Saint of the day

Saint of the day

11 November: Saint Martin of Tours

An act of charity that has been handed down for centuries

There is no doubt that Saint Martin of Tours is well known throughout the world, if for no other reason than his act of charity of sharing half his cloak with a beggar. According to tradition, on that same night Jesus appeared to him wrapped in the beggar’s garments, wearing half a cloak.

This “cape” that belonged to Saint Martin was preserved as a celebrated relic and became part of the collection of the Merovingian kings. Charlemagne sent the Saint’s cape to the Palatine chapel of Aachen, whose name was changed to Aix-la-Chapelle in French and Aachen in German. The chapel’s name has its roots in the place where the Merovingian kings kept Saint Martin’s cape.

November 10: Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

At the Service of the Unity of the Ecclesial Community

Saint Leo shares with Pope Saint Gregory the title of “the Great.” He was born at the end of the 4th century in Etruria. Initially a deacon in Rome, he was ordained a priest and carried out a mission in Gaul before being elected Pope in 440, serving for twenty years during a time of great difficulty.

9 November: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Cathedral of Rome

Mater et Caput of all Churches

The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, commonly known as Saint John Lateran, is the Cathedral of Rome. Mater et Caput of all the Churches in the Urbe and Orbe, it is a point of reference for the Universal Church. On 9 November, we celebrate its dedication by Pope Sylvester, which took place in 324, 1,700 years ago.

8 November: Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, religious sister

Discovering the Love of the Three Divine Persons

Elizabeth Catez was born in 1880 at Camp d’Avor, near Bourges. As a child she showed a strong temperament—at times impulsive and even prone to anger—but her character changed profoundly when her mother explained the meaning of First Communion: to receive Jesus, one needed to offer a gentle and willing heart.

November 7: Saint Willibrord, Bishop

Missionary of the Netherlands

Willibrord was born around 658 in the English region of Northumbria. His education began at the monastery of Ripon, where he received a solid religious formation. At the age of twenty, he decided to deepen his theological studies in Ireland under the guidance of an abbot named Egbert. Around the age of thirty, he was ordained a priest and, together with a group of eleven companions, set out for the continent to spread Christianity in the still pagan lands of Frisia and northern Germany.

November 6: Saint Leonard of Noblac, Hermit

In search of God through prayer and solitude

Leonard was born at the end of the 5th century in a castle near Orléans, in what is now France. His family, connected to the Frankish court, had ancient roots and probably Roman origins. He received solemn baptism from Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims, who became a deeply influential spiritual guide for him. Clovis, King of the Franks, served as his godfather and granted him the power to free prisoners whom he deemed innocent; Leonard used this privilege to help many oppressed people.