October 24: Saint Anthony Claret, Bishop— (1807–1870)
Patron Saint of the Catholic press, textile merchants, and weavers Canonized by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950
Anthony Adjutor John Claret. Clara was born in Sallent, in the Province of Barcelona, Spain, one of five surviving children of devout Catholic parents. When only five, he would lie down at night and ponder eternity. Filled with holy sorrow for those who were miserable in life, he desired to help as many as possible get to heaven. He memorized the catechism, visited the parish church in the evening, and prayed the rosary every day. He felt a growing desire to be a priest.
As a teenager, Anthony worked in his father’s thread and cloth factory and studied manufacturing techniques in Barcelona. Invited with his father to open a factory there, he declined, knowing that something else awaited him. His spiritual director convinced him to study philosophy in the diocesan seminary in Vich, twenty-five miles from his family home. Refocused on his prayer life, Anthony realized that the diocesan priesthood was God’s will. He was ordained a priest on June 13, 1835. Assigned to his hometown, he spent the next four years continuing his theological studies.
Returning to Vich in 1849, Father Anthony founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, later known as the Claretian Missionaries, or Claretians. The new congregation’s goal was to train priests for preaching missions, evangelizing, and saving souls. Just after founding the congregation, he was appointed as Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He then added “Mary” to his name: Archbishop Anthony Mary Claret. After his episcopal ordination, he arrived in Cuba in February 1851 and spent the next six years reforming the clergy, creating new parishes, making multiple pastoral visits on foot to every parish, and renewing the people’s faith. He co-founded an order of sisters, preached against slavery, and established facilities to help the poor.
In 1857, Queen Isabel II called Bishop Claret back to Spain to serve as her confessor and spiritual director. For the next ten years, he accompanied the queen on her travels, preaching missions in each town while continuing to write and publish. In 1868, due to a revolution in Spain, the queen and her court fled to France. After advocating for papal infallibility at Vatican I, Bishop Claret returned to France, taking refuge in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, where he died several months later.
Saint Anthony Mary Claret, God set your heart on fire with a deep love for Him that overflowed into the hearts of sinners. Please pray that I will grow deeper in my love of God and will love all those whom I encounter. Saint Anthony, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saint of the Week October 13, 2024
Saint Luke | October 18
Saint Luke, sometimes called The Evangelist, is the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles and a physician. There is some debate about how he came to Christianity, though many believe he was a gentile convert. Tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch, Syria, possibly a slave. Most of what we know of Luke comes from Scriptures, he was an eloquent and proficient writer, penning with accuracy the events he recounted. He is viewed as one of the best historical sources of the time. Luke was a close companion of Paul’s, joining him at Troas about year 51 and going with him to Macedonia and Philippi. Their paths diverged and met again as they journeyed to spread the Good News. Luke remained with Paul until the latter was martyred in Rome.
Saint Luke’s Gospel is viewed as one of social justice, giving special attention to the poor. He also emphasizes gentiles hearing the message of Christ. It is the only Gospel with Mary’s Magnificat, and spends the most time illuminating the lives of the other women around Jesus. Accounts of Luke’s death is conflicting; some say he was martyred shortly after Paul others that he lived a long life completing his Gospel in Greece and dying at 84. He is the patron saint of physicians.
Saint of the Week August 25, 2024
St. Damien de Veuster of Moloka’I’ 1840-1889
People may be familiar with leprosy from Biblical times, but not so much in the 1800s. However, St. Damien de Veuster of Moloka’I’ (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889) would eventually shed a light on the effects of this devastating disease and allow people to see those afflicted with it with more compassion and love.
Born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, he quit school at 13 so he could work on the family farm. Feeling called for more, however, he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, where he took the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. His brother, a priest from the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to his assigned location. Damien quickly volunteered in his place and found himself on the Hawaiian Islands in 1864. Two months after arriving, he was ordained a priest of Honolulu and assigned to the Island of Hawaii.
In 1873, he visited the Hawaiian government’s leper colony on the island of Moloka’I, where he petitioned to stay permanently to care for their physical, medical, and spiritual needs. After years of working to improve their location and those who lived there, he contracted Hansen’s disease and died of its complications. He found strength to endure isolation and disease in Eucharistic adoration and the celebration of the Mass. St. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009.
St. Damien de Veuster of Moloka’I, pray for us!
Saint of the Week August 18. 2024
St. Pius X (1835 –1914)
St. Pius X (1835 –1914),born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was from the Austrian Empire in what is now modern-day Veneto, Italy. He was the 257th Pope and served from 1903 until his death in 1914. St. Pius X’s love for the Eucharist was evident from a young age and he carried this devotion throughout his life. As Pope, he emphasized the importance of fostering a personal relationship with Jesus through the Sacrament, advocating for its accessibility to all Catholics, regardless of social status.
One of St. Pius X’s most significant contributions to the Church was the role he played in lowering the age of eligibility for First Communion. Recognizing the significance of early spiritual formation, he sought to enable children to receive the Eucharist as soon as they reached seven years old. He believed that children could experience the profound graces of the Eucharist, grow in their faith at an early age, and that the reception of Holy Communion regularly in a child’s life would set the foundation for a lifetime of spiritual growth.
