All Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.

"Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped. (CCC 956)

Many popular devotional practices involve the veneration of the saints. The saints have a special place in the Body of Christ, which includes both the living and the dead. Through Christ, we on earth remain in communion both with the saints in heaven and with the dead who are still in Purgatory. We can pray for those in Purgatory and ask the saints to pray for us. Through their prayers of intercession, the saints in heaven play an integral role in the life of the Church on earth. "For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord, through Him and with Him and in Him they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, showing forth the merits which they won on earth through the one Mediator between God and man." The saints, the members of the Church who have arrived at perfect union with Christ, join their wills to the will of God in praying for those in the Church who are still on their pilgrimage of faith.

The saints are models of human excellence, perfected by the life of Christ and the communication of his Spirit. They demonstrate by their lives how to really live and how to really die. They consistently point to the horizon of love which leads to the fulfillment of all human desire: eternal communion with the Holy Trinity. By our devotion to our heavenly brothers and sisters who have gone before us in Christ, and by their prayers of intercession, fraternal charity is exercised which contributes to the unity of the Church and aids us on our pilgrim journey.
Saint of the Day

American Saints and Blesseds 

Saints Who Were Great Evangelizers