St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680), also known as the 'Lily of the Mohawks,' was born in present-day New York. Her father was a Mohawk chief, and her mother an Algonquin who had been converted to the Christian faith by Jesuit missionaries. When Kateri was four years old, a smallpox epidemic killed her entire family and left her partially blind, disfigured, and crippled. She was raised...

Saint Henry II (972-1024 A.D.) was born to the Duke of Bavaria and the Princess of Burgundy. He was a pious child and was given the education of a priest. However, his destiny changed when he succeeded his father as the Duke of Bavaria and took a holy woman as his wife. Upon the sudden death of his cousin he also became the King of Germany. Then, in 1014 A.D. he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor...

Louis Martin (22 August 1823 – 29 July 1894) and Marie-Azélie "Zélie" Guérin Martin (23 December 1831 – 28 August 1877) were two married Roman Catholic French laypeople and the parents of five Roman Catholic nuns, including Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church in 1925. On 18 October 2015, the couple were also canonized as...

St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547 A.D.) and his twin sister, St. Scholastica, were born to a Roman nobleman and his wife in Nursia, Italy. He spent his childhood with his parents in Rome. As a young man he found in himself a strong desire to escape the triflings of the world and serve God. He left his family and wealth and settled in the mountainous region of Subiaco. After three years living in...

St. Amelia (741-772 A.D.) was born into a noble and pious Christian family in the land of the Ardennes, bordering what is today Belgium and Luxembourg. Amelia was a devout child of strong character who committed her virginity to Christ from a young age. However, because she was such a beautiful and virtuous woman, she was pursued for several years by the young Charlemagne. In one account,...