Contents Introduction...... xi Part 1: Who Defied Expectations...... 1 1. Bl. : A Mischievous Woman Who Smuggled to Safety...... 3 2. Bl. Nicolas Steno: The Father of Geology, a Proto- Paleontologist, a Convert, and a ...... 7 3. Bl. Sara Salkaházi: A Chain-Smoking Socialist Who Became a Misfit Sister...... 10 4. St. Martha Wang Luo Mande: A Quiet Homemaker with the Courage of a Warrior...... 13 5. St. Hyacintha Mariscotti: A Self-Obsessed Mean Girl Who Learned to Love ...... 15 6. St. Robert Southwell: A Poet of Legendary Good Looks Who Was Unbreakable under Torture...... 18 Part 2: Saints Who Never Gave Up...... 21 7. Bl. Peter Kasui Kibe: The Most Determined Man on the Face of the Planet...... 23 8. Ven. : An Alcoholic Who Didn’t Have a Drink for Forty Years...... 26 9. Ven. Teresa Chikaba: A Ghanaian Princess (and Worker) Despised for Her Race ...... 28 10. Ragheed Aziz Ganni: A Popular Young Killed by Terrorists ...... 32 11. St. Charles Lwanga and Companions: Royal Attendants Who Preferred Death to ...... 35 12. Servant of God John Baptist Yi Byeok: The Teenage Pagan Who Introduced the Gospel to Korea ...... 39 13. Servant of God : The Haitian Immigrant at the Heart of Black Catholic Baltimore ...... 42 14. Ven. Nguyễn Văn Thuận: An Archbishop Who Embraced Life in Solitary Confinement in a Communist Prison...... 45 Part 3: Saints Who Had Great Adventures ...... 49 15. Bl. : A War Nurse Jungle Surgeon Evangelist Sister...... 51 16. Bl. Natalia Tulasiewicz: A Polish Intellectual Who Fought the Nazis by Preaching the Gospel...... 53 17. St. John Francis Regis: The Mountain-Climbing, Prostitute- Rescuing Priest Who Was a Role Model to St. John Vianney...... 56 18. St. : A Missionary Bishop Who Fought Communist Pirates to Save His People ...... 60 Part 4: Saints Who Lived Ordinary Lives...... 63 19. Ven. : A Working-Class Bachelor Whose “Unsuccessful” Life Changed the World...... 65 20. Bls. Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi: An Ordinary Marriage Shot Through with ...... 68 21. Ven. : A Sweet Little Girl Who Knew How to Suffer Well ...... 71 22. Bl. : A Man Whose Wife Was Resentful of His Piety...... 74 23. Ven. Teresita Quevedo: The Captain of the Basketball Team Who Was Voted Best Dressed in Her Class...... 77 24. Servant of God Antonio Cuipa: A Husband and Father Whose Skill as a Musician Made Him a Star Evangelist...... 80 25. Ven. : A Factory Worker from the Slums Who Became a Poor Clare ...... 83 26. Bl. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago: A Chronically Ill College Dropout Who Taught His People to Love the ...... 85 27. Bl. Ceferino Giménez Malla: A Grandpa Killed for Being Armed with a ...... 88 28. Bl. Carlo Acutis: A Teenage Boy with a PlayStation and a Website ...... 91 Part 5: Saints with Difficult Families ...... 95 29. St. Marguerite Bays: A Who Loved Her Dysfunctional Family...... 97 30. Servant of God Rose Hawthorne Lathrop: A Frivolous Socialite Who Left Her Alcoholic Husband ...... 99 31. St. Marguerite d’Youville: A Pioneer Woman with a Dramatic Life ...... 104 32. Bl. Victoire Rasoamanarivo: The Married Woman Who Defied Her Family to Lead the Church in Madagascar .....107 Part 6: Saints Who Found Holiness through Suffering ...... 111 33. Bl. Benedetta Bianchi Porro: The Medical Student Who Went Blind and Deaf but Refused to Despair ...... 113 34. Ven. : A Heroic Priest Plagued by Mental Illness ...... 116 35. St. Magdalena Son So-byok: A Mother Who Buried Nine Babies ...... 119 36. Ven. Cornelia Connelly: A Woman Who Didn’t Hate Her Ex-Priest Ex-Husband Even after He Took Her Children ...... 121 37. Bl. Zdenka Schelingová: The Sister Who Defied Communists and Died Abandoned by Everyone She Loved ...... 124 38. Sts. Columba Kim Hyo-im and Agnes Kim Hyo-ju: Sisters Who Survived Sexual Assault but Gave Their Lives for ...... 126 39. Servant of God : A Twenty-First-Century Impoverished Teenager with Muscular Dystrophy...... 129 40. Sts. Timothy and Maura: A Couple Whose Marriage Only Lasted a Month ...... 