St Medardus was born at Salency, Oise, in Picardy. His father, Nectaridus, was a noble of Frankish origin, while his mother Protagia was Gallo-Roman. At the death in 530 of his patron in the Church, Bishop Alomer, when Medard was 33, he was chosen to succeed him as bishop of Vermand due to his exemplary piety and his knowledge, considerable for that time. Despite his objections, he found...

Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew (1549–1626) was born in Spain, one of seven children. Her parents died when the plague swept through Spain, leaving her an orphan at the age of ten. She then became a shepherdess tending her brother's sheep. From a young age she had an extraordinary spiritual life, including being graced with many visions. In one of them the Blessed Virgin Mary told her...

St. Boniface (d. 754 A.D.) was born to a noble Christian family in Devonshire, England. He became a Benedictine monk and devoted his life to the evangelization of the pagan Germanic tribes in what is now Germany. He went there at the request of Pope Gregory II in 719 A.D. and systematically opened up the vast tracks of wilderness to the Gospel, building on the work of the earlier Irish...

St. Filippo Smaldone (1848–1923) was born in Naples, Italy, during a time of upheaval and unrest both in Italy and in the Church. He decided to become a priest, and while in seminary he took on a personal apostolate of assisting the deaf and mute community in Naples. He dedicated so much time to this work that he barely passed his exams. After his ordination he continued to assist the...

One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages, aged 13 to 30, from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands. Charles first learned of Christ’s teachings...