The focus of the daily liturgies during Lent is appropriately on the season itself, rather than on the saints whose feast days fall within it. This week's column is devoted to some of those saints, not to diminish in any way the significance of Lent as a preparation for Easter, but to underscore some of the enduring lessons to be learned from the lives of these heroic practitioners of Christian discipleship.

Hugh of Grenoble (1052-1132; feast day, April 1) was elected bishop of one of the worst dioceses in Europe at the time. It was wracked by simony, loan-sharking, flagrant violations of clerical celibacy, and widespread religious ignorance. Immediately after his consecration, he addressed these and other abuses, and found time and energy to direct the building of a new bridge, a marketplace and three hospitals.

Hugh was renowned for his preaching (an art whose loss is much bemoaned in our own time), his skill as a confessor, and his generosity to the poor. So little invested was he in the trappings and powers of his office that he attempted on several occasions to resign from his see for a life of solitude and prayer, but his people would not allow it. He remained their bishop for 52 years.

Few bishops were better prepared by education and pastoral experience for their ministry than Richard of Chichester (1197-1253; feast day, April 3), with degrees at Oxford and Paris, then twice chancellor of the archdiocese of Canterbury, with experience as a parish priest in between.

As bishop, he was kind, accessible, compassionate towards everyone, generous to those stricken by famine, and personally above moral reproach --- a pastoral quality not to be taken for granted then or now. He was canonized less than ten years after his death.

Isidore of Seville (ca. 560-636; feast day, April 4), considered the last of the Fathers of the Church, devoted himself as bishop to an extensive ministry on behalf of the poor. He prepared himself for death by giving away all of his possessions, asking forgiveness from everyone he might have injured in any way, and dressing in sackcloth and ashes.

His personal influence extended even into the 20th century, touching Pope John XXIII who was deeply impressed by Isidore's criteria for an ideal bishop: "He who is set in authority [over others] must be holy in all things and reprehensible in nothing.... Every bishop should be distinguished as much by his humility as by his authority.... He will also preserve that charity which excels all other gifts, and without which all virtue is nothing."

The Dominican friar, Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419; feast day, April 5), was such an outstanding preacher that he often had to speak in the open air because there were no churches large enough to accommodate the crowds. Unfortunately, he was also a man of his times and of the theology that dominated them, stressing too much sin and damnation rather than the joyful message of Easter.

He did play a significant role in bringing an end to the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) by urging his friend, the antipope Benedict XIII, to resign for the sake of church unity and then persuading the king of Aragon to withdraw his support from Benedict when it became clear that Benedict would not follow Vincent's advice.

John Baptist de La Salle (1651-1719; feast day, April 7) was the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and is patron of schoolteachers. Although born into wealth, he opened two schools for the poor and his home for the training of teachers. When his family objected to having such low-born types in the house, he moved into rented space.

John resigned his comfortable position as a cathedral canon, sold all of his worldly goods, and donated the proceeds for famine relief. That same year he formed a small community dedicated to the education of the poor --- at a time when many believed that poor boys were fit only for manual labor.

John also had a practical, common-sensical side that makes him a particularly healthy model of sanctity today. The Rule for his new community forbade bodily mortifications beyond the normal fasting required by the Church. He believed that teaching was sufficiently demanding in itself and, if done properly, would develop the necessary self-discipline in the brothers.

Julie Billiart (1751-1816; feast day, April 8) followed a similar path, devoting herself and her new community, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, to the education of the poor and the training of teachers.

Alas, she is the only woman on our list, and the only non-cleric. Canonization is far from a perfect science.

Father Richard P. McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.