Saints Trivia

Dear friends,

For our last day together, how about a little quiz? The purpose is not to check whether you carefully read what I wrote, but to provide you with some more saintly information in a fun way. The answers are provided below. Ready?

Saints Trivia

1) At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from Auschwitz camp, where St Maximilian Kolbe was held prisoner. This prompted the deputy camp commander to pick 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to deter further escape attempts. Kolbe asked to take the place of another prisoner, who had a wife and family. When asked why he wanted to do this, what answer did he give?
a- "It is the will of God."
b- "I have no family."
c- "I am a Catholic priest."
d- "Greater love hath no man than that he give his life for his friends."

7) The French noblewoman St. Jane Frances de Chantal is viewed as a model holy woman, but a few of her choices look strange from the perspective of modern family values. Widowed at a young age and left with young children to raise, she eventually made her way to Annecy to found (and join) an order of nuns. What was unusual about her journey to the convent?
a- She refused to hear any news of her children after entering the convent, declaring that she was instead a mother to the world.
b- She pressured her daughters to give up their dowry funds to endow the new religious order.
c- To enter the convent, she had to step over the prone body of her grieving fourteen-year-old child.
d- She renounced the memory of her late husband to gain entrance to the convent.

8) This Franciscan nun was favored with wonderful visions throughout her life. She wrote the treatise, "The Seven Spiritual Weapons" and is the patron saint of artists. Who is she?
a- St. Angela of Foligno
b- St. Julian of Norwich
c- St. Dorothy of Montau
d- St. Catherine of Bologna

10) American Dorothy Day was titled a Servant of God in 2012, but her canonization process is slow and stalled from time to time. What is the reason?
a- She was an anarchist
b- She had an abortion
c- She accidentally killed a man
d- She practiced witchcraft

11) Which of the following saints witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and ordered (on instigation by Mary) the creation of a Medal of Immaculate Conception?
a- St. Elizabeth
b- St. Augustine
c- St. Catherine
d- Saint Bernard

12) Who among the following saints was sentenced to be broken on the wheel?
a- St. Elizabeth
b- St. Augustine
c- St. Catherine
d- Saint Bernard

14) Born in Poland in 1845, this saint was an artist before taking religious orders at the age of 42, convinced that it was time to work with the poor of Krakow. This saint founded a community of the Third Order of St. Francis, also known as the "Gray Brothers" and "Gray Sisters" because of their gray habits. Together they organized food and shelter for the poor and homeless. Who was he?
a- Saint Adam Chmielowski
b- Saint Leopold Mandic
c- Saint Mutien Marie Wiaux
d- Saint Faustina Kowalska

15) Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family in 1858, this saint worked for Native and African Americans, establishing schools on reservations in New Mexico and Arizona, as well as providing food and clothing for the poor. Xavier University in New Orleans was established by this saint. Who is this saint?
a- Saint Julio Alvarez Mendoza
b- Saint Katharine Drexel
c- Saint Roman Adame Rosales
d- Saint Marie de Saint-Just

16) How many Anglo-Saxon kings did Augustine of Hippo convert to Christianity?
a- 1
b- 3
c- 2
d- 0

17) 17) "Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me" is a quote from:
a- St. Clare of Assisi
b- St. Agatha of Rome
c- St. Genevieve
d- St. Katherine Drexel

18) Who among these saints was the founder of the Passionist Congregation in Italy?
a- Saint John of the Cross
b- Saint Paul of the Cross
c- Saint John of Capistrano
d- Saint John Bosco

19) Which missionary saint traveled to North America with other members of the Society of Jesus to preach the Gospel to Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois Indians of the United States and Canada?
a- Saint Charles Lwanga
b- Saint Isaac Jogues
c- Saint Jerome Emiliani
d- Saint Peter Claver

20) Find the odd one out:
a- The Blessed Martyrs of Uganda.
b- The twenty-six Holy Martyrs of Japan.
c- The New-Orleans Saints.
d- The First Martyrs of North Korea.

Trivia answers:

1) At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from Auschwitz camp, where St Maximilian Kolbe was held prisoner. This prompted the deputy camp commander to pick ten men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to deter further escape attempts. Kolbe asked to take the place of another prisoner, who had a wife and family. When asked why he wanted to do this, what answer did he give?
a- "It is the will of God."
b- "I have no family."
c- "I am a Catholic priest."
d- "Greater love hath no man than that he give his life for his friends."
Pope Paul VI called this Kolbe's "incomparable answer."

