Category Archives: United States

Featured, Martyr, North America, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: The North American Martyrs

The Feast Day of the North American Martyrs is celebrated on October 19 in the United States.  In Canada it is celebrated on September26th.

In the 1600’s, eight French Jesuit missionaries lost their lives while trying to spread the news of the gospel to the Huron, Iroquois, and Mohawk Indians. Three of them died in what is now New York State, five of them died in what is now Canada.

Isaac Jogues, René Goupil and Jean La Laude died in New York.

John DeBrebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, and Noel Chabanel died in Canada.

St. René Goupit was a Jesuit Lay brother. He was the first to be martyred. He was killed by tomahawk at Osermenon, (Auriesville, NY)) in 1942.

Father Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit priest, was held captive by the Mohawks for thirteen months. He had several fingers cut off his hand. He escaped and returned to France. He later returned to the mission. He was killed by tomahawk by a Mohawk brave in 1946.

St. Jean de La Lande, a Jesuit donné (not a member of the Society, but at their service) tried to retrieve Father Isaac Jogues’ body, but was killed also.

These martyrs were the first saints of North America.

The martyrs were canonized by Pope Pius XI on June 29, 1930.

Faith, Franciscan Saints, patron saints, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Marianne Cope, Feast Day January 23




St. Marainne Cope        Patron Saint of Outcasts

The Feast Day of St. Marianne Cope is celebrated on Jan. 23. St. Marianne Cope was the first Franciscan woman from North America to become a saint.  St. Marianne Cope is the patron saint of outcasts.

The birth name of St. Marianne Cope was Barbara Koob (now officially Cope) She was born on Jan 23, 1838 in SE Hessen, West Germany. She was one of ten children. Her father was a farmer. The family moved to the United States one year after her birth.

Her vocation to the religious life was delayed by the necessity to support her family when her father became ill. At the age of 25, Barbara entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, New York. She received her religious habit and the name of Sister Marianne. She served as a teacher and principal in several elementary schools in New York. She also helped establish two of the first hospitals in central NY. In 1870, she became a nurse administrator at St. Joseph’s in Syracuse, NY.

In 1882, a priest requested help managing hospitals and schools in Hawaii; primarily working with leprosy patients. She responded to his letter with the following words.

“I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders…I am not afraid of any disease, hence, It would be my greatest delight to minister to the abandoned lepers.”

Along with six other sisters of St. Francis, she arrived in Honolulu in Nov. 1833. Mother Marianne was the supervisor as they managed Kakóako Branch Hospital on Oahu which treated 200 leprosy patients. They began by thoroughly cleaning the hospital. They also opened a home for the healthy daughters of the patients who were ill. Mother Marianne met Fr. Damien (now St. Damien…the Apostle to Lepers) in January 1884 while he was still healthy.

In 1887 the new government in charge of Hawaii closed the Hospital. In 1888, she went to Kalaupapa several months before the death of St. Damien. She reassured him she would provide care for the patients at the Boy’s Home at Kalawao on the Island of Molokai. Three Sisters ran the Bishop Home for boys and girls.

Mother Marianne died in Hawaii of natural cause on August 9, 1918 and is buried on the grounds of Bishop Home. The Saint Marianne Cope Shrine and Museum was built to honor her memory.

Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI. St. Marianne Cope was canonized on Oct 21, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.

“I am not thinking of reward.  I am working for God and do so cheerfully.“

Quote of St. Marianne Cope

 

January is the Month of the Holy Name

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Faith, patron saints, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John N. Neumann, Feast Day January 5




St. John N. Neumann

The Feast Day of St. John N. Neumann is celebrated on January 5.  He was a Redemptorist priest and bishop.  He is the  patron of sick children and of immigrants and  Catholic education.

St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia in 1811. Due to the shortage of priests in the colonies, he traveled to New York to be ordained a priest and worked in an isolated parish.  Father John eventually joined the Redemptorists who were dedicated to helping the poor and abandoned. In 1852, he was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia. He increased the number of Catholic schools from two to a hundred.

The desire to hear confessions led St. John Neumann to learn at least six languages. He knew Spanish, English, French, Italian, Dutch and Gaelic.

While doing errands on January 5, 1860, Neumann collapsed and died on a Philadelphia street. He was 48 years old.  After his death the National Shrine of St. John Neumann was constructed at the Parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Philadelphia.  Our Lady of the Angels College, founded by the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters which he had founded was renamed.  It became known as  the  Neumann College. It was later given University status.

