PODCAST · religion
Catholic Saints & Feasts
by Fr. Michael Black
"Catholic Saints & Feasts" offers a dramatic reflection on each saint and feast day of the General Calendar of the Catholic Church. The reflections are taken from the four volume book series: "Saints & Feasts of the Catholic Calendar," written by Fr. Michael Black. These reflections profile the theological bone breakers, the verbal flame throwers, the ocean crossers, the heart-melters, and the sweet-chanting virgin-martyrs who populate the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.
Episodes
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October 22: Saint John Paul II, Pope
October 22: Saint John Paul II, Pope 1920–2005 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of World Youth Day Fully prepared, possessing every skill, a pope for the ages makes maximum impact Thirty-three years after the dark cloud of communism had settled over Eastern Europe, on a…
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October 20: Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest (U.S.A.)
October 20: Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest (U.S.A.) 1694–1775 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Ovada, Italy, and founder of the Passionists He was a marathoner whose “runner’s high” lasted a lifetime After unsuccessfully living the life of a soldier, today’s saint left...
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October 19: Saints Jean de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and their Companions, Martyrs (U.S.A.)
October 19: Saints Jean de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and their Companions, Martyrs (U.S.A.) Saint Jean: 1593–1649; Saint Isaac Jogues 1607–1646; Frs. Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel; and laymen René Goupil and Jean de Lalande Memorial; Liturgical Color…
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October 18: Saint Luke, Evangelist
October 18: Saint Luke, Evangelist First Century Feast; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of artists, physicians, and surgeons A disciple of Christ gives the Church two foundational works Saint Luke was one of the four Evangelists but not one of the Twelve Apostles. Like Saint Mark, Luke was not...
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October 17: Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
October 17: Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr c. Mid First Century–c. 110 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of the Church in Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa An early Bishop-martyr elaborates on Catholic theology Although not the most famous Saint Ignatius in the…
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October 16: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
October 16: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin 1647–1690 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of those with polio, devotees of the Sacred Heart, loss of parents A cloistered nun’s visions of the Sacred Heart impact the Church like a meteor Today’s saint, in the eyes of the...
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October 16: Saint Hedwig, Religious
October 16: Saint Hedwig, Religious c.1174–1243 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of brides, widows, and Silesia A wife and mother spreads the faith like a bishop On every limb of the tangled branches of Saint Hedwig’s family tree sits a duke, landgrave, prince, king, queen,...
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October 15: Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor
October 15: Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor 1515–1582 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of headache sufferers and lacemakers A rich, fiery personality purifies herself and the Carmelites The call for reform of the Church has rung out through the centuries down to today....
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October 14: Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
October 14: Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr c. Late Second Century–222 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of cemetery workers A slave takes charge of a catacomb and rises to the papacy Popes owned slaves for centuries to row their boats, cook their meals, and care for their...
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October 11: Saint John XXIII, Pope
October 11: Saint John XXIII, Pope 1881–1963 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of papal delegates A smart, fatherly priest becomes a warm-hearted pope The first Pope John XXIII was an amoral antipope. He was one of three competing popes between 1409–1417, the confusing…
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October 9: Saint John Leonardi, Priest
October 9: Saint John Leonardi, Priest 1541–1609 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of pharmacists “Either Christ or nothing!” was his cure for every ill Today’s saint was among that first wave of post-Council of Trent priests and founders whose purification of the Church...
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October 9: St. Denis, Bishop, & Companions, Martyrs
October 9: Saint Denis, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs Third Century Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Paris A missionary bishop is beheaded and the Church’s eldest daughter thrives Therapod, Spinosaurus, Ornithopod, Ceratopsid, Triceratops. Creatures with strange names…
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October 9: Saint John Henry Newman (England and Wales)
October 9: Saint John Henry Newman 1801–1890 Memorial; Liturgical color: White As mellow as a breeze, as elegant as a swan, he walked alone the path to Rome Pope Benedict XVI, a professional theologian, did not typically perform beatification ceremonies, instead entrusting them to his Cardinals....
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October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary
October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary Memorial; Liturgical color: White Patroness of Malaga, Spain, and the Archdiocese of Vancouver Mary comes to the rescue, and the Catholic West avoids the fate of the Orthodox East In 1204 Venetian Crusaders traveling to the Holy Land sacked Constantinople. Debts...
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October 6: Saint Bruno, Priest
October 6: Saint Bruno, Priest c. 1030–1101 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Calabria, Italy, and of Germany Solitary confinement is not a punishment when it is voluntary and shared with God Today’s saint was born in an unknown year. He left his native Cologne to study…
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October 6: Blessed Rose Marie Durocher, Virgin (U.S.A.)
