What are saints and why pray to saints?
Saints are persons who have died and have gone to heaven. They lived a life of heroic virtue because of their love for Jesus Christ. The saints are the good and faithful servants of the Lord (cf. Matthew 25:21), they are the blessed ones who have inherited the kingdom (cf. Matthew 25:34).
Christians need to be reminded of the saints because although saints are human persons like us, they inspire us to live a life of heroic virtue out of love for Jesus Christ. We ask the saints to pray for us so that we too can live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. We can always pray directly to God, but God has given us the saints to be our helpers. In this life, God always sends people to help us. In the same way, God also sends angels and saints to help us, even if we don’t see them with our eyes.
St. James
m. 44 AD
Saint James (martyred 44 AD) Feast Day: July 25 Sharers in the suffering of Christ (from a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom) The sons of Zebedee press Christ: Promise that one may sit at your right side and the other at your left. What does he do? He ...
St. Thomas
m. 72 AD
Saint Thomas the Apostle (martyred 72 AD) Feast Day: July 3 My Lord and my God (from a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope) Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. He was the only disciple absent; on ...
St. Peter Chrysologus
406-450 AD
Saint Peter Chrysologus (406-450 AD) Feast Day: July 30 Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and ...
St. Benedict
480-547 AD
Saint Benedict (480-547 AD) Feast Day: July 11 Put Christ before everything Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Lord to bring it to perfection; that he, who has honored us by counting us among his children, may ...
St. Andrew of Crete
650-740 AD
Saint Andrew of Crete (650-740 AD) Feast Day: July 4 Behold, your king is coming to you, the Holy One, the Savior Let us say to Christ: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us wave before him like palm branches ...
St. Bonaventure
1221-1274 AD
Saint Bonaventure (1221–1274 AD) Feast Day: July 15 He who knows Jesus Christ can understand all sacred Scripture The source of sacred Scripture was not human research but divine revelation. This revelation comes from the Father of Light from whom the whole concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth ...
St. Ignatius of Loyola
1491-1556 AD
Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556 AD) Feast Day: July 31 Put inward experiences to the test to see if they come from God Ignatius was passionately fond of reading worldly books of fiction and tales of knight-errantry. When he felt he was getting better, he asked for some of these ...
Holy Martyrs of China
m. 1648-1930 AD
Holy Martyrs of China (martyred 1648-1930 AD) Feast Day: July 9 On October 1st, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 120 martyrs of China. Of the 120 saints, 87 are Chinese and 33 are foreign missionaries. Among them are 6 bishops, 23 priests, 8 monks (one of whom is a ...
St. Peter Wu Guosheng
1768–1814 AD
Saint Peter Wu Guosheng (1768–1814 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) Saint Peter Wu Guosheng was born in 1768 in Zunyi County, Guizhou Province. Wu Guosheng has a strong personality and opened a large inn in Longping to cater to businessmen. One day, a Christian named Xu ...
St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng
1754-1815 AD
Saint Joseph Zhang Dapeng (1754-1815 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng was born in 1754 to a Buddhist family. His only son, Dewang Dapeng, was born in 1793. Zhang Dapeng was a merchant and he was baptized when he was 46 years old ...
St. Agnes Cao Guiying
1821-1856 AD
Saint Agnes Cao Guiying (1821-1856 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) St. Agnes Cao Guiying was born in the small village of Wujiazhai in Guizhou Province in 1821. Her family was a traditional Catholic family originally from Sichuan Province. Agnes later left her hometown to work in ...
St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei
1815 – 1862 AD
Saint Lucy Yi Zhenmei (1815 – 1862 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei was a Chinese Catholic saint from Mianyang in Sichuan, China. She was born on December 9, 1815, and was the youngest member in her family. Lucy was a very pious ...
St. Mary Fu Guilin
1863–1900 AD
Saint Mary Fu Guilin (1863–1900 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) St. Fu Guilin, baptized with the name of Mary, was born in Shenxian County, Hebei Province. She was committed to chastity since childhood. After graduating from Xianxian Mercy Church, she helped the missionaries and achieved outstanding ...
St. Anna Wang
1886-1900 AD
Saint Anna Wang (1886-1900 AD) Feast Day: July 9 (Holy Martyrs of China) St. Anna Wang was born in the Xingtai Hebei Province in China in 1886 to Catholic parents and lost her mother at a young age. Anna was fervent in her faith, intently studying the Catechism and continually ...
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