His papacy was also marked by his efforts to combat the rising tide of modernism — a movement that challenged traditional Catholic teachings. He wrote an encyclical entitled “Pascendi Dominici Gregis,” subtitled “On the Doctrines of the Modernists,” condemning modernist errors and safeguarding the integrity of Church doctrine. His commitment to preserving the traditional scope of Catholicism, especially the teachings of Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist, earned him the epithet “Pope of the Eucharist.”
Despite his rejection of modernism, St. Pius X was the first Pope to use a typewriter for his encyclicals, signaling an embrace of modern technology during his time as Pope. St. Pius X, Pope of the Eucharist, pray for us!
Saint of the Week August 4. 2024
St. Martin de Porres November 3
St. Martin de Porres (1579- 1639) is the first Black saint of the Americas. He had a great love of the Eucharist and was known for caring equally for all regardless of race or status. He founded an orphanage and school and even cared for the mice and rats at his monastery.
St. Martin was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on October 29, 1837, and canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962, the first Black saint of the Americas. St. Martin DePorres, pray for us!
Saint of the Week July 21, 2024
St. James the Apostle | July 25
Saint James the Apostle is also called James, son of Zebedee, or James the Greater to distinguish him from the other James in Jesus’ group of twelve. Most of what we know about Saint James is recorded in the New Testament. He and his brother John were collected by Jesus along the sea of Galilee. Matthew 4:18-22 tells the story of Jesus calling first Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and then the sons of Zebedee. In Mark 3:17 the brothers receive a nickname from Jesus who calls them “sons of thunder” because of their many extreme reactions, like that in Luke 9:54 when they offer to call down fire on a Samaritan village.
Saint James was part of Jesus’ intimate circle, a witness to the Transfiguration, the resurrection of Jarius’ daughter, and the agony in the garden of Gethsemane. In A.D. 44 Herod Agrippa had “James, the brother of John, killed by the sword.”(Acts 12:2) He is the only apostle whose martyrdom is written of in the New Testament.
According to Spanish tradition, his body was taken to Santiago de Compostela, Spain where his relics were rediscovered in 9th century. This tradition has sometimes been attributed to a passage in the Song of Roland which tells of St. James appearing to Charlemagne in a dream, prophesying that Charlemagne would conquer the Moors in Spain. This was followed by a vision of stars which if followed would lead to the saint’s lost tomb. In the Middle Ages Compostela was a hugely popular pilgrimage site. The saint’s relics continue to rest in the cathedral there and one can still undertake the pilgrimage.
Saint of the Week July 14, 2024
St. Norbert of Xanten (c. 1075-1134) Born to nobility, St. Norbert of Xanten (c. 1075-1134), was ordained as a subdeacon and served in the court of Henry V, Emperor of Germany, however, at court it was easy to be distracted by wealth, power, and luxury and he lived a worldly and corrupt life there. By the grace of God while traveling in a storm he was nearly struck by lightning and almost killed. This experience changed St. Norbert and he became penitent, left his court post, and after a period of discernment in a monastery, felt called to be a priest.
Norbert became an itinerant preacher, preaching against worldly attitudes but at the Pope’s request finally settled in northern France and founded the Norbertine order established according to the rule of St. Augustine. The order grew rapidly and soon founded a women’s branch. Norbert traveled and preached across Germany where he also founded a lay branch of the Norbertines. In Belgium he preached against heresies which denied the Blessed Sacrament, this earned him the title “Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament”. He and those of his orders had a great love of and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, with a devout faith in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Eventually he was made Archbishop of Magdeburg, Germany, and later he traveled to Rome in support of Pope Innocent II, against the antipope. Afterward he returned to Germany to court of Emperor Lothar as advisor, at end of life, in failing health, St. Norbert was carried back to Magdeburg where he died. St. Norbert of Xanten, pray for us!
Saint of the Week July 7, 2024
St. Henry | July 13
Saint Henry was born in 972 to Henry, Duke of Bavaria, Germany, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy. Saint Henry’s early life was permeated with Christianity, among those who guided his education was Bishop Wolfgang of Ratisbon, who became a saint himself. In 995, Saint Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, upon the death of his cousin, Otho III, he was elected emperor. In 1014, Saint Henry undertook the long journey from Germany to Rome to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict XIII.
In 1022 Saint Henry assisted Pope Benedict VIII in holding the Council of Pavia, which promoted clerical celibacy and sought to end simony (the buying and selling of ecclesiastical goods and offices). During his reign, Saint Henry used his wealth and position for the Church. He confirmed Benedict’s authority over Rome, was a patron of churches and monasteries, supported the Cluniac Reforms, restored episcopal sees, and founded the Diocese of Bamburg where he built a cathedral.
Saint Henry was married to Cunigunde of Luxembourg, to whom he was incredibly devoted. Although disputed by some historians, some stories of the couple’s marriage report they took vows of chastity because their union was childless. Saint Henry died in July of 1024 and was canonized in 1146 by Pope Eugene III
Saint of the Week June 23, 2024
St. Faustina (1905-1938)
St. Faustina (1905-1938) was born Helena Kowalska in Poland to a poor family with ten children. They were devoutly Catholic, and she felt a call to the religious life at age seven, when praying in front of the exposed Eucharist. Despite wanting to become a sister as soon as she finished her schooling, she was sent to work as a housekeeper to help support the family instead.
