Catholic saints

5 Stunning Facts about Saint Catherine of Siena

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Saint Catherine of Siena was one of the greatest followers of Christ. Her ability to articulate the Gospel and her courage to call even the papacy to reform are among the key reasons she is one of my favorite saints. My youngest daughter is even named after this amazing saint, which means her story shows up often in our home in very real and tangible ways.

Read on to learn five amazing facts about Catherine:

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Saints Who Guide Us Through the Digital Age: Holy Helpers for Modern Technology

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Sponsored: This article is made possible by Truthly, supporting quality and engaging Catholic content.

In our family home, we have a running joke about my parents calling me or my siblings whenever they have a technology problem. “The router’s not working!” or “How do I save this document?” We’ve become the default tech support. This experience got me thinking about how we use technology as Catholics in today’s digital environment.

Technology itself—whether it’s smartphones, artificial intelligence, or social media—is morally neutral. Like a hammer, car, or telephone, these tools aren’t inherently good or evil. It’s how we choose to use them that matters. This perspective isn’t new to Catholic thinking. The Church has always recognized that human innovation serves a purpose in God’s plan when used properly. 

While seeking digital balance, I discovered we have spiritual guides for this journey too. The communion of saints offers us models for using technology virtuously, even saints who lived long before the internet age.

Saint Isidore of Seville: The Ancient Patron of the Internet

“The 7th century patron saint of the internet seems odd, but Saint Isidore of Seville connects logically to our digital world.

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Saints Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea: Witnesses to Spiritual Renewal and the Dignity of Life

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The encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, as recounted in the Gospel of John, offers a glimpse into the transformative power of spiritual rebirth through baptism. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, seeks wisdom under the cover of night. This darkness can be seen as symbolic of his initial lack of understanding or hesitation to fully embrace the truth of Jesus’ message. Yet, by approaching Jesus, Nicodemus takes the first step out of this spiritual darkness.

Their conversation centers around the concept of baptism—a second birth that ushers believers into the realm of the spirit. Through baptism, individuals shed their old selves, emerging as adopted children of God, free from the constraints of original sin. Nicodemus’s willingness to engage in dialogue, despite his initial reservations, demonstrates his openness to spiritual growth. He becomes a beacon of hope for all who seek understanding and a deeper connection with divine truth.

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How Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Will Shield You on Your Spiritual Journey

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Saint Patrick lived in the 5th century and was a Christian missionary. He was instrumental in converting Ireland to Christianity. Known most for his usage of the shamrock to help explain the Trinity, Patrick’s successfully converted the pagans.

Saint Patrick

Several posts on this feast day focus on “little known facts” or about whether Saint Patrick was actually Irish. I’m going to do something a bit different. Saint Patrick’s Breastplate prayer always provided me with great comfort. This article will examine the various aspects of his prayer.

Here’s the short version of the prayer (for the long version check out the link in the related resources at the end of this article):

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A 1019 Word Interview with Kevin Wells about Venerable Aloysius Schwartz

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Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Kevin Wells, Catholic author, via phone on February 11th, 2026. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.

Father Al first encountered, around 1939, heroism through comic books like Boy Commandos. How do you think God sometimes uses pop culture as a “gateway drug” to sanctity?

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Following St. Francis: A Pilgrim’s Path Through Italy

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Sponsored: This article is made possible by Follow My Camino, supporting quality and engaging Catholic content.

Most people think they know St. Francis of Assisi.

He’s the bird guy. The nature saint. The gentle medieval mystic who probably floated through fields quoting poetry to wildflowers.

The real Francis would smile at that image and then promptly dismantle it by doing something wildly inconvenient, like renouncing his inheritance in public or embracing a leper out of love for Christ.

Francis didn’t become famous because he was soft. He became famous because he was free. Once you understand that, you begin to see why pilgrims still lace up their boots and follow his footsteps across Italy eight centuries later.

The Saint Everyone Thinks They Know

St. Francis is one of the most beloved saints in history and also one of the most misunderstood.

He’s often portrayed as sentimental or dreamy, but the historical Francis was intense, disciplined, and radically committed. When Jesus said sell what you have, Francis didn’t treat that as a metaphor. He treated it as instructions. When Christ said take up your cross, Francis didn’t write a reflection about it. He obeyed it.

He once said:

“Sanctify yourself, and you will sanctify society.”

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The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul Explained

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There are saints whose lives feel instantly approachable. Thérèse with her quiet trust, Joseph with his hidden faithfulness, Martha with her anxious hospitality that still looks suspiciously like my kitchen on a Tuesday night. And then there is Saint Paul, the former persecutor of Christians who needed nothing less than a divine flash of light to turn his life around.

At first glance, celebrating a man literally knocked off a horse by Jesus Himself can feel disconnected from our own slow and ordinary spiritual lives. Most of us do not encounter blinding lights or audible voices from heaven. Our conversions usually happen in coffee-stained prayer journals, in hurried acts of contrition, or in the quiet determination to try again after another failure. Yet the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, celebrated each year on January 25, may be the most reassuring feast on the Church’s calendar precisely because Paul did not begin as a saint. He began as a mess, and God loved him anyway.

Grace Doesn’t Ask Permission

The Acts of the Apostles introduces Saul of Tarsus not as a seeker or skeptic but as a man actively “breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.” He is not wandering toward God with doubts or half-formed prayers. He is charging in the opposite direction, armed with authority and convinced that he is doing holy work by destroying the Church.

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