October

St. Francis of Assisi

Founder of the Franciscan Order

Francis was the son of Pietro di Bernardone, a prosperous cloth merchant of Assisi, and his wife, Pica. As a young man he loved fine clothes, music and the company of friends, and he dreamed of glory as a knight. Captured in a war with Perugia, he spent a year in prison and returned home ill and changed.

Read more: Saint Francis of Assisi · Life of St. Francis of Assisi · St. Francis of Assisi · The Legend of Saint Francis · The Little Flowers of St. Francis · The Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi · The Mirror of Perfection · The Ideals of St. Francis of Assisi · The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds

Tertiary and Mystic of Naples

Anna Maria Gallo was born in the Spanish Quarter of Naples to a family of modest means. Her father was a harsh, violent man; her mother was gentle and devout. From childhood Anna Maria was drawn to prayer and to the Passion of Christ.

For reflection: Mary Frances stood firm against her father’s will to follow God’s. Faith sometimes asks for quiet courage at home.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Daniel and Companions

Martyrs of Ceuta

In 1227, only a year after the death of St. Francis, six friars from Tuscany asked permission to go to North Africa to preach the Gospel to the Muslims, as the first Franciscan martyrs had done seven years before. Their names were Agnellus, Samuel, Donulus, Leo, Hugolinus and Nicholas.

For reflection: Each friar asked his superior’s blessing before giving his life. Obedience and courage went together to the end.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Mary Angela Truszkowska

Foundress of the Felician Sisters

Sophia Truszkowska was born to a well-to-do family in Kalisz, Poland. A sickly child, she was educated at home and grew up thoughtful and devout. As a young woman in Warsaw she was moved by the poverty around her, especially the neglected children and the homeless elderly.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. John XXIII

“Good Pope John”

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born into a large family of farmers near Bergamo, in northern Italy. As a boy he entered the seminary, and at fourteen he was received into the Third Order of St. Francis, to which he remained devoted all his life. He was ordained in 1904. He served as secretary to the Bishop of Bergamo, as a medical orderly and chaplain in the First World War, and then for nearly thirty years in the Church’s diplomatic service, in Bulgaria, in Turkey and Greece, and in France. In Istanbul during the Second World War he helped many Jewish refugees escape. In 1953 he was named Patriarch of Venice. In 1958, at seventy-six, he was elected Pope and took the name John. Many expected him to be a caretaker. Instead, within months, he announced the Second Vatican Council, which he opened on October 11, 1962, to renew the Church and open it to the modern world. He also wrote the encyclical Peace on Earth, addressed to all people of good will. His warmth, humor and humility won the hearts of the world, which called him “Good Pope John.” He died on June 3, 1963. His feast is kept on the anniversary of the opening of the Council.

For reflection: John XXIII opened the windows of the Church with goodness and trust. A kind heart can renew the world.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Seraphin of Montegranaro

Capuchin Lay Brother

Felice Rapagnano was born to a poor family in the Marches of Italy. As a boy he was hired out as a shepherd, and the long hours in the fields became hours of prayer. After his father’s death he worked for his older brother, a bricklayer, who treated him harshly.

For reflection: Seraphin was thought clumsy and slow, and God made him a saint. Holiness does not depend on skill but on love.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Honorat Koźmiński

Founder of Hidden Congregations

Florentyn Koźmiński was born in eastern Poland. As a young student in Warsaw he lost his faith. In 1846 he was arrested by the Russian authorities on suspicion of political conspiracy and imprisoned in the Warsaw Citadel, where he fell gravely ill. There, on the feast of the Assumption, his faith returned.

For reflection: When Honorat could no longer preach in public, God made his hidden work fruitful. No door closes on God’s plans.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. James of Strepa

Archbishop of Halych

James was born to a Polish noble family and entered the Franciscans. He became a learned preacher and worked in the region of Lviv, a land where Latin and Eastern Christians, Jews and others lived side by side. In the 1370s he was made leader of the Franciscan missionaries working in the lands of western Rus’, today western Ukraine, and he spent years preaching, founding friaries and caring for the scattered Catholic communities of the region.

For reflection: James remained a friar at heart even as an archbishop. Humility is the best companion of authority.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Contardo Ferrini

Scholar of Roman Law

Contardo Ferrini was the son of a mathematics teacher in Milan. He was a brilliant student and entered the University of Pavia at seventeen, earning his doctorate in law. He went on to study in Berlin and became one of the leading scholars of his time in Roman and Byzantine law, publishing important editions of ancient legal texts. He taught at the universities of Pavia, Messina and Modena and was admired by his colleagues across Europe. Yet he never hid his faith. He went to daily Mass and spent time in prayer each day. In 1886 he joined the Third Order of St. Francis. He never married, choosing to remain celibate and devote himself to God through his work.

