St. Francis (1181-1226) was born in Assisi, Italy, to a wealthy cloth merchant. He was a spoiled child given to pleasure, fine dress, liberal spending, and worldliness. Handsome and courteous, he was a favorite among the nobility. As a chivalrous young knight he took part in a battle between the Italian city-states and became a prisoner of war in Perugia. After his release he became seriously...
St. Theodore Guerin (1798–1856), also known as St. Theodora, was born in Etables, France, towards the end of the French Revolution. She was a pious child who loved prayer and who knew her vocation was to be a nun. However, she was delayed in following this path after the murder of her father when she was 15, which, in addition to the previous death of two of her siblings, sent her mother...
Emilie de Villenueve was a Roman Catholic French nun and the founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres. After she died her cause of canonization was opened. She was beatified in 2007 after a miracle attributed to her intercession was ratified and she was beatified in 2009. She was approved for sainthood in 2014 and was canonized by Pope Francis on 17 May 2015....
St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) was the last of nine children born to Saints Louis and Zelie Martin in Alencon, France. Her family was devoutly religious, and all five surviving siblings, all daughters, entered the convent. From an early age Therese desired to give herself totally to Jesus. Her happy childhood gave way to trial following the death of her mother when she was four years old....
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968) was born to peasant farmers in southern Italy. By the time he was 5 years old he practiced a life of penance and made the decision to give himself completely to God. He grew up working in the fields, and at the age of 19 joined the Capuchin Franciscan friars. His Franciscan spirituality was characterized by a life of poverty, love of nature, and...