132 Part 7: Saints Whose Ruined Plans Opened the Way to More Beautiful Things ...... 135 41. Bl. Lindalva Justo de Oliveira: A Life of Failure and Uncertainty Crowned with Martyrdom ...... 137 42. Bl. Catalina de María Rodríguez: A Woman Called to the Convent but Pressured into Marriage ...... 140 43. Servant of God Léonie Martin: The Awkward, Unruly, Unstable Older Sister of St. Thérèse...... 143 44. Bl. María Guggiari Echeverría: A Carmelite Nun Who Rejoiced in Her Broken Heart...... 147 45. St. Frances of : An Introvert Who Found Holiness in a Vocation She Never Wanted ...... 150 46. Ven. María Luisa Josefa: An Infertile Wife, a Widow, Then an Ex-Nun Twice Over...... 152 Part 8: Saints Who Were Failures ...... 157 47. St. Mark Ji Tianxiang: An Opium Addict Who Never Got Clean ...... 159 48. St. Leopold Mandić: A Faithful Priest Whose Only Dream Never Came True ...... 161 49. St. Pacificus of San Severino: A Talented Priest Who Lost His Ability to Walk, Hear, and See ...... 164 50. Ven. Maria Giuseppina Benvenuti (Zeinab Alif): A Captive Ransomed from Slavery to “Waste” Her Life in the Cloister ...... 166 51. Bl. Paul Thoj Xyooj: A Missionary Prodigy Who Lost Everything but His Faith ...... 169 52. Bl. : A Nobleman Who Died a Failure in Everything but Love...... 172 Part 9: Saints Who Lived with Great Humility...... 177 53. St. Vitalis of Gaza: The Who Spent Every Night with a Different Prostitute ...... 179 54. St. Maria Bertilla Boscardin: The Village Simpleton Who Became a Brilliant Nurse ...... 181 55. Bl. Francisco de Paula Victor: The Man Freed from Slavery Who Fought Using Gentleness and Humility ...... 185 56. St. Hugh of Grenoble: A Bishop Convinced He Wasn’t Good Enough (Despite His Success)...... 189 Part 10: Saints Whose Generosity Changed the World....191 57. St. Dulce Pontes: The Sister Who Played Soccer with Orphans, Pulled a Dozen People out of a Burning Bus, and Nearly Won a Nobel Prize ...... 193 58. Ven. : The New York City Philanthropist Who Was Born into Slavery...... 196 59. Bl. Augustine Thevarparambil Kunjachan: An Unremarkable Priest Who Became the Apostle to the “Untouchables”...... 200 60. Ven. Felix Varela y Morales: A Condemned Criminal Who Spent His Life Serving Immigrants ...... 203 61. Bl. José Gregorio Hernandez: The Medical Genius Who Served the Poor for Free...... 206 62. Ven. : An Aristocratic Convert Who Moved to the Slums and Became Holy by Smiling ...... 209 Part 11: Saints with Sinful Pasts...... 213 63. Bl. Bartolo Longo: A Satanic High Priest Turned Preacher of the Rosary ...... 215 64. St. Mary of Egypt: A Life of Depravity Handed Over to Jesus ...... 218 65. Sts. Mary of Edessa and of Kidunaia: A Hermitess Who Became a Prostitute and the Father Who Brought Her Home ...... 221 66. St. Hồ Đình Hy: A Scrupulous Former Adulterer Who Finally Realized He Couldn’t Earn Mercy...... 224 67. St. Brice of Tours: A Bishop So Arrogant Only a Saint Could Put Up with Him...... 227 68. Servant of God Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Slaveholding Priest Who Fought Prejudice in Himself and Became a Champion of the Marginalized ...... 230 69. Bl. Anthony Neyrot: An Arrogant Priest Who Was Kidnapped, Sold into Slavery, and Committed Apostasy before Finally Becoming Holy...... 234 70. St. : An Angry Man Who Became a Saint through His Temper...... 237 71. St. Fabiola of Rome: A Divorcée Who Spent Decades without the ...... 240 Part 12: Saints Who Were Merciful ...... 243 72. Servants of God Cyprien and Daphrose Rugamba: A Broken Marriage Made Whole by Grace ...... 245 73. Servant of God Takashi Nagai: A Physician, Convert, Poet—and Victim of the Atom Bomb ...... 248 74. Bl. Jean- Lataste: A Dominican Who Founded an Order of Convict ...... 252 75. Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur: A Gentle Woman Whose Prayers for Her Atheist Husband Led to His Conversion—after Her Death ...... 255 Notes ...... 258 Alphabetical Index of Saints ...... 265 Chronological Index ...... 266 Feast Day Index ...... 267 Geographical Index ...... 268 Topical Index ...... 269