Sojourner, born Isabella Baumfree, was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. In 1828, after going to court, was able to rescue her son. She was the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. In 1843 she gave herself the name Sojourner Truth after she became convinced God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside. In 1851 she delivered her best known speech extemporaneously ( without preparation) in 1863 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron . It became known as ‘Ain’t I a Woman’- published in 1863. During the American civil war she recruited black troops for the Union Army. She continued to fight on behalf of women and African Americans until her death. In 2009 a memorial bust of Sojourner was unveiled. She was the first African American to have a statue in the Capitol building In 2014 she was included in Smithsonian magazine list of 100 Most Significant Americans of all time. Sources Wikipedia Standing on her Shoulders by Monica Clark-Robinson

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahio y Calderon was a painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits and work inspired by nature and artifacts of Mexico. She has been described as a surrealist or magical realist. She also known for painting about her experiences of chronic pain ( as a child she had polio: aged 18 she had a bus accident which caused her lifelong pain and medical problems). She had her first solo exhibition in 1938 in New York. She had her first solo Exhibition in Mexico in 1953 shortly before her death. Her work remained relatively unknown until the late 1970’s when her work was rediscovered by art historians and political activists… By the early 1990’s she became a recognised figure in the art .history and an icon for Chicanos. Her work has been celebrated internationally by the feminist movement and LGBTO community.

Chloe, aged 17, at the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeonghang became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal in the women’s snowboard halfpipe. 4 years later she won the same event in Beijing. She is the World, Olympic, Youth Olympic and XGames champion in the halfpipe. She is the first to win the title at all 4 major events. Twice awarded the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year 2019 2020 5 ESPY awards plus best Female Action Sports Athlete 3 years in row. Sources Wikipedia Standing on her shoulders by Monica Clark-Robinson

Debra on March 16th 2021 became the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary and the second to serve in the Cabinet after Republican former vice president and Kaw Nation citizen Charles Curtis. Source Wikipedia Standing on her Shoulders by Monica Clark-Robinson

Faith is best known for her series of story quilts. Designed from the 1980’s onwards they captured the experiences of Black Americans and became her signature art form. They are to be found across the world. As a multimedia artist her works explored themes of family, race, class and gender. Faith’s art has been exhibited throughout the world including the Guggenheim, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Faith promoted the work of BLack Artists and rallied against their marginalization by the art museums. She also wrote and illustrated 12 children’s books. Sources Wikipedia *Standing on her Shoulders *by Monica Clark-Robinson

Bruno of Cologne, venerated as Saint Bruno, was the founder of the Carthusians - a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic church. It was founded by Bruno in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. Their motto in English means The cross is steady while the world turns. I have included notes about both Bruno and the Carthusians (Wikipedia). His disciples praised his three chief virtues - his great spirit of prayer, extreme mortification and devotion to th e blessed virgin. He has long been regarded and as the patron saint of Calabria and one of the patron saints of Germany. Saint Bruno obviously lived a very active Christian llfe in the eleventh century AD

Omari began to cook at the age of 7 when his mother became ill. His father taught him and his brother how to cook. Since then he has gained a big online following while creating his own line of dips, snacks and juice packs called Dipalicious aged 8. . Aged just 12 he became the youngest TV chef. According to his instagram he is the youngest vegan chef and restaurateur in the world. He is also said to be Britain’s youngest award-winning chef and author. He has published his own cookbook Omar McQueen’s Best Bites In 2020 he starred in a CBBC show called What’s Cooking Omari? In 2023 he starred in Meet the McQueens on CBBC which included his family. (Read his comments.) His mother became ill with an extreme form of migraine known as hemiplegic migraine. Sources Wikipedia Superheroes by Sophia Thakur

Craig and. Shaun McAnnuff, born in the UK, have created some wonderful recipes. They are quick and easy plant-based Caribbean recipes to cook. They are available from their bestselling book* Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home*, published in 2019. During 2024 they went on a tour of the UK with their viral Caribbean Supperclub visiting Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. The brothers are all about maximum flava and their recipes that are filling and flava-ful just happen to be vegan too! Think potato and chickpea curry with roti, Jerk cauliflower wings, Coconut , black-eyed pea and sweet potato stew and Plantain cookies. Their brilliant vegan dishes rely on fresh and vibrant fruit and vegetables from plantain to pineapple. They have built up online a Caribbean food festival of virtual cooking classes in partnership with Jamie Oliver. Sources Wikipedia Superheroes by Sophia Thakur

