Saint of the Day

Blessed Villana de’Botti Feast date: Feb 28 Villana de’Botti was a wife and a Third Order Dominican. She was born in Florence in 1332. She was a very pious child, and at age 13 she ran away from home to join a convent. She was refused and returned home. Soon after, her family married her … Read moreBlessed Villana de’Botti

Blessed Maria Caridad Brader Feast date: Feb 27 Mother Maria Caridad Brader was born into a pious family in Kaltburn, Switzerland, in 1860. Maria was unusually intelligent and her mother, a widow, went through great pains to give her a good education. Despite her mother’s opinion, Maria entered a Franciscan convent in 1880. She made … Read moreBlessed Maria Caridad Brader

St. Alexander Feast date: Feb 26 St. Alexander succeeded St. Achillas as bishop of Alexandria in 313. Alexander was a champion of orthodox Catholic teaching. The majority of his ministry was dedicated to fighting against the Arian heresy. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, claimed Jesus was not truly God and that there was a time … Read moreSt. Alexander

Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani Feast date: Feb 25 Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani was born into a noble family in Naples, Italy in 1806. Her father was an alcoholic and was exiled after being involved in a revolt. Maria’s grandmother raised her. When her grandmother died, the 10 year-old was sent to a boarding school until … Read moreBlessed Maria Adeodata Pisani

Blessed Thomas Maria Fusco Feast date: Feb 24 Thomas was born to a noble family in 1831 in Pagani, Italy. He was the seventh of eight children. When he was only six years old, his mother died of cholera. A few years later, his father also died. His uncle, a primary school teacher, took charge … Read moreBlessed Thomas Maria Fusco

St. Polycarp of Smyrna Feast date: Feb 23 On Feb. 23, the Catholic Church remembers the life and martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle and evangelist St. John. Polycarp is celebrated on the same date by Eastern Orthodox Christians, who also honor him as a Saint. Polycarp is known to later generations … Read moreSt. Polycarp of Smyrna

Chair of Saint Peter Feast date: Feb 22 The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome. St. Peter’s original name was Simon. He was married with children and was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be … Read moreChair of Saint Peter

St. Peter Damian Feast date: Feb 21 On Feb. 21, Catholics honor Saint Peter Damian, a Benedictine monk who strove to purify the Church during the early years of its second millennium. In his Sept. 9, 2009 general audience on the saint, Pope Benedict XVI described him as “one of the most significant figures of … Read moreSt. Peter Damian

St. Robert Southwell Feast date: Feb 21 Saint Robert Southwell, SJ (c. 1561 – February 21 1595,) an English Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, is one of the 40 martyrs of England & Wales murdered during the English anti-Catholic Reformation. Robert was born in Norfolk, the youngest of eight children in a well-to-do family with Catholic … Read moreSt. Robert Southwell

Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto Feast date: Feb 20 Francisco, 11, and Jacinta, 10, are the youngest non-martyrs to be canonized in the history of the Church. The brother and sister, who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo in the fields of Fatima, Portugal, witnessed the apparitions of Mary, now commonly … Read moreSts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto