Home Page

St. Ephrem of Syria was born circa 306. He converted to Christianity and was baptized at age 18. A deacon and preacher, he may have gone to the Council of Nicaea in 325. During a persecution of Christians in his land St. Ephrem led believers to Edessa, where he founded a school of theology. The saint fought Gnosticism and Arianism through the poems, hymns and homilies he wrote. He died in 373. In 1920, he was named a doctor of the church. St. Ephrem is patron saint of spiritual directors.

St. Medard was born around 456 in France. He was ordained when he was 33 and became a bishop in the year 530. The bishop was loved by his people, and eventually legends about him surfaced. He died June 8, 545, in Noyon, France. St. Medard is patron saint against bad weather because he is said to have been sheltered from the rain by a hovering eagle.

St. Erasmus was the bishop of Formiae, Campagna, Italy. During Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, St. Erasmus fled and was supposedly fed by a raven in order to keep hiding. The first time he was captured, an angel rescued him. The second time he was captured circa 303, he was martyred and became one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The saints in this group are known to be great helpers in times of trouble or sickness. St. Erasmus is patron saint of women in labor, and patron saint against abdominal pain.

St. Ferdinand III of Castile was born to a royal family near Salamanca, Spain, in 1198. He became king of Castile in 1217 and king of Leon in 1230. Later he became king of Palencia, Valladolid and Burgos. St. Ferdinand founded the University of Salamanca and rebuilt the Cathedral of Burgos. The saint also founded hospitals, monasteries and churches. He reformed Spanish law and tried to better his country. St. Ferdinand, who died in 1252, is patron saint of governors and authorities.

St. Bona of Pisa was born around 1156 in Pisa, Italy. From a young age she was a visionary, and at age 10 she became an Augustinian tertiary. She made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at age 14, and she later made pilgrimages to Rome and Spain on numerous occasions. She led other pilgrims each time. She died around the year 1207 in Pisa. St. Bona of Pisa is patron saint of travelers.

St. Germanus of Paris was born in Autun, France, in the year 496. He was a priest and abbot and became bishop of Paris in 555. He cured King Childebert I from an illness and then converted him. Once converted, King Childebert I built the abbey of St. Vincent, which is now called St. Germain des Pres. St. Germanus, also know as Father of the Poor, died in 576.

St. Gregory VII was born in Soana, Italy, around the year 1020. Educated in Rome, he became a Benedictine monk and was chaplain to Pope Gregory VI. Although he was chosen to be the 152nd pope, he declined. He later became the 157th pope. He was a great reformer in the church, suspending corrupt clergymen and fighting simony. St. Gregory VII was eventually driven into exile by the emperor. He spent the rest of his papacy in Salerno, where he died in 1085.

St. Rita of Cascia wanted to join a religious order from a very young age. However, when she was 12 her parents arranged her marriage. She obediently married the abusive man when she turned 18 and had twin sons. Her husband abused her for 18 years, after which he was murdered. He repented at the time of his death after his wife prayed for him. When St. Rita’s sons also died, she joined an Augustinian convent. She spent the next 40 years in prayer and was particularly dedicated to the Passion. She died May 22, 1457, in Cascia. St. Rita is patron saint of abuse victims and difficult marriages.

St. Bernadine of Siena was a theological writer, a preacher, a priest and a Friar Minor. A charismatic preacher, St. Bernadine became associated with public speaking, advertising and public relations. The saint was also a great peacemaker who said gossip was a major source of arguments which could turn violent. He died in Italy in 1444. St. Bernadine is patron saint of advertising and public relations.

St. Peter Wright was born in England in 1603 to a Protestant family. St. Peter converted to Catholicism and eventually became a priest and Jesuit. St. Peter served as a chaplain to English soldiers in the English Civil War. He was arrested in 1651 during Oliver Cromwell’s oppression of Catholics. St. Peter Wright was imprisoned and then martyred on May 19, 1651, in front of about 20,000 people.