St. Melania the Younger was a wife and mother, a foundress of early monasteries, and a prolific philanthropist. In circa 383, Melania was born to parents of the wealthy Valerii family. Her father, Publicola, was a member of the Roman Senate, and her mother’s name was Albina. Both parents were...

St. Joseph Moscati was a brilliant physician and researcher and was known as “The Holy Physician of Naples”. Giuseppe (Joseph in English) Moscati, the seventh of nine children, was born in 1880 to Francesco Moscati and his wife, Rosa De Luca dei Marchesi di Roseto. The family lived at Benevento...

St. Philip Howard was a husband and father, a Catholic convert during the English Protestant persecution of the faithful, and a martyr for the Faith. Philip was born in 1557 in London to Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, and his wife Lady Mary Fitzalan. A PRIVILEGED CHILDHOOD His maternal...

Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận was a prisoner of war, a cardinal, and a source of inspiration for the Vietnamese faithful worldwide. Francis-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận was born in 1928 near Huê´, then the imperial capital of Vietnam. HAPPY AND DEVOUT CHILDHOOD His parents were Nguyễn Văn ´m and Elizabeth...

St. Stephen of Hungary was a husband and father, and a great reforming king. Given the birth name Vajk, he was born to the leader of the Magyars, Grand Prince Geza, and Charlotte, his wife circa 975 at Esztergom built aside the Danube River. The Magyars were a nomadic people...

St. Thomas was a first century disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ. He took the Gospel message to the known ends of the earth. Thomas was likely born to a Jewish family in Galilee. Nothing is recorded of his early life or of how he came to be a disciple....

Servant of God Léonie Martin was a “black sheep” in her family, a devotee of her saintly sister, and a religious sister. Léonie was the third of nine children born to [Sts.] Louis and Azélie Martin at Alençon in northern France in 1863. Four of the nine Martin children died...

St. Louise de Marillac was a wife, mother, widow, and religious foundress. Louise was born in 1591 at Le Meux, a small village near Compiègne in northern France. Her parents were not married, and she never knew her mother. Louis de Marillac, a widower from a prominent family, declared Louise...

St. Giles of Assisi was a humble religious, a mystic, and a dear friend of St. Francis of Assisi. Born c. 1190, little is known of the background of Giles. As a very young man, he was aware of the dramatic conversion of his townsman, Francis. After two of his...

St. Katharine Drexel was an heiress, a religious foundress, and a pioneer in education for underprivileged minorities. Katharine was the second daughter born to Philadelphia banking magnate Francis Drexel and his wife Hannah. Five weeks after Katharine’s 1858 birth, Hannah died. Several years later, Francis married Emma Bouvier, and three...