Saint of the day and spiritual life

Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) is one of the great figures of the Church and a model for the episcopacy. Born into a noble Italian family, he became Archbishop of Milan and a cardinal at a very young age. He played a major role in the Council of Trent, helping to reform the Church in the face of the abuses that had contributed to the Protestant Reformation.

Antoine-Marie Claret was born on December 23, 1807 in the small village of Sallent, in Catalonia (Spain). The son of a weaver, he first learned this trade, but he felt a call to a religious vocation. He entered the seminary of Vic in 1829 and was ordained a priest in 1835. After having exercised some pastoral functions, he devoted himself fully to missionary work.

At a young age he received a careful education that allowed him to study law in Perugia, where he later became a lawyer. He quickly achieved great notoriety thanks to his legal skills and was appointed governor of Perugia in 1412. However, his political career was interrupted when he was imprisoned following political unrest. It was during this period that he decided to devote himself to God and the religious life.

Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, led a remarkable life in many roles: priest, philosopher, writer, theologian, and ultimately pope. He lost his mother at age 9, his older brother three years later, and his father during World War II.

Born as Paolo Francesco Danei in Italy, he dedicated his life to meditating on the Passion of Christ and preaching divine love through that suffering. At a very young age, he felt a deep religious vocation, and he spent much time in prayer and penance, seeking to live a life of holiness. In 1720, after a series of mystical visions, he received the inspiration to found a religious order that would focus on the contemplation of the Passion of Christ.

Courageous missionaries of the faith, Saint Jean de Brébeuf and Saint Isaac Jogues were two French Jesuit priests and their companions who experienced the first Christian martyrdom in North America in the part of present-day Canada among the Hurons (Wendat).

Saint Luke was born in Antioch to a pagan family. He embraced the Christian faith through Paul, remaining attached to him for 18 years until the latter's martyrdom in 67 AD. A proven intellectual, he mastered classical Greek and was a physician.

Ignatius the God-bearer (God-bearer) called Ignatius of Antioch was born around 35 AD. He was the third bishop of Antioch after Saint Peter and Evode by the choice of the apostles Peter and John in 68. He led the important Church of Antioch (more than 500,000 faithful) for 40 years.