Saint of the Day

June 16. Known for his long hours of prayer and notable ability to communicate, Saint John Francis Regis served the people of France during a “dry” period, when the faith and the Church seemed in decline. He conducted missions to counteract the malaise. He succeeded in converting many people and bringing others back to the faith.

June 17. 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.

June 18. 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.

June 19. 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.

June 20. 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.

June 21. 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.

June 22. 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 law profession. Husband, father, chancellor, and lawyer, Saint Thomas More stands out as a leading figure in British history. He was reluctantly martyred by King Henry VIII in 1535.

June 23. Saint John Fisher’s name is usually associated with Saint Thomas More and their difficulty with King Henry VIII. Saint John Fisher, a bishop and cardinal, refused to agree with Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage as well as the idea that the king, rather than the pope, was the head of the Church in England. He was imprisoned and eventually martyred.

June 24. Saint John the Baptist is one of the few saints who have two feast days. Today we celebrate his birth, which Saint Luke narrates in his Gospel. There Saint Luke draws a parallel between the births of Jesus and John, pointing out the important role in the history of salvation that Saint John the Baptist would play.

June 25. Blessed Jutta of Thuringia, a noble woman with children, became a widow at a young age. She used her means to provide for the children, but once they were grown, she disposed of her wealth, became a Secular Franciscan, and lived a life of austerity.