Saints

Little is known about this early Roman martyr, except that she refused to marry a nobleman named Flaccus, in the first century. He threatened to kill her, but she died naturally after three days fasting. Petronilla is traditionally identified as the daughter of Saint Peter, though this may stem simply because of the similarity of names. It is believed she may have been a convert of the saint (and... Read More

The Maid of Orleans was the daughter of a peasant, born in Domremy in Lorraine, in 1412. From the age of 13 she began hearing heavenly voices telling her to take up arms and lead the French army against the English who had invaded the country. She obtained an audience with the Dauphin, Charles, and after a searching interview, he entrusted her with a staff of attendants and a suit of armour. The... Read More

This early British saint gave her name to, and is buried at Whitechurch Canonicorum, in Dorset. Her modest shrine, together with that of Edward the Confessor, in Westminster Abbey, are among the few pre-Norman Conquest tombs to survive intact in England to this day. (There is also the tomb of the Saxon St Bertolin in Ilam, Staffordshire.) Very little is known about St Whyte. She is sometimes als... Read More