Author: Editor

(1118-1170) St. Thomas was born in London in 1118. He began his ecclesiastical career at a young age, entering the abbey of Merton. He later studied in France and at the University of Bologna and soon distinguished himself for his intellectual qualities. In 1154 he became archdeacon of the diocese of Canterbury and the following […]

When Herod, the king of Judea, heard of the birth of an extraordinary child from the Wise Men who, heading to Bethlehem, followed the star from the east, he became “greatly troubled.” (Matthew 2:1-18) Although he told those men to report back to him after they found the babe, they were warned by an angel […]

(1st century) John was one of the sons of Zebedee (James was the other) who while mending their fishing nets dropped everything to follow Jesus when he said, “Follow me.” Could the brothers ever have known in that moment how that decision would alter the course of their lives — or even the course of […]

(1st century) Steven was the first Christian martyr. He was one of the first to follow the Apostles. It is believed that he was either Greek, or a Jew educated in Greek culture. What is certain is that he was so greatly appreciated by the community in Jerusalem that his name appears first among the […]

Today is Christmas, and we have to agree with the writers of Franciscan Media, who say, “On this day, the church focuses especially on the newborn Child, God become human, who embodies for us all the hope and peace we seek. We need no other special saint today to lead us to Christ in the […]

The year was 1223. St. Francis would only live three more years. It happened that he was preaching in the small central Italian town of Greccio and the good saint wanted to celebrate the birth of Christ in a meaningful way that would speak to the people. How would he make them understand that their […]

(1133-1193) At the time of his birth, the Catholic Church had firmly established a foothold in Iceland. Two centuries prior, German and Norwegian missionaries had begun their evangelization there. In Thorlak’s day the church had fallen into some disarray, particularly due to local clergy disregarding the rule of clerical celibacy, selling church positions for personal […]

(c. 1230-1306) Jacomo or James, was born a noble member of the Benedetti family in the Italian city of Todi. He became a successful lawyer and married a pious, generous lady named Vanna. His young wife took it upon herself to do penance for the worldly excesses of her husband. One day Vanna, at the […]

(1521-1597) Peter Kanijs was born in 1521 in the Dutch village of Nijmegen. At that time, it was in the German territory of duchy of Gelderland. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1543. He participated in the Council of Trent in 1547 and in 1562, expressly called by the bishop of Augsburg, Cardinal Otto […]

(1000-1073) St. Dominic of Silos was born in Cañas, La Rioja, Spain, to very humble parents. Dominic worked as a shepherd before becoming a Benedictine monk. When he was ordained a priest, he soon became the master of novices and later prior. When he and two of his fellow monks opposed King Garcia Sánchez’s annexation […]