Curatorial and Outreach Assistant Jake Gentry recounts various miraculous abilities attributed to various saints throughout history!
Disclaimer: This blog explores religious topics such as saints, sainthood, miracles, and various supernatural acts within an academic context, and is not intended to reflect or depict any one religion.
Saints come in all shapes and sizes, from the iconic Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico City, to the more obscure ones, such as France’s Saint Guinefort, a holy greyhound and patron of infants. As varied as saints are, so too are their miracles– as each saint must have at least one miracle attributed to them after death to achieve sainthood through a process called canonization. These acts of wonder-working, known in some circles as thaumaturgy, can manifest as grandiose as levitation and inhuman strength, to more subtle displays of divine favor, such as speaking to animals and hearing heavenly voices. Before we begin our exploration of supernatural abilities and the saints that possessed them, please note this blog will discuss saints and miracles in the context of academic entertainment and is not meant to malign or belittle any religious beliefs. If reading about these topics out of a theological context is uncomfortable for you, please feel free to skip this blog– there are many more amazing blogs on our IU Libraries Blogs website!
SAINT #1: CHRISTOPHER
- ATTRIBUTED WONDERWORKINGS: Super strength, tree creation, food multiplication (bread), enhanced physical form
- PATRONAGE: Athletics, bachelors, transportation workers, traveling, fruit dealers, the island of Rab (located in western Croatia)
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Beheaded (by order of Emperor Decius)
- LILLY LIBRARY APPEARANCES: N8080.H8, BX4655.A8 B46 1966, BR1711.F22 1953, BX4654 .J3 1503
One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Saint Christopher of Lycia (born either Reprobus or Offerus) was known for his Herculean strength and giant-like stature, with some accounts saying he was seven and a half feet tall. Born in Lycia– a historical region in Anatolia, Turkey– he found his faith later in life, reportedly while searching for the ‘strongest king in the world’ to serve (which eventually led him to the Christian faith, where he would later “serve” God).
Eleanor Farjeon’s Ten Saints describes him as “His ways were rude, his mind was ignorant. His eyes were the eyes of a dog. They glowed under his shaggy hair…” (9). Interestingly, Saint Christopher’s likeness to a dog was common enough to become literal at times, with Christopher sometimes being depicted as a cynocephalus, or a dog-headed human. In addition, it is notable that Christopher’s strength, which is described as “No weight was too heavy for his arms to lift or his back to bear, nothing that needed strength was too hard for him to do,” was an innate trait, rather than a miraculous one he manifested through his faith (Farjeon 9).
One of the most notable legends surrounding Christopher revolves around him effortlessly ferrying others across a dangerous ford on his back. His one-man ferrying service knew no bounds– he ferried men, women, children, donkeys, oxen, “armies on horseback, merchants with their camels,” and even peasants with their households” (Farjeon 13). However, Christopher’s inhuman strength was tested when a small child appeared one night and asked for help crossing the ford. Christopher offered to carry the child, as he had done for every person, animal, and army that has asked before, and began to cross, his staff in hand and the child resting on his shoulder. As Christopher set off across the ford, the previously feather-light child became unbearably heavy– more cumbrous than anything Christopher had ever felt before. Through great struggle, Christopher eventually made it to the other side of the ford, where the child revealed he is Christ, and that the weight Christopher had just bore was not of a child, but of the entire world. To prove this, the child instructed Christopher to place his staff at the bank of the river and return the following day. Christopher did as he is told and found his staff had transformed into a palm tree– an act that prompted Christopher– then Reprobus– to take on his more famous name, which means “Christ-bearer.”
Sadly, our gentle giant soon met his end in the nearby town of Lycia, where he assisted his fellow Christians, who were facing persecution and martyrdom. There, he converted thousands before being brought before Emperor Decius, who tried (and failed) to bribe Christopher with riches and women. Emperor Decius sent 200 soldiers to apprehend Christopher, who went willingly and even multiplied loaves of bread through prayer to help feed his captors on their journey. Decius ordered that Christopher be executed, which took many, many attempts to succeed thanks to Christopher’s miraculously strong body. Sadly, the saintly giant did perish, but only after Decius had him beheaded (which isn’t always a surefire way to kill a saint– looking at you, St. Denis). His relics, including his skull and one of his legs, are held in the Museum of Sacred Art at Saint Justine’s Church and the Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik, respectfully.
