Celebrating The Saints

27 December: Feast of the Holy Family. Little is known about the life of Jesus’s earthly family. The gospels tell of the early years, including the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, and the finding of Jesus in the temple. Pope Leo XIII promoted this...

26 December: Feast of Saint Stephen. On the second day in the octave of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen, an early Church deacon and the first Christian martyr.  The Book of Acts 6-7 tells us about Stephen. He came from a family of Hellenists,...

14 December: Saint John of the Cross. Born in 1542 as Juan de Yepes, he was the son of a poor silk weaver in Spain. His father was of noble birth but had married much beneath him and thus had been cut off by family. He had taken to silk weaving as a means of...

9 December: Saint Juan Diego and 12 December: Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is fitting to celebrate these two feast days together. The beautiful story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe is well known. A poor Indian man named Juan Diego was walking for many miles to...

The Catholic Identity Committee at POPCS has identified 10 local families who are in need of a Christmas dinner. When we say "need," we mean that without our support, they will not have a holiday meal.This opportunity for service is a beautiful way to teach...

6 December: Feast of St Nicholas. St Nicholas is the patron of children, the hungry, brides and scholars! He was born in the year 270 and grew up on the coast of what is now Turkey with his wealthy Greek parents. He became bishop in Myra and died there on December 6,...

22 November: Feast of Christ the King (the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe). Celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, this feast day was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. As a response to the rise of secularization, atheism,...

Born into a wealthy family in Grenoble, France, Rose learned political skills from her father and a love of the poor from her mother. At age 8, it became her dream to go to America and work with Native Americans after hearing a Jesuit missionary speak of his work...

Born to pagan parents, this son of a veteran was forced at the age of 15 to serve in the army. Martin was baptized a Christian at age 18. He lived more like a monk than a soldier. One of the most famous stories associated with Martin happened while he was in the army:...

3 November: Blessed Solanus Casey. Born Bernard Francis Casey to Irish immigrants in 1870, he first considered the priesthood after witnessing a brutal murder as a young man. In seminary, he struggled with studies and mastering languages. Because of his poor grades,...