The patron saint I drew for 2026 was St. Charles de Foucauld. This did not feel accidental.
Almost immediately, my heart turned to my uncle—a Franciscan priest in Morocco—who had taken the religious name Charles de Jésus, the same name chosen by St. Charles de Foucauld.
This past December, my uncle appeared to me in a dream—the first and only time something like this has ever happened in my life. In the dream, he stood before me, much taller than I remembered, radiant with peace, serenity, and quiet beauty. Simply seeing him filled me with a profound and unmistakable peace.
That dream reopened a well of memories.
When my uncle was assigned to our home parish in Morocco, he came to our house for lunch every week. Afterward, he would drive me to school on the back of his Francis-Barnett motorcycle—an unforgettable experience for a young boy, and one that earned me no small admiration from my classmates at the Christian Brothers’ school. Later, when I left for college in France, he gave me that motorcycle.
My family used to call me “the little priest,” largely because of my closeness to him. Once, he drove me from Morocco to France via Spain—just the two of us—in his tiny car. Faithful to his Franciscan vow of poverty, he refused to stay in hotels. Instead, he would stop in a village, knock on a stranger’s door, and ask for hospitality. In return, he would offer to celebrate Mass in their home.
At fourteen years old, this way of radical trust unsettled me deeply. Today, looking back through the lens of St. Charles de Foucauld, I recognize that moment as a lesson—an invitation into simplicity, poverty of spirit, and total reliance on God.
I believe this is the first message my patron saint for 2026 is offering me. More will come. I am listening.
Have you drawn your saint for the year? If not, our team at Agapè has gathered a list of our favorite saints with quotes to help you decide. Once you have your saint, enter into a quiet dialogue with God and ask two questions:
- Why did this particular saint choose me for this year?
- And what invitation does he/she place before me? What am I being asked to live?
Another fruitful tradition is to choose a spiritual focus for each month. The Church just celebrated the Solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus, which makes the Jesus prayer a fitting practice for January.
May the Lord bless you and your family abundantly in this new year.
