Thirty-One Days of Walking with the Saints

How were these people selected? They have been updated from Day by Day with Followers of Francis and Clare, by Pat McCloskey, OFM. They include some people not yet canonized or beatified, but who are examples for people today working to create a world more respectful of God’s creation.

oct. 1

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231)

By the age of 24, Elizabeth was a wife, mother of four children, widow, and a generous friend of the poor, especially those who were sick. After Louis, her husband, died on crusade, her in-laws made life very difficult for Elizabeth and their children. Refusing to be consumed by resentment, she instead built a hospital. She is a co-patron of the Secular Franciscan Order.

oct. 2

St. Louis IX of France (1214-1279)

Louis went on crusade twice, dying on his second one. As a king he was very concerned about ensuring justice for all his people. A friend of Sts. Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas, he and his wife taught their 11 children to live out their Baptism with great generosity. He is a co-patron of the Secular Franciscan Order.

oct. 3

St. Clare of Assisi (1193-1253)

Born into a noble family and greatly influenced by St. Francis of Assisi, Clare set in motion a religious revolution by establishing at nearby San Damiano a monastery of nuns from all classes of society. They refused dowries and lived by the work of their hands and begging if necessary. Soon other monasteries of women followed their example of prayer and austere living. She was canonized two years after her death.

oct. 4

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

Francis of Assisi was one of the world's first great ecologists, composing the Canticle of the Creatures, seeing all things as reflecting their Creator. The Poor Man of Assisi urged forgiveness among all people. His hometown daily welcomes thousands of people of all religions and none—all inspired by his peacemaking and respect for all people. He was canonized in 1228. St. John Paul II in 1979 declared him patron saint of ecology.

oct. 5

St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941)

The Polish-born Raymond joined the Conventual Franciscans and studied in Rome where he was ordained and founded the Knights of Mary Immaculate. He established a City of the Immaculate in Nagasaki, Japan and another near Warsaw. The Nazis shut down his Polish foundation that had grown tremendously. Sent to Auschwitz in May 1941, Maximilian volunteered three months later to take the place of Franceszek Gajowniczek, a prisoner condemned to death in retaliation for another prisoner who had escaped. When Maximilian was canonized in 1982, Franceszek was there.

oct. 6

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853)

As a law student at the Sorbonne in Paris, Frédéric once extolled Christianity's contributions to civilization. A fellow discussion club member then asked: “Let us be frank, Mr. Ozanam; let us also be very particular. What do you do beside talk about the faith that you claim is in you?” Stung by that question, Frédéric founded the St. Vincent de Paul Society, now very active worldwide. He was beatified in Paris by Pope Benedict XVI during the 1997 World Youth Day.

oct. 7

Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna (13th century)

Luchesio, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Buonadonna, met St. Francis of Assisi in Poggio Bustone, probably in 1213. Their desire to live the Gospel radically influenced Francis to establish the Secular Franciscan Order for singles and for married couples. This couple soon became well known for generously assisting poor people. They died on the same day in 1280.

oct. 8

Blessed Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

This Capuchin priest spent much of his life as porter at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. Although not allowed to preach formally, his compassion and short exhortations soon made him famous. A Capuchin confrere observed that this preaching restriction “brought forth a greatness and holiness that might never have been realized in any other way.” People constantly asked Father Solanus to pray for their sick relatives and friends. He helped establish a soup kitchen that continues to serve poor people. He was beatified in 2017.

oct. 9

St. Elzéar and Blessed Delphina (1285-1323; 1283-1358)

Elzéar and Delphina are perhaps the only Secular Franciscan couple who are formally canonized or beatified. Elzéar came from a noble family in southern France. After he married Delphina, they very generously assisted poor people. Theirs was a very Catholic household. For 35 years as a widow, Delphina continued their corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Elzéar was canonized in 1369, and Delfina was beatified in 1694.

oct. 10

Mother Ignatius Hayes (1872-1965)

The daughter of an Anglican clergyman in England, Elizabeth became a Roman Catholic under the influence of the Oxford Movement. Seeking to establish a religious community, she came to Belle Prairie, Minnesota and initially worked with children of Canadian settlers. Eventually her group became three communities: Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (Little Falls, Minnesota), Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (Rock Island, Illinois), and Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception with headquarters in Rome.

