HEAVENLY
BRICKS

Today's saint is my first modern-era saint, Saint Oscar Romero. If you're interested in the life of Oscar Romero, I highly recommend the film Romero , which was created several years before Oscar Romero was even beatified. Oscar Romero is a particularly special saint for me personally, because I learned about his life and sacrifice before I converted. With all the ancient saints' many miracles and unbelievable tales, it can sometimes be easy to forget that the saints were real people who lived in a time and a place. But Oscar Romero's martyrdom doesn't let us forget that. His death was the same decade in which I was born. His sacrifice for peace and equality paid off in 1992 when the Salvadoran Civil War ended by the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords. Lifetime: August 15, 1917 to March 24, 1980 Region: El Salvador Patronages: El Salvador; The Americas; Persecuted Christians Iconograpy: Black cassock; Amaranth zucchetto and fascia; Glasses Feast Da...

St. Patrick is one of the most well-known saints in the world, and rightly so. His humility and boldness spurred one of the most amazing conversion stories. The conversion of Ireland occurred without bloodshed or conquest, and happened so rapidly that slavery (which was commonplace at the beginning of Patrick's mission) was completely eradicated in Ireland within his own life. One of the most well-known legends about Patrick -- chasing the snakes out of Ireland -- probably never happened, but his story is a fascinating tale even without it. Lifetime: ~386 to 461 Region: Ireland Patronages: Ireland; Snakes Iconograpy: Green robe; Miter and crosier; Shamrock; Snakes Feast Day: March 17 Patrick, known as Patricius in his native Latin, was born in Britain in what was then part of the Roman empire. Patrick's family was somewhat wealthy and Patrick would have experienced little hardship in his early life. But then, when he was a teenager, Patrick was captured by Iris...