Anthony was born Fernando Martins de Bilhoes. Upon his admission to the the life of friars, later in life in Olivais he adopted the name Anthony ( from the name of the chapel located there and dedicated to Anthony the Great). He was a teacher and preacher. He was so charismatic that the crowds who came to listen to him during his 9 years of ministry could not be contained in a church. They gathered in the marketplace to his attacks on usury and avarice. He was noted by his contemporaries for his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of the scriptures and undying love for the sick and poor. He was chosen by St. Francis of Assisi to teach theology to the friars at Padua and Bologna. He was chosen by Pope Gregory 1X to produce a series of sermons for feast days. He gained a major reputation as a worker of wonders and miracles One of the best known stories about Anthony is that a novice borrowed his personal psalter without permission. The novice was compelled to return it by a terrifying apparition. This is the reason put forward for him being the patron saint of lost property. He died aged only 36. On his death he was one of the quickest to be canonized- less than one year of his death. In 1946 he was proclaimed a doctor of the church by Pope Pius X11. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 Patron Saints for Today editor Elizabeth Hallam

Saint Anne according to apocrypha, as well a according to Christian and Islamic tradition, was the mother of Mary. the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary’s mother is not mentioned by name in the N.T.gospels. of the Bible. Anne and her husband Joachim are only mentioned by name in the New Testament apocrypha in the Gospel of James. sources Wikipedia The Encyclopedia of Saints Howard Loxton

Saint Eloi or Eliguis, the Limousin goldsmith, was called to Paris to make a throne for Clotaire 1. He managed to make 2 from the metal allotted, earning the friendship of the king and more commissions, eventually becoming master of the Paris mint. His wealth enabled him to ransom slaves, build churches and monasteries and support the poor. He legislated for slaves to rest on holy days. A counsellor and diplomat at the court of Draobert, the son of Clotaire1, he was later ordained bishop of Noyon and Tournai in 641/2. According to legend he was forced to cut off the leg of a troublesome horse in order to shoe it but later restored it! Patron saint of goldsmiths, blacksmiths and farriers. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 Patron saints for Today edited by Elizabeth Hallam

Jourdan, aged 15, was scouted by an agent from Storm Management, while accompanying a friend in a London Primark. She is of Jamaican, Syrian and Grenadian descent. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008 she was the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade. April 2014 she became the new face for Maybelline New York July 2014 she was declared an icon by models.com. Jourdan is considered one of her generation’s supermodels. Unfortunately she has had to defend her colour, culture and hair in an industry of vultures time and time again who only see white skin as perfect. Sources Wikipedia Superheroes by Sophia Thakur

Saint Apollonia was one of the group of virgin saints who suffered in Alexandra during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to church tradition her torture included having all her teeth violently pulled or shattered. This is why she is regarded as the patroness of dentistry and those suffering from toothache.or other dental problems. She was probably a deaconess and held in high esteem. Men seized her and broke and repeatedly broke her teeth. They then took her outside the city and erected a pile of wood to burn her alive… She refused to repeat blasphemous against Christ. Given, at her own request, a little freedom, she sprang quickly into the fire and was burned to death. Saint Apollonia is represented in art with pincers in which a tooth is held. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 patron Saints for Today Editor Elizabeth Hallam

Joshua born in 1993 has held the World Boxing Organizations (WBO) interim light-heavyweight since September 2024. He was born in Accra, Ghana. His parents now reside in Selsdon South London. He graduated with a 2:1 degree in management with Sorts Science from St, Mary’s University Twickenham while competing as an amateur boxer. As an amateur he went to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games as a light heavyweight - he progressed to the quarter finals. Joshua made his professional debut on 1st July 2017. He has won all of his 19 professional fights, 13 by KO. (Read notes). He is managed by two-times heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua He also supports BoxWise a UK based non-profit social enterprise focused on boxing… ** At the core of a people centred industry, Buatsi freezes the world by shifting the focus from him to his coach: God.* It is God who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. * Superheroes* by Sophia Thakur Sources wikipedia Superheroes

I decided to find out further information about the Top 20 leaders!! Using Wikipedia I found extra information about most of them - see breakdown on first sheet. For Billy Graham and Martin Luther King I have already done profiles for them in TES. For John Mark Comer I used* Pastors Bio*. For Pope Francis there are lots of page about him on Wikipedia. For Jim Winker I could only find a single paragraph. I hope this helps you in your research.

