Charms

The young Gerard Majella was deeply pious, splitting his earnings between his mother, the poor, and masses for the souls in Purgatory. In 1749, Ger...

Born in 1922, Dr. Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian pediatrician, wife, and mother. She understood the rigors of balancing work and family, and s...

Saint Gregory the Great joyfully entered religious life around the year 575. When he was elected pope, Gregory was hesitant, but followed God's wil...

Born around 247 AD, Helena was the wife of the Roman Emperor. When her son, Constantine, received a miraculous vision before a battle, Helena conve...

Ignatius and his friend Saint Polycarp were both taught about Christ by Saint John the Apostle. Ignatius was chosen to be bishop of Antioch, and se...

Ignatius loved the glamour of life at the Spanish royal court. He went to war to win glory until a cannonball left him immobilized. While recuperat...

St. Irenaeus was born around 125 A.D. His passion for spreading the true Christian message - grounded in Scripture and passed down through the Apos...

In 1636, as a newly-ordained Jesuit, Isaac Jogues was sent to Canada's native territories. He brought many to Christ, but in 1642 Iroquois natives ...

Isidore worked in the fields of a farmer near Madrid, Spain. He always went to morning Mass, and was sometimes late to work. When the farmer invest...

Jacinta Marto was the youngest of the three children to whom Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal in 1916. Just six years old, she was cheerful, energ...

James was fishing with his brother, John, when Jesus called him to be an apostle. He followed Jesus faithfully, ultimately to martyrdom. His remain...

After her beloved husband died in a hunting accident, Jane Frances de Chantal dedicated herself to her children. In 1604, Jane met Saint Francis de...

Born a peasant in eastern France, Joan of Arc heard God calling her to lead France to victory during the Hundred Years' War. She refused an arrange...

Born in France in 1651, John Baptist de La Salle is considered the founder of Catholic schools. Through his generous spirit and acts, he made educa...

The son of a Belgian shoemaker, John Berchmans served and studied in the household of a priest, making pilgrimages to a nearby Marian shrine as oft...

As a boy, the fun-loving John Bosco would juggle and do magic tricks for the other children. Having captured their attention, he would then lead th...

John Henry Newman, the scholarly son of an English banker, was drawn by his reading to become an Anglican priest. However, as he studied and prayed...

John Neumann was born in Bohemia in 1811. He moved to New York and was ordained a priest at the age of 25, joined the Redemptorists at 29, and was ...

Born in 1495, John was an impulsive and determined man who had many adventures as a shepherd, soldier, servant, and religious bookseller. John even...

As pope from 1978 to 2005, Pope John Paul II tackled difficult global issues, visited 116 countries, and met frequently with world leaders. His mes...

John "leapt for joy" in his mother's womb when Mary visited, pregnant with Jesus. Thirty years later, on the banks of the Jordan River, John procla...

John was the only apostle who remained loyally with Christ at the crucifixion. There, Jesus entrusted John and Mary to each other. In his later yea...

The young John Vianney felt called to the priesthood, but he struggled in his studies. Eventually John hired a tutor, worked hard, and was ordained...

Pope John XXIII was a difference-maker. Before being elected pope in 1958, he worked hard to help Jews during the Holocaust. He is best known for h...

In 1927, Catholic Mexico was suffering extreme religious persecution. Christian soldiers, known as Cristeros, took up arms to defend their faith an...

Born in Spain in 1902, Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei, an organization which emphasizes that all of us are called to sainthood and can strive f...

Joseph is a quiet hero, the man God trusted to be Mary's husband and Jesus' foster-father. Joseph showed deep faith during Mary's pregnancy, great ...

Joseph, born in Cupertino in 1603, was absent-minded, struggled with his studies, and had a fiery temper. After many difficulties, he entered the F...

Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869 in Sudan. As a child, she was kidnapped, enslaved, sold, and tortured. Eventually, in Italy, Josephine met the C...

Juan Diego and his wife were among the first converts to Christianity in Mexico. In 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan, asking for a church to ...

Saint Jude Thaddeus, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, was one of the twelve apostles and likely a cousin of Jesus. He is the "patron saint o...

Junipero Serra was an 18th-century Franciscan priest whose passionate, charitable missionary work laid the foundation for Spanish colonization of w...

Born around the year 100, Justin, like many of his fellow philosophers, wanted to live a good life. However, none of the philosophies Justin studie...

When Kateri was just a child, smallpox left her with poor vision and a scarred face. However, Kateri found peace in Jesus, especially in the Euchar...

In 1858, Katharine Drexel was born into a wealthy Philadelphia family. The Drexels prayed daily and provided food, clothing and rent to those in ne...

Lawrence, a deacon in third-century Rome, was asked to gather the Church's treasures for confiscation by Roman authorities. Quick-witted Lawrence b...

As a fifth-century pope, St. Leo the Great reigned during a time of heresy and division in the church and the world. Leo faced these challenges wit...

Born in France in 1844, St. Leonie Aviat was deeply influenced by the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. She founded, with Blessed Louis Brisson...

Born in the Philippines around 1600, the son of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, Lorenzo was a faithful altar server, gifted calligrapher, a...

Louis and Zélie Martin married in 1858. Louis was a watchmaker, Zélie owned a lace business, and their home was full of love. When the Martins lost...

Born in France, Louis de Montfort became a priest in 1700. He traveled across France, preaching and encouraging others to develop a deep love for t...

Louis was crowned king at the age of 12 and married at 19. He loved serving his people and founded hospitals, cared for lepers, and invited the poo...

Louise de Marillac was born into a wealthy French family in 1591. Though she pondered religious life, Louise married, had a son, and lived a happy ...

According to legend, young Lucy brought food and aid to fellow Christians hiding from persecutors during the third century. She used a candle-lit w...

One of the four Gospel writers, Luke was a physician by trade. His impressive writing skills probably stemmed from that education, and tradition be...

As the French Revolution ravaged the country, Father Marcellin founded a community of brothers dedicated to Mary that established schools in rural ...

As a teenager, Margaret Mary Alacoque experienced visions of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but assumed that this was normal for everyone. Afte...

Margaret was born with dwarfism, blindness and a hunchback. Her parents locked her away in a doorless room attached to a church. The parish priest ...