Saint Hedwig of Andechs, also known as Hedwig of Silesia, was born in 1174 at Castle Andechs in Bavaria, which is now part of modern-day Germany. She was the daughter of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania. As a young girl, Hedwig married Prince Henry I the Bearded of Silesia and Poland in 1186, at the tender age of 12.
Despite her young age, Hedwig embraced the responsibilities of her position...
Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki, also known as Maddalena, was born around 1610 in Nagasaki, Japan. Her parents, devout Catholics, were tragically martyred when Magdalena was just nine years old. Despite this early tragedy, Magdalena grew up to become a strong and faithful follower of Christ, dedicating her life to the service of God. Inspired by the examples of the Augustinian missionaries in...
Saint Dominic Loricatus, also known as Domenico Loricato, was born in 995 in Italy. He is well-recognized for his extraordinary devotion to penance and asceticism throughout his life. Dominic's path as a saint began under unique circumstances, as his parents committed the sin of simony in their zeal to secure his ordination. To rectify the sinful act committed on his behalf, Dominic...
Saint Lubentius, also known as Libentius, Libenzio, Lubencio, Lubenzio, and Lubin, was a spiritual student of Saint Martin of Tours and an evangelist in the Moselle region of Germany. He was born in the 4th century, but the exact date of his birth is unknown. Lubentius was ordained by Saint Maximinus of Trier and dedicated his life to serving the Church as a parish priest in Kobern, Germany....
This feast, observed throughout the Western Church on October 11, honors Mary as Mother of God, and bears the same sort of relation to the Annunciation and to Christmas as does the Synaxis of Our Lady in the Byzantine rite. It was long known in Portugal, where the Maternity of Our Lady was declared a feast on January 22, in 1751, at the request of King Joseph Manuel. The feast, granted to the...