St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) was the last of nine children born to Saints Louis and Zelie Martin in Alencon, France. Her family was devoutly religious, and all five surviving siblings, all daughters, entered the convent. From an early age Therese desired to give herself totally to Jesus. Her happy childhood gave way to trial following the death of her mother when she was four years old. This event changed her personality from merry and bright to withdrawn and sensitive. She also suffered a strange illness that brought her near death. Her sisters prayed for her recovery, and Therese was completely healed after she saw the Virgin Mary statue in her room smile down on her. Just before her 14th birthday, on Christmas Eve, Therese had a mystical experience of the Child Jesus. Her sensitiveness disappeared and her faith was greatly fortified. She attended daily Mass with her father and cultivated her strong desire for the salvation of souls. At the age of 15 she obtained special permission to enter the Carmelite convent in Lisieux where two of her sisters were professed. Recognizing her youth and weakness, and unable to do the great things for God in the world that her heart desired, she determined that she would follow the path of spiritual childhood at the feet of Jesus, as his "Little Flower", and instead focus on small acts of kindness for love of Jesus and interior acts of self-denial, a spirituality called "The Little Way." Therese died of Tuberculosis at the age of 24, and her high degree of holiness was discovered through her autobiography, Story of a Soul. Her "Little Way" became profoundly influential around the world, and although she was not a learned scholar, her deep theological life caused Pope St. John Paul II to declare her a Doctor of the Church. She is the patron against sickness, tuberculosis, and loss of parents, as well as of pilots, air crews, florists, missionaries, and the sick. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-01/.

October 2nd is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Although Guardian Angels have been venerated since the early days of the Church, it wasn’t until the 17th century that Pope Clement X extended their feast day to the Universal Church. Although not a dogmatic article of the faith, it is a firmly established Catholic belief that each individual human being has their own Guardian Angel assigned to them by God to watch over their soul, help them avoid sin and temptation, and lead them to heaven, taken in part from Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." The Church thanks God for our heavenly helpers, the Guardian Angels, who minister to us in our need and guide us on the path of salvation. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-02/.

St. Theodore Guerin (1798–1856), also known as St. Theodora, was born in Etables, France, towards the end of the French Revolution. She was a pious child who loved prayer and who knew her vocation was to be a nun. However, she was delayed in following this path after the murder of her father when she was 15, which, in addition to the previous death of two of her siblings, sent her mother into a deep depression. St. Theodore took on the household tasks and the care of her mother and her remaining sister. Finally, when she was 25, her mother gave her consent, and Theodore left home to enter the religious life. She joined the Sisters of Providence who served God by educating children and caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying. In 1840 she was asked to lead a band of missionary sisters and establish her order in the United States of America, specifically to serve the pioneers in Indiana. Even though her health was fragile, she crossed the Atlantic and then traveled by steamboat and stagecoach until she reached the wilderness mission of St. Mary of the Woods, which consisted only of a tiny log chapel. She and her five sisters endured the extreme hardships common to life on the frontier. Less than a year after arriving she opened an academy which became the first Catholic women's Liberal Arts college in the United States, still active today, called St. Mary of the Woods College. St. Theodore also established numerous schools, pharmacies, and orphanages throughout the state of Indiana. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-03/.

St. Francis (1181-1226) was born in Assisi, Italy, to a wealthy cloth merchant. He was a spoiled child given to pleasure, fine dress, liberal spending, and worldliness. Handsome and courteous, he was a favorite among the nobility. As a chivalrous young knight he took part in a battle between the Italian city-states and became a prisoner of war in Perugia. After his release he became seriously ill, and while reflecting on his wanton life he had a profound conversion experience. He gave up his frivolous life, cut off his family ties, and embraced a life of extreme penance and poverty in such a dramatic manner that it caused many to think he had gone mad. While praying before a crucifix in the church of San Damiano in Assisi he received a call from Christ to rebuild the Church, "which had fallen into ruin." St. Francis followed Christ in a radical manner by patterning his new life after the example of the Apostles in the most literal way possible: he dressed as a poor peasant, worked odd jobs for food, and went through the countryside preaching repentance, love of Jesus, and peace. His joyful, radical way of life attracted followers, and with them he founded the Order of Friars Minor and the Poor Clares. His order was approved by the Holy See in 1210 and grew rapidly. Two years before his death he became the first known saint to receive the stigmata. His holiness was so widely attested that only two years after his death the Church proclaimed him a saint. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of peace, ecology, the environment, animals, Italy, merchants, and families. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-04/.

