Born Antonio Ghislieri, Pius V was Pope from 1566 to 1572. Throughout his papacy, one of his main goals was to implement the reforms laid out by the Council of Trent. Though his papacy lasted only six years, Pius V saw the founding of new seminaries, fought against corruption and nepotism, served the poor and sick of Rome, and published the 1570 Roman Missal, which remained mostly unchanged for 400 years. After a miraculous victory against the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory in thanksgiving for the intercession of our Blessed Mother. 

St. Catherine of Siena was a 14th century lay Italian known for being one of the most influential women in the history of the papacy. In the 1370s, she helped negotiate the return of the pope to Rome from Avignon, and then tried to stabilize the Church at the beginning of the Western Schism. Catherine was trusted and respected by the popes for her understanding of Church politics and the importance  of the pope. She is also remembered for her mystical theology and writings, with The Dialogue of Divine Providence still popular today. St. Catherine of Siena is a Doctor of the Church and Pope John Paul II named her a co-patron saint of Europe. 

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St. Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian pediatrician in the mid 20th-century. Gianna would spend her free time using her medical skills to help the poor, elderly, and those in need throughout her city in Italy. During her fourth pregnancy, she refused an abortion and a hysterectomy in order to save her unborn child's life at the cost of her own. While she delivered her fourth child on Holy Saturday of 1961, Gianna would die a week later. She is a model of Catholic marriage and Catholic doctors, and she is a patron saint of mothers and physicians.   

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St. Peter Chanel was born in France in 1803. As a child, he became fascinated by the lives of missionaries. After becoming a priest, Peter joined the Marists, a new order that emphasized missionary work. He initially spent five years as a spiritual director before leaving for the Canary Islands for mission work in 1837. Next, Peter briefly went to Chile, then the Gambier Islands and Tahiti. He ended his journey at the island Futuna where he lived the last four years of his life learning a new language and teaching the faith to the people of the island. When the chieftain's son asked to be baptized, St. Peter Chanel was clubbed to death. Shortly after his death, almost the entire island was converted to Christianity. St. Peter was canonized in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. Today he is recognized as a protomartyr and patron saint of Oceania. 

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St. Louis de Montfort was a French priest devoted to preaching about the rosary and other devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He founded three religious congregations: the Company of Mary, the Daughters of Wisdom, and the Brothers of Saint Gabriel. St. Louis de Montfort is most known for his writings, both spiritual works and poetry. Two of his most notable works are Secret of the Rosary and True Devotion to Mary, both of which have left a lasting impact on many Catholic faithful. Pope John Paul II took the ecclesiastical motto “Totus Tuus” based on the Marian devotion he modeled after St. Louis de Montfort.

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St. Rafael Arnáiz Barón lived in the beginning of the twentieth century in Spain. After completing college in architectural studies, he decided to join the Trappists in Spain. Not long after entering, he developed diabetes—a disease that would impact the rest of his life. His time studying to join the Trappists was frequently interrupted by both his diabetes and the Spanish Civil War, but he persevered in holiness during these challenging times. Having only completed four years in the order, he received his habit just nine days before he died at age twenty-seven from complications caused by his diabetes. Pope John Paul II declared him a role model for adolescents in our world today because of the humble way he lived his faith throughout his daily life.

St. Mark was an evangelist in the earliest days of the Church. Tradition holds that he is the author of the Gospel of Mark, which is the shortest of all the New Testament Gospels. He vividly portrays the life of Christ, especially Christ’s messages about the Kingdom of God. St. Mark traveled to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, spreading the message of Christ. Many believe St. Mark was the first Bishop of Alexandria. He is often depicted as a winged lion. The image of wings is a reference to Ezekiel’s vision of the four-winged creatures which is interpreted as the evangelists.

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen began his life as a lawyer and became a Capuchin priest in order to better serve the poor and needy. He was sent to Switzerland to lead a group of Capuchins in preaching in primarily Calvinist areas. Fidelis had great success preaching the teachings of the faith and converted many Calvinists. This angered the Calvinist soldiers, and after Fidelis wouldn’t recant his teachings, he was martyred in hatred of the faith in 1622. “Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.” -St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Pilgrimage Site in the United States

• — Victoria, KS

St. Adalbert of Prague was born in 956 in the Czech Republic. In 982, even though he was still incredibly young, he became the bishop of Prague. Because he was so young, the expectations for him as bishop were low, but he became one of the most influential bishops in that region. He helped lead missionary efforts to assist the Hungarians, Poles, and Prussians. Even though he sometimes faced danger in this work, he continued being a missionary in his diocese and the surrounding region. He was martyred in 997 when he was only forty or forty-one years old. He is a model who reveals how we can achieve much, even tasks usually thought fitting for people with greater experience, while we are still young.

Pilgrimage Site in the United States

• — Grand Rapids, MI

Legend states that St. George was born to Christian parents in the 200s. In his 20s, he entered the Roman army and was a personal guard of Emperor Diocletian. In 303, the emperor decreed that all soldiers should make a sacrified to pagan gods. George refused to abandon his faith and was ultimately executed. St. George has been highly revered throughout Church history and he is the patron saint of many countries, including England. 

