Saints of December
Here are the saints the Church remembers on each day of December, with the rank of each celebration and one line about each saint for children. Saints with a story on this site are linked.
Feasts whose date changes each year are shown on their 2026 dates. Celebrations marked with a country are kept only there, or with a higher rank there.
1Tuesday
Saint Edmund Campion
Roman Martyrology
An English priest who traveled in secret to bring the sacraments to Catholics, and gave his life for Jesus.
Saint Charles de Foucauld
Roman Martyrology
A French explorer who became a hermit in the Sahara desert and lived as a brother to everyone.
2Wednesday
Saint Chromatius of Aquileia
Roman Martyrology
A bishop in northern Italy who explained the Bible to his people and helped his friend Saint Jerome.
3Thursday
Saint Francis Xavier
Memorial
A Spanish missionary who sailed to India and Japan to tell thousands of people about Jesus.
4Friday
Saint John Damascene
Optional memorial
A monk from Damascus who wrote beautiful hymns and defended the holy pictures of Jesus and the saints.
Saint Barbara
Roman Martyrology
An early martyr; an old story says she had three windows made in her tower, to honor the Holy Trinity.
5Saturday
Saint Sabbas
Roman Martyrology
A monk who started a great monastery in the desert near Bethlehem that still stands today.
6Sunday
Saint Nicholas
Optional memorial
A kind bishop who secretly gave gifts to people in need; children everywhere love him.
7Monday
Saint Ambrose
Memorial
A wise bishop of Milan whose sermons helped Saint Augustine find Jesus.
8Tuesday
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Solemnity
God kept Mary free from all sin from the very first moment of her life, to be the Mother of Jesus.
9Wednesday
Saint Juan Diego
Optional memorial · Memorial in Mexico
A humble Mexican farmer to whom Mary appeared on the hill of Tepeyac.
10Thursday
Our Lady of Loreto
Optional memorial
An old tradition says the little house of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, is kept in Loreto, Italy.
Saint Eulalia of Mérida
Optional memorial in Spain
A brave Spanish girl, about twelve years old, who would not deny Jesus; she is loved all over Spain.
11Friday
Saint Damasus I
Optional memorial
A pope who asked Saint Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin, the language people spoke.
12Saturday
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Optional memorial · Solemnity in Mexico · Feast in the USA
Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico and left her picture on his cloak, filled with roses.
13Sunday
Saint Lucy
Memorial
A brave young Christian from Sicily who gave what she had to the poor; her name means light.
14Monday
Saint John of the Cross
Memorial
A Spanish friar and poet who wrote beautiful poems about God’s love, even from a prison cell.
15Tuesday
Saint Mary Crucified di Rosa
Roman Martyrology
An Italian sister who started a community to care for the sick in hospitals.
16Wednesday
Saint Adelaide
Roman Martyrology
An empress who forgave her enemies and used her riches to help the poor and build churches.
Las Posadas begin
Tradition in Mexico
Nine nights of singing and asking for shelter, like Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, until Christmas Eve.
17Thursday
Saint John of Matha
Roman Martyrology
A French priest who started the Trinitarians to free people who had been taken prisoner.
18Friday
Saint Malachi, prophet
Roman Martyrology
The prophet whose book comes last in the Old Testament; he promised that God would send a messenger.
19Saturday
Saint Anastasius I
Roman Martyrology
A pope praised by his friend Saint Jerome for his holy, simple life.
20Sunday
Saint Dominic of Silos
Roman Martyrology
A Spanish shepherd boy who became a monk and rebuilt the monastery of Silos.
21Monday
Saint Peter Canisius
Optional memorial
A Dutch priest who wrote a little book of questions and answers to teach children the faith.
22Tuesday
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
Roman Martyrology
An Italian sister who cared for immigrants in America; in the USA her day is November 13.
23Wednesday
Saint John of Kanty
Optional memorial
A Polish teacher who gave his food and clothes to the poor.
24Thursday
The holy ancestors of Jesus
Roman Martyrology
On Christmas Eve we remember Jesus’ family tree: Abraham, King David and all who waited for him.
25Friday
Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord
Solemnity
Jesus, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem! God became a little baby to be with us.
26Saturday
Saint Stephen
Feast
The first martyr, a deacon who forgave the people who hurt him, just like Jesus.
27Sunday
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Feast
We celebrate Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the family of Nazareth, and ask them to bless our families.
28Monday
The Holy Innocents
Feast
The little boys of Bethlehem who died when King Herod was looking for baby Jesus.
29Tuesday
Saint Thomas Becket
Optional memorial
An archbishop of Canterbury who stood up for the Church against the king.
30Wednesday
Saint Egwin
Roman Martyrology
A bishop in England; an old story says he threw a key into a river and found it again inside a fish.
31Thursday
Saint Sylvester I
Optional memorial
The pope in the days when Christians could finally pray in the open and great churches were built in Rome.
Saints calendar
Every day’s saints, month by month, with a line about each one for children.