June 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

Aloysius de Gonzaga was barely 23 and a seminarian when he died caring for plague victims in Rome. But the 16thcentury Jesuit’s holiness was evident even as a young child – he immersed in serious prayer, taught catechism, and fasted regularly.

St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

May 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

Known as “The Third Apostle of Rome,” St. Philip Neri is among the great saints of the Counter Reformation, best known for founding the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of teaching priests.

Hawaiian saints who embodied heroic love

April 1, 2020

by Jim Graves

Waikiki’s St. Augustine Parish in the Diocese of Honolulu, HawaiI, this year is opening a new Damien and Marianne of Molokai Education Center, a $6 million, 5,900-square-foot project spearheaded by Fr. Lane Akiona, St. Augustine’s pastor. It will tell the story of two of the Hawaiian Islands’ most popular saints, St. Damien of Molokai (1840-89) and St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918), with photographs, videos, interactive exhibits, and artifacts.

St. Catherine Of Siena (1347-1380)

April 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

St. Catherine of Siena is among the Church’s most influential mystics and spiritual writers. Before her death at 33, Catherine became a renowned mystic who played a key role in convincing Pope Gregory XI to leave Avignon and return to Rome – during a confusing time when three men claimed to be pope.

St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955)

March 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

St. Katharine Drexel was an American heiress and philanthropist who founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and donated her $20 million fortune to meet the spiritual and material needs of black and Native American people.

St. Francisco Marto (1908-1919)

February 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

Francisco de Jesus Marto was one of three Portuguese shepherd children of Fatima who witnessed several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in 1917.

St. Francis De Sales (1567-1622)

January 1, 2020

by Brian Fraga

Centuries before Vatican II’s ‘universal call to holiness,’ St. Francis de Sales called it ‘heresy’ to say religious devotion was incompatible with the layman’s life of a soldier, tradesman, prince, or married woman.

St. Stephen (1st Century AD)

December 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

The Bible indicates Stephen was a 1st-century deacon, and the first Christian martyr. A Jew from outside Palestine, he became Christian, then headed the first seven deacons. He studied with Saul and Barnabas under Gamaliel (a Sanhedrin member opposing persecution of the Apostles).

Saint Cecilia (2nd Century Ad)

November 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

St. Cecilia was a 2nd-century young noble Christian woman in Rome, whose family promised her in marriage to the pagan nobleman, Valerius. Formerly, she had vowed to remain a virgin, and is said to have heard heavenly music in her heart during their wedding.

Mary and my brace of Saints

November 1, 2019

by Thomas Monaghan

Jesus, Mary and Joseph are certainly the three people most central to salvation history. Jesus, of course, as the second person of the Trinity is not only man, but is God. Mary, who is the Mother of God, has long been venerated as the Queen of the Angles and Saints; and St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, among many other titles, is honored as the Patron of the Universal Church.

Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

October 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Blessed John Henry Newman — renowned convert, theologian, and poet — will be canonized on October 13.

St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621)

September 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

St. Robert Bellarmine, a crucial Counter-Reformation figure, was an Italian Jesuit and cardinal who wrote two catechisms and advised five popes.

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

August 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church, was born to nobility near Naples. Though a gifted theologian and writer, he was also a poet, harpsichordist, musical composer, and artist.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)

July 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

The “Lily of the Mohawks” was born in 1656 in the Mohawk village of Ossernenon, located in present-day upstate New York.

St. Thomas More (1478-1535)

June 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Thomas More, patron saint of lawyers and politicians, was born in London in 1478, son of a prominent attorney and judge during the reign of Edward IV.

St. Athanasius (297-373 AD)

May 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Born to an Egyptian Christian family in the late 3rd century, Athanasius became the 20th bishop of Alexandria. He is best known for refuting the Arian heresy, which suggested that Christ was made, not begotten, by God the Father.

St. Teresa of the Andes (1900-1920)

April 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Juana Enriqueta Josefina Fernandez Solar was born July 13, 1900 in Santiago, Chile. The fourth of six children, from childhood she demonstrated an openness to the spiritual life.

St. Oscar Romero (1917-1980)

March 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Oscar Romero’s appointment in February 1977 as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Salvador was seen as a victory for El Salvador’s right-wing military regime and the country’s ruling class.

Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)

February 1, 2019

by Brian Fraga

Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti in Senigallia, Italy, was the longest-reigning pontiff in Church history, governing the Church for 32 years from 1846 to 1878.

Spiritual ventures enkindle the soul

January 1, 2019

by Christine Valentine-Owsik

Legatus’ fall 2018 Mexico and Rome pilgrimages were magnificent excursions for intensifying faith, appreciating salvation history, and reinvigorating the fervor of today’s Ambassadors for Christ – for sharing with family and colleagues for years to come.