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(3rd century) Antony lost both his parents by the time he was 20 years old. He gave away his worldly goods and lived as a hermit in the desert. He established “families” of monks who under the guidance of a spiritual father, dedicated themselves to the service of God. St. Anthony is often depicted next […]

(Died 310) In 304 Marcellus was elected pope, succeeding Pope St. Marcellinus, who had been tortured by the Roman emperor Diocletian. Marcellus found a church in disarray thanks to hundreds of years of persecution, as well as lapsed and disaffected followers. Three years of relative peace were given the church when Maxentius became emperor in […]

(510-584) Maurus (or Mauro) was the son of Equitius, a nobleman of Rome. When he was about 12 years old, his father placed him under the care of St. Benedict at Subiaco, to be educated. As he matured, Maurus was considered a model to all his brethren, but especially in the virtue of obedience and […]

(Died 340 AD) Macrina the Elder was the matriarch of a distinguished holy family. She was the mother of Basil the Elder, and the grandmother of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Peter of Sebaste, and Macrina the Younger. She studied under Gregory Thaumaturgus, and it was his teachings that she handed down to Basil […]

(315-368) St. Hilary was born in Poitiers, a town in southwest France, in 315, into an upper-class, non-Christian family. He was raised as a pagan, given a solid liberal education, and was fluent in both Latin and Greek. He was married as a young man, and had a daughter named Apra. In 350, inspired by […]

(1620-1700) Marguerite was born the sixth of 12 children in Troyes, France. At age 20, she felt called to religious life. Her applications to the Carmelites and Poor Clares were unsuccessful. A priest friend suggested that perhaps God had other plans for her. In 1654, the governor of the French settlement in Canada visited his […]

(730-802) Paulinus was born to a Roman family during the period of Longobard rule of Italy. After receiving a thorough education and being ordained, he became master of his school. He had a deep knowledge of jurisprudence, and extensive Scriptural, theological, and patristic training. This learning won him the attention of Charlemagne. After the destruction […]

(Died 681) St. Agatho is the oldest man ever to become pope. There is reliable information that records that he was more than 100 years old when he stepped into “the shoes of the fisherman!” Born in Sicily, he became a Benedictine monk in Palermo. He succeeded Pope Donus in 678. Shortly after Agatho became […]

(Died 1374) Andrew Corsini was born in Florence at the beginning of the 14th century, one of the 12 children of Nicholas Corsini and Gemma degli Stracciabende. By 1338, he was associated with the convent of Carmel in Florence. In 1343, he was mentioned in a contract between the religious and the Company of the […]