Biblical Studies/Christianity/Roman Catholicism/History/Saint Biographies

Biographies of the Saints
Biographies of persons canonized by the Catholic Church are often used as reading materials to educate and inspire the faithful to greater acts of virtue. Though this isn't an exhaustive list, below is a list of the saints:
 * Saint Joachim (Memorial on July 26)
 * Saint Anne (also Memorial on July 26)
 * Saint Joseph (his role as husband of Mary is celebrated as a Solemnity on March 19, his career as a worker is celebrated as a Memorial on May 1)
 * Saint John the Baptist (his birth is celebrated as a Solemnity on June 24, his Martyrdom as a Memorial on August 29)
 * Saint Peter (Solemnity on June 29, the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter is February 22)
 * Saint Mark (celebrated as Feast on April 25)
 * Mark was one of the four Evangelists.


 * Saint Paul (Solemnity also on June 29, his conversion is celebrated as a Feast on January 25)
 * The Apostles (Feast of Philip & James on May 3, Feast of Matthias on May 14, Feast of Thomas on July 3, Feast of James son of Zebedee on July 25, Feast of Bartholomew on August 24, Feast of Matthew on September 21, Feast of Simon and Jude on October 28, Feast of Andrew on November 30, Feast of John on December 27)
 * Saint Stephen (celebrated as a Feast on December 26)
 * Stephen was one of the first deacons and the first Christian martyr; his feast day is on December 26. In the Acts of the Apostles the name of St. Stephen occurs for the first time on the occasion of the appointment of the first deacons (Acts 6:5). Dissatisfaction concerning the distribution of alms from the community's fund having arisen in the Church, seven men were selected and specially ordained by the Apostles to take care of the temporal relief of the poorer members. Of these seven, Stephen is the first mentioned and the best known. He was stoned to death after he was accused before the Sanhedrin.


 * Saint Barnabas (Memorial on June 11)
 * Barnabas was the one who presented St. Paul to the Apostles. He was influential in the spread of the Church among the Gentiles, and accompanied St. Paul on his first missionary journey. He was martyred about the year 61 at Salamis.


 * Saint Luke (Feast on October 18)
 * Luke was a physician who accompanied Saint Paul in some of his travels. It appears he probably joined Paul about the year 51. He wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. An ox is frequently used to symbolize him.


 * Saint Titus (Memorial on January 26)
 * Titus was the first bishop of Crete. Saint Paul addressed one of his epistles to him. He died about the year 96 in Goryna, Crete.


 * Saint Martha (Memorial on July 29)
 * Martha was the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. She died about the year 80.


 * Saint Mary Magdalene (Memorial on July 22)
 * Saint Timothy (Memorial also on January 26)
 * Timothy was born in Lystra in the first half of the first century. His father was a pagan and his mother was a Jewess. Saint Paul, a close friend of his, wrote Timothy two letters that are now known as the First and Second Epistles to Timothy.


 * Saint Ignatius of Antioch (martyred in 107, Memorial on October 17)
 * Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr (celebrated as a Feast on August 10)
 * Lawrence was martyred during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Valerian on August 10, 258.


 * Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr (Memorial on December 13)
 * Lucy was born into a wealthy family about the year 283. After her father died, she persuaded her mother Eutychia to give a large portion of the family's wealth to the poor in thanksgiving for Eutychia's healing at the tomb of St. Agatha . Lucy's suitor was enraged that the wealth that might have been his was lost, and reported her to the governor of Sicily (another source says he reported her to a judge in Sicily ). After several failed attempts to execute her, she was martyred by the sword.


 * Saint Blase, martyr (martyred in the 300's, Optional Memorial on February 3)
 * Blase is believed to have been a physician in Sebaste of Armenia before he became the city's bishop. During the persecution of Licinius, he was taken hunted down by order of Agricolaus, the governor. He was eventually found in a cave in the wilderness and imprisoned. While in prison, he cured a boy who was choking to death on a fishbone. He was martyred about the year 316. On his memorial day the blessing of throats is given with two crosses candles.


 * Saint Sebastian, martyr (martyred in Diocletian's persecution, Optional Memorial on January 20)
 * Sebastian was born in Narbonne, Gaul, and entered the Roman army about the year 283 under Emperor Carinus. Emperor Diocletian appointed him as captain of the Praetorian Guards, and Emperor Maximian retained him in that position. In 286 Sebastian was discovered to be a Christian, and was ordered to be executed by the Mauretanian archers. He was left for dead, but when St. Irene, the widow of St. Castulus, came to bury his body, she found him still alive and took care of him until he recovered. After he recovered he went to Diocletian and tried to gain clemency toward the Christians, but was beaten to death about the year 288.


 * Saint Agnes of Rome, virgin and martyr (Memorial on January 21)
 * Agnes was born either about the year 241 or about the year 291. When she refused to marry Procop, the governor's son, he accused her of being a Christian before her father, who had her put to death on either January 21, 254, or January 21, 304. She was buried beside the Via Nomentana in Rome. On her feast day two lambs are are blessed at Sant'Agnese fuori le mura by the pope, and their wool is used to make the palliums the Pope gives to new archbishops.


 * Saint George, martyr (Optional Memorial on April 23)
 * George was tortured and beheaded for the Faith about the year 304 in Lydda, Palestine, during the reign of Diocletian.


 * Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr (married, but lived celibately with her husband)(Memorial on November 22)
 * Cecilia was born about the turn of the second century to a senatorial family. She had vowed to remain a virgin, but her parents decided to marry her to Valerian of Trastevere, a noble pagan youth. After the wedding, Valerian was converted to Christianity and baptized by Pope Urban I, and Valerian's brother Tiburtius also converted to Christianity soon afterwards. Because the two brothers both gave alms and buried the bodies of the martyrs, the prefect, Turcius Almachius, had them condemned to death. St. Cecilia buried the bodies of her husband and brother-in-law, and was also condemned to be executed. After a failed attempt to suffocate her in her own house, she was ordered to be decapitated, but the soldier struck her neck three times and fled, leaving her neck only partially cut. She died three days later, some time between 222 and 230  She was buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, and in 1599 she was found to be incorrupt.


