Because it's the feast St. Catherine of Siena, the twenty-third of twenty-four children, I'm posting the saints we've collected (so far) who are the happy members or parents of highly blessed families ~ families containing five or more children.Here's our list. Please let us know who needs to be added!
Queen St. Margaret of Scotland, the mother of eight children
St. Therese of Lisieux, the ninth child
St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother was the eleventh of thirteen children
St. Thomas Aquinas was the sixth son of the noble Aquino family
Gianna Beretta Molla was the 10th of 13 children, mother of 4, the last of whom she died to save (Thanks, MM)
Pope St. Piux X was the second of eleven children in the Sarto family
Queen St. Clotilda bore five children
St. Catherine of Genoa was the youngest of five children
Faustina Kowalska of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the third of ten children (Thanks, Rachel)
St. Bridget of Sweden was the mother of eight children
St. Hedwig was one of eight children and the mother of seven
St. Charles Borromeo was the third of six children
St. Thomas More was the father of four children, but also had a stepdaughter and two wards, plus several other students whom he mentored
St. Bernadette of Lourdes, one of six named children (Thanks, Squelly)
St. Leonides, a martyr of the third century, was the father of seven sons
St. Louis de Montfort was one of eighteen children
St. Joan of Arc was one of five siblings
St. Francis de Sales was the oldest of six brothers
*St. Casimir of Poland -- the third of thirteen children (added 5-24-11)
I actually thought St. Bernadette was one of 5. You learn something new everyday.
ReplyDeleteThe other blessing that comes from large families is more vocations to the priesthood.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux was 3rd of 7 children. His father Tescalin has been declared “Venerable” by the Church, and his mother, Alice, his sister Humbeline, and his brothers Guy, Gerard, Andrew, Bartholomew, and Nivard have all been declared “Blessed.”
ReplyDeleteA great book about this family is called "The Family That Overtook Christ"
Great list!
There is a saint Emilie, mother of 10, 3 or 4 of whom are also saints, including Basil the Great and Gregory of Nycea.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Ann Seton had 5 as well, thanks for the list!
ReplyDeleteThe Maccabees: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_with_seven_sons
ReplyDeleteSt. Vincent dePaul had two brothers and three sisters
ReplyDeleteSt. Theresa of Avila was one of 10
ReplyDeleteAt. Margaret Mary Alacoque...the fifth of seven
ReplyDeleteSt. Ignatius was the youngest of 13
ReplyDelete