Blessed Jane of Aza (12th c.), also known as Joanna or Juana of Aza, belonged to the Spanish nobility. At a young age she married a nobleman and together they had five children. She was a pious woman known for her life of prayer and generosity to the poor. When her two eldest sons were given to the priesthood, she went to the nearby church of St. Dominic Silos, a miracle worker and a patron...

Saints Faith, Hope and Charity are a group of Christian martyred saints, venerated together with their mother, Sophia ("Wisdom"). According to the Passio, Sophia was a widow of Milan who gave away her possessions and moved to Rome with her daughters. Her daughters were martyred before her and she buried them at Via Appia. She died a natural death three days later while praying at the...

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was born at the castle of Loyola in Basque country, Spain, the youngest of thirteen children. In keeping with the young aristocrats of his day, Ignatius sought after military prowess, vainglory, and fame, and became a knight at the age of seventeen. He was known as a fancy dresser, an expert dancer, a womanizer, sensitive to insult, and involved in criminal...

Abdon and Sennen were Persians, but coming to Rome, courageously confessed the faith of Christ in the persecution of Decius in 250. They were cruelly tormented, but the more their bodies were mangled and covered with ghastly wounds, the more were their souls adorned and beautified with divine grace, and rendered glorious in the sight of heaven. The Christians at Rome did not treat them as...

St. Martha (1st c.) was a pious Jewish woman from Bethany near Jerusalem. She was a close friend of Jesus during his earthly ministry, as was her brother, St. Lazarus, and her sister, St. Mary of Bethany. The Gospels tell us that "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary and Lazarus." Martha would serve the Lord faithfully when he was a guest in her home, once busying herself so much...