Becoming a saint is the Catholic Church’s highest honor. Many centuries ago, saints were chosen by public approval. Gradually, the bishops, and finally the Vatican, took over the process of making saints or canonization.
Many people, including myself, have a fascination with saints. Their life stories show us how to shift from ordinary to extraordinary, serving as the utmost role models, inspiring us to live more for the Lord and for his people and becoming more holy.
This text presents 12 saints whom I pray to and who inspire me the most, summarized in two sentences or fewer, followed by their patronage and feast day.
But first, test your saintly knowledge by answering the following questions (answers are at the end):
1. What/who is a Catholic saint?
2. How do you become a Catholic saint?
3. Do you pray to a particular saint? Who? Why?
4. How do you pray to a saint?
5. Can you become a saint?
Here are the 12 saints:
St. Alphonsus Liguori: As a youngster, he and his father went on retreats together, and his mother instilled in him prayer and faith in God. As an adult, he became a lawyer; however, his discontent in this profession led him to follow God’s call, converting to a bishop and a doctor of the Church.
Patron saint of: confessors, moral theologians, the lay apostolate
Feast day: Aug. 1
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Brought up an Episcopalian, her conversion as a Roman Catholic left her an outcast from her family and the anti-Catholic community. Her life blessings included those of wife, mother, educator, consecrated nun and the foundress of the first Catholic girls school and the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.
Patron saint of: Catholic schools, widows
Feast day: Jan. 4
St. Faustina Kowalska: One night at the age of 20, Faustina was at a party when everything around her disappeared and she saw Jesus standing before her, bloody and suffering, asking, “How long will you make me wait?” She felt the calling to be a religious sister, but her parents said no; she headed to Warsaw to enter the convent.
Patron saint of: mercy
Feast day: Oct. 5
St. Joan of Arc: Born in France, she was a poor girl from a tiny village who heard the voice of God to lead the French army to victory against the English. Despite her success, she was captured by the English, accused of witchcraft and dressing as a man, and convicted and burned at the age of 19 or 20.
Patron saint of: France, imprisoned people, the military
Feast day: May 30
St. Joseph: A carpenter and working man, when he learned about his betrothed Mary’s pregnancy, he considered sending her away to not expose her to shame; instead, he followed an angel’s instructions to marry her. God chose him, from all men, to be the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.
Patron saint of: workers, fathers, Universal Church
Feast day: March 19
St. Josephine Bakhita: Born in Sudan, Africa, she was kidnapped around the age of 8 by Arab slave traders and forced to walk more than 600 miles barefoot to a slave market. Bought and sold more than 12 times during the next 12 years, she was eventually placed in the custody of the Canossian Sisters in Venice where she came to learn about God, fought for and gained her freedom, and then chose to remain with the Canossian Sisters.
Patron saint of: human trafficking survivors
Feast day: Feb. 8
St. Kateri Tekakwitha: Born to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother, she received baptism at age 20 and devoted her life to prayer under the Jesuit priests, despite persecution from her tribe due to her conversion.
Patron saint of: the environment, Native Americans
Feast day: July 14
St. Mary the Virgin: Betrothed to Joseph in Nazareth when the Archangel Gabriel told her that she was to be the mother of Christ, she trusted in God’s plan and said “yes.” Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, where she gave birth to Jesus, becoming the perfect example of discipleship.
Patron saint of: motherhood, virginity
Feast day: Aug. 15
St. Michael the Archangel: Not human but an angel created by God to become the leader of the army of God to defeat the devil and the angels siding with it. Michael is the protector of the human race, defending us in battle against the devil.
Patron saint of: battles, soldiers
Feast day: Sept. 29
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: She led others to help the homeless and administered lovingly to the sick, the dying and the poor in Calcutta, India.
Patron saint of: World Youth Day
Feast day: Sept. 5
St. Peter Claver: He baptized and comforted thousands of slaves with his gentle manner and gifts of medicine and food. He carried pictures to show Christ’s life, explaining to his helpers, “We must speak with our hands before we try to speak to them with our lips.”
Patron saint of: Colombia, missions to slaves, African Americans
Feast day: Sept. 9
St. Therese of Lisieux: Known as the “Little Flower,” the young Carmelite nun longed to follow the example of the Apostles, spreading the love of Christ in foreign lands. Not permitted to fulfill this vocation, she prayed for many priests who loved Jesus and remarked that anyone could become a saint by doing daily tasks of sacrifice and love for Christ before her death of tuberculosis at age 24.
Patron saint of: missionaries, against illness
Feast day: Oct. 1
Here are the answers to the opening questions:
1. A saint is an individual whose exceptional holiness Christians believe has earned him or her a place in heaven.
2. Listen, love, trust and follow God’s call to lead others to know and believe God’s promises. This involves change and work on your behalf.
3. Answers will vary.
4. Look for resources that offer prayers to, and information about, the saint from whose intercession you seek.
5. Yes!
Doris Cáceres-Schumick is a practicing Catholic, freelance writer, and author of a children’s book and an adult book, blogs and articles.
