Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica
He is highly venerated in the East, where the Orthodox Churches attribute to him the title of Megalomartyr (great martyr) and his cult is almost equal to that of Saint George. Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica offered his testimony of faith in Christ with his blood.
Saint Julia Billiart
Julia Billiart (1751-1816), a French woman, was the founder of an institute rich in vocations, the Sisters of Notre Dame of Namur. From an early age she had such a relationship with God that the bishop of Ghent, Monsignor Maurice de Broglie, told the saint that she had saved more souls through sharing her rich interior life with the nuns than through the rest of her fervent apostolic activity.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle
The educational innovations of Saint John Baptist de La Salle (1651-1719) were so important that he became a giant in the history of pedagogy. It is no coincidence that Pius XII proclaimed him patron saint of educators and teachers.
Saint Peter of Verona
Among the most depicted saints due to the circumstances of his martyrdom, Peter of Verona (c. 1205-1252) was born from parents involved with Catharism, the heresy that he fought throughout his life, accomplishing numerous conversions.
Saint Vincent Ferrer
His life turned around when Jesus appeared to him between Saint Dominic and Saint Francis, ordering him to devote himself to preaching. The sermons of St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) were very vigorous but always based on charity, which led him to travel tirelessly to admonish souls to conversion. Because of his apocalyptic style, his contemporaries called him “the Angel of Judgement”.
Saint Isidore of Seville
The first encyclopaedia was born from the genius of Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636) and it is for this reason that during the pontificate of John Paul II he was proposed as patron saint of the Internet and those who work on it, based on an initiative of a group of Internet users.
Saint Richard of Chichester
Generous with the poor and aware of the immense value of the Mass, the Englishman Saint Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) defended the Church from the king's interference and promoted a robust reform of the clergy in his diocese.
Saint Francis of Paola
The life of the Calabrian mystic and founder of the Order of Minims, called “the other Francis” for his charity, was marked by the gift of faith from his conception. His parents named him Francis in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, whom they invoked to receive the grace of having a child, who finally came to them after about 15 years of marriage.
Saint Hugh of Grenoble
The name of Saint Hugh of Grenoble (1053-1132) is linked to the Carthusian Order, whose foundation he facilitated, and to the Gregorian Reform, which he wholeheartedly supported.
Saint Benjamin
The saint celebrated today bears the name of the youngest of Jacob's sons. Saint Benjamin, deacon and martyr, lived between the fourth and fifth centuries AD. His martyrdom took place during the persecutions in Persia.
Saint Leonard Murialdo
“Do not make religion either solely supernatural or solely human, but supernatural and human. To virtue add goodness, kindness, the spirit of friendship, spontaneity, confidence, cheerfulness ...”. These words of Saint Leonard Murialdo (26 October 1828 - 30 March 1900) describe the whole life of this great priest from Turin, a life of trusting abandonment to Providence and tireless charity towards orphans, young people and labourers.
Saint Mark of Arethusa
This saint was bishop of Arethusa, today's Ar Rastan, in Syria. He exercised his episcopal ministry in the fieriest phase of the Arian controversy and for some time was suspected of holding ambiguous positions, perhaps due to his weakness of character.
