Edmund the Martyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia), who died 20 November 869, was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. He is thought to have been the son of Æthelweard, an obscure East Anglian king, whom it was said Edmund succeeded when he was 14. Later versions of Edmund's life relate that he was crowned on 25 December 855 at Burna (probably Bures St...

Pope Pontian reigned from 230-235 and was the Pope who holds the distinction of being the first pontiff to abdicate. Perhaps a Roman by birth, he was elected to succeed St. Urban I and devoted much of his reign to upholding the condemnation of the heretical aspects of Origenism and struggled against the schismatic movement which supported the antipope Hippolytus. In 235, Pontian was arrested...

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769–1852) was born in Grenoble, France, to a wealthy and prominent family. At the age of 18 she joined the Visitation nuns against the wishes of her family, taking her religious name after St. Rose of Lima and St. Philip Neri. During the anti-religious fervor of French Revolution, the "Reign of Terror," her convent was shut down. She then took up...

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231) was born in Hungary, the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. As a child she was sent to Thuringa (now Germany) to be brought up with Prince Ludwig of Thuringa, whom she was to marry at the age of 14 in order to solidify a political alliance between the two nations. Their marriage was a very happy one, and they had three...