By Sarah Losardo … In 1883, Mother Marianne received a letter from the Sandwich Islands – now known as Hawaii – begging for someone to take charge of their hospitals and schools. Along with six other sisters, Mother Marianne set out halfway around the world, primarily to care for those with leprosy (now called Hansen’s Disease).
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Christopher was born November 21, 1924 in Leeds to Edith and John Tolkien. From a young age, the boy had an aptitude for remembering the complexities of his father’s work, once stopping storytime (where The Hobbit was being read aloud) to correct his father on a few minor points…
By T.K. Wilson
Seventy years after the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons by St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Adrian stepped onto England’s green shores to continue the work started there….
By Ian Wilson
By Sarah Losardo … One of the sons of Zebedee – also known as the Sons of Thunder – John shows up in the Gospels as the “one who Jesus loved”, one of the ones who asked for a place at Jesus’ right and left hand, the one disciple who followed Jesus to the Cross, the only disciple not to be martyred, and the writer of a gospel, three letters, and the book of Revelation (or the Apocalypse). What else do we know about this apostle?
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By T.K. Wilson … Today (December 19th), the church commemorates Stephen Nguyen Van Vinh and his companions, who were martyred for their faith on this date in 1839.
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By Ian Wilson … The celebrated mystic, St. John of the Cross, was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez on June 24, 1542, in Fontiveros, Spain. Even as a child, John knew he wanted to live the ascetic life. After the untimely death of his father and older brother when John was only three years old, John was sent to a boarding school for poor orphaned children. There, he received a religious education, and served as an acolyte at an Augustinian monastery.
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By Lyn Wilson … Saint Justinian (or Stinan) of Ramsey was a 6th Century Monk from Breton who moved to Ramsey Island in Pembrokeshire in modern day Wales.
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By Sarah Losardo … It was in Paris that she discovered the identity of the priest in her vision – St. Vincent De Paul, the founder of the Sisters of Charity. In January 1830, Zoe finally joined the Sisters of Charity in Paris, taking the name Catherine. The same year, first in July and again in November, Sister Catherine was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary, who entrusted to her a medallion to be given to the world.
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By Ian Wilson What is known about St. Valentine is scant and open to conjecture, shrouded in legend. It is difficult to separate fact from fable, to the point that in 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed Valentine from their official calendar due to lack of evidence for his existence. Valentine may not even have […]
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By Ian Wilson (G) Considered the most astute of the three Cappadocian Fathers, the man who would become Gregory of Nyssa was born into a large, devout Christian family sometime in the fourth century. His older brother was none other than Basil of Caesarea, another one of the Cappadocian Fathers. Together with Gregory of Nazianzus, […]
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By Debbie Robinson … Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) was a renowned Dutch theologian and one of the leading figures of the Neo-Calvinist movement of the late 1800s. Born in the small village of Hoogeveen in the Netherlands, Bavinck was raised in a devout Christian home, which shaped his passion for theology and the Reformed tradition. He studied at the Theological School in Kampen, where he developed a lifelong commitment to exploring the relationship between faith and life.
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By Ian Wilson (G) One of the most beloved saints of the church was born sometime in the third century AD to wealthy parents in the town of Patara in Asian Minor (modern Turkey). Nicholas’ devout parents raised him the nature and admonition of the Lord, and due to their influence, the young Nicholas dedicated […]
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St. Helena, born in about 248 AD, was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. Born in apparently humble circumstances, and said to be a Christian at the time of her marriage, she bore her husband Constantus his only son. Shortly thereafter, however, Constantus divorced her to marry the daughter of an ally. The boy, […]
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Though he was the forgotten preacher of the First Great Awakening, Henry Muhlenberg left an indelible mark on the Lutheran Church of the United States
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At the age of 21, Grafton was confirmed in the Episcopal Church. Two years later, he graduated from Harvard University with a law degree, but soon recognized his calling to the ministry.
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By Ian Wilson John Bosco was perhaps one of the more eccentric saints of the Catholic Church, though can one truly be a saint without being a bit odd? As a young lad in Sardinia (Italy), Bosco saw a performance by a circus troupe and was instantly obsessed. He began training himself in acrobatics and […]
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The 23rd Pope of Rome was born sometime in the third century, AD – no one knows exactly when. Little is known of the details of his life prior to his papacy other than he was born in the city of Rome to ethnically Greek parents. From a young age, he was drawn by God […]
Read MoreBy Ian Wilson (G) The most prolific writer of the New Testament was probably born sometime around 4 BC to a devout Jewish family in Tarsus, present-day Turkey. His story is one of redemption and the incredible grace of God. Nothing is known of his formative years, other than he was trained by Gamaliel, one […]
Read MoreBy Sarah Levesque (G) St. Cyril and St. Methodius were brothers who became known as the Apostles to the Slavs and are celebrated on the same day – February 14th in the West, May 11th in the East. St. Methodius was born around 815 while St. Cyril, originally named Constantine, was born around 827, both in […]
Read MoreBy Sarah Levesque Onesimus (own-ESS-ee-mus) Nesib was born around 1856 near Hurumu in Ethiopia. His parents named him Hiikaa Awaaji; or “translator”. At a young age, Hika was stolen from his widowed mother, renamed Nesib, and sold or stolen multiple times before being liberated by the vice-consul of the French Consulate, Werner Munzinger. The boy […]
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