Saint Albert the Great
He was born in Lauingen, Bavaria. While studying at the University of Padua, he received the habit of the Dominican friars from the hands of the Order’s Master General, Blessed Jordan of Saxony, in 1229. Jordan sent him to study in Cologne, the most important Dominican school at the time. Albert was a natural-born researcher, […]
Saint Josaphat
In Vitebsk (in present-day Belarus), Josaphat (John) Kuntsevych was martyred on this very day. He was born into a separated Orthodox family but later entered into communion with the Ruthenian Church united with Rome. He took religious vows and became the very first novice of the first Basilian monastery in union with Rome, the Monastery […]
Saint Martin of Tours
Martin was born in Sabaria (Pannonia), the son of a Roman tribune. At fifteen he joined the army, and it was during this time that the famous scene took place when he cut his military cloak in half to give one part to a poor man. He was baptized at eighteen, and soon after left […]
Saint Leo the Great
While serving as archdeacon under Pope Celestine I, Leo was already recognized as a skilled man in Church affairs. He was elected pope in the year 440 and governed the Roman See for twenty-one years. His long pontificate was marked by political wisdom, strong relations with the Eastern Churches, clear and mature judgment in matters […]
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
This celebration keeps the rank of a feast in the current calendar, since it is the cathedral of Rome, the head of all the churches of the City and of the World. In today’s ecumenical context, the title given to it also in the Roman Martyrology—“Mother of all the churches”—might seem more fitting for the […]
Saint Charles Borromeo
He was the nephew of Pope Pius IV and was made a cardinal deacon, with the title of Saint Praxedes, at the age of twenty-one. He can be considered the first Cardinal Secretary of State in the modern sense of the role. At the same time, he was entrusted with the Archdiocese of Milan, with […]
Saint Martin de Porres
He was born in Lima on December 9, 1569, the son of a Spanish nobleman and a mulatto woman. Before entering the Dominican convent, he worked as a barber-surgeon. At first, he was accepted only as a lay helper, but later he professed as a Dominican brother. He served as the community’s infirmarian, and in […]
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
In the year 998, Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny, ordered all the monasteries under his authority to keep a commemoration for all the departed — qui ab initio mundi fuerunt usque in finem (“all who have lived from the beginning of the world until the end”). He set the date for the day right after […]
All Saints
The feast of All Saints goes back to the dedication of the Roman Pantheon, which Pope Boniface IV consecrated to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs (Sancta Maria ad Martyres) on May 13, 610. After that, different churches began celebrating a feast in honor of all the saints, with more or less solemnity and […]
Saints Simon and Jude
In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:13), Luke gives Simon the name “the Zealot,” which probably means that he once belonged to the group known as the “Zealots.” The title “Cananean,” used by Matthew and Mark, most likely means the same thing in Aramaic—“full of zeal”—rather than referring to a place like Cana. Jude, […]