April 2 - Saint Francis of Paola

Hermit - Optional memorial

Francis was born at Paola (Calabria), Italy in 1416. After three years in a convent of the Friars Minor, he left to withdraw to a cave by the sea, where he led a life of prayer, fasting, work, and mortification. He was joined by many followers, leading to the formation of the Hermits of St. Francis, later called the Minims (Minimi Fratres, "least brethren"), with a rule approved in 1506. Francis was called to France by Louis XI and died there in 1507. He was canonized in 1519. He is depicted with a long beard and wears a brown habit; the word charitas inscribed within a sun or on the cover of a book. He is invoked against sterility.

PROTECTOR: Hermits, Seafarers.
NAME: Francis (Frank) is of German origin, from the name of the people who settled in France; it has come to mean "forthright, sincere.

March 9 Saint Frances of Rome

Saint Frances of Rome
Foundress

Born at Rome in 1384, Frances was an exemplary wife and mother and dedicated her life to prayer and the assistance of the poor. She founded the Congregation of thr Oblates of Mary. She died in Rome in 1440 and was canonized in 1608. She is depicted in the black cassock and white veil of the Benedictines while distributing bread to the poor: She is often accompanied by a guardian angel. She is invoked against the plague and for the liberation of souls in Purgatory.

PROTECTOR: Car drivers and widows.
NAME: Frances (Frank) is of German origin, from the name of the people who settled in France; It has come to mean "forthright, sincere."

"SAINTS A Year in Faith and Art"
Rosa Giorgi

March 8, 2011 Saint John Of God

Saint John of God
Founder

John was born in Portugal at Montemor-o-Novo in 1495. Before his conversion, at age forty, he was a soldier, shepherd, and bookseller. In 1537, he felt himself called to do charitable works and began giving to the poor and sick, even transforming his house in Granada into a hospital. He died in 1550 and was canonized in 1690. He is depicted in a cassock while healing the sick.

PROTECTOR: The sick, nurses, doctors, people with heart problems, booksellers, bookbinders, and hospitals.
NAME: John is from a Hebrew name meaning "Yahweh is gracious."

"SAINTS A Year In Faith And Art"
Rosa Giorgi

March 7 - Saints Perpetua and Felicity

Saints Perpetua and Felicity
Martyrs

Perpetua, a noblewoman and mother of a nursing child, and her slave Felicity, far advanced in pregnancy, died at Carthage in the amphitheater during the persecutions of Septimus Severus in the 3rd century. They had been imprisoned before being baptized. Perpetua herself wrote a description of the prison, and her words were collected by Tertullian. The two women died tied to a net, torn in pieces by a bullock. In art, they are usally depicted together, sometimes with the animal.

PROTECTOR: Felicity is the protector of women in childbirth.
NAMES: Both names are of Latin origin. Perpetua indicates eternal faith in Christ; Felicity means "happiness."

"SAINTS A Year In Faith and Art"
Rosa Giorgi

March 6 - Saint Rose of Viterbo

Saint Rose of Viterbo
Virgin

Born at Viterbo, Italy, in 1235, Rose had a vision when still a child and was very young when she entered the Franciscan tertiaries. At age ten, having been healed of an illness, she began preaching in the streets of Viterbo against the emperor Fredrick II, enemy of the pope. Deemed dangerous, she was exciled from the city, returning only after the emperor's death. She herself died at age eighteen, consumed by the tireless exercise of charity. Her cult began immediatley after her death. Her relics were translated to the church of Santa Maria della Rosa on September 4, an event that is still celebrated with a procession. She is depicted in the robe of a tertiary, and her attributes are roses and lilies.

PROTECTOR: Since 1922, Rose has been the protector of the young female members of Catholic Action.
NAME: Rose is from the Latin and indicates the flower.

"SAINTS - A Year In Faith and Art"
Rosa Giorgi

March 5 - Saint Adiran of Caesarea

Saint Adrian of Caesarea -Martyr

Adrian was martyred in the 4rth century at Caesarea and is called in the writings of Eusebius, who related the events of Adrian to those of Ebulus. The two arrived at Caesarea with the precise aim of joining and assisting the Christians living there. They were soon discovered, arrested, and tried. Refusing to abjure their faith, they were condemned to death during the games in the amphitheater. Adrian was torn apart by wild beasts and then beheaded on March 5 or 7 of the year 309.

NAME : Adriean is from the Latin and means "born at Adria."

"Saints - A Year in Faith and Art"
Rosa Giorgi

March 4, 2011 Saint Casimir

Saint Casimir
Prince

Casimir was born in 1458, son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Elizabeth of Austria. he fled the life of ease and privileges, and when the Hungarians deposed their king Matthias Corvinus in 1461 and offered him the crown, he refused it. He spent his brief life (He died at age twenty-five) following ascetic ideals and assisting his father in the rule of the kingdom. He was cannonized in 1521.
He is depicted as a youth in regal clothes often with a royal crown nearby. He is invoked against illnesses caused by chills and against carnal temptations.

PROTECTOR: The youth of Lithuania
PATRON: Casimir is the patron saint of Lithuania.
NAME: Casimir is of Polish origin and means "to destroy peace"

"Saints - A year in Faith and Art"
Rosa Giorgi