7 of the Most Popular Catholic Saints, and Their Stories
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Saints are persons in heaven… who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.” By that definition, anyone formally recognized as a saint, which nowadays takes place via the papal process of canonization, is deserving of praise. Yet some of the 10,000-plus saints acknowledged by the Catholic Church are clearly held in higher regard than others, whether due to the inspiring stories of their lives or because of the specific causes they embody in prayer.
As faith is a personal matter for each individual, so is the preference of which saints call the loudest from their place in the annals of human history. That said, here’s a look at the lives and deeds of seven of the most popular servants of God, saints who are frequently venerated, prayed to, and honored with institutions and landmarks that bear their name.
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Other than the prophecy pointing to her arrival in Isaiah 7:14 of the Bible’s Old Testament, the records of the Virgin Mary’s existence are solely found in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles, and many details of her life story are unknown.
According to the Bible, Mary was likely born during the reign of Herod the Great (king of Judaea from 37 BCE to 4 BCE) and lived in Nazareth with her carpenter husband, Joseph, as well as her sons Joseph, James, Jude, and Simon and an untold number of daughters. The New Testament recounts how Mary received the archangel Gabriel to learn of God’s plan for the Immaculate Conception, that she was the only one to witness the birth and death of Jesus, and that she was present when a new faith emerged among her son’s followers.
Despite the limited information about her, Mary is perhaps the most venerated saint in the Catholic Church due to her standing as the mother of Jesus. As a result, she is the recipient of numerous feasts and devotions created in her honor.
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Peter the Apostle
Another major New Testament figure, Peter is renowned as the most prominent of Jesus' disciples. A fisherman initially known by the name of Simon, Peter earned his new name along with a promise he would receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven from Jesus.
According to the Bible, Peter is the only disciple to walk on water, and was with Jesus for such critical moments as the Transfiguration (when Jesus appeared on a mountaintop in his divine form) and the raising of Jairus' daughter (when Jesus performed a miracle to bring a young girl back to life). And while Peter attempted to prevent his leader's arrest, he also fulfilled the prediction that he would deny Jesus three times that night, before atoning by thrice telling the resurrected lord that he loved him.
According to the Bible, Peter later performed his own miracles such as the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, until he too was crucified (upside down) for spreading the gospel of Christianity. Traditionally considered the first pope, Peter is also highly regarded in the church for his close relationship with Jesus, as well as his devotion in spite of his imperfect character.
Augustine of Hippo
Born in current-day Algeria in 354 CE, Augustine enjoyed the spoils of earthly desires by becoming a father out of wedlock at age 19 and a successful teacher of rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, and Milan. But his spiritual curiosity was piqued by a budding friendship with the bishop of Milan, and after receiving inspiration from randomly opening the Bible to the Epistle of the Romans, he was baptized by the bishop at age 33. Returning to his homeland, Augustine was ordained a priest in 391 CE, before spending the final 35 years of his life as bishop of Hippo.
A symbol of God's acceptance for those who repent their sins, Augustine helped shape the path of Christianity from the beginnings of the Byzantine era into the Middle Ages via books such as Confessions and City of God and thousands of letters. Along with formulating influential thoughts on church matters ranging from free will to the Holy Trinity, this revered writer also inspired many with his personal insights into the struggles of humanity and his love for God.
Francis of Assisi
Widely known as a peaceful, animal-loving soul, Francis of Assisi initially intended to earn his fame as a warrior. However, that dream crashed when his first foray into battle resulted in imprisonment, and he instead found himself drawn to God's instruction to "repair my house," which came to him in a vision from a crucifix in a ruined chapel.
Renouncing the affluence of his upbringing, Assisi lived a simple life of piety and poverty as he engaged in the physical labor of rebuilding houses of worship. Eventually, he embraced a more spiritual definition of "repair" by founding the Order of Friars Minor (aka the Franciscans), which grew from its original modest 12 followers in 1209 to more than 5,000 by 1223.
Late in life, Assisi received the stigmata — the visible wounds of Christ — and wrote “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” the first Italian-language poem with a known author. Assisi was canonized by Pope Gregory IX shortly after his death in 1226.
Anthony of Padua
Drawn to the Franciscan order by news of the five missionaries who had been martyred for their faith in Morocco, Anthony of Padua was thrilled to receive his own opportunity to preach to the unconverted in North Africa in 1220. However, his life took a dramatic turn when illness forced him to leave his Moroccan post, and stormy winds rerouted his boat from the intended destination of Portugal to Sicily.
After living quietly in a convent for the better part of a year, Anthony emerged from the shadows with an impromptu sermon that wowed all in attendance. From that point forward, he was renowned as one of the faith's greatest orators; along with preaching to crowds that numbered at least 30,000, he was said to have converted people in one town when they realized the fish were poking their heads above water to listen to him.
Anthony was personally tapped by Francis of Assisi to teach theology, and he was later recognized as an evangelical doctor of the church for his commentaries on the Scriptures. Anthony is often depicted holding the child Jesus, due to a popular retelling of their alleged meeting.
Teresa of Ávila
After experiencing a taste of convent life at a boarding school, Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada ran away from home at age 20 in 1535 to join the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation in Ávila, Spain. But this was only the beginning of her journey toward a deeper understanding of her faith. Nearly 20 years later, Teresa underwent a second conversion that forced her to reckon with the lax practices of Carmelite convents throughout Spain.
Teaming with St. John of the Cross (a Spanish priest and Carmelite friar), she went on to found more than a dozen reform convents throughout her home country, and her mission eventually drew enough resistance from the existing order that Pope Gregory XIII stepped in to declare the Discalced Carmelites, as the reformers were known, a separate branch of the Carmelite Order in 1580.
Along with her stewardship, Teresa was a prolific writer who authored four major books and more than 450 letters that highlight her devotion, intelligence, and sense of humor. Canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, she became the first woman to be honored as a Doctor of the Church (a title given to saints who made significant advancements in Christian doctrine) by Pope Paul VI in 1970.
Padre Pio
A 21st-century addition to the registry of saints, Pio of Pietrelcina, aka Padre Pio, was a popular Capuchin friar based in the southern Italian town of San Giovanni Rotondo for more than a half century. In 1918, at age 31, Padre Pio reportedly became the first priest to receive the stigmata. This turn of events befuddled church authorities, who suspended Padre Pio from public ministry, pending a lengthy investigation, until he was permitted to resume his duties in 1933.
Also believed to possess the gift of bilocation — the ability to be in more than one place simultaneously — Padre Pio was widely sought out for confessional responsibilities and spearheaded the construction of a local hospital in 1956. Almost exactly 50 years after the stigmata appeared, this man of mysterious powers reportedly experienced one more miracle when his wounds suddenly vanished the day before his death in 1968.
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