Saints

'Do not be afraid' was the most often-used Biblical quote of Pope John Paul II. Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in the Polish town of Wadowice, a small town 50 kilometres from Krakow, on 18 May, 1920. He was the youngest of three children born to Karol Wojtyła and Emilia Kaczorowska. Karol was baptized on 20 June, 1920 in the parish church of Wadowice by Fr Franciszek Zak. He made his First Holy ... Read More

Abbot and monastic pioneer of Palestine. Hilarion was born in 291 in Gaza. He studied at Alexandria, where he became a Christian. After the death of his parents, he gave all he owned to his brothers and the poor and went to live as a hermit at Majuma. He followed the same regime as St Antony - a diet of figs, bread, vegetables and oil. First he built a small shelter of reeds, later a stone cell ... Read More

Philosopher, statesman and martyr. Born in Rome around 475, Severenus Boethius was the son of a rich Christian Roman family. Orphaned as a young child, he was brought up by the noble Aurelius Symmachus and eventually married his daughter. By the age of 30 he was famous as a great scholar and is recognised as one of the makers of the Christian West. He translated Plato, Euclid, Aristotle and Pytha... Read More