Complete biographies of these and many others can be found in Ann's books on the saints which are available for order online and in stores.  Click the book covers below to find how to order these books about the saints and holy persons of our time.

Ann contributed chapters
to this book.

Eileen Rosaline O'Connor
Australia
1893-1921

Little Mother of the Sick Poor


In front of the horrified eyes of their mother, the two little girls tumbled out of the family pram and landed with a hard "thunk" on the ground. Scooping them up, she soothed them; soon she calmed their loud, frightened cries. It did not appear as if either three year old Eileen O'Connor or her younger sister, Mary, was seriously hurt, but by the time Eileen was five years old, doctors had told her heartbroken parents that her spine was broken and that she would have to have one operation after another.

Her case seemed hopeless from the beginning. From the time of her first operation until the day of her death of tubercles Osteomyelitis at the age of 28, Eileen was never free of pain. A curvature of her spine retarded her normal growth; she never grew taller than 3'10". Her disability and constant illness kept her from normal attendance at school. She was bedridden much of her life and spent many hours in a wheelchair. Sometimes the pain was so severe that she became unconscious. Eileen's condition varied from fully bed-ridden to some mobility, but throughout her brief life she remained determined to overcome her limitations. 

In spite of her disability, the young cripple began a work with Father Edward McGrath, M.S.C. to serve God through his sick poor. After founding a pious association to nurse the sick poor in their own homes, Eileen endured misunderstandings, calumny, and the opposition of eccelesial authorities, defending herself, Father McGrath, and their ideas, and taking over the practical direction of the work. Her suffering and prayers at home were on behalf of the nurses who went out, working for God's poor. 

Before she died, Eileen O'Connor said, "If it were ever possible for me to be unhappy in Heaven, the only thing I feel would make me unhappy would be if the nurses ever turned away from the poor." They have not. Eileen's vision lives on today in the work of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor, who were recognized as a religious congregation of Diocesan Right in 1953. The poor are still the special focus of this dedicated band of professional women, now serving in six cities, who rely solely on donations and do not charge for the services they provide.

Anacleto Gonzalez Flores 
Lay Martyr of the Cristiada
Mexico
1888 - 1927


The government of Mexico under the dictatorship of Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928) was anti-clerical and Calles aimed to eradicate the Catholic church. Foreign clergy was expelled from the country and church property was seized. In 1926 the onerous "Ley Calles" was passed with 33 articles against the church. After consulting with Pope Pius XI, the bishops closed the churches and suspended the public cult in protest. For the first time in more than 400 years the churches of Mexico were closed. A petition containing over two million signatures was ignored and the Catholics could stand no more. Numbers of the faithful took up arms to defend their religious liberty. They began to fight with insufficient munitions and virtually no military experience; their main weapon the belief that God was with them. The Cristero Rebellion officially began New Year's Day 1927. The conflict began in Jalisco and spread rapidly to other parts of the country. The Rebellion ended not in the field but at the bargaining table and with a strong assist from international diplomacy. Under the presidency of Emiliio Portes Gil, an agreement was reached on June 21, 1929. Most of the Catholic Cristeros went home, thinking that the fight for freedom of worship had been won. Although short-lived and not completely successful in its aims, the Cristiada made a mark on Mexican history and its battle cry "Viva Cristo Rey" still resounds today in the lives and heroism of its glorious martyrs and saints.

Anacleto Gonzalez Flores was a fiery young attorney who was an enthusiastic member of the ACJM (Catholic Association of Young Mexicans) and was involved in much social and religious activity. A prolific writer, his works detail the sufferings of the Catholics during the religious persecution. He elaborated a philosophy of resistance based on the non-violent principals of Mahatma Gandhi. In addition to his almost superhuman activities, Analeto cultivated a deep interior life. He was a daily communicant, dedicated time each morning to prayer and became a third order Franciscan. .

In 1924, with Luis Padilla, Anacleto founded the periodical Gladium as the official voice of the Union Popular. In one of the first editions they wrote: "We are in the vespers of an infamous problem...the country is a jail for the Catholic Church. In order to be logical, a Revolution must gain the entire soul of a nation. They will have to open a jail for each home, and they don't have enough handcuffs or hangmen to bind up the hands and cut off the heads of the martyrs." The Holy See awarded Anacleto with the cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

The National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty favored recourse to arms, against the pacifist doctrine of the Union Popular. Anacleto insisted that only by means of moral strength could they gain their aims. In 1926, however, after the heinous murder of Father (now Saint) Luis Batis and three laymen, Jalisco rose up in arms. Anacleto was between a rock and a hard place. Until this moment he had advocated passive, non-violent resistance. But now, in conscience, could he accept a government that used its strength to squash his brothers who were armed only because of their idealism? He made up his mind during the last days of December 1926, basing his decision on the legitimacy of the defense of religious liberty. He told the Union, "I will throw on the scale all that I am and all that I have." 

His die was cast and he launched himself into the active insurgence. He was named the civil chief of the resistance. From his various hiding places, Anacleto studied the major strategies, wrote and sent bulletins, and gave speeches. He was finally captured on April 1, 1927.

Anacleto was tortured in an effort to learn more about the Cristeros. He was hung by his thumbs until his fingers were dislocated and the bottom of his feet were slashed. He steadfastly refused to give any information. The first Friday of April, 1927, he and some others were shot.

At his wake, hundreds passed by the body touching his remains with veneration. Anacleto's young widow brought her sons into the room. "Look," she said to her oldest,"This is your father. He has died defending the Faith. Promise me on his body that you will do the same when you are older if God asks it of you." The following day, thousands defied the presence of the police and accompanied the bodies to the cemetery, reciting prayers and singing hymns. The mourners risked their lives to make public their admiration for the moral chief of the Cristero movement. 

Alexia Gonzalez-Barros
Spain
1971 -1985


The patient in the crisp white hospital bed was obviously very ill. A large metal device was fitted to her head and neck with screws, and she had been given a medication that turned her mouth purple.  She turned to her visitor and said, "First, they .made me look like Frankenstein; now, I look more like' Dracula!" In spite of the horror of Alexia's condition, the friend had no option but to laugh at the young teen's comment. Earlier, Alexia's mother had brought her a woolen cap to keep her head warm since all her hair had fallen out from the chemotherapy. Alexia, with her keen sense of humor, asked her mother to embroider "I am bald" on the cap. To visitors, Alexia always presented a cheerful demeanor, turning the conversation to them and away from her own problems. One of her doctors brought his students to see her, telling them "I want you to see how it is to be joyful, despite pain and suffering."

Alexia Gonzalez-Barros died of cancer in 1985 at the age of 14. This Spanish teenager accepted her fatal illness, kept a cheerful sense of humor; offered her suffering for others and faithfully lived her motto and constant prayer, "Jesus, may I always do what you want."

* In loving obedience to the decrees of several Roman Pontiffs, in particular those of Pope Urban VIII, I declare that I in no way intend to prejudge Holy Mother Church in the matter of saints, sanctity, miracles, and so forth. Final authority in such matters rests with the See of Rome, to whose judgment I willingly submit. -- the author.