Saint Colette

St. Colette is the patron saint of childless couples, expectant mothers, and sick babies. Born in Picardy, France, on January 13, 1381, her parents prayed to St. Nicholas for a child, naming her Nicollette, later shortened to Colette. After becoming an orphan at seventeen, she shared her inheritance with the poor and became a Franciscan tertiary, leading a solitary life.

At 21, she locked herself in a cell for a life of penance and prayer. However, she had dreams urging her to restore the austere spirit of the Poor Clares, a task to which she felt unfit. Nevertheless, Pope Benedict XIII made her an Abbess with the authority to implement reforms in the convents. Despite opposition, she founded seventeen convents following her reformed rule. These nuns, known as Poor Clare Colettines, are strictly cloistered and possess no property. 

In her lifetime, St. Colette was said to have performed several miracles. A local man's wife gave birth to a stillborn child. In desperation, the father took the baby to the  Parish Priest for baptism. The priest refused to baptize a dead baby and sent him to the nuns. He arrived at St. Colette's house. She took off her veil, wrapped it around the baby, and told him to take the baby back to the priest. When he got the baby to the priest, the baby was crying and alive! The priest baptized the baby. Once, Colette was on her way to see the Pope when she arrived at the home of a friend whose wife was in labor with their third daughter and was in grave danger. Colette prayed for them, and the mother was blessed with a safe childbirth. St. Colette died at Ghent in March 1477. She was canonized in 1807 by Pope Pius VII.

St. Colette, you spent your life in love and dedication to the Cross; pray for us to endure our sufferings patiently for the sanctification of our lives.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)