Saint Peter Canisius
Without St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597), the Catholic Reformation would have lacked a fundamental building block. Suffice to say that his three Catechisms formed German Catholics for centuries.
Saint Dominic of Silos
The reputation for holiness that Dominic of Silos (1000-1073) enjoyed during his lifetime led to his canonisation just three years after his death, while Spain was in the midst of the so-called Reconquista.
Saint Anastasius I
Saint Anastasius I († 401) became Pope on 27th November 399. Although his pontificate only lasted two years, he played a decisive role in the defence of orthodoxy, earning the admiration of his contemporary Saint Jerome, exalting his sanctity and richness in poverty.
Saint Gatien
Saint Gatien, or Gratianus, was the founder of the Diocese of Tours a century before Saint Martin was appointed its bishop; apart from this little else is known about his life.
Saint Olympia
The 17 letters Saint John Chrysostom wrote to Olympia (361-408) from his exile witness the esteem she enjoyed within the Christian community. She in turn was persecuted during the last few years of her life by the enemies of the deposed Eastern patriarch.
St. Adelaide
Queen, empress and, above all, saint: there were indeed many important milestones in the life of Adelaide of Burgundy (931-999), the common denominator was her reputation as an exemplary Christian, which she earned already in her youth.
St. Mary Di Rosa
That the foundress of the Handmaids of Charity, Saint Mary Di Rosa (1813-1855), had a vocation to sanctity was obvious since her childhood. The sixth of nine children, she was born in Brescia to noble and pious parents, who baptised her Paola Francesca Maria.
Saint John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) is recognized as “the saintliest of poets and the most poetic of saints” (as the Spanish poet Antonio Machado called him) and called Doctor Mysticus. He not only gave us an illuminating mystical doctrine, in which he presents a sure path towards holiness, but at the same time he was a very concrete man, who supported Saint Teresa of Avila in the reform of Carmel.
Saint Lucy
A most pure model of fidelity to Christ to the point of glorious martyrdom, Saint Lucy (†December 13, 304) is centuries later among the most dear to Christian piety, an example for the faithful on their journey to God and a source of inspiration for artists and writers.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe arises from the apparitions of 1531 to the Indian Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, a tangible sign of which remains in the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin, subjected to various scientific analyses and still preserved at the shrine dedicated to her.
Saint Damasus I
The pontificate of St. Damasus I (304-384) was quite eventful. He rose to the Petrine throne in 366 and led the Church during a phase in which the heresies on the Divine Trinity were raging.
Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto
Today the Church commemorates the relocation of the Holy House of Nazareth, which on December 10 1294 was flown by angels in the Marche region, then part of the Papal States.
