Charms

When Christianity was brought to Japan in the late 1500s by Jesuit missionaries, Justo Takayama and his family converted and were baptized. Takayam...

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 ...

Born in Germany in 1830, Mother Maria Theresia Bonzel founded the Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration. These nuns ran orphanages, serve...

Ordained in 1925, Miguel Pro was a Jesuit priest in Mexico, where public worship was banned. Nevertheless, Pro continued his ministry in secret, of...

Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy. A student activist and lay Dominican, Pier Giorgio devoted his spare time and money to serv...

Stanley Rother came from a hard-working Oklahoma farm family. In 1968, five years into his priesthood, Father Rother requested reassignment to rura...

Mary is the mother of Jesus - an unparalleled title in the communion of saints! The Scriptures call her "blessed among women," and all Christians a...

The ancient title "Mary, Help of Christians" refers to Mary's special assistance in our most difficult trials, and the trials of our Church. Organi...

"Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it." Inspired by these words of St. ...

Our Lady of Częstochowa is a depiction of Mary and Jesus, said to have been painted by Saint Luke on the Holy Family's cedar tabletop! In the image...

In 1917, Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. Word spread, and tens of thousands of people gathered for the final appariti...

Our Lady of Good Health can be traced to three 16th-century miracles that happened in India, near the small town of Vailankanni. There, Mary appear...

In 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican Indian named Juan Diego. When Juan Diego's bishop asked for proof of Mary's appearance, Mary told Ju...

Our Lady of Kibeho began appearing to several Rwandan schoolgirls in 1981, as tension increased between two Rwandan ethnic groups. The visions occu...

In the French town of Lourdes, in 1858, Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette. She wore a beautiful white dress and blue sash with yellow roses a...

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is Mary's title as patroness of the Carmelite Order, which began on Mount Carmel near Jerusalem more than 800 years ago. O...

The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help depicts Mary comforting little Jesus as he clings to her, frightened at the idea of his suffering and death....

Dear Jesus, Please bless Pope Emeritus Benedict. As he prays for the church in humble seclusion, let him be supported by your love and mercy. We as...

Dear Jesus, Please bless our Holy Father, Pope Francis. Help him lead the Church to you by his words and example. Give him strength to carry out yo...

Saint Abigail's story is rich with Irish lore. An angel told her she would find nine deer grazing in the place she was meant to spend her life. Abi...

Agnes' name means "pure" in Greek and "lamb" in Latin. She lived around the year 300, a time of terrible persecution. This beautiful 13-year-old da...

Aloysius Gonzaga was raised by a worldly father amidst the vices of European nobility. After receiving his First Communion from Saint Charles Borro...

Andrew and his brother, Peter, were fishermen until Jesus invited, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Andrew, a disciple of St. John ...

Though Christianity was brought to Korea in 1592, it would be 250 years before the country had its first native-born priest. Andrew Kim Taegon came...

Anne was the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. We only know a little about her through tradition, but she must have been a woman of great fa...

St. Anthony of Padua was a 13th-century Franciscan friar known for his rich knowledge of Church theology. Even more importantly, he had an incredib...

Augustine was born in 354 A.D. in North Africa. As a young man, he loved partying and spending his money. However, through prayer, reflection and s...

As a young man, Benedict fled Rome to become a monk. Many others followed him, and he developed the Rule of Saint Benedict to give them a balanced ...