Saints

St Gerard Majella Lay brother. Born in 1725, in Basilica, Italy, Gerard trained and worked in his father's trade as a tailor before joining the Redemptorist noviciate at Deliceto, in 1749. St Alphonsus Liguori recognised his extraordinary spirituality and ordered that he be professed early. Although he worked in ordinary jobs, as a porter and a gardener, his life was marked by a series of extraord... Read More

Foundress of the reformed (Discalced) Carmelites. Teresa was born in 1515 to an aristocratic family in Avila. As a child she showed precocious piety by playing at hermitages with her younger brother. The pair once ran away from home, hoping to go to Morocco and die as martyrs. After her mother's death when she was just 14, Teresa went through a spell of being very interested in boys and clothes.... Read More

St Ignatius of Antioch Bishop and martyr. Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny his faith was condemned to be put to death in Rome. Ignatius is best known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journ... Read More