In 1845, St. Andre Besette was born in Canada, in a small town southwest of Montreal. He was a Holy Cross Brother, who served for decades as porter (or doorman) for the college of Notre Dame in Côte-des-Neiges, Quebec. In addition to his duties as receptionist, his tasks included washing floors and windows, cleaning lamps, […]
St. John Neumann was born in Bohemia, 1811. As a young man he traveled to New York and was ordained in 1836. He became a Redemptorist priest in 1847. As Bishop of Philadelphia 1852-1860 he established the first diocesan Catholic school system in the United States. Canonized in 1977, he is the first male […]
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church (September 14, 1975). She established Catholic communities in Emmetsburg, Maryland, and while at Manhattan she founded the first American order of nuns, known as the Sisters […]
SYLVESTER was born in Rome toward the close of the third century. He was a young priest when the persecution of the Christians broke out under the tyrant Diocletian. Idols were erected at the corners of the streets, in the market-places, and over the public fountains, so that it was scarcely possible for a Christian […]
ST. THOMAS, son of Gilbert Becket, was born in Southwark, England, in 1117. When a youth he was attached to the household of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him to Paris and Bologna to study law. He became Archdeacon of Canterbury, then Lord High Chancellor of England; and in 1160, when Archbishop Theobald died, […]
HEROD, who was reigning in Judea at the time of the birth of Our Saviour, having heard that the Wise Men had come from the East to Jerusalem in search of the King of the Jews, was troubled. He called together the chief priests, and learning that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, he […]
THERE is good reason to believe that St. Stephen was one of the seventy-two disciples of our blessed Lord. After the Ascension he was chosen one of the seven deacons. The ministry of the seven was very fruitful; but Stephen especially, “full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people.” Many […]
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men. I thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along th’unbroken song Of peace on […]
ST. JOHN was born at Kenty in Poland in 1403, and studied at Cracow with great ability, industry, and success, while his modesty and virtue drew all hearts to him. He was for a short time in charge of a parish; but he shrank from the burden of responsibility, and returned to his life of […]
The founder of Protestantism broke from the Church in the same year in which Peter Canisius was born. The year 1517 saw Martin Luther begin the work which led so many minds into error, but in God’s Providence it was the dawning in the life of the future Saint of a new era of battle […]
St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591. THE father of St. John was discarded by his kindred for marrying a poor orphan, and the Saint, thus born and nurtured in poverty, chose it also for his portion. Unable to learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hospital of Medina, while still […]
Mesoamerica, the New World, 1521: The capital city of the Aztec empire falls under the Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, 9 million of the inhabitants of the land, who professed for centuries a polytheistic and human sacrificing religion, have converted to Christianity. What happened during the interval that produced such an incredible and […]
ST. DAMASUS was born at Rome at the beginning of the fourth century. He was archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355, when Pope Liberius was banished to Berda, and followed him into exile, but afterward returned to Rome. On the death of Liberius our Saint was chosen to succeed him. Ursinus, a competitor for […]
Juan Diego was born in 1474 in the calpulli of Tlayacac in Cuautitlán, a small Indian village some 20 km (12mi) to the north of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). Another source indicated that Juan Diego was born on July 12, 1474. Conversion to Catholicism A farmer, landowner and weaver of mats, he witnessed the Spanish conquest of […]
ON this day, so dear to every Catholic heart, we celebrate, in the first place, the moment in which Almighty God showed Mary, through the distance of ages, to our first parents as the Virgin Mother of the divine Redeemer, the woman destined to crush the head of the serpent. And as by eternal decree […]
AMBROSE was of a noble family, and was governor of Milan in 374, when a bishop was to be chosen for that great see. As the Arian heretics were many and fierce, he was present to preserve order during the election. Though only a catechumen, it was the will of God that he should himself […]
Born at Damascus, about 676; died some time between 754 and 787. Mansur was probably the name of John’s father. What little is known of Mansur indicates that he was a sterling Christian whose infidel environment made no impression on his religious fervour. Apparently his adhesion to Christian truth constituted no offence in the eyes […]
Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was born in 1506 in Navarre, Spain. As a young Spanish gentleman, in the dangerous days of the Reformation, he was making a name for himself as a Professor of Philosophy in the University of Paris. He had seemingly no higher aim, when St. Ignatius of Loyola won him to […]
