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St. Frances of Rome was married at age 12, had three children, and was widowed after 40 years of marriage. She spent her entire life helping the sick and the poor. She founded the Oblates of the Tor de’ Specchi (Collatines). It is said that an archangel guided her throughout her life, lighting the road for her with a lantern (like a headlight) to keep her safe. Therefore, St. Frances of Rome is patron saint of motorists.

St. Eulogius of Cordoba was a priest and headed an ecclesiastical school. During Islamic persecutions, he comforted Christian martyrs and their survivors. While imprisoned for his faith, he wrote “Exhortation to Martyrdom.” This was not the only time he was imprisoned; he was arrested many times for his faith. He later died for his faith in Cordoba, Spain, in 859. St. Eulogius is patron saint of carpenters and coppersmiths.

St. Maximilian was born in the year 274 to a Roman army veteran. He was later drafted into the Roman army, but he was a conscientious objector. He did not want to serve because his faith prohibited it. St. Maximilian was martyred in 295 for refusing to serve in the army.

St. Sabinus lived in the third century. He was the Christian governor of a place in Egypt called Hermopolis. St. Sabinus was arrested during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. A beggar St. Sabinus had helped was the one who turned him in. St. Sabinus died for his faith around 287 along with six other Christians.

St. Matilda was born around 895 in Germany. In 909, she married Henry the Fowler, who became king of Germany in 919. She was very dedicated to charity. When her husband died in 936, Otto became king. However, Henry kept leading violent revolts, and St. Matilda rebuked him for his ruthlessness. After Henry’s death, St. Matilda built three convents and a monastery. She was in charge of the kingdom when Otto left to be crowned emperor, which some consider the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire. She is patron saint for the death of children and for disappointing children.

St. Zachary became the 91st pope in 741, and he was the first pope after St. Gregory the Great who did not look for imperial confirmation after his election to pope. St. Zachary helped bring about peace between the Greek empire and the Lombards. He also restored many churches in Rome. Additionally, he encouraged St. Boniface in his missionary work. St. Zachary died in 752.

St. Patrick was born in Scotland around the year 387. When he was about 16, he was captured and sent to Ireland to become a slave. At the time, Ireland was pagan. During his captivity, St. Patrick spent much time in prayer. Around the age of 20, he had a dream that he should return to Britain and his family, and he did. He studied and became a priest and then a bishop. He evangelized England then he started in Ireland. He worked to convert people in Ireland for 40 years, and he died around 461. The shamrock is associated with St. Patrick and Ireland because St. Patrick used the shamrock to help explain the Trinity. He is patron saint of Ireland.

St. Joseph, a carpenter, was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ. A descendant of David, St. Joseph did whatever God asked of him without question or hesitation – he took Mary as his wife, he fled to Egypt for the safety of his wife and child, and he took his family to Nazareth when the angel said it was safe. St. Joseph treated Jesus as his own child. He was not a rich man, but he did everything he could for his family. It is believed he died before Jesus began his public life because he is not mentioned in the Scriptures during that time in the life of Jesus. St. Joseph is patron saint of the universal church and of fathers.

St. John of Parma was a Franciscan priest born in 1209 in Italy. He taught theology in Bologna and Naples, Italy. He became the Franciscans’ seventh minister general in 1247, and he traveled to the Franciscan provinces of various countries. St. John of Parma also served as papal legate to Constantinople. He is patron saint of Parma, Italy.

St. Lea lived in the fourth century. After she became a widow, she went to a Roman monastery and would later become the superior there. Writing after St. Lea’s death, St. Jerome praised St. Lea for living such a devout life free of the things of the world. He proposed a life of renunciation.

St. Turibius of Mogrovejo was born in Spain in 1538. A nobleman, St. Turibius was a lawyer and a law professor. He was ordained when he was age 40 in 1578 and became archbishop of Lima, Peru, in 1579. St. Turibius founded the first seminary in the Western Hemisphere. He worked to secure the rights of the people native to Peru. He died in Peru in 1606. St. Turibius is patron saint of Peru and Latin American archbishops.

St. Catherine of Sweden, born in 1331, was the daughter of St. Bridget of Sweden. Although she married at age 13, she took a vow of chastity. Around 1350, she went to Rome to see her mother and was widowed soon after. The two women went on a series of pilgrimages. When they were not traveling, they worked with the poor. The women also had to fend off would-be suitors. After her mother died, St. Catherine became abbess of the convent her mother had founded, and she wrote a devotional. St. Catherine of Sweden is patron saint against abortion and miscarriages.