St. Isidore was a Spanish day laborer who was born in 1070 and died in 1130. He learned the importance of a life of prayer and growing in the virtues despite lacking formal education and spent his life as a tenant farmer.
Born in Nursia, in central Italy, near the year 480, Benedict went to Rome to study. Disillusioned by the moral corruption he found in the city, he fled to Subiaco and became a hermit. There, he organized 12 monasteries and established the
Maria was born to a poor farming family in Italy in 1890. After her father's death, Maria was put in charge of the household while her mother worked in the fields. Her family shared a house with another family, the Serenellis. One
A native of Aragon, Spain, St. Elizabeth of Portual was the daughter of King Peter III. She was wed at the age of 12 to King Denis of Portugal, who was abusive and unfaithful to her. Overcoming the difficulties of her marriage,
Called to be one of the twelve Apostles, Thomas is known for doubting a post-Resurrection appearance until he himself saw the risen Lord. For this, history has called him "doubting Thomas." Four apocryphal writings are attributed to Thomas, and he was known
July 1 is the feast day of St. Junipero Serra
These two apostles, Sts. Peter and Paul, share a feast as founders of the church in Rome. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee who was chosen by Christ as one of the Twelve Apostles. He became the leader of the fledgling church
Born in Asia Minor, possibly at Smyrna, Irenaeus was influenced in his early life by St. Polycarp, who was a pupil of St. John the Apostle. Irenaeus studied in Rome and was then sent as a missionary to Gaul, where he served
Born in London in 1478, Thomas was the son of John More, a lawyer and judge. Thomas studied at Oxford, received admission to the bar and then entered Parliament. He married and had four children. King Henry VIII took Thomas into his
Born into an Italian aristocratic family in 1568, Aloysius served as a page in Spain and Italy. His father planned a military career for his oldest son, but Aloysius chose religious life instead. He joined the Jesuits in Rome in 1585. His
A simple, pious young girl, Saint Germaine was born in Pibrac, France, in 1579. Her father was a farmer, and her mother died when she was an infant. She was born with a deformed right arm and hand, as well as the