Dominic Savio (2 April 1842 – 9 March 1857) was an Italian adolescent student of Saint John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy. He was noted for his piety and devotion to the Catholic faith, and was eventually canonized. Bosco regarded Savio very highly, and wrote a biography of his young student, The Life of Dominic...

St. John of God (1445-1550) was born in Portugal to poor and devout Christian parents. How he came to be separated from them and homeless at the age of 8 is uncertain, but he eventually found work as a shepherd until the age of 22. At that time he enlisted as a soldier in the Roman Emperor's army to escape an offer of marriage to the shepherd's daughter. There he led a wild and...

St. Perpetua and St. Felicity (d. 203 A.D.) were friends who lived in Carthage, North Africa. They were both catechumens preparing to receive the Church's sacraments: Perpetua was a married noblewoman nursing her first child, and Felicity was a pregnant Christian slave who worked as a household servant. Because Christianity was forbidden, they were seized along with two companions, one of...

St. Colette (1381-1447) was born in Picardy, France, the daughter of a poor carpenter who served the local Benedictine abbey. Her parents conceived her in their old age after praying to St. Nicholas for a child, naming her Colette after him. She became well known for her faith and spiritual wisdom from a young age. After the death of her parents she joined the Third Order of St. Francis and...

St. John-Joseph of the Cross (1654-1739) was born on the island of Ischia, near Naples. He joined the Franciscan Order of the Strict Observance (the reform of St. Peter of Alcantara) at age sixteen. His influence was great despite his young age, and after three years he was sent to help found a new order of friars in Piedmont, where he was ordained to the priesthood. He codified a set of...