St. Peter was succeeded by St. Linus who governed the Church of Rome from 67 A.D. to 76 A.D. when he was martyred. He is mentioned by name in the Second Letter to Timothy: “Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers send greetings (II Timothy 4:21).” The earliest witness to Linus's status as bishop was Irenaeus, who in about the year 180 wrote, "The blessed...

St. Ignatius of Santhia (1686-1770) was born in Italy to an upper-class family. He received his early education from a devout priest, a relative of his mother, who inspired him to join the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology, and after his ordination served as a diocesan priest for six years. St. Ignatius earned a reputation as an excellent preacher of retreats and missions, and he...

Saint Ephigenia of Ethiopia or Iphigenia of Ethiopia, also called Iphigenia of Abyssinia is a folk saint whose life is told in the Golden Legend as a virgin converted to Christianity and then consecrated to God by St. Matthew the Apostle, who was spreading the Gospel to the region of "Ethiopia", which in this case is understood to be located in the regions south of the Caspian Sea,...

St. Eustachius called by the Greeks Eustachius, and before his conversion named Placidus, was a nobleman who suffered martyrdom at Rome, about the reign of Adrian together with his wife Theopista, called before her baptism Tatiana, and two sons Agapius and Theopistus. These Greek names they must have taken after their conversion to the faith. The ancient sacramentaries mention in the prayer...

St. Januarius (d. 305 A.D.), also known as San Gennaro, was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy. Little is known of his early life. He was arrested and imprisoned for his faith while visiting other Christians in jail during the persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian. Many attempts were made to kill him, but one after another they failed. He was thrown into a fiery furnace, but he came out...