Saint Thecla of Kitzingen (died ca. 790 AD) was a Benedictine nun and abbess. Born in England, she went to Germany to assist Saint Boniface in his missionary labors. Born in southern Britain, Thecla was a relative of Saint Lioba. Thecla and Lioba were educated at Wimborne Abbey and later joined the Benedictine community of nuns there. When Boniface wrote the Abbess Tetta, requesting helpers...

Pope St. Callistus I (d. 223 A.D.) was a Roman by birth and a Christian slave. He was the servant of a fellow Christian serving in the Roman imperial household. He was entrusted with the task of managing his master's wealth, which he used to operate a bank into which many Christians invested their money. When the bank failed due to unpaid loans, Callistus fled the city in fear of...

Gerald of Aurillac (or Saint Gerald) (c. 855 – c. 909[1]) is a French saint of the Roman Catholic Church, also recognized by other religious denominations of Christianity. Gerald was born into the Gallo-Roman nobility, counting Cesarius of Arles among his forebears, though the title "Count of Aurillac" was not held by his father, to whose estates he succeeded, and was assumed...

St. Edwin (585-633 A.D.) was the son of the pagan King of Deira who reigned in present-day England. After his father was deposed from his throne, Edwin spent his childhood in exile to escape rival kings who considered his bloodline a threat to their rule. One day a stranger prophesied that Edwin would reclaim his father's throne if he promised to obey what would later be taught to him...

The Martyrs Zenaida and Philonilla lived in Tarsus in Cilicia during the first century, and were related to the holy Apostle Paul. They were pious Christian women, and both of them shared a love of learning. By whatever means were available to them at that time, they acquired medical knowledge. The two sisters left their home and settled in a cave near the city of Demetriada, where they lived...