St. Gemma Galgani was an Italian laywoman and an extraordinary mystic. Gemma was born in 1878 to a pharmacist and his wife in the village of Camigliano, Italy, near the city of Lucca. She was one of eight children. Gemma’s mother died when she was a child, but not before...

St. Perpetua was an early martyr under Roman persecution, who is still remembered to our day. She was born Vivia Perpetua at Carthage about 181 A.D. The ancient city of Carthage was a large one and a prominent part of the Roman Empire, and it was located in North Africa...

St. Polycarp was a bishop, martyr and Church father, and has the distinction of learning of the life of Christ directly from the Apostle St. John. Polycarp, a Greek name meaning “rich in fruit”, was born around the year 70 A.D. and as a child was converted to the Christian...

St. John Bosco was a founder, a caretaker of impoverished boys, and is associated with significant, vivid dreams. John was born in 1815 in the Piedmont area of Italy to a poor family. He lost his father when he was two, and spent his youth working as a shepherd, and...

St. Peter Canisius was an intrepid Dutch Jesuit priest and a key figure in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Peter was born in 1521 at Nijmagen, Holland to the wealthy Jacob Kanis (Canisius in English) and his wife. Jacob was the burgermeister, a role similar to mayor. Later in life, Peter wrote...

St. Stanislaus Kostka was a Polish nobleman and Jesuit novice who showed remarkable perseverance in following God’s call to his vocation. Stanislaus was born in 1550 at Rostkovo Castle in Poland, and was named after the 11th century martyr and bishop, St. Stanislaus. His father, John, was a senator for...

St. Francis Borgia was a royal-born husband and father, Jesuit priest, and superior-general. Francis was born in eastern Spain in 1510. He was born into the Spanish branch of the Borgia family, his father being the 3rd Duke of Gandia and his mother being the granddaughter of King Ferdinand V...

Blessed Hermann of Reichenau was an esteemed scientist and abbot, as well as a profoundly disabled man. Hermann was born in 1013 to Count Wolverad II von Althausen and his wife Hiltrud. Althausen was located in the Swabian region of southern Germany. Hermann was born with multiple anomalies, likely including...

St. Peter Faber was a one of the original members of the Society of Jesus, a missionary priest and reformer. Peter Faber is the anglicized form of the name Pierre LeFèvre or Favre. He was born in 1506 to a family of farmers in a small village in France near...

BORN A SLAVE Venerable Augustus Tolton was born a slave and overcame tremendous discrimination to become the first Roman Catholic priest of African descent in the United States. Augustus was born in 1854 to slaves Peter Paul Tolton and his wife Martha Jane Chisley in Brush Creek, Missouri. Augustus was the second...