Saint Stanislaus Kostka, SJ, Born for Greater Things

St. Stanislaus Kostka

 Stanislaus Kostka was born in 1550 at Rostkowo, in Poland, into a family of the nobility. His father, Jan, was a senator and castellan, and his mother, Małgorzata, also came from a distinguished family. Their son’s position offered the prospect of a comfortable and influential future. Yet the direction of his life would lead him away from those expectations. Before reaching adulthood, he would leave familiar surroundings and undertake a long journey to follow his vocation to the Society of Jesus.

In 1564, Stanislaus and his older brother, Paweł, traveled to Vienna with their tutor to study at the Jesuit college. Stanislaus applied himself to his studies and developed a strong life of prayer. A contemporary account from the college describes his perseverance, frequent reception of the sacraments, and progress in rhetoric. His brother reacted harshly to his religious seriousness, subjecting him to insults and physical mistreatment. The years in Vienna brought both an education and a difficult struggle to remain faithful to his convictions.

During a serious illness in 1565, Stanislaus urgently desired to receive Holy Communion. Accounts of his life relate extraordinary experiences during this sickness. He reportedly saw Saint Barbara accompanied by angels who brought him the Eucharist. He also described a vision of the Blessed Virgin placing the Child Jesus in his arms. He understood the Marian experience as a call to enter the Jesuits. These reported visions became an important part of the devotion surrounding him, expressing his deep attachment to the Eucharist and to Mary.

After recovering, Stanislaus sought admission to the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits in Vienna hesitated because his parents opposed the decision and they feared the consequences of accepting him. A surviving account records his repeated requests and his conviction that his family would never grant permission. His wish persisted despite these refusals. Eventually, he decided to seek admission elsewhere. In the summer of 1567, he left Vienna secretly, exchanging the clothing of a young nobleman for the simple garments of a poor traveler.

His departure began a demanding journey on foot. His brother pursued him, but failed to bring him back. Stanislaus traveled toward Augsburg and then continued to Dillingen, where he met the Jesuit provincial, Saint Peter Canisius. He explained his desire to enter the order and presented a letter of introduction from a Jesuit in Vienna. The young man who had encountered resistance now found a superior willing to examine his vocation and help him continue toward religious life.

Canisius tested his determination through humble duties at the college. Stanislaus helped in the kitchen and performed ordinary tasks, accepting work very different from the privileges associated with his upbringing. Canisius’s surviving letter praises his faithfulness to the responsibilities entrusted to him and his perseverance in his vocation. He sent Stanislaus to Rome with two young Jesuits and a recommendation for the superior general, Saint Francis Borgia. His letter ended with a hopeful judgment. “We hope for great things from him.”

Stanislaus reached Rome in October 1567. Borgia received him, and surviving records confirm his admission to the novitiate on October 28. His long journey had brought him into the religious community he had sought so persistently. During his formation, the novitiate moved to Saint Andrew on the Quirinal. There, his vocation took shape through prayer, instruction, and community duties. Accounts of these months remember his joyful service of God. He remained a novice, still at the beginning of his preparation for Jesuit life.

In August 1568, Stanislaus became seriously ill with fever. Early accounts record that he wrote to the Blessed Virgin, asking to celebrate the feast of her Assumption with her in heaven. As his condition worsened, he received the Eucharist and was accompanied by members of the community. He died in Rome during the early hours of August 15, the feast of the Assumption, at seventeen. His novitiate had lasted less than a year. He had reached neither ordination nor a long ministry, but his brief religious life left a lasting reputation for holiness.

Pope Paul V beatified Stanislaus in 1605, and Pope Benedict XIII canonized him on December 31, 1726. His remains are venerated at Sant’Andrea al Quirinale in Rome. The Jesuits celebrate his feast on November 13 and honor him as the patron of their novices. The motto associated with him, Ad maiora natus sum, means “I was born for greater things.” His story gives those words a particular meaning through the sacrifices of a young man who pursued friendship with Christ and faithfully embraced the ordinary duties of his vocation.

