Saint Teresa of Avila
“A brilliant and fertile writer, teacher of spiritual life, incomparable contemplative”, Saint Paul VI defined St Teresa on 27 September 1970, the day he proclaimed her Doctor of the Church (the first woman to receive the title).
Saint Callistus I
Esteemed by two holy pontiffs (Victor I and Zephyrinus), opposed by an antipope (Hippolytus) who held two “records” in the history of the Church. The life of St Callistus I (†222), in his turn pope and then martyr, was certainly unusual....
St Theophilus of Antioch
St Theophilus of Antioch (c. 120-185) was brought up as a pagan, but a thorough reading of the Holy Scriptures encouraged his conversion. He made a great contribution to Christian apologetics.
Our Lady of the Pillar
The Blessed Virgin appeared to the Apostle James during her earthly life on the night of 2 January 40. James was praying on the banks of the river Ebro and pleading for Mary's intercession for the success of evangelisation in Spain.
Saint John XXIII
Before he was elected to the Petrine throne and earned the affectionate moniker of “the Good Pope”, St John XXIII (1881-1963) had already manifested many of what would be the features of his pontificate.
Saint Daniel Comboni
“Either Nigritia or death”, either Africa or death, was the motto of Saint Daniel Comboni (1831-1881). He was born near Brescia to poor parents who worked as farmhands, and trained at the school of Don Nicola Mazza in Verona, who had passed on to him his love for the Black Continent together with the idea of “saving Africa with Africa”, the true heart of his project.
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....
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.
