St. Isidore the Farmer

St. Isidore was a Spanish laboring man. Born near Madrid, around 1070, he lived there until his death, May 15,1130. He served on the farm of a Juan de Vargas. Each morning before going to work he attended Mass in one of the churches in Madrid.

St. Matthias

St. Matthias is the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. Little is known of his missionary activity, but tradition states that he preached in Judea. He is credited with a Gospel and other discourses that have not been historically confirmed. His feast day is May 14.

Our Lady of Fatima: The visionaries

On May 13 we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The year 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal, where the Blessed Mother appeared once each month from May until Oct. 13 October. In today’s post you’ll meet the three children to whom Mary appeared in 1917: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta.

St. Damien of Molokai: A saint for the forgotten and abandoned

Jozef De Veuster was once a gregarious boy who loved life — even a skating champion near his Tremelo, Belgium, hometown. Brought up in a faithful family, he chose to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and entered religious life with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1859. Better known by his religious name, Damien, this saint had the heart of a missionary and was known to pray each day to become one. In 1863, Damien volunteered for Hawaiian missions in place of his sickly priest-brother who was supposed to go. Soon, his zeal for souls earned St. Damien De Veuster the title “apostle to the lepers,” and ultimately led to his canonization by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.