DVRodriguez

POPE ST. PIUS V Pope St. Pius V (1506-1572) only ruled the Church for six years (1566-1572), but is nonetheless one of the greatest of all pontiffs. EARLY LIFE Michael Ghisleri was born in 1504 at the small Italian town of Bosco. His family was of Bolognese nobility yet modest means. He studied grammar under the Dominicans and by his fifteenth year had donned their habit. One of the principles he always lived by was that apathy in the spiritual life always gave ground to the enemy, yet fervor and zeal is able to overcome all obstacles in the pursuit of [...]

ST. ATHANASIUS THE GREAT OF ALEXANDRIA St. Athanasius (293-373) was the greatest patriarch of Alexandria. He is the first Church Doctor and is known as the Champion of Orthodoxy, the Sword of Nicea and True Defender of the Faith. Excluding the Apostolic Age, we Catholics today probably owe more to him than anyone else for the fact that we have the true Catholic Faith. He stood alone in the Truth Faith when nearly all the other bishops of the world fell into heresy. Rightly did St. Jerome write that it was "Athanasius Contra Mundum (Against the World)". St. Athanasius did much [...]

ST. PETER OF VERONA, OP St. Peter Martyr (1205-1252) was a famous preacher of the Dominican order, opposing heretics from childhood. He never committed a mortal sin. He wished to die for this faith and God fulfilled that prayer. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND St. Peter was born in 1205 AD to parents who had fallen into the heresy of the Cathari. These heretics held errors very similar to those of the Albigensiens (conquered by St. Dominic) and the Manicheans (bested by St. Augustine). Their principal error was a dualism which meant they held that there were two great competing supernatural beings that rivaled [...]

ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT St. Louis Marie Grignon, (1673-1716), born at Montfort in France, was sent as missionary to his own country by Pope Clement XI. He labored successfully in the conversion of his fellow countrymen from Jansenism and preached the devotions of the Way of the Cross and the Rosary. He founded an institute of Sisters and a congregation of Missionaries called the Society of Mary. He is also most certainly numbered among the saints most devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. EARLY LIFE St. Louis was born in the village of Montfort in Brittany (northwestern France) on Jan 31, [...]

St. Paul of the Cross (1695-1775), an Italian mystic and founder of the Passionists PIOUS BEGINNINGS Paul of the Cross was born to pious parents at Uvada in the Duchy of Savoy (Piedmont area of northern Italy) on 3 January 1694. He was descended from a noble family and christened Paolo Francesco Danei. His future holiness was foreshown by a wonderful light which filled his mother's room while she was in labor, and by a remarkable proof of the protection of the Queen of Heaven, who saved him from drowning in a river as a child. He was the second of [...]

ST. FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, OFM St. Fidelis (1577-1622), a Capuchin friar, was a principal defender of the Catholic Faith during the Counter-Revolution. He gave his life witnessing for the Faith when Protestant revolutionaries murdered him. EARLY LIFE Fidelis was born in Sigmaringen, a town in Southern Germany on the Danube River near the Black Forrest (modern day state of Baden-Württenberg). His parents christened him Mark. He studied law and philosophy at the University of Freiburg (a city in that corner of Germany where France and Switzerland meet). As a student, he never drank and always wore a hear shirt. His companions [...]

Bl. Margaret (1287-1320) was blind and lame from birth, rejected by many, yet still achieved heroic sanctity by her love of God and charity towards every neighbor (1287-1320). A DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD Because she was born dwarfed, blind, hunchbacked and lame, Blessed Margaret was kept hidden by her noble parents throughout her childhood. They made every effort to prevent visitors to their castle from discovering her existence. When a visiting lady happened to meet her in the castle’s chapel (Margret was then six), her parents were horrified at the possible scandal this could cause for them. Human respect dominated their worldly way [...]

St. Hermenegild, Martyr Prince (6th Century), is recognized as 'the seed' which brought Spain into the bosom of Holy Mother Church. Leovigild, King of the Visigoths in Spain, had two sons, Hermenegild and Recared, who reigned conjointly with him. All three were Arians, but Prince Hermenegild married a zealous Catholic, Princess Indegundis, the daughter of Sigebert, King of France, and by her holy example, Hermenegild was converted to the true Faith. Here is illustrated yet another reason why France is known as the 'Eldest Daughter of the Church' - for through her intercession Spain became Catholic. Queen Goinswintha, Hermenegild's step-mother and [...]

St. Mary of Egypt was a terrible sinner who became an even greater penitent and saint. In the 5th century in Palestine, there was a very holy priest monk named Zosimus. He had served God since his youth with great fervor for more than 53 years and many souls came to him for spiritual direction. His reputation for holiness grew far and wide. So much so, that the devil was able to tempt him into pridefully thinking he had reached perfection. To prevent him from harboring a proud spirit, God prompted Zosimus to journey to a monastery near the Jordan. Being [...]

Bl. Herman was a great devotee of the Blessed Mother and an eminent contemplative mystic.(+1226 AD) Herman’s parents were very poor yet noble people who lived in Germany. His father was the Count of Meer and his mother was St. Hildegund. So often saints come from families with more saints! He was born around 1150 AD in Cologne. Because he was so poor, little Herman did not receive much of an education. Yet his great love for our Blessed Mother kept him out of trouble. He spent every free moment at a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Mother on a small [...]