Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was born in the small town of El Salvador known as Ciudad Barrios in 1917. His father trained him to be a carpenter, but from a very early age Oscar knew he wanted to be a priest. He left home at the age of 14, traveling by horse to the large city where he could study.
Margaret was born in 1555 in England. She was raised as a Protestant, a member of the Church of England, but after her marriage to John Clitherow, she made the decision to become Catholic. It was a brave decision, because Margaret lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who wanted to rid England of all Catholics and the practice of the Catholic faith.
The story of Pedro Calungsod shows us that young people can do great things. Born in the Philippines, Pedro was only 13 when he joined a group of Spanish missionaries who were going to travel to the Marianas Islands to teach the native people about God.
Benedict was a slave, but he always knew that his only true master was Jesus. Benedict’s parents, Christopher and Diana Manasseri, were taken from their home in Africa and sold into slavery in Messina, Italy, where Benedict was born in 1524.
Vincent Ferrer, the most gifted preacher of his time, often gave his sermons outdoors because no church could hold the huge crowds that came to hear him speak about God’s love and forgiveness.
John Baptist is responsible for many changes in education, things that we take for granted today. But education was not his first choice for a career.
By the time Marie Rose Julie Billiart was seven years old, she had memorized her catechism and would explain the lessons to her young friends. As she grew older she was known by people as the “saint of Cuvilly,” which was the name of her French town. Her family were farmers, and she helped them with farm work to earn money. But in her spare time, she taught religion to children and to workers.
Stanislaus is the patron saint of Poland. Some people call him the second John the Baptist because, like John, Stanislaus stood up for his faith.
Juanita came from a wealthy family in Santiago, Chile, where she was born in 1900. There was a chapel on the family property and Juanita attended Mass every day from the time she was a small child. She could hardly wait for her First Communion so that she could receive Jesus.
Imagine seeing our Blessed Mother not just once, but eighteen times! That is the blessing Bernadette Soubirous was given for five months in 1858.