Franciscan Media

Made famous by his own holy life and featured in the movie “A Man for All Seasons,” Saint Thomas More is the patron of those in the legal profession. Husband, father, chancellor, and lawyer, Thomas More was reluctantly martyred by King Henry VIII in 1535.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was a precocious child who had a spiritual awakening at the age of 7. As a young adult, and after a prolonged battle with his father, he entered the Jesuits where he had to learn to live and maneuver within community, and give up some of his independent ways of doing things. Aloysius helped nurse patients of the plague which he caught and from which he died.

Saint Paulinus was a married priest and bishop. In his day, marriage was not an impediment to the priesthood. Though married for many years, Saint Paulinus and his wife were childless. When they finally were blessed with a son, he lived but a few weeks.

Saint Romuald had the strange experience of being uncomfortably holy and asked to leave a monastery. When he tried to become a missionary, he was repeatedly hindered by an illness. Next he was falsely accused and excommunicated for a few months. But he didn’t give up.

Perhaps no one has done more to address the issue of alcoholism than Venerable Matt Talbot. An active alcoholic himself, he designed a program of support that has helped millions. Many are thankful.

At a time when rigorist ideas were rampant in the seminaries of Italy, Saint Joseph Cafasso proved to be a moderate, leading the students to the best of Catholic thought without going to extremes. He also encouraged them to join the Secular Franciscans and develop a love for the Eucharist.