SAINTS OF THE MONTH: LISTING

Feast Day: July 13
Beatified: July 7, 1997
Venerated: July 13, 1963

Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodriguez Santiago was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, in 1918. He is the first Puerto Rican to be declared “Blessed” by the Church.

Carlos lived before Vatican II, when changes to the liturgies of the Church were made. When Carlos grew up, the Mass and…

Feast Day: July 14
Canonized: December 27, 1726
Beatified: June 20, 1675

When Francis was ordained, he thought he would spend his life as an ordinary priest in his Spanish homeland. He did not know that his desire to follow Jesus would take him to foreign lands to share the Word of God.

Francis was born in Andalusia in 1549 and was…

Feast Day: July 14
Canonized: October 21, 2012
Beatified: June 22, 1980
Venerated: January 3, 1943

An orphan is a child whose mother and father have died. That is what happened to Kateri Tekakwitha.

More than 300 years ago, around 1656, Kateri lived in what is now the state of New York. Her mother was a Catholic and a member of the…

Feast Day: July 15
Canonized: April 14, 1482

“O buona ventura!” If your Italian is a little rusty, in English it means, “Oh, good fortune!” or “What good luck!” Legend claims that these are the words exclaimed by Francis of Assisi when he prayed over the four-year-old Giovanno di Fidanza in 1225. The name “Bonaventure” stuck.

Giovanno’s…

Feast Day: July 19
Canonized: Pre-Congregation

Justa and Rufina were sisters who lived in Seville, Spain, about 200 years after Jesus’ life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. We believe that they became Christians after hearing missionaries preach about Christ. They were devout members of the Church and tried to live as faithful…

Feast Day: July 20
Canonized: Pre-Congregation

Tradition tells us that St. Apollinaris, who lived in the first and second centuries, was born in what was then Antioch in today's country of Turkey. He was made Bishop of Ravenna in Italy by St. Peter himself and was known as a great preacher and evangelizer of people.

But like many Christians of his era, his faith made him the target…

Feast Day: July 22
Canonized: Pre-Congregation

Mary was not a quitter. The other disciples ran away afraid, but Mary stayed with some other women at the foot of the cross until Jesus died. She would not leave her friend in the terrible last moments of his earthly life. Sunset was fast approaching, which meant that the Sabbath was about to begin. The…

Feast Day: July 23
Canonized: October 7, 1391

Bridget was the daughter of a wealthy governor who used his riches generously. He donated money for good causes and helped the poor. He worked for the just and fair treatment of all the people. Bridget, who was born in 1303, learned these lessons early in her life.

Bridget married into the Swedish royal family and…

Feast Day: July 24
Canonized: October 9, 1977
Beatified: December 5, 1965
Venerated: July 15, 1965

Youssef (Joseph) Makhlouf was a shepherd in a small Lebanese village. He was raised by an uncle after his father died in 1831 when Youssef was just 3.

Youssef was a faithful disciple of Jesus as a member of the Catholic Maronite Church. Maronites are part of…

Feast Day: July 25
Canonized: Pre-Congregation

James; his brother John, the Evangelist; and Peter were special favorites of the Lord. They had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ robe and face shined as bright as the sun and the voice of God spoke from the heavens, announcing that Jesus was his only Son. The three…