Stewardship Saint for September: Saint Vincent de Paul
The feast day of Saint Vincent de Paul is September 27, the date of his passing in 1660. He was the founder of the Vincentians and the Sisters of Charity, and is the patron saint of all charitable organizations. Born in 1581 to a peasant family in southwestern France, Vincent studied for the priesthood at …
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Stewardship Saint for August: Saint Lydia of Philippi
Lydia is the first recorded person in Europe to become a follower of Jesus Christ. She was Saint Paul’s first baptized convert at Philippi. What we know of Lydia is found in the Acts of the Apostles. She was from Thyatira, an industrial center located in what is now western Turkey. She was a wealthy …
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Stewardship Saint for July: Saint Benedict
Saint Benedict, the father of Western monasticism, is considered a model of Christian stewardship. He authored the famous Rule of St. Benedict, a handbook of daily Christian living that emphasizes exercising stewardship over prayer, work, and community. Born in central Italy in the town of Nursia around 480, Benedict studied in Rome as a young …
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Stewardship Saint for June: Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Anthony of Padua is one the most beloved and admired saints in the Church. A Franciscan friar and a Doctor of the Church, he is considered one of the greatest preachers in the history of Christianity. Anthony was born on the Feast of the Assumption in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195 to a wealthy and …
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Stewardship Saint for April: Saint Fidelis Sigmaringen
Given the name Mark Rey at his birth in 1577, our stewardship saint for April grew up in Sigmaringen, a town located in present-day Germany. He was the son of the town’s affluent burgomeister (mayor) and studied law and philosophy at the renowned University of Freiburg. As a student, Mark made prayer a priority in …
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Stewardship Saint for January: Saint Ita
Ita of Killeedy, Ireland Ita of Killeedy, Ireland, also known as Ida, is one of the two most famous women saints in Ireland, along with Brigid of Kildare. Born near present-day County Waterford, allegedly of a royal family, she was baptized as Deidre. She is said to have rejected a prestigious marriage for a life …
Stewardship Saint for December: Saint Fabiola
Saint Fabiola is the patron saint of difficult marriages, divorced persons, abused spouses and victims of unfaithful spouses. She was a Christian, born in Rome in the mid-4th century to a powerful and wealthy family. She was married off at a young age to an abusive and adulterous husband. Saint Jerome, the most famous biblical …
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Stewardship Saint for November: Saint Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz
Saint Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz was born on November 17, 1576 in the city of Asunción, now the capital of Paraguay, South America. The son of wealthy Spanish colonists, he was well-educated and a devout Catholic. He was ordained a priest at age 22. In 1609, attracted to the evangelizing activities of the Jesuits, …
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Stewardship Saint for October: Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez
Alphonsus Rodriguez was a Spanish Jesuit lay brother whose assignment for 45 years was being a doorkeeper at one of its colleges. One observer noted that Alphonsus carried out this simple task with such loving hospitality that the act of opening the college door became a “sacramental gesture.” Born in Segovia, Spain in 1533, …
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