Saint Callistus was initially a slave in the imperial Roman household and he was imprisoned more than once. After his release, he eventually became superintendent of the Christian burial ground. Then he was ordained by the Pope as a deacon. He became the Pope’s advisor and friend.
He was elected as Pope by the majority which earned him a rival, St. Hippolytus. He was accused by his rival for being too lenient. Apparently, Saint Callistus held marriages between free women and slaves which was contrary to the Roman law and also had a lenient policy towards those who temporarily denied their faith during the period of persecution. Saint Callistus, just like Peter, was also commemorated as a martyr.
Edward the Confessor was the king of England from 1042 to 1066. His rule over England was known to be peaceful and good. He was able to keep the kingdom together during his 24 years of reign.
Edward became interested in his religious affairs and built St. Peter’s Abbey at Westminster. He had a reputation for piety, and after his death his reputation grew. He was praised for his prophecies and there were some miracles that were attributed to him. He was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III. And in 1163, the translation of his relics were attended by the leaders of the kingdom.
Carlo Acutis was born in Milan and grew up in a wealthy family. His family was not exactly religious but he received his first communion. He would always pray before the tabernacle as well as before and after every mass. His models were Bernadette Soubirous, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Dominic Savio, and St. Francis of Assisi, among others.
At school, he helped his friends whose parents were getting a divorce, he also defended students from bullies. He volunteered to help the city’s homeless and destitute. Blessed Carlo Acutis was known to be a computer geek, he spent four years creating a website dedicated to cataloguing every reported Eucharistics miracle around the world.
He was diagnosed with leukemia and died in 2006. He was beatified in 2020.
Born on December 2, 1826, Saint Maria Soledad was the second of five children. She had a simple childhood although she had poor health. In 1851, she joined the new Institute of the Servants of Mary with a purpose of caring for the sick in their own homes. She became the 7th of the founding group and finally took the name Sister Maria Soledad.
After spending five years into the ministry, Saint Maria Soledad was appointed as Superior and took charge of the Congregation when Father Michael left for his missions. She became the Foundress and Mother of the Servants of Mary. She overcame many challenges throughout her leadership in the Congregation. It eventually grew in number. In 1875, they began a ministry in Havana, Cuba. It received Papal approval in 1876. Saint Maria Soledad governed for 35 years.
St. Francis Borgia was a Spanish nobleman, born into an influential family. He initially served in the imperial court and made a career there. However, he gave up his public life and his possessions due to series of life events. He joined the Society of Jesus and was instrumental in spreading the Jesuits’ influence all over Europe.
He helped established the Jesuit College in Gandia which was made into a university. He was elected as head of the Jesuits at the age of 55. He focused on growing and spreading faith through the Society of Jesus in Europe. He was regarded as the second founder of the Jesuits. He passed away in 1572.
Denis was one of the seven bishops that was sent to Gaul to convert people during the reign of emperor Decius. He was regarded as the first bishop of Paris. Little is known about his life but legend has it that Saint Denis was beheaded on Montmartre, which translates to “mountain of martyrs”. According to the legend, his corpse, which was decapitated, carried his head to the northeast of Paris. A basilica was built over his tomb at the beginning of the sixth century.
The story of St. Pelagia has inspired various legends. There are two stories that are often confused together. One of it is a historical young Christian in Antioch who is celebrated as a virgin and martyr. According to the story, at 15 years old, she threw herself off the roof of a building rather than be offered as a sacrifice to the pagan gods during the persecution of Christians.
The other story is talks of another Pelagia known as “Pelagia the Penitent”, who was a famous actress in Antioch. Pelagia was renowned for being rich and being meticulous with her physical appearance. One day she went to hear the preach of the Bishop, St. Nonnus, and was so moved by his sermon that she wanted to be baptized. St. Nonnus agreed and baptized her. After that, she gave her wealth to aid the poor and left Antioch to live a life of poverty.
St. Pelagia is known as the patron saint of actresses.
Instituted by Pope St. Pius V to give thanks for their victory at the battle of Lepanto in the 1570s. They attributed their victory to the rosary and the feast actually is a reminder of all the countless blessing bestowed upon the people through the Rosary of our Blessed Virgin Mary.
It was initially a practice developed as an imitation of 150 Psalms, by praying 150 our Fathers. There was also a practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Then at some point, the mystery of the life of Jesus was added to each of the Hail Mary. According to legend, Mary gave the rosary to Saint Dominic. Although a legend, the development of the prayer form of the rosary can be attributed to the followers of Saint Dominic. One of the followers was even known as the “apostle of the rosary”, Alan de la Roche. He was the one who founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary. By 16th century, the rosary has already transformed into the form that we now use.
Born in Cologne, Germany in 1030. He became a famous teacher at Rheims and at the age of 45, he became the chancellor of the archdiocese. He took part in the fight against the decadence of the clergy and denounce the violent Archbishop Manasses de Gournai. He also founded the religious order, Carthusian Order, which symbolizes his passionate love of a life in penitence and solitude.
He always had a dream of living a life of hermitage, a life in solitary and in prayer. He was given a land by his friend which eventually became his foundation “in the Chartreuse”. He and his friends stayed there in individual cells, spending most of their time in solitude and only eating together during feasts. They mostly worked on copying manuscripts.
In 1674, Pope Clement X extended St. Bruno’s feast to the whole church despite never being officially canonized.
Third among 10 children, Faustina Kowalska was born on August 25, 1905 in Poland. Her birth name was Helena Kowalska. They were poor peasants, her father was a farmer and carpenter. At a young age of seven, she already felt the call to religious life. However, even after receiving her basic education, she was not permitted by her parents to join the convent.
At the age of 16, she started working as a housekeeper to support herself and her family. It was during this time that she received the Sacrament of Confirmation. When she was 19 years old, she received a vision instructing her to join the convent in Warsaw. She went to Warsaw without the permission of her parents and started looking for convents. She had a hard time finding a convent that would accept her due to her poverty. She finally found a convent that accepted her, the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The convent allowed her to stay as long as she worked as a housemaid to earn her keep. In 1926, she was officially admitted to the convent and finally clothed in the habit. After completing her novitiate in 1928, she took her first religious vows. Her parents were present when took her vows.
On February 22, 1931, she received a vision of the Divine Mercy of Jesus. From then on, she devoted her work to spreading the image of the Divine Mercy along with the signature “Jesus, I trust in you”.
In 1938, her health started deteriorating and she returned home to Krakow. She died on October 5th of that year. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1993. She was then canonized on April 30, 2000.