St. Zita (d. 1271) was born into poverty in Tuscany, Italy. Her mother taught her to develop a strong prayer life, which, combined with her happy disposition, enabled her to seek God's will in all her life circumstances. At the age of twelve she became a servant for a noble Italian family. The family she served lived near a church, and Zita would rise early to attend daily Mass before...

St. Cletus (1st c.) and St. Marcellinus (3rd c.) were both Romans, popes, and martyrs who ruled the Holy See during the terrible persecution of Christians at the hands of the Roman Empire. St. Cletus was a convert and disciple of St. Peter the Apostle who became the third Bishop of Rome from 76 to 89 A.D., under the reigns of Roman Emperors Vespasian and Titus. His name appears in the Roman...

St. Mark the Evangelist (1st c.) was born to Jewish parents living in Libya in North Africa, later settling in Cana of Galilee not far from Jerusalem. Mark became one of the 70 disciples of Jesus and the author of the Gospel that bears his name. According to tradition, St. Peter the Apostle was married to a relative of St. Mark's father, and after Mark's father died, Peter looked after...

The passion narratives of the Gospels mention several different women present at the crucifixion of Jesus. The same women seem to have gone to the tomb of Jesus on the morning of the resurrection. All of them seem to have the name Mary. They include Mary Magdalen, Mary the wife of Cleopas and mother of James and Joseph, Mary Salome, and Mary the mother of Jesus. On April 24, we remember two of...

Known as the Apostle of Prussia, St. Adalbert was born into a noble family in Bohemia. He was named the bishop of Prague in 982 where his efforts to reform the clergy earned him many enemies. He was released from his episcopal duties and retired to a Benedictine monastery in Rome. However, Duke Boleslav I of Prague and the citizens of Prague petitioned the pope for Adalbert’s return to...