BIG C CATHOLICS

March 3rd, dioceses in the United States celebrate the optional memorial of Saint Katharine Drexel (1858–1955), the 20th century sister, missionary and educator who ministered to the marginalized in the United States, especially the Native American and African American communities. In 1891, she, and a small cadre of her fellow nuns established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. The Order operated mission schools in the West and the South. Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia, to a family of immense wealth. Francis Drexel, her father, was a business partner of J.P. Morgan. He was known for his generous philanthropy. Her mother, Hannah Drexel, died less than a month after Drexel's birth. In 1860, her father would remarry. As a daughter of great privilege, Drexel was privately schooled by the best tutors, widely travelled and raised to be a high society heiress. Drexel's sense of compassion and natural empathy were attuned to the needs of

On February 10th, the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Scholastica (c. 480 – 547), the sixth century nun and twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In possession of numerous spiritual gifts, as a young girl, she dedicated her life and her virginity to God. What little we know about her comes from Saint Gregory the Great's Dialogues , (Chapters 33 and 34) in passages concerning Benedict. Once a year, she would visit her brother and together, they would spend the day praying, reading Sacred Scripture and discussing issues. She is the foundress of the women's Order of Benedictine Monasticism. The two siblings were born to a wealthy Roman noble family in Nursia, Italy, around the year 480. Their mother Claudia, died at their birth. When Benedict left to pursue his studies in Rome, Scholastica remained behind. It was customary for a young Roman woman of Scholastica's standing to reside with her family until marriage or her entrance into religious life. Accounts diff

On February 1st, the Church in Ireland celebrates the feast of Brigid of Ireland or Saint Brigid of Kildare (c. 450 – 525), also known as "the Mary of the Gael". Along with Saint Patrick and Saint Columba she is one of Ireland’s three patron saints. She was born a slave into a Druid family, the daughter of Dubhthach, court poet to King Loeghaire. St. Bridget is one of the few saints who stands on the boundary between pagan mythology, Druidism and Christian spirituality. Around her name there have been formed hundreds of legends, which could be fittingly described as "the Little Flowers of St. Brigid," the keynote being mercy and pity for the poor. At an early age, Brigid decided to become a Christian, and she eventually took vows as a nun. Brigid’s family expected her to marry, but she disfigured her face, marring her beauty in order to dissuade suitors and serve God in consecrated life. While consecrated religious life was not foreign to the Irish Church prior

January 27th, is the optional memorial of Saint Angela Merici (1474 – 1540), the 16th century virgin, religious educator and foundress, who established the Order of Ursulines, the first teaching order for women recognized by the Catholic Church. From this Order would later emerge the monastic Order of Ursulines, whose nuns founded convents of prayer and study throughout the world, including North America. From her earliest moments, Angela dedicated herself to fasting, self-sacrifice and prayer; practices she maintained throughout her life. Angela was born in the town of Desenzano del Garda in Lombardy, Italy, the second child of a pious middle class family.  At 15, her parents died, leaving her and her older sister orphans. A short time later, her sister would also die. At some point during this period, Angela dedicated herself to Christ as His bride and became a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis. She lived simply, sleeping only a few hours a night and spending much of her

December 12th, dioceses in Canada celebrate the memorial of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700), the 17th century consecrated religious, accomplished educator and foundress who established the Congrégation de Notre-Dame, a community of mendicant sisters ministering to the world. Renowned for her tireless work advancing the Gospel, she was instrumental in founding the city of Montreal. A mystical vision of the Virgin Mary compelled her to devote her life to God. With her canonization, Bourgeoys became Canada’s first female saint. She was born on Good Friday, in Troyes, France, the sixth of twelve children to Abraham Bourgeoys and Guillemette Gamier, and baptized the same day. Her large middle-class family was devoutly Christian. Her father died when she was very young. At nineteen years of age Marguerite’s mother died. The following year, on October 7, 1640, during a procession in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, while observing a statue of the Blessed Virgin, she experienced a d

January 4th, is the memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Most people know that she was the first American-born person to be declared a saint (she was canonized on September 14, 1975) and that she is regarded as being one of the driving forces behind the rise of parochial education in the United States. Many are also aware that she was the foundress of the American Sisters of Charity, which was the first order of sisters native to the U.S. What many may not realize, however, is that her road to sainthood was paved with difficulties that sound quite modern in their familiarity. Born the second daughter of a prominent Anglican family in New York in 1774, she suffered the death of her mother in 1777, most likely as a result of childbirth. The woman that her father married in 1778, Charlotte Barclay, never accepted the children from her husband’s first marriage. That marriage eventually ended in a separation due to irreconcilable conflicts. Elizabeth suffered greatl

