CV NEWS FEED // Each year, Mother’s Day invites us to remember the profound impact mothers have not only on our lives, but on the world. This day is also the perfect time to acknowledge the extraordinary mothers who have gone before us, including countless saints!
These women not only nurtured their families physically but also cultivated a love for God in remarkable ways from everyday household duties to serving their broader communities. Let’s explore the lives of a few saints who embodied the vocation of motherhood in their own unique times and circumstances.
St. Zélie Martin
Best known as the mother of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Zélie Martin’s commitment to instilling the faith in her children certainly laid a fruitful groundwork and witnessed to her own sanctity.
A pious, well-educated French woman in the mid-19th century, Zélie initially dreamt of becoming a nun, but health issues forced her to change course. She studied and excelled at making point d’Alençon, establishing her own successful business. Zélie eventually met and fell deeply in love with Louis Martin, another soul with thwarted religious aspirations, and together they embarked on a different kind of holy mission: marriage and family.
While running her business with Louis, and practicing works of charity, Zélie was foremostly devoted to raising her nine children in tenderness and faithfulness to God. She overcame intense heartbreak and struggles from four of her children dying in infancy to being unable to nurse her youngest child Thérèse after she was born. Through it all, Zélie’s faith remained strong and she was committed to educating her five daughters and encouraging them to strive for sainthood.
Zélie was later diagnosed with breast cancer, from which she suffered terribly. Though she died in 1877 when her children were still young, (Thérèse was only 4-years-old) her husband and daughters were permanently impacted by her strong and loving witness. Zélie was canonized alongside Louis in 2015.
St. Monica
St. Monica is probably one of the most famous saintly mothers of all time and a testament to the power of prayer. Born in North Africa around 331 AD, Monica was raised in a Christian household but was married as a teenager to Patricius, a pagan with a fiery temper. Monica was verbally mistreated by her husband and mother-law who lived with them, and suffered from Patricius’ frequent infidelities. Together they had three children, the eldest being St. Augustine.
Monica met all her challenges with firm faith and sweet patience and her witness impacted both Patricius and his mother so much that they converted and asked for her forgiveness.
Augustine, on the other hand, would continue to bring his mother grief for the next 30 years as he pursued a life of secular prestige and debauchery in his search for truth. Monica wept and prayed every day for her son’s conversion, at first distancing herself from him to show her disapproval but later she had a dream that her son would find Christ. She also befriended the great bishop of Milan St. Ambrose, who assured her that all her heartache would not be in vain.
Monica never gave up on her son, and finally, Augustine experienced a dramatic conversion where he embraced the faith of his mother and became one of the church’s greatest sinners-turned-saints. Monica worked by her son’s side as a leader for Catholic women and died from illness in 387 after telling Augustine, “Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.”
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is not only the first American-born saint, but she lived both the vocation of motherhood and consecrated religious life. Born in 1774 New York to a wealthy Protestant family, Elizabeth was a beautiful, educated and charismatic member of high society. She married shipowner William Seton at 19-years-old and together they had five children who they happily raised.
Life dramatically changed, however, when her husband’s business ventures failed and the shock left William deathly ill and the family bankrupt. Elizabeth traveled to Italy with her sick husband and oldest daughter in the hope that the climate would cure him, leaving behind her other young children with relatives as they could not make the long voyage. The family were forced to quarantine upon their arrival in Italy, for fear of tuberculosis, and the terrible conditions where they were held led to William’s death.
Widowed at only 28, Elizabeth was introduced to Catholicism by some family friends and soon converted when she returned to New York. This upset her protestant family members, most of whom isolated themselves from her and her children. Elizabeth found work as a school teacher to support her family and eventually founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, where she received permission to raise her children while living the consecrated life.
Through this order – the first religious community for women in the United States – Elizabeth provided free Catholic education for children of any background or social class and established many schools and orphanages before her death in 1821.
St. Rita of Cascia
Called the “saint of the impossible,” St. Rita of Cascia was born in central Italy in 1386. Rita aspired to religious life, but a marriage was arranged for her to Paolo Mancini, a wealthy man from a powerful family who was frequently entrenched in bloody political feuds. Though it is said that Paolo had a violent temper, Rita reacted with love and patience. She later bore twin sons and over time, Rita’s kindness won over her husband’s heart who then renounced the feuds and led his family to lead a peaceful life in the country.
This peace was short-lived, however, when after 18 years of marriage Paolo was murdered by a rival family. Though bereaved, Rita publicly stated that she forgave his killers in the spirit of Christian charity, but was further grieved when her sons and other relatives plotted to follow the vendetta law to avenge Paolo’s death. Rita begged God that her sons would not commit this mortal sin, and soon after the young men both contracted dysentery and died.
