1 / 13 St. Catherine of Siena

The second-youngest of 25 children, <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/8-things-to-know-and-share-about-st.-catherine-of-siena">Catherine of Siena</a> is one of only two patron saints of Italy. Catherine believed herself to be spiritually wed to Jesus and committed herself to a monastic life as a teenager. She was a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Setting-World-Fire-Astonishing-Catherine/dp/113727980X/ref=sr_1_1?amp=&ie=UTF8&keywords=emling+AND+catherine&qid=1442327019&sr=8-1&tag=thehuffingtop-20">peacemaker</a> during the 1368 revolution in Siena and convinced Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome during a tumultuous time for the Catholic Church. One story from her life tells of Jesus appearing to her with a heart in his hands and saying, “Dearest daughter, as I took your heart away from you the other day, now, you see, I am giving you mine, so that you can go on living with it for ever.” She was canonized in 1461.

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