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Quite another order entirely are members of our family who managed to get themselves canonized.

Editorial Note: It's easy to spot a pattern when looking at the biographies that follow. These people wielded political power in a way which furthered the aims of the Church. Although their characters were surely admirable, they were not sainted on that basis alone.

These biographies are taken from an online "Lives of the Saints."

St. Adelaide of Italy, Feastday: December 16

Born c. 931 in Burgandy, St. Adelaide married, at 15 or 16, Lothair of Italy to whom her father had engaged her when she was two. When Lothair died three years later, his successor and usurper Berengar of Ivrea imprisoned Adelaide and attempted to force her to marry his son. Legends tell of Adelaide's escape to Canossa, where she appealed to Otto of Germany for help. He conquered Italy and married her in 951. John XII crowned the pair rulers of the Holy Roman Empire the following year. After Otto's death in 973, Adelaide quarrelled with Otto II, possibly at the instigation of her daughter-in-law, Theophano, and lived with her brother in Burgandy. She established many monasteries and churches; she also became interested in evangelism. She and her son reconciled before his death in 983, and she became regent for her grandson, Otto III. Adelaide died in 999 at the convert at Seltz, which she had founded. Cluny became the center of her cult, and she was canonized in 1097.

Arnold/St. Arnulf, Bishop of MetzFeastday: July 18

Bishop and member of the court of the Frankish king Theodebert II of Austrasia, sometimes called Arnuiph or Arnulf of Metz. A noble, Arnulf married Doda, and their son was Ansegisel. Ansegisel married Beggia, the daughter of Pepin of Landen, starting the Carolingian dynasty of France. Doda became a nun, and Arnulf made plans to enter a monastery but was named the bishop of Nletz around 616. He continued his court services, making Clotaire of Neustria the king of Austrasia. He also served as counselor to Dagobert, King Clotaire's son. In 626, Arnulf retired to a hermitage at Remiremont, France.

Doda , St. Begga Feastday: December 17

Begga was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace, and St. Itta. She married Ansegilius, son of St. Arnulf of Metz, and their son was Pepin of Herstal, founder of the Carolingian dynasty of rulers in France. On the death of her husband in the year 691, she built a church and convent at Andenne on the Meuse River and died there. Her feast day is December 17th.

St. Edith of Polesworth (England), Feastday: July 15

St. Edith of Polesworth was the sister of King Athelstan of England. She married viking king Sihtric at York in 925, and when he died the next year, she became a Benedictine nun at Polesworth, Warwickshire, where she was noted for her holiness and may have become Abbess. She may also have been the sister of King Edgar and aunt of St. Edith of Wilton; or possibly these were two different woman of Polesworth.

St. Erik of Sweden, Feastday: May 18

Martyred king of Sweden, the author of the Code of Uppland or King Eric’s Law. A devout Christian, Eric spread the faith through out the nation after his crowning in 1150. He campaigned against the pagan Finns and persuaded Bishop Henry of Uppsala, an Englishman, to remain in missionary service in Finland. Eric was slain by Swedish nobles who were allies of Prince Magnus of Denmark. They beheaded him near Uppsala as Magnus’ army entered the region. Eric was never officially canonized but is patron of Sweden.

St. Ferdinand of Castile and Leon, Feastday: May 30, Patron: of engineers

Ferdinand III of Castile was the son of Alfonso IX, King of Leon, and Berengaria, daughter of Alfonso III, King of Castile (Spain). He was declared king of Castile at age eighteen. Ferdinand was born near Salamanca; proclaimed king of Valencia, Valladolid, and Burgos; his mother advised and assisted him during his young reign. He married Princess Beatrice, daughter of Philip of Swabia, King of Germany and they had seven sons and three daughters. His father (the king of Leon) turned against him and tried to take over his rule. The two reconciled later, and fought successfully against the Moors. In 1225, he held back Islamic invaders; prayed and fasted to prepare for the war; extremely devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Between 1234-36, Ferdinand conquered the city of Cordoba from the Moors.

Queen Beatrice died in 1236, and he overtook Seville shortly thereafter. He founded the Cathedral of Burgos and the University of Salamanca; married Joan of Ponthieu after the death of Beatrice. He died on May 30th after a prolonged illness, and buried in the habit of his secular Franciscan Order. His remains are preserved in the Cathedral of Seville and was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671. Ferdinand was a great administrator and a man of deep faith. He founded hospitals and bishoprics, monasteries, chuches, and cathedrals during his reign. He also compiled and reformed a code of laws which were used until the modern era. Ferdinand rebuilt the Cathedral of Burgos and changed the mosque in Seville into a Cathedral. He was a just ruler, frequently pardoning former offenders to his throne.

St. Knud of Denmark, Feastday: January 19

Martyred king of Denmark, sometimes called Knud. The illegitimate son of King Sven II Estridson of Denmark, Canute succeeded his brother Harald III Hen in 1081. After marrying Adela, the sister of Count Robert of Flanders, Canute built churches and monasteries. In 1085, he planned an invasion of England, but the nobles of the court rebelled against him and forced him to flee to the isle of Funen. There, Canute, his brother Benedict, and seventeen companions were slain in the church of St. Alban. Pope Paschal II authorized Canute’s cult in 1101.

