Daughter of a Paduan nun who had been seduced into ignoring her vow of chastity; Lucrezia grew up in the convent. She felt a call to the religious life, which many of the sisters of opposed due to the scandal of her birth. The bishop approved of her vocation, however, and she entered her novitiate as a Benedictine nun in 1461, taking the name Eustochium. For four years she suffered from...

St. Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) was born to a noble family in France and became a Jesuit priest. He was known for his solid and serious sermons and his dedication to observing the rule of his Order with exactness. He became the rector of a Jesuit house next to the Monastery of the Visitation where St. Margaret Mary Alacoque lived, who was given special revelations from Jesus of His...

This memorial commemorates the eighteen (18) apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Bernadette Soubiroux that occurred between 11 February and 16 July of 1858 near the town of Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrenees region of France. Though there would be other people with her, only Saint Bernadette could see the Lady. During the 9th appearance, on 25 February, the Lady told Bernadette to...

St. Scholastica (480–542 A.D.) was born in Nursia, Italy, to a noble Roman family, along with her twin brother, the famous St. Benedict of Nursia. Their mother died in childbirth. Scholastica was dedicated to God as a child, and from a young age both siblings sensed a special divine calling. They both entered religious life and established communities within five miles of each other; St....

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was born in Germany to a devout peasant family. From a young age she received divine knowledge imparted to her through extremely detailed visions of the lives of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. As a child her guardian angel often appeared to her, and Jesus himself visited her while she was tending sheep. She was often called upon for...