Phone Email Facebook Twitter Instagram

Saints

- Liturgy & Prayer
  - Liturgy
    
    Our Sunday Reflections
    Christmas Day Reflections
    Mass Times
    Holy Days of Obligation
    The Liturgy
    The Mass
    The Mass Explained: Part 1
    The Mass Explained: Part 2
  - Prayer
    
    Common Prayers
    Lectio Divina
    Novena
    Advent Prayers
  - Devotions
    
    Eucharistic Adoration
    Pray the Rosary
    Stations of the Cross
    Blessed Virgin Mary
    Saints
  - Liturgical Seasons of The Roman Catholic Church
    
    Advent Season
    Christmas Season
    Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-8
    Lenten Season
    Sacred Paschal Triduum
    Easter Season
    Ordinary Time: Weeks 9-34

What Catholics believe about Saints

It's important to remember that saints aren't supernatural beings to be worshiped. In fact, in the New Testament, the term saint often is a synonym for Christian. We are all saints and are called again and again to become saints in our lives. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, meaning a holy one.

Why do Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels?

Praying to Mary, the saints, and the angels can sound like trying to get "friends in high places" to run interference for you. Although people sometimes seek such "friends" in order to get a speeding ticket fixed, buy merchandise at a lower price or have some problem resolved, for Catholics that is not what devotion to the saints represents.

God alone is the source of all grace and blessing. Saints do not "fix" things for us apart from God or convince God to do X rather than Y. At Vatican II, the bishops taught that the holiness of the Church "is shown constantly in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful and so it must be" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #39). Those "fruits of grace" are seen in the lives of saintly disciples, whether canonized or not.

Jesus was fully divine and fully human. As a human, Jesus could be only one gender, live at one time in history, grow up in one human culture, etc. Saints help us to see holiness as possible for ourselves because saints include men and women, married and single people who lived at various times in human history and in various cultures. Saints remind us that, no matter what sacrifices we may need to make in order to cooperate with God's grace, we are not the first people to make those sacrifices. If we ask our friends on earth to pray for us, why not ask our friends in heaven to do the same?

-Franciscan Media
Many popular devotional practices involve veneration of the saints. The saints have a special place in the Body of Christ, which includes both the living and the dead. Through Christ we on earth remain in communion both with the saints in heaven and with the dead who are still in Purgatory. We can pray for those in Purgatory and ask the saints to pray for us. Through their prayers of intercession, the saints in heaven play an integral role in the life of the Church on earth. "For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord, through Him and with Him and in Him they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, showing forth the merits which they won on earth through the one Mediator between God and man." The saints, the members of the Church who have arrived at perfect union with Christ, join their wills to the will of God in praying for those in the Church who are still on their pilgrimage of faith.

Besides what the saints can do for us by their prayers, the very practice of venerating the saints does great good for those who are devoted to the saints. By practicing love of the saints we strengthen the unity of the entire Body of Christ in the Spirit.
This in turn brings us all closer to Christ. "For just as Christian communion among wayfarers brings us closer to Christ, so our companionship with the saints joins us to Christ, from Whom as from its Fountain and Head issues every grace and the very life of the people of God."
Love of the saints necessarily includes and leads to love of Christ and to love of the Holy Trinity. "For every genuine testimony of love shown by us to those in heaven, by its very nature tends toward and terminates in Christ who is the 'crown of all saints,' and through Him, in God Who is wonderful in his saints and is magnified in them."

