Catholic Saints & Feasts
"Catholic Saints & Feasts" offers a dramatic reflection on each saint and feast day of the General Calendar of the Catholic Church. The reflections are taken from the four volume book series: "Saints & Feasts of the Catholic Calendar," written by Fr. Michael Black. These reflections profile the theological bone breakers, the verbal flame throwers, the ocean crossers, the heart-melters, and the sweet-chanting virgin-martyrs who populate the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.
Episodes
August 2, 2025 • 5 mins
August 2: Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop
Early Fourth Century–371
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Piedmont, Italy
A bishop suffers exile and abuse for his defense of orthodoxy
Eusebius was chosen Bishop of the Northern Italian city of Vercelli by popular acclaim in the 340s, even though he was an immigrant from the island of Sardinia. Twenty years after Eusebius’ death, the great Saint Ambrose, bishop of t...
Early Fourth Century–371
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Piedmont, Italy
A bishop suffers exile and abuse for his defense of orthodoxy
Eusebius was chosen Bishop of the Northern Italian city of Vercelli by popular acclaim in the 340s, even though he was an immigrant from the island of Sardinia. Twenty years after Eusebius’ death, the great Saint Ambrose, bishop of t...
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August 1, 2025 • 6 mins
August 2: Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Priest
1811–1868
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Apostle of the Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist was the pearl that shone in his eyes
The great artist Auguste Rodin, who sculpted “The Thinker” and other world-famous pieces, met today’s saint in 1862 and joined his Congregation as a lay brother. Rodin was despondent over the death of his sister and wanted to abandon art and dedicate his life to...
1811–1868
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Apostle of the Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist was the pearl that shone in his eyes
The great artist Auguste Rodin, who sculpted “The Thinker” and other world-famous pieces, met today’s saint in 1862 and joined his Congregation as a lay brother. Rodin was despondent over the death of his sister and wanted to abandon art and dedicate his life to...
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July 31, 2025 • 5 mins
August 1: Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor
1696–1787
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of moral theologians and confessors
A lawyer becomes holy
Today’s saint was given the gift of a comprehensive education by his parents from a young age. He finished his university studies with degrees in civil and canon law when he was just sixteen years old. After practicing law for eight years, and declining a marriage arrange...
1696–1787
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of moral theologians and confessors
A lawyer becomes holy
Today’s saint was given the gift of a comprehensive education by his parents from a young age. He finished his university studies with degrees in civil and canon law when he was just sixteen years old. After practicing law for eight years, and declining a marriage arrange...
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July 30, 2025 • 5 mins
July 31: Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
1491–1556
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of soldiers, retreats, and the Basque country
A soldier reads, becomes holy, and founds a mighty company
Like so many other male saints, today’s saint began his adult life as a knight and soldier. In the service of a local noble, he learned the male sins that armies and royal courts excel in teaching: gambling, fighting, treachery, and wom...
1491–1556
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of soldiers, retreats, and the Basque country
A soldier reads, becomes holy, and founds a mighty company
Like so many other male saints, today’s saint began his adult life as a knight and soldier. In the service of a local noble, he learned the male sins that armies and royal courts excel in teaching: gambling, fighting, treachery, and wom...
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July 29, 2025 • 6 mins
July 30: Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor
c. 380–c. 450
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Imola, Italy, invoked against fever and mad dogs
A golden tongued bishop preaches to a golden city
In 330 A.D., the Emperor Constantine transferred his capital from Rome to a newly constructed city he named after himself in present day Turkey. The Roman Empire and its ancient traditions continued but under a new g...
c. 380–c. 450
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Imola, Italy, invoked against fever and mad dogs
A golden tongued bishop preaches to a golden city
In 330 A.D., the Emperor Constantine transferred his capital from Rome to a newly constructed city he named after himself in present day Turkey. The Roman Empire and its ancient traditions continued but under a new g...
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July 28, 2025 • 7 mins
July 29: Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
First Century
Memorial: Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saints of siblings
Jesus, an only child, is attracted to family life
Jesus goes to the home of Zacchaeus to encourage his conversion. He goes to the home of Matthew after the tax collector becomes a disciple. And he goes to other homes to challenge religious elites or to speak strong words of censure. Jesus goes to the home of Saints Martha,...
First Century
Memorial: Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saints of siblings
Jesus, an only child, is attracted to family life
Jesus goes to the home of Zacchaeus to encourage his conversion. He goes to the home of Matthew after the tax collector becomes a disciple. And he goes to other homes to challenge religious elites or to speak strong words of censure. Jesus goes to the home of Saints Martha,...
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July 25, 2025 • 6 mins
July 26: Saints Joachim and Anne
Late First Century B.C.–Early First Century A.D.
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saints of grandparents and of Canada (Anne)
God has a family tree, just like all men
Many parents think their child is perfect. Only two sets of parents were ever right. Saint Mary and Saint Joseph had a child through grace and raised that perfect God-son to adulthood. The parents of Saint Mary conceived their daugh...
