St. Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran

Ø  A Virgin, Laywoman , who spent eight hours a day in prayer, and was known to experience ecstasies.
Born	29 October 1832 at Nobol, Guayas, Ecuador
Died	8 December 1869 at Lima 2 the age of 37, Peru of natural causes; remains transferred to Guayaquil in 1955
Venerated	declared Venerable on 23 October 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Beatified	25 October 1992 by Pope John Paul II at Rome
Canonized	Sunday 12 October 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	30th August

Narcisa de Jesus Martillo was born on October 29, 1832 in the small village of St. Joseph in Nobol, Daule, Ecuador.She was the sixth of nine children born to Peter Martillo and Josephine Moran, who were wealthy landowners. Her mother died in 1838 when she was the age of six and as result took up much of the domestic chores. She had a clear perception of her call to sanctity from an early age and was confirmed on September 16, 1839 at the age of seven. She frequented a small wood near her home for prayer and contemplation in solitude. The Guava Tree near which she prayed, is today the destination for large pilgrimages. She chose Saint Mariana de Jesus as her patron with whom she identified and strived to imitate.            After her father died in 1852, Narcisa moved to Guayaquil at the age of 19 where she lived with a very prominent family. It is here where Narcisa began her mission of helping the poor and the sick and caring for abandoned children.[4] She took a job as a seamstress to fund her mission as well as supporting her eight brothers and sisters. Narcisa then moved to the city of Cuenca where she went from home to home, living with whoever would take her including the Blessed Mercedes de Jesús Molina to allow herself greater privacy for prayer and penance.           In June 1868, Narcisa moved to Lima, Peru at the advise of a Franciscan, where she lived as a lay person in the Dominican convent of Patrocinio. Here, Narcisa followed a demanding daily schedule of eight hours of prayer, offered in silence and solitudeIn addition, she devoted four hours of the night to various forms of mortification, including flagellation and the wearing of a crown of thorns. She fasted on bread and water and took the Eucharist as her only forms of sustenance and was frequently seen in a state of ecstasy.            Towards the end of 1869, Narcisa developed high fevers for which medical remedies could do little. She died on December 8, 1869. On 12th  October 2008  canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.

St.Maria Bernarda Butler

Ø  Foundress of the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Christians Ø  She was a missionary in Ecuador.
Born	28 May 1848,  Auw, Switzerland
Died	May 19, 1924, Cartagena, Colombia
Beatified	on October 29, 1995 beatified by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Feast	May 19th

Mary Bernard (Verena Bütler) was born in Auw, in the Canton of Argovia, in Switzerland, on the 28th of May 1848 and was baptised on the same day. She was the fourth child of Henry and Catherine Bütler, modest but exemplary country people, who educated the eight children born of their marriage in the love of God and of neighbour.Verena was a happy, intelligent, generous child who loved nature. In keeping with church law at the time, she received first Communion when she was nearly 12, beginning a life-long devotion to the Eucharist.          After completing school at age 14, she worked on the farm and became engaged, but broke it off to enter the convent at 18. She quickly decided God was not calling her to be a contemplative nun and returned home.          She became immersed in the parish, but still felt called to be a contemplative. Her pastor encouraged her to enter the Franciscan Monastery of Mary Help of Sinners shortly before her 20th birthday, taking the name Sr. Maria Bernarda of the Heart of Mary. She was soon novice mistress and, for nine years, was the superior before accepting an invitation from the Bishop of Portoviejo, Ecuador, to be a missionary.          She took the franciscan habit on the 4th of May 1868, taking the name of Sister Mary Bernard of the Heart of Mary, and made her Religious Profession on the 4th of October 1869 with the firm proposal of serving the Lord until death in the contemplative life.          When the Bishop of St. Gall refused to let her go, she sought approval from the pope. She and six sisters left on June 19, 1888, for Ecuador, where she founded the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Help of Christians in Chone, Santana and Canoa Ben.          Ecuador had few priests and little practice of the faith. She and her sisters responded by working with families while learning the culture. They also dealt with heat, health problems, misunderstandings with church officials and the decision of some sisters to start a new order.          In 1895, she and 15 sisters left Ecuador for Brazil and then were invited by the Bishop of Cartagena in Colombia, to work at Obra Pia women’s hospital. Sr. Maria Bernarda served there for the rest of her life.          She also founded houses in Colombia, Austria and Brazil, and paid particular attention to the poor and the sick. She told her sisters: “Open your houses to help the poor and marginalized. Give preference to the care of the indigent over all other activity.”          She died on May 19, 1924  @ Cartagena, Colombia. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 29, 1995 and was canonized on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.