 * The Early Church Fathers, who wrote extensively to define Catholic doctrines
 * Saint Anthony of the Desert (Born about 250, died in 356, Memorial on January 17)
 * Anthony was born in Coma in the mid-200's. He lived as a hermit for a significant number of years. Later, he also gave guidance to others practicing a secluded ascetic life. He died in the mid-300's.


 * Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine I
 * Helena was born in the mid-200's. She and her husband Constantius Chlorus had a son, Constantine, in 274. Constantius became co-Regent of the West in 292, and he abandoned Helena to marry another woman. In 308 Constantine came to power and conferred the title of Augusta on his mother Helena. Helena converted to Christianity after her son's victory over Maxentius. She died about the year 330.


 * Saint Nicholas of Myra (died in mid-300's, Optional Memorial on December 6)
 * Nicholas was the bishop of Myra, Lycia. He died about the year 346.


 * Saint Cyril of Alexandria (born in 370, died in 444, Optional Memorial on June 27)
 * Cyril of Alexandria was born in 376 to a family in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the nephew of Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and in 402 (another source says 403 ) he went with him to Constantinople when his uncle deposed St. John Chrysostom from the patriarchate of Constantinople. After his uncle died on October 15, 412, he was selected to succeed him, and was consecrated on October 18, 412. Some of his first acts as patriarch were to shut down the churches of the Novatian heretics and to expel the Jews from Alexandria after they had massacred Christians. Nestorius became the Patriarch of Constantinople in the winter of 427-428, and Cyril eventually became aware of the heretical teachings of Nestorius. After a period of correspondence between Nestorius and Cyril, Cyril asked Pope St. Celestine to intervene. Celestine responded that Cyril was to take the responsibility of admonishing Nestorius, and that Nestorius was to be excommunicated and deposed. Emperor Theodosius II summoned a council in Ephesus, and Cyril arrived with fifty of the bishops from his patriarchate, and bishops also came from Palestine, Crete, Greece, and Asia Minor. Nestorius also arrived in town, but the papal legates and Patriarch John of Antioch had not yet arrived when Cyril decided to begin the council on June 22, 431. He summoned Nestorius to appear, and when he did not, he pronounced Nestorius excommunicated and deposed. The papal legates arrived on July 10, 431, and confirmed the sentence of excommunication and deposition, but when Patriarch John of Antioch (who was on friendly terms with Nestorius) arrived with the bishops under him, he set up a council of his own and declared Bishop Memnon of Ephesus and Cyril deposed. Both sides appealed to the emperor, who took the peculiar position of considering all three bishops as deposed and arrested all three of them. The emperor also dissolved the council, but eventually released Cyril. He died in Alexandria, Egypt on either June 9 or June 27 of 444, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1882 by Pope Leo XIII.


 * Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (born in 315, died in 386, Optional Memorial is on March 18)
 * Cyril of Jerusalem was born about the year 315. Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, exiled him in 357, but Acacius himself was deposed at the Council of Selucia in 359. The emperor then exiled Cyril again in 360, but Julian allowed him to return in 361. Acacius eventually died, and Cyril's nephew Gelasius replaced Acacius as bishop of Caesarea. In 367 he was forced to leave again under the rule of Emperor Valens, but and this period ended when Valens was killed in 378. Cyril went to the Council of Constantinople in 381, and the Emperor Theodosius ordered that observance of the Nicene faith become law in the Roman Empire. The precise date of his death is not certain, but it is quite probable that he died on March 18, 386.


 * Saint Athanasius (born in 295, died in 373, Memorial on May 2)
 * Athanasius was consecrated to the episcopate in 328. He was first exiled for nearly two and a half years during the reign of Emperor Conatantine I. About three weeks after Constantine I's death, his eldest son Constantine invited Athanasius to return to the see of Alexandria. He was exiled a second time during the reign of Emperor Constantius. Athanasius was exiled a third time in 356 for a period of about six years. Athanasius returned to Alexandria on February 22, 362. Athanasius died on May 2, 373.


 * Saint Ephrem of Syria (born about 306, died in 373, Optional Memorial on June 9)
 * Ephrem was born about the year 306 in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, while it was still part of the Roman Empire. He was the son of a pagan priest. Through the influence of St. James of Nisibis, the city's first bishop,, he was baptised as a Christian when he was eighteen . He became a deacon, and apparently was influential in the repulse of the Persian armies of the pagan Shapur II who besieged the city in 338, 346, and 350. One biographer relates that on one occasion he brought a cloud of flies and mosquitoes on the army and forced it to withdraw, and he is also attributed with relieving the city in the 350 by his prayers, when an attempt of the Persian engineers to flood the city backfired and the inhabitants of the city drove them away. In 363 the Emperor Jovian ceded Nisibis, Singara, and the four satrapies east of the Tigris to Shapur II in exchange for an unmolested retreat of the Roman army , and the majority of the city's Christian population abandoned the city before the arrival of the Persians, who were severely persecuting Christians in their empire. Ephrem and most of the Christian populace eventually settled at Edessa, where Ephrem spent the rest of his life as a hermit. He died on June 9, 373, at Edessa, and is buried at the Der Serkis monastery to the west of Edessa. He was declared a Doctor of the Church on October 5, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.


 * Saint Martin of Tours (born about 316, died in 397, Memorial on November 11)
 * Martin was born in Sabaria about 316. Martin went to Italy and joined the Roman Army while an adolescent. He went to Poiters in 361 to see St. Hilary. He was consecrated a bishop on July 4, ______. He died in Touraine about 397.


 * Saint Ambrose (born about 340, died April 4, 397, Memorial on December 7)
 * Ambrose was the third and youngest child of Ambrosius, Prefect of Gallia (he had a sister named Marcellina and a brother named Satyrus). He was consecrated bishop of Milan on December 7, 374. He died April 4, 397.


 * Saint Basil the Great (born in 330, died on January 1, 379, Memorial on January 2)
 * Basil the Great was born in the year 329 in Caesarea, Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He was the son of St. Basil the Elder and Emmelia, the grandson of his paternal grandmother St. Macrina the Elder, and the brother of St. Gregory of Nyssa, St Macrina the Younger, and St. Peter of Sebastea. His father died when he was young, and the family moved to live with St. Macrina the Elder at her estate in Pontus, Asia Minor. He was educated first in Caesarea, then in Constantinople, and finally in Athens. After meeting with Bishop Dianius of Caesarea, Basil visited the monks of Egypt, Palestine, Coele-Syria, and Mesopotamia. He was ordained a priest, and in 363 he was appointed to an administrative position in the diocese by its new bishop, Eusebius. He became the bishop of Caesarea in 370, and died on January 1, 379.


