Saints of Lent - 2024
The Season of Lent is a wonderful time to reflect on the lives of the saints and how they came to answer God's call. Below you will find some of the saints whose feast days fall within the Lenten season. Click on any of the links to learn more.
February 21 - St. Peter Damian
Born in 1007, St. Peter Damian is a Doctor of the Church, known for his prolific writing and for working to stamp out corruption. [read more]
February 23 - St. Polycarp
St. Polycarp was one of the most important leaders of the early Church. He came a follower of Jesus after sitting at the feet of St. John the Evangelist at a young age, and hearing a firsthand account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. [read more]
March 3 - Saint Katharine Drexel
Saint Katharine Drexel left a life of privilege to found the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, dedicating her life to the poor and establishing schools for Native and African American children. [read more]
March 4: Saint Casimir
The son of the grand duke of Lithuania and king of Poland, Saint Casimir rebelled against his princely status, wore plain garments, and gave himself to Christ's poor and sick. [read more].
March 6: Saint Colette
Born in France in 1381, St. Colette was a religious reformer and follower of Saint Francis of Assisi, who founded 17 Franciscan convents and brought many others back to their original rule. [read more]
March 7: Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity
Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were arrested and martyred for their belief in Christ, during the persecution of Emperor Septimius Severus. Perpetua was a young noblewoman and Felicity a slave, and at the time they were imprisoned, Perpetua was a new mother, and Felicity was eight months pregnant. Together, the two women supported each other in prison, both refusing to renounce their faith. [read more]
March 9: Saint Frances of Rome
St. Frances was known for her great charity during epidemics and civil war. She started a lay order of women attached to the Benedictines, called the Oblates of Mary. They pledged to offer themselves to God and serve the poor. [read more]
March 9: Saint Catherine of Bologna
Born to an aristocratic Italian family, St. Catherine felt called to religious life at a young age. She became a member of the Poor Clares and helped to found a new order in Bologna. St. Catherine shared her faith through her art and writings. She also experienced spiritual visions, which led her to commit herself to prayer for the redemption of sinners. [read more]
March 16: Saint Abraham Kidunaia
St. Abraham was a hermit who lived in sixth-century Syria. Although he preferred time in solitude, the bishop sent him to Beth-Kiduna to evangelize a pagan town. At first, he was rejected and dragged away, but he continued to preach and persist, and eventually, the townspeople came to know Christ. [read more]
March 17: Saint Patrick
Although he is the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick was actually born in Roman Britain in the fifth century. When he was a teenager, he was captured and enslaved by Irish raiders. He escaped after six years but, later, felt called to return to the Irish people to evangelize what was then a pagan country. [read more]
March 18: Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Cyril lived at the time of the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ and threatened the Church. He would get caught up in the conflict and spend 16 years in exile. His writings, especially those designed for new Catholics, are considered treasures of the Church. [read more]
March 19: Saint Joseph
St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is known for his faithfulness and humility, accepting the will of God even when he did not completely understand what was happening. Although the Gospels don't tell us a lot about Joseph, we know he was from the House of David and was a carpenter by trade. [read more]
March 20: Saint María Josefa of the Heart of Jesus
Felt called to care for the sick and elderly, St. María Josefa of the Heart of Jesus founded the Institute of the Servants of Jesus in Bilbao, Spain, in 1871. She felt it was the calling of the sisters to accompany the sick "until the door of eternity." [read more]
March 23: Saint Toribio of Mogrovejo
Born to a Spanish noble family, Saint Toribio was named Archbishop of Lima, Peru, in 1580. He traveled across the archdiocese visiting his people, often on foot and alone. He worked on reforming the clergy and wrote catechisms in native languages. He also helped the poor and defended the rights of the native people, and he founded the first seminary in the Americas. [read more]
March 26: Saint Margaret Clitherow
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholic Mass was outlawed in England, St. Margaret Clitherow hid priests in her home and secretly celebrated Mass there. She was eventually discovered and executed. [read more]