—From Popular Devotional Practices

Feast Days of the Saints

January 2020

Sync to my Calendar Print Calendar Print Event List

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 Month View January 1, 2020	2 Saint Basil the Great Month View January 2, 2020 Saint Basil the Great Thursday, January 2 Basil was on his way to becoming a famous teacher when he decided to begin a religious life of gospel poverty. After studying various modes of religious life, he founded what was probably the first monastery in Asia Minor. He is to monks of the East what Saint Benedict is to the West, and Basil’s principles influence Eastern monasticism today. Read More	3 Most Holy Name of Jesus Month View January 3, 2020 Most Holy Name of Jesus Friday, January 3 Although Saint Paul might claim credit for promoting devotion to the Holy Name because Paul wrote in Philippians that God the Father gave Christ Jesus “that name that is above every name” (see 2:9), this devotion became popular because of 12th-century Cistercian monks and nuns but especially through the preaching of Saint Bernardine of Siena, a 15th-century Franciscan. Read More	4 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Month View January 4, 2020 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Saturday, January 4 Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children. Read More
5 Saint John Neumann Month View January 5, 2020 Saint John Neumann Sunday, January 5 Perhaps because the United States got a later start in the history of the world, it has relatively few canonized saints, but their number is increasing. John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at 25 and was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York until he was 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became its first member to profess vows in the United States. Read More	6 Saint André Bessette Month View January 6, 2020 Saint André Bessette Monday, January 6 Brother André expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph. Read More	7 Saint Raymond of Peñafort Month View January 7, 2020 Saint Raymond of Peñafort Tuesday, January 7 Since Raymond lived into his hundredth year, he had a chance to do many things. As a member of the Spanish nobility, he had the resources and the education to get a good start in life. Read More	8 Saint Angela of Foligno Month View January 8, 2020 Saint Angela of Foligno Wednesday, January 8 Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction. Read More	9 Saint Adrian of Canterbury Month View January 9, 2020 Saint Adrian of Canterbury Thursday, January 9 Though Saint Adrian turned down a papal request to become Archbishop of Canterbury, England, Pope Saint Vitalian accepted the rejection on the condition that Adrian serve as the Holy Father’s assistant and adviser. Adrian accepted, but ended up spending most of his life and doing most of his work in Canterbury. Read More	10 Saint Gregory of Nyssa Month View January 10, 2020 Saint Gregory of Nyssa Friday, January 10 Orthodoxy is a word that can raise red flags in our minds. To some people it may connote rigid attitudes that make no room for honest differences of opinion. But it might just as well suggest something else: faith that has settled deep in one’s bones. Gregory’s faith was like that. So deeply embedded was his faith in Jesus that he knew the divinity that Arianism denied. When we resist something offered as truth without knowing exactly why, it may be because our faith has settled in our bones. Read More	11 Blessed William Carter Month View January 11, 2020 Blessed William Carter Saturday, January 11 Born in London, William Carter entered the printing business at an early age. For many years he served as apprentice to well-known Catholic printers, one of whom served a prison sentence for persisting in the Catholic faith. Read More
12 Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys Month View January 12, 2020 Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys Sunday, January 12 It’s easy to become discouraged when plans that we think that God must endorse are frustrated. Marguerite was called not to be a cloistered nun but to be a foundress and an educator. God had not ignored her after all. Read More	13 Saint Hilary of Poitiers Month View January 13, 2020 Saint Hilary of Poitiers Monday, January 13 This staunch defender of the divinity of Christ was a gentle and courteous man, devoted to writing some of the greatest theology on the Trinity, and was like his Master in being labeled a “disturber of the peace.” Read More	14 Saint Gregory Nazianzen Month View January 14, 2020 Saint Gregory Nazianzen Tuesday, January 14 After his baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil’s invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. Read More	15 Saint Paul the Hermit Month View January 15, 2020 Saint Paul the Hermit Wednesday, January 15 Saint Anthony of Egypt attests to his holy life and death. Tempted by the thought that no one had served God in the wilderness longer than he, Anthony was led by God to find Paul and acknowledge him as a man more perfect than himself. The raven that day brought a whole loaf of bread instead of the usual half. As Paul predicted, Anthony would return to bury his new friend. Read More	16 