When she was 18, she had a vision of Jesus suffering and, in the vision, Jesus asked her how long she would keep putting off entering religious life. She decided, at that moment, to travel to Warsaw and join the Congregation of the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Upon entering the Congregation, she took the name Sister Maria Faustina.
During her 13 years in the Congregation, Sister Faustina experienced and recorded extraordinary revelations from Jesus. She recorded these experiences and messages into notebooks which became later known as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. In these writings, she reveals Jesus asking her to proclaim God’s loving message of Divine Mercy.
Alongside her writings, Sister Faustina also experienced many miraculous phenomena. There are stories of her experiencing hidden stigmata, bilocation, prophecy, and the ability to read into human souls. Despite these occurrences, she maintained that miraculous events were simply ` “ornaments” for the soul and that her real sanctity came from her deep relationship with Jesus and desire to do God’s will.
After her death at age 33, her writings on Divine Mercy sparked a great movement in the worldwide Catholic church with a strong focus on the Mercy of Christ and how to extend that mercy to others. Saint Pope John Paul II called her “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time
St. Faustina, pray for us!
Saint of the Week May 19, 2024
St. Gregory VII (c.1015-1085)
St. Gregory VII (c.1015-1085) was born in Italy and originally named Ildebrando di Sovana which translates to Hildebrand of Sovana. He grew up in a devout Catholic family and his uncle, Laurentius, was abbot of a monastery in Rome.
As a young man, Hildebrand became close with Pope Leo IX. He was made a cardinal subdeacon and a legate. As a papal legate he served in France, Germany, and Italy. After Pope Leo IX’s death, Hildebrand became a leading figure in the papal court of the next few popes.
Shortly after the death of Pope Alexander II, Hildebrand was quickly ordained a priest and raised to the papacy. He chose the name Pope Gregory VII in honor of the first Pope Gregory whose writings heavily influenced him. During his time as pope, Gregory VII worked hard to reform the Church he so loved.
At the time, the Church was facing corruption. People in leadership were selling sacred offices and sacramentals, some clergy were unlawfully marrying, and kings and nobles, were controlling the appointment of Church officials. Pope Gregory VII fiercely resisted these corruptions. In fact, in order to put an end to the Roman Emperor Henry IV’s control over which bishops were appointed, he excommunicated him three times. Pope Gregory VII’s desire was to reunite the Church under the banner of Christ and the Holy Eucharist, instead of under the banner of whoever was richest and desired the most control.
Pope Gregory VII is remembered as one of the most important popes in Church history and lends his name to the Gregorian Reform, the period of reform in the Church that secured freedom from the intrusion of civil rulers. Saint Pope Gregory VII, pray for us!
October 24: Saint Anthony Claret, Bishop— (1807–1870) 
St. Pius X (1835 –1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was from the Austrian Empire in what is now modern-day Veneto, Italy. He was the 257th Pope and served from 1903 until his death in 1914. St. Pius X’s love for the Eucharist was evident from a young age and he carried this devotion throughout his life. As Pope, he emphasized the importance of fostering a personal relationship with Jesus through the Sacrament, advocating for its accessibility to all Catholics, regardless of social status.
Saint James the Apostle is also called James, son of Zebedee, or James the Greater to distinguish him from the other James in Jesus’ group of twelve. Most of what we know about Saint James is recorded in the New Testament. He and his brother John were collected by Jesus along the sea of Galilee. Matthew 4:18-22 tells the story of Jesus calling first Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and then the sons of Zebedee. In Mark 3:17 the brothers receive a nickname from Jesus who calls them “sons of thunder” because of their many extreme reactions, like that in Luke 9:54 when they offer to call down fire on a Samaritan village.
Born to nobility, St. Norbert of Xanten (c. 1075-1134), was ordained as a subdeacon and served in the court of Henry V, Emperor of Germany, however, at court it was easy to be distracted by wealth, power, and luxury and he lived a worldly and corrupt life there. By the grace of God while traveling in a storm he was nearly struck by lightning and almost killed. This experience changed St. Norbert and he became penitent, left his court post, and after a period of discernment in a monastery, felt called to be a priest.
Saint Henry was born in 972 to Henry, Duke of Bavaria, Germany, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy. Saint Henry’s early life was permeated with Christianity, among those who guided his education was Bishop Wolfgang of Ratisbon, who became a saint himself. In 995, Saint Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, upon the death of his cousin, Otho III, he was elected emperor. In 1014, Saint Henry undertook the long journey from Germany to Rome to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict XIII.
St. Faustina (1905-1938) was born Helena Kowalska in Poland to a poor family with ten children. They were devoutly Catholic, and she felt a call to the religious life at age seven, when praying in front of the exposed Eucharist. Despite wanting to become a sister as soon as she finished her schooling, she was sent to work as a housekeeper to help support the family instead.