Catholic Saint T-Shirts

Saint Anthony of Padua is one of our best-known saints. Born in Portugal, he eventually arrived in Italy, where he was known for his many miracles. One time, discouraged that people in a certain town would not listen to his admonitions, he went to the side of a lake and began preaching to the fish.

There, he found a much more receptive audience, as a large school of fish poked their heads out of the water to hear the sermon of the holy man standing by the water.

Catholics believe that a host consecrated during Mass becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus. One time, a doubter threw a challenge to Saint Anthony. If a hungry mule, which hadn't been fed for three days, would ignore food, if a host was present, he would believe in what we call the True Presence.

Saint Anthony agreed, and the animal refused to eat, and, instead, lowered his body before the consecrated host.

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was born in Assisi, Italy, into a very wealthy family. However, he came to identify with the poor. Early in life, he enjoyed the finer things, which his father readily provided. But after meeting a beggar one day, he had a change of heart. In fact, he was so moved by this person's lack of material possessions that young Giovanni even gave him fine silk from his father's stock of fine fabrics.

Unfortunately, his father became enraged at this act of charity. Others who heard about Giovanni's good deed were also less than supportive. Undeterred, though, Giovanni left the family home and began to live with a group of beggars in Rome. The remainder of his life was spent in poverty.

Saint Francis eventually formed a religious order known today as the Franciscans. They seek to imitate his life of poverty and service to others.

Why is this famous saint often depicted with animals. There are several reasons. One is that he tried to live in peace with all creatures. Also, when he preached outdoors, at one point, birds were seen flocking to his side, to hear his words of wisdom. In his spirit of peacemaking, he was also able to somehow communicate with a ferocious wolf, in order to extend the olive branch.

He told the wolf to stop attacking people, and the people of the town would make sure he never went hungry again. This solved the problem.

Saint Jude is one of the most famous Catholic saints, and he is considered one of the first to turn to whenever it seems as if there's no solution to a particular situation. The reason this Apostle, whom we believe was a cousin of Jesus, came to be known as the Patron Saint of Lost Causes is because after the Death and Resurrection of Christ, Saint Jude wrote a letter in which he encouraged early Christians to keep their faith, and to persevere, so matter what happens.

Saint Padre Pio was canonized on June 16, 2006. This means that the Vatican has formerly recognized that he is now in Heaven, and that he can intercede and help us here on earth. It requires two miracles for this to happen, as well as testimony and proof that an individual led an unusually holy life.

Padre Pio had the gift of reading souls. In confession, he could tell if someone was hiding a sin, or had committed a sin of which they were unaware. This way it could be absolved, with assurance that it was forgiven by God. The Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation, or confession, has Biblical roots. After Jesus rose from the dead, he told his Apostles, the very first bishops of the Catholic Church, they had the power to forgive sins.

In the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 20, Jesus told the Apostles, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." On occasion, because he could read souls, Saint Padre Pio would refuse absolution in the confessional if he realized that someone was not truly sorry, or had no plans to change their lives.

Saint Padre Pio, who died in 1968, was also gifted with what's known as "the stigmata," which were real and painful wounds on his hands in imitation of the wounds Christ suffered on the Cross.