St. Andrew (1st c.) was the first of the twelve Apostles to follow Jesus, after being a disciple of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of Christ. St. Andrew was a fisherman by trade and the younger brother of St. Peter. Andrew recognized Jesus as the prophesied Messiah and left his fishing trade behind to follow Jesus, convincing his brother Simon Peter to do the same. After Jesus'...

Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, with a feast day entered for 29 November, was one of the "Apostles to the Gauls" sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236–250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. St Fabian sent out seven...

St. Catherine Labouré (1806 – 1876) was born in Burgundy, France, the ninth of seventeen children of a pious and prosperous farming family. Her mother died when she was nine years old. After her mother's funeral, Catherine kissed a statue of the Virgin Mary in her home, saying, "Now you will be my mother." Catherine was devout and simple, and did not learn to read or write....

Born in Lucera, Francesco entered the Conventual Franciscans in 1695. After his ordination 10 years later, he taught philosophy to younger friars, served as guardian of his friary, and later became provincial minister. When his term of office ended, Francesco became master of novices and finally pastor in his hometown. In his various ministries, he was loving, devout, and penitential. He was a...

St. Leonard was a Franciscan friar and proponent of the Blessed Sacrament, the devotion of the Sacred Heart, and the Stations of the Cross, as well as the Immaculate Conception. He was born Leonard Casanova in Port Maurice, Porto Maurizio, Italy, and joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1697. Ordained in 1703, he began preaching all over the Tuscany region of Italy. By 1736 he...