St. Anselm (1033–1109) was born into a noble family in the Lombardy region of Italy. The example of his pious mother led him to great faith, and he sought to enter the monastery at age 15. However, the abbot refused him due to Anselm's stern father. After his mother's death Anselm left home and settled in Normandy to study under the direction of a famed monk named Lanfranc. Upon...

St. Agnes of Montepulciano (1268–1317) was born into a noble family in Tuscany. Her birth was announced with strange lights surrounding her dwelling, considered a sign that she was a favored child. At nine years of age she requested to enter the local Franciscan monastery in Montepulciano. Although doing so at her young age was against Church law, she obtained special permission from the...

St. Timon (1st c.) is mentioned by name in the Acts of the Apostles. He was first a teacher at Berea. He belonged to the group of seventy disciples who followed Jesus during his earthly ministry. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, St. Timon was one of the original seven deacons, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, chosen by the Apostles to help with the work of ministering to the growing...

St. Apollonius was a Roman senator who was denounced as a Christian by one of his slaves. The Praetorian prefect, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, arrested him, also putting the slave to death as an informer. Perennis demanded that Apollonius denounce the faith, and when he refused, the case was remanded to the Roman senate. There a debate took place between Perennis and Apollonius that clearly...

Harding was born in Sherborne, Dorset, in the Kingdom of England, and spoke English, Norman, French, and Latin. He was placed in Sherborne Abbey at a young age and educated at Sherborne, but eventually left the monastery and became a travelling scholar, journeying with one devout companion into Scotland and afterwards to Paris and then to Rome. He eventually moved to Molesme Abbey in Burgundy,...