Sebastian’s roads and bridges connected many distant places. His final bridge-building was to help men and women recognize their God-given dignity and destiny. Sebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of 31, he sailed to Mexico, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466-mile road from...

St. Adela was born sometime around the year 1067 and was the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England, and his wife Mathilde of Flanders. Adela was very well educated, spoke several languages, and was deeply religious. Around the year 1080, she married Stephen III, Count of Blois, who was one of the richest men in Europe. Together they had 11 children...

St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155) became a Christian in his youth, a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. St. John ordained him Bishop of Smyrna (in modern day Turkey) and from this position Polycarp became one of the most illustrious of the Apostolic Fathers. His closeness with the Apostles and long life enabled him to protect the Church against heresy. The account of his martyrdom is...

St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297) was born in Tuscany, Italy, the only child of a working-class family. She lost her mother at age seven, and had a poor relationship with her stepmother. Margaret was spoiled, willful, reckless, and beautiful, and at the age of seventeen she left her father's house in the night and became the mistress of a young nobleman. She lived with him in his family...

St. Peter Damian (1007-1072 A.D.) was born in Ravenna, Italy, the youngest of a large and noble yet poor family. After his birth his mother initially refused to nurse him due to the strain he would put on the family, and he nearly died. He was later orphaned and suffered from extreme poverty. One brother adopted him, but neglected him and treated him like a slave. Another brother, a priest,...