St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941) was born in Poland to a devout Christian family. As a boy he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She showed him two crowns, one white for virginity and one red for martyrdom, and asked him which he would be willing to accept. He replied that he would accept both. He later joined the Franciscans. While studying for the priesthood in Rome, he organized...

St. Cassian of Imola (4th c.) was the Bishop of Brescia near Milan, Italy. When a wave of persecution erupted under the Roman Emperor, Cassian fled to Imola, Italy, where he found work as a schoolmaster teaching children how to read and write. He was a disciplined and effective educator. In addition to instructing his students in the Christian faith, he also taught them a form of shorthand...

Pope Innocent XI (16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death, on 1689. Political and religious tensions with Louis XIV of France were a constant preoccupation for Innocent XI. Within the Papal States, he lowered taxes, produced a surplus in the papal budget and repudiated...

Saint Philomena or Philomena of Rome (c. 10 January 291 – c. 10 August 304) was a young virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore an inscription, Pax Tecum Filumena (i.e. "Peace be unto you, Philomena"), that was taken to indicate that her name (in the Latin of the inscription) was...

St. Lawrence (d. 258 A.D.) was likely a Spaniard by birth who lived in Rome while Christianity was outlawed under pain of death. He was appointed by Pope St. Sixtus II as archdeacon over the seven deacons of Rome, and held the sacred duty of tending to the Church's wealth and distributing alms to the poor. After Pope St. Sixtus II was beheaded by Roman Emperor Valerian, along with the six...