SAINTS - F

Pope St. Fabian - Feast: January 20th (Optional Memorial)
Born: Unknown -- Died: 250 -- Canonized: Unknown
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other: Pope

When St. Fabian was elected Bishop of Rome in 236 A.D. he was a layman. In 250 A.D., at the beginning of the persecution, he suffered martyrdom at the hands of the emperor Decius as is described by St. Cyprian. He is buried in the cemetery of St. Clixtus.

St. Felicity - Feast: March 7th (Optional Memorial)
Born: Unknown -- Died: 203 -- Canonized: Unknown
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: Yes -- Other:

St. Felicity was martyred in 203 A.D. for being a professed Christian. She was martyred under the persecution of Emperor Septimus Severus along with Saturus, Saturninus, Revocatus, Secundulus, and St. Perpetua. She was the slave of St. Perpetua. She was thrown by a cow and then pierced by the sword of a gladiator.

St. Vincent Ferrer - Feast: April 5th (Optional Memorial)
Born: 1350 -- Died: 1419 -- Canonized: 1455
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. Vincent was ordained a Dominican Priest in 1378. He was the official theologian for the papal legate, Cardinal Peter de Luna. St. Vincent was a zealous preacher. He is the Patron Saint of Builders.

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen - Feast: June 13th (Obligatory Memorial)
Born: 1578 -- Died: 1622 -- Canonized: 1746
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

Canonized by Pope Benedict XIV. St. Fidelis converted thousands of people to the faith and recruited hundreds of candidates into the Capuchins. He was as fervent in prayer as he was in his preaching. St. Fidelis was martyred in 1622 A.D. by a group of men chasing him from a sermon he had begun to give at one his schools. St. Fidelis was also known as "The Lawyer for the Poor."

St. John Fisher - Feast: June 22nd (Optional Memorial)
Born: 1469 -- Died: 1535 -- Canonized: 1935
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. John Fisher was born in Yorkshire, England. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25. He combatted protestant heresies, especially the theses proposed by Martin Luther. He was ordained bishop of Rochester at age 35 while remaining Chancelor at Cambridge. He was imprisoned in the tower by Henry VIII for refusing to pledge his loyalty to him after Henry VIII had married Anne Boleyn. Pope Paul III elevated St. Fisher to Cardinal while he was imprisoned. St. Fisher was beheaded in 1535.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal - Feast: August 18th (Optional Memorial)
Born: 1572 -- Died: 1641 -- Canonized: Unknown
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. Jane married Baron de Chantal and had six children. She later became a widow. With the assistance of her spiritual director Frances de Sales, she founded the Visitation nuns in 1610 A.D. at Annency in Savoy. Before St. Jane died in 1641 A.D. she had established 85 Monasteries.

St. Frances of Rome - Feast: March 9th (Optional Memorial)
Born: 1384 -- Died: 1440 -- Canonized: 1608
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. Frances was born in 1384 A.D. and died in 1440. She was a wife and mother. St. Frances founded a community of Benedictine women Oblates in 1425. She was committed to serving the poorest of the poor. St. Frances is the Patron Saint of Automobilists and Widows.

St. Francis of Assisi - Feast: October 4th (Obligatory Memorial)
Born: 1181 -- Died: 1226 -- Canonized: 1228
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. Francis of Assisi is known as the Seraphic Saint. He was born to a weathly family at Assisi, Italy in 1182. After a carefree youth he renounced the wealth of his family and answered God's call to rebuild his Church. St. Franics founded three orders -- the Order of Friars Minor, the second Order of the Poor Clares and the Tertiaries or Third Order of Saint Francis (Lay Order). All of the orders practice penance. He received the "Stigmata" on September 14, 1224. St. Francis wrote the "The Canticle of the Sun." He is the Patron Saint of Animals, Catholic Action, Ecology, Italy and Merchants.

St. Francis of Paola - Feast: April 2nd (Optional Memorial)
Born: 1436 -- Died: 1507 -- Canonized: 1519
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other:

St. Francis of Paola was born in 1436 A.D. and joined the Franciscans at age 13. He founded numerous religious orders all over France and was the spiritual director of King Louis XI, Charles VIII, and Louis XII of France. St. Francis died in 1507 and was Canonized only 12 years later in 1519. His deathbed prayer was as follows.

Beloved Jesus, preserve the just; justify sinners; have compassion on all the faithful, living and dead; be merciful to me, although I am nothing more than an unworthy sinner.

St. Francis de Sales - Feast: January 24th (Obligatory Memorial)
Born: 1567 -- Died: 1622 -- Canonized: 1655
Roman Calendar: Yes -- Roman Canon: No -- Other: doctor of the Church (1877)

St. Francis was born in Savoy in 1567 A.D. He was ordained a priest and labored diligently for for the restoration of Catholicism in his country. St. Francis along with St. Frances de Chantal founded the Visitation Order. He wrote "Controversies" and "Introduction to the Devout Life". St. Francis was bishop of Geneva. He died in 1622 at Lyons, France. He was canonized in 1655, and in 1877, Pius IX placed him among the Doctors of the Church. St. Francis is the Patron Saint of Authors, Catholic Press, Catholic Writers, Deaf, Journalists, and Writers.