Son of Spanish gypsy parents, Ceferino Giménez Malla known familiarly as “El Pelé” was born in Spain in 1861—no one knows exactly where or when. Ceferino, like his family, was a Roma who lived his life according to Roma traditions and laws, both in his upbringing and throughout his life. As a child, he wandered …
August 2025 ‘Saint of Month’ – Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (1861-1936) Read More »
Image: Father Tulio Maruzzo and Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro (ofm.org) Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro was a Secular Franciscan and one of the Martyrs of Izabal, Guatemala. He was born in Quiriguá, Los Amates, Izabal, Guatemala on 21 June 1950. He was raised in a devout Catholic family that instilled in him a strong faith and …
Blessed Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro (21 June 1950 – 1 July 1981) Read More »
Matt Talbot was a humble Dublin workman whose life of prayer and penance has become well known since his death on June 7, 1925. Matt was born on 2 May 1856 into a working-class family in Dublin’s inner city. From his early teens up to the age of twenty-eight Matt Talbot was addicted to alcohol, …
An Italian Secular Franciscan couple who raised 10 children has been recognised as venerable by Pope Francis. The Bernardinis are the third married couple in the history of the Church to receive this title (they were preceded by Blessed Luigi and Blessed Maria Beltrame and St. Louis and St. Zelie Martin.) Eight of the Bernardini …
May 2025: Venerable Sergio and Domenica Bernardini (1882 & 1889) Read More »
Benedict-Joseph Labre was born in Amettes (France), diocese of Arras, the eldest of a family of fifteen children. Labre’s uncle, a parish priest, gladly received him, and undertook his early education for the priesthood. At the age of sixteen, Benedict-Joseph approached his uncle about becoming a Trappist monk, but his parents told him he would …
April 2025: Benedict-Joseph Labre (1748-1783) (April 16) Read More »
Blessed Angela Salawa, the youngest of ten children of Bartholomew and Eve Salawa, was born on September 9, 1881. The large family, despite owning a farm and earning an income from blacksmithing, led a very modest life, often on the verge of extreme poverty. However, they never lacked faith and piety. It was a family …
March 2025: Blessed Angela (Aniela) Salawa (1881-1922) – (March 12) Read More »
Christianity was introduced to Japan in the sixteenth century by Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, resulting in approximately 300,000 baptized believers by century’s end. This promising beginning faced setbacks due to rivalries among missionaries and political intrigues from the Spanish and Portuguese, as well as power struggles within the Japanese government, resulting in the suppression of …
February 2025: Japanese Franciscan Tertiaries – Martyrs (Feb. 6) Read More »
This Tertiary pope of the 13th century, a friend of St. Bonaventure, was a true son of St. Francis, known for his love for the holy places in Palestine and his efforts to promote peace. Born Theobald Visconti in Piacenza in 1210, he distinguished himself through his virtue and academic success, particularly in canon law, …
Hugoline was born into a noble family in Camerino, Italy, and lived a life of privilege. After the death of his parents, he felt called to a religious life, becoming a Franciscan Friar Minor tertiary and renouncing his wealth to help the poor. Hugoline embarked on a journey of solitude and prayer as a hermit. …
December 2024: Blessed Hugolinus Magalotti (c. 1320 – 1373) Read More »
Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi was born in Catania on 12 January 1880. He enrolled in the Faculty of Law at La Sapienza University and graduated on 14 July 1902. During his studies (1901) he met Maria Corsini and, after three years of dating, he entered into a private engagement with her on 15 …