St. Gertrude Caterina Comensoli

Ø  Italian virgin and foundress of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo
Born	On 18th  January 1847 in Biennio, Brescia, Italy
Died	On 18th  February 1903 in Bergamo, Italy of natural causes
Beatified	On 1st  October 1989 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 26th  April 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	18th February

Geltrude Comensoli was born in Bienno in Val Camonica, Brescia, on January 18, 1847, the fifth of ten children. On the same day of her birth, her parents, Carlo and Anna Maria Milesi, took her to the parish Church to be baptized and she was given the name of Caterina.            At the age of seven, unable to resist any longer the pressing invitation of Jesus, one day, in the very early morning, she wrapped herself in her mother’s black shawl and went to the nearby Saint Mary’s Church. Standing at the balustrade, she secretely made her First Communion. Caterina experienced a “heavenly” feeling and swore eternal love to Jesus. The child became more serious, meditative and more absorbed in the thought of Jesus present in the Eucharist who, she realized, was often left alone for many days. While still young, she became an Apostle of the Eucharist: she would have liked to take Jesus present in the Holy Sacrament onto the top of a high mountain so that everyone could see and adore Him.           In 1862 she left her family and entered the Institute of the Daughters of Charity, founded by St. Bartolomea Capitanio, in Lovere. On the Feast of Corpus Christi of 1878, with the permission of her confessor, she made the vow of chastity, which she had made on the morning of her secret Comunion, perpetual. Without neglecting her duties as a domestic servant, Caterina decided to educate the children of San Gervasio, Bergamo, guiding them towards an honest life of christian and social virtues.           In 1880, while in Rome with the Fé-Vitali’s, she succeeded in speaking with Pope Leo XIII about her plans to establish a religious institute devoted to the adoration of the Eucharist. The Pope changed them by inviting her to include the education of young female factory workers as well.           Supported by the new Bishop of Bergamo, Mgr Guindani, and by her “Father and Superior”, Rev. F. Spinelli, on December 15, 1882, Caterina, together with two of her friends began the Congregation of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo with the first adoration hour of the Blessed Sacrament. On December 15, 1884 she took the name of Sister Geltrude of the Blessed Sacrament.           The new Congregation revealed itself to be God’s work. In fact, like all God’s work, it endured many adversities which sorely tried the “tender little plant”. However, this plant had already spread its deep roots into the rich soil of prayer, mortification and humility. It mattered little that Sister Geltrude and her Sisters, advised by the Bishop of Bergamo, Mgr Camillo Guindani, successor to Mgr Speranza, had to abandon their first “nest” in order to take refuge in Lodi. Mgr Rota, Bishop of Lodi, welcomed them and generously gave them a house in Lavagna di Comazzo, which temporarily became the Mother House of the Institute.          When innumerable difficulties had been overcome, Mgr Rota, with the Decree of September 8, 1891, gave canonical recognition to the Institute. On March 28, 1892, Mother Geltrude returned to Bergamo, the birthplace of the Congregation. There she gave it decisive and strong direction. God’s work was fulfilled!           On February 18, 1903, at midday, Mother Geltrude, bowing her head towards the Church of Adoration, began her eternal adoration. The news of her death quickly spread. Those who had known her, especially the poor and the humble, who were her favourite people, declared her a saint. On August 9, 1926, her venerable remains were taken from the cemetery of Bergamo to the Mother House of the Institute which she had established. There she lies in a special chapel next to the Church of Adoration.           On April 26, 1961, declared as venerable  the by  Pope John XXIII .On October 1, 1989, Pope John Paul II declared her a Blessed Soul and On April 26, 2009  Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI .

