Saints

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

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

Martyr. This third or fourth century saint was one of the most revered martyrs of Roman Gaul. According to tradition, Symphorian was a young nobleman who was converted by Benignus at Autun. When he was accused of showing contempt for the goddess Cybele during a festival in her honour, he was dragged before the governor and flogged but refused to recant. It is said that as he was taken away to be... Read More