The group of Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God continue their journeys of holiness into the 1960’s and 1970’s.

This is a very low-key casual look at some of those people.

Catholic Bard’s Guide To Saints 1890 – 1959 |
A List Of Saints From 1890 – 1959.

1960’s

Ven. Antonietta Giugliano
(July 11,1909–June 6, 1960)

Roman Catholic Sister and Cofounder of the Little Servants of Christ the King

Venerable Angela Lacobellis: Age 13
(October 16, 1948 – March 27, 1961)
Catholic Bard Black Friday Special: More Saints 

Angela was born in Rome on October 16, 1948. Her beautiful smile was a shining reflection of a purity very much grounded in her sensitive spirit.

She loved the Virgin Mary with incomparable and unspeakable affection. The Rosary was always her companion during her entire brief pilgrimage on earth.

Endowed with a very exuberant personality, Angela radiated optimism and courage to all those who were fortunate to meet her.

She endured with great patience the painful suffering caused by leukemia; and with as much heroism she gradually detached herself from everything she had always loved.

How much dignity and strength Angela showed during her long and heroic periods of silences! She preached by her example of total confidence and trust in God.

She often used to say:
“Come, all who are weary and heavy laden; give to me all your troubles and pains. I will bring them to Jesus, and all your great lions will turn into little lambs!”

The following biography is adapted from the book “Volo di un Angelo,” written by Angela’s aunt, Ada Musco

Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
(October 4, 1922 – 28 April 28,1962)
Feast ” April 28
Patronage:  Doctors, mothers, wives, families, unborn,
World Meeting of Families 2015 (co-patron)
Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord

She was an Italian Catholic paediatrician. Although aware of possible fatal consequences, Molla refused both an abortion and a hysterectomy during her pregnancy with her fourth child in order to preserve the child’s life.

Molla’s medical career followed the teachings of the Catholic Church; she believed in following her conscience while coming to the aid of others who required assistance.^[1] Molla also dedicated herself to charitable work amongst the elderly and was involved in Catholic Action; she also aided the Saint Vincent de Paul group in their outreach to the poor and less fortunate.

Second Vatican Council
(October 1, 1962 – December 8, 1965)

Blessed Carlos Manuel Cecilio Rodríguez Santiago
(November 22, 1918 – July 13, 1963)

He was a Catholic catechist and liturgist who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 29, 2001. He is the first Puerto Rican and the first Caribbean-born layperson in history to be beatified.

Ven Angiolino Bonetta 
(September 18, 1948- January 28, 1963.
Next To Be Blessed And Sainted

A lively but virtuous boy, he excelled at school as well as at sports.

When a pain developed in his knee, he attributed it to his athletic activities. But when he began to lose weight, his mother took him to hospital, where he was diagnosed with bone cancer, at the age of 12. He underwent chemotherapy and his leg was amputated.

According to an account of his life in “Saints for the Sick,” a 2010 book by Joan Carroll Cruz, Bonetta remained cheerful and his acceptance of his illness inspired conversions. When a nun suggested that he should offer up his sufferings, he replied: “I have already offered all to Jesus for the conversion of sinners. I am not afraid; Jesus always comes to help me.”

To a woman who expressed sympathy on seeing him walking painfully on crutches, he said: “But don’t you know that at every step I could save a soul?”

When the cancer metastasized, increasing his agony, he turned for comfort to the Virgin Mary and received the Eucharist daily. He held tight to a crucifix and other holy objects, including a relic of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. He spent his nights praying the rosary for other patients who were sick in mind and body.

He was only 14 but he already lived “heroic virtue”: Meet Angiolino Bonetta

Hugh O’Flaherty
(February 28, 1898, –  October 30, 1963)
Remembering the Holy Men and Women of World War II

He was an Irish Catholic priest, a senior official of the Roman Curia and a significant figure in the Catholic resistance to Nazism. During the Second World War, O’Flaherty was responsible for saving 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews. His ability to evade the traps set by the German Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Chief Herbert Kappler earned him the nickname “The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican“.

Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi  
September 1903 –   January 20, 1964)

He was an Igbo Nigerian priest of the Catholic Church who worked in the Archdiocese of Onitsha and later became a Trappist monk at Mount Saint Bernard Monastery in England.

Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro 
(August 8, 1936 –January 23, 1964)
All Kinds of Saints Day

He was an Italian Roman Catholic from Romagna. In her teenage years, she contracted polio, which greatly impacted her health. Nevertheless, Porro endeavored to pursue a career in medicine, distinguishing herself as an exceptional student. However, the aggressive progression of her illness ultimately forced her to relinquish her medical ambitions. In a bid to improve her health, she underwent multiple surgeries, but these interventions failed to alleviate her health problems, leading to a rapid deterioration of her health.