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St. Anselm was an 11th century Benedictine monk who was born in Italy and eventually became Bishop of Canterbury. Before entering the monastery, he was quite disinterested in his faith. However, he quickly took interest in theology and writing. He is best known for his scholarship and philosophy, which influenced many future theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas. His most famous works are Monologion and Proslogion which aim to prove both the existence of God and that God is a perfect being through philosophical and theological arguments. He was able to contribute all these writings to the Church while navigating being bishop in a period of much strife and conflict throughout the Church. St. Anselm was named a Doctor of the Church for the great importance of his theological writings, many of which survive today.  

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St. Bernadette was born in Lourdes, France during the 19th century. She was the first of nine children born to a very poor family. Throughout most of her childhood, Bernadette suffered from various illnesses. She is known for being present during apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. During the 13th apparition, the Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to build a chapel in the place of the apparitions. Trying to escape the attention she received after the apparitions, Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. There she lived a simplistic life until she died at 35 from tuberculosis. 

Pope Saint Martin I was elected Pope in 649. During his papacy, Martin I worked towards condemning the heresy of monothelitism: the view that Jesus Christ has two natures but only one will. This was contrary to the teachings that Jesus has two wills, human and divine, corresponding to his two natures. Pope Martin I convened the Lateran Council of 649 that ultimately condemned monothelitism. After the council, the emperor, who believed in monothelitism, had Martin arrested. He spent the rest of his life in a lonely exile, forced to suffer by the emperor because of his defense of Truth. 

St. Teresa of the Andes was a Discalced Carmelite Chilean nun at the beginning of the twentieth century. In her childhood, she was known for having a temper and would frequently express her anger at her siblings and parents. However, when she read St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s autobiography, she resolved to control her temper and decided to enter the Discalced Carmelites. She was committed to her studies in the Discalced Carmelites, but she contracted an illness that led to the decline of her health. She professed her final vows right before her death, and her life was cut short when she was only nineteen. She was the first Chilean saint and the first Discalced Carmelite saint outside of Europe.

St. Stanislaus was an 11th century bishop and martyr. Born into Polish nobility, he entered the priesthood and later became Bishop of Krakow. He was a sought-after advisor because of his grasp on morality and issues of the day. He criticized the immorality of King Boleslaw, King of Poland, and eventually excommunicated him. The King accused Bishop Stanislaus of treason and had his men go to kill him. When the king’s men refused, the King killed Bishop Stanislaus himself while he was celebrating Mass. As the first native Polish saint, Stanislaus is a patron saint of Poland and Krakow. His relics are venerated in Wawel Cathedral and he is remembered like Thomas Becket and Thomas More for denouncing corruption in government. 

St. Julie Billiart was a French nun who founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1804. From 1782 to 1804, Julie was paralyzed and bedridden. She tried not to let this impact her charitable works, and ultimately, her paralysis was miraculously cured in 1804. Shortly thereafter, she founded her community. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were originally founded in France but moved the base of their ministry to Belgium and have now spread throughout the world. Julie focused on educating the poor and giving them a chance when no one else was willing to offer them hope.

St. John Baptist de la Salle was born on April 30, 1651 in France. As a young priest, he became responsible, together with a group of friends, for the education of some of the poorest children in Reims, France. This group of friends began to expand and live in community as they worked to educate the poorest of France. Their community became known as the Christian Brothers, the first religious institute composed solely of brothers. The community quickly grew, with their mission being to educate those who would otherwise not have access to education. St. John Baptist de la Salle was named a patron saint of teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

"Composure, silence, humility, prudence, wisdom, patience, moderation, meekness, zeal, vigilance, piety and generosity."  -The Twelve Virtues of a good teacher by St. John Baptist de la Salle

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St. Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican Friar who lived during the 14th century. He spent his time strengthening the Church through preaching, missionary work, teaching, and serving as a confessor and advisor. Vincent made many unsuccessful efforts to end the Western Schism through his apostolic ministry. Even though his efforts were unsuccessful, he became a devoted missionary, which led him to nearly every province of Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Flanders, England, Scotland, and Ireland. He died in 1419 and was canonized shortly after in 1455. 

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Pope John Paul II officially established the Feast of Divine Mercy, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, while celebrating the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska in 2000. St. Faustina Kowalska’s diary reveals great insight into God’s mercy and provides us with the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Divine Mercy Novena, both of which have become popular prayers today. St. Faustina also created the image of Divine Mercy, with many churches highlighting the image for celebration. Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter, closing the Easter Octave.

St. Isidore of Seville was a bishop and scholar in 6th and 7th century Spain. He came from a family of future saints: his sister was St. Florentina and his brothers were St. Leander of Seville and St. Fulgentius of Cartagena. Isidore was highly educated and worked to compile a universal encyclopedia of knowledge to preserve and pass on works. His Etymologiae was influential throughout the Middle Ages as a source of ancient knowledge. As Bishop of Seville, Isidore worked to blend his scholarly pursuits with helping the people in his care. Today, St. Isidore is a Doctor of the Church, and John Paul II named him the patron saint of internet users because of his attempt to compile all knowledge in the Etymologiae.

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