October 6: Blessed Rose Marie Durocher, Virgin (U.S.A.) 1811–1849 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Invoked against the loss of parents When the call came, she was prepared to say “Yes” The story of today’s Blessed is largely one of waiting for the hammer to strike. Years of quiet…
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October 5: Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin
October 5: Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin 1905-1938 Optional Memorial: Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Mercy Her humble sail caught a powerful theological wind The martyr Saint Faustino was killed in the second decade of the second century in northern Italy under the emperor Hadrian....
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October 4: Saint Francis of Assisi
October 4: Saint Francis of Assisi c. 1182–1226 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of animals, ecology, and merchants. Co-patron of Italy A merchant’s son of eccentric sensibilities goes radical Though originally baptized by his mother as Giovanni (John) in honor of Saint John the...
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October 2: The Holy Guardian Angels
October 2: The Holy Guardian Angels Memorial; Liturgical Color: White A personal spiritual bodyguard watches your back Intuition is a fully formed way of thinking. It is more than just the occasional hunch or subtle perception. Native instinct, or “gut,” is used to calculate, discern, and decide…
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October 1: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor
October 1: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor 1873–1897 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of florists, missions, and aviators A sensitive country girl wades into the deep Thérèse Martin was a weepy child, as emotionally brittle as porcelain. She was easily offended…
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September 30: Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor
September 30: Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor c. 345–420 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of archeologists, Biblical scholars, and librarians A prickly scholar translates the Bible into Latin forever and always Today’s saint was living in Antioch in the 370s when he had a vision....
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September 29: Saints Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael, Archangels
September 29: Saints Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael, Archangels Feast; Liturgical Color: White Patrons of soldiers (Michael); mailmen (Gabriel); travelers and the blind (Raphael) The air between God and man is thick with mystical beings It is a principle of Catholic theology that salvation is...
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September 28: Saint Lawrence Ruiz & Companions, Martyrs
September 28: Saint Lawrence Ruiz & Companions, Martyrs c. 1600–1637 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of the Philippines A married father remains unbroken under the cruelest torture Many lesser-known faces in the deep audience of saints bask in the soft glow of sanctity...
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September 28: Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr
September 28: Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr c. 907–929 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of the Czech Republic and Slovakia A young duke is killed by a jealous brother and becomes a Czech icon When the famous die young, their unwrinkled faces, dark hair, and youthful vigor are…
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September 27: Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
September 27: Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest 1581–1660 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of all charitable societies, hospitals, and leprosy victims A powerhouse priest organizes multitudes for charity and renews priestly formation Today’s saint was one of the brightest stars in the...
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September 26: Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs
September 26: Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs c. Late third–early fourth century Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of doctors, barbers, and pharmacists Holy twins are honored for their healing, their poverty, and their deaths The ancient walls of the Church of the Holy...
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September 23: Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest
September 23: Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest 1887–1968 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of civil defense volunteers and adolescents A humble friar’s love for Christ burns holes in his hands Long-married spouses often develop similar patterns of speech. A boy might…
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September 21: Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
September 21: Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist First Century Feast; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of bankers, accountants, and money changers A lover of money becomes greedy for God People leave their jobs for all sorts of reasons: more pay, better opportunity, a shorter commute.…
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September 20: Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
September 20: Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs Nineteenth century Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saints of Korea Their martyrdom for a new faith caused the Christian sun to rise in Korea Catholicism was not originally brought to the isolated…
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September 19: Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr
September 19: Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr c. 300 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Naples An early bishop martyr is honored due to an enduring miracle of blood In every lost corner and hidden valley of the Catholic world is a painting of the Virgin Mary that cries...
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September 17: Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor
September 17: Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor 1542–1621 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of catechists and catechumens A learned scholar with a warm personality drives the Counter-Reformation forward A massive, multi-volume work of Christian theology was…
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September 17: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor
September 17: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor 1098-1179 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of philologists A one-woman magisterium orchestrates a life in tune with the Creator In the high Middle-Ages, she was New-Age. Before farm-to-table was a term, she lived...
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September 16: Saint Cyprian, Bishop, Martyr
September 16: Saint Cyprian, Bishop, Martyr c.200–258 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of Algeria and North Africa The faithful soak up the blood of their beheaded bishop The elegantly named Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus was born in an uncertain year in that buzzing beehive of early...
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September 16: Saint Cornelius, Pope, Martyr
September 16: Saint Cornelius, Pope, Martyr c. Late Second, or Early Third, Century–253 Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of cattle, domestic animals, and earache sufferers A Pope reigns for two years, excommunicates a schismatic, and dies in exile The twenty-first pope of the Church,...
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September 15: Our Lady of Sorrows
September 15: Our Lady of Sorrows Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of Slovakia A mother is only as happy as her saddest child Every life climbs its Calvary. Every soul has its quiet sorrow which cannot be shared in full with any other soul. This concealed pain is the very real drama…
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September 14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross
September 14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross Feast; Liturgical Color: Red Patronal Feast of Cortona, Italy A torture device is transformed into a universal symbol of hope and peace If the Romans had hung criminals from a gibbet, then Catholic churches would display a noose in their sanctuaries...
