Home Page

St. Sixtus I was pope for 10 years during the persecutions under a Roman emperor. St. Sixtus I was concerned with the liturgy, and he instituted elements which are still in use today. One element attributed to St. Sixtus I is how the priest sings the Sanctus with the people. St. Sixtus I died around the year 127.

As a teenager, St. Francis of Paola made a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. He became a hermit and began to attract followers. He formed a rule for his many followers and received approval from the church in 1474. His order was called Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi and was later renamed Franciscan Order of Minim Friars. St. Francis was a prophet and miracle worker. He also defended the poor and oppressed, and helped restore peace between France and Spain. He is patron saint of boatmen because he is said to have sailed across water by attaching his cloak to his staff.

St. Balbina was a nun and the daughter of St. Quirinus. St. Balbina and St. Quirinus were martyred around the year 130. St. Balbina’s relics are in a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. She is patron saint against Scrofula, a term which encompasses a variety of skin diseases including a form of tuberculosis.

St. Rupert was a bishop of Worms, Germany, and he was dedicated to converting Germans. Around 697, St. Rupert took over a deserted town which then became Salzburg, Austria. He founded a church, a monastery and a school. He invited groups of missionaries to the area, and he established a nunnery. St. Rupert is considered the apostle of Bavaria and Austria.

St. Margaret Clitherow was born in England in 1555. After becoming a Catholic, she began to help fugitive priests. She was condemned for this and was killed in 1586.

St. Dismas, known as the penitent thief, was one of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. St. Dismas rebuked the other thief being crucified who taunted Jesus, and he asked Jesus for his blessing. He is patron saint of prisoners on death row and reformed thieves.

St. Nicholas von Flue was born in Switzerland in 1417. He was a married father of ten before becoming a hermit in 1467 with his family’s approval. It is said he lived on the Eucharist alone. St. Nicholas von Flue settled a dispute that threatened to cause a civil war in Switzerland in 1481, and he died six years later in 1487. St. Nicholas von Flue is patron saint of Switzerland and separated spouses.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem was born around the year 315. After he became a priest, St. Cyril was put in charge of the catechumens, and his instructions are still in existence. He eventually became bishop of Jerusalem and helped his people survive during a famine by selling church goods. The Arians, those who did not believe Jesus was divine, had some power in the area and banished St. Cyril multiple times. Years later, the Council at Constantinople in 381 cleared St. Cyril’s name, saw the acceptance of the Nicene Creed, and saw the condemnation of Arians. St. Cyril died in 386. He is a father of the church and a doctor of the church.

St. Hilary was a bishop in Aquileia, Italy, in the third century. St. Tatian was a deacon in the same city. The two saints were martyred around 284 during the persecutions of Numerian. They were both beheaded.