Saints who cared for the sick
These stories show care that involved being present: making beds, attending wounds, and approaching people others avoided. Elizabeth, Francis, Camillus, John of God, and Charles Borromeo served people in very different circumstances. Their lives include personal care and the practical work of arranging help.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Feast day: November 19
A wife and mother who shared her resources and personally cared for the poor and sick, through marriage and widowhood.
Read the life →St. Francis of Assisi
Feast day: October 4
See how the ambitions of a merchant's son gave way to poverty, care for people with leprosy, and the founding of the Friars Minor.
Read the life →St. Camillus de Lellis
Feast day: July 18
A former soldier whose conversion led to personal care of patients and a religious community dedicated to the sick and dying.
Read the life →St. John of God
Feast day: March 8
A Portuguese layman who turned towards God and built a lasting work of care by attending patients, gathering supplies, and welcoming sick people in Granada.
Read the life →St. Charles Borromeo
Feast day: November 4
An archbishop who stayed with the people of Milan during plague, visited the sick, gave resources for relief, and organized others to serve.
Read the life →
These are selected lives to explore, with a reason for each choice. Each saint’s page includes the story and its sources.