From sinners to saints and everything in between

If you think that all that the saints did was to pray all day, think again. Saints are upright and God-fearing people but they were not always so. Some were great sinners before they became great saints. November 1, All Saints' Day, is the day set by the Catholic Church for remembering all saints, including those who were not officially recognized or given the title "Saint" such as Saint Augustine, Saint Francis, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and more. According to Richard McBrien's book "The Saints," saints are holy people. "Because God alone is holy, to be a saint is to participate in, and to be an image of, the holiness of God," McBrien wrote. According to the Second Vatican Council, saints are role models. McBrien said saints are proof that the call for the Church to be holy is indeed possible. "They bear within themselves the hope that the Church, which is called to be holy, will in fact achieve that end," he wrote. Some saints There are thousands of saints and according to Catholic Online, a few of them are:

• St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church (1195 to 1231) Feast day: June 13 Patron saint of seekers of lost things Saint Anthony is one of the most popular and most loved saints. He became a priest, joined the Franciscan order, in the hope of becoming a martyr. Although he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal. He was known for his forceful preaching and expert knowledge of Scripture that he was declared a saint almost immediately after his death.  
• Saint Augustine of Hippo (354 to 430) Feast day: August 28 Patron of brewers Saint Augustine of Hippo was named the patron of brewers because of "his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break," Catholic Online said. Through the prayers and perseverance of his mother, Augustine turned from being a great sinner to a great saint. In one of his major writings, the "Confessions," he wrote about his conversion, "Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; I was deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you." His mother also became a saint -- Saint Monica, patron of mothers.  
• Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844 to 1879) Feast day: April 16 Patron of bodily illness Saint Bernadette, a severe asthma sufferer, was a miller's daughter and lived in abject poverty. In 1858, she was granted a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a cave on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes. The waters were found to be miraculous and capable of healing sick people. A shrine was erected at Lourdes and went on to become a major site for pilgrimage, attracting over five million pilgrims a year.  
• Saint Francis of Assisi (1181 to 1226) Feast day: October 4 Patron of animals, ecology, and merchants Saint Francis was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He was the son of a wealthy cloth merchant in Assisi, Italy. He lived the high-spirited life typical of rich young men. He later became a soldier. When he went off to war in 1204, he lost interest in worldy living. He began preaching on the streets and living a simple life. In 1224, he received the stigmata or bodily marks and sores in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ.  
• Saint Helena (246 to 330) Feast day: August 18 Patron of converts and difficult marriages Saint Helena was the Empress mother of Constantine the Great. She was a convert to Christianity. She performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. Once, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered what is believed to be the True Cross where Jesus Christ was crucified.  
• Saint Joan of Arc (1412 to 1431) Feast day: May 30 Patron of soldiers and France Saint Joan of Arc, France was born to a poor family. At an early age, she heard the voices of saints speaking to her. In 1428, claiming divine guidance, she led the French army to several victories during the Hundred Years' War. When she refused to retract her statement that the saints of God commanded her to do what she had done, she was condemned to death and burned at the stake. She was only 19 years old at the time.  
• Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873 to 1897) Feast day: October 1 Patron of missions Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus." Although she lived in a cloistered religious community, she always prayed for missionaries that she was eventually named "Patron of the Missions." She wrote "The Story of a Soul" a collection of her autobiographical manuscripts. She became famous for her "Little Way" or doing even little, ordinary things, all for the love of God. These are some of what she wrote: "Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing." "How happy I am to see myself imperfect and be in need of God's mercy." "The goal of all our undertakings should be not so much a task perfectly completed as the accomplishment of the will of God." - GMA News