St. John Neumann was beatified on Oct. 13, 1963 by Pope Paul VI.  He was canonized on June 19, 1977 by Pope Paul VI.

“A man must always be ready for death,
for death comes when and where God wills it.”
Quote of St. John N. Neumann
January is the Month of the Holy Name

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Franciscan Saints, patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne, Feast Day Nov. 18




 

St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne
St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne

The Feast Day of St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne is celebrated on Nov. 18.  St. Rose is the patron saint of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri

St. Rose was born in Grenoble, France in 1769. She was drawn to the contemplative life. During the French revolution she spent her time nursing prisoners. She soon joined the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

During Eucharistic Adoration she experienced a vision where she was serving God in the New World. Twelve years later , at the age of 49, she moved to the United States. She was sent to the Louisiana Territory.

In Louisiana, she opened the first free school west of the Missouri River. By 1828 she had founded six houses. She worked among the Potawatomie Indians who named her Quah-kak-ka-num-ad, “Woman-Who-Prays-Always”.

St. Rose died at the age of 83 at St. Charles, Missouri on November 18, 1852.

St. Rose was Beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940.

St. Rose was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Humility is the virtue that requires the greatest amount of effort.”

 Quote of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
 
 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

  

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patron saints, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Feast Day November 13

 

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

 

The Feast  Day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is celebrated on November 13.  She is the patron saint of immigrants, orphans and against malaria.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was born in Lombardi, Italy in 1850. She wanted to become a nun but was hindered by poor health. She became a teacher, teaching at a girl’s school for six years.

Frances took religious vows in 1877, adding Xavier to her name to honor St. Francis Xavier.

At the request of her bishop she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children.

At the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she immigrated to the Unites States with six nuns to work with Italian immigrants.  She crossed the Atlantic ocean in spite of her great fear of water.

She founded many schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States, England, France, Spain and South America. In New York City, St. Frances Cabrini founded Columbus Hospital and Italian Hospital. In the 1980’s they merged into Cabrini Hospital.

In 1909 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini became a naturalized United States citizen. She died from malaria at the age of 67, on December 22, 1917, at Columbus Hospital in Chicago, IL.

In 1931, her body was exhumed, found partially incorrupt, and is now enshrined under glass in the altar at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Manhattan.

The  National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini   was dedicated in 1955. It is located in Chicago at Lincoln Park. Chicago is the city where she primarily lived, worked and died.

The following prayer was written by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.

Fortify me with the grace of Your Holy Spirit and give Your peace to my soul that I may be free from all needless anxiety, solicitude and worry. Help me to desire always that which is pleasing and acceptable to You so that Your will may be my will.  Amen

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Stretch every fiber of my being, dear Lord, that I may more easily fly towards you.  May your Spirit, which once breathed over the chaos of the earth, give life to all the powers of my soul.

Quote of St. Frances Cabrini

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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patron saints, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Theodore Guerin, Feast Day October 3




St. Theodore Guerin
St. Theodore Guerin

The Feast Day of St. Theodore Guerin is celebrated on October 3.  She is the patron saint of the Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana.

St. Theodore Guérin’s birth name was Anne Thérése. She was born on Oct. 2, 1798 in Etables, France. Her father served in Napoleon’s navy. At the young age of 15 her father was murdered by bandits while traveling home for a visit.

Anne Thérése turned to God in the difficult years following his death. At the age of 25 she entered the Sisters of Providence to serve the poor, sick and dying. Anne Thérése became Sister Theodore. She was asked to lead a small missionary band of Sisters to the United States in Indiana.

Mother Théodore accepted the mission in spite of her fragile health. She could only consume soft, bland food and liquid. She traveled to the Unites States with five other sisters. After surviving a violent storm at sea in the trip Mother Théodore wrote the following:

“What strength the soul draws from prayer! In the midst of a storm, how sweet is the calm it finds in the heart of Jesus. But what comfort is there for those who do not pray?”

Mother Théodore established schools in Indiana and Illinois. She is described as saintly by people who knew her.

Sixteen years after coming to the United States she died. She is buried in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana.

St. Théodore Guérin was beatified on Oct. 25, 1998 by Pope John Paul II.

St. Théodore Guérin was canonized on Oct. 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

“If you lean with all your weight upon Providence,
you will find yourselves well supported,”
Quote of St. Theodore Guerin
October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary

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Faith, Featured, Jesuit Saints, patron saints, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Feast Day July 14




St. Kateri Public Domain Image
St. Kateri

The Feast Day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha is celebrated on July 14.  St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the Patron of the environment and ecology. She was known as the “Lily of the Mohawks”.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in Auriesville, NY. She was the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and Catholic Algonquin. She is the first Native American to be declared a saint.

