St. John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890) was the eldest of six children born to a nominal Protestant family in London, England. As a child he loved reading the Scriptures, and experienced a conversion to Christianity at the age of 15. He became a brilliant academic, an extremely influential Oxford scholar, and an Anglican priest. He was a leader in what was called the "Oxford...

Thaïs is first briefly described as wealthy and beautiful, a courtesan living in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, Egypt. Yet in the eyes of the church, she was a public sinner. Thaïs, however, made inquiries about the Christian religion and eventually converted. In her Vita a monk in disguise pays for entry into her chambers in order to challenge her and convert her, yet he finds that she...

St. Justina of Padua (d. 304 A.D.) was a young and pious Christian woman who dedicated her virginity to Christ. She received baptism at the hands of St. Prosdocimus, the first Bishop of Padua in Italy. At the age of sixteen she was arrested for being a Christian under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Maximinian, and was ordered to make sacrifice to the pagan gods. When she refused, she was...

Saint Faith or Saint Faith of Conques is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and refused to make pagan sacrifices even under torture. Saint Faith was tortured to death with a red-hot brazier. Her death is sometimes said to have occurred in the year 287 or 290,...

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), baptized with the name Helena, was one of ten children born to a devout, peasant farming family in Poland. She grew up during the tough years leading up to and following the first World War, and received little formal education. She worked as a poor housekeeper before following her religious vocation at the age of 20, entering the Congregation of the...