Today's Saints, Friday, February 21, 2025: Which Saint Is Celebrated Today?

This Friday, the Catholic Church's Calendar especially remembers a saint who had a decisive influence on the Church's reform.

Who Was Saint Peter Damian, the Most Important Saint of Friday, February 21?

The Catholic Church's Calendar remembers this Friday Saint Peter Damian who was born in Ravenna, Italy, in the year 1007. He was orphaned at a very young age and suffered humiliation from his brother. He was forced to tend pigs and was treated as if he were a slave.

A priest, Father Damian, took pity on him, brought him to the city, and paid for his education. In honor of his protector, the saint was thereafter called Peter Damian. After being educated in various regions of his native Italy, he took the vows as a priest and joined the monastery of Fonte Avellana.

Together with other hermits, Saint Peter Damian devoted himself to the hermit life and study. He founded several more communities of Benedictine hermits and encouraged the monks to seek the spirit of silence, charity, and humility.

He was appointed in 1057 as cardinal and bishop of Ostia, renouncing what he most enjoyed: the life of silence and solitude. He wrote numerous letters criticizing the purchase of spiritual goods as if they were material goods, which included ecclesiastical positions, sacraments, sacramentals, and relics.

The saint was a decisive figure in the Gregorian reform movement. His works and personal example exerted religious influence in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Peter is a masculine name that comes from the Latin Petrus and means "stone." Currently, 210,581 men in Spain could celebrate their saint's day in honor of Saint Peter Damian.

Saint Robert Southwell

Saint Robert Southwell was a religious figure born in England in the 16th century. For several years he exercised his ministry in the city and its surroundings and composed several spiritual hymns. Arrested for being a priest, he was tortured by order of Queen Elizabeth I and ended his martyrdom by being hanged at Tyburn.

Blessed Maria Enrichetta Dominici

Blessed Maria Enrichetta Dominici was an Italian religious figure who lived in the 19th century. She belonged to the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne and Providence. She was able to govern wisely and enlarged her institute for three decades until her death.

Other Saints: the Complete Calendar of Friday, February 21

The Catholic Church's Calendar also remembers the celebration of these other saints and blessed:

• Saint Eustace of Antioch
• Saint Germanus