Worst Sinners Who Became Saints

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The Bible tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Saints are no exception. We’re all lawbreakers because sin is the violation of God’s law. Sinfulness is the general characteristic of all mankind; we are all guilty before God. We are sinners by nature and by our own acts of transgression. Saints, as we know, were not perfect. They made mistakes during their lifetime and often led public lives of depravity before their hearts were converted. Saints for many seem too holy for us to imitate, but really they were more like us than we realize. They struggled with the same addictions, the same sins and the same bad habits that weigh us down. They fell down and they got back up. The lives of the saints show us that being holy means being human, not perfect. We can take heart that these holy men and women were not always holy and through the grace of God overcame great obstacles to become shining examples of virtue. Here are five of the worst sinners who became saints.

St. Augustine

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When Catholics discuss saints who were once great sinners, the first one that comes to mind is St. Augustine of Hippo and for good reason: as a teenager Augustine abandoned the Catholic faith in which he had been raised by his mother, St. Monica, moved in with a mistress, and together they had a son out of wedlock. Augustine became a well-known orator and studied the pagan philosophies of Plato. Augustine became a Christian at age 32, after having discussions about Christianity with a friend, and hearing a child’s voice telling him to pick up a scroll and read it. This conversion story is one of the most famous. After being baptized in 387, Augustine moved back to his hometown of Tagaste, in North Africa, to found a monastic community and became a monk. In 391, the church at nearby Hippo pressed him to become a priest and five years later, he was made Bishop of Hippo. As a church leader, he became an active pastor, not only for his congregation and diocese, but for his faith.

St. Vladimir

Olga’s grandson Vladimir became prince of Kiev by murdering his older brother. Then he raped his sister-in-law and added her to his harem of several hundred women. To consecrate a new temple to all the gods, he sacrificed a father and his son. When the emperor at Constantinople sought his help in putting down a rebellion, Vladimir demanded as his reward the emperor’s sister as his wife. The emperor countered that Vladimir must convert to Christianity. Everyone suspected that once he was back in Kiev, Vladimir would return to his old ways, but the grace of baptism changed him. He dismissed his extra wives and his harem, tore down the pagan temple, and launched a vigorous campaign to covert his people. The faith his grandmother planted flourished under Vladimir.

St. Mary of Egypt

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At a young age, Mary ran from home and spent seventeen years as a seductress in the glamorous city of Alexandria during the fourth century. She did not charge for her services, but enjoyed the challenge of seducing young men. She was enthralled with sexual adventure and was led by her passions. Mary later confessed, “There is no mentionable or unmentionable depravity of which I was not their teacher.” Feeling compelled to tag along with a group of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, she boarded the ship and seduced everyone before reaching their destination. However, while in the Holy City, Mary repented of her sins and was reconciled with the church. She spent the rest of her life as a hermit in the desert and continually fought temptations to turn back to her depravity until God granted her peace of soul.