St. Serpahina: Patron of the Physically Challenged
Today's saint is a great inspiration for those who suffer from poverty and illness, especially young people. She is the patron of the disabled and those who are physically challenged. Seraphina was born to a poor family in San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy in 1238. Her father died when she was very young and her widowed mother went to work, leaving her alone at home. She was an attractive girl with a cheerful, congenial nature and a deep empathy for others -- sharing half her food with those less fortunate than herself. She spent her time alone sewing, spinning, and praying. At the age of ten, Seraphina suffered from diseases, which caused her to become paralyzed from the neck down and which disfigured her body. She became totally dependent on her mother and had to be carried around on a wooden plank, which is where she spent her days -- flat on her back. She suffered immensely and lost her good looks, developing sores on her face, arms, and legs. In spite of her sufferings, sh...