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St. Cosmas and twin brother St. Damian were physicians who would not accept payment. Through their charity, many converted to Christianity. The brothers were tortured and beheaded for their faith circa 287-303. St. Cosmas and St. Damian are patron saints of apothecaries, barbers and physicians.

St. Vincent de Paul was born to a peasant family in 1581 in southwest France. He was educated by Franciscan friars before beginning studies at the University of Toulouse in 1596. He was ordained when he was 20 years old. Captured by pirates, St. Vincent de Paul was sold into slavery. He was only freed in 1607 after he converted his owner to Christianity. While serving as a parish priest in Paris, he formed groups to help the poor, the ill and the unemployed. With Louise de Marillac, he founded the Daughters of Charity. He also instituted the Congregation of Priests of the Mission (Lazarists). St. Vincent de Paul always worked for those in society who needed the most help: the poor, abandoned, ignored, sick, etc. He died in Paris in 1660, and his body was later found incorrupt. St. Vincent de Paul is patron saint of charities, St. Vincent de Paul societies, Vincentian Service Corps and volunteers.

St. Wenceslaus was born in Prague (in what was then Bohemia and is now the Czech Republic) in 907. The duke of Bohemia came to power after his father was killed in a time of backlash against Christianity. St. Wenceslaus fought the backlash through prayer. His brother, Boleslaus, killed him for political reasons Sept. 28, 929. However, St. Wenceslaus is considered a martyr since those reasons stemmed from his Christian faith. There have been miracles reported at his tomb. St. Wenceslaus is patron saint of Bohemia, the Czech Republic and Prague.

Today is the feast of guardian angels. The belief is that each soul has an angel who guides the soul through life and to God.

St. Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1030 and was ordained circa 1055. He taught theology, and one of his students became Pope Urban II. He presided at a school in Rheims between 1057 and 1075. He criticized worldliness among the members of the clergy. After having a vision, he moved to a mountain in 1084 to live a prayerful, quiet life dedicated to God. There he foundsed the first house of the Carthusians. They copied manuscripts to support themselves. Along with his friends, he built a hermitage in 1095 in Torre. He died in 1101. St. Bruno is patron saint of possessed people.

St. Pelagia the Penitent was a dancer who converted to Christianity after hearing a bishop preach about a woman who worked to be a beautiful dancer but did not do anything for God. St. Pelagia confessed, was baptized, and moved to Jerusalem to live as a hermit. St. Pelagia is patron saint of actresses.

St. Edistius died a martyr in Ravenna, Italy, in 303. He died for his faith during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian.

St. Callistus I lived in the late second century, early third century. Although he was born a slave, he eventually became a free man. Pope Zephyrinus had Callistus lead the Roman public burial grounds, now called the Cemetery of St. Callistus. The saint became an archdeacon and was elected the 16th pope circa 218. He died for his faith circa 223. St. Callistus is patron saint of people who work at cemeteries.

St. Teresa of Avila was born to a noble family in March 1515 in Castile, Spain. She read about the lives of the saints as a young girl. When she suffered from a crippling disease as a child, she prayed to St. Joseph and was cured. Although her father did not want her to enter the religious life, she left home at age 17 to join the Carmelites. Teresa became sick again after taking her vows and never fully recovered. The saint began having visions, which the Dominicans and Jesuits said were true. She founded a reformed convent of St. John of Avila. She died in October 1582 and was proclaimed a doctor of the church in 1970. She is patron saint of sickness.

St. Hedwig, daughter of the duke of Croatia, was born in Bavaria in 1174. She married Prince Henry I of Silesia and Poland when she was just 12 years old and went on to have seven children. She is the aunt of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. The saint founded hospitals and cared for the sick. After her husband died, she gave away her money and entered a monastery. She died in 1243. St. Hedwig is patron saint of brides, widows and difficult marriages.

St. John de Brebeuf was born in Normandy, France, in 1593. A Jesuit, he traveled to Canada at age 32 to be a missionary on the frontier. The climate was tough, but he did very well; his endurance led to the nickname “Echon,” meaning load bearer. It was difficult for him to learn the Huron language, but he did and eventually wrote a catechism in Huron and a French-Huron dictionary. St. John de Brebeuf named the present-day version of the game lacrosse because the stick resembled a bishop’s crosier. He was tortured and martyred by the Iroquois in 1649. St. John de Brebeuf is patron saint of Canada.

St. Bertilla Boscardin was born on Oct. 6, 1888, in Brendola, Italy. After working as a house servant when she was a young girl, she joined the Sisters of St. Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Heart in 1904. She began training as a nurse in 1907 and was later assigned to the hospital in Treviso. She was a gentle caretaker in the children’s ward of the hospital. In World War I, she cared for injured Italian soldiers. In 1919, she became supervisor of the children’s ward. St. Bertilla died of cancer in 1922.