 * Saint Gregory Nazianzen (also born in 330, died on January 25 of either 389 or 390, Memorial on January 2)
 * Saint John Chrysostom (born about 349, died on September 14, 407, Memorial on September 13)
 * John Chrysostom was born about the year 347 in the city of Antioch in Asia Minor. In 374 he began to live as an anchorite, and he did it for two years, after which his health compelled him to return to Antioch. He was ordained a priest in 386 by Bishop Flavian of Antioch. On September 27, 397, Patriarch Nectarius of Constantinople died, and after several months, the Emperor ordered the Prefect of Antioch to bring John Chrysostom outside the town secretly and to send him to Constantinople immediately. John Chrysostom arrived to find that he was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople, and was consecrated a bishop by Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria on February 26, 398. As a bishop, he terminated the frequent banquets of the episcopal household, reduced its expenditures, and lived much like he had as a priest and monk. He initiated reforms and made the monks remain in monasteries rather than roam the streets undisciplined. Patriarch Theophilus was summoned by the Emperor to appear at a synod to apologize for his false accusations against several Egyptian monks, but when he arrived in June of 403 he made alliances with Chrysostom's enemies, and when Chrysostom arrived to convene the synod, he found the bishops intended to prosecute him instead. Chrysostom left, and the synod declared him deposed. He was exiled, only to be recalled back by the Empress. After he returned, the Empress became upset with him again because he complained to the Prefect of Constantinople about a statue erected outside the cathedral. She told Theodosius to come depose him again, but Theododius replied that Chrysostom should not have returned to his see in the first place because of an article mandated by an Arian synod in 341. Chrysostom was exiled again on June 24, 404. The pope and the Italian bishops declared their support of Chrysostom, and broke off communion with the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople until they repented. Nevertheless, is enemies had him exiled further to Pythius, and he died on the way on September 14, 407.


 * Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine (born in 331, died in 387, Memorial on August 27)
 * Saint Augustine of Hippo (born in 354, died in 430, Memorial on August 28)
 * Augustine was born on November 13, 354 in Tagaste. He was the son of Patricus (a pagan, and a member of the curial class) and Saint Monica. He and his son Adeodatus were baptized by Saint Ambrose in 387. Augustine was ordained by Valerius, Bishop of Hippo, in Hippo in 391. He was consecrated a bishop on __________. He died in Hippo on August 28, 430.


 * Saint Jerome, author of the Vulgate Bible (born about 340, died in 420, Memorial on September 30)
 * Jerome was born in the mid-300's in Stridon. He was baptized in Rome. He was ordained in Antioch. He died in Bethlehem on September 30, 420.


 * Saint Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Benedictine Order (born about 480, died March 21, 547, Memorial on July 11)
 * Benedict was born in Nursia about the year 480. His sister was Saint Scholastica. Benedict left Rome behind and went to Enfide, and later Subiaco. He lived as a hermit for three years. A community of monks asked Benedict to come be their abbot after the previous abbot had died. He consented, but the monks were immoral, and, after an attempt to poison Benedict, Benedict returned to his hermitage. He later founded monasteries of his own. After encountering hostility from the locals, he left for Monte Cassino, where he founded another monastery. He was visited by Totila, King of the Goths, in 543. Benedict died at Monte Cassino.


 * Saint Scholastica (born about 480, died about 547, Memorial on February 10)
 * Scholastica was born in the year 480 in Nursia, and was the twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia. Some time after her brother St. Benedict founded the monastery on Monte Cassino, she founded a convent for nuns at Plombariola, about five miles away from her brother's monastery. She died in 543, and was buried in the tomb St. Benedict had prepared for himself.


 * Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (born in 1090, died in 1153, Memorial on August 20)
 * Bernard was born in 1090 at Fontaines-les-Dijon, Burgundy, France. He was the third child of Lord Tescelin of Fontaines and Aleth of Montbard. In 1113, when he was twenty-two years old, he, four of his brothers, and twenty-five of his friends of noble birth entered the Cistercian monastery at Cîteaux. Bernard made his profession in 1114. In 1115, he was sent by St. Stephen, the third abbot of Cîteaux, to found a monastery at the Vallée d'Absinthe in the Diocee of Langres with twelve other monks to accompany him. Bernard named the new monastery Claire Vallée on June 25, 1115, and the monastery came to be known as Clairvaux. His father and his remaining brother(s) joined the monastery, and many others flocked to join the monastery too. Because Clairvaux could no longer house all those who wanted to join, the Monastery of the Three Fountains was founded in the Diocese of Châlons in 1118. He died on August 20, 1153,  in Clairvaux.


 * Saint Patrick (born about 385, died in 461, Optional Memorial on March 17)
 * Patrick was born in 387 in Kilpatrick, Scotland. He was the son of Calphurnius and Conchessa. When Patrick was sixteen he was captured and sold as a slave in Ireland to Milchu, who was a chieftain and also a high priest of the Druids. He escaped after about six years. He was under the guidance of Saint Germain for several years, and was ordained a priest by him. At the suggestion of Saint Germain, Pope Saint Celestine I entrusted Patrick with the conversion of the Irish, a task originally assigned to Palladius. Patrick was consecrated a bishop by Saint Maximus in Turin, and arrived in Ireland in the summer of 433. Patrick decided to go to Dalriada to pay his ransom to his former master Milchu. He was intercepted on the way by Dichu, another chieftain, who wanted to slay Patrick, but Dichu's arm, sword in hand, was rendered immovable until Dichu promised his obedience to Patrick. Patrick later found that Milchu, aware of Patrick's coming, had gathered his belongings into his dwelling, set it on fire, and committed suicide. Dichu informed patrick of a pagan feast at Tara at which the Supreme Monarch of Ireland, Leoghaire, would be present. On his way there, Patrick stayed at the house of the chieftain Secsnen, who converted to Christianity and whose son Benen became a disciple of Patrick's. On the eve of Easter Patrick lit the Pascal Fire on the hill of Slane, on the other side of the valley from Tara, and the Druids were unable to extinguish it. In th morning Patrick and his companions advanced in a procession to Tara. The Druids summoned a dark cloud to cover the hill, but when challenged by Patrick to remove it they were unable to do so, after which Patrick prayed and light was restored. The Arch-Druid Lochru lifted himself high into the sky, but when Patrick prayer Lochru fell to his death. In the end, Leoghaire gave Patrick the freedom to preach thoughout all of Ireland. Patrick went to Tailten and baptized Leoghaire's brother Conall on April 5. He went to Killala and baptized about 12,000 persons. Patrick baptized two sons of the King of Leinster at Naas. Patrick's charioteer Odhran discovered a plot on the part of a local chieftain, Crom Cruach, to kill Patrick, so Odhran persuaded Patrick to take the reins of the chariot while Odhran took the place of honor. Unaware of either the plot or Odhran's true intentions, Patrick took the reins, and shortly thereafter Odhran was slain by a lance intended to kill Patrick. Patrick went to Munster, and while in the kingdom of Munster he baptised Aengus, son of the King of Munster. During the ceremony Patrick accidentally pierced the foot of Aengus with his crosier, which Aengus thought might be part of the ceremony. It is recorded that Patrick ordained at least 350 bishops before he died. Patrick died on March 17, 493 at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland.