oct. 11

St. Agnes of Bohemia (1205-1282)

Daughter of one king and sister of another, Agnes declined two marriage proposals by kings in favor of the monastic life. St. Clare of Assisi wrote her four letters and sent five nuns for Prague's new monastery that Agnes financed. As a cloistered nun, she was very active in helping poor women and men. She was canonized in 1989.

oct. 12

St. Marianne of Molokai (1838-1918)

After a very successful career as a teacher and hospital administrator, Marianne was leading her community in Syracuse, New York when the Hawaiian government sought help in serving women afflicted with leprosy. She and six sisters went to Hawaii in 1883. Five years later she joined St. Damien de Veuster's ministry on the island of Molokai, where she died. She was canonized in 2013.

oct. 13

Mother Theresa Hackelmeier (c.1827-1869)

Already a sister in Vienna, Austria, Theresa came to Oldenburg, Indiana in 1851 and founded a Franciscan congregation whose members taught school, cared for orphans, and engaged in perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They later worked among the Crow Native Americans in Montana and indigenous people in Papua New Guinea.

oct. 14

Mother Alfred Moes (1832-1916)

Born in Luxemburg, Mother Alfred had already joined three religious communities before she founded one in Joliet, Illinois. She was a force of nature who worked with Dr. William Worall Mayo and his two doctor-sons (all Protestants) to found St. Mary Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. It became part of the world-famous Mayo Clinic that now has satellite facilities in Arizona and Florda. She died as a member of her fifth religious community.

oct. 15

Blessed Mary Frances Schervier (1819-1876)

Born in France, Mary Frances founded the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. They initially nursed people at home and later in hospitals and homes for the aged; some members later became teachers. She visited the U.S. in 1863; her sisters nursed soldiers during the Civil War. She was beatified in 1974.

oct. 16

Mother Maddalena Bentivoglio (1834-1905)

After nine years as a Poor Clare in Rome, Maddalena and her older sister Costanza came to the United States to establish a Poor Clare monastery. After unsuccessful attempts in New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Cincinnati, they founded one in Omaha. Louis Lavelle wrote: “It is courage that makes the saint, and courage is no more than confidence in grace that comes from on high and is always available though we do not open our hearts to it” (Four Saints).

oct. 17

Blessed Mary Angela Truskowska (1825-1899)

Praying in Warsaw before a statue of St. Felix of Cantalice, Angela and her companions soon became known as Felician Sisters, dedicated to assisting orphans, those with disabilities, and homeless people. Many sisters became educators at all levels. Felician Sisters came to Wisconsin in 1874 and soon flourished. Mother Angela was beatified in 1993.

oct. 18

Mother Teresa O'Neil (1843-1926)

With Franciscan Father Pamfilo da Magliano, Mother Teresa founded in 1859 a congregation of Franciscan Sisters in Allegany, New York. Most of their members taught in Catholic schools or later served in hospitals or urban residences for working women and men. According to Sister Veronica Rodrigues, community archivist, “Her life was one of trials, ... but she weathered all, trusting in God and his Mother to help her solve her problems.”

oct. 19

Brothers John McMahon and Vincent Hayes

Originally members of the Franciscan Brothers of Ireland, John and Vincent came to the U.S. in 1847 and opened a boys' school in Pittsburgh. Eleven years later at the invitation of Bishop John Loughlin, they opened St. Francis College (now University) in Brooklyn and founded the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, currently the largest congregation of Religious Brothers founded in this country. They expanded their educational and pastoral ministry.

oct. 20

Father John Patrick Doyle (1874-1952)

Born in Ireland, Father John came to the U.S. and graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn. As a diocesan priest he taught there and served as chaplain for its Franciscan Brothers. After joining the Third Order Regular Friars in Loretto, Pennsylvania, he later served as president of St. Francis College (now University) there. One of his favorite sayings was, “Coraggio, il diavolo è morto” (Have courage. The devil is dead.)

oct. 21

Mother Alexia Hoell (1838-1918)

Bemma joined a group of Franciscan Sisters in Germany. The anti-Catholic Kultukampf prompted her and two other sisters to emigrate to Campbellsport, Wisconsin to staff the parish school and open an academy for young women. In time, she and Mother Alfons established the School Sisters of St. Francis, who taught and ran hospitals. Mother Alfons said that Mother Alexia had “an extraordinary, lively, deeply social perception.”

