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(Died 95 AD) Onesimus was born in Phrygia (west-central Turkey today). He became a slave to Philemon, an important person of the city of Colossae. At some point in his servitude Onesimus stole from his master and fled. During this period, he found himself in Rome and contacted St. Paul, who was in prison there. […]

(First died 269 AD; second died circa 346 AD) The feast of St. Valentine has become universal. Even non-Christians celebrate with messages and gifts to loved ones. But did you know there were two St. Valentines? Here are their stories. Our first St. Valentine was a Roman priest of the 3rd century. Intrigued by his […]

(1729-1812) Today’s saint was born to poor parents in the town of Taranto, in southern Italy. His given name was Francesco. Growing up he learned the ropemaking, which served him and his family well when his father died in 1747, leaving Francesco, at age 18, as the sole support of his mother and siblings. At […]

(4th century) The persecutions of Christians were brutal under the Emperor Diocletian. One of the worst scenes was in Abitina, a town in North Africa, Diocletian issued an order that all Christians, under penalty of death, had to deliver up Holy Scriptures to be burned. The bishop of Abitina complied with the magistrates and brought […]

On Feb. 11, 1858, a young, Bernadette Soubirous, a poor French girl, was collecting firewood near a grotto with her sister and another friend. As she looked up, she had a vision of a beautiful lady,” wearing a white dress, a blue girdle and a yellow rose on each foot, the same color as the […]

(480-543) St. Scholastica was the sister and follower of St. Benedict. They were the children of Eutropius, in the town of Nursia (Norcia). He was a descendent of an ancient senatorial family of Rome. At the age of 12, Scholastica and her brother were sent to Rome (their mother had died). The siblings were appalled […]

(Died 249 AD) In 249 AD, there was a mass persecution of Christians in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. A magician of that city incited the pagans to harass, capture, torture and kill Christians who would not renounce their faith. Among them was St. Apollonia, a deaconess and aged virgin. The mob bashed out her […]

(1869-1947) Josephine was born in the Darfur region of southern Sudan. At age 7, she was kidnapped and sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. In truth, her life was anything but that. Through a combination of branding and tattooing, Josephine suffered the traditional Sudanese practice where a pattern was cut […]

(1381-1447) The Roman Martyrology celebrates Colette on Feb. 6, but Franciscans and Capuchins remember her on Feb. 7. Let’s take a look into the life of this remarkable woman. Colette was born to a carpenter and his wife. Orphaned at age 17, she was left in the care of a Benedictine abbot. Her guardian wanted […]

(1565-1597) A native of Japan, Paul entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) as a young man. He worked as a missionary brother, along with St. Leo Karasuma (a Korean layman), and six Franciscan missionaries from Europe, led by St. Peter Baptist of Spain. Building on the earlier work of St. Francis Xavier, the missionaries […]