If these 10 saints played Wordle, what would they type in first?

In case you don't know much about the latest craze in the world of puzzles, Wordle was created as a romantic gesture from one clever software engineer to his partner, and has soared in popularity in a very short time. It's a game that involves a good knowledge of five-letter words and word construction.

You may wonder why it is proving such a hit. First, it's free (although perhaps not for long as it was recently purchased by the New York Times) so it can help keep our minds sharp. Second, the instructions are simple so it's easy to play. And lastly, it's a unifying force, connecting friends, families, and even strangers from all over the world.

Whatever the reason, the Aleteia team are in fact big fans of the game, with members sharing daily frustrations, those rare moments of utter genius, and most importantly, encouragement. We've wondered what the best strategy is to use when choosing the first five-letter word, which got us thinking ... What word would some of our favorite saints use to start this word game off if they were alive today? What words do we associate with them?

As a result we compiled a list of saints and the words we think they should begin their Wordle with. Maybe you'll manage to find a word to inspire your future game!

His word has to be SNAKE. Not only does it represent the legend of his ridding Ireland of serpents, it's also got two vowels and some popular consonants, so that has to be a winner!

We had a couple of options for the young French heroine. While STAKE represents her painful execution being burnt alive, we opted for BRAVE, as it took a courageous heart that loved God and France above all else.

The Portuguese Catholic priest is often pictured holding the Christ child. This opened up a whole number of options including CHILD, but then of course we often associate him with lost objects, so FOUND could work just as well.

There was a clear winner for the cousin of the Lord. As "baptize" is too long, we opted for RIVER, as it is after all the place where he baptized Jesus.

This was tricky as roses would have been an obvious choice, but in keeping with the rules of the game we avoided plurals. So PETAL would work equally well, although we think the the word GRACE also represents the French Carmelite nun beautifully. After all, she believed "tout est grâce" (everything is grace).

While he was known for his deep love for all of God's creatures, animal doesn't work for this game as it's too long, so he needs a word that reflects one of his other well-known accomplishments -- the founding of the Franciscan friars, so FRIAR it is, although a double-letter 'r' to kick things off is a bit of a risk.

There is one stand-out word that fits this scholar, philosopher, and priest: STUDY. Whether he's imploring us to hit the books, or whether it is a reflection of his own hard work, it's a word that we think the "Dumb Ox" might like.

The devout and kind-hearted Italian was known for his love of confession, giving his possessions to the poor, his struggles at school, his wit, and his sportiness. He was known for saying "verso l'alto" or "to the heights," and by that he didn't mean the mountains that he climbed. It was his final destination of heaven that he would reach through his beatitudes. So CLIMB it is for the handsome young Catholic.

There is one word that pops to mind when thinking of the apostle who was unsure of Christ's Resurrection, and that is DOUBT. It's actually a great word choice, and not just for its double vowel, but because every Wordle fan has a moment of doubt as they type in their first word of the game!

Well there's one strong contender for this Franciscan friar that represents his ability to levitate, and that is FLOAT. Although AMAZE would also work equally well, considering that all those who saw his episodes of ecstasy must have been completely shocked.