Saint of April 19th, 2026

Image: Photo of Il Tempio Civico della Beata Vergine Incoronata | photo by Giovanni Novara

Saint of the Day for April 18

(1364 – April 18, 1404)

Blessed James Oldo’s Story

You’ve heard rags-to-riches stories. Today, we celebrate the reverse.

Blessed James of Oldo was born into a well-to-do family near Milan in 1364. He married a woman who like him, appreciated the comforts that came with wealth. But an outbreak of the plague drove James, his wife, and their three children out of their home and into the countryside. Despite those precautions, two of his daughters died from the plague. James determined to use whatever time he had left to build up treasures in heaven and to build God’s realm on earth.

He and his wife became Secular Franciscans. Blessed James Oldo gave up his old lifestyle and did penance for his sins. He cared for a sick priest, who taught him Latin. Upon the death of his wife, James himself became a priest. His house was transformed into a chapel where small groups of people, many of them fellow Secular Franciscans, came for prayer and support. James focused on caring for the sick and for prisoners of war. He died in 1404 after contracting a disease from one of his patients. James Oldo was beatified in 1933.

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