American Saints and Causes is dedicated to promoting awareness of the holy men and women in the life of the Catholic Church in the United States. The Church points us to the example of the saints, each a unique expression of what a life devoted to Christ, a life in union with God, looks like. Far from being just a history on a page, the saints are given to us as family: brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we can have a relationship, be mentored by, and most of all cared for by them through their intercessory prayers with the One they so love.
While all of the saints have something to teach and stand ready to assist us in our journey of sanctification, often we long for a saint that shared our experiences and knew similar circumstances. It helps us begin to verify in our lives the truth of the Church’s teaching that the call to holiness is universal. It can help us with authentic Christian hope, making real that nothing is impossible for God and that Christ came to redeem each and every one of us. The Church has made efforts to expand the reach of the canonization process so as to highlight a broader array of the faithfully departed, but it remains that certain countries and states of life still predominate.
The Catholic Church in the United States is young, but that youth does not mean that it lacks a rich history of witnesses for Christ, even though for many that history is unknown. American Saints and Causes seeks to bring that story to light, to be a way to meet these members of our family and to learn from their lives how much Christ loves us and desires for holy witnesses in the United States. By bringing all this information together in one spot, it is our hope that awareness of these holy men and women will increase and that the causes of those still on their journey to canonization will be helped.
We invite you to explore American Saints and Causes and make some new friendships. Pray the Litany for the United States or for the intercession of one of these holy men and women. Most of all, may you find something of help in discovering your own unique call to follow Christ and live a life of holiness.
