Francis was one of twelve children born to Mang and Frances Schwarzenbach Seelos; he was named for Saint Francis Xavier. His father was a textile merchant who became parish sacristan. Francis was Confirmed on 3 September 1828, and made his first Communion on 2 April 1830. The boy wanted to be a priest from an early age, and often claimed he would be another Francis Xavier. He completed his...

Though October 4 is the feast of the well-known Francis of Assisi, there are several others who are remembered on this date. Sts.  Felix and Adauctus (d. 303) were according to tradition, Christian martyrs who were said to have suffered during the Great Persecution during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian. The Acts, first published in Ado's Martyrology, relate as...

Gerard was born to the Belgian nobility; son of Stance and Plectrude and raised in a military atmosphere. He became a courtier to the Count of Namur. Disappointed by court life, and ashamed of the many privileges he received from his family and military post, Gerard realized that he was called to the monastic life. He found Belgian monasteries too lax in their discipline. While visiting...

Leodegar of Poitiers (Latin: Leodegarius, (c. 615 – October 2, 679 AD) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. Leodegar was an opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Mayor of the Palace of Neustria, and the leader of the faction of Burgundian nobles. After his ordination to the priesthood, he petitioned the Bishop and...

Though St. Therese of Liseaux is the most famous of the saints remembered on October 1, St. John Kukuzelis also is commemorated on this day. He was the illegitimate son of an Aragonese noble, Jaime de Palafox, the Marquis of Ariaza; his father would not recognize him, his mother became a Carmelite nun, and Juan was raised by a family of millers. When the boy was ten years old, his father...