While looking for a list of 21st century Christian to use to write more profiles about I came across this list of 20 Christians written by Scott Wilson for Church Ministry ED . Scott has done my homework for me. Scott has written short notes, with a picture, about each of the 20 he chose. He gives his reasons for including 5 famous Christians who have already died because they continue to tribute and influence Christians today. I have added a word search ( with answer sheet) to his notes.

Saint Lucy was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated at as a saint in Catholic, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The single fact upon which various accounts agree is that a disappointed suitor accused her of being a Christian which resulted in her being executed during the Diocletian Persecutions. Lucy is one of the best known virgin martyrs. Several pictures show her with eyes removed. She is said to have removed her eyes to discourage a persistent suitor from admiring them. When she died her eyes were some how miraculously restored. This is why Lucy is the patron saint for the blind. She is also the patron saint of the city of Syracuse (Sicily) St. Lucy’s day is celebrated especially in Scandinavian countries. Traditionally a young girl is dressed in a white dress with a red sash (as a symbol of martyrdom) and wears a crown or wreath of candles in her hair. Sources Britannica Wikipedia Saint Over 150 Patron Saints for Today edited by Elizabeth Hallam

Theresa of Lisieux born Marie Francoise- Therese Martin is the Patron saint for Missionaries. She is widely venerated in modern times. She is one of 4 sisters who became a Carmelite nun in the same convent. She was only 14 when she experienced her conversion. She entered the order at the unusual early age of 15. Aged 22 she became assistant to the novice mistress. She considered volunteering for missionary work in Hanoi ( now Vietnam) but contracted tuberculosis and died, aged 24, after 18 months of ’ heroic suffering’. She is now one of the most popular saints in the history of the church although she was obscure during her lifetime. The Story of a Soul - her autobiography. written on orders of her prioress and edited by her eldest sister Marie, was an immediate and sensational success. Her spiritual memoir explains her theology of the ’ Little Way.’ Theresa’s immense popularity and reputation for holiness resulted in her being quickly beatified (1923)and canonized(1925) by Pope Pius X1. In 1997 Pope John Paul 11 declared her a Doctor. of the Church. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 Patron Saints for Today edited by Elizabeth Hallam

Wolfgang is regarded as one of the three great German saints of the 10th century. He was known as the Great Almoner. He was a gifted preacher, teacher, monk and bishop whose ability, learning and humility earned him the admiration of his contemporaries. He exercised a strong and valuable influence at the court of the Holy Roman emperors. He was the tutor to the future emperor Henry11. He was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death in 994. Here he improved standards of discipline and learning among the clergy and monasteries. Towards the end of his life he withdrew as a hermit to a solitary spot in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. On his death a cult sprang up in Regensburg where many miracles of healing were recorded, notably of the stomach. He is the Patron saint for stomach pains. Wolfgang was canonized in 1052 by Pope Leo 1X. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 Patron Saints for Today editor Elizabeth Hallam

Anthony -born Fernando Martins de Bulhoes, was raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon… He died in Padua ). He joined the Augustine canons at an early age. Aged 25 he joined the Franciscan friars. He adopted the name Anthony from the name of the chapel located there, dedicated to Anthony the Great. He was sent to work work among the Muslims in Morocco. Ill health forced to return within the year to Assisi. His exceptional teaching and preaching talents were then discovered. St. Francis of Assisi chose him to teach Theology to the friars at Padua and Bologna. in southern France. He then preached against the Albigensian heretics in Southern France. Between 1227-30 he ruled the Franciscan province in northern Italy. He then retired to Padua and Pope Gregory 1X commissioned him to write a series of sermons for Feast days He died at the age of just 35 in 1231. he was canonized the next year ( one of the most quickly canonized saints in church history). He is the patron saint of lost property The story is that a novice borrowed his written psalter without his permission and was compelled to return it by a terrifying apparition. During his lifetime he gained a major reputation as a worker of wonders and miracles. He was noted by his contemporaries for his powerful preaching, expert knowledge of scriptures and undying love and devotion to the poor and the sick. On 16th January 1946 Anthony was proclaimed a* Doctor of the Church* by Pope Pius X11. Sources Wikipedia Saints Over 150 Patron Saints for Today editor Elizabeth Hallam