We know little about martyrs like Cecilia, Nicholas, and Agnes of the early Church. All we know for sure about Agnes is that she died for her faith at the age of 12 or 13. We are told that Agnes was a Roman Christian. She wanted to remain a virgin; she did not want to marry or give her body to another person. This young girl wanted to give her purity back to God. In fact, the name “Agnes” means "pure."
Do you remember the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37? Mother Marianne of Molokai brought Jesus’ story to life in her ministry to the lepers of Hawaii.
Marianne Cope was born Barbara Koob in Germany in 1838. When she was two years old, her family emigrated to the United States, to upstate New York, to find a better life. After eighth-grade graduation, she worked in a factory to earn money to help her family. Her dream of becoming a nun had to be delayed until her younger brothers and sisters could support themselves. She joined the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse when she was 24.
Would you ever say “no” to the pope? Probably not, unless you thought a higher power than the pope was calling you. Angela Merici knew in her heart that God wanted her to teach the poor. That is why, when Pope Clement VII asked her to head up a group of nurses, she had to tell him “no.” She followed God and her heart and founded the Ursuline Sisters.
Maria Domenica Mantovani was born in 1862 in a small Italian village. Two things were always important to Maria: her love for God and her desire to help others. Her parish priest, Blessed Giuseppe Nascimbeni, encouraged her to teach religion classes to younger children, visit the sick, and join in parish activities. Maria asked our Blessed Mother Mary to guide her in all that she did.
María Domenica Mantovi nació en 1862 en una pequeña villa italiana. Dos cosas siempre fueron importante para María: su amor por Dios y su deseo de ayudar a los demás. Su párroco, el Beato Guiuseppe Nascimbeni, la animaba a que enseñara clases de religión a niños pequeños, a que visitara a los enfermos, y a unirse a las actividades parroquiales. María le pidió a nuestra Madre Santísima que la guiara en todo lo que hacía.
We know only a little about this saint. One thing we do know is that she was born in Sicily in the third century. As a teenager, she decided to remain a virgin. But an important man named Quintianus wanted to marry her.
In 1869, a little girl was born in Sudan in Africa. As a child she was kidnapped into slavery. This experience was so frightening that she could not even remember her name. So, her kidnappers named her Bakhita. The name Bakhita means “fortunate.”
In the year 480, twins were born in Nursia, Italy. Their parents educated Scholastica and Benedict. Together they learned about their world and about God. Together they played and prayed and worked.
Katharine Drexel was born to a well-known Philadelphia family in 1858. Her mother died just a few weeks after her birth, but her father remarried, and she and her sisters were raised in a family of deep faith. Katharine was taught from a young age to share what they had with others in need.
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 Algonquin tribe, and her father was a Mohawk warrior. At the time, this Native American nation did not believe in the Christian God.