Nicholas Tavelic was a Franciscan missionary from Croatia who died a martyr's death in Jerusalem on November 14, 1391. He was beatified as part of Nicholas Tavelic, O.F.M. and companions, which included friars from Italy and France. All four members of his group (Deodatus Aribert of Rodez, Peter of Narbonne and Stephen of Cuneo) have been declared saints by the Catholic Church, making...

Pope St. Nicholas I, also called Saint Nicholas the Great, was Pope from 24 April 858 to his death in 867. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe. Nicholas I asserted that the pope should have suzerain authority over all Christians,...

They weren't Polish, and they weren't related, but were instead five hermits who were martyred together. They were - Benedict, Krystyn, Isaac, Jan and Mateusz. They were murdered during a robbery on the night of November 10, 1003, most likely in the village of Święty Wojciec near Międzyrzecz. Isaac, Mateusz and Krystyn are the first Polish saints canonized in the history of the...

St. Martin of Tours (c. 316-397 A.D.) was born into a pagan family in what is now Hungary. He was raised in Italy where his father, a senior officer in the Roman army, was stationed. At the age of ten Martin joined the Church as a catechumen soon after Christianity was legalized across the Roman Empire. Taking after his father, he joined the cavalry at the age of fifteen and was stationed in...

Born at Castronuovo (today Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea), a small town in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, his baptismal name was Lancelotto, which he changed to Andrew when he entered the Order of Theatines. After receiving his elementary training in the school at Castronuovo, he was sent to Venice to pursue a course in the humanities and in philosophy. Being a handsome youth, his...