SAINT #2: CATHERINE OF SIENA
- ATTRIBUTED WONDERWORKINGS: Telekinesis, stigmata, levitation, holy visions, rose petal manifestation, fireproof, exorcisms
- PATRONAGE: Fire prevention, nurses, protection from miscarriages, protection from temptations, people ridiculed for their piety, Italy
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Stroke (April 29, 1380)
- LILLY LIBRARY APPEARANCES: BX4655.A8 B46 1966, BV4610 .C35 1492, N8080 .H8
Catherine of Siena was quite the wondermaker, even amongst her peers, with various miracles and holy visions attributed to her throughout her short life (she died at age thirty-three). The 25th child of a wool-dyer, she received the habit of the third order of St. Dominic at the age of 16 (The Book of Saints 154). An advocate for the poor and lost, she assisted the underprivileged and was “most active” in converting “hardened sinners” (154). In any case, her sanctity led her to amass a notable circle of followers– both from the clergy and outside the church– that became known as the Caterinati. Catherine’s dedication to her faith, according to some, even teetered toward overzealousness, such as cutting off her own hair and scalding herself to safeguard her vow of perpetual virginity. In addition, she rarely ate, usually only by partaking in the Holy Communion. This extreme fasting would intensify later on, greatly worrying her inner circle, and in early 1380, she purportedly lost the ability to eat and swallow water. Catherine reported her unwillingness to eat as an infermità (an illness), which, in a modern lens, could suggest she suffered from a form of dysphagia, a medical condition that makes it difficult or painful to swallow.
It’s little wonder (har har) how Catherine acquired her Caterinati, given the abilities and miracles attributed to her. It is said she received heavenly visions by age seven, and at age twenty-eight, received the stigmata, with five wounds appearing on her hands, feet, and heart (corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ) from red rays of light that emitted from a crucifix. Catherine was known to levitate during prayer, and at least on one occasion, moved an object without touching it– with a priest reporting that a Eucharist wafer flew from his hand and into St Catherine’s mouth. During a religious ecstasy, she fell completely into a fire, yet was unscathed when she emerged. In addition, she was credited with exorcising demons from victims of possession, something few lay people are known to do.
Catherine’s last miracle was performed postmortem. After she died in Rome in 1380, disagreement arose on where her remains would, well, remain. While Rome intended to keep Catherine’s body, the good folk of Siena sought to bring Catherine back to her hometown for eternal rest. Thus, some people of Siena tried stealing back her saintly body. Unable to move her entire body past Roman guards, the smugglers settled for her head, which they then placed in a bag. Catherine’s posthumous decapitation was all for nought, however, as the thieves were still apprehended by guards. However, according to legend, upon their prayers of protection to Catherine, when the guards opened the bag, they found it filled with rose petals, rather than the severed head (rose petals are a common item to miraculously appear with saints– legend has it rose petals rained down from the sky in Lima, Peru when St. Rose of Lima died). Upon their release, the smugglers made it back to Siena without further incident and found that the head was once again in the bag. In present day, Catherine’s head and her right thumb reside in gilded reliquaries in the Basilica San Dominico in Siena, while her body remains in a sarcophagus in the Santa Maria sopra Minerva church in Rome.
