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Today is the feast of Ss. Timothy and Titus. St. Paul the Apostle converted St. Timothy to Christianity circa 47. The two worked together. Timothy was a missionary and led the church in Ephesus. He was martyred in 97. Titus also followed St. Paul. Along with Timothy, he was given a canonical letter from St. Paul. Titus was the first bishop in Crete. He died circa 96.

St. Angela Merici was born March 21, 1474, in Italy. At the young age of 15, she became a Franciscan tertiary and had a vision that she would inspire women in vocations. While making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she became blind. Instead of going home, she continued on her pilgrimage. Afterwards, Angela Merici regained her sight. In 1535 she began the Ursuline sisters, who were formed to teach. She died in Italy in 1540. Her body was found incorrupt. St. Angela Merici is patron saint of people with disabilities and people who are sick.

St. Thomas Aquinas was born in Italy circa 1225. He joined the mendicant Dominicans in 1244. Ordained in 1250, he taught theology in Paris. He earned a doctorate and began working on the Summa Theologica. After a vision, he stopped his work on the Summa Theologica and died some months later in 1274. His writings were very important to the church, and he was made a doctor of the church. St. Thomas Aquinas is patron saint of philosophers, theologians, universities and students.

St. Brigid of Ireland was born in Ireland in 453. She befriended St. Patrick as a child. St. Brigid couldn’t bear to see anyone hungry, so she would often give them whatever she could – even if the items belonged to her father. St. Brigid became a nun and started convents all over Ireland. She traveled quite often, which is why she is the patron saint of travelers and sailors.

St. Blaise was a physician and a bishop in Armenia. He healed men and animals alike. When a ruler began to persecute Christians, St. Blaise was arrested and thrown into prison for refusing to recant his faith. St. Blaise is said to have saved a child who was choking on a bone while he was in prison, which explains why he is the patron saint of healthy throats. St. Blaise died for his faith around the year 316.

St. Agatha lived in Sicily around the year 250. She was a devout young Christian who consecrated her life to God. A magistrate tried to start a relationship with St. Agatha, but she refused. The man threw St. Agatha in prison and tortured her, but she never yielded because of her deep faith. St. Agatha, a martyr, is the patron saint of single laywomen.

St. Jerome Emiliani, born in Italy in 1481, is the patron saint of abandoned children and orphans. He became a priest in 1518 and began to devote much of his time to helping orphans, especially during a plague in 1528. He founded orphanages, a hospital and a shelter for women.

St. Scholastica is the patron saint of nuns and against rain. A nun, she consecrated her life to God when she was young. According to the writing of St. Gregory, St. Scholastica’s brother, St. Benedict, visited with her about once a year to talk of spiritual matters. On one occasion, St. Scholastica prayed to God that her brother wouldn’t have to leave, and it began to thunder and pour. She died in 543.

The Blessed Virgin Mary began appearing to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, Feb. 11, 1858. The authenticity of the apparitions was confirmed by the church in 1862, and the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes has been observed worldwide since 1907. Many people make pilgrimages to Lourdes, which they find to be a place of healing and faith.

St. Saturninus and his companions died as martyrs in Africa around the year 304. The emperor at the time ruled that Christians must give up the Scriptures to be destroyed, or they must die. However, St. Saturninus and his companions refused to renounce their faith. They were tortured and died.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony was born in the year 1190. He met St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), while at the University of Paris around 1219. He joined the Dominicans in 1220, and he was elected master general of the order after St. Dominic died in 1222. Blessed Jordan, a great preacher, helped the Dominicans grow rapidly until he drowned in a shipwreck in 1237. He is the patron of Dominican vocations.

St. Juliana of Curnae lived circa the year 305. She became a Christian even though her father and suitor hated Christians. Her father abused her to try to get her to renounce the Christian faith, and her suitor threw her in jail. However, St. Juliana persevered in her faith. She died a martyr – burned, boiled in oil and finally beheaded. She is the patron saint of bodily ills and sickness.