 * Saint Columban (died in 615, Optional Memorial on November 23)
 * Saint Bede (commonly known as Venerable Bede, born in 673, died in 735, Optional Memorial on May 25)
 * Saint Boniface (born about 673, martyred in 754, Memorial on June 5)
 * Boniface was originally born with the name Winfrid in England in the late 600's. He Joined the Benedictines and was ordained when he was thirty. He journeyed to Rome and on May 15, 719, he received Pope Gregory II's permission to preach to the pagan Germans on the east side of the Rhine. After converting many heathens and returning many lapsed Christians to the faith, he again returned to Rome and was consecrated a regional bishop. Boniface returned to Germany and continued his work in conversion and repentance, and also undertook the correction of heretics. Pope Gregory III appointed Boniface an Archbishop and permitted him to consecrate bishops as necessary. After further labors, Boniface went to Rome again to ask to resign, but Pope Gregory III congratulated Boniface for his work and would not permit Boniface to resign. Boniface returned to Germany again with additional authority as a legate of the Holy See and worked to reform the clergy. Boniface was appointed Archbishop of Mainz and Primate of Germany by Pope Zachary. Boniface resigned from the archbishopric of Mainz in 754 in order to work for the conversion of the Frisians. He was martyred by heathens while assembling new converts for confirmation.


 * Saints Cyril and Methodius, (Cyril died February 14, 869; Methodius died April 6, 885; Memorial on February 14)
 * Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs, were born in Thessalonica, Greece (Cyril in 827, Methodius in 826). Though belonging to a senatorial family they renounced secular honours and became priests. They were living in a monastery on the Bosphorous, when the Khazars sent to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. Cyril was selected and was accompanied by his brother. They learned the Khazar language and converted many of the people. Soon after the Khazar mission there was a request from the Moravians for a preacher of the Gospel. German missionaries had already laboured among them, but without success. The Moravians wished a teacher who could instruct them and conduct Divine service in the Slavonic tongue. On account of their acquaintance with the language, Cyril and Methodius were chosen for their work. In preparation for it Cyril invented an alphabet and, with the help of Methodius, translated the Gospels and the necessary liturgical books into Slavonic. They went to Moravia in 863, and laboured for four and a half years. Despite their success, they were regarded by the Germans with distrust, first because they had come from Constantinople where schism was rife, and again because they held the Church services in the Slavonic language. On this account the brothers were summoned to Rome by Nicholas I, who died, however, before their arrival. His successor, Adrian II, received them kindly. Convinced of their orthodoxy, he commended their missionary activity, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy, and ordained Cyril and Methodius bishops. Cyril, however, was not to return to Moravia. He died in Rome, Italy on February 4, 869.
 * At the request of the Moravian princes, Rastislav and Svatopluk, and the Slav Prince Kocel of Pannonia, Adrian II formed an Archdiocese of Moravia and Pannonia, made it independent of the German Church, and appointed Methodius archbishop. In 870 King Louis and the German bishops summoned Methodius to a synod at Ratisbon. Here he was deposed and condemned to prison. After three years he was liberated at the command of Pope John VIII and reinstated as Archbishop of Moravia. He zealously endeavoured to spread the Faith among the Bohemians, and also among the Poles in Northern Moravia. Soon, however, he was summoned to Rome again in consequence of the allegations of the German priest Wiching, who impugned his orthodoxy, and objected to the use of Slavonic in the liturgy. But John VIII, after an inquiry, sanctioned the Slavonic Liturgy, decreeing, however, that in the Mass the Gospel should be read first in Latin and then in Slavonic. Wiching, in the meantime, had been nominated one of the suffragan bishops of Methodius. He continued to oppose his metropolitan, going so far as to produce spurious papal letters. The pope, however, assured Methodius that they were false. Methodius went to Constantinople about this time, and with the assistance of several priests, he completed the translation of the Holy Scriptures, with the exception of the Books of Machabees. He translated also the "Nomocanon", i.e. the Greek ecclesiastico-civil law. The enemies of Methodius did not cease to antagonize him. His health was worn out from the long struggle, and he died on April 6, 885, recommending as his successor Gorazd, a Moravian Slav who had been his disciple.


 * Saint Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order (born about 1035, died in 1101, Optional Memorial on October 6)
 * Bruno was born in Cologne about 1030. He was ordained to the priesthood about 1055. Bishop Gervais assigned him to Reims in 1056 to help direct the school. He became the head of the school in 1057. In 1075 Bruno was appointed to the position of Chancellor of the church in Reims. Bruno left Reims and built a little monastery with six other followers. Eudes of Châtillon was elected to the papacy in 1088 and took the name Pope Urban II, and because he was a former student of Bruno's, he summoned Bruno to come be one of his advisors. He died on October 6, 1101.


 * Saint Wenceslaus (born about 907, assassinated in 935, Optional Memorial on September 28)
 * Wenceslaus was born to Duke Wratislaw and Dragomir, probably in 903 (other source says about 907). He was murdered by his brother Boleslaw and buried at the scene of the murder. Three years later his brother repented and ordered for his brother's remains to be moved to the church of St. Vitus.