Late First Century B.C.–Early First Century A.D.
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saints of grandparents and of Canada (Anne)
God has a family tree, just like all men
Many parents think their child is perfect. Only two sets of parents were ever right. Saint Mary and Saint Joseph had a child through grace and raised that perfect God-son to adulthood. The parents of Saint Mary conceived their daugh...
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July 24, 2025 • 6 mins
July 25: Saint James, Apostle
First Century
Feast; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Spain, equestrians, and pilgrims
Herod strikes again
The primary legacy of the Twelve Apostles is silence. Yes, their voices are sometimes heard in the Gospels, briefly. Yes, they traveled, evangelized, and built up the Church, discreetly. And yes, they were martyred, save John, though obliquely. Who went exactly where, and did what, is guesswork....
First Century
Feast; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Spain, equestrians, and pilgrims
Herod strikes again
The primary legacy of the Twelve Apostles is silence. Yes, their voices are sometimes heard in the Gospels, briefly. Yes, they traveled, evangelized, and built up the Church, discreetly. And yes, they were martyred, save John, though obliquely. Who went exactly where, and did what, is guesswork....
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July 23, 2025 • 6 mins
July 24: Saint Sharbel (Charbel) Makhluf, Priest and Hermit
1828–1898
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Lebanon
The purest cedar of Lebanon
Today’s memorial was first inserted into the liturgical calendar in the United States in 2004. Prior to that, today’s saint was known primarily among the Christians of Lebanon, either in their homeland or in Lebanese diaspora communities outside of the Middle East. The domin...
1828–1898
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Lebanon
The purest cedar of Lebanon
Today’s memorial was first inserted into the liturgical calendar in the United States in 2004. Prior to that, today’s saint was known primarily among the Christians of Lebanon, either in their homeland or in Lebanese diaspora communities outside of the Middle East. The domin...
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July 22, 2025 • 6 mins
July 23: Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious
1303–1373
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Europe, Sweden, and widows
A royal widow’s visions awe the masses
Upon entering the baroque Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, on the first pillar to the right, is a fragment of a medieval fresco by the master Giotto. It is incongruous with the style of the rest of the often restored Basilica. The fresco has been preserv...
1303–1373
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Europe, Sweden, and widows
A royal widow’s visions awe the masses
Upon entering the baroque Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, on the first pillar to the right, is a fragment of a medieval fresco by the master Giotto. It is incongruous with the style of the rest of the often restored Basilica. The fresco has been preserv...
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July 21, 2025 • 6 mins
July 22: Saint Mary Magdalene
First Century
Feast; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of perfumers, converts, and hairdressers
An Apostle to the Apostles first spreads the Good News
“Cherchez la femme“ is a French phrase meaning “Look for the woman.” It is used as a convenient shortcut in movie or literary criticism to discover what is driving a plot, especially in a detective story. Why did the man risk his life? Cherchez la femme? W...
First Century
Feast; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of perfumers, converts, and hairdressers
An Apostle to the Apostles first spreads the Good News
“Cherchez la femme“ is a French phrase meaning “Look for the woman.” It is used as a convenient shortcut in movie or literary criticism to discover what is driving a plot, especially in a detective story. Why did the man risk his life? Cherchez la femme? W...
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July 20, 2025 • 6 mins
July 21: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor
1559–1619
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Brindisi, Italy
A little-known Doctor of the Church did it all and did it well
Julius Caesar Russo was born into a religious family, yet from a young age was drawn to join another religious family—that of Saint Francis of Assisi. After his father’s early death, little Julius was placed in the care of the Friars Min...
1559–1619
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Brindisi, Italy
A little-known Doctor of the Church did it all and did it well
Julius Caesar Russo was born into a religious family, yet from a young age was drawn to join another religious family—that of Saint Francis of Assisi. After his father’s early death, little Julius was placed in the care of the Friars Min...
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July 19, 2025 • 5 mins
July 20: Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr
First or Second Century
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red
Patron Saint of Ravenna, Italy, and invoked against gout and epilepsy
An elusive early bishop’s memory is preserved in art
Ravenna, a city on Italy’s eastern Adriatic Coast, is a miniature Istanbul. It has perhaps the most impressive groupings of Byzantine churches and mosaics outside of the former Constantinople. In the centur...
First or Second Century
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red
Patron Saint of Ravenna, Italy, and invoked against gout and epilepsy
An elusive early bishop’s memory is preserved in art
Ravenna, a city on Italy’s eastern Adriatic Coast, is a miniature Istanbul. It has perhaps the most impressive groupings of Byzantine churches and mosaics outside of the former Constantinople. In the centur...
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July 17, 2025 • 6 mins
July 18 (U.S.A.): Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest
1550–1614
In the U.S.A. this Optional Memorial is transferred to July 18
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of hospitals, nurses, and the sick
A one-man Red Cross who burned with love for the sick
Like so many saints, Camillus de Lellis ran hard in whatever direction he was heading. When he was a soldier, he ran hard toward the noise of battle. When he was a gambler,...
