On November 1st the Church celebrates all the holy ones in heaven, known and unknown, with the feast of All Saints. The solemnity originally began in the 4th century to commemorate all the Christian martyrs killed during those centuries of brutal persecution before Christianity was legalized. There were so many martyrs that a separate feast day could not be given to each one individually, yet,...

The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a man named Zeno, who had senatorial rank. Filled with apostolic zeal, Quentin traveled to Gaul as a missionary with Saint Lucian, who was later martyred at Beauvais, and others (the martyrs Victoricus and Fuscian are said to have been Quentin's followers). Quentin settled at...

Saint Marcellus of Tangier or Saint Marcellus the Centurion is venerated as a Martyr Saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feast day is celebrated on October 30.  Saint Marcellus was a centurion of the Legio VII Gemina Pia Felix, and was born in what is now León, Spain, in the middle of the third century. The story relates that Marcellus lived close to the...

Saint Gaetano Errico (19 October 1791 - 29 October 1860) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest from Naples and the founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Errico was born to devout and hardworking parents whose income was modest but sufficient for him to do his ecclesial studies in Naples. It was common for him to be seen twice a week tending to the ill despite his...

St. Juan Alcober joined the Dominicans in his home-town (1708) and was ordained priest (1718). He and St. Francis Serrano had planned to work together in the Chinese missions, but Fr. Alcober was delayed in Lorca, where he preached until he was able to set sail. Having gained a reputation as a popular preacher there, only a miracle reminded him of his original purpose. In 1726, he left for the...