St. Caterina Volpicelli

Ø  An Italian nun, Foundress of  the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart
Born	On 21st  January 1839 in Naples, Italy
Died	On 28th  December 1894 in Naples, Italy of natural causes
Beatified	On 29th  April 2001 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 26th  April 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	22nd January

Caterina Volpicelli was born in Naples January 21, 1839 to Peter and Teresa de Micheroux. Her family belonged to the Neapolitan high bourgeoisie and she had a deep Christian faith.          Caterina was educated in the Royal School of St. Marcellino.  Under the wise leadership of Margaret Savory, Caterina studied languages and music, atypical for women at that time. She was guided by the Spirit of the Lord, who revealed the plan of God through wise and holy spiritual directors including the Blessed Ludovico of Casoria.          Caterina Volpicelli, founded the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart in July 1874 with the approval from the Cardinal Archbishop of Naples.  The order was formally recognized by Pope Leo XIII on June 13, 1890.            Concerned about the lot of the young, she then opened the orphanage of the Margherites, founded a lending library and set up the Association of the Daughters of Mary, with the wise guidance of Venerable Mother Rosa Carafa Traetto (d. 1890)..          Caterina Volpicelli died in Naples on 28 December 1894 ,and was beatified on April 29, 2001 by His Holiness John Paul II and canonized on April 26, 2009 by His Holiness Benedict XVI.

St. Jeanne Jugan

Ø  Jeanne Jugan is the foundress and first Little Sister of the Poor Ø  Also Known as Sister Mary of the Cross
Born	On 25 October 1792 at  Cancale, Brittany, France
Died	On 29 August 1879 at Pern, France , of natural causes
Beatified	on 3 October 1982 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 11 October 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	29 August

Born on Oct. 25, 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, Jeanne Jugan grew up during the  political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day.           Jeanne worked as a shepherdess, and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man. She told her mother that God had other plans, and was calling her to “a work which is not yet founded.”            At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order of St. John Eudes, a religious association for laypersons founded during the 17th century. Jeanne worked as a nurse in the town of Saint-Servan for six years, but had to leave her position due to health troubles. Afterward she worked for 12 years as the servant of a fellow member of the third order, until the woman's death in 1835.            During 1839, a year of economic hardship in Saint-Servan, Jeanne was sharing an apartment with an older woman and an orphaned young lady. It was during the winter of this year that Jeanne encountered Anne Chauvin, an elderly woman who was blind, partially paralyzed, and had no one to care for her.            Jeanne carried Anne home to her apartment and took her in from that day forward, letting the woman have her bed while Jeanne slept in the attic. She soon took in two more old women in need of help, and by 1841 she had rented a room to provide housing for a dozen elderly people. The following year, she acquired an unused convent building that could house 40 of them.           During the 1840s, many other young women joined Jeanne in her mission of service to the elderly poor. By begging in the streets, the foundress was able to establish four more homes for their beneficiaries by the end of the decade. By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation that had become known as the Little Sisters of the Poor.           However, Jeanne Jugan – known in religious life as Sister Mary of the Cross – had been forced out of her leadership role by Father Auguste Le Pailleur, the priest who had been appointed superior general of the congregation. In an apparent effort to suppress her true role as foundress, the superior general ordered her into retirement and a life of obscurity for 27 years.            During these years, she served the order through her prayers and by accepting the trial permitted by God. At the time of her death on Aug. 29, 1879, she was not known to have founded the order, which by then had 2,400 members serving internationally. Fr. Le Pailleur, however, was eventually investigated and disciplined, and St. Jeanne Jugan came to be acknowledged as their foundress.           She was beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982, and canonized on October 11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI.

St. Candida Maria de Jesus

Ø  Foundress of the Congregation Hijas de Jesús ( Daughters of Jesus ) in Spain Ø  Spanish Religious Nun and educator
Born	On 31st  May 1845 in Andoain, Guipuzcoa, Spain
Died	On 9th  August 1912 in Salamanca, Spain of natural causes
Beatified	On 8th  May 1996 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	9th August

Candida Maria de Jesus  born on 31st  May 1845 in Andoáin, Guipúzcoa, Spain as Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola .Oldest of seven children of Miguel Cipitria and María Jesús Barriola. The family were weavers, and Juana learned the craft as a child. At age 18 she left home to work as a maid to a family in Burgos, Spain.            In 1863, when she was 23, she met Jesuit Father Miguel José Herranz, who helped her in her call to form a Congregation and on 8 December 1871 she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus to work for a Christian upbringing of children, and to improve the condition of woman in Salamanca, Spain. She took the name Mother Candida Maria de Jesus. Mother Candida based her spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.            The congregation spread throughout all of Spain. It received formal approval from Pope Leo XIII on 31 July 1901. Ten years later, the congregation had grown to the point that she was able to send Sisters to establish a school in Brazil, the first foundation outside of Spain. She died on 9 August 1912. Mother candida beatified on 8th  May 1996 by Pope John Paul II and  canonized On 17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.