St. Januarius
St. Januarius was born in Italy and was bishop of Benevento during the Emperor Diocletion persecution. Bishop Januarius went to visit two deacons and two laymen in prison. He was then also imprison along with his deacon and lector. They were thrown to the wild beasts, but when the animals did not attack them, they […]
St. Joseph of Cupertino
St. Joseph was born at Cupertino, in the diocese of Nardo in the Kingdom of Naples, in 1603. After spending his childhood and adolescence in simplicity and innocence, he finally joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual. After his ordination to the holy priesthood, he gave himself up entirely to a life of humiliation, mortification, and […]
St. Robert Bellarmine
Born at Montepulciano, Italy, October 4, 1542, St. Robert Bellarmine was the third of ten children. His mother, Cinzia Cervini, a niece of Pope Marcellus II, was dedicated to almsgiving, prayer, meditation, fasting, and mortification of the body. Robert entered the newly formed Society of Jesus in 1560 and after his ordination went on to […]
St. Cornelius
Cornelius whose feast day is September 16th. A Roman priest, Cornelius was elected Pope to succeed Fabian in an election delayed fourteen months by Decius’ persecution of the Christians. The main issue of his pontificate was the treatment to be accorded Christians who had been apostasized during the persecution. He condemned those confessors who were […]
St. Valerian
The massacre of the martyrs of Lyons with their bishop, St. Pothinus, took place during the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius in the year 177. Marcellus, a priest, we are told, by Divine intervention, managed to escape to Chalon-sur-Saone, where he was given shelter. His host was a pagan, and seeing him offer incense before images […]
St. Notburga
Patroness of poor peasants and servants in the Tyrol. Born in Rattenberg, in the Tyrol, she was the daughter of peasants. At eighteen she became a servant in the household of Count Henry of Rattenberg When Notburga repeatedly gave food to the poor, she was dismissed by Count Henry’s wife, Ottilia, and took up a […]
St. John Chrysostom
St. John, named Chrysostom (golden-mouthed) on account of his eloquence, came into the world of Christian parents, about the year 344, in the city of Antioch. His mother, at the age of 20, was a model of virtue. He studied rhetoric under Libanius, a pagan, the most famous orator of the age. In 374, he […]
St. Ailbhe
Bishop and preacher, one of the saints whose life has been woven into the myths and legends of Ireland. He was a known disciple of St. Patrick, and is called Albeus in some records. What is known about Ailbhe is that he was a missionary in Ireland, perhaps sponsored by King Aengus of Munster. He […]
St. Paphnutius
The holy confessor Paphnutius was an Egyptian who, after having spent several years in the desert under the direction of the great St. Antony, was made bishop in the Upper Thebaid. He was one of those confessors who under the Emperor Maximinus lost the right eye, were hamstrung in one leg, and were afterwards sent […]
St. Salvius of Albi
Bishop of Albi and a friend of Pope St. Gregory I the Great. Also called Sauve, he was a native of Albi and, originally a lawyer, he entered a monastery and served for a time as a monk before receiving election as abbot. Then, after, hying as a hermit, he became a bishop, serving as […]