 * Saint Margaret of Scotland (born about 1046, died in 1093, Optional Memorial on November 16)
 * Margaret was born about 1045 (about 1046 in another source) and was the daughter of Edward "Outremere." When attempting to leave England, the ship on which she was travelling was blown off course to Scotland. She married Malcolm III of Scotland some time between 1067 and 1070. She died in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 16, 1093. She was canonized by Innocent IV in 1250.


 * Saint Thomas Becket (born in 1118, martyred in 1170, Optional Memorial on December 29)
 * Thomas was born in London, possibly on December 21, 1118. He was ordained a deacon in 1154. When Thomas was thirty-six, King Henry II of England appointed him chancellor. After Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, Thomas was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1162, and was consecrated as archbishop the following day on June 3, 1162. Thomas resigned his position as chancellor. After several disputeswith Henry II, Thomas fled England in late 1164 and went to see Pope Alexander III. Pope Alexander III refused to permit Thomas to resign his archbishopric, so on November 30, 1164, Thomas went to the Cistercians in Burgundy and lived with them for a year. Meanwhile, King Henry II of England confiscated the archbishop's property and banished Thomas Becket's relatives. Eventually, Thomas was required to leave the Cistercian abbey where he was residing, as King Henry threatened the Cistercian order with vengeance if they continued to permit Thomas to reside with them. Thomas returned to England after it appeared that a relative agreement on some of the disputes had been reached. He was martyred in Canterbury by four knights on December 29, 1170. He was canonized on February 21, 1173, and King Henry II of England performed public penance on July 12, 1174.


 * Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order, born about 1170, died August 6, 1221, Memorial on August 8)
 * Dominic was born at Calaroga, in Old Castile. He was the son of Felix Guzman and Blessed Joanna of Aza (beatified by Leo XII in 1828). Dominic entered the University of Palencia in 1184. He founded the first convent of the Order of Preachers on April 25, 1215. He died August 6, 1221. He was canonized by Gregory IX on July 13, 1234.


 * Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Friars Minor (Franciscan Order)(born in 1182, died in 1226, Memorial on October 4)
 * He was born in Assisi in the 1180's to Pietro and Pica Bernardone. He was originally baptized Giovanni, but his father soon changed the infant's name to Francis. While a young man, he went to fight against the Perugia, but was taken prisoner and held in custody for over a year. Francis later joined an expedition against the emperor, but in the course of the journey Francis was told in a dream to return to Assisi, which he did. Francis made a pilgrimage to Rome. Francis restored the church of San Damiano and several neighboring churches. After being joined by eleven other men, Francis and his companions journeyed to Rome and received the approval of Pope Innocent III. Francis founded the Second Franciscan Order of Poor Ladies in 1212 with Saint Clare. He attempted to journey to Syria to convert the Saracens, but was shipwrecked and forced to abandon the idea temporarily. He attempted to journey to Morocco in 1214, but was also prevented. In 1219 Francis and eleven companions managed to visit the sultan in Damietta, but appear to have accomplished little. When they returned to Italy, the Franciscan Orders were in disarray. Francis resigned as general of the order and Peter of Cattaneo became the next general of the order. Francis began the tradition of the Christmas scene in 1223, received the stigmata in 1224, and composed the Canticle of the Sun in 1225. He died on October 3, 1226 at the Porziunicola, and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228.


 * Saint Hyacinth
 * Saint Hyacinth was born in 1185 in the castle of Lanka and was the son of Eustachius Konski. He studied in Cracow, Prague, and Bologna. He went to Rome with his uncle (who was bishop of Cracow) and met St. Dominic. Hyacinth joined the Dominicans in 1220. He founded several communities and preached in Prussia, Pomerania, Lituania, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Lower Russia. He died in Cracow on August 15, 1257.


 * Saint Clare of Assisi (born in 1193, died in 1253, Memorial on August 11)
 * Clare was born on July 16, 1194 in Assisi to Count Favorino Scifi of Sasso-Rosso and Blessed Ortolana (from the Fiumi family). When she was eighteen years old, Saint Francis of Assisi came to preach at Saint Giorgio's in Assisi, and on March 20, 1212 (Palm Sunday night), she and her cousin Pacifica (accompanied by Clare's aunt Bianca went to the Porziuncula, where Clare made her vows. Clare was originally placed with the Benedictine nuns of San Paolo (near Bastia), but on account of her father, who was against Clare's choice, she was moved to Sant Angelo' in Panzo, another Benedictine convent. She was joined by her younger sister St. Agnes of Assisi sixteen days later, and after the arrival of more women to the Franciscan way of life, they were allocated a dwelling at San Damiano. In 1234, soldiers from the army of Fredrick II were scaling the walls of San Damiano. Saint Clare went to the chapel and brought out a ciborium, and the soldiers fled. She died in Assisi on August 11, 1253, and was canonized on September 26, 1255 by Pope Alexander IV.


 * Saint Albert the Great (born about 1206, died in 1280, Optional Memorial on November 15)
 * Albert was born in either 1205 or 1206 at Lauingen, Swabia. He was the eldest son of the Count of Bollstädt. He joined the Dominicans in 1223. He taught theology in Hildesheim, Freiburg, Ratisbon, Strasburg, and Cologne. He was told to return to Paris in 1245, and received a doctorate. He was elected the Dominican Provincial of Germany in 1254. He resigned from his position as provincial in 1257. He was appointed Bishop of Ratisbon in 1260, and resigned from his position as bishop in 1262. He died in Cologne on November 15, 1280, was beatified by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, and was canonized in 1931.


 * Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (born in 1207, died in 1231, Memorial on November 17)
 * Elizabeth was born in 1207 in Presburg (now known as Bratislava), Hungary. She was the daughter of her father King Andrew II of Hungary and her mother Gertrude. In 1211, when Elizabeth was only four years old, an embassy from Thuringia came to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth and Hermann, the son of the Landgrave Herman I of Thuringia. Not long after she was sent to the Thuringian court to grow up. Her husband-to-be died in 1216, so it was determined that she would marry the next son, Ludwig (also known as Louis). Landgrave Hermann I died on April 25, 1217, and Ludwig assumed the throne as Ludwig IV. He married Elizabeth in 1221, and they had three children: Hermann II, Sophia, and Gertrude. She died on November 17, 1231.


