St. Irenaeus - Patron of Gaul

St. Irenaeus - Patron of Gaul - June 28th

Irenaeus was a Greek who was born less than a hundred years after Our Lord died. He had the great privilege of being taught by St. Polycrap, who had been a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Irenaeus once told a friend: “I listened to St. Polycrap’s instructions very carefully, and I wrote down his actions and his words-not on paper, but on my heart.”

After he became a priest, Irenaeus was sent to the French city of Lyons. It was in this city that the Bishop, St. Pothinus, was martyred with a great many other Saints. Irenaeus missed being martyred because he was asked by his brother priests to take an important message from them to the Pope in Rome. In that letter they spoke of Irenaeus as a man full of zeal for the Faith.

When Irenaeus returned to be the Bishop of Lyons, the persecution was over. But there was another danger: a heresy called Gnosticism. The false religion attracted some people by its promise to teach them secret mysteries. Irenaeus studied all its teachings and then in five books showed how wrong they were. He wrote with politeness, because he wanted to win people for Jesus, but sometimes his words were strong, such as when he said: “As soon as a man has been won over by the Gnostics, he becomes puffed up with conceit, and self-importance, and with majestic air of a cock, he goes strutting about.” St. Irenaeus’ books were read by so many people that before too long, the whole heresy began to die out.

St. Irenaeus always remembered what he had been taught by St. Polycrap. We, too, should try to forget whatever evil impressed us, and think, instead, about the good things we have heard or read. If we think well, we will live well.

Blessed Madeleine Fontaine and Her Three Companions

Blessed Madeleine Fontaine and Her Three Companions - June 27th

These four French martyrs were Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Besides Blessed Madeleine, there were Blessed Frances Lanel, Blessed Teresa Fantou, and Blessed Joan Gerard. They were put to death for their Faith in the bloodiest days of the French Revolution.

First, the four Sisters were arrested because they refused to take an oath that could not be taken without committing a sin. The enemies of the church said that they had found certain papers in the convent which showed that the Sisters had been working against the Revolution. None of this was true, but a wicked judge in the city of Cambrai had Blessed Madeleine, the Superior, condemned to death, together with her three Sisters.

The sisters walked to their execution calmly singing a hymn to the Blessed Mother, “Hail, Star of the Sea.” Sister Madeleine was the last to die. As she came near the guillotine, she cried to the watching crowd: “Listen, Christians! We are the last victims. The persecution is going to stop. The altars of Jesus will rise again in glory!”

Her prophecy came true. The evil man who had judged the martyrs had to stop the executions because people were so angry with him. Six weeks later, he himself was beheaded.

No matter what happens, we should never promise to do something which is forbidden by God’s law.

St. Pelagius

St. Pelagius - June 26th

This boy martyr of Spain lived in the days when the Moors ruled part of his homeland and were fighting the Spanish Christians. Pelagius was only ten when his uncle had to leave him as a hostage with the Moors in the city of Cordova. He would not be allowed to go free until his uncle sent what the Moors demanded.

Three years passed and still the young Christian remained a prisoner. By this time, he was a handsome, lively boy of thirteen, and although many of the other prisoners were men of evil habits, Pelagius was not led to sin by their example. For one so young, he had a strong will and knew how to keep himself good-even in a prison.

The ruler of the Moors heard about the handsome young prisoner and he sent for him. He liked what he saw, and he offered Pelagius his freedom, plus fine clothes to wear, beautiful horses to ride, honor, money-as long as he would give up his Faith and become a Mohammedan like his captors.

“All those things you named mean nothing to me,” answered the boy firmly. “I have been a Christian. I am a Christian now. I shall continue to be a Christian.” Then the ruler tried threatening Pelagius, but neither his promises nor his threats had any effect.

What courage and generosity in this young boy of thirteen! He died a martyr for his Faith. Let us ask ourselves how faithful we are at least to the few little practices of piety our Religion requires of us.

St. William of Monte Vergine

St. William of Monte Vergine - June 25th

William was born in Northern Italy and was brought up by relatives because his parents died when he was a baby. When William grew up, he became a hermit, but when he worked a miracle and cured a blind man, he became famous. He was too humble to be pleased with the people’s admiration, so he went away to live alone on a very high, wild mountain.