2) St. Guy of Anderlecht was a devout but impoverished Flemish peasant who died in 1012 after returning from a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. According to legend, his unmarked and neglected grave was uncovered years after his death by one of these animals, who typically play a part in the celebrations of his feast day.
a- Dogs
b- Pigs
c- Goats
d- Horses
Guy was born and died in poverty, and is known as "The Poor Man of Anderlecht." He was raised by pious parents and became known for his concern for the poor and sick. He spent so much time in the local church that the pastor made him its sacristan; since he was homeless following the deaths of his parents, this enabled him to live in the church, and he spent many hours- sometimes entire nights- in prayer. He regarded his poverty as the will of God, but at one point was talked into a business venture by a merchant from Brussels. It is unclear whether the merchant was a con artist or was actually trying to help him, but in the end, the venture failed, and Guy lost what little money he had. This convinced him even more that he was meant to live in poverty, and he resolved to make a pilgrimage on foot to Rome as a penance for his brief bout of covetousness. His pilgrimage eventually took him to the Holy Land, and he returned to Anderlecht seven years later. The arduous journey had exhausted him, and he died shortly afterward.
The location of his unmarked grave was lost for years until it was accidentally dug up by a horse in 1076. Some of the locals recalled his reputation for sanctity, and miracles were reported at the site of his newly-discovered grave. His feast day is September 12th, and celebrations in and around his hometown typically featured horseback riders and other horse-related events, in honor of the one that uncovered his grave.

3) St. Felicity was the slave girl of a Carthaginian noblewoman named Perpetua. Along with her mistress and a fellow slave, Revocatus, and their catechist, Saturus, she was arrested during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Septimus Severus in the 3rd century and the three were put to death in the arena. In what condition was Felicity at the time of her arrest?
a- She was dying.
b- She was pregnant.
c- She had gone blind.
d- She was undergoing puberty.
Felicity was eight months pregnant and was afraid that she would be unable to join her companions in martyrdom, as the law prohibited pregnant women from being sent into the arena. During her imprisonment, however, she gave birth to a daughter, who was adopted by a fellow Christian. We are not told any details about the baby's father (it does not appear to have been Revocatus). Perpetua herself was the mother of an infant son, whom she was permitted to nurse in prison, and was very protective of Felicity's. The two were exposed to wild beasts in the arena, but they survived the attack, only to be dispatched by the gladiators at the insistence of the crowd.
The story of Perpetua and Felicity is very well-documented since Perpetua and Saturus each kept a journal of their imprisonment, both of which have survived (Perpetua's description of their ordeal in prison, and her anxiety for her child, are hauntingly vivid). Moreover, there exists a written eyewitness account of their actual deaths. These accounts were so popular in the early church that they were occasionally read at Mass in place of the Scriptures, a practice which was condemned by St. Augustine.

4) When Christ Himself calls you a sinner, there's not much you can say to object. This apostle and Gospel writer was collecting taxes and generally fleecing the public when Jesus called him to his flock -- prompting one of the Pharisees' first criticisms of him. Who is this evangelist, also known as Levi?
a- St. John
b- St. Mark
c- St. Matthew
d- St. Luke
St. Matthew was not merely a bureaucrat or a government functionary in an unpopular job. At this point in history, tax collectors were essentially independent contractors: they paid the Roman governors a fee for the right to collect taxes, and anything extra that they managed to extort or overcharge was pure profit. It's no surprise that they got a bad reputation!
His choice of work means that he must have valued worldly riches, but St. Matthew nonetheless came immediately when Jesus called him: he walked away from his booth in the middle of the day. The Pharisees complained that St. Matthew was unsuitable company for a holy man, leading Jesus to declare, "I came not to call the just, but sinners." The exchange is found in Matthew 9:9-13; the tax collector is called Levi in Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-31.

5) St. Vladimir (c. 956-1015) is famous for converting the Rus to Christianity, but many of this Kievan grand prince's most memorable deeds are more properly infamous than famous. Which of these sins is he NOT alleged to have committed?
a- The murder of his brother Yaropolk in a struggle for the throne
b- The heresy of identifying the Slavic god Perun with the God of Abraham
c- The human sacrifice of one of his warriors (and the warrior's child) to appease the gods
d- The rape of a princess, Ragnhild, who had refused to marry him
Despite his grandmother St. Olga's Christian faith, St. Vladimir clearly enjoyed a life unconstrained by Christian standards of behavior. At one point after his violent succession to the throne of Kiev he had over eight hundred concubines -- including the unlucky widow of his murdered brother Yaropolk, who had a better claim to the principality. In 987 AD, however, he decided that monotheism was the path for him. Nestor the Chronicler, a monk born after St. Vladimir's death, wrote that the prince took a very worldly approach to choosing a faith. Islam was impossible because of its prohibition of alcohol ("Drinking is the joy of the Rus!" proclaimed the Prince), Judaism was unacceptable because the Jews had lost Jerusalem, and Christians, after all, built some charming churches.
St. Vladimir agreed to convert to Christianity as a condition of marrying Anna, a sister of the Byzantine emperor Basil II. To the surprise of everyone around him, he took this conversion seriously: he disbanded his harem, built churches, and began to live more or less peacefully with his neighbors. He did not, however, manage to live peacefully with his subjects: he destroyed numerous temples to the old gods and insisted that his people be baptized or be counted among "the prince's enemies." Most took the unsubtle hint.

