Saint of the Day

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 has 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.

February 29. Saint Oswald knew people in high places─his uncle was the archbishop of Canterbury. But even though he received “favors” from his uncle, he humbly served and gained holiness.