Advertisement
Saints
Today, February 23, we celebrate St. Polycarp of Smyrna
On Feb. 23, the Catholic Church remembers the life and martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle and evangelist St. John. Polycarp is celebrated on the same date by Eastern Orthodox Christians, who also honor him as a Saint.
Today, February 22, We Celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome. St. Peter's original name was Simon. He was married with children and was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be one of the Twelve Apostles.
Today, February 21, We Celebrate St. Peter Damian
On Feb. 21, Catholics honor Saint Peter Damian, a Benedictine monk who strove to purify the Church during the early years of its second millennium.
Today, February 20, we celebrate Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto
Francisco, 11, and Jacinta, 10, are the youngest non-martyrs to be canonized in the history of the Church. The brother and sister, who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo in the fields of Fatima, Portugal, witnessed the apparitions of Mary, now commonly known as Our Lady of Fatima.
Today, February 19, we celebrate St. Conrad of Piacenza
Conrad was born into a noble family in northern Italy. He married the daughter of a nobleman, Euphrosyne.
Today, February 18, we celebrate St. Simon
A relative of Jesus', possibly a first cousin. He is in the Gospel of Matthew, and is one of the brethren of Christ mentioned in Acts who was present at the birth of the Church on the first Pentecost.
Today we celebrate Seven Founders of the Order of Servites
These seven men were born in Florence, Italy and led lives as hermits on Monte Senario. They had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today, February 16, we celebrate St. Onesimus
St. Onesimus was a slave to Philemon, an influential man who had been converted by St. Paul. Onesimus offended Philemon and fled in order to escape any sort of retribution. He then met St. Paul while Paul was in a Roman prison. Shortly after, Onesimus was baptized.
Today, February 15, We Celebrate St. Claude de la Colombière
On Feb. 15 the Catholic Church honors Saint Claude la Colombiere, the 17th century French Jesuit who authenticated and wrote about Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Today, February 14, We Celebrate Sts. Cyril and Methodius
On Feb. 14, the universal Church honors two brothers, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, who are called the “Apostles of the Slavs” for their tireless work in spreading the Gospel throughout Eastern Europe in the ninth century.
Today, February 13, we celebrate St. Catherine de Ricci
The Ricci are an ancient family in Tuscany. Catherine was born at Florence in 1522, and called at her baptism Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine at her religious profession.
Today, February 11: We Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
On Feb. 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, recalling a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.
Today, February 10, we celebrate St. Scholastica
On Feb. 10, the Catholic Church remembers St. Scholastica, a nun who was the twin sister of St. Benedict, the "father of monasticism" in Western Europe.
Today, February 9, we celebrate St. Apollonia of Alexandria
St. Apollonia was a holy virgin who suffered martyrdom in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians in the early 3rd century.
Today, February 8, we celebrate St. Josephine Bakhita
Josefina Bakhita was born in Sudan (Africa) and lived through slavery for much of her life. The name Bakhita, which means "fortunate," she obtained through her captors at age 9, and Josefina's, twelve years after her when she received her baptism.
Today, February 7, we celebrate St. Richard
St. Richard was orphaned at a young age. His brother inherited his parents' estate after he was of age, but the death tax was so great that they were sent into poverty, and Richard had to work on his brother's farm.
Today, February 6, we celebrate St. Paul Miki and Companions
On Feb. 6, the Catholic Church honors the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki, a group of native Japanese Catholics and foreign missionaries who suffered death for their faith in the year 1597.
Today we celebrate St. Blaise, patron saint of throat diseases and laryngologists
Blaise was a hard-working bishop dedicated to encouraging the spiritual and physical health of his people in Sebastea, Armenia.
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there.
Today, January 27, we celebrate Angela Merici, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters
Angela Merici was born in the small Italian town of Desenzano on the shore of Lake Garda in 1474.
