SAINTS

(1033-1109) St. Anselm was born in Aosta, Italy, and died in Canterbury, England. He is remembered for three important contributions to the Church as we know it. First, as Archbishop of Canterbury he defended the rights and liberties of the Church against the encroachments of the English kings, who plundered the Church’s lands, impeded the […]

(1268-1317) St. Agnes of Montepulciano was born into a noble family in the village of Gracciano, Italy. Already at 4 years old, she began seeking solitude where she could pray privately for many hours to Jesus. At age 9, she told her parents that she desired to enter the Dominican monastery at nearby Montepulciano. She […]

(1922-1962) Gianna Beretta was born in Magenta near Milano, Italy, the 10th of Alberto and Maria Beretta’s 13 children. An active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a leader in the Catholic Action movement, Gianna also enjoyed skiing and mountain climbing. She earned degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of […]

(Died 185 AD) Apollonius was well versed in philosophy and an illustrious man of his time. It is believed he was a Roman senator. He was denounced as a Christian to the Pretorian Prefect Perennius. Summoned to defend himself, he read to the senate. St. Jerome recorded that Apollonius gave “a remarkable volume” in which, […]

(1018-1110) Robert was born in Champagne, to Theodoric and Ermegarde, virtuous nobles who brought him up in learning and piety. At the age of 15, he became a Benedictine monk in the abbey of Montier-la-celle, where he made rapid progress and, though he was the youngest in that house, he was chosen prior, and sometime […]

(1844-1879) Bernadette was born to a miller and his wife in Lourdes, France. A poor businessman. Bernadette’s father lost the mill and earned money from time to time as a handyman, who turned to alcohol to deal with his depression. Her mother was very devout and bore her husband many children, only five of whom […]

(c 482-568) Paternus was born in Brittany to devout Christians. When Paternus was young his father left the family to become a hermit in Ireland. Paternus’ mother then raised the boy in her own making sure he was schooled in his Christian faith. The boy grew to follow in the footsteps of the father, becoming […]

(1190-1246) Peter Gonzales, also known as St. Elmo or St. Telmo, was born to a Castilian family of nobility. He was educated by his uncle, the Bishop of Astorga. He was named canon of the local cathedral even though he was very young. While the prideful young man was riding triumphantly into the city, his […]

(c. 590-655) Little is known of Martin’s early life. None-the-less, after being elected the bishop of Rome in 649, he certainly made his mark on the Church. One of his first missions was to call a local Council which established the correct theology of the church regarding the two wills of Christ. By 451, at the […]

(Died 352 AD) For four months following the death of Pope St. Marcus in October 336, the see of Rome was vacant. Julius, a native of Rome, was elected to the post on Feb. 6, 337. Much of his pontificate was concerned with the situation of St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria who for a […]