October 23, 1491 - July 31, 1556
Founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and Author of Spiritual Exercises
From Spain
Served in Italy
Affiliation: Catholic
"To give, and not to count the cost, to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil, and not to seek for rest, to labor, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do thy will.”
Francis of Assisi
October 4, 1181 - October 3, 1226
Founder of the Franciscan Order
From Assisi
Served in Assisi
Affiliation: Catholic
"Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt."
Anselm of Aosta
1033 - April 21, 1109
Benedictine Monk and Founder of Scholasticism
From Aosta, Kingdom of Burgundy
Served in Canterbury, England
Affiliation: Catholic
"O Lord: my heart is made bitter by its own desolation; sweeten it by Your consolation. I beseech You, 0 Lord, that having begun in hunger to seek You, I may not finish without partaking of You. I set out famished; let me not return still unfed."
Bernard of Clairvaux
1098 - September 17, 1179
German Writer, Composer, Philosopher, and Mystic
From Germany
Served in Germany
Affiliation: Catholic
"May the Holy Spirit enkindle you with the fire of His Love so that you may persevere, unfailingly, in the love of His service. Thus you may merit to become, at last, a living stone in the celestial Jerusalem."