Bruno was a reluctant bishop. He didn’t really want to be one. He wanted to be a monastic! But, as is often the case for many of us, he knew he was being called in a different direction and heeded that call. Born in Asti, Italy in 1049, Bruno was educated by Benedictines. He joined them while he was still rather young and was appointed the canon of the Siena cathedral. How this came about is quite the story.... Read more
Hedwig (Jadwiga in Polish) was the first female monarch of Poland. She was the youngest daughter of Louis, King of Hungary and Poland, and Elizabeth of Bosnia. She was named for her ancestor, St. Hedwig of Silesia. Her family was notoriously holy and she, herself, attended daily Mass. Hedwig also had a special devotion to the Virgin Mary. Hedwig and her husband were childless for over a decade. Finally, a daughter was born in 1399. The new princess was named Elizabeth Bonifacia... Read more
Mary Magdalen Postel was born on November 28, 1756, in France and baptized as Julia Frances Catherine. As a child, she was educated by Benedictine nuns and, during this time, she took a private vow of chastity as the first step on the road of her dream to enter religious life. When she was eighteen, she opened a school for girls in her hometown. However, revolutionaries closed the school when the French Revolution broke out. Mary Magdalen Postel then sheltered... Read more
James Andrade was a native of Coimbra, Portugal. He entered the Jesuits as a young man and, in 1570, set sail for the West Indies with a band of Jesuit priests led by Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo. The captain of the ship was a Huguenot Protestant who wasn’t fond of Catholics. While on board, the captain put all of the men to death by throwing them off the boat in the middle of the sea near the Canary Islands. Not... Read more
Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint. This is a huge travesty but a good start. (Learn how to pronounce her name here.) She was called the “Lily of the Mohawks” and lived a life full of suffering. Kateri was an Algonquin-Mohawk laywoman from upstate New York. Kateri was named Tekakwitha at birth, which means “She who bumps into things”. Apparently she was clumsy. Her mother was an Algonquin assimilated into the Mohawk tribe... Read more
Teresa de Los Andes was a discalced Carmelite nun from Chile. She was born Juanita Fernandez Solar on July 13, 1900. Usually, saints are celebrated on the day of their deaths. Instead of being this, though, Teresa is celebrated on the day of her birth! As a kid, Teresa had an unpredictable temperament, often being prone to anger or vanity. But this changed when she decided to become a nun. She also liked singing and dancing, playing croquet and tennis, was... Read more
Jason met St. Paul when Paul stayed with him in Salonika. His story is told in Acts 17 when Paul was preaching and converted many. The Jews there got really mad and went to find Paul and his companion Silas, but were unsuccessful. Instead, they burst into Jason’s house and dragged him in front of the magistrate. “When they could not find [Paul and Silas], they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city magistrates, shouting, ‘These people... Read more
Benedict (and his famously saintly twin sister Scholastica) was born to a Roman noble around 480AD. He’s pretty famous. You may have heard of him. Father of Monasticism? Yeah, that’s this guy. Creator of the Rule of St. Benedict? Yup, also him. Since he’s pretty well-known, I won’t rehash his life. That would be boring. Instead, here are a couple of my favorite stories from his life. One time, a poor man came to the monastery begging for a little... Read more
Amelia was a saint I didn’t know existed until my goddaughter Amelia was born. It was then that we discovered that not only does she exist but that her feast day is my birthday! What a wonderful personal connection my goddaughter and I now share. I love how saints sometimes pursue us and find us instead of us finding them. Friendship with the saints really is a two-way street. It’s a great reminder that they are also people, real people.... Read more
Have I wasted my dreams? Have I missed my chance? Have I squandered what was mine? Can I recover from this? I can go on pretending– I’m good at that, and it’s no wonder that I am because performing is what I was built for. I can string myself any story I need to keep me pretending that it all doesn’t matter, to keep lying to myself that I’m fine without it. I can pretend I’m satisfied. But I’m not.... Read more
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