Saint Othmar of Saint Gall, also known as Audemar, Audomar, Otmar, or Otmaro, was an influential figure in the early Catholic Church. Born in Rhaetia, an ancient province in modern-day Switzerland and Germany, Othmar received an education that prepared him for a life dedicated to serving God and his community. After completing his studies, Othmar was ordained as a priest and assigned to the...

St. Macarius was born in Lower Egypt. A late tradition places his birthplace in the village of Shabsheer (Shanshour), in Al Minufiyah Governorate, Egypt around 300 A.D. At some point before his pursuit of asceticism, Macarius made his living smuggling saltpeter in the vicinity of Nitria, a vocation which taught him how to survive in and travel across the wastes in that area. St. Macarius is...

Blessed John Licci (1400-1511) was born to a poor peasant farmer near Palermo, Sicily. His mother died in childbirth, and his father was forced to leave the infant alone at home while he worked in the fields.  One day a neighbor woman heard the baby's cries and, in compassion, brought him into her home to care for him. When she laid the child on the bed next to her paralyzed husband,...

According to legend, Brice was an orphan. He was rescued by Bishop Martin and raised in the monastery at Marmoutier. He became Martin's pupil, although the ambitious and volatile Brice was rather the opposite of his master in temperament. Brice became a monk and later, Martin's archdeacon. In one account, when Martin prophesied that Brice would become his successor as bishop, but would...

Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc, also known as Giosafat Kuncewycz, Jehoshaphat Kuncewycz, John Kunsevich, Josaphat Kuntsevych, Josaphat of Polotsk, and Jozofat Kuncewicz, was born in 1580 in Volodymyr, Lithuania (modern Ukraine). His father was a municipal counselor, and his mother was known for her piety. Josaphat was raised in the Orthodox Ruthenian Church, which, on 23 November 1595, united with...