For a devotional image of St. Stanislaus Kostka, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press

Venerable Nicola D’Onofrio, A Young Life Offered in Love

Venerable Nicola D'Onofrio

Nicola D’Onofrio was born on March 24, 1943, in Villamagna, a village in the Italian region of Abruzzo. His parents, Giovanni D’Onofrio and Virginia Ferrara, worked the land and raised their children in the Catholic faith. Nicola, affectionately called Nicolino, grew up with his older brother, Tommaso. In this modest farming household, prayer and work belonged to daily life. His childhood also brought an encounter that helped shape his future, the sight of a young Camillian wearing the religious habit with its distinctive red cross.

From about the age of seven, Nicola expressed a desire to become a priest. His wish to enter the Camillians initially met resistance from his family. Leaving home meant a difficult separation, and his parents needed time to understand his determination. Nicola continued to ask with persistence. Eventually, they gave their consent. In the autumn of 1955, when he was twelve, he entered the Camillian student community in Rome and began his preparation for religious life.

The Camillian vocation joined prayer to the service of people who were sick. On October 7, 1961, Nicola made his first religious profession. Alongside poverty, chastity, and obedience, he accepted the order’s fourth vow, to serve the sick even at the risk of his own life. He was eighteen and still preparing for the priesthood. These promises gave a definite direction to his youth, placing his future at the service of God and of people whose suffering called for care.

Nicola’s spiritual writings show how seriously he approached that commitment. He wanted to become holy through the ordinary duties already before him. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux became an important guide, especially through her teaching about doing small things with love and trusting God with a child’s confidence. He also wrote with affection about caring for the sick. The prospect of ending a day tired from serving them appealed to him. His aspirations took shape through study, prayer, community life, and the effort to love faithfully in everyday circumstances.

Toward the end of 1962, Nicola began experiencing symptoms of the illness that would bring his life to an early end. After further examinations, doctors diagnosed cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation treatment, but the disease continued to advance. The young religious who had promised to care for the sick now needed care himself. His remaining years of formation became months of treatment, physical suffering, and increasing uncertainty about whether he would ever reach ordination.

His superiors sent him to Lourdes and Lisieux in the hope of obtaining healing. Accounts of these pilgrimages describe his desire to accept God’s will. He also continued to hope for recovery. In a letter to his parents, he asked for prayers that he might regain his strength and become a priest. If God intended another outcome, he wished to accept it. These hopes existed together. He wanted to live and fulfill his vocation, while seeking the faith to entrust his future to God.

As his condition worsened, the Camillians obtained permission from the Holy See for Nicola to make his perpetual profession earlier than normally scheduled. On May 28, 1964, he pronounced his final vows. By then, he was very weak and was brought into the community’s chapel in a wheelchair. There, he renewed permanently the promises he had first made in 1961. His illness had narrowed the possibilities before him, but he could still give his consent to the vocation he had embraced.

Nicola died in Rome on June 12, 1964, at the age of twenty one. He had never been ordained a priest. His brief life nevertheless left fellow religious and others with a lasting memory of his faith and his response to suffering. He was initially buried in his family’s tomb. In 1979, his remains were transferred to the Sanctuary of Saint Camillus in Bucchianico, where his memory became closely connected with that of the founder whose vocation he had followed.

On July 5, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the decree recognizing Nicola’s heroic virtues, giving him the title Venerable. His story invites reflection on a vocation whose earthly course was unexpectedly short. He had hoped to spend his life bringing care to people who were ill. When illness overtook him, he sought to continue loving God within the circumstances he had been given. His witness rests in that faithful response, the offering of a young life whose hopes remained real even as its strength diminished.

For a devotional image of Venerable Nicola, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press

Servant of God Pedro Ballester, Finding Christ in Ordinary Life and Suffering

Servant of God Pedro Ballester

Pedro Ballester Arenas was born in Manchester, England, on May 22, 1996, to Spanish parents, Pedro and Esperanza. His father was a doctor, and Pedro grew up with two younger brothers, Carlos and Javier. Their Catholic faith shaped family life through Mass, prayer, and the Rosary. The three brothers served as altar boys and developed close friendships with one another. As the family moved between communities in northern England, Pedro carried this foundation of faith into new schools, friendships, and responsibilities.

He was intelligent and hardworking, earning excellent results in his school examinations. He also enjoyed the familiar interests of young people, including video games and conversations with friends. International politics and history particularly interested him. Those who knew him remembered his warmth and his willingness to make friends across differences of nationality and religion. His biographer, Father George Boronat, described a young man whose concern for others required effort and prayer. Pedro recognized his impatience and worked to become more generous and attentive.

