Saints

Domestic servant. Patron of maidservants. Born at Monsagrati, in 1218, Zita worked for the Farinelli household all her life, from the age of 12. She was very conscientious, which initially did not make her popular with the other staff. She was also very generous with food for the poor, which annoyed her employers. However she eventually won everyone over by her patience and good nature and became... Read More

Priest and the first saint of Guatemala. Born into a poor family on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Pedro was a shepherd until he was 24, when he began to make his way to Guatemala, hoping to connect with a relative engaged in government service there. By the time he reached Havana, he was out of money. After working there to earn more, he got to Guatemala City in the following year. When he arr... Read More

Peter Chanel was born in 1804 near Cras in France. His parents were peasants. His parish priest, the Abbe Trompier, took him on as a pupil because he was so bright and very devout. Peter went to the local seminary, was ordained, and rebuilt the very run-down parish of Croizet in three years. He then joined the Marist missionaries which had been recently founded by Jean Colin at Lyon. He dreamt of ... Read More