Alone and heartbroken, Rita tried to enter the convent as an Augustinian but was rejected because of her controversial family connections. Rita took it upon herself to work to reunite the feuding families in building a lasting peace. Afterward, she was mystically transported to the locked chapel at the Augustinian convent in the middle of the night and was finally received into the order. Before her death from tuberculosis, she received a stigmata wound on her forehead. It is said that as she was dying Rita prayed to know if her husband and sons were in heaven after their tumultuous earthly lives. She then asked a relative to bring her a rose and some figs from her garden back home, which shocked her relation as it was the middle of winter. The relative doubtingly went to the garden where she found a blooming rose and two figs there in the snow.
St. Gianna Molla
St. Gianna Beretta Molla was raised in a large, devout Catholic family near Milan, where faith and service were paramount. This foundation fueled her passion for medicine, leading her to become a pediatrician. In her spare time, Gianna was highly involved in Catholic Action and other charities and was a skiing and hiking enthusiast.
At 33 years old, Gianna’s life took a beautiful turn when she married Pietro Molla, an engineer, in 1955. United in their common goal to raise a Catholic family, Pietro and Gianna soon had three young children and two miscarriages. Gianna devotedly raised her little ones while running her pediatric practice, with an emphasis on helping other mothers raise their children with health and values.
However, tragedy struck during her fourth pregnancy when doctors discovered a tumor threatening both Gianna and the baby. Under pressure from her doctors to abort her child, Gianna staunchly declared, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child.”
At her request, the doctors removed only the tumor and did not perform the recommended full hysterectomy that would have jeopardized the pregnancy. With unwavering faith and love for her unborn child, Gianna carried on, knowing the risks to her own health. She delivered a healthy baby girl, Gianna Emanuela, but due to complications, the heroic mother died a week later in 1962. In 2004, Pietro and three of her four children were able to see their beloved Gianna be raised to sainthood.
St. Matilda
Born into Saxon royalty around 895, St. Matilda was raised by her abbess grandmother who educated the girl in religion, culture, and responsibility. As a young woman Matilda married Henry the Fowler, the Duke of Saxony who eventually became king, and the couple had two sons. Matilda found herself thrust into the world of politics as queen, yet, her focus remained on her faith and the well-being of her people, especially the poor.
Widowed in 936, Matilda faced a new challenge: a strained relationship with her sons Otto and Henry as their ambitions for power sometimes clashed with her values. Matilda never stopped advocating for peace and compassion and even intervened when one son rebelled.
Matilda decided to surrender her husband’s inheritance and withdraw from her duties to maintain peace and devoted herself to establishing monasteries and convents. However, Otto’s wife Edith convinced him to reconcile with his mother and invite her back to the palace. Matilda later died in one of her monasteries and was buried alongside her husband.
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
Blessed Anna Maria was a wife, mother, and mystic from Italy. When she was 20, Anna Maria married Domenico Taigi, a pious but hot-tempered man, and they had seven children. While in Rome one day, Anna Maria experienced a profound renewal of her religious conviction and decided to enter the Third Order of the Trinitarians.
Despite Anna Maria’s struggles with her brash husband, Domenico loved and greatly admired his wife, who never let his faults or the family’s financial struggles stop them from making their home a place of virtue and a haven of charity for the poor and misfortunate.
Throughout the rest of her life, Anna Maria frequently experienced religious ecstasies, received messages directly from Jesus, and could both read hearts and foresee future events, including glimpses of the coming World Wars. These extraordinary gifts drew people to her for spiritual guidance.
Despite her mystical experiences, Anna Maria remained grounded in her daily routine and responsibilities. She continued to be a devoted wife and mother, managing the household and ensuring her children had a solid education both academically and spiritually. Anna Maria died in 1837 after 49 years of marriage and family life.
Servant of God Empress Zita of Austria
Servant of God Zita of Bourbon-Parma was the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary who resiliently remained devoted to God, family, and country in the face of a crumbling empire. Born into Catholic Italian nobility, Zita married the Austrian archduke Blessed Charles von Habsburg, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in 1911. A few years later, Charles ascended the throne with Zita as Empress.
Zita embraced her role wholeheartedly, raising her young family (eventually eight children) and actively assisting Charles in his political responsibilities. The couple was inseparable, calling each other several times a day by phone whenever separated for Charle’s imperial travels. Most importantly, Zita was committed to her faith and advocating for peace during World War I. Charles, with Zita at his side, attempted to negotiate an end to the war, but ultimately the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved in 1918 and the royal family was forced into exile.
Zita remained a pillar of strength for her husband and their children as they faced constant upheaval, moving from island to island, and searching for a permanent home. In 1922 Charles died of pneumonia, leaving Zita a widow at 29 while pregnant with their eighth child. Zita bravely persisted in raising her children to love God, excel in education, and preserve the Habsburg family legacy. Up until her death in 1989, Zita was committed to fighting for peace and the restoration of Austria as well as assisting in opening her husband’s cause for beatification.
