About the Manly Saints Project

I converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult. That gave me the chance to choose my own patron saint. We ask our patron saint to pray for us – they wouldn’t be saints if they didn’t know how to pray. But I also wanted to find a patron whom I admired as a man. I wanted an inspiration for my whole life, rather than only for my spiritual growth.

When I went looking, I found a lot of emphasis on loving, kind, sensitive saints. But I was looking for God’s fighters and leaders, men who were good and strong but not necessarily nice. The Manly Saints Project exists to shine the spotlight on their lives.

In a time when many young men are searching for role models, the stories of these manly saints have never been more important.

There is a rich tradition of Manly Saints in the Catholic tradition. Saint George, the dragonslayer. Saint Peter Damian, who stood up to the Church authorities when they had become corrupt. Saint Thomas Aquinas, who went from being called a dumb ox to becoming the doctor of the Church. And there are many, many more.

From warriors and knights to thinkers and business leaders, every week we will encounter a new story of saintly and manly virtue.

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