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St. Dominic de Guzman was born in Old Castile in 1170. Born into Spanish nobility, he was the son of Blessed Joan of Aza. While pregnant with her son, Blessed Joan of Aza had a vision that her child would be a dog who caught the world on fire with the torch he carried in his mouth. A dog with the torch later became the symbol for the Dominicans, the order St. Dominic founded in 1215. St. Dominic worked for clerical reform, fought heresies and spread the devotion to the rosary. He died in August 1221. When St. Dominic was baptized, his mother saw a star on his chest and that is the reason he is patron saint of astronomy.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was born with the name Edith Stein in what is now Wroclaw, Poland, in October 1891 to a Jewish family. She received a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. After seeing the strong faith of her Catholic friends, she began to study the catechism of the Catholic Church. She converted to Catholicism in Cologne, Germany, and was baptized Jan. 1, 1922. She became a Carmelite nun in 1934. Both Jewish and Catholic, she left Germany for an assignment in Holland in 1938. However, she was captured when the Nazis invaded the country. She died in Auschwitz in 1942. St. Teresa is patron saint of Europe and World Youth Day.

St. Lawrence was born in Spain sometime in the late second or early third century. Christianity was outlawed at the time, but St. Lawrence persevered in the faith. He served as an archdeacon of Rome. After St. Sixtus II (the pope) and deacons were captured and later martyred, St. Lawrence was the ranking church official of Rome. When St. Lawrence was told to appear for his execution with the church treasure the pope had entrusted to him, he appeared before the court with the crippled, blind and sick of Rome. He said they were the real treasures of the church. He died for his faith in August 258. St. Lawrence is patron saint of the poor because he went to great lengths to care for the poor during his life.

St. Clare was born July 16, 1194, in Assisi, Italy. She heard St. Francis of Assisi preaching and told him she wanted to live for God. After that, she became good friends with St. Francis. She took her veil and became a woman religious. The saint founded the Poor Clares, and she led the order for the next 40 years. When St. Clare was too sick to attend Mass toward the end of her life, she saw the service on the wall of her cell. It is because of this that St. Clare is patron saint of television. She died Aug. 11, 1253.

Blessed Innocent XI, pope, was born May 19, 1611, in Como, Italy. A priest, he earned a law degree in 1639 and served the church in a number of roles over the years, including papal legate, bishop and cardinal. He was elected the 240th pope on Sept. 21, 1676, and he was installed Oct. 4, 1676. He worked against Jansenism, Quietism and heresies. The pontiff also had high expectations about education in the seminaries. He lived a simple and pious life. Blessed Innocent XI died Aug. 12, 1689, of natural causes.

Today is the feast day of Ss. Pontian and Hippolytus. St. Pontian was born in Rome. He was elected the 18th pope July 21, 230. He ended a schism in the church. Emperor Maximinus Thrax forced him to go to Sardinia to work in mines. The saint stepped down as pope on Sept. 28, 235, to let another lead the church. St. Pontian died in Sardinia in 235. St. Hippolytus of Rome was a Roman soldier who lived in the third century. Although he was supposed to guard Christian prisoners, he ended up converting to Christianity. He was martyred after helping with the burials of some of the martyred Christians who were under his watch. St. Hippolytus is patron saint of prison guards.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland Jan. 7, 1894. Although he was a rather mischievous child, his life changed when he had a vision of the Virgin Mary when he was 12. He took his final vows for the Conventual Franciscan Order Nov. 1, 1914. He received a Doctor of Theology in 1922, taught in a Polish seminary and did some missionary work before returning to Poland. After the Nazi invasion of Poland, Maximilian housed refugees (many of whom were Jewish) and published anti-Nazi material in his magazine, Knight of the Immaculate. The saint was imprisoned in Pawiak in February 1941 and transferred to Auschwitz in May 1941. He ministered to other prisoners, celebrated the Mass and heard confessions. When the Nazis sentenced to death a man with young children because other prisoners broke out, Maximilian volunteered to take his place. He died Aug. 14, 1941. St. Maximilian Kolbe is patron saint of prisoners.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal was born in January 1572 in France. She was married at age 20, had four children and was widowed at age 28. She then took a personal vow of chastity. After meeting St. Francis de Sales, she kept in touch with the saint and became his spiritual student. St. Jane Frances founded Order of the Visitation of Our Lady in 1610 in France, and about 69 other convents were founded under her watch. She died in 1641. St. Jane Frances de Chantal is patron saint of widows and forgotten people.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux was born in 1090 in Burgundy, France. He joined the abbey of Citeaux when he was 22 with four brothers and about 25 friends. He founded the monastery at Clairvaux. Under his direction, the monastery soon had more than 700 monks and more than 150 daughter houses. The saint worked to reform the Cistercians and helped end a schism in the church with anti-Pope Anacletus II. The spiritual advisor to Pope Eugenius III also helped organize the Second Crusade. St. Bernard was the first Cistercian monk put on the calendar of saints, and Pope Pius VIII named him a doctor of the church. He died in 1153. St. Bernard of Clairvaux is patron saint of beekeepers.

St. Rose was born in 1586 in Lima, Peru, to Spanish immigrants. She took a vow of chastity, and she lived in a garden where she prayed and grew vegetables to help support her family. She also did embroidery to help her family and the poor living around her. This mystic and visionary is said to have received invisible stigmata, and she was a Dominican tertiary. St. Rose was the first saint born in the Americas, and she founded social work in Peru. She died in 1617. She is patron saint of the Americas, Peru and embroiderers.

St. Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles and a friend of St. Philip, who brought him to Jesus. Local tradition says that he preached in Ethiopia, India and Armenia, possibly leaving his writings behind. The saint died for his faith when he was flayed alive in Armenia. St. Bartholomew is patron saint of Armenia.

St. Augustine of Hippo was born Nov. 13, 354, in North Africa to St. Monica and her husband. Although he was born a Christian, he wandered from his faith and lived wildly. He was a Manichaean for a number of years before he converted; St. Ambrose of Milan baptized him. After his mother’s death, he sold his property, gave the money to the poor and founded a monastery. This monk and priest became bishop of Hippo in 396. He fought a number of heresies, including Pelagianism, Manichaeism and Donatism. He was named a doctor of the church. St. Augustine, who died in 430, is patron saint of brewers, sore eyes and theologians.