Saints Archives

Chaplet of St. Peregrine

The “Chaplet of St. Peregrine” is a powerful prayer devotion that honors St. Peregrine Laziosi, a 13th-century Italian priest and patron saint of cancer patients, whose own miraculous healing from cancer stands as a beacon of hope for those afflicted by the disease. This chaplet serves as both a meditation on St. Peregrine’s faith and miraculous cure, and as a vehicle for seeking his powerful intercession for those battling cancer and other serious illnesses.

Get the scoop → “St. Peregrine: Finding Hope In The Patron Saint of Cancer Healing”

Chaplet of St. Peregrine

Patron Saint of Cancer & Serious Illness

Prayer Video — Chaplet of St. Peregrine

On the crucifix, pray:

O God, who gave to St. Peregrine an Angel for his companion, the Mother of God for his teacher, and Jesus as the physician of his affliction, grant we pray to You through his merits that we may on Earth intensely love our Holy Angel, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and our Savior, and in Him, bless them forever. Grant that we may receive the favor which we now petition.

[Mention your petitions now]

We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

On each set of three beads, pray…

1st bead:
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

St. Peregrine, pray for us.

2nd bead:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Peregrine, pray for us.

3rd bead:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

St. Peregrine, pray for us.

On the St. Peregrine medal, pray:

Oh great St. Peregrine, wonder worker, you were cured instantaneously of cancer by God’s grace and unceasing prayer. In your gracious kindness, please ask our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to heal (name person) in body, mind and soul. May we then also follow you in doing His work with renewed vigor and strength. Amen.

St. Jude

About St. Jude

St. Jude Thaddeus, known as the patron saint of hopeless causes, was one of Jesus Christ’s twelve apostles and is often confused with Judas Iscariot. According to tradition, he was a brother of St. James the Less and a relative of Jesus, preaching the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya after Christ’s death and resurrection. He is believed to have written the Epistle of Jude in the New Testament, a short but powerful letter warning against false teachers. His patronage of impossible causes stems from a reported vision of Christ telling him to assist those in most desperate need, and from the theory that because his name was so similar to Judas Iscariot, people only prayed to him as a last resort. According to tradition, he was martyred in Persia with St. Simon the Zealot, being clubbed to death and then beheaded. He is typically depicted in religious art holding an image of Christ (referring to the legend of King Abgar) and often with a club or axe, symbolizing his martyrdom. Today, he is one of the most popular saints, particularly invoked in times of crisis or when all hope seems lost.

Get the scoop — “St. Jude: The Underdog of Lost Causes”

Prayers & Devotions

St. Joseph

About St. Joseph

St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus and husband of the Virgin Mary, stands out in Christian tradition for his quiet strength and faithful obedience despite appearing in only a few Gospel scenes. A carpenter from Nazareth, he faced an enormous test of faith when he discovered Mary was pregnant, yet chose to follow God’s message through an angel to take her as his wife and serve as Jesus’s foster father. The Gospels portray him as a “just man” who protected his family through multiple crises – including a hasty flight to Egypt to escape King Herod’s persecution, and later establishing a new life in Nazareth. Though no words of Joseph are recorded in Scripture, his actions reveal his character: he worked with his hands to support his family, taught Jesus his trade, and faithfully fulfilled Jewish religious obligations like the annual Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He disappears from the Gospel narrative after Jesus’s childhood, leading to the belief that he died before Jesus began his public ministry. The Catholic Church honors him as the patron of the universal Church, workers, fathers, and a happy death (due to the tradition that he died in the presence of Jesus and Mary), and his feast day is celebrated on March 19th.

Prayers & Devotions

YouTube Playlist – St. Joseph Prayer Videos

the Intercession of the saints

St. Joseph Youtube Playlist

St. John Vianney

About St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney, known as the Curé of Ars, became the universal patron saint of parish priests despite struggling academically in seminary and being considered one of the poorest students in his class. Born in 1786 during the French Revolution, when Catholic clergy were being persecuted, he faced numerous obstacles to his vocation, including difficulty learning Latin and failing multiple exams. Finally ordained in 1815, he was sent to the tiny village of Ars, considered a spiritual wasteland. Through his extraordinary dedication to prayer, severe penances, and marathon sessions in the confessional (often 16-18 hours daily), he transformed the town into a spiritual center that drew thousands of pilgrims from across Europe. He was known for his supernatural gifts, including the ability to read souls and prophesy, but was particularly famous for his wisdom in the confessional and his battles with the devil, who reportedly physically attacked him and set his bed on fire. Despite multiple attempts to leave Ars for a quieter life, he remained there for 41 years until his death in 1859. His simple yet profound preaching, particularly about the love of God and the importance of the sacraments, along with his example of pastoral dedication, led to his canonization in 1925 and his being held up as the model for parish priests worldwide.

Prayers & Devotions

Intercession of the Saints

St. John the Baptist

About St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist, the last and greatest prophet before Jesus Christ, lived a radical life of asceticism and fearless preaching in the Judean wilderness. Born to the elderly priest Zechariah and Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin) after an angelic announcement, he was set apart from birth as the forerunner who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Living in the desert, dressed in camel’s hair and surviving on locusts and wild honey, he attracted huge crowds with his powerful calls for repentance and his baptism of conversion in the Jordan River. He famously recognized Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” and baptized him, though declaring himself unworthy to untie Jesus’s sandals. His uncompromising preaching against moral corruption led him to publicly condemn King Herod Antipas for marrying his brother’s wife, Herodias. This bold stand for truth led to his imprisonment and eventual execution when Herodias’s daughter Salome, after her infamous dance, demanded his head on a platter. Jesus called him the greatest of those born of women, and he remains unique among saints as the only one besides Mary whose birth and death are both celebrated in the liturgical calendar.

