Saint of the Day

Saint Albert the Great was a highly influential 13th-century German Dominican. Probably best known in philosophical circles as the master of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Albert deserves recognition on his own. He was a voracious writer who composed a compendium of all knowledge.

Saint Margaret of Scotland was considered Scottish because her family was rescued by the king of Scotland as they fled William the Conqueror. She married the king and introduced him and his country to a more cultured life. They had six sons and two daughters.

She died before her 24th birthday, but in those few years Saint Elizabeth was a wife, mother, queen, widow, the founder of a hospital, and did other charitable works of mercy. For the last three years of her life she was a Secular Franciscan and worked tirelessly for the poor.

St. Peter Basilica is probably the most famous church in Christendom and the largest in the city of Rome. St. Paul Outside-the-Walls is second in size only to St. Peter’s. Built over the presumed graves of these two saints, they are attractive places of prayer for the faithful.

Often confused with Saint Agnes of Bohemia to whom Saint Clare wrote her famous letters, Saint Agnes of Assisi was Saint Clare’s biological younger sister as well as first follower in the way of poverty.

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, a Sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart and French by birth, was an early missionary to the United States. There she and her sisters faced formidable difficulties, but finally settled in Missouri and built the first free school west of the Mississippi in the town of St. Charles.

This feast celebrates Mary's presentation in the Temple by her parents Anna and Joachim. While it is not mentioned in Scripture, there is early evidence that this event was celebrated in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

Although there is little historical evidence concerning the life of Saint Cecilia, she is one of the famous martyrs of the Church in Rome. She is mentioned in the list of saints in the first Eucharistic Prayer—Roman Canon. Cecilia is often depicted playing an organ.

Faced with persecution and possible death, Blessed Miguel Pro returned to his native Mexico after his ordination to minister to the people of God. Within a couple of years, he was arrested on trumped-up charges and executed.

Saint Andrew Dung-Lac was one of the 117 people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. While members of this group were beatified on four different occasions between 1900 and 1951, all were canonized by Pope John Paul II.