St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), known simply as Mother Teresa, was born to a family of Albanian descent in what is now Macedonia. As a young girl Mother Teresa was fascinated by stories she heard of missionaries serving in India. By age 12 she discerned a vocation to the religious life, and at the age of 18 joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary to India. She arrived in...

Saint Ida of Herzfeld (c. 770 – 4 September 825) was the widow of a Saxon duke who devoted her life to the poor following the death of her husband in 811. While there is disagreement as to her precise parentage, it is generally agreed that she was closely related to the Carolingians. The daughter of a count, Ida received her education at the court of Charlemagne, who gave her in marriage...

The Martyrs of September are a group of 191 martyrs who died in the French Revolution. They were imprisoned in the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés, Hôtel des Carmes in the rue de Rennes, Prison de la Force, and Seminaire de Saint-Firmin in Paris, France by the Legislative Assembly for refusing to take the oath to support the civil constitution of the clergy. This act placed priests under the...

Saint Solomon Le Clerq, also known as Guillaume-Nicolas-Louis Leclerq, Nicholas Leclerq, Salomon Leclerq, Salomone LeClercq, and Solomon Leclerq, was born on 14 November 1745 in Boulogne-ser-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France, to a wealthy French wine merchant. Despite his father's wish for him to join the family business, Nicholas felt a strong calling to the religious life from an early age. On...

Margaret Ward was born in Congleton, Cheshire, in Northwest England, around 1550. Not much is known about Ward's early life, except that, as the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "she was of a good family" and was described as a gentlewoman. According to hagiographer Alban Butler, Ward was a victim of the renewed persecution in England at the time, during the reign of Elizabeth I....