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The saint of the day for April 17 is Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, a Third Order Franciscan and pilgrim. He is the patron saint of homeless people. Born in northern France in 1748, he was the oldest of fifteen children of a prosperous shopkeeper and his wife. He was a quiet, thoughtful child with a friendly nature who was both serious and a bit sad. At the age of 12, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest, to prepare for the priesthood. His uncle taught him Latin and the Scriptures. Due to poor health and a lack of appropriate academic preparation, he was unsuccessful in his efforts to enter the religious life in the Trappist, Cistercian, and Carthusian orders. Continue reading.

Image : Saint Bernadette Soubirous April 16 is the feast of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a mystic and visionary at Lourdes, France. Saint Bernadette is the patron saint of: Lourdes, the poor, the sick, and people ridiculed for their piety. Born in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844, Bernadette was the first child of Francois and Louise Soubirous, a poor peasant family. A severe asthma sufferer, Bernadette was such a poor student that she was unable to make her First Holy Communion until she was 14. She had many trials to contend with as a child — poverty, health problems, which caused her to be behind in school, many responsibilities as the oldest child of six siblings, moving from one poor place to another, and a father who escaped from his financial problems by drowning them in alcohol.  Continue reading .