I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds - Psalm 9:1

The Saints

By the example of their life and the wisdom passed on in their writings, we find hope, strength and instruction for our own spiritual battles.

After the apostles, who all but John were martyred, we have the fathers of the Church and the early martyrs in the Roman persecutions.

Then there are thousands of holy men and women who have gone before us and won the fight against the world, the flesh and the devil.

Many are widely known even outside the Church. For example, who has not heard of St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, St Francis of Assissi, St Teresa of Avila or Padre Pio?

There is also a special group of saints that have contributed to the Church’s understanding of the faith. As at 2024, there are 37 doctors of the Church. “Doctor” is Latin for teacher. Their writings can be a rich source of comfort and inspiration in our own lives because in many ways we all face the same problems. External circumstances change but the spiritual challenges are similar.

No.	Name	Born	Died	Declared
1	Gregory the Great	540 (c.)	604	1298
2	Ambrose	340 (c.)	397	1298
3	Augustine	354	430	1298
4	Jerome	347 (c.)	420	1298
5	Thomas Aquinas	1225	1274	1567
6	John Chrysostom	347	407	1568
7	Basil the Great	330	379	1568
8	Gregory of Nazianzus	329	389	1568
9	Athanasius	298	373	1568
11	Anselm of Canterbury	1033 or 1034	1109	1720
12	Isidore of Seville	560	636	1722
13	Peter Chrysologus	406	450	1729
14	Leo the Great	400	461	1754
15	Peter Damian	1007	1072	1828
16	Bernard of Clairvaux	1090	1153	1830
17	Hilary of Poitiers	300	367	1851
18	Alphonsus Liguori	1696	1787	1871
19	Francis de Sales	1567	1622	1877
20	Cyril of Alexandria	376	444	1883
21	Cyril of Jerusalem	315	386	1883
22	John Damascene	676	749	1890
23	Bede the Venerable	672	735	1899
24	Ephrem	306	373	1920
25	Peter Canisius	1521	1597	1925
26	John of the Cross	1542	1591	1926
27	Robert Bellarmine	1542	1621	1931
28	Albertus Magnus	1193	1280	1931
29	Anthony of Lisbon and Padua	1195	1231	1946
30	Lawrence of Brindisi	1559	1619	1959
31	Teresa of Ávila	1515	1582	1970
32	Catherine of Siena	1347	1380	1970
33	Thérèse of Lisieux	1873	1897	1997
34	John of Ávila	1500	1569	2012
35	Hildegard of Bingen	1098	1179	2012
36	Gregory of Narek	951	1003	2015
37	Irenaeus of Lyon	130	202	2022