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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.

St. John Nepomucene was born around 1340 in Bohemia. He became a priest who converted many people through his preaching. He was counselor and advocate of the poor in King Wenceslaus IV’s court. St. John was a confessor to the queen and was imprisoned for not telling the king what the queen said in her confession. The king had St. John executed in 1393 when he continued to refuse to tell the king about the queen’s confession. St. John Nepomucene is patron saint of confessors.

St. Pachomius was born in Egypt. Although he was not born into a Christian family, he converted after leaving the military around 313. With the help of hermits, he founded a community of monks and made a rule for the monks in 320. By the time St. Pachomius died, about 3,000 monks and nuns lived in monasteries and convents under St. Pachomius’ rule. Along with St. Benedict and others, St. Pachomius is considered a great innovator in the church.

St. Evodius was a bishop who may have been consecrated by St. Peter. One of the 72 disciples of Jesus, St. Evodius was the successor of St. Peter in Antioch (which is modern day Turkey). According to tradition, St. Evodius was the first person to use the term Christian. He died a martyr around the year 67.

Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio was born April 13, 1817, in Pescara, Abruzzi, Italy. He was an apprentice blacksmith and a layman. As a youth, he is said to have been pious, chaste and patient. He died young, at the age of 19, on May 5, 1836, in Naples, Italy. Pope Paul VI beatified Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio Dec. 1, 1963.

St. Anthony was a Benedictine abbot who lived in the sixth century. The disciple of St. Benedict accompanied St. Maura on missions to France before founding the St. Julian at Tours monastery. He lived as a hermit at le Rocher, France.

St. Athanasius was born around the year 295 in Alexandria, Egypt. A deacon and secretary to the bishop of Alexandria, he went to the Council of Nicea in 325. There he began a lifelong battle against the Arian heresy, which denied Christ’s divinity. He became the bishop of Alexandria around 328, and he spent about 17 years of his time as bishop in exile due to political issues surrounding the Arian heresy. St. Athanasius also fought for the recognition of the Nicene Creed. This confessor and doctor of the church died May 2, 373, in Alexandria.