6) After taking her final vows, St. Therese of Lisieux began writing her autobiography, L'Histoire d'une Ame (Story of a Soul) at the direction of her sister Pauline, who by then was prioress of the convent at Lisieux. In this work, she famously identifies herself as a "little flower". Although she is often depicted holding an armload of roses, the "little flower" with which Therese identified herself with was this much smaller bloom:
a- Violet
b- Snowdrop
c- Forget-me-not
d- Primrose
In her autobiography, Therese compares herself to the more humble flowers, such as the violet and the daisy: "The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm ... It is just the same in the world of souls - which is the garden of Jesus. He has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but he has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice his eyes whenever he glances down."
Therese's "little way," and her constant references to her own "littleness" have struck some as precious and sentimental. It should be noted that she was not referring to size, but rather to her own personal limitations, of which she was acutely aware. She had not been gifted with superhuman patience or mystical ardor; during prayer, minor distractions such as a fellow nun's constant fidgeting, could drive her to distraction, and she was not granted supernatural visions or revelations. Her "little way" consisted in finding a path to spiritual perfection within the confines of her imperfections.

a- She refused to hear any news of her children after entering the convent, declaring that she was instead a mother to the world.
b- She pressured her daughters to give up their dowry funds to endow the new religious order.
c- To enter the convent, she had to step over the prone body of her grieving fourteen-year-old child.
d- She renounced the memory of her late husband to gain entrance to the convent.
As his mother approached the convent, Celse-Bénigne -- the fourteen-year-old in question -- attempted to block her path by lying down on the threshold. A priest traveling with them asked her, "Can the tears of a child shake your resolution?" This stiffened her resolve, and she stepped over her child. From 1610 until her death (at the age of 69) in 1641, St. Jane de Chantal was instrumental in the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, which she founded with St. Francis de Sales for women who (for reasons of health, age or temperament) were not suited to an ascetic life, but who still wanted to devote themselves to God.
In the saint's defense, we must note that, at that time, teenagers were seen as much more adult than they are today. Before taking the habit, she had subjected herself to seven years living and working in her father-in-law's oppressive home, so that she could make sure that her children's property rights were respected, and throughout her life, she continued to pray for her children and to guide them in their faith. She felt their separation deeply. "I know one person," she said of herself when asked about her concept of martyrdom of love, "whom love cut off from all that was dearest to her, just as completely and effectively as if a tyrant's blade had severed spirit from body."

8) This Franciscan nun was favored with wonderful visions throughout her life. She wrote the treatise, "The Seven Spiritual Weapons" and is the patron saint of artists. Who is she?
a- St. Angela of Foligno
b- St. Julian of Norwich
c- St. Dorothy of Montau
d- St. Catherine of Bologna
St. Catherine's body, still perfectly preserved since her death on March 9, 1463, is enshrined in an upright seated position in the Monastero del Corpus Domini in Bologna. The exposed skin has become blackened due to the many votive candles which were allowed to be burned close to the body until 1953.

9) Born in Portugal, this future saint spent many years in the Spanish army, opened a bookstore, and cared for indigent sick people in his own home. He is the patron of booksellers, heart patients, hospital workers, and printers. Who is he?
a- St. John of God
b- St. Benedict Joseph Labre
c- St. Benedict of Nursia
d- St. Vincent of Zaragoza
St. John died while kneeling in prayer in his room. Twenty years later, his body was found to be unchanged except for the tip of the nose, and for many more years those who visited the room where he had died testified to a wonderful sweet fragrance which persisted there. St. John of God is the founder of the religious community known as the Brothers Hospitallers.

10) American Dorothy Day was titled a Servant of God in 2012, but her canonization process is slow and stalled from time to time. What is the reason?
a- She was an anarchist
b- She had an abortion
c- She accidentally killed a man
d- She practiced witchcraft
Dorothy Day had an abortion in 1921 after she broke up with her lover. She did eventually have a daughter, even though she thought she was sterile. Day was active in the women's suffrage movement in the 1910s and 1920s and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s and 1970s. She was arrested several times for protesting. She eventually abandoned her original lifestyle for a more religious one and became involved in the Catholic Workers Movement.

11) Who among the following saints witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary, and ordered (on instigation by Mary) the creation of a Medal of Immaculate Conception?
a- St. Elizabeth
b- St. Augustine
c- St. Catherine
d- Saint Bernard
St. Catherine Labouré was born in Burgundy, France, in 1806. She joined the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1830, St. Catherine saw a vision of the Virgin Mary, standing upon a globe. Mary asked Catherine produce a medal with the same image of Mary standing on the globe, with the text (originally in French) "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." The obverse is showing the capital letter M intertwined with a cross, surrounded by twelve stars, and posed upon two hearts: a heart crowned with thorns (the Sacred Heart of Jesus) and a heart stabbed by a sword (the Immaculate Heart of Mary).
Saint Catherine Labouré died in 1876. In 1933, upon exhumation, her body was found to be still intact.