SAINT #3: JOAN OF ARC
- ATTRIBUTED WONDERWORKINGS: Locution, healing, curing of illnesses, supernatural recovery, fireproof body parts (heart only)
- PATRONAGE: Soldiers, martyrs, prisoners, France
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Burned at the stake (by the English on May 30 1431)
- LILLY LIBRARY APPEARANCES: PQ2080 .P7 1798, PR6037.A35 E12, BX4655.A8 B46 1966
Arguably one of the most famous saints on our list, Joan of Arc (or as she is known in France, Jeanne d’Arc) is widely known in and out of the church for her bravery, might, and dedication to her faith. She was born in the French village of Domrémy– which has since been renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle after Joan’s nickname, la Pucelle d’Orléans (“the Maid of Orléans”) — to peasant tenant farmers Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romée. At age thirteen, Joan began hearing voices, or locutions, of divine beings, namely Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Margaret of Antioch, and the Archangel Michael. The voices charged her with the holy mission of taking up arms and leading the French army against English incursion, as well as helping install Charles VII as its rightful king. The locutions also helped arm Joan– leading her to a hidden sword under the altar of the church at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois in central France. The ancient sword, which was adorned with five crosses, was in unnaturally great condition– with the rust easily removed to reveal a legendary sword fit for a saintly farm girl. Joan’s voices also provided her with knowledge she could not have otherwise possessed, such as being able to pick a disguised Charles VII out of a crowd without ever having met him and being able to recite secrets to him that only he knew, which finally convinced the would-be-king that Joan was the real deal.
Besides her locutions (and finding Charles, which some say is a miracle of its own), Joan’s other miracles mostly revolved around healing the sick, and all occurred after her death. These supernatural acts of healing include curing a woman’s tuberculosis, sealing a hole in another’s woman’s foot, and curing three nuns of their various forms of cancer. Although not a miracle per se, Joan was also quite quick to bounce back from injury, such as being shot in the shoulder with an arrow during her Orléans campaign and wounded by a crossbow bolt to the thigh. After both injuries, she swiftly returned to the fray, inspiring her troops even further. While Joan was victorious in getting Charles on the throne, her miracles were not able to save her from being captured by the English in 1430.
Upon her capture, Joan was taken to Rouen, a city in northwestern France occupied by the English. Her enemies were all-to-eager to slap a whopping seventy charges against her, ranging from witchcraft and horse theft. They finally settled on twelve charges in 1431, condemning Joan for her claims of her heavenly contacts and for wearing men’s clothing. She was offered a dubious sentence of life imprisonment if she admitted guilt to heresy and ceased her actions– one she signed with a cross rather than her name (it’s speculated Joan was illiterate, thus had no idea what she was actually signing). Whether she agreed to this or not wouldn’t matter in the long run, however, as the danger of bodily and sexual harm at the hands of her English guards prompted Joan to quickly break the agreement. Donning her masculine attire once more and heeding her voices, she offended her tribunal of judges, who labeled her a “relapsed” heretic and sentenced her to death. On May 30th, 1431, a nineteen-year-old Joan was tied to a stake in Rouen, where she was burned alive with a makeshift crucifix in her hands. Legend has it that Joan’s stalwart heart was either too pure or protected or fireproof to burn, and the English had to dump her ashes and her intact heart in the Seine River to stop any from venerating her remains. (Making men afraid ’till the end– we love Joan).
SAINT #4: MARY OF ÁGREDA
- ATTRIBUTED WONDERWORKINGS: Bilocation, levitation, visions, incorruptible body
- PATRONAGE: None (as of yet)
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Natural causes (exact cause not historically recorded)
- LILLY LIBRARY APPEARANCES: BX4705.M3255 X7 1757, BX4705.M33 P2, BX4705 .M3255 K33, BX604 .M332 1731
Mary of Jesus of Ágreda has not been canonized as a saint; her candidacy for sainthood has not yet reached the beatification stage. However, she is recognized as venerable, meaning that the pope has recognized her virtue. Nevertheless, the Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda’s tales of wonder-making and mysticism definitely secure her a spot on our list. Born María Coronel y de Arana, she was one of eleven children born to Francisco Coronel and Catalina de Arana in Ágreda, a town located in the Province of Soria. Mary’s mysticism came early in life, and as a young child she reportedly received visions and entered religious ecstasies. She chose to enter monastery life at age twelve and soon became a Franciscan nun– with her childhood home being converted into a monastic cloistered convent called the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary became famous for her blue habit, enough so to earn the epilates “the Lady in Blue” and the “Blue Nun.” Living a cloistered life in her convent, Mary rarely left her monastery. At age twenty-five, following the death of her mother and the abbess of the convent, Mary was elected by her fellow nuns as the new abbess, a title she would uniquely hold until her death– which is notable considering a new abbess is usually chosen every three years.
