Caedmon lived in the seventh century and was a herdsman by trade. According to St. Bede, who wrote about him, Caedmon was an unlettered cow herdsman who had no training or gifts for poetry. During local feasts at which singers…

Jerome Emiliani was born in Venice, Italy, in 1481. He became a soldier and eventually was made a commander of a fortress in Treviso. When this fortress fell to the Venetians, he was captured and imprisoned. It was during this…

The simple humility and obedience of St. Egidio Maria, born Francis Pontillo in 1729, are virtues sorely needed in today’s world. At age 25 he responded to God’s call to be a discalced friar in Naples. He hoped to become…

St. Paul Miki (1565?-1597) and his companions were martyred in Japan at the end of the sixteenth century. A native Japanese, Paul entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) as a young man. He worked as a missionary brother, along…

Agatha was born in Sicily, although the date her of birth is unknown. However, there are records of her veneration that go back as far as the sixth century. Apparently, Agatha was a member of a wealthy and noble family,…

John Britto was born in 1647 to a noble family in Lisbon. As a child, he loved hearing stories about Francis Xavier and the Jesuit missionaries. When he was only fifteen years old he fulfilled his childhood desire of becoming…

As a child, I remember having my throat blessed on the feast of St. Blaise. I was never too sure who he was or why we did this. Also, it seems like the practice has been forgotten. Would you please…

“And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Lk 2:21).
During His ministry, our Lord stated that He…

Born in Ireland in the year 450 to parents who had been baptized by Saint Patrick, Brigid even as a child showed interest in the religious life. Sometimes referred to incorrectly as Bridget, Brigid was the daughter of an Irish chieftan;…

“When deep sleep falls upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction” (Job 7:14).
God has revealed things to men in dreams throughout time. In the Bible we read many stories…