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Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
His life, teachings, prayers, and sayings, with the Italian originals.
56 of 56 saints and feasts
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All Saints
Festum Omnium Sanctorum
The feast of all the blessed in heaven, known and unknown: the great multitude which no man could number, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Instituted to honour every saint at once, it is the triumph of grace and the pledge of our own calling. It honours the great multitude which no man could number, and is followed by All Souls' Day.
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Annuntiatio Beatae Mariae Virginis
The feast of the Incarnation: the angel Gabriel's message to Mary at Nazareth and her fiat, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, by which the Word was made flesh. Nine months before Christmas, it is the root of every feast of Christ and His Mother. The Angelus, rung three times daily, commemorates her fiat. The Church keeps it nine months before Christmas.
Ascension of Our Lord
Ascensio Domini
Forty days after Easter, Christ ascended in glory from Mount Olivet into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father. The angels promised His return in glory, and the Apostles returned to Jerusalem to await the Holy Ghost in prayer with Mary. The novena to the Holy Ghost begins in the upper room with Mary. The paschal candle is extinguished after the Gospel.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Assumptio Beatae Mariae Virginis
The dogma that Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory. Defined by Pius XII in 1950, it is the crown of her privileges and the pledge of our own resurrection, kept from the earliest centuries as the greatest Marian feast. Defined by Pius XII in 1950, it is the crown of Mary's privileges and the pledge of our resurrection.
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Conversion of Saint Paul
Conversio Sancti Pauli
The feast of the great turning point on the road to Damascus, when Saul the persecutor was struck down by light from heaven and rose as Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. The Church celebrates this conversion as the triumph of grace and the pattern of every sinner's return. It closes the week of prayer for Christian unity and teaches the Church to despair of no sinner.
Corpus Christi
Festum Sanctissimi Corporis Christi
The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, instituted to honour with solemn procession the abiding presence of Our Lord on the altar. Born of the visions of Saint Juliana of Liege and the miracle of Bolsena, its office was composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Its procession is the public triumph of the Eucharistic King; Saint Thomas composed its office.
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Easter Sunday: Resurrection of Our Lord
Resurrectio Domini
The queen of feasts: the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day. The angel's word to the women at the empty tomb, He is risen, is the foundation of the faith, and the Church keeps fifty days of Easter joy, the foretaste of our own resurrection. The fifty days of Eastertide prolong its joy to Pentecost; every Sunday is a little Easter.
Epiphany of Our Lord
Epiphania Domini
The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi, who followed the star to Bethlehem and offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The feast proclaims that salvation is for all nations, and the Church blesses homes and proclaims the moveable feasts of the year. The Church proclaims the moveable feasts and blesses homes with chalk on this day. His gifts confess Him King, God, and Victim.
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Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Nativitas Domini Nostri Jesu Christi
Christmas: the birthday of Christ, when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem in the days of Caesar Augustus, laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn, He comes as the Saviour of the world, and the Church keeps three Masses in His honour. Three Masses honour His threefold birth: in eternity, in time, and by grace in the soul.
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Sanctus Joannes Baptista
The Church celebrates the earthly birthday of only three: Our Lord, His Mother, and Saint John the Baptist, the Precursor. Son of Zachary and Elizabeth, sanctified in the womb at the Visitation, he prepared the way of the Lord in the desert and pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God. His midsummer feast, with its ancient bonfires, recalls his words: He must increase, but I must decrease.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Nativitas Beatae Mariae Virginis
The birthday of the Mother of God, the dawn that announces the rising of the Sun of Justice. Born of Saints Joachim and Anne, her nativity is the beginning of our salvation, and the Church keeps it as a feast of hope for the whole world. Born of Saints Joachim and Anne, her birth is the dawn of our salvation. Her nativity falls in the harvest season.
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Pentecost
Pentecostes
The descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles in tongues of fire, fifty days after Easter. Saint Peter preached and three thousand were baptized: the birthday of the Church. The red vestments proclaim the fire of divine love poured into the hearts of the faithful. The golden sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus implores the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Ghost. The Ember Days follow in the same week.
Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Purificatio Beatae Mariae Virginis
Candlemas: forty days after Christmas, Mary and Joseph present the Child in the Temple, offering the sacrifice of the poor. Simeon takes Christ in his arms and prophesies the sword of sorrow; the Church blesses candles and goes in procession to meet the Light of the world. Candlemas: the Church blesses candles and goes in procession to meet Christ, the Light of the world.
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Saint Agatha
Sancta Agatha
Virgin and martyr of Catania, who suffered under Decius about 251 rather than yield her purity to the judge Quintianus. Tortured cruelly and consoled by Saint Peter in prison, she died a martyr and remains the beloved patroness of Catania, invoked against fire and earthquakes. Patroness of Catania, her veil is invoked against fire and the eruptions of Etna. Saint Peter healed her wounds in prison.
Saint Agnes
Sancta Agnes
Virgin and martyr of Rome, crowned about the year 304 in the persecution of Diocletian, at the age of twelve or thirteen. She refused an earthly bridegroom for the love of Christ, was preserved miraculously from shame, and died by the sword. Her name stands in the Canon of the Mass. The lambs blessed on her feast provide the wool for the archbishops' pallia, uniting her purity to pastoral care.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Sanctus Alphonsus Maria de Ligorio
Founder of the Redemptorists, Doctor of the Church, and prince of moral theologians. A brilliant lawyer turned priest, he preached missions to the abandoned poor of Naples, wrote the Glories of Mary, and as bishop governed with apostolic charity. Patron of confessors and moralists. Prince of moral theologians and patron of confessors, his Glories of Mary nourishes Marian devotion. He resigned his see in 1775, broken by age.
Saint Ambrose
Sanctus Ambrosius
Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church, acclaimed bishop by the people while still a catechumen. He baptized Saint Augustine, composed the hymns that taught the West to sing, and fearlessly withstood the emperor Theodosius after the massacre of Thessalonica. His hymns taught the West to sing, and his courage rebuked an emperor. Milan keeps the Ambrosian rite in his honour.
Saint Andrew
Sanctus Andreas
The first called of the Apostles, brother of Saint Peter, who brought his brother to Christ. He preached the Gospel in Greece and was crucified at Patras on a cross shaped like the letter X, preaching to the people for two days from his gibbet. Patron of fishermen and of Scotland. Patron of Scotland and of fishermen, his feast opens the Advent cycle of the Apostles.
Saint Augustine
Sanctus Augustinus
Bishop of Hippo and Doctor of Grace, author of the Confessions and the City of God. After years of wandering through sin and error, won by the tears of his mother Saint Monica and the preaching of Saint Ambrose, he became the great defender of the faith against the heresies of his age. His Confessions and City of God shaped Christian thought more deeply than any writer after Saint Paul.
Saint Benedict
Sanctus Benedictus
Patriarch of Western monasticism and author of the Rule that shaped Christian Europe. Fleeing the corruption of Rome, he lived as a hermit at Subiaco and founded Monte Cassino, teaching the balance of prayer and work summed up in the motto Ora et labora. His sons preserved faith and learning through the dark centuries, and his Rule still orders monastic life. His monks preserved the faith and learning of Europe.
Saint Catherine of Siena
Sancta Catharina Senensis
Mystic, stigmatist, and Doctor of the Church, who as a simple laywoman counselled popes and brought the papacy back from Avignon to Rome. Her Dialogue records her converse with God, and her letters moved the powers of Europe. She died at thirty-three, spent in the service of the Church. Doctor of the Church, she counselled popes and brought the papacy back to Rome.
Saint Cecilia
Sancta Caecilia
Virgin and martyr of Rome and patroness of musicians. Though given in marriage, she kept her virginity for Christ, converted her husband Valerian and his brother Tiburtius, and suffered martyrdom in the third century. While the organs played at her wedding feast, she sang in her heart to God alone. Her basilica in Trastevere guards her incorrupt body, and musicians everywhere claim her patronage.
Saint Clare
Sancta Clara
First disciple of Saint Francis and foundress of the Poor Clares, the first woman to write a monastic rule. She defended the privilege of absolute poverty to her dying day, and by the Blessed Sacrament repelled the Saracens from Assisi. The first canonized woman of the Franciscan order. First follower of Saint Francis, she wrote the first monastic rule composed by a woman.