 * Saint Louis of France (born in 1214, died in 1270, Optional Memorial on August 25)
 * Louis was born on April 25, 1215 (other source says 1214) in Poissy. He was the son of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. Upon the death of his father King Louis VIII, he became king of France when he was eleven years old. While Louis was still a minor, his mother Blanche acted as regent from 1226 to 1234. Louis married Marguerite of Provence when he was nineteen and was the father of eleven children. He was involved in a crusade from 1248 to 1249. He concluded the treaty of Paris with King Henry III of England on May 28, 1258. He is remembered for the words of his mother which he followed: "I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin." While on another crusade in 1270, he succumbed to a plague and died near Tunis on August 25, 1270. He was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.


 * Saint Bonaventure (born about 1218, died in 1274, Memorial on July 15)
 * He was born in 1221 (another source says 1218) in Bagnorea to Giovanni di Fidanza and Maria Ritella. He was originally baptized with the name of John. He joined the Franciscans in either 1238 or 1243. He received the licentiate in 1248, and lectured at the University of Paris until 1256, when he was compelled to cease on account of the secular teachers. Upon the resignation of John of Parma, Bonaventure was elected Minister General of the Franciscans on February 2, 1257, even though he was not even thirty-six years old, and he and Saint Thomas Aquinas received their doctorates on October 23, 1257. In 1263 a general chapter was convoked in Pisa, at which the provincial boundaries were determined, a law was made whereby a bell was required to be rung every nightfall in honor of the Annunciation, the direction of the Poor Clares was renounced, a determination was made that only the biography of Saint Francis of Assisi writen by Bonaventure was officially approved, and a determination was made that other accounts of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi were to be excluded. Due to Cardinal Cajetan's request, Bonaventure resumed the direction of the Poor Clares in 1264. Bonaventure founded the Society of the Gonfalone in honor of the Blessed Virgin in 1264. Clement IV wanted to appoint Bonaventure to the vacant see of York and issued a Bull dated November 23, 1265, but Bonaventure, on account of his humility, did not wish to be promoted to the position, so the pope permitted him to decline to accept the position. In 1266 a general chapter was convoked in Paris, which required that all "legends" about Saint Francis of Assisi were to be destroyed. Bonaventure convoked the fourth general chapter in Assisi in 1269, and required that a Mass was to be offered every Saturday in honor of the Blessed Virgin. In 1272 a general chapter at Pisa determined that an anniversary was to be celebrated on August 25 in honor of King Louis IX of France, an act instrumental in the king's process for canonization. Bonaventure was created a cardinal on June 23, 1273 by Pope Gregory X. While a cardinal, Bonaventure retained his governance of the Franciscans until the General Chapter of Lyons on May 20, 1274, at which Jerome of Ascoli was elected to replace him. He died in Lyons on July 16, 1274. He was canonized by Pope Sixtus IV on April 14, 1482, and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Sixtus V on March 14, 1557.


 * Saint Thomas Aquinas, the writer of the Summa Theologica, a large set of volumes extensively used in theological studies (born about 1225, died March 7, 1274, Memorial on January 28)
 * Thomas Aquinas was born to Landulph, Count of Aquino, and Theodora, Countess of Teano, in the 1220's in Rocca Secca in the Kingdom of Naples. He was educated by the Benedictines at Monte Cassino, and attended the University of Naples. He entered the Dominican order, but while still a novice he was seized by his two elder brothers and confined in the family castle. Eventually he was released and sent to Rome. Thomas studied under St. Albert the Great, and went to Paris and Cologne. Thomas stopped writing the Summa Theologica on December 6, 1273, although he had not yet finished it. He died on March 7, 1274, in Fossa Nuova. His body was moved to Toulouse on January 28, 1369.


 * Saint Anthony of Padua (born in late 1100's, died in 1231, Memorial on June 13)
 * Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in the year 1195, and was originally given the name Ferdinand. He entered the Augustinians in 1210, when he was fifteen years old. Two years later, in 1212, he received permission to be transferred to the Convent of Sancta Croce in Cóimbra. He remained there eight years, then, when he was twenty-six, he joined the Franciscan order in 1220 and took the name Anthony. He then tried to sail for Morocco that same year (1220), but was struck by a severe illness, so resolved to go the following spring. When he attempted to sail there in 1221, a storm drove him to Sicily instead. When he heard that a general chapter was being held by the Franciscans at Assisi on May 30, he went there. Anthony was then assigned to Montepaolo. On one occasion he accompanied his Provincial to an ordination in Forli, and when it was found that no one else had prepared a sermon or was willing to preach, he was commanded to preach. They were so astounded by his profound teaching that he was then assigned to preaching and instructing permanently. He taught in Bologna and Montpellier in 1224, and he later taught in Toulouse. He preached throughout Italy and France. He died on June 13, 1231, at Arcella. He was canonized on May 30, 1232, by Pope Gregory IX at Spoleto, Italy. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII on January 16, 1946.


 * Saint Gertrude (born in 1256, died on November 17, 1301, Optional Memorial also on November 16)
 * Saint Bridget of Sweden (born 1303, died in 1373, Optional Memorial on July 23)
 * Saint Catherine of Siena (born in 1347, died in 1380, Memorial on April 29)
 * Catherine was born on March 25, 1347 in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. She was the youngest in the family and the twenty-fifth child of her father Giacomo di Benincasa and her mother Lapa. In 1375, while she was in Pisa, she received the stigmata on the fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday). Due to her influence, Pope Gregory XI left Avignon and returned to Rome on January 17, 1377, ending the "Avignon Captivity." She died in Rome on April 29, 1380, was found to be incorrupt in 1430, was canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461, and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI on October 4, 1970.


 * Saint Vincent Ferrer (born in 1350, died in 1419, Optional Memorial is April 5)
 * Vincent was born in Valencia, Spain on January 23 in the 1350's. He was the fourth child of William Ferrer and Constantia Miguel. He received his education at Valencia, beginning his course of philosophy when he was twelve and his course of theology when he was fourteen. He entered the Dominicans at the beginning of his eighteenth year, and was later sent to Barcelona for further studies. He died on April 5, 1419 at Vannes, Brittany, France.