December 15th, the feast of St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli, a 16th century Italian lay woman who founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge on Mount Calvary and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary, is celebrated in Italy. She was born in Genoa, Italy to a noble family, the only daughter of Giorgio Centurione, and Lelia Spinola, and forced into marriage at 15. She bore two daughters and was widowed in 1607 aged 20. She refused another marriage and made a vow of chastity. She devoted her life to helping the needy and the sick and died in 1651. She was canonized by Saint John Paul II on May 18, 2003. At her canonization Mass, St. John Paul praised her selfless devotion in these words: "In response to the exhortation of the Apostle John, [Virginia Centurione Bracelli] wanted to love not only "with words", "or with her lips", but "with deeds and in truth" (I Jn 3:18). Disregarding her noble origins, she devoted herself to assisting the lowlies

October 6th, is the optional memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, (1811-1849) the 19th century Canadian religious, who founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. She was born, Eulalie Mélanie Durocher in the village of Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, the tenth of eleven children to Olivier and Geneviève Durocher, devout farmers. Four of her siblings were called to religious life. Her brothers Flavien, Théophile, and Eusèbe became priests. Her sister Séraphine was a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame. Eulalie aspired to follow her sister and join the Congregation of Notre Dame. She was home-schooled by her paternal grandfather and attending various boarding schools. In 1827, she enrolled in the school of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Montreal, with the intention of entering the novitiate, but was turned away due to poor health. In 1830, Eulalie's mother Geneviève died. The next year, her brother, Father Théophile, who was curate of Saint-Mathieu

September 5th, is the feast of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, (1910-1997) the Catholic religious, missionary and foundress of the Missionaries of Charity who experienced a “call within a call” to devote herself to caring for the sick and the poor. She was born, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, in the Ottoman Empire (now the Republic of Macedonia), in the city of Skopje. By the age of 12 she resolved to commit herself to a religious life and to go to India to care of the poverty-stricken. At 18, Agnes left home to enter the Sisters of Loreto Abbey in Ireland as a missionary. She took her first religious vows on May 24, 1931. Six years later, she took her solemn vows on May 14, 1937, while serving as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in Calcutta. Teresa would serve there for almost twenty years. On September 10, 1946, Teresa experienced what she later described as "the call within the call" to help the suffering and the marginalized. From her Vatican biography: "On that day, i

August 30th, the Church celebrates Saint Jeanne Jugan, (1792-1879) also known as, Mary of the Cross, a French religious remembered for her dedication to the elderly indigent, who founded the Little Sisters of the Poor. She was born in Cancale, Brittany, (France) the sixth of eight children of Joseph and Marie Jugan. Due to the religious persecution of the French Revolution. Jugan was catechized and attended Mass in secret. To support her family, she worked as a shepherdess. Later, she became a domestic servant to the Viscountess de la Choue, a devout Catholic. When the viscountess visited the sick and the needy, Jeanne would accompany her. She declined the marriage proposals of several potential suitors saying that God was calling her to, "a work which is not yet founded." At 25, she entered the Third Order of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary founded by Saint John Eudes. During this period, she worked as a hospital nurse and assisted a fellow member of the Eudist Thir

The Optional Memorial of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal is August 12th. St. Jane experienced both the vocation of marriage and life as a consecrated religious. Like Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, after her husband's untimely death, she raised a large family before taking vows and founding an order for women. She was born in Dijon, France, on January 28, 1572. Her father was a high ranking official in the Parliament of Burgundy. From him Jane received her love for God. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old. At the age of 20, she married the Baron de Chantal. Her husband was a godly man, however, the baron's long neglected business concerns were on the brink of collapse. Jane helped supervised the estate. Organizing her husband's finances until they were solvent won her the respect of many. In 1601, upon the death of her husband in a hunting accident, the heartbroken young widow took a vow of chastity. She initially struggled with the prospect of raising her four survivi

Saint Bridget died on this date in 1376. She was born into a devout family. Her mother was deeply pious; her father went to confession every Friday and made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. At 13, Bridget married, Ulf Gudmarsson with whom she had eight children. Following the death of her husband, she founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior, erecting a double monastery for monks and nuns at Vadstena. It was an order primarily for women, ruled by an abbess. The brothers had as their head a Confessor General who was responsible for the spiritual formation of both convents. The Order soon spread quickly throughout continental Europe. St. Bridget is one of three co-patronesses of Europe and the patron saint of Sweden. St. Bridget is famous for her Revelations concerning the sufferings of our Lord. At the age of ten, Bridget had a vision of Jesus hanging upon the cross. When she asked who had treated him so cruelly He answered: "They who despise me, and spurn my love for them."