Saints

Founder of the Poor Clares. Patron of television. Born in Assisi to the Offreduccio family, on 16 July, 1194, at the age of 18 Clare was so impressed by the preaching of Saint Francis she renounced all her possessions and took the habit of a nun. She was formed at two nearby Benedictine convents. Francis then offered her and her companions a small house next to the church of San Damiano which he ... Read More

Laurence was a deacon who worked closely with Pope Sixtus II. He is thought to have been born in Spain, at Huesca, a town in the Aragon region. According to legend he brought the Holy Grail - the chalice which Jesus used at the last supper, to Spain. Today the Holy Grail is venerated in a special chapel in Valencia Cathedral, Spain. Laurence was martyred a few days after Pope Sixtus during the p... Read More

St Jane Frances de Chantal Widow and foundress of the Order of the Visitation. Born to a noble Burgundian family, in 1572, Jane Frances married a baron at the age of 20. Three of their children died very young but four survived. After only nine years of married life, her husband was killed in a hunting accident. Three years later she met St Frances de Sales, who became her guide and counsellor. ... Read More