Saint of the Month: Blessed William Carver

Welcome back to the Saint of the Month! For January, we’re focusing on Blessed William Carver, whose feast day is January 11.

Blessed William Carver was born about 1548 in England, a time and place where being Catholic was very dangerous. A bookseller by trade, he also had a printing press and used it to print Catholic materials. He was eventually imprisoned, tortured, and executed.

In many ways, Bl. William was an ordinary man. He was married and had a normal, mundane occupation. We do not hear of his having visions, or spending hours a day in prayer. He did not preach to large crowds or travel to other countries to spread the Faith. Since most of us also have rather mundane callings, we can relate to Bl. William in this respect.

There is, however, one respect in which Bl. William was far above the ordinary, and that was his courage. It is likely that no one would have known of his Faith if he had not made it known of his own accord through his printing press. He could easily have avoided the danger that he put himself in. He had the courage, however, to help his fellow Catholics, knowing the risk he took by doing so.

Most of us will probably not have to risk our lives to help others and to profess our Faith. Nevertheless, we still have to preach our Faith to others – by our lives, by our actions, sometimes by word. This in itself requires courage. We are often afraid of seeming different, afraid of looking foolish, afraid of being ridiculed. When we feel afraid, we can ask Bl. William to help us, and give us a little of the courage he had in defending his Faith.

Blessed William Carver, pray for us, and give us courage!