Facts About Saints
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz Sypniewska, B.F.A.

Facts About Saints:

• Not all saints are Christians.

• Not all saints are Catholic.

• Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism all have saints or holy people.

• Every religion has the concept of sainthood.

• The word saint comes from the Latin word santus meaning holy or consecrated.

• The Church of England named St. Charles (Charles I, King of England).

• The Episcopal Church has nominated:

  ..........Elizabeth Cady Stanton
  ..........Amelia Bloomer
  ..........Sojourner Truth
  ..........Harriet Tubman

  These people were all pioneers in anti-slavery.

• Before a pious person can reach sainthood, they must go through three stages:

  [1] nomination
  [2] beautification
  [3] canonization

  Normally it takes approximately fifty years to be canonized.

  ...St. Catherine of Siena took 81 years
  ...St. Joan of Arc took 464 years
  ...St. Bernadette of Lourdes took 54 years

• Seventy-seven popes have been made saints.

  St. Peter (33-64)	St. Linus (64-76)	St. Cletus (76-88)
  St Clement (88-97)	St. Evaristus (97-105)	St. Alexander I (105-115)
  St. Sixtus I (115-125)	St. Telesporus (125-136)	St. Hyginus I (136-140)
  St. Pius (140-155)	St. Anicetus (155-166)	St. Soter (166-174)
  St. Eleutherius (174-189)	St. Victor (189-199)	St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
  St. Callistus (217-222)	St. Urban I (222-230)	St. Pontian (230-235)
  St. Anterus (235-236)	St. Fabian (236-250)	St. Cornelius (251-253)
  St. Lucius (253-254)	St. Stephen I (254-257)	St. Sixtus II (257-257)
  St. Dionysius (260-268)	St. Felix I (269-274)	St. Eurychian (275-283)
  St. Gaius (283-296)	St. Marcellinus (296-304)	St. Marcellus I (308-309)
  St. Eusebius (309-310)	St. Miltiades (311-314)	St. Sylvester I (314-335)
  St. Mark (336-336)	St. Julius I (337-352)	St. Felix II (355-365)
  St. Damasus I (366-384)	St. Siricius (384-399)	St. Anastacius I (399-401)
  St. Innocent I (401-417)	St. Zosimus (417-418)	St. Boniface (418-422)
  St. Celestine I (422-432)	St. Sixtus III (432-440)	St. Leo, the Great (440-461)
  St. Hilarus (461-468)	St. Simplicius (468-483)	St. Felix II (III) (483-492)
  St. Gelasius (492-496)	St. Symmachus (498-514)	St. Hormisdas (514-523)
  St. John I (523-526)	St. Felix III (526-530)	St. Agapitus (535-536)
  St. Silverius (536-537)	St. Gregory I (590-604)	St. Boniface III (507-607)
  St. Boniface IV (608-615)	St. Deusdedit (615-618)	St. Martin I (649-653)
  St. Eugene I (654-657)	St. Vitalian (657-672)	St. Agatho (678-681)
  St. Leo II (682-683)	St. Benedict II (684-685)	St. Sergius (687-701)
  St. Gregory III (731-741)	St. Zacharius (741-752)	St. Paul I (757-767)
  St. Paschal I (817-824)	St. Leo IV (847-853)	St. Nicholas I (858-867)
  St. Adrian III (884-885)	St. Leo IX (1002-1054)	St. Gregory VII (1073-1085)
  St. Pius V (1566-1572)	St. Pius X (1903-1914)	...	...

• St. Elizabeth Seton was the first person, born in the U.S.A., to be canonized as a saint.

• In 2012, Kateri Tekawitha is made a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be declared a Saint. Her feast day is July 14, in the U.S.A. She is the patroness of the environment and ecology as is St. Francis of Assisi.

• Only a few saints received stigmata:

  .....St. Francis of Assisi (in 1224 until his death)
  .....St. Catherine of Siena (after making communion in the Church of St. Christina in Pisa, Italy.
  .....Padre Pio, an Italian monk.