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), baptized with the name Helena, was one of ten children born to a devout, peasant farming family in Poland. She grew up during the tough years leading up to and following the first World War, and received little formal education. She worked as a poor housekeeper before following her religious vocation at the age of 20, entering the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow. There she was given simple, humble jobs which hid her deep interior life. St. Faustina was graced with mystical visions and revelations from Jesus, as well as her Guardian Angel and certain saints. Jesus gave her the mission to proclaim his infinite, powerful, loving mercy to the whole world, especially to hardened sinners and those facing the hour of their death. St. Faustina, as Jesus' "secretary and apostle of Divine Mercy", faithfully recorded these messages in great detail in a nearly 700-page diary. In it she promoted devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ as instructed by Our Lord himself, now famous throughout the Church, and a great consolation for many souls who would otherwise fear to approach God because of their burden of sin. She died at the age of 33 from tuberculosis. Pope St. John Paul II made St. Faustina the first saint of the new millennium. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-05/.

St. Bruno (1030-1101) was born to a noble and prominent family in Cologne, Germany. He was well educated and excelled in his studies, and became a priest around the year 1055. He went on to direct and teach at the episcopal school at Reims for many years, earning a reputation as a learned scholar. After also serving as the chancellor of his archdiocese, he and a few companions left their positions in the diocese in order to follow a path of greater religious observance. In 1084 Bruno settled in the Chartreuse Mountains in France with a small group of scholars who, like himself, desired to become contemplative monks. This was the beginning of the Carthusian order founded by St. Bruno, combining the solitary life of hermits with the conventual life of religious observance. These alpine monks embraced a strictly disciplined life of poverty, labor, prayer, and fasting. After living six years of strict asceticism, St. Bruno was called to Rome by Pope Urban II, who was his former student, to assist with the troubles and controversies rocking the Church. Bruno became a close advisor to the Pope and was allowed to return to monastic life only if he remained nearby within Italy, leading Bruno to establish a second Carthusian monastery there in 1095. St. Bruno wrote many manuscripts and commentaries during his life. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-06/.

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted following the Christian victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V, the "Pope of the Rosary," attributed the naval victory of the Catholic forces, who were greatly outnumbered, to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady was invoked on the day of battle through a papal campaign asking the faithful across Europe to pray the rosary for the triumph of the Church. In thanksgiving for the miraculous victory, Pope St. Pius V instituted a feast to be celebrated throughout the world every year on October 7th. Originally known as "Our Lady of Victory," the feast was changed to Our Lady of the Rosary to honor the spiritual weapon through which the Blessed Virgin Mary saved Catholic Europe from the threat of Muslim invasion. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-07/.

St. Justina of Padua (d. 304 A.D.) was a young and pious Christian woman who dedicated her virginity to Christ. She received baptism at the hands of St. Prosdocimus, the first Bishop of Padua in Italy. At the age of sixteen she was arrested for being a Christian under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Maximinian, and was ordered to make sacrifice to the pagan gods. When she refused, she was stabbed with a sword and left to die. Overlooking the field where she was martyred is a basilica named in her honor which holds her relics, as well as those of St. Luke the Evangelist, St. Matthias the Apostle, St. Prosdocimus, and other patron saints of Padua. Her feast was the day the Catholic naval forces won victory over the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which increased her popularity among the faithful. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-07/.

Blessed Ambrose (1220-1286) was born in Siena, Italy, the son of a book illuminator. He was born so severely deformed that his parents could not bear the sight of him. They put their son in the care of a nurse who took the child with her to daily Mass at the Dominican church. The child, often fussy, would become calm when he was placed near the altar of relics, and would cry when he was removed. While praying at the altar, the nurse would conceal the child's hideous face with a scarf. This practice continued for a year. One day a pilgrim told the nurse to remove the baby's scarf and prophesied that the child would one day become a great man. A few days later, before the same altar, the child Ambrose stretched out his deformed limbs and pronounced the name of Jesus; from that moment he was miraculously healed into a beautiful and perfectly formed child. Blessed Ambrose grew in piety and was determined to become a Dominican friar. His family and friends opposed his plan and attempted to dissuade such a handsome and talented youth from becoming a poor friar. Ambrose overcame these obstacles and joined the Dominicans at the age of 17. He studied under St. Albert the Great along with St. Thomas Aquinas, and went on to become a preacher, teacher, missionary, diplomat, and peace-broker. His skills with diplomacy earned him the respect of kings and popes alike. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-08/.

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890) was the eldest of six children born to a nominal Protestant family in London, England. As a child he loved reading the Scriptures and experienced a conversion to Christianity at the age of fifteen. He became a brilliant academic, an extremely influential Oxford scholar, and an Anglican priest. He was a leader in what was called the "Oxford Movement," which argued for a revival of traditional religious practice in the Church of England. Once anti-Catholic in his religious sentiments, sentiments that were common in England, Newman was increasingly impacted by the Church Fathers and other Catholic writers. His theological views gradually aligned with the Catholic Church in opposition to Anglican doctrine. Through his continued study of Church history he became unable to remain a Protestant in good faith. He made the decision to convert to Catholicism in 1845, which exposed him to much ridicule in his academic and religious circles. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome. He was made Cardinal in 1879. John Henry Newman is remembered for his influential writings on theology and philosophy as well as his founding of the famous London Oratory. Newman wrote forty books and 21,000 letters, some of which had profound influence on the Second Vatican Council, making him one of the most important theologians of his day. His most famous work is his Apologia in which he defends his conversion to the truths of the Catholic Church. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-09/.

St. Francis Borgia (1510-1572) was born in Spain to a noble family, the son of a Duke. On his father's side of the family he was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, one of the notorious "Borgia Popes," and on his mother's side he was the great-grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon. Francis joined the Spanish court of King Charles V at the age of 18, married, and had 8 children. In 1539 he experienced a profound religious conversion which caused him to renounce the pomp of the royal court, yet he continued his life of public service as the Viceroy of Catalonia. He made great progress in the spiritual life, and after his father's death he became the Duke of Gandia. He built a university and invited the newly-founded Society of Jesus to work in his duchy. After the death of his wife, and after providing for his children, he joined the Jesuits in Rome and was given a prominent position in the order by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Under Francis' leadership and reforms, the Jesuits advanced to such a great extent that he is considered to be their second founder. In the years following Ignatius' death, Francis became head of the order and established Jesuit missions in multiple countries. He also counseled his missionaries in both practical strategies as well as spiritual discipline. St. Francis of Borgia was a celebrated preacher and a key figure in the Counter-Reformation movement. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-10/.

Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963) was the third of thirteen children born to a poor sharecropping family living in Lombardy, Italy. Desiring to serve God with his life, he entered seminary at the age of 12, and, after serving a short stint in the Italian Army, was ordained a priest in 1904. He taught apologetics and church history before being called to service as a military chaplain during the first World War. He later served in Rome on various diplomatic assignments, rising in ecclesiastical rank as bishop and then cardinal-patriarch of Venice. An obscure pick for the Supreme Pontiff, he was unexpectedly elected the 261st Pope at the age of 76. He took the name John which had not been used in over 500 years. The papacy of this presumed "caretaker pope" was expected to be an uneventful one, however, to the surprise of all, shortly into his reign he called the Second Vatican Council. He presided over its first session but did not live to see its completion. He reigned as pope for less than five years before dying of stomach cancer. As Holy Father he had a special concern for the equal dignity of humanity, the unity of all Christians, and world peace. He broke with many of the formalities of the papacy and was affectionately called the "Good Pope", in Italian, "il Papa buono." He was canonized by Pope Francis together with Pope John Paul II in 2014. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-11/.

St. Edwin (585-633 A.D.) was the son of the pagan King of Deira who reigned in present-day England. After his father was deposed from his throne, Edwin spent his childhood in exile to escape rival kings who considered his bloodline a threat to their rule. One day a stranger prophesied that Edwin would reclaim his father's throne if he promised to obey what would later be taught to him regarding his own eternal salvation. Eventually Edwin rose to power and regained the Kingdom of Deira which expanded to encompass all of Northumbria. After the death of his first wife, he married a Catholic princess. He permitted his wife to practice her faith freely and to have their children baptized. He also welcomed St. Paulinus, Archbishop of York, into his kingdom and accepted his religious instruction. Edwin became increasingly drawn to Christianity after a series of providential events, but he did not convert until St. Paulinus revealed to Edwin that he was the same stranger who, years before, prophesied about his future. Edwin then repented of his sins, accepted baptism, and became an exemplary Catholic king who contributed to the spread of Christianity across his kingdom. St. Edwin died in battle against a pagan army and is therefore considered to be a martyr for the Faith. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-12/.

St. Edward the Confessor (1003-1066 A.D.) was a prince born to the King and Queen of England. His family was exiled from the kingdom when the Danish took control of the country in 1016 A.D. Edward spent much of his life in exile, probably in Normandy. Witnessing the folly of worldly ambition, he became attracted to the life of the Church and grew in piety. When opportunity arose he was persuaded to reclaim the throne of England, which he did in 1042 as one of its last Anglo-Saxon kings. The people supported his rule, and he gained a reputation as a just king committed to the welfare of his subjects. He thwarted invasions, ended unjust taxes, and was profoundly generous to the poor. His reign was marked by peace and prosperity throughout his kingdom. He married a beautiful woman to satisfy the people's desire for a queen, but, having already made a vow of chastity, he obtained his wife's agreement to live together as brother and sister. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he built, and after his death many miracles were ascribed to his intercession. This lead to his canonization in 1161, and in 1163 the transferral of his body to a new tomb. This was presided over by St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who found Edward's body to be incorrupt. Edward was called "The Confessor" to distinguish him from St. Edward the Martyr. He is buried behind the high altar in Westminster Abbey. He is the patron of kings, difficult marriages, separated spouses, and the English royal family. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-13/.

Pope St. Callistus I (d. 223 A.D.) was a Roman by birth and a Christian slave. He was the servant of a fellow Christian serving in the Roman imperial household. He was entrusted with the task of managing his master's wealth, which he used to operate a bank into which many Christians invested their money. When the bank failed due to unpaid loans, Callistus fled the city in fear of retribution. He was soon caught, and in punishment was sentenced to hard slave labor in the Sardinian mines. He eventually obtained his freedom when he and the other Christian slaves working in the mines were released, or perhaps ransomed, with special pardon from the Emperor. Callistus was later recalled to Rome by Pope Zephyrinus to serve as his deacon, top adviser, and the caretaker of the important Christian cemetery along the Appian Way. This cemetary, which now bears Callistus' name, contains the relics of many martyrs. As the Holy Father's adviser, St. Callistus drew the ire of Tertullian and St. Hippolytus of Rome who were his constant theological opponents. When Pope Zephyrinus died, Callistus was elected to the Chair of St. Peter in 217 A.D. As pope, St. Callistus was known for his leniency and forgiveness. He upheld the teaching of the Church that grave sins could be forgiven with true contrition and due penance, which was controversial at the time. He reigned for five years and died a martyr; one account holds that he was killed by an anti-Christian mob, being thrown from his house and stoned to death. For more information please see morningofffering.com/2021-10-14/.

St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), also known as St. Teresa of Jesus, was born in Spain to a large, devout, and prominent Catholic family. Fascinated with the lives of the saints taught to her by her pious parents, as children she and a brother tried to run away from home to seek martyrdom among the Moors. After an uncle found them and returned them home, they built hermitages for themselves in the family garden. At the age of 14 Teresa was plunged into sorrow upon the death of her mother; to find consolation she asked the Virgin Mary to be her new mother. When she began to exhibit worldly vanities, her father placed her in a convent to be educated with other ladies of her social class. Determined to avoid marriage, and motivated more by the need for security than love for God, at the age of twenty Teresa entered religious life as a Carmelite nun. For two decades she led what she describes as a mediocre prayer life, hindered by too much socialization with visitors. However, an intense prayer experience in her forties helped her to renounce worldly attachments and enter deeper into a life of prayer. She advanced rapidly and taught others to do the same, being encouraged by a vision of the place reserved for her in hell if she was unfaithful to God's graces. She had many profound mystical experiences for which she was often slandered and ridiculed. After the reform of her own life she worked hard to reform the laxity of many Carmelite convents, and was successful even while being greatly opposed in her efforts. She was a strong and important female figure of her era, and her great progress in the spiritual life led her to write the spiritual classics Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. For these works St. Teresa of Avila was named the first female Doctor of the Church. For information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-15/.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was born in France to a virtuous and distinguished family. As a child she showed great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and by the age of 9 was practicing severe penances. In her childhood she became sick with rheumatic fever and was confined to bed for four years. She made a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to the religious life, after which she was instantly healed. She often had visions of Jesus, which she thought was a normal experience in the spiritual life. When she turned 17 her mother insisted that she establish a place for herself in the world. Margaret imagined that her childhood vow was not binding, and persuaded herself that she could serve God while living at home and continuing her penances and charity to the poor. She then joined her brothers at dances and began considering marriage. One day, upon returning home from a carnival ball, Jesus appeared to her and reproached her for her infidelity, reminding her of her promise. Margaret then entered a Visitation convent at the age of 24. Jesus appeared to her frequently, and entrusted to her the mission of establishing devotion to his Sacred Heart during a time when religion in France had grown rigorous and cold. Because of her visions she was greatly persecuted by those around her, until her virtue under suffering won over her enemies. Her visions were determined to be genuine and officially recognized by the Catholic Church 75 years after her death. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-16/.

St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 98-117) was a Syrian who became a disciple of St. John the Apostle. Tradition holds that he was the infant whom Jesus took in his arms, saying, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me" as recounted in Mark's Gospel. St. Ignatius was a pagan convert to Christianity and succeeded St. Peter the Apostle as the third bishop of Antioch, being ordained by St. Peter himself. He was an important Church Father of the Apostolic age, an ideal pastor, and a fearless soldier of Christ. He was tireless in supporting his flock against dangerous heresies and the terrors of the persecutions of the Roman Emperors. When Ignatius violated the imperial edict to worship false gods, he was arrested and led before Emperor Trajan. After boldly proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ, he was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts for public sport in the Roman Colosseum. On his journey from Syria to Rome he wrote many letters to his fellow Christians, encouraging them with his apostolic zeal and exhorting them to obey their bishops. He also pleaded that none try to obtain his release, as he was eager to lay down his life for Jesus, saying, “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.” He was devoured by lions in Rome in the early second century. St. Ignatius of Antioch is the first to have used the term "Catholic" Church, meaning "Universal." For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-17/.

St. Luke the Evangelist (1st c.) was a well-educated Greek physician and a native of Antioch in Syria. He was one of the earliest converts to Christianity, believed to have been one of Jesus' seventy disciples. He was a follower of St. Paul the Apostle and spent most of his life evangelizing with him in Asia Minor up until the time of Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Luke wrote a canonical account of his apostolic journeys with Paul (the Book of Acts) as well as a biography on the life of Christ (the Gospel of Luke). The two books of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were originally a single work. The intimate accounts contained in Luke's gospel of the early years of Christ's life (the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, etc.) lead many scholars to believe that one of the eyewitnesses he interviewed was the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. According to tradition he was also a skilled artist and painted the first icons of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. Several of these icons are still venerated today, the most famous of which hangs in the Church of St. Mary Major in Rome. St. Luke is the patron saint of many trades including artists, painters, doctors, surgeons, and bachelors. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-18/.

