According to the legend of St. Agnes, Emerentiana was her foster-sister.  St. Agnes was a rich Roman heiress who was martyred after refusing her engagement due to her Christian religion. Emerentiana’s mother was the wet nurse and nanny of Saint Agnes.  A few days after Agnes' death, Emerentiana, who was a catechumen still learning about Christianity before being officially...

Saint Gaudentius was a bishop of Novara in the late fourth and early fifth century. He is considered the first of that city. Tradition states that he was born to a pagan family at Ivrea, and was then converted to Christianity by Eusebius of Vercelli. Some sources say that Eusebius ordained Gaudentius a priest, and that Gaudentius was sent to Novara by Eusebius to assist a Christian priest...

Walter of Bruges (Gualterus Brugensis OFM), was a Franciscan theologian, who flourished at the University of Paris in 1267-69. He entered the Franciscans in Bruges in about 1240 and was sent to Paris for his studies. A student of Bonaventure, he was regent master at Paris from 1267 to 1269. He was elected Minister Provincial of the French province in 1269, then became bishop of Poitiers in...

St. Sebastian (d. c. 288 A.D.) was born in Gaul, present-day France, to wealthy Italian parents. According to tradition he went to Rome to serve and encourage the Christians who were being persecuted under Roman Emperor Diocletian. To do so effectively and without suspicion, he enrolled in the Roman army as an officer. In this position he did much to encourage the faith of the Christians in...

Saint Henry of Uppsala, the Patron of Finland, was an Englishman of the twelfth century residing at Rome. In 1152, he was consecrated Bishop of Uppsala, Sweden, by the Papal Legate Nicholas Breakspear, who later became Pope Adrian IV. In 1154, St. Eric, King of Sweden, led a punitive expedition against the Finns in retaliation for their marauding activity into Sweden, and Henry accompanied...