Saints

Franciscan friar, bishop and cardinal. Bonaventure was born at Bagnoreggio, near Orvieto in 1218. A brilliant philosopher, he was made head of the Franciscans at a time when the order was expanding very quickly and there were many differences of opinion as to how it should be organised. St Bonaventure always worked for peace and reconciliation. Though a man of the highest intellectual attainments... Read More

Patron of nurses and the sick. Born in Naples in 1550, Camillus was very tall, (six foot six) and as a young man, hot-tempered and a wild gambler. He spent some time in the Venetian army fighting the Turks, before contracting a disease which left him lame in one leg. He then lost everything through gambling. For a few months he worked as labourer for the Franciscans. During this time, he experi... Read More

This is the patronal feast of the Carmelites. The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel in Israel, which was the first place dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and where a chapel was erected in her honour. 16 July is also the feast of the 'Scapular of Mount Carmel'. On that day in 1251, tradition says the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Simon Stock, General of the Carmelites at Cam... Read More