder of Retreat Houses

Biagio Arrighi was born to a noble family in the mountain town of Corte, on the island of Corsica. At seventeen he entered the Friars Minor, taking the name Theophilus, “friend of God.” He studied theology in Naples and Rome and was ordained a priest in 1700. Though he was a gifted teacher, Theophilus longed for a stricter life of prayer. In 1702 he went to the retreat house at Bellegra, near Rome, where he lived for about ten years under the guidance of St. Thomas of Cori. These houses, called ritiri, were friaries where a small number of friars lived in greater silence, poverty and prayer while serving the surrounding countryside as preachers.

For reflection: Theophilus sought silence so that he could speak of God with power. Our words to others are only as deep as our prayer.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Crispin of Viterbo

The Joyful Questor of Orvieto

Pietro Fioretti was born to a poor family in Viterbo and learned the trade of a shoemaker from his uncle. As a child he was taken by his mother to a nearby Marian shrine, where she consecrated him to the Virgin Mary, a devotion he kept all his life.

For reflection: Crispin made people laugh and led them to God. Holiness and joy belong together.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Bernardine of Siena

Preacher of the Holy Name of Jesus

Bernardine Albizzeschi was born into a noble family of Tuscany and orphaned at the age of six. He was raised by devout aunts in Siena. In 1400, when plague struck the city, the young man took charge of the great hospital of Santa Maria della Scala for four months, nursing the sick until he himself fell ill.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Franz Jägerstätter

Farmer, Husband and Conscientious Objector

Franz Jägerstätter was a farmer in the small Austrian village of St. Radegund, near the German border. As a young man he was known for his wild ways, and he rode the first motorcycle in the village. In 1936 he married Franziska Schwaninger, a woman of deep faith, and through their marriage his own faith grew strong. They had three daughters. Franz became the sacristan of the parish church and a member of the Third Order of St. Francis.

For reflection: Franz stood alone and paid with his life. Conscience, formed by faith, must sometimes say no when everyone else says yes.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. John Forest

Confessor to Queen Catherine and Martyr

John Forest entered the Observant Franciscans at Greenwich, near London, around 1491 and studied theology at Oxford. He became a respected preacher, guardian of the Greenwich friary, a leader of the Observant friars in England and confessor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII.

For reflection: John Forest kept faith with his queen and with the Church at the cost of his life. Loyalty to the truth is never wasted.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Joseph Tous y Soler

Capuchin and Founder

Josep Tous i Soler was born at Igualada, near Barcelona. At sixteen he entered the Capuchins, taking the name Joseph of Igualada, and he was ordained a priest in 1834.

For reflection: Fr. Joseph was driven from his friary but never from his vocation. No outward loss can take away what we have given to God.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Mariana of Jesus de Paredes

The “Lily of Quito”

Mariana de Paredes y Flores was born to a noble Spanish family in Quito, in what is now Ecuador. Orphaned at four, she was raised by her older sister and brother-in-law.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Camilla Battista da Varano

Princess, Abbess and Mystic

Camilla was the daughter of Giulio Cesare da Varano, lord of the city of Camerino in central Italy. She grew up at a refined Renaissance court, educated in literature and enjoying music, dancing and fine things. As a child she had promised to shed a tear each Friday in memory of the Passion of Christ, and that small promise slowly drew her heart to God. After a powerful experience in confession in 1479, she resolved to enter religious life. Her father opposed her for two years, but in 1481 she entered the Poor Clares at Urbino, taking the name Battista. Her father later built a monastery for her in Camerino, and she spent the rest of her life there, serving several times as abbess. In 1502 Cesare Borgia seized Camerino; her father and three brothers were killed, and Battista had to flee for a time. She forgave those who had destroyed her family.

For reflection: One small promise made by a child grew into a life of holiness. Never underestimate the power of a little faithfulness.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Ferdinand III of Castile

Christian King

Ferdinand was the son of King Alfonso IX of León and Queen Berenguela of Castile. His mother passed the crown of Castile to him in 1217, when he was still a young man, and in 1230 he inherited León as well, uniting the two kingdoms for good.

For reflection: Ferdinand held great power and used it for justice. Every position of authority is a call to serve.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds