Saints

Married woman and mystic. Born in Genoa in 1447, Catherine Fieschi entered into an arranged marriage with a wealthy young man named Julian when she was just 16. He turned out to be a foul-tempered womanizer and she endured his bad behaviour for several years, until in 1473, she underwent some kind of conversion experience which changed her life, and that of her husband too. For the next 20 years ... Read More

Notburga was an Austrian laywoman from what is now called the Tyrol. She was born around 1250 to a poor peasant family. At the age of 18 she was employed as a kitchen maid in the castle of Count Henry of Rattenberg. The family squandered more food on pig-swill than Notburga's parents ate in weeks. She saved all the leftovers from the Count's family table and gave them to the poor. Count Henry's wi... 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