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June 2020: FAQs about “Saints”
Why did you write a book about saints? I knew almost nothing about the saints when I became a Catholic as a young adult. But I quickly learned that good biographies of their lives helped me figure out how to live my life as a follower of Christ. Just like you and me, holy men […]
May 31: Blessed James Salomone
Blessed James Salomone (1231-1314) came from a noble family of Venice, Italy. But his father died when he was young, and his mother left to become a Cistercian nun, leaving James to be raised by his grandmother. Perhaps unsurprisingly, James also considered a religious vocation and decided to enter the Dominican order as a young […]
May 30: Blesseds Richard Newport and William Scott
When King James I became the king of England, Catholics had reason to hope that they would be better treated than in previous reigns. However, the Gunpowder Plot (an assassination attempt on the king’s life by a group of Catholics which failed) changed all that. While James did tolerate the presence of some Catholics to […]
May 29: Saint Senator
Saint Senator was only a priest when he was sent by Pope Saint Leo the Great to attend a council in Constantinople as one of his appointed legates. He also attended, at the pope’s request, the Council of Chalcedon, an important council in the year 451 in which the Church responded to heresies about the […]
May 28: Blessed Mary Bartholomeo of Florence
Blessed Mary de Bagnesiis (1514-1577) was born into a wealthy family in Florence, Italy. But money did not protect her from severe mistreatment at the hands of her foster-mother, who ignored and underfed her when she was a child. Mary suffered from physical maladies as a result for many years. However, she enjoyed visiting a […]
May 27: Saint Eutropius
Saint Eutropius was born in Marseilles, France, and lived during the fifth century. He lived a wild life as a young man, but marriage settled him down. After his wife died, and with the encouragement of his bishop, he decided to become a priest. As a priest, he began to live his faith much more […]
May 26: Saint Lambert
Saint Lambert was born in the late eleventh century in France. He was educated in a Benedictine abbey and decided to become a monk when he was only fourteen years old. Lambert was a kind man and beloved by his fellow monks. He loved the life of solitude and study that was lived by the […]
May 25: Saint Aldhelm
Saint Aldhelm was born in the year 640 in England into a noble family. He decided to live as a hermit, then became a monk, and eventually served as a spiritual director to other monks. When he became abbot, he reformed his abbey along the lines of the Benedictine reform that was sweeping Europe at […]
May 24: Blessed John of Prado
Blessed John of Prado was born into a noble family in Spain in the late sixteenth century. He became a Franciscan friar with the great hope of bringing the Gospel to those who had never heard it before, but his superiors first ordered him to preach in his native country. He was a humble, holy, […]
May 23: Saint Michael of Synnada
Saint Michael of Synnada was just a young man when he moved to Constantinople (modern Turkey) in the late eighth century. He studied under one future saint (Tarasius) and became friends with another (Theophylact) at that time. He lived as a monk, was ordained a priest, and then was named bishop of Synnada. As a […]
May 22: Saints Castus and Aemilius
Today’s saints, Castus and Aemilius, teach us that not every Christian went cheerfully and quickly to martyrdom. The early Church father, Saint Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, tells us most of what we know about the two men. During the persecution of the Roman emperor Decius, they were arrested for being Christians and were brutally tortured. […]
May 21: Blessed Hemming of Abo
Blessed Hemming of Abo was born in Sweden in the late thirteenth century and studied in Paris before becoming a priest. One of his fellow students was the man who became Pope Clement VI. Hemming served as bishop of Abo for twenty-eight years, and he improved the training of his priests, served as a peacemaker, […]
May 20: Blessed Columba of Rieti
Blessed Columba (1467-1501) was born in the city of Rieti, Italy, into a modest family of weavers and tailors. Though she was named Angiolella at birth, everyone called her Columba. The story of Columba’s life bears a striking similarity to that of the great Saint Catherine of Siena. Like Catherine, she dedicated her life to […]
May 19: Blessed Augustine Novello
Blessed Augustine Novello (d. 1309) was given the name Matthew at birth and grew up in Termini, Italy. He became a brilliant lawyer in the city of Bologna, so brilliant that be became chancellor to the king. During a great battle, the king was killed, and Matthew was wounded and left for dead. He vowed […]
May 18: Saints Theodotus and Thecusa
Today the Church commemorates Saints Theodotus and Thecusa, along with other unnamed Christians who were martyred with them. Their city was Ancyra (in modern Turkey), and we believe they died in the year 304, when the persecution of Christians was particularly fierce. Some say that the Roman emperor Diocletian wasn’t particularly opposed to Christians at […]
May 17: Blessed John Ziatyk
Blessed John (Ivan) Ziatyk was born in Poland in 1899 and was ordained a Catholic priest of the Greek rite. He entered the Redemptorist order in 1935 and became well known as a preacher. During the Nazi occupation of Poland, John served as prior in a monastery. After World War II, he became Vicar General […]
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