The most notable miracle attributed to Mary of Jesus of Ágreda is bilocation— the ability to be in two places at once. On multiple occasions between 1620 and 1623, Mary, claimed that with the help of the angels, she was able to stay within the walls of her convent in Ágreda, Spain and translocate to New Spain (namely modern-day Texas and New Mexico), where she appeared before the Jumanos, the native tribe of the region. The Jumanos reported visitation by a “Lady in Blue,” who sought to convert them, instructing them to seek out Franciscan missionaries in the region that would later identify Mary as “the Lady in Blue.” Besides bilocation, Mary was known to levitate while experiencing religious ecstasies, entering a weightless state for hours at a time. Interestingly, Mary’s levitating and bilocating tendencies caught the attention of the Spanish Inquisition, but she was not harshly investigated, probably thanks to her being extensive pen-pals with Felipe IV, the King of Spain. Her next miracle came after her death from natural causes, which occurred on May 24th, 1667, at nine o’clock Pentecost morning. Mary’s body would prove to be incorruptible, not decaying like usual, with her corpse still in pristine condition to this day, some 350 years after her death. Mary of Jesus of Ágreda’s sainthood process is still underway– having officially commenced on January 28th, 1673, and as of 2002, backed by numerous religious groups dedicated to her and her beatification (the step before sainthood).
SAINT #5: CARLO ACUTIS
- ATTRIBUTED WONDERWORKINGS: Healing
- PATRONAGE: Youth, computer programming
- CAUSE OF DEATH: Leukemia (October 12, 2006, age fifteen)
- LILLY LIBRARY APPEARANCES: Shirt relic (Please ask Lilly Library Staff, currently is not assigned a call number)
Carlo Acutis, a British-born teenager with Italian ancestry, is the first millennial and “gamer” saint, and is soon to be canonized by the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV. Blessed Carlo, recently beatified on October 10, 2020, was known for his technical skills, known by many as a “computer geek.” He was a skilled programmer, proficient in Java, C++, and website design. While not preforming any miracles while he was alive, two supernatural acts of healing have been recognized as his divine intercession. The first recognized miracle is curing a child of pancreatic disease, and the second restoring a woman to perfect health after she suffered a brain hemorrhage. Besides the Lilly Library, Carlo’s relics, such as his heart, can be located at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, Italy.
Exciting update: Carlo Acutis has been canonized! On September 7, 2025, Acutis was officially elevated to the title of saint by Pope Leo XIV at a canonization ceremony held in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. His parents and siblings attended the ceremony.
About the author: Jake H. Gentry is a 25-year-old gay author, artist, and graduate student. He received his Master of Library Science with a specialization in Rare Books and Manuscripts at Indiana University Bloomington, where he is now also pursuing his MA in Curatorship. He is a curatorial and teaching/outreach assistant at the Lilly Library. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his partner and his two cats, Poe and Jiji.
Sources and Consulted Works:
Farjeon, Eleanor, and Helen Sewell. Ten Saints. London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1953.
“Joan of Arc: Facts, Passion, Death & Sainthood.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Feb. 2025, www.history.com/articles/saint-joan-of-arc.
Kendrick, T. D, and C. R Boxer. Mary of Ágreda: the Life and Legend of a Spanish Nun. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967.
Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de. Joan of Arc. A Biography. Published by Adams & Co., 1867. Nineteenth Century Collections Online, link.gale.com/apps/doc/APKWFV514686775/NCCO?u=iuclassb&sid=gale_marc&xid=c741a3cb&pg=7. Accessed 4 June 2025.
Phipps, John. “The Secret Life of the First Millennial Saint.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, www.economist.com/1843/2025/03/28/the-secret-life-of-the-first-millennial-saint. Accessed 5 June 2025.
The Book of Saints: a Dictionary of Persons Canonized or Beatified by the Catholic Church. 5th ed., entirely rev. and re-set. New York: Crowell, 1966.
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