St. Nicholas of Myra (270 - 343 A.D.) was the only child of a wealthy Greek Christian couple living in what is today the country of Turkey. He was a pious child, and upon the death of his parents Nicholas was raised by an uncle who was a bishop. St. Nicholas grew in holiness, was ordained to the priesthood, and eventually consecrated a bishop. He was famous for generosity to the poor,...
St. Barbara (3rd c.) was born in Nicomedia in modern day Turkey. According to tradition, after the death of her mother she was raised by her rich and tyrannical pagan father who, because of her beauty and intelligence, guarded her closely, keeping her locked away in a tower to protect her from the outside world. She was educated by tutors and came to reject the false gods she was taught to...
Saint Emma, also known as Emma of Lesum, or Emma of Stiepel, lived in the city that is Bremen today. She is the first female inhabitant of the city to be known by name. Emma lived in the early 11th century, and was born into the Immedinger family. The Immedingers were Saxon nobility descended from the legendary King Widuking, who fought againt Charlemange. Emma's father was a count,...
St. Bibiana, also known as Vibiana or Viviana (d. 361), was born in Rome, the daughter of Christian parents who were martyred in the persecutions of Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate. Her father was severely beaten and sent to live in exile as a slave, but died from his wounds. Her mother was beheaded shortly after. St. Bibiana and her sister, Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and...
Charles Eugène de Foucauld, Viscount of Foucauld, born on 15 September 1858 in Strasbourg (France), died on 1 December 1916 in Tamanrasset (Algeria), was a cavalry officer in the French Army, then an explorer and geographer, and finally a Catholic priest, hermit who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 and is considered by the Church to be a martyr. His...