Prayers & Devotions

St. John Paul II

About St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II was one of the most influential popes in modern history, serving as head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. Born Karol Wojtyła in Poland in 1920, he lived through Nazi occupation and Communist rule, experiences that shaped his passionate defense of human dignity and religious freedom. As the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years, he transformed the papacy through his charismatic personality, extensive travels (visiting 129 countries), and ability to connect with young people through World Youth Day gatherings. He played a crucial role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, championed interfaith dialogue, and issued numerous influential writings including 14 encyclicals. Despite surviving an assassination attempt in 1981 and suffering from Parkinson’s disease in his later years, he continued his public ministry until his death in 2005, demonstrating remarkable courage and dignity in suffering. His funeral drew millions to Rome, with crowds chanting “Santo Subito” (Make him a saint immediately). He was canonized in 2014, just nine years after his death, making his path to sainthood one of the fastest in modern history.

Prayers & Devotions

Intercession of the Saints

St. John Bosco

About St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco, known as Don Bosco, was a 19th-century Italian priest who revolutionized youth education and care for the poor. Born into poverty in 1815, he developed a unique educational approach called the “Preventive System,” based on reason, religion, and loving kindness rather than punishment. In Turin, during the industrial revolution, he devoted himself to helping homeless and at-risk boys, teaching them trades and providing them with education, while also caring for their spiritual needs. Despite facing opposition and even assassination attempts, he established oratories (youth centers) that combined play, learning, and prayer. Through remarkable dreams that often proved prophetic, he guided his work and founded two religious orders: the Salesians for men and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians for women, both dedicated to education and missionary work. His innovative methods, which emphasized joy and love over harsh discipline, were ahead of their time and continue to influence modern educational practices. He worked tirelessly until his death in 1888, leaving behind a legacy of schools and youth programs that spread worldwide. His body remains incorrupt in Turin, where he is particularly remembered for his saying, “It is not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved.”

Prayers & Devotions

Intercession of the Saints

St. Joachim

About St. Joachim

St. Joachim was the father of the Virgin Mary and husband of St. Anne, though he is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels. Most of what we know about him comes from early Christian tradition and the apocryphal Gospel of James. According to these accounts, Joachim and Anne were a wealthy but childless couple who faced public shame for their inability to conceive. After their prayers were answered with the birth of Mary in their old age, they dedicated her to God’s service in the Temple. Tradition holds that Joachim was of the house of David, making him part of Jesus’s royal lineage. He is often depicted in art embracing his wife Anne at Jerusalem’s Golden Gate, where an angel reportedly told them they would have a child, or shown with the infant Mary. His feast day is celebrated jointly with St. Anne on July 26th in the Catholic Church. Despite limited historical information, his role as the grandfather of Jesus and father of Mary has made him an important figure in Christian devotion, particularly invoked by those struggling with infertility or seeking to become parents.

Prayers & Devotions

Intercession of the Saints

St. Ignatius

About St. Ignatius

St. Ignatius of Loyola was a 16th-century Spanish nobleman whose transformation from soldier to saint led to the founding of the Jesuit order. Born into a noble Basque family, his early life was focused on military glory until a cannonball shattered his leg during the battle of Pamplona in 1521. During his long recovery, he read the lives of saints and the life of Christ, experiencing a profound conversion that led him to abandon his military career. After a period of intense prayer and penance at Manresa, where he composed the basis of his famous “Spiritual Exercises,” he pursued education despite being in his thirties and struggling to learn Latin alongside young students. With a group of companions from the University of Paris, including St. Francis Xavier, he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540, creating an order focused on education, missionary work, and finding “God in all things.” His systematic approach to spiritual growth through the Spiritual Exercises, which includes the Daily Examen and discernment of spirits, continues to influence Christian spirituality today. Despite suffering from poor health and facing opposition from both church and state authorities, he led the rapidly growing Jesuit order until his death in 1556, establishing it as a major force in Catholic education, missionary work, and spiritual formation.

Prayers & Devotions

Intercession of the Saints

St. Gertrude

About St. Gertrude

St. Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century German Benedictine nun and mystic whose profound visions and writings about the Sacred Heart of Jesus deeply influenced Catholic spirituality and devotion. Given to the monastery of Helfta at age five for education, she showed remarkable intellectual gifts but initially focused more on secular studies than spiritual matters. At age 25, she experienced a powerful conversion through a vision of Christ, leading to an intense mystical life documented in her writings, particularly “The Herald of Divine Love.” Christ reportedly told her that to pronounce her name gave him joy, and he revealed to her his heart as a burning furnace of love. She was one of the first saints to advocate devotion to the Sacred Heart and was known for her special concern for the souls in purgatory, with Christ telling her that each time her prayer “O Sacred Heart of Jesus” is said with love, 1,000 souls would be released. Despite never being formally canonized, she was proclaimed a saint through centuries of cultus (popular devotion), and her feast day is celebrated on November 16th. She is often depicted in Benedictine habit with a flaming heart, symbolic of her mystical union with Christ.

Prayers & Devotions

Prayer for the release of 1000 souls from purgatory

Intercession of the Saints