It is important to remember that holiness is within reach for all, and that the modern world with its dizzying distractions and unique dilemmas still finds the pure light of faith burning brightly in all corners of the globe.
If you are looking for some baby girl names, these saintly women should provide plenty of inspiration!
Adele – for Venerable Adele Bonolis, who knew even as a child that her mission was to help prostitutes be redeemed socially and spiritually, and build a new life. She helped found many houses of rehabilitation in the 1950’s and died in 1980.
Amata – for Servant of God Amata Cerretelli, a lay Carmelite who co-founded the Italian “La Famiglia” (The Family) movement in the 1950’s. Her life is described here.
Anita – for Venerable Anita Cantieri, who lived a relatively short life of innocence, love and suffering. She received a constant stream of visitors at her sickbed owing to her incredible strength, goodness and peace.
Armida – for Servant of God Armida Barelli, a lay Franciscan who co-founded with Father Agostino Gemelli the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ, to spread the Gospel through their educational facilities.
Carolina – for Carolina Palladini, who married but never had children, and because she knew that it was very difficult for poor children to make their First Communions, she made it her life’s work to provide for them.
Carla – for Carla Ronci, active in Catholic Action and a woman who lived out her Ursuline sensibilities as a lay person, taking private vows of chastity and poverty. Dubbed the Saint of the Vespa during her lifetime (she always drove a little scooter), Carla was known for her great joy and love.
Edel or Quinn – for Venerable Edel Quinn, a Legion of Mary envoy to Africa, who died in 1944. You can read more about her life here.
Edith or Benedicta – for Saint Edith Stein (below), a Jewish convert to Catholicism who was blessed with an amazing intellect. Her spiritual journey took her from atheism all the way to a Carmelite convent where her name was Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was executed at Auschwitz, but left behind a legacy of poignant philosophical writings.
Dorothy – for Dorothy Day, widely considered one of the most important Catholic social leaders of her time. Day advocated in the United States for the common man and worked tirelessly for peace, never compromising her faith for the popular socialist/Marxist and eugenics movements. She wrote a very beautiful biography of St. Therese of Liseaux in the 1950’s.
Madeleine – for Servant of God Madeleine Delbrel, a French mystic and poet, who wrote The Marxist City as Mission Territory in 1957. You can read more about her here.
Marianna – for Blessed Marianna Biernacka, a Polish martyr of World War II, shot by a firing squad at the age of 55 by Nazis. This grandmother offered her life so that her pregnant daughter-in-law (and the unborn child) might live. It is estimated that of the 11 million Holocaust victims of World War II, 3 million were Polish Catholics and Christians.
Marica – for Marica Stankovic, a Croatian woman of great Catholic influence who founded the Associates of Christ the King. She was sentenced in a show trial to 5 years in prison by the communists. Her cause for canonization was opened in 2006 based on heroic virtue.
Matilda – for Matilda Salem, a Syrian Catholic and influential laywoman who desired to “give herself to her neighbor with the greatest love.” Her Salesian schools educated and supported many needy and refugee children. She died in 1961.
Natalia – for Natalia Tulasiewicz (below), a member of the Polish underground, killed in a Nazi gas chamber at Ravensbruck. Two days before her death on Good Friday 1945, Natalia climbed upon a stool in the barracks and spoke boldly to the prisoners about the passion and resurrection of Jesus.
Pauline or Paulina – for Pauline Vanier, a Canadian woman with a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart and a nationally recognized humanitarian who served the poor and handicapped. She passed away in 1991.
Rosa – for Servant of God Rosa Giovannetti. As a child, Rosa would either be praying, playing her cello or helping the poor. She was an active catechist and charity worker and privately consecrated her life to God.
Santina – for Servant of God Santina Campana, who at a very young age practiced mortifications and offered her sufferings gladly to God. She was reported to have two mystical experiences – sweating blood and receiving an invisible stigmata.
Satoko – for Servant of God Satoko Kitahara (below), who was descended from samurai warriors and became a Catholic convert during World War II. In the aftermath, she spent her life caring for the poor, the orphaned and the destitute.
Vera or Ida – for Wiera “Ida” Francia, often invoked as a saint for the sick, as she suffered much in her short life but gave all to God. Her Polish name comes from the Latin “vera” for truth and she was nicknamed “Ida” in life. She left behind many beautiful writings, near the end reflecting that sickness can be a “conversation with God, in which pain can be transformed into song.”
Victoria – for Servant of God Victoria de Molina, who worked as a teacher and stood fast against the Spanish regime seeking to quell the true faith. She was arrested in 1936 and taken to a detention center. She and seventeen men (including Father Molina) were ordered to march for three hours and some collapsed. But Victoria cried “Take heart! I see the heavens opening. The prize awaits us!” She was shot at dawn while calling out “Long live Christ the King!”
Victorina – for Servant of God Victorina Rivara-Perazzo, a married saint of Argentina, who lived an exemplary life and upon being widowed spent most of her inheritance on the poor and needy. She built several schools and was very much devoted to Saint John Bosco.
Virginia – for Venerable Virginia Tardio, a Bolivian catechist and member of Catholic Action who ran a soup kitchen and founded a medical center for the poor. She was called “The Apostle of Catholic Action” by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
Wilhelmina – for Wilhelmina Ronconi, born in Peru, an excellent student who eventually became a teacher and advocate for the blind. This poet and writer died in 1936. Regarding another Wilhelmina who has attracted attention in more recent years, read about the life of Sister Wilhelmina of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in Gower, Missouri!
Martyrs of the Spanish Persecution:
The persecution of Christians in Spain which started in 1931 and coincided with the Spanish Civil War was a Marxist attempt to entirely eradicate the Church and religion, ultimately resulting in a total of 6,832 martyrs. Among them were these valiant women:
Carmen Moyon
Florence Martinez
Luisa Canizares (below)
Pilar (pronounced “pee-lar”) Villalba
Tarsila Belda
To read more about the lives of the women mentioned today, I highly recommend this beautiful book called Saintly Women of Modern Times by Joan Carroll Cruz. It will inspire you and give you encouragement that holiness can be found in any walk of life!
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