St. Raymond of Penafort (1175–1275) was born in Spain to the noble family of Aragon. As a child he received an excellent education and displayed a great love for the Blessed Mother. After studying and teaching philosophy and law he entered the Order of Preachers. He preached the Crusades and encouraged the faithful to defend their civilization from foreign threats. To aid his preaching,...

St. Andre Bessette (1845–1937) was born the eighth of twelve children to a poor working class family in Quebec, Canada. He was weak and sickly from his birth. When he was nine, his father died in a lumber accident; when he was twelve, his mother died of tuberculosis. He then worked at various odd jobs until he entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross as a lay brother at age 25, serving...

Edward was born a prince, the son of King Ethelred II and Queen Emma; half-brother to King Edmund Ironside and King Hardicanute. When his father was unseated by Danish invasion. Edward and his brother were sent to Denmark to be quietly killed, but the officer in charge took pity on the boys, and sent them to Sweden, and from there they went to the King of Hungary to be raised and educated....

St. Angela of Foligno, T.O.S.F., was an Italian Franciscan tertiary who became known as a mystic from her extensive writings about her mystical revelations. Due to the respect they engendered in the Catholic Church, she is known as "Mistress of Theologians". Angela was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious community which refused to accept...

St. Genevieve (c.422-512 A.D.) was born to a respectable family in a small village outside Paris, France. When she was seven years old a famous bishop, St. Germain, spotted her in a crowd and prophesied to her parents about her future sanctity. At his invitation, St. Genevieve expressed her desire to live in a state of perpetual virginity and made her vows under him, after which St. Germain...