Venerable Mario Hiriart Pulido
(July 23, 1931–July 15, 1964)
Chile – Wisconsin, USA)

Mario was a co-founder of the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth in Chile; he studied engineering. In 1957 he joined the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Brothers of Mary in Brazil. As a Brother of Mary, Mario was a lecturer in the Department of Engineering at the University of Santiago and a co-worker of the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth in Chile. Schoenstatt Movement

Bertilla Antoniazzi 
(November 10, 1944 – October 22, 1964)

From the age of 9, Bertilla Antoniazzi was often in and out of hospitals after suffering from a rheumatic fever that damaged her heart and left her with a lifelong disability.

The young girl from northern Italy eventually came to understand that her mission in life was to “console those who suffered and to bring sinners closer to God,” according to the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Antoniazzi began exchanging letters frequently with other sick women and girls and offered up her suffering for the salvation of souls, entrusting herself to Our Lady of Monte Berico, a Marian devotion in her hometown of Vicenza, Italy.

One year before she died at the age of 20, Antoniazzi made a pilgrimage in 1963 to Lourdes, where she asked the Blessed Virgin Mary for the gift of holiness rather than healing as her condition worsened with pulmonary edema and heart valve disease.

Her holiness inspired many of the people both in life and after her death on Oct. 22, 1964.

Meet the six newest venerable servants of God in the Catholic Church | Catholic News Agency

Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta
(December 29, 1939 –  December 1, 1964)

She was a Congolese Catholic martyr and member of the Sisters of the Holy Family.

Her mother had all her children along with her baptized in 1945. Anuarite ran away from home to join the convent, despite her mother’s disapproval. Her short religious life was dedicated to teaching and serving as a cook and sacristan. Nengapeta was killed during the nation’s civil war during the Simba revolt in 1964 when Colonel Pierre Olombe killed her after she warded off his rape attempts.

Nengapeta is the first Bantu Catholic blessed, with her beatification occurring on August 15, 1985

Venerable Nelson Santana
(July 31, 1955 – December 24, 1964)

As a nine-year-old terminal cancer patient in the diocese of São Carlos, Brazil, Nelson offered all his sufferings to Christ, and was endlessly supportive of family and friends, reminding them of their faith in the life to come. -SaintsInfo

Servant of God Fr. Vincent R. Capodanno   aleteia.org
(February 13, 1929 – September 4, 1967)

He was a Catholic priest and Maryknoll Missioner killed in action while serving as a Navy chaplain with a Marine Corps infantry unit during the Vietnam War. He was a posthumous recipient of America’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty. The Catholic Church has declared him a Servant of God, the first of the four stages toward possible sainthood.

Blessed Francesco Mottola
(January 3, 1901 – June 29, 1969)
All Blessed Saints Day

He was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Secular Institute of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart.

1970’s

Venerable Maria Orsola Bussone
(October 2, 1954 – July 10, 1970)
21 Young Saints and Their Companions  OCTOBER 09, 2020

was an Italian Roman Catholic and a member from the Focolare Movement. Bussone’s involvement in her adolescence in parish activities led her to Catholic Action as well as to other movements that she served as an active participant; she learnt the guitar and liked sports and music which she engaged in with her close friends. But those who knew her attested to her deep spiritual desires which she found sated in the Focolore Movement that she first came into contact with in the late 1960s. Bussone desired to act as a vessel for the goodness of God and desired that He would “…use me as He wants”. Bussone died in an accident in 1970 and there were immediate calls to launch a process for beatification due to the impact she had made on local communities.

I Am Born- January 27, 1971

Venerable William Gagnon
French Canadian/American
(May 16, 1905–February 28, 1972)

He had literally worn his heart out.

On Feb. 28, 1972, Brother William Gagnon collapsed and died. His fellow Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God buried him in the garden of their convent and hospital near Saigon, and immediately, people started visiting his grave — the Vietnamese novices he had guided into a stable community, children caught in the crossfire of a post-colonial power struggle, the refugees he had nursed back to health from malnutrition, and the soldiers whose wounds he had cured. In the community of the Hospitallers, those who had known him retold anecdotes of his courage, constant service, and leadership in turmoil. Brother William’s good works outlived him, just as he knew they would.
Ven. William Gagnon — Missionary of Mercy in the Vietnam War| National Catholic Register

Venerable María Consuelo Sanjurjo Santos (María Soledad)
(November 15, 1892–1973)
Puerto Rico

Since Puerto Rico did not have any houses of formation, Maria was sent to Madrid to begin her postulancy. Four and a half years passed and on December 17, 1913, Maria was assigned to go to Manzanillo, Cuba. Soon she was transferred to Santiago and it was here, on April 30, 1921, where she took her perpetual vows.

