St. Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, died October 4, 1582. She was a Spanish nun, one of the great mystics and religious women of the Roman Catholic Church, and author of spiritual classics. She was the originator of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of primitive Carmelite life. St. Teresa was elevated to...

Angadrisma (d. ca. 695) was a seventh-century abbess and saint, daughter of Robert I, Bishop of Tours. A cousin to Lambert, Bishop of Lyon, she was educated at Thérouanne by Lambert and Saint Audomare (Omer). Although she wished to become a nun, she was promised in an arranged marriage to Saint Ansbert of Chaussy. Tradition states that Angadrisma, wishing for a way out, prayed fervently and...

Edward the Confessor, also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. The son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, Edward succeeded Cnut the Great's son – and his own half brother – Harthacnut, restoring the rule of the House of Wessex after...

Seraphin's parents were poor in earthly goods and obscure in the sight of men. But the spirit of prayer which his mother instilled in the boy was an inheritance of priceless value. The loving lessons of his mother caused Seraphin to make the firm resolve to remain innocent and become a saint. Saint Seraphin of Montegranaro fostered tender devotion to the Blessed Mother and occasionally...

Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963) was the third of thirteen children born to a poor sharecropping family living in Lombardy, Italy. Desiring to serve God with his life, he entered seminary at the age of 12, and, after serving a short stint in the Italian Army, was ordained a priest in 1904. He taught apologetics and church history before being called to service as a military chaplain...