The modern saints by gracie

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The modern saints by gracie

My goal for this project is to show how real, how diverse, and how just like us the saints were, so we realize we can become as amazing as them.

Modern Icons by Gracie Saints painted with character, correct age and ethnicity, and modern style to show how human they were: how amazing, and how just like us. My recent project is a collection of “Modern Icons”, portraits of saints re-imagined as modern people to finally show their correct ethnicities, ages, and characters. Ancient icons portray these truly inspiring people all as old, white, emotionless, and unrealistic. I believe these images, because of that outdated-ness, are turning younger people in the Church away from the saints, and from the Church itself. I hope my paintings can bring others to realize how rebellious, how progressive, how loving, how ambitious, how hopeful, how counter-cultural these people actually were, so that they can become role models whose lives anyone can aspire to.

09/18/2026

St. Joseph of Cupertino’s feast day is today!

Born into poverty and made fun of and criticized for being clumsy, forgetful, quick-tempered, unable to focus, and not very good at working or school, Joseph passed his time daydreaming and in prayer.

Even his mother found it hard to have patience with him, and so she sent him away to be a shoemaker. Though Joseph wanted to join religious life, he was denied many times, and so finally he got as close as he could by taking care of a monastery’s stable.

While doing this work, others finally realized that despite Joseph’s struggles, he was also very kind, humble, loving, and obedient. He was finally allowed to take the tests to enter priesthood, and though he did not do well, he was admitted, but put to doing the hardest chores at the monastery for 15 years.

Soon, though, Joseph found that prayer caused him to levitate! People showed up to watch as entertainment, but the Order was not happy with this and forced him to live alone for 35 years, even trying minor tortures on him to get him to stop. He even willingly chose to wear chains, wondering why he would have been given such a gift when it only caused suffering. He was persecuted, accused, and unable to do any of the things he loved about his faith, but it is said he remained joyful even to his death.

09/17/2026

Today is our Patron at The Modern Saints’ feast day - St. Hildegard of Bingen!

Hildegard, as a child, was given to the church either because she was promised to it as the tenth child, was too sick to spend the time caring for, or her parents just couldn’t take care of any more children. She was a companion for an anchorite named Jutta and given only a primitive education. When Hildegard was almost 40, she was elected leader of the religious community. Hildegard attracted many followers with her style of leadership, and soon had to begin her own monastery, even against the Abbot’s wishes.

Though she had been seeing “visions” since she was young, Hildegard was not comfortable sharing this or recording them until she began work on her book Scivias. She attracted an even larger following after its publication, and continued work on studying plants and healing medicine, and composing music, operas and a morality play.

Hildegard also broke barriers by traveling to preach, writing letters to authority figures and clergy, and inventing her own alphabet. She had visions of climate destruction and pollution, she spoke out against leaders who were not living as they should, rallied for gender equality and against the divisions between social classes, advocated for holistic healing, and was one of the first to talk of women’s s*xuality in a positive light. She often spoke of a “Cosmic Christ” in nature, and God’s “Greening power” and well as the Divine Feminine.

She was excommunicated in her last year of life with the interdict lifted only months before her death, but she is now not only a saint, but also a Doctor of the Church.

09/16/2026

Cyprian was a well-educated, well-known, and well-loved lawyer in his community long before he ever became interested in Christianity. When he came to learn about the faith, however, he dove all the way in and at around age 40, he was baptized and gave away all his property including his garden, which he so deeply loved.

Though some older clergy did not agree with Cyprian’s values and lack of a traditional education, he was elected Bishop of Carthage just two years later.

He had only just settled into this role when a Roman persecution began - Christians were tortured and killed, but many, in fear, did renounce their faith in order to survive.

Cyprian himself went into hiding during this time and wrote letters to his community, deciding he would be of more use alive rather than dead, despite criticism for the act.

When the persecution ended, strong opinions raged over whether those who had denied their faith would be allowed back into the church. Cyprian took a middle ground, looking to Jesus’ example of forgiveness.

The rest of his leadership was not easy, with plagues, famines, and war, but Cyprian personally cared for his flock and called out clergy who were not being servant-leaders - even with a threat of excommunication.

When another persecution began, Cyprian was exiled, imprisoned, and finally condemned to die. He was so loved by his community that they asked to die with him, but he refused.

09/14/2026

Today is the feast day of Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de Lamourous, one of the Marianist founders.

Though she had wanted to join the Carmelites earlier in life, Marie-Therese was tasked with taking care of her large family instead. When the Church in France went underground during the revolution, she held classes and gave her community advice, brought them produce, visited prisons, and aided the clergy in communicating messages. William Jospeh Chaminade chose her among other lay church leaders to help preserve the church during this time, especially after he was exiled.
Marie-Therese also worked in a home caring for s*x workers who wished to start a new life. This project became her entire life’s work over time.
The third Marianist founding member, Adele, was also aided by Marie-Therese as she set up the women’s religious order.

09/07/2026

NEW ICON DROP 2/4- St. Paul’s conversion

Celebrating 10 years of The Modern Saints!

Prints and prayer cards available now!

09/05/2026

It’s the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (known before her canonization, famously, as Mother Teresa) today!

Originally a missionary teacher in India, Teresa soon realized a new calling to start her own order and aid those who were sick and dying on the streets. She and her new Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, owned nothing and lived in poverty like those they served. She opened a hospice and made sure that anyone who needed it received the service, regardless of their faith practice, homelessness or inability to pay. Already she had earned some enemies in the political realm for her actions, but the Sisters continued to spread internationally, caring for those with AIDS, addiction, and other illnesses. They also aided refugees and victims of natural disasters. Mother Teresa also traveled to war zones to personally rescue children, assist radiation and natural disaster victims, and begin projects in communist countries, among many other things.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and canonized in 2016.

Another amazing thing about this saint is that when her journals were discovered in 2003, the public realized that she experienced a “dark night of the soul” for about the last half of her life, not feeling her faith but doing all her works for God anyway.

09/03/2026

Happy feast of St. Phoebe!

All we know of Phoebe is that St. Paul praises her in his letter to the Romans. He describes her as a deacon and tells the community to welcome her - she may have been the one delivering the letter herself. She was either a benefactor or protector of Paul and the early Church, likely hosting a secret church in her home and sheltering Paul there.

09/02/2026

NEW ICON DROP 1/4 - St. Francis Xavier

Prints and prayer cards available now!

A co-founder of the Jesuits with St. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis was sent against his hopes to be a missionary in India, where he ministered to pearl farmers, sailors, and ex convicts. Though he struggled with the language, he focused on pastoral care and eventually sailed to preach and baptize in Indonesia, China, and more.

09/01/2026

NEW ICONS DROPPING THIS MONTH!

4 extra special pieces are coming your way this month, and 3 of them are reimaginings of pieces I created 10 years ago

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http://www.themodernsaints.com/

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