St. Katharine Drexel

A 20th century saint, she died in 1955 after founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and 63 schools and missions. She was a wealthy heiress who generously donated money to the missions - especially for African and Native Americans - until Pope Leo XIII asked her to give more than her money. "Why don't you become a missionary?" he asked. So she did. Originally from Philly, she founded her order at 33 years old and headed west. By 77, she couldn't engage in active work anymore so she spent her last 20 years in prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Scholastica

The twin sister of St. Benedict, Scholastica loved her brother deeply. Even as children they were very close; Benedict followed the pious example of his sister who consecrated herself to God while she was still very young. When Benedict founded his monastery at Monte Cassino, Scholastica founded a convent 5 miles away under her brother's direction. In spite of their great devotion to one another, their devotion to Christ took precedence: they only visited each other once a year out of faithfulness to the rules of their vocation.

St. Agatha

(Her feast day was February 5)
St. Agatha wouldn't pretend not to be Christian. Even when her life depended upon it. She lived in Sicily in the mid third century when Christianity was criminal. Her beauty and grace attracted the attention of the governor, but she refused him becuase she had consecrated herself to Christ alone. He got mad, tried to sway her resolve through various pressures, and finally sent her to prison, tortured and killed her. She's the patroness of volcanic eruptions and breast disease, among other things.

Angela Merici

St. Angela Merici was a quiet revolutionary. During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, nobody thought to educate women (unless they were rich or in the convent.) And women weren't supposed to teach; that was man's work. But Angela recognized the need to form young women, especially in their faith, so she set out to do it. Gathering some other Franciscan Tertiaries, the group of women ventured out into the streets of Desanzano, Italy and gathered up young girls, bringing them back to Angela's house for instruction. The concept caught fire and soon Angela was setting up schools in other towns. She even caught the attention of Pope Clement VII who asked her to move to Rome to lead a nursing order. But she knew her calling was to education. She founded the congregation of St.Ursula, which would later become the Ursulines, the first order of nuns to leave the cloister to teach.

St. Agnes

(Her feast day was January 21)
St. Agnes, as depicted by El Greco. You'll notice she's accompanied by a lamb, as is typical for images of this Roman martyr of the 3rd century. I learned a few years ago that the big connection between Agnes and the white furry creature is the fact that her name (reminiscent of the Agnus dei) means "lamb." But I think there's more to it than that. All the martyrs, in a special way, participate in the sacrifice of Christ - the Lamb of God - when they lay down their lives out of love for Christ's bride, the Church. Agnes was only 12 when she was killed by the sword as punishment for the crime of adhering to her Christian faith.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys

(Her feast day is January 12)

The first woman saint of Canada, though she was actually from France. She went to the New World at age 33 to start teaching the French pioneer children. Thanks to Marguerite's prudence and foresight, the orphan girls sent by the King to become wives and mothers of the pioneer men received a warm welcome and some guidance for life in the wilderness from Sister Marguerite. She founded the Congregation of Notre Dame as a revoultionary new order of women that actually left the cloister to teach. She died in 1700.

Catherine Laboure

(Her feast is Nov. 28)

You've probably heard of the Miraculous Medal . . ."O Mary, Conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." This came from the apparition of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure in France in the mid 19th century. The humble nun kept her mystical experiences quiet for 46 years. When another sister doubted the rumors of Marian apparitions, Catherine anonymously defended herself saying, "The sister who saw the Blessed Virgin saw her in flesh and bone, even as you and I see each other now."