Religious Saints

The world needs saints to show it the way to true humanity. The church needs saints to show it how to live out its calling. The witness of the lives of the saints is a powerful testimony to the reality of God’s plan and the possibility for truly following it in one’s life. So often, we do not see this witness. We see hypocrisy and mediocrity among Christians. That is why we must look to the saints - the ones who really followed the words of Christ and let them be carried out fully in their lives. The saints also give us a reason to hope.

Saint Edith Stein was born in Poland on October 12, 1891. Her parent were Jewish. She was a brilliant student. When she turned seventeen, she entered a Girl's High School in Breslau. At the same time, in another part of Germany, another teenager - Adolph Hitler was failing an entrance exam to the Academy of Arts and already blaming it all on the Jews. Two teenagers, one a Saint and the other damned to hell for all eternity.

From childhood to his deathbed, this story follows the decisions of Francis at various stages of his remarkable life. From an audience with the Pope to an audience with a sultan, Francis was always grounded in a remarkable message.

The reason we call Saint Louis Marie de Montfort a prophet of the last days, even though he lived between the last half of the 17th century and the first part of the 18th century, is because of what we read in his prophecies. It deal with the last days.

Though Joan described herself as "a poor girl who knew neither how to ride nor lead in war," she did know how to obey God. That simple skill changed the course of both her life and that of the entire nation. Twenty-five years after her execution, Saint Joan was pronounced innocent, and declared a martyr. Joan stood up for her belief and against all odds fought for her people. She was a true hero, and remains an inspiration to this day.

On March 13, 2013, the world waited in hushed anticipation for the announcement of the new successor of Peter and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. For weeks the news had been filled with discussions and speculation of leading papabili. Now, finally, the new pope would be revealed. But when Jorge Mario Bergoglio appeared, the world was momentarily stunned. Who was this humble cardinal from Argentina who emerged onto the loggia, choosing the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi?

Noble espagnol, François-Xavier étudie à Paris où il rencontre Ignace de Loyola. Ils fondent ensemble la Compagnie de Jésus (dont les membres sont mieux connus sous le nom de Jésuites). Puis François-Xavier s'embarque pour les Indes où, pendant plus de dix ans, il convertira les populations locales. Son désir de faire connaître Jésus-Christ est si grand qu'il projette d'aller en Chine, mais il meurt avant d'y accoster. Cette version sonore de la vie de saint François-Xavier est animée par 8 voix et accompagnée de près de quarante morceaux de musique classique.

We discuss the life of Saint Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo, where he spent 50 years.

Saint John Eudes, founder of the Congregation of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and founder of Eudists. Come with Bob and Penny as they follow the fascinating life of St. John Eudes.

She was born with a crippled and paralyzed right arm and a disease commonly called in those days “Scrofula”, which is a form of tuberculosis that affects the neck. In her case, it also made her neck and cheeks malformed and not at all pleasant to look at. At times, she suffered from swelling and open, puss-filled sores. No one knew for sure who her parents were. Laurent Cousin may have been her father, but that was never determined for sure.

St. Robert Bellarmine, brilliant follower of St. Ignatius of Loyola, has been credited with being one of the most outspoken critics of the heresies of Martin Luther and John Calvin. He focused the church of his time on the true teachings of the Catholic faith, which were contradicted by the Protestant Reformation. He is one of the powerful men discussed in this book whom the Lord sent to construct a suit of spiritual armor to defend his Church in this crucial time of crisis.

When a pilgrim goes to the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, he is given a pamphlet which reads: “An Encounter with Saint Francis in Assisi”. This is what we will attempt to do in this book: introduce you to and pray you experience such an encounter with the Poverello of Jesus. Your heart will burn to learn more about him. There is so much to know about Saint Francis of Assisi that it’s impossible in this short book to tell it all. In addition, Francis touches everyone in a different way, as does Jesus.

Saint Dominic Savio was born of very poor but holy peasant stock, one of ten children. His parents were from Castelnuovo D’Asti, ten miles outside Turin. When things got desperate they were forced to leave, to find work in a small village outside of Chieri called Riva. There on April 2, 1842, a boy child was born to Charles and Brigid Savio, whom they baptized Dominic. When Dominic was two years old, the family moved once again, to a village near their home town of Castelnuovo d’Asti, Murialdo.

Being of the laity and never feeling worthy to be a priest, Philip Neri desired nothing but to serve as a lay man. He had been preaching in the hospitals and on the street corners, waiting for the office workers to leave for lunch or home. He would speak to them and instruct them with the true teachings of the Church. He taught with such love and such fire that more and more came and stayed longer and longer, until they began following him, visiting the poor and the infirm. The confraternity of the Laity was formed!

This book examines the life of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes. We start at the birthplace of Bernadette, the Boly Mill in Lourdes and visit the Cachot where she lived during the apparitions, and La Maison Paternelle where she lived after the apparitions. We enter the Grotto of Massabiele, where our Lady appeared to her and go to Nevers to see her beautiful, incorrupt body.

Our Saint was born in the beautiful countryside of Verdu in Catalonia, Spain in or around 1581. There's not much known about his childhood, other than he was born of a distinguished old family of Catalonia. However, his family instilled in him the love of Jesus and the love of his fellow man. Otherwise, how could he possibly have dedicated his life to helping the poorest of the poor, the lowest of the low. From an early age, it was well known that he was destined to live his life for the Church. So when he was old enough, he was enrolled in the University of Barcelona.

After the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus, the dramatic conversion of St. Augustine - as he himself tells it in his Confessions - is the most significant conversion story in Christian history. Augustine's experience speaks to his dilemma that many people have understood when counting the cost of converting to Christ. He had come to intellectual certainty about the truth of Christianity but he could not embrace it in faith.

Although there is so little written about Joseph in the Scripture and in the apocrypha, or perhaps because there is so little written, the life of Saint Joseph can be quite a complicated subject. The theological study of Saint Joseph, known as Josephology, shows us how differently the saint has been perceived throughout history, in different parts of the world, and in different denominations.

There are a great many men and women who have forever influenced and changed the course of Christian history, but one might ask whether any have made such a profound impact as Saint Paul the Apostle. It is through the ardent work of Paul that we know the path to Salvation, one which leads us and binds us to God through the love of Christ. When Jesus revealed himself directly to Paul and called Paul into his service that set Paul apart from other disciples who had come into the faith since the crucifixion.

Nearly every detail about Luke the Evangelist's life has been the subject of heated debate. The scholars of one era have provided explanations that entirely contradict the scholars of an earlier era.