In an incursion into the Christian territories, in 362 the Persians took by siege the castle Bethzarbe on the Tigris, massacred the garrison and led away nine thousand souls into captivity. Among these were Heliodorus, a bishop, Dausas and Mariabus, ancient priests, besides many other priests, monks and nuns. The good bishop died on the…

A rich and noble citizen of Bethlapeta in Persia, Bademus, desiring to devote himself to the service of God, founded a monastery near that city which he governed with great sanctity. God permitted him, with seven of his monks to be apprehended by the king Sapor in 376. He lay four months in a dungeon…

Aware of the greatness of the task which confronted him in the fifth century with the great upheaval caused everywhere in Europe by the invasion of the Barbarians, St. Leo guided the destiny of the Chruch with such trust in God and wideness of view that he became not only the guardian of the faith…

Braga was a populous resort of the Romans on which account it was watered with the blood of many martyrs in the persecution of Dioclesian. St. Victor, who is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology was a catechumen who refusing to sacrifice to idols was condemned to lose his head and baptized in his own blood.

Son of the king of the Visigoths in Spain, St. Hermenegild married the daughter of the king of the Franks and, despite the opposition of his mother who was an Arian, was converted to Catholicism. He was imprisoned and then put to death on April 13, 586, going to heaven to enjoy the royal estate…

St. Justin, apologist and martyr, was one of the most important Christian writers of the second century. He himself tells how his study of all the schools of philosophy led him to Christianity and how he dedicated his life to the defense of the Christian faith as “the one certain and profitable philosophy.” St. Justin…

Born in 1190 kingdom of Leon in Spain, St. Peter’s uncle, the bishop of Astorga, preferred him to a canonry and shortly after to the deanery of his chapter. The young dean took possession of his dignity with great pomp but in the midst of his pride happened by a false step of his prancing…

Benedict Joseph Labre was truly eccentric, one of God's special little ones. Born in France and the eldest of 18 children, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest. Because of poor health and a lack of suitable academic preparation he was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter the religious life. Then, at 16 years…

The tenth successor of St. Peter, St. Anicetus governed the Church from 155 to 166 when he was martyred. These were years of great difficulty when Christianity in Rome had to face not only persecution by the emperors but also the heretical tendencies of the second century. St. Anicetus was visited in Rome by St.…

Born in Murcia in Spain in 1532, Andrew was of noble parents, whom family reverses had reduced to a state of poverty. He entered the Order of St. Francis as a lay brother and led a life known only to God. He was assiduous in prayer and yet worked with an untiring enthusiasm, habitually taking…

Born in Avesne in Haynault, St. Ursmar made continual progress in sanctity by a life of humility, patience and penance. What he most earnestly asked of God was the gift of an ardent charity; that all his thoughts and actions, and those of all men, might with the most pure and fervent intention be directed…

Native of Monte Pulciano in Tuscany, St. Agnes had an extraordinary relish and ardor for prayer in her infancy and often spent whole hours in reciting the Our Father and Hail Mary, on her knees. At fifteen she moved from a convent of St. Francis to the order of St. Dominic at Proceno in Orvieto…

St. Anselm, who was born at Aosta in Piedmont, became a monk at the abbey of Bec-Hellouin in Normandy which was ruled by his fellow countryman Lanfranc. He succeeded him as abbot of Bec in 1078 and then, in 1093 as archbishop of Canterbury. As a philosopher and theologian St. Anselm was one of the…

St. Sotor succeeded Anicetus as Pope in 166, and died a martyr in 175 under the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Caius, whose relics are preserved at the sanctuary of St. Silverster in Rome, governed the Church a century later and was martyred on April 22, 296. The popes of the first centuries suffered the heavy anxiety…

Veneration of St. George comes to us from the east, probably from Palestine where he was held in high honor as a martyr. Regarded as the patron of Christian armies he is venerated under this title by the Latins as well as by the Greeks. In Rome there is a sanctuary built in his honor,…

Born at Sigmaringen in Swabia in 1577, St. Fidelis practiced at first as a lawyer and so took to heart the cause of the needy that he was known as the poor man’s lawyer. Then he joined the Capuchin Friars Minor and was sent by the Holy See to the Grisons in order to bring…

St. Mark is one of the four Evangelists. He was not one of the Apostles but was a disciple of theirs from the outset and soon became their companion in their mission. He appears to have been associated especially with St. Peter; he acted as his interpreter and wrote down his teaching. The Gospel of…

St. Cletus is identical with St. Anacletus and figures in the list of Popes as the second successor of St. Peter, from 76 to 88. St. Marcellinus governed the Church two centuries later, from 296 to 304, during the terrible Diocletian persecution.

Born at Nijmegen, St. Peter Canisius belonged to the Society of Jesus. With St. Boniface he shares the title of Apostle of Germany. By his preaching, his devotional and controversial books, the colleges that he founded, and his missions undertaken on behalf of four popes to German bishops and princes, he successfully worked against the…