Mother Maria possessed an uncompromising dedication to the care of the sick. She wanted a life of simplicity and fruitfulness. She was entirely dedicated to others and always would seek ways to meet their needs and to make Christ “visible” in the world around them. It was said that she was “hidden with Christ in God.”

This simple hero of Puerto Rico lived a long life of heroic virtue

Saint María de las Maravillas de Jesús
(November 4, 1891 – 11 December 11, 1974)

She was a Spanish Discalced Carmelite.who founded several houses of her order and even set one up in India after serving a brief exile with other Carmelites due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

Venerable Maria Cristina Ogie
March 9, 1955 – January 8, 1974

Diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 4, Maria lived her whole life with the limitations this imposed on her, being open about the problem, never looking for sympathy because of it, and never letting it stop her from her work. She was a Franciscan tertiary, was active in parish life, and helped organize pilgrimages to Lourdes, France. She solicited for charities, had a ministry to the sick, built homes for the elderly, disabled and neglected children, and constructed a small hospital on a river boat that then took medical help to the people along the Amazon River. -CatholicSaintsInfo

Kristin is Born- August 25, 1974

Ven Giovanni Barra
(January 13, 1914 – January 28, 1975)

The Venerable Servant of God lived the priesthood as a gift from the Lord. The strength of his faith lay in his profound union with Christ. His ministry and his generous apostolate were rooted in charity towards God and neighbor. Keen observer of the human soul, he was an educator who respected everyone’s maturation times, capable of stimulating the talents that each individual possesses.
Giovanni Barra – CATHOLIC ACTION FOUNDATION PIUS XI SCHOOL OF HOLINESS

Saint Josemaría Escrivá 
(January 9, 1902 – 26 June 26, 1975)
Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord

He was a Spanish Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the principle of everyday holiness.

Blessed Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri Fernández de Heredia
(December 12, 1916 – July 16, 1975)
Catholic Bard Black Friday Special: More Saints | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

She was a Spanish Catholic professor and a member of Opus Dei. She was one of the first women to join Opus Dei, after meeting the founder Josemaría Escrivá in 1944. She helped start Opus Dei in Mexico and also collaborated directly with Escrivá in Rome. A serious heart condition eventually claimed her life in 1975.

Blessed Manuel Solorzano
(1905 – March 12, 1977)
Next To Be Blessed And Sainted | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

He was a Salvadoran Catholic who was an active participant in his local parish and was close with its priest, Rutilio Grande García. He was slain alongside Grande and the teenager Nelson Lemus in 1977 on a dirt road after he tried to shield both men when armed Salvadoran soldiers killed them.

He was beatified on 22 January 2022 alongside his two companions.

Blessed Nelson Lemus
(November 10, 1960-March 12, 1977
Next To Be Blessed And Sainted | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

He was a Salvadoran Catholic who was active during the 20th century unrest in the country.

He was an active participant in his local parish and was often involved in helping others to read the Bible. He was also the one that would ring the church bells for Mass and helped his local parish priest.^[3] Lemus was slain in 1977 on a dirt road amidst sugarcane fields en route to Mass alongside Manuel Solórzano and the Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande García after three Salvadoran soldiers ambushed them. 

Lemus was beatified in 2022 in San Salvador alongside his two companions and the slain priest Cosma Spessotto

Blessed  Rutilio Grande
(July 5, 1928 – March 12, 1977)
Next To Be Blessed And Sainted | Mark Wilson (patheos.com)

He was a Salvadoran Jesuit priest assassinated in 1977 by Salvadoran security forces. He was the first priest assassinated before the Salvadoran Civil War started and was a close friend of Archbishop Óscar Romero.

Saint Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez 
(August 11, 1903 – May 9, 1977)
Feast:  May 9

She was a Venezuelan religious sister of the Servants of the Eucharist. She founded the congregation of the Servants of Jesus of Caracas.Rendiles served in leadership for the former in France, where she completed her novitiate and returned to Venezuela to found a congregation in 1965. She was its first superior general.

Saint Pope Paul VI
(September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978)

He was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to Jordan, the first time a reigning pontiff had left Italy in more than a century

Blessed Pope John Paul I 
October 17, 1912 – September 28, 1978)

He was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, giving rise to the most recent year of three popes—the first since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523. He was also the first pope to have been born in the 20th century.

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen 
(May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979)

He was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He was known for his preaching, especially on television and radio.

Ven. Silvio Dissegna
(July 1, 1967 –  September 24, 1979)
21 Young Saints and Their Companions  OCTOBER 09, 2020

He was an Italian Roman Catholic child who died from bone cancer. Dissegna was a popular child known for his constant smile and deep love for Jesus Christ and his mother; he likewise recited the rosary and asked for frequent reception of the Holy Communion.