Saints Gregory the Elder and Nonna of Nazianzus: The Bishop and the Wife Who Prayed for His Conversion
Saints Gregory the Elder and Nonna of Nazianzus were a Christian couple of fourth century Cappadocia, the parents of Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Gorgonia and Saint Caesarius. This article explains what the sources document, what is uncertain and what belongs to tradition.
Saints Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea: The Parents of Basil the Great and the Cappadocian Saints
Saints Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea were a Christian couple of fourth century Cappadocia and Pontus, the parents of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Saint Macrina the Younger and Saint Peter of Sebaste. This article explains what the sources document, what is uncertain and what belongs to tradition.
Saints Louis and Zélie Martin: The Married Saints Who Raised Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Saints Louis and Zélie Martin were a French Catholic married couple of the nineteenth century, the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. They were canonized together on October 18, 2015. This article explains what is documented, what is uncertain and what belongs to family tradition.
Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom: The Princely Couple Honored as Models of Marriage
Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom are Russian Orthodox saints honored as a model of Christian marriage. Their well-known story was written in the sixteenth century and mixes history with folklore. This article explains what is documented, what is uncertain and what belongs to tradition.
Saints Andronicus and Athanasia of Egypt: A Married Couple Who Became Desert Monastics
Saints Andronicus and Athanasia are remembered as a wealthy married couple of Antioch who became monastics in Egypt after losing their children. Their story comes from a hagiographical Life linked with Abba Daniel of Scetis. This article explains what the sources say and where the details are tradition.
Saints Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia: The Martyr Husband and the Wife Who Strengthened Him
Saints Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia are remembered as a married couple of the persecutions of the late third or early fourth century. Their veneration is ancient, but their long Acts contain much legend. This article explains what is known, what is tradition and why they are honored.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen: Benedictine Abbess, Visionary, Composer and Doctor of the Church
Saint Hildegard of Bingen was a twelfth-century Benedictine abbess, writer and composer. Pope Benedict XVI recognized her as a saint in May 2012 and named her a Doctor of the Church in October 2012. This article explains her life, her works and what the sources do and do not tell us.
Saint Jacob of Serugh: Syriac Poet, Bishop of Batnan and Flute of the Holy Spirit
Saint Jacob of Serugh was a Syriac bishop and poet who lived from about 451 to 521 and wrote hundreds of verse homilies. He is honored by the Syriac Orthodox and Maronite Churches. This article explains what the sources say about his life, his Christology and the traditions that grew around him.
Saint Maximos the Hut-Burner: The Athonite Hermit Who Burned His Huts
Saint Maximos the Hut-Burner was a fourteenth-century Byzantine hermit of Mount Athos, remembered for burning his small shelters and for his visions of the Mother of God. His early Lives survive, but many details are tradition. This article separates the sources from the legends.
Saint Anthony the Great: Father of Monks and His Years Among the Tombs
Saint Anthony the Great was an Egyptian Christian ascetic of the third and fourth centuries, called the Father of Monks. Saint Athanasius wrote his Life, which describes his years living among tombs. This article explains what the sources say and where the tradition goes beyond them.
Saint Gabriel Urgebadze: Georgian Confessor and Fool for Christ of Samtavro
Saint Gabriel Urgebadze was a Georgian Orthodox hieromonk and archimandrite who lived under Soviet rule. He is remembered for burning a portrait of Lenin in 1965, for his years at Samtavro Monastery, and for his life as a fool for Christ. He was glorified by the Georgian Orthodox Church in 2012.
Saint Romanus of Le Mans: Priest, Confessor and the Mystery of His Early Cult
Saint Romanus of Le Mans is remembered as a priest and confessor honored for centuries in the Diocese of Le Mans in France. His dates are unknown, his medieval biography borrows from other saints, and he may be the same person as Saint Romanus of Blaye.
Saint Rasso of Andechs: Bavarian Nobleman, Church Founder and Patron of Grafrath
Saint Rasso, also called Rath or Rasso of Grafrath, was an early medieval Bavarian nobleman remembered as a church founder and a pilgrim. His tomb at Grafrath near Munich drew pilgrims for centuries. His exact dates are uncertain, and many details of his story are tradition.
Saint Mariam Thresia: Syro-Malabar Mystic and Foundress of the Holy Family Sisters
Saint Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan was a Syro-Malabar Catholic mystic and religious foundress from Kerala, India. She founded the Congregation of the Holy Family in 1914, served the sick and the poor across caste lines, and was canonized by Pope Francis on October 13, 2019.
Blessed Elias Peter Hoayek: Maronite Patriarch and Father of Greater Lebanon
Blessed Elias Peter Hoayek was Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1899 to 1931. He founded the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, led relief efforts during the First World War famine, and argued at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference for an enlarged Lebanon. He was beatified in 2026.
Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky: Redemptorist Bishop and Martyr of the Underground Church
Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky was a Redemptorist priest and bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. He survived a death sentence, years in Soviet camps and a second arrest, and he died in exile in Canada in 1973.
Blessed Nykyta Budka: First Ukrainian Catholic Bishop of Canada and Martyr
Blessed Nykyta Budka was the first Ukrainian Catholic bishop of Canada, later a prisoner of the Soviets, who died in Kazakhstan in 1949 and was beatified in 2001.
Blessed Nicholas Charnetsky: Redemptorist Bishop and Confessor of the Faith
Blessed Nicholas Charnetsky was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Redemptorist bishop who endured Soviet imprisonment from 1945 to 1956 and was beatified in 2001.
Blessed Augustine Thevarparampil: Kunjachan, the Little Priest of Kerala
Blessed Augustine Thevarparampil, known as Kunjachan, was a Syro-Malabar priest of Kerala who served Dalit and poor families for nearly fifty years and was beatified in 2006.
Saint Andrew the Apostle: The First-Called, Brother of Peter and Patron of Many Nations
Saint Andrew the Apostle was a Galilean fisherman and disciple of John the Baptist who brought his brother Peter to Jesus and is honored as the First-Called by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.