Philip and James were both Apostles, chosen by Jesus to follow him and to continue his work of building the Kingdom of God. We celebrate their feast on the same day because, although they died at different times and in different places, their bodies were moved and are buried together in the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome.
It isn’t always easy to be different from others, but Dominic, who was born in 1842, was different. Even as a young boy, he had great faith. His parents taught him how important it was for him to put Jesus first in his life.
Damien was born Joseph de Veuster in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840. When he was only 13 he had to quit school to work on the family farm. At age 19, he joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. As a member of this religious community, he took the name Damien. He chose this name after a fourth-century physician and martyr.
If you were running for election, what qualifications would you have to offer to voters? Why should they elect you?
The other farmhands thought Isidore was lazy and caused them extra work. Like them, Isidore was a day laborer on a wealthy estate in Madrid, Spain, about a thousand years ago. Because Isidore took time to go to Mass before coming to work, the other farmers thought they were doing some of his share of the work. They didn’t like that. Little did they know that Isidore did have some extra help, but it wasn’t them!
As a young shepherd, Paschal was so honest that he once offered to give farmers money to repay any harm done when his sheep walked through their crops. Born to a poor Spanish family in 1540, Paschal was put to work as a shepherd at the age of 7. He often prayed when he heard the town church bells ringing during Mass. He worked hard to teach himself to read and, when he could, he read religious books while tending his sheep. He was so holy even as a young man that his friends called him “Blessed Paschal."
As a young girl, Joachina believed she wanted to be a nun, but she married Theodore de Mas, a man from a royal family in Barcelona, Spain, in 1799, when she was only 16 years old. They had nine children before Theodore was killed when Napoleon invaded Spain.
Verena Bütler had a very happy childhood in Switzerland. She loved nature and learning. When she made her First Communion in 1860 at the age of 11, her family was pleased by her strong commitment to her faith and spirituality.
Cristóbal Magallanes was born in 1869 in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara. His parents, Rafael Magallanes and Clara Jara, were poor farmers and devout Catholics. Growing up on a farm, young Cristóbal worked as a shepherd but felt called to look after human “sheep.” At the age of 19 he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest when he was 30.
Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod’s childhood taught him that money cannot solve all problems. Although his family was wealthy, they were forced to flee France during the French Revolution, leaving all of their possessions behind. It was 1790, and Charles was just 8 years old.