As a teenager, St. Francis of Paola made a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. He became a hermit and began to attract followers. He formed a rule for his many followers and received approval from the church in 1474. His order was called Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi and was later renamed Franciscan Order...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. Margaret Clitherow was born in England in 1555. After becoming a Catholic, she began to help fugitive priests. She was condemned for this and was killed in 1586.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. Cyril of Jerusalem was born around the year 315. After he became a priest, St. Cyril was put in charge of the catechumens, and his instructions are still in existence. He eventually became bishop of Jerusalem and helped his people survive during a famine by selling church goods. The Arians, those who did not...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
St. Rose of Viterbo was born in Italy in 1234. When she was just 3 years old, she is said to have brought a person back from death. She began preaching when she was only 10 years old. She tried to join the Poor Clares many times, but they refused her. She died in 1252...Read More
St. Lucius I became the 22nd pope in 253. He forbade men and women who were not blood relatives to live together. He also condemned the Novatians for refusing sacraments to the fallen but penitent. He died in 254. St. Lucius I is the patron saint of Copenhagen, Denmark.Read More
St. Felix III was born in Rome and became the 48th pope in March of 483. He may be an ancestor of St. Gregory the Great. While he was pope, the church faced many divisions due in part to actions of Emperor Zeno. St. Felix helped make way for the reunion of the church, which...Read More