Saints

St Frances Xavier Cabrini Nun. Frances Xavier Cabrini was the first American citizen to be canonised. Born in 1850, in Lodi, Italy, she was the 13th child of her family. As a young woman she worked as a teacher in a parish orphanage at Codogno, In 1874 she founded the Mother House of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart there. She dreamed of sending her sisters to China but instead her bish... Read More

St Josaphat Archbishop. Born in 1584 in Wolodimir, then part of Poland. His parents belonged to the Eastern Rite Church of Kiev (Ukraine) which was then separated from Rome. When John was a young child, his mother explained the icons in church. Years later he told a friend that he felt a spark of fire leave the wounded side of the Crucified and enter his own heart, which was filled with joy. Th... Read More

Archbishop of Dublin. Laurence (Lorcan O Tuathail) was born about 1128 in Co Kildare, of a marriage between the chieftain families O'Toole and O'Byrne. He spent most of his childhood as a hostage of Dermot McMurrogh, King of Leinster. Laurence became a monk at Glendalough and was elected abbot at the age of 25. Besides leading a life of prayer, the community was very involved in famine relief a... Read More