Saints

St Robert Bellarmine Cardinal. Born during the Reformation at Montepulciano, Tuscany, in 1542, St Robert Bellarmine was a poet, musician and public speaker. His systematic studies of theology began at Padua in 1567, where his teachers were adherents of Thomism. In 1569 he was sent to finish his studies at the University of Leuven in Flanders. There he was ordained, and obtained a reputation both a... Read More

St Cornelius Pope and martyr. A Roman priest, Cornelius was elected Pope to succeed Fabian in an election delayed fourteen months by Decius' persecution of the Christians. One of the main issues of his pontificate was the treatment of Christians who had abandoned their faith during the persecution. He condemned those confessors who were lax in not demanding penance of these Christians. On the oth... Read More

Franciscan priest. Patron saint of pilots and airline passengers. Joseph was such an extraordinary saint, his fellow Christians found him hard to cope with. He was born in a garden shed in 1603, near Brindizi in Italy. The family were very poor. Joseph's mother was widowed very early and resented her son. He spent an unhappy childhood, winning the nickname 'the gaper' for wandering about with hi... Read More