THE early years of Camillus gave no sign of sanctity. At the age of nineteen he took service with his father, an Italian noble, against the Turks, and after four years’ hard campaigning found himself, through his violent temper, reckless habits, and inveterate passion for gambling, a discharged soldier, and in such straitened circumstances that […]
Not only among members of the Carmelite Order but also among increasing numbers of the laity is today’s Feast held in great honor. According to old records, it commemorates an incident in the life of St. Simon Stock. In 1251 at Aylesford in England, the holy friar was privileged to witness an apparition of Our […]
SANCTITY and learning raised Bonaventure to the Church’s highest honors, and from a child he was the companion of Saints. Yet at heart he was ever the poor Franciscan friar, and practised and taught humility and mortification. St. Francis gave him his name; for, having miraculously cured him of a mortal sickness, he prophetically exclaimed […]
Statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha on the outside of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, near Quebec City. Born in 1656 at Ossernenon, Iroquois Confederacy. Died April 17, 1680, at Kahnawake (near Montreal) Canada. Beatified June 22, 1980, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II Canonized October 21, 2012, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
HENRY, Duke of Bavaria, saw in a vision his guardian, St. Wolfgang, pointing to the words “after six.” This moved him to prepare for death, and for six years he continued to watch and pray, when, at the end of the sixth year, he found the warning verified in his election as emperor. Thus trained […]
The 120 martyrs honored on this day died in China between 1648 and 1930; they were canonized in Rome on Oct. 1, 2000. Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese solider ordained as a diocesan priest and martyred in 1815. He was associated with Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse (Paris Foreign Mission Society) who was martyred […]
Maria Goretti (October 16, 1890 – July 6, 1902) is an Italian virgin-martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, and is one of its youngest canonized saints. She died from multiple stab wounds inflicted by her attempted rapist after she refused him because of love of Jesus and her loyalty to the Ten Commandments. Early life […]
1713-1784. Founder of many California missions. Buried in the mission of St. Charles Borromeo at Carmel. http://www.carmelmission.org/museum/
The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome were Christians martyred in the city of Rome during Nero’s persecution in 64. The event is recorded by both Tacitus and Pope Clement I, among others. They are celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church as an optional memorial on 30 June. This feast first came into the […]
PETER was of Bethsaida in Galilee, and as he was fishing on the lake was called by Our Lord to be one of His apostles. He was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In his heart, first of all, grew up the conviction, and from his lips came the confession, “Thou art the […]
ST. CYRIL became Patriarch of Alexandria in 412. Having at first thrown himself with ardor into the party politics of the place, God called him to a nobler conflict. In 428, Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, began to deny the unity of Person in Christ, and to refuse to the Blessed Virgin the title of “Mother […]
IN 976, Sergius, a nobleman of Ravenna, quarrelled with a relative about an estate, and slew him in a duel. His son Romuald, horrified at his father’s crime, entered the Benedictine monastery at Classe, to do a forty days’ penance for him. This penance ended in his own vocation to religion. After three years at […]
IN 1221 St. Francis held a general chapter at Assisi; when the others dispersed, there lingered behind, unknown and neglected, a poor Portuguese friar, resolved to ask for and to refuse nothing. Nine months later, Fra Antonio rose under obedience to preach to the religious assembled at Forli, when, as the discourse proceeded, “the Hammer […]
WE read that in the first days of the Church, “the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul; neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed was his own.” Of this fervent company, one only is singled out by name, Joseph, a rich Levite, from Cyprus. “He […]
ST. EPHREM is the light and glory of the Syriac Church in the 4th century. A mere youth, he entered on the religious life at Nisibis, his native place. Long years of retirement taught him the science of the Saints, and then God called him to Edessa, there to teach what he had learned so […]
Catholics don’t just go to church on Sunday, like other Christians. They go to Mass. Christmas, New Years, weddings, funerals. It seems that we just can’t seem to do anything important without this ceremony which some regard as a sacrifice and others as a fellowship meal and still others as “the real presence.” So which […]
Saint Norbert was born in Xanten on the left bank of the Rhine, near Wesel, in the Electorate of Cologne. He grew up there and was also educated there. His father, Heribert, Count of Gennep, was related to the imperial house of Germany and the House of Lorraine. His mother was Hedwig of Guise. Ordained […]
ST. BONIFACE was born at Crediton in Devonshire, England, in the year 680. Some missionaries staying at his father’s house spoke to him of heavenly things, and inspired him with a wish to devote himself, as they did, to God. He entered the monastery of Exminster, and was there trained for his apostolic work. His […]
Charles Lwanga (also known as Karoli Lwanga) (1860 or 1865–June 3, 1886) was a Ugandan Catholic catechist martyred for his faith and revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda in the southern part of modern Uganda, and served as a page in the court of […]
Little is know about these Saints, except that they died c. 304, during the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian. Marcellinus was a priest and Peter an exorcist. Pope Damasus I, the oldest source, claimed that he heard the story of these two martyrs from their executioner who became a Christian after their deaths.
ST. JUSTIN was born of heathen parents at Neapolis in Samaria, about the year 103. He was well educated, and gave himself to the study of philosophy, but always with one object, that he might learn the knowledge of God. He sought this knowledge among the contending schools of philosophy, but always in vain, till […]
