Perhaps the world’s first-known advocate for the working woman, Arcangelo Tadini, who was Canonized on April 26, 2009  by Pope Benedict XVI, established a religious order called the Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth that sought to implement the church’s teachings regarding workers’ rights and to lead working women into Christian faith by setting a strong example.
 

 
Tadini was born in Brescia, Italy on October 12, 1846 and joined the seminary when he was 18. An accident left him with a limp and an unfortunate illness forced him to spend his first year of the priesthood at home with his family. Once he regained his health, he moved from parish to parish and was known for the warm, attentive way he nurtured his community.
 
As the Industrial Revolution spread, he administered aid to the workers, founded the Worker’s Mutual Aid Association and used his own inheritance to build a spinning factory for women and used the proceeds to build them housing. His religious order of sisters worked in the factories alongside other women, sharing their fears and frustrations and teaching them by example.
 
His feast day is May 20.
 
Happy Love Thursday!
 

 
Welcome to the 2nd edition of “The Life of a Saint.” This week we’re honoring, Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Portuguese saint who-although his followers had to travel more than 2,000 kilometers-had the loudest, if not the largest, cheering section at the Canonization.
 

 
This group was fascinating. They cheered and chanted and sang songs whose words were incomprehensible, but whose love and devotion to their hometown Saint illuminated the square.
 
Truth be known … I was a little jealous. I wanted to feign Portuguese, hop in the circle and join in with their singing and dancing … but my husband held me back.
 
So who was this saint they were cheering for? None other than Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira, also called Saint Nuno of Santa Maria, the 14th century general who helped Portugal secure independence from Castile.
 

 
Saint Nuno descended from Portuguese nobility and had-get this!-32 siblings. He married at 17 and had one daughter but was later widowed. He is described as a war hero and a knight  although he was often referred to as “the Peacemaker.” After his daughter married, he renounced his nobility and gave one-third of his wealth to the poor. He later relinquished all of his money and entered the monestary he had established.
 
At one point he was so famished, he traded his horse for six loaves of bread, then gave them to hungry English knights who were searching for food. But his blood line and sacrifice weren’t in vain.
 
According to BlessedNuno.Org,
 

“His direct descendants included Isabella the Catholic, supporter of Christopher Columbus, Emperor Charles V, who ruled over more territory than any other European monarch (including most of the Americans), and Archduke Ferdinand, whose death triggered the World War which was tearing Europe apart at the time of Our Lady’s Fatima apparitions.
 
Also descended from Blessed Nuno were the members of the Royal House of Braganca, monarchs of Portugal and Brazil, including England’s Queen Catherine, for whom the Borough of Queens, New York was named.”

 
November 6 was established as the Saint Day to celebrate Saint Nuno, although many people still recognize his life on the anniversary of his death which is April 1.
 
Did you miss last week’s “The Life of a Saint?” If so, click here to read about Saint Geltrude “Caterina” Comensoli or click here to read about Calabria’s own, Saint Gaetano Catanoso.
 
Happy Love Thursday!
 

 
During Rome Week I mentioned that my husband and I had the opportunity to attend Mass in Saint Peter’s Square. Although the day was gray and windy, we were thrilled to encounter none other than Vatican City’s own Pope Benedict XVI, who was both leading the Mass and Canonizing five new saints.
 
I’ve always been enchanted with Saints … with their lives, their sacrifices, their gifts. So for the next five weeks I’m going to share what information I can gather on the world’s five newest Saints and who knows … maybe some of their good-nature and reverence will rub off on  me.
 
Saint Geltrude Comensoli
 

 
Saint Geltrude “Caterina” Comensoli, born in Brescia, Italy on January 18, 1847, created the Sacramentine Sisters order that is present throughout Europe, South America and Africa and whose purpose was to help working people find time for God.
 
Her most significant miracle occurred in the early morning hours of October 3, 2001 in Agnosine, Italy where a dying four-year-old child saw her standing beside his bed shortly before he was miraculously healed of his rare strain of meningitis.
 
You can click here to read the full recount of the miracle or read more about Saint Geltrude “Caterina” Comensoli here.
 
Happy Love Thursday!