Jerome was born in Venice in 1486. He pursued a career in the military and gave very little thought to God. After an experience of conversion, he gave all his possessions to the poor, became a priest, and devoted himself to the instruction of orphans and the care of the poor. He founded an order, commonly called the Somaschi, to help with this work. One of his acquaintances was Pietro Carafa who later became Pope Paul IV. Jerome died on this day in 1537 of a plague. He is the patron of orphans and abandoned children.

Saint Josephine Bakhita

Josephine was born in 1869 in Sudan, Africa. At age 9, she was kidnapped by slave traders who gave her the name "Bakhita" meaning "fortunate." She was sold as a slave several times until 1883, when she was sold to the Italian Consul who treated her with kindness and warmth. When he returned to Italy, she accompanied his family, and in 1888 she went to live at the Catechumenate of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. She was baptized in 1890, taking the name Josephine. According to Italian law, since she had reached the age of majority, she was now free. She chose to join the Canossian Daughters of Charity and lived 50 years in religious life in Schio (Vicenza). She led a simple life as a cook, seamstress and doorkeeper, but it was her gentleness and compassion for the poor and suffering that endeared her to all. She is still known today in Schio as "our Black Mother." She died in 1947, after a long illness, and was canonized in 2000.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.