St. John Berchmans did not found churches or perform miracles. He was diligent and attended to his life of faith—he prayed faithfully and worked on perfection in little things. His life reminds us that holiness can be found in our everyday life. “My penance”, he would say, “is to live the common life. I will pay the greatest attention to the least inspiration of God.”

John was born the eldest son of a shoemaker in 1599 in Belgium. He loved being an altar boy as a youth and spent much of his time caring for his mother, who was in poor health.

He read the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and decided to become a Jesuit. He went on to university studies and had a dream that he was helping and teaching migrants from many different parts of Europe, so he began studying all the major European languages.

He was chosen by his teachers to defend the faith in a public debate and afterwards became quite ill with a fever. He died holding his rosary, crucifix and the rules of the Jesuit order. He did not live to be ordained.

An image of the reliquary at Notre DameSt. John Berchmans is patron saint of altar servers and his relics rest in the Basilica reliquary chapel. His image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

St. John Berchmans, you sought perfection in your ordinary, everyday life, pray for us!