Even there, however, men gathered around the Saint and he built a monastery for them dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. People gave the mountain a new name now-the Mountain of the Virgin-because of William’s monastery.

Later the Saint founded other great monasteries, helped by King Roger of Naples. His good influence on this king angered some evil men of the court, and they tried to show William was really an evil man hiding behind a holy habit. They sent a bad women to tempt him to sin. As soon as William what kind of women this visitor was, he worked a miracle and the evil women ran away frightened.

When we are tempted to commit a sin of impurity, we should remember that after that sin we might die and go to hell to suffer forever.

St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist - June 24th

John’s parents were Zachary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a cousin of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary went to visit and help when Elizabeth was old and about to become the mother. When they met, Jesus Who was within Mary, sanctified John, who was not yet born.

At the birth of St. John, his father gave him the name John, as the angel had commanded. John’s mission was to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. So when he was still a young boy he went into the desert to prepare himself with silence, prayer and penance. Soon crowds started to come to him. He warned them to be sorry for their sins, and to change their lives, he gave them the baptism of repentance. One day, Our Lord Himself came. He wanted to be baptized by St. John to begin making reparation for our sins. On that day, John said to his disciples that Jesus was the Messias for whom they had been waiting. He told them and everyone else to follow Him.
Later on, St. John learned that King Herod had married a woman who already had a husband and a daughter. This king was the son of the King Herod who murdered all those little boys in Bethlehem. St. john told him that it was wrong of him to live with that woman. For this, he was put in prison. He remained a prisoner until Herod had his head cut off to please the daughter of his sinful wife.

St. John’s motto was, “Jesus must become more and more, and I must become less and less.”

We must remember that God is everything and we are nothing. Let us learn from St. John not to look for praise and admiration, but to do everything for the glory of God.

St. Audrey (or Etheldreda)

St. Audrey (or Etheldreda) - June 23rd

St. Audrey was born in England. Her three sisters are also saints. She wanted to be a bride of Christ, but her parents wanted her to marry. Although she gave in to their wishes, she and her husband lived together as brother and sister. Three years later, he died, and Audrey went to live a quiet life of prayer on the island he had given her.

After five years, the saint’s relatives demanded that she marry again, and once more, Audrey gave in. Her second husband was young, and they, too, lived as brother and sister. Audrey spent all her time doing works of mercy. However, when her husband became older and was a powerful king, he wanted her to live as a wife and a queen. She replied that she belonged only to God. He tired hard to make her change her mind, but in the end, he let her become a nun.

Back on her own island, St. Audrey founded a convent and was a very holy superior. Instead of wearing the linen clothes worn by other noble women, she chose rough wool robes for herself. She slept only a few hours and prayed the rest of the night. St. Audrey died at the exact time she said she would, and her body was put into a plain wooden coffin, as she had wanted.

Let us admire this Saint who could have enjoyed all the pleasures of the world and instead gave them all up to make sure she would gain the pleasures of Heaven.

St. Alban

St. Alban - June 22nd

St. Alban was the first martyr of England, his own country. During a persecution of Christians, Alban, though a pagan then, hid a priest in his house. The priest made such a great impression on this kind pagan that Alban received instructions and became a Christian himself.

In the meantime, the governor had been told that the priest was hiding in Alban’s house, and he sent his soldiers to capture him. But Alban changed Clothes with his guest, and gave himself up in his stead. The judge was furious when he found out that the priest had escaped and he said to Alban, “You shall get the punishment he was to get unless you worship the gods.” The Saint answered that he would never worship those false gods again. “To what family do you belong?” demanded the judge. “That does not concern you,” said Alban. “If you want to know my religion, I am a Christian.” Angrily the judge commanded him again to sacrifice to the gods at once. “Your sacrifices are offered to devils,” answered the Saint. “They cannot help you or answer your requests. The reward for such sacrifices is the everlasting punishment of Hell.”