Saint Berard and Companions Month View January 16, 2020 Saint Berard and Companions Thursday, January 16 In 1219, with the blessing of Saint Francis, Berard left Italy with Peter, Adjute, Accurs, Odo and Vitalis to preach in Morocco. En route in Spain, Vitalis became sick and commanded the other friars to continue their mission without him. Read More	17 Saint Anthony of Egypt (Saint Anthony the Abbot) Month View January 17, 2020 Saint Anthony of Egypt (Saint Anthony the Abbot) Friday, January 17 The life of Anthony will remind many people of Saint Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. Read More	18 Saint Charles of Sezze Month View January 18, 2020 Saint Charles of Sezze Saturday, January 18 Charles thought that God was calling him to be a missionary in India, but he never got there. God had something better for this 17th-century successor to Brother Juniper. Read More
19 Saint Fabian Month View January 19, 2020 Saint Fabian Sunday, January 19 Fabian was a Roman layman who came into the city from his farm one day as clergy and people were preparing to elect a new pope. Eusebius, a Church historian, says a dove flew in and settled on the head of Fabian. This sign united the votes of clergy and laity, and he was chosen unanimously. Read More	20 Saint Sebastian Month View January 20, 2020 Saint Sebastian Monday, January 20 Almost nothing is historically certain about Sebastian except that he was a Roman martyr, was venerated in Milan even in the time of Saint Ambrose and was buried on the Appian Way, probably near the present Basilica of St. Sebastian. Devotion to him spread rapidly, and he is mentioned in several martyrologies as early as 350. Read More	21 Saint Agnes Month View January 21, 2020 Saint Agnes Tuesday, January 21 Like that of Maria Goretti in the 20th century, the martyrdom of a virginal young girl made a deep impression on a society enslaved to a materialistic outlook. Also like Agatha, who died in similar circumstances, Agnes is a symbol that holiness does not depend on length of years, experience, or human effort. It is a gift God offers to all. Read More	22 Saint Vincent of Zaragossa Month View January 22, 2020 Saint Vincent of Zaragossa Wednesday, January 22 Most of what we know about this saint comes from the poet Prudentius. Read More	23 Saint Marianne Cope Month View January 23, 2020 Saint Marianne Cope Thursday, January 23 Though leprosy scared off most people in 19th-century Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother Marianne of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898). Read More	24 Saint Francis de Sales Month View January 24, 2020 Saint Francis de Sales Friday, January 24 Francis de Sales took seriously the words of Christ, “Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart.” As he said himself, it took him 20 years to conquer his quick temper, but no one ever suspected he had such a problem, so overflowing with good nature and kindness was his usual manner of acting. His perennial meekness and sunny disposition won for him the title of “Gentleman Saint.” Read More	25 Conversion of Saint Paul Saint Angela Merici Month View January 25, 2020 Conversion of Saint Paul Saturday, January 25 Paul is undoubtedly hard to understand. His style often reflects the rabbinical style of argument of his day, and often his thought skips on mountaintops while we plod below. But perhaps our problems are accentuated by the fact that so many beautiful jewels have become part of the everyday coin in our Christian language. Read More Saint Angela Merici Saturday, January 25 As with so many saints, history is mostly concerned with their activities. But we must always presume deep Christian faith and love in one whose courage lasts a lifetime, and who can take bold new steps when human need demands. Read More
26 Saints Timothy and Titus Month View January 26, 2020 Saints Timothy and Titus Sunday, January 26 What we know from the New Testament of Timothy’s life makes it sound like that of a modern harried bishop. He had the honor of being a fellow apostle with Paul, both sharing the privilege of preaching the gospel and suffering for it. Read More	27 Saint Angela Merici Month View January 27, 2020 Saint Angela Merici Monday, January 27 Angela has the double distinction of founding the first teaching congregation of women in the Church and what is now called a “secular institute” of religious women. Read More	28 Saint Thomas Aquinas Month View January 28, 2020 Saint Thomas Aquinas Tuesday, January 28 By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. Read More	29 Servant of God Brother Juniper Month View January 29, 2020 Servant of God Brother Juniper Wednesday, January 29 We don’t know much about Juniper before he joined the friars in 1210. Read More	30 Mary Angela Truszkowska Month View January 30, 2020 Mary Angela Truszkowska Thursday, January 30 Today we honor a woman who submitted to God’s will throughout her life—a life filled with pain and suffering. Read More	31 Saint John Bosco Month View January 31, 2020 Saint John Bosco Friday, January 31 John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ’s love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. Read More

Saints

Why do Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels?