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The Church has venerated Catholic saints since the beginning. Who are the saints? Who decides who is and is not a saint? How many are there? Do saints hear our prayers? Find the answers to these questions and articles on saints. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.

Questions and Answers on Catholic Saints
 from St. Anthony Messenger

Why isn't there a saint for every day
Why so few lay saints?
What is the process for canonizing someone
How many saints are there?
Do saints hear our prayers?
Are saints' names required for Baptism?
Are statues idols?
What's a Seraphic saint?

Real Women, Real Saints
The saints are our spiritual guides, our companions on life's journey. Their experiences show us the path we are to take in our own lives. In Real Women, Real Saints: Friends for Your Spiritual Journey, Gina Loehr profiles a hundred women—saints, the blessed, servants of God—we can use as models of holiness. See a sample chapter and then purchase the book, Real Women, Real Saints, from our catalog.

Saints in the News
The Catholic Church's veneration of saints dates back to the beginnings of Christianity. Yet Catholic saints are not just figures from ancient history, but have lived during our lifetimes and their example and the process toward beatification continue to make news today.

Lourdes 150th anniversary
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France. See our special Lourdes 150th anniversary area for the latest on the observance.

Year of St. Paul
The Catholic Church celebrates a special jubilee year dedicated to St. Paul through June 29, 2009, to mark the approximately 2,000th anniversary of the saint’s birth. Our "Year of St. Paul" feature offers coverage of the Pauline year and focuses on the apostle’s courageous missionary efforts and inspiration to Catholics today.

Introducing St. Paul the Apostle: His Life and Mission
Catholic Update explores his call and mission, his work as an evangelizer, his teaching through letter writing, his conversion, his Roman citizenship and his role in shaping our Catholic culture.

A Visit to Padre Pio's Tomb
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the death of St. Padre Pio. St. Anthony Messenger magazine senior editor, Father Jack Wintz, O.F.M., reflects on his recent pilgrimage to and guides readers through the saint’s shrine in Italy.

St. Joan of Arc's Message for Today
This 19-year-old peasant from 15th-century France has much to teach us about listening to our hearts, trusting in God and confounding the odds, according to St. Anthony Messenger magazine managing editor, Barbara Beckwith.

Saint of the Day
Read about the life of today's Catholic saint and browse a list of patron saints as well as a calendar of feast days. Learn about the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls.

Franciscan Radio
Listen to or download program #08-44 of American Catholic Radio. Topics include the communion of saints, a portrait of St. Paul and an interview with the author of Saints at the Dinner Table.

Prayer Requests
Post an online prayer request. All prayer requests are displayed at StAnthony.org and on a large, scrolling screen next to St. Anthony's relic at the National Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua in Cincinnati, Ohio. View current prayers.

Saint Features
Explore the lives of St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Padre Pio, St. Patrick and Mother Teresa.

More About All Saints and All Souls

Did Saints Fall From Favor After Vatican II?
 from Friar Jack's E-spirations

I'd Like to Say: We're All Called to Be Saints
 from St. Anthony Messenger

The Where, Who and How of Heaven
 from Friar Jack's E-spirations

Patron Saints for Modern Challenges
 from St. Anthony Messenger

What Makes a Saint?
 from St. Anthony Messenger

Celebrating the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls
 from Friar Jack's E-spirations

The Communion of Saints
 from Scripture From Scratch

Faith-Filled Family: Halloween and Its Christian Roots
 from St. Anthony Messenger

All Saints
 from Friar Jack's E-spirations

Ten Great Catholics of the Second Millennium
 from St. Anthony Messenger

How Halloween Can Be Redeemed
 from Catholic Update

Saints: Holy and Human
 from Catholic Update

Six Saints for the New Millennium
 from Catholic Update

Send a Saint e-Greeting

Celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day with a Catholic e-card. Also, choose from our selection of e-greetings depicting Catholic saints.



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Feast of the Presentation of Mary: Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church. <p>As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the <i>Protoevangelium of James</i> tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless. </p><p>Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.</p> Why are divorced/remarried Catholics treated differently from other sinners? There’s nothing more important I can do in my day than take some time to be with my Lord.

 
PICK OF THE DAY
Saints at the Dinner Table
CPA 2009 Award Winning author Amy Heyd cooks up delicious meals and dedicates each chapter to a saint.

 
CATHOLIC GREETINGS
Christ the King
Our liturgical year ends as it begins, focusing on our hope in the eternal majesty and mercy of God.



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