St. Julia Billiart was born in 1751 in France. From a very young age, she loved religious studies. She dedicated her time to teaching the poor. When she was 22, someone shot at her father while she was sitting next to him. As a result of the shock, she was partially paralyzed. After having a...Read More

St. Sixtus I was pope for 10 years during the persecutions under a Roman emperor. St. Sixtus I was concerned with the liturgy, and he instituted elements which are still in use today. One element attributed to St. Sixtus I is how the priest sings the Sanctus with the people. St. Sixtus I died around...Read More

St. Balbina was a nun and the daughter of St. Quirinus. St. Balbina and St. Quirinus were martyred around the year 130. St. Balbina’s relics are in a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. She is patron saint against Scrofula, a term which encompasses a variety of skin diseases including a form of tuberculosis.Read More

St. Rupert was a bishop of Worms, Germany, and he was dedicated to converting Germans. Around 697, St. Rupert took over a deserted town which then became Salzburg, Austria. He founded a church, a monastery and a school. He invited groups of missionaries to the area, and he established a nunnery. St. Rupert is considered...Read More

St. Dismas, known as the penitent thief, was one of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. St. Dismas rebuked the other thief being crucified who taunted Jesus, and he asked Jesus for his blessing. He is patron saint of prisoners on death row and reformed thieves.Read More

St. Nicholas von Flue was born in Switzerland in 1417. He was a married father of ten before becoming a hermit in 1467 with his family’s approval. It is said he lived on the Eucharist alone. St. Nicholas von Flue settled a dispute that threatened to cause a civil war in Switzerland in 1481, and...Read More

St. Hilary was a bishop in Aquileia, Italy, in the third century. St. Tatian was a deacon in the same city. The two saints were martyred around 284 during the persecutions of Numerian. They were both beheaded.Read More

St. Simplicius became pope in 468 at the end of the Roman Empire. He helped organize the administration of the sacraments in order to focus on the sacraments. He also built four churches in Rome. St. Simplicius defended the church and the authority of the Holy See during a heresy in the Eastern Empire. He...Read More