Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914) was born Giuseppe Melchiore, one of ten children from an impoverished family living in Venetia, then under the political control of the Austrian Empire. His parents valued education and ensured that Giuseppe walked nearly four miles to school every day. Drawn to the priesthood, he received a scholarship to enter one of the best seminaries of his day, and was...

St. Ronald was born in Agdir Norway in 1100 AD. He was a talented and venturesome son of wealthy parents. As a young boy, his parents sent him to visit the Orkney Island in Northern Scotland. He was appointed Earl of the Orkney and Shetland Islands by King Sigurd I of Norway in 1129. St. Ronald had many close calls to losing his life including a pilgrimage to the Holy Land during the Crusades....

When he died at the age of 23, Louis was already a Franciscan, a bishop, and a saint! Louis’s parents were Charles II of Naples and Sicily, and Mary, daughter of the King of Hungary. Louis was related to Saint Louis IX on his father’s side and to Elizabeth of Hungary on his mother’s side. Louis showed early signs of attachment to prayer and to the corporal works of mercy. As...

St. Agapitus was a fifteen year old boy who was caught up in the persecutions of the Christians in Antioch. According to his legend Agapitus, who may have been a member of the noble Anicia family of Palestrina, was condemned to death under the prefect Antiochus and the emperor Aurelian, for being a Christian. He was thrown to the wild animals in the local arena at Palestrina. The beasts...

Beatrice was the daughter of the Count of Viana and sister of Saint Amedeus of Portugal. She was raised in the household of Princess Isabel, and accompanied her to Castile when she married John II of Castile. Beatrice spent much of her life as a courtier, but tired of it. She retired to a Cistercian convent in the city of Toledo, and dedicated the rest of her life to God. Around 1484, Beatrice...