St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942) was born as Edith Stein in Prussia, the youngest of eleven children from a devout Jewish family. She was a bright and gifted child, and as she matured she became an atheist. She went on to receive a doctorate in philosophy, studying under the famous philosophers Heidegger and Husserl. Despite her atheism, she was affected by several friends...

St. Dominic (1170–1221) was born in Spain to a family of noble lineage. His mother, Blessed Jane of Aza, prayed at the church of St. Dominic Silos to conceive a male child, her first two sons being given to the priesthood. In answer to her prayer, she dreamed that a dog leaped from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth which set the world ablaze. At his baptism, his godmother beheld a...

The Bishop of Rome was traditionally served by seven deacons. Pope Xystus II, sometimes called St. Sixtus, was served by Januarius, Vincent, Stephan, Magnus, Felicissimus, Agapite, and Lawrence. In 258 A.D., the emperor Valerian ordered the executions of many Christians. St. Sixtus and his seven deacons were among the first to be beheaded. When the soldiers rushed in to arrest the pope and his...

Giovanni Baptista Montini was the son of a prominent newspaper editor. Ordained in Brescia, Italy on May 29, 1920, he continue his studies in Rome, Italy, and became part of the Vatican secretariat of state in 1922, one of two pro-secretaries to Pope Pius XII. He was the archbishop of Milan from 1954 to 1963 where he worked on social problems and to improve relations between workers and...

St. Oswald (605-642 A.D.) was the second of seven sons born to the pagan king of Northumbria in northern England. After his father was killed in battle, the kingdom was split. His uncle claimed the throne, while Oswald fled with his mother and brothers to Scotland for safety. There his family was converted to Christianity by the renowned monks of Iona. Oswald was educated by the holy monks and...