On Easter, 1676, Kateri was baptized by Jesuit missionary Father Jacques de Lambertville at the age of 20. She was devoted to prayer, penitential practices and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal. Her relics are now enshrined in Caughnawaga.

When Kateri was four years old smallpox attacked her family. Her mother and little brother died from the disease. Kateri’s face was scarred by the disease and she became partially blind. Her two Aunts and an Uncle adopted her. Because of her conversion, she incurred hostility from her tribe. She went to a new Christian colony in Indianan, Canada. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to “Christ crucified.” She spent much time praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

At the age of 23 Kateri died on Wednesday of Holy Week, at approximately 3 p.m. Within fifteen minutes after her death, her face, which was marked by smallpox, was healed and became beautiful. Father Cholone called others to see what had happened. Miraculous cures at the Sault Mission were frequent that year (1682) and attributed to Kateri. She appeared to many people after her death, always carrying a cross.

Blessed Kateri’s tomb is found at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Kahnaqake, near Montreal, Quebec. She is honored at the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Florida, NY and the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, NY.

Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God

that I may do it?

Quote of St. Kateri Tekakwitha
July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood.

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Faith, patron saints, Quote, Sacred Heart, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes; St. Damien of Molokai, Feast Day May 10




St. Damien Public Domain Image
St. Damien

The Feast Day of St. Damien of Molokai is celebrated on May 10. He is the patron saint of leprosy and outcasts.

St. Damien of Molokai was born Josef de Veuster on Jan. 3, 1840 in Treinelo, Belgium.  His parents were farmers. He attended college at Braine-le-Comte. Josef became a novitiate at the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He took the name of Damien when he made his vows. As a missionary he arrived in Honolulu in 1864. He was ordained a priest on May 1864.

Hawaii was in the midst of a health crisis; primarily, influenza, syphilis and leprosy. The king of Hawaii, Kink Kamehameha IV created a leper colony on the island of Molokai. Fr. Damien requested to be sent to Molokai to tend to their spiritual needs. He arrived at Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873, where he cared for 600 lepers.

 

St. Damien Public Domain Image
St. Damien
Public Domain Image

 

Fr. Damien built the Parish Church of St. Philomena where he preached and taught the Catholic faith. He restored pride and dignity to the people in the settlement. He organized a band, horse riding and choir. He provided comfort to the people on the island for 16 years serving as priest, doctor and home builder. He built their coffins and dug their graves.

Father Damien said,

“My greatest pleasure is to go there (the cemetery)

to say my beads, and meditate on that unending happiness

which so many of them are already enjoying.”

 

Fr. Damien had a profound faith in the Holy Eucharist, believing his strength came from receiving the Eucharist on a daily basis. In 1885 he contracted the illness of leprosy, yet he continued to serve the people of the settlement. He died April 15, 1889, at the age of 49.  St. Damien is known as the Apostle of the Lepers.

 

“Without the constant presence of Our Divine Master

upon the altar in my poor chapels,

I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai”

Quote of St. Damien of Molokai

 

St. Damien of Molokai Public Domain Image
St. Damien of Molokai

 

May is the Month of Our Lady

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Faith, North America, patron saints, Saint of the Day, United States

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Katherine Drexel, Feast Day March 3




St. Katherine Drexel
The Feast Day of St. Katherine Drexel is celebrated on March 3.

St. Katherine Drexel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Nov. 26, 1858. She was the child of wealthy parents who taught her to be generous.  She is the patron saint of philanthropists and racial justice.

Katherine became a Sister in 1889 at the age of 31. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Black and Native American people. She dedicated her life and great wealth to this work.  She helped to open the first mission school for Indians in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other schools soon followed. She then founded Xavier University in New Orleans.

In 1935, St. Katherine Drexel suffered a heart attack. Two years later she retired from her leadership position. She died in 1955 at the age of 96. Her order had over 500 active members at the time of her death. They had opened 145 missions, 49 elementary schools and 12 high schools.

St. Katherine Drexel is the second recognized American born saint.   Katherine Drexel was beatified on Nov. 2, 1988, by Pope John Paul II. St. Katherine Drexel was canonized on Oct. 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II.

O most merciful Jesus!  I embrace Your wounded hands and feet!

Quote of St. Katherine Drexel

March is the Month of St. Joseph

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