St. Teresa of Jesus (1900 - 1920), also known as St. Teresa of the Andes, was born in Chile to an upper class family. She was a pious child with a profound spirituality and a deep devotion to Jesus and Mary. Yet she was also stubborn and self-centered, defects which she diligently set herself to overcome in preparation for her First Holy Communion at the age of 10. Inspired by reading the...

St. Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) was born in Italy, the fifth of eight children of a prosperous pharmacist. Her mother and three siblings died of tuberculous when she was young, and when she was 18 her father died as well, leaving Gemma to help care for her younger siblings. She rejected two marriage proposals and became a housekeeper while trying to enter the religious life as a Passionist. She...

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the latter quarter of the second century, reckons him as the fifth pope in succession from the Apostles, though he says nothing of his martyrdom. His pontificate is variously dated by critics, e.g. 106-115 or 109-116. In Christian antiquity he was credited with a pontificate of about ten years, and there is no reason to doubt that he was on the...

She was one of the “three Marys” who followed Our Lord and stood at the foot of the Cross on Calvary when He died. She was the wife of Saint Cleophas, the brother of Saint Joseph. She was the mother of Saint Simon, Saint James the Less and Saint Jude, Apostles, and of Saint Mary Salome, the mother of the Apostles Saint James the Greater and Saint John. Saint Mary of Cleophas was...

St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816) was born in Cuvilly, France, to a large and prosperous farming family. By the age of seven she knew her catechism by heart, and would gather her playmates together and teach it to them. Her spiritual progress was so remarkable that her parish priest allowed her to make an early first communion at the age of nine, at which time she took a vow of chastity. As a...