During adolescence, Pedro attended Christian formation activities at Greygarth Hall, an Opus Dei center in Manchester. There, the teaching of Saint Josemaría Escrivá helped him understand that studies, friendships, and daily duties could become occasions for loving God. On May 1, 2013, shortly before his seventeenth birthday, he asked for admission to Opus Dei as a numerary. He began a path of commitment to apostolic celibacy and service while remaining a layman, seeking holiness within the ordinary circumstances of the world.

In September 2014, Pedro began studying chemical engineering at Imperial College London and lived at Netherhall House. He quickly formed friendships among his fellow students. During his first term, however, he experienced back pain. By the end of that year, doctors had diagnosed advanced cancer in his pelvis. His university plans were interrupted, and he returned to Manchester for treatment near his family. The young man preparing for a professional career now faced an illness that would demand much of his remaining strength.

Pedro received treatment at the Christie Hospital in Manchester and traveled to Heidelberg, Germany, for proton beam therapy in 2015. For a time, the results offered hope. He continued trying to pursue his education and eventually began studies at the University of Manchester in 2016. As pain increased, completing assignments became difficult. Sometimes he dictated his work to another resident while lying down. He also used a car provided to assist his mobility to give fellow students lifts, turning a practical necessity into another opportunity for friendship.

His concern for others continued in hospital. He befriended patients and nurses and took an interest in their lives beyond the ward. In November 2015, he met Pope Francis in Rome and presented a card signed by fellow cancer patients. His father recalled that Pedro told the pope he was offering his suffering for him and for the Church. This offering expressed the spiritual meaning Pedro sought within his illness. As treatment continued, he tried to unite his pain with Christ and pray for the good of others.

The struggle was painful and prolonged. Father Joseph Evans, the chaplain of Greygarth Hall, remembered occasions when Pedro cried, became discouraged, or reacted impatiently. Friends and family helped him pray, and priests brought him Communion and offered confession. When pain made sustained prayer difficult, he offered the suffering itself to God. Less than a month before his death, visiting friends recalled that he encouraged each of them to persevere in his vocation. Asked whether he was happy, Pedro answered, “I have never been happier.”

When further treatment could no longer help him, Pedro asked to remain at Greygarth Hall, the place he regarded as home. His parents, brothers, friends, and fellow members of Opus Dei accompanied him. He died there in the early hours of January 13, 2018, aged twenty one, while those beside him prayed the Salve Regina. His funeral brought together hundreds of people. That July, the University of Manchester awarded him a posthumous master’s degree in chemical engineering, which his brother Carlos received on his behalf.

On May 13, 2026, the Diocese of Salford announced the opening of Pedro’s cause for beatification and canonization. The Church began gathering testimony and writings to examine his life, virtues, and reputation for holiness. He is known as a Servant of God, and his cause remains a process of discernment. His story has drawn attention through the ordinary ways he sought to love Christ, including diligent study, loyal friendship, prayer, and concern for others during illness. Those who knew him remembered a young man who kept trying to give himself to God through the life before him.

For a devotional image of Servant of God Pedro Ballester, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press

Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano, A Young Life Filled with Christ’s Light

Blessed Chiara "Luce" Badano

Chiara Badano was born on October 29, 1971, and grew up in Sassello, a small town in northern Italy. Her parents, Ruggero and Maria Teresa, had waited eleven years for a child. They welcomed their daughter with gratitude and raised her in a loving Catholic home. Chiara grew into a lively, determined girl who enjoyed friendship, sports, and the beauty of the countryside. Faith accompanied the ordinary pleasures and responsibilities of her childhood.

At nine, Chiara became involved in the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich. Its emphasis on God’s love, Christian unity, and living the Gospel deeply influenced her. She joined its young members and began corresponding with Lubich. A copy of the Gospels, received at her First Communion, became especially important to her. She wanted to put its teachings into practice through the way she treated her family, classmates, and anyone who needed help.

Her generosity took practical forms. Her mother remembered that, at four, Chiara initially resisted giving away her toys, then chose some of her new ones for poor children. As she grew older, she visited an elderly woman in a retirement home, helping with simple personal tasks and keeping her company. Friends found her ready to listen to their difficulties. She also experienced disappointments, including having to repeat a school year, and worked to begin again when she struggled.

