Saints

Saint Katharine Drexel, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000, was only the second U.S.-born citizen to be named a saint in the Catholic Church. Author/speaker Meg Hunter-Kilmer joined Twelve Wicker Baskets to discuss the life of saints, including Drexel. Born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1858, Drexel entered religious life at the age of 31 with a missionary heart particularly passionate to serve indigenous people and people of color. She established a religious order and schools throughout the entire United States, like Steier Group partner, St. Augustine Indian Mission School, founded by Drexel in…

Venerable Pierre Toussaint was a Haitian-American, one-time slave brought to New York in 1787. A sainthood candidate, he was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1996. Author/speaker Meg Hunter-Kilmer joined Twelve Wicker Baskets to discuss the life of saints, including Toussaint. After being freed in 1807, Toussaint became a successful barber and used his wealth to support philanthropic causes. He played a major role for the Catholic church in New York, helping to finance the construction of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral and serving as the founder of Catholic Charities New York. One of Hunter-Kilmer's central messages is that the…

José Gregorio Hernández was a renowned Venezuelan physician who was beatified by the Catholic Church in 2021. Author/speaker Meg Hunter-Kilmer joined Twelve Wicker Baskets to discuss the life of saints, including Blessed José Gregorio Hernández. One of Hunter-Kilmer's central messages is that the saints were not born saints. They are not “dull outlines of immaculate lives, saccharin, plaster images gazing vapidly heavenward,” as she had once imagined them to be. Thinking of saints like that makes becoming one impossible. In this episode, she discusses four saints whose lives exemplified the heroic virtue of generosity and who understood their time, talent…