Portal:Saints

THE SAINTS PORTAL

Showcased saint-related content

In Christian belief, a saint, also known as a hallow, is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term saint depends on the context and denomination. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. The saints are honored in the liturgical calendars of Evangelical Lutheranism and Anglicanism. In other nonconformist denominations, such as the Plymouth Brethren, and following from Pauline usage, saint refers broadly to any holy Christian without special recognition or selection.

While the English word saint (deriving from the Latin sanctus) originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people", referring to the Hindu rishi, Sikh bhagat or guru, the Shintoist kami, the Taoist immortal or zhenren, the Jewish tzadik, the Islamic walī/fakir, and the Buddhist arhat or bodhisattva also as saints. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official declaration, as in Roman Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy or Eastern Orthodoxy, or by popular acclamation (see folk saint). (Full article...)

Selected biography

Mother Teresa (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India in 1950. For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.

By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary, and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools.

Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Did you know...

Alexander of Bergamo

...that Alexander of Bergamo is thought to have survived the decimation of the Theban Legion for their conversion to Christianity only to be individually beheaded later for the same reason?
...that Anne-Marie Javouhey, the founder and abbess of a new religious order, was one of the first women to establish missions in Africa?
...how to tell which of the two possible Saint Catherines is shown marrying Jesus in a painting of the Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine?

Selected saint days

1 February Saint Brigid
3 February Saint Anskar
3 February Saint Blaise
4 February Saint Cornelius
5 February Saint Agatha
5 February Martyrs of Japan
6 February Saint Paulo Miki and his Companions
6 February Saint Vedast
8 February Saint Gerolamo Emiliani
8 February Saint Josephine Bakhita
9 February Saint Maron
10 February Saint Scholastica
10 February Saint Isaac of Armenia
11 February Our Lady of Lourdes
13 February Saint Absalom Jones
14 February Saint Valentine
14 February Saints Cyril and Methodius
15 February 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
15 February Saint Thomas Bray
15 February Saint Vartan the Warrior and his Companions
17 February Janani Luwum
17 February Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
17 February 150 Fathers of the Holy Council of Constantinople
21 February Saint Peter Damian
23 February Saint Polycarp
24 February Saint Matthias the Apostle
27 February Saint Augustus Chapdelaine

General images

The following are images from various saint-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The month of November in the Czech calendar for 1867 (detail). The calendar of saints is given for both Catholics and Protestants. (from Saint)
Image 2Icon of St. Cyprian of Carthage, who urged diligence in the process of canonization (from Canonization)
Image 3Eremitic Saint Onuphrius by Emmanuel Tzanes, 1662 (from Saint)
Image 4The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells. The winged man, lion, eagle and bull symbolize, clockwise from top left, Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. (from Saint symbolism)
Image 5Portrait of the saintly Kanua, a Hindu baba of Mathura, India, also pictured with a halo encircling his head. (from Saint)
Image 6"Scripture does not teach calling on the saints or pleading for help from them. For it sets before us Christ alone as mediator, atoning sacrifice, high priest, and intercessor."—A.C. Article XXI. (from Saint)
Image 7John the Baptist pictured with a halo. In Christian iconography, saints may also be depicted with wreaths, palm branches, white lilies and other attributes. (from Saint)
Image 8Canonization of Elizabeth of Hungary in 1235, by Sándor Liezen-Mayer (1863) (from Canonization)
Image 9Dutch Book of Prayers from the mid-fifteenth century showing a group of five saints, with their emblems: Saint James the Great (wearing a pilgrim's hat); Saint Joseph; Saint Ghislain (holding a church); Saint Eligius (bishop with a crosier, holding a hammer); Saint Hermes (with the armor and the sword) (from Saint symbolism)
Image 10Saint, 12th-century fresco in Staraya Ladoga (from Saint)
Image 11On 4 November 1992, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously declared saints those Christians who had been tortured and massacred by the Turks in the Great fire of Smyrna in 1922. (from Canonization)
Image 12A portrait depicting Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist Cimabue (1240–1302) (from Saint)
Image 13The Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria (1876). On 3 April 2011, Batak massacre victims were canonized as saints. (from Canonization)
Image 14Pope Pius II canonizes Catherine of Siena. (from Canonization)

Related portals

WikiProjects

Religion
- Christianity
  - Saints
  - Anglicanism
  - Eastern Orthodoxy
  - Oriental Orthodoxy
  - Roman Catholicism

The Saints Wikiproject aims primarily at standardizing the articles about people venerated by some Christians as saints or the blessed and ensuring quality articles. If there is an interest in including saints from religions other than Christianity, please propose those changes on our talk page.

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Saints}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Featured articles

Good articles

Featured pictures

Annunciation Memling
Cabinet Card of Sojourner Truth - Collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
IsabellaofCastile03
Jan van Eyck - Kardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project
Leonardo da Vinci - Virgin and Child with St Anne C2RMF retouched
Raffaello Sanzio - Madonna del Cardellino - Google Art Project
Raphaël - La Madone de Lorette - Google Art Project
Russian Imperial Family 1913
Saint Côme & Saint Damien Grandes Heures Anne de Bretagne XVIe
San Giovanni Evangelista (Parma) - Dome
Sir Anthony Van Dyck - Charles I (1600-49) - Google Art Project
Sojourner Truth, 1870 (cropped, restored)
Stanisław Samostrzelnik, Św Stanisław
William Holman Hunt - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple - Google Art Project