Assuming that the Annunciation and the Incarnation took place about the vernal equinox, Mary left Nazareth at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to wait upon her cousin Elizabeth, because her presence and much more the presence of the Divine Child in her...
Saint of the Day
Today is the feast of St. Joan of Arc, the patroness of France. Joan
was born to a peasant family near Lorraine, France in the 15th century.
From a young age she heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine,
and St. Margaret speaking to her. Then, in 1428, when she was 13...
Richard Thirkeld was ordained in France in 1579 and returned to York, England, soon after to serve as a home missioner. He was arrested on the eve of the Annunciation in 1538 for the crime of priesthood.He was imprisoned for two months before being brought to court May 27, 1538 for hearing...
Archbishop Antoni Julian Nowowiejski was beatified by Pope John Paul II June 13, 1999, along with another 107 Poles who were martyred during World War II.He was born in 1858. The late archbishop of Plock, Poland, was arrested by the occupying Germans in 1940. He refused the chance to escape,...
St. Augustine was born in Rome. He was a monk and abbot of Saint Andrews in Rome.Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine and his 40 monks to evangelize the British Isles in 596. He and his fellow monks had considered returning to Rome when they heard terrifying stories of the Celts, but Pope...
Philip Neri was born in Florence, Italy, in 1515 into a poor family. As a young man, he received word in a vision that he had a mission in Rome, so he cut himself off from his family and friends and left.He studied philosphy and theology and tutored young boys. But he eventually tired of...
“And I pray thee, loving Jesús, that as Thou hast graciously given me to drink in with delight the words of Thy knowledge, so Thou wouldst mercifully grant me to attain one day to Thee, the fountain of all wisdom and to appear forever before Thy face.” - St. Bede the VenerableBorn in 672 in...
Donatian and Rogatian were brothers who were martyred for their faith in the third century, about the year 287. They were born to a Roman family in Nantes, Brittany and Donatian was the first to convert to Christianity, becoming an ardent witness to the faith after receiving baptism. His...
Jane was born in Sancy, France, in 1765 to a poor family. Her mother died when Jane was 16 years old. Jane took on many family responsibilities until she joined the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris at the age of 22, working among the sick in various hospitals.During the French...
On May 22, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Rita of Cascia, who the late John Paul II called “a disciple of the Crucified One” and an “expert in suffering.”
Known in Spain as “La Santa de los impossibiles” (the saint of the impossible), St. Rita has become immensely popular...