First things first. When I embarked on the quest to find Catholic women, who are not saints or blesseds, I was prepared for surprises. Many of us know our holy and inspiring women saints (Saint Catherine of Sienna, Saint Rita, Saint Therese, Saint Edith Stein… I could...
Who was St. Elizabeth of the Trinity? There are some saints who, on the outside, do not appear especially remarkable; they are not like Catherine of Sienna guiding a pope back to Rome; or Joan of Arc leading an army into battle. By all outward appearances, they don’t...
To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity,...
Though she was physically short in stature, St. Catherine of Siena was a spiritual giant among the giants. She was canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461, only eighty-one years after her death. In 1866, she was declared a patron saint of Rome, and in 1939, co-patron saint...
St. Therese of Lisieux | Doctor of the Church St. Therese of Lisieux was born on January 2, 1873, and died on September 30, 1897. St. Therese of Lisieux was a French Discalced Carmelite nun, the same order founded by St. Teresa of Avila. Her religious name is St....
St. Catherine of Siena Catherine was born March 25, 1347 and died on April 29, 1380. Catherine was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and was from Siena, Italy. From an early age, she made a lot of time for prayer and meditation and at the age of 18, she...
Teresa was born on March 28, 1515 and died on October 4, 1582. St. Teresa of Avila was born into the age of exploration in Spain, just two decades after Christopher Columbus opened exploration for Europe in the Americas. At the...
What is a Doctor of the Church? Before we dive into this series on four amazing female saints, it is worth examining the question: what is a Doctor of the Church? Doctor comes from the Latin word “docere” meaning “to teach." A Doctor of the Church is someone...
Meet The Princess Saint Who Loved To ServeThe Princess of Aragon St. Elizabeth of Portugal, also known as Isabel, was the daughter of Pedro III, King of Aragon, and the granddaughter of Emperor Frederick II, Constantia. She was born in 1271 and died in 1336. She was...
St. Teresa Benedicta. Do you know her? You ought to. Edith Stein was born in 1891 in Germany, the youngest of 11 children. She was raised Jewish but fell away from the faith and all belief in God as a teen. Highly gifted, Stein grew up to obtain her doctorate in...
I was fourteen years old and mad at my parents. They were wasting a whole day of our French vacation driving a four hour round trip to the Basilica of St. Therese of Lisieux. The car was uncomfortable, it was a perfect hot sunny day and I didn’t want to go. All I knew...