St. Longinus was the centurion who, standing by Pilate’s direction with other soldiers beneath the cross of our Lord, pierced His side with a lance, and seeing the portents which followed, the darkening of the sky and the earthquake, believed in Christ.  “Surely, this was the Son of God.”  Legend says that his eyesight had been failing. When he pierced the side of...

Lazarus (or Lazzaro) was elected bishop of Milan, Italy, around the year 439, a time when the Ostrogoths controlled the region. According to tradition, he popularized the penitential “Rogation” litanies, praying for protection for the city and its people. Little else is known about his life, although he might have imitated Pope Saint Leo the Great in working to stop the spread of...

St. Euphrasia (380-410 A.D.) was the only child of noble Christian parents serving the court of the Christian Emperor Theodosius I, their relative, in Constantinople. After her birth her parents vowed to remain celibate in order to commit their lives fully to prayer and penance. Her father died soon after, and Euphrasia moved with her mother to Egypt near a large monastery of nuns. At the age...

St. Luigi Orione (1872-1940) was born in northern Italy and entered a Franciscan friary at the age of 13, but had to leave due to poor health. He became a pupil of St. John Bosco at his Turin oratory for boys, and later entered the diocesan seminary. While still a seminarian he opened his own oratory and boarding school to provide for the Christian training and education of boys. This...

St. Eulogius of Cordoba (9th c.) was a priest from a prominent Christian family in Cordoba (Cordova), Spain. He was well-educated, humble, gentle, friendly, and a gifted leader with the charism of encouragement, especially towards Christians facing martyrdom. In his time Cordoba was the capital of the Muslim conquerors of Catholic Spain. The Muslim leaders allowed Christians to live in...