Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R.
Missionary preacher 

As a child, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R. used to claim that he didn't simply want to imitate his patron saint: he wanted to be another St.Francis Xavier. He entered the seminary in Augsburg after completing a degree in Philosophy. While there, he heard about the missionary activity of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and traveled to North America, specifically to become a Redemptorist priest. For nine years, he worked as the assistant of St. John Neumann in the parish of St. Philomena in Pittsburgh. He dedicated himself to the mission of preaching, and, before long, he had attained a reputation as an excellent preacher and an insightful, attentive spiritual director. He was also known for a happy availability for anyone who might need him at any time. He became pastor of the church of St. Mary of the Assumption in New Orleans, and died there of yellow fever while nursing the sick during an epidemic.

VIDEO – Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos

Saint Junípero Serra, O.F.M.
Founder of the Spanish missions in California

As a young man in Spain, Blessed Junípero Serra joined the Franciscan order and began a short career as a professor, famous for his preaching. When he was thirty-five, he suddenly began to yearn for the life of a missionary in the New World. He left everything behind and boarded a ship bound for Vera Cruz, Mexico. On his way to Mexico City, an insect bite infected his leg so badly that walking pained him for the rest of his life. Among his many great accomplishments as a missionary are listed two particularly: It was he whose insistence and dedication brought about the "Regulation" protecting the Native Americans and the missions. He is also known for founding the great mission of San Juan Capistrano, in California. He founded 21 missions and taught the Native Americans many trades, from farming to crafting.

VIDEO – Saint Junipero Serra

Venerable Pierre Toussaint
Haitian-born ex-slave, hairdresser and benefactor in New York
 
Born a slave in Haiti, Venerable Pierre Toussaint died a free and wealthy man. When he was in his early twenties, his master brought him to the United States with several other slaves, to avoid civil disturbance in Haiti. He was apprenticed to a hair dresser in New York City, becoming a favorite stylist for the ladies of the city. When his master died, he worked very hard to take care of his master's wife - in 1807, just before her death, he was freed. He married a fellow slave and together they turned their home into a refuge for orphans and the sick, and attended daily Mass at St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street: the same parish that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton attended.

VIDEO – Venerable Pierre Toussaint

Venerable Fulton Sheen
Archbishop and TV Personality

A college education, a TV show and a passionate devotion to the call of the priesthood all combined in one very witty man - proof that sainthood is not only challenging and holy, but fun. Peter "Fulton" John Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois in 1895. As a young man, he turned down a sizable scholarship to pursue his true desire, the holy priesthood of the Catholic Church. At his ordination, he made a promise that he would spend one hour a day in Eucharist Adoration - a promise he kept faithfully for the rest of his life. In 1951, the newly-appointed Bishop Sheen began a TV series entitled "Life is Worth Living." In 1952, he won an Emmy award for "Most Outstanding Television Personality." He was named an Archbishop in 1969, and ten years later, on October 3rd of 1979, just months before his death, Archbishop Sheen was embraced by Pope John Paul II and told, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church!"
 
VIDEO – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All