 * Saint Joan of Arc
 * Joan was born in Domremy in Champagne in the early 1400's. She lead the French forces that raised the siege of Orléans. Joan was captured on May 24, 1430 outside the walls of Compiègne. She was executed on May 30, 1431. Pope Benedict XV canonized her in 1920.


 * Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order, born 1491, died in 1556, Memorial on July 31)
 * Ignatius was born in the Castle of Loyola to Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñez y Loyola and Marina Saenz de Lieona y Balda (their youngest son). He was originally baptized Iñigo (he took the name Ignatius later). On May 20, 1521 he was injured by a cannonball. He was taken to Loyola, and while convalescing, he read the lives of Christ and the Saints because there were no chivalric romances to read in the castle. He entered the University of Salamanca in 1527. He died in Rome on July 31, 1556. He was beatified on July 27, 1609 by Pope Paul V and canonized on May 22, 1622 by Pope Gregory XV.


 * Saint Francis Xavier, one of the first members of the Society of Jesus (born in 1506, died in 1552, Memorial on December 3)
 * Francis was born in the castle of Xavier on April 7, 1506. He went to Paris in 1525 and entered the collège de Sainte-Barbe. Francis, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and five others took their vow on August 15, 1534. Francis left Paris on November 15, 1536. Francis and Saint Ignatius of Loyola were ordained on July 24, 1537. Francis left Rome for Lisbon, Portugal on March 16, 1540. Francis left for India by boat on April 7, 1541. He arrived at Goa on May 6, 1542. Francis landed in arrived in Kagoshima, Japan on August 15, 1549. Francis died on December 2, 1552 on the Island of Sancian. He was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, but the Bull was not published until the following year.


 * Saint Teresa of Avila (born in 1515, died in 1582, Memorial on October 15)
 * Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada was born on March 28, 1515, at Avila, Castile, Spain. She was the daughter of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz Davila y Ahumada. In November of 1535, when she was seventeen, she entered the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation, which was also in Avila and was already inhabited by one hundred forty nuns. She eventually established reformed convents, which were greatly opposed by many of the other lax Carmelites. She died at Alba de Tormes on October 4, 1582, was beatified by Pope Paul V on April 24, 1614, and was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622. She was declared a Doctor of the Church on September 27, 1970, by Pope Paul VI.


 * Saint Peter Canisius (born in 1521, died in 1597, Optional Memorial on December 21)
 * Saint Charles Borromeo (born in 1538, died on November 3, 1584, Memorial on November 4)
 * Charles Borromeo was born on October 2, 1538 in the Castle of Arona in Italy. He was the son of Count Gilberto Borromeo and Margherita (of the Medici family). He received the tonsure when he was twelve, and eventually became the titular abbot of SS. Gratinian & Felinus. His uncle was elected pope in December of 1559, and Charles received a summons to Rome on January 3, 1560. Charles was assigned the administrative duties of the papal states, and was created a cardinal on January 31, 1560. Charles was made the Cardinal Protector of the following: the Kingdom of Portugal, Lower Germany, the Catholic cantons of Switzerland, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, the Humiliati, the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, the Knights of Jerusalem/Malta, and the Portuguese order of the Holy Cross of Christ . He worked strenuously to reassemble the Council of Trent (which had been suspended since 1552), which resumed again on January 18, 1562. After his brother died on November 28, 1562, Charles was the head of his ancestral family and pressure was laid on him to get married, even from his uncle the pope. Charles did not wish to do so, however, and instead chose to be secretly ordained as priest by Cardinal Federigo Cesa at Santa Maria Maggiore on September 4, 1563. He was consecrated a bishop on December 7, 1563, received the pallium on March 23, 1564, and was preconized on May 12. Charles finally received permission from the pope to visit his diocese, departed September 1, 1565, and arrived in Milan on September 23, 1565, becoming the first resident archbishop of Milan in eighty years. He was met with great rejoicing by the populace. The first provincial council met on October 15, 1565, and was finished on November 3, 1565. Charles then went to Trent as a legate on November 6, 1565. His uncle Pope Pius IV died on December 10, 1565. Cardinal Michele Ghislieri was elected pope on January 7, 1566, taking the name Pius V. Charles returned to Milan on April 5, 1566. Charles began his visits of the three Swiss valleys of Levantina, Bregno, and La Riviera. The second diocesan synod was held in August of 1568, and the second provincial council was held in April of 1569. In October of 1569 an attempt was made to take is life by a member of the Humiliati, and led to the suppression of the order by Pope Pius V (Bull dated February 7, 1571). Pope Pius V died on May 1, 1572, and Charles went to attend the conclave, in which Pope Gregory XIII was elected on May 13, 1572. He arrived again in Milan on November 12, 1572, held the third provincial council in April of 1573, and held the fourth diocesan synod in November of 1574. Charles began his journey to Rome on December 8, 1574 on account of the Jubilee Year of 1575. A plague came to Milan in August of 1576, began to abate in 1577, and mostly disappeared by early 1578. Charles held the fifth diocesan synod in 1578, and also made a pilgrimage to Turin in 1578. He set out for Rome in 1582, and left Rome in January of 1583. He visited the cantons of Switzerland again. He left Turin on October 8, 1584 and went to Monte Varallo. The Cardinal of Vercelli summoned him to Arona on October 18, 1584, and Charles returned to Monte Varallo on October 20, 1584. He died on November 3, 1584 in Milan. He was canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610.


 * Saint Robert Bellarmine (born in 1542, died in 1621, Optional Memorial on September 17)
 * Saint John of the Cross (born about 1542, died in 1591, Memorial on December 14)
 * Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (born in 1568, died in 1591, Memorial on June 21)
 * Aloysius was born on March 9, 1568 in the castle of Castiglione. Aloysius went to Spain with his father in 1581, and was made a page of Philip II's son James. He presented himself to the General of the Society of Jesus on November 25, 1585, and professed his vows on November 25, 1587. He died on June 21, 1591, was beatified by Pope Gregory XV in 1621, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726.


