Pope St. John XXIII (1881–1963) was the third of thirteen children born to a poor sharecropping family living in Lombardy, Italy. Desiring to serve God with his life, he entered seminary at the age of 12, and, after serving a short stint in the Italian Army, was ordained a priest in 1904. He taught apologetics and church history before being called to service as a military chaplain...
St. Francis Borgia (1510-1572) was born in Spain to a noble family, the son of a Duke. On his father's side of the family he was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, one of the notorious "Borgia Popes," and on his mother's side he was the great-grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon. Francis joined the Spanish court of King Charles V at the age of 18, married, and had 8...
St. Justina of Padua (d. 304 A.D.) was a young and pious Christian woman who dedicated her virginity to Christ. She received baptism at the hands of St. Prosdocimus, the first Bishop of Padua in Italy. At the age of sixteen she was arrested for being a Christian under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Maximinian, and was ordered to make sacrifice to the pagan gods. When she refused, she was...
Saint Faith or Saint Faith of Conques is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and refused to make pagan sacrifices even under torture. Saint Faith was tortured to death with a red-hot brazier. Her death is sometimes said to have occurred in the year 287 or 290,...
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), baptized with the name Helena, was one of ten children born to a devout, peasant farming family in Poland. She grew up during the tough years leading up to and following the first World War, and received little formal education. She worked as a poor housekeeper before following her religious vocation at the age of 20, entering the Congregation of the...