In 1988, a sharp pain in her shoulder interrupted a tennis game. The pain persisted, and examinations eventually revealed osteosarcoma, a serious bone cancer that had spread. At seventeen, Chiara entered a life of hospital visits, surgery, and demanding treatment. In February 1989, she underwent an operation in Turin. Her response to suffering became closely associated with a brief prayer. “If you want it, Jesus, I want it too.” She also asked Mary for the strength to persevere.

Accepting the diagnosis required a struggle. Her mother recalled that, after learning how serious her condition was, Chiara returned home and asked for silence. She lay on her bed for about twenty five minutes before telling her mother that they could speak again. Maria Teresa remembered that interval as a decisive moment in her daughter’s acceptance of what lay ahead. The cheerful girl who loved tennis and cycling now faced the possibility that her life would be very short.

As the illness progressed, Chiara lost the use of her legs. Her physical limitations increased, but she continued welcoming visitors and listening to their concerns. She offered her suffering for young people, the missions, and her diocese. Her spirituality centered on remaining close to Jesus crucified and abandoned. Even when she could no longer take part in the activities she loved, she understood that she could still love, pray, and give encouragement to those around her.

Her friends remained close throughout her illness. Chiara Lubich gave her the additional name Luce, meaning light, which became inseparable from her memory. As death approached, Chiara prepared the details of her funeral, choosing prayers and songs and asking to be dressed in white. She regarded her approaching encounter with Christ as a wedding feast. The preparations expressed the hope with which she faced death, sustained by the faith she had been learning to live since childhood.

Chiara died on October 7, 1990, just weeks before her nineteenth birthday. Shortly before her death, she encouraged her mother to be happy because she herself was happy. Hundreds of people, especially young people, attended her funeral. She had also consented to donating her corneas, which were transplanted into two recipients. Her concern for others continued through that final gift, following the generosity that had marked her childhood and adolescence.

On September 25, 2010, Chiara was beatified in Rome during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. Her feast day is October 29. Soon afterward, Benedict invited young people to learn about her, emphasizing both her faith and the support of her parents and friends. Her brief life offers a witness to redemptive suffering, lived through a personal effort to unite pain with Christ and continue loving others. The light associated with her name had become a source of encouragement far beyond Sassello.

For a devotional image of Luce, click here:Maryvale Catholic Press

Servant of God Francis J. Parater, A Life Given to the Sacred Heart

 

Servant of God Francis J. Parater

Francis Joseph Parater was born on October 10, 1897, in Richmond, Virginia. Known as Frank, he grew up in a devout Catholic family in the Church Hill neighborhood. He was baptized at Saint Patrick Church. His family’s modest home stood near the Visitation monastery of Monte Maria, where his father cared for the garden and where Frank’s own life of prayer began to take shape.

From the time of his First Communion until he left Richmond for college, Frank served daily Mass at the monastery. His devotion accompanied an active and accomplished youth. He became an Eagle Scout and graduated as valedictorian of Benedictine High School in 1917. Remembered as friendly, talented, and well rounded, he brought his faith into his studies, friendships, and scouting. The desire to become a priest grew within that ordinary life of responsibility and service.

After high school, Frank entered Belmont Abbey Seminary College in North Carolina. There, he followed a personal rule of life that included daily Holy Communion, weekly confession, and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. He eventually decided to prepare for the diocesan priesthood, hoping to serve the Church in his native Virginia. His formation joined academic preparation with a deliberate effort to deepen his love for God.

In the autumn of 1919, Bishop Denis O’Connell sent him to the Pontifical North American College in Rome for theological studies. Frank’s humor and good cheer endeared him to his fellow seminarians. He continued the spiritual life he had cultivated at home and at Belmont. Far from Virginia, he remained devoted to the people he hoped one day to serve as a priest.

That December, Frank wrote an Act of Oblation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He sealed it with instructions that it should be read only if he died in Rome. In this spiritual testament, he consecrated his life to the Sacred Heart and offered himself for the conversion of those outside the Catholic Church in Virginia. His offering encompassed the work of living as well as the possibility of death. He wanted every action to contribute to the Church’s mission.

Frank also explained that he loved his life at the college, his companions, and Rome. His offering expressed gratitude and confidence in God. He hoped that, if he died, he could continue helping his loved ones and his diocese through prayer. He wrote, “I shall be of more service to my diocese in heaven than I could ever be on earth.” Those words revealed how deeply his hope for heaven remained connected to his love for Virginia.