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September 13: Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor
September 13: Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor c. 347–407 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of preachers and speakers A great preacher, writer, and intellectual suffers for the faith In the tug and pull of the theological disputes of the fourth and fifth centuries, today’s...
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September 12: The Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
September 12: The Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Every name begins a relationship A name doesn’t imply that you know everything about someone, but it does make a person “invocable.” To know that there is a “someone” standing before you is not to…
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September 9: Saint Peter Claver, Priest (U.S.A.)
September 9: Saint Peter Claver, Priest (U.S.A.) 1580–1654 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of slaves, Colombia, seafarers, and missionaries to Africa A builder of the Spanish Bridge, he personified respect for human rights It is commonly taught that human rights were born in the...
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September 8: Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary
September 8: Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Late First Century B.C. Feast; Liturgical Color: White Patroness of silversmiths, potters, and chefs The last and greatest figure of the B.C. era causes its end The birthdates of great men and women are remembered for posterity. The presidents of the...
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September 5: Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Religious
September 5: Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Religious 1910–1997 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White (Mother Teresa is not on the Church’s universal calendar but is included here due to her renown) Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, India She equals in generosity the great ‘Teresas’…
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September 3: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor
September 3: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor c. 540–604 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers A gifted nobleman serves Rome, becomes a monk, and then a consequential pope When your salad is awesome, your car amazing, and your…
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August 29: The Passion of Saint John the Baptist, Martyr
August 29: The Passion of Saint John the Baptist, Martyr c. 29 A.D. Memorial; Liturgical Color: Red A desert-dwelling, locust-eating, weed-wearing, celibate ascetic dies for marriage Saint John Vianney was so opposed to the dances held routinely in his small town of Ars that he dedicated a small...
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August 28: Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor
August 28: Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor 354–430 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of theologians and printers A psychologist, theologian, and working bishop is the greatest convert after Saint Paul The mighty African Saint Augustine climbed the heights of thought, stood upright...
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August 27: Saint Monica
August 27: Saint Monica c. 331–387 Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of difficult marriages, homemakers, and mothers Without her example of persevering prayer, her gifted son would not have converted Most of the female saints of the first few centuries of the Church are virgins,...
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August 25: Saint Louis
August 25: Saint Louis 1214–1270 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of barbers, grooms, and Saint Louis, Missouri A king leads in piety, mortification, and faith, and dies crusading for the King of all Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves...
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August 25: Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest
August 25: Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest 1556–1648 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Catholic schools and school children A visionary implements his plan, is defamed, and forgives The star of today’s saint burns less brightly than others in the great constellation of...
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August 24: Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
August 24: Saint Bartholomew, Apostle First Century Feast; Liturgical Color: Red Patron Saint of bookbinders, butchers, and leather workers The Church conquered an imperfect world due to the heroic witness of the Apostles Little is known with certainty about today’s Apostle, and perhaps Saint...
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August 23: Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin
August 23: Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin 1586–1617 Optional Memorial; Liturgical Color: White Patron Saint of Peru, florists, and gardeners America’s first saint, she conquered herself by direct attack Today’s saint was born Isabel Flores de Oliva in colonial Spain, today’s Peru, to a middle-class...
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August 22: Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 22: Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Memorial; Liturgical Color: White The mother of a king is a queen who receives honor in her son’s realm Mary is both a queen and a mother, but she is more mother than queen. Mary’s Queenship and “mothership,” or motherhood, spark to life...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
"Catholic Saints & Feasts" offers a dramatic reflection on each saint and feast day of the General Calendar of the Catholic Church. The reflections are taken from the four volume book series: "Saints & Feasts of the Catholic Calendar," written by Fr. Michael Black.
These reflections profile the theological bone breakers, the verbal flame throwers, the ocean crossers, the heart-melters, and the sweet-chanting virgin-martyrs who populate the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.
HOSTED BY
Fr. Michael Black
CATEGORIES
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How many episodes does Catholic Saints & Feasts have?
Catholic Saints & Feasts currently has 266 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Catholic Saints & Feasts about?
"Catholic Saints & Feasts" offers a dramatic reflection on each saint and feast day of the General Calendar of the Catholic Church. The reflections are taken from the four volume book series: "Saints & Feasts of the Catholic Calendar," written by Fr. Michael Black. These reflections profile the...
How often does Catholic Saints & Feasts release new episodes?
Catholic Saints & Feasts publishes regularly with 266 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Catholic Saints & Feasts on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Catholic Saints & Feasts?
Catholic Saints & Feasts is created and hosted by Fr. Michael Black.
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