• Some saints were crusaders:

  .....St Louis IX, King of France (in 1248 and in 1270)
  .....St. Bernard of Clairvaux (in 1128). He was one of the founders of the Knights Templars.

• Many saints have royal or noble blood.

• There are nine types of saints:

  .....1. Virgins
  .....2. Apostles
  .....3. Martyrs
  .....4. Confessors
  .....5. Prophets
  .....6. Patriarchs
  .....7. The Chaste
  .....8. The Married
  .....9. The Penitents

• Famous Pilgrimage Sites are:

  .....01. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Italy
  .....02. *Lourdes, France. (1858)
  .....03. *Fatima, Portugal (1917)
  .....04. Saint Anne de Beaupre, Canada
  .....05. Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  .....06. The Tomb of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy
  .....07. The Shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Cologne, Germany
  .....08. The Sanctuary of St. Mary Magdalene in Marsailles, France.
  .....09. Our Lady of Czestochowa shrine in Poland.
  

  

  .....10. Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico (1531).
  .....11. *Rue du Bac, Paris, France (1830)
  .....12. *La Salette, France (1846)
  .....13. *Pontmain, France (1871)
  .....14.*Knock, Ireland (1879)
  .....15. *Beauraing, Belgium (1932-33)
  .....16. *Banneaux, Belgium (1933) .....17. *Akita, Japan (1973-1981)
  .....18. *Medjugorje, Bosnia (1981-?)
  .....19. *Kibeho, Rwanda (1981-1989)
  .....20. *San Nicolas, Argentina (1983-1990)
  .....21. *Betania, Venezuela (1984)
  * = places of the Holy Mother of God appeared.

  .....Virgin Mary
  .....Feast of the Virgin Mary
  .....Dolars of the Virgin Mary
  .....Stanislas Papczynski, Founder of the Marions

• Holy Symbols:

  .....the Lamb symbolizes sacrifice, modesty, and innocence.
  .....the Dove is the emblem of the Holy Ghost and the soul of man.

  .....the Sword represents the battles that have been fought for the sake of humanity

  .....the Chalice is the mark of faith.

• Some Patron Saints:

  .....USA - Virgin Mary (since 1846)
  .....Canada - St. Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and St. Anne - the Mother of the Virgin Mary.
  .....Latin and South America - St Rose of Lima (1586) .....England - St George
  .....Scotland - St Andrew and St. Columba
  .....Ireland - St. Brigid, St. Columba and St. Patrick
  .....Wales - St. David
  .....Europe - St. Benedict
  .....Polish Saints - CLICK HERE

  .....For more Polish Saints CLICK HERE

  .....For various artist's images of St Stanislas, CLICK HERE

  .....Asia, Australia, and New Zealand - St. Xavier (a Jesuit)

• A saint's feast day is generally the day on which they died.

  .....U.S.A.'s most celebrated saint feast days are: St Valentine's Day (Feb. 14th), and St. Patrick's Day (March 17th).

  .....Michaelmas Day (Sept. 29th) was originally celebrated in honor of St. Michael, the Archangel and all the angels. Today St. Gabriel and St. Raphael has been added to this list.
  .....Saint Boniface (b. 680) popularized the Christmas Tree.
  .....St. Nicholas popularized the giving of gifts on Christmas Eve.
  .....St Francis of Assisi popularized the practices of nativity creches (in 1223)
  .....April Fool's Day (Apr. 1st) is the feast day of St. Hugh, bishop of Grenoble.

• Many flowers are dedicated to the Holy Mother/Virgin Mary:
  Roses-symbolize pure love and matryrdom.
  Forget-me-nots - are named after Mary's eyes.
  Marigolds - Mary's Gold
  Cowslip - Our Lady's keys
  Harebell - Our Lady's thimble
  Lily-of-the-Valley - Our Lady's tears
  the Rose of Mary - were said to have changed from white to blue when St. Mary/Virgin Mary laid her cloak over the plant.
  Blessed Milk Thistle - the white leaf veins of this plant were said to have come from Mary's milk.
  Lady's Mantle and Lady's Smock were also named after the Virgin Mary
  *numerous gardens were dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages.

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