In late January 1920, Frank became seriously ill with rheumatic fever. He was admitted to the hospital of the Blue Nuns, where his illness brought pain and delirium. As his condition worsened, he received the Last Rites. Wishing to kneel for Holy Communion, he tried to leave his bed, but was prevented from doing so. He instead knelt on the bed to receive Viaticum. He died on February 7, aged twenty two, before he could be ordained.

After his death, his spiritual testament was discovered among his belongings. As it became known, Pope Benedict XV and later Pope Pius XI requested copies. Frank was buried in the North American College mausoleum at Rome’s Campo Verano cemetery. His short life left a lasting impression on those who had known him and on others who encountered his offering to God.

His cause for canonization began in 2001, and the diocesan inquiry concluded in 2005. He remains a Servant of God. The priesthood for which he prepared was never fulfilled on earth, but his written offering preserves the purpose that guided him. As a student, scout, and seminarian, Frank sought to give himself completely to Christ and to the salvation of others.

For a devotional image of Servant of God Francis, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press

Saint Carlo Acutis, a Life Close to Jesus

Saint Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents, Andrea and Antonia. Later that year, his family moved to Milan, where he grew up. As a child, Carlo developed a deep love for Jesus and eagerly prepared for his First Holy Communion, which he received at seven years old.

The Eucharist became the center of his life. He made daily Mass his practice, spent time in Eucharistic adoration, and prayed the Rosary. He described the Eucharist as his “highway to Heaven.” Alongside this devotion, Carlo enjoyed football, video games, playing the saxophone, and making films of his pets. His days brought together schoolwork, friendship, prayer, and service.

Carlo had a particular gift for computers. He helped others use them and put his skills at the service of his faith. He developed an exhibition documenting Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Church, combining photographs and historical accounts to help people learn about the Eucharist. The technology he enjoyed became a means of sharing his love for Christ.

His charity also took practical forms. Carlo volunteered at soup kitchens, helped children with their homework, and assisted people in need around his neighborhood. He taught catechism and made time for others amid his own studies and interests.

In October 2006, Carlo became seriously ill with acute leukemia. As his condition worsened, he offered his suffering to God for the pope and the Church. He received the Anointing of the Sick and died in Monza on October 12, aged fifteen.

On September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati. His feast day is October 12. Carlo’s brief life continues to show how holiness can grow through ordinary duties, friendship, generosity, and faithful love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

For a devotional image of St. Carlo, click here: Maryvale Catholic Press

Charlene Richard’s Offering

Servant of God Charlene Richard

In May 1959, twelve-year-old Charlene Richard read about Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Afterward, she asked her grandmother whether she, too, could become a saint by praying like the Little Flower. Within a few months, her short life would end. But that simple question would remain part of her story.

Born on January 13, 1947, Charlene grew up in the rural Cajun community of Richard, Louisiana. She was the second oldest of ten children born to Joseph Elvin and Mary Alice Richard. Her mother remembered an active girl who enjoyed sports, attended church, and prayed her rosary. Faith belonged to the ordinary rhythm of her childhood.

That summer, Charlene was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia and admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Lafayette. At her family’s request, Father Joseph Brennan, the newly ordained hospital chaplain, told her that she was going to die.

Father Brennan explained redemptive suffering, the Catholic understanding that suffering can be offered to God in union with Christ for others. Charlene accepted this teaching. Although her illness was painful, she remained cheerful and offered her suffering in prayer. The young priest returned to visit her daily, deeply moved by her faith.

During those final days, Charlene prayed for the healing of sick people and for others to enter the Catholic Church. Sister Theresita Crowley, the hospital’s director of pediatrics, also witnessed her peaceful acceptance and concern for others.

Charlene died on August 11, 1959. She was twelve. Father Brennan and Sister Theresita later reported healings and conversions among those for whom she had prayed. Her story spread, and visitors began coming to her grave to pray.

On January 11, 2020, the Diocese of Lafayette opened her cause for canonization, and Charlene received the title Servant of God. Her grave at Saint Edward Catholic Church remains a place of pilgrimage, where people remember a child who, even while dying, continued to pray for others.

For your own image of Servant of God Charlene Richard: Maryvale Catholic Press