Saints

Chiara Badano was born in the small town of Sassello in Savona, Italy, on 29th October 1971. Her parents were Maria Teresa and Ruggero Badano. They were a happy couple with a strong commitment to their Catholic faith and the sanctity of marriage. As they explain, from the time of their marriage they prayed constantly for the gift of a child. 'We got married at 26 and our greatest desire was to ha... Read More

Apostles and martyrs. According to Matthew and Mark, Simon was a Canaanite. Saint Luke described him as a zealot. Saint Jude is also described as a relative of Jesus and the brother of James. According to Western tradition, Jude joined Simon preaching the Gospel in Persia where both were martyred. In modern times, St Jude has been evoked as the patron of hopeless cases. This tradition is said to... Read More

Spanish Jesuit laybrother. Patron saint of Majorca. Born in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter and mother died, and at the same time the business did not do well. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business and, with his young son, moved into his sisters' home. There he learned the discipline of... Read More