Saint Francis, 1181 (?) – 1226Rejected wealth for the simple life of a hermit monk. Restored crumbling churches. Showed an understanding of the divine nature in animals and the natural world, and how all creation praises and pleases God.Patron saint of animals and the environment.

Josephine Bakhita, 1869 – 1947Sold into slavery from Sudan, and suffered greatly. Converted to Christianity while staying in a convent, and chose to remain there after being granted her freedom.

“If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today,”“Her mind was always on God, and her heart in Africa.”

Patron saint of Sudan.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.1929 – 1963American Baptist minister and one of the leaders of the US Civil Rights movement. Proponent of nonviolent resistance, inspired by Jesus’s teachings, as a force for social change. Assassinated in 1968.“It wasn’t just that he gave a great speech. The leaders taught black people how to take a beating—from the southern cops, from police dogs, from fire department hoses. They actually coached young people how to crouch, cover their heads with their arms and take the beating. They taught people how to go to jail, which terrified most decent people.And you know what? The worst of the worst, wasn't that bad. Once people had been beaten, had dogs sicced on them, had fire hoses sprayed on them, and been thrown in jail, you know what happened?

These magnificent young black people began singing freedom songs in jail.Please let this sink in. It wasn't marches or speeches. It was taking a severe beating, surviving and realizing that our fears were mostly illusory and that we were free.” – Daily

Kos writer Hamden Rice

Hildegard von Bingen, 1098 – 1179Received visions of God from early childhood. Became a nun, and was eventually convinced, through prayer and advice, to write the visions down. Set many of them to music – these compositions still exist today, and her visions still inform our ideas of God and the universe in imaginative and profound ways.

Joan of Arc, 1412 – 1431

Received visions telling her to help the future King Charles VII save France from English rule. Participated in sieges and battles of the Hundred Years’ War, but was tried as a witch after Charles VII’s victory and burned at the stake.Patron saint of soldiers, prisoners, and France.

Stephen, ? – c. 34Deacon in a church in Jerusalem. Was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death.Patron saint of deacons and altar servers. Often shown holding a

model of a church and a censer (incense holder).

William Tyndale,1494 (?) – 1536At a time when possessing a Bible in English was punishable by death, Tyndale wrote the first full translation of the Bible into English,

drawing on the original Hebrew and Greek instead of other partial translations.Arrested in 1535 and killed in 1536, his translation of Scripture survived, and heavily influenced the King James Bible, which has gone on to influence the translations we use today. Our understanding of the Word of God, as English speakers, has been largely given to us by the work of Tyndale.

John Bunyan, 1628-1688Preacher in the Nonconformist church. When Charles II returned to the throne, Bunyan refused to stop preaching, even though his views differed from the

Church of England. He was arrested and imprisoned.In jail, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, which tells of Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. It is a classic of Christian literature and still read by millions today, showing the struggles and joys of a life lived

in faith, and the ultimate hope of God’s Kingdom.Ida B. Wells, 1862-1931American teacher who advocated for racial equality and female suffrage. A skilled public orator, she made several tours of Europe, working with Quakers to try and raise awareness of lynching in America.

Sydney Carter, 1915 – 2004Hymn writer, including “Lord of the Dance,”

“One More Step Along the World I Go,” and “The Bells of Norwich.”

Joseph Vaz, 1651 – 1711Born in Goa, in what is now India, Vaz became a Catholic priest and lived in poverty. At a time when Catholicism wasn’t practiced in Sri Lanka, he

went to preach there, and bring communion. When arrested, he and other prisoners began a church in prison. Largely credited with the

establishment of Catholicism in Sri Lanka.

Oscar Romero, 1917 – 1980Appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, as a “safe choice” by an oppressive government, who thought he wouldn’t get involved in politics. But after his appointment, a colleague of

Romero’s was killed by the government for helping the poor to advocate for their rights. Romero was deeply moved by this, and began to speak out against the oppression in El Salvador, largely through radio broadcasts. In 1980, he was assassinated while celebrating mass in a hospital chapel.