Saint Dominic
Sanctus Dominicus
Founder of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, devoted to the preaching of truth and the salvation of souls. He confronted the Albigensian heresy in southern France with prayer, poverty, and learning, and tradition ascribes to him the spread of the Rosary. His sons gave the Church her greatest theologians, and his order has ever been the guardian of the Rosary. His order became the Church's great school of preaching and theology.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Sanctus Franciscus Assisiensis
The Poor Man of Assisi, founder of the Friars Minor, who wedded Lady Poverty and bore in his body the stigmata of Christ. His Canticle of the Sun, his love of all creatures, and his perfect imitation of the crucified Saviour have made him one of the most beloved saints in the history of the Church. Patron of Italy, he remains the living proof that the Gospel can be kept to the letter.
Saint Francis Xavier
Sanctus Franciscus Xaverius
Apostle of the Indies and patron of the missions, the greatest missionary since Saint Paul. In ten years he carried the Gospel from Goa to Japan, baptizing multitudes, and died on the threshold of China, longing to preach Christ where He was unknown. In ten years he baptized multitudes from Goa to Japan; he is the patron of missionaries. His incorrupt body rests at Goa.
Saint Gregory the Great
Sanctus Gregorius Magnus
Pope from 590 to 604 and Doctor of the Church, who called himself the servant of the servants of God. He sent Saint Augustine to England, reformed the chant that bears his name, and governed the Church through plague and invasion with apostolic wisdom and charity. Apostle of the English and reformer of the sacred chant, he called himself the servant of the servants of God.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Sanctus Ignatius Antiochenus
Bishop of Antioch and disciple of the Apostles, condemned under Trajan and devoured by lions at Rome about the year 107. On his journey to martyrdom he wrote seven letters that witness to the Eucharist, the bishop, and the Catholic Church, and to his longing to be ground as wheat of Christ. His seven letters are the earliest witness after the Apostles to the Eucharist and the Catholic Church.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Sanctus Ignatius de Loyola
Founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises. A soldier wounded at Pamplona, he exchanged the service of an earthly king for the service of Christ the King, and his sons carried the faith to the ends of the earth. His motto: for the greater glory of God. His Spiritual Exercises guide souls through retreat and discernment to this day.
Saint James the Greater
Sanctus Jacobus Major
Son of Zebedee and brother of Saint John, called with him from the fishing boat. He was present at the Transfiguration and the Agony, and was the first of the Apostles to drink the chalice of martyrdom, beheaded by Herod Agrippa. His tomb at Compostela draws pilgrims from the whole world. His shrine at Compostela remains one of the three great pilgrimages of Christendom.
Saint Januarius and Companions
Sanctus Januarius
Bishop of Beneventum, martyred with his companions at Pozzuoli under Diocletian about 305. His blood, preserved in Naples cathedral, liquefies several times each year, a wonder attested for centuries and watched by the whole city as a pledge of his protection. Patron of Naples, his blood liquefies in the sight of the people several times each year. Naples keeps his feast as the triumph of her patron.
Saint Jerome
Sanctus Hieronymus
Doctor of the Church and translator of the Vulgate, the Latin Bible of the West for fifteen centuries. A scholar of fiery temper and heroic penance, he spent his last decades in a Bethlehem monastery, pouring out commentaries, letters, and the Scriptures in Latin for the whole Church. His Vulgate was the Bible of the West for a thousand years; he is the patron of Scripture scholars.
Saint John Chrysostom
Sanctus Joannes Chrysostomus
The Golden Mouth, Patriarch of Constantinople and Doctor of the Church. The greatest preacher of the Greek Church, he reformed a corrupt court clergy, gave the East its Eucharistic liturgy, and died in exile for rebuking the empress, forgiving all with his last breath. His Divine Liturgy is the daily worship of the East, and his homilies the model of preaching. He died in exile for rebuking vice in high places.
Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
Sanctus Joannes Apostolus
The beloved disciple, who leaned on the breast of Christ at the Last Supper, stood beneath the Cross, and received Our Lady into his care. Author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Apocalypse, he is the theologian of divine love and the only Apostle who did not die a martyr. Called the Theologian, his Gospel soars highest in the contemplation of the Word made flesh.
Saint Joseph
Sanctus Joseph
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. A just man of the house of David, he obeyed the angel without delay, guarded the Holy Family in the flight into Egypt, and laboured as a carpenter at Nazareth. Proclaimed Patron of the Universal Church by Pius IX in 1870, he is the model of hidden sanctity, purity, and a happy death in the arms of Jesus and Mary. He is invoked as the patron of fathers, of craftsmen, and of the dying.
Saint Joseph the Worker
Sanctus Joseph Opifex
The feast of Saint Joseph under the title of the Worker honours the dignity of human labour in the carpenter of Nazareth, who earned the bread of the Holy Family by the work of his hands. Instituted by Pius XII in 1955 and placed on the first of May, it sets the sanctified toil of Nazareth against every false doctrine that degrades the worker or denies God. Nazareth remains the school where Christ Himself hallowed honest toil, and Joseph is its master and patron.
Saint Justin Martyr
Sanctus Justinus Martyr
Philosopher turned apologist, who sought truth through the schools of pagan wisdom and found it in Christ. His Apologies, addressed to the emperors, defend the Christians and describe the Sunday Eucharist; denounced by a rival, he was scourged and beheaded at Rome about 165. His Apologies give the earliest description of the Sunday Mass outside the New Testament. He was the first great apologist of the faith.
Saint Lawrence
Sanctus Laurentius
Deacon of Rome and martyr, roasted on a gridiron under Valerian in 258. When commanded to surrender the treasures of the Church, he presented the poor, the lame, and the blind, declaring them the true riches of Christ. Patron of deacons and one of the most venerated martyrs of the early Church. His name stands in the Canon of the Mass, and he is the patron of deacons and of the poor.
Saint Lucy
Sancta Lucia
Virgin and martyr of Syracuse, crowned under Diocletian. She gave her dowry to the poor, was preserved immovable by divine power when dragged to shame, and died by the sword. Her name means light, and she is invoked as the patroness of the eyes and of sight. Her name means light, and she is invoked by all afflicted in their sight. Dante set her among the blessed who aid the pilgrim soul.
Saint Luke
Sanctus Lucas
The beloved physician, author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and the faithful companion of Saint Paul. His Gospel is the Gospel of mercy, of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the infancy of Christ. Tradition honours him as a painter of the Mother of God. Patron of physicians and artists, his Gospel is the Gospel of mercy.
Saint Mark
Sanctus Marcus
The Evangelist who wrote the second Gospel, setting down the preaching of Saint Peter at Rome. Founder of the Church of Alexandria and its first bishop, he was martyred there for the faith. His relics rest at Venice, whose republic took him for its patron. Venice guards his relics, and his winged lion flies in her banner. His symbol is the winged lion.
Saint Mary Magdalene
Sancta Maria Magdalena
The penitent of Magdala, from whom Our Lord cast seven devils, who stood beneath the Cross and was the first witness of the Resurrection. Sent by Christ to announce the Resurrection to the Apostles, she is honoured as the apostle of the Apostles and the model of penitent love. First witness of the Resurrection, she is the model of penitent love. Provence guards the tradition of her later years.
Saint Matthew
Sanctus Matthaeus
Apostle and Evangelist, called from the tax booth at Capharnaum to follow Christ. He wrote the first Gospel, presenting Jesus as the promised Messias of Israel, and, according to tradition, preached in Ethiopia, where he suffered martyrdom. Patron of bankers and accountants. His Gospel, first among the four, has been the Church's chief catechism from the beginning. His Gospel is the Church's first catechism.
Saint Nicholas
Sanctus Nicolaus
Bishop of Myra and wonderworker, famed for secret charity: the three purses of gold that saved three maidens are the origin of his patronage of children. Imprisoned under Diocletian and present, by tradition, at Nicaea, his relics at Bari draw pilgrims from East and West. His secret charity to three maidens is the origin of gift giving to children. He is the patron of children, sailors, and Russia.
