15 May 2017 - Five famous saints who were canonized on the same day - March 12, 1622

    On March 12, 1622, Pope Gregory XV canonized 5 different saints.  Two of them were Jesuits who were friends who lived in the 16th century, but they could not have been more different.  Ignatius of Loyola was the visionary who founded the Jesuits, that great missionary order, but who spent most of his priesthood in Rome, directing this order and its missionary activities.  Francis Xavier is one of our Church’s great missionaries, having served in different countries in Asia.  Also canonized on that day were Teresa of Avila, the Spanish Carmelite nuns also from the 16th century who is known as one of our Church’s great theologians and reformers, and Philip Neri, also from the 16th century, a Church reformer and a priest and founder of a religious order known for his great sense of joy.  The fifth person canonized this same day was Isidore the Farmer, whose feast day we celebrate today, on May 15.  Isidore was a simple farmer who died in the early 12th century, several centuries before these other 4 saints.  Isidore spent his whole life working as a farm laborer for a wealthy landowner in central Spain.  Isidore lived out his faith in his daily life, attending mass daily and praying continuously as he worked.  While poor himself, he always had something to give to those who were poorer than he was, and his kindness to animals was legendary.  By having saints like Isidore, we know that anyone, no matter what his status in life, can live out a life that is holy in the eyes of the Lord.  And the great diversity of these 5 saints who were canonized on the same day almost 400 years ago shows us the richness of our faith.