My family's relationship to:

   

Saints

and some of the popes who canonized them 


Sainthood runs so strong in my family veins that we in each new generation are urged to "run" for it ourselves. When you look at our violent family hagiology - in which the saint's crown has been achieved mostly by sword in hand - at least you will agree that most of us today qualify for sainthood. Here are just a tiny selection of the dozens of canonized saints in my children's immediate family and their usually violent life stories: 
Name Birth Relationship with Daniel and Lalou
St. Adela of Austrasia, perhaps the most beautiful of our saints 670 36th great-grandmother
St. Adelaide of Burgundy, a saintly empress 932 29th great-grandmother
St. Alfred the Great, a saintly king 849 33rd great-grandfather
St. Aelgifu of England, also mother of a saint 921 33rd great-grandmother
St. Arnulf of Metz, retired to monastery after years of warfare 582 37th great-grandfather
St. Bathildis of Neustria, gave birth to 3 kings 625 38th great-grandmother
St. Begga of Landen, founded 7 churches after husband's death 620 41st great-grandmother
St. Bridget of Sweden, counseled 3 popes 1303 18th great-grandmother
St. Canute of Denmark, murdered in a church 1043 24th great-grandfather
St. Canute Lavard of Denmark, murdered by his cousin 1091 23rd great-grandfather
St. Charlemagne, first Holy Roman emperor, but a saint? 742 33rd great-grandfather
St. Charles the Good, a continuous defender of the poor 1083 23rd great-granduncle
St. Clotilde, converted her pagan husband 475 42nd great-grandmother
St. Dagobert II, both father and daughters were saints too 652 37th great-grandfather
St. Edgar "the peaceful", founded 30 monasteries  943 32nd great-grandfather
St. Eric of Sweden, spread the Gospel through his kingdom 1120 24th great-grandfather
St. Ethelbert of Kent, first English lawgiver and baptizer 552 39th great-grandfather
St. Gertrude of Hamage, founded a convent 560 42nd great-grandmother
St. Gregor the Illuminator, brought Christianity to Armenia 257 51st great-grandfather
St. Ida of Nivelles, built a Benedictine monastery   592 42nd great-grandmother
St. Ladislas of Hungary, mostly a warrior 1025 24th great-granduncle
St. Leopold the Good, had 18 children, fought Hungarians 1102 24th great-grandfather
St. Ludmila of Bohemia, built first Bohemian church 860 31st great-grandmother
St. Margaret of Scotland, worked to help the poor...as a queen 1045 28th great-grandmother
St. Matilda of Saxony, queen who "comforted the sick....." 895 29th great-grandmother
St. Olav II, tried to Christen Norway with the sword 995 27th great-grandfather
St. Olga of Kiev, scalded her husband's murderers to death 881 28th great-grandmother
Pope of Rome, Calixtus II,  1050 30th great-granduncle
Pope of Rome, Gregor V, deposed and mutilated anti-pope John 930 28th great-granduncle
Pope of Rome, Leo IX, ended unchastity after Stephen X had son 1002 1st cousin 29 times removed
Pope of Rome, Stephen X, a pope for great-grandfather? 990 32nd great-grandfather
St. Sigebert of Austrasia, incompetent king and saint 631 37th great-grandfather
St. Sigismund of Burgundy, a hot tempered king 470 42nd great-grandfather
St. Stephen the Great, most of his relatives also saints 969 1st cousin 28 times removed
St. Vladimir of Kiev, pagan with 7 wives and idolatrous rites 960 26th great-grandfather
St. William of Toulouse, a Jew turning into ideal Christian knight 765 33rd great-grandfather

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