Saints

Cistercian monk and abbot of Clairvaux. Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon in Burgundy. As a young man he was known for his charm, wit, eloquence and learning. At the age of 22, together with 32 companions, including four of his brothers, he became a monk at a poverty-stricken reformed monastery at Citeaux. After a few years probation, he was made abbot of a new foundation at Clairvaux. At firs... Read More

French priest. Founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. John was born in 1601 to a farming family in Ri, Normandy. He was educated by the Jesuits at Caen. In 1623, inspired by Philip Neri, he joined the French Oratorians, staying with them for 20 years, preaching and caring for the sick during a series of epidemics that swept through France. He was one of the most popular preachers of his ... Read More

Pope. Born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, in 1835, he was the son of a shoemaker and postman who lived near Treviso in Italy. Giuseppe went to the local village school before joining the seminary near Padua. After his ordination he spent the next 17 years in parish work before being appointed chancellor of the diocese in Treviso. Nine years later, he became bishop of Mantua, then patriarch of Venice ... Read More