CATHOLIC SAINTS HAVE COME FROM AND LIVED IN YOUR COUNTRY

We are all called to be saints, but, as Americans, it can seem like almost all of the Saints we know are Italian, Greek, Spanish: from anywhere else but here. As incredible as each of those holy men and women are, sainthood can seem foreign and ancient to us when we imagine St. Paul in Corinth or St. Jean Vianney in France. But have you thought about St. John Neumann walking the streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or Blessed Stanley Rother being a Parish Priest in Durant, Oklahoma, or Servant of God Cora Evans raising children in Midvale, Utah?

​The importance of knowing that Saints have come from and come to the United States can be a great help when it comes to believing that God wants us to be saints. We can learn and seek intercession from all of the saints, but knowing that other people who talked like you, grew up in a town like yours, and lived holiness in your own culture- it can be a big step towards becoming a saint yourself.

see the list of american saints

there are more saints connected to The united states than you may know

Despite its relatively short Catholic history, compared to somewhere like Europe or the Middle East, the North American Continent has been the site of some of the greatest and holiest souls to walk the earth. And if they can do it, with God's grace, why not you? 

More about the process of becoming a saint

SAINTS, BLESSEDS, VENERABLES, AND SERVANTS OF GOD, AND COUNTING

YEARS SINCE CATHOLICS CAME TO NORTH AMERICA

PERCENT OF AMERICANS TODAY ARE CATHOLIC

THE MOST RECENT BEATIFICATION OF AN AMERICAN

"So I ask you: are you looking for empty thrills in life, or do you want to feel a power that can give you a lasting sense of life and fulfillment? Empty thrills or the power of grace? To find fulfillment, to gain new strength, there is a way. It is not a thing or an object, but a person, and he is alive. His name is Jesus Christ."

​[Pope Francis, 2013]

"The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history."


​[Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 1985]

"Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium!"


​[Pope St. John Paul II, 2000]