Who's Who: The Saints of Advent Quiz

Answer: Mary

Mary was a young girl who lived in Nazareth. At the time Gabriel appeared to her, an event called the Annunciation, she was already engaged to Joseph. By the time she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, the couple was married, although Joseph wasn't sure at first that he should keep the agreement. Mary was part of the early Christian community, and was a witness to the preaching of her son and some of his miracles.

She was also present at his crucifixion and death. Many Christians believe that Mary, because of her close association to Christ, is the most important saint in the Christian faith.

Answer: St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross, born in 1542, became a monk in 1563 and was sent to Salamanca to study theology at the university there, becoming a well-known expert in the Bible. After he became a priest in 1567 he was given a near impossible task when he was asked to reform the Carmelite order.

This was the time of the Reformation, and suggesting reforms in the Church was a dangerous business. While spending some time in prison, St. John began to write poetry which described the soul's journey to Christ, and became an influential writer. Canonized in 1732, December 14 was chosen as St. John's feast day as that was the day he died and went to heaven.

Answer: St. Joseph

Because of this very important task, St. Joseph is considered to be a model for all fathers. Unsure if he should marry his betrothed after learning of her pregnancy, Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream and told not to be afraid to marry her. He was from the house and lineage of King David; that is why he and his heavily pregnant wife, Mary, had to go to Bethlehem to be counted for the census.

The nativity creche would just not be complete without the figure of Joseph standing next to Mary.

He is mentioned for the final time in the Bible when Jesus, at the age of twelve, was lost for three days, and subsequently found in the Temple. It is assumed that he had died by the time Christ began his ministry.

Answer: St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi, canonized just two years after his death, is credited with founding four religious orders, known as Franciscan Orders. His message that people should be responsible for the preservation of nature, as well as stories that recount his love for animals, led to his being named the Patron Saint of Ecology in 1979. Frequently pictured with birds, it is said that when he preached birds would surround him, captivated by the sound of his voice.

The nativity scene that he created in 1223 was made up of live humans and animals that were arranged in a cave. Why did St. Francis do such a thing? He wanted to place the importance of the season on the spiritual instead of the material.

Answer: St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist was the son of an older couple, a priest named Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth, who some sources say was related to Mary, the mother of Christ. When he became a young man he retreated to the wilderness and gained both a following and a reputation for being a prophet.

His message was that people should prepare for God's judgement, repent from their sins, and be baptized. In the Gospel of Mark it is said that John baptized Christ in the Jordan River. Christians believe that St. John the Baptist is the Forerunner because he announced the coming of Christ, "After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit". (Mark 1:7-8)

Answer: St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was born in present-day Turkey in 270 AD to a wealthy Christian family. Some sources say that his uncle was a bishop and ordained him into the priesthood. After his parents died, he gave away much of their wealth to the poor.

There is a story that he rescued three sisters from an uncertain futures by dropping bags of coins through the window of their home; their father was too poor to provide dowries and see them properly married. When caught by the father he was helping, Nicholas asked him to keep word of the gift a secret. Also called Nicholas the Wonderworker, he is the patron saint of a long list of people, including pawnbrokers, sailors, brewers, archers, children, and students.

His Feast Day is December 6 because that was the day he died and began his new life in heaven. On that day Dutch children would put out their shoes, hoping for a treat from "Sint Nikolaas" or "Sinterklaas", eventually bringing the tradition with them to the New World.

Answer: St. Martin of Tours

St. Martin of Tours, one of the patron saints of France, was born in present-day Hungary in either 316 or 336. His father, a member of the Imperial Horse Guard cavalry unit, was moved to a station in northern Italy, and that is where Martin grew up. At the age of ten, he became a Christian; although Christianity had been legalized in the Roman Empire in 313, his parents were not particularly happy about his choice.

By the age of 15 he was expected to join a cavalry unit, which he did. Although it is unknown how long he actually served, some sources say it might have been twenty-five years.

It was during this time that St. Martin, after seeing a cold beggar, used his sword to cut his cloak in half, sharing it with the man. After his military service St. Martin he became a hermit and established a hermitage in the Commune of Ligugé.

In 371 he became the third Bishop of Tours. Medieval Christians really had a rough path to follow during the forty days of preparation for Christ's birth.

It was a solemn time of prayer and only certain types of food could be consumed. Just think about how exciting it was to look forward to Christmas Day and the inevitable feasting!

Answer: St. Lucy

As a young girl, St. Lucy planned to dedicate herself to God and give her dowry to the poor. Unfortunately, her father had died and her mother, critically ill herself, was unaware of the plan when she arranged a marriage for her daughter. When her fiancee heard that she was giving away her wealth, he complained to the Roman Governor of Syracuse, who tried to force Lucy to make a sacrifice to the Roman emperor.

When she refused, it was decided that she would be taken to a brothel. This is when the legend of her standing firm began.

A team a oxen could not move her, and the fire that was made to burn her alive on the spot would not burn. She was eventually killed by a swordsman. There are some stories that her eyes were gouged as part of the torture, however, whether that actually happened is unknown.

Other sources said that she removed her eyes herself to discourage a suitor who found them attractive. St. Lucy died in 304 - just seven years before Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire - during Emperor Diocletian's persecutions.

Her Feast Day is December 13.

Answer: St. Therese of Lisieux

Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin was a frail child who was in poor health for much of her life. She was deeply affected by her mother's death at the age of four, the subsequent move of the family from Alençon to Lisieux, and her older sisters' entry into a nunnery.

She, too, wanted to enter the nunnery, but the Church was skeptical of allowing a young girl take holy orders. Her father took her to Rome, where she had an audience with the pope; she was allowed to enter the convent at the age of fifteen. During her brief lifetime, her total devotion to Christ, as well as her belief that Christ helped her overcome many difficulties, led to her new name, Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

She is also known as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

Interestingly, both of her parents - the first spouses to be proposed for sainthood - were canonized as a couple in 2015.

Answer: St. Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Ávila was born in Spain in 1515; her father's father had been Jewish and was forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition. Both of her parents, however, were devout Christians. Teresa became a nun during the Counter Reformation, and was responsible for the reform movement within the Carmelite convent where she lived.

She believed that the people there had become too lax and that visitors that were allowed on the premises took away from important prayer time. Consequently she founded a new convent that was organized under stricter rules and more extreme poverty.

Her writings focused on St. Joseph, who she believed, because of his relationship to Christ, could always be counted on to help in times of need. Her prayer for Advent is still used to help Roman Catholic Christians prepare for the Advent season.