Every August, the Church celebrates many saints with feast days and memorials, honoring their unique contributions to the faith and reflecting on their examples of service. From the patron saint of South America to the pope who gave his blessing to the building of the National Shrine, these saints each have something to teach us. Read about five saints celebrated in August and why you should know their stories.
August 1 – Saint Alphonsus Liguori
A brilliant lawyer and understanding teacher, Saint Alphonsus was a compassionate soul with a zeal for God. Born into a family of wealthy nobles in Naples in 1696, Alphonsus earned his degree in civil and canon law when he was only 16. For the first eight years of his career, he never lost a single case, but he eventually became overwhelmed by the corruption in the justice system and in 1723, quit practicing law to study Scripture.
About three years later, he was ordained and began ministering to some of the most indigent and crime-ridden districts in Naples. In the years that followed, the districts reached by Saint Alphonsus’ ministry showed vast improvement: prostitution, duels, and theft nearly vanished, and the new members of the faithful met in evening chapels, praying and reflecting upon the Scriptures. Having trained the laity sufficiently to carry on his work in the capital, Alphonsus ventured elsewhere to continue his ministry of spiritual education. In the rural hinterlands outside Naples, he founded the order of “Congregation of the Holy Redeemer,” dedicated to teaching the Word of God to the spiritually impoverished. Today, members of his order – now called the Redemptorists – continue his work of evangelizing rural people in all parts of the world.
August 10 – Saint Lawrence
As a deacon in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Valerian, Saint Lawrence was a champion of the inherent value of all human beings. When Pope Sixtus II was martyred in 258, he prophesied that Lawrence would soon follow. After seeing the poverty in Rome, Lawrence was moved with compassion, and began selling the valuables of the church in order to distribute the money to the poor. In response, the Roman prefect demanded that he reclaim the Church’s treasures and turn them over to the government. Three days later, St. Lawrence assembled the poor, sick, and outcast of the city, presenting them as the “Church’s treasures.” Incensed, the prefect ordered Lawrence to be executed. Following St. Lawrence’s martyrdom, many were inspired to convert, including Roman senators who had witnessed his death. His example encourages us to recognize the inherent value of all human beings, no matter their age, health, or status.
August 20 – Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Born in 1090, Saint Bernard was one of the most influential religious thinkers of his time. At age 22, he left his home in Dijon, France, to join the Cistercian monastery, taking 31 companions with him. Just a few years after becoming a monk, he was appointed to establish a new monastery at Clairvaux – and within five years, the members had increased to 130. Because of his outstanding leadership, the monks at Clairvaux created over 68 Cistercian monasteries during his lifetime. In 1140, Bernard began preaching to students in Paris, diving into the great religious and intellectual debates of his era and gaining notoriety and influence throughout Western Europe. Over the course of his prolific career, he wrote over three hundred sermons, a multitude of letters, and various reflections on Scripture.
August 21 – Pope Saint Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X was born as Giuseppe Sarto in Riese, Treviso, in 1835. Although he came from a family of peasants, he went on to study at the seminary in Padua and was ordained at age 23. In the years that followed, he served in a variety of religious roles around Italy, ranging from curate to seminary spiritual director, until he was appointed Bishop of Mantua in 1884. Within the decade, he was appointed Patriarch of Venice, and in 1893, he was elected to the papacy.
The defining feature of Pius X’s tenure as pope was his effort for reform. Among other improvements, he reorganized the Roman Curia, founded various regional seminaries, compiled a universal catechism in Italian, and established the Pontifical Biblical Institute to push back against the waves of modernism. Pope Saint Pius X also played a key role in the early stages of the National Shrine, giving his apostolic blessing and personally contributing to the project. Throughout his lifetime, he demonstrated his unwavering commitment to his motto, Instaurare Omnia in Christo, which means “To restore all things in Christ.”
August 23 – Saint Rose of Lima
Born as Isabel de Flores to Spanish parents in Peru in 1586, Rose was extraordinarily beautiful even as an infant. As she grew older, she only became more and more lovely, which was a great source of pride for her parents. After losing much of their fortune in mining speculation, they were eager to have their beautiful daughter snatched up by a rich suitor. But while countless young men sought Rose’s affections, she eschewed them for spiritual pursuits. Despite her parents’ wishes for her to marry a rich suitor, Rose took a vow of virginity and joined the Third Order of St. Dominic. Eventually, she decided to move into a garden hut, where she dedicated herself to prayer and cared for the ill and elderly. The faithful flocked to Rose for advice, prayer, and healing, and some even credited her with saving Lima from earthquakes in the surrounding region. Rose’s life and ministry provide an example of how to love others as Christ loves us. Fondly referred to as “the New World’s first flower of holiness,” she was the first named saint in the Western Hemisphere.
Sources:
Butler’s Lives of Saints, ed. Bernard Bangley.
Message of Benedict XVI on August 10, 2010, The Vatican.
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. Jubilee 2009: A Photographic History of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2009.
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Guide and Tour Book. Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2018.
The Way of Saints, by Tom Cowan.