Lives of the Saints

Of Saint Scholastica but little is known on earth, save that she was the sister of the great patriarch St. Benedict, and that, under his direction, she founded and governed a numerous community near Monte Casino. St. Gregory sums up her life by saying that she devoted herself to God … Read more

At Alexandria, in 249, the mob rose in savage fury against the Christians. Metras, an old man, perished first. His eyes were pierced with reeds, and he was stoned to death. A woman named Quinta was the next victim. She was led to a heathen temple and bidden worship. She … Read more

The life of St. John of Matha, which began in 1160, was one long course of self-sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of his neighbor. As a child, his chief delight was serving the poor; and he often told them he had come into the world for … Read more

St. Paul Miki was a Catholic priest who lived in Japan in the 16th century. Along with 25 other Catholic missionaries, he spread the word of Christianity in Japan. However, their efforts were met with resistance from the Japanese government, which saw Christianity as a threat. In 1597, St. Paul … Read more

St. Paul, which was the first hermit as S. Jerome writeth, was in the time of Decius and Valerianus, emperors, the year of the incarnation of our Lord two hundred and fifty-six. This holy man, S. Paul, saw men for Christian faith cruelly tormented, wherefore he fled into the desert. … Read more

St. Hilary of Poitiers was a 4th century Christian bishop and theologian. He was born in Poitiers, France and is considered one of the most important figures of the Western Church in the 4th century. He was a key figure in the development of Western Christianity and his writings and … Read more

Parentage of St. Dominic In a valley of Old Castile, watered by the Douro, and about equidistant from Aranda and Osma, stands a simple village, called in the language of the country Calarnega, and Caleroga in the softer language of many historians. There was St. Dominic born, in the year … Read more

Situation of the Church at the end of the 12th Century. The twelfth century of the Christian era dawned amid splendid auspices. The faith and the current ideas of the ages were in perfect harmony with each other; together they guided the West; out of a variety of races, at … Read more