St. Robert Bellarmine was an Italian cardinal and a Jesuit theologian who was a powerful defender of the Church during the counter-Reformation and who eventually became a Doctor of the Church. Born on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi,
Though a Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom did not engage in many apparent doctrinal controversies. Instead he preached about the duty of all, including the rich, to care for the poor and on other moral issues. Nonetheless, he was persecuted
Born in Spain, Peter was the son of a farmer. After studying at the University of Barcelona, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1602. St. Alphonsus Rodríguez convinced him to do missionary work in the New World. Landing in Cartagena, Peter
One summer can change everything that follows it. That's what happened to one young French girl in 1424. Sometime during that summer six centuries ago, Joan of Arc heard "voices" for the very first time. The exact date was never recorded. But
Born in Viterbo, Italy, Rose received a vision of the Virgin Mary at a young age. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis and began preaching in the streets. She rallied her Italian neighbors to oppose the emperor, who was at
Born in a small fishing village of Brittany, France, Jeanne grew up under difficult circumstances after her father was lost at sea when she was very young. After working as a kitchen maid and then in a hospital, she began caring for
Augustine was born in Tagaste, in northern Africa, the son of Patricius, a pagan Roman official. His mother, St. Monica, was a Christian, and she raised Augustine in the Faith. He went to Carthage to study law, turning instead to literary interests.
A wife and mother who prayed unceasingly for her family’s conversions, St. Monica is an example for all of us to never give up hope. The mother of St. Augustine, one of the most brilliant writers and philosophers that the Church has
Highly educated in philosophy, law and theology, St. Joseph Calasanz at first considered his father’s advice to marry but decided to become a priest after recovering from an illness which brought him close to death. With the assistance of just three other
Born in 1835 in northern Italy, Giuseppe Sarto was ordained a priest at age 23. After being ordained for the Treviso Diocese, he served in small parishes before being named diocesan chancellor and spiritual director of the seminary. Pope Leo XIII named