Friends with Saints Series // Elisabeth Maria

Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person's good.

-Pope Saint John Paul II

Friendships feed our souls in a very particular way. During these times of social distancing, fall out from a global pandemic, and the ensuring separation we've experienced from our friends and family, we have a special place to turn to for friendship.

The holy women of our Catholic Faith: the Saints, the venerables, the servants of God. We have reason to believe through the Church's guidance that these multitude of unique, relatable, remarkable women are worshipping before the throne of God, taking our intentions before Him. They want us to join them in Heaven, after all.

The Saints, Our Friends

We've assembled a grouping of a dozen women who fit this description, lived in the last century or so, and span all walks of life from vocation to nearly every continent, to a plethora of challenges they faced. Eleven are lay women!

The complete discussion of their lives and reflections on how they lived the Works of Mercy out is available in our Misericordia study.

Let's get to know our heavenly friends better and allow a beautiful friendship (or friendships!) to blossom.

Find more companionship with our sister Saints
and be inspired by their Works of Mercy in Misericordia!

Venerable Elisabeth Maria

She was born Satoko Kitahara in 1929 in Japan from a line of aristocrats and samurai warriors. She loved piano and movies. She converted when she was twenty years old after working in an airplane factory during World War II and took the name ‘Elisabeth Maria.’

She renounced her wealth and status in society to tend to the innocent victims whose lives were devastated by the war. She fed the impoverished and orphaned, and cared for the sick and poor in a riverbank settlement called “Ant Town.” She became a member of Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s worldwide evangelization effort called “Militia Immaculatae.”

She died in 1958 from tuberculosis and her mother entered the Church a few years later, inspired by her daughter’s giving heart. She paid attention to the needs of the poorest, giving up her comfort to do so. What an example for us to do likewise, even in our day-to-day!

Friends with Saints Series // Elisabeth Maria #BISblog //Click to tweet

Venerable Elisabeth Maria, pray for us.