St. Isaac Jogues (1607–1646) was born in France to a middle-class family, and at the age of 17 entered a Jesuit seminary where he displayed a talent for writing and teaching. He was ordained in January of 1636 at the age of 29, and three months later was sent as a missionary priest to the rugged wilderness of New France (now Canada) to work among the Huron and Algonquin Native American tribes. Despite the hardship of life in the wilderness, Isaac experienced great spiritual joy in his mission. One day, six years into his work, he was captured by a Mohawk-Iroquois war party. He was enslaved and ritually tortured, in addition to being malnourished and inadequately clothed. His hands were severely mutilated and many of his fingers destroyed, which prevented his ability to say Mass. He continued to preach the faith and was named Ondessonk, "the indomitable one," by his Mohawk captors. After over a year in captivity he escaped with the help of Dutch settlers. He went back to France where he was honored as a "living martyr." He obtained special permission from the pope to say Mass with his mutilated hands. Instead of continuing his life in peace, St. Isaac was zealous to return to his mission field. He returned to New France, and by that time a peace treaty was arranged between the warring native tribes allowing him to work among the Mohawks. However, when they suffered a crisis of crop failure and epidemic disease, the Mohawks blamed the Christians for sorcery and attacked the settlers. St. Isaac Jogues died after being tomahawked in the head, and his body was thrown into the Mohawk River. He is the patron of the Americas and Canada. Isaac Jogues earned the name "Apostle of the Mohawks" for his work. New York state's first Catholic baptismal record was due to his priestly ministry. He and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-19/.

St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was born near Turin, Italy, the second of sixteen children—only six of whom survived infancy. His devout parents ensured his strong religious upbringing. In his childhood Paul went to daily Mass, spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, and attended to his studies. He taught catechism in the local churches before experiencing a deep religious conversion at the age of 19 through the writings of St. Francis de Sales. After a brief stint as a soldier and declining an offer for a good marriage, at the age of 26 he learned through prayer that God was calling him to found a new religious order which came to be known as the Congregation of the Passion, or the Passionists. He was instructed in a vision as to what the new habit of his order should look like: a black tunic bearing a heart surmounted by a white cross, with the words "Passion of Jesus Christ" written inside the heart. To the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he added a fourth: to spread devotion to Christ’s Passion among the faithful. His mission was to ignite a love for Jesus in the hearts of the faithful at a time when many saw Him only as a great moral teacher. St. Paul of the Cross was one of the most powerful preachers of his day, as well as a mystic, and he was known to bring even the most hardened sinners to tears. He also took special care of the sick, poor, and suffering. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-10-20/.

St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) was born in France to a peasant farming family. As a child he grew up herding sheep, and showed such an aptitude for his studies that his father sold the family oxen to fund his seminary education. After his ordination in 1600, St. Vincent worked in Toulouse as a tutor to pay for his doctorate. In 1605, while traveling by sea, he was captured by Turkish pirates. He was taken to Tunis in Africa and sold into slavery four times before escaping in 1607 along with his master, whom he had converted to the faith. St. Vincent then continued his studies in Rome, and afterwards returned to France. He served as a parish priest and ministered to the nobility; however, two life-changing encounters with destitute people inspired him to begin work among the poor and marginalized. He gathered the wealthy women of his parish to collect funds for missionary projects. From this group came the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. He also founded an Order of priests, the Vincentians, who, during a time of general laxity and ignorance among the clergy, devoted themselves to the Evangelical Councils while serving in small towns and villages. He committed himself to the education of priests and conducted many retreats for their spiritual formation. He also ministered to convicts suffering deplorable conditions in prison, and won many to the faith in addition to building them a hospital. St. Vincent renewed the faith of France during a time of spiritual crisis. For this he was named the patron of charitable works. He is also the patron of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, an organization dedicated to the service of the poor, now working in 132 countries. For more information please see morningoffering.com/2021-09-27/.