“The man without Christ is dust and shadow.” Paulinus was the son of the Roman prefect of Gaul.

Born in the Canary Islands in 1534, José de Anchieta joined the Jesuits at seventeen.

“Come to the end, small aid is there in the songs of the Muses…./ Sweetness comes from the grave where a good man lies dead.” Venantius Fortunatus started to go blind in his late twenties, but was healed through the intercession of Saint Martin of Tours. He set out on pilgrimage to Saint Martin’s tomb in Gaul (modern France).

Karol Wojtyła’s mother died when he was eight.

Invoked as a patron of artists, Catherine de’ Vigri spent much of her childhood at court in the city of Ferrara, a center of art and culture.

Poetry has a somewhat sacramental character, making everyday words transcend mere talk.

“From first to last…education has been my line.” John Henry Newman was born in 1801.

Born two months premature, Frances Cabrini was the youngest of thirteen children.

“A soldier going to war needs his battle instructions….

According to tradition, Mark the Evangelist is the same as the John who is called Mark (Acts 12:12) mentioned throughout the book of Acts and in some of Paul’s letters.