Saint John Henry Newman
The liturgical memorial of St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) is celebrated today for a very special reason. Unlike most of the other saints, the great English theologian and cardinal is celebrated by the Church not on his dies natalis (the day of his birth into Heaven, i.e. his earthly death) but on the day of his conversion to Catholicism, which took place on 9 October 1845.
Saint Felix of Como
Saint Felix (†391) was the first bishop of Como. He was consecrated by Saint Ambrose, who sent him to evangelise the municipium of Como, as a testimony to the great missionary drive of the Church of Milan in that particular historical phase....
Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary
On 7 October 1571, in the Greek waters of Lepanto, the Muslim fleet of the Ottoman Empire clashed with the Christian fleet of the Holy League, which brought together the republics of Venice and Genoa, the Papal State, the Spanish Empire, the major Italian duchies and the Knights of Malta.
Saint Bruno
The hermit life was his heaven on earth. It allowed him to meditate on God and enjoy “a peace that the world does not know, favourable to the joy of the Holy Spirit”. Before detaching himself from the world, Saint Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030-1101), a doctor of theology and philosophy, had directed the school in Reims for twenty years...
Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska
“Your great trust in Me compels Me to grant you continuous graces”, she heard Jesus say. He called her “Secretary of My Mercy”. She had visions, hidden stigmata, continuous contact with her guardian angel, Our Lady, the saints and the souls in Purgatory, and the very rare gift of a mystical marriage with God.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Light years away from the insipid and belittled figure that ecology and pacifism have fashioned him into, Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was a radical witness to the Gospel, to the love of God in the first place, which inspired him to always be the neighbour ready to help anyone with material and spiritual needs.
Saint Dionysius the Areopagite
The Acts of the Apostles mention Dionysius in the famous passage on Paul's speech at the Areopagus
Holy Guardian Angels
Speaking of the help of angels, the Catechism affirms a comforting truth: “From its beginning until the hour of death, human life is surrounded by their protection and intercession” (CCC 336).
Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus
“If the good Lord grants my wishes, my Heaven will take place on Earth until the end of the world. Yes, I want to spend my Heaven doing good on Earth”, wrote Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus (St Thérèse of Lisieux) (1873-1897) a few months before her death....
Saint Jerome
“To ignore the Scriptures is to ignore Christ,” said Saint Jerome (347-420), one of the most erudite men of his time, to whom all Christianity owes much. Of impetuous character, he vigorously opposed Arianism and all other forms of heresy....
Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Archangels
Following the reform of the liturgical calendar in 1969, the Church commemorates together the three Archangels on the day that was previously dedicated only to Saint Michael (the feast of Saint Gabriel was 24 March and that of Saint Raphael was 24 October).
Saint Wenceslas
The life story of Saint Wenceslas (907-935) is a tangled web. Son of the Duke of Bohemia, he lived in a land where Christianity was beginning to spread thanks to the evangelization of the Slavic peoples initiated a few decades earlier by Saints Cyril and Methodius.