St. Louis of France, Feastday: August 25

Louis IX was born in Poissy, France in 1214 to Louis VIII and Blanche of Castille. He succeeded to the throne at the age of twelve under the regency of his mother. On his twenty-first birthday he assumed full kingship. He was well known for protecting the French clergy from secular leaders and for strictly enforcing laws against blasphemy. Louis generally remained neutral in international disputes. However, because of a dispute between the Count of Le Marche and the Count of Poitiers, in which Henry III supported the Count of Le Marche, he was forced to go to war with England. In 1242 Louis defeated Henry III at Tailebourg. After the war, he made restitution to the innocent people whose property had been destroyed. He established the Sorbonne (1252) and the monasteries of Rayaumont, Vavert, and Maubuisson. Louis led two crusades, the Sixth and the Seventh Crusades. He was captured and imprisoned during the Sixth (1244-1249). At the onset of the Seventh Crusade in 1270, Louis died of dysentry. Boniface VIII canonized him in 1297.

St. Margaret of Scotland, Feastday: November 16

Margaret was an English princess. She and her mother sailed to Scotland to escape from the king who had conquered their land. King Malcolm of Scotland welcomed them and fell in love with the beautiful princess. Margaret and Malcolm were married before too long.

As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and the country for the better. Malcolm was good, but he and his court were very rough. When he saw how wise his beloved wife was, he listened to her good advice. She softened his temper and led him to practice great virtue. She made the court beautiful and civilized. Soon all the princes had better manners, and the ladies copied her purity and devotion. The king and queen gave wonderful example to everyone by the way they prayed together and fed crowds of poor people with their own hands. They seemed to have only one desire: to make everyone happy and good.

Margaret was a blessing for all the people of Scotland. Before she came, there was great ignorance and many bad habits among them. Margaret worked hard to obtain good teachers, to correct the evil practices, and to have new churches built. She loved to make these churches beautiful for God's glory, and she embroidered the priest's vestments herself.

God sent this holy Queen six sons and two daughters. She loved them dearly and raised them well. The youngest boy became St. David. But Margaret had sorrows, too. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins."

St. Matilda of Ringelheim, Feastday: March 14

St. Mathilda was the daughter of Theodoric, a Saxon Count. At an early age she was placed in the monastery of Erfurt under the care of Maud, her grandmother, who was Abbess of the monastery which she had entered after the death of her husband. Here St. Mathilda learned needlework and acquired the love of labor, prayer and spiritual reading. She remained in the convent until her parents gave her in marriage, in 913, to Henry "the Fowler," so called from his fondness for hawking. He became Duke in 916 on the death of his father, and in 919 he was chosen to succeed Conrad as King of Germany. The pious Queen adorned the throne by her many virtues. She visited and comforted the sick and the afflicted, instructed the ignorant, succored prisoners, and endeavored to convert sinners, and her husband concurred with her in her pious undertakings. After twenty-three years of married life King Henry died, in 936. No sooner had he expired than she had a Mass offered up for the repose of his soul, and from that moment she renounced all worldly pomp. Of her three sons, Otho afterward became Emperor, Henry was Duke of Bavaria, and St. Bruno edified the Church as Archbishop of Cologne. Otho became King of Germany in 937, and in 962 he was crowned Emperor at Rome. In the contest between her two sons, Otho and Henry, for the crown which was elective, the Queen favored the former, a fault she expiated by great suffering, for both these sons subjected her to a long and cruel persecution. She died in 968.

St. Olaf Feastday: July 29

Olaf was the son of Harold Grenske, a lord in Norway. Olaf Haraldsson, often called "the Fat", spent his youth as a pirate. He was baptized in Rouen, and in 1013, went to England to aid King Ethelred against the Danes. He returned to Norway in 1015, captured most of Norway back from the Danes and Swedes, defeated Earl Sweyn at the battle of Nesjar in 1016, and became king. He set about unifying and Christianizing his realm, but the harshness of his rule precipitated a revolt of the nobles in 1029, and aided by Canute of Denmark, they defeated him and forced him to flee to Russia. He returned in 1030 and attempted to recover his kingdom, but was slain at the Battle of Stiklestad in Norway on July 29th. Though not too popular during his lifetime, miracles were reported at his shrine, and a chapel was built, which became the cathedral of Trondheim; it became a great pilgrimage center for all Scandinavia. He is one of the great heroes of Norway for his efforts to unify and Christianize Norway, of which he is patron. He was canonized in 1164 and his feast day is July 29th.

St. Vladimir of Russia, Feastday: July 15

St. Vladimir I, 956-1015, Grandson of St. Olga and illegitimate son of Sviastoslav, grand duke of Kiev, and his mistress, Malushka, he was given Novgorod to rule by his father. Civil war broke out between his half-brothers Yaropolk and Oleg; Yaropolk made himself ruler by defeating and killing Oleg, and when he captured Novgorod, Vladimirwas forced to flee to Scandinavia in 977. Vladimir returned with an army and captured Novgorod and defeated and slew Yaropolk at Rodno in 980; Vladimir was now sole ruler of Russia, notorious for his barbarism and immorality. After his conquest of Kherson in the Crimea in 988, he became impressed by the progress of Christianity and approached Eastern Emperor Basil II about marrying the emperor's daughter Ann. He was converted, reformed his life and married Anne. On his return to Kiev, he invited Greek missionaries to Russia, let his people to Christianity, borrowed canonical feacures from the West and built schools and churches. His later years were troubled by rebellions led by the sons of his first marriages, although two sons by Anne, SS Romanus and David became martyrs. In 1014 he was obliged to march against his rebellious son Yaroslav in Novgorod, fell ill on the way and died at Beresyx, Russia. He is patron of the Russian Catholics.