Saint Gemellus of Ancyra is venerated as a Christian martyr and saint. According to tradition, he was martyred by crucifixion at Ancyra (present-day Ankara), in Asia Minor, during the reign of Julian the Apostate. He was a native of Paphlagonia. He is said to be the last Christian martyr who was killed by crucifixion. Hearing that the Emperor Julian was at Ancyra, Gemellus had traveled there...

Pope Miltiades, also known as Melchiades the African was Pope of the Catholic Church from 311 to his death in 314. It was during his pontificate that Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan (313), giving Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. The Pope also received the palace of Empress Fausta where the Lateran Palace, the papal seat and residence of the papal...

St. Juan Diego (1474–1548) was a poor and humble peasant of the lowest class of Aztec Indians living in what is today Mexico. His native name was Cuauhtlatoatzin, meaning, "eagle that talks." He was baptized at the age of fifty by a Franciscan missionary priest and received the Christian name of Juan Diego. It was he to whom Our Lady appeared as a pregnant Aztec princess on...

Pope Eutychian, also called Eutychianus, was the Bishop of Rome from 4 January 275 to his death in 283. His original epitaph was discovered in the catacomb of Callixtus, but almost nothing more is known of him. Even the date of his reign is uncertain. Liber Pontificalis gives a reign of 8 years and 11 months, from 275 to 283. Eusebius, on the other hand says his reign was only 10 months....

St. John the Silent, named for his love of solitude, came from a prominent Armenian family. At eighteen, he built a monastery and for a decade led ten young companions in a life of devotion and hard work. Because of his reputation as a leader, at age twenty-eight and over his protests, he was made bishop of Colonia in Armenia. For nine years he faithfully performed his office. In 490, however,...