Saint of the Day

Saint Joseph Calasanz

Saint Joseph Calasanz dedicated his life to poor children. He gathered teachers to help him, and eventually organized the Clerks Regular of Religious Schools–also known as the Piarists or Scolopi. But his work was not without opposition, as some objected to the education of the poor.

August 26

Saint Egwin

Franciscan Media December 30

Saint Egwin was a Benedictine monk who became the bishop of Worcester, England. He seems to have had a good reputation─except with the clergy; they found his reforms a bit too strict. He was exonerated by Rome, however, and he ...

Saint Thomas Becket

Franciscan Media December 29

Saint Thomas Becket, the well-known archbishop of Canterbury, England, is a saint with a checkered past. As depicted in the movie "Becket," Thomas did not at first take his responsibilities as a deacon seriously, but when King Henry II tried ...

Holy Innocents

Franciscan Media December 28

According to the account in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, King Herod slaughtered the Holy Innocents in an attempt to rid himself of the perceived threat of a usurper to his throne. What he didn’t realize is that Jesus’ kingdom is not ...

Saint John the Evangelist

Franciscan Media December 27

Saint John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the "Beloved Disciple," was the writer of the fourth Gospel, and presumably, the only apostle who was not martyred. He is also the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted his mother from the ...

Saint Stephen

Franciscan Media December 26

If it weren’t for Saint Luke telling us about the selection and martyrdom of Saint Stephen in Acts of the Apostles, we would know nothing about him at all. The little we do know, however, speaks volumes about what kind ...

Nativity of the Lord

Franciscan Media December 25

All feast days celebrate, in one way or another, the gifts of God granted to us human beings. Today we celebrate Nativity of the Lord.

Christmas at Greccio

Franciscan Media December 24

Being a man who wanted to experience things with all of his senses, Saint Francis decided one Christmas to depict the birth of Jesus with live animals and real people. This “first crèche” was created in Greccio in 1223. Our ...