The August Saint of the month in Conquest is Blessed Luigi Bordino. He was born in 1922 in Italy to a Catholic family. He had seven brothers and sisters. He tried very hard in school although it was not something that came naturally to him. He spent the summers of his childhood working with his father. He was very active in his parish and local youth groups. When he was 18, he was elected to be the leader of the local branch of Catholic Action. A year later in 1942, he was drafted into the Italian military army to fight in WWII. He fought in Poland and Ukraine where he was taken prisoner by the soldiers from the Soviet Union. He was sent as a prisoner to Siberian prison camps, where he lived and worked. When the war ended a year later, he was released and returned home to Italy. Shortly after being home, Luigi decided to dedicate his life to those who were ill and suffering, so he joined the Brothers of St Joseph Cottolongo. He spent the remaining 30 years of his life helping those who were sick in hospitals and especially dedicating time to work with people who suffered with mental illness. In 1975, Luigi was diagnosed with leukemia. He underwent treatment, but worsened after 2 years of fighting the disease. He died in August 1977 when he was 55 years old. He was declared a venerable by John Paul II in 2003 because of his heroic virtues helping those in need. In 2015, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Luigi and he was declared Blessed.
