Saints for kids: where to start
Kids don't need a lecture about the saints. They need the stories. The real ones, with pirates and armies and wolves and roses in December.
The saints were kids once. They got scared, they got stubborn, they got things wrong. Then they let God love them, and their ordinary lives turned into the best stories the Church has. Tell a 7-year-old that St. Joan led an army at 17, or that St. Nicholas is the real Santa, and watch what happens.
Start with one saint at a time. Match them to your little one's world: an animal lover meets St. Francis, a brave heart meets St. Joan, a December birthday meets St. Nicholas. Read the story together, find their feast day on the calendar, and ask the saint to pray for you by name. That's it. That's how the saints become friends instead of statues.
The saints who've written so far
Every month, one of them writes to the little ones on our list. These are the letters so far.
St. Patrick
The boy who was kidnapped by pirates and became a saint.
St. Catherine of Siena
The girl who told the Pope what to do. He listened.
St. Joan of Arc
A fearless teenager who followed God's call and led an entire army at seventeen.
St. Anthony of Padua
The saint the whole world asks for help finding what's lost.
St. Benedict of Nursia
The father of Western monasticism. His Rule still guides monks today.
A summer surprise
August's saint is being drawn now. Subscribe today and it will land in your mailbox first.
Longer stories on the blog
- St. Patrick When Patrick was 16, pirates raided his family's home and dragged him across the sea to Ireland. What happened next changed the world.
- St. Catherine She never went to school. She had 24 siblings. And she told the Pope what to do — and he listened.
- St. Thérèse She died at 24. She never left her convent. And she became one of the most loved saints in Catholic history. Here's why.
- St. Joan of Arc A farm girl heard saints ask her to save France. She was 13. Four years later she led an army. Here's the real story.
- St. Francis Francis had everything: money, friends, fancy clothes. So why did he give it all away? Meet the saint who tamed a wolf.
- St. Nicholas Santa Claus is real. He was a bishop in fourth-century Turkey, and the true story is better than the legend.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe The bishop wanted proof. Mary sent roses in the middle of December, and an image no one has ever explained.
Or let the saints introduce themselves. Letters from Heaven mails your little one a hand-drawn letter from a different saint every month.
Start the letters