Saint Patrick
Sanctus Patricius
Apostle of Ireland, who, carried captive to the island as a youth, returned as its bishop and converted the nation to Christ. He baptized thousands, ordained priests, and founded the see of Armagh, overcoming paganism by preaching, miracles, and unconquered charity. The monks of the Church he founded re-evangelized Europe, and Ireland remains the Isle of Saints. He is the father in the faith of the Irish people.
Saint Stephen
Sanctus Stephanus Protomartyr
The protomartyr, first to follow Christ in death as he had followed Him in charity. A deacon full of faith and the Holy Ghost, he was stoned outside Jerusalem while praying for his murderers. Among those who consented to his death was Saul, soon to become Saint Paul. His prayer for his murderers won the conversion of Saul, for the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.
Saint Teresa of Avila
Sancta Teresia Abulensis
Reformer of Carmel and Doctor of the Church, foundress of the Discalced Carmelites. Her Interior Castle and Way of Perfection map the soul's journey to union with God through prayer. A woman of action as well as contemplation, she founded seventeen convents amid hardship and opposition. First woman Doctor of the Church, her Interior Castle maps the soul's ascent to God. Her Way of Perfection guides beginners in mental prayer.
Saint Therese of Lisieux
Sancta Teresia a Jesu Infante
The Little Flower, Carmelite of Lisieux, who taught the little way of spiritual childhood: doing small things with great love. Dead at twenty-four in 1897, her autobiography, the Story of a Soul, carried her doctrine of confidence and love to the whole world. Doctor of the Church and patroness of missions. Canonized in 1925 and named a Doctor of the Church, she promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth.
Saint Thomas
Sanctus Thomas
The Apostle whose doubt became the Church's certitude. Absent when the risen Christ first appeared, he believed when he touched the wounds, crying, My Lord and my God. Tradition makes him the Apostle of India, where the Christians of Malabar still claim him as their founder. The Christians of Saint Thomas in India still trace their faith to his preaching. He is the patron of India and of architects.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Sanctus Thomas de Aquino
The Angelic Doctor, prince of theologians, author of the Summa Theologiae and the sublime Eucharistic hymns Adoro te devote, Lauda Sion, and Pange lingua. A Dominican friar of immense learning and childlike humility, he wedded faith and reason and was proclaimed patron of Catholic schools and universities. Proclaimed patron of Catholic schools, he remains the model of the scholar whose study is prayer.
Saints Perpetua and Felicity
Sanctae Perpetua et Felicitas
Martyrs of Carthage in 203: Perpetua, a young noblewoman and nursing mother, and Felicity, her slave, who gave birth in prison. Perpetua's prison diary, with its visions of heaven, is the earliest writing of a Christian woman, and their names stand in the Canon of the Mass. The diary of Perpetua is the earliest writing of a Christian woman. Felicity gave birth to a daughter in prison.
Saints Peter and Paul
Sancti Petrus et Paulus
The two princes of the Apostles, joined in one feast and one martyrdom at Rome. Peter, the fisherman made the rock of the Church, was crucified head downward in the Vatican; Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, was beheaded on the Ostian Way. Together they consecrated Rome by their blood and their triumph. Their joint feast has been kept at Rome from the earliest centuries, and their tombs remain the goal of pilgrims.
Saints Philip and James
Sancti Philippus et Jacobus
Two Apostles honoured in one feast. Philip of Bethsaida, called directly by Christ, and James the Less, son of Alpheus, the first bishop of Jerusalem. Their relics rest together in the Roman basilica of the Holy Apostles, and their joint feast falls in the Easter season. Their relics rest together in the Roman basilica of the Holy Apostles. James was the first bishop of Jerusalem.
Saints Simon and Jude
Sancti Simon et Judas
Two Apostles joined in one feast and, by tradition, in one martyrdom. Simon the Zealot and Jude Thaddeus preached together in Persia and were crowned together. Saint Jude, author of a short Epistle, is invoked as the patron of hopeless cases. Their relics rest together in Saint Peter's, and Saint Jude is invoked in hopeless cases. Their relics rest in the basilica of Saint Peter.