St. RitaSt. Rita•Feast Day: May 22

•Though she wanted to be a nun, St. Rita got married in obedience to her parents.

•Her husband was a cruel and abusive man. He was killed by his enemies, and Rita’s sons sought revenge.

•St. Rita prayed that they would not commit the sin of murder. They repented and forgave the killers. Soon after, they both died.

•In 1417, Rita entered the convent. She spent her days deep in prayer.

•One day while praying, she asked to share in the suffering of Christ. From that day on, she bore the stigmata of a thorn from the Crown of Thorns on her forehead.

•St. Rita died on May 22, 1457 *Patron of desperate situations and the impossible

St. Joan of ArcSt. Joan of Arc

•Feast Day: May 30

•In 1431 Joan was given leadership of the French forces fighting the English during the Hundred Years War.

•She heard the voices of St. Michael and other saints, who told her of he mission to help France.

•At 19, St. Joan was captured and sold to the English. When she would not deny the voices she heard, she was declared a witch and burned at the stake.

•St. Joan was canonized in 1920

•Patron of France

St. Maria GorettiSt. Maria Goretti •Feast Day: July 6

•Maria Goretti lived in poverty with her family in Italy. When she was 12, she was stabbed 14 times by an 19-year old neighbor, Alessandro Serenelli, because she resisted his advances.

•As she lay dying in the hospital, Maria forgave her killer and prayed that he would repent and turn to God. •==============================•After serving six years of a thirty year sentence, Alessandro began having dreams in which Maria appeared to him. He began to repent for his sins.

•When he was released from prison, he entered a monastery to continue his penance. He and Maria’s mother and siblings were together at her canonization in 1950.

* Patron of young people

Saints Joachim & AnneSaints Joachim & Anne•Feast Day: July 26

•Joachim and Anne are the names traditionally given to Mary’s parents

•Joachim and Anne were strong in their faith and raised Mary to be faithful as well.

•They are the Patrons of grandparents

St. MonicaSt. Monica•Feast Day: August 27

•Monica prayed successfully for the conversion of her pagan husband and for her son, St. Augustine.

•Patron of mothers and alcoholics

St. Augustine of HippoSt. Augustine of Hippo

•Feast Day: August 28

•Doctor of the Church who wrote Confessions, a book about his struggle to find God.

•His mother, St. Monica, prayed for his conversion.

•Patron of printers and brewers

The ArchangelsThe Archangels * Feast Day: September 29

St. Michael cast Lucifer out of Heaven; Patron of police and guardian of souls.

St. Gabriel was the Angel who told Mary that she would be the Mother of the Savior; Patron of communications.

St. Raphael traveled with and guarded Tobiah in the O.T. book of Tobit; Patron of travelers.

St. Therese of the Child JesusSt. Therese of the Child Jesus(St. Therese of Lisieux)(St. Therese of Lisieux)

•Feast Day: October 1

•Called the Little Flower, Therese was a Carmelite nun who taught by word and example about pure faith and simplicity.

•St. Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II. Her autobiography is called Story of a Soul.

•She died at age 24 and was canonized in 1915.

•Therese defined her path to holiness as “The Little Way”

•Patron of florists and AIDS sufferers.

You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do

them.      -Saint Therese of Lisieux

The knowledge that it was impossible to do anything of myself greatly simplified my task.  Confident that the rest

would be given me over and above, the one aim of my interior life was to unite myself more and more closely with God.

- St. Therese of Lisieux

Prayer to St. Therese

St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant the favor I thee implore, and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.

St. Francis of AssisiSt. Francis of Assisi•Feast Day: October 4

•Gave up a life of wealth to serve God.

•He loved all creation, including animals.

•St. Francis founded the Franciscan Order of priests

•He wrote the well-known Peace Prayer

•Patron of animals, the environment, and vegetarians

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their fellow men.”

St. Teresa of AvilaSt. Teresa of Avila

•Feast Day: October 15

•Doctor of the Church who entered the Carmelite Order at age 17

•Her writings include The Way of Perfection, in which she gives personal insights about how prayer can strengthen one’s relationship with God

•Teresa experienced Holy Visions

•Patron of Spain

St. NicholasSt. Nicholas

•Feast Day: December 6

•Bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey)

•Protector of the innocent

•There are many stories and legends about Nicholas helping the poor

•Patron of children

St. LucySt. Lucy

•Feast Day: December 13

•St. Lucy vowed her life to Christ

•When she would not marry a man, he had her tortured and killed

•Patron of vision and eyes

The Holy InnocentsThe Holy Innocents

•Feast Day: December 28

•These represent the children slaughtered by Herod when he was searching for the infant Jesus

•Patrons of babies

Painting c. 1640 by Francesco de Rosa – Philadelphia Museum of Art