 * Saint Thomas More
 * Thomas was born to Sir John More and his wife Agnes in either 1477 or 1478 on February 7. He entered Caterbury hall at Oxford about the year 1492, and he entered New Inn as a law student about the year 1494. He became a member of Parliament in 1501, and was married in 1505. He became Under-Sheriff of London in 1515, and became Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523. In 1529, he succeeded Cardinal Wolsey as Chancellor of England, and became the first layman to hold the position. After King Henry VIII's determination to divorce his wife Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn, Thomas More resigned the chancellorship in 1532 and stayed out of the public scene. He was eventually imprisoned in the Tower of London, and was executed on July 6, 1535. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in the Decree of December 29, 1886, and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935.


 * Saint Juan Diego
 * Saint Martin de Porres (born in 1579, died in 1639, Optional Memorial on November 3)
 * Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc (born about 1580, martyred in 1623, Memorial on November 12)
 * Josaphat was born in either 1580 or 1584 in Volodymyr, Lithuania. In 1604, He entered a Basilian Monastery when he was twenty-four. He was ordained in 1609, was consecrated as bishop of Vitebsk on November 12, 1617, and was made an archbishop in 1618. He was martyred on November 12, 1623. He was beatified in 1643 and canonized in 1867.


 * Saint Peter Claver (born in 1580, died on September 8, 1654, Memorial on September 9)
 * Saint Vincent de Paul (born in 1581, died in 1660, Memorial on September 27)
 * Saint Rose of Lima (born in 1586, died August 24, 1617, Optional Memorial on August 23)
 * Rose was born in Lima, Peru on April 20, 1586. She received the Dominican habit in her twentieth year. She died in Lima on August 30, 1617, was beatified by Pope Clement IX in 1667, and was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671.


 * Saint Isaac Jogues (martyred on October 18, 1647, Memorial in US dioceses)
 * Saint John de Brebeuf (martyred on March 16, 1648, Memorial in US dioceses also on October 19)
 * Saint Louis de Montfort
 * Louis was born in Montfort on January 31, 1673. He went to Paris when he was nineteen, and was ordained when he was twenty-seven. He founded the Company of Mary and the Sisters of Wisdom. He died on April 28, 1716 at Saint Laurent sur Sevre. He was beatified in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII and canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII.


 * Saint Philip Neri (born in 1515, died in 1595, Memorial on May 26)
 * Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (born in 1647, died on October 17, 1690, Optional Memorial on October 16) )
 * Saint Paul Miki (born between 1564 and 1566, martyred February 5, 1597, Memorial on February 6)
 * Saint Francis de Sales (Born in 1567, died December 28, 1622, Memorial on January 24)
 * Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (born in 1572, died in 1641, Optional Memorial on December 12)
 * Saint Alphonsus Liguori (born in 1696, died in 1787, Memorial on August 1)
 * Alphonsus was born on September 27, 1696 in Marianella. He was the son of Don Joseph de Liguori, the Captain of the Royal Galleys. He received his doctorate in Law on January 21, 1713, at the age of sixteen. He was extremely successful in his legal career, and won the majority of his cases. In 1723, a sudden loss of a case soured his interest in the legal profession. He was ordained a deacon on April 6, 1726, and a priest on December 21, 1726. In 1762 the Pontiff required Alphonsus to accept a bishopric. Pius VI permitted Alphonsus to resign his see in May of 1775. He died in Nocera de' Pagani on August 1, 1787, was beatified by Pope_________ in 1816, and was canonized by Pope___________ in 1839.


 * Saint Elisabeth Ann Seton (born August 28, 1774, died January 4, 1821, Memorial is on January 4 in US dioceses)
 * Saint John Vianney, parish priest (born in 1786, died in 1859, Memorial on August 4)
 * John Vianney was born in Dardilly, France on May 8, 1786, to a poor farming family (he had other siblings). As a youth he worked as a shepherd, and did not begin his education until the age of 20. John entered the seminary when he was significantly older than many of the other students, and he had a very difficult time learning Latin. While a seminarian at _________, he was drafted into the Napoleonic army. He had gone into a church to pray, and the army had already left the town. The officers told him to follow after them until he rejoined them. In the course of the journey he stopped to rest and another man offered to lead him on the route. Rather than lead him to the army, the man lead John to a small town where deserters were gathered. The mayor of the town persuaded John to stay, and John remained hidden there until ____________. After reentering the seminary, he was ordained on August 13, 1815 by the Bishop of Grenoble (Mgr. Simon) at ___________. He was assigned as an assistant in Ecully, then as pastor to Ars in 1818. Although there were still a few faithful souls in Ars, it was a poor state of affairs when he arrived. John Vianney fasted greatly, eating a few boiled potatoes. He tried to leave Ars for good several times. He had the ability to read souls. He was frequently tormented by Satan through loud noises and disturbances. He spent about 18 hours a day in the confessional. He was instrumental in promoting devotion to St. Philomena. Eventually, a large number of penitents came to Ars to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation from him. He died on August 4, 1859 at Ars, was buried (where), was proclaimed Venerable by Pius IX on October 3, 1874, was beatified on January 8, 1905 by Pope _____________, and was canonized on May 31, 1925 by Pope Pius XI. He has been classified as one of the Incorruptibles.]


 * Saint Anthony Claret (born in 1807, died in 1870, Optional Memorial on October 24)
 * Saint Catherine Labouré
 * Blessed John Neumann (or Saint?)(born March 20, 1811, died January 5, 1860, Memorial on January 5 in US dioceses)
 * Saint John Bosco (born in 1815, died in 1888, Memorial on January 31)
 * Saint Dominic Savio
 * Saint Charles Lwanga (martyred in 1880's, Memorial on June 3)
 * The Doctors of the Church
 * Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (born in 1850, died on December 22, 1917, Memorial on November 13)
 * Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (born in 1873, died September 30, 1897, Memorial on October 1)
 * Thérèse was born on January 2, 1873 to Louis and Zélie Martin in Alençon, France. She entered the Carmelite Order on April 9, 1888. She died in Lisieux on September 30, 1897. She was beatified by Pope ____________ on _________ and canonized by Pope Pius XI (?) on ____________.

(list is close to chronological, but may be slightly mixed up)
 * Saint Bernadette
 * Saint Maria Goretti (born in 1890, murdered in 1902, Optional Memorial on July 6)
 * Saint Maximilian Kolbe (check spelling)