8 Surprising Facts About Saints You Probably Didn't Know

8 Surprising Facts About Saints You Probably Didn’t Know

Photo by Nick Castelli on Unsplash of a stained glass window at the St. Therese of Lisieux R.C. Church in Montauk, NY

Every saint has their own story and some people choose to believe in it or not. People who believe in them often call them for help depending on the situation they are in. Some saints are still much more popular among the believers, while others are almost forgotten. It’s normal to learn about a new saint every day because people know about different saints and they have a huge meaning for them. There are a lot of little-known facts about many saints that serve God and help people in various situations, so it’s always a good idea to know something new related to it:

Miracles at the grave of St. Elizabeth of Hungary 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a patron saint of all nurses, hospitals, homeless and sick people, as well as widows and brides. In the XII century, she met St. Francis of Assisi and accepted his ideals from where she began her work in the charity. When she died, many people witnessed miracles at her grave, as well as at her hospital, built for many kids, homeless people, etc. St. Elizabeth of Hungary feast day is still celebrated in the Church of England every year on the 18th of November.

St. Francis of Assisi received Stigmata 

St. Francis lived a luxurious life and came from a family of privilege. In the period when he was a soldier and war prisoner, he heard God’s voice and started to serve God. He was so successful in his missions that he became the most respectful saint for the Catholics. St. Francis of Assisi is the first saint who received the Christ wounds on his hands, called Stigmata.  

St. Patrick is not from Ireland

The patron of Ireland, St. Patrick is not an Irish at all, even if he is the symbol of Ireland. Scotland is the country where he was born, but he was abandoned by pirates on the Irish coast. After he escaped from his abundance at the age of 20, he was named a missionary and got his popularity after his preaching throughout Ireland.

St. Fabian became a pope accidentally

As a novelist, Fabian was not interested in any church work or ministry. When he was on a vacation in Rome, the ruling pope Anterus suddenly died. Fabian saw the crowd for his funeral and wanted to be a part of it. At that event, a new pope election took place randomly with the help of a pigeon. When a pigeon fell on Fabian’s head, all the people started to celebrate him as the new pope of Rome.

St. Sebastian’s unfortunate death

St. Sebastian was a warrior and a captain of the boat of Praetorian guards. When his boat was abandoned and he was caught being Christian, the king ordered St. Sebastian to be killed by a bow and arrow. He somehow survived their attempt to kill him, and the king executed him personally after that.

St. Jerome has a lion as a pet

St. Jerome is a popular saint known for his efforts to translate the Bible from Greek and Hebrew to Latin. One day when he saw a lion in a painful situation with a thorn in his paw, he suddenly wanted to help him. St. Jerome removed it from the paw and the lion became his pet calmly and quietly.  

St. Ignatius collaborated with a donkey for a murder

Ignatius was a young man who was riding a donkey across Spain for his mission. On the road, he met a Muslim who started to speak about his faith and argue with him. The angry Muslim walked away and said something bad for the Virgin Mary. When St. Ignatius heard him, he wanted to murder him and included the donkey to decide about it. If the donkey followed the Muslim, St. Ignatius needed to kill him, or if not, to have mercy for him. Luckily for the Muslim, the donkey chose another direction and he survived.   

St. Clare stopped the war attack with the Blessed Sacrament

St. Clare is a founder of “Poor Clares” and the protector of nuns. She always carried the Blessed Sacrament on the walls of her convent to move away from the war attackers. Once the attackers came to her convent, she fell to her knees and started to pray, so the attack was immediately stopped as a miracle. 

Conclusion

There is a story behind every saint and interesting facts, myths, and legends are told around. People still celebrate and call many saints which means that they are still popular in the Catholic faith. Finding out new saints that you didn’t know ever existed is normal because there are SO many! Keep researching little-known facts about different saints and deepen your faith.