ST. THEODORE was born of a noble family in the East, and enrolled while still a youth in the imperial army. Early in 306 the emperor put forth an edict requiring all Christians to offer sacrifice. Theodore had just joined the legion and marched with them into Pontus, when he had to choose between apostasy […]
PROTESTANTISM pretends to regard the veneration which the Church pays to the relics of the Saints as a sin, and contends that this pious practice is a remnant of paganism. The Council of Trent, on the contrary, has decided that the bodies of the martyrs and other Saints, who were living members of Jesus Christ […]
WILLIBRORD was born in Northumberland in 657, and when twenty years old went to Ireland, to study under St. Egbert; twelve years later, he felt drawn to convert the great pagan tribes who were hanging as a cloud over the north of Europe. He went to Rome for the blessing of the Pope, and with […]
LEONARD, one of the chief personages of the court of Clovis, and for whom this monarch had stood as sponsor in baptism, was so moved by the discourse and example of St. Remigius that he relinquished the world in order to lead a more perfect life. The Bishop of Rheims having trained Leonard to virtue, […]
THE birthday of the Emperor Maximian Herculeus, in the year 298, was celebrated with extraordinary feasting and solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain in the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile himself with taking part in those impious abominations, left his company, declaring aloud that he was a soldier of […]
ST. NARCISSUS was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem about the year 180. He was already an old man, and God attested his merits by many miracles, which were long held in memory by the Christians of Jerusalem. One Holy Saturday in the church the faithful were in great trouble, because no oil could be found for […]
St. John was born at Capistrano, Italy, in 1385. His father had come to Naples under Louis of Anjou, hence he is supposed to have been of French blood, though some say he was of German origin. His father dying early, John owed his education to his mother. She had him at first instructed at […]
St. John Paul II. Born Karol Józef Wojtya in Wadowice Poland, 18 May 1920. Ordained a priest in 1946; a bishop in 1958, and elevated to the papacy in 1978. Died in the Vatican, 2 April 2005 at the age of 84. As Pope, he made such a mark that he is often referred to […]
PETER, while still a youth, left his home at Alcantara in Spain, and entered a convent of Discalced Franciscans. He rose quickly to high posts in the Order, but his thirst for penance was still unappeased, and in 1539, being then forty years old, he founded the first convent of the “Strict Observance.” The cells […]
St. Margaret Mary’s parents, Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, were distinguished less for temporal possessions than for their virtue, which gave them an honorable position. From early childhood Margaret showed intense love for the Blessed Sacrament, and preferred silence and prayer to childish amusements. The death of her father and the injustice of a relative […]
When a child of seven years, Teresa ran away from her home at Avila in Spain, in the hope of being martyred by the Moors. Being brought back and asked the reason of her flight, she replied, “I want to see God, and I must die before I can see Him.” She then began with […]
EARLY in the third century, Callistus, then a deacon, was intrusted by Pope St. Zephyrinus with the rule of the clergy, and set by him over the cemeteries of the Christians at Rome; and, at the death of Zephyrinus, Callistus, according to the Roman usage, succeeded to the Apostolic See. A decree is ascribed to […]
“A QUICK walker, expert at all good works, with never a sour face”—such was the great St. Wilfrid, whose glory it was to secure the happy links which bound England to Rome. He was born about the year 634, and was trained by the Celtic monks at Lindisfarne in the peculiar rites and usages of […]
Bishop of Paris and martyr during the 3rd century. Pope Fabian (236-250) sent Denis with other missionary bishops to Gaul to revive the faith there after the persecution of Decius. They settled on the island in the Seine where now stands the cathedral of Notre Dame. Many conversions followed thanks to his labors, and those […]
With the entire Mediterranean at the mercy of Ottoman fleets, Muslim slave-traders had been ravaging coastal towns in 16th century Europe, and carrying whole villages to the slave markets. Pope Pius V helped organize a coalition of Christian fleets, notably Spanish, Venetian and that of the Papal States. The Pope asked the Churches of Catholic […]
BRUNO was born at Cologne, about 1030, of an illustrious family. He was endowed with rare natural gifts, which he cultivated with care at Paris. He became canon of Cologne, and then of Rheims, where he had the direction of theological studies. On the death of the bishop the see fell for a time into […]
REMIGIUS, or Remi, was born of noble and pious parents. At the age of twenty-two, in spite of the canons and of his own reluctance, he was acclaimed Archbishop of Rheims in France. He was unusually tall, his face impressed with blended majesty and serenity, his bearing gentle, humble, and retiring. He was learned and […]
Marie-Francoise-Thérèse Martin, known as “the Little Flower of Jesus,” was born at Alencon, France, on January 2, 1873. Reared in a home of comfort and surrounded by refinements that would have spoiled an ordinary child, Thérèse’s intelligence had an early dawning which enabled her to comprehend the Divine Goodness far in advance of her tender […]
ST. JEROME, born in Dalmatia, in 329, was sent to school at Rome. His boyhood was not free from fault. His thirst for knowledge was excessive, and his love of books a passion. He had studied under the best masters, visited foreign cities, and devoted himself to the pursuit of science. But Christ had need […]
Today is the feast of St. Wenceslas (or Wenceslaus) whom we usually think about at Christmastime thanks to the much-loved carol “Good King Wenceslas.” Actually, St. Wenceslas, was not a king, but a duke — though one filled with the royal virtues of charity and humility and finally, crowned with martyrdom. Born around 903, he was the […]
STS. COSMAS and DAMIAN were brothers, and born in Arabia, but studied the sciences in Syria, and became eminent for their skill in medicine. Being Christians, and full of that holy temper of charity in which the spirit of our divine religion consists, they practised their profession with great application and wonderful success, but never […]