12) Who among the following saints was sentenced to be broken on the wheel?
a- St. Elizabeth
b- St. Augustine
c- St. Catherine
d- Saint Bernard
St. Catherine of Alexandria was born about 282 in Alexandria, Egypt. Around 305, Emperor Diocletian started an aggressive prosecution of Christians, because they would not venerate the traditional Roman deities. Catherine was one of the Christians rounded up in Egypt and condemned to die a painful death: she would be tied up to a wheel, and her limbs would be broken. However, when she was about to be tied upon the wheel, it miraculously broke. So Catherine was beheaded instead. St. Catherine of Alexandria is the patroness of all craftsmen who use a wheel, such as potters or spinners.

13) Born in Italy in 1897, this saint studied medicine and was drafted into the Italian army medical corps in 1917. After the War, he returned to finish medical school and graduated top of his class. He worked among the poor, often treating the poor without charge, and after joining a religious Order, he continued to run a free dental clinic for the poor in the area where he lived. Who was he?
a- Saint Agostino Roscelli
b- Saint Richard Pampuri
c- Saint Luigi Versiglia
d- Saint Joseph Moscati
"Pray that neither self-indulgence nor pride, nor any other evil passion, prevent me from seeing in my patients Jesus who suffers, and from healing and comforting Him." - Saint Richard wrote this in a letter to his sister, a missionary nun.

14) Born in Poland in 1845, this saint was an artist before taking religious orders at the age of 42, convinced that it was time to work with the poor of Krakow. This saint founded a community of the Third Order of St. Francis, also known as the "Gray Brothers" and "Gray Sisters" because of their gray habits. Together they organized food and shelter for the poor and homeless. Who was he?
a- Saint Adam Chmielowski
b- Saint Leopold Mandic
c- Saint Mutien Marie Wiaux
d- Saint Faustina Kowalska
At the age of 18, Saint Albert took part in the uprisings against the Russian occupation and was imprisoned. During this time, his left leg was amputated because of injuries sustained in the fighting.

a- Saint Julio Alvarez Mendoza
b- Saint Katharine Drexel
c- Saint Roman Adame Rosales
d- Saint Marie de Saint-Just
Katharine Drexel was canonized on October 1, 2000.

16) How many Anglo-Saxon kings did Augustine of Hippo convert to Christianity?
a- 1
b- 3
c- 2
d- 0
If you answered anything other than zero, you're probably thinking of St. Augustine of Canterbury, the missionary who brought Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons in England. He lived about 200 years after St. Augustine of Hippo.

17) "Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me" is a quote from:
a- St. Clare of Assisi
b- St. Agatha of Rome
c- St. Genevieve
d- St. Katherine Drexel
St. Clare was a friend of St. Francis of Assisi when she was young. When she grew older, she heard of his conversion and longed to join him. She snuck out of her house one night to follow Francis and the other friars. Eventually, she started an order today known as the Poor Clares.

18) Who among these saints was the founder of the Passionist Congregation in Italy?
a- Saint John of the Cross
b- Saint Paul of the Cross
c- Saint John of Capistrano
d- Saint John Bosco
Pope Benedict XIII granted Paul official approval to form the congregation in 1725.

19) Which missionary saint traveled to North America with other members of the Society of Jesus to preach the Gospel to Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois Indians of the United States and Canada?
a- Saint Charles Lwanga
b- Saint Isaac Jogues
c- Saint Jerome Emiliani
d- Saint Peter Claver
Isaac and his seven companions are the First North American Martyrs, killed in 1646.

20) Find the odd one out:
a- The Blessed Martyrs of Uganda.
b- The twenty-six Holy Martyrs of Japan.
c- The New-Orleans Saints.
d- The First Martyrs of North Korea.
It's a US football team, not a martyr group.

Closing words:

Dear friends, I hope that you spent a good week in my company, enjoying reading the content I loved putting together. I hope that these saints inspired you, sparked your interest, made you smile, and of course, drew you closer to our Lord. Please leave in the comments sections any opinions, suggestions, likes or dislikes to help me put together better prayer communities in the future.

For our last prayer together, I invite you to head over to another prayer group, for the Litany of the Saints. May you all have a blessed All Saints day.

In Christ,

- Danielle.

Sources for trivia questions: funtrivia.com, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Wikipedia.

Picture: taken from the website of Syracuse University News.

Community prayer

Liturgy of the Hours All-Saints prayer

Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank you! 78 people prayed

2 comments

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Col 4:6