oct. 22

St. Junipero Serra (1713-1784)

After a very successful career teaching philosophy in Majorca, in 1750 Father Serra joined Mexico's San Fernando Missionary College and served in its missions in Sierra Gorde and on the Baja peninsula. In 1769, he founded Mission San Diego in what is now U.S. California, the first of eight missions he would establish there. Another 13 were set up by his successors. He is buried at Mission San Carlos (Carmel) and in 2015 was canonized in Washington, D.C., the first canonization on U.S. soil.

oct. 23

Blessed Frédéric Janssone (1838-1916)

Frédéric worked as a traveling salesperson in France to support his widowed mother. After his priestly ordination in 1870, he served as a military chaplain. Once he joined the Friars Minor, he served 11 years in the Holy Land during two assignments. Sent to Canada in 1881, he made his headquarters at the Shrine of Our Lady at Cap-de-Madeleine near Trois-Rivières. He preached parish missions, ministered to a Poor Clare monastery, and promoted the Secular Franciscan Order. He was beatified in 1988.

oct. 24

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1897-1968)

This Capuchin was ordained a priest in 1910 and later drafted during World War I. Tuberculosis caused his discharge and assignment to San Giovanni Rotondo near Bari. He received Christ's stigmata and thereafter served mostly as a confessor. He once said: “The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the cost of suffering.” He was canonized in 1999.

oct. 25

St. Anthony of Padua (1190-1231)

Born in Portugal, Fernando entered the Augustinians and later became a Friar Minor, hoping to spread the Gospel in Morocco. After sickness prevented that, Anthony taught theology for a short time, preached very effectively in southern France, and for three years led the friars in southern France. He later served as provincial minister in northern Italy. Anthony is linked to finding lost objects and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1946. Many educational, charitable, and environmental initiatives are under his patronage.

oct. 26

Venerable Matt Talbot (1856-1925)

Born in Dublin, between the ages of 15 and 30, Matt was heavily addicted to alcohol. One day he took “the pledge” to quit drinking, joined the Secular Franciscan Order, and began attending daily Mass. His first seven years of sobriety were especially difficult. Matt Talbot retreats today have helped thousands of men and women maintain their sobriety, always a daily decision. St. Paul VI declared him Venerable in 1973.

oct. 27

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271-1336)

The daughter of one king and the wife of another, Elizabeth was related to St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Like her relative, Elizabeth was a tireless peacemaker within her contentious family. She prayed for Denis, her unfaithful husband who eventually asked pardon of God and her. She established orphanages and arranged marriage dowries for poor young women. She was canonized in 1625.

oct. 28

Mother Mary Francis Bachmann (1824-1863)

An immigrant from Bavaria, Maria Anna married and had two daughters and two sons. After her husband died and she had provided for her children, she and her sister-in-law founded the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia to teach and run hospitals. Local bishops encouraged the formation of diocesan communities from the Philadelphia-based one. Mother Francis often said: “My confidence in God is very great, and all my hopes are centered on Him in whose service we are engaged.”

oct. 29

Blessed Angela Salawa (1881-1922)

As a young woman, Angela moved to Krakow, became a domestic worker, and joined the Secular Franciscan Order. She ministered to World War I veterans, regardless of their nationality. At her 1991 beatification, St. John Paul II said: “It in this city that she worked, that she suffered, and her holiness came to maturity. While connected to the spirituality of St. Francis, she showed an extraordinary responsiveness to the action of the Holy Spirit.”

oct. 30

St. Bonaventure (1218-1274)

Born in Italy but educated at the University of Paris, Bonaventure was a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas. After entering the Order of Friars Minor, he taught for a short time before serving as the Order's minister general between 1257 and 1273. Like St. Francis, Bonaventure saw all creation as a ladder leading people back to their Creator. His most famous book is The Soul's Journey to God. He was canonized in 1482 and later declared a Doctor of the Church.

oct. 31

St. Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

After studying at the University of Salamanca, this nobleman established a very ascetic reform group within the Friars Minor. Most of the first friars serving in the New World were Alcantarines, many of them from Extremadura in southern Spain. This former spiritual director of St. Teresa of Avila was canonized in 1669.