Gender plays a crucial role in understanding the personal lives of saints, especially women saints whose stories have often been marginalized or reshaped.

Women saints frequently had to negotiate restrictive gender norms. Many were daughters of noble families, expected to marry for political alliances, yet some chose religious life instead. For example, St. Hilda of Whitby, an influential abbess in 7th-century England, balanced leadership, spirituality, and family duties.

Janina discusses the complexity of female sanctity:

“Women saints often embodied paradoxes. They were revered as holy and pure but also had to assert their authority in male-dominated societies. Their personal choices—such as rejecting marriage or embracing asceticism—were radical acts that challenged social expectations.”

For men, sainthood could also involve negotiating ideals of masculinity, especially in the context of warrior saints like St. George or St. Sebastian, whose stories intertwine faith with physical courage and suffering.

The Human Side: Saints’ Emotions, Failures, and Relationships

Contrary to the often sanitized accounts, saints experienced emotions, doubts, and failures just like any other person. Janina Ramirez highlights the importance of exploring these dimensions:

“Saints were deeply human. Their lives were full of love, friendship, pain, and sometimes despair. For example, St. Augustine’s writings reveal his struggles with faith, temptation, and his search for meaning.”

Many saints kept extensive correspondence, wrote autobiographies, or were subjects of biographies that reveal their personal relationships with family, mentors, and disciples. These texts show saints as complex individuals navigating social networks and personal growth. shutdown123