Saints

St. John the Baptist is a model for Christian witness, leading others to Jesus and then stepping out of the way so they follow the Lord and not the person who evangelized them, Pope Francis said.

The most important question a Christian can ask when making any decision in life is “where the greatest love is to be found,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter marking the 400th anniversary of St. Francis de Sales, a doctor of the church.

Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of members of a Polish family who were sheltering a Jewish family during World War II, and, for the first time, advanced the sainthood cause of a candidate under the category of heroically offering his life out of loving service to others.

The multitude of men and women honored on the feast of All Saints lived according to the Eight Beatitudes, which made them decidedly out of place in the world, Pope Francis said Nov. 1 before reciting the Angelus prayer.

St. Francis of Assisi is known for loving and celebrating creation and for being a man of peace and poverty, Pope Francis said.