Since he was getting nowhere, the judge had Alban whipped. Then he commanded him to be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, the soldier who was to kill the Saint was converted himself, an he, too, became a martyr.

Jesus taught us, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” We love our neighbor when, like Jesus and the Saints, we make sacrifices for others.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

St. Aloysius Gonzaga - Patron of Youth - June 21st


Aloysius, the Patron of Catholic youth, was the oldest son of an Italian marquis. Since he was so full of life, his father planned to make a great soldier out of him, and when he was only five, he took him to an army camp. There little Aloysius marched in parade and even managed to load and fire a gun one day while the camp was at rest! He learned rough language, too, from the soldiers, but when he found out that this talk was shameful, he felt very bad.


As he grew, Aloysius was sent to the courts of dukes and princes. Many sins of dishonesty, hatred, and impurity were being committed in this high society. But the only effect it all had on the Saint was to make him more careful to protect his purity. He fell sick and that gave him a good excuse to stay in his room to pray and read the lives of the saints.


When Aloysius was sixteen, he resolved to leave the world and become a Jesuit, but his father refused his consent. However, after three years, he finally gave in. Once he had entered, Aloysius begged to serve in the kitchen and to wash dishes, because he wanted to practice humility. He would say, "I am a crooked piece of iron and am come into religion to made straight by the hammer of mortification and penance.”

When a terrible disease broke out in Rome, Aloysius asked to be allowed to care for the sick. He who had always had servants to wait on him gladly washed the sick and made their beds. He served them until he caught the sickness himself.


St. Aloysius was only twenty-four when he died. His last words were, “I am going to Heaven.”


The virtue which is outstanding in St. Aloysius is purity. To keep pure we should do what he did, that is, mortify all our senses, and especially our eyes.

Blessed Osanna of Mantua

Blessed Osanna of Mantua - June 20th

This Italian Saint was the oldest child of a large family. Her father had wanted her to marry, but Osanna gave herself entirely to God.

When she was eighteen, Osanna received a wedding ring from Our Lord. Though no one else could see it, she always felt it on her finger. She also felt some of the sufferings Jesus suffered-the crown of thorns, the wound in His side, and the wounds in His hands and feet. She lived at home and served her family in every way, yet she belonged to the third order of St. Dominic and wore the habit of that order.

Strange as it may seem, Osanna was asked by the Duke of Mantua to run the affairs of his kingdom while he was away. She who had never been to school knew how to make the best decisions because she trusted completely in God. And she used her friendship with the Duke to help everyone in any kind of trouble.

A great many of Blessed Osanna prayers were for the church and for Italy. She feared God would send great punishments for the many sins being committed in her time. Yet she was not a gloomy soul. She loved her friends dearly, and people crowded her house to ask her advice and comfort.

A person living in the world can become a saint, if he prays, keeps away from sin and does good deeds. To learn how to live such a holy life, we should read inspiring books.

St. Juliana Falconieri

St. Juliana Falconieri - June 19th

Juliana was the only daughter of a very rich Italian couple. She came in answer to their prayers when they were already growing old. After her father died, her uncle, St. Alexis, helped for mother with her education. St. Alexis was one of the Founders of the Servite Order, the Servant of Mary. Juliana had such a devotion to Our Lady that she decided to become a Servite nun. She and other devout women spent their time in prayer and works of mercy. St. Juliana is considered the Foundress of the Nuns of the Servite Order because she wrote their rule of life.

Never did the Saint lose a chance to help someone. She especially worked to make peace between enemies and to win sinners back to Jesus. Though sick herself, she loved to take care of the sick and to make their sufferings easier to bear. In her own sufferings she was always cheerful. St. Juliana’s great love was Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Her heart was broken when she could not receive Holy Communion because of the stomach disease that led to her death. But Jesus worked an amazing miracle to reward her devotion. As she lay dying, she asked the priest to lay a Host on a linen over her heart. He did and at that moment she died. The Sacred Host disappeared at the same time, and an image of Jesus on the Cross was found on her skin at the spot where the Blessed Sacrament had disappeared.

St. Juliana wanted to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, even when she could not. And we? Do we go to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion as often as possible?