By T.K. Wilson … When Cornelius’s messengers arrived, Peter immediately went with them. When they arrived in the Centurion’s home, he preached the gospel to all who were there. All in the house believed his word, received the Spirit, and were baptized.
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Lyn Wilson St. Timothy the Evangelist was born in Lystra, a city in Asia Minor. He was born to a Jewish mother, Eunice, a devout follower of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:5). His father was Greek. The Apostle Paul discipled St.Timothy, who, by all accounts, was a devout young man. He was praised for his […]
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By Sarah Levesque … Macarius the Great, also known as Macarius the Egyptian or Macarius the Elder, was one of the Desert Fathers of the early Church. He was born around the turn of the fourth century in Egypt, the son of a Christian. Originally a camel driver, Macarius was ordained a priest and became a hermit, following the words of an angel that appeared to him twice.
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By Ian Wilson … The wicked minister Ulpian had the saintly lady arrested and brought to the temple of Apollo, attempting to force her to sacrifice to the false god. Instead, Tatiana prayed, and the idol of Apollo shattered with a terrible noise. Some witnesses claimed they saw a shadowy being fleeing from the statue.
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By T.K. Wilson … The Great Martyr Anastasia was born in Rome, the daughter of a pagan and a secret Christian. During the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian, she ministered to those in prison, slipping out in disguise, keeping this from her pagan husband. She used her wealth to free the captives and also, using her skill as an herbalist, cured many wounds and diseases, hence her title Deliverer from Poisons, as she knew how to reverse poisonings.
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by Ian Wilson … A brilliant theologian and defender of the Russian Orthodox church, Archbishop Hilarion was born Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky around the year 1885 in the Russian village of Lipitsa. He was born into a family of clergy and theologians, and followed in his father’s footsteps.
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By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…
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By Caroline Liberatore … Edmund Campion is notably remembered and celebrated yearly with a feast day on December 1st. Although there are many components of his later life which we annually recall and commemorate, his entire life was remarkable upon examination.
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By T.K. Wilson … Beginning in the 1600s, the Catholic Church was violently persecuted by the Vietnamese government, but that did not stop the church from growing. One of the main heroes of the Vietnamese church was Andrew Dung-Lac.
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By Sarah Levesque … Gregory of Tours was likely born in the Merovingian kingdom (now France) around the year 539. He had many important relations, which likely eventually helped secure his appointment to the bishopric. Be that as it may, Gregory was appointed bishop of Tours during the reign of King Sigebert and Queen Brunhild of East Francia in 573.
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Faithful Friday: Martin Luther by Ian Wilson … Perhaps the most controversial figure in Western Christianity, Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony. His father had become prosperous in the copper industry, and made enough to give young Martin a good education.
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In the early 9th century, Princess Anna Vsevolodna was born into prominent status as the daughter of Kievan Great Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich and granddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor.
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St. Narcissus’ origins are lost to history, but he was born at the end of the first century and was appointed as the thirtieth bishop of Jerusalem around 180AD. He was known for his many virtues and his dedication to his office. During his episcopacy, there was a year that the church ran out of lamp oil.
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An obscure man from an obscure parish who was content to be forgotten, John Ball was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire, in October 1585.
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Theodore de Beze was born on June 24, 1519, in Vezelay, France. He studied to be a lawyer then set up practice in Paris, where he also wrote poetry. At one point he became very ill and, once he recovered, he sought out the famous reformation leader John Calvin, who was living in Geneva, Switzerland. There, Beza became a professor of Greek, then he travelled Europe preaching the Protestant cause.
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The Battle of Lepanto was, in many ways, the pivotal moment of this ongoing strife. There was much at stake, particularly as the number of Christian hostages had accumulated astronomically over the years.
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“Good King Wenceslaus” is largely remembered today in the old Christmas carol that actually takes place on the second day of Christmas – December 26th, St. Stephen’s Day. In the song, Wenceslaus is revered as kind, gracious, courageous, and persevering. The real Wenceslaus, a prince of Bohemia, was born around the year 903AD to Duke Wratislaw (son of the devout Princess Ludmilla) and his wife Dragomir.
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One of the most influential figures in both high-church Anglicanism and Catholicism, John Henry Newman was born in the city of London in the year 1801. His father, John, was a banker. The eldest of six, Newman was brought up a Calvinist and eventually went to Trinity College to complete his education as an Anglican priest.
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Nicetas (also spelled Niketas) was a member of the Gothic people and lived near the Danube River in what is now Romania. We do not know under what circumstances Nicetas was brought to the Christian faith, but we do know he was baptized by Bishop Theophilis of the Goths.
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This realization spurred these students towards serving the impoverished around them, namely in the establishment of the Conference of Charity, later called the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, after Ozanam’s role model.
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