1550–1614
In the U.S.A. this Optional Memorial is transferred to July 18
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of hospitals, nurses, and the sick
A one-man Red Cross who burned with love for the sick
Like so many saints, Camillus de Lellis ran hard in whatever direction he was heading. When he was a soldier, he ran hard toward the noise of battle. When he was a gambler,...
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July 15, 2025 • 5 mins
July 16: Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patroness of the Carmelites, and for deliverance from Purgatory
A Crusader legacy enriches the Church’s inner life
A few miles from Lebanon near Haifa, a large city in the north of present-day Israel, is the Holy Land’s Masada of Catholic prayer and spirituality. Mount Carmel rises high into the sky, dominating the landscape below. On this promontory, one of t...
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patroness of the Carmelites, and for deliverance from Purgatory
A Crusader legacy enriches the Church’s inner life
A few miles from Lebanon near Haifa, a large city in the north of present-day Israel, is the Holy Land’s Masada of Catholic prayer and spirituality. Mount Carmel rises high into the sky, dominating the landscape below. On this promontory, one of t...
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July 14, 2025 • 5 mins
July 15: Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor
1221–1274
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of those with intestinal problems
He seemed to have escaped the curse of Adam’s sin
The scholarly heft of Saint Bonaventure legitimized the eccentric Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Bonaventure was to the Franciscans what Thomas Aquinas was to the Dominicans. These contemporaries form twin summits of scholastic thought, first-rate intel...
1221–1274
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of those with intestinal problems
He seemed to have escaped the curse of Adam’s sin
The scholarly heft of Saint Bonaventure legitimized the eccentric Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Bonaventure was to the Franciscans what Thomas Aquinas was to the Dominicans. These contemporaries form twin summits of scholastic thought, first-rate intel...
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July 13, 2025 • 6 mins
July 14: Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin (U.S.A.)
1656–1680
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Canada and orphans
Tough as a hide, pure as a fawn
Kateri (Iroquois for “Catherine”) Tekakwitha lived a short life of twenty-four years, the same age attained by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux at her death. Kateri’s father was a pagan Mohawk Chief and her mother a Christian Algonquin. The Mohawk people were the easternmost tribe of t...
1656–1680
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Canada and orphans
Tough as a hide, pure as a fawn
Kateri (Iroquois for “Catherine”) Tekakwitha lived a short life of twenty-four years, the same age attained by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux at her death. Kateri’s father was a pagan Mohawk Chief and her mother a Christian Algonquin. The Mohawk people were the easternmost tribe of t...
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July 12, 2025 • 5 mins
July 13: Saint Henry
973–1024
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of the childless and Benedictine Oblates
A king walks the tight path of virtue
Passing through the heroic-sized doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the pilgrim walks into a vast interior space, his gaze slowly rising to silently absorb the sublime vaults, criss-crossed by ethereal beams of sunlight. Yet as the pilgrim meanders, head tilted upward, e...
973–1024
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of the childless and Benedictine Oblates
A king walks the tight path of virtue
Passing through the heroic-sized doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the pilgrim walks into a vast interior space, his gaze slowly rising to silently absorb the sublime vaults, criss-crossed by ethereal beams of sunlight. Yet as the pilgrim meanders, head tilted upward, e...
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July 10, 2025 • 6 mins
July 11: Saint Benedict, Abbot
c. 480–c. 550
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Europe and monks
His Rule helped create Europe, one monastery at a time
Before the time of today’s saint, to be a monk meant to wander into the Syrian desert and never come back, to climb a rocky summit in the Sinai and never descend, to sit cross-legged atop a pillar, to fast to emaciation, or to remain wordless as a hermit in a damp cave in ...
c. 480–c. 550
Memorial; Liturgical Color: White
Patron Saint of Europe and monks
His Rule helped create Europe, one monastery at a time
Before the time of today’s saint, to be a monk meant to wander into the Syrian desert and never come back, to climb a rocky summit in the Sinai and never descend, to sit cross-legged atop a pillar, to fast to emaciation, or to remain wordless as a hermit in a damp cave in ...
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July 8, 2025 • 6 mins
July 9: Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, Martyrs
1746–1815
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red
New saints for an ancient land start the Third Millennium
Today’s feast commemorates one hundred and twenty martyrs, eighty-seven native Chinese and thirty-three Western missionaries, killed in a long trail of blood from 1648 to 1930. This roll call of heroes includes lay women, catechists, seminarians, bishops, priests, a cook,...
1746–1815
Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red
New saints for an ancient land start the Third Millennium
Today’s feast commemorates one hundred and twenty martyrs, eighty-seven native Chinese and thirty-three Western missionaries, killed in a long trail of blood from 1648 to 1930. This roll call of heroes includes lay women, catechists, seminarians, bishops, priests, a cook,...
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