Five saints with disabilities who demonstrate the beauty of every person

The saints in heaven champion our causes and intercede on our behalf whenever we ask. While it’s an incredible responsibility, it’s also one that they take very seriously. We are never a burden, and if we go to them sincerely and with faith in Our Lord, we can never ask too much.

In fact, before her death, St. Therese of Lisieux said, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.” She hoped to become a saint and spent every day on earth preparing herself for heaven, knowing that, upon her arrival, she would happily pray for all those who asked for her intercession. This thought gave her immense joy, and we can be assured that she is not alone in this desire.

There are many saints who lived with disabilities or illnesses and who knew that cross firsthand, but they didn’t allow their limitations to stop them from serving God. Though they suffered greatly because of physical problems, they persisted in helping others. Here are five holy men and women of God who gave their lives to Him and who cared for those around them. Let us look to them for guidance and inspiration as we remind ourselves during this Respect Life Month that every single person—no matter their stage in life or their condition—has value and dignity.

1. Blessed Hermann of Reichenau

Blessed Hermann was born in Germany and lived from 1013 to 1054. Reports explain that he “was extremely disabled from childhood, having only limited movement and limited ability to speak.” His sufferings included paralysis, a cleft palate, and spina bifida, and people called him “the cripple.” His disabilities were so severe that his family made a special chair for him so they could carry him around town. But despite these physical disabilities, he was extremely intelligent. In 1043, he became a monk at the Benedictine Monastery at Reichenau and eventually became its abbot. Hermann was gifted in mathematics, music, astronomy, theology, and poetry. He even composed the hymns “Salve Regina” and “Alma Redemptoris Mater,” versions of which we still sing in Mass today.

2. St. Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph was born 1603, in Cupertino, Italy, to impoverished parents who lost their home just before he was born. From the time he was young, he wanted to join a monastery, first trying the Capuchin order. But he did not do well there and was sent away because he was clumsy and couldn’t even perform minor duties. He eventually was taken in by a Franciscan monastery as a servant, and this is where he excelled, overcoming many of the earlier problems he exhibited. For a while, he cleaned stables, but he still struggled with studies because of a learning disability. He was eventually ordained a priest, and his spiritual life flourished. From that time on, he would “experience ecstasies and visions and was a worker of miracles.” It is said that he frequently levitated and was observed doing so more than 70 times. After an illness, he died at the age of 60 in 1663.

3. St. Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus

Pauline was born in Italy in 1865, but her family moved to Brazil when she was a child. She developed a great love for the poor and suffering, and after she and a friend took care of a woman with cancer who had no one else, she felt called to continue this work of helping others. She and a couple of women formed the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. Together, they cared for orphans and the children of former slaves. Pauline eventually began suffering from diabetes and related complications. According to the Vatican, “After two operations, first her middle finger and then her right arm were amputated. She spent the last months of her life totally blind.” Pauline suffered well, never allowing her health problems or disability to prevent her from serving others. She is now the patron saint of diabetics.

4. Blessed Chiara Luce Badano

Born in Italy in 1971, Chiara led a faithful life from the time she was small. She was so devoted to God that people began calling her Luce—meaning light. At the age of 17, Chiara began experiencing pain in her shoulder. An avid tennis player, she thought it was related to a tennis injury, but the pain persisted, and doctors soon found that she had a rare bone cancer. Chiara accepted her cross joyfully and decided that she would willingly embrace her sufferings and offer them up for Christ. For two years, she underwent treatment and operations, but they were unable to help slow the progression of the cancer. She died in 1990 at the age of 19 and was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. He once said, “Nineteen years full of life, of love, of faith. Two years, the last ones, also filled with pain and suffering, but always in love and light, a light that shone around her, and that came from within: from her heart filled with God!”

5. St. Alphonsus Liguori

St. Alphonsus was born in 1696 to a wealthy family near Naples, Italy. He was sickly, but that didn’t stop him from studying to become a lawyer. At the age of 18, he joined the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy. With them, “he cared for the sick at the hospital for ‘incurables,’ washing afflicted bodies, feeding the helpless, changing bedclothes and devoting himself to works of mercy and compassion.” He eventually became a lawyer and “was regarded as one of the most gifted lawyers working in the kingdom of Naples.” But this work did not fulfill him. He eventually left his position and entered the priesthood. From that time on, he devoted his life to caring for the poor. But he eventually decided he could not live apart from the people he was helping. He wanted to live among them, and he sought the help of others who wanted to help in this mission. Together, they formed the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also called the Redemptorists. The Redemptorists explain that his “final years were marked by very serious and debilitating physical ailments, especially arthritis, which caused him great pain and confined him to a wheelchair.” He died in 1787.

Each of these saints or blesseds understood suffering, but they also knew that they could offer their suffering up to become closer to Christ. So as we celebrate Respect Life Month this month and think about those among us who are suffering, who live with a disability, and whose lives are threatened by the culture of death, let us not forget that we, like these saints, have a role to play in protecting and defending them. And let us always remember that we can seek the saints’ intercession for our suffering loved ones.