Note: This is an edited repost of a post I had written for the blog Maidens for Mary, which has since gone inactive. 

Greetings to you, dear readers!

This week, the whole Church begins to celebrate Passiontide, which includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and ends on Holy Saturday. From there, the Church moves into a long season of rejoicing as Easter is celebrated!

Considering the above, it is no surprise that April is known as the month devoted to the Holy Eucharist.

For this post, I want to highlight two well-known saints who's feast days are in April: St. Gemma Galgani and St. Bernadette Soubirous.

St. Gemma Galgani Source: www.stgemmagalgani.com

St. Gemma Galgani was born in 1878 near Lucca, Italy. From childhood, she developed the virtues of modesty, piety, chastity, purity, obedience and faith with the upmost care. As a young girl, she developed spinal tuberculosis and was cured as a result of a novena to the Sacred Heart. She was a mystic from an early age, and received the stigmata. While she wished to be a Passionist nun, she remained hidden in the world - keeping busy by seeing to the needs of her family and visiting the sick. She was a perfect victim of suffering and was always resigned and joyful. She died on April 11 1903, at the age of 25, as a result of tuberculosis of the lungs. She is hailed as the patroness of pharmacists (because it was her father's trade), orphans, those suffering from back pain, those suffering from headaches and migraines, those suffering from temptations to impurity, as well as patroness to students and Italian paratroopers/parachutists. 

For those who wish to know more about St. Gemma Galgani, I would recommend that you visit the website that bears her name, which you can find HERE. I most recommend the following articles: Life of Gemma Galgani, and St. Gemma's Heroic Chastity and Purity.

St. Bernadette Soubirous Source: Wikipedia

St. Bernadette Soubirous was born in Lourdes, France in 1844. She was born the first of several children, and lived in poverty. She was a shepherdess as a child for a peasant woman who fostered her for a time. She frequently suffered from chronic illness, including asthma. At the age of 14, she was favored with visions of the Blessed Virgin, who asked for penance and a shrine at Lourdes. In her early 20s, Bernadette entered into the convent of the Sisters of Charity at Nevers. She spent most of her 13 year tenure as a religious sister in the infirmary - both as a nurse and as a patient. She also was a talented embroiderer. During the last years of her life, she developed tuberculosis of the bone from a tumor on her knee. She died on April 16, 1879 at the age of 35. She is the patroness of illness, shepherds, poverty, people ridiculed for piety, and of Lourdes, France.


For those who want to know more about St. Bernadette, I would recommend the book The Song of Bernadette, and the movie by the same name. It is by far the most comprehensive biography of St. Bernadette that I've found. I've also used the following sites to compile this biography: EWTN and Catholic Online.



I hope that the intercession and examples of these saints will inspire you all to greater sanctity and to reflect the greater glory of God in your own lives. 

God bless,