A fairly extensive list of saints can be found http://www.catholic.org/saints/stsindex.html. Given below are links to websites which contain information on saints covered in this class or who will be included in the Confirmation liturgy. Most of the saints which were covered in the class or included in the liturgy are from this century in order to give examples of holiness in the modern world.
First of all, I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness. Was this not the ultimate meaning of the Jubilee indulgence, as a special grace offered by Christ so that the life of every baptized person could be purified and deeply renewed?
It is necessary therefore to rediscover the full practical significance of Chapter 5 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, dedicated to the "universal call to holiness". The Council Fathers laid such stress on this point, not just to embellish ecclesiology with a kind of spiritual veneer, but to make the call to holiness an intrinsic and essential aspect of their teaching on the Church. The rediscovery of the Church as "mystery", or as a people "gathered together by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", was bound to bring with it a rediscovery of the Church's "holiness", understood in the basic sense of belonging to him who is in essence the Holy One, the "thrice Holy" (cf. Is 6:3). To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order to make her holy (cf. Eph 5:25-26). This as it were objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized.
But the gift in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life: "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians: "All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity"
Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 30.
| Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to these two children at Fatima in Portugal, along with their niece, Lucia. |
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| Blessed Josemaría Escrivá. Founder of Opus Dei. Blessed Maria's basic spiritual insight was that the lay Christian faithful, in the midst of their personal, family, and social duties, can be saints, too! |
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| Servant of God Clare of Castelbajac. Full of joy and happiness, died as a virgin in her early 20's. |
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| Blessed Rupert Mayer. The apostle of Munich. Debated Hitler in the early 1920's, and saw errors of Nazism as early as 1923. Spent most of the years of World War II in prison, and died soon after the war. |
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| Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla. Wife, mother, and medical doctor. Member of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society during her studies, and specialized in pediatric medicine to help mothers and babies. Active in Catholic action. Loved skiing and mountaineering. Married. Gave her life for her child, Gianna Emanuela. |
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| Saint Katherine Drexel. From a wealthy family, she used her wealth to address the social injustices affecting African-Americans and Native Americans. |
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| Faith Witness of the 20'th Century Christian de Chergé. Prior of the monastery Notre Dame de Atlas in Algeria. Wrote a spiritual testiment before he and his brothers were kidnapped by political terrorists and beheaded. In this testiment, he forgave his killer, and prayed that, like the Good Thief, his killer might "steal" heaven. |
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| Servant of God Dorothy Day, pictured with Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Before her conversion to the Catholic Faith a committed communist. Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement; dedicated her life to the service of the poor. |
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| Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. His Father was a wealthy agnostic. Blessed Pier loved mountaineering, was involved in Catholic Action, and spent hours each week serving the poor. |
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| Saint Francesca Xavier Cabrini. At the request of the Pope, immigrated to America to serve immigrants. Faced great prejudice herself, even from others in the Church. This did not stop her from serving Jesus in immigrants. |
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| Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro. During the height of the religious persecution in Mexico under the PRI, Father Pro offered the sacraments in a variety of disguises. Executed by the Mexican government. Died with his arms outstretched. |
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| Blessed Damien De Veuster. Entered religious life and was sent to the missions in Hawaii, where he was ordained a priest. Spent most of his life serving lepors on the island of Molokai, where he eventually died of the disease. |
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| Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. An accomplished pianist as a teenager. Entered the Carmelite order, where she developed a relationship with the Jesus as bride of the Bridegroom. |
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| Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Founder of the Knights of the Immaculata, a fraternal organization dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Died in Auschwitz. His brothers, located in a monastery he started in Nagasaki, cared for orphans from the atomic bomb attack. |
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| Saint Edith Stein.. Born in a Jewish family and studied philosophy. Converted to the Catholic faith and eventually entered the Carmelite order when the Nazis no longer allowed her to teach at the university because of her Jewish roots. Died at Auschwitz. Co-patroness of Europe. |
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| Saint Therese of Lisieux.. Entered the Carmel when she was 15. Saw her vocation as love; "In the heart of my Mother the Church, I will be love". Patroness of the missions and doctor of the Church. |
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Blessed Frederic Ozanam Saint Francis Saint Josephine Bahkita Blessed Juan Diego Saint Thomas Aquinas Saint Maria Goretti Blessed Kateri Tekawitha Blessed Michael Tanzi |