For reflection: Contardo showed that faith and scholarship belong together. All truth leads to the One who is Truth.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Maria Lorenza Longo

Foundress of the Capuchin Poor Clares

Maria Llorença Requesens was born in Catalonia, in Spain, and married Joan Llonc, a high official who later served the Spanish crown in Naples. She was the mother of three children. Tradition says that early in her marriage she was poisoned by a servant and left paralyzed, and that years later, in 1510, she was healed while on pilgrimage to the shrine of Loreto. In thanksgiving she dedicated herself to the service of the poor and took the habit of the Franciscan Third Order.

For reflection: Maria Lorenza turned her own healing into healing for others. Gratitude becomes generosity.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Peter of Alcantara

Reformer and Spiritual Guide of St. Teresa

Peter Garavito was the son of the governor of Alcántara in western Spain. He studied at the University of Salamanca and at sixteen entered the Franciscans of a strict reform. He became a superior while still young and a preacher who moved crowds.

For reflection: Peter lived with great severity toward himself and great kindness toward others. The two together are a mark of the saints.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Josephine Leroux

Poor Clare and Martyr of the Revolution

Anne-Josèphe Leroux was born in Cambrai, in northern France. At twenty-two she entered the Poor Clare monastery at Valenciennes and took the name Josephine. Her sister Marie was an Ursuline nun in the same city.

For reflection: Josephine returned home to live her vows, knowing the danger. Faithfulness to God sometimes means walking into the storm.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. John of Capistrano

Preacher and Defender of Christendom

John was born in the Abruzzo region of Italy and studied law at Perugia. He became a brilliant lawyer and was named governor of Perugia while still young. In 1416, during a war between Perugia and its neighbors, he was taken prisoner. In prison he reflected on his life and resolved to give it to God. On his release he entered the Franciscans of the Observance.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Anthony of St. Ann Galvão

First Brazilian-Born Saint

Antônio Galvão de França was born to a wealthy and devout family near São Paulo, in colonial Brazil. He studied with the Jesuits, but when the Jesuits were suppressed in the Portuguese empire, he turned to the Franciscans. He entered the Order at sixteen, took the name Anthony of St. Ann and was ordained in 1762.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. María Jesús Masiá Ferragut and Companions

A Mother and Her Daughters, Martyrs

María Teresa Ferragut Roig was born in 1853 at Algemesí, near Valencia. She married Vicente Masiá and had nine children. A woman of deep faith, she was devoted to the Eucharist and active in works of charity. Four of her daughters became cloistered nuns: three, María Jesús, María Verónica and María Felicidad, were Capuchin Poor Clares at Agullent, and the fourth, Josefa, was an Augustinian nun. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, the nuns were forced out of their monasteries and returned to their mother’s house. In October 1936 militiamen came to arrest the four sisters. Their mother, then eighty-three, refused to be separated from them and went with them to prison.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Bl. Bonaventure of Potenza

Friar of Perfect Obedience

Carlo Antonio Gerardo Lavagna was born to a poor and devout family in Potenza, in southern Italy. At fifteen he entered the Conventual Franciscans and took the name Bonaventure.

For reflection: Bonaventure did what he was asked without complaint. Obedience offered in love is a path to freedom.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

Alexander of Hales

The “Irrefragable Doctor,” Teacher of St. Bonaventure

Alexander was born in the English village of Hales, near Birmingham. He studied at the University of Paris and became one of its most respected teachers, a master of arts and later of theology. He also held church offices in England and had a comfortable career before him.

For reflection: Alexander gave up a brilliant career to become a poor friar, and his learning served the Church even more. Gifts given to God are multiplied.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds

St. Angelo of Acri

Preacher of Southern Italy

Luca Antonio Falcone was born to a poor family in Calabria, in the far south of Italy. He entered the Capuchins at eighteen, but the rigor of the life frightened him and he left. He tried again and left again. The third time, in 1690, he persevered and took the name Angelo. Ordained a priest, he began to preach, but at first he failed badly. At one of his early sermons he forgot everything and had to leave the pulpit. He prayed for guidance and resolved from then on to preach simply, in the plain language of the people, about Christ crucified.

For reflection: Angelo failed twice as a novice and once in the pulpit, and kept going. God’s grace works through our perseverance.

Read more: The Encyclopedia of Franciscan Saints and Blesseds